Thunderbird Stories, Legends, and Myths

 

                                     

Thunderbird Stories of Pacific Northwest Native Peoples

Thunderbird Stores from the Hoh, Quileute, and Tillamook Tribes

"For the native cultures of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Plains, the Thunderbird was a mythical creature that embodied strength and power. The Thunderbird is a very large and powerful bird. It was said to be so large, in fact, that it could pluck an orca whale from the sea with as much ease as an eagle catching salmon in its talons. As the name implies, Thunderbirds were associated with storms. The massive wings of the Thunderbird made the sound of thunder when they flapped, and according to some stories, the Thunderbird even shot lightning from its eyes. For peoples of the Great Plains, the Thunderbird was a harbinger of rain, which could be a welcomed sight or a destructive force, depending on the conditions. In some cultures, Thunderbirds go to war with other forces of nature. “To the Arapaho, Thunderbird is the summer bird who challenges White Owl Woman, the winter bird, to see whose powers are greater. Thunderbird stirs up great black clouds with tremendous noise and wind. White Owl Woman stirs up thick, fast-moving white clouds that blow a piercing wind. The Thunderbird represented the power of nature and the violence of storms, but it was, for the most part, not a fearsome or malevolent creature. This mythical creature was revered as sacred. The tribes of the Pacific Northwest topped their totem poles with carved images of Thunderbirds. Drawings, artwork, songs, stories, and dances featuring the Thunderbird are common in the tribes of the Great Plains and Pacific Northwest."
-  Ten Native American Mythical Creatures

"The thunderbird is a mythological bird-like spirit in North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. It is considered a supernatural being of power and strength. The thunderbird is said to create thunder by flapping its wings (Algonquian^[1]), and lightning by flashing its eyes (Algonquian, Iroquois^[2]). Across cultures, thunderbirds are generally depicted as birds of prey, or hybrids of humans and birds. Thunderbirds are often viewed as protectors, sometimes intervening on people's behalf, but expecting veneration, prayers, and gifts. Petroglyphs of thunderbirds are found near Twin Bluffs, Wisconsin. Similar beings appear in mythologies the world over. Examples include the Chinese thunder-god Leigong, the Hindu Garuda and the African lightning bird.^[14]"
- Thunderbird in Wikipedia

"According to many legends, the Thunderbird is so large that one feather from their wingspan would have to be folded in half to properly fit into a quiver. Additionally, these creatures were so large and mighty that they could easily carry a whale in their talons. Because of this, many scholars find it unlikely that the Thunderbird could exist in modern day without being seen.

In spite of these things, the Thunderbird continues to be a point of fascination for all. The Thunderbird appears to be a creature of extreme intelligence and intrigue. There are many stories that tell of the Thunderbird in Native American legends, which make the creature appear to be one of the key deities in their beliefs. The Thunderbird is mysterious in that it is not merely a protector, but is also seen as enforcer of morality – one that should never be angered."
- Thunderbirds in Myths

Other Transformer Changers Creatures are the Raven and Coyote.

My favorite harmonica is the Hohner Thunderbird in the Key of C Low.

The Forces of Green

"There lies within
A hidden glen
An altar made of stone.
Creeping vine
And moss entwine
To hide this ancient throne.
Tangled thorn
Grows thick to scorn
Those who seek to enter.
For though they strive
No man alive
Shall ever reach its center.
Known as Pan,
To some Green Man,
This glen is his sacred place.
He dons his hood
Of wildwood
To hide his leafy face.
The roving clans
That raped the lands,
Cut down his beloved trees.
And so, alas
As time did pass
The Green God fell to his knees. ..."
- Kristina Peters Moone, The Green Man


"The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.
The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks."
-   Dylan Thomas, The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower

The Green Man

Lore, Legends, Tales, Celebrations, Springtime Symbols, Folk Stories and Plays
From the hypertext research notebooks of Mike Garofalo

This cabbage, these carrots, these potatoes,
these onions ... will soon become me.
Such a tasty fact!
- Mike Garofalo, Cuttings

Portrait of the Emperor Rudolph II as Autumn.By Arcimboldo, 1591, Held at the Museo Civico, Brescia. 

