In God is a Lion there is continual reference to myth and fairy tales. These iconic stories represent universal patterns of human experience and culture and play themselves out in our lives day by day. The more one becomes conscious of how the myth is guiding them, the more one can participate in the process, although we cannot control how the story unfolds , our conscious participation in it can become transformative. The axis for the entire story line of God is a Lion is based on a transformation of a fairy tale entitled “The Wounded Lion.” I created the following collage images which envision the transforming power of myth.
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“The Wounded Lion” – the text is included in God is a Lion on page 41. The story is explored throughout the entire book.
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“The Lion Tribe” – on page 292 of the book you will find a story entitled The Lioness. It is a version of a Bushman myth about humans who were known as the Lion’s Tribe. The image is a whimsical portrayal of living as a member of the Lion’s Tribe.
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“Hercules” – this image presents a 21st century image of a modern Hercules who behaves like a coward and hides behind guns rather than engaging the Lion directly. This myth is discussed in depth in God is a Lion.
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“Medusa” – the image is a transformed image of Medusa who traditionally is regarded as a sort of female monster. The story of how this image came to be is told in the book, pp. 83-84.
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“God is a Lion” – this image represents a powerful dream I had about being in a cathedral in which a Lioness and her cubs had replaced the traditional Christian images. See p. 35.
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“The White Snake” is a fairy tale which recounts how if one eats a bite of this magical snake, one learns to speak the language of the animals. I had an encounter with a white snake at Harnas, p. 189. The image shows a concentration of snake energy. Snakes are associated with evil in the Christian tradition. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is often pictured crushing the head of the serpent under her foot.
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“Sphinx and Kore” envisions the child at the doorway into the power of myth – on one side the Sphinx representing the wisdom of ancient Egypt; on the other, Kore embodies the wisdom of the ancient Greeks. The white mask is African.
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“Red Riding Hood” – this image envisions a transformation of this traditional fairy tale which makes of the animal, the wolf, a fearsome enemy. Back beyond western civilization, powerful animals were seen as consorts of the goddess. The pomegranate recalls the story of Peresphone.
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“Philemon and Baucis” – a story from Ovid in which the gods come disguised to an elderly couple who treat them with great hospitality only to be overawed when the gods reveal themselves in their Olympic forms. The image portrays the trickery of the gods and what happens when one invites the stranger to supper.
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“The Fates” – this image illustrates the phenomenon of the Triple Goddess with images from all over the world.
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“Raven Steals the Light” – I wrote a collection of poems entitled Raven’s Canto in which I use stories of the peoples of the Pacific Northwest as commentary on the great oil spills which have devastated so many parts of the earth. The Raven is a trickster god, always making chaos.
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“Badbh Catha” – is an ancient Celtic crone associated with fate and death. In Raven’s Canto, I envision her having a conference with the Pacific Northwest wisdom crone who takes the form of a mouse. They consult about the fate of the human race.