Stepping Stones on my Path
My brain works in this way...
I will hear or read a line or a paragraph or a discussion and file it away because I know that I will need it later. My brain, it knows what I will need, and it keeps just that.
Today I would like to share some of the bits my brain latched on to that have been important to my personal path.
From The Sorcerer's Apprentice book and record set that I had as a child:
"An apprentice must work, an apprentice must learn, an apprentice must earn his magical power!" -the Sorcerer to his Apprentice
If one is thinking that theirs is a magical path and they cannot grasp the concept stated in this quote then they can just Stop. Right. Now.
From the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, episode "Day of the Dungeon Master" :
"You must realize that everything touches everything else. Every action has its own consequence. There is a universal balance. If you bring water here to quench your thirst, you may be turning farmland into desert elsewhere." -Dungeon Master to Eric (who he had just made DM for the day).
This concept is so important that I can't believe I learned it from the D&D cartoon. But there it is.
From The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman:
"Y-o-u. L-i-s-t-e-n. I-t-s. G-o-t. A. P-r-i-c-e." -Sargon the Sorcerer to Timothy Hunter
"That's the trouble, you know. Once you've begun to walk the path, there's no getting off of it." -Magician from Atlantis to Timothy Hunter
By the time someone has gone through all four volumes of TBOM these two concepts will have been beaten into their head. If I assign someone this book as homework, it's because they need to know these two things. If I never hand them this and I hand 'em The Illuminatus Trilogy instead, they're already screwed and they may or may not know it yet. But I know.
From A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett:
There is a longish bit where Granny Weatherwax explains why she and Miss Tick sent Tiffany to Miss Level. I cannot quote the whole thing from the top of my head, but Granny Weatherwax shouting " soul...and..center!" echoes off the inside of my skull as if she'd said it to me personally. Before I share the quote, allow me to say that I highly recommend reading the entire book, and furthermore all the Tiffany Aching books. No one explains the core concepts of witchcraft better than Pratchett. But for now, this:
'Because she likes people,' said the witch, striding ahead. 'She cares about 'em. Even the stupid, mean, dribbling ones, the mothers with the runny babies and no sense, the feckless and the silly and the fools who treat her like some kind of a servant. Now that's what I call magic - seein' all that, dealin' with all that, and still goin' on. It's sittin' up all night with some poor old man who's leavin' the world, taking away such pain as you can, comfortin' their terror, seein' 'em safely on their way . . . and then cleanin' 'em up, layin' 'em out, making 'em neat for the funeral, and helpin' the weeping widow strip the bed and wash the sheets - which is, let me tell you, no errand for the faint-hearted - and stayin' up the next night to watch over the coffin before the funeral, and then going home and sitting down for five minutes before some shouting angry man comes bangin' on your door 'cos his wife's havin' difficulty givin' birth to their first child and the midwife's at her wits' end and then getting up and fetching your bag and going out again. .. We all do that, in our own way, and she does it better'n me, if I was to put my hand on my heart. That is the root and heart and soul and centre of witchcraft, that is. The soul and centre!' Mistress Weatherwax smacked her fist into her hand, hammering out her words. 'The . . . soul. . . and . . . centre!'
Echoes came back from the trees in the sudden silence. Even the grasshoppers by the side of the track had stopped sizzling.
'And Mrs Earwig,' said Mistress Weatherwax, her voice sinking to a growl, 'Mrs Earwig tells her girls it's about cosmic balances and stars and circles and colours and wands and . . . and toys, nothing but toys!' She sniffed. 'Oh, I daresay they're all very well as decoration, somethin' nice to look at while you're workin', somethin' for show, but the start and finish, the start and finish, is helpin' people when life is on the edge. Even people you don't like. Stars is easy, people is hard.'
This is what I mean when I say "core concepts of witchcraft", that and
'She tells the land what it is. The land tells her who she is,' whispered Awf'ly Wee Billy. 'She really does hold the soul o' the land in her heid'
Seriously. That.
Catch your breath, my friends, and I'll move on to what have become my centering quotes from the Path of Stories.
From the "A Midsummer Night's Dream" issue of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman:
"This is magnificent--and it is true! It never happened; yet it is still true. What magic art is this?" the Puck, speaking of Shakespeare's play
From Everville by Clive Barker:
"Lives are leaves on the story tree." the man who walked on Quiddity to Tesla Bombeck
The simplicity and mystery of stories in two quotes. Not bad, eh?
For my parting quote, though, I leave a little something to ponder.
From The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker:
"Memory, prophecy and fantasy - the past, the future and the dreaming moment between - are all one country, living one immortal day. To know that in Wisdom. To use it is the Art."
