-Bélier-

"Attention, vous aurez ces jours-ci tendence à devenir cynique. Placer une certaine distance avec les événements peut être une solution.  Mais ne vous éloignez pas trop: vous risqueriez de ne pas voir celui qui pourrait vous aider."

Ah, my first horoscope in France, from the new magazine ENVY.  Please note-I did not purchase this fashion/celebrity-watch magazine.  I was given it for free outside my metro station because it's new, and they're promoting it.  Basically for the Bélier (Aries, or ram) it told me to be careful because I will have a tendency to become cynical.  Place a distance between events and a possible solution.  BUT don't move too far away or I risk not seeing something which could help me.  And voila, the new magazine ENVY has shown me the answer to all of my problems!  Really though, it's fun to have a magazine to attempt to read.  AND-my Zodiac story is related to the next part when...

My Paris Civilization and Culture class met at the Notre Dame cathedral instead of the classroom.  Prof. Will Bishop led us (in the freezing weather) around to all six doors of the cathedral and pointed out different themes in the sculptures, some of the reconstruction work done when the Cathedral was in disrepair, etc.  Around door #3 of 6, worked in among the other figures of kings and biblical reference sculptures, were the 12 figures representing the signs of the zodiac.  Pagan ideas carved into the stones of Notre Dame???  Yes.  But as Prof. Bishop pointed out, it's these "racy" bits worked into ancient art that show us how people really lived and thought in the past.  Another carving of the Virgin Mary, notre dame (our lady) and namesake of the cathedral?  Of course.  But the pagan zodiac symbols, or the Saint Denis holding his (beheaded) head in his hands?  Now those have stories behind them.  I'll tell you one:

Saint Denis (who has his own cathedral dedicated to him over past Montmartre) was beheaded somewhere around the current location of Notre Dame, took his severed head in his hands, preaching as he walked, and carried it 6 miles clear over the hill now called...Montmartre.  Which is where the area derives its name: montmartre essentially means "mountain of the martyr" in honour of Saint Denis, a patron saint of France.  Please keep in mind that this histoire (story) dates from the 3rd century.  

My fingers were a lovely shade of purple after all of this promenading around Notre Dame, but I did manage to take a few photos.  The sky was a dirty white, with no sign of sun, but that only lent more mysticism to this complex building.  And it didn't dissuade tourism, because I saw more nationalities on the parvis (courtyard in front of the cathedral) than I have my entire two weeks here.  And also more pigeons.