What is the etymology of the word ‘Electricity’?
Elektra Mythos – Greek goddess of the storm clouds
In ancient Greek mythology Elektra was one of the Okeanides; the water-bearing cloud children of Okeanos (the ocean) and Tethys (a sea goddess daughter of Gaia ie. earth, world). Elektra is the goddess of stormy clouds, which draw their moisture up from the sea. They are charged with lightening and form around islands near the summits of mountains.
Elektra is a powerful bringer of life through water and electrical charge.
She married Thaumas, a powerful sea god, and had several children, including Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, as well as the Harpies. The rainbow is often seen extending from the sea into rain or storm clouds.
Traditionally people honoured the goddess Elektra with Amber.
In fact, the Greek word for amber was ‘Elektron’
Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. The ancient Greeks used to harvest natural light-filled amber from the sea, where it was washed ashore, polished from the action of waves. It has been a greatly valued gemstone used extensively to make jewellery and decorative artifacts.
It has also been used as a healing agent in folk medicine, as it was thought to protect the human soul from evil spirits.
Amber became associated with the goddess Elektra because of the golden halo rim around electrical storm clouds when sunlight shines from behind. When you rub amber with a soft cloth it produces sparks of static electricity. This was thought to happen in honor of Elektra.
The modern word ‘Electricity’ evolved when the English scientist William Gilbert wrote De Magnete, in which he made a careful study of electricity and magnetism. He coined the New Latin word electricus (“of amber” or “like amber”, from the Greek word for amber, ἤλεκτρον, elektron), to refer to the property of attracting small objects after being rubbed.[10] This association gave rise to the English words “electric” and “electricity”, which made their first appearance in print in Thomas Browne‘s Pseudodoxia Epidemica of 1646.
Power up your own inner electrical storm goddess…
Charge up your cells with magnesium electrolytes and water for optimal health.
LETHARGIC, LOW ENERGY OR IMMUNE SYSTEM WEAK? We need electrical energy to be calm and relaxed; and we need it to exercise and work our muscles too. This sounds like a contradiction, but it isn’t really. Stress causes excessive magnesium loss. Our mitochondria use up a lot of magnesium to make ATP electrical energy to spend on work, exercise and stress of all kinds (including immune system challenges). If we don’t consume enough magnesium, or we lose too much from our cell reserves, we can become magnesium-deficient.
Low magnesium can make us feel overly fatigued because magnesium is necessary to make insulin, and to use it to get the glucose into the cell for energy production. If cells resist opening up to allow the glucose and insulin in, this problem is called metabolic syndrome, which eventually turns into diabetes mellitus (ie. type 2). Magnesium, and enzymes that rely on magnesium, are also necessary to work with the iron of the hemoglobin to take up oxygen and transport it in the blood to cells. Low magnesium can thus produce symptoms of anemia, even if blood tests show iron in the normal range.
TOO STIFF? You will notice that magnesium deficiency symptoms include cramps, muscle spasms, stiff joints and arteries (which cause hypertension), as well as inflammation and pain.
ANXIOUS OR CAN’T RELAX? Studies have shown that magnesium depresses the release of stress hormones, but it also works the other way: The lower the magnesium, the more stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released. Magnesium directly affects the N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor to block its calcium channel, which then can engage GABAergic activity. GABA is a hormone that makes us feel relaxed and calm. If we don’t have enough GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid), too much glutamate can take over to stimulate the nervous system excessively and so release the cascade of stress hormones.
GOT CRAMPS OR HYPERTENSION? What happens as magnesium drops too low is that too much calcium moves into the soft tissue and joints because it gets stuck in the cell membrane calcium channels. Calcium is a mineral that tightens and hardens tissue. We need more magnesium to remove the calcium from those membrane channels so that the muscle fibres can relax again. Magnesium is our relaxing mineral via its control of calcium (if you get enough magnesium, that is).
Magnesium via enzyme activity also helps the circulation (lymph and blood) to move more fluidly through the vascular system. Magnesium keeps blood vessel walls flexible, which helps to normalise blood pressure.
Foods tend to give us a lot more calcium than magnesium, and when you add to this the loss of magnesium from stress, you can see that we are more likely to be deficient in magnesium rather than calcium. This is why stiffening muscles, ligaments and joints can be a sign of magnesium deficiency. The stiffer we get, the more inflammation, aches and pains.
HYPERACTIVE? When calcium starts to dominate, we get ‘stuck’ in the flight-flight state of tension, unable to relax or sleep properly. Hyperactivity and inability to sleep deeply or long enough can also be a sign of low magnesium and too much calcium activity, as this then triggers excessive adrenaline release. Studies have shown that magnesium directly causes the inhibition of the adrenaline response and vice versa. As you increase adrenaline, it pushes magnesium out of the way. Activity and energy expenditure uses calcium and adrenaline (stress hormones), but recovery and relaxation requires magnesium to come back and establish calmness, quiet and equilibrium. And it is only in the relaxation mode that we can properly digest food, detox and make new cells. So we really need quite a lot of magnesium for balance, health and wellness and can’t do without it!
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