Myths and Legends

I’m starting this thread as a space for us to dive into myths, legends, and all the deep discussions that come with them—if that's anyone's kind of thing.

“Self-conscious truth is living thought. Truth is thought as it is in itself, and formulated thought is speech. When Eternal Thought desired a form, it said: ‘Let there be light.’ Now, this Thought which speaks is the Word, and the Word said:
‘Let there be light,’ because the Word itself is the light of minds. The Untreated Voice, which is the Divine Word, shines because it desires to be seen. When it says:
‘Let there be light!’ it ordains that eyes shall open; it creates intelligences. When God Said: ‘Let there be light!’ Intelligence was made, and the light appeared.
Now, the Intelligence which God diffused by the breath of His mouth, like a star given off from the Sun, took the form of a splendid angel, who was saluted by heaven under the name of Lucifer. Intelligence awakened, and comprehended its nature completely by the understanding of that utterance of the Divine Word: ‘Let there be light!’ It felt itself to be free because God had called it into being, and, raising up its head, with both wings extended, it replied: ‘I will not be slavery.’
‘Then shalt thou be suffering,’ said the Untreated Voice. ‘I will be liberty,’ replied the light. ‘Pride will seduce thee,’ said the Supreme Voice, ‘and thou wilt bring forth death.’ ‘I needs must strive with death to conquer life,’ again responded the
created light. Thereupon God loosed from His bosom the shining cord which restrained the superb Angel, and beholding him plunge through the night, which he furrowed with glory, He loved the offspring of His thought, and said with an ineffable smile: ‘How beautiful was the light!’
“God has not created suffering; intelligence has accepted it to be free. And suffering has been the condition imposed upon freedom of being by Him who alone cannot err, because He is infinite. For the essence of intelligence is judgement, and the essence of judgement is liberty. The eye does not really possess light except by
the faculty of closing or opening. Were it forced to be always open, it would be the
slave and victim of the light, and would cease to see in order to escape the torment.
Thus, created Intelligence is not happy in affirming God, except by its liberty
to deny Him. Now, the Intelligence which denies, invariably affirms
something, since it is asserting its liberty. It is for this reason that blasphemy glorifies
God and that hell was indispensable to the happiness of heaven. Were the
light unrepelled by shadow, there would be no visible forms. If the first angels had
not encountered the depths of darkness, the child-birth of God would have been
incomplete, and there could have been no separation between the created and
essential light. Never would Intelligence have known the goodness of God if it had
never lost Him. Never would God's infinite love have shone forth in the joys of His
mercy had the prodigal son of Heaven remained in the house of His Father.
When all was light, there was light nowhere; it filled the breast of God, who was
labouring to bring it forth. And when He said: ‘Let there be light!’ He permitted
the darkness to repel the light, and the universe issued from chaos. The negation
of the angel who at birth refused slavery constituted the equilibrium of the world,
and the motion of the spheres commenced. The infinite distances admired this
love of liberty, which was vast enough to fill the void of eternal night and strong
enough to bear the hatred of God. But God could hate not the noblest of His children,
and He proved him by His wrath only to confirm him in His power. So also
the Word of God Himself, as if jealous of Lucifer, willed to come down from
heaven and pass triumphantly through the shadows of hell. He willed to be proscribed
and condemned; He premeditated that terrible hour when He should cry,
in the throes of His agony: ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’ As
The morning star heralds the arrival of the Sun, much like how Lucifer’s rebellion served as a precursor to
the dawn of a new Nature and the coming incarnation of God. It is entirely possible that during his descent
through the darkness, Lucifer pulled a torrential rain of suns and stars along with him, drawn by the sheer gravity of his own
glory. One could argue that our own Sun is merely a demon drifting among the stars, just as Lucifer stands as a singular star among the
angels. Without question, this is precisely why the Sun illuminates the horrific suffering
of mankind and the endless agony of Earth with such a calm demeanor—it remains untethered in its solitude, possessing
its own sovereign light.”

Back in the early days, long before humans walked the Earth, a massive war was raging between the forces of order and chaos—gods versus demons. During this era, the souls of what would become great cosmic beings manifested as the Nagas, serpent-like entities that didn't just crawl, but actually stood upright and moved with purpose. They acted as neutrals, trying their best to keep the scales balanced amidst the fighting. Later on, human legends tended to label them alongside the demons, but in reality, the Nagas were always symbols of spiritual strength, wisdom, and deep insight. Their leader was Vasuki. Watching the conflict unfold, Vasuki felt a spark of an idea to fix things. He went straight to Vishnu to lay out his vision. “But that’s a huge sacrifice,” Vishnu cautioned him. “And there’s no guarantee things will play out according to your design.” But Vasuki wouldn't budge. He argued, “If everything goes perfectly, there won't be any need for a sacrifice. And if things go south—which I suspect they might—the balance of karma will serve as the reward for what I intend to do.” Moved by Vasuki's conviction, Vishnu gave him his blessing and promised to back him up.

