THE GODDESS IN THE MIDDLE AGES:
“Thou annointest my head with oil, and my cup runneth over.
”
~ Psalm 23
The various legends of the Holy Grail have common threads. The Holy
Grail is the receptacle of Divine Grace. The Seeker must demonstrate
spirituality, humility and a pure heart.
The Legend of the Holy Grail is an analogy for the Awakening of the
Angelic Human.
The Angelic Human is a receptacle to hold Divine Grace. The Awakening is
the anointing with Pure Sanctified Light to aid Humanity. The Quest is
to reflect below all the light received from the plan above.
In the year 1208, Pope Innocent III (the most inappropriately named pope
in history) unleashed the full might of a most horrendous and brutal
crusade against a sect of devout Christians living in the Languedoc, an
area on the French side of the Pyrenees. the Cathars were purposely made
out to be near-crazy dualists and wiped out through fire and preaching
because they really felt they were the true Christians, the true bearers
of the Christian message of a Christ who was a lot more human than the
establishment found comfortable.
Traditionally, Mary Magdalene is said to have arrived at a village which
has been called from memory out of time, St. Magdalene-sur-le-Mer, on
the Provence seaside, where this arrival is celebrated every year in a
festival
The Magdalene was highly revered in France. Before Joan of Arc, the
Magdalene was the patron saint of France. She brought Christianity to
then Gaul with her disciples. In the South of France, in the Languedoc
area, there was a Duchy called Septamania. It was a matriarchy which
welcomed artists and writers of all kinds. Women were held in high
esteem and the area was always run by the Duchess of Septamania. On
famous Duchess was Duoda (c.806/11-aft.843). Her husband, Bernard, Duke
of Septimania (c.802-844) was nearly always in Paris serving in the
court of Louis I. He was in charge of the Finances for Louis's
government. Dhuoda of Septimania was very famous for writing a Handbook
for William: A Carolingian Woman's Counsel for Her Son. This was a moral
guide for her 15 year-old son whom Bernard sent courtAfter Bernard fell
out of favor with Charles, Louis' son. In it she writes a moral code
which includes treatment of women as well as how to behave in Court. It
is considered the handbook used by Eleanor of Aquitaine, her decendent,
to beget the Court of Love that she was famous for in the later 12th
century. There are many who believe that this line was decended from
Magdalene. If it wasn't, it at least followed a reverence to her memory
and her legacy that was unparalleled anywhere else in European
Christianity. While the leaders of this area adhered to the Roman Pope,
it welcomed all comers of all religions. The only turmoil was when the
Muslims welcomed by the Duchesses of the area originally joined the
invading Moors to try to take over this area. Jews were especially
welcome, it appears and flourished in this area until the Albigensian
Crusades which killed all occupants - the crusade motto was "Kill 'em
all and let God sort them."
In AD 1209,
the entire population of the Albigens was slaughtered at the order of
Pope Innocent III. The Albigens, in the south of France, was then the
most populous, the most technically, socially, and economically advanced
part of Europe. Its population was largely Gnostics and Arian
Christians, and were a sanctuary for Jews who were persecuted almost
everywhere else in Europe. All of these groups had a high percentage of
literacy and read the Bible, which was prohibited by the Vatican.
Innocent III was seeking to put a stop to the "Gnostic heresy", but
found it to be entrenched throughout Europe, so he followed the "Cathar
Crusade" with the creation of the Inquisition, resulting in countless
millions of people being slowly and brutally tortured to death over the
next 500 years for even the mere suspicion of being witches. Innocent
also reinstated a prohibition against the owning or reading of Bibles by
anyone other than clergy, under penalty of death.
Romantic love, in its origins as courtly love, was conceived as a
spiritual discipline. The cult of courtly love had it roots in the
religion of the Cathars. Believers called themselves Cathars, meaning
"pure". By the twelfth century entire towns and provinces in the south
of France practiced Catharism. Many of the nobility in the courts of
Europe were Cathars. In France the movement was called the Albigensian
heresy because the movement centered in the city of Albi in France. One
of their basic beliefs was that "true love" was not the ordinary love
between husband and wife but rather the adoration of the feminine
mediator between God and man. She waited in the sky to welcome the pure
with a holy kiss and lead him or her into the Realm of Light. Cathars
believed that the love of a man for a woman should be an earthly
allegory of their love for the Queen of Heaven.
this is a continuation of the Judaic teachings on the Matronit.The
Matronit is an aspect of Shekinah, the Sacred Feminine. She is the Queen
of the Sabbath and Sacred Union rituals are done in Her honor every
Sabbath within Orthodox Jewish homes. The tools of traditional Shabbat -
the wine, the kiddush cup, the candles, the covered eyes, the spice box,
the braided candle, the songs. She represents Compassion and Justice
like Guvurah on the Tree of Life. Shekinah is the link between the
Divine and the human. It is she who we see in visions and call it the
Virgin Mary, if we are Catholic, but the Jews call her by name. She is
Mother Zion to Jeremiah. The Gnostics call her "the Daughter of God."
She is also called Malkuth, the Supernal Woman and the Discarded
Cornerstone. There is a story in the Zohar where the Matronit is abused
by evil and Lilith takes her place as the Consort of JHVH. In this
passage, JHVH is stripped of His power because He has lost his Matronit.
Thus the importance of She to the Godhead.
Many Christians saw Cartharism as a reform movement, a reaction against
the corruption and politics within the religious hierarchy. The Cathars
practices an exemplary morality and offered an experience of God that
was at once personal, individual, and lyrical. They returned the
feminine to religion.
The teachings and Ideals of the Cathars reappeared in the cult of
courtly love, in songs and poems of the troubador and in the "romances".
The ideal of courtly love swept through the feudal courts of medieval
Europe and began a revolution the attitudes toward the feminine values
of devotion and the pursuit of beauty. This revolution matured into what
we call romanticism.
Within this court, the story of Lancelot and Guinevere was born. It has
been attributed to Chrètien de Troyes but many think that Eleanor's
daughter by Louis, Marie of France who had left her husband to set up
shop writing in her mother's court may have actually penned the work.
Basically, courtly love was the first celebration of an emotional
relationship between a man and a woman. never before in Europe had the
female been so highly prized within society. The women were equal for
the first time since the Aryan attacks on the Sumerian Matriarchal
communities of the 3000s BC. In 1174, after Eleanor supported an
uprising by her sons against their father, Henry came into Poitier and
took her back to England. There he locked her in a tower for a decade
until he deemed her as not dangerous any more. In 1189, Henry died and
Richard, who was a favorite in Eleanor's court of love, became King of
England but left it to John to run while he ran off to crusade against
Salladin. After Richard's death, Phillip, now King of France, tried to
strip John of Eleanor and Henry's lands in France. Eleanor, who had
retired to Fontevrault, came out of the convent and led an army against
Phillip and won. She finally died in 1204, but the legends about her
court of love never did.
But who were the Cathars? The Medieval sect from the Languedoc region of
France, now more commonly known as the French Pyrénées, and the
Albigensian Crusade that was mounted against them. In 1208, the Pope,
the ironically named Innocent III, unleashed this brutal crusade, under
the command of Simon de Montfort, against the districts of Toulouse,
Albi and the surrounding region, because of their support for those
known as the Cathars. These poor preachers had given up their worldly
goods to deliver the message of Christ, by word and by example, through
an austere lifestyle. Today we would regard them as devout religious
extremists, then they burned them, in large numbers!
These Cathars had a huge following. The spiritual leaders were known
asParfaits and lived a life of chastity and purity. Though historically
known as the Good Men, there is little doubt that the Cathars, with
their general rejection of genderism, would today prefer the term 'Good
People', or as they were commonly known, the 'Good Christians'. Women
occupied priestly roles alongside the men, taking the words of Christ as
their absolute guiding principle. They were simple, humble and much
respected by their communities - yet they were burned alive as heretics.
On Mary Magdalene's feast day they entered Mary,s church and killed her
priest before all the people; They then proceeded to kill all the town's
people.
The magnitude of the "heresy" can be guessed when we learn that after
two years of the most brutal carnage the Albigensians were still so
strong that, when the Pope renewed the "crusade" in 1214, a fresh
hundred thousand "pilgrims" had to be summoned. Pope Innocent III boasts
that they took five hundred towns and castles from the heretics, and
they generally butchered every man, woman and child in a town when they
took it. Noble ladies with their daughters were thrown down wells, and
large stones flung upon them. Knights were hanged in batches of eighty.
When, at the first large town, soldiers asked how they could distinguish
between heretics and orthodox, the Cistercian abbot thundered: "Kill
them all, God will know his own," and they put to the sword the forty
thousand surviving men, women and children.
This was the begining of the inquisiton; they then proceeded to kill
thousands of men, women, and children, stealing all the wealth of
southern france. They proceeded further to kill any troubador, or singer
of romantic love. They rewrote history to cover their murderous crime;
blaming the Carthari of a heresy that they themselves promoted; that is
Manachee dualism, Which the Cathari did not preach or believe. A certain
rich dynasty in southern France known as the 'Magorvian Kings' promoted
a heresy of 'The Holy Blood' claiming to be direct descendents of Jesus
and Mary Magdalene; it was this heresy that was their fatal mistake. And
it is this particular heresy that lead to the destruction of the
Albigenses culture. What is true is that the Cathari, believed
themselves to be the descendents of Mary's church, the Jewish Christian
church, and that Jesus was indeed married. Actions speak loader than
words, and the Cathari' actions were good; Indeed they had a reputation
of being the 'best christians'. Their daughters as well as their sons
received an education. The daughters were able to own lands and recieve
an inheritence. It is a fact that there were many landowning, prominent
and noble women among the Cathari. The mother of St. Francis was a
Cathari. At the time of the Cathari southern France was experincing
great prosperity and an advancing civilization.
The actions of the Troubadors were good, they sang of love and wrote
poetry. They were the herald of what became great in the writings of
Shakespeare. The pope at this time was reputed to be a great coveter of
of land and power; and at no other time has a pope owned more land. A
thirteenth century artist portrayed this pope as the devil himself. The
wealth plundered from the Cathari was enormous. The inquisition
destroyed thousand of artifacts and writings; And lasted in various
forms for 500 years; killing millions. However, many refused to give up
Christ's Bride and Mary as Goddess; This is why Mary told St. Dominic
that only the Rosary could stop the bloodshed. It was at this time that
marriage was done away with in the Roman Priesthood. Though The Roman
church claimed to honor Mary; they maintained the lie of who promoted
the heresy of Manachian duality; They spoke against the Carthari views
on romantic love and they told their own priest that celibacy was the
will of God.
The Knights Templar are one of the
best-known military Crusading orders of the Middle Ages. The Order of
the Temple was founded with the initial aim of protecting pilgrims going
to and from Jerusalem, but many believe they were in all probability
also searching for hidden treasures under the long destroyed Temple of
Solomon in Jerusalem, the place where the Order was originally
installed.
The Order, (ostensibly) founded by nobleman Hugues de Payens, was the
first of a number of Military Monastic Orders that flourished during the
Crusade years. The word "Templar" derives from the full official name of
the order, "The poor knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon."
Originally promoted as the protectors Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem,
they were known as fierce warriors with tremendous military prowess.
In a very short time after their inception, the Knights Templar became
very popular. They were exempted from taxation, and had amassed great
wealth and property by the 13th century. By this time, Jerusalem had
fallen back into Muslim hands, and enthusiasm for crusades was waning.
The Templars were now living quite well. They had tremendous political
and financial influence (even instituting Europe's first banking
system).
As their military might increased, the Templars also grew in wealth, acquiring property throughout Europe and running a primitive banking system. After they left the Middle East with the collapse of the Crusader kingdoms, their power and secretive ways aroused the fear of European rulers and sparked accusations of corruption and blasphemy.
Philip owed debts to the Templars and used the accusations to arrest their leaders and extract, under torture, confessions of heresy in order to seize the order's riches.
Between 1100-1300 AD hundreds of Gothic Cathedrals were constructed across Europe, inspired by the eastern Hermetic knowledge rediscovered by the mystical order of monk-knights, the Knights Templar. During the tenure and excavations of the Tempars at Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem, they discovered the vaults of hidden artifacts and scrolls concerning the alchemical sciences of sacred geometry and architecture, sound, astronomy, and genetics. Ancient sacred relics are also said to have been in the Templar’s cache of discoveries there, including the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, and secrets pertaining to Mary Magdalene.
The Templars developed into one of the richest and most powerful organizations in the medieval world, and had a large network of preceptories and commanderies throughout Europe and the Middle East. They were the bankers to kings and originated our modern-day concept of a letter of credit, in addition to fighting in the Crusades and assisting pilgrims.
The Knights Templar were a military-religious order founded in the early 12th century to defend the kingdom the crusaders had carved out in the Holy Land. From modest beginnings, the order grew to wield immense political and financial power not only in the Holy Land, but also in Europe. Pope Clement V ordered its dissolution after a campaign to discredit the order which saw bogus confessions extracted by the use of often ferocious torture. Two years after the pope issued his decree, the last grand master of the Knights Templar was burned at the stake on an island in the Seine in front of Nôtre Dame cathedral. Jealousy and covetousness reigned. Phillip IV, who was deeply in dept to the Order, had seen their treasures stored in Paris, and designed to make it his own. On Friday morning October 13th 1307 - and the reason for which Friday the 13th has become known as an unlucky day - King Phillip IV together with Avignonese Pope Clement V, ruthlessly suppressed the Order throughout Europe, with false accusations, arrests, torture and executions. (Timeline) Though they were offered communted sentences and comfortable lives if they would renounce their Order and plead guilty to the charges, for some mysterious reason, they preferred to remain true to their principles and received their punishment. A large number of Templars escaped that day to an uncertain future, and found refuge abroad. On the eve of the arrests, the entire Templar fleet mysteriously vanished from the port of La Rochelle carrying with it a vast fortune, the fate of which remains a mystery down to this day.
After being driven out of the Holy Land as well as Europe, but still formidable at sea, the refugee Templars found sanctuary in Scotland, where Templar graves bear witness to them having lived and died there in the fourteenth century. King Robert the Bruce had no interest in persecuting the Order, in spite of a papal bull ordering him to do precisely that. To the contrary, he took advantage of their fugitive status, offering them asylum in return for their help in his war for independence against King Edward II of England. Templars have been suggested as the source of mounted soldiers who assisted Robert the Bruce's Scots Guard at the battle of Bannockburn, as the Scots did not have a mounted force. As the Scots Guard continued through the years, two of the prominent families involved in its history were the Sinclairs and the Stuarts. Both families trace their lineage back to members of the Knights Templar, as well as to prominent figures of the New Testament. Hugues de Payns the first Grand Master of the Templars was married to a Sinclair. There is also evidence that the Templar fleet traveled to North America in 1398 (almost 100 years before Columbus) with the Sinclairs, and settled there at least temporarily. Connections are made between the tower ruins along the eastern coast of the United States, objects discovered in the Oak Island "Money Pit", and the Templar Order. The Sinclairs (or Saint-Clairs) castle near Edinburgh, was situated next to Rosslyn chapel, which was constructed by the Sinclairs according to the floorplan of Solomon's original temple. Engraved in the masonry around the chapel are maize and aloe plants, which grew only in North America. Throughout Scotland, as well as within Rosslyn Chapel, there are carvings and tombstones dating back to the 15th, 16th, and 17th century using combinations of Templar imagery (skull and crossbones, Templar swords, Templar crosses) and Masonic symbols (compass and square). The Stuart royal house became one of Freemasonry's biggest supporters during their reign of Scotland and England. Some also suggest that the rituals used in modern Freemasonry have their origins in the ancient texts discovered by the Templars in the ruins of Solomon's Temple while excavating to build their stables. Recent archaeological digs in the area have supported this theory by finding serveral Templar artifacts buried beneath the temple. In the 1950's, a scroll made entirely of copper was discovered in the caves near Qumran. When translated with the other "Dead Sea Scrolls", this "Copper Scroll", as it has become known, was identified as a treasure map listing various precious metals, religious artifacts, and writings supposedly buried beneath the temple in Jerusalem.
Many of the ships carrying the Templar's funds were never found. While many escaped France, those who were captured went so without resistance. By March 22, 1312 a Papal decree dissolved the Order. Within the year Jacques de Molay and fellow Preceptor Geoffri de Charnay were put to death by Philippe's order. Some of those who had escaped lived on to form other orders like the Knights of Christ in Portugal, the Order of Calatreve in Spain, and the Order of St. John in Germany. No one has ever found the vast fortunes that the Templars were to have hidden.
Their insistence on the Bible being available to all believers in their own tongue was a very profound violation of the establishment's concern over its portrayal of Christ. The blood of Christ heresy can not be refuted from the Bible, and the fact that Jesus is spoken of as having brothers and sisters in that book, when his mother according to the new tradition remained virgin until death, was a real inconvenience. The secret purpose of the Templar Knights, believers in the heresy, had become the protection of the blood(line) of Christ, the Holy Grail, and their very existence thus became an embarrassment and they were also disbanded and exterminated. Troubadours’ Courtly Love poetry was declared heretical, and they were forced into changing their tune(s). The cult of the Virgin Mary provided a convenient and worthy substitute for the other Mary probably the object of the Religion of Love, a Mary who was said to have spent her life in the same region in which these heresies took root and flourished. The King and Pope decieved and ambushed the order of 'poor knights for Christ' known as the templar knights; killing them all and stealing their wealth.
"Avignon had been the seat of Pope Clement V - who had been crowned at Lyons in 1305 in the presence of King Philip of France...It also been Clement V who had order the arrest of the Templars throughout Christendom in 1307."
"There is evidence that he [Philip IV] began to plan his operation against the Templars about a year in advance of its implementation (i.e. in 1306) and there is also evidence that on several occasions during that year he discussed his plans with Pope Clement."
"King Philip the Fair of France developed a similar idea of making himself ruler of a vast Christian empire centered at Jerusalem. He also needed money. First he seized all the Jews in his kingdom and forced them to give up their futures by removing one of their eyes and threatening to remove the other." Then he moved against the Templars to seize their riches.
Historians over the years have debated whether or not there was any truth at all to the charges against the Templars. There is evidence of connections between the Knights and the Cathars, or Albigensians, a heretical Gnostic group which was the very first target of the inquisition. The Cathars were pious ascetics whose main offense to the Church seems to have been their acceptance of women as the spiritual equals of men. In a time when it was still a matter of debate whether women had souls, even the suggestion was beyond blasphemy. (The Templars, too, seemed to take a more positive view of women. Surviving records show many instances of women joining the Order, a practice which was discontinued by Papal order.) The Cathar’s last stand was in the mountain fortress of Montsegur. The Templars are rumored to have refused to participate in the fight, and may have assisted fleeing Cathars.
The Order lasted for nearly two hundred years, before its suppression by both the French king and Pope Clement V - who issued the papal bull Vox in excelso on 22 March 1312 which finally suppressed the Order. The initial event was sudden and brutal - in the early hours of Friday, 13th October 1307, the French Templars were arrested by the officials of King Philip IV in the name of the Inquisition and their property was confiscated by royal representatives. This event also led to the arrest of Templars elsewhere, but the situation was most severe in France.
The Templars were then arrested, tortured, charged with serious heresies, and brought to trial. The confessions of "heresy" against the knights are questionable, since they are known to have been extracted by torture by the Inquisition. The leaders of the Templars finally came before the papal representatives in March 1314 and were sentenced to perpetual imprisonment. But Grand Master Jacques de Molay and Geoffroi de Charney, the Preceptor of Normandy, continued to protest their innocence and, that very evening, King Philip IV ordered that they be burned at the stake on an island in the Seine.
"When one considers how the Templars fought and died throughout the crusades it seems hard not to believe in their innocence...The actions of the Knights Templar were good, for they became the model of chivalry. The tales of brave romantic Knights were modeled after them. It is surely more than coincidence that the most strident accusations came from the heartlands of the Albigensian heresy.
Local brethren in these regions could well have turned isolated perceptories into Cathar cells during the previous century when the heresy was at its height, while the Order's bankers would have been quite capable of protecting fugitive heretics to obtain the Cathari treasure which disappeared just before their last stronghold fell in 1244.
Admittedly Catharism was almost extinct by 1307. But vague memories from years before of heresy hunts within the Order, kept secret to avoid scandal, may have been the origin of tales of devil worship, secret rites and sodomy which were all charges which had been made against the Cathari.
