by Joseph E. Mason
The mouse is somewhat similar to the black sheep in terms of symbolism. The logo and mount of Ganesh, the first son of Shiva and Parvati, was a mouse. Mythical scholars say it represents the aspect of the Divine within us. The word is associated with the Sanskrit, "musa," deriving from the root word, "mus," meaning "to steal."
Now this is strange symbolism, but it appears now and then. A relative of mine once dreamed that Seth helped her find her mouse-like, or hamster-like pet, that was lost in the neighbor's garage. "Pink Floyd, The Wall" is all about how conditioned beliefs screw us up in our youth. In the film, the young Pinky tries to save a sick mouse. When it dies, he drops it into the water. Other people are shown holding their dead mouse.
A mouse doesn't have a lot upstairs, but like Theseus who killed the Minotaur bull, he can find his way through a labyrinth and remember how he did it.
One who steals is a pretty disreputable character, unless you are talking about symbols. Aladdin was a thief who braved the fiery pit to retrieve the Lamp. The East Gate of Eden is guarded by the Cherubim whirling a flaming sword to keep people away from the Tree of Life, which gives eternal life. You see? You have to be a mouse to sneak in and steal it.
"Oh, no, no, no!" they admonished, "You'll be killed by the Fierce Ones who dwell out there in The Beyond."
"I know it's scary out there," Mouse stammered, "but I really want to know what is causing that sound."
One day Mouse worked up the courage and began following the sound. The Slithering Ones and the Furry Ones pounced out from every nook, but Mouse was able to escape each time. The sound became louder, growing to a low roar. On the third day, the mystery became clear, as he caught a glimpse of the waters of the river flowing below the trees.
A funny-looking green creature was perched upon a lily pad beside the shore. "Hello Mouse," Frog croaked, "you found the sound, did you?"
"Yes, this place is really something."
"You can find more if you leap up in the air as high as you can," Frog suggested.
"Well!. I don't know about that."
"Aw! come on. Just try it one time."
Humoring his green friend, Mouse gave it a try. He leaped so vigorously, he lost his balance and tumbled down into the water. "Hey! You tricked me~" sputtered the soggy lump of hair.
"Did you see anything when you jumped up?" questioned Frog.
"Well! Yes! I did see a very great mountain off in the far distance."
Frog jumped into the water and swam away. Mouse wandered off and met another band of fur-balls like himself.
"Have you guys leaped up and seen the big mountain?" squeaked Mouse.
Frowning faces and shaking heads told him, "No! What are you talking about?"
"If you leap real high, you can see it too."
"We're not interested in that," the little troop told Mouse, "We are too busy just finding food and hiding from The Killers."
"Well, I am going to go to that mountain," said Mouse, pumping out his chest.
"Don't be foolish," they told him, "there is a terrible desert in that direction, and several of our relatives have ventured out that way. Not one has returned."
Mouse thought about it over for awhile, then pronounced, "I made it through the first, and I think I can reach that mountain too."
"You're crazy, just plumb nuts!" they cried.
"I can explain it, but I just have to go find that mountain."
Another days wandering found him at the edge of the Forest World, gazing out beyond the long desert at the misty mountain nesting on the horizon.
Carefully watching the dark shadows of the Bird of Prey that circled overhead, he darted from bush to bush, making some progress.
Tired and sweaty after half a day's scampering, Mouse was relieved to see a grove of vegetation up ahead. He rushed into it for a well-deserved rest.
Suddenly, he felt a deep vibration stirring the air and earth. it seemed to be coming from a hill made of fur. And it was moving!
"Welcome to my home," rumbled the immense beast.
Startled and frozen in stony fear, Mouse blurted, "I, I'm traveling to the great mountain, an', an' those shadow spots are scaring me."
"Well! That's quite brave of you, little one," Bison praised. "I would very much like to help, but, alas, I am blind."
"I'll give you one of MY eyes!" squealed Mouse.
With that, one of Mouse's eyes flew out of his head and went into the face of the Bison.
With dust falling like rain from his fur, Bison stood up, towering over Mouse like a mountain. Faint bolts of lightening shot out from his horns up into the clouds above.
Mouse staggered as he felt the thunder rolling to the mountain. He had never dreamed that a beast could have such awesome power.
