Autumn Equinox Visitor

Autumn Equinox Visitor

This is the tale of who I, girl child, and resident Lab Lou met when we went for a respective night run, scooter ride, run last night. 

Once out on the riverbank, just opposite my Australian mate’s house, the hair on Lou’s back went up and he let out a Grrrr and couple cautious barks. I’d noticed he’d been sniffing with extra intensity up to that point, so turned back lickity split upon hearing a rustling down in the riverbed. 

It was then that I saw it. 

Whoa! Inoshishi! 

A huge freak’n boar! 

I fumbled for my iPhone as we stared each other down for all of a long 5 seconds--just long enough to increase my heart rate to the point of being relieved he opted to bolt rather than charge up the riverbank. 

Now, day after delayed reaction, it hit me.

 Last night, or more like early this morning just past 3 a.m., was Autumn Equinox. 

Autumn Equinox!  Why that's the time of Persephone’s return to Hades. 

But of course! 

Long ago, the boar’s tusks (much like the horns of the bull) became symbols of that mysterious orb in the heavens that perpetually died and resurrected, believed to be a god in its own right since the dawn of humankind, if not earlier. The moon’s disappearance was obviously a sign of decent into hell, where it’d remain for 3 days only to resurrect over and over again. World without end, Amen. 

The underworld is another common mythological motif, and no matter the culture or period it’s found in it’s always got a ruler. The earliest one that we know of was the Sumerian goddess Ereshikgal (sister of Inanna—first deity in recorded history to resurrect from the dead). She was queen of the underworld. In Japan it’s Izanami. There are countless others from other cultures and eras, but I've digressed long enough, it’s Persephone and her decent into the underworld that seeing the boar last night brought to mind, since it was a boar that killed her lover Adonis. 

Persephone and Aphrodite were both in love with the mortal Adonis actually, and love triangles are never pretty, right? So Zeus mediated and deemed each would spend a third of the year with Adonis. Zeus let Adonis choose who he'd spend the remaining third of the year with. I think he probably chose his dog. After eight months with feuding women no doubt he needed a break. 

In any event, Adonis wasn't so keen on spending four months of the year in Hades with Persephone, which she didn't like but it's a long story so I'll wrap it up by telling that this in a roundabout sorta way is connected to Adonis death via wild boar. The main thing to know is it was the boar that did him in. 

So there ya go! 

On the night of Persephone’s return to Hades the boar confused me with Adonis. This is my theory at least, since Adonis was considered the epitome of male beauty so Adonis? Casey? It’s an understandable mistake  😆  

Fortunately the boar, or the gods who sent the sinister swine assassin on its murderous  mission last night, weren't  counting on me having one of Cerberus’s more goofy, hyper-drooling, fun-loving, one-headed kin as my running partner. Thus Lou scared off the big bad piggy and I lived to tell this tale. 

And the moral of the story is? 

I guess there’s not one really, other than what a joy it is to get surprised by Nature. That and to contemplate these age old tales—all the myths and their metaphoric symbols about this Mystery—this Life thing we’re all swimming in.