–noun
1.
skill employed in a shrewd or sly manner, as in deceiving; craftiness; guile.
2.
adeptness in performance.
–adjective
3.
showing or made with ingenuity.
4.
artfully subtle or shrewd; crafty; sly.
5.
Informal . charming or appealing
6.
Archaic . skillful; expert.
7.
Having Knowledge- Kenning or Knowing
The time for anonymity is over, those who follow this blog are mostly aware of who "The Cunning Man" is anyway.
When integrity is bought into question one has to stand by ones principles and if necessary take it on the chin, the question of anonymity was never really an issue for me anyhow, a Cunning man is perhaps more what I would be inspired to become rather than a title I lay claim for myself, it is for others to decide if and when I ever reach that goal.
The morning awoke to thick mists once more, appropriate for this time of the year subtly reflecting the mood in my own head, a feeling of not one thing or another, a confused state of being waiting for the change in season proper, roll on the dark nights of hidden knowledge and pleasure, shorter days of work governed as they are by the light of our solar chieftain, from the darkness spring forth great sparks of light and inspiration. Perhaps that spark which inspires may take the form of dear friends that hope to visit prior to all hallows eve, there is much indeed to look forward to as lady fate lays down another thread for this one.
Knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge takes my mind to the British museum once more, for many years I have(as I have mentioned previously) studied within my social and ethnic sphere, rarely looking around the world for the inspiration that may lie there, happy to sit in my muddy pool of ignorance, often where the answers to my questions could never be found or at best confirmed.
It is by looking around the world and examining articles of another faith that the truths can indeed be confirmed or enlightened upon, again we touch on what is similar over those petty differences and see that in the past of all nations the world over there were and still are many common methods and goals.
There was a time when this one would have considered it not applicable to gaze upon a Asian statue depicting The Night Queen goddess of death, dismissing it as something belonging to another culture from an unconnected civilisation, yet from beneath the blindfold of ignorance I see her, she is beautiful and I know her, she may have a different set of features to those I have seen but it is she that I will one day dance with, one and the same, no stranger at all.
Throughout the museum this can be observed , within the hypnotic carvings the statuary and the art, all pointers to that common ground, signposts that tell me that I am indeed on the right path to becoming that to which I aspire.
Another thought;Could it for one moment be supposed that the Human race reached its peak of evolution thousands of years ago, we have been so wrapped up in the idea that this primal need should be judged on the basis of technological advancement, at the cost usually of art and the spiritual needs of mankind, the pleasure found within the everyday objects used by our worldly ancestors points to this possibility, evolution is a must but how are we to gauge what constitutes evolution.
Gazing into the countless cabinets from across the globe and across the ages of man I see value, not in the way we count it now but in a way that explodes with an understanding of the cosmos, lost to so many in the rush for the latest phone or computer, the artisan craftsmen took delight in the decoration of plates, cutlery and glass, and the owners of such would then in turn taken great delight in using said items, food and wine a pleasure and a gift to be celebrated and enjoyed, not something served on a plastic tray by a modern day slave, processed food in front of a flashing screen that gives imaginary insight into the lives of imaginary people, a meal to fuel the body but no longer the soul.
If we cannot take pleasure in the simple things in life, a meal, a sunrise, art and music, the way the clouds part to reveal the lunar radiance above, then we miss the point of life altogether, our ancestors knew this and I propose that this is why everyday things had to be things of great beauty, a celebration of all aspects, love, history, joy, yet modern society often dispenses with such simple pleasures, Evolution? I think not.
looking deeper into the collection we find the ritual items we can gain even more understanding, the knives, pots, cauldrons and cups, staves, cords and sickles, the obvious importance of the sharpening stone, these treasures were placed within graves or found concealed in that special place the world over, things that to us as witches still have great significance.
The clues not to mention the keys of knowledge are all there in this one building, from Britain to Babylon, England to Egypt, similarity, familiarity the world over, what a place, if any who read this have the opportunity to visit you must, there is too much to talk about here, discover for yourself, the Edwardians and Victorians didn't pinch all this stuff from around the world so you could ignore it.
In a glass cabinet within the Greek section of this storehouse she resides, not pride of place but easy enough to find, no taller than five inches yet gigantic in her stature, our lady of the crossroads stands amidst her kin, dark and terrible, enchanting and inspiring, wise and fair.
