Lead Me Home

Oh Lord live inside me, lead me on my way

Lead me home, lead me home¹

It’s time to return home. To go to the place we remember. No matter how much how long it’s been, we will find our way. We go through the night, over strange lands, through tribes of strangers, without maps and asking of odd personages we meet along the road, “What is the way?”²  Because, it is time to go back to home, back to what is rightfully ours³.

Oh Lord in the darkness, lead me on my way

Lead me home, lead me home¹

It’s time to go home. Not a physical place where you live⁴, but a place to which we belong. A place somewhere in time, rather than space. Where we can feel whole again². A place where a thought or a feeling can be generated, maintained and cherished instead of being torn away from us by force. A place where people understand us⁴. That is home.

It’s time to return home. A place where there is not only time to contemplate, but also to learn, and uncover the forgotten, the disused, and buried. A place where we can explore the wreck, the damage that was done and the treasures that prevail. Contemplating our scars maps, and learn what led to what and where we will go next. A place where we can imagine the future².

Gifs by Fabi

Oh, my love, take me home, and make that place be your home⁵. The place where all is as it should be, where all the noises sound right, and the light is good, and the smells make us feel calm rather than alarmed. The place that gives us balance. This is home. Take me home is make that place bearable⁴. A place that allows us to experience wonder, vision, peace, freedom from worry, freedom from demands,  freedom to be who we are².

It’s time to return home. The cries of the suffering world cannot all be answered by a single person all the time². We need to rest from the daily struggles and hard work. We must get away from the demands of others. Let them paddling their own boat.

It’s time to return home. You coming with me⁶?

My home is where I am, my home is in my mind, my thoughts are my home, my home is thinking about the things I think. This is my home. My home is not a material place around … My home is in my mind.

Bob Marley

References and Notes

Thank you to each of you with your reading time, comments, links or citations make La Loba a  home, and especially  Fabi by her talent and dedication to this home, which is not only my but her too!

1.   Jamie Commons – Lead Me Home

Inserir legenda de vídeo aqui

2. Estes, C. P. 1994. Women who run with the wolves. Editora Rocco, Rio de Janeiro.

3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) – IMDb

4. BBC One – Spooks

5. Robin Hood (2006 TV series)

6. BBC – Drama – North and South

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English version _Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

No question that Guy of Gisborne is the character to turn to when work is treating one badly, is there?

me + richard armitage

Text extracted Women who run with the wolves

Clarissa Pinkola Estés

All creatures must learn that there exist predators. Without this knowing, we will be unable to negotiate safely within our own forest without being devoured. To understand the predator is to become a  mature animal who is not vulnerable out of naïveté, inexperience or foolishness. In fairy tales and stories the villain symbolizes this sinister force that must be recognized for what it is: an aspect of the psyche contrary to the nature of the soul that opposes the development of psyche and attempts to kill off all soul.

A force that is split off from its lifegiving aspect and needs to be overcome and contained. This is a crucial fact that we must acknowledge. Though we might have mercy upon it, our first acts must be to recognize it,  to protect ourselves from its devastations, and ultimately to deprive it of its murderous energy.

Too, in day to day life, there are a plenty of soul-thieves and consciousness-killers afoot. The predator does not feel, so he does not wish for his your victim to feel either. This is exactly the intention of the predator, for  the unredeemed aspect of the psyche does not feel, and in its insane envy of those who do, it is driven to a cutting hatred.

In the animal world, puppies learn to recognize the predator through the teachings of the parents. Among  wolves when the bitch leaves her pups to go hunting, the young one try to follow her out of the den and down the path. She snarls at them , lunges at them, and scares the bejeezus out of them till they run slipping and sliding back to the den.

Their mother knows her pups do not yet know how  to weigh and assess other creatures. They do not know who is a predator and who is not. But in  time she will teach them, both harshly and well.

Like the wolf pups, we need a similar initiation, one which teaches that the inner  and  outer world are not always happy-go-lucky places. However, many people do not even  have the basic teachings about the predators that the mother wolf gives her cubs. Without parents’  loving guidance, the child will certainly be prey early in life, since at the beginning of our lives our viewpoint is very naive, meaning that our emotional understanding of the covert is very faint. At this stage we are likely to perceive only the overt.

However, at this phase of our life, we are not only naive about our mental processes, but we are easily seduced by the pleasures of the ego. With extreme ease renounce our wild soul seduced by sweet dreams of ease, lilting enjoyment, of various pleasures, elevated status,  of increased security, eternal love and so we launched a very confusing situation.

Family, mentors, teacher and friends are not supposed to be destructive to the child if and  when they feel envy, but some  decidedly are, in both subtle and not so subtle ways. Even with careful parents, the child can be taught not to see the predator and, instead to “make pretty” all manner of grotesqueries whether they are lovely or not. In that sense, the basic training for children to “be nice”, especially girls, cause them to override their intuition about the predator. Imagine a wolf mother teaching her cubs to “be nice” in the face of a rattlesnake. The covenant made ​​unhappy by the child to be “good girl”, never say no to be loved with constancy, not only does not prepare them to recognize the predator, but actually purposefully taughtto submit to the predator. To be trained thuslygives enormous power to the innate predator and set one out  to be prey for others.  In the future, while it may be a external predator who denigrates and dismantles them life, the innate predator within them own psyche concurs with it.

