The Horse of Legend

The horse has long been a part of history, used in war to carry riders into conflict, and also for sport by knights of old in their jousting matches. In our own near past they were used to draw vehicles prior to the "horseless carriage". In the Western part of the United States they were also used on the ranges to herd cattle and fight in the range wars. Today they are used mostly for recreation and sport. Here is a quick look at some of the Legendary Horses of Old:

The Hungarians and Spanish believed that all black horses were lucky - the French believed the reverse. There was an Irish superstition that a pure white horse, when ridden by its owner, gave the special gift of advising how to cure physical ailments.

THE WHITE HORSE - The Saxon King Alfred in the ninth century had carved in a chalk cliff on the Berkshire Downs in England an enormous white horse, 374 feet long and 120 feet high, to commemorate his victory over the Danes at Ashdown. It is still visible today.

THE TROJAN HORSE - The Trojan Horse is well known to all who have read any Greek history. This was the tremendous image of a mare, built of wooden planks and concealing a group of Greek soldiers. The Trojans were led to believe that this was a peace offering to the goddess Minerva. The stratagem worked. The Trojans opened their gates and widened the gap in their wall to take in the wooden mare - and it soldiers...the rest is history!

THE HOBBY HORSE - The Hobby Horse was originally associated with the ancient May Day festivals of English seamen. It may have been derived from the early English "hobby", meaning a nag.

THE SAILOR'S HORSE - The terms "horse a bill" meaning to pay for work not yet done, or "pay for a dead horse" meaning to pay for something which has been consumed or lost, or "pull the dead horse" meaning to work for wages that have been paid in advance, etc., come from the old maritime custom of giving sailors a note for a month's pay in advance on signing on for a voyage. This they usually cashed at a sizable discount and had 'fun' before sailing. Thus, on sailing, they had 30 days of hard work ahead without pay - "for the dead horse". Then at the end of the payless month, they would "bury" the effigy of the "dead horse".

THE SEA HORSE - The first sea horses had a horse's head, forefeet and barrel, terminating in a fish tail - later the Sea Horse had the head of a horse and the body of a fish. Sea Horses were prevalent in early Irish myths. When a tempest breaks over the sea in Ireland the breakers are said to be the white horse of the Gaelic God of the Sea.

The horse in mythological times naturally would have been associated with the wind because of his swiftness. The wind was deemed the sire of swift horses.

The Arabian horses today are called "Drinkers of the Wind".

The horse in ancient times was also associated with the sea. In myth, Neptune is supposed to have created the horse in a contest with the other gods for the honor of naming what was to be the city of Athens. However, the olive tree, created by Minerva, won out.

THE NIGHTMARE - The 'Nightmare' derives its term from a Saxon demon vampire called Mara or Mare. This vampire rested on the chest of its sleeping victim, partially strangling him and causing fearful visions (hence nightmare). The harnesses of cart horses frequently were ornamented with brass charms to protect them from the witchcraft of 'Mare'.

THE UNICORN - The Unicorn is a mythological animal with the head, neck and body of a horse, the legs of a stag, the tail of a lion and with a long, twisted horn protruding from its forehead. The Unicorn's horn was supposed to effect cures. The Unicorn is famous in heraldry as a supporter of the royal arms of Britain.

PEGASUS - Pegasus is a mythological, white, winged horse, gifted with extraordinary speed and immortality. He carried Apollo and the Muses - and some favored and unfortunate mortal heroes - swiftly through the air. He is alleged to have sprung from the goddess Medusa when she was beheaded.

SAGITTARIUS - The constellation Sagittarius (The Archer) is a centaur. Mythology says that this constellation is Chiron, the "Divine Beast," placed in the sky among the stars after being put to death by Jupiter.

The History of Dragons

Copyright © 2006 Francesca Black

The Dragon has played an important part in myths and religions since pre-historic times. The history of dragons goes back at least six thousand years, and there are dragon tales and legends from every continent except Antarctica. In almost every culture, and all throughout history, there are stories of these mythical and magical creatures called dragons. Different people have various theories of why so many cultures developed such a long lasting belief in dragons; however, none can actually be proven.

Many believe that dragons were what we now call dinosaurs. It may be that dragon stories partly grew out of people finding dinosaur bones. The thought is that when dragon bones were dug up later, they were given the new classification of dinosaur. Many evolutionists believe that dinosaurs became extinct millions of years before man walked the planet, while others claims dispute this. It is said that dinosaur fossils, which have been discovered along with human footprints and remains, add proof to the ancient people's history of dragons. Others feel that people forgot that dragons were ever real, and quickly faded into mythology.

