#it’s a way of interpreting and honoring the source text
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Hi there, you don't have to post this on the blog, but I wanted to thank you for your earlier post with regard to different interpretations and iterations of Arthuriana. I really admire your work in/thoughts on all things Arthurian, and seeing you say "Each iteration is it's own self-contained world and anything is possible within that framework" was such a freeing thing. I'm currently writing an Arthurian thing where Lancelot falls for/ends up with someone who isn't Guinevere, and I often wrestle with the doubt of "if he isn't in love with Guinevere, am I really being true to the stories and the canon?" But each iteration is its own self-contained world, and I can honor the stories in other ways while still doing my own thing in this particular story/world. Anyway, all this to say, I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but I appreciate your insight and the encouragement it brings. Take care!
Hi there! Sorry for the delay in responding, but I wanted to think about this a bit beforehand. In writing my own Arthurian series, as well as reading and watching absolutely everything I can get ahold of, historical, medieval, and modern, I’ve developed a whole philosophy about it. So my reply got long hehe. Here’s what I think…
In the ask you referenced, I talked about how Arthurian legend lacks a true "canon," and how the stories all build off each other. The inconsistency from text to text and even chapter to chapter within the same story affords us endless opportunities for creative reinterpretation. I can basically be sold on any concept. I’ve read a lot of retellings at this point and I’m not married to any specific “canon.” If the writer can convince me that, in this version of the story, things played out differently, then I’m happy to get invested. For example, in Exiled From Camelot by Cherith Baldry, she develops Lyonors, Gareth’s wife, and makes her into a likable character the reader can easily ship with Gareth. On the other hand, I definitely see why people prefer Lynette with Gareth, as Tennyson did, and the majority of other retellings follow suit. Even so, I think Lynette and Gaheris made an adorable pair in Squire’s Tales #3, and it was a satisfying reveal in Squire’s Tales #7 that the pov character was their daughter, Lunette. It’s indicated through context clues who her parents are when they arrive at the end referring to each other by pet names. In the same vein, while I favor Ragnelle, Gawain can have any number of partners so long as the author writes the chemistry well. And while I still firmly believe Agravaine is gay in essentially every retelling, I do love Sarah Zettel’s romance Camelot’s Blood that she wrote between him and Laurel. I’m an Orkney Wives fan first and an Orkney Bros fan second haha!
That being said, Orkney Bros have always been inconsistent, so changing their love interests isn’t actually that drastic. In the case of Lancelot and Guinevere, severing their romantic connection is a huge departure from the norm. Undoubtedly, some people won’t “get it” or say it’s out of character. But the thing to remember is, there is no singular source for Arthuriana, so how can they ever be out of character? Let’s get into it.
Firstly, you don’t need to rationalize your narrative choices. To anybody. So long as you’re writing something for the sake of authenticity and good storytelling (rather than simply to be contrarian or edgy or quirky etc) it will resonate with your audience. That said, there’s medieval precedence for your concept. In Alliterative Morte Arthure, Lancelot is listed many times as one of Arthur’s knights. He’s there. Yet it is Mordred who adulterously marries Guinevere. In the romance retelling Lancelot by Gwen Rowley, Guinevere is not the love interest, but Elaine. Another similar angle is explored in Port Eternity by CJ Cherryh, which takes place entirely from Elaine’s point of view. Guinevere isn’t even truly in it and her stand in doesn’t fulfill the same role. In The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (1956), Lancelot definitely has A Thing with both the King and Queen, but a potential affair is not explored or even hinted at. He’s their bestie, their confidant, their most trusted person apart from each other. The key here is Lancelot still loves Guinevere (or her stand in), however that manifests. There’s no active dislike or hatred between them. In that circumstance, I don’t think the character would feel like Lancelot anymore. But changing the nature of his love for Guinevere from romantic to something else does not diminish its narrative value, as the above examples prove. Their friendship is the core of their relationship, as the Vulgate proves, and maintaining that is important.
It’s not so much about asking yourself, “Is [narrative choice] true to the ‘canon?’” as asking, “How do I tell a good story containing [narrative choice]?” There are examples of this done poorly, in my opinion. I’ve elaborated many many many times about David Lowery’s fumbling of The Green Knight (2021) and how that particular iteration falls short of a true adaptation (which I don’t think he set out to do anyway, to be fair) but also proved an unsuccessful reimagining of the poem due to mismanaged references and motifs. I didn’t like Once & Future by Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta or The Winter Knight by Jes Battis for the same reasons—both books felt like shallow, meandering stories lacking narrative integrity with a veneer of Arthuriana over it. Reincarnation AUs are not an excuse to flanderaize characters. Battis writes Wayne (Gawain) acknowledging how drastically he differs from his medieval counterpart, but awareness of it doesn’t negate the facts: the story suffers for it. On the contrary, Camelot 3000 gives an entire character arc surrounding this premise to Tristan, who has reincarnated AFAB and struggles with his gender identity and with accepting Isolde’s love for him, changed though he is. First Knight (1995) really screws up by making Lancelot a misogynistic creeper who relentlessly pursues Guinevere and even forces a kiss on her. King Arthur: Legend of The Sword (2017) is insultingly bad by showcasing just how stupid it thinks its audience is, brutalizing and killing women left and right, giving unnecessary screen time to obnoxious OCs, and bastardizing every aspect of the legend it drew from. Meanwhile the Fate Grand Order anime cuts out Guinevere entirely. Her role exists as a void. It makes no sense, then, that Lancelot and Agravaine clash as “fellow traitors,” because the woman at the center of the conflict is literally never present. Seven Deadly Sins anime has finally gotten around to Lancelot and Guinevere meeting, and she’s a clingy girl Lancelot is disinterested in, trying to flip the script on their roles, and only exacerbating the misogyny problem in shounen in the process.
Fear not! Loving Arthurian legend automatically enshrines anything you create in a glittering anti-garbage shield! So many versions exist that draw on the elements just because they can with no respect for the material nor their audience. You literally can’t do worse than what’s already out there and there are no original ideas! Published retellings love crackships, they love mixing it up, changing the expected, surprising us! So long as Guinevere isn’t made worse to make Lancelot’s alternative love interest better, and Lancelot himself isn’t turned inside out until he’s unrecognizable, you’re golden. Follow your gut and write something you would enjoy, develop it well within your own universe, and there will be an audience for it. I’m certainly among them!
Thanks for the ask. Have a lovely day! :^)
#arthurian legend#arthuriana#arthurian legends#arthurian mythology#arthurian literature#lancelot#sir lancelot#lancelot du lac#guinevere#queen guinevere#guinevere pendragon#writing#ask#usedtobeaduchess
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Hi! I'm sorry to bother you, but I've been reading your meta posts about Izanami and Souzai Daigaku and the like and you mention the game script often, do you have a link to the dump or to a big doc containing it? I only saw your Izanami one and it's fascinating, I'd really like to see more! I try to take screenshots of things like minor NPC dialogue but I miss a lot of stuff.
Also, while I'm here I'd like to ask, do you have a link to the Persona 4 Visualives? I know you uploaded them to your YouTube channel (and I'm very grateful 🥰) but I mean the actual files. I can only find dead torrents of them...
Either way, thank you very much for all the thoughts and reading material! #TeamIzanami
HAII HAIII HAIIII /waves violently and i trip on my feet and eat my spreadsheets/ imso happy youre here
i'd be SO HONORED to share my resources and im SO HAPPY SOMEONE'S SO INTERESTED ENOUGH TO ASK !!!
I've gathered and curated my own resources throughout the years, and I'll be sharing the original mirrors of where I got them. Of course, if any of these links are dead, I always have my own copies so you can ask me again WAHAHA
SCRIPT DUMP
ShrineFox
https://shrinefox.com/apps/textsearch
https://drive.google.com/file/d/113DuAlmIqb8AU4xBYNuU5FDxPP3mVX67/view
If you're not already familiar, ShrineFox has been a mod dev in the Persona scene for a while, right now though they're working on a lot of other projects too hehe. They had this "text search" app for a while where you could find text from entire script dumps of a game they had on hand, mostly the Persona games. Right now, the app's taken down, but the whole dumps have been uploaded in this Google Drive!
The _msg files are the ones you're looking for for the text n stuff. The _flow files are for the backend behavior coding and all that. These txt files are really big too, so try opening it with a source code editor like Notepad++ or Sublime Text because it might blow up a normal writer app like Word or Writer LMAO (188K LINES??)
Also, these are really the raw text dumps. There’s a learning curve to how interpret IDs and all that but you’ll get used to it, or just hit me up!
Vanilla JP Dump
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/s7c87y07vsv0t/Game_Scripts_and_Anki_Decks
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ukDIWSkh_xvpppPbgs1nUR2kaEwFaWlsJgZUlb9LuTs/edit#gid=0
https://www.mediafire.com/file/9mkufgtde42em6v/Persona_4.txt/file
Here’s a transcript of the JP text of the base game, not Golden. It’s formatted plainly, without the raw code or IDs or anything, so it’s easier to read but hard to crosscheck with the ENG text from the first dump.
MOEL Backroom (my stuff)
kai's spreadsheet of spreadsheets (and other docs)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18X2sR-1duXGWtQtJd5mesjrVUorjvUkOiwEjXT25Lmc/edit
Here’s my (supposedly) entire directory of my documents and spreadsheets I made throughout the years! You can take a gander if something catches your eye. I also made a summary of it and more resources on my Neocities :]
https://moel-sekiyu.neocities.org/archive/resources
Steam NPC Dialogue Calendar (P4G Edition)
[disclaimer: big page!!] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2425834890
BIG SHOUTOUT TO STEAM GAMER TYSSERR FOR LITERALLY DOING ALL OF THIS MAN YOU ARE SO FUCKING REAL FOR THIS 🫶🫰🫶🫰🫶🫰
This is an entire guide for all the NPCs overworld in Inaba AND Okina, specifically a glossary for each NPC and when they actually show up. I wouldn’t know if this is really complete but it SURE IS comprehensive. If you can navigate the dumps right, you can reference that to figure out what their actual dialogue is and read it in context.
WEATHER CALENDAR
Vanilla Wikidot page
http://persona4.wikidot.com/schedule
P4G Spreadsheet
https://www.reddit.com/r/persona4golden/comments/w8h1fi/persona_4_golden_complete_weather_forecast/
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iQfD_E2WhbW362puKUN_VJybjWBngUQTC2jI9CUmsLE/edit
These are calendars that have the weather throughout the game, and the wiki one has events and other stuff too just for the base game. The spreadsheet is a weather calendar throughout P4G, you can make your own copy to annotate if you’d like!
SELF DUMP
If you see throughout my resources, I don’t really source some of them from anywhere else because I dumped the scripts myself! Especially the JP scripts and the Arena/Ultimax story modes.
There’s a lot to say about it considering I learned it while trying to crack into the games files myself and debugging mod files on my own LOL. Here’s a few Amicitia pages as a starting point, and you can ask me for anything else
MSG and BMD (and BF)
https://amicitia.miraheze.org/wiki/BMD
https://amicitia.miraheze.org/wiki/BF
These files contain text and dialogue and description etc etc. You can check these pages to see how to extract them with tools available. There are .BMD files in .BF files most of the time.
PM1 vs PM2 & PM3
https://amicitia.miraheze.org/wiki/PM1
PM1 has text, dialogue etc
PM2 & PM3 only found in main folder (JP assets, not the ENG nor KR nor CN asset folder) deals with environment, models, etc etc
VISUALIVE / the Evolution Direct Download Link
The moment everyone’s been waiting for !! Here’s a link to both Visualives and the bonus content, which I’ve already posted on my YouTube like you said. I will kill this link in a week or so for security purposes and my actual cloud storage. If you want it past this time though, you can always hit me up and ask me personally! I’m planning to properly host it one day, I’m just being thrown against the waves right now.
update: i've killed the link now. if anyone else needs it, you can always come to me personally!
aand that’s it! I’ve actually been writing this throughout the whole week whenever I have the time. Here’s as comprehensive as I’ll get, and thank you SOSOSO MUCH sticking around!!
#persona 4 spoilers#assk#herrdoktorat#persona 4#p4#persona 4 visualive#p4v#// i need a resource tag#fyle#// you should consider yourself lucky im in a mood to gather information these emails are KILLING ME i am SICK !!!!!!!#// blows a kiss to you i was literally so hyped seeing this i wanted to focus on different spreadsheets even if it killed me#// but the sleepies won there is no winning against the sleepies
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Following from your tags on the Galidraan post, there's actually a canon(-ish) source that states that the Darksabre was chosen by VIZSLA as their symbol of the Mand'alor: Tor Vizsla's in-universe Ba'jurne Kyr'tsad Mando'ad, which is included at the end of the real-world book, The Bounty Hunter Code. Direct quote is: "To ensure we would be led by the most powerful, we decreed that any could challenge the Secret Mand'alor for leadership of Death Watch. And, as our symbol of authority, we chose the Darksaber, an ancient weapon liberated from the Jedi long ago." (Please ignore my editing in the image.)
(The whole text of the Ba'jure Kyr'tsad Mando'ad is on google sites: https://sites.google.com/view/bajurne-kyrtsad-mandoad/title-page)
Yep, I have that book, it's actually a really fun reference, all the books in that series are! <3
But yup, see, this is another part where I see how Legends doesn't quite match up with current canon. The info in this book is Legends, specifically Legends as published in 2013. But in New Canon, given how the Darksaber is treated in Rebels and now in the Mandalorian, I feel like it being solely the symbol of "the Secret Mand'alor" is kinda BS—it's much more treated as the symbol of ALL of Mandalore.
