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anomaly00-archive · 4 years ago

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700 Follower Celebration: A Writing Journey (1/?)

Hey guys! So, to celebrate this milestone I’ll be doing a series of posts talking about how my wip has changed, their inspirations, my growth as a writer. though it’s only been maybe 2? years since I started writeblr, I’m pretty sure I, and my works, have undergone *many* a transformations. And speaking of transformations, this post is dedicated to the journey of my most fickle and ever-changing wip: When Comes the Dawn

The first WIP I ever introduced to tumblr – and my first multi-chapter project ever is When Comes the Dawn, a fantasy/court-intrigue tale featuring court politics, magic, death-defying princesses, and cloak-and-dagger schemes. It is the story I hold near and dear to my heart, even if I do have an on-again-off-again relationship with it. But the story you know now is vastly different to what it used to be. Really, the only thing remotely similar to WCTD and its predecessors are Charles and Fenice (and that’s just their names!)

WCTD started out as a very ambitious high fantasy AU fanfiction with a highly convoluted story line that existed, predominantly, in a 1,500 word prologue and hours upon hours of daydreaming. It did not help that, paranoid little gremlin that I was against people who might look over at my word doc by chance, I coded all of the names of these fanfic characters, keeping only the first letter the same. This eventually led to a detachment between the OG source material and my own work and I just ended up scrapping the entire thing and keeping my cast of (now original) characters. Thus began the era of Chronus. Or, proto-WCTD as I sometimes refer to it.

Chronus had very little connection to present day WCTD except for the name Charles, Fenice, and the three gods that created and watched over the universe. In WCTD, the Trinity were more akin to the gods we have today; igures of worship, omnipresent, with not a lot of proof for their existence except faith-- and I’m saying this as a Catholic. In Chronus, they were actual characters. The gods of Creation/Life, Destiny, and Time/Death (the latter being named Chronus so y’all know where I got the name) watch over the world and intervene when they need to. The lore of the story: through some convoluted circumstance, Chronus ends up dying which is a pretty big bummer since, y’know, his death left the entire universe in stagnation and nothing could die. Uh, the logic gets iffy around here but just understand that Creation and Destiny managed to save the universe but are forced to enlist select humans into being temporary gods of death in exchange for granting their desire. Fenice was one of these humans, Charles was a part of her “wish,” and...more convoluted plot stuff that I honestly can’t remember.

I hated how I spent more time trying to logic the entire plot and ended up scrapping the entire thing. After taking a few months break from this story, I started again by recycling characters and concepts I like. And once again we are left with Fenice, Charles, and the Trinity.

I recycled the backstory I used for Fenice and Charles which had them as royals; a prince and princess caught in the midst of a succession game a la War of Roses. Here, Fenice Alexandra and Charles Alexander were twins tied at the hip, on the run from their power-hungry uncles and planning a way to reclaim their birthright. I made it through a few chapters, a bit of outlining, and weeks of thinking before I found myself dissatisfied with this story and scrapping it once again. Around this time, I realized I wanted to add magic but not have magic and magical fights be a huge part of the story, so I feel like adding an adventure element would be counterproductive. I also got the idea of a world where everyone had magic, but one of the main characters did not.

I played around with Fenice and Charles’ relationship for a while. One had Fenice being the significantly younger sibling with magic and Charles the older and without (the opposite of where we are today). In every iteration of the story I always had Fenice as the main POV character, so with this set-up, to create conflict, I had the idea of Fenice not wanting the throne (despite being the chosen heir and more than qualified for the position) scheming to get Charles the crown instead (what Charles wants be damned). Others had this same setting but with Charles still being chosen as heir despite not having magic (which was apparently the number one unspoken rule of succession) which created resentment in Fenice...and made proto-Dantalion (called William at the time) look like a fool. But both these scenarios were just...not something I was particularly interested in. Fenice was insanely OP, everyone looked stupid to me, and honestly? It just seemed boring.

I knew I was close to a break through, so I decided to switch it. Fenice, the elder sibling without magic, who, by a tragic twist of fate, had everything that should be hers instead given to her younger brother. Then, I separated them; the elder lived away from court, the younger lived close to it to wipe away as much chances of them getting along. Then, I worked on their parents. Here, Dantalion, Illysandre, and Titania came into existence. Then, more characters, more plot lines; I connected relations, brewed up even more backstory and lore to make sense of this plot line, steeled myself from making a spin-off prequel, etc. etc. Finally, WCTD reached where it is today. I have no doubt that it’ll still go through massive changes in the future, but for what it is now? It’s the closest I’ve ever been to the story I want to tell.

#writeblr #writers on tumblr #c.follower milestone #c.my writing journey #opera. when comes the dawn #mea. wip

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didanawisgi · 6 years ago

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W. Kirk MacNulty, 32°

The symbols used in 18th-century Masonic tracing boards are references to the vast body of literature and philosophy which documents Renaissance thought.

Art: Frontispiece from Stephen Jones, Masonic Miscellanies (London: Vernor & Hood, 1797)

Masonic Tracing Boards are training devices. In the earliest days of speculative Masonry, the Master would sketch designs on the floor of the Lodge using chalk. Then he would talk about the drawing during the meeting. During the course of the 18th century, the drawings were transferred to "Tracing Boards" which are pictures, one per Degree, that encapsulate the symbols of each of the Degrees. The Boards to which we will refer are English.

Speculative Masonry started in the 1600s, and its symbols are references to that vast body of literature and philosophy which documents Renaissance thought. In the Renaissance, the dominant metaphysic was Judeo-Christian monotheism with an admixture of Classical thinking. Renaissance philosophers incorporated many Greek (particularly neo-Platonic) and Jewish mystical ideas into their orthodox Christianity. Some of these influences came from the Hermetica which had, itself, been a substantial influence in the formation of early Christian doctrines. Others came from Kabbalah, the mystical tradition of Judaism. This fusion of classical and Jewish philosophy is called the "Hermetic/Kabbalistic Tradition"; and after it had been interpreted in the context of orthodox Christian doctrine, it became the basis of Renaissance thinking. Speculative Masonry dates from the end of the Renaissance (the mid-17th century), and it is no surprise that Masonic symbolism reflects this tradition.

