>but an awful lot of Western culture stems from the very much
>unmonotheistic Roman and Hellenistic cultures, and the underbelly of earlier
>pagan rituals still persist in many parts of Europe. People put out milk
>for the brownies routinely when my father was a child.
Yes, I've read that brownies were originally associated
with Dionysius, though now mostly hard-working elf like creatures that live in
barns who come into the house at night to finish the undone housework though
sometimes mischevious ones will disarrange the furniture and make a clutter.
They're all male, and mostly animal in appearance, so it's funny that they're
associated with housework. They're usually not seen, though they sometimes
appear to their favorite person in the house, have the power to steal food and
leave the image of it. Leaving the milk out for them is interesting because this
is a gift that the brownie will accept and which keeps them around, but it has to
be given. The way to get rid of a brownie is to leave clothes out for him which is
simultaneously a gift of freedom and he'll put them on disappear. The other way
to get rid of a brownie is to offer to pay him, even with the milk, crime, bread,
he likes. This seems to go back to some of the Dionysiac elements, the
emphasis upon being seen and unseen, etc, though perhaps in the diminuitive,
in the same way the Greek furies became household gods. Anyway, back to the
sweeping,
best,
Rebecca
---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 11:08:18 +1100
>From: Alison Croggon <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: poets and shamans
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>Dear Liz
>
>Malleus Malleficarum was written for persons such as you. Lucky you're
>nowhere near 16C Dominicans, who were savagely suspicious of women
having
>fun.
>
>Though re monotheism: not to argue with your point that the
>Judaeic/Christian/Muslim God might have a lot to do with that dichotomising
>mindset: but an awful lot of Western culture stems from the very much
>unmonotheistic Roman and Hellenistic cultures, and the underbelly of earlier
>pagan rituals still persist in many parts of Europe. People put out milk
>for the brownies routinely when my father was a child.
>
>Best
>
>A
>
>
>
>On 16/2/05 10:19 AM, "Liz Kirby" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>>
>> This afternoon I spent some time by a peat bog pool in the winter sun,
>> travelling through the water to another place entirely..... this is part of
>> how I find strength and meaning. Plus as a heathen working in a shamanic
>> tradition I have such a fucking great time! (Dancing all night, drinking
>> lots of cider, performing beautiful rituals and working with the capacities
>> of the mind and spirit in various trance states, making my own drum and
>> learning to use it, spending time with a lot of lunatic people who I love
>> very much and share a deep politics and spirituality with .....)
>>
>> I have begun to wonder if monotheism isn't at the root of a lot of the
>> dichotomising mindset of Western culture. In all of our knowledge it is
>> treated as a self evidently good thing. I question that perspective. A
>> pantheistic perspective is tolerant of other gods and interested to learn. A
>> monotheistic one seems interested mainly in obliterating other ways of
>> seeing.....
>
>
>
>Alison Croggon
>
>Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
>Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
>Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
|