Fun for All Seasons

[Argentrose]

Because I like to look at details, sometimes I tend to find things interesting that others don’t. I turn the pieces all over to see what there is to see, and more often than not, while I’ve learned something interesting, the effort is just information at the expense of time. Still, I enjoy throwing things into the digital void just to see what will make itself known, and being a poet, I can get rather esoteric in my knowledge–a real T. S. Elliot.

So I’ve let this percolate for a while, for I find that if it percolates, eventually things will come to the top that are of interest to me. Suffice to say, I had a hard time sleeping last night–too many things to think about, not enough headspace, knowledge, or time to do it all in. But after all of that, I found a few things of interest, and an anecdote that I will share, because it was …amusing.

1321 was an interesting year, I suppose. I’m sure I could look at other years and find something of interest in them, but of particular interest was the story told about the lepers. For your own edification:

The Year 1321

And then, because @shinobi mentioned that Irene’s name derived from the Greek word for peace, I decided to dig a little into that, because who doesn’t love a good dig?

Behind the Name Irene
Irene and its Variants
IRENE — People, Places, and Things with the Name

And then, because the name is associated with the Horai (Hora, Horae,) I decided it would be fun to just take a stroll down some mythology alley and see what that was all about. Mind you, Greek mythology is a basket full of worms, and picking which variant to use to bait your hook is the hard part. Still, of note is that Eirene was considered the Hora of Spring and Peace–usually worshiped in conjunction with Eunomia (Good Order, Good Pasture,) and Dike (Justice.)

There is a WHOLE rabbit hole you can jump down if you want to read more about all the Horae, their parentage, etc. I will add that there are two other interesting things about the Horae–they were often considered minsters of Zeus–keepers of the weather–which were associated with seasons and time. They were also known as goddesses of the heavenly order and thus Guardians of the Gates of Heaven. Anyway, if you want to jump down that hole:

The Hora (Horae, Horai)

And so I leave you….

[Argentrose]

Oh yes…I forgot, one last thing:

I think it was @unseenpresence yesterday who mentioned something about the Holy Grail, but I guess something must have stuck from that.

A while back, I was reading about Napoleon’s Sorcerers and found it interesting that much like our own immersive theater, they had their own kind of initiations, theater, and the like.

One of the stories in particular remained with me–the story of the initiation of women into their Order. They had tests that they would put people through, and in particular, this test was to see what someone would do given an order and then tempted to defy it.

In essence the woman would be placed in a room with a box. The box had a lock, and the woman was given the key to the lock but told only to guard the box and not to allow anyone to see what was inside it. Nor was she allowed to look within it. And thus they would leave her. After a time, others would join her in the room, seeking to get her to open the box–if not for them to see, then at least for her to take a peak. After all, what could be the harm? Cajoled, tempted, …the test continued until morning came, or the box was opened.

What I come back to with both of these is the idea of the “Perfect Vessel”–the Holy Grail–something so pure as to acquire in and of itself meaning. I’m not sure where I’m going with this, yet, and it ties into ideas behind virginity having power and so on and so forth. But for some odd reason it amused me–the idea of an Order seeking for the perfect vessel, a holy grail, a person who simply chose not to use the key to open the box. What use could there be for such people…?

~~ AR

• This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by Argentrose. Reason: to get her TO open the box.... >

[rosie]

Do you have any suggested books or articles about these rituals? This is exactly the kind of thing I’m a huge nerd for. I did a section in my bachelor’s thesis about occult festivals in revolutionary era Paris, so this is RIGHT up my alley!

[Argentrose]

So this is the book I am referring to here:

Napoleon’s Sorcerers: The Sophisians

I only read a small excerpt from it while looking for a certain phrase (which isn’t memorable enough that I remember it, sadly.) If you’re interested in that sort of stuff, though, this might be a fun read, and I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions if you do.

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