Janus as the Patron of Archaeology, and a Resolution

Janus is the Roman God of beginnings and endings, a deity of transition. He is usually depicted with two faces – one that looks backward and one that looks forward. In many ways, Janus would serve as a perfect patron deity for modern archaeology.

In the past, archaeologists were little more than glorified tomb robbers and treasure hunters. Today’s archaeology is more concerned with understanding the processes of human behavior.

We’re not as interested in what we find than in what our finds tell us – about how cultures behave and interact, how they use and distribute resources, and how they impacted the environments in which they lived.

Archaeology is just beginning to realize what Pagans have known all along: there’s wisdom to be gained from our ancient ancestors.

After all, the major issues plaguing mankind have never changed – disease, war, climate change, resource use, and yes, even trash disposal. We just deal with them on a much larger scale.

Understanding how people of the past dealt with these issues can go a long way to helping us deal with them today and in the future. That’s not to say that people of the past had all the answers. They were just people after all, just like you and I. But we can learn from their mistakes as well as their successes. Sometimes looking back is the best way to look forward.

With the New Year upon us, I’d like to take this lesson to heart and apply it on a personal level. Looking back, I realize that I’ve done very little to further my writing career. I want to be able to support myself with my writing, but non-stop Hulu and Netflix and checking Twitter every ten minutes are unlikely to get me there.

In the last year, I’ve only sent out a handful of queries and I’ve only written a handful of blog posts. Hardly the makings of a professional writer. This year I resolve to:

• Post at least twice each week
• Send a minimum of two queries or submissions per week
• To write every single day.

Janus, help me!

Do you have a resolution? What did you do (or didn't you do) over the past year that you want to change? And what are you going to do differently in 2012?

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