Summer solstice, 2016

images: Wikimedia commons. 
Top left: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Millais_Victory_O_Lord.jpg
Top right: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BD_Ankh,_Djed,_and_Sun.jpg
Bottom center: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bijou_de_la_tombe_de_Toutânkhamon_(musée_du_Caire_Egypte)_(1815591264).jpg

The earth will pass through the point of June solstice this year on Monday, June 20 at 3:34 in the afternoon for the Pacific time zone in North America, which is 6:34 pm for the Eastern time zone and 10:34 pm (or 22:34) in Greenwich, England.

For those in the northern hemisphere, this will mark the "high point" of the year or the summer solstice, when the sun's path across the sky will be at its highest elevation above the southern horizon, before it turns back "downwards" towards the lowest part of the year at winter solstice. 

The summer solstice will mark a "triumph" point for hours of daylight versus hours of darkness, but after earth hurtles past this point of triumph, the hours of daylight will again begin to grow shorter, although they will still be longer than the hours of darkness each 24-hour period, until we reach the "crossing point" of the September equinox, when hours of darkness will then begin to be longer than hours of daylight in each 24-hour period (for those of us in the northern hemisphere).

The four great dividing points of the year -- the summer and winter solstices, and the autumn and spring equinoxes -- were allegorized in the ancient myths, scriptures, and sacred stories of humanity to impart wisdom intended for our benefit as we toil through this incarnate life. Based on my analysis of many ancient myths, it is my understanding that the point of summer solstice carries a twin message -- embodying both the consummation of complete integration with our Higher Self, the "raising of the Djed-column," towards which we should strive each day, and upon which we should fix our gaze and also the message that (like the sun's path after the triumph of summer solstice) we ourselves have plunged down into physical matter for the express purpose of the elevation of both the spiritual and material natures.

The endless interplay between daylight and darkness during the course of the annual cycle, and between the path through the upper realm of the heavens and the lower realm of earth and water during the course of the daily cycle (with each rising of a star or other heavenly body being allegorized as a rising into the spirit-realm, and each setting as a plunge into the material realm) was employed by the ancient myths to teach us that we ourselves and everyone else that we ever meet is actually much more than the physical body, and are each possessed of a higher, divine spirit-nature, temporarily submerged in the material realm.

The plunge down into matter may on the surface appear to be the humiliation of this spirit-nature, but in fact according to the metaphor it is this very "casting down" which results in the "raising up" of the invisible soul.

In a short treatise entitled Easter: Birthday of the Gods (also found on the web here, and available for purchase in paper format here), in which he most clearly outlines the spiritual significance of each of the four great stations upon the Great Cross of the year (summer solstice, autumn or fall equinox, winter solstice, and spring equinox), Alvin Boyd Kuhn explains that our "fall" into matter should not be misunderstood as a terrible mistake, but rather as a critical and essential experience. He writes:

Unseen as yet by general religion, it was necessary for God's sons, who must start as mortals to gain immortality, to descend into matter and be long subjected to its sluggish dominance. Ignorantly and mistakenly has conventional religion, in its hasty, superficial, and erratic interpretation of Biblical material, assumed that this ostracism of his children by God himself to lower worlds remote from the Father's benignant presence, was somehow a sad consequence of the children's wayward errancy and an untoward and disastrous misadventure of primal mankind. The truth envisages no such direful miscarriage of the plans of Eternal Mind. God's mental progeny could well be entrusted to the tutelary custodianship of nature, indeed injected into her maternal womb, since nature was from the first and eternally ensouled by the Father's energic mind power, and all nature's processes exhibited the divine design at work in open manifestation. God could safely consign his youthful offspring to the educative guardianship of the "old nurse," Mother Nature. For as a pedagogue Mother Nature could never misteach each her divine pupils, herself being the preceptress, the living exemplar and expression of the cosmic mind. 12 - 13.  

In other words, Kuhn argues, our spiritual descent into this realm of matter is ultimately (somehow) for our spiritual elevation and the raising of our consciousness through the experience. Elsewhere in the same essay, he states:

Flesh and soul find themselves locked inseparably in the marriage bonds of polarity here in body. Philosophies that place all value on spirit and decry and degrade the flesh are guilty of gross misplacement of emphasis.

[. . .]

It is said that all Scripture is given for edification. Of first importance then it is to realize that the basic edifying item of truth the Scriptures enshrine (in myth, allegory, drama and symbol) is this underlying universal principle: the descent, the "death" in ark-seed form and then the resurrection of the seed units of divine life out of material embodiment. This single item is the lost clue to the mystery and the meaning of both life itself and the great Scriptures which pictorialize its significance. 30 - 31.

It is for this reason, then, that we see Samson's path go from basically irresistible strength and triumph to weakness and imprisonment, after the "seven locks of his head" are shorn off by Delilah in Judges 16. When Samson was passing through the "upper regions" of summer solstice, he slew a Lion with his bare hands, and then later came back and gathered honeyfrom the swarm of bees which had made their home in the carcass of the Lion (the Beehivebeing representative of the zodiac sign of Cancer the Crab and the summer solstice). But then he descends to the point of fall equinox (presided over by the Virgin of Virgo) and ultimately is shorn of the seven locks of his hair, which are directly symbolic of his identification with the divine fire of the sun in the heavens.

We may wonder why Samson would ever reveal to Delilah the secret of his irresistible strength, especially after every "false lead" he gives her is immediately tested out by Delilah and a group of Samson's enemies -- but the reason is that the sun must eventually make its way downward from the heights of summer and pass through the fall equinox on the way down to the very lowest point of the year, and that this same journey of the sun was used by the ancient myths and scriptures to dramatize to us the necessity of our own descent from the realm of pure spirit, into this material universe and our incarnate life within a physical human body.

The necessity of Samson's "plunge" (and the shaving of his "solar glory" in the cutting off of the seven locks of his head by Delilah in Judges 16) prefigures a very similar descent which is described in the stories of the New Testament in the life of the Christ: after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem upon a donkey (or two donkeys), which again is symbolic of the zodiac sign of Cancer the Crab at the very top of the year at summer solstice (the Beehive cluster symbolized in the Samson myth being located between two stars in the constellation Cancer which are named Asellus Borealis and Asellus Australis: the "northern and southern donkey colts"), the motion of the gospel narrative moves inexorably towards his betrayal by Judas Iscariot and then his arrest, humiliation, and crucifixion.

In other words, in both the Samson narrative and the "triumphal entry" narrative in the gospels, we see that the "high point" of the year (associated with Cancer the Crab at the top of the annual cycle) is followed soon after by descent, humiliation, imprisonment, and death -- all symbolic of our own plunge into the material realm, which was symbolically described as a sort of "death" of our spiritual consciousness, and a "shaving off" of our connection with and memory of our inner connection to the infinite and divine.

Thus, the symbolic significance of summer solstice to us from our vantage point in this "lower crossing" of the incarnate life is as something we can look towards as a reminder of our true spiritual and divine nature, which we should recognize and elevate in ourselves and others as much as possible, but it is simultaneously a reminder that (like the path of the sun itself) we had to descend from the realm of spirit in order to sojourn in the material realm, for reasons that ultimately have to do with the "uplift of the soul" (in the words of Alvin Boyd Kuhn, 30).

My analysis of the intended message is that each of us should in fact be engaged in the process of "raising up" the Djed column during this earthly sojourn, but also that we should realize that we never actually reach the point symbolized by summer solstice while we are sojourning here in the material realm -- that is where we came from, when we commenced the plunge into physical matter, and where we are heading towards again (in an "aeonial cycle" that continues many times, according to some interpretations of the ancient wisdom imparted to humanity, as Kuhn explains on page 30 of the same tract mentioned already).

The reason that the Beehive in the constellation of Cancer the Crab is associated with this triumphal highest point in the spiritual cycle (the point from which, however, the "only way to go is down") is that the line of the summer solstice falls between the signs of Gemini and Cancer on the zodiac wheel, as it was drawn during the Age of Aries:

As can be seen from the above diagram, the very top of the vertical line connecting the winter solstice (at the bottom or "six o'clock" position on the wheel) with the summer solstice (at the top or "twelve o'clock" position) passes between the sign of the Twins of Gemini (to the left of the "twelve o'clock" position) and of Cancer the Crab (drawn to look more like a lobster in the illustration above), just to the right of the same line through twelve o'clock. 