Of course, one could interpret all of this through the lens that Clan Wren is part of House Vizsla so all of Sabine's story is biased (I'm still not happy they made that association...), and Bo-Katan used to serve Pre so of course she's got Vizsla bias, and Din was rescued by Death Watch + Paz is in his covert so presumably his covert also has strong Vizsla/Death Watch bias.
New canon is so incredibly Vizsla/Death-Watch centric, perhaps "Vizsla's Mand'alor" is the only Mand'alor that matters anymore. Which. Ugh. But kinda feels that way.
Anyway, while it isn't based on anything official, I do feel like if the Darksaber existed when Open Seasons was written, there might have been some more history with it there. Because keep in mind, even though they're both Legends, Open Seasons still predates the Code book by over a decade, and much of Legends isn't consistent.
My own take is that IF we go by the premise that the Darksaber is the symbol of the rightful leader of all of Mandalore and NOT just Death Watch, then it should make sense that at different points of time between the Darksaber becoming the symbol and the "present," it would have passed between different clans, especially since modern Death Watch is an extremist terrorist organization that has not been depicted as being the rightful anything tbh.
Therefore to me, the Darksaber is more interesting if it's a neutral symbol planetary leadership, which may have originated from Tarre Vizsla, someone who is not synonymous with Death Watch of the Clone Wars~onwards eras. Vizsla may claim that it's only a symbol of them and their Mand'alor, but again then that makes a distinction between that and a leader who unifies all of Mandalore.
It's more interesting if Jaster and Jango once had the Darksaber and were recognized as leaders, and perhaps that too was part of why Tor Vizsla was so determined to take them down, if he felt they were unfit to wield it. His underhanded tactics in getting rid of them would then mean that he didn't win the saber in fair combat, which means that when Pre presumably inherited it, its current presence in his family isn't rightful in the first place, and perhaps he never knew. That then leads to the question of whether any current claim to the Darksaber is legitimate if the last true wielder was taken down by Vizsla manipulating Jedi from the shadows, never lifting a finger himself. That kind of moral debate of honor, of understanding the messy past of Mandalore...that kind of juicy drama, I am all for.
To be clear, I'm biased, and none of the above is me saying "this is the right way to interpret this media." This is just how I, personally, am choosing to internalize it. I don't like Death Watch and don't think they have been depicted as honorable in ANY media they're in. It does not make any narrative sense, at least to me, to put them on a weird pedestal while stripping Boba, Jango, Jaster, and the other True Mandalorians of all historical and cultural relevance. IF the Darksaber is a symbol solely of Vizsla leadership, then I cannot imagine WHY anyone would want to make it into a cool fun symbol to build a franchise around and give to a hero character. So I'm hoping that canon will eventually lean a bit towards my personal interpretation, even though I have little faith that it will.
If it doesn't, eh, that's alright! I'm more than capable of making my own lil stories and entertaining myself!
Anyway, this response went a bit longer than I expected but yeah, those are my thoughts on the Darksaber and how I've personally chosen to combine Legends + New Canon!
❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀
#batsutousai#YukiPri replies#Darksaber#the Mandalorian#Mandalorians#Mandalore#Star Wars#Star Wars Legends#Mand'alor#Death Watch#Vizsla#Jaster Mereel#longpost#long post#OP comment: btw this is the take on that history in all of my own works#at the same time who knows man i don't understand a lot of new canon decisions#like it makes zero sense to me why giving Din a symbol of the Death Watch king would be a cool thing to do#but it also makes zero sense to me why anyone in their right mind would think that giving a child the weapon of a Zygerrian slaver#and make that her iconic weapon is a good idea
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The Ten Commandments of Prayer
The Ten Commandments of Prayer
Follow the ten commandments of correct prayer It is also called the decalogue of the divine prayer.
1. Time is sacred . God's gift to the human beings. We must devote this time to prayer daily. Praise the Holy Trinity and ask for help of our Savior God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. Prayer is dialogue and communication with the living God. We must have awesomeness in body spirit all night long and be deeply conscious of what we read and say to our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Prayer requires focus and devotion, but we often think of other things as we pray. We can get behind this . Before we begin praying, when we read a Holy Father’s words or a New Testament text, our minds gradually go into spiritual search. So let's read the prayer with more concentration. The Holy Fathers say that reading a spiritual text is like warming our minds and hearts to receive prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. We always make sure that our spirit is in prayer. We don't read easily and by machine. We try to keep our souls in Christ no matter how tired or persecuted we are. If we don't feel like participating in the prayer, we can repeat it.
5. It is important that we use and interpret the sign of the cross correctly. This is the symbol of the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
6. Prayer is to be done daily not only when we need the help of our Lord Jesus Christ. We sing the Trisgion every day in honor of the indivisible Holy Trinity. We thank Christ for mercy and holy trinity. The one true God
7. When we pray we must be there in spirit and humility. We pray knowing that our sins harden our conscience and ask the Lord to have mercy on us and forgive our sins. We don't float in our feelings, complain, or criticize others like the Pharisees.
8. Let us pray fervently because we desire. Prayer is not a chore, it is not done out of duty, we are not in a rush because we do not work. Prayer is done with love in the spirit because (we are thirsty) we want to talk to Christ and give thanks or ask for his help.
9. We must set aside the right space and time for prayer. We find enough time not to rush, find a quiet place where we can be uninterrupted and take care of some iconostasis, sacred icons, burning candle, smoke, incense.
10. Prayer is practiced as an art that is constantly evolving. We are not neglecting to pray. We do not delay prayer with excuses. We schedule prayer to make it a habit, and we insist on following the set times. DON'T FORGET that when we want to pray, evil puts obstacles in our way. We need to resist and keep praying. Fathers say that spiritual warfare with prayer is till our last breath.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. forever and ever and ever Amen.
Source
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Guhyasamāja Tantra (Part LX)
The most striking aspect of the yoga related with the third initiation and one that many will find intriguing and perhaps troubling is that it specifically involves the use of sexual energy. Given that Tantra works directly with emotions and utilizes various physical and psychic yogas, it would be surprising if it neglected what is after all a driving impulse in human existence. Even so, for many people, the idea of using the sexual act as a spiritual path may seem strange if not actually contradictory. perhaps this is due to the fact that in western religions, the morally correct environment for sexual activity is considered to be marriage, and the spiritual dimension of sex is intimately associated with the begetting of children. At the other end of the spectrum, it is evident in secular life that sex is often trivialized and debased in exploitative and degrading ways. These two contrasting attitudes are apt to complicate our approach to this aspect of the tantra, and in the task of interpretation, it is hard to find a vocabulary able to express the notions of both physical intercourse and spiritual purity in ways that are not either unduly diffident or else tainted by prurience and vulgarity. In Tibetan Buddhism, the instructions associated with the third initiation are regarded as extremely high teachings and are the object of profound respect. they are not widely disseminated and are well beyond the reach of the majority of practitioners.
Given this we procede into the next section of the sadhana, preparing a knowledge consort.
In Sanskrit, a "knowledge consort" is referred to as "Vidyasamskarah." The term "vidya" translates to "knowledge" or "wisdom," and "samskarah" signifies a transformative process or ritual. Together, Vidyasamskarah represents the embodiment of knowledge and the transformative power it holds.
Vidyasamskarah is a symbolic representation or personification of wisdom and learning. It is often depicted as a female deity, adorned with symbols of knowledge such as books, scrolls, or a sacred script. She is revered as the divine source of intellectual and spiritual enlightenment.
The primary purpose of Vidyasamskarah in rituals is to invoke and honor the essence of knowledge. Rituals involving Vidyasamskarah are commonly performed on significant occasions connected to education, learning, and the pursuit of wisdom. These may include academic ceremonies, initiation rituals, or spiritual gatherings where knowledge transmission and learning are emphasized.
During such rituals, Vidyasamskarah is invoked through sacred chants, hymns, and mantras. Offerings like flowers, incense, and symbolic representations of knowledge, such as books or writing implements, are presented to her as a mark of reverence. Participants seek her blessings to acquire knowledge, enhance their intellectual capacities, and overcome obstacles in their pursuit of learning.
Vidyasamskarah rituals can also involve the performance of specific ceremonies or rites. For example, students or seekers of knowledge may undergo a formal initiation ceremony, during which they receive a sacred thread or a special mark on their forehead, denoting their commitment to pursuing knowledge. This initiation is believed to instill a sense of discipline, respect, and dedication to learning.
Additionally, Vidyasamskarah rituals may include the recitation of sacred texts, prayers, or mantras associated with learning and wisdom. These acts are performed to invoke the blessings of Vidyasamskarah and seek her guidance in the acquisition of knowledge and intellectual growth.
Overall, Vidyasamskarah plays a vital role in the ritualistic and cultural aspects of education, learning, and the pursuit of knowledge. She represents the divine embodiment of wisdom and is revered as a source of inspiration, guidance, and blessings for those seeking intellectual and spiritual enlightenment.
The Sadhana continues:
"PREPARING A KNOWLEDGE CONSORT
EMANATING A KNOWLEDGE SEAL FROM YOUR HEART
A knowledge consort who is of my spiritual lineage emerges from my heart".
This section of the practice, called "preparing a knowledge consort," is taught to show that a buddha's enlightened state, which is made up of the three bodies, is attained by means of the path that incorporates passionate conduct. A buddha's three bodies are represented in the sadhana by the overall practice of taking the three ordinary states of death, the intermediate state, and rebirth as paths to a buddha's three bodies, which has already been explained. Following that, the practice of preparing a knowledge consort is meant to indicate that the path that incorporates passionate conduct is a necessary element of the effort to attain this ultimate goal. Yongdzin Yeshe Gyeltsen describes the heading for this topic in the following manner: "The Topic of Preparing a Knowledge Consort, Which Has as Its Purpose the Aim of Indicating Moreover That the Attainment of Such an Ultimate State, Which Is Made Up of a Buddha's Three Bodies, Is Accomplished on the Basis of the Extraordinary Mantrayana Conduct That Includes]
Activities Incorporating Attachment toward Sensory Objects as Elements of the Path." He further describes this topic as being made up of these three divisions: (1) the essential point of preparing the knowledge consort, (2) the essential point of generating passionate desire, and (3) the essential point of making an offering.
The first of these, preparing the knowledge consort, begins in the sadhana recitation with the words: "A knowledge consort who is of my spiritual lineage emerges from my heart." At this point, you are appearing in Vajradhara's emanation-body form. Regarding the phrase "knowledge consort who is of your spiritual lineage," there are five types of "action seal," or consorts, that are specified for practitioners depending on which of the five lineage tathāgatas is the principal deity. The consort for a practitioner of Vairocana's lineage should be a young woman of the washerman caste. For a practitioner of Ratnasambhava's lineage, she should be of the garland maker caste. For a practitioner of Amitabha's lineage, she should be of the actor caste. For a practitioner of Amoghasiddhi's lineage, she should be of an artisan caste. For a practitioner of Akṣobhya's lineage, she should be a young woman of the rajaka caste, that is, a caṇḍāla, which means a person of the lowest caste. The lineage tathāgata that is the principal deity in this sadhana ritual is Akṣobhya.
While a generation-stage practitioner can engage in this part of the practice with either an action seal or a knowledge seal, the wording of the sadhana ritual is based on the assumption that you are doing the practice with a knowledge seal who is emanated mentally from your heart. That is, the consort that you emanate is one whose nature is your own inseparable bliss voidness wisdom, which is manifesting itself in the external form of a female consort. Moreover, the form in which this consort is visualized initially is that of an ordinary woman of the particular caste that is most suitable for your practice, in this case, a young woman of the canḍāla or lowest caste.
Consorts are also classified according to the shape of the lower tip of the central channel inside their sexual organ as being padmini, hastini, sankhini, or mrgini. Female spiritual beings are also distinguished by their particular level of spiritual attainment as one of three types of female messenger: (1) the innate female messenger, (2) the female messenger born in a field, and (3) the female messenger born from mantra.
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"The Fragile Nature of Truth Still Resonates
Munson (left) and Dewald at conference held in Herodotus' honor for the 2500 year anniversary of the Greco-Persian War. Photo by Laçin Karaöz
What useful lessons could a history of the Greco-Persian Wars written in 430 B.C. possibly have for us today? Several, if you ask Swarthmore’s J. Archer and Helen C. Turner Professor of Classics Rosaria Vignolo Munson and Carolyn Dewald ’68, professor emerita of classical studies at Bard College.
The two authored a recent commentary on Herodotus’ Histories, a text that has enjoyed a recent spike of academic interest (enough to spawn a Herodotus Helpline).
“Herodotus is called the father of history because [Herodotus’ Histories] is the first work of historiography that has actually survived in the West,” says Munson. “He's very important because he is the first one who wants to examine the causes of events in the past, like for example, why war happened, and why people win wars.”
Histories has it all: fact, fiction, betrayal, murder… and don’t worry if it’s all Greek to you.
“[Herodotus is] great at really just sliding in information to locate you so that you know what the point is going to be because you're given the background,” says Dewald.
Munson and Dewald have shown the same commitment to accessibility in their commentary.
“We took the Greek text of the first book and we made this commentary,” says Munson. “It is preceded by very full introductions to various topics Herodotus talks about, including the various people that he treats.” Line by line, they explain the Greek grammar, what it means, and offer interpretation and parallels.
Munson posits that the recent surge of interest in his work is because his exploration of the fragile nature of truth still resonates today. “He has come to the realization that memory is relative, and so sometimes he says, ‘The Athenians say this, and the Persians say this other thing. I really cannot tell which one of the two versions is right.’ He makes you aware of his research and of his efforts.”
Perhaps, in an era where misinformation proliferates rapidly, this level of transparency causes us to question how we know what we know and what makes us trust our sources.
And if we think respect for different cultures is a modern value, Herodotus proves us wrong.