"Well! I'm ready to go," said Bison, "are you ready?"
"Oh! Yes! Yes!" answered Mouse. "Let's go!"
"Now listen to me," instructed Bison, "I will run fast straight to the mountain. I want you to run directly beneath me. That way, the Predators Of The Sky will not see you, and the Ground Killers will be afraid to venture out of their hiding places, least they be crushed. Do you understand?"
"Yes! Yes! I can do that, " Mouse chirped with confidence. So, off they went, charging across the desolate wasteland running fast. Dark spots flowed over Bison's back, as little Mouse sprinted in a cloud of dust below. Thundering hooves struck all about him like earthquakes shattering the earth.
Endurance consumed, Mouse felt he had breathed his last breath, when suddenly Bison slowed down and stopped. They had reached the base of the mountain.
"I didn't think I was going to make it," Mouse panted, "I was really out of breath, an' your hooves almost got me a bunch of times."
"You had no need to worry, little friend," Bison explained, "I walk in the Way Of The Sun Dance, so I always know precisely where my hooves are at all times."
Looking up at the majestic mountain, Mouse gulped. "How am I ever going to reach the top?" questioned his thoughts.
As he contemplated the situation, a magnificent white wolf stepped from behind a big rock low on the mountainside. "Greetings Mouse," spoke Wolf. "I've been expecting you."
Relieved of his fear, Mouse asked, "Can you guide me to the top of the mountain?"
"Well! I'd like very much to do that," mused Wolf, "but I have this problem with my vision; everything is all mixed up and I can't find my way anymore."
"I'll give you MY eye!" Mouse offered.
Out of his head flew the eye, right into the face of Wolf.
"Oh! Thank you, thank you," howled Wolf, "Come, follow me."
Luckily for Mouse, he had a keen sense of smell and was able to follow Wolf along the old trail toward the mountain top. A crystal clear lake nested atop the mountain, which was the Source of the River.
"I'll leave you here," growled Wolf, "I have other travelers to await down below."
Mouse sat down on a rock beside the still blue water.
"I'm blind as a bat," he thought, "but I'm still glad I made it up here. It's so peaceful. I wonder what my old pals back in the forest are doing."
He felt the air flutter, and fear creeped back in again. He knew it was Mighty Eagle who had come for him. Sure enough, off his perch he was snatched and carried him up into the heavens. He thought he was one dead mouse, but behold, a miracle! Mouse himself had been transformed into a Great Eagle!
Long, long ago, God got tired of watching these ponderous beasts who munched on greenery and each other. They had dominated the earth for a very long time, and didn't seem to be going anywhere. So, God dropped a giant, fiery stone from Heaven, and they were eliminated. Of all the creatures that remained, mouse was the one who used his abilities most fully, and came to dominate. Behold again! He transformed into man.
This may seem like a Micky Mouse way of doing things, but God works in strange ways.
In the final two months of 1995, I had a long string of coincidences involving Greek mythology. The majority of it was connected with the twins, Apollo and Artemis. Apollo is associated wtih the sun, music, light, and truth. Artemis is associated with the moon, hunting, protection of animals, and has triple-goddess aspects. One of the coincidences involved the mouse.
As I was writing the story, my friends at work were having difficulty catching a mouse who was wreaking havoc in the boss'es office. He was eating the buttons off the telephone, and pooping on everything, including the computer keyboard and mouse pad He ate all the cheese off the traps and left piles of dung on them, as if to flout his invincibility.
After several weeks my co-worker Jeff found a dead mouse in the trap. He told me how he had ground a peanut into the latch the night before.
I told Jeff jokingly that he had better watch out...the mouse was an important symbol.
He said, "Well! Then maybe I should tell you the dream I had last night. In the dream, I came in the office and saw the dead mouse in the trap, but he was still alive, and was looking into my eyes. He had extravagantly big ears and started to flap them. He flew into the air with the trap dangling, and chased me out of the office!"
I told Jeff a little about the mouse symbolism, then got into the truck to drive to a job. I flipped on the radio and heard a man talking about a comedian's story where a mouse was dangled on a string in front of the windshield of a mobile home.
