notes from my lunar insomnia: inconstancy
Why is the moon, symbol of femininity, also a symbol of inconstancy? I understand that both are subject to cyclic change, but why is that often seen as a negative thing in Western culture? Where is the notion of positive power, of wonder at the connectedness of humans and the sky and other parts of nature? This is something that bothers me off and on, and this allegorical image of Inconstancy brings many of these irritations bubbling up to the surface…
There’s that damn crustacean again—I mentioned it once before in one of my lunatic posts--that horrific symbol of meaningless cycles of nature, that, according to traditional thought that I find quite compelling, has nothing to do with a good god.The depths-crawling lobster represents the nightmare of the unknown, of the subconscious, and also of the deep unexplored ocean; the things we know exist and don’t want to understand—all brought up by the moon’s powerful force.
Abraham Janssens “Inkonstanz, Allegorie der Unbeständigkeit” (1617)
I love the website, go day to see him ever again post. Congratulations and published as yet.
ReplyDeleteHow about the article, is that other, very interesting.Maybe you'd let you comment on my site.
Anyway, blog is great. Good luck!
I like to think of the moon as maiden/mother/crone - wish I could inbed the image I'm thinking of. Anyway, I have also never thought of 'inconsistancy' - just change, which can bring about lots of good things!
ReplyDeleteEw, that is a creepy crustacean. Big aquatic spiders, only civilized by the application of hot water and drawn butter.
ReplyDeleteThis was a blog I had to think about for a while. I think maybe, in this so-called "Age of Reason", changeability has fallen by the wayside and interpreted as inconstant, fluctuating and even slightly flaky, when the fact is that nature - and that can be taken to mean both the Moon and the tides - follows only its own rhythm, not any set of rules defined by anything so nebulous as "reason".
ReplyDeleteChangeable is only a negative term if constant/reliable/steady are the maxims you live by. But creativity - whichever flavor you prefer - is a perpetual state of flux. It comes, it goes, it waxes, it wanes - it changes and surprises you - like the tides, like the Moon, like the changes of life itself, another continual state of flux! We all have the choice to flow or to remain right where we are.
As for that rather overgrown aquatic cockroach...Here in Scandinavia. a lot of crustaceans are simply known as - crabs, as opposed to lobsters. Crabs are border creatures - not quite belonging solely in the ocean nor on dry land, but existing quite happily on the beach - that border of land and sea. In a symbolic sense, they exist as bridges between either, or as bridges between emotion - the bottomless, fathomless, ever-changing ocean - and reality, the unchanging, eternal land.
So maybe flux, inconstancy and changeability is not quite such a bad thing after all! ;-)
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ReplyDeleteAmazing blog and very interesting stuff you got here! I definitely learned a lot from reading through some of your earlier posts as well and decided to drop a comment on this one!
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