Spirit Blooms » Books, Print & Blogs

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess

Barbara — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:50:21 +0000

I’ve been reading The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image by Leonard Shlain (ISBN-13: 978-0140196016 Penguin), which explores changes that took place in various ancient cultures when alphabets and writing became common. This happened at various times, depending on the location, usually at the time that writing became easier to learn with the emergence of a phonetic alphabet of 30 or fewer characters and was no longer a specialized ability guarded by an elite group of scribes. In many cases literacy spread through the population along with some form of monotheism, a condemnation of imagery, for instance, “graven images,” or increased focus on logic versus intuition, the establishment of written legal codes, military expansion (which often included slavery), and the use of money. At the same time these developments occurred, in most cases women lost power and their right to own property, instead coming to be treated as property. Myths changed to show goddesses as jealous, petty, and diabolical, sometimes destroyed by a conquering god. Oral myths were replaced by sacred writings.

I’m about halfway through, so I can’t really say more about this book, or draw any conclusions from it. But it’s been so far a fascinating look back, a perspective and theory that appears in many cases true. The alphabet and writing, and the subsequent move away from goddess based culture that revered the feminine, spelled trouble for women.

I’m not sure that I agree that writing did this alone. Even if it was the catalyst, we know there are times in individual human development when some form of darkness or ignorance must be overcome due to the changes we go through. Cute babies grow into their terrible twos, and later into adolescence and, for many of us, some form of rebellion. All change brings stress of some kind, and the spread of writing has to be one of the biggest changes a culture ever goes through. We change and then we sometimes take much longer to adjust to those changes, to put them in their proper perspective. The book points out that there was in many cases an eventual adjustment, some point at which women returned to a semblance of equality. And after all, there are many benefits that have arisen from the written word, from laws, from science and so forth. We have to look at this from both sides.

Still it’s a fascinating subject. I hope to write more about it once I’ve finished the book. Warning: I’m a slow reader.

Cross-posted at Pomegranate56 on LiveJournal

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World Tarot Day

Barbara — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:01:39 +0000

Today is World Tarot Day, and I blogged about it on my fiction-writing blog, over at Mystery of a Shrinking Violet: World Tarot Day. See you there, I hope.

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The argument for fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains

Barbara — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:02:47 +0000

In an interview at Alternet titled Michael Pollan Debunks Food Myths, author Michael Pollan discusses his new book, In Defense of Food. He talks about why news of the latest scientific nutritional studies is probably not the best source for nutrition information, and how the best eating advice given to Americans in the past five decades is probably the simplest — that fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are good for us. According to him, we’re likely best off getting back to basics.

Pollan says:

“I’m not a Luddite; I’m not anti-science. I’m fascinated by nutritional science. But I’ve also acquired a healthy skepticism about how much and how little they know. It has only been around for about 175 years. Its history is of one overlooked nutrient after another. As I see it, nutrition science is kind of where surgery was in the year 1650, which is to say very interesting and promising, but do you really want to get on the table yet?” (read article)

Further on, Pollan mentions how the “imitation rule” was eliminated by the FDA, without going through Congress, and how what we eat has in some sense become a political statement. According to Pollan, cooking our own food from scratch may now be a subversive act:

“It’s funny to think of something as domestic as cooking and gardening as subversive, but it is. It is the beginning of taking back control from a system that would much rather do everything for you.” (read article)

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More art blogs and websites

Barbara — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 23:05:39 +0000

I’ve found more fantastic art journal blogs, ninajohansson.se, and Laurelines Drawings and Paintings. Links courtesy of Jana’s Journal and Sketch Blog. Laurelines also recently posted links to other Must-Read Art Blogs for 2008.

In case you haven’t been watching my link updates in the sidebar, please also be sure to visit Beverly Jackson’s new art gallery website, The Art Shack Studio. I met Bev when we belonged to the same writer’s group, before she moved away. I’m proud to count her as a friend, and a multi-talented one at that.

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Art journal blogs — new links

Barbara — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:09:51 +0000

I’m adding art journal blogs to my blog list as I find ones that I can’t live without visiting regularly. My two newest links are to Jana’s Journal and Sketch Blog, and Princess Haiku (who visited me and commented a while back, leading me to watch her intriguing blog for a while).

I hope you all enjoy visiting these fresh, new to me blogs.

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