The Ancient Whispers Newsletter

Welcome to the Ancient Whispers Newsletter, a multi-cultural newsletter with a little something for everyone of any creed or religion. Here you will find inspiring quotes, irreverent jokes, crafts, and most importantly, historical and/or religious scholarship. Every Wednesday a new edition should appear on this website with reminder emails sent out the night before to those who have opted to join one of the many forums and mailing lists to which I subscribe. If you wish to share this newsletter with others, please keep it intact with the original authors' names on all the articles. Any articles or sections, to which an author or URL is not affixed, were written by Candace (with the exception of the various jokes found herein).

Questions, comments, and topical requests are encouraged and should be posted to the AskCandace open forum at yahoogroups. I'd like to start a help column for the newsletter, so if you'd like to have your problem featured in a newsletter, let me know when you post.

March, named for Mars, was the first month of the Greek and Roman calendar. Mars is god of war but also of fertile soil, equivalent to the Greek Ares and Tiu or Tiwazn an old sky god of Europe. He is also equated with the Celtic Teutates and the Norse Tyr. Mars' original name was Mavors. After Jupiter, he is the chief Roman god, often called Marspater, "Father Mars." He has three aspects, the martial god Gradivus, the rustic god Silvanus, and the patron of the Roman state Quirinus. The wolf and the woodpecker are his sacred animals.

March was called Mi an Mháárta or am Mart in Ireland, the seed time, and Hrethmonath, "Hertha's month," by the Anglo-Saxons, honoring the earth mother Hertha or Nerthus. The Frankish name for March was Lentzinmanoth, "renewal month." The Asatru call it Lenting.

The first Full Moon of this month is called the Worm or Sap Moon. It shares the names Storm Moon with February and Moon of Winds with April. It may also be referred to as the Moon of the Snowbird, the Crow Moon, and Lenting Moon.

Pisces and Aries hold power over March, the Zodiac turning to Aries around March 21st. The flower for those born in March is the daffodil and smaller jonquil. Bloodstone or jasper, or sometimes aquamarine, are the jewels for the month of March. Pisces birthstone is the amethyst, while diamond is the stone for Aries. Albite, amethyst, chrysoprase, fluorite, green tourmaline, labradorite, moonstone, and opal are other stones for Pisces, and Aries also lays claim to amethyst, carnelian, garnet, fire agate, pink tourmaline, and topaz.

Lunar Holy Days

Over several days preceding the Full Moon, the Hindu festival of Holi is held to celebrate the arrival of spring and the destruction of the demon Holika who was burned to death for devouring children.

Isidis Navigum

Japanese Kite festival.

the Salii dance

Compitalia

Laurie Cabot.

Junonalia

Mother Earth's birthday

Nigerian and Siamese New Year

Farvardigan

Ishtar

Jacques de Molay the last grand-master of the Night's Templar was burned at the stake

Herakles or Hercules

Hypatia

Marduk

deadline for planting onions

Stewart Edward White

Sekhmet initiates the End of the World

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Humor: Dreams

After she woke up, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed that you gave me a pearl necklace for our anniversary. What do you think it means?"

"You'll know tonight," he said.

That evening, the man came home with a small package and gave it to his wife.

Delighted, she opened it to find a book entitled: The Meaning of Dreams.
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Article : The Raven in Mythology
From http://www.ravenfamily.org/nascakiyetl/index.html

I got a raven necklace for my b-day so of course I had to have a Raven article for this week's newsletter.

For centuries the corvids, ravens and crows in particular (corvus corax is the Latin name for the common raven and corvus corone for the carrion and hooded crows), have had a special place in the mythology of various cultures. In modern times this fascination has barely diminished. From Edgar Allen Poe's literary classic to the film of James O'Barr's cult graphic novel "The Crow", these birds still exert a powerful hold over the psyche of a significant fraction of the population. The Goths who paint their faces with white make-up and the weekend warriors who expect Raven to take them to the Otherworld to meet the dead do not see the same animal as the farmers who set up decoys in order to shoot large numbers of them every year in late spring. This is, however, typical of a creature that presents a paradox wherever one looks.