But, besides young and naive animals, the predator has a taste for prey that is in some way  soul-hungry, soul-lonely  or in some other way disempowered. When we hambre del alma, a starved soul, we take something, anything that seems similar to the stolen from us. In this situation, the person burns with hunger for anything that will make her feel alive again. That is the trouble with famine. If something looks like it will fill the yearning, we will seize it, no questions asked.

Like the hungry soul, the wolf has  been portrayed as vicious, ravenous, killing to kill,  never knowing whenenough is enough. However,  only when there is trauma to an individual wolf  or pack does as a whole that the normal pattern of behavior changes. There are two ins intances in which a wolf kills excessively. In both, the wolf is not well. The wolf  may kill indiscriminately when it is ill with rabies or distemper. A wolf may  kill excessively after a period of famine. Also a starved  soul can become so filled with pain,  a person can no longer bear it and bursts into a destructive spiral.

Thus, to recognize the predator we must learn to recognize the strategies used by him to attack the vitality of  prey. First, the complex predatory, using the voice of the ego, attacks our creativity, our ideals and our dreams. Second, the predator has the ability to twist human perceptions and vital comprehensions we need to develop moral dignity, visionary scope, and responsive action in our lives and in the world.

The devices used are denigration  of the victim’s purpose,  disparaging language used  to to describe the prey, blind judgments, proscriptions, and unwarranted punishment unjustifiable. These are the means by which the predator changes the life-giving messages between the soul and the psyche into death-dealing messages that cut hearts, cause shame, and even more importantly inhibit us from  taking rightful actions.

In our personal psychic work , we receive switched messages from the predator constantly_ “I am good, I am not so good. My work is deep work, my work is silly, I am making a difference, I am not getting anywhere, I am brave, I am a coward, I am knowing, I ought to be ashamed of myself.”

 This psychic ambush  is meant to loosen your faith, not only faith in yourself but in the very careful and delicate work  you are doing in the unconscious. Finally, the predator in his final assault he mutilates us. He mutilate our ability to feel, see and heal. He causes us to lose our psychic ability to grasp, to hold, to help ourselves or others. This is how all poscrastinations which give rise to   self-hatred, all shame-feelings which are pushed down and away to fester, all the new beginnings which are sorely needed, and all the long overdue endings are not met. Wherever the predator lurks and works, everything is derailed, demolished and decapitated.

So how we can to frustrate a predator? The basic tactics of a predator is a surprise, is not being detected by the prey. So the first step is to learn to sniff. What is behind the visible? What is it which causes that shadow in the middle of savannah? If there is a shadow something, if there is a forbidden something  it needs to be looked into. Those who would develop aconsciousness pursue all that stands behind the readily observable: the unseen chirping, the murked window, the lamenting door, the lip of light beneath a sill. They pursue the mysteries until the substance of the matter is laid open to them. They’re not afraid of darkness deeper psyche, of investigate the worst. They are not afraid to discover the bodies, viscera and bones.

Once the a prey detects a predator it backtracks and  loops. The prey dives into the ground to escape the predator  and then unexpectedly surfaces behind him.  This is the psychic maneuver we must to do in order to reestablish our sovereignty over our own lives. Thus, the prey stalls for time, it bides its time, it plan its strategy and calls up its power internally, before it makes an external change. In the process of confronting the predator, no matter how we feel exhausted, to survive we must force ourselves forward anyway, we can not give in to the fatigue.

In the psychoanalytic milieu the antidote is consciousness of one’s foibles and gifts, so that the complex is unable to act on its own. Analysis, dream interpretation, self-knowing,exploration, all are undertaken because they are ways of backtracking and looping. They are ways of diving down and coming up behind the issue and seeing it from a different perspective. We dismantle the predator by countering its diatribes with our own nurturant truths. Predator: You never finish anything you start. Yourself: I finish many things. We capture invidious thoughts before they become large enough to do any harm, and we dismantle them. We dismantle the predator by maintaining our intuitions and instincts and by resisting the predador’s seductions. We dismantle the assaults of the natural predators taking to heart and working with what is truthful in what the predador says and then discarding the rest.
Ultimately, the mature animal, the wild soul does not romanticize the  predator. He knows what is integral, knows what needs to thrive, knows a predator when he sees one, know what to do about it. Even when pressured by the most distorced cultural  or psychic messages, even with a predator  loose in the culture or in our personal psyche, we can all still hear  the original wild instructions, and follow them.

That’s what we learn when we dig down to the wild and instinctive nature, when we do the work of deep initiation and development of consciousness. We take on a massive enabling through the development of uninterrupted sight, hearing, being and doing. We learn to look for the predator instead trying to shoo it away, ignore it or to be nice to it. We learn the tricks,  disguises and the way the predator thinks. We learned to read between the lines in messages injunctions, expectations or customs that have been perverted from the truthful into manipulative.

We learned to extract energy from the predator and turn it into something else. The predator’s rage can be rendered into a soul-fire for accomplishing a great task in the world.  The predator’s craftiness  can be used to inspect and understand things from a distant. The predator’s killing nature can be used to kill off whathat which must properly die in our lives. Then, whether the predator is emanating from our own psychic milieu or from the culture outside oneself or both, we are shrewd and able to meet it head-on and do what needs  be done.

