Wednesday, March 4, 2015

#10: What I Learned

Loki (Alicia): I learned that Loki had his lips sewn together by a dwarf and that is why he has the scars on his mouth.

Raven (McKenzie): I learned that Raven was once a good person before evil.

Odin (Grant): I learned that Wednesday is named after him and that committed acts of self harm.

Krishna (Jaskrit): I learned that his only weakness is the sole of his left foot which I found very interesting.

Nokomis (Delaney): I learned that Nokomis is the grandmother of us all and that she is the daughter of the moon.

Freya (Katie): I learned that Freya is pulled by cats in her carriage.

Lan-Caihe (Abrianna): She can talk to others through her flower basket.

Hel (Bailey): I learned that another name for her is Hella, and that's hella awesome. Also, that she has a deep hatred towards her father Loki.

Nut (Natalie): Nut is responsible for the effects of night and day.

Aphrodite (Summer): Her husband is also her half brother.

Xi-Wangmu (Maggie): The only person she really doesn't get along with is the Monkey King.

Dionysus (James E): He can control the growth of vines.

Coyote (Meghan): Coyote is a trickster that only does what may benefit him, and he never does what he is told.

Isis (Keely): She is the goddess of motherhood, and is the mother of my father Horus.

Sun Wukong (James H): I learned that Monkey stole Xi-Wangmu's peaches.

Pangu (Ethan): He grows 6 feet everyday and is the son of Yin and Yang.

Anubis (Grace): He has the head of a Jackal.

Demeter (Lexi): She is the goddess of agriculture and controls how bountiful the crops will be.

Persephone (Dani): She is the daughter of Demeter and for six months out of the year she would be in the underworld with Hades because she ate six pomegranate seeds from him.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

#9: Myth Retold


Within my beautiful underworld there is a continuous routine that goes on, Ra's journey. Ra is a very important deity to us Egyptians, he is the solar god, he is even seen as our creator.
The people accompanying our great and powerful Ra are Set, Mehen, and Ma'at. This group of gods and goddess are also in a very important level of power.
The most destructive and dangerous of the three with Ra is most definitely Set. Set is the god of disorder, chaos, storms, and violence. Set is not one to be messed with. He is also the god of the miserable desert.
Also included in the group is Mehen. Mehen is a snake god. He coils around Ra during their journey to protect him. Mehen is the kind of guy you want to be friends with.
Last, but definitely not least, is Ma'at. Ma'at being the goddess of truth and balance is very helpful in offering her services to the great Ra. It is by her decision that people can enter the underworld or go up to our Aaru, the Egyptian heavenly fields. If they are not worthy and their hearts weigh more than her feather, then they end up in my underworld.
The four of these powerful and important gods and goddesses travel through my dark and sludge filled waters. The air holds a deathly smell and the sounds of lost souls can be heard throughout the cold breeze. The group hears a slight change in the dingy waters beneath the boat they're traveling in. Apep, the serpent in my magnificent underworld, slithers by not wanting attention. But Ra is much too smart for Apep. As Ra hears him just feet away, he prepares himself for the terrific battle.
Apep springs out from under the waters and stops just in front of the sun barque. His captivating stare hits Ra. Ra not expecting the gaze was instantly enthralled and could not be shaken from the hypnosis. The others managed to get Ra out of the grips of Apep's stare.
Ra suddenly realizing what happened was blinded by rage towards Apep and was ready to end him. Ra slayed Apep dead, but because Apep was already dead to begin with, he is re birthed back to my underworld.
And the cycle will continue...

Monday, February 16, 2015

#8: Resolution


The end of this myth is Ra killing Apep. But, Apep is already dead. Because he lives in my underworld, he has already died, therefore when Ra kills him he comes back to life. It's and endless cycle these between these two. That is how they continuously battle in both morning and evening. They will always fight in my underworld, and that's okay with me.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