The story of the hunchback of notre dam (which means ''great lady'') hides the story of the Inquisition inside of itself.. Many escaping Carthar were also Jewish, many became the Gypsy and this can be heard in their early and common music styles..
Another interesting connection between the two groups can be found in the Arthurian Grail romances where thinly disguised Templars are the Guardians of the Holy Grail. A fourteenth century painting underlines the hidden message of the Grail stories- it depicts the Grail knights kneeling before a glowing vision of the Goddess Venus:
However, their real threat to the King and Pope was that they to knew of the Jewish Christian church and of the marriage of Jesus to Mary.
UNEDITED DRAFT & COMPILED NOTES
Psalm 23:5-6 " ..My cup runs over, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever".
This from the blessed land of Aromat, After the day of darkness,
when the dead Went wandering over Moriah-the good saint, Arimathean Joseph,
journeying, brought To Glastonbury, where the winter thorn Blossoms at Christmas,
mindful of our Lord, And there awhile abode; and if a man Could touch or see it,
he was healed at once, By faith, of all his ills. But then the times Grew to
such evil that the holy cup Was caught away to Heaven, and disappeared."
THE GRAIL LEGEND~ Although medieval knights could act with savage cruelty
and remain unmoved by scenes of carnage, they considered themselves at
heart God-fearing men. They would feel no shame at being seen to weep at
the sight of some holy shrine to which they had made a long pilgrimage.
Religious legends exerted a potent influence on men in the Middle Ages,
and cults attached to saints and relics were widespread throughout Europe.
No one doubted, for example, that Mary Magdalene had travelled, after the
death of Christ, from the Holy Land to Provence in the south of France.
Medieval men also believed in the Holy Grail, which was for them both a
physical entity and a mystical source of spiritual nourishment to be
attained by only the purest of men.
The Grail was the cup used at the Last Supper, in which Joseph of
Aramathia had caught Christ's blood during the Crucifixion. He is said to
have sailed from the Holy Land bringing the Holy Grail with him. Some
legends say he travelled only as far as Europe, but others tell how he
sailed on to Britain. On landing there Joseph and his band of missionaries
made their way
to what is now Glastonbury Tor, which rises four hundred feet above the
Mendip Hills in Somerset. Here Joseph rested, planting his hawthorn staff
in the ground. The staff immediate sprouted white flowers. Joseph
determined to stay there and found a church, and hid the Holy Grail in a
place nearby.
In 1184 an ancient church built in this place was burnt down and during
the re-building the monks discovered what they believed to be the graves
of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere From this moment the legends of Arthur,
the quest for the Ho1v Grad and Glastonbury were inextricably linked. Some
believed Glastonbury to be none other than the Isle of Avalon ( the
legendary burial place of King Arthur), for the land surrounding the Tor
had once been marshland, though long since drained Further mystery arose
when in 1345 Joseph's tomb was said to have been found at Glastonbury.
The ruins of the abbey may still be seen today. In its grounds the
Glastonbury thon flourishes still. This strain of hawthorn flowers in
winter: is it perhaps descended from Joseph's staff, Finally there is the
Chalice Well, in the abbey grounds. This well is said never to have run
dry and is thought by some to be the place where Joseph hid the Grail.
The Grail is usually imagined as a cup or chalice, specifically the cup
used by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper (or used to catch his blood as
it flowed on the cross). Legend has it that after Christ's death and
resurrection, Joseph of Arimathea -- who had lent him his tomb for
something under three days -- took this cup to Glastonbury in
Somersetshire, England.
Glastonbury itself is the site of innumerable legends and fables connected
not only with Joseph of Arimathea but with King Arthur and his knights;
indeed it was said that the bones of Arthur and Guinevere were unearthed
there in medieval times. While this may be mere fable, it's unquestionably
true that Glastonbury functioned as the site of an abbey from the seventh
century till 1536, when Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of all the
monasteries in England. The Gothic ruins of Glastonbury Abbey can still be
seen today, and the town remains a popular destination for pilgrims.
Of all Arthurian themes, the most romantic is. that of the Holy Grail. Yet
because of the Grail's enduring tradition, there is a lingering
uncertainty about its place in time. Its champions have been portrayed in
the 1st century, in the Arthurian period, and in the Middle Ages. In
essence, the Grail is timeless.
The great body of the Grail romances came into existence between the years
1180 and 1240. Most of these romances are in French.
When we come to examine the literary tradition concerning the Grail we
notice at the outset that the Grail legend is closely connected with that
of Perceval as well as that of King Arthur. Yet all these legends were
originally independent of each other. The Perceval story may have a
mythical origin, In all the versions that we have of it, it is a part of
of the Arthurian legend, and, in almost all, it is furthermore connected
with the Grail. The poem of Chritien, regarded by many as the oldest known
Grail romance, tells of Perceval's visit to the Grail castle, where he
sees a Graal borne in by a damsel. Its accompaniments are a bleeding lance
and a silver plate. It is a precious vessel set with jewels, and so
resplendent as to eclipse the lights of the hall. All the assembled
knights show it reverence. Mindful of an injunction not to inquire too
much, Perceval does not ask concerning the significance of what he sees,
and thereby incurs guilt and reproach.
The story of the Holy Grail is unique. It is, for one thing, the most
recent of all myths. While it draws for its sources upon ancient pagan as
well as Christian motifs, the myth of the Holy Grail took shape in the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Various forms of it appeared almost
simultaneously in France, England, Wales, Germany, and other European
countries, as though a vast underground life had suddenly broken through
into the light. Its Christian content, its recent origin, and its source
in the European soil make this legend particularly meaningful to the
spiritual situation of modem Western man.
The Grail legacy is a relic of early Judaic Christianity, but the
Christian Church has never recognized the fact. Despite a background that
is both romantic and sacred.
Those who maintain the theory of a purely Christian origin regard the
religious element in the story as fundamental and trace the leading motifs
to Christian ideas and conceptions. It is derived from the apocryphal
Gospel of Nicodemus, which is known to have had a great vogue in the
twelfth century, paricularly in Britain.Joseph of Arimathea, according to
the apocryphal Evangelium Nicodemi (Gospel of Nicodemus), was an early
leader in the church.
It would seem that a legend so distinctively Christian would find favour
with the Church. Yet this was not the case. Excepting Helinandus, clerical
writers do not mention the Grail, and the Church ignored the legend
completely. After all, the legend contained the elements of which the
Church could not approve. Its sources are in apocryphal, not in canonical,
scripture, and the claims of sanctity made for the Grail were refuted by
their very extravagance. Moreover, the legend claimed for the Church in
Britain an origin well nigh as illustrious as that of the Church of Rome,
and independent of Rome. The church of Rome naturally saw the Celtic
church as a threat.
The Holy Grail became likened to a vessel because it was said to carry the
sacred blood of Jesus. But it was the Chalice (V) of Mary Magdalene which
carried the Sangreal in utero. It was she who inspired the Doinpna (Great
Lady) of the Troubadours, who were so callously treated by the Inquisition
- and they called her the 'Grail of the World'.
In Parzival, it is said of the Grail Queen that 'she bore ... the
perfection of earthly paradise, both roots and branches'. According to the
New Testament Gospel of John 15:5, Jesus said, "am the vine, ye are the
branches". Psalm 80:8 reads, 'Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt: thou
hast cast out the heathen, and planted it.'
The Bible classifies the descendants of Israel as a 'vine', the line of
Judah being described at some length as the Lord's cherished plant (Isaiah
5:7). Some medieval portrayals of Jesus show him in a wine-press,
accompanied by the statement 'I am the true vine' (John 15:1). Some Grail
emblems and watermarks depict a chalice containing clusters of grapes -
the fruit and seeds of the vine.
According to the Grail
legends, the GRAIL was lost because its custodians were found to be
unworthy...
The Grail king possessed the Grail, which is the fount of abundance, yet
he was cursed with a wound that would not heal
and his kingdom was turning to desolation. What ails the king is that
there is no queen (intuition) sharing the throne (or at least she is not
mentioned in the stories). So long as the throne (the seat of
consciousness) is occupied by only male thinking (patriarchy), no wonders
of science and industry (logic) can heal the wounded king of wasteland.
Intuitive awareness must compliment and empower logical agenda. The Wisdom
'feminine awareness' is of a larger agenda that logic alone cannot know,
but which our plans and desires must be at one with, and not in opposition
to (divine will) if we would be blessed by the Grail of abundance. And
only when we are truly and married will our wounds healed.
Courtly Love
In feudal times the knight's wife was often no more than a chattel, and
her husband was at liberty to beat her, as contemporary illuminated
manuscripts all too often show. In this age of arranged marriages divorce
was not permitted by the Church. But if consanguinity, or distant kinship,
could be proved, a couple could have their marriage annulled, allowing
both parties to remarry. A surprising number of people would suddenly
discover that they were distantly related. Even a couple sharing the same
godfather or a husband who had married his godfather's daughter would have
been able to obtain an annllment. However, during the age of chivalry the
knight's attitude towards women underwent a radical change. What
distinguished the later knight from his barbarous, feudal predecessor was
his growing awareness of courtesy, which is nowhere better seen than in
the romantic, but often ludicrous, practices of courtly love.
For the lady to whom the knight had given his heart he would be courageous
in battle, gay, witty, clean and well-dressed. For his lady the knight
would swear not to cut his hair, drink wine or sleep in a bed; he might
even wear a patch over his eye until he had accomplished some deed in her
honor. Some knights swore lifelong devotion to ladies they had never even
seen. Courtly love was, however, possible only between people who were not
married, and was restricted to the knightly class.
The courtly love tradition took root in the twelfth century in the warm
and peaceful south of France, where troubadours began composing love songs
and romances to entertain the pleasure-loving court. The next step was the
establishment of courts of love, at which ladies sat in judgment on
affairs of the heart.
.
When the cause of courtly love reigned supreme a bizarre. albeit short
lived, sect emerged called the Penitents of Love of Poictou. These knights
and ladies believed that love could transform one's life. To demonstrate
this they dressed in the thinnest summer clothes in the depths of winter,
claiming that the elements did not touch those who were in the power of
love. It was also a lady's mission to spur her knight on to brave deeds
But who were the Cathars? The Medieval sect from the Languedoc region of
France, now more commonly known as the French Pyrénées, and the
Albigensian Crusade that was mounted against them. In 1208, the Pope, the
ironically named Innocent III, unleashed this brutal crusade, under the
command of Simon de Montfort, against the districts of Toulouse, Albi and
the surrounding region, because of their support for those known as the
Cathars. These poor preachers had given up their worldly goods to deliver
the message of Christ, by word and by example, through an austere
lifestyle. Today we would regard them as devout religious extremists, then
they burned them, in large numbers!
These Cathars had a huge following. The spiritual leaders were known as
Parfaits and lived a life of purity. Though historically known as the Good
Men, there is little doubt that the Cathars, with their general rejection
of genderism, would today prefer the term 'Good People', or as they were
commonly known, the 'Good Christians'. Women occupied priestly roles
alongside the men, taking the words of Christ as their absolute guiding
principle. They were simple, humble and much respected by their
communities - yet they were burned alive as heretics.
On Mary Magdalene's feast day they entered Mary,s church and killed her
priest before all the people; They then proceeded to kill all the town's
people.
The magnitude of the "heresy" can be guessed when we learn that after two
years of the most brutal carnage the Albigensians were still so strong
that, when the Pope renewed the "crusade" in 1214, a fresh hundred
thousand "pilgrims" had to be summoned. Pope Innocent III boasts that they
took five hundred towns and castles from the heretics, and they generally
butchered every man, woman and child in a town when they took it. Noble
ladies with their daughters were thrown down wells, and large stones flung
upon them. Knights were hanged in batches of eighty. When, at the first
large town, soldiers asked how they could distinguish between heretics and
orthodox, the Cistercian abbot thundered: "Kill them all, God will know
his own," and they put to the sword the forty thousand surviving men,
women and children.
This was the begining of the inquisiton; they then proceeded to kill
thousands of men, women, and children, stealing all the wealth of southern
france. They proceeded further to kill any troubador, or singer of
romantic love. They rewrote history to cover their murderous crime;
blaming the Carthari of a heresy that they themselves promoted; that is
Manachee dualism, Which the Cathari did not preach or believe. A certain
rich dynasty in southern France known as the 'Magorvian Kings' promoted a
heresy of 'The Holy Blood' claiming to be direct descendents of Jesus and
Mary Magdalene; it was this heresy that was their fatal mistake. And it is
this particular heresy that lead to the destruction of the Albigenses
cultre. What is true is that the Cathari, believed themselves to be the
descendents of Mary's church, the Jewish Christian church, and that Jesus
was indeed married. Actions speak loader than words, and the Cathari'
actions were good; Indeed they had a reputation of being the 'best
christians'. Their daughters as well as their sons recieved an education.
The daughters were able to own lands and recieve an inheritence. It is a
fact that there were many landowning, prominent and noble women among the
Cathari. The mother of St. Francis was a Cathari. At the time of the
Cathari southern France was experincing great prosperity and an advancing
civilization.
The actions of the Troubadors were good, they sang of love and wrote
poetry. They were the hearld of what became great in the writings of
Shakespere. The pope at this time was reputed to be a great coveter of of
land and power; and at no other time has a pope owned more land. A twelfh
century artist portayed this pope as the devil himself. The wealth
plundered from the Cathari was enormous. The inquisition destroyed
thousand of artifacts and writings; And lasted in various forms for 500
years; killing millions. However, many refused to give up Christ's Bride
and Mary as Goddess; This is why Mary told St. Dominic that only the
Rosary could stop the bloodshed. It was at this time that marraige was
done away with in the Roman Priesthood. Though The Roman church claimed to
honor Mary; they maintained the lie of who promoted the heresy of
Manachian duality; They spoke against the Carthari veiws on romantic love
and they told their own preist that celebicy was the will of God.
There is a certain murkiness to this story, perhaps as a result of trying
to tell the important part (for those with ears to hear) and still stay
within certain defined limits that would allow the Roman Church to ignore
the tale. Things had changed by 1200. A powerful Pope, Innocent III, had
regained the upper hand in his struggles with the Holy Roman Empire and
began to turn his attention to unifying the whole world under his
spiritual rule. By the grace of God, of course. And this led directly to
the most disgraceful incidents in the history of the Roman Church. The
Fourth Crusade and the Crusade against the Cathars were waged against
fellow Christians. The Fourth Crusade ended with the sack of
Constantinople. The Crusaders, tricked by those crafty and godless
Venetians, fell upon the first city of Christendom and plundered and
sacked with a vengence. The Knights Templars found the shroud, whose
adoration would produce charges of idol worship eventually resulting in
their downfall. Innocent III rejoiced in the "unification of the Church."
But not quite. A resurgence of a gnostic heresy in the south of France
threatened to become the majority religion and Innocent responded in the
manner he knew best: call out the troops. The extermination of heretics in
the south of France would continue for half a century, long after Innocent
III went to his just rewards in whatever afterlife he actually believed
in. Why exterminate the Cathars, or the Perfecti as they called
themselves. Why not also attack the Celtic Church which was also active at
the same time? It boils down to a question of legitimacy. If Rome was
afraid to open the question of the Celtic Church, it was because of the
nagging suspicion that the Celtic Church had the greater claim to
legitimacy and could just possibly prove it. There were connections
between the Perfecti and the Celtic Church. By concentrating on the
Perfecti, heresy could be severely rebuked as an object lesson that would
force at least superficial adherence to Rome. The Cathars became
scapegoats for the whole underground current of Celtic/Grail/Gnostic
Christian survivals. It seems to have worked. For by 1220, around the time
the first wave of anti-cathar crusading was winding down, Grail Romances
were falling out of favor. Other than Malory, whose rendition of Walter de
Mapp's 1220 Queste de Saint Greal has become our story book Grail, there
is only the "Elucidation" of Chretien by an anonymous author. This is a
half hearted attempt to give another explanation for all these mystical
goings on. It is unsuccessful and is often not included in the Grail
texts.
Like all great and essentially timeless ideas, the Grail is a product of a
specific time and place, a specific and exact set of enabling conditions
that allowed the emergence of this seminal myth. To understand the Grail,
we must look first to history
Elenor of Aquitaine was in many ways the most remarkable woman of the
middle ages. Indeed, she was perhaps one of the most amazing women of all
time. Outright sovereign of Aquitaine, the richest and fairest province of
France, she was married very young to the King of France. The saintly
Louis seems never to have known quite what to do with this powerful,
beautiful and headstrong woman. Elenor started the fashion of the Court of
Love, which flourished throughout Europe and reached its peak at the turn
of the thirteenth century. Elenor's daughter, Marie de Champagne,
inherited her mother's love of Provencal troubadours and all the other
trappings of the cult of courtly love.
Elenor and her court accompainied Louis the Young on his expedition to the
Holy Land, known as the disasterous and ineffectual Second Crusade. Elenor
returned from crusading and soon embarked on the great royal romance of
the period. Henry Plantagenet, Henry II of England, swept her off her
feet. He married her with the aid of large bribes and good friends in
Rome. Their children included two of the most renowned and infamous
characters in the long panorama of English history: Richard the
Lion-Hearted and King John, the signer of the Magna Carta. With
illustrious siblings as these, it is easy to lose track of a simple
princess, no matter what her literary tastes.
Marie de Champagne deserves a better niche in history if only for her
encouragement of poetry. She brought to her court the greatest storyteller
of the age, Chretien de Troyes. Through Chretien the undercurrents of the
Grail mythos surfaced into literature.
These thirty years, from roughly 1185 to 1215, marked, in many ways, the
nadir of medieval Christianity. The papal squabbles of the mid-century,
along with the general sense of discouragment after the failure of the
Second Crusade, created a religious vacuum, into which more "heretical"
forms of Christianity stepped. These heresies took root so quickly because
of the contrast they presented with the church of Rome. These priests
lived with and cared about their flock. It was common for prelates in Rome
to spent their whole tenure in absentee, and the lower clergy was often as
venal and corrupt as the local landowner.
The decline of the church was given an extra push in the 1160's and 70's
by the wide circulation of Abelairdian rationalism. Abelaird, best
remembered today for his romance with his pupil Heloise, discussed the
superstitions of the church with such clear-headedness that many
intellectuals agreed that change was necessary, even essential.
If the second crusade has been disaapointing, then the fall of Jerusalem
in the autumn of 1187 was devastating. It was seen as a sign of God's
disfavor. A crusade was proclaimed, joined by such personages as the Kings
of Germany, France and England. Frederick Barbarrossa died along the way
and even though Elenor's golden child, Richard I of England, pursued the
crusade with all the force of his fiery personality, Jerusalem remained in
the hands of the infidels.
Richard, Heart-of-the-Lion, was something of a troubadour himself and gave
his own stamp of approval to the new mode of romance. He seemed to
literally embody the Matter of Britain and its chivalric traditions. We
can be sure that the new poetry of the grail accompanied the crusaders
because Richard's nephew, Marie's son, Henry of Champagne was elected King
of Jerusalem. It is tempting to envisage the poet Gautier de Danans
chanting his continuation of Chretien's masterwork in the great hall of
Acre, with Richard and his Queens, his sister Johanna and his wife
Berengaria, nodding their approval.
In 1191, the whole of the Arthurian tradition was verified by the monks of
Glastonbury. Staking their claim as the "Vale of Avalon," the good monks
disinterred the body of a Bronze Age chieftain and his queen. The bodies
were supposedly marked with a cross identifying them and King Arthur and
Guinevere.
Naturally, this created an international sensation, and along with it, an
appetite for stories about Arthur, his knights and their adventures in
search of the Grail. There were several good reasons for this sudden
discovery. First and foremost stands the political reason. The Plantagenet
conquest of Wales was still quite recent and the nationalist guerrillas,
to give them a modern appellation, believed that Arthur, rex quondum et
futurum, the once and future king would rise from his rocky tomb in
Gwenydd and ride to battle against the invaders. It was politically sound
to produce Arthur's body, safely buried on English soil.
But, looking closer, there is something very interesting about
Glastonbury's claims on Arthur and the Grail. Tradition has it that Joseph
of Arimathea brought Christianity, and possibly the Virgin Mother herself,
to Britain within a decade of Jesus' death. The first Christian church in
the world was then the small circular wattled structure at Glastonbury.
