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Post by tannis on Aug 13, 2008 1:10:23 GMT
She is such a very interesting mythological figure, and I see the connections with Jig Of Life and TNW, as well as other part's of Kate's work. The cycles of birth and death and renewal are certainly prominent. And the descent into the dark, unconscious ocean, guided only by a torch or a talisman... And what a coincidence that August thirteenth is tomorrow... around where I live we've been getting SO many thunderstorms, maybe I should do some honoring. ;D ^ Yes, Rosa, Hecate is an awesome torch-bearing Goddess. And it is a wonderful coincidence that August thirteenth is tomorrow! So here's another piece to help you honor away those thunderstorms! ... ;D Hold up your torch, Dark Goddess of the Underworld, that your Light may shine the way to my rebirth...Hekate, goddess of the Underworld, holds dominion over death and rebirth, both literal and metaphorical. The Dark of the Moon is her time, since it is a time of endings and new beginnings. Hekate guards the limenoskopos (the doorstep), as goddess of liminality, transition, crossing boundaries. Life and death, nature and civilization, waking and sleep, sanity and madness, the conscious and the subconscious. Any transition can be said to be her domain. She is goddess of the crossroads, where the paths of one's life fork and a person must choose which future to embark upon. Hekate is also the goddess of psychological transformation. Her Underworld is the dark recesses of the human subconscious as well at that of the Cosmos. Many have accused her of sending demons to haunt the thoughts of individuals. What they fail to understand is that the demons are not hers, but their own. By the light of her twin torches Hekate only reveals what is already there. These are things which the person needs to see in order to heal and renew. However, if they are not prepared for the experience of confronting their Shadow then it can truly feel like they are being tormented. Hekate is not motivated by cruelty, nor is she seeking to harm. But her love can be tough love. She will prompt a person to face the things that they must, whether they like it or not. While some Greeks describe her as a virgin goddess, it bears noting that to the Ancient Greeks the word virgin did not always mean a girl uninitiated into sexual intercourse, but could also mean a woman not beholden to any man. In this sense, Hekate is indeed a virgin goddess. While in the more common sense of the word she certainly is not, for she is held to be the mother of several children, such as the god Museus and the Witches Medeia and Kirke (Circe). Hecate was equated with Artemis from the fifth century onwards. In the iconography she is generally pictured as the same lithe virgin with short chiton, except that instead of the bow she carries torches. Hekate is known as "The Torch-Bearer". She carries these because of her role as a guide through the transition of the Underworld. One torch shows a person where it is they currently stand, the other where they might go. In this manner she reveals the mysteries of transformation to those who enter her realm of darkness. Hekate is also shown carrying a key, for she is the opener and closer of the door to the Underworld. In modern interpretations she is the guardian of and guide through the individual's Unconscious mind as well. So again, she is the key to the deeper mysteries. She also has a scourge (whip) which is the umbilical of rebirth and renewal. Her dagger (which later became the athame of Wicca) cuts delusion and is a symbol of ritual power. Her primary animal form and familiar is the dog, and she was at one time considered to be "The Dog of the Moon". The black she-dog was originally the Trojan Queen Hekabe, who leapt into the sea after the fall of Troy and was transformed by the goddess into her familiar. Hekate is associated with the three-headed dog Kerberos who guards the gates of the Underworld. The Dog Star Sirius, whose rising foretold the annual flooding of the Nile, is also considered sacred to her. According to legend Hekate can be seen walking the roads and graveyards at night, particularly during the dark moon, accompanied by her howling dogs - which are usually black in color. Furthermore, it was said that when she chose to walk the earth invisible to the eyes of humans, dogs could still see her, as it was believed they could see all disembodied spirits. So if they started baying at night it meant Hekate or some other ghost or apparition was near, and a dog howling at the moon was considered to be a harbinger of death. As Virgil writes: "Then earth began to bellow, trees to dance and howling dogs in glimmering light advance ere Hekate came."Hekate is also associated with a curious wheel shaped design, known as Hekate's Wheel, or the "Strophalos of Hekate". It is a circle which encloses a serpentine maze with three main flanges. The three arms of the maze correspond with her being a triple goddess, as well as goddess of the three ways, and that she has dominion over the earth, sea, and sky. see more: Hekate: Moving Through Darkness home.comcast.net/~subrosa_florens/witch/hekate.html Hymn of Hecatewww.youtube.com/watch?v=cxFIk1c4fbsTraditional Hymn to Hecate in Hellenism
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Post by tannis on Aug 13, 2008 6:05:52 GMT
JIG OF LIFE: Summoning the DevilALL: Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Second Witch: Eye of Braille Hem of anorak Stem of wallflower Hair of doormat... Enter HECATE to the other three Witches
HECATE: O well done! I commend your pains; And every one shall share i' the gains; And now about the cauldron sing, Live elves and fairies in a ring, Enchanting all that you put in.