The Green Man and Pan

"There lies within
A hidden glen
An altar made of stone.
Creeping vine
And moss entwine
To hide this ancient throne.
Tangled thorn
Grows thick to scorn
Those who seek to enter.
For though they strive
No man alive
Shall ever reach its center.
Known as Pan,
To some Green Man,
This glen is his sacred place.
He dons his hood
Of wildwood
To hide his leafy face.
The roving clans
That raped the lands,
Cut down his beloved trees.
And so, alas
As time did pass
The Green God fell to his knees. ..."
- Kristina Peters Moone, The Green Man

"The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.
The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks."
-   Dylan Thomas, The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower

The Green Man

Lore, Legends, Tales, Celebrations, Springtime Symbols, Folk Stories and Plays
From the hypertext research notebooks of Mike Garofalo

This cabbage, these carrots, these potatoes,
these onions ... will soon become me.
Such a tasty fact!
- Mike Garofalo, Cuttings

Portrait of the Emperor Rudolph II as Autumn.By Arcimboldo, 1591, Held at the Museo Civico, Brescia. 

     A Repost from May 2018.  

Open a New Door

“The name, given to the month of ‘January’, is derived from the ancient Roman name ‘Janus’ who presided over the gate to the new year. He was revered as the ‘God of Gateways’, ‘of Doorways’ and ‘of the Journey.’ Janus protected the ‘Gate of Heaven’, known as the ‘Lord of Beginnings’, is associated with the ‘Goddess Juno-Janus’, and often symbolized by an image of a face that looks forwards and backwards at the same time. This symbolism can easily be associated with the month known by many as the start of a new year which brings new opportunities. We cast out the old and welcome in the new. It is the time when many reflect on events of the previous year and often resolve to redress or improve some aspect of daily life or personal philosophy.”
- Mysitcal World Wide Web

"New Year ceremonies are designed to get rid of the past and to welcome the future. January is named after the Etruscan word janua which means door."
- New Year's Customs

"The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!"
- Edward Payson Powell

January: Quotes, Poems, Lore, Sayings, Garden Chores

Happy Holidays

In December 2021, I plan to yurt camp for four days at Cape Disappointment State Park, walk more each day, assemble a large cedar pergola behind my house, and join in many holiday festivities.  Here is a repost of blog post of mine from 2020, Vancouver, WA.

Enjoy the many celebrations that center around the Winter Solstice.  Best wishes to everyone.

Merry Christmas, Party at Saturnalia, a Happy New Year, beneficent Yule Celebrations, and more Winter Lore!  

Karen and I enjoy this season.  We decorate a lighted tree, and set out Christmas decorations.  We exchange presents with family and friends.  We prepare special holiday meals: cookies, tamales, Italian dishes, pies.  We light fires in our fireplace.  We play and sing Christmas carols.  Many Pagan and Christian celebrations overlap in America, just like in ancient Rome in 100 CE.  Retails stores and markets are busy and Christmas decorations and colored lights are in evidence everywhere.  

Lately, our typical weather here in Vancouver, Washington, has been 35F low and 48F high, with light rain and fog, and no snow. As for gardening, we bring many frost sensitive potted plants indoors for warmth.  

Yule Celebrations  A hypertext notebook by Mike Garofalo.  

Yule, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Xmas, Saturnalia, Wassail Blot, December 20th - 31st
Festival of the Fires, Feliz Navidad, Birthday of Mithras, New Year Celebrations, Santa Claus, Brumalia, Christmas Eve, Father Christmas, St. Nicholas, Las Posadas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, 2nd Celebration in the NeoPagan Holy Day Annual Cycle or Wiccan Wheel of the Year.