These two signs, incidentally, are almost certainly responsible for the description in the Biblical scriptures of the Promised Land as a "land flowing with milk and honey," as discussed in this previous blog post on that subject. It is noteworthy that in the mythology of ancient Greece, the infant Zeus was  said to have been nourished upon the milk and the honey provided to him in the Diktaian cave (the cave on Mount Dikte on Crete, where the baby Zeus was hidden by his mother, to escape being devoured by his father Kronos or Cronus) by the miraculous goat Amaltheia and (according to some ancient accounts) by the nymphs Ide (Ida) and Adrasteia, daughters of Melisseus (see discussions and ancient sources here).

The same constellation of Cancer the Crab, which is a very faint constellation composed of only six easily-visible stars, is also undoubtedly responsible for the association of the "upraised arms" with the point of summer solstice and of the top of the Djed column (the highest point of the year), as discussed in this previous summer solstice post from 2014. The "upraised arms" (with the triumphant, full sun above them) can be seen at the top of the Djed column in an illustration from the Papyrus of Ani shown in the collection of images at top (in the upper-right image in that collection). 

The same "upraised arms" play a role in the Exodus account of the battle with Amalek, when the battle went well for Joshua and the children of Israel only as long as Moses held his arms up, but went badly for them when Moses grew tired and let his arms down to rest them. This story, found in Exodus chapter 17, can be seen to be a dramatization of the cycles of the year itself, and the endless interplay between the forces of light and darkness -- which go back and forth between the summer solstice and the winter solstice, with one "side" triumphing as the year approaches its day of maximum darkness, and the other triumphing as the year approaches the day of maximum daylight. But the story is not really "about" the great annual cycle, as majestic and awesome as that is, but rather is intended to provide us with spiritual insight into the interaction between the visible and invisible realms, and into our own innate divine nature, which is so easily forgotten and neglected when we plunge into this incarnate life in the physical body, and subject ourselves to all of the physical exigencies and necessities of the material world.

In that battle with Amalek, Moses had to have assistance in order to keep his arms up, from the figures of Aaron and Hur (Exodus 17: 12) -- and we see that in the Papyrus of Ani illustration (top right) the Djed itself is flanked by the twin figures of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, each of whom has her hands raised up in a gesture of blessing and uplifting of the spirit and of the Djed. Similarly, the sacred Scarab of ancient Egypt was also depicted with its own "hands" upraised, reminiscent of the Crab of Cancer in the celestial realms -- and in the jeweled necklace shown at top from the tomb of Tutankhamun, the sacred Scarab is surmounted by a solar disc but also flanked on either side by both Djed columns and Ankh crosses, as well as by two uraeus serpents (asps or Egyptian cobras), which appear to take the place of Aaron and Hur from the Exodus story, or of Isis and Nephthys from the Papyrus of Ani.

I believe these "flanking figures" represent the great "crossing points" on either side of the central Djed-column on the Great Cross of the year: the autumn and spring equinoxes, which both can be seen as essential to and supportive of the central column which has the summer solstice at its highest point. As Alvin Boyd Kuhn's quotations (cited above) inform us, the plunge down from the summer solstice is an essential aspect of our spiritual uplift.

Below is one more illustration of the "upraised arms" from ancient Egypt, seen in one version of the royal cartouche of the king Thutmosis III. It contains a sacred Scarab with upraised arms, above which is the triumphant solar disc (certainly appropriate to the summer solstice and all that it spiritually represents). Additionally, below the sacred Scarab in this particular version of the cartouche, we see another set of "upraised arms," to really drive the point home. It is also interesting to notice the linguistic similarity between the name of the ancient king to whom this cartouche belongs and the name of Moses whose upraised arms are described in Exodus 17.

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

This message from the ancient wisdom which was imparted to humanity in the sacred scriptures and myths is one that is very appropriate to contemplate as we once again reach the point of summer solstice and the "high point of the year" (for the northern hemisphere). This summit-point is certainly representative of the full "raising up" of the Djed, the full elevation of the spiritual consciousness, and the full integration with the Higher Self or divine self discussed explicitly in some surviving ancient traditions (such as the tradition of Yoga). However, in the ancient myths of humanity, the triumphal point of summer solstice was usually followed closely by a description of the "descent" of the divine figure, emblematic of the necessity which plunges each one of us from the divine realm of spirit and infinite potentiality into the limiting realm of matter, where we presently find ourselves.

In other words, we are presently in the condition of Samson once his hair (symbolic of the solar fire) has been shorn off -- but the scriptural text encouragingly informs us that "the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven" (Judges 17: 22). And thus our awareness of and integration with that Higher Self, that True Self, is only temporarilyforgotten, and we should be in the business of restoring it in the ways that are given to us to do so (secure in the knowledge that ultimately it will "grow again" by a mysterious process that is beyond any of our own efforts). The triumph-point of summer solstice gives us a picture to look towards as we endeavor to connect with and regain touch with our invisible nature, our spirit nature, even as it also conveys the message that this process will always be imperfect and incomplete during this earthly sojourn.

Methods which I believe have been given to us to aid in this process are numerous, and have been preserved in different degrees and different levels of emphasis in the different cultures around our globe. A partial list would certainly include practices such as meditation, various forms of chanting and sacred song, qigong or chi gung, Tai Chi and other martial arts, shamanic drumming or drumming to induce states of ecstasy or out-of-body experience, tantra, the recitation of mantras, and of course the practice of Yoga itself -- among many other methods found across the vast range of human experience and preserved across the myriad cultures that are scattered across the vast range of oceans and deserts and forests and mountains and plains that make up our planet.

And of course, I believe that the ancient myths, scriptures and sacred stories which were given to humanity in the distant past from a source which today cannot be definitively identified can also guide us towards that integration with and elevation of that aspect of our nature which is spiritual and divine, and which is symbolized by the Beehive and the solstice -- and that they can and will impart their wisdom to us as we learn to approach them using the language that they are actually speaking: the language of celestial metaphor.

UAP

I'm not a big UFO researcher.

I've looked at the sky at night a lot and I've never seen one.

I don't particularly look for them either: looking for that type of thing is not a major focus of my research. I do spend a lot of time looking at the stars and the night sky; sometimes I use a telescope, sometimes I use binoculars, but most of the time I use the naked eye (with glasses).

However, this evening while parking the car at a few minutes before 9 pm local time, with both my sons in the car, one of them (who was in the passenger's side seat in the front) said, "There's a satellite."

He had been looking at the planet Saturn, which appeared as a bright star in the twilight -- one of only a few heavenly objects visible in the twilight. With summer solstice approaching, it stays light very late, and although it was getting dark, the easiest objects to see in the direction we were facing as I parked the car were still Mars, Antares and Saturn (a few other stars were visible but very faint).

My son had originally thought that the "star" he was looking at (Saturn) was moving, until he realized it was another bright object just below Saturn, which was bright like a large star but moving slowly downwards towards the horizon.

I saw it and said, "Maybe that's the ISS" because it was so bright. It did look like it was about the size of the bright satellite said to be the ISS on websites that tell you when to look for the ISS, which I have seen crossing the sky in the past, in very much the same part of the sky as this object, except when seeing the bright object identified as the ISS, I've always seen it moving at a steady pace from the south towards the north, and maintaining about the same track across the sky relative to the ground (the same angle of elevation above the eastern horizon, in other words). This object, which was as bright as the ISS and steady (with no blinking lights) was slowly moving towards the horizon.

In the diagram above, I show the direction that we were facing, at the latitude and longitude and approximate time and date. The screenshot is taken from stellarium.org, which is an excellent open-source planetarium app available online. I have used an "airbrush" tool to indicate the location of the bright light when we first saw it (at the top of the downward-pointing arrow, just beneath Saturn and drawn to look slightly larger than Saturn, because it was slightly brighter than Saturn in the sky).

We all saw the object and looked at it very carefully to see if it could possibly have any flashing lights such as an airplane or helicopter would display -- there were definitely none whatsoever: it was a solid light very much like a bright star or satellite (or ISS, if the bright satellite-object we are told is the ISS is in fact the ISS, which I personally don't have too much problem believing that it is, although I know others who harbor some doubts about that).

We watched it for approximately 25 to 30 seconds as it moved steadily downwards towards the horizon, as indicated by the purple arrow. Two of us got out of the car and one of my sons remained in the car, but we were all watching it and discussing it for a good amount of time. There is no way that it could have been a meteor (at least, it was completely unlike any of the meteors I have ever observed, none of which remain visible for 25 or 30 seconds, or even long enough to point out to anyone who is not already looking at them). It moved steadily and deliberately, but not at a constant speed. At one point, it passed some horizontal power lines which were visible above the horizon fairly close to our location, which is the only time it appeared to "blink" (as it passed behind each power line and was temporarily partly-obscured from our view by the power lines).

