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Sibelian, I understand that statement to mean that Dog and Ox people want to be, or are concerned about being masters and/or slaves.
You see, I think Dog is a part of my own totem, and I was wondering why you made this correspondence, if indeed you did. Perhaps, it is more of a Temple discussion, but I would love to know your opinion about this.
*woof!*
Ah-HA.
Sorry. I probably should NOT have said "master" or "slave"... too extreme.
Here's how *I* see it:
It's not compulsory. It's just a part of their spirit.
Dog people, as far as I understand it, (I know Dog well, he's one of my totems too) are comfortable with telling people what to do or being told what to do so long as there is some semblance of *competence* or *fun* about the instruction. This isn't because they are *necessarily* inherently submissive or dominant, it's more that they are inherently *directional*, they like there to be a plan and they like to be in groups, and it so happens that usually the best way to acheieve a plan with a group is to have a leader of some sort. Dog people accept this. Dog people are, by and large, very generally competent. It's incompetence and losing focus and boredom that drives them nuts.
You will know that Dog people are good listeners, love their comfy homes, are extraordinarily loyal and loving and can be bad-tempered and judgemental. They can be rebellious, too, but Dog isn't isn't just wilfully rebellious, he rebels against *abusive* authority. Dog people aren't all that pushed about *bucking the establishment* unless they can see a specific flaw that isn't logical or is inefficient (and then they rebel like billy-o). They don't object to Authority as a concept (like, for example, Fox. Who really does). They are social beings and understand that there is exchange and dependence and heirarchy and as far as they're concerned, if that works, it works.
They love freedom for it's own sake, sure, but they are practical and if they can strike a deal that costs them some freedom in exchange for something they want they don't mind as much as the other spirits. There's a long-term deal going on between humanity and Dog, Dog has a lot of human magic mixed in with him and humans often work best in heirarchical groups.
"Master" and "Slave" things do happen around Dog Spirit in the bedroom, sometimes. There are a lot of gay men into puppy play.
Along with this is another thing behind my original statement that I should probably have made more of at the time I posted it, relationships between gods and people are usually at least a kind of *bargain* if not straightforward worship, there are laws and sacrifices and you have to change your behaviour and dedicate yourself to things.
Not so much with animal spirits. That's all I was trying to say. They are your pals, not your rulers. They guide, they help. It's not about bargains. To me, it's about help, offered freely, and love, offered freely on both sides. They do not seek to control you or accept as *necessary* your desire to be controlled *by* them. Having strong physical connections with the world, like you, they are your equals. Gods are not. Gods are gods.
The equality thing applies to Dog as well, sorry, I should have made that much clearer. The kind of power exchange Dog is comfortable with is nothing like the kind of spiritual power exchange one would associate with a god.
And the same as above with Ox, but it's more complicated with Ox because the connection to humanity is even deeper with Ox than it is with Dog, so in fact he's almost a god in his own right.
That's how *I* see it.
Do you agree? Do I make sense? |
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