grim reaper
Rock n’ Roll Gardening Hall of Fame: The Grim Reaper
Since it’s harvest time for most gardeners on the West Coast right now, I thought this week’s entrant to the hall of fame should be timely and topical. So while you’re out there digging and picking the last of your crops, keep this week’s winner of the Rock n’ Roll Gardening Hall of Fame in mind:
That’s right. The Grim Reaper. The original rock n’ roll gardener. Ok, so where do we begin?
- Skeleton? Check.
- Name that alludes to death? Check.
- Gruesome depiction of human hands, feet and heads being harvested with a giant scythe? Check.
- Looks like it was drawn by a stoned high school boy with a black ballpoint pen on the inside cover of a social studies 10 text book? Check.
- Calls upon an ancient power so primal it could only be mistaken for heavy metal? Check and check.
All hail the Grim Reaper, the original rock ‘n roll gardener. Beelzebub be damned, this guy was the original right hand man for Satan- some say Satan himself.
The Grim Reaper has been variously portrayed in Western culture as the personified cause of all human death, or sometimes just the personal escort service for people that kick the bucket.
From Tarot cards to Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure, this guy gets around. Personally, I like this image the best- note the pretty rose bush, setting sun and winding river. The Grim Reaper represents the end of the season, the end of the life cycle, but not necessarily the end, for with every end there comes a beginning. So don’t put those shovels and gloves away for too long.
In the slavic pagan tradition, death was portrayed as an old woman dressed in white holding an everlasting green seedling in her hand. One touch of her plant put a soul to sleep forever. Now if only I knew what she was carrying… I found my Hallowe’en costume.
Cracked Pot Pix
