Inspiration from Gibran

I'm not a poetry enthusiast, nor can I tell the difference between good poetry and bad poetry. And, honestly, when people post their own poetry on their blogs I sometimes don't even have the patience to read it. There are only two poets I truly love: Emily Dickinson and Kahlil Gibran. Basically, I may not know much about poetry but I know what I like. The following is The Life of Love by Gibran.


Spring

Come, my beloved; let us walk amidst the knolls,
For the snow is water, and Life is alive from its
Slumber and is roaming the hills and valleys.
Let us follow the footprints of Spring into the
Distant fields, and mount the hilltops to draw
Inspiration high above the cool green plains.
Dawn of Spring has unfolded her winter-kept garment
And placed it on the peach and citrus trees; and
They appear as brides in the ceremonial custom of
the Night of Kedre.
The sprigs of grapevine embrace each other like
Sweethearts, and the brooks burst out in dance
Between the rocks, repeating the song of joy;
And the flowers bud suddenly from the heart of
Nature, like foam from the rich heart of the sea.
Come, my beloved; let us drink the last of Winter's
Tears from the cupped lilies, and soothe our spirits
With the shower of notes from the birds, and wander
In exhilaration through the intoxicating breeze.
Let us sit by that rock, where violets hide; let us
Pursue their exchange of the sweetness of kisses.

Summer

Let us go into the fields, my beloved, for the
Time of harvest approaches, and the sun's eyes
Are ripening the grain.
Let us tend the fruit of the earth, as the
Spirit nourishes the grains of Joy from the
Seeds of Love, sowed deep in our hearts.
Let us fill our bins with the products of
Nature, as life fills so abundantly the
Domain of our hearts with her endless bounty.
Let us make the flowers our bed, and the
Sky our blanket, and rest our heads together
Upon pillows of soft hay.
Let us relax after the day's toil, and listen
To the provoking murmur of the brook.

Autumn

Let us go and gather grapes in the vineyard
For the winepress, and keep the wine in old
Vases, as the spirit keeps Knowledge of the
Ages in eternal vessels.
Let us return to our dwelling, for the wind has
Caused the yellow leaves to fall and shroud the
Withering flowers that whisper elegy to Summer.
Come home, my eternal sweetheart, for the birds
Have made pilgrimage to warmth and lest the chilled
Prairies suffering pangs of solitude. The jasmine
And myrtle have no more tears.
Let us retreat, for the tired brook has
Ceased its song; and the bubblesome springs
Are drained of their copious weeping; and
Their cautious old hills have stored away
Their colorful garments.
Come, my beloved; Nature is justly weary
And is bidding her enthusiasm farewell
With quiet and contented melody.

Winter

Come close to me, oh companion of my full life;
Come close to me and let not Winter's touch
Enter between us. Sit by me before the hearth,
For fire is the only fruit of Winter.
Speak to me of the glory of your heart, for
That is greater than the shrieking elements
Beyond our door.
Bind the door and seal the transoms, for the
Angry countenance of the heaven depresses my
Spirit, and the face of our snow-laden fields
Makes my soul cry.
Feed the lamp with oil and let it not dim, and
Place it by you, so I can read with tears what
Your life with me has written upon your face.
Bring Autumn's wine. Let us drink and sing the
Song of remembrance to Spring's carefree sowing,
And Summer's watchful tending, and Autumn's
Reward in harvest.
Come close to me, oh beloved of my soul; the
Fire is cooling and fleeing under the ashes.
Embrace me, for I fear loneliness; the lamp is
Dim, and the wine which we pressed is closing
Our eyes. Let us look upon each other before
They are shut.
Find me with your arms and embrace me; let
Slumber then embrace our souls as one.
Kiss me, my beloved, for Winter has stolen
All but our moving lips.
You are close by me, My Forever.
How deep and wide will be the ocean of Slumber,
And how recent was the dawn!

Ancient Cave Art & Echolocation

I've always been fascinated by ancient cave paintings. Be they animals, human figures or more abstract images like spirals or odd-shaped symbols there's just something amazing about them. They are the proof that, even in prehistory, our very distant ancestors were not only capable of abstract thought but also capable of expressing themselves.

