History/Mythology — Celtic/Welsh: The tale of Mabon ap Modron, the Welsh God, (the “great son of the great mother”), also known as the Son of Light, the Young Son, or Divine Youth, is celebrated. The Equinox is also the birth of Mabon, from his mother Modron, the Guardian of the Outerworld, the Healer, the Protector, the Earth. Mabon was taken after he is a mere three nights old (some variations of the legend say he is taken after three years). Through the wisdom of the living animals — the Stag, Blackbird, Owl, Eagle and Salmon — Mabon is freed from his mysterious captivity. All the while Mabon had rested within his mother’s womb; a place of nurturing and challenge. With strength and lessons gained within the magickal Outerworld (Modron’s womb), Mabon is soon reborn as his mother’s Champion, the Son of Light, wielding the strength and wisdom acquired during his captivity. Also, (from a variation in legend) the Equinox is the day of the year when the god of light, Lugh, is defeated by the god of darkness, Lugh’s twin and alter-ego, Tanist. The night conquers day. The tales state that the Equinox is the only day which Lugh is vulnerable and the possibility of his defeat exists. Lugh stands on the balance (Autumn Equinox-Libra) with one foot on the goat (Winter Solstice-Capricorn) and the other on the cauldron (Summer Solstice-Cancer). He is betrayed by Blodeuwedd, the Virgin (Virgo) and transformed into an Eagle (Scorpio). Two events occur rapidly with Lugh’s
Knowledge of the Celts and the Celtic world has been acquired and accumulated through a variety of mediums such as archaeological evidence, geographical markings and most importantly, the testimonies left by Greek and Roman writers. Without these writings, developing an image of the nature of the Celts would be extremely difficult. Comparing two authors, Roman emperor, Julius Caesar to Greek writer, Athenaeus, it may reveal some of the prejudices and biased views held against the Celts, but more importantly by contrasting the views of these particular authors, it also offers a well-rounded account of the history and culture of these Celtic-speaking people.
When it comes to celtic literature, the ‘Otherworld’ is a common theme found throughout various genres of literature which represents a sort of ‘heaven-like’ place. In Celtic mythology the Otherworld is depicted as a supernatural world that provides abundance, joy, and everlasting youth and beauty. We typically see the Otherworld as being very elusive, but in Celtic literature some mythical heroes get the opportunity to visit the Otherworld, sometimes by invite from one of it’s inhabitants or just by a lucky chance.
Identification of the Taurus constellation is very old, dating to the Chalcolithic era. Appearance of the the constellation marks the vernal equinox, which is the official start of spring. There is an ancient Mesopotamian work of literature in which the goddess Ishtar sends Taurus to kill a man named Gilgamesh. In the ancient work, Taurus is the Bull of Heaven. To the Egyptians, the constellation Taurus was as sacred bull that symbolized the renewal of life in spring, matching the association with the vernal equinox. In Greek mythology, Taurus was identified with Zeus. The constellation wasn't associated with one culture, but many, and it's symbolism was always related to spring and life.
Viking gods are also known as Norse gods. There are Aesir gods and Vanir gods. Vanir gods were thought to be good at mythical arts. They were very wise. On the other side Aesir gods were good for war and victory. People worshiped Aesir gods so they would succeed in war.
Furthermore, briefly I would like to discuss the characters, Gilgamesh, Iranon, and William Dyer from the stories, “Gilgamesh”, “The Quest of Iranon”, and “The Mountain of Madness”, respectively. To begin with, Gilgamesh is such as character which quite well exemplifies the advice and recommendations provided by Martin Luther King and Lord Krishna, as he uses the time that he is provided in an efficient way, in hopes of being able to introduce physical change within himself, ultimately be able to become immortal after learning of the disappointment of death with the loss of his friend Enkidu. When Gilgamesh learns of a being named, Utnapishtim, who is able to fulfill his desire, he waste no time treading to his objective, defying many of the obstacles that may come in his way. In fact, the scorpion man is stunned at the sight that, “[Gilgamesh had] traveled so far, overseas and mountains difficult to cross, through the wastelands and desserts no mortal has ever entered”. (Mitchell 161) Additionally, similar to the persistence of Martin Luther King to keep fighting for a social revolution, the determination in the eyes of Gilgamesh continued to be lit to “the Waters of Death, whose touch kills instantly”, in hopes of him being able to satisfy his inner hunger for eternal life. (Mitchell 170) Moreover, “The Quest of Iranon” was quite an interesting twist, and exemplifies the idea that no action, even though it concludes to merely being useless, goes to waste as it becomes a learning process for individuals to realize the truth of what reality has to offer. To be more specific, in the text it states, that unfortunately, Aires was “laughed at”, and simply looked away as a rebellious individual in Teloth, for defying the rules of only performing labor works. Furthermore, he had feared the disappointment and neglect from his society, that if he did not attend to their belief that a “song is folly” and “the gods of Teloth have said that [mere] toil is good”, he would be punished and looked down upon as a lunatic (Lovecraft, 46 and 45) Therefore, out of fear of the unknown of the extreme measures the community of Teloth would take in defiance against him, he was undoubtedly compelled to be “driven out” to his home,
Every story provides good examples of morals with each containing an important lesson to learn. Morals are conveyed in stories to give the reader an idea or thought. All stories have some, if not many things to say and every story conveys a message to whomever may be reading. The answer to the question of why morals are conveyed in stories is that it’s simply just a helpful learning tool.
