Harvest moon Japanese Style, without the help of AI

My cancer saga continues. As soon as I had ended my last post and pushed "Publish," I got the call to schedule my biopsy procedure; of which, I know little today, but will be sure to give you the poop on when it arrives -- yes, I've been in Texas too long.

So today I consulted with AI, I asked AI, "Can they remove another lung lobe after I've already had one removed?" And AI said they could, so, maybe it's that again. Who knows? I wouldn't even attempt to ask AI about other cancer treatments, because I know there are way too many.

The funny thing about cancer, is it was one of two things I worried about as a youth after seeing my grandmother die of lung cancer. The other was nuclear war. And I'll be goddamned -- to quote from my grandfathers favorite curse lexicon -- if both aren't a threat to me at this moment -- sorry conservative brothers and sisters, but you've unleashed a Donald Trump Frankenstein monster we can only watch now as he grunts his way through the village.

Cancer is not my focus today, my focus today is on tonight's August New Moon, which begins at 12:36pm here in Dallas. And this is not any-old new moon, this is the August New Moon, more precisely, what we Japanese -- wait, I'm not Japanese, I'm Nichiren Buddhist, same thing -- call the Otsukimi or Harvest New Moon.

Japan is rich with legends surrounding the moon. The most famous of these is the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (竹取物語), one of Japan’s oldest folktales. In this story, a radiant princess named Kaguya-Hime is discovered in a bamboo stalk and eventually returns to her home on the moon. This tale speaks to the mysterious allure of the moon and has inspired countless adaptations in literature, art, and film.

The harvest moon in most cultures is an important moon, and many festivals such as the Japanese Otsukimi. (or Tsukimi), will be happening tonight. In some areas there will be Pagans dancing, calling forth the moons energy to dance in unison, others will be casting spells -- most benevalent, I hope. Me, I'll show gratitude for the harvest I have, such as my three regular viewers, where would I be without you.  Also, I'll chant for the happiness and protection of everyone under the moonlight, for years to come. And finally, I'll hedge my bets on this cancer, why not. 

Pagan Moon Fun

Seriously, and most importantly, in Nichiren Buddhism, the moon is a frequent metaphor for truth, enlightenment, and the reflection of the Buddha's compassionate life in the human heart.  This will be my main focus tonight.  See you there. Let's dance. 

~~ Eso Terry 

Matthew Manning, Still Psychic After All These Years

Here, I've added a great documentary of the young Matthew Manning beginning his psychic career. For his current stuff, visit his website (MatthewManning.net), he's still going strong, bending spoons, healings, etc.  I'm not recommending him over your own powers to heal by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo, but I am recommending him as one very cool guy living the psychic dream. 

The history of Matthew is that he became a thing in the 1960's as the focus of sustained poltergeist activity. These allegations were investigated (in the below video) by the Cambridge mathematician and psychical researcher, A. R. G. Owen. From 1971, long scripts appeared on Manning's bedroom walls, apparently penned by signatories from the seventeenth century onward. Manning realised that he could quell this poltergeist activity through the practice of automatic drawing and writings. It was noted at the time that Manning had been researching history as part of his school work. According to Joe Nickell who made an in-depth study of Manning's writings, they contain internal inconsistencies and the "signatures" are completely inaccurate for historical individuals. Nickell concluded that Manning has "traits associated with a fantasy-prone personality" and there is no evidence he possesses genuine paranormal powers.

Regarding his automatic drawings, he claimed to draw in the styles of many famous artists including Pablo Picasso. Manning told The San Francisco Examiner that an art expert at Sotheby's in London had thought one of his Picasso copies so good it might be mistaken for an original. The sceptic James Randi investigated this claim by writing to the gallery. A Sotheby's official replied that the claim was "absolutely not true" as they were forgeries of existing works. Manning told the London Daily Mirror his drawing of a monkey had caused "great excitement" because it was strikingly similar to an original by Jan Savery that the Rijksmuseum kept locked away from public display in a vault. This was also investigated by Randi who wrote a letter to the museum and it was discovered the claim was false as the original was on display to the public, not locked up in a vault.

