Recently, I discovered one of the best TV dramas about the life of Jesus. It is the Jesus my father taught me about, and the Jesus he modeled his life after throughout his life as a Lutheran minister. I grew up in the church, my father being a minister and all. Indeed, I was born far away in Brazil where my father was serving as a missionary with his new and beautiful wife, my mother.
My father was not a perfect man. He could get mad, but he was also the kindest, most compassionate, most loving person I have ever known. He had a way of soothing people and comforting them at their lowest moments or during their darkest days. And, this I would learn, is rare among people, and truly a gift, indeed it is a blessing when someone can be there for another person when they need the kindness of another the very most.
As I grew up in a very religious atmosphere as most of my uncles were Lutheran ministers too and my father served many parishes as a pastor when I was growing up. I saw all sorts of people claiming to love Jesus and love the covenant with God, but then act very badly like the mayor of a small town where dad was the pastor who shot our dog and helped to drive dad out of town because dad believed that God could work through the miracle of evolution and time. Some of the very religious didn’t like his sermons about the wonders and vastness of space and time. They didn’t like that my dad mixed religion and science.
So we left that small town in South Dakota and dad transitioned into being a Hospital Chaplin. He would remember everyone’s names and greet them by name every time he saw them. We would go with dad when he took paraplegic patients fishing. He would be there for any patient during any crisis, big or small, and offer support and compassion.
I would also learn about a vengeful god through some of the more conservative members of my family… and as I grew older… I grew more cynical about religion and religious people, except, not my father. Mega churches, mega cons — like Tammy and Jim Bakker — would further cement my cynicism and distrust of religion. The kicker would come when my beautiful father died, five years ago now, and I was fired by a Lutheran organization for being with him in the 10 days he lived after his heart attack.
This is the post I wrote in the wake of my grief the first year after his death:
My faith in religion was pretty much crushed after dad’s death. Until this… very tender, gentle retelling of Jesus and his life. No one alive today knows, not really, what Jesus was like or how his life unfolded. But this series, it comes so close to what my father taught me about Jesus and how my father lived his life.
On this day, the eve before Christmas Eve, when the Western World celebrates Jesus’s birth… Eastern Orthodox celebrates it January 7th… and there are many other celebrations in the Northern Hemisphere about the turning of the darkest day back to the lightest day, such as:
Hanukkah is an eight-day winter festival of lights, observed through nightly menorah candle lighting, special blessings, songs, and prayer.
Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa.
Bodhi Day is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that Gautama Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, also known as bodhi in Sanskrit and Pali.
Ōmisoka. Green and red fireworks at night. Culture: Japanese. Celebration date: Dec. 31.
Islam has two official holidays: Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha. The former is celebrated at the end of the month of Ramadan, whereas Eid Al-Adha lands on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah (the final month of the Islamic calendar).
The Winter Solstice … On this day, the sun shines directly over the Tropic of Capricorn, making it the shortest day and longest night of the year.
One of the oldest winter festivities globally, Yuleis a pagan holiday celebrating the winter solstice. Celebrated over 12 days – the twelve days of Christmas.
Along with a bunch of other observances Christians make around this time too”
For Watch Night, Christians will thank God for the safety they received during the year, according to Interfaith Calendar.
According to the Interfaith Calendar, this is known as Posadas Navidenas is known as a Hispanic Christian holiday. It commends Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.
Catholics celebrate the day ofImmaculate Conception to honor the Virgin Mary, who is believed to have been born without original sin.
Santa Lucia or Saint Lucy’s Day is a feast day in the Christian calendar celebrating Saint Lucy, a martyr.
Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming.
Holy Innocents Day — Christian. Christians solemnly honor the deaths of children killed by King Herod, who was attempting to kill Jesus.
Boxing Day originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated the day after Christmas. Originally, servants who had to work on Christmas day received boxes.
Feast of the Holy Family — Catholic. Catholics use this day to honor Jesus, Mary and Joseph, according to Interfaith Calendar.
So, here are a few links to this series about Jesus that has rekindled my faith. You can watch the first season on Netflix or download The Chosen app and see all of them.
Joseph & Mary On the Road to Bethlehem
The Chosen | A Special Christmas Presentation: The Shepherd
And this one looks really good too, but a different one, a movie called The Young Messiah (2016).