The Celtic Church, which was responsible for bringing culture, indeed one
might say even civilization, back to Europe after the fall of Rome,
survived at least until the eighth century. It survived even longer in the
wilds of Ireland and Scotland. We find Robert the Bruce being crowned by a
Culdee bishop as late as the early fourteenth century.
Glastonbury functioned as if it were a school, or spiritual center of some
sort. Its place was high on the list of Celtic Church pilgrimages and from
the earliest times was associated with the Virgin Mother. Arthur was
associated at an early era by his adoption of the image of the Virgin as a
personal banner. (See Gildas and Geoffrey of Monmouth). If Arthur has an
actual historical focus, it is the late 400's, just after the last legions
were recalled to Rome and before the overwhelming wave of Saxon invasions
in the early 500's. Arthur at this point is a "Restitutor" or rescuer of
Roman civilization. His choice of the Virgin, rather than the crucifix of
Rome, indicates that along with restoring the Empire, Arthur intended to
change the focus away from apostolic Catholicism toward the more
inspiration oriented Celtic Church. That he failed is perhaps the great
tragedy of the Dark Ages.
At any rate, it is not hard to see the glimmers of this earlier and more
spiritual form of Christianity as the undercurrent of ideas that emerged
as Chretien's "graal." The connection is never made directly, accept in
the later romances, but the Matter of Britain was basically a front for
the Celtic Church. In this seemingly secular form, the spiritual motiffs
of a truly gnostic Christianity emerged in the intellectual current of the
age. The Roman Church neither encouraged nor discouraged the Grail
Romances, even though it was obvious that an earlier and possibly
heretical form of Christianity was being represented. As we shall see, the
Church was not above persecuting heretics, but there was absolutely no
attempt to discredit the Grail stories.
Perhaps the reason for this is that even the Roman Church found it hard
not to believe that the origins of the Celtic Church went back to the very
family of Christ. "Royal Blood," indeed.
Around 1200, Robert de Borron, following the popularity of the
continuations of Chretein, produced Joseph of Arimathea, the prequel to
the series the ties it all very neatly into the Celtic Church. He reveals
the themes of a hidden or inner teaching given to Joseph after Christ's
resurrection. These teachings appear to center around the Grail, here
called a Chalice, and consitute the heart of the "mysteries." Mention is
also made of a journey westward, to the "Vale of Avaron (Avalon?)" and
provision is made for the future hero, Percival, who will fulfill the
Quest.
Clearly, the Grail had a specific significance for those who listened so
avidly to these stories of wonder and marvel. The grail's significance is
simply its connection with the Holy Family. The Grail suggests in the
strongest possible terms that another route to salvation -- one that had
nothing to do with the Church of Rome -- was available around the turn of
the thirteenth century.
This is most clearly seen in the two most unique of all Grail legends,
that of the "Perlesvaus" and Wolfram's Parzival. Wolfram's tale is almost
devoid of any mention of the clergy. His Parzival finds grace through
knightly prowess in pursuit of a gnostic, or experiential faith. His Grail
is the stone that fell from heaven. This "stone" would eventually become,
over the centuries, the philosopher's stone of the alchemist.
The "Perlesvaus" ties the matter to Glastonbury and may even have been
written there shortly after the discovery of Arthur's Tomb. This story
differs somewhat from other Grail legends, but its connection with the
megalithic zodiac around Glasonbury, which Katherine Maltwood identified
in the 1930's from a close reading of the "Perlesvaus," suggests the
area's older connection with the gateway to Anwen, the Celtic underworld
where the original cauldron of Bran was hidden. There is even an ancient
Welsh poem about Arthur's trip to Anwen to capture the cauldron.
The pattern is clear. Around the turn of the thirteenth century, the Grail
Romances offered a direct challenge to the authority of Rome, one that
Rome could not answer for fear of exposing her own shaky position.
Innocent III felt strong enough, after the fall of Constantinople, to turn
the iron grip of Christian chivalry on the most exposed and concentrated
group of heretics hoping to quiet the lot of them. Indeed, the fear and
horror of the Cathar Crusade did put the fear of the Pope back into the
hearts of Christians everywhere.
And if the Celtic heresy could not be brought to the sword directly, then
the land of England could be put under interdiction, a terrible form of
religious coercion in which the church effectively goes on strike. It will
not marry or bury or hold services while under interdiction. Innocent III,
for good measure, also excommunicated King John. All of this was resolved
by England becoming a Papal Fief for a few years. The Celtic Church
gradually faded away over the next century.
The image of the Grail, though, did not fade away. The Matter of Britain
still retained its popularity, though without the spiritual overtones. The
spiritual current went underground, surfacing in the Renaissance, and then
again in the Rosecrucians, and again in the nineteenth century.
One of the few intellectual movements to preserve something of the
traditions of the earth within Christendom was the Hermetic movement,
supposedly inspired by the writings of an unknown author or authors known
collectively as Hermes Trismegistus, but in fact dependent upon Taoist
forms of alchemy imported from China. Although not overtly erotic, the
Hermetic tradition preserved the notion that the secrets of spiritual
transformation are to be found here, in this earth, in the metals and
chemicals, with which the smiths and metallurgists work. Couched in the
most secret language, the Hermetic writings affirm that there is a decided
and mysterious synchronicity between what happens in the material world
and what happens in the inner self.
The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz combines this theme with
definite but esoteric erotic ideas. Everything points ultimately to the
reconciliation of opposites, to the Great Marriage of the cosmic King and
Queen.
Hermeticists are often lumped together with Gnostics because, I suppose,
both movements are esoteric. In fact, however, Hermeticists are actually
the obverse of Gnostics. Gnostics seek to flee this world of foolishness
and illusion to return to the soul's true home. Hermeticists seek a union
of opposites - the King and the Queen - to produce harmony once more in
this world, in the human self, and in society. To do this they employ the
secret pharmacopeial and metallurgical wisdom of the serpent. This Western
movement has parallels and clear inspiration in Taoist alchemy in China as
well as possible influence from Tantrism in India. The latter is, of
course, the most obvious, most successful attempt to reintegrate the
Goddess into a patriarchal society and to preserve her wisdom.
Modern science, though it learned much from the Hermetic alchemists, uses
nature in a very different way. Gone are the secret and sacred rituals of
Hermeticism which point toward psychic and social reintegration. The world
under the influence of Protestant Christianity became desacralized;
science, secular; the earth, threatened with ecological disaster.
Scientific discovery lost any secret, mystical dimension. Science simply
exploits the world for the so-called benefit of humanity. The mysteries of
the earth are dissolved and forgotten. Whatever remnants there were of the
Goddess in Hermeticism have long since vanished. Nature may still be
called Mother, but that is about all that is left of her Wisdom.
Despite the general decline of Christianity in the West the whole
"heavenly ideology" remains basic to our world view. Mind transcends body;
reason transcends superstition. Although there may be some truth in this
viewpoint, it is because of our transcendent ideology that we persist in
our wars against the earth.
The wisdoms of solomon offer holy gifts from the Goddess which must not be
scorned. They are her mysteries, which should be treated with the utmost
respect and ritual care. Suppression is not the answer, for it never
works. When we forget the gifts are from our Goddess and simply use them
for our own pleasure, when all ritual control is abandoned, then She takes
her revenge. Eros becomes porn; progress becomes pollution; The earth
herself is simply raped. These scourges, as we all know, threaten to
destroy our society.
Could She be worshiped again, seriously, in Western culture? Could
post-modern peoples turn from their wars of repression and their quest to
justify their own nationalistic particularism to consider with awe and
reverence the wisdom of solomon? In truth, we have never really stopped
paying homage to her. Officially, we are a monotheistic society, "under
God," espousing the highest ideals, but, in fact, her earthly powers -
Eros, violence, psychedelics - continue to haunt us. The question is
whether we can re-integrate her rituals and her reverence into our social
and religious life in order to control the forces to which we are
addicted.
There are many powers which stand against her: the Christian and Jewish
religions, which have officially denied her; science, which doubtless
would regard any recognition of her as sheer superstition; industry, which
considers too great a concern for nature a detriment to its own ends;
national self-interest that fears her universality.
Perhaps the Great Marriage of the King and the Queen - the reintegration
of the masculine and the feminine on both a human and divine level - is,
after all, the greatest hope we can have. Adam, created in the image of
God, was made male and female together. Is it not time to acknowledge not
only the equality of male and female in humanity, but to recognize and
listen to the feminine side of the Godhead? Beyond the great antithesis
there is a synthesis.
Our hearts are telling us the truth; there really is something missing!
What is the significance of
intimate relationship in a time like this! Can the love between intimate
partners have a part to play in the regeneration of the planet, or the
awakening of humanity from its collective trance! What can two lovers do
to help this fractured world!
Loving another deeply helps us appreciate the power and beauty of being
human: the grace of the body, the clarity of awareness, the subtlety of
feeling, and the richness of presence available to us. Yet when we turn
from this inner vision—of the essential goodness at the core of our
nature—to outer reality—the ragged state of the world and our fellow
beings—it breaks our heart right on the spot.
Perhaps our first impulse is to turn away, close our eyes to the magnitude
of suffering all around, and withdraw into our cocoon, turning to
relationship as an island of refuge from a world gone mad. This is
understandable. We feel overwhelmed.
But there is also another impulse, which we may have felt when we were
young and our heart first registered the shock of human suffering: We
would like to save the world. We would like to do something to make
everything right, to clean up the environment, to overcome ignorance and
injustice, or to help people tormented by poverty or despair. If we stay
with this impulse for a moment, before dismissing it as hopelessly
romantic or idealistic, we recognize it as the heart’s pure response to
the pain of this world.
Yet it soon becomes clear that we cannot readily save anyone, much less
ourselves, from this pain, If we are to remain open to life and capable of
engaging with our world rather than succumbing to depression or cynicism,
we must learn how to live with a broken heart.
In world mythology there are numerous stories often having a remarkably
common recurrent theme, even if the exact detail seems different. Jung
believed this to be an original universal "language" composed of
principles and ideas rather than literature itself. An example of this
would be the archetypal hero who has to face overwhelming odds and defeat
some immense and fearsome monster (e.g. St George and the Dragon in
English folklore). Jung saw this as an externalised metaphor of a
universal process of deep conflict and resolution occurring within the
natural and healthy development of individual psyches throughout history,
and thus recurring in many of his patients. He used the archetype both as
an allegory of the mental processes and a means of therapy. For a patient
undergoing major psychological trauma (for which the battle with a dragon
could be a close metaphor) the archetype of St George would be a powerful
tool when visualised beside them, or even seen as merging with them . If
the patient were from a culture where St George was a foreign or
unfamiliar myth then there would generally be an analogous story from
their own background, which could fulfil the same function; for example
Theseus and the Minotaur in Greek culture. On a developmental level; the
internalised "living out" of a variety of mythic events can seem to
provide great benefit to the individual. Even science fiction stories such
as the "Alien" films are largely a restatement of the mythical killing of
the dangerous beast against overwhelming odds. What is the Collective
Unconscious? The collective unconscious is different. It's like eye color.
If someone were to ask you, "How did you get your eye color," you would
have to say that there was no choice involved - conscious or unconscious.
You inherited it. Material in the collective unconscious is like this:
inherited. It never came from our current environment. It is the part of
the mind that is determined by heredity. So we inherit, as part of our
humanity, a collective unconscious; the mind is pre-figured by evolution
just as is the body. The individual is linked to the past of the whole
species and the long stretch of evolution of the organism. Jung thus
placed the psyche within the evolutionary process. This idea of
psychological archetypes is among Jung's most important contributions to
Western thought. An ancient idea somewhat like Plato's idea of Forms or
"patterns" in the divine mind that determine the form material objects
will take, the archetype is in all of us. But remember, nature comes
first, then the concepts follow. The word "archetype" comes from the Greek
"arche" meaning "first, and "type" meaning "imprint or pattern."
Psychological archetypes are thus first prints, or patterns that form the
basic blueprint for major dynamic counterparts of the human personality.
For Jung, archetypes pre-exist in the collective unconscious of humanity.
They repeat themselves eternally in the psyches of human beings and they
determine how we both perceive and behave. These patterns are inborn
within us. They are part of our inheritance as human beings. They reside
as energy within the collective unconscious and are part the psychological
life of all peoples everywhere at all times. They are inside us and they
are outside us. We can meet them by going inward to our dreams or
fantasies. We can meet them by going outward to our myths, legends,
literature and religions. The archetype can be a pattern, such as a kind
of story. Or it can be a figure, such as a kind of character.
What are some common archetypes? Here are twelve archetypes that are
fairly easy to understand. These are the Innocent, the Orphan, the
Warrior, the Caregiver, the Seeker, the Destroyer, the Lover, the Creator,
the Ruler, the Magician, the Sage, and the Fool. If we look at art,
literature, mythology and the media, we can easily identify some of these
patterns. One of the most familiar to contemporary western culture is the
Warrior. We find the warrior myth encoded in all the great heroes who ever
took on the dragon, stood up to the tyrant, fought the sorcerer, or did
battle with the monster: and in so doing rescued himself and others. The
true Warrior is not just macho. The macho man (or woman) fights to feel
superior to others, to keep them down. The warrior fights to protect and
ennoble others. The warrior protects the perimeters of the castle or the
family or the psyche. The warrior myth is active in each of us any time we
stand up against unfair authority, be it a boss, teacher or parent. The
highest level warrior has at some time confronted his or her own inner
dragons. We see the Warrior archetype in the form of pagan deities, for
example the Greek god of war, Mars. David, who fights Goliath, or Michael,
who casts the Dragon out of Heaven are familiar Biblical warriors.
Hercules, Xena (warrior princess) and Conan the Barbarian are more
contemporary media forms the warrior takes. And it is in this widely
historical variety that we can find an important point about the
archetype. It really is unconscious. The archetype is like the invisible
man in famous story. In the story, a man invents a potion which, when
ingested, renders him invisible. He becomes visible only when he puts on
clothes. The archetype is like this. It remains invisible until it dawns
the clothing of its particular culture: in the Middle Ages this was King
Arthur; in modern America, it may be Luke Skywalker. But if the archetype
were not a universal pattern imprinted on our collective psyche, we would
not be able to continue to recognize it over and over.
Is the Warrior Path a "male combat myth"?
Life offers us the
opportunity to become a spiritual warrior. A warrior is one who bravely
goes into those dark areas within themselves to ferret out the truth of
their being. It takes great courage, stamina and endurance...
The path is narrow, the terrain rough and rocky. You will walk alone
through dark caves, up steep climbs and through the dense thick forest.
You will meet your dark side. The faces of fear, deceit and sadness all
await your arrival. No one can take this journey but you...
There comes a time in each of our lives, when we are given the choice to
follow this path. Should we decide to embark on this journey, we can never
turn back. Our lives are changed forever on this journey. There are many
different places we can choose to slip into and hide, but the path goes
on. ..
The spiritual warrior stays the course, wounded at times, exhausted and
out of energy. Many times, the warrior will struggle back to their feet to
take only a few steps before falling again. Rested, they forge
on...continuing the treacherous path. The journey continues. The spiritual
warrior stays the course. Weakened, but never broken. One day, the battle,
loneliness and desperate fights are over. The sun breaks through the
clouds...
The birds begin to sing their sweet melodies. There is a change in the
energy. A deep change within the self. The warrior has fought the
courageous fight. The battle of the dark night of the soul is won. New
energy fills the warrior. A new path is laid before them. A gentler path,
filled with inner knowing of one who has personal empowerment. ..
With their personal battle won, they are filled with joy. A new awareness
that they are one with the spirit beams as they go forth to show others
the way...
They are not permitted to walk the path for others. They can only love,
guide and be a living example of the truth of the being...
As walkers on the warrior path, we have been accused of "falling into the
trap of violence," into the "male combat myth." We don't see it that way,
since we are truly helping defend the innocent and forgotten rather than
ignoring conflict and hoping it will go away. Our swords are never used to
shed blood(!), or "commit atrocities" Here is how we see our
spiritual weapon, the sword:
The Sword: On the metaphysical level the sword is symbolic of discrimination; the penetrating power of the intellect; spiritual decision; the inviolability of the sacred. It is also wielded by the cosmic or solar Hero, conqueror of dragons and demonic powers.
The sacred
masculine is a step towards embracing all that you are as a man. Father,
teacher, mentor, protector, and listener. It is not about besting everyone
who enters your vision, but about helping all that seek. It is not about
how many women you can bed, but about how deeply and beautifully you can
love the woman you have chosen. It is not about being weak, it is about
allowing yourself to be vulnerable in order to access your true strength.
It is not about shaming others, it is about encouraging them to shine. It
is not about being violent, it is about knowing where to draw the line as
a protector, and when to step back and allow words to be words. It is
about teaching strength from the depth of your raw and unharnessed truth,
and expressing all that you are with passion. It is about HONORING... the
beauty of the feminine, and not abusing it. It is about recognizing your
true role in society from a primitive standpoint, in our advanced culture.
Respecting all that is natural, and making the bold statement that
If we were to accept and teach our role as the sacred masculine, we will
actually be teaching a sense of responsibility, duty, and honor. We will
actually be teaching a way of life that enforces that we as men have an
actual "Mission in life".
The love goddess is another familiar archetypal pattern. Aphrodite to the Greeks, Venus to the Romans, she now appears in the form of familiar models in magazines like "Elle" and "Vanity Fair." And whereas in ancient Greece her place of worship was the temple, today is it the movie theatre and the cosmetics counter at Nordstrom's. The archetype remains; the garments it dawns are those of its particular time and place. This brings us to our discussion of the Shadow as archetype. The very clearest and most articulate discussion of this subject is contained in Johnson's book Owning Your Own Shadow. The Shadow is not a difficult concept. It is merely the "dark side" of the psyche. It's everything that doesn't fit into the Persona. The word "persona" comes from the theater. In the Roman theater, characters would put on a mask that represented who the character was in the drama. The word "persona" literally means "mask." Johnson says that the persona is how we would like to be seen by the world, a kind of psychological clothing that "mediates between our true elves and our environment" in much the same way that clothing gives an image. The Shadow is what doesn't fit into this Persona. These "refused and unacceptable" characteristics don't go away; they are stuffed or repressed and can, if unattended to, begin to take on a life of their own. One Jungian likens the process to that of filling a bag. We learn at a very young age that there are certain ways of thinking, being and relating that are not acceptable in our culture, and so we stuff them into the shadow bag. In our Western culture, particularly in the United States, thoughts about sex are among the most prevalent that are unacceptable and so sex gets stuffed into the bag. The shadow side of sexuality is quite evident in our culture in the form of pornography, prostitution, and topless bars. Psychic energy that is not dealt with in a healthy way takes a dark or shadow form and begins to take on a life of its own. As children our bag is fairly small, but as we get older, it becomes larger and more difficult to drag. With this in mind, it is not difficult to see that there is a shadow side to the Archetypes discussed earlier The shadow side to the warrior is the tyrant, the villain, the Darth Vader, who uses his or her skills for power and ego enhancement. And whereas the Seeker Archetype quests after truth and purity, the shadow Seeker is controlled by pride, ambition, and addictions. If the Lover follows his/her bliss, commits and bonds, the shadow lover is a seducer a sex addict or interestingly enough, a puritan. But we can use the term "shadow" in a more general sense. It is not merely the dark side of a particular archetypal pattern or form. Wherever Persona is, Shadow is also. Wherever good is, is evil. We first know the shadow as the personal unconscious in all that we abhor, deny and repress: power, greed, cruel and murderous thoughts, unacceptable impulses, morally and ethically wrong actions. All the demonic things by which human beings betray their inhumanity to other beings is shadow. Shadow is unconscious. This is a very important idea. Since it is unconscious, we know it only indirectly, projection, just as we know the other Archetypes of Warrior, Seeker and Lover. We encounter the shadow in other people, things, and places where we project it. The scape goat is a perfect example of shadow projection. The Nazis projection of shadow onto the Jews gives us some insight into how powerful and horrific the archetype is. Jung says that when you are in the grips of the archetype, you don't have it, it has you. This idea of projection raises an interesting point. It means that the shadow stuff isn't "out there" at all; it is really "in here"; that is inside us. We only know it is inside us because we see it outside. Shadow projections have a fateful attraction to us. It seems that we have discovered where the bad stuff really is: in him, in her, in that place, there! There it is! We have found the beast, the demon, the bad guy. But does Evil really exist, or is what we see as evil all merely projection of our own shadow side? Jung would say that there really is such a thing as evil, but that most of what we see as evil, particularly collectively, is shadow projection. The difficulty is separating the two. And we can only do that when we discover where the projection ends. Hence, "Owning Your own Shadow."