Manning was also tested for psychokinetic abilities by parapsychologist William G. Braud of the Mind Science Foundation in the late 1970s, with results that, according to Braud and coauthors in a psychical research paper published in 1979, were better than chance. Additionally during this time, it was reported that he could "bend metal paranormally, affect electrical equipment, move compass needles, and make medical diagnoses." The magician John Booth has written Manning's metal bending is a magic trick performed while lightly stroking the object. The physicists John Taylor and Eduardo Balanovski tested Manning in distance viewing and the results proved "completely unsuccessful".

So that's the poop,  Truth is this guy is still around, and just as they called Madame Blavatsky and scam artist, they do the same to Matthew, however, those of us with eyes to see see beyond the pragmatics who suffocate anything they don't understand.  

My personal experience is psychic powers are hard to control.  I've only started understanding mine after 60 years of life.  For this guy to find his so young is a thing to be honorned, here on EsotericDaily.com

~~ Eso Terry 

Okay, it is August 5th, which I have written about before,  this is a rehash with some new Esoteric info.

August 5th, esoterically speaking, a pretty typical day for those of us with eyes to see.  Of course, Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Hollywood bungalow on this day in 1962.  You've heard the stories, how she had an affair with the Kennedy brothers, and the younger brother, Bobby Kennedy, who was the Attorney General and in Los Angeles on the night she died,  was recorded asking, "Is it done?" on the night she died.  

I don't know if he killed her or not, but if you look at pictures of the scene, it's definitely staged with pills thrown over the floor.  Not something an overdose victim usually does.  They usually drink a shitload of alcohol, and then pop the pills, and drown on their own vomit.  Don't ask me how I know, I know.  

Then there is the fact that Marylin had embarrassed President Kennedy a few months earlier, on May 19, when she sang "Happy Birthday Mr. President," in her heavily cleavaged voice, which, made Jackie, the president wife, turn red. 

I'll leave it there because I gave up on conspiracies because it was stunting my spiritual growth; but, well, President Kennedy and Jacqueline posed for the following public domain photo on the same day Marilyn was found dead, which seems like a pretty good alibi if you needed.  I'm just saying. 

On another hot August 4th in 1864, Admiral David Farragut gave his command, "Damn the Torpedoes."  These words have earned him a place in history, as well as all future books of quotations.  Farragut was a southerner born gentleman from Tennessee who chose to fight for the North.  On the morning of August 4th, Farragut lead his fleet into the strong Confederate area off the Alabama coast, and immediately the enemy opened fire and all hell broke loose.  The Confederates had laced the channel with mines (then called torpedoes), and the leading Yankee warship blew up and sank with all hands.  Near panic and uncertain whether to attack or retreat, Farragut refused to turn back and screamed, "Damn the torpedoes!  Full speed ahead."  

The famous victory effectively closed the last Confederate port still in use, and made a major contribution to the North's victory.  

Another, less popular statement made by Farragut, was to a group of officers before the battle, where Farragut said,  "What matters it, General, whether you and I are killed or not?” He raised his glass to room. “We came here to die. It is our business and it must happen sooner or later. We must fight this thing out until there is no more than one man left and that man must be a Union man.”

Wow, makes me proud to have been a Navy man myself.

So how is this all esoteric?  I don't know, you tell me, but, it is August 5, and the 5th card of the Major Arcana is The Hierophant, which is the interpreter of sacred mysteries, so maybe we should ask him?  Also, the 5th Hexagram of the I Ching is "Waiting," so let's wait and see if he responds anytime soon?

And while we do that, let me close by saying that on another hot August 5th in 1921, a newspaper cartoon by Rollin Kirby becomes the first cartoon ever awarded a Pulitzer Prize. The cartoon was titled, "On the Road to Moscow,"  which is a cartoon that depicts the Grim Reaper leading a line of Soviets, suffering under the 1921 famine brought on by a drought, but exasperated by the stubborn government policies which protected the rich over the needs of the poor.  Funny, but with Vladimir Putin's senseless war against Ukraine, it's a timely cartoon for today,  a hundred years later.  

