Re: Hathor's Mirror/mimicking Was: Re: 5 spiritual ingredients was Re: Burning Times

In article <3o69egF4g6rdU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Dirk Bruere at Neopax <dirk.bruere@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Nuala wrote:
[snip]
> >>>Hathor (Hwt-hrw) is one of the Goddesses who bears the title, the 'Eye
> >>>of Ra'. She carried a shield, one side of which had the power of Ra's
> >>>eye to see all things, no matter how distant in miles or how far into
> >>>the future. The other side, the side an enemy would see in battle,
> >>>showed the onlooker in their true light, and only a truly brave person
> >>>could look into it without flinching.

> >>>It's a Granny Weatherwax thing. Er...

[snip]
> > I've been looking for a particular chunk of Pratchett, and it happens
> > to contain a decent differentiation (by implication) of where
> > Headology and magick meet:

> > "Do you think I haven't studied you? Your witchcraft is all artifice
> > and illusion, to amaze weak minds. It holds no fears for me. Do you
> > worst."

> > Granny studied her for a while.

> > "My worst? she said eventually. Magrat and Nanny Ogg shuffled gently
> > out of her way.

> > The duchess laughed.

> > "You're clever," she said. "I'll grant you that much. And quick. Come
> > on, hag. Bring on your toads and demons, I'll..."

> > She stopped, her mouth opening and shutting a bit without any words
> > emerging. Her lips drew back in a rictus of terror, her eyes looked
> > beyond Granny, beyond the world, towards something else. One knuckled
> > hand flew to her mouth and she made a little whimpering noise. She
> > froze, like a rabbit that has just seen a stoat and knows, without any
> > doubt, that it is the last stoat that it will ever see.

> > "What have you done to her?" said Magrat, the first to dare to speak.
> > Granny smirked.

> > "Headology," said Granny, and smirked. "You don't need any Black Aliss
> > magic for it."

> > "Yes, but what have you *done*?"

> > "No one becomes like she is without building walls inside their head,"
> > she said. "I've just knocked them down. Every scream. Every plea.
> > Every pang of guilt. Every twinge of conscience. All at once. There's
> > a little trick to it."

> > She gave Magrat a condescending smile. "I'll show you one day, if you
> > like."

> > Magrat thought about it. "It's horrible," she said.

> > "Nonsense," Granny smiled terribly. "Everyone wants to know their true
> > self. Now, she does."

> > "Sometimes you have to be kind to be cruel," said Nanny Ogg
> > approvingly.

> > Wyrd Sisters

> > I think that describes the most elegant application of, amongst other
> > things, Hathor's Mirror that I can remember seeing.

> > And it's not quite the same thing as mimicking.

> That's not a mirror either.

Not 'a mirror', or even 'mirroring', but Hathor's Mirror.

And part of it is, and part of it isn't.

> It's Derren Brown.

No.

Derren Brown is undoubtedly sharp and clever; though I've seen, met and
trained with people better at manipulating others than he is.

By and large, he uses NLP and psychology (which for sake of argument, I'll
equate with what Granny is calling Headology). But Granny is using other
things which add a clever switch.

It's subtle though, I'll grant you.


NP: Nirvana, Heart Shaped Box

~Love and blessings~

--
~Phenobarbidoll~
'Occasionally I am callous and strange.'

'See what happens when you raise your child to be a Pagan?'
- Mr Garrison, South Park
.

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