Year of the Pig

My son was born in the year of the pig, the fire pig to be exact. I’m kind of into astrology and recently have become more interested in Chinese mythology and astrology. While most people call it the year of the pig, the year is actually represented by the boar. The thing is piggies are much cuter and cuddlier than a boar, so I’m sticking with pigs.

So about those pigs. Apparently, they are supposed to be:

• Honest (too early to tell, he isn’t talking yet)
• Tolerant (absolutely true, he’ll put up with just about anything)
• Curious (like a cat…uhm pig)
• Love to read ( he really does, he’ll bring books to me and turn the pages)

I know from past experience that Chinese astrology is right on in regards to myself, a snake if you were wondering, and so far it looks like it is a good indicator of my little angel. I think it is amazing how often the characteristics ascribed to people with astrology are accurate. It makes me wonder how much of the mythology might have truth behind it as well. I think Chinese astrology is sometimes even more accurate than western astrology just because of the amount of specification that is available. For example, not only was my son born in the year of the pig, he was born a fire pig which adds even more levels to his personality. Pretty cool, huh? What is your sign in Chinese astrology and do you think it accurately represents you?

Photo Credit: be khe

June 29th, 2009 by birdievogel | Posted in Legends | Comments (0)

More than One to a Cycle

Earlier I did a blog on the basic type of myth cycle that is found in various cultures, while surfing the internet I found a more complex type of myth cycle. The Celtics or Irish, a more predominately magical culture containing Druids who are a main influence, if not the founders, of the Pagan religion, have a series of myth cycles. However, these myth cycles were transcribed by Christian monks so the complete accuracy of the words may be questionable as is the case when any two religions cross. Lucky for us we are merely looking at the names of the four myth cycles and what they contain rather than the actual full stories.

When it comes to looking at other cultures and trying to understand them there is no better way of doing that than looking at their myths. Cultures put everything that they prize into a myth as well as everything that they fear. By knowing this you are better able to understand the culture and what they believe in. With that being said let us move on to the Celtic myth cycle.

The first of the myth cycles is known as the Fenian Cycle. This cycle is made up of myths that deal with hunting. Their main one deals with a band of heroes, known as the Fianna, who keep order in the country. The main hero in the band is Fionn mac Cumhaill, his childhood name was Deimne, who was part of the Bascna clan and possibly even its chief.

The next set of myths belongs to the Ultonian Cycle. These myths all center around the providence of Ulster and the history of the Ulaidh people who gave the providence its name. The main myth that belongs to this cycle is The Cattle Raid of Cooley. In this myth the most famous Irish literature scene happens between Cchulainn and Ferdiad, two best friends. Cchulainn eventually wins but who would expect the supposed grandson of Lugh, the sun god, to lose.

The last myth cycle is called The Kings Cycle. The easiest way to describe this set of myths is as a history of kings. These myths are written in order from the early years of the Common Era to the middle ages. They contain all of the deeds of the different kings. Although they are not as creative as the other cycles they provide an unclouded look into this part of the Celts and Irish history and their culture at that time. They had grown out of the fantasies of early civilizations and into the adulthood of written histories, as everyone must do.

(photo credit: e_phots)

April 9th, 2009 by admin | Posted in Legends | Comments (0)