Month: June 2009

  • Writers Choice Featured Questions Week 50

    Writing prompts for discerning writers with more to say
    than Xanga's Featured Questions gives them credit for.

    five questions for this week

    If Willy Wonka came up to you right now and offered you a job in the Chocolate Factory, would you accept it? explain.
    Cameronie

    Is space exploration relevant to today's society?
    whatever_fin

    Are large stockpiles of sophisticated military weapons necessary to deter foreign aggression?
    WondersCafe

    What do you feel the biggest difference is between being 100% honest and giving too much information ?
    Ezekiel36_33to36

    What is your belief of the afterlife?
    Jolteus33

    Answer any one or all of these questions in the coming week. I try to mix the whimsical with the serious here, so hopefully there is at least one question here for everyone.
    June 7th
    (today)

    The Romans honored Vesta, goddess of the hearth, with the Vestalia or the Vesta Aperit. Her shrine, usually forbidden to all but the Vestal virgins, was opened to married women for eight days. Walking the temple bare foot, they would offer food to the goddess who guarded their homes and hearths. Curtained off from the rest of the building was the Penus of the Temple of Vesta. For some days at the Vestalia, it was opened, and the building was cleaned. The penus contained various mysterious sacred objects. No one but the Vestals were allowed entry, so the nature of the items was never known.




    June 8th
    (tomorrow)

    The goddess Mens, consciousness, was honored with a festival designed to make us aware of what makes us human and to act consciously.

    Lindisfarne Day commemorates the first Viking Raid in England.

    According to folk traditions, rain today meant a wet harvest.

    In many Japanese villages, an ancient rice festival is held annually. Women wearing traditional kimonos recite prayers and light rice-straw fires to honor the god of the rice and to bless the crops. In China, the Grain in Ear festival is celebrated at this time. The grain Gods are honored with old rituals to ensure a harvest of plenty.




  • WCFQ 49e: Evil is as evil does

    Is it ok to do evil things to evil people?
    GreekPhysique

    IMO, no it is never okay to do evil to those we perceive as evil. No matter how evil a person is, to emulate them in any way is to perpetuate the evil that we deplore. Actions speak louder than words. Even in a world of general ignorance, there will be those who observe right action, recognize it for what it is, and seek to emulate it. You do not have to agree with the dogma or creed of a faction to recognize the rightness of peaceful action.

    There are as many examples of people who chose a right action (peaceful protest, hunger strikes, letter writing campaigns, even the few cases of self immolation and laying down in front of tanks) to combat injustice as there are examples of the wrong action (terrorism, torture, social, political, or religious persecution). Any act of malice is an act of evil. The only way to answer evil is to be the example that others choose to follow. You can never hope to win against evil by adopting its methods. You cannot do good by doing evil. The ends do not justify the means.

    When we look into the future and think about what we want for our children, do we see them acting as torturers and warmongers, or do they live lives of peaceful contemplation and creation. Are they happy or are they angry? Do they destroy or do they create? We are the caretakers for the next generation and we are the ones who must set the example that others choose to follow. No matter our beliefs, our actions should always be a standard that defines the morals of our society.

    A society based on torture, terror, and theft is a doomed society. It is only by assuming the role of caretaker and honoring the unborn that we can form a just and long lasting society.
    June 5th

    Traditional corn dances are performed by the Pueblo people during the Spring and Summer months to honor the Rain People and the Earth Mothers. The dance ensures a good harvest and blesses the earth. Rattles are shaken, and women dress in white and feathers.



    Saint Gobnatt of Ireland, a version of Domna (Domnu or Damna), patroness of sacred stones and cairns is honored through ritual perambulations. She is also known as Damhnaid, Damnata, Davnat or Dimna. In Ballyvourney in Cork near the bank of the Sullane River, she was known as Gobnet. At a green mound called 'Gobnatt's Stone, the bushes on the mound were decorated with rags tied to the branches. Nearby was a Holy Well. Devotees would travel four times round the cairn and saying seven prayers at each round. Boccoghs (beggars, especially lame ones), gathered to exhibit the Sheela-na-Gig, and image of the goddess. They were sometimes referred to as Gobnatt's Clergy. Sheela was the patroness of women, and Gyg is the name in Norse for a female Jotun (Giantess). A wooden image of Gobnatt (or Abigail as she was called) was preserved in the drawer of the sacristy at Ballyvourney.



    In the year 8498 BC, the legendary island/continent of Atlantis sank beneath the waves in a cataclysm believed to have been brought on by the anger of the great god Poseidon.



  • WCFQ 49c: We're soaking in it

    Frank Zappa said that scientists, in believing the universe is primarily hydrogen based, are wrong because stupidity is more plentiful.... What do YOU think the universe is mainly comprised of?


    Generally, I'd have to agree with Zappa. I agree with him on so many fronts. If stupidity were something that could be measured, it would be the most plentiful component of human existence, but the universe? It's comprised mainly of matter and energy and combinations there of, exotic energy (dark matter).