Corvids are sociable birds. They tend to form social groups, and this can be seen particularly in the case of rooks, which stay in their flocks all year round. Ravens, the largest of the family, reaching as much as 3 feet from beak to tail, form groups as juveniles, pairing off into lifelong monogamous and extremely territorial relationships at around the age of three. The courtship can involve such fun and games as synchronised snow sliding, and, of course, the synchronised flight test. The corvids can be found all over the world, and are the largest of the passeriformae, or songbirds. The common raven is widely distributed throughout the Northern hemisphere, and the adaptability and intelligence of this family have made it extremely successful.

As far as the mythology goes, the first confusion arises over the distinction between Crow and Raven, at least on the European side of the Atlantic. The two appear, in many instances, to be interchangeable, and the appearance of one or the other in a story depends as much on which author is transcribing it as it does on story itself. Whereas John Matthews 1 gives Bran the raven almost exclusively, Miranda Jane Green 2 ascribes to the God's companion animal either the crow or the raven, much as both authors do for the Morrigan. The confusion on the American side of the Atlantic is not so profound. There is a distinct geographical trend in the likelihood of Raven appearing in a story, and so we will start our examination there.

Whereas ravens appear almost exclusively as signatory animals for deities in Europe, in the shamanic cultures of aboriginal North American tribes Raven appears as deity himself. From a dichotomy of cultures, we reach a dichotomy of characterisation, for Raven in America, particularly the Northwest coast region, is both demiurge and trickster, both hero and villain, and often at one and the same time. Raven appears as simple Raven, as Dotson' Sa (Great Raven), as Nankilstlas (He Whose Voice Must Be Obeyed) and also, in a Tlingit creation myth, as Nascakiyetl (Raven-at-the-Head-of-Nass, the Nass being a river). In nearly every single creation myth of the region I have encountered, Raven, in one of his guises, is either the actual creator of the world, or has a great part to play in it. In many, such as the Tlingit myth just mentioned, Raven appears in more than one of his guises - in this case both as Nascakiyetl, and as Yetl, the Raven. This is possible because of the personification of the animal characters in the culture. Animals can take on human form without a second thought (although Raven is the greatest shapeshifter of them all, being able to change into anyone and anything to get what he wants), and can also lead human style lives. Orca, for instance, is the Chief of his own underwater city, and the drowned go to live there with the killer whales, according to the Haida people.

Raven's character is very similar to that of Coyote - indeed, the two appear in stories carrying out very similar roles, the former in the North, the latter in the South. Both Coyote and Raven are driven by greed: Raven's for food, Coyote's for more carnal pleasures. A Tlingit storyteller says that "Raven never got full because he had eaten the black spots off his own toes. He learned about this after having inquired everywhere for some way of bringing such a state about. Then he wandered through all the world in search of things to eat." 3 The journeys of Raven form the basis of most of the myths in the region, and he travels around meeting animals of all descriptions and usually succeeds in contests of wit with them, either destroying and eating them or driving them off and securing their food. The Haida people make a distinction between the first part of the Raven cycle, in which he is truly creative, and the latter part, which consists of stories of his more risible behaviour. Young men are not allowed to laugh during the early part of the cycle, which is referred to as "The Old Man Stories". The Old Man Stories take in the creation of the world, sometimes a complex tale such as in the Tlingit and Tsmishian versions, sometimes a simple one, as in the Haida: "Not long ago no land was to be seen. Then there was a little thing on the ocean. This was all open sea. And Raven sat upon this. He said, 'Become dust.' And it became Earth." They also cover one of the most widely known Raven stories, how he stole the Sun, the Stars and the Moon, and also fire (reflecting on the corvine fascination for shiny objects), and the almost universal flood tale, which brought about the end of the Age of Animal Beings and brings about the Age of Men, for which Raven is invariably responsible.

In this guise, as Great Raven, Dotson' Sa, or Nankilstlas, the irrepressible greed is there, the sarcastic and laconic nature, the almost audible heavy sigh that starts off every conversation (see, for instance, Raven's first words in the story of the whale transcribed by Joseph Campbell 4 ), yet he is a character to be admired and respected, to whom homage is deserving. Although there is no evidence that Raven was ever worshipped, as such, it is said by some that the Northwest peoples did used to leave food out on the beaches for ravens. In this form he is capable of inspiring awe and terror, although always there is that twinkle in the eye and the knowledge that it can be only moments before he says something that will inspire laughter, albeit often irritated laughter as he hits the nail of truth well and truly, and sometimes uncomfortably, on the head. His creative nature usually shows itself through circumstance rather than intent, through the desire to satisfy his own needs, rather than any altruistic principles, but he seems genuinely fond of human beings, as related in "Raven finds the First Men" 5 , amongst others. He is the great shapeshifter, creative magick personified.

