In the end, attempting to write thirty-seven articles or so that comprise just over 83,000 words in just over three months really tested me. I think I really underestimated the task at hand. There were a great many late nights spent researching, writing and rewriting, and revisiting certain themes and topics I hadn’t looked at in a while (especially the material on Greek folklore). There were a great many questions that I said I’d answer in the introductory note to my blog tour, and I believe I answered all of them. Lamentably it came at a cost. I really struggled through the last few weeks, given the prolonged amount of stress and the imminent mental exhaustion with which I was forced to cope, but came good towards the end. I have my support group to thank for that, as well as my deep love for what I write about. Yes, when I come to think of it, the latter really pushed me over the finish line.
The decision to name the educational blog tour “It’s all Greek to me” was, in my opinion, a good call. The corpus of the material that I presented had to make do with Greek religion, climatology, philosophy, metaphysics, political, social and cultural history. Given my occult and metaphysical grounding I focused on the teachings of the mystical stream of philosophers, particularly Plato and Pythagoras. The educational blog tour spanned a total of about three and a half months and covered a wide variant of themes and subjects: Jungian psychology as it relates to Greek philosophy; the origin of Hellenism; Greek folklore surrounding vampires, nymphs and fairies; fate and free will; Pythagorean mysticism, Platonic metaphysics, Neoplatonism and the Renaissance; Plato’s Atlantis; exercises in active imagination that involved Minoan Crete; the nature of the Minoan empire and Minoan consciousness; the legend of the labyrinth and the Minotaur; labyrinth symbolism; the cult of the Great Mother Goddess, especially that of Hathor and Isis during the Hellenistic period; interpretations of mythology; the Gnostic religion and its mythologems; the modern-day cult of the Virgin Mary; myths and how they were used by the Christians and Jews to subdue women; alchemical esotericism; and an extensive look at alchemy, its doctrines and history, spagyrics and the viability of metallic transmutation.
All my articles and writings can be found on evolver.net, as well as on my own website. Some of the ideas presented in the articles of the “It’s all Greek to me” blog tour are resynthesised outtakes from my forthcoming book, “Shades of Aphrodite: In Search of the Golden Apple”, but most of them happen to be completely new.
Greek Australian artist Chris Stamboulakis has completed forty gorgeous drawings for my book, one of which comprises the avatar of this post. I’m really looking forward to unveiling the rest of them. This boy has some major talent.
I would like to thank the following people:
Mathew Smith for your brilliant ideas, understanding and your support (You’re the best!); Harry Toulacis for your lifelong support and encouragement ( I really, really feel it from you); Konstantin Kouremenos (still prefer Con) and Peter Kalla for your exposure and letting me post my articles and videos on your walls, Chris Stamboulakis for your support and choosing to work with me; Christina Savvani from Greece for the links you provide me on your site and your receptivity to my requests; my editor Ron Kenner for his suggestions and insights regarding “Shades of Aphrodite”; my brother Jimmy Kiritsis for entertaining me with his guitar whilst I pulled my hair out every night; Jan McGlinchey for always being there for me; Aaron Louis Kaufmann for your support and for our mouth-watering conversations about esotericism; Jamie R. Johnson for your encouragement and support; Gee Butcher for your unwavering love and support; Sara McQ because I love you (it rhymes even!); my fellow evolvers on evolver.net who took the time to read my articles and engage me interactively; and my parents who are surely the two most selfless individuals on this planet. I would also like to thank the Greek Orthodox schools for not having a coronary with respects to some of the “blasphemous” issues when they received my banners and competition flyer. Thankfully I was born in an age of free speech and artistic expression, or so I’m led to believe.
P.S. Let’s get this travelling Greek show on the road…
