ebruary 8th marks the rise of the new moon as well as the start of the Chinese New Year for 2016. Following a luni-solar calendar, Chinese peoples will again celebrate the New Year for 15 consecutive days (a lunar number combined with solar days). The … continue reading »
Author: Margaret Merisante
Fairy Tales, Children & Guns
hildren’s stories and fairy tales are back in the news in both thoughtful and disturbing ways. The thoughtful news article about the differences found in British and American children’s stories is an opinion piece from The Atlantic. The disturbing news arises from the American National … continue reading »
Happy New Year 2016
May each and every one of you be blessed this year with expanded happiness, tolerance, wisdom, love, and prosperity. And may the diligent work that we do as individuals to daily live our lives from a compassionate heart, a wise mind, a discerning eye, and … continue reading »
Unspooling the Meanings of Savior
Because I was asked to write about the meaning of the word savior for a friend’s newsletter, I looked into the historical and mythological origins of the term .Within Christianity, savior is a title often given to Jesus Christ. The term savior also derives from … continue reading »
The Hunger Games, Myth & the Minotaur
ecause The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2—the last movie installment of Suzanne Collins’ popular trilogy—is now in theaters, I want remind readers and watchers that Collins states that the basis of her novels comes from the combination of a particular ancient Greek (or Mycenaean) myth, … continue reading »
Myth: True or False
re myths true? Or are they false, a lie? The answer, you might think, must have been settled ages ago. However, discussion on whether a myth (or myths in general) is or isn’t true continues to percolate up from our collective ponderings. Like the chimera … continue reading »
Love of the World
oday, I need to post a poem about the difference that women make in the world. Sometimes, the impact comes just by having a woman present. Often a deep love of the world propels women to create change in order to reflect back the beauty … continue reading »
April Mythological RoundTable®
re you are in or around Eugene and want to learn more about mythology with other myth enthusiasts? You are in luck! Mark your calendars–the next JCF (Joseph Campbell Foundation) Mythological RoundTable® of Eugene meeting takes place on April 29th. (The name is such a … continue reading »
Easter & Mary Magdalene
ary Magdalene has been on my mind for months now. This preoccupation is not typical. Even though I had a Christian upbringing, Mary Magdalene, like other biblical or New Testament figures, certainly wasn’t highlighted as someone important enough or worthy for in-depth Sunday school discussion. … continue reading »
Appreciation for progress
ppreciation buoys up my spirit today as I read a news article by Donna Kakissis (found here) about the new progressive Greek cabinet. Not because the newest Greek governing body follows the “same old-same-old” actions of only appointing men to senior positions in the cabinet. … continue reading »