And the new stuff I promised you:

Folk Lore and Traditions

New Moon Wishes: Traditional folklore holds that making a secret wish while looking up at the first new moon of early August brings manifestation before the year ends.
Seasonal Turning: Falling close to the early August harvest celebrations, the date aligns with agrarian magic, gratitude, and early preparation for the darkening half of the year. 

 The new moon this year is August 12th.  

Now, that's esoteric. 

 ~~ Eso Terry

 

Dodgers Are Now Cursed By The Trump Curse

So the Los Angeles Dodgers visited the Trump Goldish, White House on July 23, 2026, led by manager Dave Roberts, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman to celebrate their back-to-back World Series titles.

Key Attendees

Shohei Ohtani: Four-time MVP who attended the Rose Garden ceremony.

Freddie Freeman: Star first baseman present for the celebration.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto: World Series MVP in attendance.

Dave Roberts: Manager who led the team visit.

Mark Walter: Principal team owner who gifted President Donald 

Trump a custom jersey and a championship ring.

Notable Absences

Mookie Betts: Star shortstop who opted not to attend.

Kike Hernández: Utility player who chose to stay away from the visit

I wrote about this on Bluesky as follows:

Looks like the #Dodgers have won their last World Series, the collective unconsciousness of the World is now against them. Jung called it the collective psychological shifts, he also said when individuals lose their independent thinking, shit like MAGA happens; the Dodgers are now #TrumpCursed

There are a few things to unpack here. First, I've written about the "wish" of the majority being played out in sports before: In the 2011 Baseball World Series the Texas Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series in game six against the St. Louis Cardinals, when the Cardinals came back and won the series. It was one of the most craziest thing ever in a baseball championship. What you need to know about this World Series is that former president GW Bush was always seen in the background behind home base at the Texas games. Bush had owned the Rangers -- using Tax Payers money to pay for his stadium. Most people didn't like Bush because of his war against Iraq based on false claims -- which have been proven today.

I believe that the people watching that series were wishing for a loss for the Rangers so they wouldn't win the series, and the universe responded in a way there could be no doubt. Bush left defeated, he couldn't celebrate his team's win. They ended up losing a series they were one strike away from winning.  People had started leaving the stadium when St. Louis came back to win the series in 7 games. Conversely, fate made this up to the Rangers a few years ago when they won the World Series after ending the season on a losing streak and looking really bad as the final wildcard team. It seemed like a fluke when they won, beating better teams every go.

Which brings me to this past week when a few LA Dodgers went to the White House to be honored by President Trump. The Trump curse goes back to every business he ever owned, bankruptcy, criminal charges, unpaid contractors, etc.. During this year's NBA Finals the New York Nicks only lost one game before winning the title, the game Trump went to and was "boooed" when they showed his face on the big screen. Furthermore, during the recent World Cup, England had become an American-fan favorite until it came out that Kane, their top shooter had golfed a game with Donald Trump. Kane went on to have a terrible final game where England lost, then he was injured for their 3rd place matchup against France.

Now the Dodgers who have won the last two World Series have temped fate, and are certain to see misfortune, for they will be in our collective unconsciousness for having done so, and Donald Trump really is a bad person, no one disputes this, even his Christian followers defend him by comparing his actions to the terrible things King David did, like rapping another man's wife, murdering children, etc., and saying, "God works in mysterious ways," which for us non-believers is bullshit for we judge people by their deeds -- isn't that in the bible somewhere?

Revelation 20:13: "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."

Jung talked about the collective unconsciousness. He actually used it to explain the rise of extreme political movements, such as in Nazi Germany. Jung argued that the German population had collectively activated the archetype of Wotan (a god of storm and frenzy), leading to a shared, destructive madness that physically reshaped the world through human actions.

