Posted by meadowsleigh in May 3, 2010
So I was looking into some various archetypes that exist which don’t always register in our consciousness, but are deeply rooted in our psyche as we developed from hunter gatherers to agriculturalists. Sometimes we regurgitate these symbols into something more or less recognizable as its original form or meaning.
I find this to be true with the figure of Christ. If you look deeper, past the mythos provided by the Bible you can see similarities between the Christ and his sacrifice to other figures who either gave of themselves or were given in sacrifice. This goes far past the time of the birth of Judeo-Christianity to our very beginnings as a species.
In our attempts to make sense of our world, we make connections with what we perceive with what we believe. The young human looked up, saw the stars cycling overhead, saw the changing of the seasons, and saw the work necessary to survive in the wilderness. He saw a connection with the cycles of the seasons and the harvest, and had the desire to ensure that he would survive the cold without starving. Eventually, various rituals arose that served the purpose of symbolically re-enacting the events of the seasons.
There are two closely associated archetypes, or symbols of this nature. One is the Bean King, or the Summer King. A young man would be chosen from a group by lottery where a cake was split between them, and the one receiving the piece of cake with the bean was named the Summer King or Bean King. This is the predecessor of the baby baked into Mardi Gras “King Cakes.” Unlike modern times, the Bean King would be treated like royalty all summer; no request would be denied, no one’s daughter or wife would be off limits. However, whereas a modern recipient of the baby from a King Cake is merely expected to provide next week’s cake, the Summer King was sacrificied at the end of the harvest.
The early human believed this would ensure the sun would return next year after the long dark of winter, that the fields would be fertilized by the blood of his sacrifice. Does that sound familiar? I made this connection with the Christ mythos after reading of many other male figures who killed themselves or allowed themselves to be killed for the good of others. Even in the Tarot, a true collection of archetypes well worth investigating, we have the Hanged Man, who has hung himself upside down, so that a blessing will come. Odin of the Norse was said to have hung himself upside down upon Yggdrasil, the world tree, so that he could gain knowledge, and he received a vision that led to the first Norse alphabet.
And now we have the Christ, who is crucified or hung upon a stake, in order to provide salvation for those who believe in him by erasing their sin. Again, doesn’t that sound familiar? Not to belittle the Christian mythos, but Christ is in very good company with other men who were offered up in sacrifice for the good of mankind.
Christ, symbolically, is the Summer King. He willingly allowed his own death for the sake of sinners, as he believed was God’s will. How different is this from the pagan lad, who upon biting into the bean, allowed himself to be slain so that his family would survive the snows of winter? And like Christ, is the earth not eternally reborn with the spring?
There is another symbol which also goes along with the seasonal cycles and that of death and rebirth. The Oak and Holly Kings of Celtic myth rule the two halves of the year, the Oak in summer and Holly in winter. Each year, the two kings battle for control of the land, and in his season, the other is defeated. Each year, the Oak King rules the summer until the Holly King slays him after the harvest, and he is reborn again in the spring when he defeats the Holly King again, and on and on the cycle continues.
In the spirit of these musings I have written some lyrics to a song that appeared in my head; music and melody are yet to be worked out but will follow:
The Bean King
They bring you gold and jewels
They bring you silver
A crown of thorns
You’ll bleed under the splinter
But don’t worry now
In the spring you will be
Reborn
You will be reborn
You will be reborn
You are the Bean King
You are the King of Summer
The maiden fair they’ll bring you
So you will lay with her
So when the snow is cold
And fields are empty
The deep red of your blood
Refills the horn of plenty
But don’t worry now
In the spring you will be
Reborn
You will be reborn
You will be reborn
The Oak King is slain
By the Holly King
But again and again
And again in the spring
He will be reborn
You will be reborn
You will be reborn
You will be reborn
Posted by meadowsleigh in July 23, 2009
“Money is not the root of all evil, it is the love of it.”-
From the Bible: “It is easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than to get a rich man into heaven.”
Sometimes I wish I was dead.
The reason is that I hate money. I hate it so much that I can’t even wish debt on my worst enemy. The reason I haven’t killed myself before is that if you die while you owe student loans, your family will still have to pay for them. And, the cats would probably have to feed on my dead body. But anyway…
The other thing about money that maddens me is that it’s completely imaginary. I get that it’s hard to carry around 3 bushels of corn to barter for that bedspread you’ve been wanting, I mean I get the expedience of having a symbolic currency, but we as normal idiot monkeys have taken it just way too far. Nowadays there’s no real value to money at all, just bits of paper and metal. Or just numbers recorded on the back of a piece of plastic. So naturally, what we’re obsessed with is not even something concrete, like gold or silver, or land, it’s the numbers, the money itself. Which, numbers are just squiggles, some shapes we drew in the sand once arbitrarily to describe some quantity whose volume and value is completely subjective. We want more, a higher number. It’s like a score, like we’re winning something. Are we? Are we winning? Or are we losing something?