Reference

1. Estes, C. P. 1994. Women who run with the wolves. Editora Rocco, Rio de Janeiro.

2. Robin Hood (2006 TV series)

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Dream in Sydney – Part II

Dreaming is waking up inside.

Mario Quintana

Dreams are as portals to our inner world. This is my reading of my dream in Sydney. There are many symbols and messages in this dream. Some part, I understand and part of that comprehension, I share with you. Some are secrets that I still keep with me. As always you are welcome to share your thoughts!

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Read before: Dream in Sydney

1. Each woman manifested throughout her life the different faces of the Goddess, the feminine energy. In the dream this feminine energy first appears as the face of the crone Goddess who represents the midwife, the Witch, the Wise Woman, because she knows the occult and the spiritual world. It is the Queen of Mysteries and also the Goddess of Healing. It governs the endings, the knowledge, the transformation and death. In the dream called to deal with the hidden face of the Goddess is so strong that I appear as the Night Queen, dressed in a long black dress. The significance of the color black is mystery, protection, and control of the self. However, as a friend reminded me, the black can also reveal our vulnerabilities and fears. Here is the meaning of the Night Queen by Jessica Galbreth.

The Night Queen is about to embark on a journey. She looks back at us to see if we are ready to go with her. While she does not know where she going, she knows why she is going. She seeks wisdom and is willing to venture into the unknown to find it. She wraps herself in a black cloak, the color of the night, but underneath she’s uncloted, a symbol of her vulnerability during this trip to the unknown world. Her companion is a raven who will help you whisper  secrets and the messages. In her hand she carries a representing the purpose of her quest: to unlock the door to  mysteries. The Night Queen  invites us to visit the dark corners of our soul and the uncharted realms of the spiritual world. Realize that this is not a pleasurable ramble through the woods, with sunlight spilling through the leaves. Instead, we will be asked to bare your soul and face our fears.

2. To balance the feminine energy of Queen, arises Richard Armitage represented the King in his fullness. There is an atmosphere of seduction and complicity between the couple, who share secrets and intimacy. He knows where I’m going, and why I’m going. The actor tells me the chorus of the song The Garden by Einsturzende Neubauten, with a slight variation. I first heard this song of saturnine temperament when I was very young. For me, the song speaks about the passage of time. The time required for the awakening of consciousness and maturity of the soul. To heal our wounds and being whole in a relationship. Above all it talks about waiting, waiting for the other person’s time. That is the promise in my dream: You’ll find me in the garden waiting for you  when you are ready for it. If not, send me the rain.

You will find me if you want me in the garden unless it’s pouring down with rain You will find me waiting through sping and summer You will find me waiting waiting for the fall You will find me waiting for the apples to riped You will find me waiting for them to fall You will find me by the banks of all four rivers You will find me at the spring of conciousness

3. The door symbolizes the crossing point between two states, between two worlds, between the known and the unknown. The door opens on a mystery. But it has a dynamic psychological value, because not only indicates a passage, but invites cross it. It is an invitation to journey into the unknown.

4. I let the Goddess in her crone aspect and I become the maiden, the seed of than will become. I go back in time, to my university days and my world is a colorful place and full of dreams. I bring here the words of a friend, because I can not express myself as well as she: “I was a basically happy young woman, ambitious, but eager to  learn and try new things. When we are young there is a world of possibilities open to us. I can have everything and be what I want. I’ll find a job, the right job, and I’ll be great for him. My research will always fascinate me. I’ll always love you.” So I meet this other version of myself. A version that made different choices of what I did. I have a sense of mourning for all the choices I did not, for all the broken dreams or not realized, the loss of that version of myself. But, “what kicks me in the stomach is the sudden reminder of the longing I feel for that kind of unburdened relationship with the universe and fate.” However, sea water washes my feet, getting rid of all the blame that we carry for our choices and the weight of our broken dreams.

5. The otter symbolizes feminine energy in its perfect balance. She lives on earth, but your home is always near water. The elements Earth and Water are the female elements by exelencia. Otter is always moving and is very curious. With its sporty and adventurous spirit, the Otter believes that everyone around him are its friends, until they prove otherwise. These character traits are the characteristics of a well balanced female side, our side that allows others to enter our lives without our suspicions or prejudices. Otter teaches us that well balanced female energy is not jealous or malicious, is a spirit of brotherhood, always happy to share her good fortune, as well as enjoy the good fortune of others. Otter teaches us that a loving relationship, it is important to nurture and support each other without compromise the your own individuality.

6. The end of the dream refers to very old tale that deals with the most important for soul: the return to the true home, the return to your own being. The story is commonly called “The Seal Maiden” or Selkie-o, Pamrauk, Little Seal. I first read the book Clarisse Estés Pinkola, Women who run with the Wolves in the story called Sealskin, Soulskin (Homing: Returning to OneSelf). The story tells about where we truly come from, what we are made of, and how we must all, on a regular basis, use our instincts and find our way back home. It tells about the loss of wild soul because of naïveté, poor insight into the motivations of others, inexperience in projecting what might happen in the future,  not pay  attention to all the clues in the environment. The pelt in the story is not so much an article as representation of a  feeling state and a state of being _ a state that is cohesive, soulful and of the wildish female nature. Thanks, Richard, for helping me to return my home.