The First Degree Tracing Board, which looks at first glance like a collection of heterogeneous objects, is, I think, a representation of the entire Universe. It is also a picture of a human being standing in a landscape. Neither of these images is immediately obvious, but I think the ideas will become clear.

The central idea of Renaissance thought was the unity of the Universe and the consequent omnipresence of the Deity. This idea is represented by the "Ornaments of the Lodge." The fact that Masonry has gathered these three objects into a single group suggests that we consider them together. The Ornaments of the Lodge are the Blazing Star or Glory, the Checkered Pavement, and the Indented, Tessellated Border; all refer to the Deity. The Blazing Star or Glory is found in the Heavens at the center of the picture. It is a straightforward heraldic representation of the Deity. Look at the Great Seal of the United States on a dollar bill, and you will see the Deity represented there in the same manner. The Checkered Pavement represents the Deity as perceived in ordinary life. The light and dark squares represent paired opposites, a mixture of mercy and justice, reward and punishment, passion and analysis, vengeance and loving kindness. They also represent the human experience of life, light and dark, good and evil, ease and difficulty. But that is only how it is perceived. The squares are not the symbol; the Pavement is the symbol. The light and dark squares fit together with exact nicety to form the Pavement, a single thing, a unity. The whole is surrounded by the Tessellated Border which binds it into a single symbol. The Border binds not simply the squares, but the entire picture, into a unity.

The idea of duality occurs throughout the Board: from the black and white squares at the bottom to the Sun and Moon at the top. In the central area of the Board, duality is represented by two of the three columns; but here the third column introduces a new idea. The striking thing about these columns is that each is from a different Order of Architecture. In Masonic symbolism, they are assigned names: Wisdom to the Ionic Column in the middle, Strength to the Doric Column on the left, and Beauty to the Corinthian Column on the right. How shall we interpret these Columns and their names?

One of the major components of Renaissance thought was Kabbalah. The principal diagram which is used by Kabbalists to communicate their ideas is the "Tree of Life." The column on the right is called the "Column of Mercy," the active column. That on the left is called the "Column of Severity," the passive column. The central column is called the "Column of Consciousness." It is the column of equilibrium with the role of keeping the other two in balance. The three columns all terminate in (depend on) Divinity at the top of the central column. Referring to the columns on the First Degree Tracing Board , note that the Corinthian Pillar of Beauty is on the right; in the classical world the Corinthian Order was used for buildings dedicated to vigorous, expansive activities. The Doric Pillar of Strength is on the left; the Doric Order was used for buildings housing activities in which discipline, restraint, and stability were important. The Ionic Pillar of Wisdom is in the middle. The Ionic Order is recognized as an intermediate between the other two and was used for Temples to the rulers of the gods who coordinated the activities of the pantheon. The Three Pillars, like the Tree of Life, speak of a universe in which expansive and constraining forces are held in balance by a coordinating agency.

The Universe of the Renaissance philosophers consisted of "four worlds." The Kabbalistic representation of this idea is shown in the figure above by the four large circles denoting four "worlds." They are the "elemental" or physical world, the "celestial" world of the psyche or soul, the "supercelestial" world or spirit, and the Divine world. These same levels are represented on the First Degree tracing board pictured on the front inside cover of this issue. The Pavement represents the "elemental," physical world; the central part of the Board, including the columns and most of the symbols, represents the "celestial" world of the psyche or soul; the Heavens represent the "supercelestial" world of the spirit; and the Glory represents Divinity.

These ideas describe the "landscape." Where is the man?

Another important Renaissance concept was that of a Macrocosm (the universe as a whole) and a corresponding Microcosm (the human individual). The idea is that the universe and human beings are structured using the same principles (both being made "in the image of God"). Consider the Ladder. It extends from the Scripture on the Altar to the Glory which represents the Deity; and in the Masonic symbolism, it is said to be Jacob’s Ladder. We consider the ladder together with another symbol, the Point-within-a-Circle-Bounded-by-Two-Parallel-Lines, which is shown on the face of the Altar.

These symbols are discussed together because in many early Masonic drawings they appear together as if they have some connection. (See the illustration from Masonic Miscellanies, 1797, at the head of this article.) Consider the Two Parallel Lines first. They, like the Doric and Corinthian columns, represent paired opposites, active and passive qualities. In Masonic symbolism, they are associated with the Saints John; the Baptist’s Day is mid-summer, the Evangelist’s is mid-winter.

Now, this Point-within-a-Circle-Bounded-by-Two-Parallel-Lines, together with the Ladder and its three levels, reveals a pattern very similar to the three columns. There are three verticals, two of which, the Lines, relate to active and passive functions while the third, the Ladder between them, reaches to the heavens and provides the means "by which we hope to arrive there." The ladder has "three principal rounds" or levels, represented by Faith, Hope and Charity, which correspond to the three lower levels of the four-level Universe we observed earlier.

Both the Macrocosmic "Landscape" and the Microcosmic "Man" share the fourth level of Divinity, represented by the Blazing Star, or Glory. Taken together the Ladder and the Point-within-a-Circle-Bounded-by-Two- Parallel-Lines represent the human individual made "in the image of God," according to the same principles on which the Universe is based.

A Mason is sometimes called "a traveling man." One of the Masonic catechisms gives us an insight into this term. "Q. - Did you ever Travel? A. - My forefathers did. Q. - Where did they travel? A. - Due East and West. Q. - What was the object of their travels? A. - They traveled East in search of instruction, and West to propagate the knowledge they had gained." Notice the cardinal points of the compass on the Border of this Tracing Board; they define the East–West direction in Masonic terms, and, in doing so, they describe the nature of the journey to which the new Mason apprentices himself. That journey from West to East is represented, symbolically, by the progress through the Masonic Degrees; and it is, in fact, the ascent up Jacob’s Ladder—one of the "Principal Rounds" for each Degree.