    As my college biology professor was fond of saying, matter is recycled but energy passes through. This universe is most plentiful in matter, hydrogen or otherwise, or so science would have us believe, yet a significant portion of our immense and immeasurable reality is composed of dark matter, a substance which it is currently impossible to measure and equally impossible to examine. It is dense enough to exert magnetic force on the rest of the universe, but what is it?

    I prefer to think it is energy, perhaps the energy that "passes through" or passes on or gathers as matter becomes a compromised vessel. In other words, dark matter exists because things die. It is the death energy, the gathering host, the after life, "god" reforming from the bits and pieces that form us and our reality. So, in this universe, even more plentiful than hydrogen, matter, or stupidity is energy, or in other words, life or divinity. We're saturated in the stuff.

    I believe (and this has no basis in science but is merely my musings coupled with exposure to various religions), that we (and the rest of reality) exist primarily for the entity formerly known as "god" to explore itself. Like the Buddhists, I think that individuality is an illusion, though I'm not so hardcore about it. I do don't seek to reject experience and this material existence because I think that our existence is primarily existential. We exist to feel, grow, learn, or experience whatever comes our way. We may come to the material universe, again and again, as often as we like (and it is a choice), or decide instead to give up our unique identity and merge with the divine. Though early Christian writers bandied about the idea that reality could only exist in the absence of God, or that God withdrew to observe, I think instead we exist within god, constituent, but ignorant parts of the divine (one of the heresies of various Gnostic sects). It fits with my beliefs as a pantheist, namely that all matter has corresponding spirit... all things from the pebble you kick on the sidewalk, to the plants, animals, people, the earth itself and the sun, are all as much a part of god as we are. We are not unique and we are not better. We are simply one more aspect of the divine expressing itself, interacting with other facets of the divine, and growing and experiencing in order to take that knowledge back with us to eventually share our understanding of ourselves with Ourself, if you get my meaning.

    But I can still agree with Zappa. Stupidity is very much a part of the human experience. We're very fond of denying the divinity of everyone and everything around us and even within us. Which in a way I suppose also serves a purpose. If we were all equally aware of the divine in us and around us, it might interfere with our ability to observe existence from an unbiased view point.




    June 4th

    Socrates was born in 470 BC.



     

  • WCFQ 49b: It's a Decepticon Eats Cobra Commander World

    When in your life have you felt the strongest?
    run_karatekid

    You know, it runs counter to what you might expect, but I felt strongest after deciding not to kill myself when I was in high school. I don't think I've felt stronger before or since, though every time I've made a definitive decision, like quitting horrific jobs on the spot (twice), I've felt empowered. 

    There's just something about a life altering decision that makes you feel powerful. No one can take that away from you. It feels... right. It feels like waking up and wanting to get out of bed in the morning instead of rolling over and going back to sleep. Some days, I think about doing things that cannot be undone. Decisions which I would have to live with if I made them. Like, instead of going to work, just keep driving, maybe not stopping until my gas or money runs out. Call it post traumatic stress syndrome or a fugue, but some days I almost miss the turn to go to work. And hey, if I'm going to miss the turn, might as well keep going, right?

    Decisions are easy to make, but reality tends to fall into place more easily than people. People always have to go and complicate things. I rarely plan anything with my family because they don't like the things I like and are not inclined to follow my lead on anything. If I stop to consider other people, I seldom make a decision at all because someone is bound to find fault with it, family, friends, or work. So when I can make a decision that completely disregards the feelings of others and centers solely on what I need and what I feel, it is the most empowering thing I can possible do. When I can make a choice that begins and ends with my needs and not feel guilty about it or worry about the consequences (or at least not right away), that is when I feel strongest.

    There comes a point where I feel quite mulish, when I decide to plant my feet and refuse to budge. What I perceive to be the last straw, others might consider negligible, but that's the thing about the last straw... it doesn't have to be much. It just has to be the final thing that can't be borne. When I finally put my foot down and lose my temper, I can't be talked out of my decision.

    I once worked for a manager in a convenience store who swore like a sailor on a daily basis. She, and this was a woman (though by no means a "lady"), would curse every single one of her employees out for no other reason than that she could. I am not a person who is fond of cursing in general, but mostly I kept busy and therefore did not earn her wrath. Finally though, she wrote a three page note filled with expletives and forced everyone who worked there to read and sign it. I read it. I signed it. And then I went back to her office and told her I quit. When she asked me why, I told her it was because of her note. Her response was that it wasn't directed at me. Still, I had been made to sign it, and I was sick of the job and the constant stomach pain. So I left without a backwards glance.

    Guess what other job has been giving me stomach pain lately?

    When I was a kid, cartoons led me to believe that there were always two kinds of leadership techniques... Autobots or Decepticons, GI Joe or Cobra. Turns out it's more a matter of which despot you want to work for, Megatron or Cobra Commander. Which would you choose? I feel strongest when I decide to be GI Joe, but sometimes I feel a bit like Starscream, plotting my eventual triumph over my cretinous overlord(s).




