The Glory of Orange (December)
[Cross-posted to sacred12novices]
Please read Chapter Eight.
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1. In the story, the color Orange is represented in the man Jonathan, whom Little Bird sheltered from the storm in her little cabin. Why do you feel that Jonathan represents Orange?Because he was very down to earth and every day. He represented life and connection, joy and conversation, the best and the worst of comfort and necessity. The request for shelter, and the budding of a building friendship. He came the first way with no strings attached to him, no stigma's to divinity or placement. Just an average man, afford all the average joys and miracles that an interaction with another might bring.
2. Would you have reacted to Jonathan the same way Little Bird did, or would you have reacted differently?I would not have acted like Little Bird had at all. I don't think I would have been that surprised, given the way most of the first half of the book went, which I wrote about in my first journal. I don't have a disconnect about the idea of Divinity in skin. It makes me think of the chant 'We are Spirits wearing Skin, We are Spirits deep Within' and the quotes about being a "spiritual being having a human experience, rather than a human having spiritual experiences." I think this would have come as now shock to me, and not something hard to adjust to or accept.
3. How do you interpret the statement of Orange to Little Bird, “Take your respect and throw it in the nearest garbage heap.” I don’t want respect, I want love. Respect is already within love.” This is The Pedestal Effect in my head. I felt very chagrin at Little Bird's youth in this whole first interaction. Orange loses nothing of who he is (in himself) by revealing himself as Orange to Little Bird -- BUT to Little Bird who he is and how she perceives him changes entirely. She eradicated his ability to be 'Jonathon' by steamrollering it with her assumptions of how one should treat or interact with a deity. I felt a little heart broke for both of them in this way.
He never wanted to be venerated, the man on the pillar or statue stone, to be worshipped by her like a distant flame, in hallowed tones. He wanted to be the boy in the leaves, learning and laughing and living and growing with her. I understood what he meant entirely. And it's why I think he and I have a completely different relationship from the one He and Caroline have.
4. If you were in the place of Little Bird in the story, how would you approach the decoration of the Chapel of Orange?I was reading over my notes from the first time I answered this, and realizing. I would still decorate the Chapel much the way she did. But jotted in the notes with this is the notes about first wanting to make an Orange Mirror, about asking myself to consider making a rainbow set of mirrors. Coming full circle to that.
I've had a really hard last few months, and I know I lost my way after offering to make sets for people. And that some of you very much would still like to get them. So I'm going to aim for trying to do these in January, in the new year. A movement forward from my full circle, and maybe they will become my Art Activity that is due during Purple now.
5. On Page 162 in the story, Lord Orange introduces himself to Little Bird as the Lord of Opposites, the Lord of two sides of the same thing. In this section Lord Orange tells Little Bird, “Love is always safe, but only if you are prepared to trust with all your heart.” What does this statement mean to you? Remember there are no right or wrong answers - only those from your heart.I both love and dislike this quote. The first, because I have never given less than my whole heart, my whole soul to Love. I have never wavered on whether I wasn't safe in it, wasn't fully immersed exactly where I was supposed to be.
The second, I think because even as the person who belongs to love with all that dedication, and abandon, I'm not sure I would ever tell anyone 'love is always safe.' Love it so very often as I used to joke in DND gaming the true chaotic neutral, it can ripple so many different ways to so many different people all in one situation.
6. As Little Bird saw in the necklace analogy presented to her by Lady Red, we are all a part of the Divine and the Divine is all a part of us. One cannot exist without the other. Tell us how, in your life, you will know the Divine as friend, as an integral part of your life, and as an equal partner in this adventure called life.This is already happening, it's always been happening, it will always be happening. It's not a choice I make going forward, it's just something I've always felt and known.
7. In your past relationships to Deity, have you considered it a friend, or has it been something distant or fearful to you? Do you focus on the unknowable aspect of Deity, or the aspect you can know? Why do you think this is? Can you think of a time when Deity was very much a best friend to you?Yes, to very much all of the above. I have several memories that would fit all of these, and I've been involved in classes and group work that focused on and worked with all of these parts of Deity, outside of the Self and within the Self. I don't think that any of these need to be divided or drawn apart, or considered better or worse or more important than any others.
