Cassandra's Curse

Cassandra's Curse

Imagine that you know that devastation and death will enter the citadel by a clever ruse, which, if anticipated, could be avoided with the greatest ease. This you know with utter certainty. Moreover, you are equally aware that no one will believe your infallible predictions, however fervent your protestations.

The modern interpreters of mythology have scant inclination towards sympathy for Cassandra, that hard-pressed prophetess of lore. Beauty unconsummated, in their opinion, is beauty wasted. The most beautiful of all of King Priam of Troy’s children, many suitors were drawn to her exquisite appearance, including the god Apollo. Evidently of strong mettle, and decided proclivities, she declined all and sundry. Apollo, clever dog, agreed to teach her the art of prophecy in return for compliance in regards to his concupiscence. She acquiesced insofar as to promise to yield to his wishes in return for his teachings. When he demanded that she fulfil her promise, having completed his part of the bargain, she refused. Livid, he spat into her luscious lips and laid a curse upon her: the fate of being able to prophesize without ever being believed. The infamous Trojan Horse episode would never have come to pass if the populace had taken her warnings to heart. More’s the pity, but no one would ever have faith in her prophecies.

A variation of the myth holds that temple serpents licked Cassandra’s, and her twin’s, ears and mouth and so gave them the gift of soothsaying. The myth seems tainted with the stuff witches and outcasts are made of: serpents, a woman celibate by choice, falls from grace and a background landscape of denial.

In any climate where a reigning orthodoxy holds tight sway the heretic’s voice will scarce be heard. Free speech and human rights are relative, and assailable, not inalienable. The degree to which an opinion is heard, and fairly assessed, depends on the size, and prior prejudices, of the audience. Unfortunately, these days, the moving forces behind the mass media are rarely interested in the truth per se – their primary motivation is financial. And once received opinion has decided, for example, that the primary source of mercury in human tissues is fish, presumably because fishermen don’t possess a lobby with the same formidable clout as the real #1 source of mercury, dentistry, that opinion carries the day.

I have never been a beauty, but I have been a prophetess of sorts, predicting a disaster at a nuclear plant within a decade, pre-Chernobyl, as well as a number of unwanted outcomes in lesser areas.

As an alternative healthcare practitioner I now specialize in warnings related to what I consider to be the #1 health hazard: toxins, and, in particular, what appears to be the most ubiquitous, and toxic, poison: mercury. The main stumbling block, when it comes to convincing the crowd, is the fact that virtually everyone has, or has had, amalgams. Over 150 years of use, in most people’s minds, guarantees safety. The rationale follows the lines of, “If it was hazardous surely it wouldn’t have been used for all these years.” Dream on, people of Troy. The horse, gift though it may be, may have something dire up its sleeve – or in its mouth. Though at a lesser speed than the army which issued from the giant equine, amalgams also contain foreign invaders which maim and kill. Approximately 50% mercury, amalgam fillings corrode, leaching mercury, part of which vaporizes up the nasal passages and into our impressively large, and highly vulnerable, conglomerations of grey matter. But don’t rely on my forebodings and predictions, people of the citadel of Planet Earth – after all, you are unlikely to take kindly to a lone voice – only a myriad of Cassandras will do. And – surprise surprise, studies on mercury toxicity, despite what the dissenters will tell you, abound.*

*Reference sources are included on other parts of this site, including the Articles page and other websites listed on the Links page.

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