There are many theories attached to these ancient paintings. The animal images could have been painted to help hunters attract/become/honor the spirits of the animals they would have to kill to survive. The images of vulvae could have been ancient pornography or, more likely to my mind, meant to promote fertility and the perpetuation of offspring. The symbols and other abstract images could mean just about anything. Considering that what we call shamanism today was the norm back then there were most likely hallucinogenics used that not only opened eyes and minds but inspired the art of the day. But some of the art could have a more down to earth reason behind it.

A new study suggests that certain images were painted in certain areas where the acoustics were best. And the only way to test acoustics is to make music. According to a LiveScience article:

Ancient hunters painted the sections of their cave dwellings where singing, humming and music sounded best, a new study suggests.

Analyzing the famous, ochre-splashed cave walls of France, the most densely painted areas were also those with the best acoustics, the scientists found. Humming into some bends in the wall even produced sounds mimicking the animals painted there.

On the one hand it could be they tested the acoustics and painted as a way of making a guide to cave systems. Singing or humming to test the space of a pitch black unexplored cave is one very useful way of mapping out a space. Perhaps certain images were used like road signs: "curve ahead" and the like. But it's also quite likely that the music and paintings were aspects of ritual. Or both. It makes me wonder: which came first? The music or the paintings? And how did these two activities come together? It's the beginning of religion and the beginning of ritual that fascinates me most. What we call witchcraft and paganism today has its roots in these ancient ways; without them we wouldn't be doing what we do today.

Sick, Sick, Sick

So, it's my birthday and I did something I've avoided for months and months. I watched the TV news, CNN to be exact. And I'm feeling shittier about the world and the human race than ever. I think back to something George Carlin said: that he felt betrayed by the nation, by religion and by the species. I'm really feeling like that these days too.

Firstly, and the most obvious, we've all been betrayed by our government. We're waging a war under totally false pretenses and the only people benefiting are the oily assholes making billions of dollars while Wall Street has suffered the worst June since the Depression. Meanwhile, ordinary working folks are suffering under mortgages pricier than their actual homes and selling everything but themselves to pay for gas.

Secondly, organized religion is the pits, no doubt about it. If the Rapture of the Christians actually comes to pass, what then? The pagans and the heathens and whatnot will be left with a trashed planet and a trashed atmosphere and tons of crap to swallow. And if the Abrahamic folks are right about who gets into their heaven and who doesn't we'll be left with all the evil criminals too!

Thirdly, between the murderous bulldozer rampage in Jerusalem and Esmin Green dying on a NYC hospital floor after waiting 24 hours for care that never came I'm just about ready to write off the entire human race. I feel bad for the folks who were run over and crushed in Jerusalem. But I feel especially bad for Mrs. Green whose last day was spent waiting and waiting and waiting for help and then falling, convulsing and dying on a waiting room floor while security guards and other staff came, looked at her and then walked off. She must have been in all kinds of agony and no one gave a single solitary shit. I can almost understand why her fellow patients didn't come to her aid; this is a psychiatric waiting room we're talking about here and those folks are each in their own personal hell, trapped inside their own heads. But for staff to come and gawk and then walk away nonchalantly? It's just unfathomable. I only hope that her death may bring a little awareness to the hideous way we treat our mentally ill in this country. They are the butts of a thousand jokes and in many places, not just this particular filthy hospital, they are treated like shit simply for being sick. They are the weakest, most defenseless and most vulnerable people at the complete mercy of their so-called caregivers and deserve better than to be treated like cranky babies. What happened to compassion? What happened to respect for our fellow human beings?

Carlin would say, and did say, that everything started going downhill when the priests and the traders started selling us out. I don't know, I just don't know. Here I am on my birthday and I'm ashamed to be a human being. I'm baffled at the depths to which we have fallen. We are so full of promise, technologically speaking. But in terms of human interaction we are the lowest of the low. Are we doomed? Should we hope to improve the way we treat each other? Is there any hope to be had at all?