Everywhere we look, forces of
disintegration seem to have the upper hand, with organizations at every
level—— Iron) schools and religious communities to cities and
nations———seemingly unable to function sanely or to foster healthy human
development. All across the planet we find a staggering array of symptoms
of loss of soul, both in individuals and in the world at large. Our very
humanness seems to be under assault and at risk. many aspects of modern
life—the destruction 0)1 the environment, the loss of neighborhood and
community, the decline of education, the production of devitalized food,
the meaningless work so many people perform. the rise of random violence,
the blind allegiance to technological “progress” without consideration of
its terrible costs. the fascination with glamor, hype, and image,
the pervasive political lies and media distortions that masquerade as
truth, the desecration of the sacred lands and traditions of native
peoples, the descent into) growing chaos and poverty among much of the
world’s population, the concentration of power in the hands of
transnational corporations that have little interest in the common good,
and Oil and on, wherever we turn our gaze—~-suggest that humanity has sold
its soul in a Faustian exchange for worldly dominion, and that the payment
is rapidly coming due. And if we look within ourselves, we hnd turmoil and
confusion: Our minds and hearts have either grown numb or are running
wild. We have lost our hearings.
Learning to Live with a Broken Heart
"Beyond this place, there be dragons!"
THESE words, found on every map more than five hundred years ago, are what the mapmakers wrote at the place where their worlds stopped. It is the place beyond that lures every adventurer, every dreamer who lives out the lure, every missioner, everyone who searches for God.
In view of this it would
appear that the *tertium quid* mediating between, good and evil, or
Micheal and the Dragonis the Mercurious which is at once both
Micheal and the Dragon and also a figure in its own right. Indeed, the
Mercurious immediately points to what I call the "Hermetic function," the
endopsychic intuition, the psychlogical function that is an embarrassment
to reasonable men, if not their nemesis. Mercurius is the alchemist's
Spirit of Matter, while the Dragon is the God's Spirit of Matter. But you
may be right in saying that the Mercurius could be interpreted as the
grand conjunctive symbol of the Dragon and Micheal, of spirit and matter.
Since Micheal is the matter of the spirit (or body of the spirit)
while the Dragon is the spirit of matter, the Mercurius cold very well
mean the unified spirit and matter. But this needs a little digging to be
established. Then he would be the real symbol of the Self (Jung´s
concept). Concerning your concept of the "Hermetic function" - this sounds
interesting. This would be a gateway between the unconscious and
conscious. Something very wonderful, and controversial. The freeing of the
spirit from the >Prima Materia then, is nothing other than taking up an
interest in >that which is not material, like dream interpretation, hard
work, >intellectual understanding, contributions to society by work. The
nailing of the snake to the tree mimics the crucifixion of Jesus. But is
the latter, quite to the contrary, a freeing of the spirit from the
mother? St. Augustine notes: "Like a bridegroom Christ went forth from his
chamber, he went out with a presage of his nuptials into the field of the
world. He came to the marriage bed of the cross, and there, in mounting
it, he consumated his marriage. And when he perceived the sighs of the
creature, he lovingly gave himself in place of his bride, and he joined
himself to the woman forever." (from his *Sermo Suppositus*) one of the
definitions of Eve's name, as well as being life (Hawah), is heart.
Adam means red clay, or living earth. Eve ultimately is the Soul,
the heart of Adam. Being taken out of the rib shows She was there
all along, in potential.
Eve is the potential for evolutionary development within Adam. She
ultimately is his inner world. Indeed, this is why she is the one
that leads him to biting the apple. The serpent is used as the
enticer for he is thought. A thought is a wave and moves like a
serpent. One of the definitions to Mary's name, Mariam, is rebel.
To evolve is to rebel. Just as Eve created a rebellion and led Adam
into self-awareness, Mary gave birth to a Son that was destined to turn
the world upside down. She was virgin because She was pure, without
any thought. This is the meditative Mind or Soul. Again, as Goethe
wrote in Faust, "The eternal Feminine draws us onward." Be it Eve
(the Mind in thought) or Mary (the Virgin Mind) Woman is the avenue of
evolutionary development, the container of potential.
This relation of Mary to Eve is revealed in the following hymn:
Hail Bright Star of Ocean (Mary means Ocean) (Ave Maris Stella)
God's own Mother blest
Ever sinless Virgin
Gate of Heavenly Bliss
Taking the sweet Ave (Ave is an inversion of Eva)
Which from Gabriel came (Gabriel is associated by some with Hermes/the
Word)
Peace (Jerusalem) confirms within us
Changing Eva's name.
Mary is ultimately Eva. Eva is the Soul's fall into duality; Mary
is the return to unity. Both are mothers of evolutionary development
and should not be seen as separate. The same Soul that thinks is the
same Soul that becomes still.
The male genitals jut outwards and the female fold inward. In our
extreme patriarchy, denying the female has led to an outward orientation.
Behind this movement we have the likes of our current politicians who are
hell bent on controlling others and have absolutely no insight. This
is the consequence of denying the feminine. If you attend to those
cultures that strongly deny the feminine and are abusive towards women,
you will find creative thought also suppressed. The inward
orientation is just an avenue for rebellion. The powers-that-be
can't have that...its dangerous Why else would you abuse them if you
weren't scared? Hence, abuse is revealed as fear for the extreme
patriarch is scared to death of the death of creative power. This is
why Lord Jesus is taken into hiding by His Mother and why the Woman with
12 stars has to hide Her child in Heaven. These are not two
stories.. They are also our story for the Divine Child in hiding is
our own creative potential....our rebel.
What is different in our evolutionary development is the female. Women
have periods instead of going into heat. This allows for intercourse
for reasons other than procreation. The same with the way the
genitals are thrust forward, allowing for intercourse face-to-face. Again,
Woman is the Mother of evolutionary development. She leads us to love.
It appears in meditating on the woman's body that we are meant to be
intimate. Our (women and men) purpose is Love. Based on the
current political and social climate, have we totally missed the mark?
This is what sin means. "To miss the mark."
It goes beyond learning a positive from a negative
wherein it takes into account the necessity to work with both aspects,
the
idea
being to balance or reconcile them and then to eventually grow beyond
them
in a spiritual vein. Alchemy is about transmutation, not exactly
transformation, it is not changing one thing into another thing but
bringing about a
conscious re-birthing, as it were, first by going so deeply within, and
this could
mean alot of things on some individual basis, like having first go
through
hell to bring about heaven
I have been part of hell, and I have touched heaven. And heaven has
touched me back. I have found both living within me. It seems I went
through hell to bring about heaven within
me, though hell is still in me too. I have made progress in turning my
dark side into a friend
(without giving it control). I learned that my dark side is a frightened
child who wants
to be mean and domineering so people can't ever hurt me again. I learned
to
identify the spark of love (desire to protect self) that this rage is
built of.
I learned to give this frightened child respect for the love, even while
saying no to the urge to control others. I promised my fearful side that I
will
always be open to that part of me warning of what might threaten me,
everything is made of love, and without love no
thing would exist. I say yes to love and no to hate, while saying yes to
the
kernel of love behind the meanest feeling. This is my personal alchemy
lately.
When we think upper and lower, good and bad, sin free
and sin filled, we ultimately must come to despise part of our world
and part of our self.
We dislike parts of ourselves, and meanness from others. However, we can
be OK with this.
Being able to say no and mean it can feel good, and enables you to feel
more passion
whenever you say yes to love.
Good and evil are in all people, so it is not a question of
dividing your world into good people and bad people. It is a question of
discernment
of behavior and intentions, not of judgment.
Called Emperor of the Realm of Woe, Dante’s Satan is far from being the ruler in any way of God’s Hell, seeing that, though his eternally defeated spirit everywhere pervades it, he is in reality its greatest prisoner, fixed immovably in the ice of his own making, with only freedom enough to enable his wings to be the freezing source of woe, and his mouths to be the symbols of the punishment of the three guiltiest of traitors. If Milton’s Satan be the poetical hero of the Paradise Lost, Dante’s Dis is, as he should be, the reverse. As Dante describes him he stands for the eternal failure of the Rebellion of Intellectual Might against the sovereignty of Spiritual Right.
So the tertiary spirit leaves the
primitive wholeness and flies away, higher and higher, and develops his
understanding to become a beautiful blue dragon. So the breaking free of
the spirit from Prima Materia means that a part of it, "the hopeless one",
- the black, wingless dragon - must stay behind and be enclosed so he
cannot run around freely, creating projections, lures and temptations for
the mind. So this is why "freedom of the spirit" is achieved by enclosing
(or brazing) the primitive Spiritus Mercurius. But if a wholeness is to be
achieved, the tertiary spirit, fully developed, must return and again
unite with the dark spirit in the vessel to achieve the quaternity
wholeness. This time it will not be a primitive black Urobourous as in the
beginning. The differentiated tertiary spirit of the Godhead is the Holy
Trinity. It broke free from its´ primitive conjunction with the Dragon
when he was cast into the abyss. But a wholeness must again be achieved,
so God must descend from his lofty height of supreme wisdom and again
unite with the left behind dark force. He descends with his body Jesus
Christ and undergoes the conjunction in the vessel of the grave
"Before Christ and the Bible
the satanic accusation was always victorious by virtue of the violent
contagion that imprisoned human beings within systems of myth and ritual.
The Crucifixion reduces mythology to powerlessness by exposing violent
contagion, which is so effective in the myths that it prevents communities
from ever finding out the truth, namely, the innocence of their
victims....
"This is why Dante, in his Inferno, represented Satan as nailed to the
Cross. When the single victim mechanism is correctly nailed to the Cross,
its ultimately banal, insignificant basis appears in broad daylight, and
everything based on it gradually loses its prestige, grows more and more
feeble, and finally disappears....
It is interesting that Both
Christ and Satan have each been equated as 'Rex Mundi', meaning 'King of
the World. an archetype of the Grail Legends. I saw how the archetype of
the Wounded King was an aspect of Rex Mundi, the King of the World who is
crucified on the cross of matter in the earthly perspective, but suspended
from a cross of light in the more universal context
The esoteric figure of Rex Mundi both masks and contains within it,
the universal dynamic of AWAKENING in the human being to his/her PURE GEM
body, which is the complete hologram of gnosis contained within all
substance and being in the universes created through the El’ohim.
In this context as ‘Rex Mundi’,
both the Twin Flame Light Bearers (Christ
and Lucifer) are combined in a non-dualistic whole cosmology of Perfection
and Light, suspended upon the cross of immolation in the Flame of Burning
Love, offering eternal regeneration of the light geometries, as they
become
more and more brilliant in the Fire of Love. This is the greatest act of
the
Phoenix
Rex Mundi, the King of the
World, is also the Bearer of the Cup of
Transfiguration, in which the human being moves through stages of his own
duality until he reaches a platform in which he assumes in a specific and
dedicated way, the “Wound of the World.” Through this embodiment, he
becomes the
“Wounded King / Healer” of Grail lore, whose wound is born for the world.
Through his glorious act of crucifixion and transfiguration upon the cross
of
this gnosis which has become his Bodhisattva vow. We grow out of the mud
and bloom into the lotus.
S/He heals others who touch
his wounds of Light. It
is then that the Wounded Healer is transformed into Rex Mundi, for he has
now
overcome his own creation (the world) to be exalted in the Phoenix Flame
of pure
Illumination. What sets him free? His becoming (with complete presence)
the
gnosis that all wounds are only love longing to be illumined in the heart.
The cosmic / world dynamic of Rex Mundi is an important aspect of the
“Solar
Mysteries”.
"Christ does not achieve this victory through violence. He obtains it
through a renunciation of violence so complete that violence can rage to
its heart's content without realizing that by so doing, it reveals what it
must conceal, without suspecting that its fury will turn back against it
this time because it will be recorded and represented with exactness in
the Passion narratives....
"The Gospels themselves draw our attention to the loss of mythic unanimity
everywhere Jesus comes and intervenes. John in particular points out on
numerous occasions how the witnesses become divided after Jesus speaks and
acts. Each time, the people around him quarrel, and far from unifying
them, his message precipitates disharmony and division. In the Crucifixion
especially, this division plays a primary role. Without it there would not
be a Gospel revelation...."
We are baptized into his
death, that the life of Christ might be manifested in our mortal body.
As the body is sacrificed along with the understanding of it.
All things become new and all things are of God.
For this mortal must put on immortality, and the body clothed upon from
heaven.
Christ came in the body under the law, to redeem us from the law.
For the law was only a shadow of the true...that the book was only in the
understanding of man.
God have something else for us.. that is a heavenly...another
understanding given to us by God.
That God might be in all and every seed the same and the body one.
That every seed unified in love.. and the perfecting of it.
THE SACRED MARRIAGE MYTHOS IN PRESERVED IN THE THE FAIRYTALE AND THEATER;
Sleeping Beauty. The Beauty and the Beast, Ladyehawk, A mid summers night dream, and others.
We all have our own tales, our own Love stories.
In Smashed, Buffy and Spike
physically smash each other and their surroundings; metatextually, the
episode smashes their illusions about their individual identities as
vampire and slayer and their joint identity as a couple. The episode
culminates in their sexual union amidst the physical and psychic rubble.
In Wrecked, we start to see hints of what will survive and rise like a
phoenix out of the rubble and wreckage. The importance of these two
episodes when evaluating the potential for true internal change and
possible redemption for Spike can’t be emphasized enough.
Spike, long established in the Buffyverse as the teller of uncomfortable
truths, keeps reminding us that things have changed. In fact, both
episodes are bookended by this notion. Early in Smashed, Spike tells
Buffy, “A man can change.” After he finds out that his chip is still
functional, he then comments, “It’s about the rules having changed.
Everything is different now.” Early in Wrecked, after Buffy tells him
their night together was a mistake, Spike tells her, “It was a bloody
revelation.” Close to the end of the episode, he comments again that since
their night together, “Things have changed.”
So what exactly has changed? Spike has started to make noticeable progress
towards putting together his new identity. We saw the problem in Smashed:
he’s neither a vampire nor a human. He’s not good nor is he evil. He’s
supposed to slay the Slayer, not love the Slayer. Whatever peace of mind
Spike showed in Tough Love when he commented to Dawn “Well, I’m not good,
and I’m okay” seems to have evaporated to some extent. If he’s not those
things, who is he?
In Tabula Rasa, Randy showed us that Spike’s basic instincts lean more
towards good than evil. When Randy discovers he has no apparent desire to
bite Joan, he decides, “I must be a noble vampire. A good guy. On a
mission of redemption. I help the helpless. I’m a vampire with a soul.”
The small problem here is that Spike is not Randy. Spike has life
experiences that does not mesh with what Randy thinks is his identity. In
fact, what Randy believes is his identity is actually Angel’s identity.
When Spike’s life experiences return to him, he can’t realistically assume
that identity as his own. Angel’s path of redemption leads him to
altruistic expressions of love for humanity. He wants to help the stranger
on the street to balance the incredible crimes against humanity that
Angelus perpetrated. But Spike has always been something different. He’s a
fool for love. Spike’s love is personal, passionate, and specific.
Instead of taking the obvious definition of a fool as someone who is full
of hot air or easily deceived, let’s focus on a different definition. In
the Tarot, The Fool in the Major Arcana is the risk-taker. The Fool is an
innocent, totally at ease with the physical world and ready to start a
journey of enlightenment.
Interestingly enough, the Fool corresponds to the Joker in the
contemporary pack of playing cards. I’ve read several interesting analyses
discussing how Spike (and Buffy) function as jokers in the Buffyverse.
They are totally off the radar screen of TPtB. It seems their prophecies,
while full of Angel, are remarkably silent on Spike. Buffy dropped off
their radar screen after she fulfilled her function as Prophecy Girl. But
both Spike and Buffy have had profound effects on the course of events in
the Buffyverse; in some cases, extremely unpredictable effects.
Drusilla is looking for a lover. She wants a partner in the way Darla has
Angel as her partner. They suggest she sire someone. She says, “I could
pick the wisest and bravest knight in all the land – and make him mine
forever with a kiss.” In some ways, that’s exactly what Dru did. William
was a bloody awful 19th century poet. He was probably steeped in Arthurian
lore and the chivalric tradition of courtly love as reinterpreted by
Victorian poets like Tennyson. He idealized Cecily through that lens,
offering her his poems like a knight offers his lady his service of arms.
In that alley, Spike was born. In order to assume his identity within the
‘gang’ and win his dark lady Dru from her father (Angelus), he begins an
unlifelong quest: the hunt for Slayers. He is the darkly twisted chivalric
knight, searching out the Holy Grail of vampires. He validates himself in
his own eyes and his lovers through this quest. The Holy Grail contained
the blood of Christ.
The temptation for Spike after Smashed is to revert to that identity and
duplicate the destructive patterns of his relationship with Dru in his new
relationship with Buffy. In Smashed, Buffy even taunts Spike that he
doesn’t love her, he loves the pain she provides.
But in Wrecked, when Buffy starts doling out the pain, Spike tells Buffy
clearly, “I won’t be your whipping boy.” He rejects the pain. He wants the
pleasure. That’s what his love is about. He reinforces this at the end of
the episode when he tells her that if she continues to play the bitch, he
will bite back. He refuses to continue their patterns. He will not attack
her, but he will defend himself. He sets boundaries and he lets her know
where they are, while at the same time reinforcing that he loves her.
Drusilla makes a strange comment that day. She says, “The King of Cups
expects a picnic. But today is not his birthday.” We know that Dru has the
Sight. Earlier in FFL, she sees burning baby fishes around William’s head,
which sounds much like a prediction about the chip. But what does this
prophecy mean?
Who is the King of Cups? In the Tarot, the Minor Arcana has four suits,
each associated with a particular element. Cups (the modern day equivalent
is Hearts) is associated with Water. The element of Water is associated
with moods, dreams, emotions, romance, and fantasy. It’s seasonal
correspondence is…summer.
Each court card represents a personality type. The King of Cups is a
mature man of wisdom and intuitive insights. He appreciates beauty. He is
often thought to be a good husband and father. His trademark is his
ability to forgive and empathize with others. When his jealous nature is
aroused and his veneer of self-control is breached, he can be fierce.
Dru’s reference to a picnic/birthday party could symbolize a coming of age
(growing up) moment that has not yet arrived. It doesn’t seem too much of
a stretch to suggest that the King of Cups could well be an identity that
Spike will eventually assume. This particular confrontation between
Angelus and Spike is not ‘the’ confrontation about Spike’s identity.
Wrecked may be the birthday party or at least its harbinger. Spike is now
experiencing Summer(s). He’s also fighting again for a woman he loves and
his main rival is Angel. This time, he’s fighting Buffy’s memory of Angel,
her illusions about Angel, and the damage resulting from her relationship
with Angel. References to Angel are all over the morning after scene.
Spike claims vampires get Buffy hot and Buffy immediately contrasts the
‘one’ vampire against the ‘convenient’ vampire. Spike takes Buffy’s taunt
that he thinks he is God’s gift and claims that’s hardy true because ‘it
wouldn’t be nearly as interesting.’ Buffy’s sexuality was forged in
Angel’s fire as much as Spike’s was in Dru’s. Angel and Dru are part of
the ghosts they have to lay to rest in the rubble.
Spike is still a Fool on his journey for love. But now the journey is as
much about loving himself as loving others. Let’s look at this new fool
for love who is arising from the rubble of Smashed. He appears to have a
certain wisdom and maturity characteristic of what a redeemed Spike might
display. First, he’s not bad enough to find Rack’s house. Amy can find it.
Willow can sense it once Amy points it out and then is able to find it on
her own. Spike’s clueless.
Second, despite the sexual tension and bantering that Spike loves, once
Buffy mentions Rack, Spike’s mind is immediately on how to help Dawn and
Willow. He’s about sex play, sure, but he’s not about irresponsibility.
Third, despite their uncomfortable conversation on the street that leads
Buffy to claim she wants Spike out of her life, her work, and her home,
Spike points out that life is more complicated than that. She’s already
invited him in. He’s involved. She just can’t wish him away with a few
words. Things are messy. He shares her work with her and the Scoobies, and
he shares the care of Dawn. He also points out how immature it would be
for Buffy to risk harm to Dawn just to spite him. He’s advocating
responsibility both in this particular situation and in others going
forward.
