Like the Lone Ranger and Tonto who burst my bubble of security in an unforgettable dream at the age of ten, the Trickster archetype has shown up again. This time it has locked the door on your comments and shaken my trust in WordPress’s ability to keep our lines of communication open. For the last three weeks your comments have not been published on my posts and are nowhere to be found.
I’ve missed you. We’ve been sharing thoughts and learning from each other here at Matrignosis for over 11 years. It feels like a cozy neighborhood cafe’ where regulars drop by to have a cup of coffee or tea and a chat. Many of you have become treasured friends.
When my old nemesis, Self-Doubt, shows up, your comments have always shifted my psyche’s balance scales back to a comfortable equilibrium. You’ve cheered for my successes, sympathized with my struggles, and provided insights about my dreams. And now, suddenly I can still post notices on the front door, but Trickster won’t let you in.
After the first post I thought it was just a coincidence that I didn’t hear from anyone. Or there was too much going on in your worlds to write. I hoped it was a simple glitch that WordPress would notice and fix if I just waited. By the second post I thought you must have lost interest in the menu. Maybe I was serving too many of the same tired dishes. Not enough variety. Too much salt, not enough pepper. Too much sour, not enough sweet.
So when three people reached out yesterday to express their concern about not being able to comment on the third post, it was a welcome relief and call to action. Thank you Aladin, Brian, and Stephen. I have hired some help to track down Trickster and find the key to the lockdown. We’ve ruled out a possible hacker and think it’s a software glitch.
Synchronistically, the last time Trickster interfered with my internet communications was exactly a year ago yesterday, Nov. 17, 2020. That was the day of my Zoom launch of The Soul’s Twins. A problem with the sound caused a thirty minute delay. Luckily, most of the attendees were still there when we opened the door to the waiting room.
What have I learned from Trickster’s lesson this time around? That I am very fortunate in my friends but sometimes take them too much for granted. That I need you all far more than I realize. That my work is a magnificent gift for which I am profoundly grateful, but without relationships it’s empty and meaningless. That E.M. Forster’s axiom, “Only connect,” is deeply wise and essential for my soul’s welfare. And that when it comes to my creative work, old Self-Doubt can just take a ride. And take Trickster with you!
So until this gets fixed you might want to save your comments in a separate file before you try to post them. That way, if the door’s still locked, you can copy them into an email and send them to me at jeanraffaauthor.com. Or you can message me on Facebook. Here’s hoping we’ll be together again soon.
Image credits: Ghostwood Gallery. Artist Unknown. https://ghostwolf.gallery/product/the-trickster/
Paper and E-book versions of The Bridge to Wholeness and Dream Theatres of the Soul are at Amazon. The Wilbur Award-winning Healing the Sacred Divide can be found at Amazon and Larson Publications.com. Jean’s new Nautilus Award-winning The Soul’s Twins, is at Amazon and Schiffer’s Red Feather Mind, Body, Spirit. Subscribe to her newsletter at www.jeanbenedictraffa.com.
13 Responses
I hope this technical glitch has been solved. Isn’t it humbling how much it can affect us?
Yes it is. And Wow! You were able to post your comment. It would appear that this post did the trick. 🙂 Trickster got the recognition it wanted and decided to open the door again. What a rascal….. Or maybe you were the magic key. You certainly worked magic with The Soul’s Twins and me, my friend. Happy Thanksgiving. 🙂
So pleased it’s been sorted Jeanie. Amazing re same date last year. I thought (paranoia getting the better of me) maybe I’d been blocked – a passing thought!
Hahaha! You know, of course, that I would never dream of blocking any of my wonderful friends here!!! But I get the paranoia feeling. I had some of it too when no comments were showing up. Also a passing thought. 🙂
Hi Jeanie, I’m sorry to hear that you’re having such a terrible time with WordPress. One thing I’ve just seen on my WordPress reader is that next to your website is a “No Entry” sign. I’ll take a photo now and email it to you. To my mind this looks like WordPress is the current problem. Perhaps your website person may understand what the sign means? I hope this helps. Love and light, Deborah.