And I guess most importantly, not available in the gift shop.
Flags, Flax and Fodder. Tony Macleod (aka The Cunning Man (maybe))
7.
Having Knowledge- Kenning or Knowing
The time for anonymity is over, those who follow this blog are mostly aware of who "The Cunning Man" is anyway.
When integrity is bought into question one has to stand by ones principles and if necessary take it on the chin, the question of anonymity was never really an issue for me anyhow, a Cunning man is perhaps more what I would be inspired to become rather than a title I lay claim for myself, it is for others to decide if and when I ever reach that goal.
The morning awoke to thick mists once more, appropriate for this time of the year subtly reflecting the mood in my own head, a feeling of not one thing or another, a confused state of being waiting for the change in season proper, roll on the dark nights of hidden knowledge and pleasure, shorter days of work governed as they are by the light of our solar chieftain, from the darkness spring forth great sparks of light and inspiration. Perhaps that spark which inspires may take the form of dear friends that hope to visit prior to all hallows eve, there is much indeed to look forward to as lady fate lays down another thread for this one.
Knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge takes my mind to the British museum once more, for many years I have(as I have mentioned previously) studied within my social and ethnic sphere, rarely looking around the world for the inspiration that may lie there, happy to sit in my muddy pool of ignorance, often where the answers to my questions could never be found or at best confirmed.
It is by looking around the world and examining articles of another faith that the truths can indeed be confirmed or enlightened upon, again we touch on what is similar over those petty differences and see that in the past of all nations the world over there were and still are many common methods and goals.
There was a time when this one would have considered it not applicable to gaze upon a Asian statue depicting The Night Queen goddess of death, dismissing it as something belonging to another culture from an unconnected civilisation, yet from beneath the blindfold of ignorance I see her, she is beautiful and I know her, she may have a different set of features to those I have seen but it is she that I will one day dance with, one and the same, no stranger at all.
Throughout the museum this can be observed , within the hypnotic carvings the statuary and the art, all pointers to that common ground, signposts that tell me that I am indeed on the right path to becoming that to which I aspire.
Another thought;Could it for one moment be supposed that the Human race reached its peak of evolution thousands of years ago, we have been so wrapped up in the idea that this primal need should be judged on the basis of technological advancement, at the cost usually of art and the spiritual needs of mankind, the pleasure found within the everyday objects used by our worldly ancestors points to this possibility, evolution is a must but how are we to gauge what constitutes evolution.
Gazing into the countless cabinets from across the globe and across the ages of man I see value, not in the way we count it now but in a way that explodes with an understanding of the cosmos, lost to so many in the rush for the latest phone or computer, the artisan craftsmen took delight in the decoration of plates, cutlery and glass, and the owners of such would then in turn taken great delight in using said items, food and wine a pleasure and a gift to be celebrated and enjoyed, not something served on a plastic tray by a modern day slave, processed food in front of a flashing screen that gives imaginary insight into the lives of imaginary people, a meal to fuel the body but no longer the soul.
If we cannot take pleasure in the simple things in life, a meal, a sunrise, art and music, the way the clouds part to reveal the lunar radiance above, then we miss the point of life altogether, our ancestors knew this and I propose that this is why everyday things had to be things of great beauty, a celebration of all aspects, love, history, joy, yet modern society often dispenses with such simple pleasures, Evolution? I think not.
looking deeper into the collection we find the ritual items we can gain even more understanding, the knives, pots, cauldrons and cups, staves, cords and sickles, the obvious importance of the sharpening stone, these treasures were placed within graves or found concealed in that special place the world over, things that to us as witches still have great significance.
The clues not to mention the keys of knowledge are all there in this one building, from Britain to Babylon, England to Egypt, similarity, familiarity the world over, what a place, if any who read this have the opportunity to visit you must, there is too much to talk about here, discover for yourself, the Edwardians and Victorians didn't pinch all this stuff from around the world so you could ignore it.
In a glass cabinet within the Greek section of this storehouse she resides, not pride of place but easy enough to find, no taller than five inches yet gigantic in her stature, our lady of the crossroads stands amidst her kin, dark and terrible, enchanting and inspiring, wise and fair.
And I guess most importantly, not available in the gift shop.
Flags, Flax and Fodder. Tony Macleod (aka The Cunning Man (maybe))
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