Creationism Sunday/Monday

This week for creationism Sunday I decided to go with the Aztec creation myth. I am not sure why but I have a certain fascination with ancient Mexico and I hope that you will find this story just as fascinating as I did.

Our story today begins with the birth of a god. Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl the god of duality created himself/herself. It was both good and bad, chaos and order, male and female. Being of both sexes the god was able to create children on it's own thus four children were born each to represent a direction. These children were Huizilopochtli of the south, Quetzalcoatl of the east, Tezcatlipoca of the west, and Xipe Totec of the north.

These four gods began to create. They created the water that covered the earth and they created life in the ocean. However at the same time they created the fearsome Cipactli. Cipactli was a sea monster unlike any other. She was half fish and half crocodile and had jaws at every joint. This creature was made to consume and that it did. The gods realizing they had made a mistake by putting Cipactli on this earth decided they needed to kill the beast for it was devouring every new creation that they placed on the earth.

A great war ensued between the gods and Cipactli. They fought valiantly but Cipactli was cunning and had become a force to be reckoned with. Tezcatlipoca whilst fighting the beast lost his concentration for only a moment but it was too late the beast attached on this his food and with great jaws removed it. Eventually the gods were able to subdue the beast by grabbing it and pulling in four directions.

From the fearsome beast the universe was created. Cipactli's head made up the heavens above , Her middle created the earth we stand on and her tail created the deepest depths of the underworld. This indeed was a fine world but there was something missing. Light.

A sun cannot just be made by a god but it takes something else. A sacrifice of a god is the only sufficient thing that could make the sun burn bright. Tezcatlipoca volunteered for this sacrifice but since the god was not whole the sun burned dim. The gods decided to take pity on Tezcatlipoca and created giants from the ashes of the new world. These giants were tasked with feeding Tezcatlipoca acorns which would help him glow bright.

Jack and the Beanstalk

Once upon a time there lived a boy named Jack. Jack lived with his widowed mother in a ramshackle house. Their only source of income was a cow that provided them with milk, cheese, and butter which they sold to the townspeople. One day the cow just stopped producing milk and they were forced to sell it.

Jack's mother told him to go to town and to take the cow with him for they were going to sell it to buy a new one. Jack started into town but before he could make it he was stopped by an old man by the side of the road. The man was starving and asked Jack if he could interest him in an adventure in exchange for the cow.

Jack had always lived in the old ramshackle house. Those four walls were all he had known. He would give anything to have an adventure even if it was just a small one. So he made the deal and the man handed him a small drawstring pouch and went on his way with the cow. Once the man was far down the road he opened the pouch and poured out a handful of beans. His heart sank with the though that he had been cheated by the old man.

When he returned home his mother asked him for the money from the cow and he handed over the beans that he had received from the stranger. Needless to say his mother was furious she scolded Jack. She took the beans from his hand and tossed them out the window and sent Jack to his room without supper. Laying in bed Jack could hear his mother sobbing from the other room and he was overcome with guilt.

The next morning he worked up the nerve to leave his room and apologize to his mother but she was nowhere to be found. He exited the house and found her staring off into the sky. He approached her and asked her if everything was okay and all she could manage was to point. He turned his gaze to her pointed finger. A large green stalk emitted from the ground and spewed forth into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.

Jack knew that this was the adventure the old man spoke of so he rushed to his room and grabbed his rucksack and without and with much protesting from his mother he began to climb the beanstalk. It was nearly nightfall when he made it to the top of the vine. To his surprise at the top there was not more clouds but an island in the sky. The island was lush and green, untouched by human hands.

It was not long before Jack found a path on the island and he began to follow it into the forest. He walked a ways before he came upon an immense cabin. The scale of the door itself was easily as big as a drawbridge and it was made out of complete trees. Jack began to wonder what could have made this house when he heard a voice coming from inside.

"99...100...101...102..." The voice was booming and low. Jack made his way closer to the door and he slipped into the house beneath the threshold. To his amazement he saw a man that easily that was larger than ten men stacked end to end. The giant was sitting on a stool and hunched over a table. In his fingers he held many shiny pieces of gold. They fell to the table one by one as he continued to count.  "103...104...105...106..."

