Pandora

Because of my relationship with and comments on the word HOPE in my previous post, I decided to check out the myth of Pandora. Wow! There's a lot of confusion around her ~ who she was, what she was, what she did, whether hope stayed in the container, what the container was..... the list goes on and on!

Here is part of the problem ~~ an amphora in the Ashmolean Museum with a depiction of Pandora rising from the earth. In 1903, Jane Ellen Harrison wrote: "Pandora rises from the earth; she is the Earth, giver of all gifts. This is made doubly sure by another representation of her birth or rather her making. ... Pandora, half statue half woman, has just been modelled by Hephaistos, and Athene is in the act of decking her. Pandora she certainly is, but against her is written her other name (A)nesidora, 'she who sends up gifts.' Pandora is a form or title of the Earth-goddess ... entirely humanized and vividly personified by mythology."

So Pandora begins life as a manifestation of the Earth-goddess Gaea... then loses her place when Hesiod writes about her as the blight of humanity? Certainly, a patriarchal culture would continue that mythos.

Why am I so intrigued by the myth of Pandora? Because I believe it, and other myths laying the troubles of the world at the feet or hands of female characters, instills in our youth a subtle and continuing blame of women. We talk about these myths as though they are simply stories that we can easily dismiss. Yet we continue to read them, to teach them, to use them as instructional tools. We've always used myths to explain natural or cultural phenomena. Why would we think that our teaching of these myths would be any different? Do we use other myths to counter them? Do we teach/share all the variations?

What stories/myths have shaped your life? Which ones still do? How do you want to re-vision them?

Hope

Wisdom of the House of Night: Colette Baron-Reid

From the guidebook:
In the darkest forest, the moon can hide to make it hard for people to see their surroundings, and some are blind to the next step and find that they give in to fear that there will never again be safety or light. ... Have hope, and only good will come of it. Take one step towards your dream.

During darker times of my life, I've felt abandoned by friends, by family, by lovers, by nature, by God/Spirit/Goddess, even by my very self. No light shines, nothing visible by which to see a path, a way forward or a way out.

I made it through these dark times and found one of the most important things carrying me through, waiting for me to allow it to shine light for me was Hope. Hope dwells in that deepest part of me ~ so deep that I often forget its existence; I certainly forget its power.



Emily Dickinson said it most beautifully:

"Hope" is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
Ans sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
....
I've heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Hope is always within our grasp ~ even closer than that ~ it 'perches in the soul' whether or not we acknowledge  or even notice it. In many versions of myths from around the world, it is hope that truly saves the day. Hope that allows brightness and light into the darkest corners so we recognize our own way out.

How has hope appeared to you? When you have allowed hope in, what has changed for you? How important is hope in your day-to-day life?

Five Herons in Two Days

With two days of rain in the area, the ground's wet ~ around here that means a near-reclaiming of the wetlands. On the patch of grass next to the on-ramp, there was a heron standing there watching traffic pass by. There were two herons in another low spot that often turns to swampland this time of year. Two herons stood in a field ~ also reclaimed wetland. There may have been another one or two that I saw as well; these stayed in my memory.

In the Animal Wisdom Tarot, the themes for Heron are Inner Vision, Trust, Timing, Balance and Resolution. The message of Heron is "Take time to feel deeply and choose wisely."

Most notable in the inner vision of the herons over the past two days is their absolute Presence. Each one stood solo, looking around, awake, aware. The sense of Presence and Balance and Rightness was tangible with each one. They reminded me of my own need to stand in balance and presence. Like the heron, I am called on to stand alone even when with others, to be aware of and awake to my own dance and my own path.

What animal has crossed your path recently? What message is that animal speaking to you? How do you manifest the power and gift of that animal?

More Things to Give Up

Full disclosure of the obvious type: I did not make up this list (the URL is at the top of the picture).

I like this list. I've returned to it again and again because I get caught up in doing some of these things and freezing myself in time and space.

