Having studied the mystery religions for decades now, I realised suddenly that I may have missed the entire point of each and every one of them, including the root from which Christianity sprang: is it possible that all Mystery Religions were founded upon nothing more nor less than recipes for intoxicants? Could the business of 'Heaven and Hell' be nothing more than altered states of perception? Is it possible that the only other 'realms' that exist in this world and the next are simply constructs of our perception at various moments and in various states of being?
It was when I was reading a very comprehensive translation of the Ras Shamra texts about Baal and Mot that I had this Epiphany. Going back to Sumer and the tale of Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, I found the same themes there. There is the Grape Vine and the Barley... and each is 'Lord' or 'Lady' of half of the year. The descent of Dumuzi and, six months later, his sister Geshtinanna, represent the two seasons in which barley wine or beer and the wine of the grape are made.
How very discouraging in a way to discover that these noble myths may deal with nothing more ennobling than casking wine or placing liquid in skins for fermentation!
Yet, one only need look at the Aryan Hymns to see how the mystical Soma was elevated to the position of a deity. Pages and pages devoted to the making of the Soma...
About Me
- Valkyrie Hawk
- My name is Eugenia-Maria Martino de Conde. Freyashawk is the name under which I write game guides and play many games. I specialise in Northern mythology but my original academic background is in History and British Law. Mine is the view of an exile, a Swan-Maiden rather than a god. Not an exile from heaven (that would be arrogant), but an exile nonetheless. I have lived in La Jolla, Nepal, London, Southampton, Manhattan, Roma, Pennsylvania et alia but spiritually belong to no land. Thus the affiliation with the air, hawk and swan. A Valkyrie chooses heroes from the slain. Walking among the dead is disconcerting. My greatest loves are my daughter and my Puttikins, my Himalayan cat clan. As Freyashawk, I write strategy guides for games. Time to write another novel for a writer can be a Valkyrie, creating warriors from her imagination that inspire people in the eternal battle between good and evil. Therein is the power I desire.