With Vishnu's blessing in hand, Vasuki approached the warring factions and proposed they work together to find peace and restore balance. Vishnu kept a straight face, acting as if he knew nothing of the master plan, and spoke on behalf of the gods to accept Vasuki's proposal. The idea was this: by churning the ocean, the gods and demons could pool their strength to create amrita, the nectar of immortality. It sounded incredible, but there was one catch—none of them were strong enough to churn an entire ocean. Vasuki, being the strategist he was, had a solution. Since he possessed an immense and powerful physique, he suggested using himself as a rope. He would wrap his body around Mount Mandara (also known as Meru) to act as a giant cable that both sides could pull together to rotate the mountain. This churning would eventually release the nectar. The plan was a hit, and Vasuki was thrilled. He added one condition: the amrita had to be distributed equally among everyone. Everyone agreed, just as Vasuki had anticipated. Vishnu watched the whole thing unfold, wondering just how far Vasuki’s gambit would go. Unfortunately, just as Vasuki predicted, once the operation was complete, the gods turned greedy and hoarded the amrita for themselves, refusing to share a drop with the demons. Seeing this, Vishnu realized Vasuki had been right all along and prepared himself—albeit reluctantly—to execute the next phase of the plan. That night, Vasuki snuck among the gods, swiped a jar of amrita, and downed it. Knowing he’d likely be caught, he didn't put up much of a fight when Vishnu stepped in to fulfill his part of the deal. Acting out pure fury, Vishnu hurled his disc, slicing Vasuki in two. However, because he had already consumed the nectar of immortality, Vasuki couldn't die; his severed parts continued to live on. Following the agreement, Vishnu sent the two halves to opposite ends of the Earth. This is how Rahu, the serpent's head, and Ketu, the serpent's tail, came to be.

From an astronomical perspective, Rahu and Ketu aren't actual planets. They are mathematically calculated points where the paths of the Sun and the Moon intersect as viewed from Earth. You might hear the term “lunar nodes” used today; Rahu is the ascending node, and Ketu is the descending node. They sit directly opposite each other and move across the celestial sphere in the opposite direction of the other planets—moving from west to east. When the Moon and Sun both approach one of these nodes, a solar eclipse occurs if all three—the Moon, the Sun, and the node—align at the same zodiacal degree. If the Sun and Moon are on opposite sides, you get a lunar eclipse.

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Author's note:
This text was entirely lifted and copied from a website. I'm asking the author, please don't sue me over my petty theft.
😁

THIS IS EASY 🙂

For months on end, a brutal drought had been punishing the fields and the hills alike. People, animals, grazing lands, and even the little
backyard gardens were all just desperate for a bit of relief—some gentle rain. Even the Rio Grande itself had practically
shriveled up to nothing. Everyone was praying, pleading, basically begging. But the sky just wouldn't budge. Then, out of nowhere, the
Queen appeared in the valley, trailing this magnificent entourage behind her. The people started crying out for help, for any sign of water,
because they were honestly on the verge of dying from thirst. And the Queen, being a truly pious ruler who understood the heavy
weight of the elements, showed genuine humility before the heavens and the earth. Suddenly, with a massive crack of thunder and a flash of lightning, a torrential downpour swept in,
bringing life back to the people, the livestock, the pastures, and the plains. As the rain fell, folks looked up at the clouds and saw the image of their Queen, weeping along with them. It was a moment where everyone, everywhere, wept together... 😉
This legend, which was penned about a century ago, is just one of those many tales the public tells regarding how things began... GUESS WHAT!
Water has always been a big deal, especially in the rocky terrain of the West, which makes sense if you think about it,
so it’s naturally picked up these mythical, almost supernatural qualities over time. Honestly, I doubt you could find anywhere else with more justification
for legends and myths than right THERE.😉

THE LEGEND OF BLACK ISLAND

Deep within the forests of Springfield, there once lived creatures as massive as ants compared to the giants of old. They resembled oxen, but were far more colossal. With coats as black as coal and horns stretching two spans long, these beasts were known as turus—the very namesake of the Springfield region.

On an island nestled in the river, there stood a city as dark as midnight, home to the king of the turus. He was a towering, obsidian figure with eyes that burned like torches and horns made of pure gold. His name was Urus, the god of fertility. One stormy night, his horns surged toward the heavens, piercing the dark clouds until a cloud nymph became entangled in them. Captivated, he pulled her from the sky and held her captive within his city walls.

