Symbols of holistic unity
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2018 5:40 pm
Inspired by comments describing our publication Unseen Fire heavy, I dug out the Unseen Fire II from my bookshelf and was rewarded by the challenge of approaching the articles that had left unread, for they touched the most interesting subjects.
The article widely revolving around alder (by soror Heith) examined the bear hunting rituals in connection to a poem from Finnish national epic Kalevala, where Väinämöinen unable to kill a bewitched bear, invites it to come visit Kaleva. (p. 140-142)
As the article was presented in a way that allows the readers to enter the mythos and make their own conclusions, it feels proper to have a discussion about the subjects it presented — to feast on the meat it provided. I'd advide to read the article first, if you can get hold of it (psst), and to give special attention for the above mentioned pages to get the larger picture. But I'll try to draw some basic ideas here so everyone can get some hold of the subject.
Shorter or longer ponderings around these symbols and where they point towards are welcome, and if a symbol or a myth comes to your mind revolving around this mystic narrative of accepting the gift of Satan, here you can point towards it.
Considering bear was the king of the forest, thus representing otherness to the ancient Finn, there's apparent connection to the archetype of Satan. Bears were considered kindred spirits to humans and would only do harm while bewitched. Bewitched as in there would be some twisted approach to the otherness, which was to be confronted. Instead of casting out the bear itself Väinämöinen casts out the twisted logic by the act of simply inviting the bear to the homeland. What follows is a mystic union with the bear and the parts that make home.
The bear hunting rituals are wrapped around the taboo concealing the supposed act of killing. The taboo itself seems to be a metaphor for a creative act, a path that is not visible but behind intuitive endeavor. I would argue that this concealment tries to give necessary credit to the destructive powers of the cosmos, and at the same time keep distance from the too easy conclusion of violent spilling of blood. The article takes notice of blood and how at home after certain ritual procedures, I'd descripe sexual, females could look at the bear hunters through copper rings. Links between blood and copper is found in their colour and taste. I'd suggest this act of looking through the ring presents another level of union with the bear. The initial encounter have been made by the male hunter and then at home, in the warmth of a tent, the feminine aspect sees the purified meaning of this union. Purified as copper is believed to hold such qualities, as we see from the tradition of throwing copper coins in a wishing well — they should purify the water. When something is considered separate and approached to a point it no longer is something other, it is brought to the hermetically sealed sphere of home and in that act the sphere of home comes nearer to the inner sanctum that hold the unseparated spirit of oneself.
All these ideas of otherness, liminal tools and the taste of copper, and brass (which the article mentions to be a mixture of copper and zinc) also revived a heartwarming memory from early childhood. I used to secretly suck on these decorative brass keys of our bookshelf as the taste was superb. Symbolically quite a rich image.
The article widely revolving around alder (by soror Heith) examined the bear hunting rituals in connection to a poem from Finnish national epic Kalevala, where Väinämöinen unable to kill a bewitched bear, invites it to come visit Kaleva. (p. 140-142)
As the article was presented in a way that allows the readers to enter the mythos and make their own conclusions, it feels proper to have a discussion about the subjects it presented — to feast on the meat it provided. I'd advide to read the article first, if you can get hold of it (psst), and to give special attention for the above mentioned pages to get the larger picture. But I'll try to draw some basic ideas here so everyone can get some hold of the subject.
Shorter or longer ponderings around these symbols and where they point towards are welcome, and if a symbol or a myth comes to your mind revolving around this mystic narrative of accepting the gift of Satan, here you can point towards it.
Considering bear was the king of the forest, thus representing otherness to the ancient Finn, there's apparent connection to the archetype of Satan. Bears were considered kindred spirits to humans and would only do harm while bewitched. Bewitched as in there would be some twisted approach to the otherness, which was to be confronted. Instead of casting out the bear itself Väinämöinen casts out the twisted logic by the act of simply inviting the bear to the homeland. What follows is a mystic union with the bear and the parts that make home.
The bear hunting rituals are wrapped around the taboo concealing the supposed act of killing. The taboo itself seems to be a metaphor for a creative act, a path that is not visible but behind intuitive endeavor. I would argue that this concealment tries to give necessary credit to the destructive powers of the cosmos, and at the same time keep distance from the too easy conclusion of violent spilling of blood. The article takes notice of blood and how at home after certain ritual procedures, I'd descripe sexual, females could look at the bear hunters through copper rings. Links between blood and copper is found in their colour and taste. I'd suggest this act of looking through the ring presents another level of union with the bear. The initial encounter have been made by the male hunter and then at home, in the warmth of a tent, the feminine aspect sees the purified meaning of this union. Purified as copper is believed to hold such qualities, as we see from the tradition of throwing copper coins in a wishing well — they should purify the water. When something is considered separate and approached to a point it no longer is something other, it is brought to the hermetically sealed sphere of home and in that act the sphere of home comes nearer to the inner sanctum that hold the unseparated spirit of oneself.
All these ideas of otherness, liminal tools and the taste of copper, and brass (which the article mentions to be a mixture of copper and zinc) also revived a heartwarming memory from early childhood. I used to secretly suck on these decorative brass keys of our bookshelf as the taste was superb. Symbolically quite a rich image.