I choose the Drummer Boy because this was one of dad’s most beloved Christmas songs and story. I think dad often felt himself to be the Little Drummer Boy!
Merry Christmas to all … or Happy Holidays whatever bring joys, meaning, and love into your life this time of year or any time of year.
I recently finished watching Wallander on my local PBS station that playback back to back episodes for over a month for their Thriller Thursdays. I had begun watching Wallander years earlier (probably 2016 when it first came out), but due to public television fundraising or something like that, I never saw all the episodes until now.
Life with Full Attention | Awareness-raising poems | ‘Half-Finished Heaven’ by Tomas Tranströmer 438 views, Feb 25, 2021
I decided to animate key lines of this poem by creating moving musical archetypal images–the ones that have become my signature artwork on this site. Archetypal images as explained by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. He suggests archetypes are archaic forms of innate human knowledge passed down from our ancestors. Kendra Kelly writes in an article for the verywellmind, “Jung believed we inherit these archetypes much in the way we inherit instinctive patterns of behavior.” Indeed, Jung further postulated that archetypes are mirror images of instinctual responses that have been modified by conscious awareness. An archetype is an unconscious collective reservoir of information of what happens to people each time they make a choice to act different from what nature would have otherwise dictated through instinctual responses.
Indeed, archetypes form a psychological body much in the same way that ears, eyes, nose, arms, liver, spleen, and heart form a physical body. Just as individuals can choose to treat their bodies in different ways (e.g., some people recreate by doing drugs while others find joy and relaxation hiking outdoors), individuals fill the void of possibilities that an activated archetypes opens up inside of them in different ways (e.g., some people act on violent, criminal impulses others choose to direct their anger and rage in less violent and destructive ways).
See this well-written article about Carl Jung’s views on Crime and the Soul. And so without further ado, here is the Half-Finished Heaven by Tomas Tranströme along with my individual interpretation of images activated by each line.
The Half-Finished Heaven by Tomas Tranströme
Despondency breaks off its course.
First Archetypal Image for First Stanza
Despondency | Music: NKOHA – My friend | See below for attributions of images used to create animation
The vulture breaks its course | Music: PURPLE EYES ~ Pachislot Akumajo Dracula Lords of Shadow | See below for attributions of images used to create animation
4. The eager light streams out, even the ghosts take a draught.
Fourth Archetypal Image for Fourth Stanza
Even the ghosts take a draught… | Music: ALBUM: SPOOKY MALL | LIL Runners | 10 SONGS • 10 MINUTES • NOV 14 2021 on Amazon Music
5. And our paintings see daylight, our red beasts of the ice-age studios.
Fifth Archetypal Image for Fifth Stanza
Watch out for raptors! | Music: The Velociraptor Song | 1,812 views, Jun 4, 2019
6. Everything begins to look around. We walk in the sun in hundreds.
Endless ground | Music: Music for the 8th archetypal image is from Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days.
9. The water is shining among the trees.
Ninth Archetypal Image | Ninth Stanza
Shining Waters | Music: Shining Water by BUIWUI on Spotify
10. The lake is a window into the earth.
Tenth Archetypal Image | Tenth Stanza
At the end of the world | Music: At the End — A mix for the end of the world (part. 1) The National Parks
Winter Solstice | Ancient Pagan Day of Ritual for Peoples of the Northern Worlds
While the winter solstice marks the “beginning of winter” in the Northern Hemisphere as marked by the longest night of the year. The same day is marked by people in the Southern Hemisphere as the beginning of summer as they experience the longest day of the year.(See article in Business Insider for a full view of the nature of time and light as experienced by life on Earth).
Across the Northern Hemisphere, peoples of all times and cultures and religions took note of when the dwindling light finally relented its steady march to darkness and turned the other way. Earth probably owes this time honored pattern to a collision with another planet thought to be about the size of Mars. This colossal collision s a hypothesized to have occurred way, way back at the dawn of the creation of our solar system when an ancient planet called Theia collided with early Earth about 4.5 billion years ago. The impact knocked ancient Earth off its axis titling it so that it wobbles back and forth with the Northern Hemisphere facing towards the sun for six months and then the Souther Hemisphere. It also is thought to have created the moon and could have been a critical conveyor of water to our planet. [Image from Universe Today | A Cataclysmic Collision Formed the Moon, but Killed Theia by Evan Gough | 2/2/16]
Due to our fantastic ability to focus consciousness like a beam of light, humanity has built up a vast reservoir of knowledge like this, but our ancestors were no less clever–they simply had different ways to explain what they were experiencing. Especially significant events such as the dwindling of sunlight that made food hard to find and increased the need of ancient man to find shelter. If Earth one day never wobbled back to warm the Northern Hemisphere, it would spell doom for millions of living organisms that inhabit these realms of the planet.
