Due to some very interesting astrological occurrences as of recently, I was re-reading the myth of Psyche and Eros this morning over coffee (yes I was naked) and thinking about the depths and lengths Psyche took to reunite with Eros after having lost him.

Aphrodite, the beautiful, jealous, and controlling mother of Eros, demanded Psyche perform four nearly impossible tasks if she were to ever see Eros again.

1. To separate the tiny seeds of a mass quantity of poppies, millet, wheat and other grains all within a days time.

2. To sheer the notoriously aggressive golden rams, who could easily trample her, to retrieve their golden fleece.

3. Fill a flask with the black, poisonous water of the River Styx, home to dragons and other demonic mythical creatures.

4. Descend into the underworld, aka HELL, to request of Persephone (Queen of the Underworld), to fill a box with a bit of her beauty to bring back to Aphrodite.

Long story short, Psyche completed these tasks like the badass Goddess she is and reunites with her hot lover Eros.  

This story brings to mind a lot of themes that I encounter when I think about sex, especially the integral compatibility of mind (Psyche) and passion (Eros),but also, what we are willing to go through for that earth shattering, cosmic sex. You know what I'm talking about...  

Do you have your own more modern mythic tale of lust and perseverance? Do tell...

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I don’t know if I have a tale of desire and perseverance, but I do have a tale of desire and disaster.  

If you don’t know the myth, it’s basically boy meets girl, boy marries girl, girl dies, boy goes down into Hades to bring girl back. Orpheus actually wins Eurydice’s release on the condition he does not look at her again until they reach the surface. So they walked back to the real world holding hands with Eurydice walking behind him. Just before they set foot in the land of the living, Orpheus gets scared and looks back, just to make sure Eurydice is still there… and she fades back to Hades.

Some time ago, I made a connection with a woman in a situation where there shouldn’t have been one, just shouldn’t have been possible, and we had a nice thing going for a little while. Imagine a forbidden work connection with the office hottie or getting friendly with the boss’s daughter or even hooking up with a slumming pop star. That kind of WTF situation. Had to fight off a lot of drooling guys coming from all angles just to have a shot. It was such an impossible situation and it was going so well that I started to question it. And at a moment that required just a little bit of faith, I had none. I “looked back” and it fell apart.

But it’s not all on me. I think she “looked back,” too.

I don’t think my tale is hardly that epic, it’s just that Orpheus often comes to mind when people can’t make that leap of faith and believe they’re winning. It happens in sports all the time, especially tennis. It happens in this sport, too.

My tales of perseverance for love/desire/action are pretty pedestrian. Long bus rides into the suburbs in the middle of the night because we’d worked each other up over IM. Watching “The Wiggles” with a girlfriend and her son until I actually knew who Murray was (and Captain Feathersword). Braving the wilds of Anacostia after dark. Walking through crack zones in Petworth, again in the middle of the night, chasing a sweet voiced girl like she was crack.

I think Orpheus is ultimately ripped apart by Dionysius’s sex and wine crazed groupies in a wild orgy, by the way. I’m still working on that part

specifically Puccini's Turandot.

the princess presents puzzles to be solved. if solved successfully there are some happy years. if not solved successfully the suitor is beheaded. with somewhat clear communication, I can decipher the puzzle. without that.... well you can't solve a puzzle if it is stated unclearly.

anyway, even without allowing for that, my my batting average is 0.750 on puzzle solving so I can't complain.

http://www.criterion.com/films/344-black-orpheus

Interesting, Psyche loses her lover by betraying his request to never look directly at him. They have wild passionate sex in a dark cave and Psyche has to trust that he is what he says he is. I think there is a lot to be said about "looking back" or shining the light on something or someone as Psyche did. It suggests a desire for another level of engagement and knowledge of someone that faith cannot accommodate.  

Or just celebrate the grape harvest with Dionysus, orgies and so much wine. As the Greeks say, YOLO.

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But the way it is stated is all part of the puzzle! Solving each others puzzles is the essence of human interaction, let's just hope we get to keep our heads and don't lose our minds in the process

That film looks gorgeous, thank you. I've been snowed in most of the winter up here in Vermont so I am always on the hunt for new films.

I've only seen it once, but a lot of it has stuck with me. It's an odd, little film, but worth seeing. Not just because it's legendary, but because it is interesting in its own right. Eurydice's return has probably haunted me the most.