jaimethepooh
11-13-2003, 08:37 AM
(i thought this was cute)
THE COVEN AT POOH CORNER
(This article was first given as a talk at The Wiccan Workshop Number 6, held at
Coombe, North Cornwall, in May 1989, and was published in Web of Wyrd #7,
January 1993)
This talk is designed to illustrate that spiritual significance is present in
everything around us (see "Wicca and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Children
of Sekhmet, May 1988). On this occasion I shall be using for my inspiration the
stories of that world famous writer A A Milne, to whit, Winnie the Pooh and The
House at Pooh Corner. These are of course coded allegories of the spiritual
development of a certain bear.
Firstly I would like to introduce the characters because there may be someone
here not enlightened enough to have read these great works, in a similar sort of
way as a Christian may not have read his Bible.
Our Hero. W T Pooh.
Pooh, as he is known to his more intimate acquaintances, is a modest chap not
known for his intellectual ability, and has been called "a bear of very little
brain". He is given to composing hums well aware that being a bear his singing
voice is not what it might be. I would think he is probably a Taurean and all in
all a well rounded personality; possibly because it is always time for a little
something.
Piglet
Piglet is a small timid little person, a very young spirit, and Pooh's best
friend. He is a chattery soul who tends to dwell on his fears of heffelumps and
woozles. It is generally thought he may be a Gemini and would be an extrovert if
he could find more confidence. He has a peculiar aversion to being clean.
Wol
Wol has delusions of being the wise old owl based mainly on the fact that he can
spell his name, which is OWL. He lives in the grandest house in the woods, the
old oak tree. It is quite obvious to everyone that he is in fact Libran because
he comes out with statements of fact which are more often than not wrong. All
the other animals turn to him for advice, which he gives freely although no-one
understands a word of it.
Eeyor
Eeyor is a very interesting character. He is a very, very old spirit who in this
incarnation has come back as a donkey. Nothing much seems to bother him and he
lives all alone in a boggy field. He is generally perceived to be miserable.
This is wrong. He is quite happy in his own little world and is thought to be a
Piscean with a Capricorn ascendant. He is in fact the most intellectual of them
all because he can make the letter A out of three twigs. Also he has a brain
whilst all the rest have gray fluff which has blown in by mistake.
Kanger
Kanger is a newcomer to the forest and something of a matriarch being very
protective of her offspring, Roo. She is of course Cancerian, like my wife, and
will mother every-body whether they like it or not.
Tigger
Tigger is the archetypal extrovert and obviously an Aries. Overwhelmingly
friendly and bouncy. Piglet is terrified of him because he jumps out at you and
says "Worra Worra Worra" in what he thinks is a friendly tone... He has no idea
that he can't do something until after he has done it. He shows no trace of
forethought and eventually is adopted by Kanger.
Christopher Robin
A small boy who will be fully explained at the end.
The Parables of Pooh
1 Down the Rabbit Hole
In this story, Pooh after breakfast of honey followed by honey, decides to go
visiting. First he visits Piglet, and is just in time for a little something,
i.e. a little honey. Eventu-ally they go to Rabbit's place. Rabbit, who has
hundreds and thousands of relations, naturally lives in a rabbit hole, where
Pooh and Piglet are just in time for a little some-thing. Pooh however eats too
much and being a stoutish bear anyway, finds that when he leaves he gets stuck
in the rabbit hole, with his feet dangling in Rabbit's living room and his head
out in the air. Everyone comes to his aid, but no amount of pulling or pushing
will shift him. Christopher Robin is summoned and decides that Pooh will have to
stay there without honey until think enough to leave. Rabbit is obviously not
well pleased about having a bear wedged in his front door. However he is
compensated when he discovers that Pooh's legs make excellent towel rails.
Moral: From this escapade we can see that Pooh is not very spiritually
developed. He is far too keen on the physical desires of the body and through
this forced period of fasting and the altruistic use of his lower limbs, he
learns that it is alright to be portly so long as you don't block someone's
portal. In other words, you are at liberty to follow your own way so long as you
do not block another's. This is the experience of the tarot card of The Devil.
