“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSL (January 3, 1892 – September 2, 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and a Fellow of Pembroke College, both at the University of Oxford. Wikipedia
Hieros gamos of Hera (shown with Iris) and Zeus, 1900 drawing of a fresco at Pompeii.
Hieros gamos, hieros (ἱερός) meaning “holy” or “sacred” and gamos (γάμος) meaning “marriage,” or Hierogamy (Greek ἱερὸς γάμος, ἱερογαμία “holy marriage”), is a sacred marriage that plays out between gods, especially when enacted in a symbolic ritual where human participants represent the deities.
The notion of hieros gamos does not always presuppose literal sexual intercourse in ritual, but is also used in purely symbolic or mythological context, notably in alchemy and hence in Jungian psychology. Hieros gamos is described as the prototype of fertility rituals.[1]
Sacred sexual intercourse is thought to have been common in the Ancient Near East[2] as a form of “Sacred Marriage” or hieros gamos between the kings of a Sumerian city-state and the High Priestesses of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and warfare. Along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers there were many shrines and temples dedicated to Inanna. The temple of Eanna, meaning “house of heaven”[3] in Uruk[4] was the greatest of these. The temple housed Nadītu, priestesses of the goddess. The high priestess would choose for her bed a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos celebrated during the annual Duku ceremony, just before Invisible Moon, with the autumn Equinox[5] (Autumnal Zag-mu Festival).
Greek mythology
In Greek mythology, the classic instance is the wedding of Zeus and Hera celebrated at the Heraion of Samos,[6] along with its architectural and cultural predecessors. Some scholars[7] would restrict the term to reenactments, but most accept its extension to real or simulated union in the promotion of fertility: such an ancient union of Demeter with Iasion, enacted in a thrice-ploughed furrow, a primitive aspect of a sexually-active Demeter reported by Hesiod,[8] occurred in Crete, origin of much early Greek myth. In actual cultus, Walter Burkert found the Greek evidence “scanty and unclear”: “To what extent such a sacred marriage was not just a way of viewing nature, but an act expressed or hinted at in ritual is difficult to say”.[9] The best-known ritual example surviving in classical Greece is the hieros gamos enacted at the Anthesteria by the wife of the Archon basileus, the “Archon King” in Athens, originally therefore the queen of Athens, with Dionysus, presumably represented by his priest or the basileus himself, in the Boukoleion in the Agora.[10]
In Tantric Buddhism of Nepal, Bhutan, India and Tibet, yab-yum is a ritual of the male deity in union with a female deity as his consort. The symbolism is associated with Anuttarayoga tantra where the male figure is usually linked to compassion (karuṇā) and skillful means (upāya-kauśalya), and the female partner to ‘insight’ or ‘wisdom’ (prajñā).[11][12] Yab-yum is generally understood to represent the primordial (or mystical) union of wisdom and compassion.[13]
The symbolism of union and polarity is a central teaching in Tantric Buddhism, especially in Tibet. The union is realized by the practitioner as a mystical experience within one’s own body.
In Wicca, the Great Rite is a ritual based on the Hieros Gamos. It is generally enacted symbolically by a dagger (known as an athame) being placed point first into a chalice, the action symbolizing the union of the male and female divine. In British Traditional Wicca, the Great Rite is sometimes carried out in actuality by the High Priest and High Priestess.
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”
― Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS (May 18, 1872 – February 2, 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, and public intellectual. He had influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, and various areas of analytic philosophy. Wikipedia
New Thinking • Feb 23, 2024 This video is a special release from the original Thinking Allowed series that ran on public television from 1986 until 2002. It was recorded in about 1994. It will remain public for only one week. The genuine spiritual tradition of all religions encourages the cultivation of independent action and conscience. David Steindl-Rast, Ph.D., a Benedictine Monk, is co-author, with Fritjof Capra, of Belonging to the Universe. He proclaims that the message of Christianity is that we are all related to god and through god to each other. Now you can watch all of the programs from the original Thinking Allowed Video Collection, hosted by Jeffrey Mishlove. Subscribe to the new Streaming Channel (https://thinkingallowed.vhx.tv/) and watch more than 350 programs now, with more, previously unreleased titles added weekly. Free month of the classic Thinking Allowed streaming channel for New Thinking Allowed subscribers only. Use code THINKFREELY.