The notion of a "mystical ascent" was part and parcel of the Hermetic/Kabbalistic Tradition. It is a devotional exercise during which the individual rises through the worlds of the soul and the spirit and at last finds himself experiencing the presence of Deity. Some of these ascents are deeply Christian in their character. In De Occulta Philosophia, Agrippa "rises through the three worlds, the elemental world, the celestial world, the supercelestial world...where he is in contact with angels, where the Trinity is proved, ... the Hebrew names of God are listed, though the Name of Jesus is now the most powerful of all Names." (Frances A. Yates, The Occult Philosophy in the Elizabethan Age, London, RKP, 1979, p.63)

The Second Degree Tracing Board shows a familiar pattern: two columns which have opposite characteristics, and between them a staircase, a form of ladder. We cannot investigate this symbol here because of space limitations (see Heredom, vol. 5, 1996, for a fuller explication), but we know we are to climb this staircase. The picture summarizes the Renaissance idea of the approach to Deity as an interior journey.

On the Third Degree Tracing Board, the grave probably does not refer to physical death. During the Renaissance there was much discussion about "the Fall of man" and its effect. "The Fall" seems to refer to some event by which human beings, who were at one time conscious of the Divine Presence, lost that consciousness. After "the Fall," ordinary human life, as we live it on a day-to-day basis, is "like death" when compared to human potential and to a life lived in the conscious awareness of Divine presence. The grave suggests such a "death" to be our present state. The acacia growing at the top of the grave suggests that there is a spark of life which can be encouraged to grow and refers to the possibility of regaining our original Divine connection.

The view of the Temple in the center of the Third Degree Board shows "King Solomon’s Porch," the entrance to the "Holy of Holies." The veil is drawn back a little offering a glimpse into that chamber where the Deity was said to reside. This suggests that at the end of the journey from West to East some process analogous to death enables the individual to experience the Divine presence. After this process has occurred, he lives once more at his full potential. Again, I think that this refers neither to a resurrection after physical death nor to a life after physical death; both of which are the domain of religion, not Masonry. Rather, it refers to a psychological/spiritual process which can occur, if it be God’s will, within any devout individual who seeks it earnestly and which I believe it to be the business of Freemasonry to encourage. After all, we claim to be Freemasons, and this is that Truth, the knowing of which "make[s] you free."

This article has been shortened by the author from the original published in Heredom, Vol. 5, 1996.

#herodom #tracing board #lost keys of freemasonry

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thesilverwitch · 8 years ago

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DEITIES IN WICCA

“Note: This is a bare-bones guide to deities in traditional Wicca to help beginners find their own path. Please keep in mind that there are many different sects of Wicca and traditional Wicca itself has no high authority and no bible to dictate its laws.”

-thesilverwitch

WHO ARE THE GODDESS AND GOD OF WICCA?

The Horned God and Triple Goddess are generally the deities you’ll hear people associate with Wicca, but these very same concepts generate a lot of confusion. You’ll read a lot of books that will tell you the Horned God is like this, or the Triple Goddess is like that. There are a lot of oversimplifications and generalizations going on with these descriptions. Many Wiccan sources also refer to the Lord and Lady as well, or “The” God, and “The” Goddess (the article “the” implying they’re specific deities). This leaves people to wonder— to whom, exactly, are we referring when we use these terms?

Wicca, is fairly unique in one way: we don’t actually have our own deities. That is, our religion wasn’t built around veneration of any specific deities of our own—we worship Pagan Gods and Goddesses of other ancient cultures in a new and modern world. We do not have our own unique pantheon, nor do we believe our religion was revealed to us by deities.

So, who are these characters, then, that you’ll find peppered throughout Wiccan books and websites? Who is the Horned God or the Lord or the God? Who is the Triple Goddess, the Lady or the Goddess? Let’s have a look.

SYMBOLS OF TRIPLE GODDESS AND HORNED GOD

note: I occasionally compare/contrast Wicca to Christianity in this article. I'm not implying one is better than the other, or that they are the same (not by a long shot). Since Christianity is the dominant religion in Western society, most people are familiar with it. As such, I use it only to make analogies as a frame of reference.

TYPES AND TITLES - NOT NAMES

One quick way to settle a lot of confusion is to remind people of this: these terms in question are types of deities or titles of respect. Horned God is a type of Godhead, not one specific God. Triple Goddess is a type of Goddesshead, not one specific Goddess, or a specific trio of Goddesses. These terms are merely descriptions, not deities in themselves.

Likewise, Lord and Lady are titles of respect by which we call any God or Goddess, respectively; Lord and Lady are not names. Zeus is one Wiccan’s Lord, Thor is another Wiccan’s Lord, Lugh is another's... just as a Christian's Lord is YHWH (Jehova) though they call him 'Lord' and 'God'.

“The God” and “The Goddess” are not specific deities that all Wiccans worship; they are simply the generic term for “male” deities and “female” deities, respectively. So my God that I worship may not be the same God another Wiccan worships. But I still refer to him as God, 'the' God, or Lord.

“With all that said, if the concept of these specific gender labels or specific personas makes you uncomfortable, that’s completely valid!

When you dig to the very base of things, the idea isn’t specifically about opposite genders, it’s about polarity in union. For example, I revere the Light and Shadow of the Universe—two energies interlaced in perfect unity to form one infinite, omnipresent deity. So it is without that it is within, meaning I am both the student and the teacher, the slave and the master, the art and the artist, the created and the creator. The Universe is all around me but I am also a part of the Universe. Abstract, I know. Please note: Shadow is not “evil” or “bad.” An example would be: if Light is the sun then Shadow is the moon.

I recently had someone ask me if they could worship Gaia as both their God and Goddess and still be considered Wiccan. If we look at the Light and Shadow aspects of Gaia we see that polarity in union can easily be observed.

Then there’s Dianic Wicca (the female-only variety), where practitioners heavily acknowledge gender and do not acknowledge the Horned God, or the masculine. Yet, they still acknowledge polarities in union.

By upholding polarity in union, we are still able to honor the Sabbats effectively.

Now, if you favor the idea of choosing a pantheon and your deities, or if you believe you have been chosen by your deities, this is also completely valid. The collective consciousness of all the people believing in these personalities have, if they weren’t already real, made them real. Each god and goddess have their own unique traits and lessons to teach. To form a bond with the divine is a truly rewarding path itself.