In his later, perhaps younger guise, Raven, or Yetl/Yelth, is often the butt of his own jokes; these are the stories in which Raven is often undertaking a position taken by Coyote in the desert and plains regions of the South. In this guise, Raven is at his most devious and tricky, is also cruel, with little thought for anyone or anything other than his own stomach. He will go to great efforts to satisfy his appetite, from tricking his cousin Crow out of his entire Winter's food supply, to tricking Deer into leaping onto some rocks so that he may be devoured, and even tricking an entire tribe into being killed by an avalanche so that he might eat their eyes 6 . He is the Raven at whom the young Haida men are allowed to laugh, but is also the Raven of whom to be most wary. He can be much crueller than his demiurge culture hero self. This Raven will have you in fits of laughter while he distracts you from the fact he is tricking you into doing something for him you may not actually want to do, and which may cost you dearly. This Raven is also a great shapeshifter, and uses his ability to aid him in deceiving others to do as he wishes.

Some of the stories do have Crow as the main character, and the main difference appears to be that Crow stories concern the themes of justice rather than greed, even if justice is not always seen to be done, as in the story of Raven and Crow's Potlatch, mentioned above.

The only time at which Raven's position in the Northwest coast culture bears any similarity to that in European culture is in his guise as one of the servants of the medicine lodge tutelary Baxbakualanuchsiwae, the Kwakiutl Cannibal Spirit, whose initiates practise ritual anthropophagy 7 . This is a comparatively recent trend in the culture, and is not widely mentioned.

By comparison, the ravens of European mythology are invariably messengers, or an alternate shape for various deities and spirits, the most widely known being Bran and the Morrigan, and of course Odin.

We are once again confronted by a dichotomy of character when we look at ravens and crows in European culture. Turning first to Odin's ravens. Huginn and Muninn, we see at once a split between active and passive roles. Huginn is Thought, and Muninn is Memory, and Odin sends these two birds off around the world at daybreak, to bring him the daily news. In Grimnismal, Odin says: "For Huginn I fear lest he return not home, but I am more anxious for Muninn". This suggests that Odin valued memory more than thought, the passive act rather than the active, but that is an altogether more complex discussion. Interestingly, Odin's wolves were Geri (no Spice Girl this, however) and Freki, whose names meant 'The Ravener' and 'The Glutton' respectively. Both of these terms are extremely applicable to ravens - ravener derives from raven - and echo the character of Raven in the tales of the Northwest Coast we have already considered. Wolves and ravens have an old and close relationship in the wild. In countries where both animals live together, a great deal of a raven's food comes from scavenging carcasses left by wolves, particularly in winter. Both animals would have been a common sight on the battlefield, scavenging on the bodies of the slain. Corvids were also connected with the Valkyries, as in "choughs of the Valkyries" 8 . Whether chough means chough (Latin name pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), in this case, or is an artistic rendering of raven, it is difficult to say. Valkyries may have been reflections of the "shield-maids" or skjald-meyer of the Huns, and it is worth pointing out that some sources state that the Irish battle Goddesses were not represented by ravens, but by the crow 9 , particularly the hooded crow, or "scald-crow" 10 .

Many of the Celtic goddesses are linked with the raven or crow. In this mythology the goddesses are the aggressive deities, those associated with war and death. Badb, Macha and Nemain are all associated with crows and/or ravens, as is Nantosuelta, a Gaulish water and healing goddess. The wife of the Fomorian sea-god, Tethra, was said to be a crow goddess who also hovered above battlefields, and Scottish myth has the Cailleach Bheure, who often appeared in crow form 11 . The association of the birds with death and war is an obvious reflection of its tendency to eat carrion, plenty of which is to be found in the aftermath of battle. This tendency led, eventually, to the persecution of the raven, as a harbinger of doom and destruction, and also to the common notion in modern European culture that the main attribute of Crow and Raven is their connection with the Otherworld. Upon Cuchulainn's death, the Morrigan perched on his shoulder in the form of a raven