Not long after passing below the level of the power lines, but still well above the level of the horizon, it suddenly faded very rapidly as if growing smaller and disappearing in the distance, whereupon it turned a dull red color for a split second before fading completely from view. The son who had gotten out of the car also observed the momentary change to a dull red color, while the one who had stayed in the car did not.

The approximate location of the object or light when it disappeared is indicated at the bottom of the arrow that I have drawn in the diagram above, where I have also added a smaller, slightly reddish spot to indicate the object just before it faded suddenly from view.

The speed of descent was somewhat similar to a military parachute flare (which, when I was in the army, was a pyrotechnic device which we used quite often, and with which I am very familiar, along with other types of pyrotechnic devices known as "star clusters" -- I have no idea if these are still used regularly, although they probably are). However, it did not look at all like a parachute flare to me and I can pretty confidently rule that out as an explanation, based on its actual behavior, size, brightness, height above the horizon when first seen, and apparent distance from us. 

I have no desire to label it a "UFO," since that term popularly implies some sort of extraterrestrial craft, and that is certainly not what I would say might be the most likely explanation for whatever this shining object was. It did appear to be like a very bright satellite, about the size of the "ISS" in the sky, but moving in a path that was not at all like a satellite, especially the part at the end when it simply faded rapidly from view while changing to a dull red color momentarily. It could perhaps be labeled as a "UAP" or "unexplained aerial phenomenon," at least "unexplained" based on my own personal experience (the possibility that it was some sort of man-made vehicle or drone seems to me to be the most likely explanation for whatever it was).

Interestingly, at about the same time, someone else in Fontana, California posted a video of a very similar satellite-like light which very much resembled the one we were observing (as far as I can tell from the video), and they described it as being in a "south-easterly direction," which (as you can see in the diagram above) is the same direction that we were looking at the same time. Below is video that they posted shortly afterwards, and which I found by searching on twitter about twenty minutes later (and where it was posted with the message "this just happened"). The interesting part about this video is that the location is quite far to the south of the location that we were when we saw the very similar phenomenon -- so far to the south that it would be hard to believe we were looking at the same thing, even though the time appears to match almost exactly. Below the video is a map showing the relative locations -- if the video below was taken in Fontana, as it says it is (my location was almost exactly two hundred miles north of that, in Paso Robles).

What the significance of this is, I'm not really certain. It does raise questions as to what it might have been, but there are plenty of possible answers (most of them involving some sort of military craft or training, in my opinion). However, as I have never actually seen anything at all like this, in decades of watching the sky (as well as over a decade in the military), I post the record here, mainly to keep track of the details as we observed them.

It is also interesting that it was seen in the vicinity of the planet Saturn.

California: do the right thing

image: California covered in fog; Wikimedia commons (link).

Most students who study the Odyssey at virtually any level, whether before college or in college, will be told that one of the themes running through the epic is the theme of the host and the guest, and that it contains many different examples of good hosts and bad hosts, good guests and bad guests -- which, of course, it does.

At the opening of the entire poem, we see a vivid example of guests who are devouring the household of their "host," who never actually invited them in the first place: the suitors who have taken up within the household of the absent Odysseus, slaughtering his livestock for their feasts, drinking down his wine, abusing the faithful men who still tend to the animals and the estate, sleeping with the maidservants, and angling for the hand of Penelope in hopes that they can marry her, while plotting to kill the son of Odysseus and Penelope, the young Telemachus -- who has now reached an age where he is beginning to realize that he has to do something about his unruly "guests." 

Realizing that he himself cannot hope to dislodge the more than one hundred suitors who are gulping down the food and drink without giving anything in return, Telemachus calls for an assembly of all the kings and warriors on Ithaca, many of whom are the fathers of the suitors, in order to present his case  to the public and get them to do something about it. 

The proceedings of this assembly are recorded in Book Two of the Odyssey. Telemachus asks the community if he thinks it is right for the suitors "to destroy with impunity" the livelihood of another, to consume possessions that are not theirs and lay someone else's house to waste, basically eating free lunches (not to mention breakfasts and dinners) until all is devoured. If the suitors and the rest of the community think this is proper, Telemachus declares, then he will appeal to the immortal gods, and to the power of the divine Zeus himself to put a stop to the injustice (Odyssey Book 2, lines 130 - 154).

As noted in this previous post, the suitors respond angrily to the accusations of Telemachus, basically blaming him and his mother Penelope, as if Telemachus and Penelope deserve to have the suitors violently occupying their house and devouring their livelihood, and as if Telemachus and Penelope are in the wrong, and not the overbearing suitors!

Then, old Mentor speaks up -- a companion in the old days of Odysseus, who appointed Mentor to raise Telemachus in his absence when he (reluctantly) went off to the Trojan War. Addressing the other citizens of Ithaca, Mentor says: 

But in truth I do not admire that the haughty suitors should do violent deeds by the evil contrivances of their mind; for laying together their heads, they eat up forcibly the house of Odysseus, and say that he never again will return. But now I am angry with the rest of the people, in what manner ye all sit silent, but do not at all reproaching in words restrain the suitors who are few, though you are many. Odyssey Book 2, lines 235 - 241.

In this passage from the ancient wisdom entrusted to humanity, Mentor is saying that the community (who are many, and greatly outnumber the suitors) are in the wrong if they do not use their moral suasion to restrain the violent and conniving suitors, who "eat up forcibly" that which they have basically invaded. 

Mentor knows that if the entire island would express outrage at the actions of the suitors, who are few in number by comparison, the suitors would not be able to stand against all the others (many of whom, besides, are the suitors' own fathers, uncles, or kin).

Mentor expresses his anger because the people, who could put a stop to the depredations of the suitors, instead "all sit silent." 

As with so many other aspects of the situations we find unfolding in our lives in the present day, here again the ancient wisdom of the sacred myth seems to be speaking directly to our most pressing crises. 

Indeed, a violent gang of "suitors" have moved in, devouring with impunity and "plotting violent deeds by the evil contrivances of their mind," in the words of Mentor as preserved in the ancient epic. They have moved in to Greece, for sure, and have nearly brought it to ruin in spite of the protestations of the people there, but also to more far-flung regions including Europe and the present-day United States, as explained by economist Michael Hudson in his many interviews and in his numerous published books and articles -- most recently his book entitled (appropriately enough) Killing the Host. 

Dr. Hudson uses the term "host" as the word is used when describing the organism invaded by a biological parasite in nature -- a parasite being a particularly graphic illustration of the kind of "bad guest relationship" we have been discussing above. 

He explains that the classical economists (including Adam Smith) believed that the best way to order society was to free it from the kind of activity typified by the levying of rents, which act as "tollbooths" set up all over the economy. But because those who want to act like the suitors in the household of Telemachus and devour the livelihood of others are powerful (too powerful for Telemachus and his household to withstand, no matter how brave he is), the entire community is required in order to stand up to them (in the form of elected governments and legislatures). 

However, over the course of the past one hundred years, Dr. Hudson explains, this idea has actually been turned on its head by those who say that "free markets" really means the removal of the ability of the community to "restrain the suitors," instead of what economists such as Adam Smith intended it to mean. The classical economists intended to create an economy that basically strove to achieve "freedom from the suitors" or those who "eat up forcibly" the households of others -- or the bodies of others, in the case of a parasite -- but today there is a whole host of voices arguing for freedom from the ability to restrain such forcible devouring! 

The various representatives of the suitors in the Odyssey Book Two offer a defense for their behavior, basically arguing that they are the ones who are acting in accordance with what is best for society, and actually blaming their victims (Penelope and Telemachus) as the ones who are in the wrong. Intriguingly, Michael Hudson points out that most parasites in nature actually possess mechanisms to numb the host as they are feeding from it, and many of the most invasive parasites even possess enzymes which they release into the host which go to the brain and affect its thinking, causing the host to believe that the parasite is part of the host, part of the natural order of things, part of the body to be defended and protected and nourished!

To hear Dr. Hudson discussing this concept, you can listen to any one of the many podcasts available on the web in which various interviewers explore this issue from varying angles -- this one contains some good discussion (the part of the show with Dr. Hudson begins at about the 58:00 minute mark of that two-hour podcast and double-interview; he is the guest for the second hour of the show). 