8. Resolve to take your place not only with Orange, but with Deity as you conceive of it. Imagine and understand yourself to be a part that is irreplaceable. Rejoice in being within the Divine as Deity rejoices at being within you. Write down how you will do this. I will continue to walk this path, hand in hand with all that is greater than me, doing the work I've always felt was laid out before me, remembering to take the time for worship and for play. To mingle my essence with all their is that i can, growing and learning, never stopping to limit myself or itself.
9. OPTIONAL: Write your own prayer to Orange.Lord Orange,
Fill me with your Vibrance. Remind me
that I am always with you and of you, a
spark of the Divine, touched by the Divine,
of the Divine, equal with the Divine. Hold
my hand and my heart close as I learn these
lessons.
Keep my mind open to always remembering
laughter and lightness. Not to ignore the
struggles of life, but to keep them in
their place and to always carry joy in
my hands at the same time.
10. A Chapel for Orange Make your own Chapel for Orange, the way Caroline did. It does not have to be a building. Use a cardboard box, or a small table or shelf or a corner of your yard. It can be an orange tree in warmer climates, a fireplace in cooler ones. Fill it with things that are orange (also red and yellow) and things that make you feel warm, loved, cherished and nurtured.
My sanctuary for Orange was the Orange Altar I built, which you can see Here.
11. An Affirmation for OrangeEvery day for a month, start the day by looking in the mirror and saying, “Deity (God, Goddess, Creator, etc.-choose the word that resonates with you) loves me.” Do this whether or not you believe it - but take note of your reactions, and try to understand why you don’t believe it, or don’t believe it enough. Try to mean it more and more over the next month.
My first time I did my Orange Month, I printed up a piece of white paper, with Orange letters reading 'Lord Orange Loves You' and taped it on the middle of my mirror. Then once Orange was over, I left it pinned to my wall over my main altar. Where it stayed all year, never coming down, and it is something I've looked over on several times this month. Those simple, true, powerful, everyday words. I'm very pleased to have seen it never move and still feel no need for it, too.
Lord Orange loves You.
Please read Chapter Eight.
--------------------------------
1. In the story, the color Orange is represented in the man Jonathan, whom Little Bird sheltered from the storm in her little cabin. Why do you feel that Jonathan represents Orange?Because he was very down to earth and every day. He represented life and connection, joy and conversation, the best and the worst of comfort and necessity. The request for shelter, and the budding of a building friendship. He came the first way with no strings attached to him, no stigma's to divinity or placement. Just an average man, afford all the average joys and miracles that an interaction with another might bring.
2. Would you have reacted to Jonathan the same way Little Bird did, or would you have reacted differently?I would not have acted like Little Bird had at all. I don't think I would have been that surprised, given the way most of the first half of the book went, which I wrote about in my first journal. I don't have a disconnect about the idea of Divinity in skin. It makes me think of the chant 'We are Spirits wearing Skin, We are Spirits deep Within' and the quotes about being a "spiritual being having a human experience, rather than a human having spiritual experiences." I think this would have come as now shock to me, and not something hard to adjust to or accept.
3. How do you interpret the statement of Orange to Little Bird, “Take your respect and throw it in the nearest garbage heap.” I don’t want respect, I want love. Respect is already within love.” This is The Pedestal Effect in my head. I felt very chagrin at Little Bird's youth in this whole first interaction. Orange loses nothing of who he is (in himself) by revealing himself as Orange to Little Bird -- BUT to Little Bird who he is and how she perceives him changes entirely. She eradicated his ability to be 'Jonathon' by steamrollering it with her assumptions of how one should treat or interact with a deity. I felt a little heart broke for both of them in this way.
He never wanted to be venerated, the man on the pillar or statue stone, to be worshipped by her like a distant flame, in hallowed tones. He wanted to be the boy in the leaves, learning and laughing and living and growing with her. I understood what he meant entirely. And it's why I think he and I have a completely different relationship from the one He and Caroline have.