I think this won’t change unless everyone ends up losing something they value more than money. We definitely need a change in perspective.
But most of all, I hate money because it ruins everything. You can’t do anything without it. If you have it, you live in constant paranoia about not having enough of it. It’s ironic, then, isn’t it, that I’m studying to become an accountant? At least you know I won’t be trying to steal your money. I don’t want it.
I was not cut out for this world, or else the programming of society just didn’t take. People care more about money than people. They are so misguided. Money, you can get. You can replace it. You can earn more or borrow more of it. There will always be more money in the world. But you can’t replace people. Once a person is spent, they are gone forever. You can never get a person back. Until we value each other as much as we value money, this world is doomed.
What if some kind of disaster knocked out the power to the entire planet? If every single server, every machine, every computer in the world went out, the money and all its imaginary value, would be gone forever, poof, just like that. Then you would have to start again at zero. If you didn’t have any money to begin with, like me, that wouldn’t be such a problem. But how would the millionaires handle it? How would they convince people once the lights come back on that they had what they had to begin with? If all the electronic records of accounts disappeared, there would be complete chaos.
But at the same time, don’t you think you’d be relieved? Cleansed? Freed? Does this make me an anarchist? Perhaps, but I think it makes me normal, for me, to feel the chafe of the burden of this system we are born into like slavery. I would rather grow you a tomato in the clean, free breathing air of my backyard instead of having this postindustrial nightmare where our economy is driven by factories grinding out toxic chemical solvents for use by other factories, or whatever.
What to do, what to do?
*Reaching for global electricity plug.* “What’s that over there? Look, it’s a bear!”
Posted by meadowsleigh in June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson’s life has been one of conflict and triumph. His extreme highs and lows reflect the extremes of the astrological influences on his chart. Michael was a Virgo, a mutable earth sign, and his moon was in Pisces (mutable water), forming a direct opposition. People with this alignment will feel the tension of being pulled in opposite directions frequently. To be sure, few people will have the situational challenges which Michael faced, but all people with a sun/moon opposition will feel this effect. They have the potential to rise to great heights and fall to deep depths.
A few words about Virgo: they are the nicest, most intelligent, sweetest nitpickers you will ever meet. They are a strange combination of hyper-awareness, sensitivity and earthiness. I find Virgos to have many wonderful qualities, but getting them to believe it is another thing entirely. I have many Virgo friends who work tirelessly at their job or chosen career, but they constantly rebuke themselves and tell themselves they haven’t done well enough and pick apart their successes to see what they should have done better. Many who have had a Virgo boss may have said to themselves, “What a hard-ass!” when it comes time for performance reviews, but believe me, they are always much harder on themselves. Many Virgos have chronic indigestion or IBS because of the constant stress they place on themselves.
I think this tendency directly relates to Michael’s life. I can see how his father drove the family to succeed in show business, which sets incredibly exacting standards. I think Michael was constantly faced with criticism and pressure, which irritated the Virgo tendency toward self-hatred and feelings of worthlessness. Michael’s moon in Pisces influences an already sensitive Virgo to go even further into depths of depression. Being an earth sign, I believe he attempted to compensate through material possesions, which is common. But the moon in Pisces will cause problems again, because Pisces is spiritual rather than material and all the riches in the world cannot fill the emptiness inside.
We watched Michael change himself through surgery after surgery, which reflects what I believe to be his deep dissatisfaction with himself. He attempted to remake himself into something totally different, and in this I say he succeeded. Mutable signs need change and with both sun and moon in mutable signs, the desire and need for change combined with self-criticism to create the Michael we saw in his later years. It is evident with each step that Michael was attempting to recreate himself into a different person. I suspect that what Michael was actually experiencing was an undeclared transgender transformation. With every surgery, Michael appeared more feminine, more delicate, and more white. I believe his fascination with Elizabeth Taylor (a Pisces-no surprise he’d be drawn to her), held not just idol worship, but idolization with emulation being his goal. I suspect that Michael wanted to BE Liz Taylor.
I will not say that I believe the charges he faced regarding child molestation are true or false; only he and the children involved really know what happened. But I will say that Virgo’s inherent purity as the Virgin of the zodiac can have a strange boomerang effect, which may drive the Virgo to be fascinated with the dark side of the taboo. Sex in all its forms may be huge issues for Virgos, especially the men. The Virgo earthiness expresses itself in a huge appetite for sex in some men, even to the point of being indiscriminate in choosing partners. Am I saying Virgo men are promiscuous? Yes I am, because they are. I am not judging them however, as they must live their lives and learn their karmic lessons from astrology just as you or I must.