~ The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 1KaTe makes clear that the 'voice' of the fiddle in Jig Of Life is there to suggest the Devil...KT on JOL: "I suppose the suggestion of the fiddle as the Devil's music is not unintentional: the idea of a spirit being conjured from the future; that uncanny, uncomfortable feeling of two times meeting." The Tony Myatt interview, Nov. 1985gaffa.org/reaching/im85_tm.htmlDuring the middle ages, Hecate became known as Queen of the Witches. Catholic authorities said that the people most dangerous to the faith were those whom Hecate patronized. They also saw the simple peasants practicing folk religion as "devil worshippers" and Hecate was portrayed as an ugly hag leading covens of witches in these practices. Hecate is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth. She commands the Weird Sisters. The manner in which they tempt Macbeth to his deeds matches the manner in which many at the time argued the devil tempted men, by placing a thought in their minds and letting it grow into an act. The witches' lines in the first act: "Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air." are often said to set the tone for the rest of the play by establishing a sense of confusion. Indeed, the play is filled with situations in which evil is said to be good, and good, evil. Some say that heaven is hell Some say that hell is heaven... Satanic witches were believed to join at a crossroads to summon the Devil. The crossroads is an area where the two worlds collide. In the old times there were witches that went to the crossroads to worship Hecate the goddess of witchcraft. They may have been worshiping other pagan gods as well. They could have been going to the crossroads to worship the Devil or make sacrifices to him. You believe what you want about this. Yeats wrote of Maud Gonne: "She had sat one night over the fire thinking over her future life, and chance discovery of some book on magic among her father's books had made her believe that the devil, if she prayed to him, might help her. She asked the Devil to give her control of her own life and offered in return her soul. At that moment the clock struck twelve, and she felt of a sudden that the prayer had been heard and answered. Within a fortnight her father died suddenly, and she was stricken with remorse." (Yeats, Memoirs) Women of the Golden Dawn: Rebels and Priestesseswww.boudicca.de/gdwomen-e.htmI AM OF IRELAND by W. B. Yeats, 1933'I am of Ireland, And the Holy Land of Ireland, And time runs on,' cried she. 'Come out of charity, Come dance with me in Ireland.'JIG OF LIFE: "Narration by John Carder Bush"We are of the going water and the gone We are of water and the holy land of water And all that's to come runs in With the thrust on the strand
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Post by rosabelbelieve on Aug 13, 2008 17:02:53 GMT
Thank you for the fascinating link. It reminds me a lot of some of The Dreaming... with Hecate being the guardian of liminal areas, transitions, thresholds and doorsteps, as well as darkness and death and renewal. Houses and borderlines and communication with spirits all seem to fit in very well with that. I suppose I'll be doing some honoring tonight... The weather does have a sense of some sort of divine wrath. The fury of an ancient nature goddess who has some poison in her throat that she wants out...
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Post by Neo Stella on Aug 13, 2008 21:21:43 GMT
Wow! All of this bears out my story completely. And today of all days I am reading it. I so want to let this go...
