The Phoenix

I haven't posted here in awhile because this was meant to be a happy, positive blog.  Frankly my life has been too uneven to write in here.   It is the middle of May and with the year nearing half over, I am choosing to try and regain control.

I have cried a lot of tears and harbored a lot of fears.  There just reaches a saturation point!  Recently a few events have occurred in my personal life that gave me hope.  It is said that sometimes you need to hit the bottom to rise to the top.  I think the bottom has finally been reached.

I believe in symbols and reminders.  This period of my life I choose the Phoenix.  I have crashed and burned but I arise renewed.

The Phoenix is an immortal bird that never dies.  It appears in ancient cultures across the world.  Its appearance varies from culture and some traits.  In all that I have read about it is a symbol of transformation.

 http://www.mythicalrealm.com/creatures/phoenix.html

I think I am most partial to the Arabian myth.  A bird that is reminiscent of  a gorgeous red  and gold eagle with a song that could make the gods stop to listen.  Each incarnation lived a very long time.  At the end of its lifespan it built a pyre for itself out of aromatic herbs and then burned in the fore for three days.  On the third day, the young phoenix arises from the flames, gathers the ashes of its former self in an egg of myrrh and starts it new life.

The Chinese version also has some appeal and is appropriate to my life.  It represents the fusion of yin and yang.  It was worn by the Empress and usually paired with a dragon to represent the Emperor. Together they represent wedded bliss.

The Feng Huang originally were gendered: Feng - male - yang   and Huang - female - yin.  Adoption of it by the Empress meant that its pairing with the Dragon/male energy feminized it.  Or as my friend Daio said, it became a transvestite bird. 

A house in China decorated with the Feng Huang represented loyalty and honesty in the people who resided there.  The Feng Huang was only worn by people of the highest moral standards.

So this is my life and like the Phoenix, I renew and start again!