I am hesistant to try to analyze Michael further as I did not know him, and also hope that my speculations on his mindset do not offend those who loved him, as I believe it is wrong to speak ill of the dead. He was immensely complex, immensely talented and has made his stamp on the world of pop music and culture that will last far beyond his lifetime. RIP, Michael.
Posted by meadowsleigh in June 10, 2009
Gemini is an air sign, its quality is mutable, and its ruler is Mercury. The winged messenger of the gods on Olympus lends its light and airy character to Gemini. Speed is also associated with Mercury and Gemini.
Gemini is a truly complex sign. For people who are more everyday steady types, a Gemini influence of the sun during the month of Gemini or even Gemini planets in the horoscope of people can be a frustrating and confusing experience. There may be many layers of reality being affected by a Gemini influence. Or, people and situations may change quickly with different facets such that ordinary life may seem like a hopelessly chaotic puzzle. The main quality of any mutable sign is change, and the need for it. Or, the inevitability of change is guaranteed just when energy becomes static and begins to dip. Air is the element of Gemini. Air can not “not” move. The moving air can bring rain or sun, or both, in phases.
Gemini is a challenge, but not an impossible one. The secret is to allow the air to flow around you. Being centered and free floating in the energy of life allows the Gemini energy to float close…attracted to the stable centered energy. But if the energy becomes damp or clinging, the Gemini will quickly shift away. You cannot grasp air. But you can contain it. And, containing the air for too long causes it to become stale. Gemini must breathe freely.
Posted by meadowsleigh in April 24, 2009
I have to say I am quite fond of our new president, and that I have come to like him more and more as I observe him. I didn’t know who the heck he was when he ran in the primaries, and I was supporting Hillary Clinton. But I tried to put my disappointment aside at Mrs. Clinton’s ousting and supported him in the election anyway.
What I find so impressive about Mr. Obama is that he channels the essence of his sign, Leo, showing many of Leo’s best qualities. Barack is a proud person, and he has lofty ideals and is stubbornly dedicated to making improvements in this country. I read this article about increasing student aid:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090424/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_college_costs
What it quoted him as saying was that he wants America to have the highest number of college graduates in the world within the next ten years. That is an aspiration I can get behind.
I also heartily approve of cutting out the lender middlemen, as they have been known to make a huge profit while employing some unscrupulous methods to get colleges to go along with them, providing kickbacks to schools, etc. I find it distasteful that there is a whole industry booming with profit while new graduates are saddled with such enormous debt that they may never be able to repay.
Some have even committed suicide in despair from the pressure of student loan debt. I, like many other grads, feel punished for doing what I was “expected” to do, by my teachers, by society, and even by my parents; none of whom ever made any financial plans or preparation on my behalf in order to help me fulfill that expectation. I don’t want to be rich, I just want a skill and a career that will provide for me and my family if I have one.
I even heard a radio host on a financial advice show basically tell this young caller, a graduate with hefty loans, that he was stupid for taking out so many loans and that he’d have been better off going to a community college or trade school, and that he’d never be able to repay those loans. I thought that was just wrong. I think Mr. Obama, and some others like Rev. Jesse Jackson, get that. We will have no kind of a country if the next three generations of graduate professionals can’t find jobs, and can’t pay back all those loans, which in the long run will cost the country billions.
I also have this to say to those negatory bore-ies who are hoping Mr. Obama will fail: guess what. If he fails, you fail. “We must hang together or we will all hang separately.” I also hope you don’t think this tenacious, proud, and I hope honorable Leo is just going to sit down and shut up because you said so. You obviously know nothing about Leo. They will fight for what they believe is right until the end. As for Mr. Obama’s success, I hope and pray he will make many good changes for this country. I don’t expect him to be perfect or to fix everything, because after all he is just a man, a human being who is fallible. But I also can’t wait to see what he can accomplish. I hope Mr. Obama will follow his resolve and ignore the naysayers, because he, as a Leo, can bring many positive things to our crabby Cancerian country.
Posted by meadowsleigh in April 11, 2009
Moving is one of those things which I especially hate; I’ve added it up and I’ve moved a total of 37 times, which leads me to believe my ancestors must have been nomadic. Moving is something which I have dreamt about, wished for, and hopelessly dreaded. Sometimes, I felt that I wasn’t moving so much as I was being moved.
When it comes time to move, the effort is somehow summoned and the feat accomplished often with conflict, as it is hard to move nowadays on one’s own. I have often surmised how much nicer it would be to live in a wigwam and only have to worry about what you have to pack on your horse to get the heck out of wherever. Paying someone else to move your stuff is selfishly gratifying, I recommend it if you’ve never done it.
