Week 3, Reading Diary B, Ovid's Metamorphoses,Reading Diary

Perseus and Medusa

www.gutenberg.org

 Neptune raping Medusa in Minerva's Temple

 "They say that Neptune, lord of the seas, violated her in the temple of Minerva. Jupiter’s daughter turned away, and hid her chaste eyes behind her aegis. So that it might not go unpunished, she changed the Gorgon’s hair to foul snakes. And now, to terrify her enemies, numbing them with fear, the goddess wears the snakes, that she created, as a breastplate.’"

My goodness there is so much raping of the poor unwilling human virgins  or any female, and then angry jealous goddesses punishing the rape victims for being a victim to add insult to injury. It would appear that it is detrimental to be born beautiful. You are not even safe from the Gods and Goddesses, in fact it puts a bulls eye on your back. Medusa got a rough deal. Just like Callisto. Just like a lot of women who were punished for being victims. In so many ways I see the parallels with modern times. The more that times change, the more they stay the same. I wonder if we just keep being stuck in the old archetype roles and retelling the same old story, just with an updated look or language. At least for the sake of mythology and folklore I think this is the case.

Ovid is telling the story of Perseus and Medusa in a strange point of view. Perseus is the archetype hero and he of course is known for his heroic deeds and so Andromeda's family is asking about the Medusa head that he drags around everywhere turning things into stone,like Atlas into Mount Atlas.

Week 3, Reading Diary A, Ovid's Metamorphoses,Reading Diary

Callisto

nihilnovum.wordpress.com Callisto being asked by Dianna to leave

I chose to read the Classic Ovid's Metomorphoses because it is a classic and I have not read it, but have translated Latin sentences into English from the great story. It is interesting  how Ovid is telling the story of many Roman myths as a seamless story to explain the accepted ideas by the Romans of his day, but in a more exciting way through verse in Latin which is not easy to do. In my first Latin course at the University of Oklahoma I started reading Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan for part of my culture points. Yes, the first series of the books are about Greek myth, but, the second part of that series is about Roman myth. I think in many ways I compare what Ovid did in his style of telling us about Metamorphoses in much the same way. An old story being told in a new way, one that we can identify with and be entertained by. I feel amazed when I read Rick Riordan's books and I am also intrigued by Ovid's stories of changes of all the many characters of the myths. 

I especially like the story of Callisto, it is a sad one, but the imagery is vivid. I like the part where Hera grabs Callistos hair and face and she transforms into a bear. This is so heartbreaking that this poor girl that was raped, gets kicked out of her career path basically because you have to be a virgin to be a part of the hunt with Dianna, then cannot even raise her child because a jealous Goddess turns her into a bear. She sadly watches her life being trapped inside of an animal. Nobody said life was fair. I find it interesting in the difference too of how in Ovid's stories, bad things happen, really bad and it doesn't end well. But in modern times, telling stories almost always requires needing a way to wrap it up nicely so it has a happy ending.

Week 2, Extra Reading Diary, Celtic Fairy Tales

Celtic Fairy Tales

Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree

www.mariyarosedesigns.com

I chose to read the half unit of Celtic Fairy Tales. I was most taken in by the story of Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree. It was very familiar to me from childhood Disney cartoon films of Snow White's wicked step mother the Evil Queen. Except this Queen did not consult a magical mirror, she consulted a fish in a pond. He told her that her daughter was the most beautiful in the land. I can see how the scrying in a ponds reflective surface can lead to the eventual usage of a mirror in later stories.


Also, much like the story of Disney's Snow White, the beautiful daughter whom the father adores, causes the mother (but not step mother) jealousy who uses witchcraft to cause the girl, Silver-Tree to fall into a sleep that is under a magical spell. I like this Celtic version better that the mans second wife finds her asleep and removes the magical thorn spell and wakes her from her sleep. It is less creepy than a prince finding a random dead body in the woods being compelled to kiss it.