"Reclaim Santa Claus as a Pagan Godform. Today's Santa is a folk figure with multicultural roots. He embodies characteristics of Saturn (Roman agricultural god), Cronos (Greek god, also known as Father Time), the Holly King (Celtic god of the dying year), Father Ice/Grandfather Frost (Russian winter god), Thor (Norse sky god who rides the sky in a chariot drawn by goats), Odin/Wotan (Scandinavian/Teutonic All-Father who rides the sky on an eight-legged horse), Frey (Norse fertility god), and the Tomte (a Norse Land Spirit known for giving gifts to children at this time of year). Santa's reindeer can be viewed as forms of Herne, the Celtic Horned God. Decorate your home with Santa images that reflect His Pagan heritage. Honor the Goddess as Great Mother. Place Pagan Mother Goddess images around your home. You may also want to include one with a Sun child, such as Isis with Horus. Pagan Goddess forms traditionally linked with this time of year include Tonantzin (Native Mexican corn mother), Holda (Teutonic earth goddess of good fortune), Bona Dea (Roman women's goddess of abundance and prophecy), Ops (Roman goddess of plenty), Au Set/Isis (Egyptian/multicultural All Goddess whose worship continued in Christian times under the name Mary), Lucina/St. Lucy (Roman/Swedish goddess/saint of light), and Befana (Italian Witch who gives gifts to children at this season)."
- Selena Fox, Celebrating the Winter Solstice 

"It was the Yuletide, that men call Christmas though they know in their hearts it is older than Bethlehem and Babylon, older than Memphis and mankind."
-  H.P. Lovecraft

Are not costumes so fascinating?
The Ice King and Ice Queen from Russia.

"Before the time of Constantine the ancient world was a virtual cornucopia of different religions and cults that existed all over the Roman Empire and eastward into China and India. As a result of these competing doctrines "when Christianity was only one of several dozen foreign Eastern cults struggling for recognition in Rome, the religious dualism and dogmatic moral teaching of Mithraism set it apart from other sects, creating a stability previously unknown in Roman paganism" (Mithras in the Roman Empire). The striking parallels to Christianity in Mithraism have long been pointed out, for Mithras was said to have been: born of a virgin birth, had twelve followers or disciples, was killed and resurrected, performed miracles, and was known as mankind's savior who was called the light of the world and his virgin birth occurred on December 25. Indeed, the resemblances are so striking in that all of the Christian mysteries were known nearly five hundred years before the birth of Christ that later church fathers claimed that Satan had created all of this prior to Christ's birth so as to confuse the laity. In regard to Mithras Nabaraz wrote: 'According to Persian traditions, the god Mithras was actually incarnated into the human form of the Saviour expected by Zarathustra. Mithras was born of Anahita, an immaculate virgin mother once worshipped as a fertility goddess before the hierarchical reformation. Anahita was said to have conceived the Saviour from the seed of Zarathustra preserved in the waters of Lake Hamun in the Persian province of Sistan. Mithra's ascension to heaven was said to have occurred in 208 B.C., 64 years after his birth. This birth took place in a cave or grotto, where shepherds attended him and regaled him with gifts, at the winter solstice. This is based on an older myth about birth of Mithra, that his magical birth at the dawn of time was from a rock from which he formed himself using his Will. He holds in his hand a dagger and a torch. A statue from Housesteads shows Mithras being born from the rock while the twelve signs of the zodiac surround him, showing his image as a stellar god who rules the cosmos even at his birth. A serpent [is at} times shown to be coiled around…Mithras or [his] birth stone/egg. (Mithras and Mithraism).' "

- Christ, Constantine, Sol Invictus: The Unconquerable Sun By Ralph Monday

Yuletide Customs: Family Gatherings in Oregon and Washington



Thanksgiving Day, 2012, Oregon
Betty Eubanks-Yarber, R.I.P., 2017
Family Gatherings are popular at Yuletide in America, or later at Chinese New Year Week.

2015 Christmas, Oregon

2020 Washington

2020 Washington

Months and Seasons Webpages Series

Comments before a Cloud Hands Blog Repost from April 22, 2012:  

I lived back then in Tehama County, near Red Bluff, California.  

Since 2000, I had been interested in studying Neo-Pagan theology, rituals, concepts, and creeds, e.g., Druidry, Wiccan, Taoist, Yoga, Zen.  

