Just to be clear, I have not read this book yet. But I did see the Netflix show about her book tour, which covered a lot of the same territory.
A couple of years ago, I juxtaposed a photo of Michelle Obama with one of Mary Tyler Moore. It was an a-ha moment for me. Here are the photos.
I hadn’t thought of it before: here were two women from different cultures, both beloved for who they are. Effectively, First Ladies in their own spheres. My eyes were opened to a new reality. ‘Nice is nice’, no matter who is being nice. We all like “Nice”.
There is an entry in Wikipedia which covers this work so I was not going to repeat the themes here. Originally, I only wanted to point out that Blake creates his names for the Zoas by using the phonetic spelling of familiar words. Such was his myth-making skills.
Urizen (head)
Your reason.
In the complex mythology of William Blake, Urizen is the embodiment of conventional reason and law. He is usually depicted as a bearded old, caucasian man; he sometimes bears architect’s tools, to create and constrain the universe; or nets, with which he ensnares people in webs of law and conventional society. Originally, Urizen represented one half of a two-part system, with him representing reason and Los, his opposition, representing imagination. In Blake’s reworking of his mythical system, Urizen is one of the four Zoas that result from the division of the primordial man, Albion, and he continues to represent reason. He has an Emanation, or paired female equivalent, Ahania, who stands for Pleasure. In Blake’s myth, Urizen is joined by many daughters with three representing aspects of the body. He is also joined by many sons, with four representing the four elements. These sons join in rebellion against their father but are later united in the Last Judgment. In many of Blake’s books, Urizen is seen with four books that represent the various laws that he places upon humanity.
Luvah (heart)
Lover (as pronounced in England).
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Luvah is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. He represents love, passion, and rebellious energy. His Emanation (female counterpart) is Vala; his fallen form is Orc. Throughout Blake’s mythological system, he is opposed to Urizen, the representation of reason. He is also connected to Jesus, who takes upon his form as the being of love after Luvah falls and turns to a being of hate.
Urthona (loins)
Earth song or your (per)sona?
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Urthona is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. Specifically, he is the Zoa of inspiration and creativity, and he is a blacksmith god. His female counterpart is Enitharmon. Urthona usually appears in his “fallen” form, that of Los.
Tharmas (unity of body)
The armies or the armours?
In the mythological writings of William Blake, Tharmas is one of the four Zoas, who were created when Albion, the primordial man, was divided fourfold. He represents sensation, and his female counterpart is Enion, who represents sexual urges. He is connected to the God the Father aspect of the Christian Trinity and is the begetter of Los. Tharmas is mostly peaceful, and flees during most of his fights with Urizen. He is depicted in various ways ranging from a youth with wings to an old bearded man.
Conclusion
As you can tell, I only really recognized the first two Zoas when I spoke their names out loud. The second two are a little more esoteric. Quite possibly, their names stem from writings by other mystics, such as Swedenborg. Whatever their origin, it was obvious Blake was trying to understand his own nature, and that is why the work was unfinished.
This controversy started in the United States, after George Floyd’s murder. But it isn’t new. Civil War heroes of the South have always had a place of pride in their town and city squares. But others see them as ‘bad guys’. The conflict over their existence seems to be yet another civil war.
Canada has a similar problem with our famous fathers, especially, lately, the Father of Confederation, John A. Macdonald. Over 11,000 Montreal residents want to have his statue removed. Their reason, at the moment, seems to hinge on the fact that he used to own slaves. That’s probably not all that they think is wrong with him, but it’s enough for now. Others suggest that he was the architect of the Resident School system which stole Native Canadian children from their families. Lots of wrong thinking, for sure.
White colonial racists have a very long history, in many countries. They were the conquering warriors and the races they defeated dislike being under their control. So, what’s new? In ancient times, it was the Greeks, Romans, Vikings and even Indians. But it is recent history that is the most annoying. With good reason. Just ask an Irishman…
History is written by the winners, and the losers can only keep their cultures alive by not assimilating. The Hebrews in Egypt, anyone? They had their own scriptures, keeping a memory of their true heritage in front of their descendants’ eyes.
What’s that famous saying?
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. (George Santayana)
Our gazebo looked like this last October when we took its awning off. Rather bare-bones, don’t you think?
When it came time to put the awning back on this spring, we found that there were tears in the fabric. So, we patched them up with gorilla tape and hoped for the best.
It didn’t take long to realize that a mighty wind would rip the awning to shreds. So we bought a new one.
So, imagine our surprise to find that we couldn’t get the new awning to fit, even though it was the exact dimensions of our old one. We struggled with the the far end, and had to settle for an ‘almost’ fit. It was obvious that something was wrong, but what, exactly?
Then we had a tornado wind at over 80 km-per-hour come through our town, and the ‘almost’ fit awning was under threat of being blown away, so we took it off the gazebo frame. That was on Wednesday night.
Yesterday, Thursday morning, the heavy winds and rain died down, so we set about to put the awning back up again, but this time we started at the far end and worked our way back toward the patio doors. (Oh, and I also squared the gazebo framework, as I noticed it was out of alignment.)
