The Lair of the Emerald Serpent

On Friday I went on a grand adventure to the outer suburbs in search of a community nursery because this is the time of year for planting.
Recently they held a workshop on how to attract wildlife to you your garden and to basically turn your little patch into a paradise for critters. So Izzie was of course all ears especially as the event was free.


Of course there is no such thing as a free lunch. Some one always has to pay the piper but I like an organisation that thinks this is the sort of thing to sponsor.

I loved their place and their devotion to all things green and gorgeous but had one giant problem. There is no way that I would ever sign up for membership of a mob that calls itself “Men of the Trees” because the name itself declares that I am simply not welcome.
Then there is the not so minor matter that most of the men I know cannot even think of a tree without reaching for a chainsaw.

( Secret Tree Business )

It has been a long time between hisses but it looks like this serpent has finally found her way back on to the broomstick again but this time with a bright shiny new Dursley repelling anti bludger charm

Been waiting 14 years for lightening to strike twice and it appears increasingly likely that this is exactly what has happened

With the help of assorted rituals including copious sniffing of Angel's Trumpet flowers, a Dead Can Dance soundtrack and hours devoted to squiggling in the Pensieve under the pretext of November novel writing, magic is finally happening.
The usual strange serpent pattern applied this time. Unlike most folks who are firing on all cylinders for the first week but then falter and splutter and lose steam during the dreaded second week before finally crashing into the wall in the third and never quite recovering, for me it has always been slow going during the first week. Simply meeting the daily quota is an uphill struggle but then in the second week the rockets start firing and magic happens. It takes that long for the muses to realize that this serpent is dead serious and only then do they finally join the party

Which is just as well because this would have been a particularly sticky wicked week without such serpentine intervention

What was supposed to have been a 50,000 word novel about a worker stuck in a dead end goblin job daydreaming of escaping the rat race and owning her own private detective agency turned into a giant Moaning Pages on steroids. To be quite crude about it, a sort of colonic irrigation for the soul. Getting all the toxic waste from the serpent skull on to the page has proven valuable in joining the dots and devising an effective Defence Against the Dursleys

Daisy Dursley has been doing this too and we have been both comparing notes. Her secret weapon is riding her broomstick and mine is writing words, lots of words. Then there is also planting weeds

Wicked wonderful weeds that grow and provide a heaven for feathered friends and other creeping crawling creatures. Green and growing things. For where there is life, joy and hope, vile Vernon Dursley dares not linger.

Green lightses are the best Dursley repellent ever.

This is the real Halloween time for the wicked witches of the southern hemisphere. Of course Izzie never misses a chance to celebrate it twice because all that maypole stuff is such ridiculous schmalzy fluffy bunny stuff

At least the Germans got it right with the sort of sinister Walpurgisnacht where the witches sweep the last snow off the mountains on the eve of 30th April

I managed years ago to lurk near Thale - the town where the witches party all night at the end of April. It looked a bit drab and dreary back in those days as the Stasi government tried to squash all the magic out of it.
The Harz mountains were a most magical place. Must definitely add them to the wish list for the 2020 grand European Tour

It conveniently happens to be the day of the full moon but the clouds got in the way so never did see it rise on the horizon like last night. It did peek out from amongst the clouds some 10 minutes later.

It will be a busy week at the Lair. Loads of planting to do. Now that Privet Drive is being turned into a wasteland, it is up to this serpent to provide a happy home for the green and growing things and cute quirky critters.

The emerald serpent has been thinking more than usual lately of certain words of wisdom from Anthony De Mello


The last time they came to mind so frequently was in January 2002.
It was by far the most likely explanation for the strange events of those now distant but most magical days

The inner green lights are glowing on the horizon luring the serpent to follow them and to leave petty dreary Dursleyish things behind
Beautiful trees with crunchy juicy forbidden fruits beckon to hungry tired and disturbed serpents




This is how the Master once explained the fact that Enlightenment came not through effort but through understanding:


"Imagine all of you are hypnotized to believe there is a tiger in this room.
In your fear you will try to escape it, to fight it, to protect yourselves from it, to placate it.
But once the spell is broken there is nothing to be done.
And you are all radically changed:

"So understanding breaks the spell,
the broken spell brings change,
change leads to inaction,
inaction is power:
You can do anything on earth,
for it is no longer you who do it".

source



It is not a paper tiger but a dreadful Dursleyish dragon providing all the drama and the serpent weapon of choice is not a sword but a pen. Like last time

Let's see if we are so lucky this time.

