LIFE AS MYTH
JOURNAL
JOURNAL 2006
Scheherazade Project
Telling untold stories
AUTUMN 2006
Moths and moons and metamorphosis
Moths and moons and metamorphosis
LIFEWORKS
ATLAS
AUTUMN 2006
MOTHS AND MOONS AND METAMORPHOSIS
A young woman I was treating had, at a critical moment, a dream in which she was given a golden scarab. While she was telling me this dream I sat with my back to the closed window. Suddenly I heard a noise behind me, like a gentle tapping. I turned round and saw a flying insect knocking against the window-pane from outside. I opened the window and caught the creature in the air as it flew in. It was the nearest analogy to a golden scarab that one finds in our latitudes, a scarabaeid beetle, the common rose-chafer (Cetonia aurata), which contrary to its usual habits had evidently felt an urge to get into a dark room at this particular moment. [Jung: Coll. Works, vol. 8, § 843]
My paintings have gravitated toward nightscapes over the past couple of months. The interplay of moonlight on plants and water and animals. And the moth is one of the nocturnal creatures that I have researched. On the eastern seaboard we are in the last part of luna moth season, the period of time when it is actually possible to have a sighting. As luna moths are nocturnal creatures and only survive their final winged stage for about a week -- sightings are rare.
And then, over the weekend, I did have a sighting of sorts. While reordering cabinets and closets, I stumbled on an unopened Christmas present from many years ago. Inside the gift was a collection of ornaments from the Discovery Store. And, of all things, one of the ornaments was a luna moth.
How to wrap my mind around the wonder of it all? It's not possible. There are universes all around us -- those just within our reach, and those just past it.
Luna moth.
Egyptian scarab. 550 BC. The scarab is an Egyptian dung beetle. It is a prevalent feature in Egyptian mythology and symbolizes rebirth and resurrection.
