RHC Fortnightly Quotemail
Compiled & Edited by Rob Chappell (@RHCLambengolmo)
Vol. XXIX, No. 1: November 23, 2024
Art Director: Verena Keegan
Editorial Associate: Sabrina Saelind
Editorial Assistant: Jessica Breckinridge
Editor’s Note
With this first issue of the Keltik New Year, RHC Fortnightly Quotemail once again becomes the primary feature of this blog. We are pleased to have a wonderful Editorial Staff on board, including Sophie (Co-Editor), Sabrina (Editorial Associate), and Jessica (Editorial Assistant) as we move forward into this new chapter of blogging for edutainment.
In this edition of Quotemail, we are pleased to present some poems about the Pleiades star cluster (M45), which is prominent in the November evening sky, and the lost island of Atlantis, which is linked to the Pleiades in Greek mythology. In traditional Greek starlore, the Pleiades are the seven daughters of the giant Atlas, who – according to Plato – was the first High King of Atlantis. Let the adventures begin!
Sophie’s Introduction
Welcome to a stellar edition of Quotemail! This time, we're delving into celestial wonder and ancient mystery as we explore the magnificent Pleiades star cluster and the legendary island of Atlantis! Let's embark on this exciting journey and delve into the fascinating history and lore of these celestial and historical entities!
“The Pleiades in the Bible”
Compiled by the Editor from the Authorized King James Version
The Pleiades are mentioned by name or alluded to (as the “seven stars”) in three passages of the Hebrew Scriptures, attesting to their importance in the skylore of ancient Israel.
· Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. (Job 9:9)
· Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? (Job 38:31)
· Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name. (Amos 5:8)
In the pages of the Christian Testament, John of Patmos beholds the “seven stars” of the Pleiades In the right hand of the apocalyptic “Son of Man” in Revelation 1:16, 20; 2:1; 3:1. The Pleiades also appear in 1 Enoch 18, where they mark the place where rebellious spirits were to be held in custody until they had served their sentence of 10,000 years (cf. the “spirits in prison” mentioned in 1 Peter 3:18 ff.). This viewpoint makes the Pleiades a beacon of hope, showing that even rebel angels have the opportunity to mend their ways and achieve redemption. And if there is hope for rebel angels, then perhaps there is hope for the rest of us, too. 😊
From The Works and Days (Lines 383 ff.)
By Hesiod (fl. 8th century BCE)
“When the Pleiades, Atlas’ daughters, start to rise, begin your harvest; plough when they go down. For forty days and nights, they hide themselves, and as the year rolls round, appear again when you begin to sharpen sickle-blades; this law holds on the plains and by the sea, and in the mountain valleys, fertile lands far from the swelling sea.”
Poem #48 by Sappho (ca. 630-570 BCE)
The sinking Moon has left the sky,
The Pleiades have also gone.
Midnight comes – and goes, the hours fly
And solitary still, I lie.
The Pleiades (M45) star cluster, as photographed in NASA’s Digital Sky Survey. (Photo Credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Editor’s Note
Most historians and scholars of the ancient world are now persuaded that the story of Plato’s Atlantis has a basis in real events that took place in the 16th century BCE, when the volcano Thera erupted, causing tsunamis that devastated the Aegean island of Santorini and precipitating the decline and fall of Minoan Crete, We begin this section with a creative poem about Atlantis and the Pleiades, in which the Seven Sisters long for the rebirth of the Atlantean civilization – perhaps when Linear A, the writing system of Minoan Crete – is at long last deciphered and understood.
“Pleiads: Reminiscences of Atlantis”
By Marnie Whitaker, Staff Writer
We, the Pleiades, the Seven Sisters, remember Atlantis, our homeland, gone now.
Our souls remember, our hearts ache.
We watch the horizon and wait for the call, when Atlantis rises again...
We listen for the whispers, the gentle call,
A promise of return, our souls on high.
No rest until the dawn, until Atlantis flies...
We dream of coral spires, crystal lakes,
Of ancient mysteries uncovered, secrets awoken.
We yearn for the embrace of home, of love and light...
We hold within our hearts the memories,
The hopes and dreams of an ancient realm.
Our souls long for the day when shadows cease,
When Atlantis rises again, and we all shall meet.