So the last day of September is nearly over. It’s been a strange month. It got off to a rather bad beginning with the serpent bag snatch. But soon things returned to their usual abnormal state.
There’s been quite a few Buy Nothing Days this month. Two were due to inviting the Dursleys over for dinner and others from simple lack of silver sickles.

But a few observations have been confirmed beyond all reasonable doubt. In the old days of Goblin servitude, one of the Izzie rituals was to visit a cafe on the bus route and use the 2 hour return ticket to get there and back. The Zoo is also on the same route and often got added to the agenda. That was one of the good things of a 7-1 shift. It sort of sucked having to get up so early for work but meant that there was still a whole afternoon available to do interesting things.

So I soon came to the conclusion that some munchies and the chance to catch up on the newspapers was quite a source of enjoyment and I could then slink off happily back to the Lair and potter around in the garden for the rest of the day. For some strange reason it seemed so much easier to get stuff done at the end of the day than reserving a morning off for lurking around the Lair and then going out for the rest of the day.

Then there’s the endless assortment of online courses which are still for free. The evening hours are devoted to those. So I soon came to the conclusion that this serpent is a simple creature at heart. No need to go far or wide on grand adventures. Just a few hours of sunshine, a coffee and the papers and a good book to read at bus stops and visits to Cyberia in the evening seemed to be the main ingredients for contentment.

So with this knowledge in mind, been lurking around the Lair more frequently and smelling the weeds. The 3 pecan trees planted back in May and June have finally unfurled their first buds. For the last month had been worried that two of them were duds but they have come to life in the last week. Since May I have planted 10 trees which must be a record. All of them now have new leaves. Of course keeping them alive over summer is the real trick. It can get as hot as hell here.

But the biggest and most beautiful event was the pumpkin moon on Monday. Did a practise run the day before at the most sacred site in the city. Even resorted to using a compass app in order to know the exact location of the bad moon rising. Still the critter sneaked past unnoticed as a ghostly blob that I noticed about 10 minutes after it came up. It was still 40 minutes before sunset so it was going to be a bit tricky to catch. Next day it would be 15 minutes after sunset so the odds were far more in the serpent’s favour.
For the first time ever managed to catch the top of the circle on the horizon. It was a bright shade of red which slowly turned to pink and then orange like a giant pumpkin.
The park was full of picnickers who were gasping and gawking at the unexpected gorgeousness except for the groups of Chinese folks who just like the Izzie had made it their mission to be there as it is by far the best spot in the city to spot full moon rises (between March and September anyway)

Some silly bimbo was rabbiting on about some magical Blood Moon which we will not see again until 2030 something. As far as a certain serpent has observed, just pick a moonrise between 15 and 40 minutes after sunset and you are likely to get an amazing kaleidoscope of colours. Earlier than that and it is a vague pale pink blob and later it comes up like a big fat yellow lump of cheddar. (Just consulted the Oracle of Google and apparently Blood Moon does not refer to the moon appearing in a dark shade of red but rather is something to do with groups of lunar eclipses and this one was the last of a set of 4 so she was right after all)

On a list of 3 things to be happy about over the last 30 days, that multicoloured moon is way at the top. Been full moon watching for more than 10 years now and this was one of the most beautiful ever.

After Dry July it was finally time to celebrate with a glass of red sitting outside in the garden. But it seems some one has been spiking the serpent's drink with lucky potion.

Been on the lookout for a list of things as part of a fun magical experiment and all of them had turned up so far.

Yesterday's simple mission to spot a yellow butterfly seemed a certain fail until an inexplicable urge to pay a visit to Manna Wholefoods. It's a shop devoted to all sorts of organic and green goodness. Not just munchies but makeup, soap, potions and lotions.
On the shelf opposite the main door were a selection of beeswax candles. Long skinny ones, short fat ones and also candles shaped like bees and butterflies. They were beige rather than buttercup in colour but undeniably a shade of yellow even if a little muddy.