The giant sighed and let the rest of the gold in his hand clatter to the table. He got up from his stool and reached high on a shelf and retrieved another shiny piece of gold. There was something different about this gold though it radiated a beautiful light. Jack could hear the beautiful dulcet tones of a harp spring forth. It was coming from the golden harp in the giant's hand. The sweet tones filled the air and in a matter of minutes the giant had drifted off into a slumber. A thunderous snore filled the room.

Jack took this opportunity to scale the table and in front of him were mountains and mountains of gold. He could hardly believe his eyes. He opened his rucksack and began filling it with the riches. In the midst of his frenzy he heard a voice.

"Please save me." The voice was singsong and ethereal. Jack looked around the room but did not see another soul in the house so he began on the gold again. "Please save me." The voice said again. At the far end of the table where the giant now slept the harp was propped up playing away. The image of a beautiful lady was carved into the sound box. Her eyes blinked as she pleaded again. "Please save me young  man. I have been the giant's prisoner for as long as I can remember. Please take me with you for anywhere would be a better home than here."

Jack thought on this for a while and agreed to take her along with him. He secured her onto his back but to do so he had to bind her strings to his back. With the lack of music the giant began to stir and soon he sat bolt up and sniffed the air saying.

"Fee-fi-fo-fum
I smell the blood of an Englishman
Be he alive or be he dead
I'll grind his bones to make my bread."

The giant laid eyes on Jack and his prized treasure and took a swipe at them. Jack however was too nimble for the giant, he ducked and slid down the table leg and out underneath the threshold. The giant slammed through the door and began to chase the pair of them through the forest. Jack made it back to the beanstalk and began to climb down as fast as he could.

The giant was hot on their trail as Jack and the magic harp descended through the clouds and back to earth. Jack finally made it back to solid ground as the giant was just breaking through the clouds. He ran to the house and picked up an axe and began chopping at the stalk. The stalk swayed with the weight of  the giant and with it's newly weakened base. There was a loud crack and the base of the beanstalk gave way. The ground rumbled as the stalk fell to the ground giant and all.

Jack greeted his mother with a large hug and introduced her to his new friend. With the riches that Jack had taken from the giant his mother, the harp, and himself lived happily ever after. 

Tithonus and Eos

Today's myth is about the Ancient Greek story of Tithonus and Eos. Eos was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia. Her brother was Helios and her sister was Selene. Eos herself was the Titan and Goddess of the dawn. It was said that she would rise each morning and with rosy fingers she would open the gates of heaven and allow the sun to rise.

Eos once had a very short lived tryst with the god of war Ares. The reason it was so short lived was because of Aphrodite's jealousy. She was so enraged by the affair that she cursed Eos with a voracious sexual appetite. She could not satisfy her desire no matter how hard she tried and this is why she was know to abduct young men to feed her desire. Tithonus was one of these men Eos abducted but there was something different about him.

Tithonus was a Trojan by birth and the son of King Laomedon of Troy by water nymph named Strymo. One day he was kidnapped from the royal house of Troy by Eos to be her lover. She was truly infatuated with Tithonus and wanted him to be hers, forever. 

Eos went to Zeus to plea to make her lover immortal for she wanted to be with Tithonus until the end of time. Aphrodite was having an audience with Zeus when Eos came arrived and stated her case. Aphrodite still bitter about Ares listened intently to the conversation between the titan and the god and smirked.

Aphrodite whispered into Zeus' ear after Eos was finished with her plea to which Zeus nodded. He told Eos that he would grant Tithonus immortality and her heart leaped at the idea of getting to live with her love for the rest of her life.

She returned to Tithonus and told him the good news about Zeus granting him immortality. They were happy for some time until Eos noticed Tithonus aging. His hair had began to thin and turn white and his once youthful physique fell into adulthood. In a panic she retreated to Olympus and sought another audience with Zeus.

She explained what was happening to Tithonus and asked for help but Zeus refused. He told her that Aphrodite pointed out during their original meeting that she had simply asked for immortality and not eternal youth so that is what Zeus granted her. Reeling from the betrayal Eos begged Zeus to reverse what he had done but he refused.

She returned home to Tithonus pained and heartbroken. Centuries passed and Tithonus was still living although he had wasted away to nothing. She could not take the pain of seeing her withered lover anymore so she lay him in a cave on a mountain where she blocked the door.

In some myths it is said that Tithonus could be heard talking from the cave until he finally got too weak to talk. Other myths state that Tithonus finally withered down to nothing more than a cicada forever making noise letting Eos know that he was still alive. 

Chinese "Lunar" New Years.

