Category Archives: W
Walker, Barbara G.
Walker, Barbara G. (1930- )
Feminist writer on mythology, religion and spirituality.
Her Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, although of debatable accuracy in certain places, offers a compensatory perspective to not only chauvinist religious teachings but also to thinkers who tend to ignore Christianity’s ugly past.
From the standpoint of psycho-history, past atrocities tend to reemerge in novel, equally frightening forms as long as the underlying psychological dynamics remain unconscious.
While some contemporary researchers emphasize visible influences and conscious instead of unconscious motivation in their study of mankind, Thomas A Kohut says
Because it is not possible to comprehend people without dealing with the psychological, historians, including those critical of psychohistory, have always written about it, even if they have rarely acknowledged the fact.
Thomas A. Kohut, “Psychohistory as History,” The American Historical Review, Vol. 91, No. 2 (Apr., 1986: 336-354), p. 352.
In the 1970′s Walker worked on a telephone hotline for battered women and pregnant teenagers. This spurred an interest in feminism and perhaps contributed to her unique perspective on myth, religion and spirituality.
To this Rose White adds:
[Walker made] enormous contributions to female intellectual empowerment through her many collections of knitted stitch patterns. Of course her work benefited all knitters, not just women, but at the time she was writing, nearly all knitters were women.
The point of view which guided her to collect and produce her anthologies of stitch patterns was this: Crafters should not be beholden to crappy commercial garment designs, but should have the means to create their own original works. She has been an inspiration to multiple generations of knitters, and these books are still in print 40 years later. » See in context
And Mary Treherne comments about sex-role stereotypes and religion in general:
A change in the psycho-sexual paradigm of human nature, and the whole ‘chemistry’ of human relationship is taking place with a wholly new interpretation of the moral teachings of Christ, one that threatens to bring down the whole of ‘christian’ history and tradition and a lot more besides. To be truly free is to be free for an ignorance within human nature itself.
Anyone able to free themselves of their prejudices, who is interested in real progress that history has thus far denied us, should check out: http://www.energon.org.uk » See in context
» Diana, Goddess vs. goddess, Neo-Paganism, Persephone, Torture, Witch, Witches Hammer, Inquisitions
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Wu Wei
Wu Wei
An early Taoist term meaning non-action or effortless action.
Often misconstrued as “being still” in the physical sense, the idea, rather, is that a person in accord with the Tao intuitively grasps when and not to act.
Such a person’s life apparently is as effortless as a bamboo shoot bending with the wind.
At least, this is the way wu wei has been depicted by Western pop spiritualists such as Alan Watts.
And just how much this whole notion has become an attractive myth covering over or perhaps turning a blind eye to unsavory realities remains open to debate. » Taoism
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World Tree
World Tree
Although tree symbolism is exceedingly diverse in meaning and form among world mythologies and religions, one of the most common motifs is the World Tree.
With important variants found in South American mythic art, the World Tree in Indo-European lore is said to be located at the center of the cosmos.
The tree’s roots dig deep into the earth while its branches point to the heavens.
David Leeming notes that the idea of the world tree is often linked to that of the world navel.
For the Tartars, a giant pine tree grows out of the navel of the earth and reaches to the home of the supreme ruler in heaven (David Leeming, The Oxford Companion to World Mythology, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 404).
As such, depth psychologists like C. G. Jung say the World Tree is a mythic symbol connecting mankind to the psycho-spiritual powers of the underworld, the earth and heaven.
But this tidy presentation of the notion of the holistic World Tree should not overlook the fact that the process of psychological transformation is not always easy nor without challenges.
Peter Butcher notes that new paradigms, i.e. larger ways of seeing the world, are often born of intense personal crises. While the holistic vision of the World Tree is an admirable ideal and perhaps worthwhile goal for some, others are not so fortunate and seem to be ruined by their inner adventures.
People who have experienced expanded states of consciousness often encounter a period of inner chaos or disorientation. This has been described as a Death, the Dark Night, a Fall into Formlessness, Being Swallowed by a Monster, Entering Hell or the Void, and so on.¹
Butcher says it’s essential for the seeker to “integrate a new way of seeing with old interpretations or constructs.”² In Jungian terms, the psyche must achieve a new balance between unusual inner experiences (as described above) and the demands of the outside world. And after a period of possibly alarming disorganization the self must successfully reorganize into a greater whole.
The notion of the world tree also has links to occult, Runic and Tarot lore because the most important world tree, Yggdrasill, is where the Norse god Odin hung himself upside down for nine days and nights in search of the secret of immortality.
Odin’s self-imposed ordeal is reflected in the Tarot mystery card of “The Hanged Man.” And it has also found its way into commentaries on Kabbalic mysticism.
—
¹ Peter Butcher, “Art Images Associated with States of Expanded Consciousness: A Study of the Individual Case,” Leonardo, Vol. 16, No. 3, Special Issue: Psychology and the Arts (Summer, 1983: 222-224), p. 222.
² Ibid., p. 223.