The above arguments do not mean that everyone who starts a restaurant should have to submit the proposed menu (or any other decision about how to run the business) to a public vote every few hours: Dr. Hudson's arguments, and those of the classical economists, appear to be primarily concerned with natural monopolies, such as public infrastructure, including utilities such as power and water and roads (in fact, the reforms he and the classical economists envision would tend to unburden "non-tollbooth" types of economic activity, such as starting a restaurant or hiring workers, from the massive number of taxes and fees that have been pushed onto them, and shift the tax burden instead to the beneficiaries of monopoly-style or tollbooth-type activity). Instead of allowing landlords to set up tollbooths every twenty miles on the interstate freeway system, for example, the United States uses taxes to maintain its comprehensive system of interstate freeways, which lowers the cost of doing business for everyone, whether big businesses or small businesses, or even individuals or families out on the road for vacation or any other purpose. 

The same principle, Dr. Hudson and the classical economists would argue, can be applied to other aspects of the infrastructure, including power and water and even medical care and education -- the goal being to provide these things as inexpensively as possible in order to reduce the cost of doing business or supporting oneself or a family (just like the interstate freeway system), rather than allowing various "extractors" to put up tollbooths all over these infrastructure-type functions (which tend to be natural monopolies).

While the vast majority of people in the United States see the open road and the magnificent interstate freeway system as a tremendous benefit for everyone, many of the very same people have a visceral reaction against applying the same thinking to other aspects of the public infrastructure, such as public education (even though the "public universities" and state schools were basically founded on this same concept, with the goal of providing easily affordable but high-quality undergraduate and graduate education: these have largely been turned into gigantic clusters of tollbooths within tollbooths). 

In other words, even while they enjoy the benefits of the non-privatized interstate freeway system (which benefits everyone in so many ways that are completely taken for granted), they say that anyone proposing the same thing for utilities such as electricity or water, or for educations at state universities, is going to "destroy the free market."

It is now becoming more common to hear people arguing that even city water systems should be privatized, and that water is not actually a human right. The same people would probably balk at the idea of having the roads that they take when going on a trip privatized, and of selling off every ten miles of the freeway system to different corporations or groups of individuals pooling their funds, who could then put up tollbooths charging whatever they thought was best from those desiring the privilege of driving over that stretch of freeway (and perhaps offering loans at varying rates of interest to "help" those who could not afford to pay the tolls by stretching out the toll-payment over varying periods of time going on for years into the future, with interest).

Some extreme "libertarians" or even "thoughtful anarchists" do in fact argue that there should be no public infrastructure at all, and that having roads run by corporations would be a much better arrangement (they usually indicate that insurance companies would be natural candidates for owning and running different sections of roads). But a moment's reflection should cause us to realize that such arrangements are ripe for the kind of behavior demonstrated by the suitors, whose motto seems to be to feast off of whatever wealth they can find -- and that the more the economy is burdened with such "toll-collecting" activity, the more expensive it will be to do anything in that economy, whether traveling on vacation or moving goods and services for a business endeavor, and that the cost of goods produced in such a toll-burdened economy will naturally be higher than similar goods produced in an economy free from such "lounging suitors" erecting tollbooths everywhere.

The "hard libertarian" or "anarchist" position does in fact appear elsewhere in the Odyssey: it can be seen to be the position pursued by Polyphemus the Cyclops, and his fellows. They live solitary lives, build no ships and grow no crops, and reject the laws of gods or men. 

Unfortunately, because governments which were originally designed to escape from the kind of "toll-collecting" systems that dominated Europe in the medieval period have basically been infiltrated by violent suitors, many in the "alternative" world see the libertarian or anarchist position as the only solution, or the moral solution -- but that position actually rejects the kind of moral action by the community that Mentor is calling for. Mentor knows that if the combined voices of the rest of the citizens of Ithaca turned against the suitors and expressed their outrage and disgust at the behavior of the suitors, the suitors would have to give way. This sort of council is exactly what government accountable to the people is supposed to be. But the anarchist or hard libertarian position argues against having any such government -- and thus would leave the suitors to have free rein over the house of Telemachus and Penelope.

Of course, libertarians and even many anarchists will say that they do support rule of law, and that they would in fact support the restraint of violence (such as the murder plot hatched by the suitors). But while they may support community restraint of outright physical violence, they don't support community restraint of toll-extracting: those at the hard libertarian extreme would usually argue that there should be no law against having "this section of Highway 5 brought to you by ____ corporation," and "this entrance to Yosemite National Park brought to you by ____ corporation," and "this brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division brought to you by _____ corporation" (fill in the blanks with your favorite corporation in each case). They would not generally support the position that using taxes to provide public infrastructure (including schools, utilities, communication infrastructure, healthcare, social security or even in some extreme cases the interstate highway system) makes business less expensive, economies more efficient, exports more competitive, the cost of hiring new employees lower, and living standards higher -- and that removing tollbooths (and lounging, feasting, scheming "suitors") from those natural monopolies is actually a promotion of free markets, not a restriction of free markets. 

Unfortunately, because of the equivalent of the enzyme that Dr. Hudson is talking about (the one that makes the "host" believe that the "bad guests" who are eating the host out of house and home are actually "part of the body"), many citizens in the United States are complacent in the face of the very same kind of outrageous behavior that Telemachus and his allies warn will bring down the wrath of the gods, whose laws are being spurned (during the same community meeting, the "old hero Halistherses," who excels all others at reading the flights and songs and signs of birds, warns the community that the signs he is seeing indicate quite clearly that the behavior they are tolerating will end in calamitous disaster).

In the body politic of the United States, the republican party long ago adopted a quasi-religious devotion to the more recent (and counter-classical) view of "free markets" that protects and even encourages the kind of extractive behavior that the classical economists wanted to free the markets from, while the democrat party is presently engaged in a closely-contested battle between a candidate who has proven at every turn to be the best friend of the "suitors" and a candidate who is not afraid to reproach the same suitors with words of moral outrage, and who promises to ask the legislature to take steps to restrain them.

Because that same democrat-party candidate who (along with her husband) has consistently proven to be the best friend of the suitors is also (not coincidentally) an outspoken promoter of the use of aggressive violent military force against other nations around the world, and has explicitly promised military action against Iran and has also publicly compared a current leader of Russia to Hitler (indicating a strong proclivity for initiating violent military action against that nation as well), the election of that candidate to the office of president could have absolutely disastrous and calamitous consequences not only for the United States but for the entire human race (as could the election of the apparent republican candidate, obviously). 

As it happens, because of the convoluted mechanisms of the candidate selection process, the upcoming primary in the state of California will have an enormous bearing on the selection of the candidate for the democrat party in the upcoming presidential election. Any legal resident in the state of California who is presently  registered as a democrat, or registered "NPP" (for "no party preference") may cast a vote in the democrat primary for California this Tuesday, June 7. Those registered in the republican party, or for another specific party other than democrat or "NPP" cannot cast a vote for the democrat primary.

If you are a California resident who is registered "NPP" (rather than "democrat") and you wish to vote in the democrat primary on June 7 (this Tuesday), you can do so.

To participate in the democrat primary, you can either go to the polls physically and ask the polling personnel for the democrat ballot for the primary, or you can take your "NPP" ballot which should have been mailed to you to the primary. There are also other options, including voting early, either by mail or even "early in person." A full set of instructions covering various options and situations for voters registered either "democrat" or "NPP" who wish to participate in the democrat party primary for California is available here or at other places on the web.

I have listened to many different analysts and researchers who argue that "registering" for anything constitutes "consent" with oppressive systems, as well as people offering countless variations on the same type of argument, from either an "anarchist" or "voluntarist" or "sovereign" or "libertarian" perspective, and I have considered those arguments carefully over the years. I presently am of the opinion, after long and careful consideration, that those arguments are badly mistaken, and that they are actually (whether those who promote them realize it or not) arguments against the restraint (by properly elected governments) of dangerous, community-destroying behavior such as that exhibited by the suitors in one of the central conflicts running through the Odyssey. 

Such tolerated behavior may in fact be in the form of "legal tollbooths" all over the place, and not necessarily violent murder-plots such as the suitors exhibit -- but it is a similar type of freeloading as that displayed by the suitors, and it can drag the economy and the majority of the people in that economy down in a "death from a thousand cuts," and it is also unfortunately true that the "suitor" free-lunch-seeking mentality does seem to veer predictably towards actual physical violence and military invasions (just as the Odyssey warns us, with its inspired wisdom).