I published many hypertext notebooks on months, seasons, nature studies, gardening, gardens, plants, spirituality, Neo-Pagan and New Age topics, fitness, taijiquan, yoga, Taoism, Zen, Druids, etc. Many, many many millions of people used these Green Way Research Hypertext Notebooks from 2000-2021.  These hypertext notebooks are one of my gifts to others in our world.  

I had been teaching yoga and taijiquan since 2001 both privately and at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff, adjacent to the St. Elizabeth's Hospital and Medical Professional Complex.  I taught three yoga classes and two taijiquan classes each week at the TFFC from 2003 to 2016; a great part-time job for me.  I obtained many fitness certifications at workshops and training courses.    

Again, a Repost from April 22, 2012:

All avid gardeners are keen observers of the impact of the seasonal changes in their local environment.  Garden work projects must be carefully timed with the flow of the seasons and weather changes so as to minimize wasted effort, prevent wasted time, reduce costs, and maximize their gardening effectiveness and success. 

Those who enjoy outdoor activities and outdoor sports plan their activities around the cycle of the seasons.  Vacations and outings are carefully scheduled with the weather in mind. 

Persons interested in NeoPagan religions and Nature Worshippers play close attention to the “Cycle of the Seasons.”  Holy Days and Rites are planned and celebrated based upon a seasonally based liturgical cycle.  

 

I live in the Northern Hemisphere at latitude 40°10' North, in Red Bluff, California, in the North Sacramento Valley.  Cities with a similar northern latitude include Beijing, Barcelona, Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Madrid, Naples, New York, and Vladivostok.    

 

When I created my Months and Seasons Webpages Series I made the following assumptions.  First, the resources (i.e., quotations, poems, sayings, facts, links, citations, etc.) would be organized by months and seasons so as to be relevant to me, a person gardening and walking and enjoying nature studies in the Northern Hemisphere.  Second, resources chosen would be relevant for a gardener and nature lover.  Third, resources chosen would reflect my interests in NeoPagan customs, Indo-European myths and lore, Far Eastern worldviews, nature mysticism, ecology, and the Green worldview. 

  

Every year, the most popular webpages that I have published have been the 26 webpages in the Months and Seasons Webpages Series.  These "Cycle of the Year" webpages are served very frequently to readers all around the world.  Since they are so popular, I offer the webpages in this series at both my domains: gardendigest.com and egreenway.com.  I try to make additions and improvements to some of these webpages every month.  I use Google Analytics and my Internet web host's (Blue Host in Utah) statistical programs to keep track of how many times these webpages (excluding counts of graphics served on these webpages) were served by my Internet web host to readers in 2011.  

1,287,000 Webpages Were Served in 2011 from the Months and Seasons Webpages Series by Mike Garofalo