On the World Wide Web:
- “History of Ideas – the Hanged Man” » http://www.tarotforum.net/printthread.php?t=94131
» Aesir
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Worf (Lieutenant)
Worf (Lieutenant)
A Klingon officer in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine played by actor Michael Dorn.
Unlike the hostile Klingons of the original Star Trek, Worf and his race are allied with the Federation of Planets, a federation that includes Earth.
Apparently Star Trek producer Gene Roddenberry initially didn’t envision Worf as a regular in the series because he didn’t want to rehash existing themes from the original TV series (i.e. the Klingons).
But Worf’s popularity was undeniable, and Roddenberry along with subsequent producers modified their outlook regarding the Star Trek mythos, embracing and adapting past episodes to further enhance the overall story, which in literary circles is recognized as a device called ‘retroactive continuity.’
» Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Original Series
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Wittgenstein, Ludwig
Wittgenstein, Ludwig (Josef Johann, 1889-1951)
Austrian-born British philosopher.
Wittgenstein studied mathematics at Cambridge under Bertrand Russell. While serving in the Austrian army during WW I, he argued in Tractatus Logico-philosophicus that any sentence is a representation of a fact and any kind of thought is a sentence.
In 1953 he rejected these ideas forwarded in Tractatus, coming to believe that linguistic meaning relates to the use of expressions.
This involves certain “language games” that inform and are informed by expressions. » Linguistics, Semiology
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Witches Hammer (The Malleus Maleficarum)
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Witches Hammer (The Malleus Maleficarum)
In 1326 Pope John XXII responded to Dominican pressure by making witchcraft an official heresy.
1486 two educated Dominicans monks, Heinrich Kramer and James Sprengler wrote the Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches or Witches Hammer).
The book, based on Exodus 22:18 (“thou shalt not suffer a witch to live”) is a grisly, perverse three-part manual on how to identify and legally force confessions out of suspected witches, who for all intents and purposes were considered guilty before their arrest.
Torture is outlined as an acceptable method for obtaining confessions.
Part I describes how the devil, with the permission of God, tempts people through various succubi and incubi, and turns them into animals.
Part II outlines how witches cast spells and bewitch people. This includes stories of pacts with the devil, the sacrifice of children and sexual intercourse with Satan.
These stories were based on real inquisitions conducted by Kramer and Sprengler.
One must wonder if they are not a map (i.e. projection) of the inquisitors’ own hidden fantasies.
Part III provides methods for gathering evidence and testimony as well as outlining interrogation and torture techniques.
Judges were permitted to lie, saying that mercy would be granted with a confession when in reality it would not be–all apparently for the greater good.
Moreover, the book was contradictory, at one point stating that many good people were susceptible to Demonic influence and later that only wicked folk are vulnerable.
Although the Catholic Church officially banned The Witches Hammer in 1490, it was repeatedly published well into 1669.
During that time many Inquisitors and witch-hunters used it as a how-to manual. And next to the Bible, it remained the No. 2 best-seller for almost 200 years after its first publication in 1486.
Meanwhile, the Church turned a blind eye to its popularity and widespread use, making the ban more an ethically and, perhaps, politically correct move than an actual measure. » Scholarship, Walker (Barbara G.), Witch
On the Web:
- http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org
- John Paul II revived the Inquisition» http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2006/11/john-paul-ii-revived-inquisition.html (Contains potentially disturbing content not suitable for minors)
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Witch
Witch
The word witch comes from the Old English wicca (male) and wicce (female).
From his study of African witchcraft, the anthropologist E. E. Evans Pritchard distinguished witchcraft from sorcery: Witches are physically born as such while a person may become a sorcerer later in life.
Both are traditionally associated with evil.
In legend witches use magical spells and potions to work their malice. Legends also tell of good “white witches,” as found in shamanism or fairy tales.
European witch hysteria became so pronounced in the 14th century that mass witch trials began in 1397 in Lucerne.
In 1326 Pope John XXII responded to Dominican pressure by proclaiming witchcraft a heresy.
In 1486 two Dominican monks wrote the Malleus Maleficarum (The Hammer of Witches or Witches Hammer). The book was a grisly, perverse ‘manual’ on how to identify and force confessions out of suspected witches, who in most cases were deemed guilty before their arrest.
Statistics reveal that in Essex of Southwest England 91% of the 271 accused of sorcery from 1560 – 1680 were women.
The Church could legally claim the land and economic holdings of convicted witches. Some believe that in convicting so-called witches, perverse clergy were more interested in worldly than spiritual gain. Most of the condemned were vulnerable women and therefore scapegoats–the poor, the single and those deemed unattractive or different.
In this regard, Carl Jung says the persecution of witches in Europe and North America was a mass projection of the shadow.
Witchcraft today has become a complicated phenomenon.
Many recognize it as an alternative religion. Aspiring women witches join covens and many practice what they believe is white magic.
A variety of commercial occult products has grown alongside the modern practice of witchcraft.