Moving because I want to is always gratifying, moving because you have to is terrifying. I have nightmares where I’m having to pack up and leave to go somewhere, for some reason. Then there was a dream where I’d found home. It was a relief.
And then there are times when an invisible hand seems to be planted firmly in my back, or perhaps grasping my head, and I am moved suddenly with almost no warning. Such as the case when I moved suddenly right before Hurricane Katrina. I made it out of Louisiana one month before the storm hit and I was here and suffered no loss personally, whereas every single person I know back in Louisiana and Mississippi did.
I left Louisiana after leaving a management position that wasn’t a good situation, and being unable to locate another job within a period of time which I determined would have to lead me somewhere else. I couldn’t stay, so I had to go.
I was so lucky I went, because I was spared all the destruction all the others faced by the two storms. Not to mention I met someone very special very soon after making it here, so I guess I’m pretty lucky after all.
I try not to question the grasping/pushing hand at my back/head. So far it seems I’m being led somewhere, and since I wasn’t particularly going anywhere anyway, I decide to follow and see what happens.
Posted by meadowsleigh in April 6, 2009
Driving through the night alone
From the sultry Crescent City
To the family home in Mississippi
(as I had done just the week before)
Some things are never noticed until it’s too late.
The top of the hill
I slammed on the brakes,
cried out in dismay,
For the forest was gone.
Where before a stand of trees
Thick and tall and full of voices
That sang in my head unheard
For as long as I can remember
Was now a graveyard of stumps
Where the trees used to be,
Framed in the headlights were corpses
Of ash, pine, oak and hickory.
The trees had voices,
never noticed or acknowledged,
never spoken to in greeting or goodbye.
The voices of the forest were the loudest
They had ever been once gone,
Their absence like a shout in the darkness.
I sat at the wheel and cried at the silence.
Posted by meadowsleigh in April 1, 2009
As global events unfold, and we are drawn more and more into situations where we must work together as nations to survive our financial crisis, a lesson in astrology could be helpful to international diplomacy. When considering relations between America and China, we should consider that we are dealing with two nations who are not remotely compatible and have little in common, with one exception. The commonality is that both countries are Cardinal signs, which means both want to be the leader. America is Cancer, China is Libra.
These two countries can, and should, try their best to get along but it will not be easy. Astrology teaches us that whenever we have two signs which have the same quality interacting, that relationship is full of tension and can be troublesome. But tension can be a good thing. Tension creates energy that can be channeled in positive directions, if the two countries can maintain diplomacy and remain focused on their mutual beneficial goals.
Libras are quite bossy. There. I said it. I once called my girlfriend “General Babin” because she constantly ordered people about. If you allow them to take over, they will. They will immediately begin to reorganize or redecorate your living room in accordance with what they think your decor should be. They don’t even mean any harm by that, they are just trying to help you, and fufilling their Libra-driven urges toward beauty and order. Plus, they figure they are the natural leaders of any group. For instance, just this week, China came out with their call for a global currency. Which they will desire to administrate, no doubt.
Do you think the U.S. is going to peacefully go along with that? Absolutely not. The U.S. is a Cancerian nation, with some heavily aspected planets in Gemini. Cancerian motivation to lead is driven by insecurity and mistrust that others will be adequate to lead. A leader who expects a Cancer to follow like a lemming off a cliff will be sadly disappointed. The U.S. determination to be the military and financial leader of the world is driven by our insecurity, and, believe it or not, a dislike of confrontation. We have built up a huge military in part to deter attacks. Then 9/11 happened, and like normal crabs attacked at home, we came out swinging and pinching.
Here’s where things get touchy: we have a lot to lose, and China may trump us in the long run if we’re not careful. Talks with China must remain calm and non-threatening at all costs, especially as they continue to develop into a world super power. We have to be careful to keep smiling and friendly even if the tension is crackling with danger. Because an outright confrontation with China is definitely not something we want. We have a lot to gain from a successful relationship between these Cancer and Libra nations, if we can just get along.
Posted by meadowsleigh in April 1, 2009
This CNN article details how more and more college graduates are turning to community service oriented jobs, such as teaching instead of finding jobs in the fields of their majors. Why? Because these jobs offer security and a different kind of fulfillment. Though they may have intended to make six figure salaries, the current financial crises turn them to aim in a different direction. I think there is a lesson here: that the greatest financial gain does not mean you’ve got security or fulfillment, and the altruism that is associated with the new age of Aquarius will no doubt lead many more to serve instead of make a killing in the stock market. Take care of each other, and everyone is taken care of.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/03/31/national.service/index.html?eref=edition_us