HAPPY NEW YEARS READERS! That is right today is the Chinese new years. Chinese new years is marked by the first new moon of the calendar year. We are now leaving the year of the Dragon and entering the year of the Snake. Just like most holidays there is folklore and mythology behind the Chinese new years.

It was said that on the first new moon of the year the dreaded 年獸 Nian was said to visit villages all across China. The 年獸 Nian is a beast from beneath the sea that was said to surface during the first new moon of the season to feed. The Nian was said to feed on livestock, crops, and even the villagers of the town especially children.

To protect themselves the villagers would leave food on their doorsteps to satiate the beast. It was said that if the beast were to eat your food that it would not only protect you but it would also protect the other people in the village.

One day a young boy was out after curfew and the Nian snuck up on the boy but when the Nian saw the bright red of the boy's robes it fled back into the sea. One of the villagers of the town noticed this and so when the next new year came around he strung out red lanterns and red spring scrolls and noticed that the Nian did not visit him.

This was a revelation for the villages and so red became the popular color of new years. It was then descovered that the Nian's ears were sensitive to sound so they began setting off fireworks to keep the Nian at bay.

From this point on the Nian did not return to the villages and was believed to be dead until the Taoist monk Hongjun Lao Tzu captured him. This is why the Nian is shown as Lao Tzu's mount. 

Just like it is customary in the Southern United States to eat black eyed peas and greens Chinese cultures also have many customs. One of the customs is to do a complete clean sweep of the house essentially sweeping out the ill-fortune to make room for the good fortune. 

Coatlicue

Today's entry is on the Aztec goddess Coatlicue. She is known as the mother of all gods and also she is the goddess who gave the world the moon and the stars. Our story begins in centuries ago in a large Aztec village. Coatlicue  was not the most attractive of  women but she was the mother of half the village. She birthed over 400 children and was still fertile.

One day she was sweeping the village temple when a ball of feathers floated down and touched her bare stomach. She had not noticed at the time but the ball of feathers had impregnated her. Her pregnancy was quicker than normal and this was because her womb was not occupied by a mortal but by gods. She gave birth to the gods Quetzalcoatl and Xolotl.

One of her daughters, Coyolxauhqui, was embarassed that her mother did not know who impregnated her so she led her other 400 siblings on a crusade to murder their mother. One day when she was cleaning the temple she was ambushed by her children. They cut her flesh and eventually decapitated her.

The minute she was dead there was a rumbling inside of her womb. Her children began to back away slowly as her stomach began to extend. Just then the god Huitzilopotchli sprung forth from her womb full grown and armed for battle. The brothers and sisters began to run, but before many of them could escape Huitzilopotchli began a killing spree. He would cut off someone's head and then turn and take out someone's heart. When he was done most of Coatlicue's children lay dead on the temple floor.

When all was done and over with he collected the body parts of the fallen and made a necklace which he placed around the neck of his fallen mother. Once the necklace was in placed around her neck the spurts of blood from her neck began to form two gigantic serpents.

She is always portrayed as having two serpents looking at each other as her head. Her necklace, which consists of hands, hearts, and skulls, lays over her breasts which are flaccid from pregnancy. She is viewed as the devouring mother, in which both the womb and the grave exists.  

The 化け猫 quiz!

How to tell if your cat is 化け猫

Hello there all. Some of you asked what things made a cat a 化け猫 (bake-neko) or Monster cat. So here is a quick quiz to tell if your cat may possibly be a demon spawn.

1. Is your cat over 100 years old


Yes

No




2. Is your cat's tail over two feet long and split into two tails somewhere along the way?


Yes

No




3. Does your cat weigh over 8 1/4 pounds?


Yes

No




4. Has your cat aquired a certain fondness of human flesh?


Yes

No




5. Does your cat talk to you in plain English or Japanese?


Yes

No




6. Has your cat leaped over a fresh corpse lately only to have it turn it into a zombie?


Yes

No




7. Has your cat ever shape shifted into Professor Mcgonagall or other forms?


Yes

No




8. Has your cat ever eaten another human in their sleep?


Yes

No




9. Does your cat ever levitate or fly around the room perching upon the highest perch?


Yes

No




10. Lastly have you noticed any ghostly fireballs emanating from your cat lately?


Yes

No

If you have answered no to all of these Congratulations! You have a plain ol' cat. However, If you answered yes to any of these questions keep an eye on that pussy because it could turn bad at any minute!!!

