MonSno_LeeDra
July 15th, 2008, 01:50 PM
In the Christmas cartoon special "A Year Without a Santa Claus" we are introduced to two characters, Heat Miser and Cold Miser. Like thier names imply, one is oriented towards heat and greenery while the other is oriented towards cold and things wintery.
In operation there is a boundary between the lands they hold influence over and what weather actions that take place there. Ie Heat Miser allows rain, storms, mist , etc while Cold Miser creates snow, Ice, Sleet, etc. Should one try to take control over an event in the others sphere of control they resist it and change it to match what they would allow in their realm, ie snow turned to rain or inverse.
In the cartoon it falls to their mother, Mother Nature, to take control and make them allow events to occur in the others area of influence. Sunshine at the North Pole and Snow in the Southern US.
Granted a simple scenario but if we take it to the larger screen what does it reveal to us?
In most ancient religions and heirchacys of their gods / goddess we see some similar building blocks. A supreme god / goddess that rules over them yet alows free reign to a degree but must also force them to allow things to happen in their area of influence. In many instances it appears that not only is thier one supreme ruler but many lesser rulers of equal importance.
A supreme ruler that maybe called Odin, Zeus, Jupiter, Ra, God, Buddha, Great Spirit, Gia, Mother Nature, etc. Depending upon the religion, these supreme rulers may be all controlling, particual controlling or free flow in allowing the lessor beings to influence.
Yet, this supreme ruler also holds things in balance to a degree by not allowing one to grow to great. Mars / Aries controls all things of War yet that power is also seen in Athena to a degree as an example. In many instances, the lessor gods / goddesses challenge each other upon the Mundane world as they strive to gain more control or defeat the actions of an opposed god / goddess.
Yet the supreme god / goddess is often seen as taking stances that prevent one god / goddess from taking a direct action in the affairs of man / woman except on rare instances or occasions.
So by design do the gods / goddess keep a balance by not taking actions or taking direct actions when they stand in opposition to anothers actions? Think of Hercules and Circe and Venus making them fall in love, thus striping Circe of her powers to a degree. What of Jason and Media and one goddes undermining the influence of another.
Yet even the gods are broken down into groupings. In the Nordic you have the Vanir and Aseir, in Greek you have the Olypians and Titans none of these even touches upon the lessor creatures or groups.
Granted, to some these individuals may simply be the faces assigned to natural events or human emotion. A means of giving a sensation or understanding a name by which to identify it. Yet even that reveals that while we may hate, we also love, we also feel pleasure and pain. In many instances we may feel two or more at the same time, a love that causes us pain, a hurt that causes us anger. Simply emotions that vie for dominance of us at that given point in time.
Are the gods / goddess like Heat and Cold Miser in that they guard thier domain closely yet have a greater power that controls and influences them? Do they guard thier influences yet must also allow other influneces to take affect that are beyond thier control? Within their realm of control they are supreme, yet thier realm only extends to the boundaries set by another?
Is their actually a power that prevents them from dominating at the expense of others? We may feel the call of a certain god / goddess but does that remove us as followers of said god / goddess from the forces that influence our diety?
In operation there is a boundary between the lands they hold influence over and what weather actions that take place there. Ie Heat Miser allows rain, storms, mist , etc while Cold Miser creates snow, Ice, Sleet, etc. Should one try to take control over an event in the others sphere of control they resist it and change it to match what they would allow in their realm, ie snow turned to rain or inverse.
In the cartoon it falls to their mother, Mother Nature, to take control and make them allow events to occur in the others area of influence. Sunshine at the North Pole and Snow in the Southern US.
Granted a simple scenario but if we take it to the larger screen what does it reveal to us?
In most ancient religions and heirchacys of their gods / goddess we see some similar building blocks. A supreme god / goddess that rules over them yet alows free reign to a degree but must also force them to allow things to happen in their area of influence. In many instances it appears that not only is thier one supreme ruler but many lesser rulers of equal importance.
A supreme ruler that maybe called Odin, Zeus, Jupiter, Ra, God, Buddha, Great Spirit, Gia, Mother Nature, etc. Depending upon the religion, these supreme rulers may be all controlling, particual controlling or free flow in allowing the lessor beings to influence.
Yet, this supreme ruler also holds things in balance to a degree by not allowing one to grow to great. Mars / Aries controls all things of War yet that power is also seen in Athena to a degree as an example. In many instances, the lessor gods / goddesses challenge each other upon the Mundane world as they strive to gain more control or defeat the actions of an opposed god / goddess.
Yet the supreme god / goddess is often seen as taking stances that prevent one god / goddess from taking a direct action in the affairs of man / woman except on rare instances or occasions.
So by design do the gods / goddess keep a balance by not taking actions or taking direct actions when they stand in opposition to anothers actions? Think of Hercules and Circe and Venus making them fall in love, thus striping Circe of her powers to a degree. What of Jason and Media and one goddes undermining the influence of another.
Yet even the gods are broken down into groupings. In the Nordic you have the Vanir and Aseir, in Greek you have the Olypians and Titans none of these even touches upon the lessor creatures or groups.
Granted, to some these individuals may simply be the faces assigned to natural events or human emotion. A means of giving a sensation or understanding a name by which to identify it. Yet even that reveals that while we may hate, we also love, we also feel pleasure and pain. In many instances we may feel two or more at the same time, a love that causes us pain, a hurt that causes us anger. Simply emotions that vie for dominance of us at that given point in time.
Are the gods / goddess like Heat and Cold Miser in that they guard thier domain closely yet have a greater power that controls and influences them? Do they guard thier influences yet must also allow other influneces to take affect that are beyond thier control? Within their realm of control they are supreme, yet thier realm only extends to the boundaries set by another?
Is their actually a power that prevents them from dominating at the expense of others? We may feel the call of a certain god / goddess but does that remove us as followers of said god / goddess from the forces that influence our diety?