Tag Archives: death

The Harvest of Death

Posted on by
Reply
The Dormition of the Mother of God, commonly called the “Assumption” by Western Christians, celebrates the falling-asleep of the Mother of God on August 15 and her translation into glory at the right hand of her Son. This deathbed scene is often depicted in Orthodox icons and medieval Western paintings with Mary dying as the apostles surround her deathbed and Jesus gathers her soul into His arms like a new-born child (similar to the way He is depicted in swaddling bands at Christmas). It has been said in at least a few sermons that, “If Christmas is God’s birthday into humanity, then Dormition is humanity’s birthday into divinity."

The Dormition of the Mother of God, commonly called the “Assumption” by Western Christians, celebrates the falling-asleep of the Mother of God on August 15 and her translation into glory at the right hand of her Son. This deathbed scene is often depicted in Orthodox icons and medieval Western paintings with Mary dying as the apostles surround her deathbed and Jesus gathers her soul into His arms like a new-born child (similar to the way He is depicted in swaddling bands at Christmas). It has been said in at least a few sermons that, “If Christmas is God’s birthday into humanity, then Dormition is humanity’s birthday into divinity.”

One of the classic prayers for the dead in both Latin-speaking and Greek-speaking Christianity is a psalm about the harvest. Psalm 64/65 begins:

“You are to be praised, O God, in Zion:
to you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.
To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come…
Our sins are stronger than we are,
but you will blot them out.”

The psalm goes on to describe God’s power to erect mountains and calm the roaring of the sea, to call the sun to rise and set, and then concludes:

“You prepare the grain,
for so you provide for the earth.
You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;
with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase.
You crown the year with your goodness,
and your paths overflow with plenty.
May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing,
and the hills be clothed with joy.
May the meadows cover themselves with flocks,
and the valleys cloak themselves with grain;
let them shout for joy and sing.”

The psalm celebrates both death and harvest as two sides of one mystery, the resurrection of both human corpses and the seeds that are cast into the earth to die and rise again — and be harvested, thus continuing the cycle.

As part of the mid-August celebration of the Dormition (“falling asleep”) of the Mother of God, flowers and fragrant herbs are brought into the church to be blessed. This aspect of Dormition celebrates the harvest going on in the fields outside the churches and the “harvest” of each human life on their deathbed. This harvest and gathering into glory of each human life to await the End Times or Last Judgment gives the practical duties of farmyard duties a very apocalyptic or eschatological flavor. (Apocalypse and eschatology relate to “End Times” and “Last Things.”) This human harvest is celebrated again at the end of the farmyard harvest season with Halloween and the Day of the Dead in November.

The flowers and herbs blessed on August 15 are thought to disperse devils by their fragrant scent and to keep devils from trapping the soul of a dying person if they are placed around the deathbed.

The Undead… and the Saints

Posted on by
Reply
Bela Lugosi as the most famous portrayal of Dracula, the most famous of the Undead.

Bela Lugosi as the most famous portrayal of Dracula, the most famous of the Undead.

Happy birthday to Bram Stoker, the father of the modern vampire story, on November 8! (This also happens to be my granddaughter Sophie’s birthday, so “Happy Birthday!” to Sophie as well!) Vampires, known today for attacking the throats of the living, are perhaps the most well-known category of a class of beings known collectively as “the Undead.” (The Undead was also one of the possible titles Stoker considered for his novel before selecting Dracula!)

The undead (also known as revenants) are creatures that were once living humans but are now deceased and yet continue to act as if they are alive. They may be physical (vampires, zombies) or immaterial (ghosts) and are most often violent and angry with the living. The best-known ghosts and undead creatures are those known for attacking the living; few people tell stories about the FRIENDLY undead — Caspar the Friendly Ghost is perhaps the exception that proves this rule!

Many of the same signs are used to identify the corpse of both the undead and the saints, especially a corpse that does not decay according to the usual rules or expected timetable. It is the personality of the person before death that usually determines if the body is determined to be undead or saintly: an angry, miserly, or vindictive person is more likely to be identified as an undead monster whereas a kindly, charitable, or generous person is more likely to be identified as one of the saints. The interaction of the saints with the living is considered a miracle; the interaction of the undead with the living is considered a danger and a horror.

The undead are frightening for perhaps no other reason than that they blur the distinction between the living and the dead. They are the shadow-side of the saints, dead people known for interacting with the living in order to help those still on earth. Furthermore, the undead can seem indestructible — because how do you stop or kill a creature that is already dead?!?!

Horses… Giddyup!

Posted on by
Reply
Mr. Ed, the talking horse who only ever conversed with Wilbur, was one of my favorite tv shows growing up. Mr. Ed appeared on Sunday evenings, just before (or after?) "My Favorite Martian."

Mr. Ed, the talking horse who only ever conversed with Wilbur, was one of my favorite tv shows growing up. Mr. Ed appeared on Sunday evenings, just before (or after?) “My Favorite Martian.”

When most people think of HORSES in mythology or folklore, they think of winged horses like Pegasus or wooden horses like that offered to the Trojans by the Greeks or talking horses like Mr. Ed (seen above). Few people think of horses in connection with mermaids!

But horses and cows were often seen in the company of mermaids, according to the old stories. Mermaids were set to watch the herds of horses and cows belonging to the sea gods just as shepherds were set to watch flocks of sheep and goats on the hillsides. Mermaids would lead the horses and cows up onto shore from the depths of the sea and then gain legs for themselves by removing a cloak. After allowing the cattle or horses to graze along the shore, the mermaids would wrap themselves in their cloaks again and lose their legs, thus regaining their fish tails and would lead the animals back into the sea.

Many times a mermaid would reward an act of kindness by giving a human a magical horse or cow that was especially strong, beautiful, and fertile. These cows from the depths of the Otherworld would mingle with the poor or sickly cows of a farmstead and restore the earthly herds to health and fertility. These magically restored herds often brought great wealth to the human farmers. But if the humans ever harmed the Otherworld animal, it would vanish and take all its progeny with it and the humans would be reduced to poverty once more as a result.

It was sailors or other men who saw the mermaids and the horses/cattle come ashore who might steal the mermaid’s cloak and thus render her unable to return to the sea. She would often then marry the man who had stolen the cloak and thus kidnapped her and even live with him happily for many years. But she would never age and would finally find the cloak that the man had hidden somewhere in the house. She would wrap herself in the cloak and hurry back to the sea and return to her true home beneath the waves.

Horses were also especially associated with the goddesses who brought both fertility and who lead the dead into the Otherworld in Celtic mythology. Because a goddess could bring life and health and prosperity, she could also take them away and leave illness and death in her wake. Horses, especially purebred white horses, were considered the steeds of the goddess and were both desired and feared by horse traders.

Florus and Laurus, twin brothers who were second century martyrs, are considered the patrons of horses among the Rus because a local horse plague was healed by their relics. Russian peasants would tether their horses around the church on their feast day (August 18) and avoid putting the horses to work in order to avoid a recurrence of the plague.

An icon from Novgorod (15th century) showing SS. Florus and Laurus with the horses.

An icon from Novgorod (15th century) showing SS. Florus and Laurus with the horses.