青木が原 （Aokigahara)

Many centuries ago in feudal Japan there lived a very skilled samurai. Stories of his swordsmanship spread through the land and piqued the interests of many generals. They sought the samurai out and offered him a position in their army but every time he turned them down stating that his purpose was for a much higher calling; For you see the samurai was a demon hunter.

His task was seeking out the many demons of Japan and slaying them one by one. He was charged by no one and took the responsibilty on himself when his family was killed by a demon cat by the name of　化け猫 (Bake-Neko). 化け猫 came in the night and carried his parents and his sister away and since then he devoted his life to killing all demons.

He arrived at a town near the base of Mount Fuji where he had heard rumors of a river demon terrorizing the villagers. He was welcomed like a king for everyone in the town knew who he was, everyone except one maiden. She was one of the town elder's daughter and she was extremely beautiful. The samurai fell in love at first sight. The the maiden rejected his advances at first but soon she couldn't resist his charm. They had a whirlwind romance and were to be wed when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

One warm spring night they lay in bed together listening to the crickets outside when he thought he heard the soft thud of paws on dirt. He attributed it to one of the many mutts in the town and began to drift off again when just then there was a loud BANG! The front door had disappeard into a thousand splinters and in it's place was a giant cat eye.

 化け物　had returned for him. His maiden woke up and screamed at the sight of a large paw clawing it's way through the door. He leaped to his feet and grabbed his sword but it was too late. The paw had reached in and grabbed the maiden and her screams seemed to bring him back to that day so many years ago when his family was taken away from him. He ran after the cat as it disappeared into wood and he stopped at the woods edge for this was the demon's woods.

青木が原　(Aokigahara) Which means "sea of trees" is a forest said to inhabited by demons. He could not run in after her at night with him being the demon slayer he would not have survied so he waited till morning. He gathered his supplies and armor and ventured into the forest to find the cat. At the entrance of the forest he saw a thread of silk that seemed to extended deep into the trees. He knew that this was the same silk that his maiden was wearing when she was taken so he laid one hand upon the silk and ventured onward.

The silk led him to a cave where 化け物 lived. The entrance of the cave was strewn with the bones of both humans and animals. He couldn't turn back now and leave the love of his life at the mercy of the cat so he ventured into the cave. He found  化け物 and the maiden in a cavern deep within the cave. The cat had been expecting him and wanted to make a deal with him. He could exchange the maiden's life for his own.

The maiden tried to sway the samurai's decision but he had already made up his mind. He could not live life without her and he was sure she would find love eventually. The cat perked up his ears and in a sick smile before he pounced on the samurai. His death was instant, the cat made sure of that, and within a matter of seconds all that was left was the blood stained armor and sword of the samurai. The maiden was in shock, she could not believe what she had witnessed. She stood up and ran to the pile of armor that used to be her lover and began to weep.

化け物 began to laugh and his laughter echoed through the cave and through her soul. In an instant she unsheathed his sword and with one swipe took the head of the demon cat clean off. She then went to the cat's stomach and cut it open to reveal the lifeless body of her lover. She wept over his body for hours until the sun started to finally set. She could not bear the thought of leaving her love in the cave alone so she lay with him until darkness came.

The people of the town never knew what happened to the samurai and his love until one day a hunter discovered the thread of silk and followed it to find two skeletons in an embrace. He brought their bones back to the village where they were buried together and they remained together for all eternity.

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青木が原 Aokigahara is a real forest at the base of Mount Fuji and is the said to be the home of many demons. It is also the setting for many tragic love stories usually ending in the couples commiting suicide within the forest. Aokigahara is still one of the number one destinations for suicide in Japan. Victims usually enter and leave trails of colored ribbon, thread or caution tape to lead visitors to their body.

Here is a very interesting documentary that I have found for those who are interested in learning more about Aokigahara.

CREATIONISM SUNDAY!

Our story this Sunday is of the Finnish creation myth. Our story begins in a deep wide void of an ocean that was the world. There was nothingness except for Ilmatar, the mother divine, who floated among the waves for centuries all alone. She yearned for companionship for all those many years until the sea fell in love with Ilmatar and planted a child into her womb.

Ilmatar remained pregnant for many centuries more but one day she was visited by a sea bird. She was fascinated by the creature and watched it come and go as it pleased. One day the bird decided to make a nest upon Ilmatar's lap and in the nest she saw a single egg. The bird sat and sat on the egg every few days it would fly off and find itself food so it would not starve.