At first I am very drawn to the subject of the mother, Gold-Tree using the water scrying because I am interested in finding out more information about the River Goddess connected to Melusine. I want to pursue a story based on the magical lore of the magical line that is connected to the families of the Plantagents, Anjou, the White Queen.
The Horned Women
The other story that really intrigued me was the horned women. Parts of the story reminded me of an alien abduction story, that they did something to the sleeping family that made them unable to move or to do as they commanded.
Connla and the Fairy Maiden
I liked Connla and the Fairy Maiden. It reminds me of some of my favorite books by Marian Zimmerman Bradley, the Mists of Avalon series. I do believe that the fairy folk are still there in a mist hidden from those with eyes that can't see. I do believe that there are thin spots in the veil, and that sometimes a fairy person will bring a person into the fairy realm. I often wish I too could go to the fairy realm.

I really didn't like the other stories too much, they were kinda creepy! I don't like the ones with monsters and scary things. Or the repetition that makes reading monotonous like the little creepy creatures that burst.

babbeyhalle10.blogspot.com

Week 2, Reading Diary B, Noah: The Tower of Babel,Reading Diary

Noah: The Tower of Babel

en.wikipedia.org Tower of Babel

The enterprise was neither more nor less than rebellion against God, and there were three sorts of rebels among the builders. The first party spoke, "Let us ascend into the heavens and wage warfare with Him;" the second party spoke, "Let us ascend into the heavens, set up our idols, and pay worship unto them there;" and the third party spoke, "Let us ascend into the heavens, and ruin them with our bows and spears."

This is interesting to me that at this point the people believe that God dwells in a physical place that can be reached by humans and that God could be hurt by humans.

 I chose this story because this story has always seemed strange to me. How all the different languages came about. I do not know much about linguistics but I doubt that they believe this bit of mythology either. I think that the story is very old and has some misunderstood aspects. I understand this story more as a cosmogony to answer how many languages and cultures were made, but this is not really what happened.

I think about the most amazing megalithic buildings that exist all over our planet and the tales of Atlantis a time of great technology. I believe that perhaps the time of Noah corresponds to the timeline of Atlantis-the deluge. I think the story of the tower of babel may predate the deluge.

Many, many years were passed in building the tower. It reached so great a height that it took a year to mount to the top.

Holy cow that is a tall building. Nope, I do not believe that they have or will find this place archeologically. I think it sank to the bottom of the ocean.

They never slackened in their work, and from their dizzy height they constantly shot arrows toward heaven, which, returning, were seen to be covered with blood. They were thus fortified in their delusion, and they cried, "We have slain all who are in heaven."

Are you kidding me? Shooting arrows into the sky? Were they actually killing each other while building this thing? What could possibly motivate a large cultural civilization to undertake this type of physically demanding feat of building this massive building to start a war with God. Would it not beg to ponder that maybe it was a rocket ship they built to launch into the sky? If you remember the stories in the Bhagavad Gita it sounds like some of their stories of the wars in heaven with gods.

To every nation a peculiar language was assigned, Hebrew being reserved for Israel--the language made use of by God at the creation of the world.

And the beginning the word was god. things that make you go, Hmmm.

Week 2,Reading Diary A,Noah: The Punishment of the Fallen Angels

Weeks 2-3: Classical and Biblical

Noah: The Punishment of the Fallen Angels

Pinterest

I chose this one because it is a story that I am familiar with through Ancient Aliens. The story seems straight out of science fiction. Yet, this is what people believe as truth as it is written in the Bible that the sons of God mated with the daughters of men. The Nephilim, the giants. Is the story prescription or description?  Where do we find the earliest version of this story?
The woman who learns and says the ineffable name of god, reminds me more of the Adam and Eve fall from garden of Eden story.
"Shemhazai saw a maiden named Istehar, and he lost his heart to her. She promised to surrender herself to him, if first he taught her the Ineffable Name, by means of which he raised himself to heaven. He assented to her condition. But once she knew it, she pronounced the Name, and herself ascended to heaven, without fulfilling her promise to the angel. God said, "Because she kept herself aloof from sin, we will place her among the seven stars, that men may never forget her," and she was put in the constellation of the Pleiades."
This block quote from the story leads me to believe that this is Ancient Summarian in origin.
I love love love the use of the names of the sons as the sounds, Hiwwa and Hiyya-as men cut or haul stones, or launch vessels, they shall invoke your names, Hiwwa! Hiyya!

