So this madcap philosophy dude Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) scribbled an über-groovy -- maybe even Fahrvergnügen -- book called Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik / The Birth of Traqedy and the Spirit [or Ghost] of Music (1872). One of his dearest grooves is on the pull in human nature, and in human affairs, between order or stability and freedom or chaos, between set form and open form. The Greeks knew all about it, Nietzsche points out (or reminds us, depending on where the reader's at), all that balance jive, as represented by the gods Apollo and Dionysus.
Apollo and the sun, Dionysus and booze, specifically wine and its close relatives, and wild times (i.e. Bohemian and/or religious wild times -- also known under the aegis of the Dionysian Roman avatar, Bacchus).
Humans tend to tilt one way or the other, depending on time, age, circumstance, feast day, holiday, night of the week, pay day, and so on.
Mondays and Tuesdays are usually given up to Apollo, I suppose. The same cannot be said for Fridays and Saturdays. At least in the Western Lands in the Year 2013 of the Common Era so far as I know.
Apollo and Dionysus are not ever wholly separated. They're more like the yin and yang -- you know, more like the Chinese symbols swirling into each other with a little dark in the lighter part and a little light in the darker part.
We could delve into somewhat similar Hindu stuff like Kālī and Shiva to make some other sort of apt comparison -- or maybe not. Not today!
Only for now, please do consider not purging your Shadow Self on the Dark Side of the Moon while alternatively not getting burned by your Blinding Self on the Near Side of the Sun.
Indeed, why not wear shades and get your Fahrvergnügen on, if you dare and so desire?
For now it's time to go, and Time Waits for No One.
Today's Rune: Warrior.
1 comment:
I spend most of my time with Apollo but once in a while....
Post a Comment