So, the Dodgers are cursed. Wait and see. I'll keep you up.

~~ Eso Terry

July 22nd is So Esoteric I can't Stand It...or can I?

Yesterday, I quoted William Shakespeare in reference to the genocide of the Native Americans by Anglos.  Today, we see Shakespeare historically for on a hot July 22nd,  in 1598, The Merchant of Venice was licensed in a London registry office; conversely, a few years later on a July 22, in 1604, Bishop Bancroft and King James I of England developed the 14 instructions to the translator of a new version of the Bible.  The instructions were designed to ensure that the work would be a Protestant Bible and leave out those Lost Gospels which showed Jesus had a wife and kids, along with the

75 other books called "apocryphal" for stating such things as written by the only guy who wrote anything denouncing homosexuality in the bible, Paul, in the apocryphal book titled"The Acts of Paul," where Paul talks to lions, tigers, and bears... or The Book of Adam and Eve,  where Bartholomew ask Mary about her relationship with her son, and she agrees to tell him about her first date with God, but only if he held her legs and breasts securely so that she doesn't crumble into a pile of bones.  And this just scratches the surface of the great stories left out of the Bible to make the book easily accessible to closed minds, or as Hemingway said about his Oak Park suburban home: "The Land of Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds."  

Anyway, it is no secret that Shakespeare wrote much of the Bible (as I have written about in the past), and which has given the Bible its staying power in spite of its "Narrow" message for today's "Narrow Minds." 

So what else makes this July 22 so esoterically stimulating to me?... 

Well, in 1930 the first sighting of the famous Loch Ness monster was officially recorded in Scotland.

Not to be confused with another hot July 22, in 1934, when Public Enemy Number One, John Dillinger, was led out of a theater by his date/FBI Informant named Anna Sage ('Sage' was her prostitute/madame name, her real name was 'Cumpānas'), who wore a red dress to alert the G-Men of their target. The dress was actually orange, but that's how history goes.  Dillinger was murdered, and Anna Sage got what happens to all bad people who do bad things in history, (i.e, the baseball manger of the Houston Astros baseball team after they were caught cheating to win a championship), she was sent to Detroit, and then deported back to Romania in spite of the FBI's promise not to deport her if she helped them catch Dillinger.  Ah, the good-old-days were bad guys were bad, and good guys were badder. 

That's it for me, I'm going to go read some more of those apocryphal books to see what other smut was left out for the sake of a 'narrow minded' continuity, which I hope doesn't include you, but if it does, why are you here?

~~ Eso Terry 

Nero, Trump, Epstein, All In A Day's Post

According to the Roman senator and historian Tacitus, writing some fifty years after the event, a fire began on the hot summer's night of July 18, 64 AD in the southeastern end of Rome's largest hippodrome, the Circus Maximus.  Because the majority of Romans lived in wooden houses, the fire spread rapidly through the city, where it continued to burn for five days.  By the time it had been extinguished, it had razed four of Rome's fourteen districts and severely damaged seven others.  Many important buildings were destroyed, including Nero's palace, the Temple of Jupiter Stator, and the hearth where the sacred fire was kept burning in the Temple of Vesta.  The people of Rome were devastated and looked to their emperor for help.

When the fire started, Nero was taking his ease at Antium, a resort town on the coast some 31 miles south of the capital.  Concerned with his city, Nero hurried back to the capital in order to coordinate efforts to extinguish the fire and provide disaster relief for the population, with funds paid out of his own treasury.  When the fire was doused, Nero opened his palaces to survivors whose houses had been destroyed and ensured that food and other essentials were distributed. 

Once the fear and shock had worn off, people started looking around for someone to blame.  It was widely known that Nero had grand plans for the reconstruction of Rome, so rumors began to circulate around the city that it was the emperor himself who had ordered Rome to be burned to the ground.  Alarmed by the growing hostility of the people and desperate to retain their loyalty, he looked for a scapegoat, at which point his gaze fell upon a new sect called the Christians. 

