Primal Invocations

 

“There were two forests for every one you entered. There was the one you walked in, the physical echo, and then there was the one that was connected to all the other forests, with no consideration of distance, or time.

The forest primeval, remembered through the collective memory of every tree in the same way that people remembered myth- through the collective subconscious that Jung mapped, the shared mythic resonance that lay buried in every human mind. Legend and myth, all tangled in an alphabet of trees remembered, not always with understanding, but with wonder. With awe.”
― Charles de Lint, Spiritwalk

 

The way that Charles de Lint describes forests is the way that I talk about archetypes including the god and goddess archetypes in myth and ritual. For every one there is the archetype that we relate to in our head, with our personal association and the way we see the force and then there is the primal figure and symbol, that which is both inherent in its being and the collective view of everyone who contemplates the archetype. Thus when we invoke Pan or Isis or Legba or pray to Jesus or Jehovah, we are first connecting to our personal image of that deity and through that we reach the central figure. The more awareness of who we are invoking and how they are seen that we have and the clearer our vision than the closer we get to the root of that being. This is as true of places as it is for god forces and symbols.
BLessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Goddess VeiledThe Goddess Veiled by G A Rosenberg

 

UvallUvall by G A Rosenberg

 

Mykonos and Delos

 

“I fear that, with our current veneration for the natural and the real, we have arrived at the opposite pole to all idealism, and have landed in the region of the waxworks.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche,

 

Yesterday the boat ride to Delos and back was amazing.
Layers of belief with the same deities being given new names again and again. Thus the Phonecian goddess Astarte becomes the Egyptian Isis becomes the Greek Artemis becomes the Roman Diana and somewhere on Delos is a temple to each as each culture supplants the old.
Pan, sone of Hermes played his lyre and brings the Maenads to frenzy represent by a black cat who revels in the sun at the entrance to his temple while the temples to Apollo and Dionysius face each other like two respected rivals.
Consulting the Pythia and having her drugged insights interpreted giving some sign and direction of which way to go.
It would take a week to fully do justice to what has been uncovered on Delos and we had but hours. Still walking the ruins in the hot Mediterranean sun was fascinating.
In the museum, Aaron cannot take a picture of my head placed atop the beheaded state of Pan without incurring the guard’s insistence that the picture be deleted. Still we play and wonder amidst the art of the past. On the boat ride back, the Mediterranean baptizes me with its spray (well soaks actually) but its exhilarating. Back in Mykonos at the docks, we try to photograph a lizard that moves all too quickly much like our time in this beautiful area.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

DelosDelos

 

Statue of Pan  c2000BCStatue of Pan c2000BC

 

Dionysian Temple PhallusDionysian Temple Phallus

 

Mykonos From the SeaMykonos From the Sea

Wishpoosh and Coyote – Creation Myth From the Nez Perce

“Myth must be kept alive. The people who can keep it alive are the artists of one kind or another.”
― Joseph Campbell

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

The Nez Percè tribe in the Pacific Northwest tell of a great Beaver Wishpoosh who jealously guarded the primordial lake from all creatures wishing to swim in it. Coyote wanted to fish in the lake one day and ended up in a brawl with Wishpoosh. They fought from one end of the lake to another causing gauges and land masses to shift in form and break off causing the formation of the uneven coastline there.
Finally needing to recharge a bit Coyote transformed himself into a jagged branch and floated on the lake. Unfortunately Wishpoosh saw him and came along and swallowed him whole. Coyote transformed himself into a giant needle and started cutting Wishpoosh up from the inside out into a thousand pieces each of which became a tribe of humanity. The tribes that formed from pieces of the head became very wise. The ones that formed from the arms were very strong. The ones that formed from the legs became very fast runners. According to some versions of the legend, some were made without eyes or mouths so Coyote had to return to finish the job and did it sloppily which the Nez Percè attributed some of the strange looks that other tribes have.
Coyote is a trickster / scribe deity and the splitting apart of another deity has echoes of Set and Osiris. Also death by the prick of a needle has elements of the death of Baldaur in Norse mythology.