The other main characteristic of Raven in Irish and Welsh myth is that of prophesy. The Morrigan was prone to prophesising, predicting the outcome of battle. King Cormac also came across the Badb as an old woman dressed in red garments (always a bad sign) who explained that she was washing the armour of a doomed king. Raven also acts as a messenger for the Irish/Welsh gods. Bran the Blessed (Bendigeidfran) is perhaps the best known of the Celtic gods associated with the raven, not least because of his association with the Tower of London, where ravens are still kept, wings clipped, in order to assure the safety of the realm. Bran's head, which he ordered to be cut off after being mortally wounded in the foot, is said to be buried i n the White Tower.

In "The Hawk of Achill" Cuchulainn's father, Lugh, is spoken of in association with ravens and crows. Ravens warned Lugh of the Formorians' approach. Ravens tended Cuchulainn when he was very ill, which is about the only time Cuchulainn appears to have had anything approaching a good relationship with the birds, save for when he was announced by two Druidic ravens on his entrance to Elysium 12 . He was responsible for killing a flock of magical sea ravens, which were large and able to swim in the sea (it is possible, from the description, that the birds were, in fact, cormorants, and not ravens at all. Cormorants also have a certain mythology associated with them). Also associated with ravens is the son of Cerridwen, Afagddu, who was also known as Morvran, or Sea Raven. Cerridwen 's intent had been to bestow the gift of Inspiration upon him.

A rather bizarre association is that of ravens and chess. In the Welsh "The Dream of Rhonabwy", Owain ap Urien and Arthur were playing a game which is thought to have been a chess equivalent. Three hundred ravens are mentioned in this tale as belonging to Owain, a gift from Cenferchyn. Arthur's men attacked the ravens during play, and eventually Owain told them to retaliate, upon which they attacked Arthur's men unmercifully. One of the pieces in chess is, of course, the rook, another member of the crow family (corvus frugilegus).

In Cervantes' "Don Quixote", the hero says that Arthur was not killed at all, but was turned into a raven. Arthur is also sometimes associated with the cult of Mithras, which was popular with the Roman legions. The cult organisation was based upon seven ranks that a worshipper could pass through, and the first of these was Raven. The raven, reprising his most common role in terms of masculine European mythology, was Ahura-Mazda's messenger and represented Mercury. Initiates are shown on frescoes and mosaics as holding a cup and the caduceus 13 . Also along these lines, Lugus was a Gaulish god of intelligence, and a mighty warrior. A relief from Senlis shows Lugus with ravens and geese, and the ravens appear to be speaking to him. Both Lugus and Odin are also linked with the Roman Mercury, bringing us to the connection between ravens and the art of the healer.

In nearly all cultures, the raven or crow was originally white. In one of the Greek tales, Coronis, the daughter of Phlegyes was pregnant by Apollo. Apollo left a white crow (or raven) to watch over her, but, just before the birth, Coronis married Ischys. The crow informed Apollo of this, and Apollo was not impressed. He killed Coronis and Ischys, and turned the crow black for being the bearer of bad news. Luckily, Apollo retrieved the unborn child at the funeral, for the child became Aesclepius, the father of medicine.

It is worth mentioning in passing Raven and Crow's appearances in other cultures, if only briefly.

Dwarves that live on the slopes of Kilimanjaro 13 are supposed to lay out bits of meat in banana-groves when sacrificing to their ancestors, and these bits of meat roll down the slopes and turn into white-necked ravens. In Japanese mythology, the Karasu tengu, or minor tengu, is a supernatural being with the head and wings of a black crow. They serve Daitengu, which are fallen yamabuse (monks), tall men with big noses and red faces who can create tornadoes using fans of bird feathers they carry in their sandals. Raven appears as one of the forms of the god Ninsubur in Semitic tales, and the raven, crow and rook all appear in the flood tale of Siberian myth, not one of them returning to the ark, as they were far too busy eating carcasses of drowned animals. For this they were cursed, as the dove was blessed for bringing back a twig, although it seems obvious that there had to be land somewhere if there were carcasses lying around. The Russian Lapps tell tales of the Seide, which are invisible spirits that have the power, like the dead, of appearing in the form of birds. They relate how a Seide often flew up out of a chasm in the mountains in the shape of a raven 14 .