The song is “Sealwoman/Yundah” by Mary Mclaughlin

Shadow of dream, ancient mystery Oh how I long for your sweet caress Oh how I long for your gentleness Torn between sea mists and solid land Nights when I’ve ached for a human hand I’ll come to you when the moon shines bright But I must go free with the first streak of light Over the waves you call to me Shadow of dream ancient mystery Oh how I long for your sweet caress Oh how I long for your gentleness

7. The fishermen and the dolphins have to do with guilt and fears. At the moment, I have a huge task ahead, my own journey to Erebor. The symbolism of the dolphin can be read in “Dolphin Dream“, and talks mostly about keeping rhythm. My unconscious, overcome with guilt because the energy spent in this world “Richard Armitage” and the fear that it may cause the loss of Erebor, it sends me that  image terrible. As in the dream, I’ll deal with the “terrible things” at the appropriate time, ie, when they happen, and if they happen.

Thanks for reading!

Ana Cris

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Dream in Sydney

Yesterday before going to sleep I was listening to the song The Garden by Einsturzende Neubaten, while reading the latest news of the day about Richard Armitage (I’m sorry, reader for disappoint you, but I do not read about the global economic crisis before I go to bed, or on the Syrian situation!). So, I went to visit Servetus’s blog, and a smile was put upon my face when I saw her kindness of linking my last two posts. I clicked on “I wish this would be your color” to read it not as the author of the text, but as an external reader, to try and capture its feeling. Finally, I visited some friends’s blogs she linked in her post. I read about their expectations of going to meet Richard Armitage in Sydney, at an event hosted by PopcornTaxi in Hayden Orpheum, Cremorne. I feel happy for them! As the event is on the other side of the world, there is no way I could go. But a girl can dream …
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I walk through the hall of a hotel in Sydney. The dim light, the high ceiling and glass wall reflect the sophistication of the place and give it an air of mystery. I walk alone, without haste, wearing a long black dress, which has a small tail, which sinuously crawls across the floor. I have my bare back, but my hair to down to my waist in a cascade black, like the wings of a crow. I’m a grown woman, aware of my femininity and power (1). I walk toward Richard Armitage, which is being awaited for a press conference. He is perfect in his black leather jacket and he has been growing his beard again. An adult man, mature, in the fullness of his masculine energy. We crossed, and I turn slightly my head to offering my face to him, and looking at the floor. His shoulder partially blocks my way and he holds me gently by the arm, whispering in my ear: You will find me if you want me in the garden, unless you send me the rain (2). My shoulders sliding against his shoulder and my hands touch her ​​waist, and then I turn away from him. I smile slightly and follow toward the outer door (3).

While crossing it, one day bright and full of life opens before me. People come and gone in a day full of light, but not of work. I am young again  in my twenties, wearing a flowered dress in pale pinks, just above the knees, white sneakers and a denim jacket(4). My hair is its natural color, light brown and I carry with me some books. I’m in Sydney, and I cannot believe it! I spread a grin from ear to ear.

I see a craft fair in a central square in the city. I go  there apace. I walk among the countless stalls, noting the items that are sold to tourists. Then, I go to a square where artists sell their paintings. I see a gallery of outdoor art, from painting to painting for their color palette. Framed art  flying towards me and I find myself going into colorful landscapes, green fields, blue skies, colorful flowers. It is as if the city would become a Monet painting. I catch sight of the Opera House Sails on the other side of the square, but the sea separates us. However, there are narrow walkways or bridges on the surface, which are ways for people to cross walking the ocean.

I take out my shoes and start walking on one of them. On all sides there is the deep sea and the small waves wet my feet (4). Far away, there is a fishing boat, offering severed heads of dolphins, which they sell to tourists to attract sharks. I think this is a horrible thing, but I decide not to think about it until the right time (7). I sit for a moment on the walkways to try to see the otters, my fingers scratch the water  calling them. I wait…

Bit by bit a couple of otters approaches me (5). They glide through the clear blue water. Their acrobatics appear spontaneous and energetic to as they swim together in a synchronized display, but they maintain their individual swimming routes. I lay on the walkway and stretching my arms in the water to try to get my fingers in its glossy hair. They come to the surface and expel air on my face, splashing water. Like a child I let out a laugh and try to protect me from the water. I move my hands in his silky fur and they plunge back into the sea and disappeared.

So, I meet an old friend (4). We hugged happy and I wonder what she is doing in Sydney. She says  was studying to go to university, but married, had children, and was in Australia. I speak that great, and I’m really happy for her, but I feel a certain sadness in my heart, do not let that show in my face. She asks me what I’m doing in Sydney. Well, I say I’m a touris.  I could not make the student exchange in Australia, with which I had dreamed so much, but I had admission to a PhD program at a Brazil university in a great project, and was very excited about it. We hugged and parted wishing the best for each.