Fourth, Spike demonstrates his caring and nurturing side with Dawn. He
strokes her hair, he takes her hand, and he tends to her while Buffy
fights the demon. Simply put, he loves Dawn. Clearly, he isn’t just a fool
for sexual love. He is capable of non-romantic, non-sexual connections.
But we really already knew that about Spike. What’s new in Wrecked is that
Spike is clearly now able to empathize with humans outside the Summers
family. It is Spike who stops, moved by Willow’s tears, much as Buffy’s
tears in FFL moved him. He has every reason to be as angry on Dawn’s
behalf as both Dawn and Buffy are. But he keeps his head. He doesn’t say a
word. It’s his compassionate heart that causes Buffy to stop, rethink her
anger, and go to her friend. Spike manages to do this despite the fact
that he’s never really had anyone extend an empathetic hand to him in
quite the same way.
Fifth, this is all combined with the Spike we’ve already seen, who has
tremendous and profound insight into others. He knows Buffy felt
something. He knows it was a bloody revelation. He senses he’s breached
some walls.
Not everything is rosy in Wrecked. Spike does problematically say to
Buffy, “If I’m dirt, then you’re the one who loves rolling in it.” It’s
unclear whether he believes that about himself or if he’s just trying to
use Buffy’s own comments against her. It’s been clear since The Gift that
Spike does not believe Buffy can ever love him. But in Wrecked, part of
his revelation is that Buffy does feel something for him and when Buffy
challenges him that it’s not love, he replies enigmatically, ‘Not yet.’
It’s unclear whether Spike now feels himself worthy of Buffy’s love
because he is aspiring to her level of goodness or if it’s because Buffy
has now descended to his level.
Closed off from love
I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you're frozen
But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground
Found something true
And everyone's looking round
Thinking I'm going crazy
But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open
Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal
Is to keep me from falling
But nothing's greater
Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe
But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open
And it's draining all of me
Oh they find it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these scars
For everyone to see
I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
Spike and Buffy’s roles as ‘jokers in the pack’ Science has attempted to separate "man" from the animals. The fact is all of the traits they thought specific to "man" has been discovered in animals (in lesser degree). Man is toolmaker, for instance. Yet, chimps use tools to to dig out termites. Granted they don't make jet planes...but maybe they don't need to?
Our life journey is focused on getting love, not in a
romantic sense, but receiving the validation, valuation, respect, honor
and appreciation that we want from others. We can spend a lifetime seeking
this until we learn two things-when we settle for less than what we want
we block the flow of love to us and being able to detach and release is as
important as being willing to give love in order to receive it. The love
we want is really the physical manifestation of the unconditional love
that we know in spirit and the love we receive from others is merely a
mirror of the love we have for ourselves... So how do we get the love we
want when our experience may show us that we get some love, but not always
what we want and we are afraid that if we let that go we will not have
another chance at getting or receiving love?
We all want everyone to love us because we are a good person. We want
everyone to treat us as we treat them and to acknowledge us for who we
are. And we are not always selective. We cast out our 'love net' and hope
that we will catch something that will meet at least a small portion of
our needs. The belief that we should be happy with what we get and not
complain or expect more is what causes us to settle for less than what we
really want. We get the love we want when we narrow our focus to that
alone and let everything else move on..
Sometimes our lesson is to learn to hold out for what we truly want and to
say 'no' to those things that are not right for us. We are being
challenged to acknowledge that what others give us is the best that they
have to give. If that is not right for us, it's not that something is
wrong with them, we need to look at the energy that we are putting out and
look at where we are accepting less than we desire or deserve. There is a
lot of pressure on us at this time to detach from those things that are
not right for us, that take our energy, do not bring us joy and create
drama and chaos..
Two things cannot occupy the same energetic space at the same time. So if
we are in any situation that does not meet our needs, its replacement
cannot manifest until we are willing to detach and let go. We must also be
committed to our joy and to what we want in our lives, not allowing
ourselves to get sidetracked into situations and relationships where we
have to settle. Trusting that the Universe brings us exactly what we ask
for, believe we can have what we want and remaining true to ourselves is
so important in this process... and when we love ourselves enough to
release our attachments to everything and everyone that does not give us
exactly what we want we can get the love we want and as much as we need!
ALL are part of the ONE.. there are fallen beings and there are higher beings.. there are match's made in heaven, and there are obsessions of a lower nature..
True love will not try to control and manipulate. True love will support freedom from the bonds of ignorance, and encourage individual sovereignty. True love will empower an individual, and work in unselfish ways to promote freedom for others. Most importantly, true love is discerning, confident, unselfish, humble, persevering and deeply compassionate for the suffering of others.
Knowledge limited to the physical world and bounded by the shortcomings of our five senses is not enough to attain freedom. Metaphysics is the study of higher knowledge, the deeper truths of life. We only have to recognize these higher truths and live by them to rise beyond old behavioral patterns and access a new vista of inconceivably wonderful possibilities.
THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT PHASE that occurs in the process of initiation for
many lightworkers that I refer to as "The Spiritual Nomad".
Often, when one
reaches this transition phase of spiritual evolution, it can be so painfully
unnerving to the personality/ego that it not only devastates one's self esteem,
it also severely undermines our confidence to manifest even the most basic
needs for our survival.
It is precisely our "root" fears of survival that are being
shaken to the core and unpeeled from us during this process.
We are being
prompted to work toward clearing these fears and perfecting our trust and
surrender.
So it is extremely important to understand the dynamics of why
this occurs and actually how entirely common it is!
This will help you avoid the pitfall of allowing yourself to dwell in feelings
of
humiliation, shame and embarrassment by this externalization of forces that
transform your world in to what appears to be a great "sacrifice".
This is a
crucial part of some of our Light Family's development and I want you to
realize that you indeed have many family members that either have already
undergone, or are currently working through this phase of spiritual
development. I promise you this is a TEMPORARY phase.
So if you know
anyone who is presently working through this, do be sure to acknowledge
their courage, strength and bravery to surrender to divine order and align to
their soul's purpose. Send them love.
This is the TRUTH of what they are
doing and it is to be honored and acknowledged.
We need to be more conscious of supporting those being recruited (The
Newbies) and the new additions (Child Indigos, Crystals and Aliens)
awakening to reinforce our divine purposes of bringing higher
consciousness to this planet.
We are moving incredibly swiftly - forward!
What is the Spiritual Nomad?
Some questions to define "The Spiritual Nomad":
Are you currently jobless, juggling jobs, possibly homeless and relationship-
less... much to your own bewilderment because you are an incredibly
talented, skilled and loving being? You may even have an Ph.d,
and other assorted credentials after your name.
Do you feel invisible - like no one will hire you, love you or even recognize
you? And, really, for no apparent reason (it feels like you have a mark on
your forehead)?
Are you unable to do anything as you did in the past to earn a living or live as
you once did?
Are you a healer or working in the healing arts, running around trying to find a
way to translate this into cash or a means of support?
Do you seem to travel a lot, drive or go long distances, or sleep in several
different places in short periods of time, perhaps even on your ex's couch?
Do you feel confused about your purpose and identity in the world?
Are there people, such as your biological family or friends, who are
completely shocked or troubled by your life, attempting to offer their advice of
what went wrong
THIS IS THE TIME in one's life where every aspect of perceived "security" in
the structure of the human world is completely unstable, unknown and
unforeseen.
Your life in all major areas, such as relationship, money, career,
residence is all abruptly halted, changed and/or terminated.
You are left
feeling isolated and standing in a place of total bewilderment, wondering
what happened to your life, the people in it and your former identity.
This
sets off every fear button you have because there is absolutely no sign of
what is going on, what is coming or why it's happening.
There is only a
sense that some force came in, picked you up out of your hologram and
placed you into someone else's life.
For a while, you may not recognize
whose life it is! It is very much like the sensation captured in the Talking
Heads song lyrics, "Once in a Lifetime"...
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD! WHAT HAVE I DONE?
In the process of our unraveling consciousness in this human drama
setting, this is one of the experiences that we have set up as "spirit" to
create
the experience of learning to FULLY surrender to divine forces.
It is a
complete dismantling of our ego and ego defenses.
This is the crossroads
where we start to leave the world of human order and align to the Divine Order.
To many of our earthly cohorts, biological families and old energy
friends, it will appear as if we have stepped off the edge of a chasm into a
realm of insanity.
Groups will stand around shaking their heads, whispering how you have
gone off your rocker and offer lots of advice and theories to your problems
and issues.
As unsolicited advice starts mounting - generally suggesting
that you are incompetent, "less than", unrealistic, ungrounded, living in the
clouds or just purely strange - your subconscious fear programs get
triggered.
Maybe, just maybe, could they be right? Internal pressures
increase and you feel extremely conflicted about who you really ARE and
what the heck you are doing with your life.
This sets you off on a tangent of
extreme inner examination and the re-evaluation of every goal, dream,
thought and idea that you have had about your role in the world.
Will I EVER
make it? Will I ever become self actualized? Will I have the ability to create
abundance in my life?
This process is designed to cultivate the incredible inner strength needed to
face yourself and your deepest fears of survival.
You then become intimate
with the universal Law of Abundance and learn how generous the universe
really is, even if it's not all manifested in order of your personal preference.
You find that somehow, someway, all your base needs are being met, even
though you have not the foggiest clue how it's happening or who some of the
strangers are that have appeared in your life to support you - in ways you
would never imagine! You learn how to receive from total strangers (an
illusion, as everyone is Family) or from new sources, and learn how to
acknowledge and receive these new ideas of abundance of which you were
not formerly aware.
So, most commonly, one is feeling a type of embarrassment at being in the
situation one is in; yet, simultaneously, feeling gratitude at these blessings
being demonstrated at the most mundane levels (or even incredibly opulent
levels) of existence.
Finally, at about this time, you begin to Trust and realize
that you REALLY are divinely protected and supported! You can relax now (at
least a little)!
These experiences DO cultivate a level of deep faith and trust in the Divine
Order, even when you do not have any external validation of "safety" - and that
safety could be monetary, emotional support or a place to call "home" with a
bed in it.
Even when you are feeling blind and disconnected, to face this
uncertainty and to find yourself 'okay' with it all is a major revelation.
When
you realize that your deepest fears (so many of them!) did not happen
anyway, and, if they did... well, it really was not as bad as you once imagined
it! My God! You can face just about anything! Your personal power begins to
increase and your inner light glows ever more radiantly!
Well, my little darlings, if you find yourself smack dab in the center of this
process, know that Spirit has many designs and great plans for you! It is
important to work through all your fear, worry and obsessions.
Then work to
allow guidance, support and the light to shine on your path, even when it
makes absolutely NO logical sense.
You are learning to work your new
Higher Sensory Perceptions and these antennae within you are being finely
tuned for your new task and mission in the world.
You cannot "make" anything happen while you are in this process.
So, you
must relax as best you can. You are in transition to your greater destiny.
When relaxing, you are expanding, not constricting, and the divine forces can
more easily work through you and for you.
Know that transformational forces
are working magic in your life in ways you cannot comprehend.
There really
IS a Divine Order to what is happening to you.
Know that it is okay not to
know.
Get more comfortable with uncertainty and external chaos while you
cultivate that impenetrable core of divine essence to show the way for you
and others. Finally, know that your Family is out here.
We get it; we know
what it's like and we love you for walking the path with US!
This is the process of transcending the matrix, using higher laws to override lower ones by developing and purifying one’s internal nature to resonate with higher realms of existence. This is a prerequisite for fulfilling one’s potential.
The point of balance can be found by feeling it all, by embracing it all, and by holding it all in God's love. It is this love that assures the heart that no matter what is going on in the world, there is a Divine purpose which holds it in love that will bring out of every disaster, a forward movement of progress and hope, both for individuals and for mankind. The point of balance creates an ability to hold this conviction in the presence of pain and suffering, even while feeling the heart's deepest compassion.
What is the Matrix? School or prison, depending on your chosen perspective. On the one hand, it is a collective spiritual morphic feild or noo sphere teaching system accelerating your rate of spiritual evolution by providing you with catalytic experiences in response to your thoughts, emotions, and spiritual composition. On the other hand, many of these experiences manifest as predatory forces preying upon your weaknesses. Of course, the only way to prevent being manipulated by these forces is to discover, integrate, and transform your weaknesses into strengths, thereby indirectly accomplishing the higher purpose of the Matrix which is to help you transcend it. Nevertheless, these collective spiritual morphic feild or noo sphere predatory forces (evil ghosts) possess freewill and have their own agenda, which is to expand their power base and sustain themselves by feeding upon humanity’s emotional energies as well as keeping anyone from becoming aware enough to add destabilizing influences to the spiritual prison/farm they are running here on earth. The sum total of their collective spiritual morphic feild or noo sphere manipulation system can be termed the “Matrix Control System” – a school of hard knocks that weakens the spiritually weak and strengthens the spiritually strong, in accordance with their choice to be victims or warriors.
The majority of people in this world place no priority on awareness or attentiveness, and instead live life in a semi-conscious dream state that makes them very prone to being pawns of the Matrix Control System. Some are born with insufficient levels of individualized consciousness to ever experience a lucid moment, and it is these who form the primary class of Matrix agents, the rest of functioning as agents only part of the time when we fail to watch ourselves. Due to the great quantity of asleep people in the population, the Matrix Control System has no problem finding chess pieces to maneuver into place around a targeted individual.
These forms of life, including hostile beings have the ability to transcend space and linear time, read thoughts, manipulate emotions, puppeteer unaware individuals,
Being greedy as they are, rather than just harvesting naturally occuring energies emitted by those who have freely chosen to engage in lower vibrational behavior, these predators seek to induce ignorance, suffering, and perversion in as many people as possible to maximize their energy harvest. While this isn’t technically a freewill violation (because they can only amplify what latent negative tendencies we already have within us), their forceful milking of energy via the Matrix Control System does constitute an imbalance because it encourages ignorance and slavery instead of awareness and freedom.
There exist positively oriented beings as well, ( good spirits and angels ) they respect the law of freewill and do not engage in physical manipulations. Rather they exist as a spiritual brotherhood lending their service to protect and guide those of us who seek freedom from the limitations of this 3D matrix control system, prison/school earth.
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Because hostile collective spiritual morphic feild or noo sphere forces have a vested interest in the Matrix Control System, they go to extraordinary lengths to suppress any destabilizing factors that could disrupt their food supply. Anyone who starts the process of waking up and regaining personal power and freedom is immediately targeted. The targeting aims to put him back to sleep, render him powerless, or make him lose faith in continuing his path.
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When a personal impulse toward freedom occurs, an equal and opposite impulse is set into motion, attracting to the target various negatively synchronistic opportunities to engage in lowering experiences to offset his impulse toward freedom. These include situations that aim to induce fear, distraction, suffering, doubt, depression, indulgence in lower impulses, and self-serving behavior. Sometimes this phenomenon arises naturally from the law of inertia, other times there is active amplification of this counter-impulse by negative collective spiritual morphic feild or noo sphere forces to disarm the threat before he gains more power.
-
Other methods of suppression include sabotaging and distracting a targeted individual via people around him who are open to direct manipulation. Anyone who fails to be fully conscious in the present moment can be a puppet for as long as their attention is elsewhere. Lapses of attention are enough for a subconsciosly implanted impulses to result in regrettable words or actions.
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They seek energy, and earth has been molded into a farm for them. This energy consists of human life force, emotional and spiritual and sexual energy. Being collective spiritual morphic feild or noo sphere , they can suck this directly via telepathic connection, or via the many agents or portals they have instated among the general population. through self-serving actions, manipulation, and infliction of pain, self-serving individuals unwittingly give others the opportunity to see the light.
While we may not be the source of injustices against us, we are the cause of it. The Matrix, even with its level of imbalance and corruption by those freewill entities who have overstepped their place in nature as catalytic firespitters, is nevertheless still a learning program entirely responsive to our own ignorance and weaknesses. It may be a predator’s choice to attack, but it is our choice to accept the attack and succumb to it. The Matrix Control System can only throw us by the elements within us that correspond to its low vibratory nature. Attacks serve to identify our own weaknesses, thus providing focus for where to take the next step on one’s path of spiritual awakening.
The more you know of higher truths and apply what you know, the more you begin operating under higher laws that transcend the limitations of the lower.
there is no religion higher than truth
the purpose of physical evolution is to accommodate and serve spiritual evolution
evolution is maintained by having both proper ratio and diametric opposition
As Goethe wrote, the dark force “wills forever evil yet does forever good.” The self-serving path, despite giving the individual personal power, also puts him in unwitting subservience to higher powers. The highest power of all is the Creator, which those of the dark hierarchy unwittingly serve by providing the grand experiment with the passive force necessary for evolution. They provide the darkness against which the light stands out.
To know nature is to know one portion of the Creator. To know yourself is to know another portion of the Creator. Because what is within mirrors what is outside, and what is outside mirrors what is within, knowing both nature and yourself makes for a straight path toward knowing the Creator.
Our thoughts form permanent elementals in the psychic world which gain strength and energy with repetition of those thoughts and loose strength and energy by the lack of such thoughts. Elementals are Thought Forms. These elementals are the basis of what we call our energy and our habits of thought. These elementals repel certain people and events and attract others. With enough focus these elementals can even take on physical form. These elementals return to us frequently for a refresh of energy, and we feed them each time we think in the way that we created them. How much we feed them depends upon the length of time we give them our mental focus and how steady that focus is. Thus they seem to have a life of their own and they seem to control us when they return to us for a feeding. We can deplete elementals of their strength and energy by not thinking about them and giving our thoughts and energy to other more desirable elementals.
Some consider the shadow self to be the lower self or psychic self,
balancing the higher self, with no stigma or testing associated with it~
Other traditions consider the shadow to be the antithesis of the Holy
Guardian Angel or Higher Self, as an accumulation of all our "negative
karma" or misdeeds~ Also known as the Dweller on the Threshold, it must be
confronted and defeated before deeper spiritual enlightenment can occur~
Personally, I see the shadow as part of our lower, psychic, and
instinctive self, but it's the part of our power and ability that we fear
and disassociate from~ It is all the thoughts, feelings, and abilities we
repress.
It is a part of our unclaimed personal power~ To go deeper with your
spirituality, you must recognize it, forgive it and yourself, and
integrate it better into your own self-image~ The shadow can have many
layers, and you will develop a relationship with it on deeper levels as
your own awareness expands
Even as we are made aware of the option to stop worshiping these unworthy
gods of negative emotion, we find them difficult to ignore. Even in the light of
reason they rear their ugly heads over and over knowing that we are drawn to
them. These emotions trump our intellect because they feed the goon of ego. We
are hard-wired to impulsively give ourselves over to them. But the same
intellect which is duped by these unworthy gods can be used to critically
analyze their delusions and with practice we can transcend them. Attitude is
everything and there should be no higher concern than keeping one's attitude
right.
The astral plane
is divided into seven sub-planes and each sub-plane is made up
of progressively finer etheric matter, working upward from the etheric
plane to the seventh astral sub-plane. These progressively finer layers of
etheric matter overlap each other so there is no clear division between
the sub-planes, nevertheless each sub-plane hosts different populations of
astral entities and represents entire conglomerates of ideas and
thought-forms plus structures and institutions of similar vibrations. The
sub-plane closest to the physical earth is very similar to life on earth
while those on the higher astral sub-planes live increasingly ethereal and
spiritual existences until they cast off their astral bodies and move into
the mental plane.
The types of astral bodies that inhabit or transit through the astral
planes are not mixed willy-nilly as on the earth; rather each sub-plane
hosts astral bodies of similar vibrations. One could say that the lowest
human criminal elements who pass over to the astral would thus be stuck on
the lowest sub-plane until their souls undertake some redemption. Others
who have lived more exemplary lives are grouped on the next sub-plane up
and so forth. So the Cosmic Law of Attraction is very much in action on
the astral plane.
The ethers of the astral plane are liquid-like, which account for their
close association with water on the earth plane and the fact that they are
subject to the constant ebbs and flows of desires and the changes and
whims of astral inhabitants, especially those on the unstable lower
sub-planes closest to earth. The unceasing crises and emotional swings
that sweep the earth plane reflect the movement and ripples of astral
liquid.
It has been more than fifty years since esotericists have seriously
studied and analyzed the astral plane and its influence on mankind. Much
more research and observation needs to be done into this important aspect
of life on earth, especially because of its wistful changeability and
multi-mutations. However, the approach of the end to the Fourth Sub-Round
of Round IV coincides with the Twentieth Century, with its unceasing war,
mass media, and information age. These relatively recent phenomena have
profoundly changed the nature of the astrals since the ancient sages and,
more recently, esotericists have observed it.
