Mary R. Woldering's Blog, page 5

Beautiful meditation

A BEAUTIFUL MEDITATION (from Voices in Crystal)

This tree is in all mythos of all lands. Most of my readers will know about it within their own hearts and recognize it. Marai is Akkadian so he would see it as Paradise.,.

Without actually seeing though the ever present mist, the shepherd understood that the large open area where he stood was braced out by some sort of interior ribbing. It resembled the chest cavity of a giant beast's skeleton. A tunnel-like place at one end of the main hall, where he had fallen asleep, rushed with the scent of an immense number of green growing things.
The shepherd knew he hadn't left the strange place of light, because he almost saw what could have been the entry portal when he turned around. He had entered a quiet paradise. It was Paradise, the first place of men and the place men wished to go to in death. Vast trunks of trees grew so closely and rose up so high that the light of the sun could only break through the dense canopy of leaves in swirling vapor-filled rays. Roots thicker than his legs reached down into languid dark water like many arms of a fantastic beast and moss grew in wild abandon up the trunks as far as he could see. All was still and silent, broken only by the fluttering down of giant white and pink flower petals, loosened by the gentle breeze.
Is this real? He found himself asking. It can't be... The children's voices answered in harmony ...

All living things of Earth come from the water...All.
In the water you will find peace.
You will shelter from the storm as a lamb in milk.
Your soul formed flesh in your mother's sweet womb ocean.
It is there you will find rest.

See more posts and some lovely pictures at https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenofSt...
Children of Stone: Voices in Crystal

Loganberry Books Author Alley July 5, 2014 12-4 Shaker Heights Ohio!

I will be at this event selling & signing the first in a series of SEVEN Children of Stone Novels - Voices in Crystal... an esoteric journey of a man in Old Kingdom Egypt who stumbles into becoming a god!
This is a fun and mysterious adventure wrapped around actual mythology, historical events and figures in Ancient Egypt! If you are in the Cleveland, OH area you can connect with me or 49 other authors presenting their books!Children of Stone: Voices in Crystal

Shape Shift Part 2 Blog from Facebook Fan Page

Ibis of Djehuti. Marai's thoughts grumbled.
What a performance! I bet I could do something like that...send a little of his own medicine back at him. He paused, wondering if he could return the entertainment by actually presenting himself as a restless bull in the plaza after all...
Do I dare? He wondered.
Nah...I couldn't...oh but the old bird begs me... can't be just any bull...maybe Gugulanna the Bull of Heaven. Maybe it won't be too great of a sacrilege if I borrow this demigod shape for just a little...

The speckled feathers were forming on a head of a bird where the old man's head had been...

Marai carefully formed the visualization once: the snout, muscle, the lapis lazuli beard. As he brought the image through, he sent more thoughts to the priest, hoping to distract him.

I'm no pretty toy for you to control or own... Your gods are not mine... You have no power over me. He breathed out once...then twice.
He took a deep breath and felt the thought race through him like chattering whispers. Yes...Ariennu had loved to toy with the two loose tendrils of his swept back silvery hair in the quiet moments when they were together. She called them his “horns”.
Now they formed into actual horns shaped like an upright crescent as the animal form overtook him.
A third breath; he rose to his feet, moved closer to the old man and blew his breath on the image of the bird in front of him. Nothing else mattered.
He felt the massiveness, smelled the animal odor, sensed the stately male feel and the tug of immense sexuality, pure white like silver, yet darkly proud.
He thought of the lapis beard, but now the thought wouldn't stay. Instead his shape evolved into a white bull with a black face...It was something he would understand even better than Lord Gugulanna...
A secret horror filled the sojourner. Gugulanna didn't feel quite right to him. This different bull felt perfect. His humanity had now become the illusion.

