Pic 1 By the pricking of my thumbs alas a little owl doth come
Pic 2 OOPs lost my shirt
Pic 3 Summer breeze makes me feel fine going through the jasmine in mind
Pic 4 GAia earth mother
A quote from the Bible is usually given: “I have the power to lay down my life, and I have the power to take it again” (John 10:18
The phoenix is a bird that is found in India. After it has lived for 500 years, it goes to the cedar forests of Lebanon and bathes in the fragrance from the trees, then signals the priest in the city of Heliopolis (the city of the sun), who prepares an alter. The phoenix flies to the city, alights on the alter, and ignites a fire that completely consumes it, leaving only ash. The next day the preist finds a worm in the ashes, on the second day a small bird, and on the third day the full-grown phoenix, completely renewed. The phoenix greets the priest and returns to its home in India.
The Epiphanius version follows the same basic story line, but adds a few details. The phoenix is the most beautiful bird, more beautiful even than the peacock. It is colored like precious stones, and has a crested head and feet like fire. It lives among the cedars of Lebanon for 500 years, neither eating or drinking, being fed only by the wind. After this time it goes to the priest at Heliopolis and burns itself up. The next day there is a small bird in the ashes; on the third day the phoenix is fully restored and returns home. The standard version of the Physiologus does not always describe the bird, but the description could be taken from Pliny the Elder, who in hisNatural Histories says the phoenix is the size of an eagle, has gold around the neck, a purple body, a blue tail with some rose-colored feathers, and a feathered crest on its head.
The interpretation uses the deliberate death and rebirth of the phoenix to refute those who say Christ could not have risen from the dead Tthe Physiologus text argues that if a bird can do this, surely Christ could too. A quote from the Bible is usually given: “I have the power to lay down my life, and I have the power to take it again” (John 10:18).
The phoenix in the van der Borcht copperplate engraving below is not exhibiting the life-renewing behavior ascribed to it in the text, but it is a most elegant crested bird. The usual illustration of the phoenix shows it either burning or rising from the ashes.
Kind of fits Pentecost :)
It is described as a bird with a colorful plumage and a tail of gold and scarlet (or purple, blue, and green according to some legends[which?]). It has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again. The new phoenix is destined to live as long as its old self. In some stories, the new phoenix embalms the ashes of its old self in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis(literally “sun-city” in Greek). It is said that the bird’s cry is that of a beautiful song. The Phoenix’s ability to be reborn from its own ashes implies that it is immortal, though in some stories the new Phoenix is merely the offspring of the older one. In very few stories they are able to change into people.
They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia andAustralia. They are found mainly on the coast and in inland wetlands where they feed on dead fish and other prey. Adults have a reddish brown plumage and a contrasting white head and breast which makes them easy to distinguish from other birds of prey.
The call is a mewing keeyew.[ (sounds like eagle has some cat in it)
In India it is considered as the contemporary representation ofGaruda, the sacred bird of Vishnu.
I
Aquila is a stellar constellation. Its name is Latin for ‘eagle’ and it is commonly represented as such. In mythology, Aquila was owned by the Roman god Jupiter and performed many tasks for him.
Aquila lies just a few degrees North of the celestial equator. The alpha star, Altair, is a vertex of the Summer Triangle asterism. The constellation is best seen in the summer as it is located along the Milky Way. Because of this location along the line of our galaxy, many clusters and nebulaeare found within its borders, but they are dim and there are few galaxies.
HIndu religion, Garuda is a lesser Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahanam) of the God Vishnu.Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle’s beak and with a crown on his head. This ancient deity was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun.
Garuda is known as the eternal sworn enemy of the Nāga serpent race and known for feeding exclusively on snakes, such behavior may have referred to the actual Short-toed Eagle of India. The image of Garuda is often used as the charm or amulet to protect the bearer from snake attack and its poison, since the king of birds is an implacable enemy and “devourer of serpent”. Garudi Vidya is the mantra against snake poison to remove all kinds of evil.[3]
His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that an independent Upanishad, the Garudopanishad, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana, is devoted to him. Various names have been attributed to Garuda - Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Nagantaka, Sitanana, Sudhahara, Suparna, Tarkshya, Vainateya, Vishnuratha and others. The Vedas provide the earliest reference of Garuda, though by the name of Śyena, where this mighty bird is said to have brought nectar to earth from heaven. The Puranas, which came into existence much later, mention Garuda as doing the same thing, which indicates that Śyena (Sanskrit for Eagle) and Garuda are the same. One of the faces of Śrī Pañcamukha Hanuman is Mahavira Garuda. This face points towards the west. Worship of Garuda is believed to remove the effects of poisons from one’s body. In TamilVaishnavism Garuda and Hanuman are known as “Periya Thiruvadi” and “Siriya Thiruvadi” respectively.
In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 30), in the middle of the battlefield “Kurukshetra”, Krishna explaining his omnipresence, says - ” as son of Vinata, I am in the form of Garuda, the king of the bird community (Garuda)” indicating the importance of Garuda.
Garuda plays an important role in Krishna Avatar in which Krishna and Satyabhama ride on Garuda to kill Narakasura. On another occasion, Lord Hari rides on Garuda to save the devotee Elephant Gajendra. It is also said that Garuda’s wings when flying will chant the Vedas.