Week 1, Growth Mindset

The Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck is a new concept for me in that I was not aware of the name of it. I have a child and I have studied psychology a little. Praising children for things that are not well deserved or earned can create consequences for the child later when that is not how the world works. I am looking forward to learning more about the Growth Mindset.

 Having to have an A in a class is not the most important thing, learning something in the class is the most important thing. I stress this in my household, because all three of us are students. My daughter is a freshman this year at Norman High, my husband is a full time college student with all online classes through OSU IT, and I am a full time student at OU. There have been times when I did not get an A in a class because I had to miss some classes because of an illness. It does not mean I did not learn to an A standard, I may have learned even beyond that standard and it's just not reflected in the grade. It is also an opportunity to see what I could have chosen to do differently. 

All people learn differently. I think it is good to challenge ourselves and push our limits to see what we are capable of. I really like the story that the professor shared with us of how she was exposed to an open style of learning as a child. I would love to see more of those choices available for children. I do not agree at all with the current standards of learning in schools. It wastes their time and potential. 

When I was in seventh grade, nearly a million years ago, my math class was set to work at your own pace. There were kids in the class that finished the book and moved onto the next grades book. I never made it past the fiftth chapter the whole year. Consequently I was behind in math the next year when I moved to a different state. It left a permanent deficiency in my math abilities, and in my faith in myself. It was not until 2006 when I decided to go back to college that I had to teach myself math to pass my college math courses. The campus I went to in Mountain Home Arkansas did not have professors for anything below College Algebra. It was an online course. I gained more confidence teaching myself, and facing the challenge rather than to give up.

One thing that I have found in my learning style is that I hate to work in groups. I am old, and I am used to doing things on my own, not as a team. Well, what I learned is that even todays generation don't work well in groups. It is something that I had to do in nearly all of my classes at OCCC. One of the reasons for this is because we are a global society and many other cultures work as groups. Many career fields these days require work groups as well. It causes me stress, it does not make things easier, it only makes things more difficult.

Week 1, Curation

I love that the professor added curation as a topic. I have been using Pinterest for about five years. I have 146 boards for my interests and over 10,000 pins. I did not create special boards for this class because I already have a handful that relate like my collection of myth boards, magic and so forth. I have also been using twitter for about five years, but I am not as interested in tweeting as I am Pinterest. I will check out Known, but I am not sure it is a good fit for me.

A really interesting site to check out if you haven't is Tumblr. It has some really helpful ideas to boost your creativity. That is what I use it for, as a creative writing tool. An amazing website that I use constantly as a reference site is called Crystalinks. I have been a daily reader of the blog called Elllie's World Blog for about thirteen years. The Website has an archive of all kinds of information including mythology.

I do have my bookmarks in use and a folder just for this class, an invaluable tool to have. It is hard for me to remember to slow down and organize online sometimes. Creating a habit of always bookmarking and saving and making folders is very helpful. I try to be organized because life is always a balancing act. And my husband is in the IT field and when he looks at my computer and things are not filed in folders and it's all messy he gives me crap about it.

Week 1,Storybook favorites

The Three Graces

www.theoi.com

Greek Goddesses on Trial
I chose the first storybook Greek Goddesses on Trial because I love Greek Mythology, and I am a big fan of Rick Riordan who writes the Percy Jackson series. The title caught my attention first then when I clicked on the storybook I was intrigued by the style. The photos of the statues of the Goddesses are beautiful. The pages are symmetrical and appealing. I like the overall storybook here.

The Many Incarnations of Doctor Who

de.doctorwho.wikia.com

The Doctor and His Rebels
Looking through the list of storybooks I read The Doctor and my heart skipped a beat...that time travelling Gallifreyan pops up in the most mysterious of places and times! I just had to click on the link and open it to see if it was THE Doctor! The Tardis on the front cover led me to believe that it is indeed much larger on the inside.....so I had to give it a peek! I can see that another Doctor Who fan has great taste! The stories inside are lovely and I enjoy the topics like Alice in Wonderland. I can see how the storyteller uses a them of time travel and magic to pull it all together nicely.

