Cultural Mythology: Myth, culture, and consciousness

January

                                   When snow brings sleep and silence covers all,                
                                   Raven dreams skyward to pluck the light once more
                                   from heaven's roof. Waking, framed funereal
                                   against the ash-gray sky, brown fields before
                                   him capped in spinning white, the wind roars
                                   echo to his hoarse quork and rattle call---
                                   to hunt with corvid cunning, swooping low
                                   for any darting, glint-eyed catch---he alone
                                   champion, prime, primal, predatory one
                                   can hold back cold, hunger, death and night.
                                   Norse god Hrafn, who first captured the sun,
                                   hurled it down to make the dark world bright,
                                   black against the crystal curtain soaring
                                   pine high, greets winter's stroke upon his wings.

---Julianna McCarthy, from A Bird As Black As The Sun: California Poets on Crows and Ravens. The image is Odin's Raven by Jennifer Webb.

I just couldn't resist wrapping up this meditation on Odin with a poem--- and I see his messengers everywhere here in the Mojave. This is a great book of poetry by the way, if these smart birds speak to you too.

Trick(ster) or Treat," Native American Coyote tales

Lecture and Storytelling, Friday October 14th, 7-9PM, Room 101 at Copper Mountain Community College

The Great Spirit told Coyote that he would be wise and foolish, perpetually old and eternally young. How can this be? Coyote has special resonance here in the desert. Explore coyote consciousness and the paradox of the archetypal trickster through these traditional stories.  $10. Room 101 CMCC    

Troll-hag

We've reach the happy ending in the tale of Valmeon the White Bear King but the story has left us with many things to puzzle over and meditate upon. I'll start with something the story evoked in me.

A curious thing happened when I told the story at the High Desert Mythological RoundTable this summer. Somehow the Troll-Hag in my telling had a weird hillbilly-ish accent. I later referred to her as "bad," revealing an unrecognized prejudice towards this character in the story that members of the roundtable brought to my attention. I've been thinking about my relationship to the Troll-Hag ever since.

What is a Troll-Hag? A female troll. Trolls are important figures in Norse and Scandinavian mythology. They're generally big (often giants), strong, and ugly, sometimes slow-witted, or violent, and rarely helpful. They are also, like the Greek Titans, very old beings associated with the elemental forces of nature. The painting above, by Theodor Kittelsen, depicts a troll who resembles a forested mountain. Another important characteristic, displayed by the Troll-Hag in Valemon, is appetite. Trolls consume. So we have a big, all-devouring feminine force, one who is close to the ground/matter/mater/mother. It's likely that she survived the fall through the trap door in one form or another. This kind of energy can't be destroyed. She's a necessary part of our world. Robert Bly and others who tell the story of Valemon evoke the Great Mother-Destroyer Kali, the Hindu goddess who is both womb and tomb.

The Troll-Hag in Valemon doesn't come off very well because she bewitches the king and stands in the way of his marriage to the king's daughter. I think this falls squarely into the "unhelpful" category of activity if you take the side of either of the two human beings, but she's entitled to her agenda. She's a force to be reckoned with and maybe that's the point. We don't know why she turned the king into a bear, but we do know that she made him some kind of a deal. He had a way out. That's why he found the princess, and maybe why he had the golden wreath. The Troll-Hag also negotiated with the princess. She didn't crush her, chase her away, or just snatch the golden scissors, flask, and cloth. She bargained for them. In A Branch From the Lightning Tree, Martin Shaw reads this as clue that the story is about initiation, and I agree.

To think that the Troll-Hag plays a part in this story that echoes the role filled by the glorious goddess Aphrodite in Eros and Psyche. Wow. I really like Shaw's handling of the story (and his book in general), so I'll conclude with another borrowed insight: to meet the Hag is to begin articulating real desire. What you want for yourself, not what everyone else wants for you or from you. No apologies. You have the metal claws required to climb up to the top of that glass mountain.