Just a small representation of the diverse celebrations marking the return of light to the Northern Hemisphere include:
There are many more Winter Solstice celebrations in the Northern Hemisphere besides these. In my previous blog, Satan’s Sister & Santa Claus, I explore the colonization of these vast, diverse Winter Solstice celebrations as the ancient roots of Western Civilization stretched far into the northernmost regions of Europe, and then far beyond to become a dominating force around the world imposing a worldview that “sees humans as dominant over nature and feels natural resources should be used for the benefit of humanity. The western worldview puts man first and declares human beings as superior to all other living and non-living things in the environment. ” — Environmental Worldviews: Western & Deep Ecology
Feature Archetypal Image for Satan’s Sister & Santa ClausFirst Archetypal Animation from Satan’s Sister and Santa Claus
For the ‘civilized’ Romans colonizing northern Europe long ago, this is where the barbarians lived. Even today, their fear mixed with disgust and desire to control and gain more loot for themselves looms large in the psyche of modern Western man. Conduct a Google search of barbarian, and you will find tons of images of primal Germanic-Nordic warriors.
Bloodthirsty Berserker
Barbarians Season 2
Conan the Barbarian: Universal Pictures/Photofest
Barbarian Stock Photos | 6,434
BARBARIAN PATH OF THE VOID | NEW CLASS OPTION FOR DUNGEONS & DRAGONS FIFTH EDITION
Barbarian in Character — UE Marketplace
300 Male Human Barbarians
Sculpting & Animating a Barbarian
“Wild & bloodthirsty berserkers lurk on the fringes of civilisation, ever pressing in through feral forays to snatch what they can before vanishing back whence they came. Considered little more than animals, these savages are beyond counting & only kept at bay by the stout shields of soldiers & their fear of the bright lights of the cities. This is the attitude of so many & it is so very, very wrong…” — Excerpt from Eladriells Fandom | Images from multiple sources
All this is a long way of saying that we are complex beings with written histories that are highly biased to glorify the conquering tribes. Or if not completely conquered, the assimilation of whole groups of people into a larger and/or more technological advanced group. But we also have psychic histories that are stored in the collective well of consciousness, the one Carl Jung helped to bring into the sphere of the long, narrow beam of Western consciousness.
Here, nothing is lost or forgotten. Here, a completely soft-spoken, normal, well-adjusted modern man can turn into a barbarian in a split second when some sleeping archaic archetype is trigger into action. When we fail to grow as conscious beings, we can easily succumb to the power of our sleeping psyche.
Consider Robert S. Palmer, 54, of Largo, Fla. who pleaded guilty in October to assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon during the Jan 6 assault on the Capitol. The Washington Post reports that he had thrown a fire extinguisher — twice — a large plank and then a four- to five-foot pole at police before he was struck with one rubber bullet. At his sentencing, Palmer said, “I’m really, really ashamed of what I did. I was horrified, absolutely devastated to see myself on there.” — Fla. man sentenced to 5 years for attacking police, the longest Jan. 6 riot sentence yet by Tom Jackman, 12/17/21
He will now serve 5 years in prison for his actions that he himself is ashamed of committing almost a year ago. How does an average, law-abiding citizen go from a normal man to a berserker capable of murder?
The Old Norsemen knew how. They cultivated and embodied a whole class of warriors known as berserkers. Men who put themselves into a trance-like fury making them furiously violent and out of control. — Wiki Berserker | Images from Wiki and Google Berserker search
Got to admit that there are striking similarities between depictions of ancient Norse berserkers and the Jan 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol–mainly furious white men in a rampage. This is the ugly under belly of Western Civilization beaming brightly for all to see. The barbarian is alive and well in modern times. It has not been vanquished nor destroyed in the minds and psyches of modern men and women. It only needs to be tripped or triggered to roar vividly back to life.