-thesilverwitch

So why do Wiccans use all these titles and types instead of just using the name of their God/dess?

Originally in Wiccan covens, Wiccans didn't speak the names of the deities they worshiped outside the circle. This was to prevent others from defaming and disrespecting the deities.

This still holds today for a lot of Wiccans, though many eclectics are more relaxed on it. They might be willing to tell other Wiccans/Pagans, or close friends, who their specific God/desses are but not wish to divulge that information to just anyone.

For other Wiccans, the Horned God and Triple Goddess, or the Lord and Lady, or The God and The Goddess have taken on a persona of their own.

“Let me make a note here: Wicca has no high authority and no bible to dictate its laws. If someone views the Horned God and Triple Goddess as personas in themselves, then that is valid. These titles have evolved to harbor aspects of their own.” -thesilverwitch

Some would argue this is the result of watered-down eclectic Wicca and improperly trained practitioners who have failed to do any in-depth research. Others embrace the “All Gods are one God, all Goddesses are one Goddess” theory1which has become more prevalent with eclectics in the 1990s. These people would argue that all the various God/desses in mythology are either aspects or personifications of the same divine couple.

1. The “All Gods are one God, all Goddesses are one Goddess” theory actually didn’t originate in Wicca; it was from Dion Fortune, a Christo-Pagan Ceremonial Magician. This kind of ‘soft polytheism’ is probably as common in Wicca now as ‘hard polytheism’ (the belief that deities of different cultures are all unique and distinct beings).

THE HORNED GOD

The very term “Horned God” is controversial, considering most of us grew up in a Christian-dominant society in which the only god-like being who had horns was 'the devil'. This is why the term 'Horned God' gets a lot of knee-jerk reactions.

There is no relationship, however, between the Wiccan view of Horned Gods and the Christian view of Satan. That would be like saying a pumpkin must be an orange in disguise because they have the same color skin. Horned Gods existed long before any concept of Satan did, and nowhere in the Bible was Satan described as having horns and hooves—those extra-biblical descriptions came from the Middle Ages.

Horned Gods were sometimes depicted as having curving, conical horns like the goat or ram, or sometimes the branched antlers like the stag. Sometimes they were animal-headed, and sometimes goat-footed. Some of the more well-known Horned Gods include Pan and Cernuous.

To ancient Pagans, Gods with horns were related to the wild and man’s primal nature. They represent mankind unencumbered by the trappings of civilization and living by his instincts in a natural state of being. Horned Gods were closely related to the forests—particularly the wild animals. They’re related to the hunt (both as hunter, the life-taker, and as hunted, the life-giver; thus, he perpetuates the cycles of life). They would often be associated with fertility— the virile male embracing his carnal desires without the imposition of social codes and mores guiding his behavior.

The Horned God made its way into Wicca due to the popular theories at the time by a handful of 19th century/early 20th century anthropologists who attempted to tie all of Pagandom together as if it were one universal pre-Christian set of beliefs that went underground to avoid persecution. Christianity had long painted Pagans as villains; in the age of enlightenment, many tried to look at history from a new and more open-minded perspective, and they romanticized antiquity. Some became desperate to turn the tables and paint Pagans as the victims. Ultimately, the attempts to oversimplify all the various Pagan religious from all over the world has been discredited, and the attempt to prove them going underground as a single surviving ancient cult has been debunked. Still, it was these oversimplified works that were prominent theories at about the time Wicca was forming, so it heavily influenced Wicca's formation.

To Wiccans, the Horned God motif fits in neatly in the Wheel of the Year, however it’s important to understand that just because many Wiccans worship a Horned God doesn’t mean they worship the same God.

Finally, not all Wiccans have a direct relationship with Horned Gods. Some Wiccans worship a Sun God, another god-type that fits neatly into the Wheel of the Year mythos and corresponds well to a Moon Goddess.

Remember also, that not all Gods are as easily “typecast”.

THE TRIPLE GODDESS

The most commonly known triple deity form today is probably the trinity in Christianity. If one can understand how Christians see the father, the son and the holy spirit as three, distinct persons in one, then one can understand how Wiccans view the Triple Goddess. In Wicca, many Goddesses are seen as having three forms that mirror the stages of womanhood:

The Maiden, who is the young, innocent, often (but not always) virginal beauty. She is independent and idealistic, ready to take on the world and looking to the future possibilities, filled with all the promise of what can be. She’s associated with youth, the time of coming of age, new beginnings, the new moon and spring fertility festivals.

The Mother, who is mature, experienced lover and (often, but not always) parent. She is nurturing and protective, representing the selfless giving of oneself to sustain others. She's associated with family, children, domestic issues, growth, sexuality, the full moon, the summer (when she becomes pregnant) and winter (when she gives birth).

The Crone, who is the wise, guiding, respected elder (but not necessarily grandmother) of the trio. She is strong and pragmatic. She represents the "dark" side-- fears, decay, and destruction. Not that this makes her 'evil'; rather, she's someone who guides us through some of the biggest challenges in her infinite wisdom. She's associated with changes and transformations (particularly the biggest transformation-- death and rebirth).

It should be noted that not all Goddesses fit neatly into a trio of Maiden, Mother and Crone. Just because a culture has a Maiden does not mean that they automatically must have a Mother and Crone counterpart. Historically speaking, this was not common. Even if a culture had Goddesses that would fit neatly into the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone categories, it should not be automatically assumed that they had a connection to each other.

Think of it this way: if you walked into a waiting room and found a college girl, a middle-aged mom, and a retiree, would you automatically assume they must be related because they occupy the same time and place? Of course you wouldn’t—the same thing can be said for Goddesses.

Most Goddesses will fit in at least one of these categories, but that’s simply because these are very generalized attributes. Not every Goddess in history is so easily stuffed in a box—many Goddesses can fit into more than one category. Consider Hestia, who can be simultaneously considered a Maiden Goddess (due to her virginity and never having children), but also a Mother Goddess (due to her association with domestic life, as keeper of the sacred hearthfires).

While the model of the Triple Goddess is useful in Wiccan mythos, a Wiccan must always be careful not to pigeonhole ancient Goddesses in groups of three.