Life is the most wonderful fairy tale of all. ~Hans Christian Andersen~

The wedding day

The princess managed to negotiate with the Troll-hag for two nights with Valemon, through the skillful use of the golden scissors and the flask. But to little use. Both nights the white bear king was in a deep,drugged sleep. But she had one card left to play, and her luck was about to change.

The next day the king's daughter sat outside the window again. When it was dinner time she said," Cloth, spread thyself and deck thyself with every good dish!" Suddenly there was enough food for a hundred men. When the Troll-hag laid her eyes on that feast, she wanted to buy the cloth. “How much do you want for that cloth?” she asked. “They cook and bake around the clock but there are too many mouths to feed.” “The cloth is not for sale for money,” answered the king’s daughter,” but I will trade it for one more night with your sweetheart.” “Is that all,” said the troll-hag laughing. “Sure, sure you can stay with him tonight. Come to the castle at 8PM.”

The Troll-hag went to Valemon at 7PM but this time he was on his guard. When she handed him the potion he said “Oh look, what is that out the window?” and poured the potion onto the rug when she turned to look. Valemon feigned sleep. But the Troll-hag didn't trust him any further than she could throw him. She took a darning needle and stuck it through his arm, to see if he was sleeping soundly enough. This really hurt but he didn't move or make a sound.

When the king's daughter came that night he was wide awake. They had a fine reunion. But they had to get rid of the Troll-hag before he would be free. This was the appointed wedding day. Now, before the wedding a grand procession was planned and according to custom the bride would ride first. The procession crossed a bridge over a steep deep chasm and Valemon got the carpenters to make a trap door on this bridge that the bridal procession was to cross. When the Troll-hag started across with all her Troll-hag bridesmaids, the planks under them dropped open and they fell through. Down, down, down.

King Valemon and the princess and all the wedding guests ran back to the castle. They took as much of the Troll-hag's wealth as they could carry and rushed back to his country to hold the real wedding. On the way, they stopped at the three cottages and fetched the three little girls, who were their children. Now the king's daughter knew why the white bear had taken them--so that they could help her find her him.

Back in their castle again, they all lived happily ever after.

the carpenters

So Valemon was to marry the Troll-hag in just three days. Not good news for the king’s daughter but she was not ready to give up yet. “May I talk with the Troll-hag?” she asked. Not likely! Impossible, in fact, the workers said. The princess looked up at the castle. Then she sat down under a window and got out the golden scissors. Snip, snip, snip and soon the ground around her was covered with fine garments. Silken clothing flew around her like a snow flurry. The Troll-hag was upstairs. She looked out of the window and saw this.

“How much do you want for those scissors?” she asked. “My tailors and seamstresses are working round the clock but there are just too many to be clothed.” “The scissors are not for sale for money,” answered the king’s daughter,” but I will trade them for one night with your sweetheart.” “Is that all?,” said the Troll-hag. “You can stay with him tonight. Come to the castle at 8PM.” But the Troll-hag went to Valemon at 7PM. “You better get your rest before our wedding night my sweet prince” she said, and gave him a sleeping potion.

That night Valemon could not be roused no matter how the king’s daughter shouted. “I’m here, I’m here,” she cried, but he did not hear her.

The next day the king's daughter sat outside the window again and started pouring from the flask. It flowed like a brook, both beer and wine, and never ran dry. When the Troll-hag laid eyes on that, she wanted to buy it. “How much do you want for that flask?” she asked. “They toil at the brewing and distilling around the clock but there are too many who need to drink.” “The flask is not for sale for money,” answered the king’s daughter,” but I will trade it for one more night with your sweetheart.” “Is that all?,” said the Troll-hag. “Sure, you can stay with him tonight. Come to the castle at 8PM.”

But again the Troll-hag went to Valemon at 7PM. “Our wedding night will be here soon my sweet prince” she said, “better get your strength up, heh heh heh,” and gave him a sleeping potion again. So the princess had no better luck that night either. Valemon could not be roused no matter how loudly she shouted and cried. He did not hear her.