It was a perfect fit, this time, as you can see by this morning’s photo:
If one wants to fix the world, one has to start with one’s own back deck.
Recently, I tried looking ahead to the next two times that Pluto will transit my natal Mercury @ 24 Capricorn. I forgot to look back (what kind of two-bit astrologer am I?); instinctively, I knew ‘something’ had happened. But what?
I had to do a retrospective to analyze it. Rosanna, my daughter, had been for a visit from the UK, during the earlier part of the month. When we picked her up at Pearson Airport in Toronto on the 4th, we were all concerned because COVID-19 was in the air, everywhere, and Rosanna had travelled almost eight hours in a sealed environment where no one could escape to get a breath of fresh air. I even wore a mask into the airport, ‘just in case’.
After her (just over) two week stay, we drove her to her ‘other’ family in Burlington. That was on the 20th. Susan started to feel unwell that day. That Saturday, she stayed home, missing her oldest child’s 50th birthday celebrations. I went in her stead. That was the last ‘social’ event I attended for the month. However, the world began to take notice of the pandemic the next week. On Friday, the 28th, I attended the usual Faith & Science meeting.
By the 12th of March (exactly 14 days after the conjunction between transiting Pluto and my natal Mercury) I had come down with a ‘cold’ of some sort. I cancelled going to the Faith & Science meeting the next day (with an ‘abundance of caution’). The illness only lasted three days. Meanwhile Susan finally got over her three week bout of the ‘flu’, a day or two later.
Had we been taken down with the novel coronavirus? We self-isolated for almost all of March, all of April, and most of May, only venturing out at the end of last month.
When the Premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, asked everybody who wanted to get a COVID-19 test to do so, last week, we did. Our results came back ‘negative’. (It will be interesting to see, later, if we have the COVID antibodies, when they finally test for that.)
If my first brush with Pluto transit Mercury had to do with this virus, I wonder if a similar thing will occur in June and January. We shall see…
Pope Benedict: I cannot feel the presence of God. I do not hear His voice, do you understand me?
My sister, Anne, recommended that I watch this film. Being PKs, we know only too well that members of the clergy have lots of self-doubt about their calling. To see two eminent members of the Roman Catholic hierarchy confessing their sins to each other, and receiving absolution from (and through) the other was quite moving.
That said, I have a small criticism of the film: the subtitles, of which there are many, were sometimes too quickly shown (almost ‘blink and miss it’) at times. Fortunately, I have an ear for Romance languages so I could grasp what was being said even when I had no visual (written) clues.
Physical Likenesses
I was well aware that I was watching actors playing the roles of two of the most famous men in recent history, but I felt they captured the visual impressions perfectly. The emotional ones would have been their own interpretation of the characters. And yet, the essence of each man was accurately portrayed. So that was nice.
The old guard (Pope Benedict XVI) was known as the Rottweiler for his strict observance of the Papacy. The new boy (Pope Francis) was all for modernizing the church. This was a clash of the titans. Their individuality (as always) put a clear defining line between them.
Pope Benedict: [playing the piano] You know, the, um… this album was recorded in a famous studio in London. I was told, uh, I should be very honored because the Beatles had been there. Do you know the Beatles?
“An intimate story of one of the most dramatic transitions of power in the last 2,000 years. Frustrated with the direction of the church, Cardinal Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) requests permission to retire in 2012 from Pope Benedict (Anthony Hopkins). Instead, facing scandal and self-doubt, the introspective Pope Benedict summons his harshest critic and future successor to Rome to reveal a secret that would shake the foundations of the Catholic Church. Behind Vatican walls, a struggle commences between both tradition and progress, guilt and forgiveness, as these two very different men confront their pasts in order to find common ground and forge a future for a billion followers around the world. Inspired by true events.” Written by Netflix
“The Carnival is Over”
There is a repeated statement in the film which was a clue to what would come: Francis heard God say to repair his Church; he thought God meant the building. Ha.
Pope Francis: [addressing a crowd in Villa 21 Buenos Aires] Once, a young man was walking in the woods. His name was Francesco Bernardone. Suddenly, he found a chapel – ruined, with the walls destroyed. He stepped inside. A crucifix was still there, where the altar had been. Francesco felt captivated. The crucifix spoke to him and said, ‘Francesco, repair my Church.’ Francesco was a practical man. He went up to the quarry on Mount Subasio, cut stones, carted them down the mountain, and repaired the broken walls. Any journey, no matter how long, has to start somewhere. Any journey, no matter how glorious, can start with a mistake. So, when you feel lost, don’t worry. God will not give up.
I won’t make this a very long post (as the meme above is enough, really).
Last night in my dream, I met with the publisher of a magazine which mostly focuses on lifestyles. She wanted me to send her two examples of my astrology blogs. I asked her for her birth date, and that of one of her assistants. She said, “No. If you need to particularize the post, it won’t be suitable for publication.”
Oh, I thought: have I been doing it wrong all these years? Maybe that’s why no one is interested in my work.