Tacitus goes on to say that Nero created a diversion and subjected to the most extraordinary tortures those hated for their abominations by the common people called Christians.  So an arrest was made of all who confessed to be Christian and all were convicted, mocked, and throne to dogs, or nailed to crosses, or doomed to the flames. 

That's the story being told 64 years after the Christ thing, which, probable helped convert more Pagan's than the actual Christ Story.  But was it true?  In his book "The Greatest Lies in History," Alexander Canduci points out a few facts to the contrary.

Rome was not the marble, wide streets of the movies.  It was actually a jumble of wooden terraced homes, and fires were very common.  So when Tacitus claims that the only way a fire could have spread was from arson, doubtful.

 Romans knew of the Jesus story, a minor Jewish prophet who had been executed in the distant province of Jude’s some thirty years earlier, but the Christian sect of followers had barely been in existence for a generation, with most of its small membership drawn from the lower classes.
_______________________________________________________________________________

On this day in 1925, seven months after being released from Landsberg jail, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler publishes the first volume of his personal manifesto, Mein Kampf.  Dictated by Hitler during his nine-month stay in prison -- and edited and contributed to by all-the-great-hate-minds-of-the-day -- Mein Kampf, or My Struggle, was a bitter narrative filled with anti-Semitic outpourings, disdain for morality, worship of power, and the blueprints for his plan of Nazi world domination.  The autobiographical work soon became the bible of Germany's Nazi Party.  In the early 1920's, the ranks of Hitler's Nazi Party swelled with resentful Germans who sympathized with the party's bitter hatred.

Trump and Hitler proceed from the same apocalyptic starting point.  In Trump’s narrative, America is on the brink of ruin.  At least a portion of his listeners, as did Hitler’s, passionately believes the downfall scenario. Each man is (or was) skilled at setting up bogeymen:  For Hitler, it was Jews, Marxists, the hated French and the “lying press.”  For Trump, it is Muslims, Mexican illegals, the Islamic State terrorist group and the Chinese who are supposedly cleaning our clocks, and the “dishonest” news media.  Yet, like Hitler, Trump understands the importance of the news media to his political enterprise.  In 1987, Trump wrote in the book he now holds up as a kind of Trump bible, The Art of The Deal: “If you are a little different, or a little outrageous, or if you do things that are bold or controversial, the press is going to write about you.  Hitler couldn’t have agreed more.  After a particularly violent beer hall rally in Munich, he said:  “It makes no difference whatever whether they laugh at us or revile us.... The main thing is that they mention us.”

     “Progress and civilization could be achieved only through the genius and energy of a great personality.”
                                                                                                             Adolf Hitler

     “I alone can save America, save the world, save you!”
                                                                     
                                                          Donald Trump at the 2016 National Republican Convention.

And Finally, on July 18, 2025: President Trump hosted a signing ceremony at the White House for the GENIUS Act (S.1582), which basically allowed the government to recognize Crypto Currency as a legal tender. Coincidentally, Trump signed this on the same day, the Department of Justice requested the release of old grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein, which we are still waiting for.  Yes, those documents Republicans wanted released to totally ruin Bill Clinton, that is, until they realized Trump was on every other page. 

~~ Eso Terry 

Cancer, I've been here before.

So the docs found a new spot on my lungs. It is May 27th, 2026, I've been here before. I'm ready for this. Interesting, it was exactly four years ago on this day that I posted "My Cancer Cure" post on here. In that post I wrote: "We all come into this life with a mission, a reason, and when that reason is done so are we...this is why cancer doesn't matter to me, if I still have a reason to live, the cancer will wait. And as I told you before, the blue Buddha came to me in a dream and so I know I am healing and will stay alive as long as I continue my mission. I am chanting each morning that this body which can create a cancer cell, can heel a cancer cell. Therefore, I chant that the recent spots they found on my lungs are smaller than they were the day before, and that they are not cancerous. I then thank the heavenly deities for providing this. I also pray that the medicine king will bring me the knowledge, doctors, cures, etc., that I need...."