It seems obvious, taking all these things into consideration, that the reputation of crow and raven for being dark messengers of doom, and concerned solely with death and destruction and the more black side of nature is ill-deserved. They do serve as couriers, it is true - an old Scots metaphor for death is talk of someone as having gone "awa' up the Crow Road" - but Raven has his wily beak into nearly everything, from the birth of medicine to the game of chess. The only thing you can be sure of with this character is that he is to be found at the extremities. In Haida mythology, it is even one of Raven's guises who determines the length of life of a new-born child. The constancy of Raven is his quest to fulfil an appetite - whether this be food, news, the sight of the slain on the battlefield, spirits of the dead for the Underworld, healing or prophecies of the future. The appetite is sometimes Raven's, sometimes that of the deity he signifies, but the appetite is always there. He is a creature of need, of want, of greed and gluttony, and can also demonstrate a possessive and jealous nature, but from that need and want, from the satisfaction of that appetite, great acts of creativity arise. Those acts of creativity, his greatest acts of magic, are not usually under his control, are not generally by his design, but arise through his attempts to satisfy the hunger he has. The animal seeking to sate his hunger on the dead, linking him with the Otherworld, is one and the same as that which tries to fill his belly with the farmer's crops, linking him with the 12-bore shotgun.

Raven can do almost anything, and will, but only if he gains by it. His smaller cousin, Crow, is a much more merciful and fair character. His concern is with justice, albeit oft times extreme justice, and he tempers Raven's greed in the European myths. Raven, in particular, is a creature of paradox, and to take him at face value is to ignore his devious nature.

One last point. The collective nouns for crows and ravens are murder and unkindness respectively. You have been warned.

Quote : B. F. Skinner
Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.

Craft of the Week : Wind Chimes Made Out Of Forks And Spoons

Old spoons, forks, knives of different sizes/shapes
Salad Tongs and/or Cake server as an anchor
Power Drill
Fishing line/nylon Cord
Glue Gun
Hook/Chain
Beads (Optional)

Pre-drill your anchor with several holes and use fishing line or nylon cord to attach the utensils. Pre-drill a small hole in the base of the utensils and thread the line through each hole. Knot the fishing line to secure it to each utensil then knot the opposite end of the line to your anchor. Use hot glue to secure it to your anchor for added strength. This looks great in graduated sizes.

Variations: Take three forks and seven spoons. The top is one fork with the prongs bent out like a + sign with little loops bent up on each end of the prong. Before you start tying the forks and spoons on the top fork, take a drill and put a hole in the center of the top fork to put a spoon in the center with the string long enough to have the bottom of the spoon reach just below the rest of the spoons and forks. Tie fishing line to a fork or spoon, and then tie it in each little loop on the end of the prongs.

You can also use a round piece of plywood and drill small holes on the top of it for as many utensils as you will be attaching. Drill a center hole so that you can attach your wind chimes to a hook/chain for hanging. Thread the fishing line through each hole securing it with a knot, glue each in place and then attach each of your drilled utensils with a knot also gluing in place. What really looks great is attaching different color beads to the fishing line and then adding the utensils. Really looks lovely when it is outside in the sun.

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Humor : Deceased

It's the yahtzeit of Herman Mendelbaum's death and his widow decides to make a pilgrimage to the cemetery to recite a prayer over his grave and place a small stone, as is the tradition, to show that the deceased is remembered.

She arrives at the cemetery, but it being a while since she had been there, she is confused and cannot find poor Herman's grave site.

Finally, she comes across a grounds-keeper who escorts her to a small chapel on the cemetery grounds where the records are kept.

Pouring over large maps and lists, he finally turns to the widow and says, 'I can find no record of a Herman Mendelbaum buried here. The closest I can find is a Sadie Mendelbaum.'

'That's him!' she exclaims. 'He always put everything in my name.'
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Who's Who in World Mythology : Apollo
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Who's Who Archive.

Apollo and his twin sister Artemis were born of Zeus and the Titaness Leto. Apellon is a pre-Homeric variation of his name, and Atepomarus is a Celtic version. He is also called Phoebus (Bright one), Chrysocomes (He of the Golden Locks), king of minstrels, Prince of oracles, and Lord of the golden bow. As one of the most important deities of the Greek and Roman pantheons, he is the god of prophecy, mathematics, and music. Acting as the god of poets, he is the leader of the Muses.

