Twelfth Night, or What you Will

Yes! More Shakespeare! This one involves more of the cross dressing, gender swapping, servant mischief, weddings, parties, and fun that we've come to expect from Edward DeVere's comedies. The story was based in part on an Italian tale, Ingannati (The Deceived/The Deception). The Italian play was hosted on the last day of Carnival in February, 1532. And here's where we get back into our year long theme of how calendars are much more fluid than we like to believe, or at least were more fluid than they are today! Speaking of fluid, this blog entry is not; It looks like I'll be jumping back and forth. I hope you can keep up with my bizarre train of thought because we'll be switching tracks often!

The debate about the birthday of baby Jesus includes January 6th as a potential date, 12 nights after the old solstice night of December 25th. The "epiphany" is said to refer to the birth of Jesus.

I've posted before about the feast of Lucia on December 13th being the 12 days before old solstice. December 25th was the old solstice date. Thanks to earth's strange tilt and wobble action on its axis, past and present astronomical timing varies. Thanks to the many varied changes in the calendar system, things are much further off than in ancient days! AKA: Ow, headache looking at the old and new calendars and the changes they went through!

Januarius was not always the first month of the year. Earlier it had begun, perhaps more sensibly, in March (Martius) with the onset of Spring. Januarius and Februarius were added by Numa Pompilius, one of Rome's kings in the pre-Republic days. He also moved the beginning of the year to Januarius and set the number of days equal to 29 because Romans considered odd numbers lucky. Notice that all of the festivals are held on odd-numbered days. Centuries later Julius Caesar set the length to 31, as well as adding days elsewhere to fix the problem of the months no longer corresponding to the seasons, a result of the fact that the Roman year was shorter than the actual solar year. 

So we have: A festival of the divine midwife 12 days before old solstice, the current celebration of the old solstice as birthday and a celebration 12 days after the old solstice. One month after that, we have the Parentalia Novindialia, a nine day festival honoring ancestors and Lares. The Celts had the Imbolc festival where we once again find a maiden wearing a crown of candles. The church then baptized the festival and called it candlemas. There's also a whole host of other Italian festivals throughout the remainder of January, including the Compitalia which moved every year, between December and January and was thought to be part of the continuation of the Saturnalia feast. And don't forget La Befana! The elder woman who brings gifts at the hearth for the children! I still believe her to be an aspect of Vesta or the Elder midwife, whereas Lucina is the younger aspect, She is the elder, sort of a reversal from Saturn's Old Man Winter and transformation into Baby New Year. I've never liked the story about "the wise men" asking La Befa for directions. Why? Men never ask for directions! ;) La Befana might well be derrived from L'epifania, the epiphany. Is She the personification of Light born into the world? Another case of the Man bringing down and covering up the Matriarchy? Turning Her into a crone who is forever chasing after the men? Yes! I knew I could work a conspiracy theory into this!

Just some fun confusion when trying to untangle the thread of past practices and their influence on what we do today. I find it interesting that Twelfth Night was first performed on what is considered the end of the carnival season which started on Hallow's Eve and ends with Candlemas. There was a superstition that your decorations had to be taken down by February 2nd. That has been changed to taken down on January 6th. I personally play it close to the later and take it down before the Festival of Janus on January 9th. Can't exactly make with the new year when you have decorations up for the old year.

Speaking of New Year... January was NOT the start of the year, it used to be March! We started, back in the day, with Spring and Mars, the Ram, as the dawn of the new year. However, the Roman calendar was shorter than the actual path of the earth around the sun, and so January and February were added to the calendar and January made the start of the year with honors due him, then to Februus, the month of cleansing, and then we came to March and the proper start of the year, or at least the start of the military campaign season. There's another example of the old calendar no longer matching up thanks to the tilt-a-whirl of a planet we're on: The Precession of the equinoxes! The Ram hasn't been on the horizon in 2,000 years. It's been the fish!