I go into how I eat raw bitter melon, broccoli, and carrots in the morning. I also go into my faith: "The faith I speak of is the Mystic Law which saved my life over a year ago by alarming me to have my lungs checked. I've told you about it before, how while chanting my chest began to hurt which caused me to go to the hospital where they found a cancer spot. It amazed the doctors that I brought it to their attention so early. I had part of my lung removed and have lived another year without cancer. Now, it looks like there are more spots which could be cancerous.  I am not sure what I have left, if it is to share with you how my faith has saved me again, or how I know by chanting I am protected and will be here as long as I am needed.  Maybe just to share my cure with you, kind reader. The faith I speak of is the Mystic Law. To obtain it all you have to do is chant: Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. Give it a try. 

AI to the rescue in Finding this 1960's Marimba beauty.

This may not be Esoteric to you, but it is to me, for I purchased an old 16mm footage of a woman playing the marimba with a Hawaiin Lei around her neck from the 60's. The cover had "Hawaiin-Jodie-Show in Las Vegas" written on it. I googled and no research came back, well, one did, but she was Ruth Underwood who played for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Inventions, I was pretty sure it wasn't her. So I uploaded this screenprint of her from my 16mm film to google and asked AI who it was. 

And off this poor quality 16mm image, I got the following answers:

"This low-light, vintage style photo makes it difficult to definitively identify the exact performer based on facial recognition alone. However, the visual styling—a strapless gown paired with a high-neck wrapped scarf—strongly mirrors the classic mid-century lounge era of Las Vegas entertainment.

To help narrow down the identity, could you provide a bit more context? If you can share the approximate decade the photo was taken or the name of the venue (such as the Sands, Caesars Palace, or the Flamingo), I can help you cross-reference historical show archives."

Then I put "Jodie" and got this:

"The hint about a Hawaiian show completely unlocks this vintage photo. The performer you are thinking of is Jonie (often misspelled as Jodie) from the iconic Jonie and the Halekulani Boys, a highly popular Hawaiian musical act that regularly performed in Las Vegas during the mid-20th century lounge boom."

Then I put in "what was Jonie, of Jonie and the Haledulani Boys, last name:

"While Jonie was widely known strictly by her first name on marquee billings and album covers during her Las Vegas residencies, historical music and union records list her full legal name as Jonie Barcarse.

The Family Connection

The act was heavily anchored by family ties. The "Halekulani Boys" backing her featured her husband, Al "Pops" Makahinu Barcarse, a deeply respected multi-instrumentalist, steel guitarist, and singer. Following their successful decades performing across the Las Vegas Strip, the couple dedicated much of their later lives to passing down traditional Hawaiian culture, music, and language to younger generations.

If you are hunting for their music, checking vintage vinyl listings under both "Jonie and the Halekulani Boys" and "Al Barcarse" will yield the best results for their classic recordings."

I wasn't interested in knowing more, maybe you are.  

Here is the 16mm clip I posted for the records of this beautiful woman beating the marimba in her prime:

The Five Chinese Brothers

You could say that the Five Chinese Brothers is a story about the deep bond of love between brothers. You could say that the Five Chinese Brothers is a story about deception. You can say whatever, but the fact is, it touches something deep inside of us. 

I first read the story as a kid. It is actually the first book I remember reading on my own. I remember loving the thought of being in an ocean bottom without water. I didn't think about the boy dying in the water, or the men facing death sentences for having killed him. I do know it was better than any of the other books available to me as a five-year-old seeker. This is why I have digitized the school film of this book for my friends here on EsotericDaily.com.  I think this was the first book that touched my esoteric soul.  The scene where the man inhales the ocean in his lungs revealing the depth of the sea, was my inner esoteric-child crying out for something deeper than the "See Jane Run" books on the shelf with it. Maybe you are the same. Enjoy the film.