An annoying swamp bird prodded his wonderful flanks. With an irritated snort, the bull lunged forward, hooves striking down once at the ibis head; horns lowered to gore anything that dared survive.
After only an instant, Marai cleared his thoughts. He discovered he was leaning heavily on the dark stone table between himself and the old man.
The elder had drawn back, wincing in slight discomfort, but fiercely guarding himself with his hands in a pose of dispelling. A fine crack stretched across the table where Marai's fist had crashed down on it.
The pretty carved alabaster cup that had held the elder's tea had rolled to the polished tile floor and shattered.
Children of Stone: Voices in Crystal

Hive Mind in Children of Stone!

In this segment, the nature of the Hive mentality of the Children of Stone is explored by Marai and his beloved Naibe-Ellit.

"When they changed us, they tried to make our wishes real, but they wanted us to be more like them so the workings of men's evil wouldn't kill us or make us mad. They saw what grief had done to your heart...They wanted to help us be stronger..." she laughed a little, giving him a peck on the nose.

"And they so much love to help us, when we are together. They want us to find energy and inspiration in each other!”

Marai saw that, but how humans love one another or share that intimate love couldn't have been the only thing that drew these beautiful creatures to his world. It wasn't just his singing or his sorrow that drew them to his cave in the wilderness either. There was so much more to learn about the Children of Stone.

Children of Stone: Voices in CrystalHe knew they worked together and thought together as one will, much of the time, like ants in a hill... like bees in a hive. How strange it must have been for them to see all of these different hearts, thoughts, and wills often working at crossed purposes and warring with one another. Did it baffle them that distrust and hatred grew among people when they were separated by their skin? Lovemaking. This was why they loved it. When two persons loved, and the emotion was more than self-serving, it approached that oneness they knew at all times. Coming into them as they did, he understood that they tried to create a bond by implanting themselves into the very fiber of humans in order to raise them up. They were wisdom, but this wisdom had also given them a natural curiosity. What would it be to be separate, but wise? They were not entirely successful. He showed them this time and time again. Ariennu had certainly shown this. Humans were complex creatures. Emotions and frailties were far more complex than the children imagined.

Was the Sphinx a Woman?

Today I would like to expound on an idea about the Sphinx. On another site, some readers were commenting on the age of it, which varied from Antedelluvian to 4th dynasty.

In the Children of Stone novels, I get to talk about "her" just a little bit.
Hetepheres II was daughter of King Khufu, Wife of Prince Kawab and King Djedephre, sister of King Khafre, aunt of King Menkaure, grandmother of King Userkaf, powerful priestess and first to hold the title She who sees Horus and Seth.

I'm hearing strains of the Isley Brothers "Who's That Lady"
You see, I believe the sphinx is not Khufu or Khafre or for that fact even MALE.

Honoring the womb from which you came was very important in the Old Kingdom... As was honoring the reason you got to be the king in the first place!

Modern Anthropologists and cultural guys are just beginning to see how important the ruling princess/queen was.

Technically "Hetty" as I call her, should have married her next eldest brother Hordjedtef when Kawab died. She should have elevated him to king status because Khufu had just died. I've seen references to the idea that Hordjedtef was one of the greatest intellects of that time and that he would have been a mighty and wise ruler. She didn't pick him...and history does NOT record the reason.

Instead, she married her younger half-brother Djedephre. Ancient writers even thought the two of them may have killed the king so they could take his place. Djedephre was so grateful to her that it may have been HER face on the sphinx. The second picture I've posted is a limestone mock-up of the design Djedephre wanted for the big sphinx...It was found in the ruins of his temple.

TO ME THIS IS AN IRRESISTIBLE PLOT DEVICE...To create a righteous villain. Both Hordjedtef and Hetepheres lived to be ancient. She went on to marry and give birth to kings.

In my story he became the slighted contender and the actual power behind the throne through his elevated priesthood. Because he was of high intellect, I place him in the cultus of Djehuti.
When Marai and the women arrived, they too wandered into his tangle of royal drama

If you'd like to see her picture come to my facebook site:https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenofSt...

My Facebook pages

My Facebook pages are a little more in depth, so here goes:

Here's an invite to look at my page which tells about the new developments in a Series of Historical fantasy novels set in Ancient Egypt I've written. Here's the link... News and updates almost every day, fun and art...Esoterica and things of the higher self.

https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenofSt...