“The triad is a beautiful concept and is useful to those who honor it in some way with deity/aspect correlation in either a literal or metaphorical manner. However, some sects aren’t so strict on the topic and that is perfectly valid. ” -thesilverwitch

SO WHO DO WE WORSHIP HERE?

I have been asked this by more new Wiccans (particularly the young ones) than I would like to remember: “Who is the Goddess? Is she the same as the Lady? Is the God’ the same one Christians worship? Is the Horned God Satan?”

So many Wicca books put so much emphasis on magic, herbs, crystals, runes, nature, etc., that deities for many people are sadly an afterthought. This baffles me, since anyone of any religion (or no religion) can love nature and be interested in magic. Wicca at its core has always been about relationship with deity. Why anyone feels they are ready to jump into a religion before they even understand who the religion worships—sorry, but it doesn't make much sense. That's putting the cart before the horse.

But the answer to that question is fairly straight-forward: we worship Pagan Gods, or, at the very least, the archetypes of them.

Some Wiccans worship a Horned God, some a Maiden, some a Mother, some a Crone, some more than one. Most will refer to their Gods as “Lord” or simply “The God” at one time or another, and most will refer to their Goddess as “Lady” or simply “The Goddess” at one time or another. ]

Bottom line: everyone’s experience with deity is personal and subjective, and it’s only through your exploration of your relationship with them do you begin to learn about who they truly are.

FINDING YOUR GOD AND GODDESS IN WICCA

Your Wiccan God and Goddess are really what it’s all about. That’s what the rituals are for. That’s why we celebrate the Wheel of the Year. That’s why we pray and meditate. Anyone of any religion can love nature. Anyone of any religion can cast spells. Anyone of any religion can work with tarot cards or crystals and such. None of these things particularly make anyone Wiccan—in fact, plenty of people who do these things are not at all Wiccan. People have been doing these things long before Wicca existed.However, fostering a relationship with the Gods as a Wiccan, connecting through Wiccan ritual, honoring them through the cycles of the seasons and by the way you live your life—this is what truly makes one Wiccan.

PATRON GOD AND MATRON GODDESS

Wicca is traditionally polytheistic, and many Wiccans will speak of their ‘patrons’… that is, a patron God, and a matron Goddess. Patrons and matrons (or just ‘patrons’ when referring to both) are the specific God(s) or Goddesses(s) a Wiccan honors and works with.

There’s no rule about patrons. I’ve known people to have as few as one, and as many as four or five. They are usually of the same pantheon (not always, though mixing pantheons is always tricky and never should be taken lightly).

The benefit of being in a relationship with patrons is that it gets fully developed. In your ongoing worship and serving your patron Gods, you get to know them intimately. In taking you under their wing like that, a God or Goddess will teach you a great deal over time and you can learn many lessons from them.

Sometimes you can be with the same patrons for life—other times, you’ll be with them for a time (usually a few years) before you reach the ‘end of the road’ with them. This is not a terrible thing, when a God or Goddess ‘cuts you loose’; it’s not because you did anything wrong, but because you’re ready to move on. This is when you've benefited from the relationship all you can, and they realize that you are ready for a new patron—a new teacher, who can bring you yet to the next level of lessons that need to be learned.

Having a patron does not mean you need to exclude all other Gods. In Wicca, we don’t believe the Gods are jealous or have the ‘have no other Gods before me’ policies as found in other religions you may be more familiar with. It’s okay to go to a ritual that worships another God, or to hold a ritual to a different Goddess if you wish for specific purpose.

It’s just that our patrons will be a special, ongoing relationship.

BEING CALLED BY THE GODS

A lot of Wiccans will tell you they did not choose their Gods, but that their Gods chose them.

Like many religions describe it, it feels like ‘a calling’, and as such it’s hard to explain. Many Wiccans feel they get signs of some sort. This may be an image or animal associated with a certain God or Goddess popping up a lot unexpectedly, dreams or visions. Often these are accompanied by those gut feelings, or an inner voice.

Where is this calling coming from? Is it truly a divine being who has chosen you and is communicating with you? Is it an internal, a simple ‘knowing’ in your own brain of what you need? I have my own ideas, but the truth is—no one knows.

Once you become Wiccan, though, it’s something you should look out for.

NOT GETTING A CALLING?

If you don’t feel the calling, you certainly should not feel bad. For one thing, maybe you’re just too new to Wicca and not ready to work with a personal deity yet. For another thing, perhaps you are just missing the signs. Don’t get discouraged—the deities aren't rejecting you.

You may need to simply employ a little initiative. Start seeking deities, and approach them to see which ones will have you (or have been waiting for you to come to them in your own time).

In other words, you don’t have to sit around and wait until you feel they've come to you—you can meet them half-way.

FINDING YOUR WICCAN GOD AND/OR GODDESS

Whether you feel the calling or not, there are things you should do to find patrons and foster that newly-growing relationship.

Do your research. Read, read and read some more to learn all you can about your Gods and/or Goddesses you think might be calling you. If you think you're getting a sign, look them up to see who they might be coming from. If you don’t feel a calling, this could be a good way to start figuring out the best road for you to take—starting with whichever pantheons catch your attention most is probably a good place to begin. Then see which Gods and Goddesses jump out at you.

You want to really acquaint yourself with God/desses initially. Be careful of Neo-Pagan books that try to fit all Gods into one mold and all Goddesses into one mold. You’re better off reading ancient mythology books that deliberately remain vague so not to be too specific.

Also beware of modern books that re-write myths to ‘white wash’ them to make people feel more comfortable (this happens often with ‘rape myths’ or other myths that are particularly violent and sad). Some Pagan authors prefer feel-good versions of the old myths, but they’re missing the point. Sometimes they have tough lessons for us, or they convey them harshly through myths—to change the myths is to change (and often lose) the lesson. Gods are not meant to be human ideals for us to live up to (that doesn’t mean you can’t strive to be like your gods), they are meant for us to learn something. Remember that the myths are symbolism and allegory; your Gods are not actually raping and killing. If a myth makes you uncomfortable, don’t try to avoid it—it only means there is a lesson there that you probably need to explore further.