Deluded about the relative sizes of the door and his tummy, he cannot pass
through until he has cast off the chains of his baser desires for honey. Most
covens have a Pooh at this stage of development. This is the witch who
overindulges in the communal wine during the rite, becomes comatose before the
altar, and neither heaven, earth, or High Priestess's boot, can shift.
2 In which Pooh and Piglet go hunting heffalumps
One snowy day, Piglet finds Pooh staring at some footprints. Pooh thinks this
may be a heffalump or maybe a woozle, and exhorts Piglet to come and follow it.
Piglet is not keen. He agrees as long as Pooh is with him. Sometime later they
notice that the foot-prints have been joined by another set, two heffalumps, or,
as it may be, woozles! Pooh composes a hum to keep their spirits up, "How cold
my nose, tiddly pom....". A little while later there are four sets of
footprints. Piglet is getting frightened. They sit down for a think and
eventually realize they are walking around a wood following their own
footprints. So off they go for a little something.
Moral: Here we see Pooh's total lack of brilliance. He gets there in the end
with a bit of help. On the other hand there is the immense faith he inspires in
others. People feel safe with Pooh. He knows the value of a kind word and a
cheery song. This also illustrates the danger of overwhelming others with your
enthusiasm for a path, which may not be the path they would choose. This is why
in Wicca we are not evangelical. Each must find his or her own heffalump or
woozle.
In Which Pooh Builds Eeyore a House
One rainy day Pooh sets out to find Piglet. After many hours of careful thought
he has realized that everyone has a house except Eeyore, but he has a plan. On
one side of the wood he has discovered a pile of sticks, so with Piglet's help
they take the sticks around to the other side of the wood and build Eeyore a
fine Des. Res. After some moments of contemplation of their labors, they set off
to find Eeyore. They come across Eeyore in the approximate location of the pile
of sticks looking puzzled. So they take him off to show him his new house.
Eeyore is muttering but Pooh and Piglet take no notice whatsoever. They arrive
at Eeyore's house and Pooh and Piglet say proudly, "There!". Eeyore looks
pleased, but even more puzzled. It transpires that Eeyore built a house out of a
pile of sticks on the other side of the wood. He puts down the change of
location and certain architectural improvements to the high wind of the night
before. Pooh and Piglet say nothing to Eeyore, and then Pooh says that he thinks
it's "Time for a little something."
Moral: From this we can see that although still not devastatingly intelligent,
Pooh has managed to perceive someone else's problem, and has made some attempt
to solve it for them. It may however have been better if he had consulted Eeyore
who had already gone about solving his problem for himself. Thus we see that we
should not impose our particular perception of the universe on others.
Fortunately Eeyore is of such greatness of spirit that he lets this event pass,
and Pooh has developed sufficient maturity to let discretion be the better part
of valor. As Eeyore was muttering perhaps we should also learn to listen to
others.
The Great Flood
Pooh looks out one morning and sees that it is STILL raining. Christopher Robin
has been getting concerned about the rising waters, measuring their progress
with sticks. Each morning yesterday's stick has disappeared. He goes around and
warns everyone to go to high ground. Pooh laboriously takes his stock of honey
and balances all his jars on a high branch of a tree, where he takes refuge.
When all his stock is exhausted he ponders for a while, then makes a not very
successful boat out of a honey jar. The boat and Pooh have some disagreement as
to whom should be on top. He eventually paddles this Craft over to Christopher
Robin's house where they take to Christopher Robin's upturned umbrella. They
then ensure that all the other animals are safe.
Moral: This story illustrates Pooh's growing concern for the environment and
his fellow creatures. In this particular crisis, Pooh does not go off half cock
making rash decis-ions, but seeks the help of the most developed spirit in the
forest. Pooh exhibits great fortitude and determination in his quest for this
higher spirit. Also he is showing better use of his baser desires, i.e. for
honey. There are obvious parallels with numerous other flood myths although in
this Wiccan version, having had our fill of our favorite tipple, the Ark mark 1A
has some design faults. This is why in the world of today there aren't quite so
many unicorns and other mythical beasts. They lost the argument with their
honey pots.
