Welcome to Sunday All Day Brunch. This is an open topic thread so help yourself to the goodies and sit a spell and let us know what is new with you? As we all know the primary directions are north, south, east, and west. We tend to group people according to where they live and certain characteristics are attributed to them. Trust me I live in the South and there are flaming liberals and progressives here. We are not all the stereotype redneck. The directions though have a very long history in the mythology of many peoples in the world. Follow me below the orange cheeto for a fascinating look at directions.
In Greek mythology the Anemoi were the gods of the four directional winds--Boreas the North-Wind, Zephryos the West-Wind, Notos the South-Wind, and Euros the East-Wind. They were closely connected with the seasons : Boreas was the cold breath of winter, Zephryos the god of spring breezes, and Notos the god of summer rain-storms. The gods were pictured as either winged humans or horses. The Romans called the gods Boreas - North Wind, Auster - South Wind, Eurus - East Wind, and Zephyr - West Wind.
In Norse mythology the four directions are held up by dwarfs. Austri "East" is one of the four dwarfs named after the cardinal compass directions. The others are Vestri "West", Nordi "North", and Sudri "South". Austri and the three other dwarfs was sent out into each corner of the world, to hold up the four corners of the sky.
I live in North Carolina and we have a large Cherokee population. It is one of the reasons I chose to retire here because my great grandmother was Cherokee and I want to learn more about my people. In Cherokee beliefs the Earth was a flat disc in the middle held up by four chords in the north, south, east, and west from a sky arch made of stone. The middle world was where humans, plants, and animals lived. The upper world was the realm of the guiding and protective spirits and the under world was where the bad spirits dwelled. I urge you to check out Ojibwa's diaries for more on the history and beliefs of the Native Americans and other ancient civilizations.
In Chinese mythology the four directions are represented by the four animals Tortoise (Black Warrior) = North, Winter, Black, Water; White Tiger (Kirin) = West, Fall, White, Metal; Red Bird (Phoenix) = South, Summer, Red, Fire; and Dragon = East, Spring, Blue/Green, Wood. These are ones I am most familiar since my niece asked me to do artwork based an the Chinese practice of feng shui. Here is what she wanted and the subsequent art pieces.
West: Seven white tigers, in the marsh, round shapes, aqua blue as a secondary color, and metal. Area represents children and creativity. Avoid anything red or representations of fire.
North: One black turtle, lots of blue and navy, in the water, free form shapes. Area represents career. Avoid anything representing earth, yellow, flat or square.
East: Three cerulean green dragons, thunder in the background, lots of wood, rectangle shapes. Area represents Family. Avoid anything white, round, or metal.
South: Nine Phoenix, reds/purples/burgundies, fire and sun, triangle shapes. Area represents Fame and Reputation. Avoid black, water, and free-form shapes.
If you are looking for Mother's Days gifts I have some unique things for sale here.