We Live in a Myth
I don’t just write about holidays to Educate you about the Customs of my People or something. I assure you it would be more boring if that were the case.
The reason I make an effort to describe Jewish holidays in terms of, like, their Moon phase is to remind us all that we live in a freaking trippy myth.
It’s such a myopic view of Religion™ to just look at its observances in terms of theology and morality and other stuff that only exists in the form of windy sentences.
Yeah, holidays can be represented by the abstraction of a calendar date, but what do you think a calendar IS?
A calendar is a map of the solar system. Each calendar is a particular map layer showing an important route or terrain feature. The more calendars you know about, the richer your orientation.
In the breathtaking dance of gravitational gods. Where we live.
Take physics seriously.
We know that we live in a continuum called “spacetime.” It is not a metaphor that a calendar is a map of a place. Time and space are convertible variables. A holiday or festival is a PLACE. We ALL go there, whether its on our map or not.
I can’t imagine what it’s like to grow up in a life-world without a lunar calendar. That sounds like a world with no form of storytelling other than the news. I leave it as an exercise for the reader to consider why “Judeo-Christian Civilization™” doesn’t have that anymore.
The Moon is still up there. Everyone can see it and keep time by it. It can factor into whatever your personal sense of “this time of year” is like. And you’ll see that the cycles interlock and overlap in subtle and intricate ways. It might add some meaning to time.
But again, it’s not just time; it’s spacetime. The Moon is in space. SO ARE YOU. When you keep track of lunar time, the questions “What time is it?” and “Where am I?” become inextricable. To keep track of time, you have to look around. IN THE SKY.
Both Moon and Sun tell you space and time. Where is the Moon in the sky? That tells you where on Earth you are. What phase is it in? That tells you time for everyone on Earth. Where is the Sun in the sky? That tells time where you are and orients you on the compass there.
Yes, this stuff can get you feeling G_d feelings, but that’s really not my point. People go to such great lengths to “re-enchant” the world by imagining myths and magic. I mean this stuff won’t let help you levitate rocks or whatever, but LOOK OUTSIDE.
Do you live on Earth’s northern hemisphere? Did you see how all the green plant life in your area suddenly TURNED ORANGE AND DIED recently? Sun, Moon, and Earth caused that.
What are they causing in you?
🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘🌑
Happy Chanukah.