#7: Climax


As the group of Ra, Set, Mehen, and Ma'at make their way through the dark waters of my underworld they hear a subtle change in the waves. Just as they looked down, they saw the figure of Apep slither by.
Ra knew Apep was ready for the daily battle between the two. Apep, despite losing the battle each time, was ready to fight. Each time Apep saw Ra he knew that in the back of his mind he would always lose, but he was determined to take him down.
There was an eerie feeling in the air as the four gods and goddesses roamed over my gloomy river. Off in the distance Apep glides just feet below the surface of the water. He was preparing to attack Ra, whether it took hypnosis, or just eating him whole.
Everyone in the solar barque looked around their bleak environment, studying their surroundings to try and understand what advantages they may have over the hellish serpent.
The barque came to a halt when Ra spotted Apep just under ten feet ahead of them. Ra is ready to kill Apep. Although, because Apep is already in my dwelling place, he will be brought back to life. Thus, keeping the continuous cycle of their battles.
Just as Ra looked over the boat, Apep broke through the water and stared Ra down. This time Apep was going to use the method of hypnosis on Ra.
As Ra was enthralled and captivated by the serpent's hypnotic stare, the others on the barque saw what was happening and rescued Ra from his trance. As soon as Ra regained his senses, he slays Apep and make his way through the rest of my grave home. Ra has defeated Apep once again and the others and himself will continue on to their daily travels.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

#6: Conflict





















The most obvious conflict is between Ra and the monsters of my underworld, Apep being the most consistently fought. As you may remember, Apep is the serpent of the underworld that battles Ra each night.
Apep's goal is to consume Ra and his barque, obviously causing problems between the two. Ra has to travel this journey each and every night and each time Apep comes out to fight.
The conflict is resolved by Ra defeating Apep, but the cycle of Ra on his journey continues each night. Apep being a serpent of my home, is angered by Ra traveling through.
Ra's entire purpose of traveling through the Ament was to have his rebirth from his daughter, Nut. He needed to be resurrected to become young again. But Apep wouldn't have it.
Apep tried to either consume the god and his sun boat or Ra in his tracks with a hypnotic stare.


#5: People in my Myth

Ra (Re)
As you know, Ra travels throughout my underworld every night. Ra is a sun god, also labeled as the King of Gods. He is the creator of everything, including the souls that I later receive after they pass on. As you can see, Ra has the head of a hawk, yet the body of a man, with a solar disc atop his head. He is very brave, battling those in the underworld takes the kind of bravery he has. Ra is also a great leader and very noble.







Set MehenOthers who traveled with Ra are Set and Mehen. Set is the god of the desert and Mehen is a protective deity that is a snake that coils around Ra during the journeys. Set is seen with a curved snout, long ears, a thin tail, and a canine body. Because set is the god of storms, war, and chaos he is not a kind god. Mehen is not as evil as Set.






Ma'at Also accompanying them is Ma'at. Ma'at is the goddess of truth and balance, therefore she is kind and helpful to those who need her services. She has an ostrich feather on top of her head and wings on her arms. She is actually the child of Ra. She is a very caring figure.

Thursday, February 5, 2015

#4: Ra's Journey



One of the myths that I am depicted in is the story of Ra's Journey. You might be wondering who Ra is. Ra is the solar deity. During his dark journey to the underworld, home of yours truly, he travels with Set and Mehen. Set and Mehen are both members of the nine gods in the group known as Heliopolis who help to defend against the monsters in the underworld. Ra takes this journey every night in his solar barque, going across the primordial rivers of the underworld.



The journey was led by Ma'at, the goddess of truth and balance. The four of them had fought many gruesome monsters on there way to the bleak environment of the underworld. Sounds of lost souls could be heard throughout my dwelling place. One of the monsters Ra fought was Apep. Apep was an enormous serpent living in the pungent waters on which Ra traveled. His goal was to consume the entire sun boat. Apep could not be seen during the day so that is what made him apart of my underworld. He awaited Ra each night in the waters that held such an effluvium. Some believe that he was the previous chief god, overthrown by Ra. Others say that his roar was the cause of earthquakes, and the battles between the two caused lightning to come down through the sky. In these battles, Ra defeats Apep in the form of a cat every time.

As Ra travels to my home each night, Apep attempts to battle Ra. But Apep fails each time. The sun is re birthed and so is Ra as well. Ra is re birthed each morning as a scarab beetle, Khepri, which is translated to the Emerging One.