My Earliest Memories

After class on Friday, I got to thinking about some of my earliest memories. Now let me start by saying my life started out in the South, and I do mean the "South" as in Sharpsburg, Georgia. Yes, where we eat fried okra and grits, drink sweet tea and say ya'll, which I miss a lot by the way. I was the last baby born at the old downtown Newnan hospital, which is about 10 minutes from Sharpsburg. If you have ever heard of Alan Jackson, the country singer, this is where his journey began as well. All of my life I've experienced flash backs of the memory of the day I was born and even shared it with my mother to make sure it really happened. I was born March 28th, 1990, just about the middle of the spring. I vividly remember the day I was born. The little bed I was laying in was right up against a window in the old hospital. The bed sat up rather high so I could see out the window. Next to the window, there was a beautiful tree with freshly opened green leaves that gently flickered in the light spring breeze. I can remember looking out that window and just staring at that tree. Just born and I could already feel the sun beaming down on my face and was experiencing the beauty and wonder of nature. There are a lot of things I can't remember, but this is one that has never left my memory. 

 

My mother best describes me as wide open as a child, in other words, swinging from the chandeliers! Mom says I was crawling out of my playpen and baby bed at 9 months. She couldn't keep me fenced in for nothing.... LOL.   By the time I was 2 years old I had colored my big sisters' brand new white leather church shoes purple and colored a brand new mattress with my mothers bright red lip stick. These two more memories I remember clearly. Growing up the youngest of four, I had a LOT to keep up with! I just remember always wanting to know what all my siblings were doing and wanting to do everything they did and being disappointed because I couldn't so many times. When I couldn't talk one of my older siblings into playing I amused and entertained myself with my wild imagination. I was a little strawberry blonde girl full of hope and a pure heart.

My Tree

I live in the country and this particular tree happens to be in my yard.  I chose it for my tree-hugging picture  because I love it's way of drawing wildlife into it's branches and around it's trunk.  Where I live there are many creatures including quail, deer, two very cute bunny rabbits and one very special owl, and they all LOVE this tree.  The tree is so close to my home that in the summer it shades the southeast corner of the house.  One of the rabbits I've named Roger and my boyfriend Lance named the other one Jessica.  Roger is gray and Jessica is black and white.  They are "Roger and Jessica Rabbit".  Every afternoon they come out and look for any goodies they might be able to find that I've thrown out, like apples, carrots or other little veggies underneath the tree.  Today I saw them out by the pond sitting next to each other with their little sweet faces pointed towards the sun!  The owl doesn't typically show up until around 6:00p.m.  He is particularly fond of my boyfriend Lance who is usually watching TV around this time.  The owl sits on the same branch of the tree every single evening and stares right in the window at Lance.  Also, there's a light that shines from the side of the house giving him light to see his prey.  He sits there until around 7:00a.m. every morning. 

My tree is a good tree.  It's a real "Giving Tree".  It provides shelter, shade and protection for many living things.



This is a picture of the kind of owl that sits in the tree every night.  It's a Great Grey Owl.







When I was a child, my mother used to read a book to me called "The Giving Tree".   It's a story about a young boy who grows up to be an elderly man.  The tree generously gives to him throughout his life without thought of anything in return. 

Epona Goddess of Horses

 

Do you have something in your life that really drives you? Something that you can honestly say you wouldn't know how to live without? What is it in your life that brings light to your darkness? I was looking back on my own life up to now and asking myself these questions, and the one thing that has been constant and always there for me has been the horse. That's right, the horse. My life is a journey and a continuous quest to find purpose, fulfillment, love, laughter, enjoyment, comfort and peace, which we are all looking for. All of these things I have found and continue to experience through my friend, companion, and partner, the horse. It was the horse who carried the men, women and children on it's back; pulled the wagons carrying their provisions and supplies; plowed the fields and pulled the logs that built their homes. They even took the family to Sunday worship. The Truth is that without the horse, none of this would have ever happened. After studying this part of our history through various books, movies and other resources, when I realized this truth, my life was forever changed.

When I was 17 I read a book with a miraculous story by Linda Kohanov called "The Tao of Equus". The Tao of Equus considers the mystical nature of horses and the magical connection between them and humans. I specifically remember Linda Kohanov sharing the story of Epona the beautiful, and intuitive Celtic Goddess of Horses. With that said, allow me to share with you, my reader, a glimpse of the great story of Epona, Goddess of Horses.