Soon the egg began to get warm with it's mother's constant care. The egg became much too hot for Ilmatar and she tried to rearrange the the egg but it slipped out of her hand. The egg broke once it hit the ocean and shattered into many fragments:

One egg's lower half transformed

And became the earth below,

And its upper half transmuted

And became the sky above;

From the yolk the sun was made,

Light of day to shine upon us;

From the white the moon was formed,

Light of night to gleam above us;

All the colored brighter bits

Rose to be the stars of heaven

And the darker crumbs changed into

Clouds and cloudlets in the sky.

(Taken from the Kalevala)

Seeing the new terrain Ilmatar stepped foot on the land and began to explore. Her giant footsteps formed the lakes and mountains of the earth. The wave of her arms created the beaches and the cliffs. She surveyed the land and saw it in it's raw form and all it's beauty, paired with the life growing in her womb she was truly happy.

Baba Yaga

SOMEWHERE, I cannot tell you exactly where, but certainly in vast Russia, there lived a peasant with his wife and they had twins — a son and daughter. One day the wife died and the husband mourned over her very sincerely for a long time. One year passed, and two years, and even longer. But there is no order in a house without a woman, and a day came when the man thought, "If I marry again possibly it would turn out all right." And so he did, and had children by his second wife.

The stepmother was envious of the stepson and daughter and began to use them hardly. She scolded them without any reason, sent them away from home as often as she wished, and gave them scarcely enough to eat. Finally she wanted to get rid of them altogether. Do you know what it means to allow a wicked thought to enter one's heart? The wicked thought grows all the time like a poisonous plant and slowly kills the good thoughts. A wicked feeling was growing in the stepmother's heart, and she determined to send the children to the witch, thinking sure enough that they would never return.

"Dear children," she said to the orphans, "go to my grandmother who lives in the forest in a hut on hen's feet. You will do everything she wants you to, and she will give you sweet things to eat and you will be happy."
The orphans started out. But instead of going to the witch, the sister, a bright little girl, took her brother by the hand and ran to their own old, old grandmother and told her all about their going to the forest.
"Oh, my poor darlings!" said the good old grandmother, pitying the children, "my heart aches for you, but it is not in my power to help you. You have to go not to a loving grandmother, but to a wicked witch. Now listen to me, my darlings," she continued; "I will give you a hint: Be kind and good to everyone; do not speak ill words to any one; do not despise helping the weakest, and always hope that for you, too, there will be the needed help."

The good old grandmother gave the children some delicious fresh milk to drink and to each a big slice of ham. She also gave them some cookies—there are cookies everywhere—and when the children departed she stood looking after them a long, long time.

The obedient children arrived at the forest and, oh, wonder! there stood a hut, and what a curious one! It stood on tiny hen's feet, and at the top was a rooster's head. With their shrill, childish voices they called out loud: "Izboushka, Izboushka! turn thy back to the forest and thy front to us!"
The hut did as they commanded. The two orphans looked inside and saw the witch resting there, her head near the threshold, one foot in one corner, the other foot in another corner, and her knees quite close to the ridge pole. "Fou, Fou, Fou!" exclaimed the witch; "I feel the Russian spirit."

