I’ve had so many requests for information on drum circles that I think it’s about time we started our own circle. A very nice lady has volunteered her living room near Providence Hospital (I hope her neighbors enjoy drumming!). What I need to know from you, our readers, is who among you is interested in a once a week or once every other week drum circle? As I envision it, we would meet around 7:30 in the evening, probably on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and drum. I personally can teach the basics of playing the Dumbek and the Bodhran (that’s Middle Eastern and Irish drumming). Hopefully, others among you can introduce us to other rhythms or styles of drumming or methods of playing, or we can explore together. What do you say, shall we drum? If you are interested, please call the store at 303-8624 and leave your name and phone number. If things go right, we should be starting the middle of April, perhaps April 18 or 19.

Two items came into the store that I thought you might like to know about.

First, PriceCostco is making preparations to build and open a new store close enough to us to be useful. They are looking at a location adjacent to I-5 and SR527 (19th Avenue S.E.), a short distance south of the Everett Mall/I-5 interchange. As a merchant and former military person, I’ve found Costco a real money saver for the past 6 years. I will welcome them to the area with most of my big spending shopping trips.

by Korianna

The labrys, or double bladed axe, originated as the weapon of choice of early Amazon warriors. It served as a scepter to the Cretan Earthmother. During the classical Greek period it became tied to the goddess under several of her names, including Artemis, Gaea, Rhea, and Demeter. It is known to have been used as a ceremonial scepter at the Goddess's oldest Greek shrine at Delphi. There her priests took the name labryadae, meaning axe bearers. In Crete it became tied to the Minoan kings and was also used in the ritual slaughter of sacred bulls.

The labrys also appeared in India, carried by Shiva. Egypt's god Ptah was also represented by an axe. So was a Mayan deity known as God of the Axe. Tantric Buddhists believed the gods used axes against unbelievers and in Brittany stone axes were built into chimneys, in the belief they would avert the lightning that the pagan gods used to control. The idea was that the gods would be mollified by seeing their ancient symbol still in use.

In current times the labrys has been remembered for its connection with the Amazons and the Goddess, and has been adopted by lesbian women as a symbol. It remains tied to the moon and the horned beast because of its crescent shape.

Sources:

Women's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects, Barbara G. Walker

MYTHOLOGY: Parallel Myths, by J. F. Bierlein. What a fascinating subject! After first enumerating the various pantheons of gods and goddesses, Bierlein goes on to compare such across the board myths as Creation, Fall from Grace, and tales of Love and Morality. Especially interesting to me was the section on Floods. Since the book covers not only the common mythologies we are familiar with, but Hawaiian, Native American and African ones, these are often tales we haven’t been exposed to before. (P.S. This book could also serve as a marvelous resource for read-aloud tales.)

PARAPSYCHOLOGY: Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, by J. E. Lovelock. In a lively, readable account, Lovelock presents the Earth as an entity capable of overcoming our interference. “The Gaia hypothesis is for those who like to walk or simply stand and stare, to wonder about the Earth and the life it bears, and to speculate about the consequences of our own presence here. It is an alternative to that pessimistic view which sees nature as a primitive force to be subdued and conquered [or]...that equally depressing picture of our planet as a demented spaceship, forever traveling, driverless and purposeless, around an inner circle of the sun.” This guy’s on our wavelength.

PAGANISM: Circles, Groves and Sanctuaries: Sacred Spaces of Today’s Pagans, by Dan and Pauline Campanelli. What do a circle of sacred trees, a computer, and a briefcase have in common? They’re all used as scared altars for ritual. This book, rather than a travelogue of established, public shrines, is a catalog of private individuals establishing and using sacred spaces. Covering both indoor and outdoor shrines, altars, and sanctuaries, it is nicely illustrated with black and white photos and has a list of resource addresses.

Quetzalcoatl: Remember the article in Wendy’s Corner, when she was talking about prejudice? The prejudice mentioned between different breeds of cats is nothing compared to the notions held by most Human cultures and animals about our species. Let me tell you something: Legs do not a superior being make.

K: Yes, and several human legends depict us as the seducer of man, or the incarnation of evil. And earlier legends depict us as fearsome dragons that knights and saints were supposed to hunt and kill.

Q: I wish I could fly like some of the old dragon legends. I guess that’s what caused Calador to give me the name of the Serpent God of the Aztecs. But serpents and dragons come up in most if not all human cultural myths. Some good, some not so good. It all depends on your perspective.

