Animals Divine - 5 The High Priest - Ganesha

Ivy Rhiannon

Picture: http://i1220.photobucket.com/albums/dd443/TrinityQueen/5-TheHighPriest-Ganesha.jpg

First Impression: Such a pretty card! I think the elephant god is a wonderful pick for the High Priest. We don't see the serious magician here we see the laughing, fortuitous Ganesha. The card is very bright and I love the mandala in the background.


Description: Ganesha sits hovering in the air (or so it seems to me) his many hands occupied. He holds an orb for clear sight, his broken tusk for a writing utensil, and another holds a wand for directing power. His mouse companion holds his place in his book of shadows that is filled with mystical symbols. A beautiful aura surrounds him in the shape of mandalas. On his stomach is a glowing sun shines. He wears many jewels and on his third eye is a gemstone.

Gender: Masculine

Colors: Aqua Blue, Rose Pink, Golden Yellow, Milk Chocolate Browns, Grey, White, & Black.

Senses: I feel a breeze stirring from the immense power in the room. I am focused on the ritual I am creating, sensing the power grow within me. I can see my mouse companion as he holds open the ritual book for me to see the magical symbols. I can hear a humming...it is my own chanting! I taste a sweetness in my mouth like honey, and the air around me is charged, bright and warm.

Symbols: Ganesha, Mandalas, Mouse, Book, Jewels, Orb, Wand, Tusk, Sun, Snake Belt, the Light in the room.


Story [Intuitive]: Mischief, my favorite brown field mouse scurries across the room to my book. "Squeak, squeaker, squeaken!" he says excitedly. Lucky for me my elephant ears can understand his intricate mouse tongue. "Yes the time for the ritual has begun!" I announce in my loud booming voice. My trunk twitches with excitement as Mischief gentle turns through the delicate pages with his gentle touch. He knows that this ancient text contains much knowledge and wisdom. I grasp the orb in one hand staring deeply within and letting my breath focus my gaze. Vibrations begin in my throat as I start the chant a tingling that flows throughout my whole being. A warm swirling energy gathers in my abdomen at my Solar Plexus. Here is where I state my will aloud to the universe. Raising my wand high and my tusk in my other hand as a sacrifice, I ask for the power to create change, the understanding of the universal mysteries, and the clarity of mind to see all things with wisdom. My aura expands filling with love and warmth. Mischief squats on the page timidly holding down the fragile paper in the swirling breeze. "As I will, so be it!" I let out in a throaty call, and then the room fills with the sound of my shaking belly and genuine laughter. Harder and harder I giggles and smile until the energy intensifies and exaggerates. Feeling the ritual is complete I clap my hands together and release my focus. Wiping a small tear from my eye, I begin to breath deeply and calm myself. "Squeaky, squeaker?" Mischief asked confused as to what could be so funny. "Ah it tis nothing dear friend, just all that power makes me giggle with glee!" The mouse shrugs, shaking his head at the joyous Ganesha. Who really understands the gods anyway?

My Experience as the High Priest: This card for me isn't just about the quest for knowledge but also includes a playfulness that I find very powerful in the craft of magic. If we can play than we can truly enjoy ourselves. We can play at work, play at being ourselves, play at being a juggler, scientist, or parent. Playing involves laughter and a lightheartedness that lets you look at life with the fresh eyes and a free mind. Ganesha reminds me to play at being great, and someday I will be exactly what I dreamed!


Astrological Reference: Zodiac - Taurus

Cultural Reference: Ganesha is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshiped in the Hindu pantheon. Ganesha is widely revered as the Remover of Obstacles and more generally as Lord of Beginnings. He is the patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. Ganesha has been represented with the head of an elephant since the early stages of his appearance in Indian art. While some texts say that Ganesha was born with an elephant head, in most stories he acquires the head later. The most recurrent motif is that Ganesha was born with a human head and body and that Shiva beheaded him when Ganesha came between Shiva and Parvati. Shiva then replaced Ganesha's original head with that of an elephant. In another story, when Ganesha was born, his mother, Parvati, showed off her new baby to the other gods. Unfortunately, the god Shani (Saturn), who is said to have the evil eye, looked at him, causing the baby's head to be burned to ashes. The god Vishnu came to the rescue and replaced the missing head with that of an elephant. Another story says that Ganesha was created directly by Shiva's laughter. Because Shiva considered Ganesha too alluring, he gave him the head of an elephant and a protruding belly. Ganesha's earliest name was Ekadanta (One Tusked), referring to his single whole tusk. The broken tusk of Ganesha signifies the readiness for Sacrifice to complete any accepted task. Ganesha is identified with the Hindu mantra Aum and the first chakra. [source Wikipedia]

Elemental Reference: This card has a very airy presence to me with the sun, energy, and light in the card. I think this also goes with the association for air = knowledge.

Numerology Reference: 5 - Force, conflict, change, courage, strength


Keywords: Knowledge, Power, Insight, Curiosity, Focus, Playfulness

Possible Meanings: Questing for knowledge, being more curious than afraid to face the unknown, Focusing your will, Gaining power through practice and study, using one's mental strength to remove obstacles.