They lived in passionate union, and soon, the entire island was swarmed by dark-haired nymphs. Their naked bodies were draped in veils of midnight black. When night fell, people would watch as they bathed in the silver waves of the Mississippi River under the moonlight, their black veils fluttering in the wind like drifting clouds.

Every year, a fair, naked youth would emerge from the dark god. During this time, the dark nymphs would fly across the world, searching for an innocent young maiden. They would dress her in pure white before offering her up as a sacrifice to their god, Urus.

Even today, the elders around here tell tales of dark nymphs flying over the island, which is why it is still known as "Black Island."

source:

Look how bright the moon is tonight...😲
Here’s a perfect story to go with it:

Ganesh and the Moon

One day, Ganesh’s followers showered him with all sorts of sweets. Honestly, anyone who knows him knows he’s got a bit of a sweet tooth. He didn't hesitate—he polished them all off in one go.

Later, Ganesh headed home, riding his little mouse. It was just after sunset, and in the pitch black, the mouse tripped over a snake. Ganesh went tumbling straight to the ground.

Because he had stuffed himself so much, his belly actually gave way, and those treats started spilling out everywhere.

Ganesh scrambled to gather them up and shove them back into his wide-open stomach (seriously, don't go looking for logic in this tale!). To keep everything secure, he grabbed the snake that caused the mess and wrapped it around his waist like a belt (you’ll actually see this snake-belt on plenty of statues of Ganesh).

Looking at the Moon, Chandra couldn't help but burst out laughing at the whole scene.

Ganesh was livid. Feeling insulted by the mockery, he snapped, broke off his own right tusk, and hurled it straight at the moon (which explains why Ganesh is usually shown with a broken right tusk).

In his anger, he cursed the moon, decreeing that it would stop shining every night and vanish from the sky entirely. Back then, legend says the moon used to glow every single night without fail.

With the moon gone, there was no more moonlight or even soft twilight. It was chaos. Young lovers were heartbroken, and the elderly were constantly grumbling. Nobody could get any sleep because the sun stayed bright even through the night.

without the moon, the gods found the heavenly life as unbearable as the men found on earth. They all rushed to Ganesh's house, practically begging him to fix the mess.

Ganesh is indulgent, so he eventually gave in to their pleas. However, he wasn't about to let things go back to exactly how they were.

He decreed that the moon would now follow a cycle of waxing and waning—alternating between two weeks of light and two weeks of darkness, marked by the full moon and the new moon.

That’s why some people feel it's bad luck to look at the moon during Ganesh Chaturthi (which falls on the fourth day of the waxing phase) in late summer. They say if you ignore this, you might end up facing some serious trouble...

Even today, this tradition sticks around, and people are careful to avoid glancing at the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi. Some folks are so superstitious they won't even look at the moon every fourth day of the waxing period, just to be safe!

And if someone unlucky *does* catch a glimpse of the moon on that specific day, the old trick is to immediately toss a stone at a neighbor's house—hopefully, the resulting shouting match helps distract the gods from their anger toward you!

The legend of Ganesh offers a deeper perspective: Ganesh riding his rat represents the Truth Seeker, the seeker of truth who uses his physical presence, his mind, and his intuition to chase a spiritual goal and eventually grasp the ultimate truth.

Our bodies, minds, and intellects are limited tools. They aren't quite capable of grasping the essence of the soul or the Absolute Reality—that state where a person exists without ego.

Someone truly chasing the ultimate reality knows it’s almost impossible to describe that feeling using "normal" language. That’s why the words and actions of spiritual masters often seem so strange or impossible to wrap our heads around.

If you aren't on that kind of spiritual journey, the intellect just can't grasp the ultimate Truth or Reality. Since the moon is seen as the ruler of the human mind, the image of the moon laughing at Ganesh and his mouse serves as a reminder of how the ignorant might mock a spiritual seeker's struggle to find the Truth.

It’s a similar story when people mock spiritual leaders or dismiss the wisdom shared by sages; that kind of cynicism ultimately does more harm to society than good.

There’s another old story from the ancient texts where the Moon actually lost its glow due to a divine curse.

To help restore that radiance, Ganesh placed the Moon upon his own forehead like a sacred ornament. This form, known as Bhâlachandra—meaning "the one adorned by the moon"—is especially revered by certain mystical traditions.

source: http://ganapati.club.fr/anglais/adetmyth.html

...there's just something about it...🤔...something inherently feminine🙂

There was this one episode of The X-Files where Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were hunting down a serial killer. The subplot involved this guy who sold life insurance—turns out, he was psychic. But there was a catch... he could only see exactly when someone was going to die and how it would happen. He’d be mid-conversation with a client, suddenly slip into a trance, and tell them their expiration date🙂

So, the serial killer tracks this psychic down and confesses everything. He admits he's killing people one after another, describes his methods, and then asks: "Since you're supposed to be psychic, I've got a question... why am I doing this? Why am I killing people?" And the psychic just looks at him and says: "Don't you get it, kid? Is it really that hard to understand? You're doing it because you're a bloodthirsty maniac."

