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Friday, January 04, 2002 13:17 I lie in bed. My husband lies next to me, his breath warm on my face, the hair of his face not-quite rough against my forehead. His fingers brush absently against my spine as he drifts to sleep. I feel the covers move behind me, a deep, quiet purr. "Hush child, rest now.". Skin against my naked belly. Fur against my naked back. A tongue the size of my palm, rough like sandpaper yet plastic and giving in a way sandpaper is not, brushes against my spine slightly below the place my husband's fingers are still caressing. I feel the skin move, wonder if my husband has noticed. I should be able to say "Of course he has not,", but I am never completely sure whether I am alone in my experiences where my husband is concerned. He does not seem to notice. I sigh a little, surrender to the attentions of Mother Jaguar. Someone on a list somewhere just told me that my "system", for want of a better word, is not entirely idiosyncratic because much of it is passed down to me by people like Raven and His many chums. He says that I meet the standard criteria for being the founder of a new religion, in that I have developed a line of communication with deity. Ahem. As real to me as my encounter with Mother Jaguar was, the night before last, I am in no position to say that it had any basis in an external occurrence. We here at Ravenfamily (check out the new logo, isn't it groovy?) have been accused often enough of cultural misappropriation simply because we have dared to relate our experiences with various entities about whom some cultural groups seem peculiarly possessive. If those groups are in any way correct in the things they have said to us, then really there is no way we could have these experiences. We are not Native Americans - we can't possibly have any experience of Raven for he is their trickster deity. We are not Aztecs or Toltecs - how could I possibly have lain in bed comforted by the warm rasp of Mother Jaguar's tongue? I'm sure you can guess how preposterous I find such assertions of misappropriation. It's not as if we set out to have these experiences, and it's not as if ravens are exclusive to the North West Pacific. However, I know that some people who have voiced this point of view think it equally preposterous that we should relate such tales and expect to be taken seriously. Idiosyncratic. Hmm. id·i·o·syn·cra·sy (d--sngkr-s) n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies 1. A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group. 2. A physiological or temperamental peculiarity. 3. An unusual individual reaction to food or a drug. (Greek idiosunkrsi : idio-, idio- + sunkrsis,mixture, temperamen (sun-, syn- + krsis, a mixing; see ker- in Indo-European Roots).] idiosyncratic \Id`i*o*syn*crat"ic\, Idiosyncratical \Id`i*o*syn*crat"ic*al\, a. Of peculiar temper or disposition; belonging to one's peculiar and individual character. idiosyncratic adj : peculiar to the individual; "we all have our own idiosyncratic gestures"; "Michelangelo's highly idiosyncratic style of painting" Bugger. If I go down this root I'm going to have to start investigating the actual meaning of the word "peculiar", and lunchtime is over. Later. (0) comments | links to this post
Sunday, December 30, 2001 15:03 You know, sometimes I wonder why I even bloody bother. (0) comments | links to this post
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