Mythology Blog Fall 2019

If at first you don’t succeed, try try again! Image from:  https://www.cio.com/article/3211485/why-it-projects-still-fail.html The first article I read was “ Talking About Failure is Crucial for Growth. Here’s How to do it Right.”  That article was very informative and well written. It provides a lot of good points and examples. We all experience failure at some point in our lives so learning how to deal with failure is a crucial skill to being successful. I agree that talking about one’s failures or problems with friends or coworkers is a great way to learn. Talking about it with other people allows you release any negative feelings you have about that failure and reflect on what you did and how you could have improved. I also think talking about it with coworkers makes you seem more human and approachable. I love how they talk about social media. These days it’s really just a platform where people post only their accomplishments. It makes others who aren’t receiving ...

Tonatuih - Aztec Sun God Image from:  https://www.thoughtco.com/deities-of-mexica-mythology-170042 Creation Stories. I think creation stories are fascinating. It is interesting to hear the different ways that people thought humans were created. Growing up catholic, I was very familiar with the creation story in the Bible. Middle school was the first time I heard the creation stories from other cultures. I remember thinking that those stories were silly, but now I appreciate the creativity behind them. I don't know much about them other than what I learned in grade school. I would like to learn new creation stories, specifically from Latin America and the indigenous tribes that originated there.  Mayan Creation Story:  https://readicon.com/maya-creation-story/ Ghost Stories. Ghost stories have always been one of my favorites. In elementary, I read every ghost story available in the library. The suspense kept me coming back for more. The only ghost story I wa...

El Cerro del Muerto, Aguascalientes, Mexico. Image from:  https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerro_del_Muerto El gallo canto, signaling the beginning of a new day. It was a chilly, yet refreshing, Thursday morning. Rodolfo rubbed his eyes, yawned, and got out of bed. Empezó el dia con his daily chores by milking and feeding his vacas. While he was milking the fifth vaca, noto el cadáver de una cabra al otro lado de su cerca de alambre. He went to investigate. It looked like the work of coyote, but something didn’t look right. Rodolfo had never seen this goat before, and he didn’t know anyone else that raised goats besides himself within a 5 kilometer radius. Decidió seguir el rastro de sangre para averiguar de donde vino la cabra. The path led him into el cerro del muerto and five kilometers up the mountain. Ahí, encontró una chabola vieja and inside there was an old man crying. “Usted quien es?” Pregunto el viejo with tears in his eyes. “Soy Rodolfo Guadalupe Ruiz Ramos, my...

An image of Susa-no-wo fighting the serpent that I thought was really cool. I found this image at  https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Susanoo-no-Mikoto_(Mythology) Link to story:  https://sites.google.com/view/mythfolkloreanthology/the-divine The story that grabbed my attention the most was the Japanese story of The Eight-Forked Serpent of Koshi. I am a huge fan of imagery, and this story had great examples of it like this one “It hath eyes as red as a ripe mountain cherry, a noisome blood-inflamed body, armed with eight fearsome heads and eight forked tails. Moreover, its back is all overgrown with firs, cedars, and pines, and it trails its tortuous coils over eight valleys and as many mountains.” Another aspect of the story that I thought was really interesting was how the motif of the number eight kept showing up. First, there was the Eight forked serpent, eight daughters, eight valleys, the sake of eightfold strength. I am not sure what the meaning behind it us and my ini...

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4. Week 3: Cupid and Psyche Week 4: Aesop (Winter) Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6. Week 5: Sinbad Week 6: Twenty Two Goblins Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.] Week 7: Congo Week 9: African Tales Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11. Week 10: California Southwest Week 11: Alaska Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13. Week 12: Beowulf Week 13: Celtic Tales Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15. Week 14: Lang 1 Week 15: Inferno I read Beowulf in high school, but it been so long I don't remember most of it. I remember that I liked it so I'm excited to read it again.  I found this picture at:  https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-43045874 I'm not too familiar with many of these stories so I am interested in seeing what they will be like. When choosing stories, I ba...