Epona is best known as the Goddess of all horses. Once upon a time her worship began with the Celtic Gauls and spread throughout Europe, the British Isles, Spain, and Germany. Epona links the horse, the divine and the feminine together. She was worshipped for many hundreds of years as a Horse Goddess, who not only protected horses, but also their owners. The name Epona comes from the Gaulish word epos, meaning horse. Although Epona is mainly associated with the horse she has many other attributes as well which include: Protection and healing (particularly for animals), fertility in mind, body and spirit, dreams, and the banishing of nightmares etc. To the Celts horses are of extreme importance not only because they were hard to come by but also for their beauty, speed and bravery. Often Epona would ride upon a white horse which to the Celtic peoples depicted a spiritual significance as well as showing her high position among the other Celtic deities. She was called on by those defending themselves in times of war. In Sacred Marriage rites, it is Epona who was the bride granting sovereignty of the land and people to the reigning king. Also she had the distinguished privilege of being the only Celtic deity to be adopted by the Romans in her Celtic form. However, Epona was and still is traditionally seen as a horse Goddess. She can fit into so many aspects of our lives. She is the Goddess of dreams, not only of the sleeping kind but the dreams of hope and ambition.

If I could be a Goddess I think the story above tells you which one I could only dream of being. In my own story, the horse has taken me places I would never have been able to fathom, except in my imagination, and he has been with me there as well. Like the Celts, it is my belief that the horse is not only a symbol of strength and beauty but also of something beautiful and undiscovered inside all of us. The horse has survived through the ages because of its strong sense of self preservation and its keen ability to adapt to difficult situations, just like us humans! It has become an irrevocable calling for me to become a student of the horse for the remainder of my life. I find the horse, as Teacher, unequivocal, able to unite the extraordinary, ancient mythological beliefs and teachings of our ancestors with the present and future search for understanding. Maybe we are more alike than we realize. For me, no measure of time with horses will ever be long enough.

NOTE: The readings above are not copied, pasted, cut or cited from Wikipeda or any search site that does not meet Dr. Sexson's approval. These readings come from peer sites, and books containing the true Myth of Epona. Most Importantly some of these readings come straight from the bottom of Rebekah's imagination and heart.....!

Resources:

"The Tao of Equus", by Linda Kohanov
"Epona' by Willow Myst
"Epona, the Gaulish Horse Goddess", by Amy Brown

  


 

Mythology and Health

I am taking a Microbiology Infectious Diseases class this semester, and as I was in the process of doing some research on Florence Nightingale/ the Miasma Theory of Disease and how she helped keep the air, and the hospital equipment stay clean, I just happened to run across Hygieia, the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation. I thought this had to be a sign of something for me to blog about. I wasn't even looking for her, she just came to me. With that said, let me tell you a little bit about Hygieia's story.

Hygieia, as I mentioned before, is the goddess/personification of health, cleanliness, and sanitation. She was the daughter of Asclepius, who is the god of Medicine, and Epione who is the goddess of the soothing of pain. While Hygieia was more associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health, her father was more associated with healing, and her mother obviously pain. The Romans imported her as the goddess Valetudo, the goddess of personal health. However, in time she started to be increasingly recognized with the ancient Italian goddess of social welfare, Salus. Her name is the source of the word Hygiene. She is often identified with health and is sometimes called The Health. She was worshipped and celebrated together with her father on many places (Asklepieion) of the Greek and Roman world.

Anyway, I find it very interesting that there is a god for just about everything. I would have never have thought of finding one mixed into the medical field somehow. Just goes to show what little I know about Mythology, but also what I am learning. I have a lot of respect for the medical field, and found Hygieia's story to be intriguing, also what Florance Nightingale was in the mid to late 1800; and now what nurses and doctors have become today. It's amazing how things intertwine together. Looks like my Microbiology class and Mythology class is going to mix just fine together. 

 

 

The Myth Behind My Name

 

  Good Afternoon. I'm not sure if I'm doing this correct or not. I tried posting a profile picture to my profile, but I think I accidentally posted it to my blogspot. Sorry about that. I'm going to try to do this again but this time hopefully with an actual blog for everyone to read.

   I was going through yesterday's lecture notes, and I remember Professor Sexson talking about how there is a myth in everything including your name. So, with that said, I decided to look up the myth behind my own name, and thought I would share it with the class. There are several ways to spell Rebecca. The most common spelling is Rebecca. However, my name is spelled Rebekah. The name Rebekah is Hebrew and is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. Like Professor Sexson mentioned in class, Rebekah was the wife of Isaac, and the mother of Jacob and Esau. During my research I also found that the name Rebekah means "connecting or binding two people together, potentially in marriage". It also stated that many people agree that the wedding of Isaac and Rebekah was the first time a veil was used in a wedding ceremony, and as most people know the veil is still used in most modern weddings today.

I hope this is a good way to get the blog started.