Game of Tag

For the most part, I have been avoiding the blogopshere events like blog parties, follow me's, contests, etc. There are two principal reasons for this: 1) Oftentimes, I just cannot relate to the prompts &/or I don't have enough time to think deeply & formulate a response. This is directly related to the more important issue, 2) I do not want to compromise the quality of my posts/blog by pumping out volumes of responses in order to keep up with the herd -- this is the primary reason I opted not to join a very interesting, very popular new blog project in which some of my personal friends are participating. In a way, I feel a bit left out, but I must do this my way. Black sheep. Always.

That said, I have difficulty turning down a personal request & I received two of these blog playground "tags" which I was going to politely decline, but then I reconsidered. Kourtney over at the Multi-Faceted Experience & Maglay over at Pagan Culture both "tagged" me this week, & after reading Maglay's rule-breaking approach, I figured I could oblige them a response in my own fashion.

Let us begin with the rules. I am not fond of such things, especially during playtime, so they're out. We were supposed to begin with 11 random things about ourselves. I am opting to follow the wisdom of my 2nd Grade Language Arts Workbook & Reader entitled, "Seven is Magic." (Funny how some things just stay with you after so many years.) I've decided to take seven things I have said about myself so thus far in this blog. As it happens, I began this project nearly seven short months ago, so I'll venture to take one for each month. It could be interesting (at least to me), so let the exercise in narcissism begin!

• I think more than I can write: "I have scraps of writing littering my bed & bedside; lists of things to investigate later, short reflections on a moment, unfinished thoughts, notations from pages upon pages of books..." from Scraps: Disgust on a 3x5 Card

• I talk to slime moulds: "I would have passed her by, thinking her some kind of human refuse, had she not hailed me as she postured along the creekside like a Las Vegas showgirl... Simultaneously appalled & awestruck, I realized that this was actually something living -- I had heard right, she did holler at me." from Wandering: A Mystery with the Most Vivid Colour

• I have unfulfilled promises on my conscience: "Back in 1992 or 1993 I attended a blót during which I made an oath I did not keep. In my "youthful exuberance" & utter foolishness, I made a vow to Freya..." from Thoughts While Nursing: With Apologies to Freya

• I am envious of those more feral than me: "West Virginia has always been, to my mind, a place of mystery, folklore & strange knowledge tucked away in unfamiliar, dark hills. I had a friend in college who was raised somewhere in that mysterious place... every time she spoke of her childhood in West Virginia, she started turn feral right before your eyes. I was so jealous." from Transforming "Spiritual Warfare": Day 16 (West Virginia)

• I will do anything to get the right shot of a Moonrise: "Me -- muttering to the Moon while neighbors & motorists glance at me askance -- wading through backyards, tripping over snowbanks, clinging to the overpass to capture Her arrival." -- from Full Moon Pie

• I talk to canyons too... everyday, in fact: "The canyon I greet every morning shares the same shades as French toast at this time of day, in this overcast light. I have no name for it -- official or otherwise -- the ravine of my morning ritual, this old & familiar friend... perhaps I shall call it Breakfast Canyon." -- from Liberty, Liberté

• I compulsively question the underlying relationships of everything: "I would argue that this "question-asking" is essential to the pursuit of spiritual development & awareness. It is an avenue, a channel, a path to the mysteries & to the gods. It is not the only way, but it is a vital one." -- from Sciento-Paganism, Entry I: The Mystery of Relationship

As if that wasn't enough, the game goes on (!) with 11 questions, written by the "tagger" to be answered by the "tag" recipient. I decided to play pick-&-choose from Kourtney's (very nice) list of 11 & Maglay's handful of links (she opted not to write an list herself --  & I will be following her example!) I chose seven questions  that I thought could be answered in a thoughtful manner, or might have some relevance to Paganism, spirituality, etc. 

1. Do you have a favorite quote or mantra? What is it? Yes. A line found in a couple of books written by Patricia Geary (Strange Toys & either The Other Canyon or Guru Cigarettes -- not sure which). It is, to me, something of a mantra, or at least an enduring reminder: "Ennui is the death of the only soul worth having." 
2. Name the first word or image that comes to mind. My Mac's desktop homage to Herne: digital artwork created by myself using an personal image of the Moon & a photo of a sculpture created by DeviantArt contributor Jewel-lilet. 



Herne with Lady Luna.

3. What is your favorite spell, if any?  I don't really have a "favourite" but, I am very fond of improv spells such as the one spontaneously created by my Little Lad this past fall. See Children Are Naturals (A Healing for Baby B)
4. What is your favourite smell? The scent of the high desert after a rain.   
5. What is your favorite herb? Desert Sagebrush (Artemesia Tridentata), for being the primary source of the answer to question 4.
6. What is the weirdest movie you have ever seen? Juan Moctezuma's "Mansion de la Locura/Mansion of Madness" which is very loosely based on the Edgar Allen Poe story, The System of Dr. Tarr & Prof. Fether. Moctezuma was a Mexican B-movie director who had an incredible (& incredibly bizarre) imagination. He also created one of one of my favourite films, Alucarda. Both films are rife with pagan themes, although not necessarily flattering in their depictions. That's ok with me because I have a sense of humour. I was going to provide an imbedded trailer for Mansion of Madness here, but it is filled with sexual violence, run-of-the-mill violence, inexplicable weirdness, gratuitous nudity & general mayhem, all terribly out of context. Since I don't have an adult filter on my blog, I don't really want to be responsible for upsetting, offending, disturbing folks... or their children. So, here's a pretty picture instead:   



Image from Mondo Esoterica. Film trailer found here.

7. What is your favorite movie? The Wicker Man (1973). If for no other reason than this scene:

...a stirring adaptation of a poem by Walt Whitman which speaks very directly & personally to my soul.

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are
so placid and self - contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long. 

They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the
mania of owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived
thousands of years ago,
Not one is respectable, or unhappy over the whole earth. 

So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them plainly in their possession.

Well, frightening as it might seem, the game continues... but I have had quite enough of the game & myself. With that, I conclude this game of "Tag" & say goodnight. (None of you shall be tagged! I am sparing you all the nonsense & self-indulgence... Although it was thought provoking to read thru the past few months of entries, I think I would be better off sleeping.)