January    84,200

February   82,100 

Imbolic, Mid-Winter Celebrations   300   

March   103,700 

Spring   84,700

Vernal Equinox, Minerva/Athena Celebrations   900

April   67,200 

May   62,100

Beltane, May Day, Walpurgis Nacht Celebrations   1,200  

June   42,600

Summer   40,300

Summer Solstice Celebrations   2,200

July   41,800 

August   68,500

Lughnasadh, Mid-Summer Celebrations   2,400

September   85,900 

Autumn   23,800 

Autumnal Equinox, Mabon Celebrations  12,200 

October   103,800 

Halloween, Samhain, Ancestors Day Celebrations   6,000

November   105,000

December   117,100    

Winter   55,700

Winter Solstice, Yule, Saturnalia, Christmas Celebrations   4,500

Seasons and Time   5,300

Index   83,500 

Total   1,287,000

The Unconquerable Sun of Summer

"The sun is always a powerful, invincible image, whether it is the weak illumination of the pre winter solstice, or the savage primal energy of midsummer. Long before humanity developed written language humans must have gazed in terrific awe at the reborn sun each morning, how it over came the dangerous dragon of darkness that it sank into each evening, the provider of light, warmth, sustainer of growing vegetation -life itself--this enormous solar edifice quite clearly was one of the earliest forms of worship as man began to fashion a supernatural interpretation of natural phenomenon from the daily spectacle of the dying and reborn sun. Albert Pike makes the following concise statement in his Morals and Dogma: 'To them [aboriginal peoples] he [the sun] was the innate fire of bodies, the fire of Nature. Author of Life, heat, and ignition, he was to them the efficient cause of all generation, for without him there was no movement, no existence, no form. He was to them immense, indivisible, imperishable, and everywhere present. It was their need of light, and of his creative energy, that was felt by all men; and nothing was more fearful to them than his absence. His beneficent influences caused his identification with the Principle of Good; and the Brama of the Hindus, and Mithras of the Persians, and Athom, Amum, Phtha, and Osiris, of the Egyptians, the Bel of the Chaldeans, the Asonai of the Phœnicians, the Adonis and Apollo of the Greeks, became but personifications of the Sun, the regenerating Principle, image of that fecundity which perpetuates and rejuvenates the world's existence.'"
-   Christ, Constantine, Sol Invictus: The Unconquerable Sun   By Ralph Monday

June: Quotes, Poems, Sayings

Summer Solstice Celebration

Blessed with Peaches

This peach, these peppers,
These grapes, these tomatoes
Will all soon become me.
Such a tasty fact.
I am That and That is Me.
Bless the gardens!
Bless the gardeners!

Bless the kitchens!

Bless the cooks!  

Bless the food!
-  Mike Garofalo, Pulling Onions

Jen Miller recently sent me her summary of the benefits of eating peaches.  Her lengthy and interesting article is titled: "12 Health Benefits of Peaches, According to Science (+10 Peach Recipes)."  

Peach trees and peaches have a special place in my heart.  I carefully tended the peach trees in our former orchard, but a bountiful crop was often just a gift, grace, luck. 

"In China, the peach was said to be consumed by the immortals due to its mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who ate them. The divinity Yu Huang, also called the Jade Emperor, and his mother called Xi Wangmu also known as Queen Mother of the West, ensured the gods' everlasting existence by feeding them the peaches of immortality. The immortals residing in the palace of Xi Wangmu were said to celebrate an extravagant banquet called the Pantao Hui or "The Feast of Peaches". The immortals waited six thousand years before gathering for this magnificent feast; the peach tree put forth leaves once every thousand years and it required another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen. Ivory statues depicting Xi Wangmu's attendants often held three peaches. The peach often plays an important part in Chinese tradition and is symbolic of long life. One example is in the peach-gathering story of Zhang Daoling, who many say is the true founder of Taoism. Elder Zhang Guo, one of the Chinese Eight Immortals, is often depicted carrying a Peach of Immortality." - Wikipedia

Peaches are native to China and introduced to Persia via the Silk Road before Christian times.

Xi Wang Mu, Queen Mother of the West, keeps the Immortals fed with the Sacred Peaches.  "No one knows Her beginning, no one knows Her end."

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Xi Wangmu, Braham, the Divine, the Supreme Universal Spirit, the Unmanifested and Manifested, the Absolute, the Everlasting, the Shining, Everything, Food for Life, God ...

Karen also enjoys our crop of peaches in the summer months in Red Bluff.

Ah, Such a tasty peach!!  

To get peaches in the summer, you must plant bare root peach trees in the winter.  Karen and I have planted nearly 100 trees in our orchard in Red Bluff, California.  We will miss these trees when we move to Vancouver, Washington, in April of 2017.  Someone else will enjoy them for decades.

Written in 2016.  

Pan and the Green Man

"There lies within
A hidden glen
An altar made of stone.
Creeping vine
And moss entwine
To hide this ancient throne.
Tangled thorn
Grows thick to scorn
Those who seek to enter.
For though they strive
No man alive
Shall ever reach its center.
Known as Pan,
To some Green Man,
This glen is his sacred place.
He dons his hood
Of wildwood
To hide his leafy face.
The roving clans
That raped the lands,
Cut down his beloved trees.
And so, alas
As time did pass
The Green God fell to his knees. ..."

- Kristina Peters Moone, The Green Man



"The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.
The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks."