ArchetypalVie • Feb 23, 2024 Archetypal astrology is an approach influenced by Jungian and transpersonal psychology that studies the connection between the changing positions of the planets in the solar system and archetypal patterns in human experience and history. The evidence of consistent correlations between planetary alignments and world events, as seen through the lens of archetypal astrology, can provide us with an invaluable larger context for our time. Understanding the current world transits in terms of the cyclical patterns and historical trends that led to this moment can help us engage with greater consciousness and skillful intelligence the powerful forces now active in the world. In this sense, archetypal astrology can be seen as a kind of cosmic extension of the great depth psychology project initiated by Jung and other pioneers over a century ago: helping us become more conscious of the deep unconscious, less like puppets and more like co-creative participants in relation to the archetypal powers within and around us. Join CIIS Professor Emeritus and cultural historian Richard Tarnas for an in-depth overview of what’s happening with the planets during these challenging times, helping us better understand the profound drama currently facing the Earth community.
REFLECT = to turn or bend something back; to divert, deflect; to make manifest – to mirror, realize, consider
QUESTION: What do you reflect upon?
STORY: I have attended weekly figure drawing workshops every Friday for probably thirty years. Picture it: a small group of about 6 or 7 artists sit on “donkey chairs” with their sketchbook and pencil or pen or whatever they use to draw. The model is a person who is paid a small amount to sit or stand or lay down quietly while we draw. Beginning poses are quick, one to 5 minutes. Then we have an hour of 2 or 3 twenty minute poses. And maybe we end with a 50 minute pose. I don’t remember where I was when I did this drawing. To me it reflects a human being who has suffered greatly. He may be reflecting on help from above. I feel the story, the Spirit, the energy, the emotions – of the man in this drawing. How does creativity help us to reflect on what really matters? Whether you write a poem or sing a song or do a drawing – creativity connects us. We all are creative beings and it is essential for us to reflect upon and to draw out our own unique creativity. Learn more in my drawing classes: https://www.drawingtogether.com/drawing-classes
QUOTES
“Your soul needs time for solitude and self reflection. In order to love, lead, heal and create – you must nourish yourself first.” ~ Louise Hay
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” ~ Erich Fromm
“A healthy social life is found only when, in the mirror of each soul, the whole community finds its reflection, and when, in the whole community, the virtue of each one is living.” ~ Rudolf Steiner
EXERCISE
STOP.
Sit quietly. Assume an erect posture.
Sense the breath.
Sit calmly and reflect upon your own unique creative expression.
Relax. Breathe.
Get your pen and paper and write words or draw lines expressing your Spirit, energy and emotions that are flowing now through you and all life (people, animals, trees, flowers, air, water, earth).
Move forward into your day reflecting upon your unique creative life purpose.
The Virgo Full Moon prompts attention to the importance of order, rigour, and detail. Virgo is life’s natural librarian, keen to get those books, full of so much knowledge and entertainment, catalogued in a logical order, so we can find the info we need. If only life could always run this neatly — we might feel less at sea! But with Saturn and Neptune continuing through Pisces, we proceed against a potentially chaotic background and can feel a little lost and confused more often.
The order and chaos ends of the spectrum are strongly highlighted under the zodiacal opposition of Sun and Moon, a polarity given extra weight on the Pisces side as Mercury bands together with Sun and Saturn. With several planets involved, we may experience strains in various areas, including communicating with others and attempting to set plans in place. Saturn in Pisces links to messed-up schedules and timetables; little goes according to the exact systems we are used to. Transportation may run at unexpected times, or we may have to handle delays. The Moon in Virgo must ride the emotional wave and attempt to keep a semblance of calm throughout this bumpy journey!