Reversed: Restraining ones power, being too serious or close-minded, being conflicted and indecisive about one's goals, not using ones knowledge or fulfilling one's potential, a lack of motivation for study.

Quote: "I rise in the morning torn between a desire to save the world and a desire to savor the world. That makes it hard to plan the day." ~ E.B. White
 

Bhavana

This is excellent! I love the story, you have a talent for writing.

While Ganesha is one of my favorites, I have to say that the image on this card is one of my least favorites of him - the arms are kind of wimpy and the legs look like they belong on a bikini model, not the mighty Lord Ganesh! Lisa Hunt's work is hit or miss for me, I either like it or am like wtf??

Still, I am enjoying your take on this deck~
 

Penthasilia

Nice post Ivy. I wanted to give you another pic of Ganesha that I especially like, from the Gods and Titans oracle.

See attached.

:D
 

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Ivy Rhiannon

This is excellent! I love the story, you have a talent for writing.

While Ganesha is one of my favorites, I have to say that the image on this card is one of my least favorites of him - the arms are kind of wimpy and the legs look like they belong on a bikini model, not the mighty Lord Ganesh! Lisa Hunt's work is hit or miss for me, I either like it or am like wtf??

Still, I am enjoying your take on this deck~

Thanks! He was so fun to write about! I rather like him. I agree about his legs and arms...they do look rather thin for such a god of abundance! I did like the little mouse however! Did you know a pack of rats is called a mischief? LOL that is where I got the little mouses name. :p

Nice post Ivy. I wanted to give you another pic of Ganesha that I especially like, from the Gods and Titans oracle.

See attached.

:D

That is an awesome pic Pent!! :D Thanks for sharing it!
 

Bhavana

Thanks! He was so fun to write about! I rather like him. I agree about his legs and arms...they do look rather thin for such a god of abundance! I did like the little mouse however! Did you know a pack of rats is called a mischief? LOL that is where I got the little mouses name. :p



That is an awesome pic Pent!! :D Thanks for sharing it!

No, I did not know that was the name for a pack of rats...seems fitting, though!

And yes, Pent, awesome painting of Ganesh - I want to try to find a bigger image of that one - he looks like someone to be reckoned with, that's for sure!
 

divinegoddess

First Impression: This is definitely an interesting High Priest, it’s very colorful, shiny and vibrant. It is a little confusing too, but I love the elephant aspect of it. I’ve always loved elephants, they’re such gentle giants yet very elegant.

Symbols*: The elephant is a wise teacher. Luminous symbols fly out of the book while Ganesha’s companion, the rat, looks on. The book represents higher culture and the attianment of knowledge. A snake serves as Ganesha’s belt, representing the never-ending quest for knowledge. His potbelly is a symbol of success. The gut is where the drive for knowledge begins. The jade stone on is forehead is his third eye; the S symbolizes the rhythms of life and death. His gold adornments are a connection to the warm energies. The background echoes the mandala motif and the different stages of consciousness. Ganesha also holds a crystal ball for clarity and a wand for directing divine power. He holds one tusk that can serve as a writing instrument. His three-tiered crown represents different levels of awareness.

Description*: Ganesha is the god of wisdom, knowledge, and the arts. He represents good fortune and was often invoked before the commencement of a big event or business venture. He was the son of Shiva and Parvati.

One day, Parvati directed the young Ganesha to guard the door while she took a bath. When Shiva attempted to enter the room, Ganesha refused his passage. Out of anger, Shiva cut off his head. To appease his distraught wife, Shiva replaced his son’s head with an elephant’s head, symbolic of a keen mind and wisdom. Ganesha uses his powers primarily to help solve problems. His four arms carry different attributes of his divine power, including a broken tusk that he utilizes aas a writing tool. The four arms represent the four cardinal directions, the four seasons, and the four elemtns. They can also represent the shape of a square, which is the ego aspect of the mandala.

Possible Meanings*: The elephant-headed god personifies the merging of the human soul with the divine spirit. The placement of his image at the treshold of houses and sanctuaries severs to thwart potential obstacles. By mentally merging with animals, perhaps we, too, can attain a higher level of consciousness and understanding.

With the guidance of this animal teacher, you will be better prepared for the journey that lies ahead.

Senses: I can just smell the Indian scents. He is very wise, always looking for something new to learn, hence the book in front of him. The book also has spiral in it, representing the constant changes of life, the constant movement of life. I go to him to ask him, to use the knowledge that he has. He doesn’t give me a staright answer but goes around the answer. He tells me that I know it within, if I just stop to listen. I have all the answers I need at hand, I’m just too blind to see them. He is very lovely and friendly. He warns me to gather my strength for what’s coming ahead. He reminds me that he exists within me, and I can always ask him anything, at all times. He will direct me, guide me into the right direction. After he goes back to meditating, and I must leave.

Thoughts/Points to ponder: He frustrates me a little. It’s okay though, I have full trust in him, for one reason or another.