Thank you so much for sending that photo. I passed it on to my site manager and you’re right. The problem is with Jetpack, which is used by WordPress. I’m relieved that my site wasn’t hacked. There are still problems to be ironed out, but we’re getting there. Love and light back atcha! Jeanie
What a relief Jeanie! I’m so pleased to hear that the photo helped. I’ve never heard of “hotlinking” before but I’m pleased you have someone who does. Fingers crossed that normal service will be resumed soon. Love and light, Deborah.
Thank you, Deborah. 🙂 Did you get the books you wanted for your birthday? Which one did you start with?
Well, I received seven birthday books! And the one I really hoped for “Green Man Dreaming” didn’t arrive … apparently Mother Christmas will be dropping that one off the night before Christmas. I’m starting with C. S. Lewis’s novel “Till We Have Faces” which is a reimagining of the mythic tale of Psyche and Eros written from Psyche’s sister Orual’s perspective. I’m 66 pages in this afternoon and loving it! 🙂
I’m glad this is getting worked out, Jeanie. It’s SO frustrating when the computer causes us problems. I’m helpless without Chad for the website and my son David for all other computer chaos and it comes up even though I’m cautious. Working with my son is wonderful (he remotes in from North Carolina to sort things out) but also a cause of friction because he can feel how nervous and anxious I get about computer problems. I feel helpless!! I think computers are targets for the Trickster and I got hacked last week and someone set up an Instagram account with my Facebook information (I don’t have an Instagram account) and started spamming friends with money-making schemes. That’s happened twice, so now I know what to do.
I agree on this community of friends and it’s been so important to me during covid lockdown but also because I can communicate with people about ideas that matter to me without the use of my challenged hearing. We’re still here and you’re still there. I didn’t notice what Deborah noticed, so it’s good to have someone with a watchful eye. It might have been there, but it isn’t there now. (Deborah, ‘Til We Have Faces’ has been a favorite of mine for many years and Marion Woodman used the book as the bones of a week long BodySoul Rhythm Workshop on Eros and Psyche which Eva Rider also attended. My women’s mythology group had just spent 2 years studying Eros and Psyche with a focus on James Hillman’s commentary in ‘The Myth of Analysis’ plus having read ‘Til We Have Faces’ years before. I was primed and it was a life-changing week moving me one step closer to finding my personal myth. It has wings!)
Wow, I’m even more excited now to be reading this new book with wings! Thank you so much Elaine for your wonderful feedback. Love and light, Deborah.
Deborah, I’m sorry you didn’t receive Green Man Dreaming but it sounds like you have plenty to read before Christmas. i’m almost finished with my copy, and though it’s taking a lot longer for me to get through, (I couldn’t put The Chemical Wedding down and read it in three days!) There’s very little about the mythical Green Man in it, but his discussions of imagination are plentiful and very rich. I just found my copy of Til We Have Faces and see that I read it in the early nineties. A wonderful book that I found extremely meaningful at the time I read it. Love and light, Jeanie
Elaine, I’m glad you got through without any problem. My website tech is named Chad too. I think he had most of the problems fixed by the time you wrote. There are still a few glitches but nothing as difficult as shutting down comments.
You bring up an interesting point about the friction you and David occasionally have with technological issues. My son Matt likewise helps me, and I, too, get anxious. He has to remind me to relax and be patient and that’s hard for me when I think of the enormous amount of work that could be lost and the nightmare of trying to replace it.
I suspect all your years of studying the myth of Eros and Psyche (who, as you of all people know well, is associated with the symbol of the butterfly because of its transformation from unconscious to consciousness), has had a lot to do with your obsession with butterflies these past few years. Midwifing their transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly may well be an outward manifestation of what’s going on in your own soul. Surely the archetype of transformation plays a large part in your myth, as it does in mine.
Blessings dear friend, Jeanie