Morningstone and the White Goddess

      In the winter of 1974, I was living in Hollywood and taking classes at CalPoly, Pomona, when Cathy Palmer, then studying fashion design, came by to see the costumes I had made for Majick, a band I had been struggling to launch. With the new music notation skills I had learned the previous quarter, I was writing out all the parts for my next effort, Changeling. She looked at my costumes and listened to my rehearsal tapes, but confessed she was distracted. She had to come up with something unique for herself for a Hollywood costume party just days away. I was taking a class in 20th Century Art and it struck me that in another lifetime, Cathy might have been the model for Matisse's "Green Stripe." I showed her the color illustration in my Art History book and she loved the idea. The night of the party, she came by, makeup kit in hand, and I applied her "mask." The following afternoon, she came back to tell me what a wonderful time she had. When Cathy arrived at the party her hostess gasped and cried out, "Madame Matisse!"

      Cathy was fascinated by my song, "The Fool." She said she recognized my references from The White Goddess, and was amazed that I wasn't familiar with that work. Up to then, my work was based largely on Bulfinch's Mythology, Edith Hamilton's Mythology and my more esoteric readings in folklore and mythology, Frazer's "The Golden Bough" and Man and his Symbols, conceived and edited by Carl G. Jung. Cathy came back a day or so later and presented me with a paperback edition of Robert Graves' White Goddess. It was a fascinating read. I read it through twice and then bought myself a hardbound copy, which allowed me to loan the paperback to special frends. It became a major influence in Changeling, my forerunner to Morningstone.

      I'll come back to The White Goddess when I discuss the mysteries inherent in "The Fool" and "Dog, Roebuck, and Lapwing." For now, it is enough to know that the voice that calls out to Morgen is Laura's. She is the goddess of love incarnate, appearing in the guise of the Doe, symbolic of the love chase to come. Like the Roebuck in the subsequent scene, the Doe's presence is at once a clue, warning us to be alert for a hidden mystery about to be revealed, and the mystery itself, another sign that Morgan's supernatural adventure has begun.

Travis Edward Pike, 22 August 2021,Otherworld Cottage