Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’ve tasked myself with leading you on a meandering tour of the virtual garden of delights and curiosities and thoughts that make up my world – all through the lens of unusual, obscure, or simply charming-to-me words.
V is for…
vental: of or pertaining to the wind
Considering I shared a wind map link in my post yesterday, it makes me smile that I’ll be continuing a discussion about wind today.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the wind. And when I was child and someone told me there was a song about a wind named Mariah, I was smitten. A wind could have a name! It was like something extraordinary opened up in me, and my world became so much bigger.
Now I love hearing how other cultures look at them. For the ancient Greeks the Anemoi were the four wind gods, each corresponding to the four cardinal directions from which they came – Boreas (North), Notus (South), Zephyrus (West) and Eurus (East). They were the children of Aeolus, the Keeper of the Winds, and Eos, the Titan goddess of the dawn.
While a few cultures have female wind goddesses, I especially like the Slavic one Dogoda, goddess of the west wind and love and gentleness. Don’t you want to be standing in that particular wind?
Eloise Hart in Holy Wind, Holy Spirit wrote:
“Soon after their birth, Navajo babies are ceremoniously presented to their “parents,” the winds who reside in the North, South, East, and West, who give them a “Little Wind” which, hidden in their earfolds where it cannot be seen, thereafter guides them — not with words but with thoughts — along the path of harmonious behavior. It reminds them that the life and breath that sustains them is the same life and breath that sustains all living beings; that their intentions and actions are part of the intelligent purpose of larger actions and motions; and that the wind that dwells within them is inextricably entwined with the Holy Wind that encompasses the cosmos. In this way Navajo youngsters come to feel a compassionate responsibility for all of creation.”
Isn’t that a beautiful? Don’t you love the image of guidance hiding in your earfolds?
The wind has always seemed a magical messenger to me, and since I was a child I’ve always been drawn to standing outside in the wind imagining, imagining, imagining what it would be like to be lifted, to spread my arms and fly. I remember great disappointment when it didn’t seem like that was ever going to happen. Luckily I learned to fly in my dreams. And into my waking life came the love of kites.
I totally delight in the idea that a kite’s essence is right there in the wind, spreading its beingness all over. Just like I love the idea of prayer flags sending their blessings into the wind to be carried everywhere. Every autumn I like to take a handful of leaves and write a blessing word on them and then wait until a windy day to release them on their way. All ways to send messages on the wind.
At harvest festivals in Japan kites were flown with stalks of rice attached as symbolic offerings of thanks for a good crop. When I first read that, my mind reeled with possibility – gratitude kites! Or maybe just kindness kites! That sounds wonderful as well.
And because what’s a day without poetry, here’s a charming haiku by Paul Bagshaw:
“Dream kite drank the sky, ripped my fingers for freedom, dragged me off my feet.”
What about you? Are you a wind lover? What’s hiding in your earfolds, whispering guidance? What message would you write on your kite? Do you dream of flying? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
O this is so lovely Deborah thank you! Yes, the wind does have a fascination for me – but it would take tooo long for me to go into it. Your piece on wind is truly lovely – with the research and history behind it. Don’t ask me why ‘Gone with the Wind’ just popped into mind. Maybe ‘Gone, With the Wind’? The wind at your back … o my goodness, let me stop right here … thank you, hope you’re having a lovely weekend and that all is well.
I love those little inspirational “pop ups” that our mind sometimes delivers to us! And so I can’t help but offer the Irish blessing “May the wind always be at your back.”
Hi Deborah – I thought about a book I’ve read recently … on Francis Beaufort, who defined the Beaufort Scale. ‘Defining the Wind – The Beaufort Scale and how a 19thC Admiral turned Science into Poetry’ by Scott Huler:
“Defining the Wind is a wonderfully written account of one man’s crusade to learn about what the wind is made of by tracing the history of the Beaufort Scale and its eccentric creator, Sir Francis Beaufort. It’s as much about the language we use to describe our world as it is an exhortation to observe it more closely.”
There’s so much also to learn from our indigenous leaders and ancestors … at the moment I rather wish Eurus would disappear … mind you it keeps it sunny, but cold! Take care – Hilary
You’ve added another book to my to-be-read list Hilary. Truly how can I resist with a title like that? And hopefully Eurus will hear your appeal and go play elsewhere. 🙂
A lovely tradition you have of writing wishes on leaves and sending them into the autumn wind. I like the wind, often thinking of the novel Chocolat when it blows in the springtime. Of course, as a pragmatic homeowner on a wooded lot, I’m equally aware of how the wind can take down a tree branch that then takes down your house’s gutter with it. For instance. 🙄
You do make me smile Ally – always keeping things real. But you’ve also inspired me – I’m going to pull out my copy of the Chocolat film and watch it this weekend. A perfect treat for this rainy, slightly windy day I think.
I am a breeze lover, but not a wind lover. I live in an area with huge trees. My fence has a tendency to blow down in the wind which costs lots of money. Sometimes my power goes out. So, a soft wind would be fine, but no windstorms.
While windstorms can be exciting, I certainly understand your point.
Hari OM
For health reasons, I do not do favour wind, though certain breezes are welcome – such as that which gently cooled the spring sun on father and myself yesterday! Then there is the whispering of the wind as it carries the messages of the trees… YAM xx
Your cooperative breeze yesterday sounds lovely, and may you be visited by it often.
Thank you for sharing information regarding the Anemoi and Dogoda. Very interesting.
And thank you for stopping by!
Another life-affirming post. I feel better after reading each time. Wind is life and things would be grim without it! I live a few miles from Lake Michigan and the warm breeze in summer off of the lake is a balm for the soul.
That’s lovely Jade. And now I’ll be thinking of all the balms for my soul as well.
One of my favorite almost-nursery-rhymes is “Who has seen the wind” by Rossetti ( https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43197/who-has-seen-the-wind ), and I love it because I always think of it as an analogy of how we recognize God (or Spirit, or Energy, or name of your choice).
Black and White (Words and Pictures)
Oh that’s fabulous Anne – thank you for sharing it!
Lovely post as always.
Little Deborah delighting in the discovery of a wind with a name:) priceless.
Incidentally, the Hindu God of wind is called Vayu–so he would’ve felt right at home here –on V day:)
That Navajo ritual brought me so much joy and yet I felt–only if, only if more of us had listened to the wisdom of those old worlds–how much of our planet we would’ve managed to keep safe today. If only.
Stunning haiku–copying it in my book.
Thank you Deborah for writing such beautiful posts. May you always have enough wind beneath your wings to fly to lands of your dreams.
Thank you for your beautiful wish gift Arti!
I’m delighted to find about Vayu-so – you’ll be sending me down a rabbit hole of exploration for sure. And it has me smiling as well, because you’ve inspired me with something else as well. I’ve just decided to do a abecedarium zine of things I’ve learned from others during the A-to-Z challenge, and I’m going to make Vayu-so my V entry. Too bad I hadn’t thought of this idea at the start of the challenge. But what’s a little backtracking when you’re having fun? 🙂
When I was a pre-teen, me and my friends liked to divide things up between us. Including the four elements. I was always Wind 🙂
The Multicolored Diary
Love this!