Month: March 2022

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Ukrainian and Slavic Folktales:  The Origin of the Mole

Jos Zwarts, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Presented here is a retelling of a folktale from Ukrainian and Slavic folklore followed by a brief discussion.  The story has similarities to tales from several different countries, and like them is a myth of the origin of the mole and gives a warning which is very relevant to this day. 

THE ORIGIN OF THE MOLE

This story tells how a rich man, and a poor man once shared a field.  The poor man was humble and respectful and followed God’s laws the best he could.  The rich man was proud and scornful, following no rules but his own.  One year, both simultaneously sowed their allotted parts with the same type of seed.  With the help of God, the poor man’s seed grew healthy and abundant, giving an excellent yield. However, the seed of the rich man, who scorned the Almighty, yielded a poor and spindly crop.

The rich man looked upon the poor man’s yield and grew jealous.  Then, being accustomed to having his way and the best of everything, he unrightfully claimed the part of the field that the poor man had sown, insisting the yield was his. 

“See, here,” he said to the poor man, “See how well my seed has grown while your own has grown weak and spindly!”

The poor man was shocked at the false claim and protested.  But the rich man shook his head, refusing to listen to his protestations, and said,

“If you do not believe me, I can provide undeniable evidence of my ownership.  Should you wish to see it come into the field before sunrise, bringing as many witnesses as you choose, and I will give you infallible proof of my ownership for all to witness, and God alone shall be the judge of the matter!”

Upset and bewildered, the poor man went home while the rich man watched him go.  As soon as he was out of sight, he dug a hole in the poor man’s portion of the field and told his son to jump in and hide there until morning, telling him,

“Listen carefully to what I say, my son, and follow my instructions exactly as I tell you.  I will cover you over so that no one will know you hide in this hole.  You must wait here until just before sunrise tomorrow morning, when I, and others, will come into this field.  I will shout out as if speaking to God, asking him to reveal the owner of this part of the field.  You will loudly proclaim that this part of the field belongs in full to the rich man, and it is the other part of the field that the poor man owns.  Make sure you stay hidden in the hole until I tell you otherwise!”

After he was sure his son understood, he covered him over carefully, thoroughly disguising the hole from plain sight, and went home.

The next morning, before daybreak, he returned to the field where the poor man accompanied by a crowd of neighbors to act as witnesses waited. Unfazed, the rich man stood in the center of the disputed part of the field, raised his hands to the sky, and cried,

“Oh, great and wise God speak your truth!  Who is the owner of this part of the field where I stand?   Does it belong to this poor man, or I, the rich man?”

His son, hearing his father, shouted back,

“You stand in the rich man’s part of the field with a fine crop growing that you sowed,  and the poor man’s crop that he sowed lies next to it growing weak and spindly.”

The rich man turned and laughed at the poor man whose face had dropped in bewilderment and disappointment.  All those who stood as witnesses were full of awe and wonder, except for one who was not a local man. No one knew who he was, or how he had joined them, but he stepped forward and spoke to the them saying sternly,

“Do not listen to this rich man; he is a cheat and liar!  The part of the field where the good crop grows belongs to the poor man who plowed and sowed it!”

He told the witnesses all about the deception and pulled the camouflage from the hole revealing the rich man’s son. To the rich man’s son, he commanded,

“Stay where thou art, and sit beneath the earth all thy days, so long as the sun is in the sky.” (1)

And the rich man’s son instantly transformed into the first mole.

DISCUSSION

The tale is allegorical and not quite what it seems, giving a fanciful explanation of the origin of moles, while warning those who seek to covet another person’s property to expect unforeseen consequences in the future.  In earlier times families tended to stay together often supporting parents and grandparents through their old age. The loss of such a support would have been a hard blow. The transformation of the rich man’s son into a mole seems like a harsh punishment for the son for following his father’s directions. 

But, if the rich man’s son was only following his father’s instructions, so does it mean the child automatically inherits the parent’s sins?

Maybe not, if the story is considered an allegory.  Children take on much of their behavior from their parents yet are not strictly bound by nature to continue that behavior.  They can, and do, change as they grow older, and this sometimes brings them into conflict with their parents’ values and philosophy of life and sometimes the society in which they live.  If such behavior becomes accepted and practiced from generation to generation, then, yes, the parents’ sins become those of the child.  They also become a continuous source of conflict between citizens, creating an increasing anti-social and dysfunctional society. 