Perseus Slaying Medusa

www.flickr.com

Perseus's Journey
Again, I am a big Percy Jackson fan, so I had to check on the appeal of Perseus's Journey. While it is not a Percy Jackson novel, it was a great presentation of the Greek Mythology of the great Perseus. I do like the stories that the author wrote, well done.

Week 1,My choosings from the Un-textbook

The Un-textbook is the most amazing book I have ever seen. I just spent way too long looking at all of the topics to choose from. It may be easier for me to list the topics that I am not interesting in reading, and I am not interested only because I don't know what those are yet! But if I had to pick my top five from the list but not in any order it would be:

www.fanpop.com

• Alice in Wonderland- I have always loved this story so much!
• Egyptian Myth- ancient civilizations are one of my favorite things!
• Dante's Inferno-I have been studying this time period and Christianity and I am very interested in knowing more since I have not had the pleasure of reading Dante yet.
• King Arthur-I want to know more about medieval tales of knights and chivalry. I have been studying the Crusades and I wonder how it all ties together.
• Welsh (Thomas)-I am drawn to the stories.

Week 1, Storytelling, Astrid And The Aliens

The Astrologer illustration from americanliterature.com

Astrid And The Aliens

     Astrid was just like any other girl, except that she was fascinated by the twinkling stars in the night sky. She was just sure that all of the answers to life's questions were written in the stars. Her parents thought she must be going through a normal childhood phase, and believed it would pass. Her younger brothers made fun of her for being so naive. Astrid would taunt, "Just you wait, you will see when the stars reveal their secrets to me."

     As Astrid grew so did her obsession with astronomy and astrology. People just accepted that she would rather spend all night alone watching the celestial heavens and listening to their faint whispers of arcane wisdom than to go out to the movies or dances like other people her age.She spent all of her time watching the heavens and not caring for earthly things. Every year she looked forward to spending all night watching the show of the Perseid Meteor shower every August 10 like it was a Broadway production, and all the planets and stars twinkle and applaud as they watch on in the falling stars event.

     As an accomplished astronomer and  avid astrologer Astrid went on to become a professor at a university where she was appreciated for her knowledge of the processions of the world above. She finally had found her niche in life. The perfect marriage of math and science that is always constant and unchanging, the comforts of great knowledge. With a telescope and an ephemeris of star charts as her constant companions she forged on.

     One night while she was laboring over her passion of staring at stars, Astrid saw something wonderful! Out of this world! Literally, it was a U.F.O. whizzing past her window in a spectacle of colors and patterns. Astrid squealed with lilting laughter as the most amazing thing that has ever happened to her was taking place! She just knew she was destined to find something awesome during the auspicious phase of the moon, as her Jupiter in Leo was squaring her ascendant sign of Pisces which is always a sure sign that wonderful things are afoot!

     Astrid grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and her smart phone from the desk and headed outside for a closer look. All these years of looking up at the night sky was paying off big time. This could be her chance. Her chance to talk to intelligent beings that travel the stars, not just look at them and wonder. The smallish triangular shaped U.F.O. was parked on her front lawn of her suburban track home. How exciting! Two Gray Aliens wave Astrid over to the ship. First, she takes a photo on her smart phone and sends it to everyone on her contact list, no one will believe it! Then, she runs to the craft with a giant grin on her face. The aliens telepathically tell her to come aboard the ship and go with them. She said yes, but first let's take a selfie. She snapped the photo, again sent it to her contacts and then they were off. 

     Astrids' family and colleagues were unaware of the sudden and abrupt disappearance. Even though Astrid had sent photos of the event, the aliens and the spacecraft did not show up in the photo. Everyone just wondered why Astrid sent a photo of her yard and a photo of her smiling insanely in her yard in the middle of the night. They just assumed that she was out star watching and accidentally snapped pictures.

