Have you considered a career as a heresiarch?

Involutionary and Evolutionary Streams

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:27:36 GMT

I'd feel bad if I didn't give somebody some candy

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 21:54:12 GMT

There you go. Happy Halloween.

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 01:45:53 GMT

If you comment on this post, I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

I took time out from attempting to punch the Tao to answer the following for jackshoegazer:

Abbots Bromley Horn Dance: The do a folk dance in Abbot's Bromley in England that involves holding stag antlers over their heads. Nobody knows how old the dance is but the actual antlers they use have been dating to the 11th century. The tune sounds very haunting and pagan in a morris-dancing sort of a way.

Boomshanka: This was defined by the character Neil on The Young Ones as "May the seed of your loins grow fruitful in the belly of your woman."

Hildegard of Bingen: An Rhineland mystic who has been underestimated for a long time but is making a comeback. Her thoughts on viriditas remind me a lot of how I see Early Christianity when religion was still closely tied to nature among the recently converted Europeans. It's God's "greening power" as opposed to the "dryness" and infertility (in a creative sense) of sin.

Hookers for Jesus: AKA Flirty Fishers - "Hookers for Jesus" was a nickname for the Children of God, who used prostitution to spread the word of Jesus back in the 60's and 70's.

Riding on a goosie: What Jacobites do when they meet a hooker for jesus. Actually, a line from the strange Jacobite song Cam Ye O'er Frae France, alluding to King George I visiting a brothel. I understand "goose" was one of the French animal-nicknames for prostitutes at the time. Like "putain" still is. Another interpretation is that his mistress was nicknamed "goosie".

Cam ye o'er frae France?
Cam ye down by Lunnon?
Saw ye Geordie Whelps
And his bonny woman?
Were ye at the place
Ca'd the Kittle Housie?
Saw ye Geordie's grace
Riding on a goosie?

Geordie he's a man
There is little doubt o't;
He's done a' he can
Wha can do without it?
Down there came a blade
Linkin' like my lordie;
He wad drive a trade
At the loom o' Geordie.

Though the claith were bad,
Blythly may we niffer;
Gin we get a wab,
It makes little differ.
We hae tint our plaid,
Bannet, belt and swordie,
Ha's and mailins braid --
But we hae a Geordie!

Jocky's gane to France,
And Montgomery's lady;
There they'll learn to dance:
Madame, are ye ready?
They'll be back belyue
Belted, brisk and lordly;
Brawly may they thrive
To dance a jig wi' Geordie!

Hey for Sandy Don!
Hey for Cockolorum!
Hey for Bobbing John,
And his Highland Quorum!
Mony a sword and lance
Swings at Highland hurdie;
How they'll skip and dance
O'er the bum o' Geordie!

Taliesin: More people should read his poetry. Some of which may have been actually written by the historical Taliesin in the 6th century. He is sometimes described as Merlin's mentor. While John Matthews' scholarship sucks ass, his book on "Shamanic mysteries of Britain" (as if there ever was such a thing per se) is a good introduction to the mysteries described in Taliesin's poems.

Yggdrasil: Odin is my home boy.

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:20:07 GMT

The Dance
by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I have sent you my invitation,
the note inscribed on the palm of my hand by the fire of living.
Don't jump up and shout, "Yes, this is what I want! Let's do it!"
Just stand up quietly and dance with me.

Show me how you follow your deepest desires,
spiralling down into the ache within the ache.
And I will show you how I reach inward and open outward
to feel the kiss of the Mystery, sweet lips on my own, everyday.

Don't tell me you want to hold the whole world in your heart.
Show me how you turn away from making another wrong without abandoning yourself when you are hurt and afraid of being unloved.

Tell me a story of who you are,
And see who I am in the stories I am living.
And together we will remember that each of us always has a choice.

Don't tell me how wonderful things will be . . . some day.
Show me you can risk being completely at peace,
truly OK with the way things are right now in this moment,
and again in the next and the next and the next. . .