And so, here we are back to the barbarian. This is why I choose the poem by Tomas Tranströme for on this shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere we are reminded of our finite time on Earth and the question begs to be asked what kind of life do we wish to choose for ourselves, for our loved ones, and for everyone else. It is all connected–individual actions are connected to collective actions that are connected to our shared reality.
I like Tranströme’s poem because it mines the deep archaeological cervices where valiant, cowardly, noble and ignoble parts of our all-too-human-soul lie forgotten but very much ready to take over control of the reins guiding our thoughts and actions in the world. His poem helps modern men and women who scarcely have a moment to think a thought for themselves anymore to pause and sink deeper into who they really are as living, conscious beings on a miraculous planet chock full of life.
This is what ancient Winter Solstice celebrations paid tribute to–the miracle of life on Earth. This is something all humans everywhere and through all times felt and perceived and celebrated. It is what the early Christian missionaries understood and so moved the birth and celebration of Jesus to this time of year to harness and redirect this powerful flow of collective human consciousness. It is what Tranströme’s poem hints at, very delicately but in a dynamic, compelling, numinous way. This shortest day of the year is an opportunity to feel and remember who and what we really are.
Archetypal Analysis
The interpretation of Half-Finished Heaven by the London Buddhist Centre is different from my interpretation as captured in the animated musical images above. However, rather than negating my personal interpretation, the Buddhist Centre’s interpretation widens and broadens the archetypal image that offers a glimpse into a room for everyone as captured by Tranströme’s seventh stanza of his poem. This room is the rich reservoir of humanity’s collective consciousness–as illuminated by the light of our collective conscious attention and as sleeps in the depths of our collective unconsciousness.
What follows is not a detailed analysis of the images above but rather an accounting of what used to create them. The power of an archetype always lays inside of you and what is evoked in your heart and mind. [Note: My division of Tranströme’s poem does not necessarily conform to his original publishing of this poem as available in The Half-Finished Heaven: Selected Poems and other publications featuring Tranströme’s work.]
“If we want to know what clouds of affliction mean & why they are sent we can’t flee away from them in fright with closed ears & bandaged eyes. Fleeing from the cloud is fleeing from the God’s love behind the cloud.”
“What is the meaning and symbolism of Yule on the Wheel of the Year? Yule is the time of the rebirth of the Sun at the winter solstice, a time for parties, gift-giving, and more. Join our virtual discussion group on Zoom or follow our livestream on your YouTube channel.”
“The confabulation of pagan and Christian symbolism for the Winter holiday. “It is not the birth of the Sun but rather that of the Son.”
“When the Church became ascendant in the Empire, it did all it could to squelch the festival, but like many popular pagan customs, it was so integrated into many daily lives that it inevitably influenced how Christmas, by then assigned to the same calendar day, was observed.“
Music for the Feature Archetypal Image is Magic Forest — Winter Solstice on Ice. This is a beautiful song filled with mystery, wonder, and magical being in a world full of life.
Magic Forest 2,245 views, Apr 9, 2017
First Archetypal Image | First Stanza
Despondency breaks off its course.
Album cover for Despondency by Dead in the Manger — available on amazon music
I was drawn to the image first. The parallel to this poem, the winter solstice, and Christmas is very interesting. I hadn’t expected these connections when I selected this image.
Despondency
Published: Dec 23, 2008 by Celeosia on DeviantArt | Pencil
This is simply a beautiful piece of art that captures the feeling of despondency inside of me. Please visit Celeosia’s site to see this piece and more of her work.
This video is a Tribute to Cider. She is our beloved dog who we lost suddenly and tragically two days before Christmas of 2019. She was 11 years and 1 month old. She was a senior dog, but she was full of life and acted like a puppy always. Our illusions about reality can break and shatter into millions of tiny pieces so suddenly, and how they prevent us from really seeing reality. Hang on to all those who you love be them people or pets or our beloved planet Earth. I began these drawings 7 months before Cider’s death.
Music for the archetypal image of despondency is My Friend by NKOHA, which is beautiful, haunting, and enchanting–capturing the sweet silence of despondency and the betrayal of something sacred that often leads to this powerful emotional force within us.
