Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Totems of This Trinidadian from Tortuga





this piece is amazing. not for what it writes, but for the message of implication and application. upon reading it i asked myself, what totem animal have i been given. and as i write, even more comes to me than the two i originally recalled/ then i think of what those animals mean and convey, both functionally, spiritually and in their existence.

i remembered the corbeaux that showed up on the land in san rafael in 2013. and for me to learn subsequently that it is the corbeaux and vulture that is symbolized in egyptology depictions of the winged span on goddesses. i learned that corbeauxs do not kill to eat, they eat dead things and as such convert death to life. i realized how spiritual that bird, but so maligned and looked down upon in contempt. it is funny today because i wake up feeling very strongly how clearly now see the death of people around me, the amount of dead people I am embedded with , i now no longer find it a mystery my life. what can grow in a labasse? what can grow amidst evil devious beasts? is it that in time i am to convert all these people and the demons they are carrying and have embodied into life for myself? even though it means a level of sufferage for a time?

then i think of the morrocoys, turtles that the loveuntil blind seerman told me to get. and the fact that even before that, i drew and painted about three turtles, all leatherback depictions in different norms. one after i went to see them laying eggs. my most enigmatic painting in a pattern that is odd to say the least. i paint or draw, with little mission in mind and always, in time i see endless forms and faces, and so it is for this one. , there is even a face of a fetus formed around the leatherback ostensibly in the sand...but in some kind of womb. another is just this rendering of green and gold. but what does this totem mean...leatherbacks ..look how long they have lived on the earth. look how far they travel in their lifetimes, even in any given year or season. see how ancient they are. and even if they are slow and take forever, meandering, they are sure and assured to reach their destination.
then i think of ravens. black magical wise knowing ravens. maven

it is a person on fb who gave me that insight in like 2010 or thereabouts. we were up at mt st benedict. that person blessed me by name and by character. at the time she really looked up to me. someone mostly silent that everyone looks up to. the sister of the never be called, said or spelled name correctly. whispers elspeth

then i think of before that, my long time love for horses. enough to want to become a horsewoman and a race horse vet. . i have one painting of a white horse, amidst a purple backdrop. a lot of movement and energy in that piece. another artist called it anger .. but i think it was a lame attempt to casually used regularly used common language to describe something far deeper and complex. but horses are beautiful, full of speed, elegant. and very particular and sensitive. high strung. just like me. i am even actually amazed with how specifically these animals embody me and i them
the other animal that has not yet been given to me but that I notice all the time, and have many photos of, and have a great heart extend love for them..is elephants.
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day after:
i wake up from the thought that i wrote this yesterday and one of the most obvious signs and wonders of things to bring truth are forgotten...where else would i be from but an obscure unknown small but beautiful, historic village preferred for its three hundred degree mountainous view, made up of monied people and the poor, called what else, but Tortuga, a (first people) term for Turtle.

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Lisl Meredith Huebner
March 26 at 2:37pm
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Peggy Helgerson says: I think this needs to be said. Because it seems small but it is so important.
It's a female lesser goldfinch. Not a sparrow.
Sparrows are an invasive species from the Columbian Exchange and damage the ecosystem and harm local native birds. It's a eurocentric symbol that is incorrect and whitewashes what really happened.
And what really happened is more important.
It was female. Bernie is for gender equality.
It was a native bird. Bernie is the only candidate meeting with Native American leaders to hear their voice. He is the only candidate speaking our for their rights.
Dxʷshudičup translates to 'the one lighting the fires for change and unity'. The Coast Salish tribe honored him recently with this name.
Lessee goldfinch are the state bird of Washington state.
They have been impacted by global warming. Bernie is the candidate speaking out about global warming.
Being given the lesser goldfinch as a totem means you are exuberant and joyful about life. It means you have a close connection to nature and a deep understanding of her ways.
The difference is YUUUGE.
It's the difference between white Christian narrative, and the beautiful truth.
It was not a sparrow. It was a female lesser goldfinch. Let's call it what it really is.
I think it symbolizes our movement very well.
‪#‎feelthebern‬ ‪#‎birdiesanders‬ ‪#‎NotMeUs‬ ‪#‎FeeltheBird‬ ‪#‎feeltheberd‬ ‪#‎berniesanders‬
Thanks, Justine Dougherty!

http://www.golocalpdx.com/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign-bird-is-identified-by-national-audubon-society
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