The appearance of the astral plane when first definitely seen by the
“opened eye” of the aspirant is one of dense fog, confusion, changing
forms, interpenetrating and intermingling colours, and is of such a
kaleidoscopic appearance that the hopelessness of the enterprise seems
overwhelming. It is not light, or starry or clear. It is apparently
impenetrable disorder, for it is the meeting of ground forces.
14
In fact, it is on the astral plane that the real battle between the Light
and Dark Forces has already taken place and is now being played out on
earth. We will see that the tenacity of the Dark Forces’ resistance on the
earth plane has its roots in Their virtual domination of the lower
sub-planes of the astrals.
Present State of Earth’s Astral Plane
The extraordinary events of the Twentieth Century have grossly polluted
the lower sub-planes of the astral plane, forming a thick layer of tainted
astral matter that colours pure thought-forms descending from the higher
dimensions. Below we will demonstrate what this barrier is comprised of
and how it has grown over the past 50 years.
Storage of Human History: Record of Astral Light
The astral plane stores its version of human history from the point of
view of humanity’s emotions: individual, group, and national aspirations;
motivations; desires, feelings. This is called the akashic records of the
emotional history of mankind. All of human invention-- art, literature,
music, what modern day sociologists call “culture” and “civilization”, its
fears, pleasures and anguish, its cinematic depictions, sexual desires,
loves and hatred, agonies and ecstasies, inequalities, political battles,
emotional swings of mass opinion, its aspirations (economic, power or
religious-based), jealousies, aggressions, and so forth-- and everything
else that characterizes the emotional nature of human existence is stored
in the annals of the astral plane.
Each individual’s emotional history - desires, whims, fears, hatreds, loves, etc - contributes to the mass of data stored on the astral plane through the intertwined link of that person’s astral body with the earth’s. Conversely, the emotions that bloat the astral plane play upon the individual’s behavior, often without conscious knowledge.
Astral shells cannot draw their life
vitality from their own souls as normal living beings do. Instead, as energy
parasites, they depend on humanity to sustain themselves. They draw energy from
group rallies such as fundamentalist rallies, wars, and any other mass events
that result in outpourings of emotions such as hatred or love.
So the parasitical nature of astral plane shells is both good and bad but
generally no higher in spiritual development than the earth plane. For this
reason, a parasitical astral relationship can appear to be holy, where it is in
reality of a lower order. And such parasitical relationships are subject as any
to the vagaries and emotional swings of the astral plane.
accounting for the great number of soulless humanoids walking on earth under the
influence of the Dark Forces.
As more of the new generation on earth exhibit the psychic abilities necessary
to communicate with the other planes, greater numbers of these untrained and
uneducated psychics or mediums fall prey to astral entities
Cosmic Forces have now taken over, and an irreversible
cleansing process has begun. Two types of Cosmic Forces are involved: The first
is an inflow of finer etheric energies from the earth’s mental and causal planes
drifting down to the lower astral, etheric, and physical planes. These are
feminine energies that will balance the predominantly masculine energies of the
present age. The second is a more general cleansing of all of earth’s bodies as
the solar system enters the Photon band of our present galaxy.
These two major cosmic forces affect all planes, and we are the most cognizant
of their effects on the physical, etheric and astral planes. As they are of a
higher vibrational nature, when they touch these lower vibrational planes, they
cause the turmoil we feel on Earth.
Some individuals, however, through meditation and purification, have been able
to forge a path through the thick astral matter in order to maintain contact
with their higher mental and causal planes. By achieving this contact, they have
surmounted the effects of the astral plane and thus can stay above the fray
during the tumultuous cleansing process.
Downward Flow of Finer Feminine Etheric Energies
Corresponding with the timing of the present pralaya, the Great Ones of the
Spiritual Hierarchy made the decision to release finer etheric light from the
mental and causal planes onto the astral.
As the finer etheric energy descends upon the denser energies of the mental,
astral, etheric, and physical planes it has a natural cleansing effect, as the
grosser yields to the finer. It also has a profound healing effect on Earth’s
populations and will require a revision of science and knowledge to understand
it. This healing effect has given rise to many energy-healing modalities
As these finer energies extend down into the upper sub-planes of the astral plane, they will set the stage for the development of higher forms of art, emotion, and desire, which will further evolve during the New Golden Age. The continuing descent of these finer energies into the lower sub-planes of the astral will cause much upheaval as they come into conflict with denser energies. The main effect will be to drive the lower level astral entities insane,
These entities will not, however, go down without
mighty and desperate thrusts to survive, each thrust being perceived as a
burst of violence or sudden insane behavior.
No matter how violent the struggle, these astral entities will eventually
be rooted out and allowed to dissipate, as they should have done in the
first place.
Eventually as these finer energies continue to filter down, the coarser
agitation on the astral and earth planes will be tempered after the
initial desperate outbursts, for despite attempts to survive, anything
vibrationally incompatible with the new energies will disintegrate. Even
the higher sub-planes of the astral plane will undergo a cleansing, and
the quality of intellectual thinking, art and music will rise to a new
standard in preparation for the New Golden Age.
As the finer energies cleanse the astral plane, the Dark Forces will lash
out and try to drag the earth down with them by using the economic
depression to justify trampling on man’s rights and militarizing society.
Their goal is to engage the world in a major war for which preparations
are presently underway. This is the last hurdle for mankind and its
association with the Dark Forces and should be perceived as the last sweep
of the cleansing energies through the lower sub-planes of the astral.
These two major cleansing forces will continue until the astral plane has
been cleaned of all that which does not serve mankind or earth. This will
result in the collapse of the whole system of finance and warmongering
that the Dark Forces have instituted to control earth’s inhabitants. They
will also be the force behind the vast earth changes that lie ahead over
the coming decades and cause even greater upheaval in our present
civilisation. These two major cosmic forces bearing down upon the earth
will form the backdrop of all actions mankind undertakes from hereon.
Mankind can either choose to buck the trend and perish or ride along with
the pralaya and survive. It is a matter of choice.
Ghosts of the matrix
We are the creators and creatures of each other, causing and bearing each other's burden.
As long as the devil remains in heaven, the lower entities as revealed by the matrix, will remain parasites.
Darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse!
the ghosts were not necessarily benevolent spirit guides or
earth guardians! They could be deceivers with questionable motives who had
interfered in victims’ lives. Not only this, but once the truth behind their
activities was seriously challenged, reprisals ensued. Something snakelike was
rearing its ugly head, creating chaos wherever it went.
Matrix orchestrated love bites often take the form of overwhelming love obsessions with an ghost chosen targeted partner—another victim. The targeted partner is sometimes another local victim and other times the chosen mate was across the country or even in another country. For those victims who were able to get together, the relationship was often short lived and passionate, leaving one of the partners in a state of unrequited love.
Not only did the matrix set relationships up, but also they interfered in ways to break couples apart, friendships and even families.
the matrix perpetrated extensive manipulations and deceptions, including a
major love obsession
,psychic and spiritually strong could withstand the ghost manipulations and
spiritual warfare more readily than the novices who had not yet reached a
heightened awareness level. I also observed that the degree of useful
information increased with these "more aware" victims and spiritual warriors.
Memories of bonding scenarios in abductions, vivid dreams or virtual reality
scenarios. Some have described it as a "stage managed" dream where both partners
are present, where both individuals are being given
telepathic messages to initiate contact, either on a verbal level or more
physical sexual level.
Supernatural Events and Synchronicities. Uncoincidental coincidences and
psychic flashes concerning the targeted partner. Meeting the person seems to be
set up in a supernatural way, such that the couple may believe their eventual
union to be divinely arranged. A match made in heaven. A first meeting of the
pre-bonded partner may set off a series of de ja vu memories, flashback
memories, One or both partners
have a strong sense of having known the person before, as if they knew them all
their lives or a strong soul connection.
d. Paranormal and supernatural phenomena increases during the love bite set-up.
This may include empathic and even telepathic communication between the love
bite pair. Spontaneous remote viewing images and mutually shared dreams. Other
oddities may include the physical sensation of the partners "touch" or energy
field when the other partner is thinking or fantasizing about them. This is
known as Telesthesia, and is often experienced in a sexual way
oftentimes in an altered state of consciousness. These conditions may propel
either person to find the other, an obsession to find the dream partner.
e. Strong emotional, mental and even psychic connections with the bonded
partner—such that it sets up the conditions and desire for them to meet one
another. The connection can be so strong that they have described it as a soul
immersion in their beloved or literally having their souls joined to one
another. Another bi-product is the amplification of psychic abilities in both or
one partner
Love obsession. A need for one partner or the other to be with them to the
point of becoming infatuated. This includes the need to meet the person, even if
it is in secret, and having to hear the person’s voice on the phone, sometimes
calling the person daily or several times a day. Just hearing the targeted
partner’s voice may have a calming effect on the obsessed lover. Extreme anxiety
may be felt if the obsessed person cannot hear that person’s voice or see them
somehow.
g. The obsessed partner usually feels "love at first sight" and may lose all
critical reasoning ability. Some have described it as having the compulsion to
make sudden life decisions like moving away, changing jobs, getting divorced or
going out of their way to do things for the targeted person. It has been
compared to being under a "love spell" whenever the obsessed person hears their
partner’s voice. They may go to great lengths to please the person—doing
anything for them, even giving up their life for them.
h. Switching off. One or the other partners becomes unplugged emotionally,
leaving the other in a state of unrequited love. Or the conditions for the bonded
lovers are such that it is impossible for them to consummate their strong love,
such as both partners being married to others or living a great distance away.
i. Emotional turmoil in the unrequited partners life. These powerful emotions of
love and grief may cause the person to be inspired with creative energy, so that
they write poetry, music, or any other art form of creative inspiration.
Conversely, the degree of emotional pain may throw the unrequited lover into
suicidal tendencies, mental and physical exhaustion or illness.
j. Profound mystical experiences may also be perceived during the time of
increased emotional processing or periods of prayer.
perpetuation of a particular trait. For example
high psi and dissociative ability.
b. Emotional harvesting of energies siphoned off the abductee for Dracos, or
demonic powers accrued to human magicians. or psi amplifications, or
materializations.
c. Amplification of paranormal abilities such
as telekinesis, telepathy, remote viewing and precognition through sexual and
soul bonding of other psychic victims. will want to soul bond and
sexually bond a pair. This serves to keep the twinned operatives loyal to one
another, and increase their performance. For example, when two operatives are so
bonded to one another, they can telepathically transmit large amounts of
information to one another, sometimes during sexual activity. If they love one
another, they will also die for one another, taking greater risks for the
success of a mission.
Last but not least, I must say something about persons who swear they were matched together by divine or supernatural means to meet their lover. In some cases the couple married and enjoy a good, healthy relationship. I believe there are some relationships, which are guided by benevolent angelic forces and even ones own karma. And yes, I have seen love bite cases where the couple claims that they are happy and it’s not an unhealthy relationship contrived by evil ghosts.
Actually.. it is not an either or phenomena! you were meant to be with your lovers.. they are your twins and soul mates.. and it is the lower spirit life forms that have conspired to keep you apart.. and prey on your distress.. this is a metamorphosis.. once again it is the matrix being either school or prison.. depending on your choices and what happens to you in the process.. it is your meeting Mara experience and your casting out the seven devils.. it is being born again.. and for this reason you experience the awakening of your spiritual gifts.. whether or not you get to be with your lover is not so important as it seems right away.. because you are joined in eternity.. you have done this to each other.. your are married in heaven,, and you know this.. even if the whole world would try to steal your dreams from you.. never forget .. we are all one.. we are all married in heaven.. your pearl is the seeing of your mirror soul.. your angel.. your divine mate..
Taj Mahal Story
Beginning of a Love Story
The story goes back in 1607, when a prince of the royal Mughal household
strolled down the Meena Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning
courtiers, he caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads.
Five years and a wife later (in those days princes did not marry for love
alone) the regal 20-yr-old went to wed his 19-yr-old bride. It was a fairy
tale union from the start, one that withstood court intrigues, battles for
succession and finally, the grand coronation. And when she died on the
19th year of their marriage, he etched her story in stone. The Taj Mahal
is the living symbol of the monumental passion of Shah Jahan and Arjumand
Banu. Which other love story has so grand a memorial?
Ghost of a Rose
The valley green was so serene
In the middle ran a stream so blue...
A maiden fair, in despair, once had met her true love there and she told
him...
She would say...
"Promise me , when you see, a white rose you'll think of me
I love you so,
Never let go,
I will be your ghost of a rose..."
Her eyes believed in mysteries
She would lay amongst the leaves of amber
Her spirit wild, heart of a child, yet gentle still and quiet and mild and
he loved her...
When she would say...
"Promise me , when you see, a white rose you'll think of me
I love you so,
Never let go,
I will be your ghost of a rose..."
When all was done, she turned to run
Dancing to the setting sun as he watched her
And ever more he thought he saw
A glimpse of her upon the moors forever
He'd hear her say...
"Promise me , when you see, a white rose you'll think of me
I love you so,
Never let go,
I will be your ghost of a rose..."
The greater our awareness of what is truly happening the better able we
are able to regain control over our destinies. At first, we will become
disturbed. But if our love for the truth outweighs our arrogance and
ignorance, we can have a chance for true love and freedom.
So be careful with your heart and what you love.. be sure that it was sent
from above..
"Ultimately, every individual life is at the same time the eternal life of
the species. The individual is continuously 'historical' because strictly
time-bound; the relation of the type to time, on the other hand , is
irrelevant. Since the life of Christ is archetypal to a high degree, it
represents to just that degree the life of the archetype. But since the
archtetype is the unconscoious precondition of every human life, its life
, when revealed, also reveals the hidden, unconscious ground-life of every
individual. That is to say, what happens in the life of Christ happens
always and everywhere. In the Christian archetype all lives of this kind
are prefigured and are expressed over and over again or once and for all."
The concept that the mysteries of the universal language might be found
within a sacred temple seems to have corroboration also. In The East and
the West Pt. IV by Le Comte de Moncharville, he writes of his visit to the
Sanctuary of the Dragon that: "What most caught my eye was a collection of
indecipherable signs covering the largest part of the granite walls of the
'great work.' Seeing my perplexity, one of the Masters of the Secret
hastened to explains to me, to help me understand, that only three symbols
were sovereign, and that these formed the unity of all symbols... All the
other symbols (letters, numerals, astrological and alchemical signs) - he
told me - are only combinations of this trinity." This scene is
reminiscent of a line in Le Serpent Rouge which reads: "Not being Hercules
with magical power, how do I solve the mysterious symbols engraved by the
witnesses of the past? In the sanctuary, however, is the font, fountain of
love of those who believe, reminding us of these words: 'By this sign you
will conquer.'" The "sign" being referred to here is the Celtic cross - a
cross and a circle. This symbol is described elsewhere is the poem, and
can be found on the Alain Feral map, formed by a group of important towns,
and it points directly towards the spiral temple, acting as a beacon. This
is the same as the "Southern Cross" symbol which, according to Vaincre,
was the preeminent symbol on Atlantis, and it has been used by a number of
groups throughout history, including Otto von Habsburg's Pan Europa, and
other European unity movements. It should also be noted that it bears a
striking resemblance to the astrological symbol of Venus, the Egyptian
Anhk, and the Catholic symbol of the Sacred Heart, which is particularly
cherished by the Priory of Sion. And the three symbols described as being
seen inside the Sanctuary of the Dragon were the cross, the circle, and
the curve, the first two of which would form a Celtic cross. Perhaps there
is something about this sign which will allow us to "conquer" the
serpent-dragon that is the totality of all symbolism, unravel its coils
and finally comprehend its meaning. This is what it means to slay the
dragon in mythology, and this is what the line in the Rennes-le-Chateau
parchments means which says: "By the cross and this horse of God I destroy
this demon guardian at noon." Something about this temple underneath
Rennes-le-Chateau may provide the way to unravel each of these mysteries
once and for all. It would certainly unveil the mystery of man's past, the
untold forgotten eons of history that we have yet to rediscover. Dennis
McCarthy's charming "Awakening the Dragon in Children" presents the dragon
as a healing figure he encountered over and over in his sand tray work
with children. Children stand in awe of the symbol, even though they
themselves have created it. The dragon is both fantastic and terrifying,
wonderful and hideous, familiar and mysterious very much like life itself.
The symbolism of the Black Sun is the subject to fear for the powers of
stasis, since it indicates drastic and terminal change. How can it be
applied in a sensible way by the Setian, or does it bear positive
significance inherently already? The Black Sun symbol can be found in many
Babylonian and Assyrian places of worship. They depicted the Black Sun -
the godhead's inner light in the form of a cross. All of this is about the
reality of magic.. why the unworthy cannot achieve it, and why it is a
priceless treasure.. and what is so desperately needed to restore the
balance..
A transforming event occurs
when a change is forced upon us and we must re-assess our choices and our
possibilities. This could manifest as the loss of a job, relationship or
life situation that we had assumed would be around until we were ready to
let it go. Or the opportunity for transformation may appear in the form of
a situation that we have not wanted to deal with for a long time and we
are suddenly forced to face it. This is transformation at work, an
opportunity for us to create a new form for our reality, a new way of
being. What we do with that information will define whether transformation
and change can occur or whether we will continue on the same path.
PERCEPTIONS - A key to working with transformation is how much we believe
in, honor and love ourselves. Whether we believe that we deserve the best
and highest good determines how we perceive the situation that has
suddenly appeared before us. Do we see a new beginning or yet another
crisis that we must somehow manage? Do we try to fit the change into our
current reality or are we aware of other opportunities? As with any aspect
of our reality, what we allow ourselves to see determines the energy that
we will work with.
Love is God. The two Marys stand at the gateway of death and life, and to
return woman her soul through the resurrection of the Goddess is the path
returning to Eden and victory over the dragon for us all. God is Love and
the balance of faith and works is resolved in Love; the wedding of our
King and Queen.
I had no idea where this journey would lead. In my study of evidence from
history, art, literature, psychology, and mythology, the Lost Spirit and
Bride gradually revealed herself and everywhere I found traces of the lost
feminine and the imbalance; Stealing Beauty.
in Pistis Sophia, she who longs to experience higher
wisdom and higher light, is that she experiences condemnation and
oppression from those around her who try to keep her from rising
above them. It is a common reaction of people towards those who seek
to raise their own consciousness (which will also challenge others
who may not be seeking the same challenge to attain higher light yet
still they become jealous) that they will be thought crazy, to have a
superiority complex, not a member of the social clique, and so they
are ostracized and persecuted.
Sophia thinks that perhaps she can rise alone to "Buddha-hood" but
without her consort she cannot make it to the light. Who is her
consort? She is thought to be the bride of Christ, yet to rise
towards the light she must also become a universal being as he is. As
such, then, her consort includes all of mankind. Thus she remains a
Boddhisvatta, returning again and again to attempt to battle the
dragon in attempts to elevate the consciousness of man. Such is the
tension, between being drawn towards the light, yet restrained by the
consciousness of the world, that develops wisdom. It is also likened
to the torture of the cross: the vertical push of the body to
continue to receive air into the lungs so as to not suffocate, (or
light from above so as to not extinguish one's own spirit) against
the horizontal pull of the cross beam, which represents the pull of
the world of matter, and the resistence of darkness.
The saints slay dragons to satisfy and comfort
the people. Archangel Gabriel slays dragons; so does St.
George, and St. Michael. Margaret kills
the dragon with her own hands. Martha, the holy,
walks the dragon on a leash.
Is there anything of merit
worth learning from the dragon-slayers?
The earliest dragons, sea monsters, and flying
sea serpents are honored and named; they bring fertility and death.
Charybdis, the sea monster, could swallow whole
ships.
One ancient dragon-serpent is known as Tiamat.
Chaldean ceramics and inscriptions from 3000
B.C.E. show her as a dragon, though she could
take any form. In one depiction, she stands on
two animal legs and has a feathered body. Tiamat
was the Mesopotamian primeval Mother. She existed
in the time when "the nothing which was above was
not yet named heaven, and the nothing which was
below was not yet named earth." Indeed, Tiamat
was the originator, creator, and birthmother of
the entire universe, Tiamat birthed the earth and the
waters. Tiamat is the queen of dreams and fears,
and the queen of the deep.