NKOHA – My friend | 342,298 views, May 16, 2018
Second Archetypal Image | Second Stanza
Anguish breaks off its course.
Digital album cover forAnguishby Anguish Design and Layout by Paul Romano Sculpture by Darla Jackson
This is art created Jerry Yi Chang who describes this piece as:
“This drawing depicts anguish as an all-consuming emotion that is difficult to detach from.“
This is a stunning work of art that absolutely captures the feeling of anguish in me. This piece has sold, but visit his gallery to see more of his brilliant work.
Another one of Seo Young-deok‘s pieces that is both stunning and haunting.
The missing face of this figure is especially poignant and evocative of the powerful emotional currents of anguish.
Music for the archetypal image of anguish is Anguish by Devil Airlines. It is particularly chilling and haunting as it captures musically the terrible cycle of captors and captives that leaves so many people in warped and mangled states of anguish.
Image from: Ruby the Turkey Vulture | Portland Aududon — In 2007, a woman called the Wildlife Care Center to report that a friendly Turkey Vulture was hanging around her property near McMinnville, Oregon. It had flown down to the ground and thrown an acorn at someone’s feet, slept on the woman’s porch, followed her around and into her barn, and jumped onto her arm.
Have a bone to pick with the scraggy vulture? Just remember they’re vital as nature’s waste disposers – which is why their decline is very bad news…
Music for the archetypal image of the vulture breaks off its flight is OST: PURPLE EYES ~ Pachislot Akumajo Dracula Lords of Shadow. I chose song for its sound, which is edgy, uncanny, unearthly, eerie, which are all qualities that an image of a vulture can evoke–after all they are a bird strongly associated with death. And so is count Dracula come to think of it. Perhaps this stanza of the poem suggests even death breaks off its path in the light of life.
Music for the 4th archetypal image is from Spooky Mall by LIL Runners (Available on Amazon Music). I felt the sample I found to have the perfect mix of mysterious, spookish, and uncanny, which felt right for this 4th stanza of Tranströme’s poem. I am afraid you have to have Amazon music or listen to the sample embedded in the animation above.
ALBUM: SPOOKY MALL | LIL Runners | 10 SONGS • 10 MINUTES • NOV 14 2021
Fifth Archetypal Image | Fifth Stanza
And our paintings see daylight, our red beasts of the ice-age studios.
Darting eyes and busy hands create a captivating narrative between otherwise staid figures, each of which is richly clothed in meticulously painted combinations of color and texture. La Tour has taken on a theme popularized in Northern Europe by prints and in Rome by Caravaggio: an old Roma (traditionally known by the derisive term “Gypsy”) woman reads the young man’s fortune as her beautiful companions take the opportunity to rob him. — Visit the Met Museum online to learn more about this painting
I lost this one… sorry
Sun Painting
Sunlight–reflected and refracted–paints an ever-changing color composition.
Created by artist Bob Miller, this classic Exploratorium exhibit is a “live” painting that uses light from the Sun as its palette.
Post by Chris Chalk on 29th January 2017 about painting
The confluence of light and paint seemed important in this stanza.
Image from Ice Age Wiki: Rudy is a Baryonyx that lived in an underground world during the Ice Ages. He makes his appearance in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs where he is the main antagonist. I am pretty sure this stanza is referring to cave paintings but something adorable and deadly caught my attention with this image, and so it found its way into this animation. Perhaps a nod to man’s deadly ice-age, dinosaur side laying asleep deep inside his psyche until something triggers it wide awake!
Another image of Rudy who appears through mist to Buck.
I really love this red dinosaur!
Music for the 5th archetypal image is from The Velociraptor Song from Press Play Picture House. Watch out! This song really gets in your head!!! I love it, and I feel it really does speak to a feeling buried deep in this stanza of Tranströme’s poem. I think he is hinting at the ancient, primal parts buried deep inside of us and barely illuminated by our individual small flickering flames of consciousness. They really can catch you inside the deep recess of your soul, the parts hidden in the dark.
The Velociraptor Song | 1,812 views, Jun 4, 2019
Sixth Archetypal Image | Sixth Stanza
Everything begins to look around. We walk in the sun in hundreds.