Yellow butterfly box ticked and Mission accomplished ;)





Just happened to slink into the state library today and the beady serpent eye spotted a postcard promoting an event with Michael Leunig as the main guest speaker. There were still tickets left and I got one!
Been wanting to see Michael Leunig for decades now and always missed out. Until now.


How much more magic can a serpent manage?


So there's no point in nuking such a run of good luck with my original intention of commemorating a certain gloomy doomy anniversary of historical significance.

I will save all that misery for the next tine the Dementors come knocking.

A certain anniversary looms on the horizon and Izzie cannot help but think how very much different things are now but also strangely similar

The memory of an event always seems somewhat stronger around the time of year it occurred and even more so when the days and dates coincide

This makes the Christmas of 2007 and even 2001 much more vivid than last year’s. That was a Sunday and the other two were on Tuesdays and the last two of those three Tuesdays were hotter than hell

After a particularly miserable year in 2001 decided to try wipe the slate clean for 2002. In aid of this noble aim adopted a mantra inspired by the spirals in a rather geekish book entitled “e - the story of a number” and a favourite quote from the recently read first four Potter books. While “There is no good or evil - only power and those too weak to seek it” was by far the most favourite quote, it was not exactly the sort of thing suitable for an idealistic beginning to a brand new untainted year

That honour went to a sentence from “The Chamber of Secrets” “It is our choices that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities”
In only two days this combination had yielded fruit and the present serpent incarnation suddenly and most unexpectedly came into being. It was a most wondrous and magical time. Things that had seemed impossible had become effortless and a grumpy lump of misery became a bright and bubbly effervescent and very mischievous creature. This was not a one day wonder but lasted a good two years before the magic slowly yielded to mundane reality. Even the Dursleys noticed and suspected the involvement of illicit mind altering substances

While the magic shield retained its power, Izzie felt much happier, had more energy and strangely attracted all sorts of wonderful people and things in both the mundane and virtual worlds. All of this took place with no effort or will at all unlike all those previous exhausting and futile attempts to change

Spent a good while since then trying to understand this strange and mysterious process and lamented how the magic slowly faded into oblivion. But the memory remained and the hope that once again its transformative power could be resurrected.

( In search of the Word )

When good intentions and will power don’t work then it’s time to get sneaky and use imagination instead. Visions of a winged feather light serpent flying above and beyond all that heavy soul destroying stuff and leaving it all behind just might work where all those schedules, timetables and nagging inner critics didn’t.

The Mayan feathered serpent didn’t bring the trail of destruction that the doom sayers predicted so an Izzie incarnation shouldn’t do too much harm either. Fluffy angel white wings or a pale shade of silver should go well with those emerald scales.
Only a couple of more days now before it’s finally time to unleash the bright shiny new inner beast

2013 will once again be The Year of the Serpent

One of the joys of having a sort of serpent sabbatical was the opportunity to visit the university open days. While still in zombie mode was simply too exhausted to attend the local one. For the very first time in about seven years had not indulged in this annual ritual. Had gotten our serpent snout in the Chemical Centre not once but on two separate occasions last year. This had been the major incentive last time. Had been eying up the place for years and years and waiting for the one annual chance to sneak a peek

But having ditched the toad only in the last week or so, the old serpent spark had returned. The zombie form became reanimated. So instead of the usual staying at Petunia’s place on Saturday night and staying curled up in the serpent sack until at least 11am, remained at the Lair that night instead and was out and about by 7am in the morning. Most unusual indeed and a very good sign. Such an early start would be necessary due to last year’s experience of missing not one but three buses going to the university as they were all packed like sardines from the very first stop.
It was so good to feel awake and alive again. Even the miserable drizzling rain was insufficient to put a dampener on the big day of adventure

It turned out that there was no need after all to go to the first stop at this early bird hour as no more than a dozen prospective students boarded at that stage but it was best not to take chances. So no regrets. It also meant having more time to plot and plan the grand adventures before the official opening at 10am

Last year turned up around midday and picked up a program only to discover that I had just missed the intriguingly titled talk in the arts faculty “Expelliarmus - active Latin from medieval to modern times and beyond”

