Chapter 21: A World at War
It is Super Bowl Sunday, 1990. The male residents of the Towers are watching
the game on the big-screen TV in the lounge, Nankhani is getting drunk
in his office and going through the residents’ files, and most of the circle
has gathered at Emma Clare’s house for a potluck and to plan their Imbolc
ritual. When another storm begins and Matthew arrives, they learn that
the Wintergreens are actually the Norns, who have gone mad in the modern
world. The storm they create and the ravens they either become or use nearly
destroy Emma Clare’s house. Led by Emma Clare, who uses her family’s power
to build a cone of power, plus Matthew and Brooke who steer it, and with
help from the cat and the dragon, the women defend themselves. In her own
private war, Jacoba is assaulted by Nankhani.
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The Norns are the Scandinavian Fates. They come from a warlike culture
where even gods and kings must yield to their powers of fate, life, and
death. Being ignored and diminished by modern culture has driven them mad;
being rejected by this puny human circle has made them madder. Their power
is shown in the weather war.
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Faust(Dr. Faustus), who was probably a real magician and astrologer,
is the hero of plays by Marlowe and Goethe and several operas. Faust is
tempted by the devil and sells his soul for a longer life with all knowledge
and every pleasure at his command. The devil claims him at the end.
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Many people I know share Cairo’s view of the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XXIV
was fought on January 28, 1990, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans
between the San Francisco 49ers (who won) and the Denver Broncos. I'm assuming
the connection between the war on the football field and the war above
Emma Clare's house is pretty obvious. Yes?
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Nankhani is shown to be greedy, impious, profane, sexist, and dishonest.
He has no redeeming features at all.
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“Something wicked this way comes.” From
Macbeth (Act IV, scene i). Spoken by the second witch. Macbeth enters
and immediately asks, “How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags?”
Three other magical sisters. Ray Bradbury also used the line as a title
for his 1962 novel about a traveling carnival. And there’s a terrific novel
titled
The Third Witch (2001) by Rebecca Reisert.
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Although Maude uses the word “diaspora,” they don’t know yet what it really
signifies to their circle.
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“That’s some cat.” An allusion to
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. Charlotte weaves the words “some pig”
into her web. Unlike Wilbur, Madame Blavatsky does not need positive reinforcement.
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Die Götterdammerüng is the fourth opera in Richard Wagner’s
Ring of the Nibelungen. It’s about the end of the world. Even
Valhalla, the home of the gods, is destroyed. One theme of the Ring cycle
concerns the consequences of an overwhelming desire for power. If you’re
already familiar with the Ring cycle, rent
Sing Faster: The Stagehands’ Ring Cycle, a hilarious documentary
about the stagehands at the San Francisco Opera during a production of
the Ring.
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The goddesses the circle invokes are mostly warrior goddesses. Oya is
a Yoruban goddess of the winds of change.
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The battle is shown through Brooke’s eyes because she considers herself
to be only a scholar. But it is her fate to be partnered with Matthew,
who declares himself to be a warrior in the crones’ service. (He understands
the consequences of this war.) Like other women, Brooke discovers strength
and determination she never knew she had.
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Find any painting by
Turner (online or in an art book), and you’ll see why his depiction
of light is considered to be sublime.
Discussion questions:
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What elements of the modern culture would drive the Norns mad? Where would
they fit right in? In what ways does their madness manifest?
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Do you share Cairo’s opinion of the Super Bowl? Do you know anyone who
does?
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Is power an issue in neopagan circles? Should pagans be above that kind
of thing? How many power struggles have you witnessed? How did they manifest?
What were the consequences of these small wars?
Copyright © 2011 by Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D. All rights reserved. Permission
granted to print this page of the
Secret Lives Reader’s Guide for personal use only.
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