“He is describing the expansion of the Persian Empire … they were a superpower, multi-ethnic empire,” says Munson. “He just stops and examines all the various peoples that the Persian had conquered. He says the custom is king of all, so whatever is one's custom, you have to respect it.”
Though Herodotus took pains to interview eyewitnesses and provide evidence for many of his claims, Histories includes figures from Greek mythology and a bit of his own moralizing.
“One of the things that he really hates is tyranny, the autocratic king, the dictator, the one who conquers other lands,” says Munson. “Very topical, especially now with the war in Ukraine. He would have a very clear position on that.”
And for those of us who grew up on folktales like The Tortoise and the Hare and The Emperor's New Clothes, Herodotus’ warnings about the dangers of hubris might feel familiar.
“In many cases, he shows that the reason why there is a downfall from great prosperity to not so great over time is because people have hubris, have pride, and they go overboard,” says Munson. “On the one hand, they are punished by the gods, but the way they're punished by the gods is simply by the fact that they start acting in unreasonable and self-detrimental ways.”
Some of his cautionary tales are still scandalous by today’s standards. Histories is rife with husband-murdering queens and sister-marrying kings.
“[Herodotus] went around and collected great stories,” says Dewald. “It's really fun reading.”
So, why still read such an ancient text? Because it has so many layers, there is always more to uncover.
“A lot of the stories are extremely funny in an extremely sly kind of way,” says Dewald. “I've been reading Herodotus for over 40 years, and I'm still finding things. ‘Wait a minute. Oh, that's a joke.’ But the joke always sends us to things that are pretty deep and worth thinking about.”"
From the website of Swarthmore College.
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While House of the Dragon is an adaptation that presents a version of a portion of Targaryen history that is, in th source material, presented through multiple unreliable narrators in the form of questionable historical sources and rumors, with multiple versions of almost any event, relationship, characterization or character motivation, there are moments when the show puts the viewers into the roles of Mushroom and the various maesters from Fire and Blood and letting them project their interpretations on the text.
Nowhere has that been as obvious as with the way the show has been portraying the dynamic between Aegon II, Helaena and Aemond and playing with parallels to the (for the characters in HotD) future Targaryen history and the dynamic that George R.R. Martin wrote between Aegon IV the Unworthy, Naerys and Aemon the Dragonknight, or rather the perceived dynamic we hear about through various mentions in the main series and the accounts The World of Ice and Fire.
It's those parallels that are used in the fandom as an argument for supposed subtextual romantic connection or even a full blown affair between Helaena and Aemond... Which I find funny, because the story of Naerys and the Dragonknight is actually very ambiguous and a matter of perception, since we have no real insight into the real dynamic between the characters other than the rumors, stories and songs.
There are 3 diffrent ways to read the 'triangle' between Aegon the Unworthy, Naerys and the Dragonknight.
According to Aegon the Unworthy, they were having an affair. Some people believe that to be true, but the majority in-universe think that Aegon the Unworthy was simply a massive asshole who was being purposefully spiteful and politically disruptive by legitimizing his bastards while also trying to undermine his son and heir Daeron II, and the rumor of Daeron's supposed bastardy would be exploited by the Blackfyre supporters.
While some discordant voices in the ASOIAF fandom argue that Naerys and the Dragonknight did indeed have an affair which produced Daeron, because that would be 'more interesting', the popular view of Naerys and the Dragonknight's relationship in Westeros - and in the majority of the fandom - is that it was a tragic unconsummated romance, because the Dragonknight and Naerys were just too good and honorable people to give in to their desires. which is how the popular Westerosi courtly love songs portray it. (Which has also been used as an argument in the HotD fandom: since Aemond is not remembered in history as a good person - to put it mildly - it simply follows that he must have had an affair with his sister, if there's even a slightest thing that may be interpreted as a clue about that! - Right? Meanwhile Helaena's characterization isn't given much thought.)
But there is a third possibility, one that strangely gets ignored both in-universe and in the fandom, but I consider to be the most likely: that Dragonknight was simply a good brother who loved his sister in a normal brother-sister way, was upset that Aegon was treating her so badly and wanted to protect her. Which, I would say, are perfectly normal things for a sibling relationship. Call me crazy, but I would think that a brother and a sister being close and loving each other is what most people would consider normal, rather than the complete disinterest, indifference and disdain that we see between Aegon II and Helaena in the show or that Aegon the Unworthy was showing to Naerys. However, since they are Targaryens (and in everyone's view, Targaryens cannot possibly have a normal sibling relationships), and because of the rumors started by Aegon the Unworthy, everyone became convinced Naerys and Aemon the Dragonknight were in love, without any real evidence.
...Which is an amazing parallel to the HotD fandom right now and how it sees Aemond and Helaena in the show. Any sign of closeness and love, which should be normal for siblings, is romanticized. Some do it because they genuinely want to read a romance into it (with little other alternative as of season 1) and because they ship them, and others because they want to another story of a secret adulterous affair and royal bastards in orderto fit a certain narrative and serve an agenda.
It's funny HotD has ended up being so incredibly meta.
#house of the dragon#hotd#helaena targaryen#aemond targaryen#aegon ii targaryen#aemon the dragonknight#naerys targaryen#aegon iv targaryen#a song of ice and fire#asoaif#grrm#please let us allow at least some Targaryens siblings to be just normal siblings?#I know GRRM writes way too much incestuous romance with the Targaryens#because he doesn't understand the Westermarck effect#but there's no need to do it even when it's not there in canon#not that I'm judging#if you want to ship it go ahead#but people are getting waaay too carried away with this idea#which is unlikely to ever really be a thing knowing the future plots#I'm already seeing some hella weird takes about Blood and Cheese#as if that theory would or should in any way affect how we see that plot point#I'm far more sympathetic to those who ship it than to those who are like it would be cool if they also had their scandalous bastardy story#maybe focus on how all that bastardy thing is generally a dumb patriarchal distinction instead#and how we maybe aren't really supposed to cheer for hereditary monarchy and patriarchy and all that bullshit#rather than keeping scores and trying to make your side better in every way#hotd meta#asoiaf#asoiaf meta
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Cold winter: Chernobog
CHERNOBOG
Category: Slavic mythology
Chernobog is often invoked or name-dropped as one of the Slavic deities – but the truth is that… well maybe Chernobog does not exist at all. Yes he has a good place among the numerous Slavic gods… and yet he might be a pure invention. Let’s take a look.
I) The facts
Chernobog (the “black god”) is a god attested in texts linked to the beliefs of a specific branch of the Slavic people – the Polabian Slavs.
He first appears in the “Chronicle of the Slavs”, by twelth-century German monk/chronicler Helmold who wrote it as he accompanied the Christianization process of the people of the Elbe (aka the Polabian Slavs). In his Chronicle, Helmold describes “Zcerneboch”, the “black god”, as a deity of misfortune worshipped by the tribes known as the Wagri and the Obodrites. According to him, at each feast and carousel they passed around a bowl over which they uttered words of execration in the name of two gods, a good god and a bad god. The bad god was supposed to be the one causing “adverse fortune”, and beyond “Zcerneboch” was also called “Diabol”. As for the good god, who arranges all propitious fortune, Helmold does not give his name, but people reconstructed as “Belobog” or “Bielobog”, “the white god”, to oppose Chernobog’s “black god” (Zcerneboch/Zcerneboth being the early Latinizations of the name).
We will have to wait until four centuries later to have the next mention of Chernobog. Around 1530 a Dominican monk of Pirna (Lusatia) called Johan Lindner listed the gods in his description of the pagan beliefs of the Sorbs ; but other historians of his time have strongly opposed his work as unreliable. For you see, Johan Lindner did not do any field research, all he did was collect and compile various written records and monastic sources – a wide range of documents, true, but that he just collected and compiled uncritically.
Next came in 1538 a Pomeranian chronicler named Thomas Kantzow, who wrote of the duo of gods in his “Chronicle of Pomerania”. Talking about the various idolatries of Pomerania and paganism predating the German Empire, he lists the worship of deceased kings and leaders, the worship of the sun and the moon, and finally the worship of a duo of god “venerated above all other gods”. One is Bialbug, the white god, the good god, that they honored because he brought them good things and to encourage him to keep doing good things ; the other was Zernebug, the black god, a god who was honored only so that he would stop doing harm to humanity. Kantzow also added that the better way to appease Zernebug was by offering him human blood – and from this Kantzow again, like Helmold before, identifies Zernebug with the Christian devil, as a negative entity seeking to destroy “Man’s body and soul” through a wrong and false worship.
Another text came afterward talking about Chernobog, but unrelated to Kantzow’s work: the “Cosmographiae universalis” of Sebastian Münster (German cartographer and cosmographer), published in 1550. As Münster looks at the practices of the Polibian Slavs, and after mentioning the harvest rites of Svetovit (an actual Polibian Slav god of abundance), he described as worshipped by the Rugians a duo of gods, Belbuck and Zernebuck, the white and black god acting as a “good and evil genius” or as “God or Satan”, each one acting as the source of all goodness or all evilness in the world – Münster explicitly describing this as similar “in error” to the Manichean belief. Münster’s text was copied word for word by Daniel Cramer (theologian and professor of Szczecin) in his “Pommerisches Kirchen-Chronicon”.
The last historical mention of Chernobog we have is in the anonymous “Historia Caminensis”, also based on Münster’s word and taking back his specific expressions, but this time mentioning Chernobog as the patron-god of the Vandals.
II) The interpretations
Now… Beyond these texts we have no more information about Chernobog (and Belobog his eternal partner). We don’t have texts which were written by actual “Slavic pagans”, we don’t have solid archeological traces (or just a handful), and as you probably know only fragments of the Slavic mythology(ies) survived to this day. And given these gods of good fate and bad fate were described exclusively by Christians, with strong Christian lenses, many centuries after the original Polabian Slavic religion died… While the existence of the duo is attested, it is not actually certain. In general there are four different points of view when it comes to Chernobog (and his pal).
1) We trust what these guys wrote. Chernobog and Bielobog were actually Slavic deities worshipped before the Christians arrived (or maybe they were known under other names – “black god” or “white god” might have been simply epithets or nicknames). They might have been reinterpreted the Christian way, but they did exist as gods and had their cults.
2) Chernobog and Bielobog never existed and were completely made up by those wacky Christians.
3) Chernobog and Bielobog were invented by those wacky Christians… BUT, while they did not exist as deities in the Slavic religion, the Christians invented them based on actual elements taken from Slavic religion and mythology.
4) Chernobog and Belobog were misunderstood by Christians: they were the recently-Christianized Polabian Slavs ways of interpreting the God and devil figures of Christianity, but since their grasping and assimilation of the idea wasn’t identical to what the Christians believed and preached, these monks thought that the names they called “the devil” (Chernobog, black god, evil god) actually denoted a pagan deity that happened to correspond with the Christian devil.
These are roughly the four dominating theories that have been running around, with each new debate around the Chernobog figure bringing more elements to the discussion.
# The text of Helmold became MASSIVELY popular in the 19th century, and as people reconstructed the old Slavic religion, they loved this concept of a dualistic religion. This led many scholars of the century to actually link the Polabian Slavs to the various Iranian populations, who were the poster-boys for such a “mythological Manicheism” ; comparing Chernobog and Belobog to the figures of Ahriman and Ormuzd. But this precise argument is also what put off a lot of people, as the links between Slavs and Iranians are tenuous at best, inexistent at worst.
# There are two mountains in Upper Lusatia whose names are often brought to the table: Czorneboh and Bieleboh, neighboring mountains whose names are obviously inspired by Chernobog and Bielobog. In 1690 Martin Grünewald, deputy headmaster at the grammar school of Bautzen, wrote a historical description of Upper Lusatia, and passing by the mount Czorneboh he mentioned how once the cult of Chernobog was practiced at its top, and how remains of Chernobog’s altars could be found near Bautzen. Nearly a century later, in 1783, Karl Gottlob von Anton (of Leipzig) also wrote of the Czorneboh as a mountain “named after Chernobog”. A proof that Chernobog existed? Well… no really.
# For you see, the mountain Czorneboh only received this name somewhere in the 18th century – before it went on by other names, such as Praschwiza or Schleifberg, and it is strongly theorized that this new name was chosen PRECISELY because of the popularity of Chernobog and how tales of Chernobog cult were told about it. So the legends came first, the name later, and not the reverse. In fact the mountain officially went by the dual name of “Schleifenberg/Zschernebog” from the 1780s onward – and we will have to wait for the mid-19th century for the mountain to be exclusively called “Czorneboh”. Similarly, the mountain had a strong “devil” reputation – there were numerous tales and legends about the devil appearing or being worshipped on this mountain, folktales mixing pagan rites supposedly held there ; oracles delivered by the devils that haunted the rocks ; or attempts at Christian pilgrimages which were persecuted by the pagans protecting this mountain. But again, these stories arose in the 19th century, in the middle of a romanticism wave that had popularized the reconstructed Slavic religion and boosted Chernobog’s reputation. Finally the numerous names given to specific areas of the mountain (devil’s pulpit, devil’s window…) were also recent inventions – the earliest of them being “devil’s stones”, from the end of the 18th century.
# The topic of the “topological name” debate also arose with other villages supposedly named after Chernobog, such as Chernobozhye in Russia or Chernobozhna in Ukraine.
# Those that defend the “Chernobog did exist but was not a god” theory usually claim that Chernobog was probably some sort of folkloric embodiment of bad luck or misfortune, that Helmold over-interpreted as a pagan deity (for example if someone saw Jack Frost and instead of a folkloric character claimed he was a god British worshipped as a deity of the frost). These theories notably mention how Helmold’s invention might have been a mix of three “ingredients”: first the early Christianization of the Slavs, which left in them a strong dualist and moralist influence shaping their stories and legends ; second, the strong belief of the Slavs in malevolent spirits causing disasters ; third, the fact Slavs had an habit of personifying fate. One explanation for how Chernobog might have come into being points out that his name seems to be the mash-up of two different folkloric evil spirits: the bies (bes), and the czart (chort).
