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Before there was land, there was only Sea. There was the Earth, with Fire below and water above, and above the Sea there was only Sky. It was a world of content, teeming with life. The Sky was happy, for he oversaw the creations which praised him. The Sea was happy, for she was the house of all living creatures, for which she was praised. The Earth was happy, for she provided nourishment for the living creatures, for which she was praised.
Fire was not happy, though he was praised for providing warmth through his sister the Earth. Fire was not happy being below the Earth. He was not happy being so easily forgotten. He would have gladly overseen the creation himself. He could have been a better leader than the Sky. Fire could have been King. Fire could have been God.
Beneath the Earth, Fire made a plan. One by one, he would eat the stars in the sky until he grew. If he could grow to an enormous size, then he could overpower the Earth, then turn the Sea into nothing but steam, and even fill the Sky until the Sky was no more.
But as he ate the stars, he found that he only grew fat in his belly. He continued to eat them until there were very few stars left. The Earth stretched and strained along with this growth, and she did not like it. The Sea was perturbed as well, concerned for her sister. The Sky did nothing, for this change caused no change in him and he did not notice his sisters' disquiet.
The Fire ate and ate. The Earth swelled and swelled until even she had surpassed the Sea. Still, she swelled. Fire continued to eat. He did not care that the Earth did not like being exposed. In his mind, she would not be troubled long. He was one step closer to surpassing his brother and being able to govern all of creation.
The final star that he ate finally pushed through the skin of the earth. She cried out in agony, a cry so loud that the Sky could ignore it no longer. With both his eyes, he stared down at the glowing hole that Fire had made. The Sky was not happy. He reached down and ripped open Fire's belly, freeing all the stars that he had eaten, which now glowed with a brightness so much that they would have lit up the entire night sky if he put them back in their places. They were useless to him now.
Fire shrank back to his old size, but the Earth did not. She moaned. The Sky felt sorry for his sister's pain and guilty for not paying attention when she had begun to grow. So he sent down the stars that had been eaten by his brother. They shone, they glimmered, and dimmed. They became people. The Earth would provide the star-people with food and a place to live, and in return the star people would love and care for her.
As a punishment to Fire, the Sky gave him to the people to use as tools. He was to be a slave to man, and extinguished by the Sea.
Meanwhile, the Sky would always watch the hole that Fire had made in case he tries something again: one eye on it always.
This story explains:
-the separation of land and sea
-why there are less stars in the sky in the desert than at sea: Fire ate them.
-creation myth
-Cycles of day and night: the Sky's Eyes are the sun and moon, and they are always watching. When there is a new moon, he is blinking.
-properties of the four major elements in regards to Fire.
We are Stars: Children of the Earth and Sky, Keepers of the Fire.
 Leonard Erland · Wed Jun 06, 2007 @ 05:44pm · 2 Comments |
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