The suitors don't want the community to restrain them, and if possible they would tell Telemachus that reaching out to the community is either futile, or foolish, or morally compromising to him in some way -- and tell him not to call a council together, or go to the council to have his voice heard, or in any other way oppose their "freedom" to plunder his home. 

Therefore, if you or someone you know resides in California who has the opportunity to vote in the upcoming primary on June 7, but who has been enticed or bullied or deceived into "sitting in silence" instead of voting (as Mentor puts it, when he is addressing his fellow citizens of Ithaca at the council depicted in Book Two of the Odyssey), I would strongly but respectfully urge you (or them) to carefully reconsider those arguments, in light of some of the discussion offered above. 

Ganesh and the Infinite Celestial Realm

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

The Star Myths of the world can be definitively shown to be based upon a common, worldwide system of celestial metaphor, which uses the celestial realm to picture for us the Invisible Realm, the realm of the gods, the realm of spirit.

Even though we cannot see it, the Invisible Realm is very real -- in fact, as Lakota holy man Black Elk explained, that Invisible World is the real world that is behind this one, and from which this one flows. It is the spirit world which animates this material world -- and it is the spirit world which provides the life in every plant that grows, and which in fact flows through and animates every aspect of this material realm, and which is present and accessible to us at all times and in all places, even though we are not always attuned to it or conscious of its presence. In some traditions, the Invisible Realm was referred to as "the seed world," because in that realm, everything exists in infinite potentiality, in "seed form," like an enormous tree which is present in a tiny acorn or pinecone or seed-pod, but not yet manifest in the material world.

All the gods and goddesses and spiritual beings and heroes and kings and princesses in the ancient myths and sacred scriptures and traditions can be shown to be based upon the motions of celestial entities and heavenly cycles, including the stories in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, as well as in virtually every culture around the globe. Properly understood, this fact should actually be seen as uniting us all, because it shows that all the sacred stories and myths are in some way related, although where this common system originated remains a mystery of our very ancient past.

By employing this system of metaphor, the sacred traditions of humanity use the infinite realm of the heavens to show us the infinite realm, the "seed world" of infinite potentiality, and to convey profound truths regarding our own connection to this realm of spirit, truths which we need in this incarnate life -- truths which are intended for our benefit. Because they show us that each one of us -- as well as everyone we meet -- actually has a spiritual component, an infinite component, a Higher Self, and that we should be recognizing and acknowledging that aspect in ourselves and others and seeking to become more attuned to and integrated with it, and to elevate that aspect in others as well (as opposed to denying it, or trying to suppress it, in ourselves and others, or to put people down because of their physical and outward form or condition).

The sacred traditions and Star Myths also encourage us to align our lives with the patterns in the celestial realms and with the heavenly cycles of the sun, moon, planets and stars -- probably as a means of maintaining the awareness of our constant connection with and dependence upon the Invisible Realm, the infinite realm (the heavens being, in fact, infinite and thus not just a "picture" of the infinite realm but truly an aspect of that infinite realm, which we can contemplate on any clear and starry night).

One divinity who is recognized on every fourth day following the full moon is Lord Ganesh (often spelled Ganesha as well), also known as Ganapati (and by many other names as well), the elephant-headed deity who is revered and worshiped in Hindu tradition but also in many forms of Buddhism as well as the Jain Dharma, and whose devotion can be found across Asia, including (especially) in Tibet, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and other adjoining regions, and in more recent centuries around the world.

As we just passed through the point of the full moon, if you wish to prepare to incorporate special meditation upon and adoration of Ganapati this month (on the fourth day following full moon), you may wish to start thinking about and preparing for that now. The fourth day of the waning moon of the Hindu month of Bhadra or Bhadrapaada is traditionally the day most intensely associated with the adoration and worship of Ganesh, and is known as Chaturthi, but in fact every fourth day of the waning moon can also be celebrated as Ganesha Chaturthi throughout the year. 

There are many excellent sites on the web which describe ways in you can align your actions and thoughts on the fourth day of the waning moon each month with meditation upon Ganesh, such as this one, and you can also type in the words of the Ganesh mantra or Ganesh Dhun ("tune") into a search (or simply type in the search terms "Ganesh mantra" or "Ganesh Dhun") in order to hear how that mantra sounds and learn it for yourself (see hereand here for more on the concept of mantras if interested).

As I will demonstrate below, Ganesh is undoubtedly a celestial figure -- as are all the other gods and goddesses and divine powers of the infinite realm who are shown to us in the myths and sacred scriptures around the world. Some of his most distinctive characteristics include of course his elephant head, as well as his serpent belt, and his traditional "vehicle" or mount, who is a mouse (or rat, or shrew). These characteristics, along with some of the aspects of the stories surrounding them, can in my opinion be shown to be celestial in their origin, and discussed below. 

Before proceeding, however, I wish to assert very clearly that -- as with all Star Myths -- the reader should not make the error of assuming that because a sacred story can be shown to be based upon the stars, this fact absolutely does not mean that this myth is not true. Quite to the contrary, I believe that the world's Star Myths contain absolutely vital truths, which are not only true but necessary for our understanding in this incarnate life in which we find ourselves, here in this simultaneously material-spiritual universe or cosmos. In fact, as I explain elsewhere (including in my most recent book, examining the Star Myths of ancient Greece), it is when we begin to understand their celestial language that we can really begin to communicate with the sacred myths and to listen to what they are trying to tell us.

Below is an image of Ganapati from the twelfth century Hoysaleswara temple in southern India, showing him standing upon his rodent steed, and wearing his serpent belt (with a cobra head -- to see that, look just to the left of his navel):

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

According to the myths (and there are an astounding array of variations to the Ganesha story, as described in the excellent collection of scholarly studies entitled Ganesh: Studies of an Asian God), Ganesh is the child of Parvati, the goddess consort of the god Shiva -- although Ganesh is usually described as being created without a father but is the son of Parvati alone. This is a result of a tension between Parvati and Shiva, because Parvati wanted a child, but Shiva as an ascetic practiced the art of having intercourse without emission, and because as an immortal Shiva did not feel the need to have children who would remember him after death.

Parvati was also exasperated because Shiva was constantly coming in to her while she was bathing and  thus interrupting her baths, and he was able to do so because her attendant who was supposed to keep Shiva out was inattentive and irresponsible and easily bypassed by the god. So, she created her own son all by herself, and set him up as the guardian of the entrance to her bathing pools.

According to many versions of the legend, Shiva was quite surprised when he saw a strange young man at the entrance to his wife's bathing chambers, and not recognizing Ganesh, Shiva immediately cut off his head. Parvati of course was horrified and instructed Shiva to restore Ganesh without delay, and in his haste to find a head to replace the one he had cut off, Shiva had to make do with the first head that was available -- which happened to be an elephant's head. After all, it was an emergency. 

From that point on, the legends tell us, Shiva accepted Ganesha as his son, and they were all a happy family.

Thus the story of how Ganapati got his elephant head. In another story, explaining why he is often depicted with a serpent belt, we learn that Ganesh was very fond of sweet cakes or pastry treats -- and in fact his statues often show him holding a bowl of such cakes or delicacies, sometimes with the tip of his trunk reaching into the bowl in order to pull one out and place it in his mouth. One day, after having consumed an inordinate amount of such treats, Ganesh was riding upon his mouse, and a serpent slithered across their path, scaring the mouse so badly that he bolted in terror, pitching Ganesh off of his back and into the road. 

Ganesh had eaten so many cakes that his stomach split open and they all tumbled out -- and ever since then, he wears the serpent as a belt or bandolier, in order to hold the split together, or at least that is one version of the legend.

There is much more to learn about Lord Ganesh, for those interested in going further, but let us now briefly examine the indisputable evidence which I would argue shows the celestial basis for the sacred stories described above. Scholars have spent a great deal of time trying to find cultural or historical reasons for the existence of a god with an elephant's head who rides on a mouse or a rat, and there may be an element of truth in some of their speculations and analyses, but ultimately I believe that these aspects of the myth are directly attributable to the outline of the very same constellations which form the basis for other myths and legends literally around the globe. 

In other words, like the stories in the Bible and in the Greek myths and the Mesopotamian myths and the myths of Africa and Australia and the Americas and the Pacific and of ancient China and Japan and other parts of Asia and Europe, the Ganesh stories are Star Myths.

Below is a section of the sky, from the open-source planetarium app stellarium.com, showing the constellational outlines as suggested by the great teacher of practical astronomy, H. A. Rey.