That night however, a group of carpenters was working in the room next door. They heard her crying and the next day they told the prince. “We heard a woman weeping in your room last night sir,” they said. “Strange, strange,” he replied and wondered, could it be, that the princess was near? She must have come, the king's daughter who was to have freed him.

 

glass mountain

The king's daughter said her thanks then set off through the forest again. At last she came to the foot of a steep mountain spur made of slippery glass, so high and so wide that she couldn’t see an end to it. There was a cottage there too, and an old woman. “Please tell me,” she said to the old woman, “have you seen anything of White Bear King Valemon?” "Were you the one to have had him, maybe?" asked the old woman. “Yes” said the princess. "Well, he rushed by here yesterday, but he went so fast that you won't catch up with him," the old woman replied.

The cottage was full of ragged little children, and they all clung to their mother's apron strings and cried for food. Their mother put a pot of pebbles on the fire to boil. "Hearing the sound of the water boiling assuages their hunger for a little while," she explained to the princess. The king's daughter immediately got out the cloth and the flask. When the children were fed and happy, she clipped out clothing for them with the golden scissors.

“Thank you” said the old woman. “You’ve been so kind to us that we must help you. My husband is a metal smith and when he returns I’ll ask him to forge metal claws for your hands and feet so you can climb up the mountain.” This she did, and the king’s daughter, thus equipped, began her long climb without delay.

The princess has been given the means to clothe and sustain herself and others. When confronted by the poverty at this last cottage, she responds quickly and generously. Something is changing. I'm not sure how to read the huge glass mountain but two things occur to me. One, what we aspire to find is usually "on top of the mountain," which symbolizes both the heights and the arduous upward journey. Mountains, as solid, bulky, masses of earth with buried riches, vast and abundant, grounded and soaring into the heavens, have been called the throne of eternal mother. Mountains have masculine and feminine attributes in our collective imagination or library of metaphorical meanings, just like the bear. Two, the princess with her metal claws more closely resembles the white bear, yes?

The princess crept and crawled up the mountainside the whole day and night. At just the moment when she thought she couldn’t lift her hand one more time she was so tired, she got to the top. There was a broad plain, with fields and meadows and a castle filled with workers of every kind. The king’s daughter went to the castle. "What is going on here?" she asked. This is the castle of the Troll-hag who bewitched White Bear King Valemon she was told, and all of the activity was for their wedding, which was to take place in just three days. Looks like she's arrived just in time.

The scissors, the flask, and the cloth

The princess walked all day and all night. At last she came to a cottage where there lived an old crone and a pretty little girl. “Please tell me,” she said, “have you seen anything of White-Bear-King-Valemon?” “Yes,” they answered, “but he ran by here so fast that you won’t catch up with him again.”

The little girl was playing with a pair of golden scissors. Strips of silk and velvet flew about when she clipped the air. Wherever the scissors were there was no lack of clothing. “I think,” the little girl said to the crone,” that we should give this poor woman the scissors. She has many hard miles to travel and needs them more than I do.” The crone agreed and they gave the golden scissors to the princess.

The king's daughter said her thanks then set off through the forest again. She walked all day and all night. At last she came to a cottage where there once again lived an old crone and a pretty little girl. “Please tell me,” she said, “have you seen anything of White-Bear-King-Valemon?” "Were you the one to have had him, maybe?" asked the old woman. “Yes” said the princess. “Well yes we saw him,” they answered, “but he ran by here so fast that you won’t catch up with him again.” The little girl was playing with a flask.  Whenever she tipped the flask out poured whatever drink they wanted--- cold water or iced tea or wine or a latte----wherever the flask was, there was no lack of drink. “I think,” the little girl said to the crone,” that we should give this poor woman the flask. She has many hard miles to travel and needs it more than I do.” The crone agreed and they gave the flask to the princess.