-   Dylan Thomas, The Force That Through the Green Fuse Drives the Flower

The Green Man

Lore, Legends, Tales, Celebrations, Springtime Symbols, Folk Stories and Plays
From the hypertext research notebooks of Mike Garofalo

This cabbage, these carrots, these potatoes,
these onions ... will soon become me.
Such a tasty fact!
- Mike Garofalo, Cuttings

Portrait of the Emperor Rudolph II as Autumn.By Arcimboldo, 1591, Held at the Museo Civico, Brescia. 

I am Telling You the Story She Is Thinking

"Take a deep breath of all the stories that live here. A re-ligious act, to be true to the origin of the word “re-ligios”- to re-tie, re-link - is to find ways to re-connect, re-turn, re-imagine.”

In the winter season, we are allowed to say,

“Ts' its' tsi' nako,
Thought-Woman, the Spider
named things and as she named them they appeared.
She is sitting in her room thinking of a story now
I'm telling you the story she is thinking.”
-  Keresan Pueblo introduction

The Hands of the Spider Woman by Lauren Rain

Strings on Your Fingers by Mike Garofalo

Spider Grandmother weaves the Grand Cosmic Web and then spins off the planets and stars in the Navaho myths.  Zuni myths say the Spider Grandmother gave the art of string figures into the hands of the children.  Spider Grandmother is a powerful earth spirit being, the primary Creatrix of the cosmos and mind, a source of boundless imagination and the creation of the new.  An archaic Goddess of Weaving is essential to a pleasant life for all our people. 

Many Stars, Son-thlani, or Spider Grandmother’s Web is one of my favorite Navaho string figures to make.  I usually do the Spider Web (Jayne SF51) string figure first, for ritual purposes, to remind myself of my debt to all the people who have helped me learn to make string figures, everyone past and present are here symbolized as the Cosmic Web of Spider Grandmother.  

The image above is of the string figure called The Apache Door (Jayne SF12) known to many string players.  A different Navaho string figure, with a criss-crossing web pattern, is called Many Stars (Jayne SF51).    

Hands, Fingers, Feeling, Touching by Mike Garofalo

Spring Around the Corner

"The Green Fire
Aengus is a deathless comrade of the Spring, and we may well pray to him to let his green fire move in our veins."-  Fiona MacLeod, "The Birds of Aengus Og"

Aengus Ma Og is the Irish deity whose spirit inhabits the megalithic monument of Newgrange in the Boyne Valley of Ireland.  His hostel on the banks of the Boyne is a traditional entrance to the otherworld, a place where souls congregate and rest.  In their soul's circuit, several Irish heroes and heroines have become lost or disorientated.  It is within Aengus's care that they are given time to recover.  

Birds and other animals begin to choose their mates as the growing year burgeons strongly in the strengthening sunlight.  The green fire that runs all over the earth is sparked by this very sunlight and the deep germinating power of the earth.  When plants reach toward the sunlight, the red, violet, and blue bands of the light spectrum activate the chlorophyll pigment within each leaf so that it reflects green.  This pigment alters as the year progresses, causing the leaves to change color, but from this time forward  the medley of greens is apparent.  

This green fire is also within us - not in our physical bodies, as it is in plants, but in our emotional and creative lives.  Spring fever has many manifestations, some almost hormonal.  The creative urge of spring brings into being much verse, for example, as our emotional upheavals reach out for fresh life and vigor.  To experience the green fire and answer to its call is to commune with the green vigor of Aengus.  

Where is the green fire in your own life at this time?  Take your emotional and creative temperature; then give yourself over to something pleasurable and enlivening this week."  

-  Caitlin Matthews, The Celtic Spirit: Daily Meditations for the Turning Year, 1999, p. 159; Meditation for March 29th.  

