Ovid book 1

• The Creation- There is nothing and then a god creates the world.
• The Four Ages- Gold: Everything is perfect, Silver: 4 seasons began, Bronze: People began cruelty, Iron: Bad thoughts took the mind of humans such as murder and so on and so forth.
• The Giants- Giants roamed the land and tried to take the skies.
• Lycaon- The man who prevoked Jove to destroy the human race.
• The Flood- Basically Jove floods the whole earth due to Lycaons attempt to assasinate him.
• Deucalion & Pyrrha- The "Adam and Eve" of the new world.
• Python- A great serpent killed by Phoebus.
• Apollo and Daphne- Cupid shoots Apollo and he falls in love with Daphne, who would rather be a tree than be with him I suppose.
• Io & Jove- Jove decides he wants Io so he rapes her and then (how gentlemanly) turns her into a cow then gives he to his wife Juno.
• Syrinx- A nymph in a story Mercury tells Argus.
• Io & Jove- Io turns from heifer to goddess.
• Phaethon- A peer of Io's son, his father is the sun whom he would like to meet... but we will explore that story in the next book.

Sara's blog

I chuckled quite frequently while reading Sara Landry's blog about her and her brother. I can't help but think of the force a little four year old had to shatter a door. Thats crazy. You must of had some crazy emotions flowing through you girl. I also have noticed a lot of peoples first memories are when they are around four. Interesting... perphaps I will look into that.

"I had a dream" & reflections on chp 7 M&R

I've finally had a dream. Bizarre but I suppose thats what everyone says. I used to tour with a theatre company and we went through about 3 lead actors while I was in the company. My dream involves the 1st of these 3 actors. Mind you, this man was married with children and about 12 years my senior. I know why I dreamed of him and any woman can't deny they would have had a school girl crush as well, he looked just like Johnny Depp. Enough Said. In the dream I am back on tour as my current self, he is not in the company any longer but we happen to be staying in the same hotel. He comes into my hotel room while I am sleeping and whispers "sweet nothings" into my ear. I'm sure he was saying something but my real self does not remember. He then begins to softly kiss my neck, I tell him to stop and he leaves. I then go into the bathroom and find boils on my neck where he kissed... the end. I was hoping to find a quote in the golden bough about adultery but had no luck.

Chp 7 reflections

Chapter 7 in Myth and Reality is all about memories and forgetting. I'm very glad I don't live in India because I had a slew of recollections while talking about everyone elses memories. I suppose that means I'm ignorant. But I'm happy I will not be put into slavery or put to death because of that ignorance. The expectations of gods is very high. To live for so long and to remember everything is a big task. Then to make them mortal when they get a little fuzzy seems a bit drastic to me. But then again, I'm one of the ignorant ones. Moving further along death is associated with loss of memories. However, I think all of us have passions for certain things that may have come from former lives' memories. Thats what I have always believed. I may not have drank from the waters of lethe. Or my former selves did not.

    I also find it interesting that sleeping is also a form of ignorance and death. I rather like to sleep. Mostly for the reason it takes me away from the stress of the "real world." Sleep is also a chance to escape oneself. You don't need to be a person, you can be a lion, or a branch, or even a dragon! This chapter claims that it is not a good thing to lose your identity in sleep. I quite like it. I feel if Gods did not want us to sleep then they should have done something about it. Until next time.

First memory and dream

I've had a hard time collecting a dream. I'm sure they're there but, I can't seem to remember them. I will keep you posted.

"Again, men sometimes play the part of scapegoat by diverting to themselves the evils that threaten others." pg 518 The Golden Bough

My first memory goes in line with this quote. I was around 4 and used to be taken to a friend of my mothers house to be babysat. Her son was in short, evil. One particular memory is of him smacking me and telling me "to stay inside so he can spend time with his family." Granted, he was only 4 as well. Depressing but definitely a memory that has stuck with me. You may say this is my "and then one day" moment when something went wrong. Lets hope its one of few in the future.

Weather weather everywhere

"Similarly in ancient Egypt the king, as the


representative of the sun, walked solemnly round the

walls of a temple in order to ensure that the sun should

perform his daily journey round the sky without the

interruption of an eclipse or other mishap." -Sir James Frazer pg77b The Golden Bough
 
Upon waiting for my copy of The Golden Bough I've found the internet to be a lifesaver. As hard for it is for me to say... I'm glad we have the technology we do. Whew. Beginning my reading also however in The Metamorphoses of Ovid I began reading the book with the plan of disciphering it like iambic pentameter as I would rehearsing for any Shakespeare play. After awhile however I got in tune with what the book was saying just like I would with iambic pentameter. Old habits die hard. I felt I was almost reading the beginning of the bible but presented more beautifully. I can't stop noticing how much weather and agriculture is involved.
 
"Now, too, they planted seeds of wheat in lengthy furrows; and beneath the heavy weight of yokes, the bullocks groaned." The Metamorphoses of Ovid Book I pg7
 
As I continued reading my brain started spurting out quotes from Shakespeare and one kept repeating itself in my head,

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon who is already sick and pale with grief."- Romeo

 Makes me think that darkness is always corralated with evil. Vampires can only come out at night, werewolves take form in front of a full moon, children are afraid of the dark because the boogeyman only comes out at night. Sunlight seems to be birthing good. And used in only glamourous context. Like the quote from The Golden Bough, the egyptians want only sunlight, the eclipses scared the shit out of them and disrupted their daily lives. Things not going according to myth I might say. Curious to find out if darkness is always a bad thing in corralation to myths.

"If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended. That you have but slumbered here, while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream." -Puck

-Taylor Jensen

You learn something new everyday

"OF THE THINGS which the public magician sets himself to do for the good of the tribe, one of the chief is to control the weather and especially to ensure an adequate fall of rain. Water is an essential of life, and in most countries the supply of it depends upon showers. Without rain vegetation withers, animals and men languish and die. Hence in savage communities the rain-maker is a very important personage; and often a special class of magicians exists for the purpose of regulating the heavenly water-supply."

-Sir James George Frazer, The Golden Bough, http://www.bartleby.com/196/11.html

I've recently read the first chapter of Myth and Reality and my findings were completely shocking. Having no idea there were tribes all over the world performing myth rituals. To me, a myth was always a fictional story. Not true. Myths are "sacred stories" therefore "true stories." When these tribes recite myths usually during an intitiation and only during a "sacred time" they are re-enacting a myth. A supernatural being coming to earth, traveling and changing the landscape and then disappearing into the underworld. These tribes will re-enact the myths and grow corn or some sort of industrial product. They can do that due to the original myth. Nothing ever dies. They're supernatural ancestors gave them the power to re-enact everything they did. This quotation from The Golden Bough jogged my memory of my readings. I can see a tribe in Australia where the chief knows of the myths and can create life through rain. The chief would know the myth and be able to recite it word for word but knowing he is mortal because of illo tempore. I found this all very interesting. I can't wait to get into more detail as to why these tribes believe so passionately for the myths. Until next time.

-Taylor Jensen