The Mummy

This is the scroll of Thoth

Herein are set down the magic words

by which Isis raised Osiris

from the dead.

Oh! Amon-Ra — oh! God of Gods —

Death is but the doorway to new life —

We live today —

we shall live again —

in many forms shall we return —

Oh, mighty one.

So begins my favorite movie, The Mummy, made in 1932 and starring Boris Karloff and Zita Johann.

Why is this old black-and-white film my favorite? Long before I "discovered" there was a place called Tibet, I was fascinated by the art and culture of ancient Egypt. The Mummy is set entirely in Egypt, and its plot themes—a love that lasts for centuries, reincarnation, the occult sciences, good versus evil, the power of the old gods—are themes to which I have always resonated strongly.

What's not to like about a visually stunning film that opens at an archeological dig and introduces us to an honest-to-goodness scary monster, then understates the horror and invites us to use our imaginations to supply some of the chills?

The opening sequence is one of the two best openers I've ever seen in a horror film (the other being the graveyard sequence in Night of the Living Dead). An archeologist and a master of the occult sciences realize they have unearthed a weird mummy and discovered a box containing the Scroll of Thoth, with the spell that enabled Isis to raise Osiris from the dead; they make the mistake of leaving a curious assistant alone with the box. Bramwell Fletcher, who played the assistant, should have won an Oscar for his rendering of the line, "He went for a little walk...you should have seen his face!"

There are more great lines throughout. "I regret I am too occupied to accept invitations." "Had to! Science, you know!" "No man has ever suffered for woman as you have suffered for me." And more.

I've had Universal's Legacy collection of Mummy movies for a while, but tonight was the first time I'd watched some of the bonus material, in which film historians and children of some of the people involved with the film talk about the making of the movie and the personalities involved.

Out of all the actors, it's Zita Johann who fascinates me the most. Evidently she was a student of the occult who prayed before her performances. She was a well-known Broadway stage actress who disliked Hollywood, but she certainly made a great film when she made The Mummy. I would love to know more about her spiritual path, and her body of work, but couldn't find any evidence of a biography other than some meager information on the internet.

In a kind of cosmic coincidence, the introduction to the supplemental movie material was filmed at a theater where my husband used to work as a projectionist—the Vista, on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. He had some great things to say about working there late at night, with spooky shadows being cast by passing cars. Wasn't the Vista rumored to be haunted? Perhaps he'll post a comment and clue us in.

My Previous Life as a Witch

When the king's men

killed my husband

I went back

to the cottage

far in the forest

took my black cat

George

the tortoiseshell

Isis

what I could carry

on my back

left towns & cities,

company of others

behind

threw it all

over for

blankets of moss and leaves

wildflower perfume

walls of oak and vine

meadow windows

onto ceilings

of stars

gathered weeds for food

bathed in sacred springs

learned the cries of crows,

the courses of rivers

heard the earth speaking

watched the year wheel

beneath the Seven Sisters

while sun and moon

spun storms, breezes,

summer's hazy heat

and clarity of autumn,

crystalline

learned the herbs

and how to use them

how to kill and

how to heal

midwifed the birthing

and the dying—

human and animal,

flower and tree

alone

worked magic under full moons

and dreamed the future in the dark

danced the summer in

through fires at Bealtaine

called the dead

at Hallowe'en

finally

came to see it all

as cosmic holy pulse—

how shapes, like universes,

shift and dance through time

came to see

even "time"

as fallacy

past

present

future

animal

vegetable

mineral

all the same

connected

sacred

shapeshifting

towards enlightenment

under whirling stars

vowed

to come back

again

to help

-by A Word Witch

copyright c. 1996

**

I'm not much into past lives; though I believe we have all lived them, I think what's more important is what we do right here, right now. However, I was gifted with this poem back in the 1990s. It came from somewhere, not sure where. I count it as the one clear vision of a past life that I've ever had. Waverly Fitzgerald, then-editor of The Beltane Papers, kindly agreed to publish it in issue #11, Samhain 1996.

Batty!

“Hi,” said the fruit bat with great pride,

“My wings are nearly six feet wide!

I eat soft fruit, I’m glad to tell,

I find it with my sense of smell.”

“Hi,” said the little bat with great glee,

“Blind as a bat does not mean me.

I see quite well; I’ve got great sight

When I go hunting every night.”

“Bye,” said the bat, “I’m going home.

It’s not too far from where I roam.

A cave, beneath a roof, a tree,

Protecting all my friends and me.”

Forrest and I took a pre-Halloween trip to the annual open house at the Lubee Bat Conservancy, an international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting biological diversity through the conservation of fruit bats. We found the poem, above, on a message board outside the room where the educational programs were being held.

It was impossible to get a good picture of these giants of the bat world through the mesh of their cages, but I did spot this one batty fellow (above), who seemed to be having a good time even though he wasn't eating any fruit.

Ferals' Progress, Part 6 (Bookends)

Here are littermates Baybee and Grover (left to right), proving that ferals CAN become happy housecats. Looks to me like they each need a nap.

It only took them 5 years to decide it was okay to come in the house and hang out with the humans.

Beautyberry in Prime, Closeup

"I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille."

Beautyberry in Prime, Purple

The beautyberries have been in their prime now for several weeks, but a 6-days-a-week work schedule and other writing priorities have delayed this posting.

I think our bluebirds had been nibbling on the berries even before I took this picture, but it will give you an idea of how beautiful one of my favorite fall foliage plants looks this time of year.

Remember, you can click on the picture for a better view. I will post a closeup next.

Two Ghosts Converse

I died for beauty, but was scarce

Adjusted in the tomb,

When one who died for truth was lain

In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?

'For beauty,' I replied.

'And I for truth, — the two are one;

We brethren are,' he said.

And so, as kinsmen met at night,

We talked between the rooms,

Until the moss had reached our lips,

And covered up our names.

-Emily Dickinson