Before the world was created, said the
Babylonians, there was only Tiamat, the dragon
woman of bitter waters and sweet springs.
Tiamat births monsters, storms, and beings which
exist only in our dreams. She also bears sons and
gods, and gives them homes in the far corners of
the universe.
The Unsas of
Arabian myth are described without fear, indeed
with a good deal of friendliness, as flying
snakelike women, goddesses, who, when honored and
supplicated, would give advice and assistance and
who had oracular powers.
The following magic
spell from the Nahe Valley, Germany, said to get
rid of unwanted disease, could easily be talking
about what happened to the women:
To the river, so it goes,
Went the dragon with the rose.
The dragon was drowned
And the rose canít be found.
The rose is a metaphor for women's sexuality. The
blood mysteries (dragon) and women's sexuality
(rose) are drowned. They vanish, leaving only a
river of tears behind.
men undergo a journey of
recurring
differentiation and integration. This heros
journey, and the dangers which each knight or
saint undergo as they live up to its
ultimate challenges, is illustrated in the myths
of the dragon-slayers. If these knights were to
achieve immortality, we could indeed call these
myths patriarchal, but since the magic blood of
the dragon does not ultimately save them from
death, we also learn that men must ultimately
submit to the life and death-giving powers of the
Goddess.
we must
take care to restore proper masculine
values, leaving the corrupt forms of matriarchy
and patriarchy behind.
Much of dragon lore tells us that dragons were loathsome beasts and evil enemies to humankind. But dragons were born of a time other than men; a time of chaos; a time of creation out of destruction.
As the myth developed in the western world, dragons came to represent the chaos of original matter with the result that with man's awakening conscience a struggle arose, and the created order constantly challenged the dragon's power. This type of dragon was considered by many to be the intermediate stage between a demon and the Devil and as such came into Christian belief.
However, in the Eastern world the dragon adopted a rather different significance. He was essentially benevolent, son of heaven, and controlled the watery elements of the universe.
Some examples of the symbology of the dragon are:
- Gnostics: "The way through all things."
- Alchemy: "A winged dragon - the volatile elements; without wings - the fixed elements."
- Chinese: "The spirit of the way"' bringing eternal change.
- Guardian of the 'Flaming Pearl" symbol of spiritual perfection and powerful amulet of luck.
The early Chinese believed in four magical, spiritual and benevolent animals; the Dragon, the Phoenix, the Tortoise and the Unicorn.
The Dragon was the most revered of all. In it's claws it holds an enormous magical pearl, which has the power to multiply whatever it touches. The ancients believed the "pearl" symbolized the most precious treasure; Wisdom.
Among their earliest forms, dragons were associated with the Great Mother, the water god and the warrior sun god. In these capacities they had the power to be both beneficent and destructive and were all-powerful creatures in the universe.
The dragon's form arose from his particular power of control over the waters of the earth and gave rise to many of the attributes singled out by different peoples as the whole myth developed.
They were believed to live at the bottom of the sea, where they guarded vast treasure hoards, very frequently of pearls.
The significance of the dragon was its control over the destiny of mankind. In Chinese art two dragons are often depicted facing each other, these portray the yin-yang and eternity; chasing each other's tails they signify the two-way creative force and action of the dualistic powers. The dragon is often represented with the 'dragon baU' or 'flaming pearl' which has been suggested as representing the moon as rain-bringer, rolling thunder, the dragon swallowing the pearl as the waning moon, or the cloud-dragon swallowing the sun, but in Taoism and Buddhism it is the 'pearl of perfection', the 'pearl which grants au desires' and symbolizes wisdom, enlightenment and the spiritual essence of the universe. The dragon and Phoenix portrayed together are the union of all opposites, Heaven and Earth, Emperor and Empress, macrocosm and microcosm, the rhythms of involution and evolution, the Androgyne.
The Lunar
mystery of Anima lies on an inner orbit closer to the true self then the
ego does, closer to your heart. Jung believed anima development has four
distinct levels. The first is Eve, named for the Christian allegory of
Adam and Eve. It deals with the emergence of a male's object of desire,
yet simultaneously generalizes all females as evil and powerless. The
second is Helen, in allusion to Helen of Troy in Greek mythology. In this
phase, women are viewed as capable of worldly success and of being
self-reliant, intelligent and insightful, even if not altogether virtuous.
This second phase is meant to show a strong schism in external talents
(cultivated business and conventional skills) with lacking internal
qualities (inability for virtue, lacking faith or imagination). The third
phase is Mary, named for the Christian theological understanding of the
Virgin Mary (Jesus's mother). At this level, females can now seem to
possess virtue by the perceiving male (even if in in an esoteric and
dogmatic way), in so much as certain activities deemed consciously
unvirtuous cannot be applied to her. As per Ken Wilber's terminology, this
third phase seems to represent Up spirituality while the second phase
represents Down spirituality. This fourth and final phase of anima
development is Sophia, as previously mentioned for the Greek word for
wisdom. Proper union and harmony now has taken place which allows females
to posses combinations of virtuous and earthly qualities. The most
important aspect of this final level is that, as the personification
"Wisdom" suggests, the anima is now developed enough that no single object
can fully and permanently contain the images related to the anima. As this
point as well, this now esoterically understood feminine principle has the
potential to be possessed by any person, male or female, although it is
not necessarily possessed by any. In broader terms, the entire process of
anima development in a male is about the male subject opening up to
emotionality, and in that way a broader spirituality by creating a new
conscious paradigm that includes intuitive processes, creativity and
imagination, and psychic sensitivity towards himself and others where it
might not have existed previously.
With the closing of our reality program, many more
clients/people sense the end of time. Along with that comes the
overwhelming need to help others and thus evolve personally through that
energy. This seems to be the way the program is calling souls home. At the
end of the day, it's all a game of remembrance, created by the
synchronistic movements of consciousness. Keep on attracting ... That's
'The Secret..
Synchronicities are patterns that repeat in time. The word 'synchronicity'
references the gears or wheels of time, though the actual concept of
synchronicity cannot be scientifically proven. One can only record
synchronicities as they occur and watch the patterns of behavior that
create them. The concept of synchronicity is currently linked more to
metaphysics, yet physics (quantum physics) and metaphysics are merging,
thus showing their interconnection and how we manifest synchronicities in
our lives..
Synchronicities bring people to Crystalinks ... which takes them on all
sorts of journeys into awareness. Many people the numbers 11:11 or
derivatives of it the number 1 and seek information about it. This takes
them to my file 11:11 as on and on they go reading through interconnected
files to understand their journey and that of humanity which is the focus
of Crystalinks..
Synchronicities are people, places or events that your soul attracts into
your life to help you evolve to higher consciousness or to place emphasis
on something going on in your life. The more 'consciously aware' you
become of how your soul manifests, the higher your frequency becomes and
the faster you manifest positively. Each day your life encounters
meaningful coincidences, synchronicities, that you have attracted, on
other words created in the grid of your experiences in the physical. Souls
create synchronicities, played out in the physical. It is why you are
here. It is how our reality works..
We have all heard the expression, "There are no accidents." This is true.
All that we experience is by design, and what we attract to our physical
world. There are no accidents just synchronicity wheels, the wheels of
time or karma, wheels within wheels, sacred geometry, the evolution of
consciousness in the alchemy of time..
Not all synchronicities are positive. Do be careful. Sometimes they create
major learning lessons. An example that many people experience is meeting
or manifesting a lover by synchronicity, only to discover the person is
wrong for them. Initially they think that the synchronistic experience, or
person, represents the road they should take at that moment in time. This
is not always the case. You can manifest negative people and situation, so
take your time when you get caught up in synchronicity..
If you are dysfunctional, have emotional problems, and therefore are a
drama person, your will attract and manifest dysfunctional people and
events as reflections of your own inner turmoil. You need to realize what
is going on within to manifest, attract to you, something positive outside
of yourself. These people will always disappoint you, counteracted by your
need to have the experience. Look at the underlying facts when the
synchronicity occurs to be sure you know why you attracted that person or
situation into your life..
Synchronicities may occur to make a quick point. Don't blow them out of
proportion. You must look at the bigger picture of the synchronicity,
think outside the box, (the patterns of reality) not at the actual
experience..
You can consider an event synchronistic when an inner experience such as a
dream, vision, or other form of deja vu, prepares you for the physical
event..
Your soul is always multitasking to create new experiences for you. If you
watch how you move through life, you will understand. Doing this allows
many people to clear their issues by writing their story as a catharsis of
their experiences here..
The higher and clearer your frequency and intent, the faster you manifest
synchronicities..
Examples of Synchronicity
# You are suffering with financial difficulties, yet money for basic
expenses such as rent, food, and utilities, always manifests. You begin to
trust this. At first you thank the universe or god, then you realize you
create this abundance. You are learning to watch how you manifest and why,
watching yourself from outside the box..
# You have just received your last check from unemployment when suddenly a
job comes along..
# You walk into a book store not knowing what to buy, and the book you
need falls from a shelf and practically hits you over the head..
# You have been feeling ill with no clear diagnosis. You meet someone who
knows a doctor or healer with the answers. All physical problems stem from
emotional issues. Your soul will point out the patterns and hopefully the
solutions. When the person is ready to heal, the doctor will be there.
That person will often show up by synchronicity. This all stems from
various levels of depression and self-sabotage stemming from one's DNA or
life experiences that have worn them down. When you are confused and in
emotional pain, you either have trouble manifesting synchronicities or
they are major learning lessons..
# There is a sudden relocation which seems to be for one reason, but later
you find much more than you bargained for as the synchronicities rapid
occur as if a domino effect. For example, you relocate for a new job,
then, as if by synchronicity, someone 'special' comes into your life. You
and that person have attracted each other for experience, as all life is
nothing more than that. In another case, the energies of the area hold
something transformational for you, which is perhaps the reason your soul
created the move in the first place..
# You finally end a bad relationship and immediately another partner comes
into your life as if by synchronicity..
# You drive to a place where parking is "next to impossible" and someone
pulls out of a parking spot or it is waiting for you..
# You meet someone who interests you and touches your soul. Through
synchronicity that person seems to come into your life over and over
again. You begin to feel a destiny with that person. You begin to think
with your heart instead of your head. You connect with that person. In
some cases the karma between the two people is positive but in many cases
you have attracted that person into your life for a learning lesson
whether you are aware of it or not..
# You feel depressed and can't find focus in your life. The next person
you talk you says something that brings needed guidance. In a world of
wounded souls, and evolving consciousness, answers to help and guide will
come more quickly and from different sources than in your past. Learn from
those who come along, but never become co-dependent..
# A well-known example of synchronicity involves the true story of French
writer Emile Deschamps. In 1805 he was treated to some plum pudding by
Monsieur de Fontgibu. Ten years later, he encountered plum pudding on the
menu of a Paris restaurant, and wanted to order some, but the waiter told
him the last dish had already been served to another customer, who turns
out to be Monsieur de Fontgibu. In 1832 Emile Deschamps visited a
restaurant with a friend and is once again offered plum pudding. He
recalled the earlier incident and told his friend that only Monsieur de
Fontgibu is missing to make the setting complete. At that moment a senile
Monsieur de Fontgibu enters the room by mistake..
WE ARE CO CREATING THE UNIVERSE.. IN METAMOPHISIS WITHIN SYMBIOTIC EVOLUTION..
NATURE IS THE TRUE VOICE OF THE CREATOR.. WE BRING EARTH TO HEAVEN AND GOD
BRINGS HEAVEN TO EARTH.. WE WILL COME TO THE POINT WHERE WE CHANGE REALITY, AND
THEN HEAVEN WILL FLOOD BACK THROUGH TIME AND MAKE ALL THINGS RIGHT THAT WERE
ONCE WRONG.. something you cannot picture now, it is seen from higher dimensions.. heavenly dimensions..THAT IS WHEN WE WILL SEE IT AND UNDERSTAND THAT THE ENDS DID
JUSTIFY THE MEANS..!
IN OTHER WORDS THE SKELETONS OF THIS LIFE ARE THE LOVELY BONES AROUND WHICH THE FLESH OF A BEAUTIFUL NEW WORLD WILL BE BUILT.. YOU WILL SEE IT..
OUR MYTHOLOGICAL CONCEPTS OF GOD AND SATAN ARE IN
REALITY ARCHETYPES, A USER INTERFACE OF A DEEPER SUPER NATURE... OR IF YOU PERFER,
HEAVEN IS ALL POWERFUL BUT PASSIVE, THE LORD IS VERY POWERFUL BUT NOT ALL
POWERFUL. THE MOST HIGH IS LOVE, YOUR LOVE.. Like
the Gods in Buddhism not yet Nirvana.. Archetypes are visual symbols or
energetic imprints that exist in our psyches. Some are readily understood
while others bring subliminal messages that are there to help you trigger
your memory of why you are here and the lure behind the illusion of this
reality. Archetypes can often convey messages that verbal and written
information cannot. Archetypes are found everywhere - as their symbols are
a language of the mind - taken to different frequencies of thought and
connected to each other by the collective unconsciousness. Dreams and
myths are constellations of archetypal images. archetypes are psychoid,
that is, "they shape matter (nature) as well as mind (psyche)". In other
words, archetypes are elemental forces which play a vital role in the
creation of the world and of the human mind itself. The ancients called
them elemental spirits. They are not free compositions by an artist who
plans them for artistic or informational effects. Dreams and myths happen
to human beings. The archetype speaks through us. It is a presence and a
possibility of "significance." The ancients called them "gods" and
"goddesses." There are individual and universal archetypes. An archetype
is a generic, idealized model of a person, object or concept from which
similar instances are derived, copied, patterned or emulated. You become
aware of them in meditation - dreamtime - remote viewing or other out
of-body experiences. Modern man fancies that he has escaped the myths
through his conscious repudiation of revealed religion in favor of a
purely rational natural religion. But consider his theories of human
origin. ie.."In the beginning, there was a Big Bang, a cosmic explosion".
This is an image from which reason may begin to work, but it is not itself
a rational statement. It is a mythical construct. Jung listed four main
forms of archetypes:
* The Self * The Shadow
* The Anima
* The Animus
These are the same characters in the paradise myths or garden of Eden story..
Beneath the social mask we wear every day, we have a
hidden side. In our daily lives we present a controlled, intelligent,
attractive image to the world. And so, unknowingly, we push away those
qualities that do not fit the image. We avoid feelings that make us
uneasy; anger, hatred, jealousy, greed, lust, shame, and those behaviors
that are judged as wrong by the culture; laziness, aggression, addiction,
dependency, thereby creating the life of the shadow.
Hidden from our awareness, the shadow is not part of our conscious
self-image. So it seems to appear out of nowhere, in a variety of
behaviors from sarcasm to serious abuse. When it emerges it leaves us
ashamed, anxious and disgusted. Whether the shadow takes the form of such
self-destructive behaviors as addiction, depression, anxiety,
psychosomatic disorders, severe guilt or shame, or whether it takes the
form of such destructive behavior toward others as verbal abuse, physical
abuse, sexual abuse, marital affairs, lying, envy, stealing, or betrayal,
it brings turmoil and pain.
In addition to the individual shadow we are confronted with the collective
shadow. Families have their shadow, as well as worldly and religious
organizations. The dark side of human nature is made visible each time we
open a newspaper or watch the evening news. In our society we see the
impact of shadow excesses everywhere:
in an uncontrolled power drive for domination
in a self-righteous compulsion
in a fast-paced, dehumanized workplace
in maximization of business growth and progress
in materialistic hedonism
in a narcissistic desire to control, exploit, and manipulate others
in our ever-present fear of aging and death
There are the six Black Holes of life: Selfish-pleasing,
religious fundamentalist externalism, self-deceit, wrongly placed
confidence, a blaming attitude, and cruel attacks upon others.
These are the danger areas where God in his mercy erects a sign that says,
"Stop! Listen! Beware!" The Apostle Paul gives us a marvelous explanation
of God's dealings with us in this connection. "If we judged ourselves
truly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are
chastened, so that we may not be condemned along with the world," (1 Cor
11:31-32 RSV).
The real mystery of the mystery religions is the question posed in the
book of Job.. Why does the source of being reveal itself as an ocean of
love and beauty.. call you to it.. give wonderful spiritual promises..
and then torture you and act like your enemy? An austere man who reaps
where he has not sown and an unjust judge.. And the more sensitive you
become the greater the pain. This seems to actually resist the
enlightenment and keep the world covered in a cloud of darkness.
The truth is that God and the devil are two ends of one process.. the rebirth is both great good and great evil.. the chastisement is evil.. period.. to say not to despise it is only a half truth, because it is not only to be despised but a thing of complete disgust.. good may come of it.. but its utterly cruel and useless while your going through it... a place of vipers that feed on you.. it is a battle for your soul and only you can win it.. God does nothing but offer a little help.. and that is all.. your visions and the promise is only given when you fail and let go entirely.. and that is just plain evil on Gods part when viewed from before, and great good when viewed afterward.... So what to do?.. the thing is to recognize what it is.. so that it can be destroyed.. and what is destroyed?.. we call it the devil.. the Buddhists Mara... when we recognize that this is part of our collective soul.. that it is not from good.. and finally call the kettle black.. it is this that will cast the devil out of heaven... and cast this evil from our collective selves.. and cast out the seven devil associated with Mary Magdalene in the Gospel..
Where Satan does appear in
the Bible as a member of God's court, he plays the role of the Accuser and
persecutor,
much like a prosecuting attorney for God.
Such a view is found, in the prologue to the Book of Job, where Satan
appears, together with other celestial beings or "sons of God," before the
Deity, replying to the inquiry of God as to whence he had come, with the
words: "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down
in it." Both question and answer, as well as the dialogue which follows,
characterize Satan as that member of the divine council who watches over
human activity, but with the evil purpose of searching out men's sins and
appearing as their accuser. He is, therefore, the celestial prosecutor,
lawyer who sees only iniquity; for he persists in his evil opinion of Job
even after the man of Uz has passed successfully through his first trial
by surrendering to the will of God, whereupon Satan demands another test
through physical suffering.
It is also evident from the prologue that Satan has no power of
independent action, but requires the permission of God, which he may not
transgress. He cannot be regarded, therefore, as an opponent of the Deity;
and the doctrine of monotheism is disturbed by his existence no more than
by the presence of other beings before the face of God. This view is also
retained in Zech. 3:1-2, where Satan is described as the adversary of the
high priest Joshua, and of the people of God whose representative the
hierarch is; and he there opposes the "angel of the Lord" who bids him be
silent in the name of God.
In both of these passages Satan is an accuser who acts only according to
the permission of the Deity; but in I Chron. 21:1 he appears as one who is
able to provoke David to destroy Israel. The Chronicler (third century
B.C.) regards Satan as an independent agent, a view which is the more
striking since the source whence he drew his account speaks of God Himself
as the one who moved David against the children of Israel. Since the older
conception refers all events, whether good or bad, to God alone.
This doesn't mean that God and the Devil are not a war.. they are.. but, they come in on the the same psychic wavelength with the devil calling itself God also.. and God allows it. Why? because God's plans may not be the same as your own exactly or because it isn't the right time or because you are not ready to be God's hands yet, or God is allowing others to take part in the creative work and waits for them, or God is giving space to the wicked for repentance or even to fill up the measure of wrath appointed to them. Whatever the reason, you are being measured for a mansion in heaven.. and visions can't be rushed along.. if you push for a vision of good.. you also create a back draft of evil resisting it.. the way is inch by inch.. and drop by drop.. if you try to go faster you will only hurt yourself. God is very selfish when it comes to Her own plans. She is sometimes cruel to be kind. In the 'cloud of unknowing' and the 'interior castle' God and the devil are spiritual places and spiritual processes. ..
In analyzing the literature of mystical teachings, which all too often became perverted into religions, "some" of the common threads include: a belief in an all pervasive universal intelligence; all things are alive; all things are connected, literally; universal intelligence thinks the manifest world into existence and all higher levels of consciousness play an ongoing part in this creation;
Chaos theory is an example of this.
Can you tell the difference
between a random sequence of numbers and a very complex, organized
sequence? Are computers really able to predict future states of systems,
given current conditions? What aspects of wind, clouds, thought patterns,
and human behavior are chaotic and which are orderly?
Chaos Theory is a branch of mathematics that deals with systems that
appear to be orderly (deterministic) but, in fact, harbor chaotic
behaviors. It also deals with systems that appear to be chaotic, but, in
fact, have underlying order.
