I am curious to what peoples thoughts, ideas, revelations, etc. are on The Lady who frequently make appearances in the RJ books now. What do you think their constant "I am your mother" means?

I am curious to what peoples thoughts, ideas, revelations, etc. are on The Lady who frequently make appearances in the RJ books now. What do you think their constant "I am your mother" means?

The most agreed upon thinking is that The Women are manifestations of Mother Earth. In a nutshell, they're multicultural, able to heal, have affinity with plants and animals and, of course, that "I am your mother" thing.

Mother Earth....mother nature......the mother of all humanity. The power of the 4 forces of the earth......rain, wind, fire and earth. And probably so much more.

Apparently my ideas on them are correlating with others thoughts. This is the same thought I had, not at first, but after Gateways my thoughts began to change. What do you think the dog symbolizes exactly, or is it just like a familiar for The Lady?

Apparently my ideas on them are correlating with others thoughts. This is the same thought I had, not at first, but after Gateways my thoughts began to change. What do you think the dog symbolizes exactly, or is it just like a familiar for The Lady?

Yes - a familiar - thats exactly what I think. I also think they had to stop going around with cats because of that whole "witch" misconception.

Ha ha ha! That could very well be, or perhaps the dog can symbolize loyalty, no matter what, to save the people from both the Ally and the Otherness. Cats tend to be more independant and harder to 'tame' than dogs. Dogs have that loyalty to the pack sort of sense about them. Being symbolized or having a cat for a familiar might send the message of only doing it just because or that they might not really care about everyone, symbolized with a dog or having dog familiar would have the loyal to all.

Ha ha ha! That could very well be, or perhaps the dog can symbolize loyalty, no matter what, to save the people from both the Ally and the Otherness. Cats tend to be more independant and harder to 'tame' than dogs. Dogs have that loyalty to the pack sort of sense about them. Being symbolized or having a cat for a familiar might send the message of only doing it just because or that they might not really care about everyone, symbolized with a dog or having dog familiar would have the loyal to all.

Hmm, I hadn't considered the loyalty connotations of a dog familiar. It's a good theory!

If the Lady is Mother Earth, perhaps the dog represents a sort of "force of nature". We think of Mother Earth as being a cradle of life, but there's the other side to it, too: earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, and all the other things that can take life away in an instant. Given the way the Lady talks about what the dog can do in Harbingers, maybe it's the other side of her "personality," or whatever you want to call it. She's the nurturer while the dog is the force to be reckoned with.

I'm sure this is far too simplistic a view, but it's a thought.

Blake

Webby had brought out the familar aspect previously. But I like the loyalty angle. Being a doggie mom, they are loyal and very protective of our yard, my family and each other.

I rather like that point Blake. Never took into account the ferocity of a dog.