Come on over to my Page and hit Like, if you like Historical Fantasy (that may also have some secret truths) Children of Stone is set in Ancient Egypt... And while I don't exactly SAY Aliens or Watchers assisted our fledgling race and built the pyramids and other wonders, I don't deny... and I mention underground routes, men and women transformed into gods... There's love and adventure mingled with history and esoterica... Don't take my word for it... read the reviews on Amazon and then come on over to a fun interactive page.

http://www.amazon.com/Children-Stone-....Children of Stone: Voices in Crystal

About the Cardinal Stone

I was perusing one of my favorite (there are many) parts of Book 1 Voices in Crystal.
This part shows an early interaction between Marai and the individual Children of Stone. This is something I've seen in my thoughts, just like a little movie.
Marai is looking for something to start a fire. What he finds is essentially the cardinal stone. It looks a little like a ruby. Later on, it changes shape and becomes a symbiont and teacher for one of the women. Still later it has become larger and is in another country to be discovered by a later incarnation of the same woman. At that time it is considered a goddess stone.

"When Marai reached the flat ledge outside the mouth of the cave, he took the bag of stones from his belt and sorted blindly through it again. This time, he sensed more warmth and a slight tremor. Perhaps he could find a clear crystal to catch the rays of the sun and power it down to the ailing flame below.
A faceted warm stone, different from the rounded and cooler stones slipped easily into the shepherd's hand.
Fire... He thought, without even looking at the stone in his hand Fire and air turned into stone...The children said that they were fire and air, but when they came here, they took the elements of earth and water, forming crystal stone. This is the fire of Her vengeance! It's like a woman 's anger, somehow. It has the passion of anger, but love... Passion and fire in it's glory... Marai smiled faintly.
Lifting the little stone into the light, he saw it was red in color, but crystal. The stone looked like a ruby; as if it had been cut in a diamond shape with pointed ends. In its center lay a scramble of a gold spiderweb like filament that pulsed and almost breathed, when he separated this stone from the others. He held it even higher so that the sun’s rays could warm it."

I am the fire of love.
Touch me, my beloved..."

Children of Stone: Voices in Crystal

The Priest

One of the main characters in the Children of Stone series is Prince Wserkaf the Inspector of the Ways. He enters the story when he sees two men about to fight, and stops them.

"An ibis head carved of highly polished ebony wood slipped down between the two men.

"Touching..." A strange, almost floating voice spoke in broken Kina-Ahnkt. “ You return the dead to life and cast out the demon?"

All eyes snapped to regard a man of Kemet holding the other end of the staff. Although the staff, on quick glance, resembled an official was scepter, it had no forked foot. The head of the staff was clearly an ibis, rather than the strange bird-animal usually seen on the upper end of such sticks. No one had heard the bearer of this staff approach. He was suddenly just there. A dark indigo-dyed cloak, flashing with the deep purple color of good amethyst, billowed back with a slim man's graceful arm movements. The gesture revealed a long, white, shendyt-like garment, that brushed just below the knee. On his feet were expensive gold-beaded, pale, kid sandals. The leather belt that clasped the garment to the body of its owner was fitted with gold and blue-inlaid tiles. His head, seen only in the bounce of light from outside the tent was immaculately tonsured from his brow to the upper back of his head. Instead of the usual headgear or wig to protect it from the near-noon sun, the man shaded it with the hooded cowl of his dark robe. His face seemed almost chubby and soft-cheeked like a woman's face, but the hint of a mustache decorated his lip. The smoothness of face didn't match his slim, mid-brown, but excellently proportioned athletic body at all."Children of Stone: Voices in Crystal

"Red" Ariennu of Tyre

In this sequence, Marai the shepherd has heard a cry coming from a hut where his family used to live. Inside, he finds three women. One of them is dying. Because of the psychic gifts the Children of Stone have given him, he sees and contemplates her story.

