Author Archives: A Weblog for Our Mother God

The Unreal World and the Sky

Recent notes on some everyday Japanese words 空蝉 kuusemi means the temporal world or a worldly person. The literal meaning (and it also still has this sense) is a cast-off cicada-shell. Clearly the expression refers to the empty illusion of material existence. How telling then that the English dictionary-translation, without blinking, defines it as “the real world”. The modern West really does live, philosophically, in a world of its own! Here is one I just love. 空の玄関 sora no genkan is a regular expression meaning “airport”. Genkan, as you know, is the place where you remove your shoes before entering a Japanese house, and thus the transition area between the worlds of 外 soto (outside) and 家 uchi (inside), or as we would say, agora and hestia. An airport is thus the genkan between the land-world and the sky. What a charming expression, ne.

The Unreal World and the Sky

Recent notes on some everyday Japanese words 空蝉 kuusemi means the temporal world or a worldly person. The literal meaning (and it also still has this sense) is a cast-off cicada-shell. Clearly the expression refers to the empty illusion of material existence. How telling then that the English dictionary-translation, without blinking, defines it as “the real world”. The modern West really does live, philosophically, in a world of its own! Here is one I just love. 空の玄関 sora no genkan is a regular expression meaning “airport”. Genkan, as you know, is the place where you remove your shoes before entering a Japanese house, and thus the transition area between the worlds of 外 soto (outside) and 家 uchi (inside), or as we would say, agora and hestia. An airport is thus the genkan between the land-world and the sky. What a charming expression, ne.

Original Sin and the Concept of Origin in Japanese

We reproduce with permission this recent forum post: An interesting Japanese word/concept is 元通り motodoori. Literally it means "the path/way of origin", and thus "the way things were originally". It does not have an exact English equivalent. Its meaning is "back the way it was" usually with the implication of "back the way it should be". In Precure kinnies when the villains have ruined some realm or area characters often speak of returning it to 元通り- the way it was and should be. The expression can be used for anything from the revival of a ruined realm to a simple "Please put that back where it was (because that is where it is supposed to be)". Related is the expression 元に戻る moto ni modoru, which means "return to origin" and can also be used for a ruined realm, but is often heard in situations like when a girl switches bodies with a fluffy fairy or is turned invisible or her heart-flower is stolen (as well as more everyday situations). 元に戻る means essentially "return to the original and proper state". You will notice that the very common Japanese word 元気 genki (healthy/lively) uses the same "origin" kanji, gen, that is pronunced moto in the other expressions. Literally genki means "original-spirit". Thus being healthy and lively - and genki does not just mean health in the sense of non-sickness but implies abundant, vibrant life and energy - is seen as the original state of the spirit. Compare this to what Scripture tells us about the origin of manifest existence itself:
Before and beyond all things is the Mistress of All Things, and when nothing was, She was . . . And She was pure consciousness or energy, and therefore pure delight.
Unlike the revolutionary ideology of post 17th-century Europe - and indeed the "original sin" notion of Christianity - traditional thought sees the origins of both maid and the world as fundamentally good, and regards health and rightness in terms not of revolutionary "progress" but of return to the Origin.

Original Sin and the Concept of Origin in Japanese

We reproduce with permission this recent forum post: An interesting Japanese word/concept is 元通り motodoori. Literally it means "the path/way of origin", and thus "the way things were originally". It does not have an exact English equivalent. Its meaning is "back the way it was" usually with the implication of "back the way it should be". In Precure kinnies when the villains have ruined some realm or area characters often speak of returning it to 元通り- the way it was and should be. The expression can be used for anything from the revival of a ruined realm to a simple "Please put that back where it was (because that is where it is supposed to be)". Related is the expression 元に戻る moto ni modoru, which means "return to origin" and can also be used for a ruined realm, but is often heard in situations like when a girl switches bodies with a fluffy fairy or is turned invisible or her heart-flower is stolen (as well as more everyday situations). 元に戻る means essentially "return to the original and proper state". You will notice that the very common Japanese word 元気 genki (healthy/lively) uses the same "origin" kanji, gen, that is pronunced moto in the other expressions. Literally genki means "original-spirit". Thus being healthy and lively - and genki does not just mean health in the sense of non-sickness but implies abundant, vibrant life and energy - is seen as the original state of the spirit. Compare this to what Scripture tells us about the origin of manifest existence itself:
Before and beyond all things is the Mistress of All Things, and when nothing was, She was . . . And She was pure consciousness or energy, and therefore pure delight.
Unlike the revolutionary ideology of post 17th-century Europe - and indeed the "original sin" notion of Christianity - traditional thought sees the origins of both maid and the world as fundamentally good, and regards health and rightness in terms not of revolutionary "progress" but of return to the Origin.

The use of “Amen”

I love this internet presence for the Eternal Faith, so any critique or questions I write in the spirit of love and trying to understand. My question here in regards to the Canonical Hours: why does the 'Our Mother' end with 'Amen', which is the name of a Kemetic male god, (and incidentally the chief male creator god - equivalent to Zeus and Iupiter)? With best wishes, Dini Pantheacraft Thank you for your kind words and for your inquiry. The name of the Egyptian (or Kemetic) deity Amun has sometimes been spelt as Amen in English (also Amon and Ammon). It does not appear to have any etymological connection to the Hebrew word "amen". The word "amen" means in Hebrew "so be it" and has been adopted by Christians as well as Muslims as a prayer-ending word. The use of it in the Offices of the Gospel Appendix and other places is essentially taking "amen" to be a common English (loan) word, like "cafe" from French or "tempo" from Italian. It is not intended to imply a connection to other religions. It could be argued that it might nevertheless tend to carry such implications and we would certainly urge anyone who feels that to be the case not to use the word. Unlike the Scriptures, no one would hold that there is anything sacred or unchangeable about such usages. They are simply acts of worship constructed in English to help worshipers. If any part of them is unelpful to any person they may be freely adapted. The "Our Mother", in particular, is very much simply a suggestion for those who find it valuable. Many of us do not use it.

The use of “Amen”

I love this internet presence for the Eternal Faith, so any critique or questions I write in the spirit of love and trying to understand. My question here in regards to the Canonical Hours: why does the 'Our Mother' end with 'Amen', which is the name of a Kemetic male god, (and incidentally the chief male creator god - equivalent to Zeus and Iupiter)? With best wishes, Dini Pantheacraft Thank you for your kind words and for your inquiry. The name of the Egyptian (or Kemetic) deity Amun has sometimes been spelt as Amen in English (also Amon and Ammon). It does not appear to have any etymological connection to the Hebrew word "amen". The word "amen" means in Hebrew "so be it" and has been adopted by Christians as well as Muslims as a prayer-ending word. The use of it in the Offices of the Gospel Appendix and other places is essentially taking "amen" to be a common English (loan) word, like "cafe" from French or "tempo" from Italian. It is not intended to imply a connection to other religions. It could be argued that it might nevertheless tend to carry such implications and we would certainly urge anyone who feels that to be the case not to use the word. Unlike the Scriptures, no one would hold that there is anything sacred or unchangeable about such usages. They are simply acts of worship constructed in English to help worshipers. If any part of them is unelpful to any person they may be freely adapted. The "Our Mother", in particular, is very much simply a suggestion for those who find it valuable. Many of us do not use it.