4. If you were in the place of Little Bird in the story, how would you approach the decoration of the Chapel of Orange?I was reading over my notes from the first time I answered this, and realizing. I would still decorate the Chapel much the way she did. But jotted in the notes with this is the notes about first wanting to make an Orange Mirror, about asking myself to consider making a rainbow set of mirrors. Coming full circle to that.
I've had a really hard last few months, and I know I lost my way after offering to make sets for people. And that some of you very much would still like to get them. So I'm going to aim for trying to do these in January, in the new year. A movement forward from my full circle, and maybe they will become my Art Activity that is due during Purple now.
5. On Page 162 in the story, Lord Orange introduces himself to Little Bird as the Lord of Opposites, the Lord of two sides of the same thing. In this section Lord Orange tells Little Bird, “Love is always safe, but only if you are prepared to trust with all your heart.” What does this statement mean to you? Remember there are no right or wrong answers - only those from your heart.I both love and dislike this quote. The first, because I have never given less than my whole heart, my whole soul to Love. I have never wavered on whether I wasn't safe in it, wasn't fully immersed exactly where I was supposed to be.
The second, I think because even as the person who belongs to love with all that dedication, and abandon, I'm not sure I would ever tell anyone 'love is always safe.' Love it so very often as I used to joke in DND gaming the true chaotic neutral, it can ripple so many different ways to so many different people all in one situation.
6. As Little Bird saw in the necklace analogy presented to her by Lady Red, we are all a part of the Divine and the Divine is all a part of us. One cannot exist without the other. Tell us how, in your life, you will know the Divine as friend, as an integral part of your life, and as an equal partner in this adventure called life.This is already happening, it's always been happening, it will always be happening. It's not a choice I make going forward, it's just something I've always felt and known.
7. In your past relationships to Deity, have you considered it a friend, or has it been something distant or fearful to you? Do you focus on the unknowable aspect of Deity, or the aspect you can know? Why do you think this is? Can you think of a time when Deity was very much a best friend to you?Yes, to very much all of the above. I have several memories that would fit all of these, and I've been involved in classes and group work that focused on and worked with all of these parts of Deity, outside of the Self and within the Self. I don't think that any of these need to be divided or drawn apart, or considered better or worse or more important than any others.
8. Resolve to take your place not only with Orange, but with Deity as you conceive of it. Imagine and understand yourself to be a part that is irreplaceable. Rejoice in being within the Divine as Deity rejoices at being within you. Write down how you will do this. I will continue to walk this path, hand in hand with all that is greater than me, doing the work I've always felt was laid out before me, remembering to take the time for worship and for play. To mingle my essence with all their is that i can, growing and learning, never stopping to limit myself or itself.
9. OPTIONAL: Write your own prayer to Orange.Lord Orange,
Fill me with your Vibrance. Remind me
that I am always with you and of you, a
spark of the Divine, touched by the Divine,
of the Divine, equal with the Divine. Hold
my hand and my heart close as I learn these
lessons.
Keep my mind open to always remembering
laughter and lightness. Not to ignore the
struggles of life, but to keep them in
their place and to always carry joy in
my hands at the same time.
10. A Chapel for Orange Make your own Chapel for Orange, the way Caroline did. It does not have to be a building. Use a cardboard box, or a small table or shelf or a corner of your yard. It can be an orange tree in warmer climates, a fireplace in cooler ones. Fill it with things that are orange (also red and yellow) and things that make you feel warm, loved, cherished and nurtured.
My sanctuary for Orange was the Orange Altar I built, which you can see Here.
11. An Affirmation for OrangeEvery day for a month, start the day by looking in the mirror and saying, “Deity (God, Goddess, Creator, etc.-choose the word that resonates with you) loves me.” Do this whether or not you believe it - but take note of your reactions, and try to understand why you don’t believe it, or don’t believe it enough. Try to mean it more and more over the next month.
My first time I did my Orange Month, I printed up a piece of white paper, with Orange letters reading 'Lord Orange Loves You' and taped it on the middle of my mirror. Then once Orange was over, I left it pinned to my wall over my main altar. Where it stayed all year, never coming down, and it is something I've looked over on several times this month. Those simple, true, powerful, everyday words. I'm very pleased to have seen it never move and still feel no need for it, too.
Lord Orange loves You.