The king's daughter said her thanks then set off through the forest again. She walked all day and all night. At last she came to a cottage where there once again lived an old crone and a pretty little girl. “Please tell me,” she said, “have you seen anything of White-Bear-King-Valemon?” "Were you the one to have had him, maybe?" asked the old woman. “Yes” said the princess. “Well yes we saw him,” they answered, “but he ran by here so fast that you won’t catch up with him again.” The little girl was playing with a cloth. Whenever they said to it, "Cloth, spread, and deck thyself with every good dish!" it did so. Wherever the cloth was, there was no lack of good food. “I think,” the little girl said to the crone,” that we should give this poor woman the cloth. She has many hard miles to travel and needs it more than I do.” The crone agreed and they gave the cloth to the princess.

The princess is doing a lot of walking but is this hike in the woods the ultimate test, do you think? There is no obvious taskmaster, like Aphrodite in Psyche's story, so what drives the princess on? Why didn't she just go back to her loving parents? Is it love for Valemon the white bear king? Or is it the mysterious sense of destiny she feels about the wreath and the bear and the role she apparently plays in his fate? There are times when we act out of a deep sense of necessity, even if we have little faith in the outcome. TImes when all we can do is show up and allow ourselves to be led. I am reminded of when I started painting many years ago. I couldn't explain the impulse. I knew nothing. But painting initiated a life-changing conversation between aspects of my psyche. It was soul work.

I think what leads us in these moments is the deep Self. Perhaps you know what I'm talking about.

The real test for the beautiful young princess lies ahead. Right now she is gathering resources from the archetypal feminine, in the form of the young girls and the old crones. We see the familiar triad here, with the beautiful princess occupying the middle position of woman in her childbearing years. The gifts that she receives are all tools for creating abundance associated with the feminine. The scissors in particular, are a feminine symbol of transformation used to shape something new. How will these gifts be put to use? Stay tuned...

 

Lighting the candle

The first night she was back at the white bear's palace, after the bear-man had fallen asleep,the princess lit the candle stub and took a good look at him. He was a very handsome young man, beautifully formed. She bent closer and a drop of hot wax fell onto his forehead. He woke and jumped up from the bed. "Oh no," he cried, "If only you had waited one more month, I could have been a man all of the time. But now I must leave you and marry the troll-hag who bewitched me." The princess was horrified and she cried and begged but to no avail. He turned back into a bear and prepared to run away into the forest. At the last moment the princess jumped onto his back and held tight. She rode the white bear for a long time and the branches and brambles scratched her face and tore at her hair and her clothes. At last she grew tired and fell off into the dry leaves.

What a minute. If only she had waited for another month? Timing is everything, right? But the bear never told her anything about this process or the possibility of change. He never explicitly told her not to look at him either. Here the story varies from Eros and Psyche. Eros is not consciously seeking transformation and he tells Psyche to play along indefinitely, and be happy in the blind bliss of of erotic entanglement. But because the princess doesn't know about the white bear-man's deal with the troll-hag, she is also (like Psyche) left in the dark.

We know that transformation in a love relationship involves both parties. The white bear needs the princess to bring about his personal transformation but she has to be transformed also. The princess can't just be an unwitting pawn/player in his drama. The troll hag's spell is powerful stuff!

When she woke up, the princess was alone in the forest. Now the real test begins. Who or what will help her? What skills will she need?

Valemon the white bear man?

In my last post I shared information about a workshop on heartbreak and loss with Ginette Paris. I'm doing a story event here in the high desert on the September 16th so unfortunately I can't attend, but I would love to hear comments from those who do. Can we be transformed by love without being broken by it? I don't think so.

Now back our story (and I really am living this one these days). The white bear takes the beautiful princess to his lovely palace. It's really a fantastic place, much nicer than her father's castle. During the day the bear is away presumably doing bear things, but at night he comes back to the princess and the palace. Then he is a man and makes love to her in the darkness. She doesn't see him but she can smell and hear and feel him. They live together like this for three years and everything goes as well as could be expected. But every year the princess has a baby and the bear takes each child away moments after birth. The princess is saddened by this and finally quite despondent. She decides that she wants to go home and visit her family.