In almost every culture and all throughout history there are stories of these magical creatures called dragons. Later, in Europe these dragons in art forms were thought to be real life animals rather than symbols of evil.

Throughout many cultures, dragons may have appeared different, but they have always retained the same basic core elements. When most people think of dragons they generally think of fire breathing monsters, but originally dragons were usually connected with water. To the ancient Chinese, dragons were not creatures of fire, as so many would think, but rather creatures of water. The dragon of the Chinese resided in rivers, lakes, pools and rose in great clouds of mist to promote rainfall. In earlier Mideast stories, the dragons are most often associated with water and wisdom. Historians use this conection with water to distinguish dragons from other mythical animals.

While the east feels that the dragon is a divine, mythical creature that brings good fortune, prosperity and bounty, western dragons are viewed differently. They are connected to the element fire, and they fling their colossal tails about, and viciously create destruction. The contrary views of the east and the west indicate opposing views where humans viewed dragons as a symbols of wisdom and peace, or symbols of chaos and evil. Neither would disagree that dragons were viewed as powerful creatures. This, along with the wide variance in the physical description of dragons, contributes to confusion in the definition of a dragon.

The humans revered the dragons, some clans even calling them gods. Hence, dragons were held in high regard, and their images kept and worn, to win their approval. Originally, it was believed that dragons were the ones who talked directory to the Gods. It was also thought at this time that earthquakes were caused by battles between dragons and gods. In history, many different cultures began to adopt the idea of gods fighting with dragons to restore order.

The dragon may be ancient, but it remains as influential today as it did four thousand years ago. Today, the popularity of fantasy, and such role-playing games as Dungeons and Dragons, means that dragon figurines are a hot commodity.

Francesca Black has long been a fan of dragons with Dragon Gifts http://www.dragon-gifts.com and http://www.mystical-creatures.com

Story Musings Continue

It is my belief that we must restore the relevance of deep story, the way of the song filled tongues and the sacred cauldron of the grail. Nowadays the hearth has been replaced by the TV which all too often tells aborted and abbreviated stores. This may be one of the reasons that so many of us are so bored to tears and find life meaningless. But every now and then, something bubbles up into consciousness restoring us once again to the state of true believers. Case in point – look at the buzz generated at the release of Harry Potter, at the return of the epic tales Lord of the Rings and Narnia – deeply mythic and timeless stories that continue to shake and quake to this day.

Great Story lures us with the passion and promise contained in the narrative adventure. But unlike trivial entertainment where escapism is the only goal, mythic story uses the sugar coating as a part of the dance - not as an end in itself. It engages all manner of human function (all modalities of the triune brain) and as a result is a far more effective vehicle for transformation then volumes of theoretical material. If you were to say ----Now this is the way you change your brain---- and so on, one superficial level of you learns a lot of techniques. But unless you engage with these techniques and live them experientially like you do with a great story you will not activate the deep connecting patterns that make it a life lesson instead of a head lesson. Human growth is much deeper and more enduring if it is storied with the great plots and patterns that already live in our psyches.

Great Story Continues

By great story I mean archetypal story, mytho-poetic story – story with patterns of connections, story filled with that most ancient of brain patterns, symbol and metaphor. It is the power of the imaginal, of the symbol, that propels us beyond the personal particular focus of our little local lives toward the realm that I call the personal –universal. Through the symbolic dramas of Psyche, Prometheus, Parsifal, Antigone, Oedipus, Ix Chel, Isis, Rumi, Jesus, Buddha, Faust, and Jaguar, we can discover the broad patterns of our own lives, finding ourselves charged and changed in the process.

Unlike conceptual theory which only touches the intellectual faculties, Mythic Story is both prime and primal. It touches not only the mind but also the imagination, the emotions, and the unconscious depths of a person. Engaging it produces an intense force which in turn produces a mutation in consciousness, both at the personal level and the universal - bubbles within bubbles within bubbles.

At those times when we are open to a sense of our own deeper story coincidences multiply; suddenly there is energy for even tedious tasks, everything glows with meaning. That is the pattern that connects, that is the transformational tales with which my publishing company Mystecha chooses to engage. Mystecha is dedicated to promoting the old bardic concept of mythic fiction, the idea of great story as transformative cauldron of possibility – a means “through which” something charged and momentous like the House of the Jaguar can be coaxed out of the liminal realm and brought into time.