Apollo is also a god of healing and purification. Such a talented healer was Apollo’s son, Aesclepius (Asklepios), that Zeus slew him with a thunderbolt for daring to bring a man back to life. According to folklore, the raven is a bird of Apollo. Apollo left a raven to watch over Coronis, but, just before the birth of Aesclepias, Coronis married Ischys. When the raven informed Apollo of her infidelity, he killed Coronis and Ischys(or Artemis did), and turned the raven black for being the bearer of bad news. Prior to this, the raven was a white bird. Before her body was consumed on a funeral pyre, Apollo saved the life of his son. Aristeas is the eldest son and first priest of Apollo. He is also is a Demigod and accompanied Apollo in the form of a raven.

Apollo was also the god of the sun. Every morning, he would rise from his couch in his eastern palace and bridle his stallions to his chariot. He would then drive his chariot across the blue meadows of the sky on a path marked by the goddess of the dawn.

As a god of hunters, he is depicted carrying a bow and arrow, and is associated with the stag or roe. He is also pictured with lions. Though he might be depicted playing the graceful lyre, he was a merciless hunter responsible for slaying the children of Niobe, though she had provoked him by a boastful statement. Strangely enough, he was also associated with mice, and was called Apollo Smintheus (Mouse Apollo). He was associated with the hawk in Greece, a symbol of the sun.

Much as Aphrodite was held up as an example of feminine perfection, Apollo was considered the epitome of youthful masculinity. Delphi and Delos, the place of his birth, are his two main seats of worship, though in Delos he appears to have been second to his sister Artemis.

His most famous oracle in Delphi was the site of his battle with the serpent Python, a child of Gaia. Python gave forth revelations through a fissure in the rock to the Pythia, the oracular priestess. On the orders of Hera, Python had harried his mother from one end of the earth to the other till she found refuge in Delos to bear her children. Once he was able, Apollo hunted Python down in his caverns and killed him with his golden arrows. After he had slain Python, Apollo went to Thessaly where he was forced to act as a slave to mortal man twice by his father as penance for the murder. Apollo then took Python’s place as the deity of Delphi. He slew Cyclopes as well and incurred a temporary banishment for the act.

Quote : John Osborne
The Internet is like a living window into human consciousness and perhaps even to the divine... if we can attune to it... we might well contribute to a glittering awakening on a cosmic level. We can be on-line with ourselves and the world all the time!

The Magi's Garden: Banana
For past featured foliage and the bibliography, please go to the
The Magi's Garden Archive.

Banana (Musa sapientum)

Folk Names: Maia (Hawaiian), Plantain

Description: Banana plants need full sun, and rich, humusy soil with a pH of 7 or less. They also require protection from the wind. The northern limit of their cultivation falls in Florida, the Canary Islands, Egypt, and Southern Japan, with the southern limit in South Brazil.
Some banana species grow from ten to thirty feet. The large, perennial, herbaceous plant is not a tree. It stalk is formed from the bases of closely sheathing leaves. It has no branches, and the roots are rhizomatose, almost always stoloniferous, with new suckers growing from their buds even if the aerial parts have died. The leaves have a short, sheathing stalk and big, oblong blades with a strong, central vein and many parallel secondary veins extend up to margin causing the leaf to tear in wind. The leaves are set spirally to form an apical cluster. The flowers grow in spikes with lavender lanceolate, axillary bracts and yellow, hermaphrodite flowers which do not require fertilization.

Effects: gentle
Planet: Venus, Moon, Jupiter
Element: water
Associated Deities: Kanaloa and Kane