K: But we aren’t slimy (unless we just got out of the bath, but then who isn’t, right after a good bath???). We don’t all bite anything in sight... I mean, some of my meaner cousins do, but they are just grumpy because they weren’t lucky enough to find nice humans like I did... But, I have gotten a lot of discrimination from people because I am big (over 6 feet long) and they assume that I am going to bite them or hug them to death... I don’t do those kinds of things except to my food. (Rats, YUM!!) I liked Wendy’s column, but I don’t think that someone as privileged as a cat has a whole lot of room to talk! Has she ever had people run in fear just seeing her from across the room? I have! It hurt my feelings to think that I scared someone just because of what I am, not who I was as a sentient being.

Q: You’re forgetting the old tales about the “evil” of a black cat, dear. And personally, I would consider it an advantage to be able to see things from 5 feet above the ground like humans do. Being able to see things far away must make catching rats really easy. And it would also make it easy for us to avoid animals that like to play rough.

K: Well, I am not sure if our humans will print this or not, but I think it is unfair that Wendy, who is not a member of the family, has a column and we don’t. I think we need to complain to Calador and Kyros that we would like to have a monthly column where we could talk about the things that concern us. And maybe there are other things that we could help them with too......

Love and Hisses,

Kali & Quetzalcoatl

The Thugs who worshiped her with ritual murder by strangling validated their practices by a variant of the Raktabija story. Tiring from her exertions, Kali made two men from the sweat on her arms and gave each a square of cloth, telling them to continue killing the demons without shedding any blood. Soon all the demons were strangled, and Kali told the men to keep the cloths and continue to offer victims as sacrifices to her. I like being named after a goddess that strangles since I do to!!

Q: “The plumed serpent god of Central America.” Now that’s someone to be named after. According to the Dictionary of World Mythology by Arthur Cotterell, Quetzalcoatl “was the giver of breath and the god of winds. At the same time he was a creator diety, identified with the sun, and the god who descended into the land of the dead, mictlan, where ‘he fell like one dead’. On his recovery, perhaps aided by his double, he gathered up the precious bones there, returned to the earth and, sprinkling them with his own blood, he turned them into human beings.”

by Kathy Long

Herbs have been used successfully for over 4000 years in China for healing and balancing the body’s energy. The use of herbs as body cleansers, rejuvenators, tonics and relaxers has been practiced by mankind, all over the world, from the very beginning of mankind’s history of imperfection. These natural remedies are still in use today.

The code of medical ethics known as the Hippocratic Oath is still taken today by graduating students in many medical schools. Hippocrates, the so-called Father of Medicine, lived from 460-377 BCE, and was one of the most observing and industrious men who ever lived. He was the first to conceive the idea of diagnosis and also exercised great care in regulating the diet of persons afflicted with acute diseases. Wounds were treated with the view of guarding against undue loss of blood. Herbs, diet, baths, fresh air, massage, rest and quiet formed the bulk of his treatments, and he made his followers swear on oath that they would give no poisonous remedies to their patients. Can modern medicine always say this? Between three and four hundred plants are mentioned in what are know as the Hippocratic Writings.

The familiar sign Rx, which is generally found in the upper left-hand corner of the modern prescription, has been traced to the pagan symbol for Jupiter. It has been said, that the ancient practice of placing this symbol at the head of prescriptions was instituted in the time of Nero, when the Christians were being brutally persecuted. The early Christians, whether physician or patient, were put to death, for refusing to use this symbol, their consciences would not let them use this or any symbol such as this one. These early Christians worshiped only the Creator, whose name can still be found in most Bibles today at Psalm 83.18.

The symbol indicated an allegiance of the physician to the State, whom Jupiter was the God of, and none could obtain medicine without this symbol. The symbol meant, “Take thou in the name of Jupiter.” The ancients employed the Greek word `Physis’, meaning the natural constitution, to signify pharmacy and sorcery, and that in this way those who taught and practiced the healing art, came to be know as “physicians.”

