Lion and tiger and bear, oh my!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2761449/Giants-of-wild-are-grr-eat-pals.html

a_belletrist shared this link to an amazing set of images of dark versions of Disney princesses.

For example:

A friend shared, in a locked post, an entry about a particularly gruesome crucifix that has recently been removed from a church in West Sussex because it scared the children and did not create a welcoming atmosphere.

She also included a link to an image of the crucifix in question. And yes, it's fairly gruesome.

But as I absorbed the image, I was startled when I saw it not through the lenses of my Christian upbringing and symbolism, but through those of my current Underworld practices.

Ereshkigal is not a "death Goddess" -- but she is a Dark Goddess, and she is the Queen of the Great Below, the Land of the Dead. One of the discussions I've been having with myself is that my relationship with Ereshkigal is very positive, and Her image in my mind is usually attractive: and yet many of Her primary depictions in literature are grim and terrifying, reflecting humanity's fear of death and decay. Have I been avoiding dealing with that very real aspect of Her nature?

Seeing this crucifix, I saw an image of Inanna's rotting corpse hanging on the hook in Ereshkigal's throne room, a vivid reminder of the fatal end which no one, not even the Queen of Heaven, could escape -- and yet there is, as in Christianity, a simultaneous faith that death is not the end, that even in the midst of the most gruesome despair, there will be liberation, re-creation, transformation. My work with Ereshkigal is significantly about having the courage and faith to dare the dark places, the fear, the loss and the dis-memberment, and win through to transformation, and help others to do so as well.

"Let her paint on an inch thick, to this end she must come," said Hamlet to Yorick's skull. So must we all. . . and yet we will pass beyond. . .

So where does that leave me in my images of my Queen of the Great Below? I'm not sure. . . but I think I would be wrong to leave images like this out of my iconography.

more animals

A lovely image of The Quest. . . .

( The 6 of Swords card from The Gilded Tarot )

. . . not for the first time, that the symbolism of the sword -- which implicitly brings to mind conflict, agression, and defense -- may not be the most fruitful mental image to bring to my vocational endeavors, which are far more about intuition, connection, harmony and gratitude. Yes, they also involve insight, intellect, and education, but there's an issue of balance, or at least of "both/and" to be considered.


That image I posted in my last entry, the new Queen of Swords artwork, doesn't look much like a spiritual director, does she? I can see her as a priestess, but someone who sits with others and bears witness to their spiritual yearnings, their quests, and acts as companion and "ranger" on their journeys? No. . . I just don't see it in her. But she still very much expresses part of the person I want to be/come.





Argle/hrmph/grr/hrmph. . . Maybe more. . . Queen of Cups energy. . . is needed?
*ducks and hides


I keep coming back to this image. . .

Isn't she fierce and beautiful?




Click for larger image

(Her features actually remind me a lot of pathdancer)


by Dave Palumbo
Print available on Etsy
(yes, I've ordered one)

The other guy doesn't seem worried about the color of his outfit.
Maybe it's only dangerous if it's a red shirt, not a red suit.



Source: Irregular Webcomic
http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2085.html

This is the third post in a row consisting primarily of material I've hijacked from an LJ friend. . .

In a recent entry, sharpchick used an icon I'd never seen before: the Queen of Swords from Buckland's Romani Tarot deck. There are so few QoS cards that I actually like, that I had to go find a larger version and nab it.




Love her!

I'm still feeling physically wrung out, but last night I was told in no uncertain terms that I needed to do something for evening practice. So I got up, took my position standing in my bedroom, and this is what happened. . . .


I stand to do my exercises, begin to the ground into the Underworld. Stop.

I root myself in this earth, I say silently. And then, even more silently, The living earth.

I feel how for all these months I've been grounding into the Underworld, bypassing all the life energy of the planet.

I ground in Earth: consciously, deliberately. Then I put down roots into the Underworld: to Ereshkigal, to Lohain. I reach deep to the source of my heart.

I feel the floor tremble beneath my feet as power answers my call - a truck passing by, or something else?

I reach up to Inanna, Queen of the Morning & Evening Star, Queen of Heaven. I connect with her, am surrounded by starlight.

Ereshkigal below and Inanna above.

I see in my mind the double loop of Ereshkigal-Inanna.

I am The Link.

I raise my right arm to Inanna, reach down with my left to Ereshkigal, let the energies flow -- and then reverse. Then I stand with my arms stretched out to each side.

I am the cross, reaching from Underworld to the Heavens, linking energies and then extending them across the living earth.

Now you understand, Ereshkigal says. And there is rare satisfaction in Her voice.




It is only as I review this entry before posting that the deeper understanding flows through me: this is my priestess work, the linking and mediation of the energies of the Great Above and the Great Below (to use the ancient terms).

There's a lot more to understand and unpack in that concept. But that's it. That's the basic essence of my task. That's what I'm here for.


* Image found online, no artist credit. If anyone knows whose it is, please tell me.

Memories of the King, by Nicole Cadet





His lips are too wide, and I'm not blonde, but otherwise. . . . yeah. . .

1. I am fortunate enough to have several ex-boyfriends/lovers as good friends.

2. Personal inventory processing continues. Good stuff coming up. This weekend will be focused on framework and prioritization of fundamentals and goals.

3. Motherhood = leadership.
It's not only equal to leadership, but a lot of the principles of leadership apply, especially that of leading by example.

4. I use approximately 20% of my brain at work and still garner lots and lots of praise. This scares me.

5. I need to make social plans with friends at least twice a month. It's scary that I've been doing so much less for so long.

6. I have a couple of essays/reflections to type up and share.

7. I love LOL's. They keep me sane at work. (See #4 above.) I know I just posted one yesterday, but that was mostly for someone else. This one is for me, in fond memory of Steve Irwin:





8. Learning from my own mistakes is good. Learnig from the mistakes of others is even better. In the latest case, it prevented me from striking out in pain at someone else. Instead of assuming that the silence was all about me, and a rejection of me, I asked what was going on his the other person's life that interrupted our conversation. Guess what? It had nothing to do with me.

9. Lots of intense, meaningful dreams in the last few days, death and bears featuring most significantly.

Also: this image, which pretty much sums up my last week. . . .

more cat pictures