Ophiuchus: Is 13 the new zodiac 12?

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What's your sign?  That old pick-up line may have gotten a tad more complicated.

Whereas there used to be only 12 zodiac signs to choose from, now there's a thirteenth one on the horizon.  And if that weren't confusing enough, the inclusion of this extra sign might shift the calculations of all others.  Therefore, a Pisces may no longer swim, nor a Leo roar.

Blame Ophiuchus - Greek for "Snakeholder" and known as "Serpentarius" in Latin.  This constellation is northwest to the center of the Milky Way - its southern part located between Scorpio to the west and Sagittarius to the east.  Although Ptolemy was fully aware of its existence, he nevertheless persisted with a fixed and abstract description of a zodiac with 12 segments of 30 degrees each.  This neatly-packaged, yet inexact interpretation ignores not only Ophiuchus, but also the changing positions of all other constellations with respect to Planet Earth.

What is it about Ophiuchus that Ptolemy and many other astrologers seem to find so compellingly taboo?  Is it that Ophiuchus is the only constellation that seems linked to an actual person?  Is it that this actual person, called Imhotep in Egyptian and Asclepius in Greek, supposedly learned human medicine by watching snakes share healing herbs with one another?  Is it long-term superstition regarding the number 13?

Or was it just so much easier to work with 12 tidy "boxes" than with 13 less standard ones?  After all, the addition of Ophiuchus could shake up our familiar astrological personas faster than one can spell Ptolemy.  Aires would now be from April 19th to May 13th, etc.

But all is not lost!  The alleged gifts of those born within the period of November 30 through December 17 can add zest to the overall zodiac.  These include vivid premonitions, dream interpretations, lofty ideals, the quest for peace and harmony, a pursuit of higher education and wisdom, and the attraction of good luck and fruitful blessings.  Who could ask for more?

Resources

http://the-red-thread.net/ophiuchus2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiuchus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidereal_zodiac

http://professorastrology.com/The%20Professor.htm  

The Quantum Turkey

Photo by Feezo

According to Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, all things inter-are.  By this he means that not only are all things interconnected, but also that they are part and parcel of one another.  

Another way of saying this is "I am he as you are he as you are me as we are all together."  In other words, "I am the walrus" (or the turkey, as the case may be).

Still another explanation is that the subatomic particles of the turkey are literally mixing and matching with those of you and me.  On a quantum-physics level, it seems impossible to delineate where one entity ends and another begins. 

This is a way of being that embraces paradox.  Thich Nhat Hanh writes: "I am the frog swimming happily in the clear water of a pond.  And I am the grass-snake that silently feeds itself on the frog.  I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones, my legs as thin as bamboo sticks.  And I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda."

We are the turkeys roaming freely through the fields, and we are the hunters pursuing with their guns.  We are the corn silk rustling in the breeze, and we are the johnnycake sizzling in the pan.  This is why the Haudenosaunee (Mohawks) give thanks directly to the sources of their sustenance.  Here is an excerpt from their Thanksgiving Address:  

With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden.  Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive.  Many other living things draw strength from them, too.  We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting and thanks.

Now our minds are one.

Resources

https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem/

https://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/i-am-the-walrus/

https://americanindian.si.edu/environment/pdf/01_02_Thanksgiving_Address.pdf

Three Sisters, One Family

Photo by Garlan Miles

The three sisters (corn, beans and squash) have become well-known for their harmonious example.  Thus, the inevitable questions: Where did they come from?  Do they really get along as well as they appear to?  What is the secret of their legendary success?  Native American stories provide deep-rooted answers to these questions.

The "genealogy" of the three sisters is explained within an Iroquois creation story.  Sky Woman fell from a hole in the sky into an endless sea.  Animals rescued her by helping her to land safely on the back of a giant turtle.  "Turtle Island" is now known as North America.  Sky Woman, who was already pregnant when she fell, then gave birth to a daughter.  This daughter later died in childbirth.  The three sisters then grew from her grave to ensure the survival of twin sons: the Iroquois, and all of humanity.

Most tribes tell of sisters with strong individual traits that sometimes clashed.  An Eastern Canadian story states that one sister had a way of running off by herself, and another downright disappeared for awhile.  It took the help of a Mohawk boy to get them all back together again.  The sisters have also been described as quite different in size and style.  One Onondaga story even describes "sister" corn as a lonely young man who eventually marries the clinging bean in favor of the roaming squash.

What most stories agree upon is that the three sisters eventually learned to unite by using their differences in complementary ways for the greater good.  And that - more than anything - is the secret of their success.

Resources

http://www.eso-garden.com

http://www.birdclan.org/threesisters.htm

http://www.evergreen.ca/en/lg/h-corn.html

http://www.iroquois.net/

Thanksgiving and the Apes

Photo by Alain Houle

If gratitude is not your middle name, you might want to try "going ape" for Thanksgiving.  Apes are known to regularly practice the gratitude of reciprocity.

Dr. Frans de Waal, Director of Living Links at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, is one of the world's foremost scientists.  He has dared to emphasize the empathetic attributes of animals to those who believe that only humans are graced with such qualities.

De Waal did intensive study on the simian equivalent of Thanksgiving dinner.  He wanted to see whether a previous service (grooming) by Chimpanzee A to Chimpanzee B would result in a later show of gratitude (the sharing of food) on Chimpanzee B's part.  What he found was that, even after up to two hours had elapsed, Chimpanzee B appeared to remember the favor and was therefore "more likely than usual" to share food with Chimpanzee A.  De Waal concluded that Chimpanzee B's response was "a psychological mechanism known as 'gratitude' in humans."

