Hail and Awake!
Children of the blue, brown and green Earth
I have come from my shining abode in Heaven
I am Amaterasu Omikami - Great Woman Who Possesses NoonHere is a gift for you:
A mirror, to draw you from your cave of sleeping
To see yourself in all your wonder
Allow me to introduce you to yourself!Mary Kay Landon
Painting by Aya Kato, |
As we approach the Summer Solstice, I think of course of the Green Man, and the many solar dieties associated with the Sun. But there is also the wonderful story from Japan, the tale of Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun.
Angered by her vulgar, violent brother Susanowa, god
of storms, Amaterasu Omikami fell into despair about the ugliness and
the ignorance of the world. And so, deprived of the warmth and light of the Sun, the world began to
die. She retreated to a cave, and refused to
come out.
All
the Gods and Goddesses came to the mouth of her cave, and
begged Amaterasu to come out. But Amaterasu Omikami, withdrawn into
her dark musings, her depression and introversion, would not, and all the pleas of those gathered could
not persuade her to return to the world.
At
last, the Gods placed a mirror at the entrance to the
cave. Then the little Goddess Uzume, known for her high humor, began to dance. Her dance
was so bawdy, so absurd.......that everyone gathered had to
laugh, in spite of the dire circumstances. They laughed and laughed
and laughed!
With so much raucous laughter, even Amaterasu's dark thoughts
were interrupted, and from sheer curiosity she paused to wonder what was going on. She opened the cave door just a
crack, and peeked out. And at that moment, her
radiant, shining face was reflected in the mirror. At that very moment, she saw
how beautiful she was - and remembered how much joy and
laughter there still was in the world, emanating from her, emanating from everyone. And that is how Amaterasu left
her cave of dark despair, forgot about her anger and disillusionment,
and joined the dance of life again in all of her glory.
There
are caves of darkness into which we all retreat. For a day, a
month, too many years, perhaps a lifetime. Sometimes, we have to be
tricked away from abysses of the heart in order to see how beautiful,
how valuable, how important the light in each of us really is, how we can ignite other lives by shining from within our own lives. From that mirror, one can find again the desire to rejoin the hilarious,
heartbreaking dance of life, and become the Sun.
Mana Youngbear
Laura Janesdaughter (1999)
1 comment:
You are a magnificent story teller! Thank you!
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