So I come to the garden surrounding the Opera House Sails, I walk slowly to a bank where a man is sitting alone. A sigh out of my chest, Richard Armitage. I smile at him and walk in his direction. At each step, the years of my life keep adding up, and I become again the old woman I am. As I approach it tells me: You did it, you’re in the place you always dreamed of! And he extends his arm, giving me a black cloak. I sit beside him, laying my head on his chest and tell him: Thank you, my dear, for returning  my otter skin (6).

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Interpretation: Dream in Sydney – Part II

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English version – Caribbean Blue

It is much easier to imagine a beautiful place on a rainy day than to imagine a dreary one. It is a simple fact, often forgotten, that people may create something good merely by thinking it so. A day-dream is as rich a gift as any. Like Afer Ventus, the wind from Africa, or Eurus, the East wind, Boreas from the North or the gentle Zephyrus, the imagination is free and can choose and create its own journey. As with all dreams we reach for the ideal, and Caribbean Blue¹ represents such a dream.

Roma Ryan²

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

Eurus…

… Afer Ventus…

I opened my eyes and saw the vast ocean. The wind coming from the sea kissed my face softly, while my hair swayed from side to side, sometimes covering my eyes.

…so the world goes round and round
with all you ever knew¹.

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

The waves bathe my legs, cleaning out my footprints in the sand, washing with its waters the years of my life and the choices of the past days. A new screen, clear and limpid comes around me, bringing the promise of a new sunrise. After the winter is a time of awakening, announces the sea breeze.

… Boreas …

… Zephryus …

  … Teach me to fly! Show me the mountains, with which I do not dare to dream!

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

…They say the sky high above
Is Caribbean blue…

If I could dive into the blue sea of ​​your eyes, in silent and stillness peace that emanates from them, I would take advantage of the beauty of this endless sea, to dive in myself and find the quiet determination to be who I am. Learning to maintain a strong core of my individuality, with self-respecting, to others and to other life forms.

If there was at least one human being naturally honest, honorable and noble. If there was at least one human being essentially good. If all you dreamed was turned to gold¹. I could believe the sky above is Caribbean blue.

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

… Zephryus…
… Africus…

With your mild breath, gentle and compassionate, melt the ice that has built up around my heart. Bring back your vitality and zest for life, teach me the innocence and trust! Teach me all that is truly strong is also kind and wise³.

… Eurus…
…Afer Ventus…

Winds coming over the horizon, teach me to know the Peace that follows the effort, and the Freedom emanating around me like a cloak flowing in the wind. Show me the way beyond fear, beyond death, teach me the wisdom of a life well lived³.

… Boreas
…  that brings the wisdom of age and time. Bless me with the strength to withstand storms. Teaches me gratitude, the beauty of the earth waking up after the winter³.

… Eurus…
Afer Ventus…
… Boreas
Zephryus…
… Africus…

Winds that bring introspection and contemplation. Point me the way of physical healing, the power of transformation and introspection. Unite us within me so that I can find balance and wholeness. Raise me to the infinite sky³.

 

Nightfall, the moon appears in the sky is Blue Moon⁴. Vast and endless, beautiful and majestic, existing beyond all our knowledge and understanding.

Mother darling, give me courage to bring the brightness of my true being to the world, teach me humility and self-esteem in order to nurture the brilliance of everyone around me.

Sitting on the rocks, waiting for the winds lead to heaven my prayers, your face appears before me. And I do not know why, my thoughts disappear like tears from the moon. And the infinity of his look, I turn to believe that the sky high above …

It’s Caribbean blue.

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Photo: Ana Cris

References and Notes

1. Carribean Blue – Performed by Enya, composed by Roma Ryan

2. Caribbean Blue – SHEPHERD MOONS – notes by Roma Ryan

3. This prayer is inspired in the prayer to the seven directions present in the Seneca tradition, and in the invocation of the winds and the worlds above, below and inside cut across many ancient traditions around the world.

4. It is called Blue Moon, the second full moon in the same month. It’s a good time to work the inner self, religiosity, intuition and enhance psychic powers. Represents prosperity and abundance as a whole.

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The spirit of Yule

Dear AgzyM asked in her blog how we were going to celebrate the premiere of The Hobbit – An Unexpected Journey on November 28, to be held in New Zealand. I’m very excited for the world premiere, as a fan of Tolkien and British actor Richard Armitage. Particularly for the latter, consider this moment the end of a cycle, where he had to work hard to overcome adversity and hone his talent, and the beginning of a new time of abundance and prosperity. So I will celebrate this day with the spirit of Yule. And I invite you to join this party!

Yule is a religious festival celebrated by ancient Germanic peoples, that with the advent of Christianity had numerous elements embedded in the traditions of Christmas. It marks the entry of the Sun in Capricorn, marking the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere (December 21). It is celebrated on this date, the rebirth of the Sun from dark womb of Mother Earth, symbolizing the renewal of hopes, promises of new joys and accomplishments, assuring mankind that the Wheel of the Year, in its perpetual motion,  again reaches its end  and with it also ends  the vicissitudes of winter and darkness.

Since ancient times, the transition between the lowest point (the longest night of the year) and the beginning of the return of the sun in its Annual Wheel, was celebrated with various rituals in all ancient cultures. To celebrate the rebirth of the Sun,  bonfires and torches  were lit, gifts were offered  to the gods, and the sacred trees were revered  (like oak and pine), which symbolize longevity, since they keep their evergreen leaves despite winter. Yule is also known as the Festival of Lights, for all the candles that night.

