Catching up part deux

Haven't written here in over a month-now that the holidays are over, it's time to catch up again.

Alex is doing great-walking up a storm, getting into all kinds of trouble. ;) He's also talking a lot more as well, pointing at everything, saying "look", or "that", etc. It's so fun to watch him develop.

I've still been walking Hank at the dog park every morning. I feel healthier as a result, but I'm going to have to ramp up the exercise to see real results losing weight.

We're leaving for our trip to Maui in less than two weeks. Woohoo! I can't wait. Ron and I decided to upgrade our hotel, changing our reservation to the Four Seasons Maui for the first three nights, then the Hotel Hana Maui for the last two on Maui. We'll be on Waikiki Beach for the last night. We are also planning a trip to Japan this fall to visit Theresa, Ron's sister. Should be a lot of fun.

I started taking French classes again last week-French 1, at Bellevue Community College. It seems to be coming back pretty painlessly this time. I'm determined to stick with it until I become fluent. It's embarrassing to speak only one language. I've been enjoying it a lot.

We had our first round table meeting of the new year last week-two guys showed up. We talked about Campbell's book Primitive Mythology. It was an interesting discussion, to say the least. We spent some time on threshold rituals for the boy moving into manhood. Campbell talks about that topic quite a bit in PM. Next month's meeting will be on Oriental Mythology.

As far as the writing is concerned, it really hasn't been happening much lately. I've even been reluctant to write in this blog. I'm hoping that writing in the blog regularly again will get the creative juices flowing again.

See you all tomorrow-same place. :)

Apollo and Dionysus

So, the babysitter is here and I finally get a chance to write my blog for today.

I'm getting an early start on next months RoundTable meeting, which is on Apollo and Dionysus. It was interesting having Rich at last month's meeting-he brought up a lot of stuff on Artemis that I hadn't made the connection to, so I'm going to range a little wider in my research this month in an effort to make the conversation deeper. So, I've just ordered a book on the psychology of Apollo and Dionysus, plus I'll read Ginette Paris' chapters on Dionysus. We'll start there, and see where we end up.

On a related note, I knew I was married to the coolest guy in the world when I called him the evening after our lecture at Pacifica on Apollo and Dionysus, and he sent me the lyrics to this song. Ron is the best. :)

Round Table Meeting

We had the October RoundTable meeting last night at Third Place Books. There were six of us there, including me. Rich Schwab, who used to be the RT leader was in town and was also there, which always makes for lively conversation. There was also a woman there named Artemis, which, given our subject manner, was appropriate. :)

The discussion was interesting, and the meeting was a lot of fun. We talked about Artemis for a bit. Rich told the story of The Handless Maiden, whose themes of purity fit in well with the Artemesian subject of the meeting. He also told the story of Sedna.

Overall, a successful meeting.

(The image is an art piece by Caz Love)

Update: I found an interesting essay on The Handless Maiden by Midori Snyder here.

Artemis: Wilderness and Wildness

I've been reading up on Artemis for the next meeting of the Joseph Campbell Foundation Seattle RoundTable. It's been interesting; Artemis is not a goddess that I've taken much time to think about before, so I've been grateful for the opportunity.

Artemis is Apollo's twin sister. They are the children of Zeus and Leto. When Hera found out that Zeus had been unfaithful (again), she put a curse on Leto. Leto was in labor for nine days and nights. Artemis was born first, without pain, and she then helped her mother with Apollo's delivery.

The goddess Artemis is a remnant of an earlier paleolithic goddess of the hunt. She is a virgin goddess, of wild spaces and animals. She is also, interestingly, the goddess of childbirth. When a woman gives birth to a child that process is part of her animal nature, therefore Artemis is there for her for that (breastfeeding as well).

An interesting aspect of the Artemis myth (explored in greater detail in Ginette Paris' book The Psychology of Abortion) is that, while she is the goddess of birth, she is also in charge of the quick death. In her book Dr. Paris explores the notion that whether or not one is capable of being a parent is the first decision one must make as a parent. So, if a woman cannot be a mother, she must (as a mother) provide the quick death.

Artemis' influence is also increasingly relevant to the ecology movement as well. She is the protectress of wild spaces, and of solitude. In her role as virgin goddess, she stands alone, not in relationship to a lover (as is Aphrodite), a spouse (as is Hera), or a child (as is Demeter). She is the guardian of those times in our lives when we need to be in solitude.

More to come later.

Books used as research for this post:

Pagan Meditations
The Psychology of Abortion
The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image

Round Table Discussions for next year

I've been trying to get more RT members interested in coming to the meetings, so I've got some new strategies for after the first of the year. This fall we've been discussing the archetypal roles of the greek gods. The first meeting, in September, was on Aphrodite, but unfortunately only one person showed up. Partially my fault, though, because I got the word out late. This month the meeting is on Artemis. I'll be sending out a newsletter to the RT later today on what we'll be doing going forward. In November, we'll talk about Apollo and Dionysus, and December will be on Zeus and Hera, the Royal Marriage. I'll post a little essay on each class the next day.

Anyway, going forward I thought we might do a series on Campbell's "The Masks of God". I think many Campbell fans may be intimidated by them, given the length and intensity of the series. So, one discussion each on "Primitive Mythology", "Oriental Mythology", "Occidental Mythology", and "Creative Mythology". We'll see how that goes.