After reading the brief accounts of some aspects of the Ganapati myth described above, you should be able to see immediately where those details in the stories have their origin:

Let's begin with Ganesha himself: it is my contention that the constellation Bootes, with his distinctive upraised "pipe," plays the role of the celestial Ganesh. The long pipe resembles the trunk of an elephant, and the head of this constellation is already rather large and somewhat too big for the body.

Additionally, the Northern Crown, or Corona Borealis, which is located just behind the head of Bootes, could possibly be seen as an elephant's ear, although this is not certain and it is not necessary to accept this connection in order to see that Bootes is undoubtedly Ganesh (we will see more evidence in a moment).

Notice that Ganesh is sitting directly in between the two celestial figures who I believe play the role of his parents: the constellation Virgo (outlined in yellow) who plays the role of Parvati, and the constellation Hercules (outlined in red, to the left of Bootes as we look at the above star chart) who plays the role of Shiva. Remember that in the story, Parvati installs Ganesha as her guardian at the entrance to her baths, so that she can keep the unwanted attentions of Shiva at bay while she enjoys her bath.

Notice also that the outline of Hercules features a massive upraised club, which could also be easily envisioned as a mighty sword or scimitar -- and it looks as though Shiva (since I believe Hercules plays the role of Shiva) is charging towards Ganesh with his sword poised to strike off his head in a moment.

For those who may be unsure as to whether Hercules really plays the role of Shiva in the heavens, it should be noted that the distinctive posture or outline of the constellation shown above is often interpreted in Star Myths around the world (including some of those discussed in Volume Two on the Greek myths) as dancing vigorously, and that Shiva in Hindu iconography is indeed sometimes portrayed as dancing vigorously in a manner very reminiscent of the figure of Hercules in the sky.

Below is an image of Shiva in his form as Nataraja, performing his distinctive dance (known as the Tandavam):

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

And below is the same star chart shown previously, but this time with the outline of Hercules drawn as it is "conventionally" delineated, in "non-H. A. Rey" form (I usually prefer the H. A. Rey version of the constellations, of course, but sometimes other ways of envisioning them can shed light on the world's various Star Myths, and in particular the constellation Hercules often appears in myth in this "whirling form" rather than in his more "human form"):

If you look carefully at the statue of Shiva Nataraja dancing in the image above, you will see that his one foot is planted on the back of what looks like an infant -- a rather upsetting fact, but one which I believe is in fact also celestial in nature. The constellation Corona Borealis which we were just discussing a moment earlier can be shown to play the role of an infant in a great many Star Myths literally around the globe, from the Pacific islands to the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures. As you can see, Corona Borealis is located very close to the whirling form of Hercules, which I believe is also the whirling form of the dancing god Shiva Nataraja. 

Here is a link to an earlier discussion of the story of the Judgment of Solomon in the Old Testament, which shows that the Northern Crown (Corona Borealis) almost certainly plays the role of a baby in that story, and here is a link to a video I made discussing the same story and some of its spiritual significance.

Continuing with our analysis of the celestial aspects of the Ganesha myth, it is very intriguing to consider the celestial counterpart for Ganesha's rat or mouse steed (sometimes known by the name Mushaka Vahana or Mushika Vahana -- "mouse vehicle" or "mouse vahana").

While it may be rather startling to hear it at first, after careful consideration of this question I have finally settled on the conclusion that the origin of the tradition that Ganesh rides upon a mouse (or rat, or shrew) comes from the shape of the outline of the constellation Virgo, who we have earlier seen playing the role of the beautiful goddess Parvati. In fact, in ancient myth, one constellation will at times be seen to play to very different characters in the same myth, and I believe that in the myth of Ganesh, when Ganesh is riding upon his Mushakavahana mount, the celestial mouse is played by the constellation Virgo.

Notice that the outline of Virgo does indeed have a very elongated head, with a rather pointed "nose." Note also that just below Virgo we find the long and sinuous form of the constellation Hydra, which extends out in front of Virgo and thus can be seen to play the role of the serpent that slithers across the path of the mouse who is carrying Ganesh, scaring the mouse and causing Ganesh to fall off. In fact, the outline of Hydra even has a kind of "cobra hood" at the front end of the constellation -- just as the serpent-belt that Ganesh is usually depicted as wearing is often a cobra in the paintings or statues of the god.

Further confirmatory evidence for this interpretation comes from the fact that Ganesh, like other Hindu deities, actually has multiple avatars or incarnations, some of whom ride on different mounts other than a rat (although rats, mice and shrews are the mounts for the majority of his avatars). Other mounts ridden by incarnations of Ganesh include a lion (and note the location of Leo in the sky) and a peacock. I believe the peacock can actually be explained by the proximity of another constellation -- Coma Berenices, or "Berenice's Hair," which is envisioned as a peacock or as a "whisk" made of the tail of a peacock in some Star Myths of the world (including others from ancient India). 

One of Ganesha's other incarnations also rides a horse -- and this may have to do with his proximity to the Big Dipper, which is definitely envisioned as a team of horses in many other Star Myths of the world, including many of the Greek myths examined in Volume Two, as well as in other myths from ancient India, including the Mahabharata (discussed in Volume One, as well as in previous posts such as this one and previous videos such as those found at the bottom of this page).

Even more astonishing support for the conclusion that Virgo plays the role of the mouse or shrew that Ganesha rides when we consider another Star Myth, from a land that anthropologists believe has been isolated for longer than perhaps any other part of the world: Australia. There, in a myth which is examined in Star Myths of the world and how to interpret them, Volume One, and which is in fact available to read in the online "preview" of some of the material from Volume One (which you can see in online pdf format here), we find some amazing confirmation of the above interpretation, as well as some insight into other aspects of the Ganesh tradition.

The myth in question, from the Aboriginal cultures of Australia, is described in the very first chapter of Volume One, under the title of "The Bandicoot Woman." It involves celestial characters including a Bandicoot Woman, a Moon Man, and a pair of "hawk ancestors" named Kirkalanji and Warra-pulla-pulla. In the analysis of that myth, I argue that the Bandicoot Woman corresponds to the constellation Virgo in the sky.

Now, a bandicoot is a rodent found in Australia, and if you are not familiar with what one looks like, I included an illustration in the book (many others could also be found on the web):

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

The question might well be asked, "Why is the woman in the Aboriginal myth called a bandicoot woman?"

My answer, of course, would be that the myth in question is celestial in origin -- and the woman in the story corresponds to the constellation Virgo. And we have just observed that the outline of the rather distinctively-shaped head of that constellation is somewhat elongated, and pointed at the tip.

This is a rather startling correspondence between a myth from the Warramungu or Warramunga people of Australia and a myth from ancient India. Since it is generally thought that the Aboriginal people of Australia were largely isolated and undisturbed for millennia prior to the early modern period, if these two stories or ways of envisioning the constellation Virgo somehow share a common foundation, it must be ancient indeed. 

Of course, some will argue that it is possible for two groups of people in different parts of the world to look at the stars of Virgo and envision a woman and a rodent at the same time -- but in fact Virgo is one of those constellations that does not really look much like what its constellation says it looks like, unless you really know what you are looking for. It is actually quite remarkable that Virgo appears as a woman in virtually every myth around the globe, because the stars of Virgo are not all that easy to envision as a woman, and to envision them as a rodent-and-woman in two different parts of the world is really even more astonishing.

But, even beyond that, there is more intriguing correspondence with the Warramungu myth of the Bandicoot Woman, which you may have already noticed. 

The question could be asked, "Why is the Chaturthi or adoration of Ganesha celebrated on the fourth day of the waning moon? What is the connection between Ganesh and the moon? Why is he a lunar god in the first place?"

It's a good question -- and I believe that the sacred myth from the Aborigine people indigenous to Australia helps us to see the answer. As you may have noticed, the companion to the Bandicoot Woman in the Warramungu myth is a figure called the Moon Man -- and as I demonstrate in the analysis found in Volume One (which you can read online using the links above), it is almost certain that this Moon Man corresponds to the figure of Bootes. In fact, he sits down with his back to the fire in the myth -- the fire being the rising column of the Milky Way band, which the "back" of Bootes is indeed towards in the sky as well.

In other words, not only does the Warramungu myth of Australia help us to understand why Virgo plays a rat upon which Ganesh rides in the myth of ancient India, but it also helps us to understand why Ganesh is associated with the moon! The ancient system of celestial metaphor obviously connected the rather moon-shaped head of the constellation Bootes with the lunar orb. And, as we can see from the veneration of Ganesh on the fourth day of the waning moon, the head of Bootes was apparently seen as shaped about like the moon when it is beginning to wane, four days after it is at the stage of full moon.

