Book IV and a Little more

"If you don't know the trees you may be lost in the forest, but if you don't know the stories you may be lost in life."  
-Siberian Elder

I chose to deviate from Frazer in this post simply due to the powerfully mythological weekend I and a few friends experienced. The above quote struck me as quite appropriate, as my friends and I did indeed get lost in the forest.

The mythical journey began with a 6 hour car ride to Devil's Tower in Wyoming, which in and of itself is an active mythological locale. Before arriving at our destination, we passed through the town of Laurel, which of course prompted me to think of poor Apollo and Daphne. Upon reaching Wyoming, I took particular notice of the red soil in the area, reminding me of the giant's blood that painted the earth in Illo Tempore. Come nightfall, we reached Devil's Tower, but had little idea where we were in the great forest. It was eventually decided that we should stop alongside the road and spend the night in the car(not the most comfortable idea in the world). As it was still young in the night, yet late enough to discourage any exploring, the group ruled that we would stay in and do as most girls do; talk. But no mere gossip did my friends want, no, they wanted a story. And so it came to be that I engaged myself with that time old fashion of storytelling and managed to scare my companions with the story of the red-eyed demon who lived in the deepest parts of the forest whose blood turned the rocks in the area red. In the light of day this tale would not be so frightening, but at night, in the inky blackness, I can say that the demon was alive and well.

Book IV



Pyramus & Thisbe: Why must it always fall to plant life to preserve the sorrows of lovers?

Mars, Venus, Vulcan, The Sun: I must stop to admire the humor and humanity Ovid instills within the gods, who so often act in the extreme of poor behavior.

Salmacis & Hermaphroditus: The first intersexed individual, how I dearly wish I could get hir view on the contemporary issues in today's world.

Cadmus & Harmonia: Proof that serpents, too, can hold warm love in their cold-blooded bodies.

Perseus & Andromeda: Though there are many interesting points in this tale, I find the etiology concerning coral to be of a particular note.