Great Story

Life is a treasure hunt for story. We’re constantly searching for symbolic dramas that are relevant to our own, ones that run parallel and fill in the missing gaps of our adventures. We are the story tellers of the world. Human connections are deeply natured in the field of story.

Story plays upon our mind like a symphony activating different feeling tones and fancies from both within time and without. When we join Great Story we align our lives with evolutionary forces that carry us beyond old agendas and into new ways of being. We hitch ourselves to the coat tales of the truly great and in turn are carried along by the rhythm of that greatness.

Story is a time release capsule. It works deep within us as a potent structuring force. It is the oldest form of teaching and the basic vehicle of transmission of culture from one generation to the next. Before the invention of writing all human knowledge was conveyed from generation to generation by storytellers who were the sacred minstrels and wise ones of the people.

Unfortunately today, many have lost this knowledge of deep meaningful stories. Our stories have become too small – they are not big enough to provide opportunity for growth into the full potential of our becoming. As a result we are wedded to tales of trivia. Sometimes in moments of despair or grief our stories seem empty of meaning, unable to carry us through our times of deepest need. If we can remember to surround ourselves with great vessels of transformative story then its grace will carry us through our wounded moments gifting us with a deeper journey filled with patterns of connection and meaningful engagements.

A Praise Song to the Golden Embers of our Life

Am I to be a long burning ember ---
Smouldering, dully red at the edge of sight ?

Is this all that I will remember,
Peering one-eyed from the underbrush of ash ?

Such an odd fate it is to be forever
Bound to the Earth and upward staring,
To be amazed by the cauldron dancing
And mystified by the vapors weaving.

There is the odd fit of flame ---
A brilliant blaze upward leaping,
Above the dark wood dancing…
Yet all too soon it falters, seeming
To stumble back into the dim rubble below.

Stumbling back to quietly watch, dimly glaring, warming the night,
And from time to time to delight in new wood igniting.


AEM
032706

HOW THE DUCKS GOT THEIR FINE FEATHERS

Here is an Indian legend, one of their ancient "Why Stories" as handed down by the elders of the Blackfeet, Chippewa, and Cree tribes..

Another night had come, and I made
my way toward War Eagle's lodge. In
the bright moonlight the dead leaves of the
quaking-aspen fluttered down whenever the
wind shook the trees; and over the village
great flocks of ducks and geese and swan passed
in a never-ending procession, calling to each
other in strange tones as they sped away toward
the waters that never freeze.

In the lodge War Eagle waited for his grand-
children, and when they had entered, happily,
he laid aside his pipe and said:

"The Duck-people are travelling to-night
just as they have done since the world was
young. They are going away from winter
because they cannot make a living when ice
covers the rivers.

"You have seen the Duck-people often.
You have noticed that they wear fine clothes
but you do not know how they got them; so
I will tell you to-night.

"It was in the fall when leaves are yellow
that it happened, and long, long ago. The
Duck-people had gathered to go away, just as
they are doing now. The buck-deer was com-
ing down from the high ridges to visit friends
in the lowlands along the streams as they have
always done. On a lake OLD-man saw the
Duck-people getting ready to go away, and
at that time they all looked alike; that is, they
all wore the same colored clothes. The loons
and the geese and the ducks were there and
playing in the sunlight. The loons were laugh-
ing loudly and the diving was fast and merry
to see. On the hill where OLD-man stood there
was a great deal of moss, and he began to tear
it from the ground and roll it into a great ball.
When he had gathered all he needed he shoul-
dered the load and started for the shore of
the lake, staggering under the weight of the
great burden. Finally the Duck-people saw
him coming with his load of moss and began
to swim away from the shore.

"'Wait, my brothers!' he called, 'I have a
big load here, and I am going to give you
people a dance. Come and help me get things
ready. '

"'Don't you do it,' said the gray goose to
the others; 'that's OLD-man and he is up to
something bad, I am sure.'

"So the loon called to OLD-man and said
they wouldn't help him at all.

