CONSILIENCE
A Companion Blog to The Ash Girl
Consilience is a scientific method of validating a hypothesis across multiple disciplines. The biologist E.O. Wilson reclaimed the root of the word, which means “a jumping together” in his book of the same name. In it he posed the radical notion that the arts and social sciences might be invited to that auspicious table. This blog, and The Ash Girl, is a bit of an homage to E.O. Wilson’s proposal. Each post offers a deeper look into the story, the symbolism, the science and the themes from the author’s point of view (by chapter) and welcomes you to add yours.
In this way we might come to some expanded understanding and shared awe of our half-known worlds.
Born of Ash
Traditionally in novels we have come to expect one central character who is transformed by the end. Others might shift a bit from and to as well, but mostly in service to this main ugly duckling turned to a swan, if you know what I mean. This story is about four human girls born to act out the roles of the four tarot princesses and help the goddesses rebalance the world—all of them will be changed by the end, but as in the Thoth Tarot, no one takes as a big a LEAP as the Princess of Disks.
Echelons
“I fell asleep in the river reeds. I dreamed in my dream.”
Chapter 7 is delirious with dreams within dreams and story within story as Asmeret navigates the very narrow space between worlds by following the darkest days of her life to see where the light begins. This carries us through echelons (layers) of the whole.
Atonement
“This is where the little black dog comes in.”
Chapter 8 in some ways is my favorite, if one can have a favorite child. Not more loved perhaps, but one filled with voices that make me both starving and full. Images and lines that conjoured themselves and hover in my body long after my eyes leave the page.
Turn of the Wheel
“And so we find our story at the turn of the wheel. A gate. A Passing through place. Spinning toward the next way of being.”
Chapter X is initiation space. Perhaps you noticed the shift in naming of chapters from arithmetic numerals (1, 2, 3 . . .) to Roman Numerals. Perhaps you wondered why?
Because of where this story is on its quest through the Wheel of Wholeness.