Through a Jungian Lens

This is just a quick note to let all know that I am now on Twitter as “rgl” and will try to use that platform to advantage.  Of course, it can’t do what this blog is attempting.  It hopefully add just another dimension for communication.

This is a scene found in Greenwater Provincial Park in Saskatchewan, Canada.  I must admit that I love the colours of fall when in forested areas.  The balance of water, earth, flora and fauna gives me a sense of peace, a sense of being at home.  And, I must admit, it is hard to pass a beaver lodge without taking another photo.

Here is a quick little First Nation’s story, a creation myth, that includes the beaver:

When light first came to the earth, O-ma-ma-ma the earth mother of the Cree people gave birth to the spirits of the world. The first born was Binay-sih, the thunderbird who protects the animals from the sea serpent, Genay-big. Thunderbirds shout out their unhappiness or anger with black clouds, rain and fire flashes in the sky. The second born was Ina-kaki, the lowly frog who heightens the sorcerer’s powers and helps to control the insects in the world. The third born was the trickster Wee-sa-hay-jac, who can change himself into many forms or shapes to protect himself. The fourth child was Ma-heegun, Wee-sa-hay-jac’s little wolf brother. They travel together with Wee-sa-hay-jac on his back. The fifth born was Amik the beaver, who is greatly respected because he is an unfortunate human from a different world. Fish, rocks, grasses, and trees all came from the womb of the great earth mother O-ma-ma-ma. The earth was inhabited a long time by only animals and spirits because Wee-sa-hay-jac had not yet made any people. (Sacred Legends of the Sandy Lake Cree. James R. Stevens, McClelland and Stewart Ltd, 1971)

I noticed that the story above has spelt the Cree word for beaver a bit differently than is used by Cree people I know, even in Sandy Lake where this story has its source.  I taught for five years in Cree First Nations communities and had the opportunity to study the language back in the early 1970s.  Interesting how time turns in circles.