A sixty-seven year old Spanish woman just gave birth to twins in a Barcelona hospital this past Saturday, making her the newly crowned “world’s oldest mother.” (Perhaps she was impregnated using the world’s oldest penis?)

About a week before that in London, one woman with two wombs gave birth to three children, triplets. The CNN article on the subject quotes a Yakoub Khalaf, consulting gynecologist, as saying “This lady was extremely lucky.”

In another time and space though we wouldn’t have called these kinds of occurences lucky. We would have called them omens. And we would have looked at what events in our world and lives clustered around them in order to divine messages from the gods which reflect our collective experience of being human right now. Perhaps these techniques will be useful for us to apply as well.

The woman with two wombs and three children was aged 23. 1, 2, 3 - one woman, two wombs, three children. What we see is the beginning of a generative triangle being etched out.

In Greek myth, Apollo and Artemis were twins born to Leto, fathered by Zeus. Zeus’ wife Hera found out about this extra-marital affair of her husband’s and cursed Leto by saying she would never be able to give birth on terra firma.

In her wanderings, Leto found the newly created floating island of Delos, which was neither mainland nor a real island, and she gave birth there. The island was surrounded by swans. Afterwards, Zeus secured Delos to the bottom of the ocean. This island later became sacred to Apollo.

(See also what I wrote recently about the magic island of Hy-Brazil, before having found out about this origin of Apollo)

James Brown, as you know, died on Christmas day and his much publicized funeral took place on stage at the Apollo theatre, where he made his debut. Christmas day is a noteworthy connecting point seeing as it celebrates ultimately the Winter Solstice, the return of the sun, the lengthening of days - the feast of Sol Invictus, the unconquered sun, Apollo-Helios. Christ, as you may know, was syncretized with these pagan gods, and others such as Mithra. Like these other savior figures, born in a manger or a cave classically in the case of Mithra, much is being made of James Brown’s humble beginnings:

Born in a backwoods shack in South Carolina, he was abandoned to the care of friends and relatives at the age of four, and was boarding at a brothel in Augusta by the age of seven.

The brothel of course connects us back to Mary Magdalene, divine whore, along with Simon Magus and his consort who he rescued from prostitution, Helene - who supposedly later incarnated as Helen of Troy, of the Homeric Iliad, a staple of Greek myth. Helen of Troy’s was the “face that launched a thousand ships,” initiating the Trojan War.

The name “Helen” is itself associated with the meaning of “torch” or “light” or even “moon.” Interestingly, Apollo’s twin sister, Artemis, replaced/fused with the earlier Greek goddess of the moon, Selene, from which the name Helen may find its roots. James Brown’s wife is named “Tomi Rae” (Rae = Ray?) and perhaps we can look at their stormy relationship through the mythological framework of Zeus and Hera, who were always at each other’s throats. (Ignore the caption on that image of JB - it wasn’t last month that he was arrested)

Apollo 11, of course, was also the name of the first manned mission to land on the Moon (Selene), launched on July 16, 1969. Three days later, James Brown’s hit “Let A Man Come In And Do The Popcorn” hit #30 on the Billboard charts. Later that same year, he hit #11 with this jam, “Mother Popcorn.” Let’s pause a funky moment to reflect with the God Father of Soul with this awesome video from that time period:

Apollo, by the way, was leader of the Muses, director of their choir, and a god of music and poetry. And after that performance, maybe you can see why. And while we’re on the topic of prophecy and divination of omens, we may as well point out that Apollo was master of the Oracle at Delphi. This casts Rolling Stone’s recent references to James Brown as a “time-traveler” in a new light as well.