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Post by tannis on Aug 28, 2008 15:33:03 GMT
I Am Of Ireland by W. B. Yeats, 1933
'I am of Ireland, And the Holy Land of Ireland, And time runs on,' cried she. 'Come out of charity, Come dance with me in Ireland.' ...JIG OF LIFE: "Narration by John Carder Bush" [/b] "...We are of the going water and the gone {with chorus} We are of water and the holy land of water {with chorus} And all that's to come runs in With the thrust on the strand"[/quote] The similarities between the Yeats poem and the spoken poetry at the end of the song are striking. Very good find, Tannis. [/quote] JAY: The lyrics on Jig Of Life are interesting because originally it was going to be Edna O'brien [ Spelling?]. But she wasn't available. And then when I was asked to do it, I thought I was going to have to pretend to be Edna O'Brien. [laughter] I wrote a very specific piece of poetry which is based mainly on W.B. Yates, for influence, so that it could be read with an Irish accent. It ended up though by just being read by a sorta Irish accent on a normal voice, although originally it was just going to be my voice speeded up, sounding like an Irish woman. [Laugher] So all that went into the lyrics coming out in that [ little] way. The lyrics and the poetry. Convention 1985 Romford, Englandgaffa.org/dreaming/con_85.htmlEdna O'Brien is an Irish novelist and short story writer whose works often revolve around the inner feelings of women, and their problems in relating to men and to society as a whole. Edna O'Brien was born in Tuamgraney, County Clare, Ireland in 1930, a place she would later describe as "fervid" and "enclosed."
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Post by rosabelbelieve on Aug 28, 2008 23:14:13 GMT
Oh how funny - I think I have one of her books. I can't seem to find it, I have so many books... But I'm pretty sure I do. I suppose I'll have to look for it.
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Post by tannis on Aug 30, 2008 9:00:35 GMT
"And you will dance with me in the sunlit pools..."JAY: The lyrics on Jig Of Life are interesting... I wrote a very specific piece of poetry which is based mainly on W.B. Yates... Convention 1985 Romford, Englandgaffa.org/dreaming/con_85.htmlTo A Child Dancing In The Wind by William Butler YeatsDance there upon the shore; What need have you to care For wind or water's roar? And tumble out your hair That the salt drops have wet; Being young you have not known The fool's triumph, nor yet Love lost as soon as won, Nor the best labourer dead And all the sheaves to bind. What need have you to dread The monstrous crying of wind!The child referred to in this short poem is Iseult, the daughter of Maud Gonne. Yeats had a complex relationship with both these women. Yeats and Gonne first met in 1886. Over the years, Yeats became obsessed with her beauty and her outspoken manner, and she later came to have a significant effect on his poetry. Yeats went on to propose to Gonne five times over a number of years. She rejected every one. The last proposal came in 1916, when Yeats was 51 and quite determined to settle down and produce an heir. A few months later he then proposed to Iseult and was also rejected.
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Post by tannis on Dec 29, 2008 21:27:24 GMT
THE SOUND OF ONE HANDTwo hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand? ~ Hakuin EkakuThis moment in time, (She said.) It doesn't belong to you, (She said.) It belongs to me, And to your little boy and to your little girl, And the one hand clapping: Where on your palm is my little line, When you're written in mine As an old memory? Ooh, na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na...Easter in a Buddhist Temple: ...There I am in the scripture reading room. Echos of chanting monks and nuns, in constant rhythm; to me it sounds like "Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na....", it goes on for over an hour. Enchanting wisdom, spoken half-consciously; a mysterious language I cannot discern; a mysterious teaching I can feel. I read the book in English as the monk/nun filled room fills with their voices unisoned. I watch my mind as it attempts to focus on the "errors" or the "human elements" of the teaching, "harmful" aspects. All such labels only justify a negative attitude towards things, which is above all not necessary, nor useful and is itself harmful. I'm identifying patterns, in my mind.www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Lantau-Island/blog-299460.htmlA koan is a story, dialogue, question, or statement in the history and lore of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, generally containing aspects that are inaccessible to rational understanding, yet may be accessible to intuition. A famous koan is: "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" (ignoring the fact that by folding your hand you can clap with one hand.) (oral tradition, attributed to Hakuin Ekaku, 1686-1769, considered a reviver of the koan tradition in Japan).
