Maps

Here's my personal summary of Kane's chapter on Maps.  A little refresher before our final!

The story of Raven tells of the creation of the world and with this creation began the creation of Maps.  Maps aren't lines and borders drawn on a piece of paper, or signs marked at imaginary borders as we drive down the highway.  Maps are lines of myth and creation.  Some myths mark our natural boundaries: mountains, rivers, trees, and rocks.  Every culture relates these landmarks to a myth and they create their physical lives around these markers.  These markers are mythic centers, places of ancestry and power, that sparkle across the globe and can be connected through both prominent and obscure lines (also mapped out by various myths from multiple cultures).  

However, Maps are not just physical, maps are also history lessons from our lives.  Myths create maps for our actions: when to plant the crops, when to harvest them, when to migrate and when to bunker down for the winter.  When we listen to these myths, we remember the lessons our ancestors shed blood, sweat, and tears, to learn.  If we listen we will know the ways of the Earth and prosper, but if we turn a deaf ear then we will falter and be lost.  Never forget: myths are the songs of the Earth.