The children were afraid, and stood close, very close together, but in spite of their fear they said very politely:
"Ho, grandmother, our stepmother sent us to thee to serve thee."
"All right; I am not opposed to keeping you, children. If you satisfy all my wishes I shall reward you; if not, I shall eat you up."
Without any delay the witch ordered the girl to spin the thread, and the boy, her brother, to carry water in a sieve to fill a big tub. The poor orphan girl wept at her spinning-wheel and wiped away her bitter tears. At once all around her appeared small mice squeaking and saying:
"Sweet girl, do not cry. Give us cookies and we will help thee."
The little girl willingly did so.
"Now,"gratefully squeaked the mice, "go and find the black cat. He is very hungry; give him a slice of ham and he will help thee."
The girl speedily went in search of the cat and saw her brother in great distress about the tub, so many times he had filled the sieve, yet the tub was still dry. The little birds passed, flying near by, and chirped to the children:
"Kind-hearted little children, give us some crumbs and we will advise you."
The orphans gave the birds some crumbs and the grateful birds chirped again:
"Some clay and water, children dear!"
Then away they flew through the air.
The children understood the hint, spat in the sieve, plastered it up with clay and rilled the tub in a very short time. Then they both returned to the hut and on the threshold met the black cat. They generously gave him some of the good ham which their good grandmother had given them, petted him and asked:
"Dear Kitty-cat, black and pretty, tell us what to do in order to get away from thy mistress, the witch?"
"Well," very seriously answered the cat, "I will give you a towel and a comb and then you must run away. When you hear the witch running after you, drop the towel behind your back and a large river will appear in place of the towel. If you hear her once more, throw down the comb and in place of the comb there will appear a dark wood. This wood will protect you from the wicked witch, my mistress."
Baba Yaga came home just then.
"Is it not wonderful?" she thought; "everything is exactly right."
"Well," she said to the children, "today you were brave and smart; let us see to-morrow. Your work will be more difficult and I hope I shall eat you up."
The poor orphans went to bed, not to a warm bed prepared by loving hands, but on the straw in a cold corner. Nearly scared to death from fear, they lay there, afraid to talk, afraid even to breathe. The next morning the witch ordered all the linen to be woven and a large supply of firewood to be brought from the forest.

The children took the towel and comb and ran away as fast as their feet could possibly carry them. The dogs were after them, but they threw them the cookies that were left; the gates did not open themselves, but the children smoothed them with oil; the birch tree near the path almost scratched their eyes out, but the gentle girl fastened a pretty ribbon to it. So they went farther and farther and ran out of the dark forest into the wide, sunny fields.

The cat sat down by the loom and tore the thread to pieces, doing it with delight. Baba Yaga returned.
"Where are the children?" she shouted, and began to beat the cat. "Why hast thou let them go, thou treacherous cat? Why hast thou not scratched their faces?"
The cat answered: "Well, it was because I have served thee so many years and thou hast never given me a bite, while the dear children gave me some good ham."
The witch scolded the dogs, the gates, and the birch tree near the path.
"Well," barked the dogs, "thou certainly art our mistress, but thou hast never done us a favor, and the orphans were kind to us."
The gates replied: "We were always ready to obey thee, but thou didst neglect us, and the dear children smoothed us with oil."

"The children ran away as fast as their feet could possibly carry them"

The birch tree lisped with its leaves, "Thou hast never put a simple thread over my branches and the little darlings adorned them with a pretty ribbon."
Baba Yaga understood that there was no help and started to follow the children herself. In her great hurry she forgot to look for the towel and the comb, but jumped astride a broom and was off. The children heard her coming and threw the towel behind them. At once a river, wide and blue, appeared and watered the field. Baba Yaga hopped along the shore until she finally found a shallow place and crossed it.
Again the children heard her hurry after them and so they threw down the comb. This time a forest appeared, a dark and dusky forest in which the roots were interwoven, the branches matted together, and the tree-tops touching each other. The witch tried very hard to pass through, but in vain, and so, very, very angry, she returned home.

The orphans rushed to their father, told him all about their great distress, and thus concluded their pitiful story:
"Ah, father dear, why dost thou love us less than our brothers and sisters?"
The father was touched and became angry. He sent the wicked stepmother away and lived a new life with his good children. From that time he watched over their happiness and never neglected them any more.
How do I know this story is true? Why, one was there who told me about it.

Folk Tales From the Russian, by Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal, [1903]

Ganesh

The great god Shiva lived with his consort Parvati on mount Kailash. Shiva used to leave his home and Parvati for long periods of time to meditate atop the mountain. During one of these stints Parvati decided to take a bath but without Shiva there to protect her she decided to create someone to guard her door. She reached around and gathered the dirt from the back of her neck and formed it into the shape of a small boy. She breathed life into the figure and he suddenly came alive!

Ganesh was the name given to little boy and Parvati loved him very much for he was her son. She handed Ganesh an great war mace and told him that under no circumstances is anyone allowed to enter her bath house while she was inside. Ganesh took his orders and stood outside of the door turning away all visitors that had come to see the goddess. 

Shiva returned from meditation atop mount Kailash and wished to see his consort however, a young boy blocked his way. The boy told Shiva that Parvati was not taking any visitors at the moment and to please come back later. Shiva, shocked, told the boy "I am Shiva, The God of gods and the destroyer, and I have come to see my consort. Step aside young man." However Ganesh politely informed him again that Parvati was not taking any visitors and to come back later. "You have made a grave mistake young man." Shiva said as he produced his trident and a great battle ensued.