Monumental Morass

It seems there's a lot of problems with various ancient monuments being either neglected, cut off from the public or being degraded by ugly and poorly planned fencing and temporary buildings and other problems. It was recently reported that many ancient sites in Greece are falling to bits because of neglect. There have also been complaints about various Grecian sites being cut off from tourists or being open only for short days or being closed altogether to visitors due to lack of staff.

Yesterday, the authoritative newspaper Sunday Vima disclosed that the Cycladic isle of Delos - the site of Apollo's mythological sanctuary and one of Greece's most important ancient venues - resembled an "archaeological rubbish dump". Recently, it emerged that many sites, including Delphi, Mycenae and the spectacular Bronze Age settlement of Akrotiri on the popular island of Santorini, were only partially open or permanently closed.

Due to overwhelming criticism, mostly from tourists and tour guides, the Grecian government has made a push to add more staff to various sites and has publicly admitted the disgraceful state of many prominent ancient sites.

Now there's some more controversy brewing about the state of Stonehenge. Specifically, what was supposed to be a temporary visitors center has instead been left for years and is quite unsightly. There is also much to do about proposed roadways and promises the British government hasn't--so far--kept. It's reached the point where, once again, an elder Druid is camping near Stonehenge in protest.

Pendragon, 54, is hoping his protests will encourage the Government to remove the fences around the monument, build a tunnel over the A303 and grass over the A344...A public inquiry was set up in 2004 to look at ways of improving the traffic flow in and around the Stonehenge area. Among the many options that were discussed were a new dual carriageway and a 2.1km bored tunnel.

Seems Pendragon protested similarly in the 90s with success as the site was eventually opened to the public, whereas before it hadn't been.

All of these problems surrounding these ancient temples and sites saddens me and not just as a pagan but as a lover of all things ancient. Ancient sites are the remnants of the roots of our modern society. They hold so much mystery and have so much to teach us. As a pagan I naturally appreciate these places as many of them were worship centers for the ancient pagan and thus have a clear connection to modern pagans. Back in the day the gods were worshiped with multiple daily offerings at these temples, they are holy places, they are sacred. And I applaud Mr. Pendragon for his efforts to improve the state of things over in England.

I guess these problems are just a symptom of our Christianity-drenched society; the old pagan places just aren't very important. I'm cynical enough to imagine that many Abrahamic folks would prefer these ancient sites were bulldozed. I'm still baffled, however, by the British and Grecian governments' letting these important places go to hell; they are, after all, huge draws for tourists. Tourism is vitally important to both countries, and it amazes me that they'd shoot themselves in the foot this way.

P.S. Pompeii is now in a state of emergency due to its sad state.

Magnetic Archaeology

Magnetic Archaeology? Yeah, I made a weird face when I read it the first time too. But it's real, I swear. The technical term is: archeomagnetic dating, a process built around two phenomena: when heated, magnetic particles reorient themselves to magnetic north; and over time, magnetic north is, literally, all over the map.

Seems that, as time passes, magnetic north moves on this wibbly wobbly world of ours. This fascinating, and fairly new, technique of using that phenomenon to date artifacts is being used on Pawnee Indian artifacts from a dig in Kansas. Using heat the specimens are slowly, and in progressing stages, demagnetized until only the base magnetism is left. What this means is that objects can be magnetized by "outside" forces like lightning or other magnetic objects around them. The heating process removes these distracting magnetic fields so the objects' true magnetism can be analyzed. It sounds like science fiction doesn't it?

First their magnetic fingerprint is taken, and then they are slightly demagnetized. The process is repeated several times; eventually all that is left is the baseline magnetic signal, she said. If the material is fired to about 500 degrees Celsius or more, the magnetic field will point to where magnetic north was located at the time.

I thought carbon dating was high tech but this beats it I think. And I don't know why I'm surprised to learn that magnetic north changes over time. After all, this planet doesn't act very sober as it swims drunkenly through space. All pagans know a little about this kind of thing already as the irregular movements of the planet make some of our holydays bounce around the calendar by a day or two every year. I just never considered how that affected the science of archaeology. I guess you do learn something new every day.