a. The March Equinox is where the Sun moves to the northern side of the celestial equator, and “marks the beginning of spring in the Northern hemisphere.” (Slater) The September Equinox is where the Sun moves to the southern side of the celestial equator, and “marks the beginning of fall in the Northern hemisphere.”
The first humanoids appeared in Ireland during the 7th millennium BC. They are believed to have arrived from France and Scandinavia over the open ocean. They settled areas on the North Eastern coast of Ireland. During the Mesolithic period inhabitants depended mostly on fishing and hunting and gathering. Curraghs, light weight boats, were used to navigate inland water and coastal fishing. The only remnants of this culture are the imprints left in pottery, there were no major contributions to the island itself.
Libra - the Libra Sign is represented by scales, which Egyptians believed were used to weigh the souls of the dead. However, in Greek Mythology, Libra actually represented the golden chariot of Pluto (Hades). Pluto was the brother of Zeus and ruler of the underworld. One day he spotted a beautiful girl named Persephone, while riding into the Upper World with his golden chariot, which
This constellation has a very long history, and may have been recognised and identified by cultures more than 30,000 years ago. In ancient Egypt, this constellation was said to show Osiris, the God of the Dead. Osiris was killed and dismembered by his brother Set, who wanted to usurp his throne. But Isis, his wife and sister, gathers the pieces of Osiris’ body and briefly resurrects him to have a son, Horus with him. However,
Throughout the myths of the Celtic and Germanic peoples of northern Europe tales of epic heroes and their extraordinary deeds abound. These tales depict heroes performing a variety of incredible feats; many of which appear to be magical, superhuman, and, quite honestly, utterly impossible (e.g., wading across oceans, defeating armies virtually single-handedly, and other astounding exploits). Since the Celtic and Germanic tribes of antiquity inhabited neighboring lands and lived in close proximity to one another (as many of their modern descendants continue to do: i.e., in Great Britain), it is not surprising that they often established intimate relationships with each other via commerce,
The goddesses named in this chapter occur in the midst of the earliest pagan deities mentioned in numerous ancient writings; particularly, the ones frequently linked to the land of Canaan. In fact, several of the goddesses that promoted idolatry and prostitution exist directly in the King James Version of the Bible, such as Ashtoreth, Diana and Lilith. Although, the word ‘prostitute’ exists only once (Lev 19:29), still, prostitution happens to be identified with various words; such as “whore(s), whoredom(s). harlot(s), pollute or polluted;” (which can mean prostitute) that encounters being mentioned frequently. The prophets of the Bible warned regarding whoring after other gods and goddesses and
Dionysus is the olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness, and wild frenzy. Most know him only by the god of wine because he created wine. His father was Zeus and his mother was princess Semele of Thebes. Dionysus was the only god with a mortal parent (mother was not a god). Zeus fell in love with Semele and visited her often. Zeus’s wife, Hera, found out about this and convinced Semele to ask Zeus to show her his true form. Zeus had no choice but to show Semele when she asked, and his true form burnt her to a crisp. Dionysus was still a fetus when this occurred so Zeus sewed him into his thigh to finish out the pregnancy term. Once Dionysus was born, Zeus made him into a god. Hera quickly found out that Dionysus was still alive despite her previous efforts, and she arranged for the Titans to rip him into a
Around the third millennium B.C. in Sumeria, the Sumerian people were said to be polytheistic, meaning they believed in more than one God. They believed there was a God for every aspect, for each geographical feature and that they existed in nature. The Gods were to have the best clothing, the best food and even the finest palaces and temples. The people that had no divine power were simply there to be the God’s servants and provide for them. In exchange for the humans honoring and serving them, the God’s in return would give the people gifts or present them with favors. Kings were said to be the representatives of the God’s on earth. Therefore, they had certain privileges others did not. However, kings still had to obey and honor the Gods.
If you live in a place that has four seasons, you can strongly sense that your life has an ebb and flow related to the seasons. You may be acutely aware of changes in your energy, emotions, sleep patterns, and ambitions as the seasons change. The astrological signs represent that cycle of evolution of energy.