It is often the emotional impact we must work through, and we are blessed if we have some awareness and experience to apply. If not, then we can observe ourselves and learn as we go, doing the best we can. Some people may also experience physical impacts, as earth sign Virgo connects us with our body; sea-or altitude-sickness, or food and digestive issues may challenge us, even if they would not otherwise do so. Virgo tends to worry, but must ultimately access the ability to keep calm and carry on! Since the opposition involves mutable signs, our watchword is flexibility, and we must recognize we’re in a process and go with the Piscean flow.
If there is an upside to oppositional aspects, it might be that they remind us of where and how we need to find more balance. Once we flag the problem, it is up to us to decide whether something can be done, and how we might take action to find more equilibrium. Some would argue that life is always in a state of flux and imbalance, but under the Full Moon, we notice this all the more. We may feel increasingly lost or on the outside, a stronger sense of “us vs. them,” or that the true path has been temporarily obscured.
The Moon is disposited by Mercury, also located in Pisces. It seems we are not only shipwrecked, but have also lost our map along the way, or listened to instructions from someone ill-informed or intent on sending us adrift. However, as countless stories tell us, we can only stay in this desolate state for a while. We will reach a low point, perhaps a Saturnian moment, when we think we are doomed, with nothing left and no sensible way out — when some blessing drops out of the heavens, thanks to a Moon–Jupiter trine in Taurus, a combination that could be described as the “Midas touch.”
To be fair, the plot of our lives might not unfold in this precise order; if we follow the logic of the applications of the Moon to other planets, then the Jupiter trine happens before the Saturn conjunction; perhaps there will be a cycle of ups and downs on this choppy sea. But something Mercury in Pisces can manage is to plumb the depths of memory, playing tricks with time. If we know about NLP (neuro linguistic programming) techniques, or other mental and meditative strategies that help us dip in and out of different time frames and cognitive states, we can make fantastic use of positive Jupiterian memories to boost our faith, hope, and confidence — whenever we need them.
This article is from the Mountain Astrologer by Diana McMahon Collis
Queer Frame Archive • Aug 3, 2023 Two male musicians fall in love, but blackmail and scandal makes the affair take a tragic turn. Read more about this film and others at queerframearchive.org.
PROJECT SHIFT • Dec 19, 2022 Portrait of a Radical focuses on the revolutionary nature of what has been described as the Jesus Movement. It was a truly radical movement that threatened the power structure of his time – from the temple establishment to the Roman occupiers themselves. Many do not know of the revolutionary nature of His mission and ministry. Likely because it threatens very similar power structures to this day. This film aims to expose a side of an historical figure who forever changed the world. For many the better, while for others, his radical message continues to be a threat. Portrait of a Radical is one in a four-part series that was released in 2000 entitled A Crisis of Faith. The award winning series aired on PBS, Hallmark and Discover Canada as well as being featured at over 60 film festivals around the world. The subjects addressed are the inherent dangers of capitalism in A Crisis of Faith, the revolutionary and radical nature of Jesus in Portrait of a Radical, Racism in State of the Union, and the western spiritual journey in Quest for the Holy Grail. Some of the country’s top philosophers, academics, activists, poets, religious scholars and story tellers were brought in to challenge, provoke and inspire the viewer. Names such as Huston Smith, Richard Rohr, Calvin Butts, Sam Keen, Allen Dwight Callahan, Jean Houston and Kathleen Cleaver. And music by some of the greats – The Doors, Miles Davis, Gabrielle Roth & the Mirrors, Gil Scott Heron, Jean Luc Ponti and more. The style of filmmaking was highly innovative for a documentary film in 2000, and has held up over time. The subject matter and the views of our great thinkers have more than held up and, in fact, proven truly prescient. Project Shift will be releasing the additional three films over the course of 2023 as well as some of the raw, uncut interviews that form the basis of this powerful series. So subscribe and stay tuned. To learn more about our other works, please visit our website at www.Project-Shift.com. This film was produced by Four Seasons Productions
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