"Right near the water OLD-man dropped his
ball of moss and then cut twenty long poles.
With the poles he built a lodge which he covered
with the moss, leaving a doorway facing the
lake. Inside the lodge he built a fire and
when it grew bright he cried:

"'Say, brothers, why should you treat me
this way when I am here to give you a big
dance? Come into the lodge,' but they
wouldn't do that. Finally OLD-man began to
sing a song in the duck-talk, and keep time
with his drum. The Duck-people liked the
music, and swam a little nearer to the shore,
watching for trouble all the time, but OLD-
man sang so sweetly that pretty soon they
waddled up to the lodge and went inside.
The loon stopped near the door, for he be-
lieved that what the gray goose had said was
true, and that OLD-man was up to some mis-
chief. The gray goose, too, was careful to
stay close to the door but the ducks reached
all about the fire. Politely, OLD-
man passed the pipe, and they all smoked with him be-
cause it is wrong not to smoke in a person's
lodge if the pipe is offered, and the Duck-
people knew that.

"'Well,' said Old-man, 'this is going to be
the Blind-dance, but you will have to be painted
first.

"'Brother Mallard, name the colors--tell
how you want me to paint you.'

"'Well,' replied the mallard drake, 'paint
my head green, and put a white circle around
my throat, like a necklace. Besides that, I
want a brown breast and yellow legs: but I
don't want my wife painted that way.'

"OLD-man painted him just as he asked,
and his wife, too. Then the teal and the
wood-duck (it took a long time to paint the
wood-duck) and the spoonbill and the blue-
bill and the canvasback and the goose and
the brant and the loon--all chose their paint.
OLD-man painted them all just as they wanted
him to, and kept singing all the time. They
looked very pretty in the firelight, for it was
night before the painting was done.

"'Now,' said OLD-man, 'as this is the Blind-
dance, when I beat upon my drum you must
all shut your eyes tight and circle around the
fire as I sing. Every one that peeks will have
sore eyes forever.'

"Then the Duck-people shut their eyes and
OLD-man began to sing: 'Now you come, ducks,
now you come--tum-tum, tum; tum-tum,
tum.'

"Around the fire they came with their eyes
still shut, and as fast as they reached OLD-man,
the rascal would seize them, and wring their
necks. Ho! things were going fine for OLD-
man, but the loon peeked a little, and saw
what was going on; several others heard the
fluttering and opened their eyes, too. The
loon cried out, 'He's killing us--let us fly,'
and they did that. There was a great squawk-
ing and quacking and fluttering as the Duck-
people escaped from the lodge. Ho! but OLD-
man was angry, and he kicked the back of
the loon-duck, and that is why his feet turn
from his body when he walks or tries to stand.
Yes, that is why he is a cripple to-day.

"And all of the Duck-people that peeked
that night at the dance still have sore eyes--
just as OLD-man told them they would have.
Of course they hurt and smart no more but
they stay red to pay for peeking, and always
will. You have seen the mallard and the
rest of the Duck-people. You can see that
the colors OLD-man painted so long ago are
still bright and handsome, and they will stay
that way forever and forever. Ho!"

Retold by FRANK B. LINDERMAN

Stories are Powerful Medicine

"The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in"
-Harold Goddard-

Story is powerful medicine. Stories require nothing from us other then that we show up, that we listen with deep ears. Life is a great treasure hunt for its buried nuggets of gold.

They call forth some of our grandest emotions, luring them out of the depth world and into the light of day. As a result, they help connect the archetypal world of the inside imaginal to the daylight world of consciousness.

Stories are thick with hidden codings that guide us through the murky waters of life. They flame our inner life into motion, especially when stuck in a cocoon of forgetting, denial or pain. Human connections are deeply nirtured in the realm of shared story.

Great Story, mythic story, allows us to see patterns of connection, symbols and metaphors that help us understand our life. When we align with story we team up with larger evolutionary forces that can carry us past the same old, same old into new ways of being. Even if we were to break down amidst the despair of the world, if we continue to honor and value story it will help to gift us with a deeper journey filled with patterns of understanding and connection.

Mystechal Mentoring

Potent archetypal energies are rising in our current age, energies that need to be recognized, honored, and engaged with in a creative way so as to partner with them, channeling them back into the into the endeavors and realms of social artistry and world building. The bardic society of Mystecha is being birthed and developed to help address this issue. Mystecha is a community of people devoted to the dissemination and exploration of tech-gnosis, high touch-high tech options that promote the bridging of age old mysteries of myth, magic and mysticism to the new gnosis of the technical information age. To this end, Mystecha is dedicated to nourishing the sacred and social artists of the future, be they bards, musicians, poets, artists, healers and leaders, through its symposiums, guilds and outreach programs dedicated to the cauldrons of social, spiritual and artistic transformation.

