|
|
|
AS SYMBOL OF
PASSION
|
The siren myth seems to run through every
old culture of the
world, in one form or another. The mermaid is only one of those
forms. It is
an archetype ripe with meaning on many levels. The siren in myth is
most often a dangerous creature as much as
she is
pure sexual attraction. In some myths she lures sailors to their
deaths. In
others, she takes them to live with her in her underwater kingdom.
Odysseus confronts
many different variations of the siren on
his journey. One of the most interesting is his desire to be bound to
the mast
of his ship so he can listen to their song and be enraptured, yet live
through
the experience without being destroyed. He seems to be saying
that having
been under the spell, yet surviving it, would somehow make him
stronger. In a
way, this is a mythic image of life itself. All
these ideas are part of my purpose. |
|
|
The
siren
is the ideal symbol of the primal power the female has over man.
As
rational beings we are often amazed, overwhelmed, and even
frightened, by
the profound intensity of that power.
The
eternal female is both worshiped as goddess, and feared
as demon, in nearly all ancient myth-systems. The siren myths, I
believe, are
the expression of that amazement; of the rational man trying to
understand, and
come to terms with, his own mysterious and uncontrollable biological
urges.
The
siren myth is the "mother" of all female myth
symbols. She is sensual,
alluring, powerful. Yet,
if the man is not prepared
for the adventure, she is dangerous.
|
|
She is both the image of intense
attraction, and profound fear. She is the primal sexual urge, she
is
beauty,
she is sublime. She is all that becomes art.
The
siren is a religious
image. Not
of rational religious ideas, but of the spirit of the life force.
She
is the
essence of that magic that woman posseses over man, and a joyful
and
playful meditation on all that it means. But most of all, in art
she
speaks to
all people, of both sexes, and represents those things one spends a
lifetime avoiding out of fear, only to regret at the end. The
siren is
telling
us to prepare for the adventure of life, and live.
The
risk of drowning is worth the possibility of Freedom. But only
when you're ready. So make yoursel ready.
|
|
|
mermaid, mermaids, Mermaid, Mermaids
|
|
BACK TO
TOP
|