CONNECTING WITH DEITIES IN WICCA

Study pantheons and cultures. This requires more reading and studying, of course, but it’s necessary. Wicca is a modern religion, and despite what some shoddy scholarship will tell you, all Pagan religions are not based on that particular modern model.

Your Gods and Goddesses are used to being treated a certain way by the ancient cultures that revered them. You’ll want to uphold that expectation, just as if you were inviting a king or queen of another country into your home you wouldn’t want to offend them. You’d want to be the perfect host. Likewise, you want to be the perfect host if you are seeking a God/dess to come into your life.

You don’t want to make an offering of the harvest dinner that includes meat to a vegetarian Goddess. You don’t want to place something your God might find offensive on the altar. If your God is a warrior God, then embracing a life of pacifism and speaking out against war and violence is probably not a good idea. Every time you call war ‘evil’ it’s like a slap in the face to that deity. Not that you have to become violent in your own life or that you have to be eager for wars—but if you can’t appreciate that war might sometimes be a necessary action, perhaps a warrior God isn’t for you. If you truly believe in pacifism, you should probably find a God that advocates pacifism instead of trying to twist a warrior God to fit your mold.

Talk to the deities. If you feel called, begin praying to that deity. If you feel you wish to be called by a certain deity, pray to him or her. Pray for signs, or more specific signs. Pray for answers to come to you. Invite them into your lives, and into your heart.

Meditate—they say if praying is talking to a God, meditation is listening. Try to hear through that ‘inner voice’ what it is they are saying to you.

BEGIN HONORING YOUR DEITIES

A relationship takes time to build, and this is no different with Gods. If you feel you’ve found the right Gods, or your patrons, you should begin honoring those Gods.The best way to start this is by building a small shrine and going to it daily. It doesn’t have to be elaborate: something to represent your God and/or Goddess (a statue, a candle, a stone, image, etc.), some candles and/or incense to burn during worship, and a cup or bowl for libations and offerings.Go to your altar—daily is best, even if only for 5 minutes. Say a short prayer, hold a moment of silence, make a simple offering (some milk, honey, a flower, dried herbs, a portion of your breakfast or dinner, etc.).You might want to find out if your God or Goddess is associated with any sabbat, or has a special annual festival from the culture in which he or she originates. Celebrate it—do something special. Again, it doesn’t have to be elaborate, but perhaps you could hold a ritual, go on a nature walk, have a feast, make a special offering (such as donating food in the name of a harvest Goddess).Keep it up—books will tell you a lot about your Gods and Goddesses, but the only way to really get to know them is by making them a part of your life.

“Lastly, too often I see people who claim to be Wiccan who have altered these very basic concepts of divinity to the point of nonrecognition. Their God/s, Goddess/es, High Energies, Higher Powers, High Aspects, High Ideals, Gods-Within, Whatever-You-May-Call-It, Etc, no longer fit into the Sabbats whatsoever, which pretty much defeats the purpose of being Wiccan. If it doesn’t fit—it doesn’t sit. And if it doesn’t sit in Wicca, it probably sits somewhere else. And if it doesn’t sit somewhere else, don’t be so eager to place yourself under a label for the sake of a label. Just be you.”

-thesilverwitch

Sources: Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft WiccanSage

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d-dumais-blog · 8 years ago

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Religious Symbolism in Kemono Friends

DISCLAIMER

I’m going to be discussing Kemono Friends and its comparisons to Christianity as I see them. I feel it’s only fair to provide a short disclaimer here at the top. For starters I mean no disrespect to those of faith. I realize that I’m comparing your lord and savior to a cute anime girl named bag chan, but I hope you’ll understand and appreciate these comparisons all the same. Second, I do not think this show is in anyway trying to convert children, or anyone for that matter, to any religion. I think that religion is used here as a guiding story structure. The writers of the show simply pulled from the best selling story of all time, the bible. Third, I’ll provide my personal context here at the top so you do not feel as a reader at any point that I’ve mislead you. I’ll be writing using the capitalized letters for God and Father and the like because it helps delineate that I am specifically referring to the proper noun name used in Christian stories and not referring to any other gods in other faiths. I am currently non religious and uncertain of my faith. I have however previously spent years working for the church in various capacities, and I spent time studying theology both in early schooling and into my college courses. I don’t write this article to try and change your mind about anything, or even to change how you think of this series. I simply thought my perspective and insight was interesting so I wanted to share it with you all. Lastly I’ll add that this was originally written at the end of March, but has been edited and posted here now since it never saw the light of day previously. With all that out of the way let’s fall down this rabbit hole together.

Kemono Friends is an exceptionally well developed children’s show that succeeds in creating an intelligently designed world where the story unfolds. I don’t simply use the term intelligent design without reverence and understanding of its meaning in a broader context. Intelligent design is a term used by Christianity in describing God’s creations and plan, and I believe at its core Kemono Friends draws heavily from Christianity in developing its themes and characters. At first glance when comparing the two my mind goes to the Old Testament stories of the Garden of Eden, where humans and animals cohabitate and communicate peacefully together. There’s even an Apple representing knowledge in the Library, but the apple has already been eaten and the ceruleans represent a clear and present danger that suggests the story must take place later on. I instead assert that the story of Kemono Friends is the story of the Gospels, the story of Jesus Christ himself, with Kaban acting as the savior or Messiah figure. Furthermore I believe the entirety of the Holy Trinity is present in the show: Kaban as the Son, Lucky Beast as the Holy Ghost, and Mirai as the Father. These connections vary in strength for these three, with Kaban’s comparisons to Jesus being the strongest and the focus of this blog post.

We’ll begin with our protagonist, Kaban and her similarities to Jesus. Kaban travels from area to area solving problems for the many Friends she encounters through her journey. Others describe her journey as heroic; they say she stops wars and builds bridges, and a certain amount of mythos begins to form around her. Though she is similar to the Friends, she knows that she is somehow different and ultimately her goal is to discover who she is, where she came from, and where she belongs. While these are all clearly analogous to the story of Christ, right down to performing “miracles” in the eyes of the Friends she encounters, they are also the traits and story of most great heroes. The writers behind Kemono Friends knew for Kban to be a true Christ like figure the similarities needed to go further, and further down the rabbit hole we shall go. Kaban is born from nothing and quite literally has an immaculate conception. It’s not until the final episodes that we finally see how Kaban entered this world. She’s a spherical ball of light that forms into a person as the safari hat falls on to it. There are no parents, hell there aren’t even any other humans near her when she bursts into existence. Her birth isn’t the result of science, of some experiment taking place on the island. Her birth into the world is a miracle. An unlikely savior is impossibly born into the world to travel across it helping those she passes, teaching where she can, and at the end, through self sacrifice saving them from the evil that is threatening their peaceful lives on the island. Her death and revival are also miraculous.