Shiva and Ganesh were both very skilled warriors and neither could gain the upper hand on the other. Shiva would swing his trident but Ganesh would nimbly jump over it simultaneously bringing his mace down to crush Shiva's skull to which he would dodge. The two were evenly matched until Shiva decided to use his powers of illusion to distract Ganesh. In that instant Shiva swung his trident and lopped Ganesh's head clean off. 

Parvati hearing the noise outside of her bath got dressed and emerged to see Shiva standing over the lifeless body of her son.  Parvati was in shock and she looked at Shiva and said "You have killed my only son, the only reason I had for living." She was distraught and set out to destroy the universe.
Shiva's fellow gods urged him to stop Parvati but when he tried to reason with her she would not listen.  Shiva knew the only way to make things right was to bring their son back to life so he gathered a group of followers to find the head of the young Ganesh. They searched for days but could not find the head anywhere so they returned to Shiva for further instructions. 

Shiva was puzzled as to where the head had disappeared to but nonetheless he was wise and told his men to cut off the head of the first animal they see.. The men embarked again and within a short while they came across a slumbering baby elephant. They removed the head of the elephant and brought it back to Shiva to which he placed on the shoulders of the headless boy. Shiva breathed life into the boy and he arose and began to dance for he had gotten a second chance at life. From that day forward Shiva accepted Ganesh as his own son and decreed that those who were to worship him must worship Ganesh first.

Ganesh is known as the remover of obstacles. His statues are located near the entrance of almost all shrines devoted to Shiva. 

Kali

Our story begins on the battlefield where the demon Raktabija and his minions were in the throws of war with the goddess Durga and her Matrikas. The goddesses were fighting with all their might but to no avail; for every swing of their swords brought about more demons. Each drop of blood of Rakatabija's that fell to the ground sprouted a new minion in it's place. Durga realized that her fellow goddesses and her were fighting a losing battle. The realization of this caused Durga to frown. She frowned so fiercely as she furrowed her brow and from her forehead leaped a woman.

 With skin black as night and her tongue lolling to one side she wasted no time joining the fight. She approached one of the minions and with deft movement she removed his head. She let the blood drain into a bowl being careful to not spill any on the battlefield. She lifted the bowl to her lips and drained it in a matter of seconds. With the taste of blood fresh on her pallet her voracious hunger became more apparent as forged her way into the battle. With every minion she took down she collected a new head for her necklace or a limb for her victory skirt. Raktabija saw the damage that Kali was inflicting to his minions and was about to retreat but he had made the decision too late. Kali flung herself at the demon latching on to him and began sucking the life out of him. Raktabija eventually fell, drained of every last drop of his blood, and Kali rose as the victor. Seeing the carnage she had wrought Kali began to dance over the bodies of the fallen including that of her fallen consort Shiva. This is why she is usually depicted with one foot on top of Shiva. 

Kali, while her looks can be deceiving,  is actually one of the most beloved gods in the Hindu pantheon. She is known as the goddess of time and change, and is also a mother goddess.

La Llorona

The story of La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) is a tragic tale. There was once a beautiful woman by the name of Maria who lived somewhere in Mexico. Maria was the mother of two children whom she loved very much but Maria was lonely. The children's father was no longer around to comfort and care for the family so Maria fell into a great depression. This depression was lifted when she met the man of her dreams one day at market. He courted Maria and made her feel special, she once again felt that she could carry on. However, when he discovered she had children he devastated her by telling her that he could not continue their courtship. 

Maria once again fell into a depression that was even worse than the last.  She tried and tried to get her lover to take her back but he refused. One night after being turned down by her lover she lured her children to a lake and one by one drowned them both. The next day she went back to her lover with the news that she had rid  herself of her children only to find that her lover had moved on and found another woman. Her greif was so overwhelming  that she walked directly to the lake where her children now rested and walked into it never to emerge. 

At the gates of heaven Maria was questioned as to the whereabouts of her children. Offering no response  she was condemned to walk the earth, forever looking for her missing children. It is said that on quiet nights you can hear her weeping near the many lakes and rivers of Mexico wailing "Ay, mis hijos". (Woe my children.)

In Mexican culture the story of La Llorona is used to deter children from bad behavior; Telling the children that if they do not behave La Llorona will come looking for them and take them away.