     It was quite a mystery to everyone, everyone except the teenager that lived next door to Astrid. He like Astrid, had shared a love of stargazing and had a telescope and often spent his nights alone watching the stars. He had seen the whole event take place, the U.F.O. and the abduction of his neighbor. But thank the heavens and fates that were watching that night, as it turned out. When the aliens brought Astrid back they beamed her down in her backyard, only minutes after they had taken her, but she landed in a hole that had been dug by the utilities company to fix a problem. The hole was deep and muddy, and indeed a trap. If it had not been for her neighbor watching the drama unfold, she would have been stuck there all night. For all the smarts that those aliens have zooming around the planets, folding space and time, how for the love of all that is good, could they not have beamed her back to anywhere else but a hole? 

Author's Note: Astrid And The Aliens is a whimsical tale of a young woman who lives in a modern world of today who has a passion. As a young person she knew what she wanted to be and do. Others around her dismissed her ideas as unimportant. When she was anticipating an important event because she was looking for it astrologically, it happened, and no one else saw the importance.

     I found inspiration for this tale from the fable called The Astrologer, one of Aesops fables for children. In that tale, the main character is an old man. No one sees his passions as important either. While he is busy staring at the sky he falls into a hole and the villagers jeer that he should watch where he was going.

     I chose this fable because I identify with the story. I do have an interest in astrology, but I do not really know much about it, or astronomy either. I used to work as a paid psychic in Sedona Arizona, and I do have the gift. But for all the stuff I can see in the akashic records of others, I rarely have the ability to see my own life accurately. Most people write me off as a nut and think I should spend more time paying attention to my own life instead of the world of others. After I have fallen into a few muddy holes metaphorically I agree. I try to spend more time minding my own business than looking into others. Life is not about predicting the good and the bad, its about living every moment of it as a human and being thankful for all experiences. Live in the moment, watch where you are going.

Title: The Astrologer

Book: Aesop for Children

Author:Aesop, 620? BCE-564? BCE

Web Source: Project Gutenberg

Week 1,LD's favorite places, Mount Shasta California, Flagstaff Arizona, England, Italy....

Mount Shasta California
en.wikipedia.org

I absolutely love Mount Shasta California. I first went there in the year 2000. I have only been there twice. It is the most magical place that has captured a part of me, and I always yearn to return there. There is lots of interesting stories about the metaphysical and paranormal things that happen in that area. It is on Native American sacred grounds and has legends to that extent. There are also stories of encounters of aliens, ascended masters, a lost city under the Volcano and much more.

Flagstaff Arizona

flagstaffspecialedition.com

I was born in Cottonwood Arizona about a 45 minute drive south of Flagstaff. I had family that lived in Flagstaff and we went there a lot when I was young to visit and go shopping because it is and was a much larger city than Cottonwood. In 2001 my daughter was born in Flagstaff.  The trees are amazing. They are Ponderosa Pine tress. If you walk up to one and smell it, it will smell of either vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. I am not kidding. The next time you get a chance to visit, do yourself a favor, hug a pine tree, give it a good whiff, and be amazed.

England

www.coxandkingsusa.com

I have not had the pleasure of visiting England yet. I have been fascinated by the place since I was a child. I used to tell my parents and grandparents that I was from England and that I could remember being there. I do have English ancestry as well. I think I may be attached to a past life memory from there, and particularly to the time period of the Tudor dynasty.

Trevi fountain in Rome, Italy

www.lymphology2013.com

I have been learning Latin and studying the medieval period of European history. I want to somehow find a way to visit Italy as an incorporated part of my education. I cannot get enough of Italy! The Romans are so fascinating!

Honestly, I have traveled a lot in the United States except for the East Coast. I love travelling, and I hope that my life will always allow me to see and learn new things. I am a Religious Studies major with a minor in History and I appreciate and like to study all cultures and their beliefs. I am fascinated by ancient cultures the most. I want to learn more about the amazing world we live in! But my absolute favorite place in the whole world for me is to be at home, in my pajamas enjoying the pursuits of my interests, such as reading great books, watching great television shows like Dr. Who and Ancient Aliens, baking and eating yummy foods, playing with my cats Freyden and Tiny Dancer, and spending time with my husband and daughter. Sorry, no pics available for all that at this time.

Comment Wall

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This is a test to see how the blogger blogs. I have not ever used one before so I am already learning new things in this class!