If Sin is the evil that Jesus died to save his followers from, then clearly the ceruleans represent that sin and evil. The ceruleans look to consume and destroy the light and the life of the world they inhabit. They eat Friends and return them to their “original” forms; in the series we are led to believe the Friends turn back into normal animals before the sandstar turned them into Friends, though this is never shown. Think about that for a second though, ceruleans, or in this context sin, comes and washes away the blessings given to the Friends that allow them to live and communicate effectively, reverting them back to more primal and basic animals without reason and understanding. In Kaban’s attempt to rid the world of this evil, she is forced to sacrifice herself in order to save Serval from the beast. She is swallowed up into the darkness where she remains for far longer than anyone. While inside the monstrous cerulean her body returns to a spherical ball of light, just as she was at her immaculate birth. When she is finally pulled from the darkness she transforms back into the girl all the Friends know and love. The giant cerulean is defeated and light begins to shine on the island once more. All the Friends assume that because her original form is human and she was never transformed into anything, being eaten by the cerulean didn’t affect her and that all humans must turn back into humans after being eaten. This assumption made by the Friends is of course false. Only the Messiah could be reborn after being eaten by darkness, and we know this because all other humans fled the park in fear of the ceruleans. If the ceruleans truly posed no danger to the humans there would be no purpose in evacuating, and more knowing figures, like Lucky Beast, would not have been frightened for Kaban. There are even contextual clues of a battle foguth between the humans and ceruleans in the form of abandoned weaponry and empty bomb shells. I think it’s fair to make the assumption these were used by humans against ceruleans because the show never introduces another threat, and it’s clear that the friends don’t know anything about these weapons cause they are never mentioned. In the final moments of the show Kaban leaves to go where she believes and hopes she belongs, off into the unknown across the ocean to a new island. If the first island represents our earth, covered in sin, then the new place she heads that is free from such hardship must be Heaven, and like Christ guiding his apostles, Kaban ventures forth with Serval and Friends close behind.

The next figure in the Kemono Friends Holy Trinity is Lucky Beast acting as the Holy Spirit. Beforew e get too deep I’ll admit these connections are far weaker than those of Kaban and Jesus, but this is fun so follow along and be willing to perform some mental gymnastics along the way please. In scriptures, the Holy Ghost is the omnipresent part of God that acts as the guide. Lucky Beast is very clearly the guide in this series, doing everything from driving the bus to explaining attractions and directions. Lucky Beast is also omnipresent because there are a countless number of Lucky Beasts spread across the various areas of the park that can all at once act together to accomplish a singular goal as shown by Lucky Beast gathering all of the Friends across the many areas in the final episode. Lucky Beast’s white colors are also reminiscent of the white dove the Holy Spirit embodies in scripture, though I admit this would be more evident if its shape was that of a dove, though perhaps that would be too on the nose. Similar to the Holy Ghost in the Bible, communication with Lucky Beast is facilitated through Kaban. Lucky Beast only ever communicates directly with Friends upon Kaban’s initial passing. The Holy Ghost is also seen in scriptures as the communicative vessel for the Father which in this series would be Mirai. Mirai speaks through and is eventually seen through the eyes of Lucky Beast, and it is through this connection we find out what little we do know about the only older figure in the entire series.

Mirai is the Father in the Trinity that is Kemono Friends. The connections here become even scarcer, which makes perfect sense. If Kemono Friends is the story of the Gospels, then it makes sense that the Father is rarely shown, because that is similar to the gospels in the Bible. The story of the father is written primarily in the Old Testament, and we’d need to see the prequel to Kemono Friends (oh please please please yes) if we’d like the full story on Mirai. Here I’ll try and break down what we do know. Mirai was part of the park staff, meaning she was part of the ruling body of the park in charge of attractions and Friends alike. To be more specific, she is the only known staff member of the park until Kaban assumes the responsibility in the final episodes of the show in order to overcome the ceruleans. We know that she was doing research on the sandstars and was responsible for the discovery, if not creation, of the Friends. She lived among the Friends until the ceruleans began consuming the island, just as the Father lived among humans in the Garden of Eden until sin took root. We also know that her hat is worn by kaban for the entirety of the show, and is the initial catalyst for kaban turning from a ball of light into the savior the world so desperately needs. She is more knowledgeable than any other character in the series and thus appears omniscient. She also embodies and represents the place Kaban feels she belongs, just as the Son must sit at the side of the Father, Kaban must go to be with Mirai. Mrai’s character helps embody both what is good about the show and faith. Her character isn’t fully understood, and the viewer is left thirsting for more knowledge. Just as Christians are taught that they do not understand God, they should want with all they have to be close to Him and to know Him better.

To recap, Kban is born from nothing and resembles the only known authority figure in the world. She sacrifices herself to protect her friends, comes back to life shortly there after, then ultimately succeeds in protecting her friends from harm. Lucky Beast is a guiding figure that only communicates through Kaban unless otherwise ordered by Kaban, and has information on Mirai. Mirai is the only known authority figure who is shown to be at least partially responsible for the creation of Friends, and is a ruling party over the park. I’m willing to put on my tin foil hat for this one! Hope you’ve been following along at home if not I’ve got a very easy to follow wall of notes that will help this all make sense.