From the many facts existing, we may well believe that there is not a single disease in man that may not be alleviated or cured in some herb or other, if we but knew which plant and where to find it. For, who has not often seen, not only our own domestic animals, but many of the untamed creatures of forest, field, and sky, seek out some one particular herb when laboring under sickness or some derangement? Our Creator has, of course, wisely implanted a definite instinct in these creatures, in order to serve for it’s health, or restoration to health, from disease. In man, however, such instinct is not instilled. Man has been given reason and judgment and a disposition to investigate the laws and mysteries of creation, in order to secure his own health. An old proverb says, “There are sermons in stones, and books in running brooks,” so do we behold volumes of wisdom in all the herbal kingdom—every emerald and variegated leaf, in every tinted blossom. In all, there is a voiceless language, eternally singing significant songs of the Creator(s) of all things.

I read bumper stickers. Lots of people put them on their cars. But... there are inherent dangers to this popular practice as I found out recently.

My political viewpoint is one that is not held by a majority. I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say that you can tell which way my mindset goes by reading my bumper stickers. They aren’t large or neon colored but they are visible and I suppose I am proud to hold the opinions they suggest.

A few days ago, as I was driving to work, I realized I was being paced on the freeway by another car. It’s happened before, and usually I pay no attention to it. Sometimes in fact, it’s someone else with the same stickers and we exchange waves and everybody is happy. Not so, this time. There were two young men (and I use the term loosely because I saw no maturity in their actions) in the car. I simply nodded and kept my eyes on the road. When I sped up, so did they. So I slowed down and they pulled in front of me. I gave no turn signals to indicate which exit I was taking, but unfortunately they pulled off onto the one I needed, and I had no choice but to follow. The light at the foot of the ramp turned red, stopping them (and me). Rather than pulling alongside them, I stayed behind, leaving plenty of room between their car and mine.

While waiting for the light to change, the passenger in the car actually got out of the car and turned to face me, making very rude (and lewd) gestures in plain sight directly at me, which were even worse than the ones they had made while pacing me on the freeway. I will admit to being VERY frightened, but I refused to let them scare me off the road. Instead, I was lucky enough that police car in the area scared them off. They turned into a parking lot and I made myself scarce.

You can bet I was lucky THIS TIME. Well, similar things have happened to me in the past for the same reasons, I’m positive, but I will not remove the stickers (not yet, at least).

After last month’s article about breaking the rules and rebellion, I suppose I must say that if you are not ashamed to admit to unpopular opinions, be they Gay Rights, Alternate Religions, Left Wing Political Candidates (or Right), or whatever it might be, then these kinds of incidents will happen. (Some people might even object to Saving the Whales!) It did serve to shake me out of my complacency (again!), reminding me to lock my car doors and be aware of my surroundings.

So, be forewarned, all you rebels out there... flaunt your Pentacles, your Pink Triangles and your Greenpeace stickers, but be prepared to defend yourselves whether by physical or other means. And if you don’t know how to handle yourself in such a situation or are unprepared to, then don’t wear your ‘heart on your sleeve’. And... it’s no disgrace not to. In fact it might be the prudent thing to do. It’s up to you!

I don’t usually watch television, unlike Marcelle, the white-faced Tom with whom I share living space. I did however manage to catch part of a series on Women and Spirituality that piqued my interest though it did leave out some vital information. How many cats followed their humans to the stake in the Middle Ages?

I’ve never understood why the feline species was singled out as being a channel between “evil” witches and Satan. The only connection I can make is that during the Burning Times, many of the wise women kept cats as companions because they were easy to live with and demanded little in the way of attention or maintenance. They also earned their living by keeping the premises free of unwanted mice and rats. These women were more interested in helping others as healers and teachers, something the churchmen of the day frowned on. THEY preferred to be in control and the women resented it, being of a non-controlling nature. It follows then that women would have kept cats rather than more easily controlled species such as dogs. (Ever tried to control a cat?)

The incorrect assumption was made that these women were somehow communicating with some evil being with the help of their familiar spirits who just HAPPENED to take cat-shape. Black cats were especially singled out and persecuted because everyone ‘knew’ that BLACK was the color of evil. (I wonder who made that rule!)

An interesting aside is that when the feline population declined, the rodent population increased. Perhaps the Plague was a direct result. (Notice, I did NOT say BLACK plague!)

In any case, the circle of life was severely weakened by trying to eliminate a species. The repaired link in the form of a reduced number of cats was never quite as strong as the original.

These days, it seems the human population is more aware of what can happen when the circle is interfurred with, though there are still some who persist in it. I do hate it when I hear they are trying to eliminate the sea lions who are eating the salmon, or the mountain goats who are eating all the flowers... (“Where have all the flowers gone...?)

Meow for Now!