A pair of political-science professors are combing through news stories and individual reports to estimate the number of people who demonstrated on Saturday. By Kaveh Waddell — I was there:
Sustain the Flame | 84 views, Mar 26, 2017 | Promo
Sustain the Flame – Full (Best Version) Women’s March on Washington 2017 | 211 views, Apr 19, 2017
Naked AthenaFeature archetypal animation for Naked Athena
Image from Crowd Png Image File – People Crowd Walking Png, Transparent Png I liked the long and endless feeling that this image adds to the animation
Music for the 6th archetypal image is from by Thomas Bergersen – Cry (Sun). This is a powerful, compelling, hair raising symphony of voice and musical instruments that captures an endeavor, which is what this stanza makes me think of and feel.
Thomas Bergersen – Cry (Sun) | 1,478,514 views, Feb 4, 2015
Seventh Archetypal Image | Seventh Stanza
Each man is a half-open door, leading to a room for everyone.
Photo credit: Brad Smith, “An old door in an abandoned log house” An old door in an abandoned log house uploaded to Flickr on January 31, 2007, by Brad Smith.
“Everyone who lives life intensely has, at one point or another, experienced what I like to call a half-open door. We know it can get complicated, butwe only get one shot at life and at finding what really makes us happy while living it. Part of our happiness depends on knowing which doors to shut and which to fully open. It’s extremely healthy to remember that a half-opened door is half-opened happiness.“
Image from: Door | Spremberg, Germany, Urban Exploration
Here are some other spectacular photos on this site —
Music for the 8th archetypal image is from Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days. Honestly, this is the best darn song for the feeling I got from this line in the poem.
Iron & Wine – Our Endless Numbered Days [FULL ALBUM STREAM] 4,665,008 views, Apr 11, 2017
Music for the 10th archetypal image is At the End A mix for the end of the world part. 1 The National Parks. This is an awesome song and perfect, absolutely perfect for this last stanza of this amazing poem.
The National Parks – Introducing “A Mix For The End Of The World – Part 1” | The Record By USRN 46 viewsOct 6, 2021
We Are Indeed Tranströme’s Half-Finished Heaven
We the people of this beautiful Earth. And winter’s fading light is a stark reminder of our own fading life–for no living being exists forever. Each of us has a limited amount of time to be (truly be) in this Half-Finished Heaven or this Half-Finished Hell for both are possibilities inside of us. And we choose, as conscious living beings, which one to inhabit moment by moment.
It is because of this dwindling light of life that each of us must face that I would like to dedicate this post to my dear friend Brian Bergman. He passed away suddenly 4 months ago to this day. I only found out last week that he had died. This is a video that he helped me make back in 2016. We always talked about making more. Life is precious and fades too fast, just as the setting sun almost disappears during the winter months.
The Persuaded | Last DJ on Earth | Mini series
Be well. Take care. And Happy Winter Solstice to you on this good and longest night!
Your answer is unique and utterly up to you based on your attitudes, beliefs, upbringing, and current circumstances. At first, as I searched for images of what Satan’s sister might look like, I had no idea of what I might be looking for.
I wondered whether she should look ugly like a wicked witch, gender neutral, or bewitchingly beautiful.
I stumbled upon Félicien Rops (a Belgian artists who lived between 1833 – 1898) finding his uncanny image of Satan. I found it on a poetry website and immediately thought–sure this could be what Satan’s sister looks like–sinister, sterile, and scary.
I felt I was definitely on the right track, but sought a clearer image. As I searched for one, I stumbled upon Pyramid Girl. I knew at once this was a better rendering of Satan’s sister. She is beguilingly beautiful and utterly alien at the same time–a spine-chilling duality exists about her.
I have never encountered Pyramid Woman before, but obviously she is well-known by others and depicted as a victim and an invincible warrior. I felt this duality was another key aspect to be embodied by Satan’s sister. I found two more images embodying these qualities created by an artist at the Stan Winston School of Character Art. Here I learned her apron is made of human skin, very creepy indeed and a perfect outfit for Satan’s sister.
The last image used in the archetypal animation just grabbed me. I suppose it is all the gold and skeletons. Satan’s sister would certainly be involved in collecting the dead. She would also be a devilish seductress–beautiful and scary at once.
So this is the process for how the first archetypal animation was created.
What does it mean?