Is this proof positive that humans have therefore evolved from the apes?  Not necessarily.  If anything, it may be proof positive that humans are a whole other species when it comes to tableside manners...

Resources

http://cultureofempathy.com/References/Experts/Frans-de-Waal.htm#:~:text=%22Empathy%20has%20long%20been%20considered,long%20evolutionary%20history%20in%20humans.

 

Beyond the Mayflower: America's Jewish pilgrims

1759 Touro Synagogue, Newport, RI
Photo by dbking 

Although there were no known Jews on the Mayflower, Jews far from missed the boat when it came to profoundly influencing the very roots of American society.

There was a Jew who sailed with Columbus in 1492, Jews who were part of the "Lost Colony" of Virginia in 1597, and Jews who arrived on the boat following the Mayflower in 1607.  Jews were part of the 1620s Jamestown settlement, part of the 1650s New Amsterdam community, and part of the Newport, Rhode Island community in 1658.

Nevertheless, Jews were considered the perpetual "new kids on the block" who had to prove themselves over and over again.  Some Massachusetts Bay Puritans not only shunned them, but also banished Roger Williams because he dared to propose that "a permission of the most Paganish, Jewish, Turkish, or anti-Christian consciences and worship be granted to all men in all nations and countries."

Ironically, these same Puritans helped to found American law, government and tradition upon key principles of the Hebrew Bible.  In fact, their main purpose for coming to this new "promised land" was to do exactly that.

For example, the New Haven Code of 1655 "contained some 79 statutes, half of which included biblical references, virtually all from the Hebrew Bible."  In 1641 the Massachusetts assembly had "adopted the so-called Capital Laws of New England based almost entirely on Mosaic law."

The Hebrew Bible also profoundly influenced the development of American universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Columbia and Yale.  Hebrew names are prominent in some of their official emblems, and the Hebrew language was a required part of their curricula.  Some of America's key founding fathers (Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton) attended such universities and incorporated their Hebrew Bible education into groundbreaking politics.

Thanksgiving itself has been compared to the ancient Hebrew Sukkot harvest holiday.  Many thanks are certainly in order for the essential contributions of the Jewish pilgrims to a land that they too viewed as ripe with promise.

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_the_United_States

Plymouth Rocks On

The Landing of the Pilgrims
(Henry A. Bacon, 1877)

Legend (or history - take your pick) has it that our "Forefathers" (what, no mothers?) first set foot upon North America by stepping on a rock they nicknamed "Plymouth."  The only trouble is, they didn't begin to tell this story until decades later.

At that point, "they" consisted of one 94-year-old man who conveyed this second-hand information to a group of people who lived in - you guessed it - Plymouth.  (Some suspect they might have had something promotional to gain from this tale; others think that this suspicion is a tad too cynical.)

Nevertheless, there are many "Afterfathers" (descendants of "Forefathers") who continue to embellish this story with all the glory and drama of a biblical saga.  This is no accident.  The Puritan legacy has long been associated with talk of Massachusetts being the Promised Land - complete with a Holy City upon a Hill.

There are many others, who are decidedly not biological descendants of the Mayflower set, that tell a different version of it all.  They say that the Pilgrims actually first arrived at Provincetown (way out on the far end of Cape Cod) and then raised havoc with sacred Native land and possessions.  Forefathers Day, as it is now called each December, would therefore be a day of mourning for some.

And yet there is something to be said for the image of America being founded upon a rock.  This image, which often connotes blessed roots, could serve America well about now.

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forefathers%27_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Rock

 

Apples: The good, the bad, and the generic

The Old Adam and Eve
(E. J. Sullivan, 1898)

According to biblical lore, one bad apple did spoil the whole bunch  (of us, that is).  But was it really the apple that did it?  And... was it really an apple, anyway?

The last in a series of things or events is the one that tends to get scapegoated.  First, God commands that every fruit in the Garden of Eden may be freely eaten except that of the Tree of Knowledge.  Hmmm...  Which fruit do you think humans would therefore crave?  

The serpent then sweet talks Eve.  Eve partakes of the "forbidden fruit."  She offers some to Adam, who also eats it.  Mankind falls.  Scapegoat conclusion: It's obviously the rotten apple's fault.

Notice that even God uses the word "fruit," but we humans tend to say "apple" instead.  Throughout history, the word "apple" has been generically used for many types of fruit.  Hence, "a rose by any other name is still..."  an apple (which sort of makes sense since the apple is technically part of the Rosaceae family).

The apple species is termed "Malus," which is strikingly similar to the Latin word for evil: malum.  The association between apples and evil goes back a long way.  Even among the Ancient Greeks, apples had a bad rap.  The Greek goddess of discord, Eris, angrily tossed an apple into a wedding party, just to stir things up a bit.  The Trojan War ensued.

Nevertheless, this fruit does have some biblical merit.  Once past Genesis, apples begin to come into their own.  Deuteronomy, Proverbs, Zechariah and the Psalms refer to a greatly valued person or object as "the apple of your eye."  Proverbs 25:11 compares "a word fitly spoken" to "apples of god in settings of silver."  The Song of Solomon uses apples (and most things) in a sensual context.  Joel 1:12 equates the withering of an apple tree "with a sense of profound loss."

Even today, we still carry quite an ambivalence concerning apples.  Although we fear the possibility of a razor-ridden specimen, we avidly bob for them at Halloween parties.  We use them to keep our teachers close by, but our doctors far away.  So when somebody asks, "How do you like them apples?" - we need to scratch our heads and think for a good long while...

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_and_Eve

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_(symbolism)