Let's add the next layer! Carnival! ok, wait lets not and say we didn't. Between all of this calendrical fun and my continued reading of Macrobius, I'm getting a thick headache. I have, however, been given a ritual for the new year. I've been contemplating which date to do it: Should it be on the first? On the 9th, which is the festival of Janus and the Full Moon? Both? ;)

The ritual involves the icon of Janus as the joining of Diana and Apollo. An ancient scholar, Nigidius, was a senator who was also "a Pythagorean and a Mage," is quoted by Macrobius as assuring us that Diana = Jana and Janus = Apollo, or Dianus with Apollo being an imported name and Dianus being a local name. This was the topic of one of my early posts, I just didn't have Macrobius and Nigidius on hand to back me up ;)

To review: Janus and Jana were most often spelled as Iana and Ianus. The names Jupiter and Juno were the same as well: Iuno and Iupiter. (Was it just easier to chisel an I than a J or was the J not in the Italic alphabet?)

The word "of" is rendered many different ways in Italian, including d'

Why is that interesting? Because now we have D'Iana and D'Ianus, or, Diana and Dianus.

This means that the symbolism of Janus is the creation of the universe. Diana divided Herself and created her brother. The Deus Biceps represents that moment of creation. That is why Janus is honored at all beginnings. Last night I said that Janus is potential energy itself. I will refine that: The symbolism represents Beginnings, both primal and mundane- the move from chaos to order, the original begetting of creation. For the kabalists out there, I'd say it represents the moment when Keter splits into Binah and Chokmah. Keter also has the title: The Primordial point. So am I rockin with the spheres now? Must ask the Evil Twin- it might be time to finish our Muppet Tree of Life! Ha!

Sincere apologies for switching tracks tonight. Looks like last night's post on Janus wasn't complete. I'm still not done with Macrobius, you'll be seeing more from there. Let's close with some famous words from Twelfth Night:

But be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Let's make it a Great year!

Hekate's Night

Goddess Hecate of the triple road

Protect my family and abode

Lead me through darkest night

Grace my journey with your light

Saffron clad with serpent coils

Bring fruition to my toils

As canines bark and silence rend

Your holy feast I will attend

Garlic, poppies, sweets and grain

Tonight with you I'll dance again. 

-SoD original

A few words I was inspired to write now for Hecate's night. She is described as "saffron cloaked" which always made me think of the sun and how She is seen with Apollo in the typical tale of the Eleusinian Mysteries. I nearly smacked my head and said "duh!" when I realized that saffron is sacred to Mercury, with whom I believe She is a divine pair. He is the essence of Saffron and She is Saffron cloaked? Sounds like a euphemism! Also, the two appear together in the same tale as the Psychopomps who return Persephone to Demeter.

I'm off to celebrate Her tonight!

Now it is the time of night
That the graves all gaping wide,
Every one lets forth his sprite,
In the church-way paths to glide:
And we fairies, that do run
By the triple Hecate's team,
From the presence of the sun,
Following darkness like a dream,
Now are frolic: not a mouse
Shall disturb this hallow'd house:
I am sent with broom before,
To sweep the dust behind the door.

- A Midsummer Night's Dream

Other fun things

I did some really wonderful, necessary, Mercury-is-direct-and-we're-retreading-ground type work tonight for the new moon, and I'm just wiped out from the energetic output. I'm going to take a mulligan on this post and hope to be up n at em again tomorrow! In the meanwhile, here are some fun articles to read and videos to watch:

An article by James Jacob Pierri on Hypatia of Alexandria and Aradia. A good, quick read!

Nemesis is recommending Tubelo's Green Fire by Shani Oates. I've always had an interest in the Clan of Tubal Cain and the way Nemesis is gushing about this book, I plan to read it too. Bibliophiles unite!!!

The movie Anonymous, about Edward De Vere as the real writer behind "Shakespeare." Why do I care so much? Because I love a good conspiracy, Shakespeare moves me, and Edward De Vere was a contemporary of Giordano Bruno and John Dee and wrote about both in Hamlet and The Tempest respectively. He also included Pagan deities in every play, including Diana, Apollo, Mercury, and Hecate. Also, everything in the plays matches up to events in De Vere's life. I also love a well costumed period piece and I need folks to go see this with with me. Check out the trailer!

Handwritten...

What's the big deal about writing things down? Typing is faster! Neater! With typing, you can get the words out almost as quickly as they come to mind. Imagine what "Shakespeare" could have done with a computer!

Yet, a certain something missing: Unless you know the author, you won't always be able to understand the tone in which something is typed. Sometimes when you have heard the author you can still misinterpret their meaning or project a tone of your own invention onto their words. It's happened to me, and recently too.