This is the first of what will hopefully be a recurring feature on Waking Spirals taking a look at myths and legends and perhaps will result in some art pieces as well.
Blessings, G

 

Ocean ReflectionOcean Reflection by G A Rosenberg

 

Inner Butterfuly MandalaInner Butterfly Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Inner Voices – Rambling Thought Streams

“Gaze into the fire, into the clouds, and as soon as the inner voices begin to speak..surrender to them. Don’t ask first whether it’s permitted, or would please your teachers or father or some god. You will ruin yourself if you do that.”
― Hermann Hesse

 

We ask for guidance from inside, from outside but do we accept it when it comes. Do we write, do we fight the words that come. Are we numb to their meanings rejecting, deflecting protecting ourselves. In wonderful rationalizations we avoid the temptations that they offer thus conditioning does make cowards of us all. What deities or beings or inner higher selves may whisper what we need to hear? We care and we fear but do we dare?
I open myself to the guidance of all and I will fear not but my own discernment.
Blessings, G

Click on images to see full-sized

 

Eye of the WarriorEye of the Warrior by G A Rosenberg

 

Front ManFront Man by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – November 23 2012

“Just as anyone who listens to the muse will hear, you can write out of your own intention or out of inspiration. There is such a thing. It comes up and talks. And those who have heard deeply the rhythms and hymns of the gods, can recite those hymns in such a way that the gods will be attracted.”
― Joseph Campbell

Invoke o man the deity
that speaks your souls desire
Invoke with passion
and with sound
Invoke with song
and with colour
Draw Sigils in the air
and on the ground
in water
Ignite your sign with fire
Use perfume pleasing to god or goddess
and know their presence
Worship with open mind and soul
and see purpose fulfilled
— G A Rosenberg

 

Repeat as needed for as many different aspects of the universe you wish to know and to integrate within. The hardest part I always find for myself becomes the channeling of intent tho I become better at it.
If you have difficulty believing in the efficacy of such a practice, try it. If the idea of invoking a deity offends you, try invoking an emotion, a feeling or perhaps a saint or angel, astrological sign or tarot card, whichever speaks to you. At the very least it may lead you to effective meditation and powerful prayer.
Blessings, G

 

Click on image to see full-sized

 

Knight of Swords by G A Rosenberg

Green Vortex by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – August 23 2012

“We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges.”
― Gene Wolfe

I awoke in a place filled with fire and smoke. It seemed that the smoke should make things look obscure but instead somehow they seemed brighter.

“What am I doing here? Where is here?”

 

“You don’t know where you are. Funny I thought you claimed you spent most of the time here inside your own head.” A deep honeyed voice answered with a laughter that was more kind than cruel.

“In my head?”

“Yes it felt like high time that you should meet us?”

“Us?” “Who are you?” Looking up I noticed where the voice was coming from. His eyes shone with love and pride. He radiated power and control and overall love. “Are you gods?”

“No….and Yes. We each symbolize many things for you. Everyone has thousands of symbols that represent their dreams their hopes and yes their deities. Each of us represent a complex of very powerful symbols for you. You have been working on yourself and your awareness quite a bit this past while and we thought we’d help you along. Each of us has something to tell you. Each of us will answer one question for you. I represent the idea of deity and paternal love and pride to you. What would you ask of me?

What questions would you ask?
Blessings, G

To be continued….

Click on images to see full-sized
In A Dream I Find My Symbolism by G A Rosenberg

 

Purple Sun Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – July 28 2012

“Let my worship be within the heart that rejoices,
for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals.
Therefore, let there be beauty and strength,
power and compassion, honor and humility,
mirth and reverence within you.”
― Doreen Valiente, Charge of the Goddess

 

 

“What do you believe in?”, she asked

“You mean politically?”, I asked with a smile. I wanted her to work for this one. A complicated answer deserved a considered question at the least.

“I mean spiritually. Do you believe in God, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, nothing?”

“All of the above and many others and perhaps none of them.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve heard me talk about the elephant. That combination of all partial viewpoints that each of us have. The truth that lies beyond any one person’s or one group’s understanding.”

“Yes, I’ve heard you mention it. The five blind guys and all that… But then who do you pray to?”

“I pray to the universe, to the guiding spirit that resides in everything and that everything resides in. I pray to god and I pray to goddess and I pray to the union of them all. I pray to all the different aspects of the universe that became personal deities for individual or for groups. I give homage and respect to them all because they are all part of the bigger picture. At the same time I acknowledge that no one has quite the correct view because by its very nature, the ultimate deity, that universal entity has to be bigger than us all. I also acknowledge that I may be wrong and their might not be any guiding force. That doesn’t feel likely for all kinds of reasons but I acknowledge the possibility”

Her brows furrowed and I wondered if my babbling was losing her interest. “Tell me about goddess”

“She is mother who nourishes us and soothes us, she is lover, she is confident, she is wonderful and terrible, storm and temptress, daughter and wrath… she is Venus, Kali and Nuit. Think of every female archetype you can think of and she is at once all of them and none of them”

“You have some strange ideas.”

“Or perhaps they have me.”
Blessings, G

 

Click on image to see full-size
How I See Her As I Lay Sleeping by G A Rosenberg