I have heard enough warrior stories of heroic daring.
Tell me how you crumble when you hit the wall,
the place you cannot go beyond by the strength of your own will.
What carries you to the other side of that wall,
to the fragile beauty of your own humanness?

And after we have shown each other how we have set and kept the clear, healthy boundaries that help us live side by side with each other, let us risk remembering that we never stop silently loving those we once loved out loud.

Take me to the places on the earth that teach you how to dance, the places where you can risk letting the world break your heart.
And I will take you to the places where the earth beneath my feet and the stars overhead make my heart whole again and again.

Show me how you take care of business
without letting business determine who you are.
When the children are fed but still the voices within and around us shout that soul's desires have too high a price,
let us remind each other that it is never about the money.

Show me how you offer to your people and the world
the stories and the songs you want our children's children to remember, and I will show you how I struggle
not to change the world, but to love it.

Sit beside me in long moments of shared solitude,
knowing both our absolute aloneness and our undeniable belonging. Dance with me in the silence and in the sound of small daily words, holding neither against me at the end of the day.

And when the sound of all the declarations of our sincerest
intentions has died away on the wind, dance with me in the infinite pause before the next great inhale of the breath that is breathing us all into being, not filling the emptiness from the outside or from within.

Don't say, "Yes!"
Just take my hand and dance with me.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Riding on a goosie

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:40:43 GMT

The present is embodied in Hexagram 53 - Chien (Gradual Progress): We see the marriage of a young lady, and the good fortune attending it. There will be advantage in being firm and correct.
The first (bottommost) line, divided, shows the wild geese gradually approaching the shore. A young officer in similar circumstances will be in a position of danger, and be spoken against, but there will be no error.
The second line, divided, shows the geese gradually approaching the large rocks, where they eat and drink joyfully and at ease. There will be good fortune.
The fifth line, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the high mound. It suggests a wife who for three years does not become pregnant, but in the end the natural issue cannot be prevented. There will be good fortune.
The sixth line, undivided, shows the geese gradually advanced to the large heights beyond. Their feathers can be used as ornaments. There will be good fortune.
The situation is changing rapidly, but neither Yin (the passive feminine force) nor Yang (the active masculine force) is gaining ground.

The future is embodied in Hexagram 11 - T'ai (Peace): We see the lesser gone and greatness come upon us. There will be good fortune, with progress and success.
The things most apparent, those above and in front, are embodied by the upper trigram Sun (Wind), which is transforming into K'un (Earth). As part of this process, penetration and following are giving way to docility and receptivity.
The things least apparent, those below and behind, are embodied by the lower trigram Ken (Mountain), which is transforming into Chi'en (Heaven). As part of this process, stillness and obstruction are giving way to strength and creativity.

A little googling reveals the goose to be a chinese symbol of a blissful marriage...

This is just wrong

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 02:30:38 GMT

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 07:33:40 GMT

(laffs via the pentagram-painted vonjunzt)

Baaa

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 05:35:24 GMT

Halloween Meme

1phish2phish buries alagbon at the crossroads with a axe through their heart

alagbon puts fake eyeballs in your brains

anchasta sacrifices shareul's gerbils

bandersnatchi devours the entire neighbourhood's Bank Manager's lunchbox

deusdiabolus carves shinysayyadina's effigy in the medium of pumpkin

idiomagic shows up with burning torches, pitchforks and dip

solandra swoops on mlfoley and drains their cutlery

jackshoegazer summons the undead armies of ninjer to steal your candy

shinysayyadina TPs rhapsody_98

mlfoley gives you a toothbrush

mollyblack runs around screaming for hours until abruptly silenced by idiomagic, wielding a sharpened sock

ninjer haunts your socks

quizzicalsphinx puts real eyeballs in your Wings Greatest Hits

rhapsody_98 creates an unholy monstrosity from ninjer, anchasta and jackshoegazer

shareul dresses up as mollyblack

LJ Name

The Great Man

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 23:08:28 GMT

From an I Ching newsletter answering the question "who is 'the great man'"

The great person (who can also be female! ;) ) is someone who has the vision and strength of character to attain whatever goal or ideal the reading is about, and to help and guide you to do the same. So, who is this, and how do you go about 'seeing' them?