# Many people also point out that maybe Helmold was too literal in the transcriptions of what he heard: while he wrote about a “black god” and a “white god”, “black” and “white” might have been used in an abstract way to describe “good” and “bad” (something proven traditional among Slavic people, where devil and evil spirits are called “black spirits” while benevolent and helpful spirits are called “white spirits”) ; but also the term “god” might not have been “god” at all but rather another way to describe “fate” or “luck” – and so maybe what Helmol heard as “black god” rather was “black fate” or “black luck”, basically a poetic phrasing for “bad luck” – again feeding into the idea that the rite he saw with the bowl wasn’t a worship of gods, but rather a form of superstition.
# And of course, as I said before, there are also those that claim that Chernobog was just the Christians monks and writers having a misunderstanding when the Slavs where just speaking of the Christian devil and hell – not only do they use the strong ties, comparisons and evolution of Chernobog and his “domain” into the devil and demon-haunted hell-gates ; but they also use the arguments that “devils” are described under the name “black spirits” (see above), and how the whole “Chernobog” thing might come from how Christian art of the time and the area depicted the demons of hell as being black of skin.
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Chernobog’s popularity also got a big renewal in the 20th century thanks to American media. Disney was one to popularize it through their movie “Fantasia” where during a sequence the Devil holding a Sabbath is called Chernabog – though Disney did not invent this out of nowhere, as said sequence is an animated adaptation of Mussorgsky’s own musical piece, “Night on Bald Mountain” where already Chernobog was reinvented as a devil-leader hosting a witch Sabbath (what Disney did was basically switch the “o” of “Cherno” into an “a”). Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe reused “Zernebock” to turn him into the fictional patron-god of the Saxons ; Marvel Comics also had their own interpretation of Chernobog. And of course how could I forget Neil Gaiman’s novel, “American Gods”, where Chernobog is one of the main “old gods” we follow the lives of, alongside Anansi, Odin, Ostara and others.
Before stopping this post I want to point out something… When I first learned of Chernobog and Bielobog, and for a very long time until quite recently, I heard, read and knew of one strong theory that was basically presented as fact to me (and doing a quick research to refresh my memory, this interpretation is still there). This interpretation of the duo Chernobog and Bielobog claimed that Chernobog and Bielobog existed as “neutral” Slavic deities of nature – Chernobog embodying darkness, night, winter and death, where Biebolog was light, day, summer and life, and the two were locked in an endless rivalry. But when Christianity arrived Chernobog was turned into a devilish god of “evil” bringing misfortune, where Bielobog became a god of all good things, in the moral sense of “good”. I know it is a very strong theory and interpretation that has been going around a lot (and that recent media from Neil Gaiman’s novel to Marvel’s comics have used) but I avoided talking about it in this post because I couldn’t find sources talking about this theory or exposing it. I just did a brief research, so I invite you to go deeper on this subject if you are interested, and maybe find the source of this specific “natural Chernobog” interpretation, as a “dark god” who was turned into an “evil god”.
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Unveiling the Nuances: Mastering English to Tamil Translation
The internet has made the world more connected than ever, but languages are still very different, like beautiful fabrics that are sewn together with different threads. English is the universal language of the digital age, and it opens doors to knowledge and chances. For Tamil people, however, getting through this door means going through the beautiful and complicated maze of language translation. English to Tamil Translation is more than just switching words around. You have to be able to handle cultural details, understand language subtleties, and use the tools with skill.
Beyond ABCs: Cultural Crossroads and Linguistic Labyrinth
That’s not the case when you translate English to Tamil; it’s an art. Tamil is an old language that people still speak. It has a rich literature history, different dialects, and a complicated grammar. A lot of the time, direct copies fail to capture the spirit of the original text. Imagine trying to translate a clever British pun; the humor would be lost if you didn’t understand the cultural references and fun language. These are the parts where the translator acts like a cultural representative, carefully adding humor, idioms, and background information to make the text meaningful to the recipients.
Demystifying the Tools: Machine and Human in Harmony
Machine translation (MT) tools have come a long way and are now able to handle large amounts of texts quickly and easily. Still, human knowledge is still unbeatable when it comes to getting the details right. Skilled interpreters help people speak different languages, which means:
Accuracy: They know both languages very well, so they can make sure the grammar is right and get across the real message.
Fluency: They write words that sound like they were written by a native speaker.
Cultural Sensitivity: They don’t use hurtful or inappropriate versions, taking into account regional differences and staying true to the original tone.
You can think of a translator as a director who skillfully arranges the music of MT tools and their own language skills to produce a perfect show.
From Formal to Fun: Tailoring Translations for Impact
There are different kinds of versions. A expert guidebook needs to be exact, but a marketing phrase needs to be creative. To become good at translating from English to Tamil, you need to learn how to adapt to different situations.
Formal writing: Legal records, medical reports, and academic papers need to be correct and use the right words.
Marketing and advertising: These need appealing words, knowledge of the culture, and the ability to change to fit local tastes.
Creative content: It’s important to capture the original spirit, details, and feelings in writing, poetry, and songs.
A good translator can change styles and forms without any problems to make sure the text does what it’s supposed to do.
Unveiling the Future: A Collaborative Journey
Learning how to English to Tamil Translation is an ongoing process. It is very important to keep up with changes in technology, culture, and language. When MT writers, languages, and subject experts work together, they can reach even higher levels of success. Imagine sites that improve their truth and cultural awareness all the time by learning from what people say about them.
Your Role in Bridging the Gap
There is a gap that needs to be filled, and you can help by translating, making content, or just appreciating the power of words. Help projects that encourage good translations, recognize the skill involved, and honor the variety of languages spoken. Remember that every word that is translated builds a bridge between countries and gives people power.
We can all help learn English to Tamil translation by working hard, coming up with new ideas, and having a deep respect for the beauty of language. This will open up a world of possibilities and make our global fabric more complete.
Source: https://translationwala.wordpress.com/2024/02/22/unveiling-the-nuances-mastering-english-to-tamil-translation/
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Bridging the Gap: Traditional vs. Modern Astrology
Astrology, an ancient practice rooted in the observation of celestial bodies and their influence on human affairs, has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. However, within the realm of astrology, there exists a dichotomy between traditional and modern approaches. This schism has sparked debates among practitioners and enthusiasts alike. In this exploration, we delve into the differences between traditional and modern astrology and how experts are working to bridge the gap between these two perspectives.
Traditional Astrology: Honoring Centuries of Wisdom
Traditional astrology refers to the practices and techniques that have been passed down through centuries of astrological tradition. It encompasses systems such as Hellenistic astrology, Medieval astrology, and Renaissance astrology. Traditional astrologers often rely on classical texts, such as those written by Ptolemy, Abu Ma'shar, and William Lilly, as foundational sources of knowledge.
One hallmark of traditional astrology is its emphasis on precision and meticulous observation of celestial phenomena. Traditional astrologers pay close attention to the positions and movements of planets, stars, and other celestial bodies, interpreting their significance within the context of established astrological principles.
Modern Astrology: Evolving Interpretations for a Contemporary World
In contrast, modern astrology has evolved to accommodate contemporary sensibilities and cultural shifts. Modern astrologers often incorporate psychological and humanistic perspectives into their practice, viewing astrology as a tool for self-awareness, personal growth, and empowerment.
Modern astrology also embraces a broader range of techniques and methodologies, including psychological astrology, evolutionary astrology, and karmic astrology. Rather than adhering strictly to traditional doctrines, modern astrologers may experiment with innovative approaches and synthesize insights from various philosophical and spiritual traditions.
Bridging the Gap: Integrating Tradition with Innovation
Despite their differences, traditional and modern astrology share a common goal: to explore the mysteries of the cosmos and their relevance to human experience. Recognizing the value inherent in both approaches, many experts are working to bridge the gap between tradition and innovation within the field of astrology.
One strategy for reconciliation involves fostering dialogue and collaboration between practitioners of traditional and modern astrology. By engaging in respectful discourse and sharing insights from their respective traditions, astrologers can enrich their understanding of the discipline and cultivate a more inclusive and holistic approach to astrological practice.
Moreover, some astrologers are exploring ways to integrate traditional techniques with modern insights, creating hybrid methodologies that honor the wisdom of the past while embracing the possibilities of the present. This integrative approach allows practitioners to draw upon the strengths of both traditions, offering clients a nuanced and multifaceted perspective on their astrological charts.
The Role of the Best Astrologer in the United States of America
In the United States, where astrology enjoys widespread popularity and cultural influence, the role of the best astrologer holds significant importance. A skilled astrologer has the potential to serve as a bridge between tradition and innovation, guiding clients on their spiritual journey while respecting the rich tapestry of astrological heritage.
The best astrologer in the United States of America is not only proficient in the technical aspects of astrology but also possesses a deep understanding of its philosophical underpinnings and cultural significance. They approach their practice with humility, curiosity, and a commitment to lifelong learning, continuously seeking to refine their craft and expand their horizons.
Whether they specialize in traditional or modern astrology, the best astrologers in the United States are dedicated to empowering their clients and helping them navigate life's challenges with wisdom and insight. By embracing diversity and fostering dialogue within the astrological community, these experts play a vital role in bridging the gap between tradition and modernity, ensuring that astrology remains a vibrant and relevant discipline for generations to come.
In conclusion, the dichotomy between traditional and modern astrology reflects the dynamic nature of this ancient art form. Rather than viewing these perspectives as mutually exclusive, experts are working to integrate tradition with innovation, creating a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to astrological practice. As the best astrologers in the United States continue to explore new horizons and push the boundaries of their craft, they pave the way for a future where astrology remains a source of inspiration, guidance, and transformation for people around the world.
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youtube
COMMENTARY:
Brandon Robbins version of Jesus is essentially the Total Depravity Gospel of Campus Crusade for Christ and the Pro-Life Fascism of Pat Robertson, the anitChrist of Christian Conservatism. His interruptions pretty standard solo scriptura in aspect. i
My version of Jesus originates in the process theology of the Liberation Gospel of Jesus, George Washington and the Army Protestant Chapel of 1962, which is securely Deist of the Anglican Churst post Cromwell. I prepared for and went to Vietnam on the basis of the Liberation Gospel. By and large, Campus Crusade for Christ was a draft haven during the battle of Vietnam, Like Cornelius and Jesus, was was under the authority of Yaweh, Queen of Battle while I was in the Army, It's what Duty, Honor, Country is all about. The Total Depravity Gospel is firmly grounded on the Total Depravity of Eve without mitigation of the cros and has an epistemological arc that extends directly from the 6ht Commandment to the Dobbs Decision regarding Roe v Wade, with the Salem witch trials a bench mark along the way.
Robbins interpretation of euangelion is typical of Christian apologetics based on the critical historic method of Post Modern Historic Deconstruction method of dialectical Marxism and the Jesus Seminar. This version assumes that John Mark is the author of the Gospel of Mark and was written no earlier than 72CW and that it, the Gospel of Mrkk, is derived from the theology and epistles of Paul.
Process theology assumes that Cornelius is the author of the Gospel of Mark and was written immediately after Peter's encounter with the household of Cornelius in Asts 10 and forwarded to Theophilus, his direct report in Rome, no later than 49 CE. The origin of euangelion is the original transmittal status of the intelligence report Pilate sent to Tiberius regarding Resurrection that was dispatched before Jesus had ascended at Pentecost, Euangelion is a top priority signals status that means, internally, "Eyes of the Emperor, First" It is like the message of Pheidippides to the king after the battle of Marathon "We won". Tiberius took the communication seriously and proposed to the Senate to enroll Jesus in the Roman Pentathlon, which the Senate rejected on the basis that Tiberius had not consulted with him.
The opening sentence of the Gospel of Mark refers to this initial message to Tiberius. That intelligence report is the point of departure for the narrative of the Gospel of Mark and specifically about Mark 15. The original text is reflected in the Gospel of Peter, which is an oral tradition version of the text of the message Cornelius conveyed to Peter off=stage in Acts 10.
The theological significance of the Gospel of Peter is the talking cross in the shared vision of the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb of Joseph of Arimatheal: it is the ratification of the unilateral covenant cutting ceremony between God and the centurions of the Roman legions and Praetorian Guards, in particular. Thie talking cross has an antecedent in the smoking pot of fire in the unilateral covenant cutting ceremony between God and Abram in Genesis 15 The numerology in the triangulation of the Gospel of Peter with Genesis 15 and Mark 15 divinely significant, especially within the historic context that the numbers of the chapters and verse of the whole bible didn't exist before the invention of the printing press in the 16th century, CE. This is literally the handiwork of the Holy Spirit.
Before Jesus says a word, Cornelius provides an apparatus in the word "immediately" that provides the contours of what has come to be called "Quelle" or source. If you consult a Greek concordance for εὐθὺς , you will see it occurs 51 times scattered throughout the Gospels and Ats. εὐθὺς is like foot note in modern scholarship and mean the pericope is either validated by material in the Roman intelligence archive that was started when Jesus appeared above the Roman military horizon and took command of John the Baptist's sphere of influence, which is described geographically in Mark 3:7…
All the material of Quelle was collected throug the Roman spy network before Resurrection in particular, and before He was remanded to Roman chain of custody in Mark 15:1. The only exception is Act 10:16, Peter's testimony to Cornelius in Ats 10 in 50 CE and after Tiberius had died. The significance of Mark 1:14 is that the Romans lost interest in John the Baptist when Jesus took command of the Repentance demographic of John the Baptist. The Romans has a complete book on John the Baptist before Jesus showed up. The significance is that the Romans began recording the words of Jesus from the first moment He appeared.