The idea of the ethically ambiguous witch has also been popularized and, to some degree, normalized through film and TV productions, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In the TV version of Buffy, the character Willow originally uses witchcraft for the good but becomes consumed by a quest for magical power and eventually allows evil to dominate her.
Although many religious fundamentalists might deplore such an apparently ‘evil’ program, the TV series closes with Willow regaining her humility (and humanity) by allowing love to enter into her life again.
» Ancestor Cults, Archetypal Image, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Glamour, Haensel and Gretel, Latin, Lewis (C. S.), Macbeth, Madness, Neo-Paganism, Odyssey, Psychosis, Scholarship, Walker (Barbara G.)
On the Web:
John Paul II revived the Inquisition» http://jp2m.blogspot.com/2006/11/john-paul-ii-revived-inquisition.html
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Wisdom
Wisdom
When a person seems to know through insight, intuition and experience the best course of action or the possible outcomes of situations, we might say they are wiser than those who make superficial, snap or conventional judgments.
Wisdom may or may not involve scholarly, specialized or factual knowledge. The intuitive aspects of wisdom may involve revealed, infused, illuminated or ‘transcendental’ knowledge–that is, knowledge that seers and mystics from most world religions say extends beyond the conventional understanding of space and time.
The notion of wisdom is sometimes hotly debated among various religious traditions. Some Hindus, for example, might see Christians as slaves to externally imposed dogmas and rituals that lock them up in ignorance, while some Christians may see the works of the devil binding Hindus to false or incomplete beliefs which deny or ‘water down’ the belief that Christ is the unique and only human incarnation truly equal to God.
But even within a given world religion, opposing viewpoints can be found as to the nature of wisdom. Fundamentalist Christians, for instance, often have knee-jerk, hypocritical and perhaps sometimes violent reactions to the deeper aspects of Christian mysticism that they themselves haven’t experienced. In fact some Christians go as far to say that all mysticism is of the devil.
The Protestant Josh McDowell seems to lean in this direction. In The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict McDowell begins by noting in a sentence or two that there are many types of mysticism but proceeds to only discuss his perception of the errors of the “pantheistic mysticism of the East” (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999: 643-658 ). And his discussion equates the general term ‘mysticism’ as if it only applied to Eastern mysticism, most notably that of Zen Buddhism.
McDowell’s argument overlooks the plain and obvious fact that the term ‘mysticism’ applies to a wide variety of religious experiences along with the key question as to their place of origin and related ethical orientation–e.g. (a) God as ‘wholly other’ (b) God as conceptualized in pantheism or (c) an evil being hostile to God.
In fact, Catholics and other Protestants take great pains to differentiate those interior experiences which are from God and those which are not.
» Alchemy, Ancestor Cults, Anselm (St.), Ashram, Bible, Book of Job, Bowie (David), Brahman, Clairaudience, Cupid, Dhammapada, DSM-IV-TR, Ego, Hero, I Ching, Jnana yoga, Levels of Knowledge, Kabbala, Koan, Kowalska (Saint Maria Faustina Helena), Manichaeism, Mystic, Neurosis, Odin, Paranormal, Pericles, Ramakrishna (Sri), Reincarnation, Seer, Serenity Prayer, Theosophy, Theravada Buddhism, Tiresias
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Winnowing
Winnowing
In Old Testament farming this is the separation of the edible grain from the chaff–that is, the inedible stalks and husks (Ruth 3:2).
The grain was either raked with a “winnowing fork” or thrown into the air where the breeze would blow away the chaff but not the heavier grain.
Similar agricultural methods are still used in the 21st century in the Near East, Africa and Asia.
The image of winnowing is found several times in the Old Testament, symbolizing the dispersion of Israel during the exile. It is also used as a metaphor for the judgment of Yahweh.
In the New Testament, which for many Christians fulfills the Old Testament, the image of winnowing designates a final judgment and eternal separation of good souls that enter heaven and evil souls that descend to hell.
Along these lines, John the Baptist await the Messiah (Jesus) who holds a winnowing fork (or fan) to clean the threshing floor, gather the good wheat and throw the useless chaff into the eternal fires of hell.
His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17).
Catholic teaching has to some degree elaborated on this ancient view of ‘salvation vs. damnation’ with the idea of purgatory.
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William of Ockham
William of Ockham (1285-1347) Influential English Franciscan philosopher charged with heresy and excommunicated by the Church because he vigorously defended Saint Francis’ ideal of holy poverty much to the chagrin of Pope John XXII.
Ockham rejected the theory of universals in favor of nominalism and paved the way for idealist thinkers such as Berkeley, Locke and Hume.
He claimed that knowledge is obtained first by intuition, followed by intellectual conceptualization.
He is best known, however, for Ockham’s razor, a philosophical position arguing that it is futile for explanation to use more elements when less will do. This principle of parsimony has become a maxim for contemporary scientific method.
But the question remains as to whether this is always a good thing.
Critics of Ockham’s razor suggest that it can lead to reductionism, particularly in theology, the humanities and the social sciences. » Scholastics
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