Hail Mercury!

We're back in that special time of year when Mercury turns retrograde. I've posted about this previously, in last December's warm-up to daily blogging. Someone I know created a fb page for people to post Mercury retrograde horror stories! :-o Therefore, tonight's blog entry is dedicated to the many wonderful aspects of Mercury retrograde and I invite you to add to the happy!

Many months ago, I was contacted by a few of my dearly departed relatives, one of whom told me to call my cousin, her granddaughter. My cousin and I had been out of touch for years. No one I knew had her number. I had her email address, or so I thought, and sent her an email. No response. What happens today? She calls me out of the blue. She spoke with another cousin who had been out with my mother just the day before and was able to get my phone number. I told her about the contact immediately and that I was told to get in touch with her. I feel like a new door has opened, or rather, a door I thought I lost the key to.

How did this happen? Mercury Retrograde. Talk about old business! He can provide new opportunities, new insight, new points of view and new energy. I'm energized!

Yes, of course crazy stuff can happen during this time too, but I'm tired of too many complaining and not enough praising the opportunities. Call me a fuffy white-lighter if you must. I think I'm Opposite-Dame: If everyone is complaining, there must be something good ;)

Are you willing to look for the (quick)silver lining in this retrograde?

Detail of The Festival of Psyche, tapestry by Giulio Romano

Dancing with Ereshkigal

I was debating posting this. I don't often share such personal experiences, but as I've thought about it, the idea of posting this has felt better and better.

This evening I had time to myself and used it to Journey. I "centered" myself and entered through a door here on my land.  I've been there before and had something in mind of what to expect. I realized that was a mistake, I didn't want to impose my own ideas, I wanted the reality of the place. Once through the door, the passage was completely dark. I walked a much longer way than expected to reach the area I had been to previously. I came to a shore, it was that packed wet sand that doesn't get between your toes and isn't muddy either. There I met Mercury in his full travel regalia. He led me into the boat. The boatman briefly revealed himself then became invisible. Funny, his disappearance looked the same way as in Harry Potter when he donned the invisibility cloak but with a spin instead.

I journeyed across the water to the other side. It wasn't a long trip, but the water was "active." The ride wasn't smooth and I saw the water come in over either side of the walls of the boat, a comic book blue color. As soon as it touched the bottom of the boat it shrank away as if recoiling.

I stepped out of the boat onto a similar shore. Only there, I saw an empty throne which on my last trip had been occupied. This time, there was only Her. Ereshkigal, Great Queen of the Underworld. She looked the same as the last time I journeyed there: Covered head to toe in all black with some gold decoration - a fringe of small gold baubles on her forehead over her eyes, the only part which wasn't covered. I walked to where she was seated and she stood and faced me. She took my hands. Hers were completely white and her clothes seemed to follow her, as if a cape were hooked to each wrist I realized later that this symbolized wings. She and I danced together and as we danced, we talked. She didn't waste words and was very to the point, After we talked and danced, She asked me to dance for Her and I did: It was incredibly freeing. I also found myself dressed in completely different clothing than when I had first arrived. The dance was my gift to Her, an offering for meeting with me.

I think I'm ok with posting this because part of what we discussed included something for me to contemplate, a kind of offer to accept. I asked for time to think about it, but once I returned, thanks to a quick flying Mercury, I knew exactly what I needed to do and got to it. I suppose this blog is my answer. I don't know if I have it in me to do another journey tonight considering I'm still under the weather. I'm not sure I need to. They don't always need you to tell them in person. I feel her smiling as I write this.

I had started a different post on the history of Sumeria, Akkadia, Babylon and Assyria, but was called to this instead. We'll do a history lesson another time. Meanwhile, you can get a head start on wiki because yes, this does relate back to Italy! But so does everything ;)

Holding Back

I find that when something is important, be it a spell, a ritual, an initiation, reading a certain book which you know will change your perspective, so many things seem to get in the way. I was carpooling with a cohort to her dedication ritual. She was late to my house because she fell on the ice getting to her car.

Another anecdote involves a train running late, a cat who hairballed on a robe, mundane life getting in the way where work piles up and new projects get dropped on desks out of the blue. Sometimes it's just a feeling of lethargy that can overtake you. You get too lazy to do The Work, or it starts to feel overwhelming. The later is what happens to me: I rebel against my to-do list when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

So what to do? I think this is where the importance of community comes in, why so many Strega will commune with the wiccans when it's just not their flavor. Humans are social creatures (tho my husband might object to that statement lol Hi sweetie, love you, no this isn't a test to see if you read my blog). I spoke to a friend about this feeling and she helped me to kick my own ass and get over it. I wasn't running to put on a robe, but as soon as I felt well today, I got that proverbial tap on the shoulder, that whisper in my ear. I knew what I needed to do, how I needed to do it, and that I had to do it that very minute. Happily, I was available and got right to business. I feel so much better having gotten past that hurdle. All of which brings me to the question:

Are these obstacles self-imposed? Are they manifestations of what we project? Do we not want that initiation, that knowledge, that rite? Are they imposed by those who wish to foil our work? Negative energies or entities? Are the obstacles sent by those who would test us to make sure this is what we really want?

More questions than answers. Let's thank the high dose of vitamin c for tonight's ramblings. I'm off to read more about Archangels and angels in general and their presence in Babylon and hope to hear other thoughts on the matter.

Brucia La Terra.

Greetings All,

I will make this very short and sweet. The Godfather 3 features this moment with Anthony Corleone playing and singing this authentic Sicilian ballad for his father Michael Corleone played by Al Pacino. His daughter Mary and her cousin Vincent also appear in this video. Mary is played by Sofia Coppola and her cousin Vincent is played by Andy Garcia. Michael is reminded of his first wife Appolonia Corleone.

