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GENESIS
THE pic above is my one and only tattoo. It's a crow landing on the astrological symbol of Mercury. In ancient Greece Hermes was the name of the God that in Roman culture became known as Mercury. Mercury is the smallest planet in the solar system and nearest to the sun.
Hermes/Mercury is a rather multi-purpose God. He ruled over wealth, good fortune, languages, communication, fertility, athletics and my favorite: thievery. I suppose he gets this last accolade for having robbed his brother Apollo five minutes after his birth, of a herd of cows. Enterprising fellow!
But I chose @mistermercury for his fame as the communicator, the messenger of the Gods and also for his ancient domain over wealth and good fortune. What better God to have on your side here on Steemit?
The Tat above illustrates a crow landing on Mercury. The crow in many native American cultures and in pre-Roman cultures in Europe was also a messenger of the Gods. So the tat illustrates the blending of the Shamanic symbol with the mythological symbol of the Messenger. He was also a portend of death. You'll notice that there are multiple pieces of the crows wings. These are all smaller crows that make up the larger image. In my mind this represented my belief in past lives, in particular that I incorporate the energies and knowledge of past lives into this present incarnation, into this present personality whom some people call Christopher Hardt.
The God Mercury got my attention when I first was introduced to astrology over a decade ago. I have a strong placement of Mercury in my chart which indicates that communication, writing and speaking are abilities I possess. I hope so at least! I have done astrology professionally and still find myself frequently peering into the hidden realms of astrology.
Oh, and of course Mercury runs fast. Which I've always considered a real benefit when either running toward an opportunity (Steemit comes to mind) or running from someone or something that needs running from (angry people, forceful governments, natural catastrophes, bears and spiders all come to mind).
So yes, I bear the name of @mistermercury with honor and enthusiasm. Oh, you might have to get your magnifying glass out but this ancient greek sculpture of Hermes depicts him in the nude; but trust me he is sporting the latest fashion of grape leaves to protect his modesty! Apparently Hermes was a clothing optional kind of guy. Can't say I find fault with that!
I give credit to the sculptor from Greece who made this fine work. Just don't know his name. Notice those cool little wings on his ankles? Perhaps he ran so fast his arms fell off. Oh, and what the heck? He's just standing around! Must be on a coffee break... wine break?
I'd like to nominate for this fun challenge the following Steemians: @resumeconfidence (a new fish in the ocean of Steemit who I'd like to see us all support, my daughter @littlescribe, a friend @crescendoofpeace, @harvardhomestead just because I've always wondered about her name and @foxyspirit because she is a faithful commenter on most of my posts.
Cool tat! At first I thought the challenge was to name your tat (I only came up with 'Mercrowy' before I realized that's not what the post is about, lol!) I didn't get a notice you @ tagged me (maybe it works different on here?) but simply saw the post & decided to read it and then noticed - Oh! I'm in here! (Whew! Glad I saw it!) Lol! Challenge accepted, I will make it my first post in honor of Mr. Mercrowy, the first Steemian to bequeath me my first 6 cents, and such a warm welcome here <3 Aho! Namaste, om shanti, and all that jazz :)
Look forward to it. I'm a bit under the weather today... well for the last few days, so posting some pretty light weight stuff. Hoping to change the world tomorrow.
Just getting back to this now though it's late so I'll have to try again tomorrow. I know it will take me a few hours at least to figure out the formatting, etc. plus writing and haven't had the time since the weekend. BTW, is there a way to private message anyone on this thing? I don't love the idea that EVERYTHING I might want to say is public all the time, hmmm...
yes it can be done through Discord. You have to sign up over there though. It is not automatically linked to Steemit. But you can privately drop a remark over there.
Oh my, ANOTHER platform? I'm so confused! :) I really appreciate all your input and encouragement - I just can't seem to get myself on here to get going. I have 400 other projects and a website and other SM already, and can't decide if this warrants attention/priority, or not... I'm going looking for your comment about a similar platform that will be launching soon-ish, I think, can't remember when... THANK YOU for everything, though, Mr. Mercury!!
Well, I would hate to see you go... I'll share my blunt observations, if I may: in the beginning your wheels will spin here on Steemit. It takes a while to get traction. I've been active about 2 months. Didn't do anything the first 2 weeks after I signed up. Had other stuff going on. Here is the formula for success: 1. have good content in your posts. 2. interact/comment just as you have here 3. Get engaged in various "communities" of like minded folks and when you have done those things, then #4. get involved with various projects, like helping newbies. A good person to follow and get engaged with is @davemccoy. He has some great projects going. So, yeah, this is a rather slow build here on Steemit. If you have technical aptitude that will help. Anyway, many blessing to you whatever path you choose. Oh, and you may want to go check out my daughters blog @littlescribe. She is posting some great stuff to help "newbies". Blessings.
I'll be honest - the whole whale/levels thing and buying of more 'steem power' (influence - I get the terms confused) thing and the voting bots and all the ways things can be manipulated feel icky. How is buying influence any different than buying ads on FB? If we're all just here to support the new crypto that is steem (supposedly the whole purpose, no?) , why do the old timers have more influence? Isn't that a 'middle man' of some sort? Isn't the whole point of crypto to avoid that sort of interaction? I'm no expert on crypto by any stretch so if there is a significant difference I'm missing (quite possible) I've missed it in my research (and I HAVE read up on it a lot, I think, maybe too much or I might have started posting already... and maybe I still will - but this is why I hesitate, my conflicts about the ways it seems to work)....and I'm quite sure I'm not the first or only to wonder these things - and fully aware my public comment may get me blacklisted or something but ... the game feels as rigged as anywhere else. I'm already other places so - why here? If the community doesn't want the motivation to be to earn $$ (in any form) with our posts, then what is our motivation to create fresh content on a new platform that can manipulate our outcomes as much or more than the algorithms of google or FB or or Fiverr or .... etc.?
BUT..... I might stay JUST for your encouragement, Mr. Mercury. Really, you're awesome & much much appreciated! <3
I see the connection clearly ^_^. I didn't know all this about Hermes. I knew he was the messenger, reason for the wings on his feet (I heard it was shoes but can't say it's true) was to be able to send the messages faster? It seems as though I need to give myself some history lessons lol.
I think it's pretty cool that you chose the name. It is well thought out and I believe that you live up to it as well.
Awesome post. I can go to bed tonight and say that I have learned something today :)
Thank you for tagging me, you and @earthmother had the same idea ;)
Well, thanks @foxyspirit. I hope I can do justice to the name. Planning on doing so. Many thanks and blessings.
A very cool tattoo! I love the explanation of your name. It suits you!
Well, thanks I appreciate it. Many blessings.