And, when Cornelius sent thie Gospel of Mark to Rome, he expected it to be taken as literally as Presidential Daily Briefing prepared by the CIA. The Romans began putting Quelle together before they had any idea what it would lead to.
The practical understanding of Mark 1:1 is : this is all the shit that happened before the Jews brought Jesus to us and the events of the Gospel of Peter in the euangelion.
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New-York Historical Society ~ 10/14/2022
Today I visited the New-York Historical Society for the first time. I had never been before so didn't know what to expect but decided to start my adventure on the top level, the fourth floor. Immediately after stepping out of the elevator, I was greeted with three different directions to choose from, but my eyes couldn't help but be pulled to the right by a deep purple wall with large white text and a floor-to-ceiling image of an intricately beaded dress.
The title of the exhibit was "The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning & Reclaiming." I entered the doors to a small, crowded room. A black wall was to my left and I sat on a bench parallel to it to watch the white calligraphic words that were being projected onto it come and go. It was a mysterious first impression of what was to come. It turns out that these words were taken directly from some of the handwritten documents of the trials, many of which were displayed and transcribed for all to read on the walls of the gallery. After getting up and passing by these documents and the glow of the simulated fire in a 17th century cooking space recreation, I entered a room that had been painted the same purple as the display wall that had first drawn me in.
This section was titled "Material Manifestations" and though small, it was full of authentic papers, architecture, furniture, and personal objects of Salem citizens from the time of the trials. Each onlooker weaved around one another trying to read more about these things that had once been owned by either "the accused, accusers, defenders, or judiciary in the trials." The centerpiece was a real window from the house of three accused sisters, and the gallery was lit in such a way that the light passed through the window and cast a magnificent shadow on the floor that greeted those entering, welcoming them to explore further.
Rounding the corner to the next section of the space I was not expecting what I saw next. The walls were now black again, and a large red pentacle painted on the floor surrounded a glass case that was lit up red from the bottom. Inside was a contemporary-appearing black velvet gown with complex beading. I now recognize this as the dress featured alongside the title at the very beginning of the exhibition. It was an Alexander McQueen dress from 2006. The walls featured blown-up images of other dresses from the same collection. The informational text described this collection as one that McQueen created inspired by one of the executed victims of the Salem witch trials, Elizabeth Jackson Howe, after discovering that he was distantly related to her. The parameter of this room also displayed authentic 17th-century documents, all involving Howe and the process of her trials and death. It was fascinating to read the detailed story of one singular victim through real primary sources.
Following the crowd, I made my way through the horseshoe-shaped gallery and found myself in another purple room, I notice a wall-color pattern forming. This next section featured the work of photographer Frances F. Denny, also a distant relative of someone involved in the original trials– one of the judges responsible for many of the unjust executions performed. Denny's mission was to be the antithesis of his ancestor and to honor modern individuals who self-identify with the label of "witch" by documenting their stories and images. Next to each large portrait framed in black is a tidbit about what the word "witch" means to the person in the photo. It was fascinating to read about the reclamation of the word and the many different contemporary interpretations of it.
I round another corner and come upon, you guessed it, a black-painted room. It served as the "reflections" room and a summary of the exhibit and its goals. It was a reflection on the tragedy of the Salem witch trials, a quick look into the responses pop culture has had to it, and the way it has shaped pieces of our culture today (including women's rights advocacy). The final portion of the show broke the color pattern with green walls and ended with an interactive create-your-own-tarot-card game of sorts, where anyone could take magnetic imagery and illustrations to construct their own tarot card design on the giant magnetic card. It was a photo opportunity, possibly to encourage the spreading of the word about the exhibit and get more people to visit it. A good tactic if you ask me.
I personally enjoyed the exhibit a lot, not knowing what I was going into. The dim lighting and dark colors may have been almost stereotypical, but truthfully it is a dark subject and something brighter may have felt inappropriately upbeat or sterilized. Each separate section was well-thought-out and very organized, I also thought it was presented in appropriate order– from 1692 to 2006 to today, and finally the reflection. I wish there were more space simply for walking because I didn't feel like I got a thorough understanding of each piece due to there being too much traffic. But I did appreciate the inclusion of books you could take from baskets that included every object and label in the exhibit. This was a thoughtful move for those who wanted to take the time to fully dive into the story of every artifact and also an accessible way for those who may not be able to see the labels or documents/objects up close at standing eye level.
The one thing I will say that crossed my mind after seeing an Instagram user bring it up on the New-York Historical Society's social media– what exactly is the connection between New York and the Salem witch trials? Personally, I don't have an issue with this exhibit being in this space as it checks off the box of being a historical incident, and it was presented in the museum's "Joyce B. Cowin Women's History Gallery." I did take note that the Women's History Gallery was directly next to the restroom area and janitorial storage. I understand the Museum only has so much space, but the placement felt a tad underthought and borderline disrespectful at first. But overall the curators did a great job of creating an atmospheric, immersive space for the show that allowed me to forget where I was and focus solely on the stories of these women.
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Magic flowers play by bill sterritt event brite
Magic flowers play by bill sterritt event brite professional#
Instead, his "French English" contributes an example along the continuum of English, both then and now. If 'Hamlet' is a translational act, then Shakespeare’s "Englishness" can be somewhat decentralised. Furthermore, the Renaissance printing industry is testament to the ways in which dialectical aspects of English were not limited to Shakespeare’s work. English worked – and perhaps still works – as a language between languages “based on a system of double derivation…at once Germanic and Romance” (George Watson, ‘Shakespeare and the Norman Conquest’, 617). In light of Ardis Butterfield’s extensive work on Chaucer’s multiple vernaculars, this paper conceptualises Shakespeare’s English as a French dialect of the language. Only a hundred or so years earlier, Anglo-Norman was still a widely-spoken dialect on English soil. Putting aside any questions about an ‘ur-Hamlet’, the Shakespearean "translation" of this tale exists in multiple iterations that appear to respond to a second francophone source: the 'Essais' of Michel de Montaigne. This is most likely to have reached Shakespeare via a French translation of a Latin collection of tales by a Danish academic: 'Les Histoires Tragiques' by François de Belleforest. Beneath the question of this play’s three texts and their chronology is a question of origin, which is made more interesting in light of the play’s narrative source, the Amleth myth. This paper considers Shakespeare’s use of non-Anglophone sources and dialect within 'Hamlet'. Presented as part of 'Playing With Source Materials: Alterations and Shakespeare's Creative Fabric' at the NeMLA 'Global Spaces, Local Landscapes, and Imagined Worlds' conference, Omni William Penn Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA, April 12, 2018. For more information, go to contact me if you wish to read any of this work directly. A performance of “Calliope Rose” will be live-streamed on Aug. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Bill’s.
Magic flowers play by bill sterritt event brite professional#
Studio Space is located at 112 Woodland Ave. View Bill Sterritt’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Tickets are $20 in advance on or at the door. “Calliope Rose” is “an edgy, conceptual work suggesting that our civilization cannot survive a total rupture from its past,” according to Hugh Hunter of the Philadelphia Inquirer (review: July 2018), while Mary Crawford of Exit Zero said this of the play (review: July 2018), “Sterritt’s witty dialogue starkly illuminates the conflict between the ancient ideals of beauty and honor versus the grubby materialism of the modern day.” In 2018, the show was mounted at the Cape May Airport during the Cape May Fringe Festival. It was a semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute’s Playlabs. Sterritt will also make a cameo appearance in this production. The ending is left open to interpretation on purpose – we want to make you think.”Īctors Cheney, Brandford-Altsher, and Polgar have been seen in recent SPQR productions at Studio Space such as “Derby Day,” “Magic Flowers,” and a weekend of original one-acts. “There’s a love triangle, a little mystery, some laughs … but best of all, the play is unlike anything else you’ll see here in South Jersey. “’Calliope Rose’ has something for everyone,” said Sterritt. Both mom and daughter are smitten by the handsome man, and the makings of an authentic Greek comedy ensue. “Calliope Rose” is about an eccentric mother, Rose, played by Strathmere’s Ruthellen Cheney, who wishes for her daughter Athena, portrayed by Evie Brandford-Altsher, to adopt the “Greek ideal.” As mom waxes poetic and daughter schemes to turn a lighthouse into a money-making tourist trap, a ship suspiciously sinks nearby causing Dexter, a government official played by Dave Polgar, to investigate. Shows will take place at Studio Space in Somers Point on Aug. “Calliope Rose,” the mythological mystery comedy by Cape May playwright Bill Sterritt, will return to South Jersey for four weekends in August.
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Russian Fairy Tales Test Prep: Pagan Deities
The best known roster of pagan deities is that of the six whose statues Prince Vladimir erected upon assuming sole rule of Kiev. According to the Primary Chronicle for the year 980, he “placed idols on a hill, outside the palace yard, a wooden Perun with a silver head and a golden mustache, and Khors and Dazhbog and Stribog and Simargl and Mokosh.” Missing from this list is Volos/Veles, the god of cattle (skotnii bog) and commerce, whose veneration in ancient Rus’ is widely attested, and by whose name (along with that of Perun) ancient Russians ratified oaths.
A. Perun/Bog
1. equivalent to: Lithuanian Perkunas, Latvian Perkons, Albanian Perendi, Roman Jupiter, Greek Zeus, Hittite Teshub, Norse Thor/Donar, Celtic Taranis.
2. primary sources: Nestor’s Chronicle, mid-6th century Procopius, 10th-century Varangian treaties
3. primary story: a creation myth, in which he battles Veles, the Slavic god of the underworld, for the protection of his wife (Mokosh, goddess of summer) and the freedom of atmospheric water, as well as for the control of the universe.
4. dvoeverie: After Christianization in the 11th century CE, Perun's cult became associated with St. Elias (Elijah), also known as the Holy Prophet Ilie (or Ilija Muromets or Ilja Gromovik), who is said to have ridden madly with a chariot of fire across the sky, and punished his enemies with lightning bolts.
In Slavic mythology: Perun was the supreme god of the pre-Christian Slavic pantheon, although there is evidence that he supplanted Svarog (the god of the sun) as the leader at some point in history. Perun was a pagan warrior of heaven and patron protector of warriors. As the liberator of atmospheric water (through his creation tale battle with the dragon Veles), he was worshipped as a god of agriculture, and bulls and a few humans were sacrificed to him. In 988, the leader of the Kievan Rus' Vladimir I pulled down Perun's statue near Kyiv (Ukraine) and it was cast into the waters of the Dneiper River. As recently as 1950, people would cast gold coins in the Dneiper to honor Perun.
Appearance & Reputation: Perun is portrayed as a vigorous, red-bearded man with an imposing stature, with silver hair and a golden mustache. He carries a hammer, a war ax, and/or a bow with which he shoots bolts of lightning. He is associated with oxen and represented by a sacred tree—a mighty oak. He is sometimes illustrated as riding through the sky in a chariot drawn by a goat. In illustrations of his primary myth, he is sometimes pictured as an eagle sitting in the top branches of the tree, with his enemy and battle rival Veles the dragon curled around its roots.
Perun is associated with Thursday—the Slavic word for Thursday "Perendan" means "Perun's Day"—and his festival date was June 21.
Reports: The earliest reference to Perun is in the works of the Byzantine scholar Procopius (500–565 CE), who noted that the Slavs worshipped the "Maker of Lightning" as the lord over everything and the god to whom cattle and other victims were sacrificed.
Perun appears in several surviving Varangian (Rus) treaties beginning in 907 CE. In 945, a treaty between the Rus' leader Prince Igor (consort of Princess Olga) and the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII included a reference to Igor's men (the unbaptized ones) laying down their weapons, shields, and gold ornaments and taking an oath at a statue of Perun—the baptized ones worshipped at the nearby church of St. Elias. The Chronicle of Novgorod (compiled 1016–1471) reports that when the Perun shrine in that city was attacked, there was a serious uprising of the people, all suggesting that the myth had some long-term substance.
B. Kors/Xors/Chors
- most frequently mentioned Slavic god, after Perun
- dvoeverie: appears in the apocryphal work Sermon and Apocalypse of the Holy Apostles, which mentions Perun and Khors as old men; Khors is said to live in Cyprus. Khors also appears in the apocryphal text Conversation of the Three Saints, a text which combines Slavic + Christian + Bogomil traditions. In it, he is referred to as “an angel of thunder” and it is said that he is Jewish.
- his functions are uncertain and there are multiple interpretations of his name.
1. Sun God hypothesis: associated with Dazhbog; in The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, Prince Vseslav, who “came to Tmutarakani before the cocks" and "Khors ran his way", traveled from west to east and thus reached the castle before the cocks crowed, and in this way "overtook" the Sun; his name means “rays.”
2. Moon God hypothesis: Prince Vseslav was called “wolf” and his journey takes place at night when the sun is absent from the sky; his name does mean “rays” but they’re the moon’s rays and not the sun’s rays.
3. Fertility God/Vegetation hypothesis: link between Thracian & early Slavic cultures indicates Kors is more of a Dionysus-type figure, who dies and is risen; like Dionysus, Dazhbog (who Kors is often linked to) has a double nature (Eastern Slavs assign him solar qualities, while Southern Slavs assign him chthonic qualities).