There is magic in a page that is handwritten. Your tone can be read in the stroke of the pen. A whole science has risen up around the art of writing, called graphology. Curiously, Leo Martello was a graphologist and wrote books and lectured on the subject. It's called a "pseudoscience" by some, which I don't understand, because it has been and continues to be used to identify people legally. Funny how most things which require the art of interpretation are called "pseudoscience."

Depending on your personality or mood, or thoughts of the moment, your handwriting changes. I know that when I'm in a rush my penship is particularly illegible. It looks rushed. Here is a page which defines the different traits of penship. It has examples, and really involved explanations and a few profiles too. But I digress...

You are putting yourself, your energy, into the words. It takes time and thought and a deliberate act of committing something to the page. Here, I just delete typos or a turn of phrase I don't like. When writing, you simply take more care in what you say and how you say it. There is a reason magical rites, if written, are copied by hand. It's an investment of energy, another literal passing of the torch between student and teacher.

I will endeavor to write by hand much more often. My penship is awful when I don't stay in practice!

I'm going to leave off here tonight with a promise to explore automatic writing, history, practice and techniques some time soon!

Mercutio

And yet another form of Mercury! Today I was so happy to find the top article on The Juggler. It's a look at Romeo and Juliet from a Pagan perspective, specifically in regard to Queen Mab and to Mercury. I recommend reading the article. It illustrates several reasons why I adore "Shakespeare" plays. I like how they illustrate Mercutio, even though I don't think they went far enough, but I forgive them! ;)

 So- a Shakespearean character named for all intents and purposes “Mercury”: A noble youth (young enough to pal around with Romeo), possessed of a formidable verbal wit (one would not wish to be on the receiving end of Mercutio’s rapier-like scorn), and a sense of honor and temperament firm enough that it is Tybalt’s jeering insults regarding Romeo that cause Mercutio to take out his sword and challenge Tybalt to the duel that will end Mercutio’s life.

John Barrymore as Mercutio

A fascinating conflict-of-philosophy is uncovered when Mercutio and Romeo make their entrance (I.iv) in the company of various other guys, intent upon the Capulets’ ball. Romeo reveals himself as a Romantic, longing for the ecstasy of romantic love and complaining (in kind of masochistic tones) about how horribly painful it is to be “out of love.” Mercutio does not seem to share or understand this attitude at all- unlike Romeo, who interprets love in emotional (and heterosexual) terms, Mercutio consistently speaks in terms of erections (“pricks”/ “beating love [one's erect penis] down”), and is never seen outside the companionship of other men. Whereas Romeo is in an agony over the pangs of unrequited love (but soon to be moved to the heights of ecstatic love), Mercutio is a sexually graphic individual, possessed of a kind of masturbatory personality, and apparently very penis-oriented.

Exactly!

I've been working with Him often, especially during this retrograde. I had some idle time between clients today and began to meditate on Mercury. When I was done with my meditation, I checked the time which lead to my checking facebook. That is where I saw the title of this article at the top of my newsfeed.

Two of my loves, Mercury and Shakespeare, together in a moment of synchronicity!

Dear Mercury,

Thanks for the love note!

Yours Always,

B

Astro-turf

I've been reacquainting myself with the body-astrology and came across this quote:

"Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners. So that if we will plant nettles or sow lettuce, set hyssop and weed up thyme, supply it with one gender of herbs or distract it with many—either to have it sterile with idleness, or manured with industry—why, the power and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills." --Shakespeare, Othello.

The astrological signs govern parts of the body (ie Capricorn = skin)
When the moon is in a certain sign (ie: we just had a full moon in Capricorn),
doing something to improve that part of the body will yield greater results (ie: have a facial at the spa when the moon is in capricorn and your skill will improve more dramatically than when having a facial at any other time).

This works the opposite way as well: You might not want to go out drinking when the moon is in Cancer which rules the liver! The alcohol is said to have an even more detrimental effect on the liver at that time. However, if you drink Milk Thistle tea when the moon is in Cancer, it will benefit your liver even more than usual.

Do you try to work with the lunar rhythms? I have my astrology calendar up which has moon phases, signs, aspects and when it' void of course. I do my best to keep an eye out for the most beneficial times to do things, but if something has to happen at a certain time despite lunar position, I'm ok with going for it.