THE COVEN AT POOH CORNER
(This article was first given as a talk at The Wiccan Workshop Number 6, held at
Coombe, North Cornwall, in May 1989, and was published in Web of Wyrd #7,
January 1993)
This talk is designed to illustrate that spiritual significance is present in
everything around us (see "Wicca and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Children
of Sekhmet, May 1988). On this occasion I shall be using for my inspiration the
stories of that world famous writer A A Milne, to whit, Winnie the Pooh and The
House at Pooh Corner. These are of course coded allegories of the spiritual
development of a certain bear.
Firstly I would like to introduce the characters because there may be someone
here not enlightened enough to have read these great works, in a similar sort of
way as a Christian may not have read his Bible.
Our Hero. W T Pooh.
Pooh, as he is known to his more intimate acquaintances, is a modest chap not
known for his intellectual ability, and has been called "a bear of very little
brain". He is given to composing hums well aware that being a bear his singing
voice is not what it might be. I would think he is probably a Taurean and all in
all a well rounded personality; possibly because it is always time for a little
something.
Piglet
Piglet is a small timid little person, a very young spirit, and Pooh's best
friend. He is a chattery soul who tends to dwell on his fears of heffelumps and
woozles. It is generally thought he may be a Gemini and would be an extrovert if
he could find more confidence. He has a peculiar aversion to being clean.
Wol
Wol has delusions of being the wise old owl based mainly on the fact that he can
spell his name, which is OWL. He lives in the grandest house in the woods, the
old oak tree. It is quite obvious to everyone that he is in fact Libran because
he comes out with statements of fact which are more often than not wrong. All
the other animals turn to him for advice, which he gives freely although no-one
understands a word of it.
Eeyor
Eeyor is a very interesting character. He is a very, very old spirit who in this
incarnation has come back as a donkey. Nothing much seems to bother him and he
lives all alone in a boggy field. He is generally perceived to be miserable.
This is wrong. He is quite happy in his own little world and is thought to be a
Piscean with a Capricorn ascendant. He is in fact the most intellectual of them
all because he can make the letter A out of three twigs. Also he has a brain
whilst all the rest have gray fluff which has blown in by mistake.
Kanger
Kanger is a newcomer to the forest and something of a matriarch being very
protective of her offspring, Roo. She is of course Cancerian, like my wife, and
will mother every-body whether they like it or not.
Tigger
Tigger is the archetypal extrovert and obviously an Aries. Overwhelmingly
friendly and bouncy. Piglet is terrified of him because he jumps out at you and
says "Worra Worra Worra" in what he thinks is a friendly tone... He has no idea
that he can't do something until after he has done it. He shows no trace of
forethought and eventually is adopted by Kanger.
Christopher Robin
A small boy who will be fully explained at the end.
The Parables of Pooh
1 Down the Rabbit Hole
In this story, Pooh after breakfast of honey followed by honey, decides to go
visiting. First he visits Piglet, and is just in time for a little something,
i.e. a little honey. Eventu-ally they go to Rabbit's place. Rabbit, who has
hundreds and thousands of relations, naturally lives in a rabbit hole, where
Pooh and Piglet are just in time for a little some-thing. Pooh however eats too
much and being a stoutish bear anyway, finds that when he leaves he gets stuck
in the rabbit hole, with his feet dangling in Rabbit's living room and his head
out in the air. Everyone comes to his aid, but no amount of pulling or pushing
will shift him. Christopher Robin is summoned and decides that Pooh will have to
stay there without honey until think enough to leave. Rabbit is obviously not
well pleased about having a bear wedged in his front door. However he is
compensated when he discovers that Pooh's legs make excellent towel rails.
Moral: From this escapade we can see that Pooh is not very spiritually
developed. He is far too keen on the physical desires of the body and through
this forced period of fasting and the altruistic use of his lower limbs, he
learns that it is alright to be portly so long as you don't block someone's
portal. In other words, you are at liberty to follow your own way so long as you
do not block another's. This is the experience of the tarot card of The Devil.