It might be a professional - in hexagram 6, for instance, it might be a counsellor, someone whose perspective rises higher than 'I'm right, so you must be wrong'. In hexagram 45, I think it is a visionary who can see beyond present circumstances, and understands the need for great sacrifices to invest in the future. (Wu Jing Nuan actually suggests the 'great people' are diviners.) It might be a friend or mentor, or the author of a helpful book, or just someone whose patterns of life you can model yourself on. (Sometimes you may need to cultivate your vision of the 'greatness' hidden in another person!)

But if you think about it, you still have to recognise and decide who represents that particular 'greatness' you are aspiring to. In fact, you can only recognise them because their image is already inside you. The great person is your highest self. So while at times you may be so caught up in circumstances that you really need external help, sometimes it is possible to take a shortcut: to go direct to your own inner knowledge, rather than looking for its image in the outside world.

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:55:48 GMT

You know that Rider-Waite tarot card with The Fool looking up at the clouds with a flower in his hand as he walks over the top of a cliff?

Don't you hate it when you realise it's YOU?

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 06:02:37 GMT

Oh and a warm welcome aboard to the lovely bandersnatchi, an old friend who I've re-established contact with after 4 years.

Horslips - Charolais

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:51:49 GMT

At this point I would like to apologise to anyone reading this who can't stand continually being bombarded with lyrics posts. I'll get over it. Promise. This is from the Horslips album "The Tain" - featuring music based of course on the the Táin Bó Chuailgne or "Cattle Raid of Cooley".

Her words were sharp; they cut him deep,
In a war between the sheets.
But when he brought his bull to her
It meant a woman making war
Beyond the eiderdown.

The druids read the smoke and sand;
Told her that she would love again.
The rhythms from the wolfskin drums
Called men to war in hide and bronze.
This goddess wore a crown.

Charolais, charolais -
we are come for you today.
The champions and the Seven Sons are
come to take away the Donn

But the Fairy Child knew more;
Saw the host stained red in war,
Saw the hero-light around the head
Of a dragon-boy just ripe for bed
Of wives and manly sons

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:34:24 GMT

Her hair it was three-quarters long
and the colour it was yellow
She wrapped it 'round her neck so small
and took her life on Yarrow

(This variant reminds me somewhat of Porphyria's Lover)

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:20:16 GMT

She met him by a grassy knoll
He's kissed her tenderly
He's laid her low among the flowers
No more a maid is she

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 07:25:50 GMT

When you assume you make an ass of u and me.

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 04:43:51 GMT

The other kuji-kiri made you tired, too, remember?
It also brought up a little emotion junk.
Don't worry about it. Once you get used to it these side effects cease.

KISS THE GOAT!

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 01:31:07 GMT

That's all. Just kiss the goat.

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:28:06 GMT

Cuisle mo croidhe: so that's how you spell "cushla macree". I really don't get that weird Gaelic spelling.

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:16:13 GMT

The present is embodied in Hexagram 39 - Chien (Obstruction): Advantage will be found in the southwest, and the contrary in the northeast. It will be advantageous to meet with the great man. With firmness and correctness, there will be good fortune.
The third line, undivided, shows its subject advancing, but only to greater difficulties. He remains stationary, and returns to his former associates.
The situation is evolving slowly, and Yin (the passive feminine force) is gaining ground.

The future is embodied in Hexagram 8 - Pi (Union): There is good fortune, but let him reexamine himself. Let him divine whether his virtue be great, unremitting, and firm. If it be so, there will be no error. Those who have not rested will then come to him. With those who are too late in coming, it will be ill.
The things most apparent, those above and in front, are embodied by the upper trigram K'an (Water), which represents danger and the unknown.
The things least apparent, those below and behind, are embodied by the lower trigram Ken (Mountain), which is transforming into K'un (Earth). As part of this process, stillness and obstruction are giving way to docility and receptivity.

