Deity exchange

Spent an hour in the Borders' parking lot last night talking to Caroline about every damned thing. Unfortunately, a)it was cold and b)I stood with my hips locked for most of the conversation, which means that I'm stil in pain this morning about the whole thing.

Not that it wasn't worth it. Conversations with Caroline generally are. As it happens, we've discovered that the Quetzalcoatl Girls are trading goddesses. Caroline got Hathor from H., I got Oshun from Caroline, presumably saffronhare got Eris from me... I think that means that kittenpants is due Andraste, and H. might get... well, I'm not sure. Athena, maybe, or Hestia... or Shiva/Shakti. Fun for all.

myrsine posted her translation of a poem about trading saints the other day - I should post it up here from her, but the thrust of it was that all the parishes sent their saints out to other parishes, saying that they were owed favors from the saints, and that if the Blessed Ones didn't keep their end of the bargain, they'd all have to walk home. I think this goes the other way around though - I think if we don't keep faith, we will be the ones who have to walk home, if we can get there.

Caroline re-affirmed for me her statement on finding the right path... "If it scares you, you're on the right road. And if you're on the right road, and you're scared, then you just have to keep walking, because if you stand still when you're frightened, you will be accosted."

So I must be on the right road (a right road, anyway). I'm really not used to functioning on the feminine side of things, and the whole emotional realm is fairly foreign territory, and the whole thing scares the bejeezus out of me. But it's a toolset that I need to acquire, or I'm incomplete. Useful androgyny requires skills from both sides. Adding to my (hopefully productive) discomfort, Caroline offered to give me a white dress.

Not to mention, there's that thing with the chickens.

Deity exchange

Spent an hour in the Borders' parking lot last night talking to Caroline about every damned thing. Unfortunately, a)it was cold and b)I stood with my hips locked for most of the conversation, which means that I'm stil in pain this morning about the whole thing.

Not that it wasn't worth it. Conversations with Caroline generally are. As it happens, we've discovered that the Quetzalcoatl Girls are trading goddesses. Caroline got Hathor from H., I got Oshun from Caroline, presumably saffronhare got Eris from me... I think that means that kittenpants is due Andraste, and H. might get... well, I'm not sure. Athena, maybe, or Hestia... or Shiva/Shakti. Fun for all.

myrsine posted her translation of a poem about trading saints the other day - I should post it up here from her, but the thrust of it was that all the parishes sent their saints out to other parishes, saying that they were owed favors from the saints, and that if the Blessed Ones didn't keep their end of the bargain, they'd all have to walk home. I think this goes the other way around though - I think if we don't keep faith, we will be the ones who have to walk home, if we can get there.

Caroline re-affirmed for me her statement on finding the right path... "If it scares you, you're on the right road. And if you're on the right road, and you're scared, then you just have to keep walking, because if you stand still when you're frightened, you will be accosted."

So I must be on the right road (a right road, anyway). I'm really not used to functioning on the feminine side of things, and the whole emotional realm is fairly foreign territory, and the whole thing scares the bejeezus out of me. But it's a toolset that I need to acquire, or I'm incomplete. Useful androgyny requires skills from both sides. Adding to my (hopefully productive) discomfort, Caroline offered to give me a white dress.

Not to mention, there's that thing with the chickens.

Ah. Here it is.

The Exchange of Saints
by Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque
(translation by myrsine)

The porcelain St. Joseph is going to live
At the altar of the Immaculate Conception
The good saint, dislodged, can now awaken
And come to the aid of his faithful without land, without work or bread

The alabaster Virgin of the Conception
Goes by wagon to the church of Bonfim
The Virgin troubled with hearing our prayers
To deliver us from drought, from torrents, and from bad seasons

The good Jesus of neon light leaves Bonfim
For the chapel of St. Carlos Borromeu
The good Lord, annoyed, must now remember at last
To send the times of abundance that he promised us

The soapstone Borromeu goes to the altar
Belonging to the Mother-Star of Nazareth
Who now is on the move to the monastery of St. John
And the Evangelist to the basilica of St. Joseph

But if our lives still don't improve
If the blessed ones abandon their good faith
And the parishes with their saints, all far from their places
If a saint wants to go home, he'll have to walk

Ah. Here it is.

The Exchange of Saints
by Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque
(translation by myrsine)

The porcelain St. Joseph is going to live
At the altar of the Immaculate Conception
The good saint, dislodged, can now awaken
And come to the aid of his faithful without land, without work or bread

The alabaster Virgin of the Conception
Goes by wagon to the church of Bonfim
The Virgin troubled with hearing our prayers
To deliver us from drought, from torrents, and from bad seasons

The good Jesus of neon light leaves Bonfim
For the chapel of St. Carlos Borromeu
The good Lord, annoyed, must now remember at last
To send the times of abundance that he promised us

The soapstone Borromeu goes to the altar
Belonging to the Mother-Star of Nazareth
Who now is on the move to the monastery of St. John
And the Evangelist to the basilica of St. Joseph

But if our lives still don't improve
If the blessed ones abandon their good faith
And the parishes with their saints, all far from their places
If a saint wants to go home, he'll have to walk

Reason #2513 why I shouldn't breed

Posted with apologies to all my friends who happen to have babies, or who happen to be babies - it's nothing personal.

Noticed on my hotmail homepage (which I detest, by the way - I really just want my messages, and I'm not interested in any of M$N's supposed 'content') the article "7 cures for a crying baby". I can run through a lot more than that, but I'm betting the ones with things in them like duct tape and expanding foam didn't make the MSN list.

Reason #2513 why I shouldn't breed

Posted with apologies to all my friends who happen to have babies, or who happen to be babies - it's nothing personal.

Noticed on my hotmail homepage (which I detest, by the way - I really just want my messages, and I'm not interested in any of M$N's supposed 'content') the article "7 cures for a crying baby". I can run through a lot more than that, but I'm betting the ones with things in them like duct tape and expanding foam didn't make the MSN list.