Un_Rayo_de_Sol

Graphics courtesy of Anne

Thank You

http://www.d21c.com/AnnesPlace/

Un_Rayo_de_Sol

O! Mistletoe

Also known as the golden bough.

Held sacred by both the Celtic Druids and the Norseman.

 Once called Allheal, used in folk medicine to cure many ills.

 North American Indians used it for toothache, measles and dog bites.

Today the plant is still used medicinally,

 though only in skilled hands...it's a powerful plant.

 It was also the plant of peace in Scandinavian antiquity.

If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest,

they laid down their arms and maintained a truce until the next day.

 Mistletoe was used by the Druid priesthood in a very special ceremony held around this time...five days after the New Moon following winter solstice,

 to be precise. The Druid priests would cut mistletoe from a

holy oak tree with a golden sickle.

 The branches had to be caught before they touched the ground.

 Celts believed this parasitic plant held the soul of the host tree.

The priest then divided the branches into many sprigs and

 distributed them to the people,

who hung them over doorways as protection against thunder,

 lightning and other evils. The folklore,

 and the magical powers of this plant,

 blossomed over the centuries A sprig placed in a baby's

cradle would protect the child from faeries.

Giving a sprig to the first cow calving

after New Year would protect the entire herd.

 And so forth. Now for the kissing part.

 Although many sources say that

kissing under the mistletoe is a purely English custom,

 there's another, more charming explanation for its

 origin that extends back into Norse mythology.

It's the story of a loving, if overprotective,

mother: The Norse god Balder was the best loved

of all the gods. His mother was Frigga, goddess of love and beauty.

 She loved her son so much that she wanted to make sure

 no harm would come to him. So she went through the world,

securing promises from everything that sprang from

the four elements--fire, water, air, and earth--that they

would not harm her beloved Balder. Leave it to Loki,

a sly, evil spirit, to find the loophole.

The loophole was mistletoe. He made an arrow from its wood.

To make the prank even nastier,

he took the arrow to Hoder, Balder's brother,

 who was blind. Guiding Holder's hand, Loki

directed the arrow at Balder's heart, and he fell dead.

 Frigga's tears became the mistletoe's white berries.

In the version of the story with a happy ending, Balder

 is restored to life, and Frigga is so grateful that she reverses

 the reputation of the offending plant--making it a symbol of

love and promising to

 bestow a kiss upon anyone who passes under it.

Un_Rayo_de_Sol

Random thoughts of a restless mind.

 I thought about the people devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Pakistan, the suicide bombings in Israel, Iraq, Jordan and other countries. I have learned of the glee and applause by Pakistani inmates whenever one of their own is hanged. We grieve and pray when natural disaster strikes but how can we fathom the total disregard other people have for human lives? How can anyone ever justify killing? What cause can justify misery?