Storms-p 302
Ancient gods, modern fears
Below is a reading from my book THE OTHER ROAD AHEAD followed by a comment inspired by the selection.
Comment
Can a weather phenomena be conscious? Does it know what it is doing or where it is going? The ancient civilizations had many names for "weather gods" or "storm gods". Tempestas the Roman deity of violent storms is the origin for our word "tempest". Perun the Slavic god of storms was also the king of gods as was Zeus the Greek god of weather. Horus the Egyptian god of activities in the heavens was the personification of the Pharaoh. The point here is that we have thought about the question of storm consciousness for thousands of years.
Anyone who has watched an approaching storm on the horizon knows that the there is an eerie purposeful nature about the cloud deck that precedes a storm. A dark salient often leads before there is any rain or wind. A foreboding structure that can cover the entire horizon.
As it comes closer the clouds begin to boil along the leading edge. Then depending on the severity of the event the color of the sky can change from a frothy gray to a charcoal blue and in some cases there is a purple bruise battering the sky which might in the worst times give way to shades of green. This is never a good sign and can portend a tornado in the area.
The coming storm is an awe inspiring sight. Totally out of our control the storm chugs along like a great engine on a fateful mission that will dominate the landscape. They appear at times to have a psyche of their own while in other instances they are seemingly random.
Either way there is something oddly conscious about their personality. Some call it a force of nature or an “act of God” as if these terms can contain the fear and dread that accompanies a major storm. Even if the worst does not happen the anticipation does something to us. We are humbled before the ancient gods. Perhaps we are surrounded by forces that have their own agenda regardless what we say or do.
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Having experienced way too many storms I can say they are can infuse many different feeling and emotions. From fun to fear. An entire community develops a profile unique to the storm, appropriate for the moment.
Storms can be fearsome and almost like they are a force coming to attack.