Athena Is Coming To Save Us From The Bullies of the World

In case you missed it, an "Exceptional Statue of the Greek Goddess Athena" was uncovered in Ancient Laodicea, Turkey.

That's right, archaeologists have uncovered a nearly 2-meter (6.6 feet) marble statue of the Greek goddess Athena at the ancient city of Laodicea, located in modern-day Turkey. Researchers found the statue lying face-down in rubble debris along the outer wall of the theater’s rear stage section, known as the “postskene.” The statue is carved from white marble, though its head has not yet been found.

As we know here at EsotericDaily.com, nothing is by accident or without meaning, and so I ask you these questions, "Why did a headless Athena present herself to us now?" "What does it mean."

First, Athena was one of the most revered goddesses in ancient Greece, associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft. She is traditionally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear, with snakes and the gorgoneion among her most recognized symbols. Unlike Ares, who personifies the bloodlust and violence of battle, Athena represents the disciplined and intellectual side of war—specifically strategy, tactical prowess, and heroic endeavor.

A quick refresher on myth, Athena was the daughter of Zeus and was known for her miraculous birth, emerging fully grown, in armor, and emitting a battle cry from Zeus’s forehead. In some accounts she was produced without a mother, and in an alternative story her mother was Metis, the goddess of counsel, whom Zeus swallowed while she was pregnant with Athena. Being the favorite child of Zeus, Athena had great power. In turn, she favored such mortal heroes as Odysseus, Heracles, and Perseus.

Now, esoterically speaking, here are the factors that present themselves to us:

1. Athena gives Perseus the power to face Medusa by instructing him not to look her directly in the eyes, but to use the reflection of his sword to attack her. Medusa, who could turn anyone into stone by looking at them, was the evil force trying to create chaos in the world. By giving Perseus the power to defeat Medusa, Athena is actually protecting the world from a selfish bully who wanted nothing but death, destruction, and chaos in the world. 

2. In another myth, Athena wanted new weapons, so she went to the blacksmith god, Hephaestus to request his services. When Hephaestus saw Athena he tried everything he could to forge a relationship with her, when she refused him, he lost control of himself and forced himself (yes, rape) on her. She fought him off, but not before he ejaculated on her leg. Athena wiped the nasty mess off herself and threw in on the ground where it turned into a snake: her snake-son Erichthonius.

3. Athens, which is named after Athena, is where western society began with the likes of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and where democracy was founded. Most myths with Athena show her as the champion of fairness, justice, and democracy -- just look at the face of the Statue of Liberty and compare it to the statues of Athena; conversely, many temples that had been dedicated to Athena were converted into churches for the Virgin Mary with the spread of Christianity, most notably, the Parthenon (the "Temple of the Virgin Athena") served as the Cathedral of Theotokos (Mother of God) for nearly a thousand years. 

Athena on the left, Mother Mary on the Right.

4. In The Eumenides, Athena shows up in the final play as the divine arbiter who ends a cycle of blood vengeance and establishes the foundations of human justice. Yes, the first courtroom scene ever written. 

Put these statements together, and we see that Athena is the goddess of human decency, fairness, and justice. Unlike the other woman in myths she doesn't need saving by a man, instead she uses her intellect to protect herself and others, and she remained a virgin. She brought order to the world with the Medusa story, then fairness and democracy to Athens, and as in the play Ajax, written by Sophocles, she intervenes to bypass useless killing by driving the bully leader, Ajax, mad.  

In conclusion, I believe Athena has popped up from the grave as a warning to the male leaders who are creating chaos instead of order. We know who they are, just look at the wars in Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, and the macho world leaders pounding their chest to drop more bombs, kill more people, and create more chaos.  

Enough is enough.

Athena is a hopeful message to those of us wanting immediate peace for the sake of humanity, and a warning to the war lords that bad things will start happening to them if they don't start playing nice; that is, once she finds her head. 