I will hear or read a line or a paragraph or a discussion and file it away because I know that I will need it later. My brain, it knows what I will need, and it keeps just that.
Today I would like to share some of the bits my brain latched on to that have been important to my personal path.
From The Sorcerer's Apprentice book and record set that I had as a child:
"An apprentice must work, an apprentice must learn, an apprentice must earn his magical power!" -the Sorcerer to his Apprentice
If one is thinking that theirs is a magical path and they cannot grasp the concept stated in this quote then they can just Stop. Right. Now.
From the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, episode "Day of the Dungeon Master" :
"You must realize that everything touches everything else. Every action has its own consequence. There is a universal balance. If you bring water here to quench your thirst, you may be turning farmland into desert elsewhere." -Dungeon Master to Eric (who he had just made DM for the day).
This concept is so important that I can't believe I learned it from the D&D cartoon. But there it is.
From The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman:
"Y-o-u. L-i-s-t-e-n. I-t-s. G-o-t. A. P-r-i-c-e." -Sargon the Sorcerer to Timothy Hunter
"That's the trouble, you know. Once you've begun to walk the path, there's no getting off of it." -Magician from Atlantis to Timothy Hunter
By the time someone has gone through all four volumes of TBOM these two concepts will have been beaten into their head. If I assign someone this book as homework, it's because they need to know these two things. If I never hand them this and I hand 'em The Illuminatus Trilogy instead, they're already screwed and they may or may not know it yet. But I know.
From A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett:
There is a longish bit where Granny Weatherwax explains why she and Miss Tick sent Tiffany to Miss Level. I cannot quote the whole thing from the top of my head, but Granny Weatherwax shouting " soul...and..center!" echoes off the inside of my skull as if she'd said it to me personally. Before I share the quote, allow me to say that I highly recommend reading the entire book, and furthermore all the Tiffany Aching books. No one explains the core concepts of witchcraft better than Pratchett. But for now, this:
'Because she likes people,' said the witch, striding ahead. 'She cares about 'em. Even the stupid, mean, dribbling ones, the mothers with the runny babies and no sense, the feckless and the silly and the fools who treat her like some kind of a servant. Now that's what I call magic - seein' all that, dealin' with all that, and still goin' on. It's sittin' up all night with some poor old man who's leavin' the world, taking away such pain as you can, comfortin' their terror, seein' 'em safely on their way . . . and then cleanin' 'em up, layin' 'em out, making 'em neat for the funeral, and helpin' the weeping widow strip the bed and wash the sheets - which is, let me tell you, no errand for the faint-hearted - and stayin' up the next night to watch over the coffin before the funeral, and then going home and sitting down for five minutes before some shouting angry man comes bangin' on your door 'cos his wife's havin' difficulty givin' birth to their first child and the midwife's at her wits' end and then getting up and fetching your bag and going out again. .. We all do that, in our own way, and she does it better'n me, if I was to put my hand on my heart. That is the root and heart and soul and centre of witchcraft, that is. The soul and centre!' Mistress Weatherwax smacked her fist into her hand, hammering out her words. 'The . . . soul. . . and . . . centre!'
Echoes came back from the trees in the sudden silence. Even the grasshoppers by the side of the track had stopped sizzling.
'And Mrs Earwig,' said Mistress Weatherwax, her voice sinking to a growl, 'Mrs Earwig tells her girls it's about cosmic balances and stars and circles and colours and wands and . . . and toys, nothing but toys!' She sniffed. 'Oh, I daresay they're all very well as decoration, somethin' nice to look at while you're workin', somethin' for show, but the start and finish, the start and finish, is helpin' people when life is on the edge. Even people you don't like. Stars is easy, people is hard.'
This is what I mean when I say "core concepts of witchcraft", that and
'She tells the land what it is. The land tells her who she is,' whispered Awf'ly Wee Billy. 'She really does hold the soul o' the land in her heid'
Seriously. That.
Catch your breath, my friends, and I'll move on to what have become my centering quotes from the Path of Stories.
From the "A Midsummer Night's Dream" issue of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman:
"This is magnificent--and it is true! It never happened; yet it is still true. What magic art is this?" the Puck, speaking of Shakespeare's play
From Everville by Clive Barker:
"Lives are leaves on the story tree." the man who walked on Quiddity to Tesla Bombeck
The simplicity and mystery of stories in two quotes. Not bad, eh?
For my parting quote, though, I leave a little something to ponder.
From The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker:
"Memory, prophecy and fantasy - the past, the future and the dreaming moment between - are all one country, living one immortal day. To know that in Wisdom. To use it is the Art."