C. Dazhbog
1. equivalent to: Khors (Russian/Iranian), Mithra (Persian), Helios (Greek), Lucifer (Christian)
2. primary sources: John Malalas, The Song of Igor’s Campaign
3. family: Son of Svarog, brother of fire god Svarozhich, husband of Mesyats (the moon), father of the Zoryi and Zvezdy
4. primary myth: He resided in the east, in a land of everlasting summer and plenty, in a palace made of gold. The morning and evening auroras, known collectively as Zorya, were his daughters. In the morning, Zorya opened the palace gates to allow Dazbog to leave the palace and begin his daily journey across the sky; in the evening, Zorya closed the gates after the sun returned in the evening.
5. dvoeverie: There was a belief that each winter he would enter people's homes and gift gold to those who had been good. That belief passed into Christianity, especially in Serbia, and this visitor was called Položajnik. During Christianisation, his cult was exchanged with the cult of Saint Sava, while Dažbog became lame Daba - the most powerful demon in Hell. Reasons why he was demonized are various, possibly because his cult was the strongest in Serbia or because he was considered also as the god of Nav, the Slavic underworld and world of the dead.
In Slavic mythology: Dazbog was the Slavic sun god, a role that is common to many Indo-European people, and there is ample evidence that there was a sun cult in the pre-Christian tribes of central Europe. His name means "day god" or "giving god," to different scholars—"Bog" is generally accepted to mean "god," but Daz means either "day" or "giving."
His totem animal was a wolf, therefore wolves were sacred animals and killing them was considered a great sin. Wolves were considered to be messengers of Dazhbog, while he himself could shift into a white wolf.
According to one myth, Svarog became tired of reigning over the universe and passed on his power to his sons, Dazhbog and Svarogich.
Appearance & Reputation: Dazbog is said to ride across the sky in a golden chariot drawn by fire-breathing horses who are white, gold, silver, or diamonds. In some tales, the horses are beautiful and white with golden wings, and sunlight comes from the solar fire shield Dazbog always carries with him. At night, Dazbog wanders the sky from east to west, crossing the great ocean with a boat pulled by geese, wild ducks, and swans.
In some tales, Dazbog starts out in the morning as a young, strong man but by the evening he is a red-faced, bloated elderly gentleman; he is reborn every morning. He represents fertility, male power, and in "The Song of Igor's Campaign" he is mentioned as the grandfather of the Slavs.
4. Stribog
Very little is known about him, although he was clearly very important to early Slavic peoples. In the epic ”Slovo o polku Igorove “ it is said that the winds, the grandsons of Stribog, blow from the sea. This leads to conclusion that Stribog is imagined as an old person, since he has grandsons. The grandsons were the winds from all directions.
Eagle was the animal consecrated to Stribog. Plants consecrated to Stribog were hawthorn and oak. When pledges were made, Stribog was often warrantor. Festivities in Stribog’s honor were organized in the summer as well as in the winter. They were probably organized in the summer in order to invocate winds and rain, while in the winter they were organized in order to appease him. In the period of Christianization Stribog’s characteristics were overtaken by St. Bartholomew and Stevan vetroviti (windy).
5. Simargl/Semargl
- may be equivalent to Simurgh in Persian mythology, who is portrayed similarly (winged lion and/or dog). He can also take human form.
- God of physical fire (as opposed to celestial fire; that’s Svarog)
- He is said to be the husband of Kupalnica (or Kupalnitsa), goddess of night, from whom he got two children: Kupalo and Kostroma.
Zorya, solar goddesses who are servants or daughters of the deity Dazhbog, keep Simargl chained to the star Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor. Should he break free and destroy this constellation, it will cause the world to end.
Why would he be worshipped in Rus’, you ask? A couple of possible answers:
a. Eastern Slavs borrowed Simargl from Sarmatian-Alanian people and worshiped him.
b. Eastern Slavs never worshiped Simargl. Just at that time, a significant number of Kiev residents were of Khazar and Sarmatian-Alanian origin. Vladimir included their deity in the pantheon to get their support.
6. Volos/Veles (also Vlas, Weles Vlasii, St. Blaise, or Blasius)
1. equivalent to: Velinas (Baltic), Varuna (Vedic), Hermes (Greek), Odin (Norse)
2. primary sources: The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, old Russian chronicles
3. primary myth: a creation myth, in which Veles abducts Mokosh (the Goddess of Summer and consort of Perun, God of Thunder). Perun and his enemy battle for the universe under a huge oak, Perun's holy tree, similar to both Greek and Norse (Yggdrasil) mythologies. The battle is won by Perun, and afterward, the waters of the world are set free and flowing.
4. dvoeverie: Velia remains a feast of the dead in old Lithuanian, celebrating the border between the world of the living and the world of the dead, with Veles operating as a role of guiding souls to the underworld. The battle between Perun (Ilija Muromets or St. Elias) and Veles (Selevkiy) is found in many different forms, but in later stories, instead of gods, they are complementary figures separated from one another by a furrow plowed by Christ, who converts them. Veles is also likely represented by St. Vlasii, depicted in Russian iconography as surrounded by sheep, cows, and goats.
In Slavic mythology: A second creation myth associated with Veles is the formation of the boundary between the underworld and the human world, a result of a treaty forged between Veles and a shepherd/magician.
In the treaty, the unnamed shepherd pledges to sacrifice his best cow to Veles and keep many prohibitions. Then he divides the human world from the wild underworld led by Veles, which is either a furrow plowed by Veles himself or a groove across the road carved by the shepherd with a knife which the evil powers cannot cross.
Veles is associated with a wide variety of powers and protectors: he is associated with poetry and wisdom, the lord of the waters (oceans, seas, ships, and whirlpools). He is both the hunter and protector of cattle and the lord of the underworld, a reflection of the Indo-European concept of the netherworld as a pasture. He is also related to an ancient Slavic cult of the deceased soul; the ancient Lithuanian term "welis" means "dead" and "welci" means "dead souls."
Appearance & Reputation: Veles is generally portrayed as a bald human man, sometimes with bull horns on his head. In the epic creation battle between Velos and Perun, however, Veles is a serpent or dragon lying in a nest of black wool or on a black fleece beneath the World Tree; some scholars have suggested he was a shape-shifter. In addition to domestic horses, cows, goats, and sheep, Veles is associated with wolves, reptiles, and black birds (ravens and crows).
Reports: The earliest reference to Veles is in the Rus-Byzantine Treaty of 971, in which the signers must swear by Veles' name. Violators of the treaty are warned of a menacing punishment: they will be killed by their own weapons and become "yellow as gold," which some scholars have interpreted as "cursed with a disease." If so, that would imply a connection to the Vedic god Varuna, also a cattle god who could send diseases to punish miscreants.
7. Mokosh
1. loosely comparable to: Gaia, Hera (Greek), Juno (Roman), Astarte (Semitic)
2. epithets: Goddess Who Spins Wool, Mother Moist Earth, Flax Woman
3. primary sources: Nestor Chronicle (a.k.a. Primary Chronicle), Christian-recorded Slavic tales
4. dvoeverie: With the coming of Christianity into the Slavic countries in the 11th century CE, Mokosh was converted to a saint, St. Paraskeva Pyanitsa (or possibly the Virgin Mary), who is sometimes defined as the personification of the day of Christ's crucifixion, and others a Christian martyr. Described as tall and thin with loose hair, St. Paraskeva Pyanitsa is known as "l'nianisa" (flax woman), connecting her to spinning. She is the patroness of merchants and traders and marriage, and she defends her followers from a range of diseases.
In Slavic mythology: The origins of Mokosh as mother earth may date to pre-Indo-European times (Cuceteni or Tripolye culture, 6th–5th millennia BCE) when a near-global woman-centered religion is thought to have been in place. Some scholars suggest she may be a version of Finno-Ugric sun goddess Jumala.
Mokosh, sometimes transliterated as Mokoš and meaning "Friday," is Moist Mother Earth and thus the most important (or sometimes only) goddess in the religion. As a creator, she is said to have been discovered sleeping in a cave by a flowering spring by the spring god Jarilo, with whom she created the fruits of the earth. She is also the protector of spinning, tending sheep, and wool, patron of merchants and fishermen, who protects cattle from plague and people from drought, disease, drowning, and unclean spirits.
Although the Great Goddess has a variety of consorts, both human and animal, in her role as a primary Slavic goddess, Mokosh is the moist earth goddess and is set against (and married to) Perun as the dry sky god. Some Slavic peasants felt it was wrong to spit on the earth or beat it. During the Spring, practitioners considered the earth pregnant: before March 25 ("Lady Day"), they would neither construct a building or a fence, drive a stake into the ground or sow seed. When peasant women gathered herbs they first lay prone and prayed to Mother Earth to bless any medicinal herbs.
Appearance & Reputation: Surviving images of Mokosh are rare—although there were stone monuments to her beginning at least as long ago as the 7th century. A wooden cult figure in a wooded area in the Czech Republic is said to be a figure of her. Historical references say she had a large head and long arms, a reference to her connection with spiders and spinning. Symbols associated with her include spindles and cloth, the rhombus (a nearly global reference to women's genitals for at least 20,000 years), and the Sacred Tree or Pillar.There are many goddesses in the various Indo-European pantheons who reference spiders and spinning. Historian Mary Kilbourne Matossian has pointed out that the Latin word for tissue "textere" means "to weave," and in several derivative languages such as Old French, "tissue" means "something woven." The act of spinning, suggests Matossian, is to create body tissue. The umbilical cord is the thread of life, transmitting moisture from the mother to the infant, twisted and coiled like the thread around a spindle. The final cloth of life is represented by the shroud or "winding sheet," wrapped around a corpse in a spiral, as thread loops around a spindle.
Our brief survey of agrarian holidays indicates that the peasant’s central concern is fertility and that special rites in the cemetery and/or rites involving a symbolic death & resurrection are a major component in these celebrations.
Belief in the absolute sanctity of “Mother Damp Earth” (Mat’syra zemlia) has been central to folk belief throughout the centuries. In remote areas, old people observed a ritual of asking the earth’s forgiveness prior to death into the 20th century. A number of scholars have maintained that peasants transferred attributes of earth worship to their particular veneration of Mary as “Mother of God.”
Fedotov: “At every step in studying Russian popular religion, one meets the constant longing for a great divine female power, be it embodied in the image of Mary or someone else. Is it too daring to hypothesize, on the basis of this religious propensity, the scattered elements of the cult of a Great Goddess who once...reigned upon the immense Russian plains?”
#Russian fairy tales#study blog#my notes#Slavic deities#slavic mythology#Russian paganism#russian folk belief
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Blame @petrichordiam for this.
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Title: centerstage
Summary: An academic goes to a conference and is jazzed to see a jedi speak there. He unknowingly sits next to this jedi’s Support Squad.
The jedi Support Squad is like 85% clones, and 15% Jedi Generals.
No one mentions that the jedi speaking has never done this before and is petrified out of his blessed little mind.
*Anakin is like 19-20ish here.
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Sion Jissard has spent the last ten years of his life in the dredges of archives, digging through documents and testing fibers found between the flimsy, papery pages of old texts—scrounging for clues to recreate the conditions of the great conference halls and small, tucked away offices in which some of the most powerful people in the galaxy once gathered to whisper and shout over the fate of whole planets.
He has a hypothesis that the conditions in those rooms affected the decisions made in them. His hypothesis is strong enough that it has endured several rounds of peer-review and escaped those vulture-like clutches mostly unscathed in published form—both in journal and, his chest swells to recall, in book formats.
His book has sold several hundred copies and been cited in a plethora of upcoming article submissions.
The last eight years of tension in his marriage has eased in light of this. The salary from the professorship obtained in light of the book certainly hasn’t hurt it either.
His two doctorates are set on the wall of his office and when he receives word that a conference on ‘Intergalactic Unionism and Peace Negotiation’ is to be held in two months time, he opens up the speakers list and raises his head to gaze upon those two solid frames.
There will be jedi speakers at the conference. Several, actually. The whole thing is to be held on Coruscant, in the small visitors’ wing of the Jedi temple itself.
Sion Jissard pinches the fabric of his suit and then lightly slaps at his cheek to make sure that he is not dreaming.
He has only recently begun studying the jedi order’s material world and the role that world plays in their intergalactic peace-making practices. Prior to this, he considered the subject too on-the-nose. Jedi studies are rampant. Everyone wants a piece of that pie—the allure of it being that the jedi themselves, scholars in their own rights, refuse to partake in examinations of their culture.
They are notoriously obstinate. Their grandmasters refuse to let outsiders into their archives. Their masters shut down any and all attempts to obtain interviews or transcripts or documents with empty expressions or gentle, pitying smiles. Their knights blink with confusion at personal and personal-adjacent questions, and the little ones, the apprentices, are shielded behind all of these people as though the elbow-padded questioners are threatening their precious little lives.
In short, the jedi are happy to listen but loathe to teach. If you are not one of their soldiers or one of their fellows, they will lie to your face and tell you that it is their religion to do so.
And yet here they are, offering up a scholar’s wetdream and even allowing a handful of their own to present on their areas of expertise.
Sion Jissard will pass up this opportunity only upon pain of death.
He applies for the conference as a participant, not a speaker, and is delighted to receive confirmation of his place within mere minutes.
He puts the date on his calendar and starts looking into transit to Coruscant for the event in two months time.
--
Sion arrives on Coruscant, at the foot of the Jedi Temple itself, and stares up at it for so long that he begins to feel sick to the gills.
He fumbles for his confirmation at the little table set up in the interior courtyard behind a side-entrance door. He is distracted by the fact that the woman he is standing in front of is a Jedi. She is helped by two small children and holds a baby who is dead-set on unraveling the knots that decorate her thick waist band. Even the baby is dressed in double-collared cream-colored robes.
Sion has so many questions he wants to ask.
The jedi asks him for his name. She has a collection of name badges before her, but none of them are his. He gives his name and the master turns to the little girl sat at her right elbow with a brush in hand and instructs her to write it out.