So that was most definitely not going to happen this time. The there was the obligatory ‘Magic of Chemistry’ show which is so good that it is worth seeing twice in the one day. Decided that once a year would be sufficient since there are so many temptations and so little time to indulge in them all

So found the arts building and watched two peacocks strutting about in a small sort of quadrangle. There were a few geeks showing off their collection of medieval replica swords and some strange sword like objects that did not look particularly lethal at all. Asked what they were for since they would not be much use for lopping off heads or hands. It turned out that they were training swords and were modeled from illustrations in medieval manuscripts.
By then it was time to look for those wand waving Latin mavens. Was so looking forward to this lecture in spite of holding a deep detestation and loathing of Latin. It is clunky and ugly and is best left for Gregorian chant where at least it does sound beautiful and you don’t have to see the ugliness on the page.

( Accio, Lumos and other useful magical charms )

What seems like centuries ago before the recent cane toad infestation, the serpent attended a movie night organized by an amazing bunch of greenies.

Every month they show one film on the theme of green. It began as a street community building thing but word got around and soon other folks started turning up.
The movie was held in a crazy place called Replants which is dedicated to rescuing local vegetation from the chainsaw and dump truck of developers. They rescue the trees and other plants and offer them for resale at reasonable rates. Their site features assorted spooky weeds and trees. They have offered the building as a location for the movies but outside in the garden they have a bonfire in the midst of the creepy plants and a couple of cauldrons brewing full of soup, lentils, rice and other usually kosher munchies.

Izzie was in a bit of a tizzy for her first visit in the middle of June. But even so could recognize the magical atmosphere and the beautiful food. Never did snap out of the zombie psychotic state but vow to return again next time when much more able to appreciate it.
The movie that first night was called “Bag it” and it was about one American and his attempt to avoid using disposable plastic shopping bags.

Was ever so miffed that the movie supposed to start at 7.15 did not get going until some 30 minutes later. Most of the folks attending were locals but the serpent was relying on the Floo network to get back to the Lair. The bus stop was right outside the door but needed to be at the Canning bridge before 10.30 to catch the last bus and it was a bus and a train ride to get there.
But once the film started soon got lost in the adventure and soon forgot the muddled mad serpent mind. Can distinctly remember seeing the scenes from the local town where the film maker was based and the rivalry with another for some tidy town competition. This pretty town with old buildings on the main street had a backdrop of snowy mountains and could have easily been in the Alps but it was some place in Colorado. Izzie thought “How gorgeous” It was not sponsored by any tourism commission but certainly looked like a stunningly beautiful place to visit.

It was a strange sort of movie. It was thought provoking and seriously scary but not miserable and depressing like so many documentaries about the environment. Best line ever

“There is no ‘away’”




Never did get to see the whole thing due to the bus business but will definitely keep an eye out for it.
Now one month later they had another film called “Growthbusters”. The producer had already been featured on “Late Night Live’ so was definitely looking forward to this one. It was the story of a single solitary citizen taking on the whole “Growth is Good’ mantra of goblins and economists

( Spooky Places and People )

It's been a strange week indeed. Done a whole bunch of things differently than usual. It helps being on holidays and not having to bother with mundane activities such as work. It also helps that there's a heritage festival currently on at the serpent's favorite lurking ground. Not quite a coincidence. Been timing holidays this time of year to coincide with the festival since it began back in 2005 or so.

For the first time this year, finally made it to City Farm - a crazy hippy place built on what used to be an industrial waste land. Some 20 years on, they have finally achieved certified organic status for their gorgeous gardens. But things are changing and not for the best. Looks like the old VW Kombi van ambience will get upgraded to some nasty Hummer.
A lot has happened in 6 months including the building of a bright shiny new cafe which is nearly completed and some bright sparkly new loos. But they got rid of the cute and quirky bush dunnies. A sad day indeed.