Deluded about the relative sizes of the door and his tummy, he cannot pass
through until he has cast off the chains of his baser desires for honey. Most
covens have a Pooh at this stage of development. This is the witch who
overindulges in the communal wine during the rite, becomes comatose before the
altar, and neither heaven, earth, or High Priestess's boot, can shift.
2 In which Pooh and Piglet go hunting heffalumps
One snowy day, Piglet finds Pooh staring at some footprints. Pooh thinks this
may be a heffalump or maybe a woozle, and exhorts Piglet to come and follow it.
Piglet is not keen. He agrees as long as Pooh is with him. Sometime later they
notice that the foot-prints have been joined by another set, two heffalumps, or,
as it may be, woozles! Pooh composes a hum to keep their spirits up, "How cold
my nose, tiddly pom....". A little while later there are four sets of
footprints. Piglet is getting frightened. They sit down for a think and
eventually realize they are walking around a wood following their own
footprints. So off they go for a little something.
Moral: Here we see Pooh's total lack of brilliance. He gets there in the end
with a bit of help. On the other hand there is the immense faith he inspires in
others. People feel safe with Pooh. He knows the value of a kind word and a
cheery song. This also illustrates the danger of overwhelming others with your
enthusiasm for a path, which may not be the path they would choose. This is why
in Wicca we are not evangelical. Each must find his or her own heffalump or
woozle.
In Which Pooh Builds Eeyore a House
One rainy day Pooh sets out to find Piglet. After many hours of careful thought
he has realized that everyone has a house except Eeyore, but he has a plan. On
one side of the wood he has discovered a pile of sticks, so with Piglet's help
they take the sticks around to the other side of the wood and build Eeyore a
fine Des. Res. After some moments of contemplation of their labors, they set off
to find Eeyore. They come across Eeyore in the approximate location of the pile
of sticks looking puzzled. So they take him off to show him his new house.
Eeyore is muttering but Pooh and Piglet take no notice whatsoever. They arrive
at Eeyore's house and Pooh and Piglet say proudly, "There!". Eeyore looks
pleased, but even more puzzled. It transpires that Eeyore built a house out of a
pile of sticks on the other side of the wood. He puts down the change of
location and certain architectural improvements to the high wind of the night
before. Pooh and Piglet say nothing to Eeyore, and then Pooh says that he thinks
it's "Time for a little something."
Moral: From this we can see that although still not devastatingly intelligent,
Pooh has managed to perceive someone else's problem, and has made some attempt
to solve it for them. It may however have been better if he had consulted Eeyore
who had already gone about solving his problem for himself. Thus we see that we
should not impose our particular perception of the universe on others.
Fortunately Eeyore is of such greatness of spirit that he lets this event pass,
and Pooh has developed sufficient maturity to let discretion be the better part
of valor. As Eeyore was muttering perhaps we should also learn to listen to
others.
The Great Flood
Pooh looks out one morning and sees that it is STILL raining. Christopher Robin
has been getting concerned about the rising waters, measuring their progress
with sticks. Each morning yesterday's stick has disappeared. He goes around and
warns everyone to go to high ground. Pooh laboriously takes his stock of honey
and balances all his jars on a high branch of a tree, where he takes refuge.
When all his stock is exhausted he ponders for a while, then makes a not very
successful boat out of a honey jar. The boat and Pooh have some disagreement as
to whom should be on top. He eventually paddles this Craft over to Christopher
Robin's house where they take to Christopher Robin's upturned umbrella. They
then ensure that all the other animals are safe.
Moral: This story illustrates Pooh's growing concern for the environment and
his fellow creatures. In this particular crisis, Pooh does not go off half cock
making rash decis-ions, but seeks the help of the most developed spirit in the
forest. Pooh exhibits great fortitude and determination in his quest for this
higher spirit. Also he is showing better use of his baser desires, i.e. for
honey. There are obvious parallels with numerous other flood myths although in
this Wiccan version, having had our fill of our favorite tipple, the Ark mark 1A
has some design faults. This is why in the world of today there aren't quite so
many unicorns and other mythical beasts. They lost the argument with their
honey pots.