Word Rich: Cosmic Turtle
Advice from a Sea Turtle: Be fearless. Always believe in yourself. Sometimes you’ll have to dig yourself out of a hole you didn’t dig. Never forget where you came from. — Source Unknown ********** Succeed and Soar’s first, the 2022 “Words” series explored phrases that could help heal human experiences. The 2025 theme is astronomy, ending with this, The Cosmic Turtle. From September’s Autumn Equinox to December’s Winter Solstice, night lasts longer in Earth’s northern half. Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska never sees the sun from late November to late January. Murmansk, Russia experiences polar night for forty days. The longest is, Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. [See video at 3 in afternoon.] There, folks live in darkness from late October to mid February. At ancient gatherings, tales of the Cosmic Turtle explained the world. For Hindu people, Kurma supported Earth’s weight and kept the world from collapsing. The Cosmic Turtle symbolized stability, strength, and endurance as well as the universe’s balance and harmony. Also in India, the World-Bearing Turtle is called Chukwa. This member of the Chelonioidea family is popular because it caries the elephant which holds the world. In China, the Black Tortoise named Xuanwu is one of four astronomy symbols. Ancient emperors built temples honoring this celestial being, believing it protected against floods and northern enemies. Xuanwu’s black color represented water and winter. In feng shui, Black Tortoise imagery is placed in the northern part of homes or gardens to protect and bring stability. South African Zulu folklore contains a world turtle so large that, “it contains many countries and that one side of it experiences a different season than the other side.” The Lenape believe the Great Turtle created North America, known to them as Turtle Island. While the story was recorded by Europeans around 1678, earthquakes and eclipses were discussed. Of those events, the people said that there was talk in their own country of a great earthquake, “which had happened in former times.” And, there was still talk of a “remarkable darkening of the Sun because the turtle that held up the earth changed positions, blocking the light. See videos below Wikipedia’s article, “World Turtle” shows how the creature keeps generating new stories. like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series that occurs on a flat disc atop four elephants the ride atop the giant turtle Great A’Tuin’s shell. The great turtle named Maturin appears in the Stephen King novels It and Wizard and Glass. The young adult novel Turtles All the Way Down and film adaptation present the World Turtle. Here are more, modern World Turtle tales. Keep in mind, in dreams, turtles could mean a time to slow down, find inner peace and establish boundaries Here are more turtle thoughts, On my door, there’s a cartoon of two turtles. One says, ‘Sometimes I’d like to ask why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice when he could do something about it. ‘The other turtle says, ‘I’m afraid God might ask me the same question.’ — Peter KreeftI I learn as much from a turtle as from a religious text. — Dalai Lama If the road is beautiful, walk the road slowly; be a turtle, be a snail, and even better than this: Stop walking; live the road fully! — Mehmet Murat Ildan Succeed and Soar! Sandra Gould Ford Presenting arts experiences to encourage, refresh, enrich creative thinking and inspire. ********** Radiant Tree Books This Succeed and Soar book shares “Life Well Lived” words of wisdom and uplifting photography. This sketch journal offers encouraging wisdom about going beyond boundaries and making dreams come true. 5×9, 36-page, Trade Journal. $11.50. Preview 8×1, 49 page, Trade Journal, $19 Preview Thanks for shopping! ********** This four-minute video presents the creation on Turtle Island, now know as North America. Click Here to ViewSee Also: Life Cycle of Sea Turtles, 2 Minutes Sea Turtle Hatchlings Scramble to the Ocean, 4 Minutes Sea Turtles 101. National Geographic reminds that sea turtles have existed since dinosaur times and are bigger than human adults.3 Minutes