The Expulsion of Anastal
by Benjamin ShenderThe following is a story I told around the campfire at Anthropikon. Those who were there might notice that it has been changed slightly, this is due to the ever changing nature of the mind, the change in medium, and that I don’t remember exactly how I told the story.
In the World of Dreams limitations do not exist. Anything and everything is available to you for the imagining. A golden goblet of the sweetest tea is but a breath away. The colors are always full and vibrant. The sounds crisp and clear. And the smells full and pleasant. Here the Dreams of all creatures reside and are the Gods of Dreams. Here is where those who do not take care are tempted into entering, and, without the will to leave, are kept forever.
Anastal had lived in the World of Dreams all her life, having been taken as a young girl. She had no memory of her parents, save that which she Dreamed of. She had always wanted to meet them, but did not truly wish to brave the Material World. One day, she decided to ask advice of a friend. Anastal did not predict her friend’s reaction: laughter.
You, Anastal, Dreamer of Dreams, would enter the World of Matter to find a women as dead to you as you are to her? What foolishness is this? What would it serve? If you need a mother, imagine yourself a cow.
Quite affronted Anastal challenged her friend:
You would dare insult me as I came for help? How could I know you so weak-souled as to not know my heart?
And so the two battled one another for some time, Anastal becoming more and more enraged as the person she once thought a friend belittled her and her desire. As day turned to night and night to day Anastal’s assault upon her former friend became so vicious that one of the Dream Gods took offense. After all, one was laughing and enjoying themselves and the other was turning the Dream into a Nightmare. Anastal was cast from the World of Dreams.
Anastal hurt. She never had before. She knew hunger, but never had before. She knew thirst, but never had before. Anastal was no longer amongst Dreams. The World of Matter affronted her, and denied her food. If not for a the kindness of a passing hunter, she would have died. He offered her some of his kill, and, amazed that she did not know, showed her the fruit of the trees were safe to eat and the water of the earth safe to drink. Having learn these secrets Anastal set off towards the one thing she knew of this world: her parents.
After having traveled many days and nights she arrived. Her mother knew her at once, and rushed to her crying with joy. She spent her days and nights with her mother almost as she did in the World of Dreams. With no sorrow or want. But her father would not speak with her, or hold her. Her father would not recognize his daughter.
Anastal ignored her fathers reaction as long as she could before confronting him.
Are you not joyful to see me?
I do not know you. I am neither joyful nor sorrowful. You make my wife happy, and so you are welcome.
But why do I not make you happy? Am I not your daughter?
I have no daughter.
What would make you say such a thing?
He looked at her for the first time and said:
My wife has been infertile from birth.
Anastal was cast from the World of Dreams only to find she had never been born.
It was a great story then, and it’s a great story now, Ben. You’ve kicked off the neo-tribal story-telling tradition with this. I added the “‘Round the Campfire” section for fiction, stories and our new mythology with stuff like this.
While we’re at weaving this new mythology, I kind of like the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime. It exists somewhere in Time, akin to “long, long ago”; it also exists somewhere in Space, akin to “far, far away.” But, simultaneously, it’s also right here, right now. We all exist both in the waking world, and in the Dreamtime–we travel between them when we sleep. The spirits and gods also inhabit both spheres.
I like this idea. It’s a good starting point, I think. Where could we go with this? Do you think “The Expulsion of Anastal” could work in that kind of context? I guess I’m just uncomfortable with the stark seperation of the Dream World and the Material World, since that kind of seperation has so often formed the premise for priesthood and hierarchical religion. A fluid cohabited reality, on the other hand, is something anyone can tap….
Comment by Jason Godesky — 27 September 2005 @ 1:05 PM
Absolutely, actually I kind of invisioned it that way anyway, sorry that didn’t quite come through. I mean, she could leave the world of dreams…. Hmmm, I guess that kind of knowledge is mythical, a lot of myth is already there in the minds of the listeners. No greek child needed to be explicitly told about major gods and their roles, they already knew. No Celt (or aborigini it seems) needed to be told that they could accidently stumble into another world at any time. Oh well, I’ll detail that in the next one.
Comment by Benjamin Shender — 27 September 2005 @ 5:05 PM
No, certainly no detail required … just the division between the dream world and the “real” world seemed pretty sharp, I wasn’t sure if the idea was reconcilable with the story.
Comment by Jason Godesky — 27 September 2005 @ 6:28 PM
No, not irreconcilable. The faerie world and the material world were quite different in Celtic myth, yet the stories tell of many occasions in which a person wondered into the woods and accidently ended up on the wrong side of a mobius strip if you get my meaning.
Comment by Benjamin Shender — 27 September 2005 @ 7:15 PM
This is true. My mother’s maiden name was “Finucan,” or, “son of Fionn”–as in Fionn mac Cumhail, and Oison mac Fionn. And taking a look around at the family reunion, yeah, there’s definitely a touch of the Land of the Ever-Young there….
Comment by Jason Godesky — 27 September 2005 @ 7:20 PM
Hm… is this the time or place to mention that I’ve been actively recreating an animist tradition for several years now?
I’ve got multiple stories that I share with my children (including an ‘origin’ story of the Takers).
I’ve also got an entire ritual set for eight holidays + explanations + mythology etc., etc. We’re about to do another public ritual (the Halloween one) at the end of this month.
Would you like me to share them?
(at least until I get to tell them around the campfire to you folks!)
Best
Bill Maxwell
Comment by Bill Maxwell — 4 October 2005 @ 2:01 AM
Absolutely!
I set up the forums just for such things!
Comment by Jason Godesky — 4 October 2005 @ 8:32 AM
We’ve been doing something similar in Milovia, as those of you who came to the Anthropikon heard. I’d love to hear what yours is about, Bill!
Roxy
Comment by Raku — 4 October 2005 @ 9:14 AM