That is something for you to fill in.
During his life, Carl Jung came to understand all human beings share common archetypal patterns of behavior and belief as demonstrated through customs, rituals, and myths. Certain recognizable psychological patterns and images appear over and over again between cultures and times. They live deep inside the psyche of all human beings and contain collective memories that pop into action when of specific circumstances and situations are encountered. They act much like instincts do, but archetypal patterns are more like instincts altered by consciousness.
Jung described archetypes as empty templates ready to be filled by the psychic forces triggered into action by external events. These invisible templates provide imprints of all the possibilities and consequences of choices and actions triggered by the situation.
The music for this archetypal image provides vital context and background like a fantastic fabric for space-time beings to experience things. This music is fabulous, providing texture, vibrance, and life to the image. It is Moon Runner by Dance With the Dead.
In creating this image, my search took me into the realm of mythic goddesses. It did not take long to understand many of the goddesses associated with death carry the blade of time with them. Death is inevitable as a mortal being and the goddesses associated with death embody this reality.
The Goddess Kali is the Divine Mother in Hinduism and known to be fierce and cause destruction of all evils, including ignorance. She is considered to be the master of death, time and change. When I found this image of Morrighan, my search focused in on the Celtic and Nordic goddesses of death.
“Morrighan is also known as Phantom queen or Morrigu. In Irish mythology, she is known as the Goddess of Death, who is associated with mainly war, battle, and death. She is also famous because of her foretelling death in the battle. Because of her association with war and battles, she is also known as a great warrior who determines which warriors walk off the battlefield.” — 21 Gods & Goddesses of Destruction, Death & Underworld
Hel is another goddess of death rising from the myths of the Nordic peoples.
“She is the ruler of the underworld and death. She is the daughter of Loki and Angrboda. Her appearance is pretty hard to explain, but it is half blue and half flesh-colored with some gloomy texture downside. She has a hall called Eljudnir, and it is a strong belief in Norse Mythology that it is the hall where mortals go who do not die in battle but of natural causes or sickness.” — 21 Gods & Goddesses of Destruction, Death & Underworld
This is another compelling rendering of Hel drawn by LeneMa7991.
Another goddess of death I found was Delire. She is not the goddess of Death in general, but instead the goddess of the Fallen, much like the valkyries of Norse mythology.
Delire | “You have served well soldier. It’s time to retire.”
Back to the Eastern Mind
The last element of the archetypal animation is the music, which circles us back to the eastern mind and the wisdom of the upanishads that are treatises on Brahman-knowledge, which is knowledge of Ultimate Hidden Reality. I chose the song Al Bid-Aya by Jedi Mind Tricks from their album The Bridge and the Abyss. It is haunting and beautiful and utterly perfect for this topic if you listen to their official video of this song.
Al Bid-Aya | 122,715 views, Jun 21, 2018
Third Archetypal Image:
Why is Santa’s Glögg spiked?
For the third archetypal image, I baffled myself with its own imagery. Why is Santa popping into this otherwise dark and haunting poem? And why is Satan’s sister spiking his holiday Glögg with the broken up bits of sinners?
Perhaps Santa is serving somewhat like a cosmic hero of goodness and good cheer. He has so much of it, he is able to consume dangerous amounts of collective sin down to the dregs on behalf of all of us to ease our misery and allow for a time of good cheer. This though made me think of Dumbledore who drank the poisoned water so Harry could destroy a ‘horcrux’–a thing of great evil that if not destroyed would led to the downfall of everyone they know and love.
This last archetypal animation is the most elusive to take accounting of for it veers straight into the Christmas season–a time when many people make a considerable effort to show a spirit of good cheer and collective good will. Why? Because it is a time when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus; however, as an excellent Washington Post article points out, ‘Dec. 25 is not the date mentioned in the Bible as the day of Jesus’s birth; the Bible is actually silent on the day or the time of year when Mary was said to have given birth to him in Bethlehem. The earliest Christians did not celebrate his birth.‘
This article further states the first celebration of Jesus’ birth took place ‘around 200 A.D. — to have taken place on Jan. 6. Why? Nobody knows, but it may have been the result of “a calculation based on an assumed date of crucifixion of April 6 coupled with the ancient belief that prophets died on the same day as their conception,” according to religionfacts.com.’