Gifford Shoots Mouth Off

Recently, Kathy Lee Gifford made a fool of herself on national television. Nothing new you say? Well this time she also tried to make a fool of pagans. During the course of a wedding trivia segment on the Today show she lumped all pagans together as "nasty, bad pagans".

From the Witchvox proclamation:

Wednesday June 25th on the Today Show, host Kathy Lee Gifford was quizzing guests of a wedding on wedding traditions. On a question as to the origin of wearing the wedding ring on your left ring finger, an option for an answer was that "Pagans believed it was bad luck to carry metal on the right side."

Reading the question aloud, Gifford chose to say "The Pagans, the nasty, bad, Pagans, believed ....."

Now, I know the old saying. If you care what one person thinks you can get caught up in what everyone thinks and you'll never be happy. And I don't personally care much what Mrs. Gifford has to say about me. I think she's one of the bigger idiots to grace the idiot box. But this still sticks in my craw. Where does she get off calling us "nasty" and "bad"? Just who the hell does she think she is? And why would NBC let this happen? I'm so pissed I sent an email to NBC that runs as follows:

To Whom It May Concern,

Recently Mrs. Gifford lumped my entire religious group under the heading "nasty, bad pagans". I, like many of my fellow pagans, find this offensive. If she had said "nasty, bad Jews" or "nasty, bad Catholics" etc., there would have an immense and immediate public and media uproar. As it is, pagans are a minority religious group and therefore of little concern to someone of her standing. But be that as it may she has denigrated, insulted and belittled an entire group of people simply because of their religious beliefs. We are not "nasty, bad" people. We hold jobs, we pray, we love our families and friends and vote like members of other religions groups. We also watch the Today show and sometimes buy the products that are advertised during your show. It would be well, and honorable, for NBC, if not Mrs. Gifford herself, to make a public apology.

Whaddaya think?

To send a mature message to NBC email them at: today@nbc.com OR you can call them at 212-644-4249 then press 1 and ask for Today show producer Jim Bell. There is also a petition at Care2.

Please, make your voice heard and don't let this slight against pagans slide. There are more than enough of us to make our voices heard and let Gifford and NBC know that we will not swallow their shit. Just think of what other viewers must have learned from her hateful phrasing. Do you want the general Today-viewing public to think it's okay to call us "nasty" and "bad"? If not, then make your voice heard!

Herbal Company Files Suit Against FTC

Now all of us greenies and herbalists types know that a large part of herblore is historical information, some of which is outdated, but all of it interesting and useful. I myself often post herbal information from A Modern Herbal first published in 1931. And there are plenty of older sources to be found online and in local libraries. We all know that some of the older information isn't always that scientific and sometimes there is occasional information that is flat out incorrect because it was based on observation by amateurs (like me). And some of it is just plain 'ol interesting with little bearing on medicinal properties. But does that mean the historical folklore should be removed altogether? I happen to think not and so does a New Mexico couple who have recently filed suit against the Federal Trade Commission. It turns out the FTC threatened to file an injunction against the Native Essence Herb Company if the owners, Mark and Marianne Hershiser, did not remove historical herblore from their site.

The FTC, however, maintains that claims based on historical or traditional herbal use should be substantiated by scientific evidence. The agency's guidelines also state that advertisers should not suggest, directly or indirectly, that a supplement would provide benefits to those suffering from diseases unless there's reliable evidence to substantiate such claims.

The Hershisers argue that the historical information posted on their Web site came from federal government Web sites concerning herbs and herbal remedies and they should be allowed to provide that information for their customers.

I find this rather amazing and wish I could find the specific governmental web sites the information came from. Imagine, a federal agency demanding the removal of government provided information because it might be incorrect or somehow harmful. And can someone explain to me how providing historical herblore to folks buying herbs is a bad thing? I mean, come on, anyone buying herbs or herbal products already knows a lot of the aforementioned information so why remove the information from a website that happens to make a business of it? This sounds like useless, pointless governmental meddling to me. What do you think of this?