Obviously you must be a fan of the whole Godfather series to associate this very memorable part in the Godfather 3. Did I fail to mention I am a huge fan of the Godfather trilogy?

Many Blessings,
Dusio



The lyrics, and the translation are here.

Buona festa della Cornucopia!

I'm under the weather tonight so I'm going to take it easy. Hope you enjoy my fevered ramblings!

I saw HP 7.5 today. It should have been called: Harry Potter: The Initiation. Best line of the entire series, courtesy of Dumbledore: "Of course it's all in your head, Harry, but why should that mean it isn't real?"

Cornucopia reading led me to the legend of Amalthea, who is said to have been the foster-mother of Zeus while he was an infant and hiding from Cronus. I love the wiki quote on this one:

In Greek mythology, Amalthea or Amaltheia is the most-frequently mentioned foster-mother of Zeus. Her name in Greek ("tender goddess") is clearly an epithet, signifying the presence of an earlier nurturing goddess, whom the Hellenes, whose myths we know, knew to be located in Crete, where Minoans may have called her a version of "Dikte"

Amalthea's skin, or that of her goat, killed and skinned by the grown Zeus, became the protective aegis in some traditions, a vivid enough metaphor for the transfer of power to this Olympian god from that of the goddess who preceded his cult.

That's been a theme here, hasn't it? Digging back to see where the ancient patriarchy usurped the matriarchy... Is this another reason why Isis is so adored? Because she took power from Ra and placed Osiris and Horus on the throne? Here again we have Goddess as King-Maker in the realm of the living and of the dead.


I also find it interesting that today is the "Birthday of Isis" and in 2 weeks it is the Feast of Diana (Nemoralia) and the Greek Feast of Hecate and the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Coincidence? Not so much.


Abundantia is depicted as carrying the horn of plenty, as were other Goddesses, but she is the one many picture. This point in the year is indeed the time of plenty: fruits and veggies are ripe, the fields are about ready to harvest and as Gershwin put it: "Summertime and the living is easy."




To close, here's funny to share with readers who aren't on my Facebook: A friend waxed snarky about the perils of being a bystander to the Feast of Cybele amongst other Mystery/Initiate undertakings and lamented that "those were the days." That phrase happened to get a song stuck in my head, so here it is, the Ancient Ways Lament:

Boy the way Apollo plagued,
Goddess Feasts and Cult Parades,
Vestal Virgins had it made,
Those were the days.

And you knew the Mysteries then,
Some for Women some for Men,
Goddess, we could use an Emperor like Hadrian again.

Rome had the largest Cult of State,
Overflowed libation plates,
Triple Goddess cakes taste great,
Those were the days!

(If you don't know which tv show theme song that was from, you might be too young to read this blog. But only slightly ;)

And welcome to our newest team member, Word, who will hopefully provide us with a few to muse about. 

Will you do the Fandango?

A few nights ago a friend planted a song virus. The line she posted on her facebook status: "I see a little silhouette of a man..."  You know the reply! I bet you've already sung it in your head:

"Scaramouche Scaramouche will you do the fandango?"

Actually, his name is Scaramuccia and he was a stock character in la commedia dell'arte. The character was invented in the 1600s. He's "a big boastful clown" with affected speech and gestures.

"The exact origins of commedia dell’arte are unclear. Most scholars believe it was influenced by ancient Roman and Greek comedy and by the medieval traditions of carnival acrobats and jugglers."

Commedia was also the first time where women were accepted as performers. I suggest downloading the pdf linked above. It's a Student's Guide to Commedia and is well written and more informative than a mere wiki article. It also discusses how commedia is still influencing today's comedy entertainment, including everything from Saturday Night Live to the buffoonish dad popular on so many sit-coms. Commedia is the first situation comedy.

There were stock characters: the old man, the bufoon, the zanni (zany!) aka servants, the damsels, the heroes and so on. With each actor committed to a character, only the situation would change. Each had their routine comedy bits or tags which were used in every sketch (d'oh!).

Some of the regular "gags" aka lazzi:

Two servants carry in a ladder and spin around, hitting everyone as they set up (make em laugh!)

Pantalone, a stock character, was famous for having a comic heart attack (Fred Sanford: You hear that Elizabeth? I'm coming to join you honey!)

Scaramuccia was a later edition to the world of commedia, and thought to be derivative of an early character, Il Capitano. The first recorded commedia performance was in 1545. The fandango and Scaramuccia weren't invented until later. Can we guess his schtick was dancing the fandango? ;)

From the holy wiki:

Conventional plot lines were written on themes of adultery, jealousy, old age and love. Many of the basic plot elements can be traced back to the Roman comedies of Plautus and Terence, some of which were themselves translations of lost Greek comedies of the 4th century BCE

Recently I've been pulled towards studying the Italian Renaissance. Looks like this is the start!

Salute!

This is a bonus blog, mostly because it's a quickie and I feel like it might make up a bit for the past 2 days with nothing much to share:

When someone sneezes, the typical response is "bless you!" In Italian, they say "Salute!" meaning "to your health." Take a gander here:

The name on the coin: Salus Publica. The Goddess of personal and public health. She was oft conflated with Hygeia and had various temples in Rome and sanctuaries in which she was honored. You may consult a variety of sources on this for more information, including this page of numismatic niftyness (Roman coins!).

So when I say "Salute," I'm saying "Goddess Bless you!" Italians continue to invoke the old ways as a matter of course, even when they don't even know they're doing it ;)