Tales from the MAP Room - Mezzogiorno - [T.2]

Mezzogiorno

Mezzogiorno is both a time and a place. In Italian, it means "the middle of the day", or midday. But in the northern hemisphere, facing the midday Sun means facing South; hence Mezzogiorno also refers to the southern stretch of the Italian peninsula. The same spatio-temporal use is found in the French terms "le Midi" and "midi".

Facing the midday sun can bring longings for a more temperate climate, but as we "head South" the Sun reveals itself to be a complex benefactor. The source of life on Earth is also the bringer of droughts and deserts; temperance gives way to thirst and fatigue.

Solar energy also has its analog as a psychic phenomenon. Images of the Sun are an important part of many mystical and alchemical traditions. But such symbols do not refer to the Sun in the sky, but rather that solar energy that illuminates from within. And, just as some of us may withdraw back from the equatorial Sun to appreciate a cooler clime, so many will step back from a full experience of their own energy.

Perhaps the most famous solar symbol is the winged Sun, which can be traced back to the dawn of human artefacts. The mixture of Fire and Air is illuminating, as it describes an internal fire that transforms but does not burn. The transformation is overwhelming, the state of mind is so atypical as to be truly surreal, truly over-real or hyper-real.

No story can ever capture the essence of the experience without sounding banal or trite; they are not reproductions, but signposts. And yet the same stories need to be retold to keep those signposts from perishing under the weight of cultural weeds; to stop such experiences from becoming un-real.

When we gaze at the Sun, we are not really facing South - we are facing inwards.

Enjoy some solar flares...

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Tales from the MAP Room

Mystery in every direction by @agneslaczo

Answer Me, Answer Man (Flash fiction) by @elias-jaxon

	THE POWER OF ISOLATION "Is there anything more pure than the connection with yourself, within a totally desolate environment?" @fivefiveeleven
Immortals waste time they do not have "An immortal person spends their time waiting for something spectacular to happen." @leaky20
	I've witnessed a fire ravaging the hotel I was working in 2011!!! "The heat of the fire was so intense that even the sun beds could not resist..." @progressivechef
One True Thing Things rarely fall into gold mines, they fall into black holes. @outrayjust

Trinity (handcut collage 80/70cm)
@georgeboya

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Have you been... entertained?

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_{Brought to you by the Minnows Accelerator Project
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Artwork: Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons, check the original articles
Editor: @rycharde (vote for me as witness Next issue: coming soon, just follow @accelerator}

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This is the second post from the Minnows Accelerator Project (MAP). I feel we have enough authors to already make this a stimulating and vibrant collection of articles. Indeed, there is no underlying theme *apart from* being stimulating and vibrant, with points of view across the cultural spectrum of the arts and sciences.

The first step to joining MAP yourself is to signup at the most recent MAP August Signups page. Then, if selected, you will participate in a Six of the Best contest and thereby become part of the MAP community. All the writers below have gone through this process. Good luck!

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