I was reading up on my Greek mythology at the time, mostly looking up stories about Apollo and Artemis in Edith Hamilton's 'Mythology, Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes'. Right after the incident at work, I came to page 30 of the book, which explains a few things about Phoebus Apollo. A coincidence popped out:
"Another name given him was "the Lycian," variously explained as meaning Wolf-god,Apparently our mouse at work has a troop of friends. As I write, they continue to wreak havoc in the boss's office. Interestingly, our boss's name, Kenneth Edwards," traces back to works meaning "the guardian of knowledge."
God of Light, and God of Lycia. In the "Illiad" he is called "The Sminthian," the Mouse-god,
but whether because he protected mice or destroyed them no one knows."
Many other stories comes to mind about mouse symbolism, such as Mickey Mouse, Mighty Mouse, and "Rescue Down Under." Just before printing this story, another came on television, called, "Witches." The Witch turns children into mice, who then have quite an adventure overcoming the situation.
The mouse is small and vulnerable to show the condition we often find ourselves in, as we traverse the maze. A major objective of the life experience seems to involve the overcoming of fears. We face them and hopefully defeat them all the time. The Native American Mouse fits with ideas like the individual who marches to the sound of a different drummer, or the Black Sheep, who chooses not to follow the piping of the sheep fold. The Frog, the Bison, and the Wolf seem to represent higher guidances. To obtain this, one must take chances, overcome fears, and have trust in the higher guidance. It is not provided automatically, you must send it your own "eye.".
Joseph Campbell's concept of "following your bliss", fits the idea. Your bliss is that impetus within you that most sparks your interest. It is Divine, and leads you in the intended directions, regardless of what anyone else says. One's conditioning in youth, fears, desires, and obligations, tend to block or alter the straight path through the maze. Each "wrong" path followed to a dead end is but a diversion, yet teaches us also.
When you follow your bliss, teachers will appear, and doors will open for you. You are on the more direct path to reach the goal that is designed very uniquely, just for you alone. Other 'mice' often caring loved ones, will attempt to knock you off course, because they can never understand the Divine Mouse Plan of another. They tend to send you down narrow passages with dead ends. This is just another turning point that your mouse-self must discern.
Other symbols suggest that there is more to it than this, and that one would be advised to use both the rational and intuitive aspects to discern choices along the life-path. This is metaphorically called, "walking the razor's edge." One the left, or west, is one pitfall, on the right, or east, is another.
#1: "You speak of 'the mouse' - Have you read "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams? it's one of a series of 5 books - Was made into a TV series that ran on the BBC for a few years. It's a two reel video and we sometimes rent it from our local video store.
Anyhow - according to the Guide - it was the white mice who ordered the planet earth built and put humans on it in order to study them - But the Vogens blew up the earth (2 weeks before the experiment was completed) to make way for a new intergalactic road...It's great SF!!! with a lot of Sethian-type philosophy - there's a space ship that has an infinite probability drive - so of course there's simultaneous time. So now I know or maybe I don't) where Mr. Adam's got his idea." (by Madelon Rose Logue)
#2: "Though I don't recall dreaming of mice (though I did dream of a small red salamander which lived in my bathroom and grabbed my foot; and of a furry guinea pig which I stole from the zoo, then didn't know what to do with) I wish to remind you that a mouse is an important part of computer jargon. It is the little object that one uses to point to the screen, giving directions. And since it is connected wtih on-line activities, maybe it could be said metaphorically to have very big ears!" (by Josephine Goodman)
Notes from David Yarrow:
Once I had mice in my car. It was October and getting cold- I think they were just looking for someplace warm- but I would hear them up in the ceiling- honestly!!
Earlier in college I had some friends who had two mice, Mr. Brown and Mr. White. They would let them run around their in people's hair while they listened to music? It felt really neat. But then it turned out Mr. White was really Mrs. Brown and they had a batch of brown and whites, so all were 'released' also.
by David Yarrow
MINNIE
MOUSE & MICKEY MOUSE - DREAMS, CROP CIRCLES AND SYMBOLISM
RELATIONSHIP TO CROP CIRCLES. compiled by Dee Finney. Mickey
Mouse - Vernham Dean,
... MICKEY MOUSE CROP CIRCLE INVESTIGATED. Brent Miskuski - 2001 ...
www.greatdreams.com/crop/mickey_mouse.htm
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