We are embarking on a major creative collaboration that seeks to address, through high tech and high touch, the archetypal challenges rising to affect our world in this day and age. Mystecha will be developed as a lyceum-like community that is rooted deep in the ancient mystery traditions and philosophical academies. It will be composed of a suite of modules of social artistry that are dedicated to the cause of world building and world bridging. The lyceum, both online and communally active, will serve as a gathering place of shared learning and mentoring, as an outreach center for youth of all ages, cultures and countries who seek to tie into a network of support, mentoring, and intercultural sharing within the global village. In this time of cybernetic advance, it will meld both the old with the new, ancient mythology and mystery school teachings intermingled with modern technology and techgnosis. Its purpose will be to address world issues creatively, promoting guilds, mentorship and world bridging exercises for a bevy of Artists, Healers, Midwifes of Transition, Ritualists, Mythologists, Writers, Poets, future leaders and thinkers, and any others interested in being partnered by the imaginal realm for the purpose of activating newly seeded potentials. Such a model is intended to serve as a microcosmic actuality for some future macrocosmic possibility, and will include a potent community of young and old, men and women, mystics, muses, mentors and activists who are intoxicated by issues both new and old, and dedicated to lives of service and intercultural exchange.

In this world of information and dis-information, few have been trained to creatively deal with, or even knowledgeably think about the world challenges we currently face. The staggering consequence of our new capacities and technology has catapulted us into a situation where we are now becoming directors of a world that once directed us. Added to this, potent archetypal energies seem to be rising that few know how to harness and use for the betterment of the world and society. As a result, we need a community that can help to merge the ancient myths with the modern urgencies of our day. The time is ripe for artistic endeavors built on archetypal patterns and images. What with the enormous interest amongst our young people over the phenomena of Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and comic book heroes like Spiderman, we recognize the urgent yearning to reinstate these archetypal energy patterns back into the world so as to relieve the arid dryness that has been affecting our culture for too long. But we also recognize that these loaded patterns are not playthings to be toyed with. The story is bigger than all of us, and it is breaking through in ways that most have little awareness of. These energies are powerful and potent agencies that underlay the foundations of all creation, and, as such, they need to be treated with respect and intelligence if we are to harness their power for the good of society and not for its detriment. There is so much undirected energy coming out of these themed works that has the potential for being channeled into creative endeavors and avenues if we but establish wise mentors who are familiar with the mythic underpinnings of the virtual, fantasy, science fiction, role playing and gaming cultures that are bubbling forth in our present age. Because of this we hope to call soul-filled midwifes to help assist the birthing process in the hopes of channeling these potent mythic energies in creative, beneficial and sacred ways.

A Clarion Call is issued

The Clarion Call of the hero's journey burns deep in the cells of bone and blood.

Come, it whispers...
Leave behind your world of fact, figure and logic
to enter deep into the magic and mythos of a realm
far beyond the boundaries of time.

Welcome All!

Mystecha's Mission

Our ongoing intent is to create a series of fun and juicy artistic adventures: storytelling and poetic jams, books that lure us into promises of new possibility , articles and newsletters that gently (or not so gently) remind us to reframe our inner (and outer) dragons, and theatrical rituals, like those of the ancient Greeks, that will serve as catapult catalysts, pulling us out of our sticky mindsets and freeing up vistas where new growth can germinate. Together with that which is deepest and truest in us, we hope to celebrate and participate in an artistic re-greening of the world, doing it in a way that promotes joy, hope and possibility for all.

We will be soon launching a site that will be bringing stories from all world traditions together so as to seed a new level of excitement into the virtual layering of the earthen realm.

The purpose of this blog is to prepare the way, to create the buzz for reweaving story back into the consciousness of the human imagination.

Celebrate the Birth of Transformational Storytelling

Welcome to Mystechal Mania, the blogging home of transformational story, theater and ritual. We hope to use this site to provide the stream of consciousness thinking needed to bring this new artistic adventure to life. We invite any and all comments as to how to grow this vision of possibility.

The destiny of the world is shaped less by its battles than by its stories. We need big vibrant stories to stretch our imagination and prime our minds for outrageous possibility. We are committed to bringing such stories to life.

All who are ready to seed change into their lives....

*Re-forge yourself by entering this realm of myth, magic and fantastical and story.

*Plunge into our cauldron of transformative fire.

*Allow your imagination to ride the dragon's breath.

We Promise, You will Never Again Be the Same!!