    June 3rd

    In Cyprus, Cataclysmo, a pagan celebration in remembrance of the flood sent by Zeus to destroy wicked humanity, is observed. The locals pray for the dead and make a special trip to the sea, sprinkling each other with the sea water which is especially blessed this day. Traditional water games are played and a dance in which six glasses of water are balanced on the head is performed.



    In Japan, a Buddhist ritual for young girls is performed annually on this date and is dedicated to the goddesses Befana, Bona Dea, Kuan Yin, Rumina, and Surabhi.



    Marion Zimmer Bradley was born today.



    On the third and last day of the Secular (Centennial) Games, Proserpine, Juno Regina, Diana, the Moerae (Parcae, the Fates), the Eilithyiae, Lucina, Ceres, Luna, Fides, Pax, Honour, Virtus, Copia, and Terra Matter are honored. Offerings were made to Apollo and Diana on the Palatine. After the offerings on the third day, twenty-seven boys and twenty-seven girls sang hymns and paeons in Greek and Latin.



    Worship of Bellona was introduced by Appius on this day.



  • June

    June is the sixth month of the current Gregorian calendar and the first month of summer. It is the "door of the year," the gateway to the inner realms. The original name for this month was Junonius. It was named for the Roman goddess Juno, patron of the female sex, and so this month was considered an excellent month for marriages. As Juno Moneta, whose temple was located on the Capitoline hill in Rome, she was guardian of money and wealth. June is sacred to Juno and all gods and goddesses who preside over love, passion, and beauty.

    The Irish call June Meitheamh or an t-Ogmios, the young month. The Anglo-Saxon name was Aerra Litha, "before Litha." The Franks called it Brachmanoth, "break month." June is called Fallow by the Asatru.

    The first Full Moon of June is called the Hot or Strawberry Moon in parts of America. It is also referred to as the Strong Sun Moon, Lover's Moon, and Rose Moon, and it has been called the Moon of Making Fat and the Moon of Horses, and name similar to one of the names for May's Moon. It shares the names Mead Moon and Honey Moon with July.

    Cancer becomes dominant on June 21st as the sun passes from the constellation of Gemini. Roses are for those born this month. June plays host to many stones claiming to be its birthstone. Of them all, emerald is listed most, followed by agate, chalcedony, turquoise, pearl, cat's eye, or alexandrite, in that order. Pearl and moss agate are also birthstones of Gemini, and moonstone or pearl is the birthstone of Cancer. Chrysoprase, sapphire, and topaz are also connected to Gemini, while albite, chrysoprase, emerald, green tourmaline, opal, pink tourmaline, and rhodochrosite are associated with Cancer.




    June 1st
    (yesterday)

    The festival of Carna honors the Roman goddess of doors and locks equivalent to the Norse goddess Syn, the includer and excluder. Carna (Carne) acted as guardian of the larger organs of the body (heart, lungs, and liver), of domestic life, and the life of man. She warded off all the influences of evil spirits. She "opens what is closed, and closes what is open." Doors and windows should be repaired on this day especially considering Tempestas, goddess of storms, also lays claim to this day.

    The temple of Juno Moneta was founded on the summit of the citadel. (The Church of Santa Maria in Araceli now inhabits the site.) Money derived from the goddess was called Moneta as it was coined in the temple of Juno Moneta. Beginning on the previous night, offerings were made to Jupiter and Juno Regina. This is the beginning of the Secular (Centennial) Games dedicated to Proserpine, Juno Regina, Diana, Mars, the Moerae (Parcae), the Eilithyiae, and Terra Mater. Offerings were made beside the Tiber to the Moerae, the Eileithyiae, and to Terra Mater today and tomorrow. On the following day (after the first night), processions were held in honor of Apollo and Artemis. Hebe, Cup-Bearer of Olympus, was also honored. Hot bacon, and beans mixed with emmer-wheat were traditional festival foods, causing this holiday to also be called Bean Kalends (Kalendae Fabariae).

    This is also the festival of the Oak Nymph, honoring all hamadryads (female nature spirits who are believed to inhabit oak trees). Decorate a Pagan alter with acorns and wear some oak leaves in your hair. Kiss an oak tree or place a small offering of some kind before it, and the tree nymphs who dwell within it will surely bestow a blessing upon you.

    Ma'at and Ra go forth in secret on the 18th day of Epipi. 

    The Witchcraft Act of 1563 took affect in England.
    June 2nd
    (today)

    Gawai Dayak is a yearly festival held by the Iban people of Malaysia on the 1st of 2nd day of June to celebrate the gathering of the harvest. Families gather at midnight to offer thanks to the gods and invoke their blessing. A lavish feast is eaten and a man and a woman are selected as the embodiment of the year's harvest spirit.

    This day is sacred to Mother Earth in her fecund aspect.

    Shapatu of Ishtar is a Pagan festival dedicated to the goddess Ishtar, celebrated every year on this date. She is the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian deity who presides over love and fertility as well as war.

    The birth of the god Apollo is also celebrated on this date.

    On the Second day and third night of the Secular (Centennial) Games, distinguished women assembled at the Capitol to give prayers to Juno and sing hymns.