Hey Pretty Girl - Sigmund & Petrie

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:56:57 GMT

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:35:42 GMT

so zen it hurts

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:46:47 GMT

What truth am I talking about? I am talking about truth of the ground of mind, which can enter into the ordinary and the sacred, into the pure and the polluted, into the absolute and the conventional, and yet is not the absolute, conventional, ordinary, and sacred, but is able to give names to all the absolute, conventional, ordinary, and sacred. Someone who has realized this cannot be labeled by the absolute or the conventional, by the ordinary or sacred. If you can grasp it, then use it, without labeling it any more. This is called the mystic teaching.

- Lin Chi (d 867?)

(from daily_zen)

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 21:26:54 GMT

I'm Herod if anyone is. All of the Herods. So shut up. I am the entire Herodian dynasty and I want my strip show.

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 12:17:28 GMT

I don't recall having any urge to see Rush Hour I or II and yet after seeing the ads I totally want to see Rush Hour III. Weird, huh?

Scottish Highland Seers

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 07:55:53 GMT

One of the ways that we can begin to get a rich comprehension of the vast arena of seership in the Scottish tradition is to make an appraisal of some of our own indigenous terminology for the various ways that seership can express itself. In this article I draw most of this terminology from the Scottish Highland traditions.

Generally speaking, the more commonly known term is that of the taibhsear (tah-shar). Just looking at the word we can see that it derives from an ancient root, namely the Scots Gaelic word for ‘spirit’ or ‘ghost’, i.e., taibhs. In this way, the taibhsear is one (man or woman) who is able to discern the presence of spirits or “ghosts.” The lore surrounding this particular form of seership is truly vast and in some cases the energies or entities that are perceived may differ depending upon the seer.

Some seers see ancestor spirits that are connected to them and/or to other people. Other seers are able to see what the Highland tradition knows as the coimimeadh (coy-me-may), which translates as the ‘co-walker.’

The coimimeadh, again depending upon the cosmology of the seer in question, may report that this is a visual double of a person, a faery being, or perhaps some kind of ancestor protector or guide. In all cases, however, if we are to stick to the true translation of the words, a taibhsear is one who, in some fashion or another, is in a position of mediating between the living and the spirits of the departed—perhaps placing certain expressions of the taibhsear into what ethnopsychologists and anthropologists have unilaterally termed a ‘shaman,’ to borrow from Mongolian vocabulary.

Another term undeniably associated with the perennial tradition of seership in the Irish and Scottish traditions is the fiosaiche (fessa-sher). In the Gaelic tongue, the prefix fios essentially translates as “information” or “knowledge.” The fiosaiche is an individual who has instant and sometimes "miraculous" access to information and is therefore equated at times with a soothsayer or psychic.

It is my own sense that these abilities exist along a kind of continuum of power and ability, with some ultra-intuitive seers on the one end and actual psychics, such as those who assist police departments the world over to solve crimes, on the other end.

Scottish author and scholar Elizabeth Sutherland makes the point that, while not necessarily linked directly with second sight in the minds of the Scottish people, more and more people are realizing that Coinneach Odhra, Kenneth MacKenzie (The Brahan Seer) was, in fact a fiosaiche and not a taibhsear as he is sometimes listed.

Finally, another native Scots Gaelic term that I find very helpful in the mapping of this thread of our ancient traditions is bruadaraiche (pronounced broo-e-taracher).

This term hails from the root of another Scots Gaelic word, bruadar, which means ‘a dream’ or ‘a vision.’ A bruadaraiche, then, is a visionary or dreamer in the sense of a precognitive and/or retrocognitive flow of information.

Related to the fiosaiche in some sense, where the fiosaiche is able to receive information in a waking state of consciousness, usually of a precognitive nature, the bruadaraiche receives information from with the dream-state. Spoken of as ‘conscious dreaming’, ‘active dreaming’ (Robert Moss) and sometimes ‘lucid dreaming’, the experience and work of the bruadaraiche is a hold-over from the ancient art of Celtic dreaming, which our oral traditions and many Celtic stories speak of.

Source: THE SEER IN SCOTTISH & IRISH CELTIC TRADITION (Frank MacEowen)