In Celtic tradition, there is the legend of the eternal battle between the Oak King   and the Holly King . These two mighty rulers fight for supremacy as the Wheel of the Year turns each season. At winter solstice, or Yule, the Oak  King kills the Holly King,   and then reigns until Midsummer or Litha. Once the summer solstice arrives, the Holly King returns to do battle with the old oak, and defeats him. The Holly King them rules until Yule.

Often, these two entities are portrayed in familiar ways – the Holly  King frequently appears as a woodsy version of Santa Claus. He dresses in red, wears a sprig of holly in his tangled hair, and is sometimes depicted driving a team of eight stags. The  Oak  King is portrayed as a  fertility god, and occasionally appears as the Green Man or the other Lord of the Forest.

Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. My version of Oak King. Source: RichardArmitageNet.com

Wassailing is another survivor of this ancient celebration. "Wassail" comes from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Waes Hael ", which was translated to" Be Well "," Be Whole "or" Be Healthy. "The correct response to the toast is Drinc Hael, becoming a blessing shared a mutual desire for happiness. Traditionally, peasants would go to the house of his feudal lord singing and offering him their blessing and goodwill. In return the lord would give food and drink to the peasants.

Love and joy come to you,

And to you your wassail too,

And God bless you and send you,

A happy New Year.

So with the spirit of Yule, in the spirit of hope, solidarity and celebration, we sent to Richard Armitage and the entire staff of The Hobbit our votes of a successful premiere!

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White Lady

As I went out one morning to breathe the air I spied the fairest damsel that ever walked in the mountains chains. I offered her my hand. She took me by the arm, so I knew that very instant, she would meant to do me harm.¹

Thy will be done, here on this highway. In every house and field, I pray. I humbly submit to thy will, but the stranges that I encounter can satisfy my needs. Disgrace so soon I’ve come.

I drift like sleep in a dirty room into the Hotel Montana. Lay low for thy name’s sake. El Matador Louisiana.   I see the eyes of the bull and his blood fills my body. I hear thy voice. "You’re not acquainted with your own heart." I am unable to prayer, my lips are frozen. Inside, my blood runs hot. And the blade cuts through the darkness.

I feel hurt. Like a voice in an empty house. White Lady, I breathe your breath. You come from another place in my chest. And these thoughts of you, they are a gift. The smell of you brought by the wind moves the curtain. And I’m set adrift, the talk of you still on my lips.

White Bird, the blush becomes easily to your face. Your fire burns for me red as grace. And these thoughts of you are the dreams that I have missed. With your touch, I hear. I hear the yes. I can take care of you. And speak to me.

 

 

Speak to me. It’s a dry leaf that shivers on the branch. What matter if the wind casts it down with a ruthless hand. Because we remember always that it took place forever. Thy kingdom come in whosoever.

White Lady, depart from me this moment I told her with my voice. "But I don’t wish to," said she to me. Said I, “But you have no choice." "I beg you, sir," she pleaded from the corners of her mouth, "I will secretly accept you. And together we’ll fly south."

Just then a man from the village came running from across the field. Shouting at this lovely girl to let me go. As she moved away, he came up and he said to me, "I’m sorry, sir. I’m sorry for what she’s done. “I try rete her while she squeezed each time with less force my arm away.

 

Like a dry leaf that shivers on the branch. I fall asleep in a dirty room at the Hotel Montana. Lay low for thy name’s sake. El Matator Louisiana. I hear your voice. "You’re not acquainted with your own heart.” I am unable to pray, my lips fever. Inside, my blood runs cold. White Lady, speak to me.

 

References

Music and Lyrics Woven Hand

Images of Richard Armitage as Guy Of Gisborne and Lucy Griffiths as Marian, Robin Hood, Series TV, BBC

1. As I Went Out One Morning – Bob Dylan

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2. Blue Pail Fever – Woven Hand

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3. White Bird – Woven Hand

4. Story And Pictur – Woven Hand

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English version – Promenade à deux

A bonfire ignites the valley.                                                  Pass suddenly along the hillsides

A dance shakes all the earth.                                                 To lose themselves in darkness.

Shadows vague and shapeless                                             Whose is the dance the night has

Roaming the valley in black flashes                                                                 filled with terror?

                                                                                                                          (FernandoPessoa,       

                                                                                                                    English version available )

The scorpion promises transformation. In ancient Egypt, Selkhet is the lady of the underworld and rebirth of the soul. Her symbol is the scorpion, being represented as a woman with a scorpion on her head or as a scorpion with a woman’s head. For the ancient Egyptians, Selkhet was a goddess invoked for protection against bites of venomous animals, usually lethal. Scorpion stings lead to paralysis and Serket’s name describes this, as it means (she who) tightens the throat, however, Serket’s name also can be read as meaning (she who) causes the throat to breathe, because in some species the poison itself is the antidote to its spur. Already, in Greek mythology death of Orion (son of Zeus) was caused by a scorpion. According to legend, Orion was an excellent hunter, with rare beauty and had the predilection of the goddess Artemis, but was beloved by the goddess Aurora. For jealousy, Artemis send a giant scorpion out of the earth and he sting to death the heel of the hunter, who at that time is taken into heaven along with the animal, forming the constellations Orion and Scorpio, which are kept separate to avoid further disputes. Scorpio, with its main red star Antares, appears in the eighth house of the zodiac, and translates, for astrologers, the sign that is associated with the mystical force in the critical processing steps such as reproduction, death and rebirth.