It was moved to December 25 to piggy back on pagan celebrations (such as “The Golden Bough”) that occurred during this time. Especially as practiced by the fierce and wild tribes of northern Europe–the Celtics, the Norses, and many other germanic tribes who celebrated the shortest day of the year, which signaled the return of light to their barren and frigid northern lands.
Good Olde St. Nick
Christmas underwent a further transformation with the elevation of St. Nicholas as a patron saint of Christmas. He was a real man, a Bishop, who lived in the fourth century in a place called Myra in Asia Minor (now called Turkey). He was known for helping the poor and giving secret gifts to people who needed it.
Christmas took another dramatic turn with the popularization of Santa Claus as the legendary man who encircles the world in one night flying in his sleigh to give good boys and girls around the world presents and delights. Holiday specials such as Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, which showed the transformation of the real man St. Nicholas into the superhero Christmas giver of cheer and goodwill worldwide.
Santa Claus Is Coming!
It is a delightful Christmas story. One I watched every year as a child for Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without Frosty, Rudolph, and Santa Claus!
Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town — The Full Movie | 7,476,556 views
So what is up with this spiking Santa’s tea with the broken up bits of sinners, obviously people who were not on Santa’s Good List to get toys and presents at Christmas time.
Santa and Dumbledore
Is this image referring to the self-sacrificing ability of some individuals who are capable of far more good deeds than the rest of us to ease our burden for a time?
This idea reminded me of Dumbledore drinking the poison water so Harry could destroy another ‘horcrux’. Perhaps Santa and Dumbledore represent a certain type of individual, or better yet, these characters are archetypes of a powerful curative force that lives inside of us and allows a human being to endure pain and suffering, even unto death, for the good of others.
This seemed to be on the right trail and so the images I found included these.
And of course Dumbledore drinking the poison, which turns out to be the most important image and article of everything explored here.
Image from: Division and Disloyalty: Ignoring Our Friends’ Wishes – and Our Own | Featured image: Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) suffers in excruciating pain in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) as he swallows the harmful potion he made himself drink. ‘This potion might paralyse me, might make me forget why I’m here, might cause me so much pain I beg for relief. You are not to indulge these requests. It’s your job, Harry, to make sure I keep on drinking this potion, even if you have to force it down my throat.’ Like Dumbledore, we make promises which we go on to contradict, creating fascinating ethical dilemmas for those around us. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
This article, Division and Disloyalty: Ignoring Our Friends’ Wishes — and Our Own that was written by James Clark Ross and published 21 April 2020, is what my psyche was trying to convey to me as I assembled the final animation for this very short and not very good poem. He writes:
We like to think of ourselves as unified agents. With apparent clarity, we take ownership of who we are and the decisions we make. But we are misled. Clarity assumes consensus; and, underneath ‘ourselves’, motivations divide us.
Of our conscious thoughts, we form beliefs which immediately retreat, dematerialise, or mutate beyond recognition into new tokens. Of our unconscious desires, feelings pass by and vanish, having never really existed. Who we are—what we believe and what we desire—is unstable, uncertain, and transient.
This is troubling. For how can we be sure that one part of ourselves persists through time? We can only claim who we are on unsteady ground.
More, are we in conflict? If we don’t coordinate our motivations with unity, disloyalty will always be within us: we will always be fighting ourselves.
Clark is getting at the division raging inside of ourselves. Jung also spoke of this inner divide saying:
“The greatest sin is to be unconscious.”
— C.G. Jung quotes from Quotefancy.com
Our world is very complicated and most of us are taught to operate in it like very small, spoiled children. We are taught to not question the system but to go to work at nine, come home at 6, squeeze all the housework, time with children, spouse or friends into 4 or 5 hours, go to sleep, wake up and do it again. Why? So we can be good consumers for the system that we must depend upon to sustain us or else we can’t go on.
But should we really want to go on? Is our current system of a modern life really so great? Is it so glorious and so out-of-this-world that we are willing to commit to most of our adult life to being good and obedient consumers? Is that what we really want?
Alan Watts often posed this question, what do you really want? Do we really want to play the social games of who is the boss, who can have more and who should have less, going to work at places that are mind numbing and super boring only to get laid off when we get too old or its not convenient (Nomadland captures this reality brilliantly).