...Touching the arm of the woman who sagged and retched at his feet, Marai helped her sit upright. He grabbed a filthy rag from the floor, because it was all he could find, and offered it to her, so she could wipe her lips. Her heavy-set shoulders hunched forward, weakened by disease and the weight of her sagging breasts. Her eyes bounced, feverish and unable to focus. When her eyes did meet the shepherd's eyes, he saw her story.
Her mother walked the shore at night. She was either a widow or a woman cast out. The man who took her in was a Keftian seaman. He put her up in a seaside hut with enough goods to survive until he returned. Marai saw that the girl was born soon after. The woman stayed with the girls father whenever he was home, but eventually he never returned. The girls mother was with other men after that. She found them easily because she was tall and pretty. -Over the years the mother's looks faded and the girl became a beauty with dark hair that glinted copper in the sunlight. One of the men took a liking to the young girl. The mother made the discovery one day, threatened, beat and drove the girl into the streets to find her own source of income. Beaten nearly to death, she slipped away to other villages and into the arms of sympathetic men.
For the woman's part, her flirtatious, bright nature insured her career. Her desire of freedom meant she would sooner die than become a woman to just one man. She called herself a name that sounded like Weht Awi-enoo. No one knew what it meant. Wealthy men saw her and took her in. She was even pampered with riches and cared for by eunuchs in a noble household at one time. She served in a temple, learning medicine and the arts of healing women's ailments Thrust into the street again, after that failed, she existed as a tramp, a spy, and a thief. Soon she took up with N'ahab-atall when he was still a youth, enjoying him and all of the men as a kind of group concubine. By the time he and his gang of thugs took the wadi, they, too, had tired of her bed. Once tall and stately, she was bent in an illness that filled her belly so full of tumors that she looked great with child. One day soon, she hoped, death would come in the form of a charitable knife across her throat. It would be one of the few kindnesses done to her in an otherwise thankless life. Maybe her own sense of finality, or the drink she used to dull her pain had made her bold enough to be the first to come to him...

Dancing girl - a description

Children of Stone: Voices in Crystal
In this segment, Marai, enhanced by the Children of Stone, has returned to his old home to get some supplies. From his distant old cave lookout, He sees the area is now occupied by brigands. He will have to be careful.

"The dim melody of mouth and bag pipes bleated sourly from the camp below, reminding the shepherd he had to hide until the men below were asleep...
Marai scanned the camp again, marveling at the clarity of his renewed vision. His sight had grown dim after many years of working in the sun.
Most things he saw from that great of a distance appeared to have soft edges. Now the sharp edges of distant sights were clearer than he had ever known them, even as a child. What he couldn't see, because some of the men were inside for the evening, he could sense. Twenty to thirty hearts were beating in the camp. Men were celebrating something, drinking strong liquor, and either passing out by the fire or trundling off to their tents to sleep. Looking closer, he saw a dozen men lolling drunkenly around the fire in the center of the camp. Their tents were put up in close formation.
A woman danced to the drums and pipes amid the hoots and huzzahs of those sober enough to still watch her.

They must have made their trade to the work crews today. Marai thought.

Now they celebrated late. They were making a young captive do a naked dance on this chilly night. For just a moment, the shepherd paused to watch the dance too. The woman was almost a dwarf. She was short and just as wide as she was tall. She was round like a melon, but bore the strange, erotic grace of a much more nubile creature. Something about her was so vibrant, Marai mused. When she moved, the few bangles she wore jiggled and floated like airy fleece. A warm, self-amused smile filled him, as her stubby hands circled up as high as they could leaving her huge, pendulous breasts and belly bobbling merrily to the undulating sway of her fat, high rump. Marai thought of the little carved stone or clay fertile woman figures the women always used to set up in the household or bury in the lettuce garden for the fertility of the family and the birth of children. He understood too well.
A Goddess Dance? How can a poor creature like that bring herself to grace these animals with such a holy dance? He thought, clearly stunned. She seemed happy enough...not too mistreated. He wondered.
Something sharp jabbed his ribs.
"Don't move. I can kill you, if you do." the hoarse voice strained, speaking in some mixed Akkad-Shinar dialect Marai could barely understand.