Amaterasu Omikami Mask

AMATERASU

 by Mary Kay Landon 

Hail and Awake!

You children of the blue, brown and green earth,

You who tread in space and time.

I come to you today from My shining abode

In heaven

Far away yet so close.

I am Amaterasu Omikami,

The Great Woman Who Possesses Noon,

Ruler of heaven,

Queen of all nature’s forces,

Goddess that is the Sun.

Golden, gleaming,

Startling, luminous,

Fierce — and gentle,

I light your way,

I warm your bones,

I stoke your tired feet,

I fire your imagination.

Without Me

And My brilliance that is so benificent,

The rice and all the other green things of the earth

Would wilt and die.

And there you would squat

At death’s door

Cold — hungry — wicked —

Doomed —

To a fate as premature shadow

In the valley of the dead.

I know, for it almost happened —

Just once.

My drunken brother Susanowo

So angered Me with his bloated pride

I took leave of you.

And hid My light self in a cave,

Refusing to move,

Refusing to come out

Even though outside

I knew

The dark air grew cold,

The plants no longer yielded fruit,

And the World began to die.

All this I nearly allowed —

But the other gods and goddesses,

Facing death, as well,

Gathered outside My cave.

They summoned forth an eight-armed mirror

And hung strings of jewels on the branches of the Sakaki tree,

They muttered ritual sayings,

And the voluptuous young goddess Ama no Uzume began to dance.

She danced —

And danced,

And danced

Whipping up an ecstasy so great among the gods and goddesses

That they began to laugh

And laugh —

Louder and louder

Hahahahaha

Hahahahahahahahha

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Finally I peeked out of the cave,

Demanding to know —

What the fuss was all about,

And then I saw Myself.

In the mirror.

Amazed by My beauty,

Stunned by the luminescence

Streaming off My brow and filling the world

Turning it once again green,

And coming back to Me

In this reflection.

Today I, Amaterasu,

Goddess of the Sun,

Come to you from My shining abode

To bestow upon you two gifts:

But with these gifts

You must also take

The eight-armed mirror.

Hang it outside your cave.

And aim it directly at your soul.

Then,

As I had done before you,

You must venture out of your cave,

Out into My light, My air.

And you must open your eyes,

Into that mirror,

And allow ME

To introduce

YOU  To  YOURSELF

As if, 
For the first time.

Welcome home.

Sayonara.

Amaterasu and the return of the Sun

Mana Youngbear  (2004)

 

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 Noon

Here 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

A wonderful story for the Solstice comes 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.  She retreated to a cave, and refused to  come out. And so, deprived of her warmth and light, the world began to die.

All the deities and spirits came to the mouth of her cave, and begged the goddess to come out. But Amaterasu Omikami, withdrawn into her dark musings,  would not, and all the pleas of those gathered could not persuade her to return to the world.

At last, the little goddess Uzume placed a mirror at the entrance to the cave.  Then 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 their dire circumstances. They laughed and laughed and laughed!

At last, with so much raucous laughter, even Amaterasu's dark thoughts were interrupted with sheer curiosity.  She opened the cave door just a crack, and peeked out.  And at that moment, her radiant,  face was reflected in the mirror. At that very moment, she saw how beautiful she was - and rememberd how much joy and laughter there still was in the world.  And that is how Amaterasu left her cave of dark despair, forgot about her anger and disillusionment, and joined the dance, shining 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.   Then we find the the will to rejoin the hilarious, heartbreaking dance of life - and once again,  be the Sun.

 

Laura Janesdaughter (1999)