The Head Apollo is about to return. St Sophia is going to be born again; she was not acceptable before. The Buddha is in the park. Siddhartha sleeps (but is going to awaken). The time you have waited for has come. (- Philip K. Dick)

Pictured above is the full stage of the Apollo theatre, bearing James Brown’s body. Juxtaposed next to that is an image of the Saturn 5 rocket which launched Apollo 11 beyond the stratosphere (see also this image). A eulogy in the SF Gate said rather appropriately of Brown:

Brown’s searing vocals and onstage pyrotechnics suddenly made performers like Ray Charles look “old hat,” Peter Guralnick wrote in “Sweet Soul Music.” Brown was riding a rocket that would carry him through the ’60s with the greatest hits of his long career…

Riding a rocket indeed. But riding a rocket where? Into the heavens? Like a soul being born up to the bosom of God the Father (the God-Father)?

The last image is the Shield of the Trinity, a medieval diagram which illustrates the relationships within the Holy Trinity of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Anyone remember this trailer for a movie called “Children of Men” which came out Christmas day, but which has gotten almost zero press (that I’ve come across) despite some very loaded content?

It seems to wrap the miraculous and mysterious unnatural births which framed Christmas into a compelling media story where the “best minds of the world” create a benevolent “Human Project” to save the human race from extinction through infertility. The characters struggle to get beyond their own world ravaged by war and oppression into some kind of other world beyond…

Some personal synchronicities around that: I watched both Brazil and The Big Lebowski this week. The tone of this movie, based on the trailer, seems somewhat similar to Brazil. Perhaps the main character is some kind of recapitulation of Sam Lowry. Also, Julianne Moore appears in the Big Lebowski as well, playing the character of Maude Lebowski who basically tricks “the Dude” into impregnating her. Very peculiar, as were the heavy references to Saddam in that movie, along with a scene where a Saddam look-alike serves up shoes at the bowling alley. Nevermind the plaque in the Big Lebowski’s office which Jeff Bridges looks into it: a Time magazine cover which is nothing but a mirror. Or, look at the scene in the trailer above where Black hooded figures stand around in a dim room, rather like the Saddam hanging photo I posted last night.

We can also run back and thread together some other connections above. Let’s connect rockets and space travel back up to the idea of mythical islands. How about the island Atlantis, the space shuttle Atlantis and this stunning footage of the solid rocket boosters (SRB) falling away from the shuttle back down to earth and into the ocean?

I also find this article interesting thematically: torrential rains have trapped hundreds of tourists on safaris in Kenyan game preserves.

Many were trapped overnight, surrounded by wild animals including howling hyenas, after scores of vehicles became stuck in mud from the torrential rain.

“What could have been an enjoyable and exciting journey became very risky,” said frightened Pakistani visitor Zakia Nawaz, 26. “I have never experienced anything like this. The night in the cold and in the middle of the animal kingdom.”

The irony of that whole scenario is delicious, even if it is unrelated. But nowadays, what is really unrelated anymore? Does such a thing even exist? As I’ve explored lately, what we call meaning is simply coincidence. Two things which are placed together, clustered, to form a relationship. From those over-lapping relationships we derive value, note characteristics, and create meaning. We read omens. We find out what God, the universe and we are preparing to do to ourselves.

Other omens to watch: Bill Gates wants to put a robot in every home. The FDA wants to put cloned meat on your table (and may have already done so). The French space agency is about to release 1,600 UFO incidents in an online database. Facilities are being prepared in the middle of the country to quarantine bird flu carriers. A Swiss daredevil has been cruising around on a jetpack. Where does it all end? Where did it even begin? Where are we now? The more I try to understand it all, the more I have to realize that it is all poetry. And I’m not saying “just” poetry either, because I think it may be just about the grandest thing we have. It is the poetry and prophecy and philosophy we use to capture and communicate our experience of what it is - and not what it means - to be alive right now. Don’t tell me what it means to be alive right now. Show me what it is. Cause I don’t give a fuck what you or you or (or me) think it means to be alive right now. Nobody fucking knows. No guru. No teacher. No master. No blowhard writer. We are all just fucking making it up as we go along. And that is all we can do or should do, because that is life. And everyone of us knows what that is, cause we all share it. We all experience it equally, facets of it as it unfolds itself across the universe.

Don’t believe. Be alive.

*

[Hats off to JK for help with some of the heavy-lifting in this post!]

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