March Holidays and Religious Celebrations

March Poetry and Lore  

Taoist Enlightened Person: Xian

"Xian (Chinese: 仙/仚/僊; pinyin: xiān; Wade–Giles: hsien) is a Chinese word for an enlightened person, translatable in English as:

• "spiritually immortal; transcendent; super-human; celestial being" (in Daoist/Taoist philosophy and cosmology)
• "physically immortal; immortal person; immortalist; saint" (in Daoist religion and pantheon)
• "alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life; one who practices longevity techniques" or by extension "(alchemical, dietary, qigong) methods for attaining immortality" (in Chinese alchemy)
• "wizard; magician; shaman" (in Chinese mythology)
• "genie; elf, fairy; nymph" (in popular Chinese literature, 仙境 xian jing is "fairyland", Faerie)
• "sage living high in the mountains; mountain-man; hermit; recluse" (folk etymology for the character 仙)
• "immortal (talent); accomplished person; celestial (beauty); marvelous; extraordinary" (metaphorical modifier)

Xian semantically developed from meaning spiritual "immortality; enlightenment", to physical "immortality; longevity" involving methods such as alchemy, breath meditation, and T'ai chi ch'uan, and eventually to legendary and figurative "immortality".
The xian archetype is described by Victor H. Mair.

They are immune to heat and cold, untouched by the elements, and can fly, mounting upward with a fluttering motion. They dwell apart from the chaotic world of man, subsist on air and dew, are not anxious like ordinary people, and have the smooth skin and innocent faces of children. The transcendents live an effortless existence that is best described as spontaneous. They recall the ancient Indian ascetics and holy men known as ṛṣi who possessed similar traits.1994:376

According to the Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, Chinese xian (仙) can mean Sanskrit ṛṣi (rishi "inspired sage in the Vedas")."

Excellent article in Wikipedia:  Xian (Taoism) 

Magic Pearl Medicine Ball Routine

Magic Pearl Qigong: A Tai Chi Medicine Ball Exercise Routine and Meditation Technique.
By Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.
   
Part I, Movements 1-8
Part II, Movements 9-16


The Magic Pearl Qigong is a body/mind movement art practice that was developed in 2009 by Mike Garofalo.  He studied the Chen style Taijiquan medicine ball (Tai Chi Ball) exercises, the Yang Style Taijiquan medicine ball exercises, qigong forms, and general gym styles of medicine ball exercise routines.  He has practiced Qigong and Taijiquan since 1985. 

The psychological, symbolic, magical, esoteric, and meditative aspects of the Magic Pearl Qigong involve Taoist, Buddhist, and mythological lore from China and worldwide.  Followers of Dragon motifs and lore will enjoy the associations found in this form.  Suggestions for related meditations on the concept of the Cosmic Sphere, World Egg, Magic Pearl, Casting a Magick Circle, and Sacred Circles are also provided. 

For more information on general training with a medicine ball take a look at the Medicine Ball Exercises webpage. 

The Magic Pearl Qigong exercise routine was designed for use with a medicine ball while holding the ball in two hands, so as to allow for the use of heavier medicine balls.  This exercise routine can be done indoors and does not require much space for the practice. Use a medicine ball weighing from 2 to 6 pounds to begin practice of this qigong form. 


A brief list of names of the first 8 exercises in the Magic Pearl Qigong has been provided (1 page, .pdf format).  A brief set of instructions for doing the first 8 exercises of the Magic Pearl Qigong has been provided to facilitate learning and encourage daily practice (2 pages, .pdf format).


Valley Spirit Qigong Website

[This article was originally posted to the Cloud Hands Blog on February 6, 2011.  Back in 2009,  I taught the Magic Pearl Qigong to my Taijiquan and Qigong classes at the Tehama Family Fitness Center in Red Bluff, California, and some variations to my yoga classes.  I enjoyed teaching mind-body movement arts for nearly 20 years.]

Beltane, Floralia, May Day, Walpurgis Nacht Preparations

"The leaves are budding across the land
on the ash and oak and hawthorn trees.
Magic rises around us in the forest
and the hedges are filled with laughter and love.
Dear Lady, we offer you a gift,
a gathering of flowers picked by our hands,
woven into the circle of endless life.
The bright colors of nature herself
blend together to honor You,
Queen of Spring,
as we give You honor this day.
Spring is here and the land is fertile,
ready to offer up gifts in Your name.
we pay you tribute, our Lady,
daughter of the Fae,
and ask Your blessing this Beltane."
- Beltane Prayers 

Beltane, May Day, Arbor Day, Green Man Celebrations
Hypertext Notebook of Mike Garofalo