The jedi child—not an apprentice, her robes are cream still, there are no additional earth-colors layered on top of it—writes Sion’s name in beautiful script on a little card and hands the card to the master, who puts it in a holder with a pin on it and places it into Sion’s hand.
She instructs him to go through the side door and enjoy some refreshments before the event begins. The baby in her lap looks up at her abruptly and bonks his sweet little head against her chin.
Sion forgets himself.
“How old?” he asks automatically, gesturing to the baby.
The master looks down into her lap.
“He is eight months and 75% lung,” she says affectionately.
“Ah. Mine was like that, too,” Sion says. “He grew out of it. He’s only 40% lung now.”
The master smiles.
Sion removes himself from her table before he embarrasses himself further.
--
There are enough people inside the front room of the jedi’s visitor’s wing to nearly fill it to capacity. The volume, though everyone is whispering, is great enough to be heard from outside the door. The room itself is earth-colored with a high ceiling. Its walls all contain niches with rounded borders. Columns with deep-cut creases in them arch high to the skylights.
It is all beautifully geometric, stoic, and clean. And even though the walls and floor are built from materials of warm tones, the skylights overhead and the surrounding addtion of books and holorecords set into the walls lend it a cooling quality.
What should have been imposing architectural feels more like holy space. The room is one that reverberates with reminders to respect all around you.
Sion’s fingers yearn to document this, but there is a sign right by the room’s entrance that asks politely for no recordings or holographs to be taken.
“Professor Jissard,” a familiar voice says.
Sion feels his whole body droop. He turns to see Teo Detras stood before him in his obnoxious, roaring red robes.
“I’m pleased that you too were able to secure an invitation, sir,” Teo says as though he has not attempted to place Sion on the metaphysical chopping block for each of his premises since the time they began their academic programs.
Sion opens his mouth to point out that this is also his area of study and that Teo has no monopoly on the field of Jedi architecture when a quiet passes over the room. Sion watches the heads around him lift and searches for the source of the sudden shudder of silence.
He finds it in a tall master with dark skin standing at the very front of the space. The man has tucked his hands neatly into the mouths of his sleeves.
He is Jedi Master and General Mace Windu. Sion has read and reread his essays, not caring so much for what he is talking about but how he is talking about it. His metaphors and examples should have been insight into the common experiences of those living in the Jedi temple.
Sion has found, however, that Jedi Master Mace Windu does not especially care for eloquence or metaphor. He cares only to methodically destroy the argument (if it could be called that) published by a jedi named Qui-Gon Jinn many years ago. Though Master Jinn has not published for several decades now, Master Windu’s writings remain agitated by his interpretations of the jedi’s Spiritual energy, the Force.
Just gazing upon the man now, Sion would not think him capable of agitation.
Master Windu welcomes the academics to the temple and says that he regrets not having more time to speak with each of the attendees as individuals, but there is a war on and his clone troopers require his services. He encourages people to refrain from any recordings of the temple due to its sacred nature, and he asks that attendees be mindful of the jedi Initiates (the white-robed children) who are confused and intrigued by all of the non-jedi people inhabiting their usual playroom.
He cautions everyone that if anyone slips on a toy, he warned them, and the temple is not liable for their medical bills.
This is a joke.
People are unsure of whether or not to laugh. Some laugh awkwardly far too late. Master Windu gives no sign on his face that he appreciates or disapproves of this.
Instead, he steps from his space of honor and leaves in his place a young man with feathery blonde hair and a highly expressive countenance, who drops his armload of documents on the floor obnoxiously and flings himself down to snatch up only the conference program, as if this was the most efficient way of finding it.
People know to laugh this time.
The young man begins announcing panel topics and rooms and give his strong opinions on each of them.
More people laugh. It feels less like a sin.
“And that’s all, my dears and darlings,” the young man says, “Mind your step into the conference rooms, our predecessors derived joy from an unexpected drop.”
--
Sion has only one panel that he will kill at minimum three bodies to sit in on. It is the one on peace strategy and resource management. He is not here for the peace strategy or the resource management parts of the talk; his burning interest yearns instead in listening to how and if people talk about their space and things. He wants to write down the language they use. He wants to learn about the physicality of peace.
He thinks ‘The Physicality of Peace’ would make a very compelling title for another book.
So he slips through the arched doors of conference room 3 and finds himself in a tiered lecture theatre. There is a small balcony with rows of pew-like benches that hangs over a lower seating area. He takes a seat at the edge of the front pew and sets his datapad on his lap for note-taking. At the front of the room there is a long bench—not a quite table, but definitely a tall bench, and behind it, there is an enormous screen for displaying images and information. Someone has very kindly thought to place a jug of water and some cups at the center of the bench by a microphone.
Sion gets the impression from its awkward, dead-center placement that it is an addition that the jedi themselves usually forego.
He wonders what that means. He only wonders for about 15 seconds before a hand touches his shoulder and he jerks in alarm.
“My apologies, sir. We were just wondering if the space next to you is available?” says the smooth-faced, copper-haired man standing above him.
He is wearing white armor on top of his layered robes. The arms and legs that emerge from his long off-white tunic are dark in color, but his boots are hard and white and come up and over his kneecaps.
Sion is speechless.
This is General and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.
General and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi has touched Sion’s shoulder and apologized to him.
He doesn’t have words. He can only make fish-mouthed motions and then point and nod.
General Kenobi accepts this with grace and stands up straight. He waves behind him to call his companions over to join him on the balcony’s edge.
They arrive as a pack.
Instead of coming around and staggering past Sion’s knees at the edge of the bench, General Kenobi climbs over its back and settles in. He then twists back over the row and holds his hands out; a Clone Trooper in full armor hands to him a strange bundle of woolen, brown robe. It produces legs and arms and then bright blue and white lekku once Kenobi has situated it next to him.
“Fooled ‘em,” the little Togruta that emerges from the cloth says brightly.
“Shh,” Kenobi says. “Cody, you next.”
“No, I want Rex to sit with me.”
“Ahsoka, shhh.”
“Rex.”
“Child, this is how people like me get banned from meetings; you’re not even supposed to see—”
“REX.”
“HUSH. Okay, okay. Rex. Pst. Cody, get Rex. Cody, oh for the love of—Wolffe, yes—no. Wolffe, look at me. Get Cody to get Rex.”
Sion cannot believe what he is seeing. General Kenobi appears to be sneaking half of his command into the balcony area. There are more than a few clone troopers there are at least twenty. They are somehow visibly excited despite their matching helmets. The General is able to tell them apart easily. He leans over the back of the bench again and crooks his finger at one of the troopers who leans forward. He tells them to throw something at their commander.
The Clone takes off his glove, stands, and nail a clone standing in the aisle in the head with it. The slap of contact makes this clone cease speaking in serious low tones with a clone decorated with blue edging in front of him. The first clone draws himself up perfectly straight and turns around with a fury that even Sion can feel the heat of.
His armor is painted yellow in places.
He holds the glove in his hand like a threat. The clone who threw it winces and points wordlessly to General Kenobi, then sits down in a hurry. Kenobi smiles wide and white. He has freckles on his face that do not appear on any of the images of him that appear on the news.
He’s also shorter than Sion himself, even sitting.
“Sir,” the white and yellow clone says stiffly.
“Rex,” Kenobi says through that threat of a smile. “Get over here.”
The Togruta child twists around excitedly as the clone in white and blue exits the conversation with the one in white and yellow and surveys the rows of his fellows piled into the space behind the General and the child. He has to squeeze past the line of knees and then climb over the bench to sit down next to the child, who immediately cuddles up to him.
“Hey, that’s my seat,” a new voice whispers.
Sion looks back to see General Quinlan Vos with his arms crossed over his chest, recognizable in any setting. Behind him is General Koon. General Kenobi slaps a hand to his forehead and grumbles, then shoos the blue edged clone and the child a few seats down.
The generals clamber just as awkwardly as the blue clone through the sea of knees of the troopers and then over the back of the bench.
Somehow, Sion has won the jackpot. He is now surrounded by jedi culture, literally.
“All of you, back,” Kenobi snaps down the bench when everyone is just starting to get comfortable. “Cody. Commander, come here.”
The clone trooper with the yellow edging does not want to play this game. He shifts his weight back onto his other heel as Kenobi pats the newly vacated space next to him. General Vos croons in a teasing tone something about Kenobi being especially fond of this clone.
Kenobi lurches out across the empty seat to punch him in the gut and then returns peacefully to patting the space over the sound of Vos’s moaning.
The Clone Commander has no choice. His general is giving him a directive. He gives in to the inevitable and makes his way through the knees and—much more neatly than the others—steps over the back of the bench to its seat and then into sitting. Kenobi beams at him, practically purring.
Sion needs desperately to take notes, but the subjects of said notes are right there and rudeness is intolerable in retaining his vantage point.
He fights the urge to vibrate in space as the lights begin to dim overhead and the panel chairman comes out to introduce the topic and speakers. It is only about a minute or so when a hand lands firmly on Kenobi’s right shoulder—the one by Sion’s arm. Sion jumps, but Kenobi resolutely stares directly down at the speaker.
“Obi-Wan,” Master Mace Windu’s low, low voice says right into the space between Kenobi and Sion’s ears, “Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Kenobi begins to melt but catches himself.
“You didn’t for a while,” he said.
“Get her out of here.”
“She has a right to see her Master.”
“What part of these orders are challenging for you?”
Kenobi still does not turn around to see Master Windu, but his eyebrows sink and his brow becomes more pronounced.
“No padawans,” Master Windu says. “Ahsoka. Out.”
The togruta, still bedecked in that heavy cloak, turns to stare owlishly at Master Windu while the person at the front of the room moves on to introducing the next speaker.
“But I’m not a padawan,” the child says. “I’m obnoxious. Master Kenobi said so.”
Kenobi holds his face in a hand.
“You can be both. Come,” Master Windu says, holding out a hand.
“But I’m a cloak,” Ahsoka tries instead.
Kenobi crumples further. Master Windu’s hand finds his shoulder again. Sion can feel its heat.
“If not her, then you,” he says.
“After,” Kenobi says.
“I’ll be waiting, Obi-Wan.”
Master Windu vanishes from behind them. Sion shudders. Kenobi turns to the side and hisses at Ahsoka,
“Now look what you’ve done.”
“You’re my co-conspirator,” Ahsoka hisses back. “My—my—Rex, what’s the word?”
Clone Commander Rex does not want to give her the word. Ahsoka tugs at him.
“Rex,” she insists.
“Enabler,” Commander Rex says with bitter regret coating his words.
Ahsoka beams over the laps of the other Generals at Kenobi. He glares back through a squint. He starts to say something, but General Vos tells him to shut up in a sharp tone.
Sion looks back to the front of the room and finds that a young man with dark hair has come out to the center of the front table-bench to speak.
He is a jedi. His robes, however, are dark in color. Blacks and browns with knee-high boots.
He’s very young. Very, very young.
And nervous.
Very, very nervous.
Even from the balcony seats, Sion can see his hands shaking. He is holding a stack of white paper. It is trembling like a branch on a windy day.
“Go, go, Master, go, go,” chants little Ahsoka.
Sion finds himself abruptly appalled by the realization that the child on center stage is the master of the child a few seats over from him.
General Koon gently shushes Ahsoka. Commander Rex helpfully wraps a gloved hand over the bottom half of her face to keep her distracted.
Sion looks from them to the young man and finds that he’s already knocked over the jug of water on the bench and looks about ready to sob about it. He gathers himself, though, and brings the microphone closer to him.
He is General Anakin Skywalker, Sion now understands. He is the first speaker and he’s never in his life presented a paper at a professional conference before.
His voice shakes as he reads out the title of the article that he published (and that Sion has read) on battlefield surrender. After the second paragraph, Sion brings a hand to his lip to help him contain the emotions that come with the understanding that this boy is about to read his article, word for word, in front of a room full of academics.
He thinks now that he has been too harsh with his students.
--
General Skywalker is not a strong public speaker. Clearly, his expertise is in action. He stammers. He loses his place in his reading and accidentally rereads three whole sentences. Only twice does he look up from his paper, and each time it is not at the audience but at Obi-Wan Kenobi, sat next to Sion, serious as a plague.
Kenobi nods sagely.
General Skywalker is General Kenobi’s apprentice. Was General Kenobi’s apprentice. However, it is clear to all who are present today that General Skywalker is still General Kenobi’s apprentice. Desperate, the poor thing is, for Kenobi’s reassurance.
His confidence in reading grows under his former (current?) master’s approving eye until he turns a page and—horror of horrors—drops the stack of paper.
Sion’s whole body tenses in sympathy and second-hand embarrassment. Skywalker flings himself down and messily collects the papers. He hurriedly reorders them, all while stuttering ‘ums’ and ‘uhs.’
Yet, when Sion chances a peek down the line of Generals next to him, he finds that not a single one has winced. No one has laughed. Even the clone troopers all around them are as silent and steady as the night itself.
It seems like they are all listening intently to their young General on center stage. The only giveaway that sympathy is being had by any is the tiny gesture Clone Commander Rex is making with his hand. He is moving it almost imperceptibly in a circle, as if to say ‘come on, come on.’
Sion looks back to young Skywalker and waits patiently as he finds his place and carries on reading again, this time faster. This time he does not look up for his master’s eye.
He wants only for the torture to end.
He gets to the end of his paper without dropping it or repeating himself and is flushed red. He does not ask for questions. He merely says quietly into the microphone, “Thank you.”
The panel chair waits a beat before walking over to Skywalker and asking the crowd for questions on his behalf. Skywalker becomes even more luminous. Sion cannot decide whether asking a question would be more or less stressful for this poor boy.
No one asks a question.
The panel chair then starts to ask for applause for Skywalker, but before he can even finish the sentence the whole balcony breaks into uproar.