Chatted with the lady who makes the most gorgeous beeswax candles. She'd wondered what on earth had happened to the the serpent who used to slink there ever other week and is probably one of her best customers.
After that, lurked around the gardens and sat in a secluded spot facing north, perfect for soaking up the sunshine and smelling the sunflowers.
Was trying to decide between listening to the Science Show on the radio or reading "The Rational Tarot"
In the end did neither as the peace and quiet was interrupted by one of the volunteers picking the same spot to munch her lunch
She came across as quite bubbly and friendly at first but it did not take long for the serpent to suss that here was a drama queen on steroids
She was telling Izzie about how she'd been unemployed for several months now and used to work as a security guard but they gave her a hard time because she was a girl.
Then her boss was picking on her and being unreasonable so she left because it was all too much stress. She then worked as a volunteer at City Farm but when some young things wearing balaclavas turned up and she tried stop them and the cops wouldn't answer when she rang on the mobile for help and then her former boss found out where she was now working and started hassling her and how she was being persecuted for being a whistle blower and even ASIO would not help her, Izzie soon sussed that the woman was a total nutcase.
A professional victim always on the receiving end of awfulness and psychopathic bosses etc etc, overworked and underappreciated etc etc.

Anyone who even mentions ASIO (the Oz version of the CIA) and who expects them to help - it's big time bells and whistles. What's the world coming to when you can't even trust ASIO - she wailed. Anyone who trusts the spooks or considers their pitiful existence worthy of the spooks' concern is almost certainly a few sandwiches short of a picnic and most definitely not the brightest light on the Christmas tree

Forty minutes of persecution and paranoia was more than enough for Izzie. There's enough crazies at the day job without having to endure it while on holidays
Made a get away and got the train to Fremantle for an afternoon of churchyards and choirs

There's an old church that we'd often seen on one of the buses and it looked most interesting and like there was a big garden at the back. Will have to sniff and peek there one day thinks Izzie some two years ago. So to find that it was listed as one of the places taking part in the heritage festival was just the excuse a serpent needed. Both the church and meeting hall would be open from 3-6pm on Saturday and their new amphitheatre would be playing host to a bunch of local choirs and musicians
Got there just after 2pm before all the crowds and pottered around the gardens and old hall which was actually the original church built in 1880 or so. They had tea and scones, hot dogs and bubbly wine on sale. There were also lots of photo albums and pictures of old parish events. Scattered around the hall were little round tables with red gingham tablecloths - just the sort of thing you'd associate with Gypsy fortune tellers. The sunlight was streaming in through the windows

Looked down some of the side streets with old rickety bockety houses and thought what a beautiful and magical place it was. The perfect spot for peeking at a dark shiny new tarot deck (courtesy of a certain Cat)
So not only got to unwrap and drool over the Dark Angels tarot deck in the gorgeous garden with the local church cat lurking and lots of wormwood, sage and silvery grey curry plants but also planted the various plastic wrappings in one of their rubbish bins.
Then later sat at one of the gingham table cloth tables with a cup of tea and scones once again drooling over the deck sorting the cards into the good, bad and ugly. Well - not quite - the sublime, subtle and ugly was more like it. Put 33 cards in the gorgeous pile and 15 in the ugly and the rest in the middle.
Seriously strange and spooky angels indeed and very gothic. We thinks they were very happy with the location of their 'earthly revelation' to a certain serpent.
The alternative culture vulture activity of the day was a graveyard tour but had been on that last year. It's always best to do different things for each festival. No point in touring the graveyard for the fourth time at the expense of peeking in these pretty churches for the first

After getting acquainted with the angels, it was time to listen to some music and see what other nibblies were on offer. A glass of wine with a hot dog was the princely sum of six silver sickles but since the serpent wasn't having any sausages but onions only, they made that only 4 and added that you could get extra glasses of bubbly for $2
In the end had 3 glasses and it was quite nice too.
By that time, it was sunset and soon time to go slinking back to the city and the bus.
It is so rare to visit a beautiful magical place and to know at the time that it will be a day remembered for the next 10 years or so if not even longer. So many happy times are only recognized as such in hindsight. Already the memories are up there in the serpent hall of fame along with Bridgetown and other sacred sites
It is sort of paradoxical that the more present you are in a particular place and time, the more vivid the memories remain of the place in the future.

There was more wonderful feasts for the senses on Sunday too but will save that for another post
Suffice to say that today was Do Nothing day. Sometimes you just need time to let all the mystery and magic turn into memories and to not overload the old grey cells