Her husband doesn't want to see her so sad. "You can go visit your family," he says, "But promise me one thing. Don't do what your mother suggests and listen to your father." The princess says okay to this and the white bear takes her home.

Her family is happy to see her and also very curious about her life with the bear. One night when she is sitting with her parents, her mother brings up the subject of the bear again. "I'm concerned about this man-bear-man-bear thing," her mother said. "It doesn't seem  safe to me. I really think that you need to get a good look at him so you know who or what you are dealing with." Now there are no lamps, no candles, no lights of any sort at the bear's palace. The princess tells her mother that she really doesn't have the means and she's not so sure that it's a good idea anyway. But her mother presses a candle stub into her hand and says, "Take this back with you." The king shakes his head. "No good will come of this," he declares. But the princess takes the candle.

Now here we are again at that pivotal moment. Should she bring light to her situation or not? What do we make of the fact that her mother urges her and her father discourages her? Who would you listen to in this situation? Personally, I'd rather take advice on sex, love, and home life from my mother. And could the princess be tempted if the same thoughts weren't already in her heart? The bear has never told her not to look...

Valemon the White Bear

When the princess gets back to the palace she tells her father about the wreath and the bear. The king isn't too concerned because he's a king with a great castle and guardsmen and an army. He figures that he can keep the bear away from his lovely daughter. But when the bear comes and roars at the gates, all of the armed men are incapacitated and the bear comes into the palace.

Now the king has two other daughters who are not so lovely (in fact they are kind of a pain). So he gives one of them to the white bear. The bear runs off into the forest with this other princess. After he's run a distance he asks her, "Have you ever sat more softly? Have you ever seen more clearly?" The un-lovely princess says "Yes actually, I sat more softly on my mother's lap and saw more clearly from my father's castle." "You're the wrong one," the bear tells her and dumps her on the ground and runs off, leaving her to find her way home.

The following Thursday the white bear comes again and the guards are incapacitated and the whole scenario is repeated with the other un-lovely princess. Same ride, same questions, same answer, and same long walk home.

When the bear comes a third time and again defeats his men without a struggle, the king gives up his beautiful, youngest princess. When the white bear asks her "Have you ever sat more softly? Have you ever seen more clearly?" The lovely princess says "Never. I've never sat more softly and never seen more clearly." "You are the right one," the bear tells her and carries her further into the woods.

Clearly, this girl's got some gumption because she not only goes with the bear, she aligns herself with him and with what will come next. Her two older, un-lovely sisters were still tied to their parents. Like Psyche, her father plays a significant role (Psyche's father goes to the Oracle and then arranges the wedding/funeral and this king tries to trick the bear or keep him away) and she went willingly into the unknown. Psyche was scared to death because the Oracle told her she was to wed a monster. This princess has glimpsed something different--- the bear had her golden wreath.

Where is the wreath now? Did the princess pack it up and take it with her, or has it already been replaced? And who or what is the white bear?

This illustration by Hilde Kramer is actually for "East of the Sun, West of the Moon," another Norwegian tale that involves the youngest daughter and a white bear. In this story the girl is younger then I imagine Valemon's princess to be, but the bear in this image conveys the sweetness and nurturing maternal energy of the bear which exists alongside it's tremendous power and ferocity.

The bear is a complex animal and a multifacted being in our imagination, associated with liminal space and shamans, and the potentially destructive energies of the unconscious. These are not safe realms for the naive or the trivial traveller. The annual hibernation also links the bear to dreams, seasonal cycles, and rebirth.

In Greek mythology the bear is connected to the goddess Artemis, a fierce, wild, virgin hunteress and the patroness of small children and women in childbirth. I wonder if the bear in this story combines the primal masculine energy of Eros with the deep feminine of Aphrodite. This feels like an initiation doesn't it? But is the bear in charge?