General Kenobi hoots and whistles piercingly in Sion’s ear. General Vos claps and shouts what sounds like ‘You FUCKING did it, kid. You FUCKING did it. Hip-hip—”
“HUZZAH,” the Clone Troopers behind General Vos finish for him in perfect unity.
“Hip-hip—”
“HUZZAH.”
More applause and congratulations erupts after this.
General Skywalker slams his paper into his face and bursts into tears at the front of the room.
He bolts for a doorway that Sion hadn’t even noticed was right next to the bench. General Kenobi whacks at his Clone Commander’s shoulder, and Commander Cody wraps hands around his waist and hoists him up so that he’s standing on the guardrail at the edge of the balcony. He leaps from there to the lower level then goes jogging out the same doorway his former apprentice ran through.
After another moment or two, Commander Cody stands up and snaps at the whole collection of troopers in their language. Everyone shuts up and sits back down. Commander Rex gestures for Ahsoka to put up her hood and takes from General Vos a small datapad which he gives to the child—presumably for her to occupy herself with for the next hour and a half of papers. She takes it and immediately becomes absorbed in its lightly-glowing screen.
The balcony is once again on its best behavior.
Sion doesn’t bother with listening to any of the other papers. He feels no shame at all in beginning to furiously take notes on his last twenty-five minutes with the jedi.
--
Upon leaving the conference room nearly two hours later, he finds himself swept up in the clone troopers’ swift and orderly exit from the space. They line up outside the hall in lines by regiment and they wait for their commanders and generals to arrive before marching back towards the visitors’ wing’s exit.
After two or three minutes, only two lines remain.
Clone Commander Rex and Clone Commander Cody stand perfectly at attention beside their lines of men. Clone Commander Rex has his jedi’s apprentice thrown over his shoulder; he has balanced her on one arm while she sleeps.
It’s very sweet. She obviously trusts the Clone Commander very much.
“Gentlemen.”
The clones snap to even tighter attention as General Mace Windu appears, walking briskly their way.
“You’re dismissed,” he says to them. “Commanders, you will remain. Obi-Wan and Anakin will join us shortly.”
“Sir,” both commanders say simultaneously.
There is a pause, and Sion sees that all of these people are now looking at him.
“Can we help you, sir?” General Windu asks.
Yes. And Sion will pay any amount of money to just know this one thing. This teeny, tiny detail.
“Sir?”
“Is that normal for you?” he blurts out.
The Clone Commanders stare. The general stares. The apprentice coughs lightly in her sleep.
“I regret to say that it is not only normal, but expected of these general and units,” General Windu says. “Please vacate this area.”
Right.
“Thank you,” Sion says.
He stiff-legs it back to the crowd of other academics and hunts down a liquid to soothe his parched throat.
The new book’s title will not be ‘The Physicality of Peace.’ It will be ‘All is Fair in Love and War: The Jedi Order and Ideologies of Family, Part I.’
---------------
Yeah, so anyways, Myth and I decided that Anakin is bad at public speaking and nothing anyone says can take this from me now, I’m invincible. (If you want this on Ao3 let me know).
#anakin skywalker#obi-wan kenobi#the clone wars#clones#guys sometimes anakin is allowed to be cute#but only like every so often I don't want him getting uppity#and thinking I actually like him or something like that#ahsoka and rex's relationship is everything to me#fic#ficlet
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Helloo, would it be a possible interpretation that the ideals and mindset that wwx follows is close to the religion and practice of Taoism?
Hello! That’s a fascinating question and I wish I had more knowledge to delve deeper on the subject but I’m a bit more familiar with the philosophy/spirituality part of Taoism than with its religious practices and rites. As always, anyone is welcome to add to the discussion or correct me if I misconstrue something, this is a vast topic and I’m just an interested layperson!
Xianxia in itself is a literary genre rife with references to Taoism: the pursuit of immortality, the internal alchemy to form a golden core, the Taoist exorcisms to drive out evil spirits, Taoist incantations and talismans, etc... But that does not necessarily make cultivators Taoists.
At the heart of Taoism is the philosophy of espousing harmony with nature, with the self, with the Tao. It’s about simplicity, spontaneity, non-attachment to worldly desires. In the introduction of my copy of the Zhuangzi (庄子), one of the main Taoist texts, the translator chooses the hero Yu the Great to epitomise the “going with the flow instead of fighting against the current” attitude dear to Taoists. Yu the Great is a legendary figure whose father, Kun, was tasked by the emperor Shun to protect the country from floods. Kun built barrages and dykes that held momentarily the waters in check but they ended up bursting, causing a flood even more devastating. The emperor banished Kun and entrusted the son, Yu the Great, with the same mission. Yu the Great succeeded by digging canals to help the course of water and let it flow to the sea. Yu the Great is referenced several times in the Zhuangzi and, interestingly, Wei Wuxian himself takes him as a model when he challenges Lan Qiren in the classroom and sows the seeds of what would become the foundation of his demonic cultivation:
魏无羡道：“横竖有些东西度化无用，���不加以利用？大禹治水亦知，堵为下策，疏为上策。镇压即为堵，岂非下策……”
Wei Wuxian said, “Anyway, there are some things that cannot be liberated so why not make use of them? Yu the Great who controlled the waters knew that building barrages to block was ineffective and dredging canals to reroute was the superior method. Suppression counts as blocking, wouldn’t is also be considered ineffective...” (ch.14)
The carefree and unfettered part of Wei Wuxian’s nature does fit Taoist ideals, you even have the opposition of the more Confucian-oriented Gusu Lan Sect and its rigid abidance with rules and ethics. However, Wei Wuxian is at odds with a key concept of Taoism: the principle of non-action (无为 wuwei). It’s not passivity or laziness, it’s letting nature runs its course, letting things fall into place. Wei Wuxian is very much shown to be assertive, even wilful, when his mind and heart are set on one thing. He does not hesitate to take matters into his own hands and jump into action. That’s especially true of his younger self who would rebel instead of do nothing, his older and wiser self after he is reborn is a bit more circumspect and knows when to speak out and when to hold his peace. Non-action is seen as the guiding principle of an ideal ruler, without the interference of government meddling, the state would (hypothetically) flourish on its own. I’ve seen some good meta on both the Chinese and the English-speaking sides of the fandom that makes good arguments that it’s actually Lan Xichen who personifies best this concept (x). Speaking of other characters from MDZS that parallel Taoist parables, Nie Huaisang reminds of the good-for-nothing tree which is praised by Zhuangzi. Because it bears no fruit, no one tore its branches to strip the fruits from them, because its wood is of poor quality, no carpenters cut it down. It is left alone and it is able to live long.
The Tao Te Ching (道德经, Daodejing) expounds three basic virtues called the Three Treasures (三宝): compassion (慈), frugality (俭) and humility (不敢为天下先, lit. ‘daring not to put oneself before others’ or ‘daring not to be first in the world’). The first two are for sure among Wei Wuxian’s qualities but the last one is more contentious, not because he is arrogant or boastful but because he dares setting himself apart. The following analysis in from a commentary of the Taoist text:
The third treasure, daring not be at the world's front, is the Taoist way to avoid premature death. To be at the world's front is to expose oneself, to render oneself vulnerable to the world's destructive forces, while to remain behind and to be humble is to allow oneself time to fully ripen and bear fruit. This is a treasure whose secret spring is the fear of losing one's life before one's time. This fear of death, out of a love for life, is indeed the key to Taoist wisdom. (Ellen M. Chen)
Wei Wuxian did not hesitate to ‘expose himself’ by being willing to be the first practitioner of demonic cultivation and in the end his downfall was at the hands of ‘the world’s destructive forces’, warmongering rumours and bloodthirsty hostility. Wei Wuxian is also not subject to fear of death, there are a few quotes that exemplify his carefree, devil-may-care mindset:
使我徒有身后名不如即时一杯酒。
Better have a cup of wine here and now rather than leave behind a posthumous good name. (ch.75 & Wei Wuxian’s CQL character song Qu Jin Chen Qing)
The quotation above comes from A New Account of the Tales of the World (世说新语), a collection of various anecdotes that was compiled in the 5th century, fittingly it’s from the “The Free and Unrestrained” (任诞) section.
生前哪管身后事，浪得几日是几日。
Why care about what happens after death while one is alive? Better live life to the utmost while one can. (ch.16)
I’m not sure if this one is a literary citation or not as I haven’t been able to track down a quote with this exact wording but it was very reminiscent to me to a chapter of the Liezi (列子), another Taoist text, attributes the following thoughts to the hedonist philosopher Yang Zhu:
One hundred years is the limit of a long life. Not one in a thousand ever attains it. Suppose there is one such person. Infancy and feeble old age take almost half of his time. Rest during sleep at night and what is wasted during the waking hours in the daytime take almost half of that. Pain and sickness, sorrow and suffering, death (of relatives) and worry and fear take almost half of the rest. In the ten and some years that is left, I reckon, there is not one moment in which we can be happy, at ease without worry. This being the case, what is life for? What pleasure is there? For beauty and abundance, that is all. For music and sex, that is all. But the desire for beauty and abundance cannot always be satisfied, and music and sex cannot always be enjoyed. Besides, we are prohibited by punishment and exhorted by rewards, pushed by fame and checked by law. We busily strive for the empty praise which is only temporary, and seek extra glory that would come after death. Being alone ourselves, we pay great care to what our ears hear and what our eyes see, and are much concerned with what is right or wrong for our bodies and minds. Thus we lose the great happiness of the present and cannot give ourselves free rein for a single moment. What is the difference between that and many chains and double prisons?
"Men of great antiquity knew that life meant to be temporarily present and death meant to be temporarily away. Therefore they acted as they pleased and did not turn away from what they naturally desired. They would not give up what could amuse their own persons at the time. Therefore they were not exhorted by fame. They roamed as their nature directed and would not be at odds with anything. They did not care for a name after death and therefore punishment never touched them. They took no heed of fame, being ahead or being behind, or the span of life."
The myriad creatures are different in life but the same in death. In life they may be worthy or stupid, honorable or humble. This is where they differ. In death they all stink, rot, disintegrate, and disappear. This is where they are the same. [...] The man of virtue and the sage die; the wicked and the stupid also die. In life they were Yao and Shun [sage-emperors]; in death they are rotten bones. In life they were Jie and Zhou [wicked kings]; in death they are rotten bones. Thus they all became rotten bones just the same. Who knows their difference? Let us enjoy our present life. Why should we worry about what comes after death?” (A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy, trans. Wing-tsit Chan)
It’s quite a long extract so I highlighted the most relevant parts that echo Wei Wuxian’s ideas and in particular his motto in life:
是非在己，毁誉由人，得失不论 ��
Right and wrong are decided by oneself, praise and condemnation depend on others, gains and losses are insignificant. (ch.75)
This is for me the defining quote of the novel that encapsulates the overarching theme of the story. This sentence is so popular that it’s the go-to quote on Wei Wuxian-related merch and it also features on the cover of the book in simplified Chinese.
We find in the Yang Zhu chapter of the Liezi the same ‘carpe diem’ attitude, the nonchalance about death, the disregard of social conventions and the futility of reputation. Nevertheless, Yang Zhu does not exactly have a place with other Taoist thinkers as he promotes acting in self-interest, a form of ethical egotism that does not take heed of other people’s benefit. The translator from the extract above calls it ‘negative Taoism’. As we are well aware, Wei Wuxian has a much more benevolent and altruistic outlook:
我娘说过的，你要记着别人对你的好，不要去记你对别人的好。人心里不要装那么多东西，这样才会快活自在。
My mom said that you should remember the kindness you received from others and not the kindness you gave. That's the only way to find happiness and be free as the heart can only carry so much. (ch.113)
Wei Wuxian’s life philosophy is about remembering the good you've been granted and keep giving without expecting anything in return. If you let yourself to be fettered by bad memories, if you dwell on the past, negative feelings like anger and envy will take roots in your heart. It takes great courage and integrity to be able to move on from painful experiences without holding grudges and retain the ability to greet the future with a smile.
These themes remind me of the lyrics of the song Enlightenment (悟) from the film Shaolin,《新少林寺》, it’s a moving song that draws a lot from Buddhist influences:
为何君视而不见 规矩定方圆
Why do you look without seeing and let conventions decide the rules?
悟性 悟觉 悟空 心甘情愿
I open my heart, coming to my senses and awakening to emptiness
放下 颠倒梦想 放下云烟
Let go of your confused dreams, let go of the things fleeting like mist
放下 空欲色 放下悬念
Let go of idleness, desire, pleasure, let go of the trouble weighting your heart
多一物 却添了 太多危险
One thing more adds too much danger
少一物 贪嗔痴 会少一点
One thing less and vices will be alleviated [lit. ‘greed, aversion, delusion’, the Three Poisons in Buddhism]
唯有 心无挂碍 成就大愿
Only with a heart without worries can your wishes be accomplished
唯有 心无故 妙不可言
There is no greater marvel than an unburdened heart
This ended up to be such a long-winded and maybe inconclusive answer but to me, Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, have all deeply shaped Chinese customs, ideas and culture with sometimes no clear boundaries where one begins and the other ends. Wei Wuxian’s ideals, his free-spiritedness and his probity, are reflected in these different schools of thoughts and spiritual currents but there is not a single all-encompassing one that matches him to a tee. In the end, what perhaps defines him best is his name that befits his nature, Wei Ying, the guileless innocence of a child, someone who can cheerfully go through life with a clear conscience and an unburdened heart.
#mo dao zu shi#cultural notes#philosophy#wei wuxian#majesticshayshay#i'm unable to quote anything from buddhist scripture but this is very good song#一世随缘，随缘一世，才能活得自在#mdzs meta
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