Thus, when we worship Ganesh on the fourth day of the waning moon, we are connecting ourselves and our lives to the celestial cycles and to the realm of the gods, and doing so in accordance with a system which may be almost unbelievably ancient -- and which also appears to have been in some way (which we do not presently understand) worldwide.

As some of the essays in the Ganesh book linked above also explain, Ganesh's role as the guardian who protected the entrance to Parvati's bath makes him what is known as a liminal figure: he is associated with boundaries, or liminal spaces (the word liminal is an adjective to describe a threshold or a boundary or a "third space" which is neither in one room or the other). See for example the discussion on page 3 of the introduction by Robert L. Brown, in which he says: 

In the Indian context, Ganesa is the liminal god of transitions: he is placed at the doorway of temples to keep out the unworthy, in a position analogous to his role as Parvati's doorkeeper, and he can set up, as he did for his father, obstacles to the successful completion of goals. His parents' ambivalent relationship, founded on the opposing concerns of asceticism and sexuality, places Ganesa in between. He is created by Parvati as a result of Siva's asceticism and refusal to have children, but is annihilated due to Siva's sexual interest in Parvati, only to be restored, transformed, as a bond between the two. He is here fulfilling his transitional role as a means to integrate opposing elements.

I believe that all of this also applies to his role in helping us to integrate opposing elements in our lives as well -- specifically the seemingly opposing elements of materiality and spirituality. Contemplation of Ganesh and his myths can help us to integrate the spiritual aspect of our nature, and to more fully understand the presence of the Invisible World, which is always "just across the liminal boundary" wherever we happen to find ourselves in this material realm.

One of Ganesha's other most important aspects is also referenced in the quotation above -- his association with obstacles: both placing them and removing them. Ganesha can help us to remove the obstacles to our connection with the Higher Self and the divine realm, to which we always have access and with which (the ancient myths tell us) we always need to be in connection in this life, because it is in fact the source of life.

It is my hope that greater understanding of the system of celestial allegory will also "remove the obstacles" to your access to the ancient wisdom that is available to us in the myths, which were provided to humanity as a precious inheritance and treasure, for our benefit and blessing.

Jai Ganesh!

Blessings, food, economics and libations to the gods

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

Above is a striking image from an ancient artist depicting the god Apollo in the act of pouring a libation of wine, while a raven observes (evoking the spirit world, even as Apollo of course inhabits the realm of the gods, being a god himself). 

In addition to evoking the spirit world, I believe that the raven may be included in this ancient artwork because Apollo in this image has certain elements corresponding to the posture typically associated with the constellation Virgo, including a seated position with one arm dramatically extended. The constellation of Corvus the Crow is closely associated with Virgo, and even though it is located on the opposite side of the constellation Virgo from the side on which the raven is depicted in this image of Apollo pouring a libation, this pairing definitely evokes the celestial figures of Virgo and Corvus, and thus the Infinite Realm or Spirit Realm. 

The ancient myths use the stars and heavenly figures to convey powerful truths to us about the importance of, and our dependence upon, the Invisible Realm, the Infinite Realm, even in the most mundane aspects of our daily life.

In fact, the act of pouring a libation, which is described frequently in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, was done at the beginning of a meal, as a way of acknowledging that the food and drink which we enjoy, and upon which we depend for the very sustenance of our lives, is itself a gift from the gods, and that it flows down to us from the spirit world in a very real sense. 

The invisible spark of life which causes the grain to grow from a seed into the wheat from which we make our bread, or which causes the vines to grow which produce the grapes which will later be turned into wine, must come from the Invisible World. It is not a product of the material realm -- and we are dependent upon the continued infusion of this purely physical world with the invisible, mysterious and divine outpouring which overflows from the spiritual world for the growth of the plants and vines and trees which sustain all life on earth.

The pouring out of libations described in the texts which have survived from ancient Greece seem to express the recognition that all food and wine (or spirits) are gifts from the divine realm. 

Here are two examples from the Odyssey -- first, when Telemachus (along with the goddess Athena, disguised as his childhood guardian Mentor) arrives in the land of Nestor and his family, in sandy Pylos:

There sat Nestor among his sons as friends around them
decked the banquet, roasted meats and skewered strips for broiling.
As soon as they saw the strangers, all came crowding down,
waving them on in welcome, urging them to sit.
Nestor's son Pisistratus, first to reach them,
grasped their hands and sat them down at the feast
on fleecy throws spread out among the sandbanks,
flanking his brother Thrasymedes and his father.
He gave them a share of the innards, poured some wine
in a golden cup and, lifting it warmly towards Athena,
daughter of Zeus whose shield is storm and thunder,
greeted the goddess now with an invitation:
"Say a prayer to lord Poseidon, stranger,
his is the feast you've found on your arrival.
But once you've made your libation and your prayer --
all according to ancient custom -- hand this cup
of hearty, seasoned wine to your comrade here
so he can pour forth too. He too, I think,
should pray to the deathless ones himself.
All men need the gods . . ." 3. 36 - 55. Translation by Robert Fagles.

And again when Odysseus arrives among the Phaeacians:

As long-suffering great Odysseus ate and drank,
the hallowed king Alcinous called his herald:
"Come, Pontonous! Mix the wine in the bowl,
pour rounds to all our banqueters in the house
so we can pour out cups to Zeus who loves the lightning,
champion of suppliants -- suppliants' rights are sacred."
At that Pontonous mixed the heady, honeyed wine
and tipped first drops for the god in every cup,
then poured full rounds for all. And once they'd poured
libations out and drunk to their hearts' content,
Alcinous rose and addressed his island people . . . 7. 210 - 220.

It is also noteworthy that, when Athena first arrives at the house of Odysseus, where Telemachus and Penelope are basically held hostage by the violent, destructive suitors, there is a feast going on, but no libations to the gods are described at all.

The practice of acknowledging, prior to a meal, our dependence upon the divine for every item of food that we eat and of outwardly proclaiming our gratitude for these gifts is traditionally known in English-speaking countries as "saying grace" or "giving the blessing." These terms are appropriate, in that the word "blessing" (I believe) encompasses the idea of acknowledging the importance of the divine realm, and of elevating that which is spiritual in ourselves and in others and in the wider world around us -- while the word "grace" evokes that which is seen as a gift from the other realm, something which cannot be forced or demanded or created by our own efforts but which comes basically as a gift from the gods, or as a gift from God. 

Intriguingly enough, veteran economist Michael Hudson (who is also a scholar of ancient history, as well as having been an advisor to the United Nations Institute for Training and Development, a university professor, a manager at an early sovereign bond mutual fund, and a host of other high-level roles in academia, finance, and government) explains that "the great fight of the classical free market economists" was to oppose those who wanted to claim private ownership over "what was a gift of nature -- the sun that the Physiocrats cited as the source of agriculture's productive powers, inherent soil fertility according to Ricardo, or simply the rent of location as urbanization increased the value of residential and commercial sites" (Killing the Host, 30). 

He has much more to say about this subject in that book and in his other writings. It would seem that the behavior of the suitors in the Odyssey could be used as an example of the kind of damaging, violent, host-destroying behavior that Michael Hudson -- and the classical liberal philosophers he invokes -- opposed. It is also noteworthy that when Telemachus publicly confronts the suitors about their destructive freeloading behavior, their leaders make speeches which essentially seek to exonerate themselves and blame Telemachus and his mother, just as the "suitors" that Michael Hudson describes in his book want to portray themselves as virtuous while blaming their victims for the horrendous damage that they themselves (the "suitors," or as the classical economists called them, the "rentiers") are causing.

The powerful insights which the ancient myths and sacred stories of the human race can offer and which can be applied to the very practical, and often very pressing, problems and situations we face today, are literally endless. A greater appreciation of the importance of the seemingly simple act of acknowledging our dependence on the gifts of the Invisible World, the gifts of the divine realm, before each meal, for every item of food or drink that we taste and upon which our lives depend here in this material realm can lead to a better understanding of the damage that arises from the reckless disregard of the divine source of these gifts, damage that actually acts as the very opposite of blessing.

Welcome to new visitors from Lost Origins

image: lost-origins.com (link) and Wikimedia commons (link).

Special thank you to Andrew Tuzson and the team at Lost Origins for having me over to the show for an enjoyable conversation about Star Myths, ancient history, and various and sundry related and (in my opinion) extremely important subjects.

