Cheetahs are felines famous for their speed and have the
fastest land speed of any living animal living today. Cheetahs are known to
typically hunt alone and after the smaller mammals, but are also known to hunt
wildebeests and zebras in groups.
The cheetah teaches to have a flexible body as a method to
keep the body healthy. This totem shall teach how to gain a flexible body or
how to become even more flexible. Health is indeed important and flexibility is
how the cheetah gains it.
When hunting cheetahs do not have the best time catching
prey, their success rate in capturing prey is low and the cheetah knows very
well to keep on trying to be able to succeed. The cheetah teaches to work hard
and to keep trying to gain success.
During a time of high stress and/or effort rest should be
taken as a method of making certain that one does not become worn out. The cheetah
teaches to keep an eye on personal stress and effort to make sure too much
stress or effort doesn’t occur.
The White Turnip is known as a root vegetable, it has the
botanical name of Brassica rapa
subspecies rapa. Its leaves are sometimes
eaten, but the roots are more popular to eat either raw or cooked. It takes two
or three months to grow a white turnip, but it can take as little as a month
and a half for crops to be ready to be picked.
Sowing should occur in the summer with harvesting being when
the white turnip is about the size of a golf ball. When sowing, the space
between plants should be about 10cm apart due to the fast growing nature of
this plant and the fact that turnips do not do well when transplanted.
Overcrowding will damage the roots of white turnips.
White turnips are an annual which requires full sun and
rich, well-drained soils that are a sandy loam. Moisture should be kept but not
waterlogged and the preference of pH is about 6.5. Onions and peas make good
companion plants to the white turnip, white potatoes and tomatoes do not.
“Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I
notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be
thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter
more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?'” This quote is from
John Green in the above video. This quote reminded me back to religion, as in
the comments of a video I saw many months ago about a person’s religious
practices, someone commented how the video creator is a “religious nerd”.
With many in the West notably being Christian, you would
think many would read their religious texts. Sadly, Christian’s have a
reputation for not reading the Bible, or if they have, cherry picking what is
within the Bible. Surely being a “religious nerd” is a good thing if a religious
belief being held. It shows understanding of one’s religious texts or of others
religious beliefs.
It’s also one thing to have religious beliefs, yet it is
another to understand what is within the texts of one’s own religion. In this
sense, if even a single thing within a religion is not practiced regardless if
a minority or majority does so, it can easily be made fun of. Laziness is
likely the cause of practices being unattended to, yet it isn’t an excuse to
leave religious obligations behind. Having a reason to not practice a certain
thing from a religion is an excuse, where it wouldn’t be a surprise to me if
there is someone out in the world who didn’t realize this.
When it comes to discussing religion it isn’t the most
popular of subjects to talk about within my age demographic, yet sex itself is a
lot more popular. Probably due to the fact that people in their late teens and
young adulthood sex is more considered more important than religion. People in
their late teens and early adulthood when talking about religion usually state
their religious belief in a sentence, typically stating something along the
lines of “I belong to this religion.” That would be it. A shallow conversation
compared to how long people can talk to each other without stopping.
Yama, or Yamaaraja, is the Hindu god of the dead who is said
to be the first mortal who died and gained ruler of the dead due to this. Yama
is one of the Guardians of the Directions, being of the south. Yama is occasionally
called Dharma.
He is depicted often riding a black buffalo with green or
red skin and red clothes. In one of his hands, Yama holds a rope that he uses
to pull souls from a corpse. Yama notably wears a crown and has a mace.
Yama is the son of Surya and has the twin Yami, with another
deity known as Shani being Yama’s brother. Yami later came to earth as the
river known as Yamuna.
Yama lives in a palace called Kalichi and has attendants
help him with his work. Yama keeps a register of each person’s life span in a
book called “Book of Destiny” and is maintained by attendants.
Llamas are domesticated animals used to carry loads and for
their fleece, with some using llamas in modern times as guards for sheep
against predators. Llamas appearance is alike the alpaca, but have a longer
head and are larger of the two.