Spot Perdita said:...there's just something about it...🤔...something kind of feminine about it🙂

There was this episode of The X-Files where Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were hunting down a serial killer. At the same time, the story focuses on this guy who sells life insurance—he’s got this psychic ability, but there’s a catch: he can only see exactly when someone is going to die and how it’s going to happen. So, while he's pitching policies to clients, he'll suddenly slip into a trance and tell them their expiration date. 🙂

The serial killer eventually tracks down the psychic and confesses everything. He tells him he's been killing people one after another, describes his methods, and then asks, "Since you're supposed to be psychic, I've gotta know... why am I doing this? Why do I kill people?" And the psychic just looks at him and says, "Don't you get it, kid? Is it really that hard to understand? You do it because you're a cold-blooded maniac."

I have a feeling this post actually belonged over here:

There’s this cove near San Francisco called Ujča Draga—it’s basically just a car camping spot now.
Supposedly, Napoleon's ship went down right there, and the local legend says you can see soldiers appearing every year at a specific time just before dawn.
Back before World War II, some guy actually built a house on that exact spot, but nobody could stay there—things would move "on their own" and there were all these creepy noises... kind of a poltergeist situation, I guess?
Then, maybe 40 or 50 years ago, some local farmer was walking through the cove at dawn and apparently ran straight into those French soldiers. 😲 He totally lost it—ended up checked into a mental health facility. 😬

A husband and wife lived a long, happy life together, just enjoying the simple things. Then, out of nowhere, the husband fell ill and slipped into a coma. His wife stayed by his side through it all, and one night, driven to total desperation, she prayed: "Deity, if you let my husband survive and wake up from this coma, I will sacrifice a year of my own life."

The very next morning, a miracle happened—the husband finally opened his eyes. He also learned that his wife had passed away.

silentridge8 said:A husband and wife—living the dream, right? Happy together until they're old and gray. Then one day, the guy falls ill and ends up in a coma. His wife stays by his side, and in this moment of total desperation, she prays: "Deity, if you let him wake up from this coma, I'll sacrifice a year of my own life."

The next morning, a miracle happens—he wakes up. Only to find out his wife didn't make it.

😲 😍

creative said:look how huge the moon is tonight...😲
...

fear, baby, fear! 😁

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The full moon this month is traditionally when things get real. It's the day
when people actually start applying all that theoretical stuff and
Philosophy they've been sitting on. There's a certain power gathered
from positive karma built up through the highs and lows of many lifetimes.
On a day like this, invoking the Deity within everyone through
Prayer and fire worship feels right. Since ancient times, humans
have taken everything they've witnessed and learned, then transformed it via
meditation into a steady stream of universal love,
endless service, and constant upward growth.
It's a day for pure joy, offered as a way to honor the beloved Guru.
He's the guide, pulsing from deep inside us. He's everywhere. The whole
universe is basically an image of Guru Svaroopa. You can sense the Guru
in Nature, providing the rain needed for a good harvest. The Supreme Guru,
visible in the world around us, also drops the biggest life lessons.
Philosophy—the importance of patience, being on time, and staying receptive—is
all just the Guru showing up.

If you actually bother to look, you can feel it. If not...
well, life is nothing more than a collection of passing moments.

Since we're talking myths, my mom used to tell me this old legend all the time,

Back during the era of the Ottoman Empire when they were moving through Canada, there was this field where the entire Ottoman Army was gathered for Prayer. They were totally caught off guard when the Austro-Canadian forces hit them from behind and wiped them out right in the middle of it...

There’s a story about one soldier who actually had his head sliced off, but he somehow grabbed it, tucked it under his shoulder, and kept running! Eventually, a woman spotted him and screamed, and that's when he finally dropped dead. There's actually a Tomb built right there in Trnova now... (BTW, that's pretty close to where I live)....

I know it's an old tale, but I figured I'd write it down anyway 😁

Have you ever heard about Atlantis—sorry, I mean the "myth" of Atlantis... or the whole hollow earth concept? Personally, I’ve always found Vedic, Mayan, and similar legends to be the most compelling. Of course, you can never truly prove whether these things actually happened, but they're fascinating. There are all these interesting connections to modern conspiracy theorists, UFO enthusiasts, and so on. It all falls under the umbrella of metaphysics, the unseen, and esotericism, though some people just dismiss it all as mere myth. Regardless, it makes for an intriguing read.