"...in the beginning a monk first thinks a koan is an inert object upon which to focus attention; after a long period of consecutive repetition, one realizes that the koan is also a dynamic activity, the very activity of seeking an answer to the koan. The koan is both the object being sought and the relentless seeking itself. In a koan, the self sees the self not directly but under the guise of the koan...When one realizes ("makes real") this identity, then two hands have become one. The practitioner becomes the koan that he or she is trying to understand. That is the sound of one hand." ~ G. Victor Sogen Hori, Translating the Zen Phrase BookOne Hand Clapping (1974) (film) is a television special featuring Paul McCartney and Wings.
Paul McCartney - One Hand Clapping 6_9www.youtube.com/watch?v=70UihIizcDoOne Hand Clapping[/i] is a 1961 work by Anthony Burgess published originally under the pseudonym Joseph Kell. The line, "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" is a traditional Zen koan, and the novel takes its title from this. Burgess justified the title as follows: "The clasped hands of marriage have been reduced [by the novel's end] to a single hand. Yet it claps." Plot: Howard has an unusual talent: he has a photographic memory. He uses his talent to enter, and win, a mega-money TV quiz show. He then discloses another gift: he is clairvoyant and can predict racing results. He gambles his winnings on race horses and the couple become extremely wealthy and travel the world, staying in luxury hotels. On their return, however, Howard, disgusted by the corruption of the world they have seen - and troubled by prophetic glimpses of a coming decline in civilisation - declares that they must commit suicide together by barbiturates. Janet resists, killing Howard with a coal hammer. His corpse is placed in a field and becomes a scarecrow to be devoured by birds. Janet flees with the remainder of their money, to begin a new life abroad.[/color]
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Post by tannis on Jun 17, 2009 4:27:10 GMT
THANKING THE CHEF The Hounds Of Love sleeve notes make a point of stating, "Jig of Life: Original music discovered by Paddy Bush". Elsewhere, KaTe says more:"One of the tracks we worked on was inspired by a discovery that Paddy had made of a fascinating Greek ceremony that he managed to get on tape... We played the tape to Bill, Liam, John and Donal... We consumed the information from Pad's tape as much as we could..." (KBC article, Issue 17).gaffa.org/garden/kate19.htmlKB's album credits do not mention the name of the traditional melody, or its Greek roots. But this Thracian Greek Lyra-Gaida-Daouli music sounds very similar to the music consumed by KT et al for the Jig of Life...
THRACE: Lyra-Gaida-Daouliwww.youtube.com/watch?v=394XqSTmogYToday, the rituals of the Anastenaria are performed in five villages of Northern Greece: Ayia Eleni, Langadas, Melike, Mavrolefke, and Kerkine. In addition, the ritual is still performed in 6 Bulgarian villages in the Strandzha mountains: Balgari, Gramatikovo, Slivarovo, Kondolovo, Kosti and Brodilovo. The dance is accompanied by the zourna (pipe) and bagpipe.Anastenariawww.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp2-X7vrOKEsee more: THANKING THE CHEF: The Sensual Worldkatebush.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=thesensualworld&thread=1732&page=4
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Post by tannis on Sept 10, 2009 22:27:31 GMT
The Jig of Life...Hello, old lady. I know your face well...Mrs. C.'s reply came swiftly, and in its authority it was fierce. It was the reply of a woman who has seen all things, birth and death and pain unbearable, children maimed beyond recognition, the ravages of cancer; it was the voice of a woman who had seen, even where I now lay, God only knows what things that once had laughed and loved and danced the jig of life." A fan's notes: a fictional memoir, Frederick Exley (1968, p.25)
The doctors are with us at the beginning and at the end of our days. They usher us into existence, and when the jig of life is up, when the hard fight is fought and the sunset flickers on the wall, they stand by our side and ease our pain. The Carolina medical journal, Volumes 19-20 - 1887KT: "All artists are thieves. You eat what you steal, digest it and it becomes a part of you. You never just copy, of course." Sunday Telegraph, "The Explosive Kate Bush", July 6, 1980[/i][/color] gaffa.org/reaching/i80_st2.html
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