I totally relate to the struggle. I have so much that I want to read and write about, but so little time. I will say that though this last year has been the busiest of my life, in terms of work and other hobbies, yet it’s also been the most prolific in terms of my writing. There’s something about busyness that is good about keeping you firing on all cylinders. Whereas I’ve had periods of my life where I was unemployed, and had no obligations, and I really was trying to read and write, but somehow just never had the energy or drive to get anything done consistently. I often goofed off and played video games.
I don’t necessarily think relationships have to be sacrificed for career, although I do think that the balance and expectations need to be recalibrated. For example, while we can all agree that it’s very important to spend a lot of time with young kids, say, age 0 - 3, many contemporary parents think that they need to spend all of their free time with their kids throughout their entire childhood. Whereas the truth is that kids need a lot of time alone with their own imagination and with their own friends. And so do our partners. And a lot of times there are things we can do for ourselves like exercise, which can be done in the company of friends and family, killing two birds with one stone. Or reading stories together.
The example that my friend and I always talk about when we worry about this is Christopher Nolan, who in my opinion is the best Director of all time, and he also has four kids.
"There’s something about busyness that is good about keeping you firing on all cylinders. Whereas I’ve had periods of my life where I was unemployed, and had no obligations, and I really was trying to read and write, but somehow just never had the energy or drive to get anything done consistently. I often goofed off and played video games."
It's weird how this happens. I've been through similar periods in my life and found the same. On the other hand, I'm busier now than I ever have been, but somehow also publish to Substack more frequently. The little interactions have decreased - I almost never interact on Notes anymore - but the more substantial work hasn't ceased.
"The example that my friend and I always talk about when we worry about this is Christopher Nolan, who in my opinion is the best Director of all time, and he also has four kids."
Interesting, I didn't know that about Nolan. I wonder how he manages to balance it all?
Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's own was influential in my development. She makes a similar argument about the time and space to write, which in those days was almost never afforded women.
>2024 goal: Familiarise myself with the Arthurian legends and develop an understanding of their mythological and psychological significance.
I would much any leads on serpent symbolism, particularly with respect to consciousness, "mysteries" etc. Overall, your reading list looks amazing. Campbell and Eliade have been some of the best resources in my own attempt to understand mythology.
I haven't read it yet, but I very much intend to some day!
I'll let you know if I come across anything. I think you're on to something with your snake cult theory, but strangely, snakes/serpents/dragons don't seem to feature much in the standard Arthurian canon, at least not in the stories I've read so far. Dragons are prominent in Arthurian symbology - e.g., on the gates of Camelot, on Arthur's throne, in the surname name Pendragon - but not as actual creatures to be fought.
There are some earlier pre-Christian Arthur hero stories that feature serpentine beasts*, and of course there are other British myths with dragons (e.g., St George). Maybe the lack of these in Christian Arthur stories is to do with the recency of these stories - could snake cults have died out in Britain by the 12th century?
Come to think of it, the Arthurian legends do have witches, the most noteworthy of which is Morgan le Fay. As I interpret it, Morgana's role in the stories is to test and challenge the faith and virtue of Arthur and his knights - is there something there that might tie in with your Eve Theory?
How adversarial is she? Eve, Pandora, and Hera get a bad rap. But my guess is that earlier versions had them as heroes. Only with the patriarchal bronze age do you get the rewrite. Hera in particular interests me. Herakles literally translates to "Glory to/of Hera" or maybe "Glorified by Hera." Which is weird considering how many of his 12 labors involve her trying to kill him. My guess is "I am a moral agent who will one day die" was originally either intertwined with proving competence, or perhaps taught in painful/difficult ways. Can see how that could be recast as "these women tried to kill us!" Demeter goes to a foreign land and becomes the nurse of the prince. Every night she puts him in the fire. The process is working, and he's becoming a god. Then the mom finds out and is upset. The process itself may have been very unpleasant.
I'm still reading some of the earlier works, but my understanding (from Wikipedia) is that Morgana is portrayed as more adversarial as time goes on. Earlier works see her as either neutral or even helpful, later works cast her as one of Arthur's great foes. By the time of Tennyson's Idylls of the King, the deviousness of women becomes a major theme of the stories. But I can see how a similar theme to that you've drawn from the Greek stories could be read into Arthur - especially in The Green Knight, Morgana's tests ultimately prove that Sir Gawain is of exceptional (if imperfect) moral character.
Yeah, Arthur is pretty late, and the Snake Cult was mostly wiped out by (or absorbed into) Christianity by then. Christ on the cross actually represents a serpent, according to the New Testament. But that imagery is not a big part of the tradition. (It is, however, used to great effect in the cult classic Lair of the White Worm, which tells of an English folk tale that is a great fit for the Snake Cult. Hugh Grant stars...it's worth a watch if English folklore is your thing.)
>could snake cults have died out in Britain by the 12th century?
Similar to Arabia, which was lousy with snake cults before Islam. Djinn or genies are heavily associated with snakes. As is their Roman cognate, the spirit familiar the Genius. The Djinn are mentioned in the Quran, but in a more limited role.
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I'll have to watch Lair of the White Worm - I'm familiar with the story it's based on (the Lambton Worm), but have never seen the movie.