“The City in the Sea”
By Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)
Lo! Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city lying alone
Far down within the dim West,
Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best
Have gone to their eternal rest.
There shrines and palaces and towers
(Time-eaten towers and tremble not!)
Resemble nothing that is ours.
Around, by lifting winds forgot,
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.
No rays from the holy Heaven come down
On the long night-time of that town;
But light from out the lurid sea
Streams up the turrets silently—
Gleams up the pinnacles far and free—
Up domes—up spires—up kingly halls—
Up fanes—up Babylon-like walls—
Up shadowy long-forgotten bowers
Of sculptured ivy and stone flowers—
Up many and many a marvelous shrine
Whose wreathed friezes intertwine
The viol, the violet, and the vine.
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie.
So blend the turrets and shadows there
That all seem pendulous in air,
While from a proud tower in the town
Death looks gigantically down.
There open fanes and gaping graves
Yawn level with the luminous waves;
But not the riches there that lie
In each idol’s diamond eye—
Not the gaily-jeweled dead
Tempt the waters from their bed;
For no ripples curl, alas!
Along that wilderness of glass—
No swellings tell that winds may be
Upon some far-off happier sea—
No heavings hint that winds have been
On seas less hideously serene.
But lo, a stir is in the air!
The wave—there is a movement there!
As if the towers had thrust aside,
In slightly sinking, the dull tide—
As if their tops had feebly given
A void within the filmy Heaven.
The waves have now a redder glow—
The hours are breathing faint and low—
And when, amid no earthly moans,
Down, down that town shall settle hence,
Hell, rising from a thousand thrones,
Shall do it reverence.
“The Lost Land”
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)
There is a story of a beauteous land,
Where fields were fertile and where flowers were bright;
Where tall towers glistened in the morning light,
Where happy children wandered hand in hand,
Where lovers wrote their names upon the sand.
They say it vanished from all human sight,
The hungry sea devoured it in a night.
You doubt the tale? ah, you will understand;
For, as men muse upon that fable old,
They give sad credence always at the last,
However they have caviled at its truth,
When with a tear-dimmed vision they behold,
Swift sinking in the ocean of the Past,
The lovely lost Atlantis of their Youth.
Winged Words of Wisdom
By Viviana Rivera, Staff Writer
The "Music of the Spheres" refers to a philosophical concept from ancient Greek philosophy that posits the existence of a harmony of cosmic proportions. The concept is often associated with Pythagoras, who believed that the heavenly bodies, like the sun, moon, and planets, emitted a harmonious sound as they moved through the universe. This idea of "Music of the Spheres" suggests that there is a fundamental connection between the celestial movements and music.
The concept of the "Music of the Spheres" has also been used as a metaphor for the harmony or order of the universe, emphasizing the idea that everything in the universe is interconnected and that there is a certain beauty and symmetry in the way in which it works. It's a beautiful and thought-provoking idea! 😊
Sayings of the Stoic Sages
By Amy Kendrick & Grace Whittier, Staff Writers
From Amy’s Desk
Here is a quote by Epictetus:
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid for a while."
This quote encourages us to push through our discomfort and embrace the learning process even if it feels embarrassing or daunting. We should not be afraid to appear foolish or ignorant, as the pursuit of wisdom is a journey filled with mistakes and setbacks - but it is through these challenges that we gain knowledge and become better individuals.
From Grace’s Desk
I was reading Seneca's Moral Letters to Lucilius, and this paragraph spoke to me:
"One who lives in harmony with oneself lives in harmony with the Universe." (Seneca)
To me, this means to be at peace with yourself, to be content and acceptant of yourself, to love and forgive yourself always as you'd wish others to love and forgive you for your shortcomings. This is what it means to live "in harmony" with yourself. ❤️
The Dharma Corner
By Lisa Romenor, Staff Writer
"Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think." – The Dhammapada
This quote emphasizes the idea that our thoughts and mental attitudes have a profound influence on our lives. What we focus on, believe in, and the kind of thinking we engage in can shape our experiences, our reality, and even our destiny.
So, this quote serves as a reminder to be mindful of our thoughts, to foster positive and constructive thinking, and to strive for self-improvement at every opportunity.
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