Traditions:
Kane and Kanaloa are Hawaiian deities. They brought the banana from Kahiki, the ancestral Hawaiian homeland and cultivated across all the Hawaiian Islands. By the time the Europeans arrived in the Islands, there were about 70 varieties of banana.
Many type of banana were used as offerings to the gods. The maia lele was especially favored by the Hawaiian gods. Lele means “to fly” or “flying,” and the fruit was placed on the offering stand where its essences would fly to the gods. For this reason it was never planted near homes for fear that it would cause the occupants to fly elsewhere. It was usually planted to overshadow a temple’s altar. In Hawaii and Tahiti, the banana stalk was sometimes used as a stand-in when a human sacrifice was necessary. Banana flowers are used in contemporary voodoo to represent the Voudoun gods as both the gods and the flowers are hermaphroditic.
There are many superstitions associated with the banana. The banana should be planted only at exact noon when the sun cast no shadows. This will cause the tree to reach maturity quickly. The fruit should never be cut, only broken. Fishermen would never allow them on board their boats, for it might cause the fish to slip from their hooks. Meeting someone carrying bananas was unfortunate, as was dreaming of them. Hula dancers avoided the fruit too in the belief that it would cause their knowledge to slip away. Until 1819, the fruit was forbidden to women on pain of death. They could eat only the maia iho lena and the maia popoula varieties.
In the religion of Madagascar, the first man and woman were given a choice of death like the moon or death like the banana tree. They chose death like the moon and reincarnation over death like the banana tree which is permanent but leaves behind many descendants.

Magic:
The banana is used in many fertility rituals. It will also cure impotence. Marriage under the tree brings luck, and the maia lele banana was used in love magic to make the love fly to its target.
The banana is also protective. The flower sheath of the banana was used to deter the unwanted visits of an incubus or succubus. This was placed between the legs of the victim, effectively ending the relationship. The leaves were often tied around food parcels to guard against ghostly tampering at night.
The leaves, flowers, and fruit may be added to money and prosperity spells.

Known Combinations:
none noted

Medical Indications: Parts Used: fruit
The fruit of the banana may be mashed to make a facial mask for dry skin.

Nutrition:
The fruit of most bananas is edible. Musa paradisiacal sapientum is the source of fruits generally eaten raw, while plantain is the name usually given to those members of the banana family which require cooking before ingestion. The hardly-ripe fruit of the plantain banana is eaten whole or cut into slices. It may be baked, roasted, boiled, fried, added to soups and stews, and generally used in much the same way as a potato. They are also dried and ground into flour meal. In East Africa, an intoxicating drink is prepared from the fruit, and the root stock is sometimes used as a food in Abyssinia so long as it is harvested just before the flowering period. The young shoots of several varieties are also cooked and eaten.

Mercantile Uses:
In addition to the exportation of the fruit of the banana, the leaves of the banana also have a mercantile use. They may be cut into strips and plated to make mats and bags, and they are used for packing in crates. The finer leaves are used as cigarette papers. Several species yield a fiber in their leaves referred to as Manila hemp.

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Cartoon

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Poem : Still to Be Neat
Ben Jonson (1572-1637)

Still to be neat, still to be dressed
As you were going to a feast,
Still to be powdered, sill perfumed;
Lady, it is to be presumed,
Though art’s hid causes are not found,
All is not sweet, all is not sound.

Give me a look, give me a face
That makes simplicity a grace;
Robes loosely flowing, hair as free—
Such sweet neglect more taketh me
Than all the adulteries of art.
They strike mine eyes, but not my heart.

Quote : Albert Einstein
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.

The Power of Stones : Altaite
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Power of Stones Archive.

Altaite is very similar to galena (lead) as it shares basically the same structure. It is easily distinguished from the far more common galena however, by its tin-white to yellowish white or bronze color and greater density. Not too many minerals are greater in density than galena. The two minerals are found together in sulfide vein ore bodies. Altaite is also associated with gold and silver and several gold and silver sulfides and tellurides such as nagyagite, sylvanite, calaverite and hessite.

Interaction on all levels is stimulated by altaite while self-limiting ideas are decreased. Physical and intellectual stamina are both encouraged, and sedentary habits are purged.

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Humor : Drive-thru

The elderly priest, speaking to the younger priest, said, "It was a good idea to replace the first four pews with plush bucket theatre seats. It worked. The front of the church fills first."

The young priest nodded and the old one continued, "And you told me a little more beat to the music would bring young people back to church, so I supported you when you brought in that rock 'n roll gospel choir. We are packed to the balcony."

"Thank you, Father," answered the young priest. "I am pleased you are open to the new ideas of youth." "Well", said the elderly priest, "I'm afraid you've gone too far with the drive-thru Confessional.

"But Father," protested the young priest. "My confessions have nearly doubled since I began that!

