The Vilde Khaye! presents 12 Tribe Project

Twelve Tribes Project -  This project re-imagines the twelve tribes of Israel . The sons of Jacob are replaced with modern pop icons. A few years ago I was studying Shamanic Judaism. My studies brought me to research the symbolism, astrology, color, totem as well as the traditional teaching of each tribe. I researched the biographical data and filmography and of each actor and matched them with corresponding tribes. All things love XO

[lovejanlauren]

The Vilde Khaye! : Wild Thing Collective present: a 12 Tribe Project

The idea: What if Jacob’s sons (who made up the tribes of Israel ) were replaced with a tribe of pop culture stars.

 Did Jacob’s sons walk the ancient paths of Canaan trailed by fans hoping to get a glimpse? Did their friends and family hit them up for extra livestock?  Would they be living in Hollywood today?

 The colors, totems, months,  and symbols of each tribe came from years of study of   traditional scripture, exegetical text, and shamanic interpretation. The biographical data and filmography of each actor was then matched with a corresponding tribe. 

 The concept that these forms (similar to Archetypes) are still with us is part of this exploration. As a culture we are familiar with the Archetype of the Fool, the Gambler, the Orphan etc. They surface in different manifestations appropriate to their time.  These forms are less prominent yet shape the dynamics of culture.

[lovejanlauren]

Issachar translate to "Man of Reward". When we watch Jonah Hill on screen we are all rewarded.

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Gad & Asher are twins. Their mother, Zilpah was Leah's hainmaiden/slave.  Gad, like Christopher Mintz-Plasse , his character McLovin and Jay Baruchel speak to the meaning of the hebrew name, fortune.

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FORTUNATE, FECUND, FERTILITY. Asher, son Zilpah, Leah's handmaiden/slave is all of these things. So is Mr. Jay Baruchel ( his last name translates as Blessed G-d) . This helps.

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Paul Rudd as Naftali. Naftali is associated with Chesvan , the month of reckoning/ hibernation and the totem of the bear.

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Twelve Tribes Project - Intro

This project re-imagines the twelve tribes of Israel . The sons of Jacob are replaced with modern pop icons. A few years ago I was studying  Shamanic Judaism. My studies brought me to research the symbolism, astrology, color, totem as well as the traditional teaching of each tribe.  I researched the biographical data and filmography and of each actor and matched them with corresponding tribes. 

[lovejanlauren]

Zebulun and Jason Segel both share the same spirit animal- the seahorse.

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Benjamin is left-handed and associated with the wolf. Dave is sexy like the wolf. He is James Franco's baby brother.

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James Franco is an elder of this modern tribe. He along with Seth Rogen and Jason Segel starred in Freaks and Geeks. The symbol of the mandrake is associated with male virility and sexuality. Reuben the eldest son of Jacob and Leah transgresses his father when he has a consensual affair with his stepmother, Bilhah, Rachel's handmaiden/slave. James enjoys transgressing artistic and sexual boundaries.

[lovejanlauren]

Joseph is one of the most well known of Jacob's sons made popular today by the modern musical Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Joseph, the first born of Rachel (Jacob's favored wife)  made him a target to his brothers. He (Joseph and Michael) invokes a certain innocence and dreaminess.

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Levi, like his brother Simeon is know for intense acts of violence. He was redeemed and his tribe exalted to a priestly caste after the charade of the golden calf as they did not kowtow. Danny Kowtows to no one.

[lovejanlauren]

Twelve Tribes Project - Intro

This project re-imagines the twelve tribes of Israel . The sons of Jacob are replaced with modern pop icons. A few years ago I was studying  Shamanic Judaism. My studies brought me to research the symbolism, astrology, color, totem as well as the traditional teaching of each tribe.  I researched the biographical data and filmography and of each actor and matched them with corresponding tribes. 

[lovejanlauren]

Simeon along with his brother Levi, avenged the rape of his sister Dinah by slaughtering the entire village of Shechem ( the men) and taking the women and children captive. Craig Robinson often assumes the role filled with senseless violence.   *It is notable that Simeon and Levi did not kill their sister but returned her to the family who may have been "shamed" by her attack- an attitude that continues today. Craig would not stand for this.

[lovejanlauren]

Seth Rogen is one of the leaders and elders  of this modern tribe. He was in freaks and geeks and in Superbad- the film that started it all. Judah is represented by a bundle of sticks , individually they are weak but together they cannot be broken. Seth knows this and rolls deep. This is the first in a series of 12 portraits of celebrities .

[lovejanlauren]

Vayetzei & Medicine Wheel( & Where I'm at) & the Mandrake

Our assignment for the week was to track ourselves in respect to the earth, seasonal cycles. Another term or tool for understanding this is the Medicine Wheel which in really more of a sphere then a wheel. Tracking myself, moods, emotions has been something that I have become familiar with these past few years in learning more about my mental wellness. It seems to me that somehow someway the Rachel and Leah drama somehow returns to Hagar and Sarah and that though some commentaries talk about the unhealed relationship of Abraham and Sarah it is also the relationship of Sarah and Hagar that is one of the keys for reconciliation on our planet. The women of these nations must stand together as women and sisters. Yes oh yes finally the 12 tribes have been born. And thus begins some real research into the 12 tribe visual art project of mine!

[lovejanlauren]

Toldot

What a great story! Imagine sitting around the fire hearing this story year after year . That's what I kept thinking with this parhsa- the perfection of the living oral tradition. This story begins with the story of Abraham's Isaac and the birth of the twins Jacob and Esau. There are so many parallels in this story from the brothers of cain and able, the re-negotiations of wells (which is a whole other deep discussion in itself ;) the passing off as wife as sister and the bareness of the Jewish matriarchs -oy! And again the Creator's relationship and revelatory response to women is strikingly different then to his menfolk. There is so much emotion and twists in this story it would have been one of my favorites to hear over and over again round the fire with my tribe! Oh and then where does Esau go at the end of the story - to see his Uncle Ishmael ( and marries his first cousin)- leading me (and others ) to believe that perhaps Hagar and Ishmael were not so estranged from their husband and father Abraham .

[lovejanlauren]

Vayera - VaYera. Bereshit (Bereshit) 18:1 - 22:24. The Three Strangers.

It's the third week of class and already I have fallen behind in my blog posting. In fact, I am typing as I sit and listen to the fourth class. The parsha we discussed was VaYera. Bereshit (Bereshit) 18:1 - 22:24. The Three Strangers but it is what i have come to think of more fondly as "laughing all the way to the ..." For the first time I am reading the books of the Torah, week by week - portion by portion - for the first time in my life. What I am learning, which I am sure everyone who has ever done this is Dang- there is so much involved in each week. When Abraham learned from The great mystery of his first wife Sarah's upcoming pregnancy at nearly one hundred years of age he laughed. Upon hearing the creators plan for him he laughed. Sarah hearing the same prophecy from the three messengers also laughs. Could there be a better name for their first and only son then Isaac - He ( the Lord) Laughs ! A few weeks ago, I heard a piece on NPR about fishing bards in New Orleans who are on the verge of extinction. Their songs mostly served to bring humor to their hard lives and it re-iteratied the idea of how humor has helped countless cultures survive the direst of circumstances. It comes then really as no surprise that from the very beginning- the ancestors of the ancestors- we were laughing - even with God,.