Also, welcome to new visitors (and returning friends) who heard the interview and came over to look around. You'll find that this blog is fully searchable, as is my entire website at Star Myth World (dot com), where at the very bottom of every page you'll find links to a "Resources" page as well as to pages which enable you to search for content within the site.

If you haven't heard the interview yet, or if you want to download it for your next commute or bus-ride to work (or evening of doing dishes, or morning of sweeping the porch), you can find it in the podcast section of the Lost Origins site, as well as on iTunes, and you can also download it here at the site which contains the files from the interview. It is also embedded below.

During the interview, we discussed the role of the Lord Krishna as the divine charioteer in the Mahabharata, and the evidence that the descriptions of Krishna and Arjuna and the great Battle of Kurukshetra in the ancient Sanskrit texts (in common with virtually all the other myths, scriptures, and sacred stories of humanity around the globe and across millennia) are all based upon celestial metaphors pointing to the constellations, planets, sun, moon and heavenly cycles -- which themselves are actually used as a metaphor to convey to us powerful truths about the nature of the universe and of human existence, and the existence of an "infinite realm" or "realm of the gods" which is pictured for us in the myths using the realm of the stars (the starry realm itself being infinite as well, of course).

You can read more about the celestial interpretation of the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, the interaction of Sri Krishna and Arjuna, and many other Star Myths in the "myths section" of my website, here. Clicking on any of the images in that section will take you to a discussion of the Star Myth pictured -- the very first one in the gallery is an image of Lord Krishna with his flute.

Here are a few additional links for those interested in reading more about some of the subjects which arise from the celestial interpretation of the relationship between Arjuna and Krishna, as well as other topics which came up during the course of the interview:

• "The shamanic foundation of the world's ancient wisdom"

• "The Bible is essentially shamanic"

• "Paul the gnostic opponent of literalism"

• "The real world that is behind this one"

• "The peace of utter stillness"

• "Fragments of a lost whole"

• "Gobekli Tepe, Rapa Nui, and the mythological evidence for reexamining the narrative of ancient history"

I hope you will enjoy our conversation -- I certainly enjoyed meeting Andrew, and commend him for starting a new podcast dedicated to exploring the evidence that the conventional timeline of human history (and especially of very ancient human history) appears to be gravely flawed. 

The control of the "narrative of history," or the stories we tell ourselves about where we came from and which form the framework for the way we interpret the world around us and the events that we see unfolding in the present moment is extraordinarily important, as George Orwell warned us many decades ago (see discussion here).

Thus, it is not just an idle pastime or quirky hobby to want to delve into the evidence surrounding the "Lost Origins" of humanity -- our unknown ancient past is something of incredibly immediate importance to every single man and woman on the planet today. It is something we should all be exploring with a curious mind, and with openness to consider various competing hypotheses which purport to explain the evidence we see around us on our planet -- and in the ancient myths of humanity.

I'm glad Andrew and his show are entering into this investigation, and hope everyone will go check it out.

Unshorn hair and the sixth sense

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

Big thank you goes out to Darren and Graham of Grimerica, who posted a link to this articletoday on twitter concerning an absolutely amazing topic worthy of careful consideration by all.

Entitled "Hair is an extension of the nervous system," the article was actually first posted back in November of 2015 on The Mind Unleashed.

The text describes an alleged discovery which came to light during the Vietnam War that talented Native American trackers recruited by the military seemed to lose their "sixth sense" when their hair was cut off (short haircuts are routinely administered to everyone entering the US Army). 

According to the article, a series of experiments were devised to try to determine whether cutting off the hair was a factor in the loss of the ability to sense the stealthy approach of an enemy, or the "numbing" of the sense of danger when approaching a location containing a concealed armed enemy -- and the results of the studies were so conclusive that the military recommended that the highly skilled trackers should be exempt from military haircuts" and in fact were required to keep their hair long.

The article does not provide any way of actually checking the original sources of the assertions that it makes. It would be beneficial to pursue some of the records backing up the claims made in the story. However, this information would fit a pattern in which knowledge of a type which is generally discredited by the "conventional paradigm" taught in schools and universities, and reinforced in the general media and "scientific" literature and videos, is explored by the military in situations where they are more interested in certain results than in conforming to the flawed models which (for whatever reason) are force-fed to the general public.

Another example of the same sort of phenomenon (in which the military acknowledges realities which fit a paradigm of the cosmos that is very different from what is taught in school and reinforced in the general media and public discourse) would be the various "psi" (or "psy") programs which have been described by former participants, in which personnel with demonstrated psychic capabilities were used in order to perform "remote viewing" and "out-of-body travel" to conduct reconnaissance on distant locations in other countries, or to search for a downed aircraft in areas that were either too sensitive or too difficult to search using conventional technologies.

Note that the extraordinary tracking abilities are described using terms such as "sixth sense," "intuition,"   "extrasensory" and even "almost supernatural."

This would imply that, in addition to their highly-developed skills at reading the physical signs available to our five physical senses, the men in question were also connected to the Invisible Realm in some way and to some degree when they were performing their incredible feats of tracking. It is extremely significant to consider the possibility that it was this particular aspect of their ability that was impacted by the cutting off of their hair. 

And, it is interesting to note that this article mostly focuses on the question of whether or not men cut their hair short, and the possible impact of that decision. Women, of course, tend to wear their hair longer as a general rule -- and are also often observed to exhibit greater levels of intuition (to such a degree that the phrase "woman's intuition" is fairly common).

Some might argue that the article is describing the benefits of unshorn hair in a combat environment, which is a very unusual and dangerous environment not representative of normal day-to-day life, and that therefore the discoveries described in the article, even if they were verifiably proven, would not have much relevance in other situations.

But it could certainly be argued that the kind of "sixth sense" and "intuition" described in the article as being somehow connected to the hair -- which the article argues is actually "an extension of the nervous system" -- could be beneficial in a host of other aspects of daily life having nothing to do with military combat, from driving a motor vehicle, to surfing, to creating artwork or music or participating in any other creative activity which involves contact with the Higher Self.

Indeed, if the article is correct, it would appear that there is some connection between unshorn hair and the realm of spirit -- an assertion that would appear to be very much in line with ancient myths, scriptures and sacred traditions found in many cultures in different parts of the globe. Previous posts which have dealt with this subject include "Dionysus, mighty and many shaped god," "Samson and the seven locks of his head," and "Joseph Hill and the Nazarite vow."  

It is also interesting to consider that in previous centuries, it appears to have been much more common for men to wear their hair "unshorn" (even in "western" cultures, but in fact all around the globe) than it has been since about the beginning of the twentieth century. Here are a few images of individuals, some of them well known and others not as well known, demonstrating this reality:

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Isaac Newton, whose Principia Mathematica was first presented to the Royal Society on April 28th, 1686 (thanks to my friend Mark S. for pointing out that significant historical anniversary). Wikimedia commons (link).

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Self-portrait of artist Albrecht Durer, Wikimedia commons (link).

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Chinese-American man in San Francisco's Chinatown circa 1910, with long hair braided in a queue. Wikimedia commons (link).

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Samurai with long hair drawn upwards into traditional topknot, Japan. Wikimedia commons (link). 

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Lysander Spooner. Wikimedia commons (link).

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Walt Whitman. Wikimedia commons (link).

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John Muir. Wikimedia commons (link).

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Sikh men (hair is traditionally unshorn and coiled beneath turban in a Rishi knot). Wikimedia commons (link).

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Bob Marley. Wikimedia commons (link).

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Aborigines of Sri Lanka. Wikimedia commons (link).

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Australian man circa 1923. Wikimedia commons (link).

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These are just a small sample of images from previous decades and centuries. Obviously, many more could be provided. 

While we do not know, due to what may be the suppression or the rejection or the gradual loss of the knowledge of the connection between unshorn hair and the ability to sense the Invisible World, how much of a role our hair plays in this regard, it is very interesting to speculate about what additional consciousness or perception we might be depriving ourselves by ignoring wisdom that once perhaps was known more widely, and that survived among some cultures longer than among others.

Big up to Graham and Darren for pointing out this important subject.

For more on the subject of tracking, see some of the books by Paul Rezendes and by others skilled in this ancient art, as well as the many courses and workshops led by those who have spent years developing their skills in the outdoors, who can be located using searches on the web for experts in your area.

For my previous visits with Darren and Graham in the land of Grimerica (where there are no haircuts), see here and here.

And don't forget this little piece of ancient knowledge:
"Bangled, tangled, spangled and spaghetti . . . "