I totally relate to the struggle. I have so much that I want to read and write about, but so little time. I will say that though this last year has been the busiest of my life, in terms of work and other hobbies, yet it’s also been the most prolific in terms of my writing. There’s something about busyness that is good about keeping you firing on all cylinders. Whereas I’ve had periods of my life where I was unemployed, and had no obligations, and I really was trying to read and write, but somehow just never had the energy or drive to get anything done consistently. I often goofed off and played video games.
I don’t necessarily think relationships have to be sacrificed for career, although I do think that the balance and expectations need to be recalibrated. For example, while we can all agree that it’s very important to spend a lot of time with young kids, say, age 0 - 3, many contemporary parents think that they need to spend all of their free time with their kids throughout their entire childhood. Whereas the truth is that kids need a lot of time alone with their own imagination and with their own friends. And so do our partners. And a lot of times there are things we can do for ourselves like exercise, which can be done in the company of friends and family, killing two birds with one stone. Or reading stories together.
The example that my friend and I always talk about when we worry about this is Christopher Nolan, who in my opinion is the best Director of all time, and he also has four kids.
"There’s something about busyness that is good about keeping you firing on all cylinders. Whereas I’ve had periods of my life where I was unemployed, and had no obligations, and I really was trying to read and write, but somehow just never had the energy or drive to get anything done consistently. I often goofed off and played video games."
It's weird how this happens. I've been through similar periods in my life and found the same. On the other hand, I'm busier now than I ever have been, but somehow also publish to Substack more frequently. The little interactions have decreased - I almost never interact on Notes anymore - but the more substantial work hasn't ceased.
"The example that my friend and I always talk about when we worry about this is Christopher Nolan, who in my opinion is the best Director of all time, and he also has four kids."
Interesting, I didn't know that about Nolan. I wonder how he manages to balance it all?
I don’t know how he does it, but I know that it’s possible, somehow. Haha
Great Men are overrated lol. Love your approach and I'd fall into having the same balance! didn't know you were a swimmer too - that's cool!
Haha they can be - thanks Zan!
Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's own was influential in my development. She makes a similar argument about the time and space to write, which in those days was almost never afforded women.
>2024 goal: Familiarise myself with the Arthurian legends and develop an understanding of their mythological and psychological significance.
I would much any leads on serpent symbolism, particularly with respect to consciousness, "mysteries" etc. Overall, your reading list looks amazing. Campbell and Eliade have been some of the best resources in my own attempt to understand mythology.
I haven't read it yet, but I very much intend to some day!
I'll let you know if I come across anything. I think you're on to something with your snake cult theory, but strangely, snakes/serpents/dragons don't seem to feature much in the standard Arthurian canon, at least not in the stories I've read so far. Dragons are prominent in Arthurian symbology - e.g., on the gates of Camelot, on Arthur's throne, in the surname name Pendragon - but not as actual creatures to be fought.
There are some earlier pre-Christian Arthur hero stories that feature serpentine beasts*, and of course there are other British myths with dragons (e.g., St George). Maybe the lack of these in Christian Arthur stories is to do with the recency of these stories - could snake cults have died out in Britain by the 12th century?
*Great livestream on this if you want to learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKLR1Y8PwUY
Come to think of it, the Arthurian legends do have witches, the most noteworthy of which is Morgan le Fay. As I interpret it, Morgana's role in the stories is to test and challenge the faith and virtue of Arthur and his knights - is there something there that might tie in with your Eve Theory?
How adversarial is she? Eve, Pandora, and Hera get a bad rap. But my guess is that earlier versions had them as heroes. Only with the patriarchal bronze age do you get the rewrite. Hera in particular interests me. Herakles literally translates to "Glory to/of Hera" or maybe "Glorified by Hera." Which is weird considering how many of his 12 labors involve her trying to kill him. My guess is "I am a moral agent who will one day die" was originally either intertwined with proving competence, or perhaps taught in painful/difficult ways. Can see how that could be recast as "these women tried to kill us!" Demeter goes to a foreign land and becomes the nurse of the prince. Every night she puts him in the fire. The process is working, and he's becoming a god. Then the mom finds out and is upset. The process itself may have been very unpleasant.
I'm still reading some of the earlier works, but my understanding (from Wikipedia) is that Morgana is portrayed as more adversarial as time goes on. Earlier works see her as either neutral or even helpful, later works cast her as one of Arthur's great foes. By the time of Tennyson's Idylls of the King, the deviousness of women becomes a major theme of the stories. But I can see how a similar theme to that you've drawn from the Greek stories could be read into Arthur - especially in The Green Knight, Morgana's tests ultimately prove that Sir Gawain is of exceptional (if imperfect) moral character.
Yeah, Arthur is pretty late, and the Snake Cult was mostly wiped out by (or absorbed into) Christianity by then. Christ on the cross actually represents a serpent, according to the New Testament. But that imagery is not a big part of the tradition. (It is, however, used to great effect in the cult classic Lair of the White Worm, which tells of an English folk tale that is a great fit for the Snake Cult. Hugh Grant stars...it's worth a watch if English folklore is your thing.)
>could snake cults have died out in Britain by the 12th century?
Similar to Arabia, which was lousy with snake cults before Islam. Djinn or genies are heavily associated with snakes. As is their Roman cognate, the spirit familiar the Genius. The Djinn are mentioned in the Quran, but in a more limited role.
Interesting, thanks for sharing! I'll have to watch Lair of the White Worm - I'm familiar with the story it's based on (the Lambton Worm), but have never seen the movie.