The llama teaches to relax about a situation when worried,
to not rush into anything and to take time to do so. If time is taken instead
of rushing, safety shall be secured over taking a wrong step that could easily
create severe pains.
Hard work and responsibility is required in life eventually,
the llama teaches to do both and to keep perseverance through even the toughest
of times. It shall be the hard work and perseverance that shall lead to an
eventual accomplishment.
Helleborus foetidus
is called more commonly Stinking Hellebore, Dungwort and Bear’s Foot. It has
black-green and fine-fingered leaves throughout the year and in winter grows
bell shaped flowers that can have a number of shades of colour but are
generally green. The flowers can smell sweet despite its common name of
stinking hellebore. Stinking hellebore shouldn’t be consumed as it is a
poisonous plant.
Stinking hellebore is a hardy plant that prefers clay soils
that are fertile, moist and well-drained, growing in either full sun or partial
shade.
One aspect of religion that I have personally found
interesting is growing out hair, regardless if the hair is on the top of the
head or on the face. Many people grow their hair due to religious reasons, yet
when I look at the pagan community I seem to be unable to find anyone growing
their hair for a religious reason.
Looking at the various pagan beliefs, it is rather diverse.
It could easily be expected for some pagan women to cover their hair as a way
to show modesty, others could let their hair grow to keep naturalistic, or do
neither and hold a completely different view when it comes to their hair. It
may simply be that people within the pagan community who grow their hair,
beards and moustaches for religious reasons are a minority.
In a way this reminds me of the various interpretations of
the Bible, where people can believe similar things but have differing
interpretations of it. The obvious difference is that despite there being many
Christians there is a diversity of beliefs and when compared to other
religions, an even larger diversity of not only beliefs but also practices.
However, while a large number of people follow the teachings
of the Bible, many seem to forget what is in it, one of the best known examples
are obviously is the rule against consuming anything from the ocean besides fish.
Interestingly, it is Leviticus that speaks against this which also speaks
against shaving beards at 19:27. It shows a lack of seriousness and dedication
to one’s religion by many. Perhaps today people care more about having a basic belief
system rather dedicating themselves to religious texts or their particular philosophy.
Admittedly, when it comes down to dealing with hair there are some rules regarding
it in some schools and workforces, with the same applying even more so to
beards and moustaches. In this age, people seem to be mostly free to do what
they want with their locks.
Ehecatl is the god of the winds and is an aspect of Quetzalcoatl,
for this reason he is also called Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. As the god of the
winds, Ehecatl is associated with all directions. As the god Tlaloc cannot
carry the rain clouds, Ehecatl blows the clouds to signify the end of the dry
season.
In the creation myth of the Aztec’s it tells how a fourth
sun was destroyed and the gods gathered. It was the deities Nanahuatzin and
Tecciztecatl who jumped into a sacrificial fire becoming the sun and moon. Ehecatl who blew on the two, causing them to start moving.
It was later that the goddess Itzpapalotl was stealing
daylight and keeping it until paid with human sacrifice. While this occurred,
Ehecatl came across a mortal female called Mayahuel, the granddaughter of
Itzpapalotl. The two fell in love and went to earth to share it, with a tree
blossoming the exact spot they landed. When Itzpapalotl arrived home to find
Mayahuel was no longer there.
A search for Mayahuel began, with Ehecatl and Mayahuel
disguising themselves as branches of the tree they caused to blossom. The
Tzitzimime were not fooled and stuck lightning at the tree, causing Mayahuel to
fall to the ground in several pieces. Ehecatl buried the remains, and from the
rotting body of Mayahuel the maguey plant grew.
The ocelot, called also the dwarf leopard and margay is a
wild cat found in South and Central Americas along with Mexico, being seen as
far north as Texas. It is as large as a domestic cat and its fur alike to a
jaguar.
This feline teaches to be adaptable, regardless of the
environment one is in. It is the ocelot who goes to the trees and the waters,
being about to look at the surroundings from above. It is the ocelot who
teaches not to fear to do such things, as there are times when it will be
needed to be done.