So, the learning path of this powerful animal is not for the faint of heart, because the change that the scorpion promises must be preceded by the death of something: an idea, a relationship or a way of life, for that rebirth can occur.

Thus, Scorpio requires that a person becomes a disciple, or someone who is consciously willing to provide help for the evolution of humanity. And to do that, he has to try his hand: to go as far as possible within yourself, look all their miseries in order to die and be reborn as a Phoenix, fully aware of who he is and what it’s worth. The motto of Scorpio is transpersonal “Warrior I am and from the battle I emerge triumphant.” It is the struggle that will bring results even if the person dies.

Scorpio brings intensity, strength, intelligence and sexuality. He invites us to go deeply and passionately in everything, by accessing our survival instinct. People with the power of scorpions are strong and have the ability to inspire. Scorpio them confers the powers of charisma, rejuvenation, transformation, death and rebirth,  magnetism, passion, intensity, boldness and healing at the all level.

A strong message that the Scorpion has for us is the protection. Their main physical characteristics are natural systems protection. For example, consider the hard exoskeleton of a scorpion as a line of defense. Also consider chelicerae and pedipalps are potentially harmful – not to mention its poisonous sting. Thus, the appearance of the Scorpion seems to say “Do not mess with me.”

Scorpions are almost always solitary, although some species may develop some degree of social behavior. The interaction intraspecific best studied and most complex of the scorpion is the courtship behavior, which was first described in the early nineteenth century and only in the 1950s it was discovered the indirect transfer of sperm. (Sexual needs are very strong in people attuned to the scorpion. However, they usually have period of solitude interspersed with intense and passionate relationships, again the symbol of reproduction, death and rebirth.)

The courtship behavior of scorpions^1,2 can be basically divided into three phases: initiation, promenade à deux (walking to two) and  sperm transfer. In the first, relatively fast, the couple meets, and occurs intraspecific recognition and sexual , only proceeding if the female usually larger than the male, is receptive.

The second part of the process of reproduction can be summarized by the classical ‘promenade deux’2 (Fig. 1) in which the male first approaches the female and then grasps her pedipalp chelae with his own chelae fingers. A form of dance then takes place. During the dance, the male stimulates the female and reduces her aggressiveness leading it in various directions, holding her pedipalps, exploring the environment in search of suitable surface to effect the deposition of the spermatophore. The duration of this phase is directly influenced by the time of search of the deposition site (5 minutes or 48 hours). In the next phase, the male deposits the spermatophore on the substrate chosen and pulls the female, positioning her properly on it. The female genital operculum opens as she stoops over the spermatophore, allowing sperm to enter her reproductive tract and fertilization occurs. In addition to these three phases has been reported post-transfer behavior in some species, such as consumption of the spermatophore and cannibalism. Cannibalism is the post-mating behavior that draws the most attention from researchers and occurs when the female sees the male as prey rather than as a partner. Here, the Scorpio is a clear warning:  control your passions so that they do not consume you.

Therefore, as a power animal, the Scorpion represents protection, passion, control, intensity. When the Scorpion makes an appearance in our lives he calls us for his mystical dance of passion, death and rebirth. We are ready for his walk for two?

Reference

Promenade à deux – Scorpion Tales (2012) for Two Harps. Composed by Robert Paterson, and Duo Scorpio performed by Kathryn Andrews and Kristi Shade

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1. BRASIL, T. K. & PORTO, T. J. 2010. Os escorpiões. Salvador: EDUFBA, 2010.
84 p.

2. LOURENÇO, W. R. 2000. Reproduction in scorpions, with special reference to parthenogenesis. European Arachnology 2000, pp. 71-85.

3. Algumas das informações desse post sobre o totem Escorpião foram derivadas das seguintes fontes: Some of the information on this post about scorpion-totem was derived from the following sources:

Scorpion – A Symbol Meaning of Stinging Importance

Scorpion

Scorpion Totem, Scorpion Medicine

4. All images are Chris Ryan’s Strike Back is a six-part British television series based on the novel of the same name written by best-selling author and former soldier of the Special Air Service, Chris Ryan. It was produced by Left Bank Pictures for Sky1. The cast of Strike Back is led by Richard Armitage, who plays series protagonist John Porter. Porter served with the SAS until he was discharged after he saved a boy who was believed to have murdered two soldiers in his unit following a rescue operation the night before the Iraq invasion.

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Title: Girls Gone Wild

Tonight, the delicious topic heating up a specific table of women at their favorite restaurant, Ernie’s is: Mr. Perfect. What qualities would he have? Would be tall, have dark hair and blue eyes? Caring or warmhearted —or will just be athletic? Jaine Bright and her three girlfriends start off with the basics — he would be faithful and reliable, the responsible type, with a great sense of humor (Howard, 2000). However as the conversation gains momentum, they start another kind of conversation — you know, that kind of talk that women never, ever would have in front of a man (Estes, 1994). That kind of conversation that is funny and cheeky, and slightly obscene.