"Fertility rights are ceremonies of a magic-religious nature performed to ensure the perpetuation of mankind and to control the environment. Expressed as invocations, incantations, prayers, hymns, processions, dances, and sacred dramas, these liturgical endeavors were, and still are, believed to be closely connected with the mechanisms of nature. The basis for such rites is usually a belief in sympathetic magic - that is magic worked on one level to have an effect on a different level, and based on the assumption that life and fertility, whether animal or vegetable, are one and indivisible. If such fertility rites could induce fertility in the animal and human worlds, then the vegetable world would also be stimulated to reproduction, resulting in an abundant harvest."
- Robert Ellison, The Solitary Druid, p. 130

Peaches of Immortality

This peach, these peppers,
These grapes, these tomatoes
Will all soon become me.
Such a tasty fact.
I am That and That is Me.
Bless the gardens!
Bless the gardeners!
Bless the kitchens!
Bless the cooks!  
Bless the food!
-  Mike Garofalo, Pulling Onions

Peach trees and peaches have a special place in my heart.  I carefully tend the peach trees in our orchard, but a bountiful crop is often just a gift, grace, luck. 

"In China, the peach was said to be consumed by the immortals due to its mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who ate them. The divinity Yu Huang, also called the Jade Emperor, and his mother called Xi Wangmu also known as Queen Mother of the West, ensured the gods' everlasting existence by feeding them the peaches of immortality. The immortals residing in the palace of Xi Wangmu were said to celebrate an extravagant banquet called the Pantao Hui or "The Feast of Peaches". The immortals waited six thousand years before gathering for this magnificent feast; the peach tree put forth leaves once every thousand years and it required another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen. Ivory statues depicting Xi Wangmu's attendants often held three peaches. The peach often plays an important part in Chinese tradition and is symbolic of long life. One example is in the peach-gathering story of Zhang Daoling, who many say is the true founder of Taoism. Elder Zhang Guo, one of the Chinese Eight Immortals, is often depicted carrying a Peach of Immortality." - Wikipedia

Peaches are native to China and introduced to Persia via the Silk Road before Christian times.

Xi Wang Mu, Queen Mother of the West, keeps the Immortals fed with the Sacred Peaches.  "No one knows Her beginning, no one knows Her end."

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Xi Wangmu, Braham, the Divine, the Supreme Universal Spirit, the Unmanifested and Manifested, the Absolute, the Everlasting, the Shining, Everything, Food for Life, God ...

Jen Miller sent me her summary of the benefits of eating peaches.

Karen also enjoys our crop of peaches in the summer months in Red Bluff.

Ah, Such a tasty peach!!  

To get peaches in the summer, you must plant bare root peach trees in the winter.  Karen and I have planted nearly 100 trees in our orchard in Red Bluff, California.  We will miss these trees when we move to Vancouver, Washington, in April of 2017.  Someone else will enjoy them for decades.

Step Out in the Rain

Day after day, wind and rain, rain and wind. Everything is soaked in our yard and gardens.

"When you look at that nature world it becomes an icon, it becomes a holy picture that speaks of the origins of the world. Almost every mythology sees the origins of life coming out of water.  And, curiously, that's true.  It's amusing that the origin of life out of water is in myths and then again, finally, in science, we find the same thing.  It's exactly so."
- Joseph Campbell, The Hero's Journey, p. 10

"Water is a good servant, but it is a cruel master."
- John Bullein, 1562

Haiku - February

Water and Rain: Quotes, Sayings, Lore

"I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. 
One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness."
- Adeline Knapp

One apple left on a branch of the tree.  It shares the space with a Praying Mantis egg case and a few emerging apple buds.  

A lovely apricot blossom that survived the rain and wind.  A the local almond orchards are in full bloom - white blooms.  

"Coming home
long necked geese–
Canadian-Americans.

A warm rest for
coots, geese, and ducks–
wet rice fields.

The white geese
ascend from the far fields
fleeing popping shotguns.

The honking geese
a quacking cacophony
flapping overhead.

Flocks of white
geese in the light gray fog–
this way and that way."

- Mike Garofalo