From Bacchus to Mercury

Memory shouldn't only be a reflection in the perfect and imperfect tenses, but also a guide for the future. When I was 14, I was en route to getting baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church in my hometown, one of the steps that I had to participate in every week was Lectio Divina. Now my memory of the process may have slightly altered over time, but basically what you do is read a section of the Bible and with a relaxed mind, you pick out the words that stick out to you the most. It was like the Luscher color test, but with words. Because those words stick out to you, your brain and heart are trying to tell you something and it's your task to figure that out. 

Fast-forward 10 years and you have me sitting here, forever changed by this process and always aware of the power that words have over me.  Instead of reading scriptures out of the Bible, I read the ancient poems and stories from Greece and Italy. 

Bacchus and his crazed followers fascinated me first. The unadulterated creativity that he could inspire seem to rival the muses, my first literary loves. Now, I feel the shift again...to the swift-footed Mercury. He seems to permeate every page I read. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips, text about Gallic/Celtic religion and The Infinities by John Banville, center around Mercury. 

If you happen to be Greco-Roman mythology deficient and believe that Mercury is only the messenger of the gods, let me just tell you. Mercury is also the god of travelers, commerce, thieves and healing. He not only has winged shoes but also at times a winged helmet and carries the caduceus. He also guides the souls of those who have just died into the afterlife. I don't know where this inspiration will take me, like most things in life, but I have to follow. 

The wings, I think are what get me the most.