By solitude and quiet meditation, the ocelot teaches how
to regenerate. There are benefits to
such a form of regeneration and the ocelot knows it.
Onions are known as the Bulb Onion, Common Onion and Garden
Onion. They are botanically called Allium cepa and well known to cause crying
when being prepared, with many people attempting to find a way to prevent this.
Onions are grown from seed, where in colder areas it is
best to sow them in early spring and in warmer areas late autumn to
early winter. This is due to how onions take prefers cool weather to establish
and warm weather to mature. They will need to be planted in full sun as the
onion needs plenty of sun to be able to mature. Onions are easy to grow and it is advised to not grow them with peas and beans.
Hoori is the god of hunting, the great-grandson of Amaterasu,
the son of Ninigi and Konohanasakuya-hime and younger brother of Hoderi. Hoori
is also called Fire Fade, Hohodemi, Yamasachihiko and Hikohohodemi.
Hoori once exchanged his hunting tools with his brother
Hoderi, going to the sea to fish. Due to his inexperience fishing Hoori lost
his brothers hook after spending a day by the seashore fishing. Hoori feared
the reaction of Hoderi and asked an old man nearby for help. The old man guided
Hoori, leading him to the palace under the sea.
Hoderi learnt of how
Hoori lost his hook, promising not to forgive his brother until he brings back
his hook. Hoori however met the daughter of Ryujin, Otohime, at the sea palace,
staying with Otohime by her side for three years.
Due to waiting for so long Hoderi confronted the sea god Ryujin
asking for the hook. Ryujin summoned his fish and found it. The hook was given
to Hoori to guarantee that Hoderi would forgive Hoori. Hoori gave the hook back
to Hoderi and despite the time it took to do so, Hoderi forgave Hoori.
Hoori eventually went on to marry Otohime and the two had a
son. This caused Otohime to take on the form of a dragon.
Jellyfish are creatures of the oceans with unusual anatomy,
almost like an alien. There are many species of jellyfish; some which can be
very small while other species large.
When the jellyfish comes to teach, it asks if there are
feelings of floating and drifting along. There are ways to deal with such
matters, addressing with such things is the beginning of dealing with it.
Living a simple life seems to becoming more difficult in
modern day Western culture, but jellyfish tells that simplifying is a good
idea. The jellyfish also gives messages to allow life to take its course, to
trust it to happen and to not rush in life.
Grevillea curviloba is the botanical name of the Curved-Leaf
Grevillea, which has two subspecies, Graevillea curviloba subsp. curviloba and
subsp. incurva. It is a prostrate to erect shrub native to Western Australia,
growing up to 3m in width and 2.5 in height. Its flowers are white to cream and
grow from late winter to mid-spring.
When grown in moist, well-drained soil and with full sun its
growth can be rapid. It has some tolerance to frost. It can grow in sandy and sandy-loam soils.
Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light, is referred to as the
Japanese Amitabha, is who people turn to near death. Amida Buddha, Amida Nyorai and Amida Butsu
are also names to refer to Amida. He is often depicted meditating with his
hands position in a manner where his thumbs are touching and fingers are
together, sometimes depicts is of Amida holding a lotus. Depictions also show
two attendants known as the Amida Sanzon.
People pray to Amida when someone they know is about to die
as it is said Amida has the power to change death is life. Chanting “Namu Amida Butsu” is said to help
gain rebirth in what is known as the Pure Land Paradise and to reject anything
which prevents obtaining Buddhahood.
Before Amida attained Buddhahood he was known as Hozo and
made forty-eight vows, which is now the basis for the vows taken by followers,
monks and nuns today.
The African painted dog, also known as the painted dog,
hunting dog, Cape hunting dog, spotted wolf and spotted dog, is a pack animal
recognizable by its fur. Its fur also helps differing between individuals.
The animal teaches to bring success through perseverance, to
keep trying despite hardships and succeed at what is wished to be done.
Learning how to have a strong family bond can be difficult
if communication is poor, yet the African painted dog teaches to form strong
bonds with family and to work together. A family will not succeed if one does
all the work.