That kind of talk whose repertoire includes anything that makes women laugh in a way unchecked until they appear silly, not caring if their tonsils appear or not. A conversation that is accompanied by a sex laugh that is different from a laugh about more educated themes, because it reaches far and deep in the psyche, shaking all sorts of things, playing in our bones and causing a nice feeling and warm run by our body. A laugh that is passionate, decidedly wild, that brings the woman to a state of intense sensory awareness that includes, but not limited, her sexuality (Estés, 2004).

In the modern world this ritual of intimate conversation between women can occur on blogs, Twitter and Tumblr or other forms of virtual communication. It can be especially present in fandom, where anonymity allows users to share their innermost thoughts and desires in irreverent way, bringing out the goddess Baubo that exists in each one of us.

Baubo treats sexuality in a fun way, allowing women to speak of this subject without moral concern if it’s right, it is a sin or is ugly and dirty. With Baubo only speak of what exists and laughs with it. She also works the sexuality as a driving force of the creative life of a woman, able to lift the energy of the aridity of everyday life and make the fields of our psyche back to evergreen. This is because the power of sexuality is a vital force, the force that creates a new life, the strength that comes from the our Kundalini, where she lives asleep, curled up in itself and that awakens our potential (Resende, 2012).

Thus, the goddess Baubo gives us the interesting idea that a little obscenity can help us dispel depression. She says that certain types of laughter, coming from all the stories that women have for each other that are so spicy… these stories activate the libido. They access the fire of interest of woman for life. The belly and laugh goddesses are what we seek. The funny and “dirty” story can end the depression, also pulling the heart of angry, leaving the woman happier than before because in the wild, the irreverent and the sacred, the sacred and the sexual, are not separate but live together as a group of old women waiting for us in the road to share our stories and laugh like crazy with each other (Estés, 2004).

Reference

Estés, C. P. 2004. Women who run with the wolves. Ed. Rocco, Rio de Janeiro.

Howard, L. 200. Mr. Perfect. Pocket Books, New York.

Madonna _ Girl Gone Wild

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In Our Faith

The ‘Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia impetiginosa)’ text was extracted from the “Flowers Essences of the Amazon” site. Every year in winter (May-August), there is a blossom from Pink Trumpet tree, a native tree of Brazilian forests. The tree is also used as an ornamental in urban areas because of their amazing pink flowers. So, this month, the lines drawn by Oscar Niemeyer presents in the Federal Capital , Brasília, earn its colorful flowers, bringing the city a new hope.

Cloud of pink flowers

Photo taken from my bedroom window (Photo by Ana Cris)

During its flowering, I wake up in a cloud of pink flowers that invite me to a new dawn. The flowers last only five to ten days, reminding me that everything in this life is ephemeral. There is a legend of the apparition of Holy Mary in its trunk, making it a tree venerated by the people of the forest, and is considered able to cure any ill of body and soul. They also attract to my window, a range of birds that fill the sky with its colors and sounds. This is my mother-tree, one that calls me home.

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Pink Trumpet Tree

(Tabebuia impetiginosa, T. avellanedae)

Maria Alice Campos Freire and Isabel Facchini Barsé

From the top of the Forest, I shed upon the earth my compassionate and in my heart I embrace all my sons with love. When I expressed in the flower and sunshine light up my pink color, all the forest receives my radiation and reveres me.

Tabebuia heptaphylla in the southern Pantanal, Brazil

(Photo by Raquel Juliano)

My great flash of violet light fills the forest in various points of the high plane. I situate myself in the intersection between the cosmic and planetary levels. Where I exercise my noble mission of messenger. I hear the prayers of the sons of earth, and take them to the Great Mystery.

From the timeless infinity I refuel me of answers and offer them to the sons of the earth in the form of greater freedom, greater understanding and expansion of noble sentiments. The vision of my majestic beauty is simultaneously strong and delicate. It penetrates deep fields of the soul and there releases its transformation energy.

The Swallow-tailed Hummingbird (Eupetomena macroura) and the Pink Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia impetiginosa) (Photo by Flavio Brandao)

From my action stems peace, confidence and transmutation in broad spectrum. I am a new starting point, the dawn of a new dawn. I am able to nurture your faith until it can produce the fruits of prayer crowned. And more I can give. Gratitude and recognition in place of regret and pain. From your faith will spring your being reborn, and the Great Mother manifests in me will cover you of blessings and your wounds will turn into wisdom and gifts.

I am the manifestation of the creative feminine force, and I pour over the sons of the earth.

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet (Brotogeris chiriri) and the Pink Trumpet Tree (Photo By Flavio Brandao)______________________________________________________________

Pink Trumpet Tree Flowers Essences – Transmuting energy. It is the abundance of blessings that can be captured and brought from  high levels  to the physical plane  through the attributes of the feminine, the creator mother, nurturer and protector  of all her sons. Regenerates and transforms records deep traumas, bringing a luminous vitality in aura .

Pink Trumpet Tree (Photo by Ana Cris)

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