Thanks for broadening my mythological understanding and empathy.
Two thoughts:
1. My introduction to Medusa was as a child in the early 1980s, and seeing the movie "Clash of the Titans," which captured my imagination but only showed the truly frightening side of Medusa from the perspective of Perseus. A woman with a snake's body, snakes for hair who could turn one to stone if one saw it? Yeah, I admit it; I had some nightmares after that.
So it's good to go deeper now and recognize how so many of these "monsters" are borne of tragedy and then reflect on how that is shedding light on our human world, too. So many of the villains of history have tragic pasts. That doesn't excuse their behavior; instead, it invites us not to contribute to creating such villains in the first place by doing what we can not to traumatize others.
2) Your story of Lamia reminds me of what I've been learning about the mythology of Sedna. Awareness of these fallen-yet-risen, powerful female archetypal figures is growing. I learned about a lot of this stuff watching people like Pam Gregory on YouTube, but I know there are many like her, including you, who are raising our awareness, so thanks for that. I look forward to reading more of your work!
Thanks for broadening my mythological understanding and empathy.
Two thoughts:
1. My introduction to Medusa was as a child in the early 1980s, and seeing the movie "Clash of the Titans," which captured my imagination but only showed the truly frightening side of Medusa from the perspective of Perseus. A woman with a snake's body, snakes for hair who could turn one to stone if one saw it? Yeah, I admit it; I had some nightmares after that.
So it's good to go deeper now and recognize how so many of these "monsters" are borne of tragedy and then reflect on how that is shedding light on our human world, too. So many of the villains of history have tragic pasts. That doesn't excuse their behavior; instead, it invites us not to contribute to creating such villains in the first place by doing what we can not to traumatize others.
2) Your story of Lamia reminds me of what I've been learning about the mythology of Sedna. Awareness of these fallen-yet-risen, powerful female archetypal figures is growing. I learned about a lot of this stuff watching people like Pam Gregory on YouTube, but I know there are many like her, including you, who are raising our awareness, so thanks for that. I look forward to reading more of your work!