I know, my son," replied the old man. "But that flashing neon sign, "Toot 'n Tell or Go to Hell", can't stay on the church roof!
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A Dreamer's Guide : Height to Herring

For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Dreamer's Guide Archive.

Dreaming that you have somehow gain in Height means your problems are not as great as you believe them to be.

Being Heir to some property is a warning that you may lose what you already have. You will have a new responsibilities, but the possibility of some pleasant surprise is also possible.

Beware of friends who would dominate you if you dreamt of a personal Heirloom. You will be humiliated if you put an heirloom away, and receiving some heirloom as an inheritance indicates family quarrels.

Heliotrope (the flower) forecasts a quiet, but satisfying love life and a modest but secure future.

Your time and money will be prudently invested if you dreamt of Helium.

Your circumstances will change completely if you dreamed of Hell. You income and material wealth will increase significantly, but your popularity will fall. You will be tempted to do something contrary to your principles. If you were in Hell, good times are on the way, and if you ran from Hell, you will have joy. If you returned from Hell, you will be disappointed, and if you heard people in Hell groaning, you will have a short life.

A Helmet is a sign of pleasant visitors. Protective forces are arrayed around you if you wore one, but buying one means you will need all of your savings to survive the future. Avoid your rivals if you saw others in helmets. They may take advantage of a situation you have fostered through your own disorganization.

If you needed Help, you should make an attempt to understand the hearts of your acquaintances, and asking for financial help indicates joy. Hard work lies ahead if you hired help, but if you fired your help, you expect too many favors from others. You will be miserable if you had reliable help. A woman will betray you if you had help from a dog.

Repairing or sewing a Hem is a prediction of a satisfying conclusion to some pending event.

You are on the verge of mental or physical exhaustion if you dreamt of a Hemorrhage.

Hemp (Marijuana) denotes success in all activities, and smoking a hemp cigarette is a sign of some prompt rendezvous. If you dreamt you were an addict, your success may be postponed. Buying it is a warning of trouble. A deep and continued friendship is foretold by hemp seed.

Financial gain is foretold by a Hen. Expect good luck if the hen was laying eggs, and you will have many children if you saw a hen with chicks. Big family joy is augured by a henhouse.

A black hen is a sign of sad news, and white one means happy news. A brown hen is a promise of money luck. A fat one is also a symbol of gain, while a lean one stands for mediocrity. A pecking hen means you may have to back up and start over, but a clucking one indicates exciting gossip. Killing a hen means you will have ups and downs, and plucking one is a warning of some unexpected drain on your finances.

Herbs mean you will be greatly loved, and vigorously growing herbs indicate good fortune. You will have abundance if the herbs were growing amid your flowers, and cutting herbs means you will have a long life. New and exciting adventures, and possibly foreign travel, are predicted by the scent of herbs. Poisonous herbs are a warning of enemies, while beneficial herbs indicate satisfaction in business and happy friendships.

Many Herds of cattle is a sign of joy. If you gathered a herd together, you will be fortunate, and a fat herd of cattle means good times are ahead. You will run short of money if the herd was skinny however. You will earn money if you milked your herd.

You will be sad if you dreamt you were a Hermaphrodite, and if others were, you will be guilty of foolishness. If you dreamed of Hermaphrodite, the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, you will have happiness.

You are being deceived by a friend if you saw a Hermit, and if you became one, you may soon become sick. If you were a hermit, you will research intricate subjects. Seeing a hermit is a reminder that if you had been more daring, you would have had what you wished. If you were in a hermit’s home, you will behave unselfishly towards friend and foe alike.

Someone who is acting cool toward you will have a change of heart if you saw a Hero, and your happiness is assured if you were a hero. You will triumph over your enemies if a relative was a hero.

Serious loss of prestige through ill-considered behavior is predicted by a dream of Heroin. You may wish to change your companions.

You can expect some temporary losses if you dreamt of a Heron.

A dream of Herring means you will take a trip. Your desires will be satisfied if you caught one, and eating herring means good luck for someone for whom you care. You will be generous to friends after a dream of buying herring, and you will realize your high ambitions if you gave herring to others. Cooking herring may indicate a pregnancy in the near future.

Quote : Morgan Llewllyn
Intuition is the voice of the spirit within you.

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