Therefore, wrongdoing must be challenged and replaced by more healthy alternative behavior to prevent this.  Ideally, this should happen at the time of the misconduct or as soon as possible after.  But, unfortunately, sometimes it does pass on through the generations and becomes accepted as the social norm – the share standards of socially acceptable behavior – until someone dares challenge it.  In this light, members of a society are responsible for ensuring dishonest behavior is discontinued as soon as it is recognized.

When parents act immorally it does not make it correct for their children to continue the bad behavior from generation to generation.  The idea may be that rectifying dishonest or harmful behavior, preferably as it happens, or as soon as possible after it is recognized, leads to a more harmonious and fairer society.

Of course, there is much more that could be said, but it is entirely up to the reader to form their own opinions should they wish, or maybe accept it as no more than an entertaining tale.

© 16/03/2022 zteve t evans

REFERENCES, ATTRIBUTIONS AND FURTHER READING

Copyright March 16th, 2022 zteve t evans

Further Publications by zteve t evans

Tales of the Lost, the Drowned and the All-Seeing Eye – Vengeance Will Come!

Available as a Kindle Ebook And Large Print Paperback – Dimensions : 21.59 x 0.48 x 27.94 cm All Images Non-color

The Feather of the Firebird

Available as Kindle EBook (Color images) And Large Print Paperback – Dimensions 20.32 x 0.15 x 25.4 cm 9 – Images are non-color

Havelok the Dane: Hero-King of Two Realms

Available as Kindle EBook

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Ancient symbols: The Ouroboros in Alchemy, Gnosticism and Hermeticism

GAllegre, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

THE OUROBOROS SYMBOL

The ancient symbol known as the ouroboros is a snake, serpent, or dragon with its body looped in a circle. Its mouth is open, and its tail is adjacent to its mouth.  It is not easy to tell if the snake is biting, eating, regurgitating, or even giving birth to itself.  Interpretation depends on the culture and situation where it appears.  Usually, it is considered a symbol of renewal – the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth, and immortality, but there are other interpretations. 

The name “ouroboros” comes from Greek.  The “oura” part means tail, and “boros,” meaning “eating,” so together, it becomes “tail devourer,” or ouroboros.  It entered Western tradition and symbolism from ancient Egyptian and Hellenic iconography and conventions.  It later became adopted into the mystic symbols of alchemy, Hermeticism, and Gnosticism.

THE OUROBOROS THROUGH THE AGES

Remarkably similar versions of this motif have occurred worldwide throughout history.  Despite the vast distances that sometimes separate it, the symbol carries similar connotations, though may be known by other terms.  It is not known if there was a central origin for the image from which it spread or if it evolved independently in various places.  The distance and the different human cultures where the ouroboros appears indicate a degree of independent evolution.  However, it could also spread from one place to another through trade, invasion, or the movement of people.

In certain ancient cultures, because snakes shed their old skins and grow new ones, they are symbols of the renewal of life.  There is also the idea that the snake’s tail is a phallic symbol, with the mouth representing a womb, associating it with fertility.  Mystics also linked the ouroboros with metempsychosis or transmigration of the soul.

The ouroboros differs from other representations of serpent-like entities being a positive and necessary force for good.  In other religions such as Christianity, snakes and serpents represent evil and other religions may have different associations not mentioned here.

The first known use of the image is an artistic decoration on Chinese pottery belonging to the neolithic Yangshao People, who dwelt from 5000-3000 BC along the Yellow River in what is now eastern China.  However, its use as a motif or symbol seems to have evolved later independently in other places.

ANCIENT EGYPT

The ancient Egyptians associating the symbol with time and the universe.  They considered time to be a succession of recurring cycles rather than a linear, constantly manifesting line of events.  They were greatly influenced by the annual flooding of the Nile and the daily recurrent movement of the sun across the sky.

A 14the BC funerary text, usually referred to as the “Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld,” inscribed on the second shrine of the sarcophagus in the tomb of Tutankhamun depicted a prominent figure, possibly representing the mummiform body of Tutankhamun, which is titled, “He who hides the Hours.” Alternatively, some archaeologists see it representing a union between Ra and Osiris.  The ouroboros motif encircles the head of the figure while another encircles the feet.

