The Garden Symbol in Old & New Mythology. A Resource for Teachers. By Willi Paul, NewMythology.com

[WIlli Paul]

The Garden Symbol in Old & New Mythology. A Resource for Teachers. By Willi Paul, NewMythology.com

Garden Symbols - Old Mythology

• Garden of Eden

• Food as Sacred Spiritual
• Nature as Food Source – Hunt and Gather
• Family Garden
• Cemetery – Formal Garden for Picnics & Souls
• Religious or Government Courtyard / Atrium – Entry to Authority
• English Garden – Botanic Garden – Nature Preserves – Nature Exhibitions for Wealthy
• Neighborhood Store then Super Market – Grown, Packaged and Trucked-in Nature
• Big Agriculture (workers are slaves, pesticides, corp. take-over of family farms)
• Engineered Environments – Dubai
• GMO – Generically Manufactured Organisms
• Global Warming – Drought on Earth

Garden Symbols - New Mythology

• Farmers Market
• Flea Market
• Wild Flower Garden - Bees
• Community Farm (CSA)
• Urban Rooftop Garden
• Gaia
• Permaculture - Food Forest

Discussion Topics:

1. What is foundation for humankind’s domination of Nature as reflected in Man-made Gardens and Landscapes?

2. How did the creation and integration of Nature spaces over time occur?

3. Where did our need to nurture Nature come from?

4. Describe the need for consumption of Nature vs. bringing a loving spirit to Nature and design?

5. When did the Earth become a dump site? Where are these dumps sited today and why?

6. Is Gaia now a Universal idea? Can we view Mother Nature as Global Garden?

7. What is a Food Forest? Is this a spiritual place? Can this be in your backyard or neighborhood?

8. Are organized religions, including cemetery owners, treating Nature as second rate; an auger for profit?

9. Lessons vs. Sources:

Lessons (old mythology) – are we bent over and lost from time worn and capricious directions from classic myths? Can we learn from our mistakes?

Sources (new mythology) – as we create new myths, rituals, can we get new gardens and dreams? Are we open to the possibilities?

10. Is a “tipping point” useful in this mythological transition?

11. The curve is going the wrong way as global warming splits mankind toward a dangerous Nature-killing horizon. Can the new garden symbols and mythologies fix this? How?