The First Lesson of Sovereignty

 

June 9, 2003

“Cardea, tell me about Janus.”  I asked with very little preamble as I entered her solar.

Looking up from her book she replied, “What is there to tell except that I knew him well so far into the distant past that I’m not sure I can recall it.  We spent some time together and then went on with the things we were called to do.”

“But the legends say you traded your favors for his teachings.  Or in some cases that he raped you and taught you his ability to see forward and backward in recompense.” The words tumbled out with the impetuousness of an ill mannered child.

Rather than chastise me though, Cardea looked up with a small smile on her face.  “That’s such a nasty story.  I think Fentua keeps it circulating just to keep me humble.  You really shouldn’t believe everything you hear or read.”

In the land of the wind there are many ways to learn.  This brief interchange with Cardea articulated many things. Air has a shadow side that can be hurtful and cruel (the lesson of the three of swords).  Fentua can be found in the land of Kithnglas holding court and creating a situation where people hear what they expect to hear.  Some people call her the keeper of secrets but that is said with tongue firmly in cheek.  What Fentua knows everyone knows and they’ll know it in the most negative and destructive way possible.  She rarely needs to resort to lying, after all the truth slanted in any particular direction can be even more deadly than the worst slander.

“Freya?" she said calling be back from my wool gathering. "Why do you ask about Janus?”

“When I first heard the stories I found them upsetting.  I couldn’t image that you would lower yourself to sleep with someone simply to obtain power and if that wasn’t true it was said that you got your power as a pay-off for not raising a ruckus when he raped you.  Either way, both statements diminished you.”

“But not Freyja when she slept with the dwarves to obtain Brisingamen?  For make no mistake that story is quite literally true.”

“I know it is.  She wanted the necklace and she was more than willing to pay the price they set.  In fact she told me she actually had a very pleasant time.”

“I’m sure she did” Cardea added with a laugh.  “But there is more to learn from this story then just the obvious. There is a hidden teaching in it that you haven’t stumbled upon yet and it pertains to your questions about the nature of sovereignty.”

 As with most things in the other world I had started a conversation expecting to go down one path and quickly found myself exploring a territory I hadn’t meant to.  What was the deeper teaching of Freyja with the dwarves?  She was a free woman, beholden only to herself and as such could choose to offer the “friendship of the thighs” where ever she chose.  The dwarves are said to represent the four corners of the earth and Brisingamen was said to carry their power.  Freyja is the Goddess of fire and air and the dwarves carry the power of earth.  I suddenly saw where Cardea was pointing me.  The piece I had missed before…

“Sovereignty is always related to the earth or in the modern sense the institution.  In this story of Freyja it is the dwarves who are conveying sovereignty to Freyja not the other way around.  Also in all the stories sovereignty is always conveyed sexually which is the only way to “join” or to become one with the energy of the land.” I blurted out.

 “Yes, in the case of the woman the king assures fertility of the land by planting his seed.  In the case of Freyja the goal was to tie her to the land so that she wouldn’t just fly away.”  Cardea added.

 “But Athena is always considered a Goddess of sovereignty and she never sleeps with anyone.”  I asked

 “And trust me the stories are distorted.  She is more comfortable as a Goddess of justice and of law and order but she still has ties to the land.  She has a sense of place. Why else does the city bear her name?”

When Cardea used the word place it was like a light going off in my head.  I wanted a sense of place.  Some place where I belonged.  That more than anything was what I was striving for.  Leadership was a role that could be done any where.  Sovereignty was a relationship.

 “So Freya, are you still disturbed by the stories of Janus?”

Cardea’s question caught me completely off guard.  I had moved beyond my initial question and the subject no longer seemed to matter.  “No, if you say you are fine with what ever happened then it is not for me to judge.  As you so correctly pointed out the truth can be slanted to a shape that is a complete distortion of the reality of a situation.  I have many situations in my past where I could be judged and found wanting and yet to me the judgment would be incorrect.”

 “So we have much for another discussion.  The nature of truth, the nature of time, the nature of rootedness for that is how we connect with the land.  Our leaves always are part of the breeze and our pollen flies with the wind but we can stand firm.”

 “I look forward to the discussion Cardea, for I know it will take us to Corcra, Kithnglas and Nglas and in turn help me to answer the Question.  My thanks and best wishes until we meet again.”