Experts deem the text refers to the functioning of time.  In this case, the circular serpent motif signifies the deity, “Mehen, the Enveloper,” guardian of Ra on his journey underground. It also appears in other Egyptian works and may represent the chaos surrounding the orderly world is considered a form of the ouroboros.

Engraving of an wyvern-type ouroboros by Lucas Jennis, in the 1625 alchemical tract De Lapide Philosophico. The figure serves as a symbol for mercury – Public Domain – Source

GNOSTICISM

Mystics and scholars of Gnosticism, Hermeticism, and alchemy adopted the symbol because of its associated meaning. Gnosticism developed from Jewish and Christian religious and philosophical thinking in the first and second centuries.  It sought to develop and use specialized knowledge to achieve salvation.  Gnostics saw the head of the serpent as the spiritual world, while the tail represented the physical world, both being eternally united.  While both worlds appear to conflict, they exist in unison and are necessary for a unified universe.

ALCHEMY

In alchemy, the ouroboros is considered one of the oldest symbols representing the idea of eternity and continuous return. Alchemy was a predecessor form of medieval chemistry and philosophy that sought to achieve the Magnum Opus or great work.

This great work might include achievements such as the transmutation of matter, a panacea to cure all ills, the philosopher’s stone, and the achievement of immortality, depending on the interests of the individual alchemist.  It was a discipline rich in allegorical expression and many of its terms and goals are metaphorical.  However, the true purpose of alchemy was the evolution of the human soul through its study and practice. 

The alchemist also used other related disciplines, including astrology, Hermeticism, mathematics, geometry, Gnosticism, and other early sciences and mysticism.  One of the most highly desired but challenging aims for an alchemist was to discover a way to turn a base substance such as lead into gold, an activity known as “chrysopoeia” in alchemy.

A short alchemic text called “Chrysopoeia of Cleopatra,” by Cleopatra, the Alchemist, shows a version of the ouroboros.  This author is not Cleopatra VII – the Egyptian queen who wooed Julius Caesar and Mark Antony even though later works refer to her as Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.  The identity of Cleopatra the Alchemist is murky, and to complicate matters her identity became conflated by scholars with Cleopatra, the Physician.  However, the name Cleopatra the Alchemist may be an alias for an anonymous author or school of alchemists.

Cleopatra, the Alchemist, was a Greek author and physician who lived about 3 AD and was one of the founders of alchemy.  She was also one of four female alchemists able to generate the philosopher’s stone and the inventor of special apparatus used in the alchemic distillation process.

Anonymous medieval illuminator; uploader Carlos adanero, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

HERMETICISM

In the Chrysopoeia, an ouroboros, with the words, “the all is one,” is seen.  This idea is associated with a philosophical system based on the traditions of the legendary Hermes Trismegistus known as Hermeticism.  The Chrysopeoia also described the ouroboros as,

“One is the Serpent which has its poison according to two compositions, and One is All and through it is All, and by it is All, and if you have not All, All is Nothing.”

The ouroboros expressed many of their beliefs in a visual symbol recognized and understood by other alchemists.  But the world is mutable, and alchemists of the Renaissance began to consider time as linear rather than cyclical.  Therefore, instead of looping back and repeating, eternity became a neverending stream of events that may have had any cycles unrolling as they happened. This new viewpoint makes it very relevant to how the present moment is understood.

©10/03/2022 zteve t evans

REFERENCES, ATTRIBUTIONS AND FURTHER READING

Copyright March 10th, 2022 zteve t evans

Further Publications by zteve t evans

Tales of the Lost, the Drowned and the All-Seeing Eye – Vengeance Will Come!

Available as a Kindle Ebook And Large Print Paperback – Dimensions : 21.59 x 0.48 x 27.94 cm All Images Non-color

The Feather of the Firebird

Available as Kindle EBook (Color images) And Large Print Paperback – Dimensions 20.32 x 0.15 x 25.4 cm 9 – Images are non-color

Havelok the Dane: Hero-King of Two Realms

Available as Kindle EBook