Theme The Calling of Whales and Dragons to WE/HERE/NOW
Words of Invitation What is the call of whales and dragons? And what does it mean that we listen to the calling of whales? These questions will navigate our whale-seeking journeys. Listening to the call of whales is a journey. Cetaceanist seekers enter a collective pilgrimage with whales on Earth. Magoist Cetaceanism shows us that our lives are inseparable from the work of whales. Not just human lives but also all terrestrial lives. 2021 Mago Pilgrimage to Cetacean Korea aims to achieve the following four-fold goals. Firstly, participants will be introduced to the legacy of Magoist Cetaceanism thickly infused in traditional Korean culture. Secondly, we will invoke the Magoist Cosmogony to understand the cosmogonic feature of whale songs. Thirdly, we are given the cetacean identity of dragons in the myth of the pacifying flute. Lastly, we will explore and join the whale-back riding homecoming journey.
“The metaphoric perception that we humans live inside the body of a whale runs through the major cultural inventions of traditional Korea. That houses, temples, and palaces as well as tombs, mounds, sweat lodges, and temple bells are built in the shape of a whale’s belly remains esoteric even among modern Koreans. One may think that these insights are my wishful interpretations. Come see and listen to the Whale Bell! Its whale-shaped mallet and its numerous whale names can’t be mistaken! Behold the roof architecture in the image of a whale’s back! This is not just referring to a roof silhouette looking like a whale’s back. The roof ridge, the decorative end tiles, the male and female titles, and the structure profusely indicate cetacean designs and names. Behold the dragon head and tail carvings in the temple and palace buildings. They go with the whale back-like roof! Behold the ornate dragon spout of water spring channels. Behold the traditional floor heating system called the whale of a heated rock (온돌 고래 Ondol Gorae). And Korea’s Eastern Sea is formerly called the Sea of Whales (鯨海 Gyeonghae). There are more: Come see the postpartum nutrition of the sea mustard soup (미역국 miyeok-guk) or the birthday soup, served for Korean women, her baby, and the whole family, which is adopted from the custom of whale mothers. And like a mother whale carries her cub on her back (to help it breathing in the air), Korean mothers and grandmothers carry the baby on her back by using the blanket called “podaegi (포대기)” to wrap the baby around on one’s back with attached straps. A comprehensive discussion of the calling of whales in Magoist Cetaceanism requires field trips and audio-visual materials to see and feel.” (From my essay in Return to Mago E-Magazine (https://magoism.net), “Magoist Cetaceanism: Why do we listen to the calling of whales and dragons?“)
Three Tours throughout the year Each tour lasts one week (7 days), a total of three weeks per year. Each tour has two optional dates. Participants choose three tours from below.
- Tour 1 (April 12-18, or June 14-20, or October 11-17, 2021) no prerequisites required
Tuning to the calling of whales: We will (1) examine bio-sonic-aquatic-environmental features of whales, (2) explore the legacy of whales by visiting the following sites: Bangudae petroglyphs and the Sea of Whales (Korea’s Eastern Sea), whale myths and tales concerning particular persons, towns, and place-names, cetacean terms and sayings, whales in postpartum customs (“miyeok-guk, the birthday soup” and “podaegi, the baby carrying blanket on one’s back”), whales in the house heating system (ondol, traditional floor-heating architecture), (3) the Whale Bell (the whale-shaped mallet and whale names) and (4) some cross-cultural parallels such as nine-fold patterns, musical instruments, ondol in native peoples of Alaska (U.S.), Okhotsk (Russia), and beyond. - Tour 2 (August 9-15, 2021, December 13-19, 2021, or February 2022) Prerequisite Tour 1 required
The Magoist Cosmogony and the myth of the pacifying flute: We will (1) reflect on the Magoist Cosmogony recounted in the Budoji’s first four chapters, (2) a myth pilgrimage in the Myth of the Pacifying Flute by visiting its related places including Rock of Ruler the Great or Rock of Whales (대왕암 Daewang-am), Whale Ferry (경진 Gyeonjin), Graced Temple (Gameun-sa) and the dragon entrance (Yonghyeol) in the basement pond of its main hall, Yiygyeondae (Platform of Gaining the View), and nearby dragon-named lakes, (3) decode the symbol of dragons in the Myth of the Pacifying Flute. And (4) explore dragon-related myths and religious and artistic expressions across cultures including the throne, the Bodhisattva Jijang (Earthen Treasure), a whale as the mountain-isle story, the whale-shaped oil lamp, and the dragon-shaped spout (gargoyles) in church architecture. - Tour 3 (Feb 2022 or June 2022) Prerequisites Tour 1 and Tour 2 required
Whale-back riding homecoming journey to Mago, the Great Mother, in WE/HERE/NOW: We will (1) visit sites for the cetacean architecture of temples/palaces/houses/tombs, (2) examine the whale/dragon roof architecture of temples and palaces, (3) explore the cultural and religious expressions of the whale-back riding homecoming journey or underworld journey in Korean Shamanism and Buddhism, and (4) bring light on whale-dragon-water queen mother deities across cultures and religions including Goma, Gwaneum (Guanyin), Chiu, Mireuk (Maitreya), and their world-wide equivalents.
How We meet daily for visits and talks. Each tour includes 6 meetings (tentatively 8AM MWF PST and/or 8PM TThSat PST) and the discussion group open throughout the week. All meetings take place in Zoom (35-60 min per session). A total of six meetings comprise video/audio viewing sessions (virtual visits) and storying sessions (pertinent conversations). Upon registration, you will be populated in a Google Group (“2021 Mago Pilgrimage Tour 1”), which automatically delivers all discussions as an email to all group members. Participants may opt for a minimum of three meetings and the ongoing discussion group. I will upload all pertinent materials and discussions in the Google Group. PPT slides, videos, websites, and PDFs will be utilized.
Fees US$100.00 for each tour by donating below. Or use “Send Money” to ninemagos@gmail.com in Paypal.
Register via email with the following application information to Dr. Hwang (magoacademy@gmail.com).
- Your name
- Your affiliation and/or website
- What interests you for this Magoist Whale Pilgrimage?
- Questions or comments (including Tour # and its dates)
Mago Whale Pilgrims Say:
“We are informed that the shaman queens of the archaic Mago civilization recognized the gigantic whale as the majestic mother of our planet – her deep infra-sounding tuning into the very song of Mother Earth 7, 8Hz. In this course, Dr. Helen Hwang takes you on an amazing tour to the oldest gynocentric civilization that invented housebuilding, heating systems, nursing babies – and the ethos and mythos of transpacific voyages on a whale’s back ….” Kirsten Brunsgaard (Stockholm, Sweden)
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“This Pilgrimage Tour 1 was a real adventure of awe and discovery of the Mother of All nations aka the most beautiful and meaningful and wholesome Mother World (Magoism). It seems like we are riding Serendipity (perhaps can be viewed as our dragon or our space) in our Whale Pilgrimage. Synchronicity is our time, the time given by us in making this Whale Pilgrimage to imprint the Dragon in our life, we, who are on board with Helen. What a dragon journey led by Helen, and each of us must have had a whale of a time!” Anna Chew (Singapore)