The ones appearing most recently in my life are #3 Being indecisive about what you want, #4 Procrastinating on the goals that matter to you, and # 8 Making excuses rather than decisions. These are my personal free-roaming 'Gang of Three.' They feed each other. My excuses allow for my indecisiveness which fuels my procrastination. One version of it goes something like this: "There's too much going on and I really only have time to do one of the things on my list. But I don't know which one to do." *fret-fret-fret* "Now it's getting/gotten too late to do any of it....." *whine-whine*

When I catch myself doing that routine, I stop mid-fret, mid-whine, mid-thought and DO something that moves me off that particular track. Most of the time, I do one of the 'things' on my list. It lifts my mood ~ and I actually accomplish something. It doesn't have to be a lot or the entirety of my list or even the task. Whatever it is, it something rather than more non-movement.

Which of the "10 Things" gets in your way most often? Or is there another way you sabotage yourself and your forward movement? What do you do to shift your direction?

What am I Giving Up?

After reading some of my recent blogs that reference Lent, a friend said, "I thought Lent was about giving up something." That made me think about what I was giving up.... and whether that's what Lent is really about.

What am I giving up? As I was growing up, it was usually food of some sort: chocolate, sweets, soda, potato chips. I tried giving up spinach one time, but Mom wouldn't let me. Notice the pattern? Giving up something that's not necessarily good for you anyway. This year I've determined to give up excuses for not writing in my blog. Or not writing period. It's easy to say (or whine) about being busy or tired or not having anything important to say or.... need I continue? I've managed to miss only one day since Ash Wednesday. The excuses are wearing thin.

Lent provides a venue for me to reflect on where I'm stuck and what I need to leverage for things to flow freely again. That's true whether I give up food of any sort or an attitude I may have or excuses keeping me from doing what is in my best interest and for my highest good.

What Lent is about is reflection and awareness, looking for new growth and greening. It's about preparing ~ for whatever comes next.

What new growth are you seeing in your life? What else would you like to see? What hampers your flow? What could you give up to improve the flow?

Sacred Vision

Colette Baron-Reid: Wisdom of the Hidden Realms 

After pulling yesterday's card, my question shifted to "On what do I need to focus for the coming week?" The Altar Priestess showed up.

From the Guidebook: "(T)he Altar Priestess brings the ritual of reverent interaction with the mundane world. You're being required now to see everything as sacred..."

My personal practice of Lent has been to re-connect and re-member that everything around me is holy, that everyone is a blessing to the world. That's not always easy. There are a variety of incidents in the world that often do not appear to me as holy ~ as a matter of fact, they feel downright horrible: war in Syria, mudslide in Northern Washington, train derailment at O'Hare Airport, 'disappearing' Malaysian flight. What of these situations is holy? What about those injured, killed or left behind? It's easy to see the holy in an opening rose, the smile of a baby, a fresh cup of coffee. It's not as easy when we know that pain is involved. I don't know how to see it any differently than it is. I continue through this week praying for the gift of sacred vision to be able to see the holy moment.

What do you see in those most difficult and challenging situations? In those moments, how do you find the holy? Is sacred vision important or relevant to you?

Connections

Colette Baron-Reid: Wisdom of the Hidden Realms

As I've continued with Practicing Lent, I find myself often feeling solitary. My immediate family, friends and close associates are either not Catholic/Christian or are not observant of the season of Lent.  I jumped at the chance to share the ins and outs of the practice, yet even that remains a fairly singular experience. I'm noticing the deep and amazing sense of solitude in this practice.

Imagine, then, my surprise upon drawing the Web Weaver card this morning when my question was: What will serve me  this day? From the guidebook:
"Just when you need to make a connection, like magic, synchronicity occurs. Music reverberates through the web and plays in harmony with your  own. This is the sign to trust in the connectivity between all events. magic is afoot for you!"

Throughout my life, I've believed in synchronicity, in the coming together of the Fates to produce magic and teaching that is beyond compare. As "Hannibal" Smith of the A-Team repeats, "I love it when a plan comes together!" For anyone who hasn't seen the A-Team [especially the TV series version], usually the plan he references has gone wildly wrong ~ and somehow still works. My life occasionally works that way too.

How does the plan of your life come together? How does synchronicity play a part? What is the flow in your life between connection and solitude?