The Ides of March - I'm Your Vehicle Baby

"Hey, well I'm the friendly stranger

In the black sedan
Oh won't you hop inside my car?
I got pictures, got candy, I am a lovable man
I'd like to take you to the nearest star
I'm your vehicle babyI'll take you anywhere you wanna go"

                                                   "Vehicle," Written by Jim Peterik, "The Ides of March"

March 15, 44BEC, gave birth to the ancient cultural meme, "Beware the Ides of March." There's a couple of things to note about this famous line, first this is dialogue from William Shakespeare's play, "Julius Caesar," and second, every month has Ides in them. Romans didn't mark the passage of each day of the month by assigning a specific number to it.  The first of the month was referred to as the Kalends (kind of similar to 'calendar,' don't you think?), the 5th through the 7th, as the Nones and the 13th through the 15th, as the Ides.

History tells us that Caesar was assassinated during a meeting of the Roman senate on March 15th.  Plutarch, a Greek historian and biographer of Julius Caesar, took the assassination story a step further and described an incident where a seer proclaimed that Caesar wouldn’t live past the Ides of March.  Plutarch claims that Julius Caesar met the seer on his way to the theater and told him, “Well, it’s the Ides and I’m still here.”  The seer replied with words to the effect of, “Oh yeah? Well, the day’s not over yet, Julius.”  Something tells me that Plutarch also had a flair for drama.  A later historian would claim the seer actually made his prediction after reviewing the entrails on an animal.  That’s why I prefer tarot.  Less messy. Well,...usually.

What makes the most sense historically is that the festival of Annae Perennae, or the Great Mother was held on the Ides of March.  This was a festival celebrated by the lower classes, or plebeians, who left the city in droves to frolic and drink along the banks of the Tiber.  The patricians, or nobility were the only large group left in the city and Julius Caesar had many enemies among them.  According to history, sixty senators supported Caesar’s assassination by Brutus.  Remember Shakespeare’s equally famous line, “Et tu Brute?” or “Even you, Brutus?”

If you catch yourself looking over you today, remember that any portents of doom for the Ides of March simply come from ancient history and a couple of writers who had excellent turns of phrase.

LADY ORACLE

Valentine's Day - Make Just One Someone Happy

"Like I always said, love wouldn't be blind if the braille weren't 
 so much damned fun."

Armistead Maupin, "Maybe the Moon"

There were at least two historically significant Christian martyrs named Valentinus, St. Valentine of Rome and St. Valentine of Terni.  Our St. Valentine, St. Valentine of Rome, like every other historical figure, is part fact, part myth and in his case, part Hallmark moment.

Historically, St. Valentine of Rome, was a priest who married, not only couples of the early Christian faith, but also Roman soldiers who were forbidden to marry by Roman law. Eventually, Valentine was arrested, tortured (hence the martyrdom part) and executed.  Legend says that he cured his jailer’s daughter of blindness.  Later the story was embellished to include St Valentine sending a note to the girl on the eve of his execution signed, ‘your Valentine.’

The Feast of St. Valentine, was not linked to romantic love until the fifteenth century, when educated people began sending notes and stanzas of poetry to their loved ones.  The first commercially produced Valentine’s Day cards were manufactured in the eighteenth century for tongue-tied young men who were hopeless at expressing themselves.  Needless to say, the business became a smashing success.  Victorians added their own style to the cards, making them floral and frilly.  It wasn’t until the latter half of the twentieth century that we began giving flowers, chocolates and actual gift items.

They say that you can’t buy love, but every year Americans spend between 13 and 14 billion dollars on Valentine’s Day.  In 2011, despite a twitchy economy, 3.4 billion was spent on romantic dinners, 3.5 billion on jewelry and by comparison, only a paltry 1.1 billion was spent on cards.  In 2012, the amounts spent per category increased.  We’ve come a long way from a simple lace-covered card inscribed with a pretty verse.  Valentine’s Day has, like so many other well-intentioned holidays, has become big business.

This year how about giving your Valentine your attention instead of a mass produced big ticket item.  Back rubs, foot messages, heck, even turning off your smart phone for the evening are marvelous things to do.  Experience the sheer wonder of being together during a single moment in time.  Time passes quickly and it is much too easy to squander, especially with all the high tech distractions available to us.  This year give real romance try.  Give the best gift possible to someone who loves you.  Give yourself without reservation, or afterthought.  That’s what love’s about.   

LADY ORACLE