Askleipos & Hygieia

I've blogged about the Asclepius staff before, but in Swedish. I'm not going to do it over again, especially not when I can link you to a blog that does it so much better than I could; 'The medical emblem' on The Spirit of Medicine by Dr. Mark Naim.

                                                   The pentagram of Hygieia

Apple seed

the Goddess's tree of wisdom was guarded by a dragon, but the dragon was defeated, badly hurt & trapped. worms came into the apples and corrupted them. but they could not corrupt the core of the apples, the seeds in the star-shaped middle. and the seeds gave life to more and more & more trees, they spread all over the lands. so did the worms. but one day they say the dragon will be strong again.

until that time is here I will follow my star, Stella.

minoan snake goddesses

there has been much ado about the minoan snake goddesses. there has been great exaggerations and even forged 'findings', painting a warped picture of ancient minoans. the figurines of bare breasted women with snakes in their hands were not many in comparison to other cult objects, and probably not as important as they have been made out to be.

for me, that almost just makes it better though. it means that it wasn't mainstream and everyday in minoan culture, it might have been a secluded, a bit mysterious cult. I'm not identifying as a goddess worshipper. not anymore, anyway. to emphasis either of the sexes over the other only creates an imbalance that is bad for both. but nonetheless I'm a little happy when I see evidence of goddess worship today. only because I'm glad they the sacred feminine isn't altogether forgotten or overshadowed.

when I look at the minoan figurines, the first thing I come to think about is vodun priestesses dancing with snakes, worshipping Mami Wata. I wonder which direction the inspiration went, from Crete to Africa or the other way around? and I come to think about the snake witch stone from Gotland, Sweden. is this more evidence of the connection between Scandinavia and the Mediterranian?

listen silent

I'm fascinated by snakes. they are plentiful around the cottage. and I often swim in the company of watersnakes in the lake. people in antiquity were also fascinated. I guess it isn't so strange; they are so alien to us. silent, without any limbs, they seem mysterious. their bodies are so sleek, it makes their eyes seem prominent. and some of them are dangerous.

snakes are silent, but they have a language; body language. in a way they are like letters, silent but communicating visually. so they have come to symbolize wisdom & secret knowledge that only those who knows how to interpret the signs can access. also snakes were believed to be connected to the underground and the dead. letters can also be our connection to the now dead people who once wrote them.

silent people make other people uncomfortable. because the silent are listening. (silent and listen are two words that are made up from the same letters in english language. I find that neat.) to learn, one has to be silent and listen. also when you are silent, people think you have something to hide. when paganism was banned, pagans were silenced and forced to go underground, so to speak. to communicate only with secret signs.

so that is how & why snakes and paganism is connected, and why snakes went from being revered, to being despised and feared. the snake is a misunderstood, mythologized & demonized being. I wish I could say that there were not any reason for pagans to be afraid and to hide anymore. but sadly the hate and suspicion against old religion is brewing strong as ever. 

one part of the anatomy

women of the internets, you all know of what I speak in this post. 

so this is about what was going through my mind after I watched the last episode of Vikings. there was a scene where Ragnar asks advice of the seer about the two women he wants, but doesn't want to choose between. the seer tells him the story of how the giantess Skadi had her pick among the Asir and Vanir men, but had to choose by only seeing their feet. Ragnar asks by what he should choose woman, and gets a strange answer like by their entrails and everything inside them. but then tells Ragnar he is a fool if he thinks the choice is his to make. 

so that made me think of how sometimes some guys of the internet, of whom one knows nothing (not name or face), out of the blue sends one a picture of a certain part of their anatomy. I think every woman (or person claiming to be a woman) that has spent any time on the internet has had this happen to them at least once. 

I have a request;

the first part is simple; just don't. it's not sexy, it's creepy. it also has a kind of comic effect, you know. (how can you not get that?! you really do know nothing, some of you…)

the second part may astound you; 

...IF you are adamant on sending a picture of one part of your anatomy to me, please send a picture of your hands and underarms. if they are attractive. and especially if their tattooed with snakes or dragons coiled around them. I have a thing for that. if I, like Skadi, had to choose a mate from only seeing one part of a man it'd be the part I'd rather choose from. Different women probably have other preferences; maybe you should ask first before you send any pictures at all. (my thing probably has something to do with me reading The Mists of Avalon when I was thirteen. it's kinda like some guys have a thing for Leia in the slave costume.)

an old painting of mine depicting a modern man who meets his ancestor, who has snake tattoos. the snake tattoo symbolically kills the mans slave-tie. 

Dracunculus medinensis

Man tror att läkaremblemet som föreställer en 'orm' virad kring en stav från början var en avbildning av hur man drar ut en parasit ur kroppen med en pinne. inte särskilt romantiskt, kan tyckas. Den lille gynnaren har det latinska namnet Dracunculus medinensis och man kan drabbas av den genom dricksvattnet, dock inte i Sverige. (Vi har fått en annan otäck liten parasit att vara rädda för, dvärgbandmasken.)

Nå senare blandade man ihop askleipiosstaven med caduceusstaven, som är en häroldsstav. Ormarna kring den sägs symbolisera dualismer i samförstånd genom stavens fredsmäklande egenskaper. Eftersom en av gudarna som hade den som emblem var Hermes/Merkurius som var köpmännens OCH tjuvarnas skyddsgud så fick den symbolisera handel. Fast nu är det som sagt vanligt att den tar askleipiosstavens plats. Till exempel hos USAs 'medical department'.

Water Snake

Yesterday evening I wanted to wash some dust off, and went to the little island to take a swim there. The water is warm and it was a sunny, beautiful evening. I was carefully stepping into the water, since the rocks are both sharp and slippery-slimy there, when I felt a sudden hesitation. In my mind I saw a snake swimming towards me in the water. "Ridiculus" I told myself, "what are the odds that an adder will be swimming towards me?"

Repeating that in my mind, mantra-like, I swam out. As I swam out from the island I could see around it, and guess what? A snake was swimming towards me! Unbeliveable. I paniced and swam towards land and quickly I was out of the water. Then I saw the yellow markings behind it's head; It was jus an non venomous grass snake, or water snake as they also are called.

The snake was not much startled but did make a little way around me in the water as I was swimming ashore. Then it came up on land two meters from me, inbetween some rocks and vegetation. After a rest in the sun it continued on it's way around the island. Amazing. The animal life around the cottage are not at all afraid of humans. Squirrels, toads, birds... Now a snake, too.