Telling the Truth
If her life unfolds on the typical”
schedule, it is in the later, postmenopausal years, when she has
become a “crone”, that a woman naturally “finds” her voice. In
the mythology of many cultures the “spider goddess” carries many
of the distinguishing traits of the crone.
The crone may be many things, but she is
certainly a weaver, sitting at her loom conjuring up dreams,
weaving them into the web with a wit that refuses to take
seriously the pompous politician, the arrogant academic drowning
in analysis, or the small mind that is loaded with
self-righteous indignation.
Making a habit of telling the truth is not
for the faint of heart. Knowing when and where to do it is a
rather tricky business, as a few goddesses learned to their
peril. The one best known for telling the truth is the Greek
goddess Arachne.
Arachne, The Goddess Who Became the First Spider
Arachne, who was the world's first spider,
was originally a young mortal, daughter of a shepherd famous for
the beautiful wools that he dyed purple. Gifted in the art of
weaving,
Arachne became famous for her excellent tapestries, but was too
proud to admit she had
once been in the inferior position of being a student, insisting
that she was a better weaver than the Greek Goddess Athena, the
goddess who once been her teacher. Proud of her skills, she
issued a challenge to Athena to a contest to prove who had the
greater talent.
The two immediately set to weaving, both
creating tapestries that were equally beautiful and flawless. Athena's
design depicting the glory of the gods and goddesses and Arachne's illustrating stories of the gods' less honorable
moments, including depictions of the various seductions and
infidelities of Athena's father, Zeus.
Athena flew into a rage at this display of
irreverance, slapping Arachne's face and tearing her tapestry
into shreds. Realizing that she, even though truthful, had
perhaps gone a bit too far, Arachne fell into despair and
committed suicide by hanging herself.
As an archetype, Athena is superbly
rational and often out of touch with her own feelings,
consequently she often remains unmoved by the emotional states
of others. The Goddess Athena was actually surprised by Arachne’s
suicide. It upset her greatly for she had not meant for things
to go that far.
So she granted Arachne immortal life, but
as a spider, doomed to hang and weave her beautiful tapestries
forever.
To read the entire story of Arachne click
the link below:
Arachne
Sage Warriors
Wearing Sensible Shoes
From time immemorial women have dared to
speak out for peace and justice, fighting against death,
destruction, poverty and oppression. Women often voice their
protest in ways that are especially humanizing and
life-affirming, and often distinctly feminine.
While vacationing in Canada last month, I
learned about a group of women who have become famous social
activists who have been described as older women with "wild
hats, cheeky songs, and witty actions for a better world". These
are ladies who make the world their business, confronting
thoughtlessness, greed, and the abuse of power wherever they
find it.
The 'Raging Grannies' formed in Victoria,
British Columbia, in 1987. Since that time numerous other groups
have arisen in Canada, the US, UK, and around the globe. In
Greece they call themselves the Furies instead.
The original Grannies never intended to be
an "official" group; they were simply a group of friends who
wanted to make their local member of parliament pay attention to
their concerns about the lack of a civil emergency preparedness
plan should a nuclear accident occur during one of the visits of
US warships and submarines to the military base nearby.
Planning to meet with the minister to voice
their concerns, they anticipated that they would likely be
discounted and ignored, as older women, wrapped in the
mantle of social "invisibility", so often are. They decided to
make their visit, well, memorable.
Dressing up as somewhat dowdy, but
definitely proper, "little old ladies" in hats and gloves and a
few walking with canes, they descended on the minister's office
on February 14. They present him with an "Un-Valentine"
featuring a broken heart and a serenaded him, singing fervently,
and off-key, that he was breaking their hearts "with his lack of
commitment and action of nuclear issues.
A few weeks later they were back in
Parliament, this time armed with laundry baskets loaded with
“briefs” they wished to present to the ministers.
To the delight of the media and the
audiences that witnessed their antics, they didn't stop there.
They went on with their street-theater tatics, boldly
challenging the "powers that be" on a broad range of major
social issues.
Unremittingly cheerful, these spirited
women became a persistent nuisance, folk heroes standing with
courageous irreverence in the face of authority. Just imagine
the consternation of officials when these “little old ladies”
appeared in their midst, dressed in outrageous outfits, smiling
brightly, and satirizing them in song to the accompaniment of
drumming with a wooden spoon on pots and pans!
What’s a security guard to do? Grab the
pepper spray? Throw a granny to the ground?
If there is any doubt about the extent of
their impact, just consider that they were effective enough to
make it onto the government's list of terrorist groups that
might pose a threat (albeit a low level one) to the APEC summit
meeting in 1999. In response to a front page article on the
security report titled "Raging Grannies: A Public Enemy?", the
daughter of one of the Grannies wrote a tongue-in-cheek letter
to the editor saying:
"I feel it my civic duty to identify one of
the 'anti-Canadians'. That's my mother, the second terrorist on
the left, the 72 year-old in the blue and white shawl. I
sympathize with the military, for I also have felt
threatened--since my teens--by her singing in public."
No doubt about it! These are women refusing
to bow to the stereotype. They have vowed to speak the truth,
and they have done so with inventiveness and humor. You can read
more about the grannies at
Raging Grannies
Spinning
A World of Peace
Her marvelous instinct for survival comes
from the gut level. She has solved the problem of needing by
needing very little and wanting even less. Possessions mean
little to the true truth-teller, she has pared her life down to
the minimum. Like a spider she will be found in the corners,
refusing to sit at the table of envy and greed.
She's not naive. She doesn't expect
miracles, just a goodly measure of truth and beauty. She prays
for peace but does not expect it. She hopes for love but doesn't
bet on it and can do quite well without it. She speaks for
harmony among people, all the while knowing how distant is that
reality.
But, whatever she senses is vibrating
through the web, she will speak. She is a weaver of
possibilities, a teller of truths that are too often avoided.
Attitude of Gratitude
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Thanks to all of you for making the
introduction of the Glass Goddess
Collection a big success.
We've just knew that you'd
love having a goddess to hold in
your hands! |
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(And extra appreciation for those
who waited patiently for us to
backorder the Psyche pendants when
we sold out.)
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Looks like the
glass goddess and the pendants are going to be a
“keeper”!
Use the link
below to view the entire:
Glass Goddess Collection
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Special thanks to Connie for writing to
let us know that the translucent pendants make gorgeous
suncatchers. She hangs her Demeter pendant on the rear view
mirror and says it gives her “peacefulness and serenity”
while fighting the traffic on her way to work. When she gets
there she dons it to grace her outfit as she dashes in to
the office. She says it “supercharges” her with goddess
energy to face the grueling day ahead.