Prey
There’s something thrilling about a bad idea. After all, people are willing to part with their hard-earned money for the privilege of leaping from a plane while praying that everything goes according to plan.
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There are bad ideas with more long-term consequences, to be sure. A toxic relationship might destroy you from the inside out, but will remain cadmium red long after the paintbrush has lost its color. Intrusive limerence can distort your reality: a siren song within a gaslight. Don’t be swayed by bright colors and flickering lights. The mirrors in a fun house don’t show things as they are; stick to the path and avert your eyes.
A Venus fly trap will trick its prey into investigating before consuming it. Spiderwebs are architectural masterpieces, but they’re deadly. An anglerfish will lure an eventual meal from the depths with a bright light in a dark place. This sort of deception is found everywhere; some predators are simply more straightforward. Be wary of excess flash and things that seem too good — or too easy — to be true. Hope can blind you to perjury and the worst thing you can do is cast your lot with the golden calf instead of seeing things for what they are.
I’ve heard that loyalty is love that’s been fossilized. Think of the circumstances in which a fossil is created: heat and pressure over time cause the original form to dematerialize, leaving only an impression or skeletal remains. Is loyalty the backbone on which love is built, or is loyalty all that’s left after love has turned to dust?
Hermes could revive someone with just a touch of his staff.
Don’t wait for a god. Make your own caduceus.