~~ Eso Terry 

World Labyrinth Day Disclaimer

This is my disclaimer, for I won't be able to join in a labyrinth walk today, but will be there in spirit.  

World Labyrinth Day (WLD) is an annual international event held on the first Saturday of May to promote peace, mindfulness, and celebration of labyrinths. Founded by The Labyrinth Society in 2009, thousands participate by walking a labyrinth at 1:00 p.m. local time to create a "rolling wave of peaceful energy" across the globe.

According to the WorldLabyrinthDay.org, every year on the first Saturday in May thousands of people around the globe participate in World Labyrinth Day as a moving meditation for world peace and celebration of the labyrinth experience. Many “Walk as One at 1” local time to create a rolling wave of peaceful energy passing from one time zone to the next, and there are additional ways to participate.

So why the "Labyrinth?"

A labyrinth combines the imagery of a circle and a spiral to form an irregular, meandering path toward a central location. The design has been appearing in caves, on coins and pottery, and as turf or stone structures from as early as the Stone or Bronze Ages.

Traditional labyrinths have the entrance/exit at the bottom, while a separate, radial style show the entrance/exit at the top. Prehistoric or ancient labyrinths may have been used in sacred dance and ritual. Roman labyrinths appear at the entrance of buildings which could have had a function of protection or been meant to symbolize a sacred path to deity.

Medieval Christian labyrinths appeared both in church entrances and on the sanctuary floors. Although their purpose is unclear, they could have been used in Easter rituals with penitents following the labyrinth on their knees or been designed as protection from demons. In India, there is a belief that labyrinths are the refuge of a trickster spirit and that the demon Ravana rules over labyrinths.

The first labyrinths, is found in myth of Minotaur, where Minos refuses to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon out of greed. The angry Poseidon punished the king by making his wife fall in love with a bull. The fruit of this union was the monster Minotaur, half-bull, half-man. Full of shame, Minos imprisoned the monster in a labyrinth – a word which comes from the Greek “labrys” and refers to the double axe – the symbol of the supremacy of the Cretan Mother Goddess. The deeper meaning of the labyrinth is associated with the feminine life giving force, the earth-bound instinctual nature of our bodies. The centre of the labyrinth is the goddess’s womb.

The power of nature and instincts, the Greek zoe, the sheer life force – this is how the ancients perceived the bull. Only a woman – Ariadne – knew the way around the labyrinth into its centre. It seems that this first labyrinth was designed to guard the darkest heart of nature and to keep its secrets from the solar, upper-world consciousness. Alternatively, it symbolized the fear of Minos, that is the ego consciousness, of the bestial instincts, which he tried to repress.

Interestingly, also in Christianity the labyrinths were constructed to worship Mother Goddess. The most famous example is the stone Labyrinth from the cathedral in Chartres. It is believed that originally it had the image of Minotaur in its centre, but it was later removed. Now the centre of the Labyrinth features the Mystic Rose, emblem of Mary on the one hand and the ultimate symbol of the Self and the union of the opposites on the other.

Some researchers make a point of differentiating between the maze and the labyrinth. Karen Ralls explains:

“A labyrinth eventually takes one to a Center. A maze does not, but has many twists and turns in its path, even the occasional “dead end.”

Those who walk the labyrinth do so to find inner peace, to meditate and find a way through silence to inner truth. Cirlot adds that at the centre of the labyrinth conjunction occurs between the conscious and the unconscious. Perhaps the seeming duality of the confusing maze and the orderly labyrinth can be reconciled by invoking human and divine perspective:

“From within, the view is extremely restricted and confusing, while from above one discovers a supreme artistry and order.

According to symbolreader.net:

"The maze, thus, seems to symbolize our human limited perspective, our entanglement in the world of the senses and desires, our getting lost, taking the “wrong” path, occasionally feeling lost and desperate." 

So brothers, sisters, and non-binary siblings, however you navigate through your labyrinth of life today, do so with a kind spirit, for we are all in this together regardless if we walk or not, 

~~ Eso Terry