Kemono Friends isn’t a show with a dark twist; it’s not a deconstruction of any existing genre. Kemono Friends is a kids’ show that tells the same story countless parents and preachers across the world have been telling children for centuries, the story of a savior that came to travel the world, a savior that made many friends, the story of a savior who loves her friends so dearly she will give herself to protect them from evil. Kemono Friends succeeds where other shows fall short because it is both extremely deep in its symbolism and themes, while remaining approachable and friendly towards children. It’s incredible that such a great show was born from such a troubled past. The series is based on a failed license. The phone game it draws inspiration from was shut down a month before the show began airing. The studio, Yaoyorozu, has yet to achieve critical or commercial success prior to this series. The entire staff is rather unknown, and they should be celebrated and heralded as the most unlikely of success stories. It seems unlikely that we’ll ever get to see the prequel Old Testament story of the park before ceruleans, and that might be sad, but ultimately it’s okay because the story told here is so complete and well done. I tip my hat to you Yaoyorozu, you’ve made a fan out of me.

PPPS. PPP is awesome just a pppublic service announcement

#kemono friends #anime #religion

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ikkinthekitsune · 8 years ago

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One of the strangest and most fascinating things about the Old Testament, to me, is that it’s perfectly happy to offer the spotlight to opposing viewpoints, often in adjacent or near-adjacent books.

Take the seven books considered to be part of the wisdom literature genre, for instance -- Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Wisdom, and Sirach.

To start with, they don’t even agree about what it means to be wisdom literature. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Sirach all offer what’s probably best described as worldly wisdom, offering suggestions as to how to get ahead in life that are so pragmatic and rooted in the culture of their time that some of them (particularly with regards to women and the discipline of children) are repugnant to modern sensibilities. Ecclesiastes in particular is incredibly cynical, almost to the point of nihilism. “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” isn’t just its most well-known phrase -- it’s perfectly representative of a worldview in which we’re all going to the same place, and while you might be able to live longer if you’re righteous, you can’t even count on that much.

Job addresses the problem of evil as well, but its structure and content are entirely different. It’s an incredibly poetic take on an argument between a man who suffers unjustly and his “friends” who insist that he must be guilty of some hidden wrongdoing because they refuse to believe that the righteous would be allowed to suffer. And, in the end, it doesn’t pretend that it can offer a satisfying answer to the problem of evil (God’s response is to ask questions of Job that no human being could answer), other than that a good person should acknowledge that there is a problem instead of accusing those who suffer of having done something to deserve their suffering in order to let God off the hook.

Interestingly enough, Job himself kind of seems to have been looking for something rather New Testament-like -- he notes that God “is not a mortal, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. There is no umpire between us, who might lay his hand on us both” and says that, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth; and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another." There also seems to be something of an implication that the nature of God, as it was understood at the time, was so far removed from the nature of man that no meaningful answer to the problem of evil could be provided within the contemporary framework. God’s answer addresses the question only tangentially, taking full responsibility for nature red in tooth and claw while justifying nothing. (Incidentally, the position taken by God in the Book of Job is probably one of the most effective arguments against the idea that Darwinian evolution is contrary to the revealed character of God that I can think of.)

And then there’s Wisdom, which starts with what almost seems like a deliberate shot over the bow at the worldview presented in Ecclesiastes (”For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves, ‘Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known to return from Hades. For we were born by mere chance, and hereafter we shall be as though we had never been, for the breath in our nostrils is smoke, and reason is a spark kindled by the beating of our hearts; when it is extinguished, the body will turn to ashes, and the spirit will dissolve like empty air.Our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will remember our works; our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and be scattered like mist that is chased by the rays of the sun and overcome by its heat. For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return from our death, because it is sealed up and no one turns back.’”).

Even more intriguingly, the Book of Wisdom has very little interest in offering worldly wisdom of its own. Instead, it does three rather extraordinary things for a book written in the 1st century BC:

It claims that a cynically anti-resurrection worldview inevitably leads to what sounds an awful lot like the death of Jesus -- ”Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. He professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord. He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others, and his ways are strange. We are considered by him as something base, and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s child, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with insult and torture, so that we may find out how gentle he is, and make trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”)

It presents wisdom as what might be most appropriately described as a Rule 63 version of Jesus and offers a prototype for the doctrine of the Trinity. No, seriously: “The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern for instruction is love of her, and love of her is the keeping of her laws, and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality, and immortality brings one near to God; so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.” “There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle. For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness. Although she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets; for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.” “With you is wisdom, she who knows your works and was present when you made the world; she understands what is pleasing in your sight and what is right according to your commandments.” “For she knows and understands all things, and she will guide me wisely in my actions and guard me with her glory.” “Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And thus the paths of those on earth were set right, and people were taught what pleases you, and were saved by wisdom.” To wit, that’s omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, serving as both an image of God and a guarantee of immortality, and existence prior to the world’s creation -- the only way to posit such a figure in the Judeo-Christian framework without falling into polytheism is the Trinitarian solution. And, depending on how one interprets “unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high,” it might have actually spoken of three divine persons.

It associates wisdom with a swiftly-approaching judgment on heathen idols, “because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination, snares for human souls and a trap for the feet of the foolish,” which is quite prophetic if one holds to a Girardian interpretation of the Crucifixion (namely, that by taking upon himself the role of victim but refusing to be silenced, Jesus undercut the mechanism by which all sacrificial religions and other such idolatrous social dynamics operated). There’s even a line introducing this prophecy of judgment that could be passed off as a direct reference to the Crucifixion -- “For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes.” And, once you add the concept of the scapegoat mechanism into the mix, claiming that “the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil“ changes from something naive and anachronistic to an insightful and lasting truth about humanity, and claiming that “though living in great strife due to ignorance, [idolators] call such great evils peace“ makes perfect sense (peace gained through the sacrifice of scapegoats is obviously a great evil).

To make the Biblical canon of wisdom literature even more complicated, Psalms and the Song of Solomon often seem not to have anything to do with wisdom at all. Psalms is a collection of lyrics for songs used at worship services (many of which are, like, 3,000 years old and still entirely relevant, which is kind of amazing in and of itself), so it’s to be expected that its content varies significantly, but I’m not sure how the Song of Solomon was assumed to deal with wisdom except insofar as King Solomon himself was famously wise -- it’s an incredibly sensual piece of love poetry.

But, yeah. For seven books in the same genre included in the same canon, it’s hard to imagine a more disparate set.

#Christianity #The Bible #The Book of Job #The Book of Wisdom

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