Chaos theory defines a new attitude to the world that science studies. It
has created and stimulated many new branches of science called complexity
theory, anti-chaos theory, co-chaos, dynamical systems theory, non-linear
dynamics and other less provocative titles. Chaos theory has enabled the
existing sciences - whether biology, geology or physics - to look at the
wholeness of their subject rather than just smaller and smaller
subsections of it. Chaos theory also explains why the synchronicity that
so often astounds us in life is, indeed, just another manifestation of the
patterned web that connects our universe together. Most people are
understandably frightened by the daily headline connotations of the word
chaos, used synonymously with disorder and disruption. This is not what
the science dubbed “chaos theory” is about, and there is not any one
theory to it - any more than there is one theory to physics or biology.
Chaos theory explains how a rainforest achieves stability and balance
without anybody centrally programming what grows where and why. It shows
us that the wild chaos of the rainforest, with no imposed control, manages
to succeed as a 'happy' rainforest One of the other great discoveries of
chaos theory is that called “sensitive dependence on initial conditions.”
This is commonly known as the “Butterfly Effect,” the recognition by
Edward Lorenz that something as insignificant as a butterfly flapping its
wings in, say, Ecuador could make the difference between a rainstorm or a
hurricane many months later and thousands of miles away. The “initial” in
“initial conditions” is any point in time and space you choose. Future
generations may find it hard to comprehend the arrogance of our scientific
cultural base that was set to be turned around in 1961 when Edward Lorenz
took a numeric short-cut that led him to an unexpected new destination.
That serendipitous diversion triggered the discovery that in a non-linear
system simulating the weather, a seemingly insignificant change in local
wind speed equivalent to that caused by a passing butterfly's wing flap
(say a hundreth of a m.p.h. in a few cubic inches area of air) will, some
months or years down the weather system, result in a completely different
outcome to the total system. The butterfly didn't actually cause or
trigger anything. The discovery was that a most seemingly insignificant
part of a system can can have a profound effect upon its future. The most
ardent proponents of chaos theory will rightly explain the linkage between
today's hurricane and a butterfly's wing flap in Guatemala six months ago.
Yet few of them would even consider, for instance, that something with the
power to lift the very oceans, or the positions of our neighbours in the
solar system, including the Sun, might have any effect upon the
development of a delicate fetus. Astrology is taboo, as is any scientific
look at subjects falling into the vaguer areas of psychology, dreams and
miracles. Perhaps as a result, there has been little application of
this new science to the study of self awareness. Yet the implications of
chaos theory for the way in which we understand ourselves ultimately hold
the greatest benefits for us all, and are the ones that could take the
longest for science to explore. The discoveries of chaos theory have
firmly removed the basis for centuries of deterministic thinking both in
science and in government. The societies that we form in this world can no
longer be viewed as if they were giant and very complicated machines that
need a control structure of ever increasing complexity in order to be
successfully managed. The secret of nature's most complex structures is in
the simple techniques by which they are built and managed, combining a
simple repetitive act with the strangely helpful chaos of
unpredictability, in order to make their growth and evolution in this
world successful. The networks of nature consist of an infinite number of
components acting as feedback loops into the whole. Each component is
constantly feeding information and activity into the system and modulating
its own behavior according to the whole system's activity.
This new science of chaos has a more holistic view of the world and a
recognition of the apparently universal tendency of complex systems to
create order within themselves - to exhibit what is termed “self-or
zation.” The capacity of the world to create harmony on its own, to create
a pattern within a multitude of events, is one that has been glimpsed by
mystics, artists and assorted individuals from time immemorial. Scientists
now recognize it too, and in the next century the importance of these new
discoveries will eclipse even those of relativity and quantum mechanics.
Scientists can now witness this harmony of self-organization and recreate
it using fractal geometry on a computer - which led to these mathematical
fractals being dubbed the “Thumbprint of God.”
There is no E= mc2 type of
equation to sum up the essence of chaos theory, though the formula most
likely to be identified with it is the elegantly simple one which reveals
the infinite world of the Mandelbrot set: Z = z2+c. The discovery of chaos
theory has given science the tools and the inclination to study the
overall patterns and the form of the phenomena being studied, with less
emphasis on reducing the subject into smaller and smaller pieces in which
are found even smaller bits. Believe it or not, science has discovered the
concept of the whole!
In pre-Babylonian times Chaos was perceived as the mysterious space
between Heaven and Earth, and the source of inspiration, form and change
in this world. Surprisingly, this is closer to today's scientific usage of
the word than that in the newspapers. The quantum shift to a deterministic
attitude, and the belief that man had dominance over the earth, appears to
have taken place around 2000 BC for most of the emerging civilizations we
know about today - our approximate period of recorded history. This shift
is classically depicted in the Babylonian myth in which Marduk, symbol of
man's control, kills Tiamet, the dragon goddess of Chaos. This is the same
earth dragon spirit that represents the organized forces of nature in many
early belief systems from Chinese to pagan.
Though many tribal and pagan religions since Babylonian times have
recognized a more holistic partnership with the earth, most of the world's
diverse major religions and cultures have viewed earth as something over
which they claim domain and ownership rights.. As we will see, the power
of chaos that we naturally harness to change our world is demonstrated in
virtually all of the achievements of civilization and technology that we
treasure. Yet where the chaos is determinedly forced by us, as would-be
masters of the earth, the resultant product usually creates more misery
for our species.
This specifically addresses all those strange and unexplained events which our orthodox scientists (isn't that an oxymoron) reject as unproven, untested, and unscientific. This view of the natural sciences sees the infinite humor, compassion, and joy inherent in being alive on this earth, and the strange inhabitants of it, whether it be Komodo dragons, human beings, or rivers. Inanimate objects come to life, water can be happy or sad, mammals can re-grow severed limbs, and the existence of shells (with their forms often representing mathematical perfection) can have hidden lives..
What impact has the remapping of reality in scientific
terms since the Copernican Revolution through thermodynamics, relativity
theory, and quantum mechanics had on the way writers and thinkers
conceptualized the place of human culture within the total economy of
existence? What influence, on the other hand, have writers and
philosophers had on the doing of science and on scientific paradigms of
the world? Where does humankind fit into the total picture with its
uniquely moral verses immoral thinking?
An important Pattern I've noticed, shows when the major problems will arise. When a person drifts along through life, never questioning anything, and merely doing what they are told, and believing just what they are told to believe, then things seem to move fairly smoothly for them. BUT, such a person won't be making any Spiritual Advancement that way, since they are drifting along a negative stream.
Then, let's say that, that person notices that there is a whole lot more to Life, than they have been told, and they decide to find out what that is. It is at this point that they will stop flowing along with the negative stream, and begin to find out about the positive stream, and attempt to get into it. Guess what happens then? Muwhahahaha! I bet you've been here...
Between the positive stream, and the negative stream, there is a whole lot of turbulance. While in the negative stream, one doesn't really deal with their Karma very much at all, so it simply accumulates. But, when one decides to switch from the negative stream to the positive stream, then one becomes vulnerable to all sorts of calamities. At this point a person doesn't really know how the Universe operates, (so they don't know how to apply the Cosmic Laws properly), and suddenly they are exposed to the Momentum of everything that they had NOT been dealing with before.
So when a person first sets their feet upon The Path, they usually get creamed. I've been through it, and I've seen enough other people go through it, that I now recognize it as one of Life's Patterns. It really is quite dependable. As a matter of fact, that is what our species is going through right now on this planet. Humanity is on the verge of a Great Spiritual Awakening, and just as it is for an individual, so it is for all of us together. um... you've probably noticed.
Many of your greatest blessings can stay buried
for years under layers of comfort and complacency.
Often, you realize the full value of those blessings
only when difficulties come along.
Life's most serious challenges do not arrive
so as to punish you. Rather, they serve to shine
a light on what is truly meaningful and valuable.
You have strengths and skills that you may never
know about until a crisis compels you to uncover them
and put them to use. In times of great difficulty,
you are forced to call upon a reservoir of strength
you may have never before known you had.
God and the Devil are rivals, but their rivalry seems to
be a vehicle for insights on our individual freedom and progressive
religion. The shadow is both the awful thing that needs redemption,
and the suffering redeemer who can provide it" If we don't change, we
don't grow. If we don't grow, we are not really living. Growth demands a
temporary surrender of security." One must
have some chaos in ones life in order to give birth to a dancing star.
How foolish we are to follow the values and counsels of
the world, poured daily into our minds through television, radio, and the
press. Let us never forget that it is the world that is suffering from
illusions and delusions. Its principles are wrong, hurtful and
destructive. Much of the agony of life comes from the commitment that
people often unconsciously make to these principles. But God has given us
guidelines and wisdom from on high.
With each person who passes through our lives, we have a connection.
Somewhere beyond time in the realm of the Spirit we have made a commitment
to that souls to share in our life's journey and soul forging work, a kind
of commitment to the evolution or transformation of us as individuals and
also to us in conjunction with the whole of our common destiny and
communion. Every souls we meet affects us and none of us live only to
ourselves or die only to ourselves.
Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan. However, Satan has not been cast out of the heavenly court yet, that happens at this same time God pours out his ''Spirit'' on all flesh. We can learn how to recognize our own rigidity and how to correct it. It takes honesty and courage, but the rewards are immense, new possibilities open up everywhere in our life. Where everything seemed sterile and barren, and there seemed no possible answers, now everything seems possible.
the problem with theology is an objective god who's love is conditional is not the most high god no matter what the bible may seem to say.. god in not sitting on a throne of judgment who controls everything and god is not Santa Claus.. god is a verb.. god is nature and transcendent nature.. god is sex.. god is biology.. god is a living universe.. the Bible is a book.. the Koran is a book.. the Torah is a book.. they are bandages and salves.. not god.. stop worshipping books.. stop asking the ghosts of the matrix for permission to love.. love is the only source and 'life more abundant' is the only service it requests.. there is no Mormon god in heaven.. there is no Catholic god in heaven.. there is no Jewish god in heaven.. no Muslim god either.. in fact, there is NO god in heaven.. because, heaven is god.
Christianity resists the monotonous views of Buddhism.. Buddhism resists the dualistic views of Christianity.. put together and superseded makes for a better dogma..
16 He that hearkeneth to her, shall judge nations: and he that looketh upon her, shall remain secure. 17 If he trust to her, he shall inherit her, and his generation shall be in assurance. 18 For she walketh with him in temptation, and at the first she chooseth him. 19 She will bring upon him fear and dread and trial: and she will scourge him with the affliction of her discipline, till she try him by her laws, and trust his soul. 20 Then she will strengthen him, and make a straight way to him, and give him joy,
( 18 "In temptation"... The meaning is, that before wisdom will choose any for her favorite, she will try them by leading them through contradictions, afflictions, and temptations, the usual noviceship of the children of God.)
21 And will disclose her secrets to him, and will heap upon him treasures of knowledge and understanding of justice.
Taken from the book of Ecclesiaticus:
Douay-Rheims Bible:
All of us are engaged in a personal, ongoing battle with sin and vice. The seven deadly sins--lust, greed, envy, anger, pride, gluttony, and sloth--are our main antagonists in this struggle. They are primary causes of unhappiness and immorality, and because of their pervasive nature, have been of perennial interest to religious thinkers, philosophers, dramatists, and poets. Although our anger doesn't make most of us murderers, our lust doesn't make most of us rapists, and our greed and envy don't make most of us outright criminals, they, together with gluttony, arrogance, and sloth, often make us, and those who have to live with us, miserable. One need only read the daily paper to see that these seven sins are alive and well, deadlier than ever, spawning violence and suffering, illness and anxiety, loss of meaning and depression. Psychology must incorporate many of the ethical and spiritual values of religion and moral philosophy if it is to effectively address the emotional problems faced by modern men and women, be they believers or agnostics. Drawing on the psychological insights of the Bible, Aquinas, and Shakespeare, among others, all of us can learn from them about the relationship between virtue and psychological well-being and vice and emotional distress. They are guides for us to master our passions rather than be enslaved by them so that we can become more humane and build a happier, caring society. Not duality, rather, balance, is the rule.
REMEMBER THAT ALL THINGS WILL RETURN TO THEIR SOURCE; IF
GOD IS A PERSON THEN GOD HAS KARMA ALSO.. IF GOD HAS DONE SOMETHING TO
YOU, IT WILL ALSO BE DONE TO GOD. If God is working through you then the
devil resists this in you. If you mistake this for God resisting your life
then you wrongly blame God rather then the devil.
If you find yourself making excuses for God,
perhaps you are really just making excuses to believe in 'theism' or an
anthropomorphic philosophy of your own. This is the strange thing
that happens to you. Which is why the 7
devils cast out of Mary Magdalene is a process common to us all. or at
least common to mystics or spiritual experiences.. change hurts but not
changing hurts even worse.. you must be born again..
If you look at the following scriptures you can see a pattern of a sort of
spiritual pilgrimage or initiation...How the 7 devil exorcism of Mary
Magdalene is a process.
Mar 1:12 And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
Mar 1:13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan;
and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.
Is this in any way the same process as follows?
Mat 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with
this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost
parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater
than Solomon is here.
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through
dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
Mat 12:44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came
out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
Mat 12:45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more
wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state
of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this
wicked generation.
Is this describing not doing your shadow work in relation to the seven
sins? What if this is not where it ends with the man or the generation.?.
perhaps they go on to become the kingdom of heaven after their
tribulation.. after their shadow work.. If these spirits are finally
overcome isn't that the same as becoming perfect?
Is it the same as the Buddhist concept of overcoming Mara to experience
enlightenment?
Mar 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he
appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
And is this the same process as a death and rebirth ? And does it relate
to the story of Ishtar?
Descent of Ishtar relates the story of the Goddess Ishtar and her journey
into the Underworld. The dance of the seven veils has long been associated
with Salome and her seduction of King Herod, although it predates the
Judeo-Christian Era and is deeper on meaning and symbolism than is
commonly portrayed.
the concept of a dance of the seven veils originated from the myth that
tells of Ishtar's descent to the underworld
Ishtar, goddess of life and fertility, decides to visit her sister
Ereshkigal, goddess of death and sterility. As Ishtar forces her way
through the gates of the nether world, her robes and garments are stripped
from her. Ishtar passes through seven gates of the nether world. At each
of them the gatekeeper removes an ornament. At the second gate, he takes
the pendants on her ears; at the third, the chains round her ... Naked and
helpless, she finally reaches Ereshkigal, who instantly has her put to
death. Without Ishtar, there is no fertility on earth, and the gods soon
realize their loss. Ea creates the beautiful eunuch Asushunamir, who
tricks Ereshkigal into reviving Ishtar with the water of life and
releasing her.- The ending of the myth is obscure; perhaps Ishtar's lover,
Tammuz, was released along with her.
Here is a charm describing the ancient view of the 7 wraths, a concept
found in the gospel of Mary.. however, this is a charm from Babylon..
CHARM AGAINST THE SEVEN EVIL SPIRITS
Seven are they, seven are they!
In the channel of the deep seven are they!
In the radiance of heaven seven are they!
In the channel of the deep in a palace grew they up.
Male they are not, female they are not.
In the midst of the deep are their paths.
Wife they have not, son they have not.
Order and kindness know they not.
Prayer and supplication hear they not.
The cavern in the mountain they enter.
Unto Hea are they hostile.
The throne-bearers of the gods are they.
Disturbing the lily in the torrents are they set.
Baleful are they, baleful are they.
Seven are they, seven are they, seven twice again are they.
May the spirits of heaven remember, may the spirits of earth remember.
Seven devils or seven lords of time.. they are the same ghouls from the
matrix.. this is why the number seven is associated with various
initiation or purification process and time.. time passes and eventually
the matrix falls away as if you had shed an old skin and you are born anew..
We must overcome our dragon nature, (the reptilian brain), and then we
will have the scales fall from our eyes.
17And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his
hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto
thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive
thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
18And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he
received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
19And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul
certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Acts 9:17-19 (King James Version)
Thus the process of initiation leads to the attainment of the light of
knowledge and the destruction of accumulated sam'ska'ras (karma). Walking
a spiritual path without initiation is like going on a journey at night
through a dense forest full of wild animals. It is wise to bring a lamp
with you. The light of knowledge is this lamp. (It is also a weapon of
discrimination.) In recent years, Western society has developed a myth
that anyone can do anything regardless of his or her innate capacity,
preparation, or attitude. Being determined and eager is very important on
the spiritual path, but it is not the sole thing, and certainly not
everything. The thing about impatience is that, by its very nature, it is
fraught with anxiety, haste, intolerance and even annoyance.
On an internal level, being impatient means that you are completely
avoiding the here and now.
Patients proves more important in the long run. As core spiritual beliefs
change, we become more committed and comfortable providing spiritual care!
IF THERE IS A DANGER IN
AWAKENING THE KUNDALINI.
IF SO, WHAT IS THE DANGER? AND WHY SHOULD THE KUNDALINI BE AWAKENED IF IT
IS DANGEROUS TO DO SO?
There is a good deal of danger involved. Really, there is a danger of
losing all that we take to be our life. As we are, we will not remain the
same after the kundalini is awakened. Everything will change. Every thing.
Our relationships, our emotions, our world and all that we knew till
yesterday will change. All that will change is the danger.
If coal is to turn into diamond, it must die as coal. So the danger is
great enough. But it is a danger for the coal as such. If it is to become
a diamond, it can do so only if it disappears as coal. Perhaps you don't
know that there is no generic difference between diamond and coal.
Essentially they are of the same element. Coal turns into diamond in the
course of a very long period of time. Chemically there is no basic
difference between diamond and coal. But the coal cannot re main coal if
it wants to become diamond. So the coal faces a great danger.
The same way a man faces a danger if he is on his way to find God. He will
die as man. If a river is running to meet the sea, it is facing a great
danger. It will disappear, it cannot escape it. But what do we mean by
danger? It means to disappear. They alone can go on a journey to God who
are prepared to disappear, to die.
Death does not erase us as completely as does meditation, because death
only severs us from one body and joins us with another. You don't change
in death; only your clothes change. You remain as you are. So death is not
so great a danger as we all take it to be. Meditation is a greater danger
than death, be cause while death only snatches your clothes away from you,
meditation snatches you away from you.
Meditation is absolute death.
In the past, those who knew said that meditation is death, total death. In
meditation not only clothes, but everything changes. But if a river wants
to become the sea, it has to risk its life. In fact the river does not
lose anything when it falls into the sea; it loses nothing at all, it
grows to become the sea itself. And when coal turns into diamond, it loses
nothing; it grows to become diamond. But so long as coal is coal it is
afraid of losing itself. And so long as a river is a river it is afraid of
getting lost. How does it know that on meet-ing the sea, it will not lose
anything, it will turn into sea itself.
Man faces the same danger in relation to meditation. The same friend also
asks why one should take the risk if the danger is so obvious. It is
necessary to understand it in some depth.
The truth is that the more we risk, the more we live dangerously, the more
we are alive. And the more we are afraid, the more we are dead. In fact
the dead have absolutely no dangers to face. The one big danger that the
dead don't have to face is that they cannot die again. He alone can die
who is alive. And the more alive he is, the more intensely he can meet
death.
There is a rock somewhere, and very close to it a flower has bloomed. The
rock can say to the flower, "How stupid you are.
Why do you take the risk of becoming a flower? Don't you know you will
wither away before sundown?"
There is a great danger in being a flower really. But there is no danger
in being a rock. When the flower will have withered away in the evening,
the rock will be lying intact in its place. The rock does not have to face
much danger, because it is not that alive. The more alive one is, the
greater the danger.
A person is in danger only to the extent he is alive. The more alive he
is, the more the danger. Meditation is the greatest danger there is,
because meditation is the door which leads to the attainment of the most
profound in life -- the supreme.
But the friend wants to know why one should go for it at all if there is
danger. I say, one should go precisely because there is danger. And I say,
don't go where there is no danger. Never go if there is no danger, because
there is nothing but death. And go you must if there is danger, because
the possibility of life abundant exists there.
But we are all fond of security. We are afraid of the dangers of
insecurity, we run away from it, we hide ourselves from it. And thus we
lose life itself in the bargain. Many people lose life in trying to save
it. They alone live life who don't save it, who live with abandon, who
live dangerously. There is danger in deed, and that is why you should go
for it. And it is the greatest possible danger.
Climbing Everest is not that dangerous. To reach the moon too, is not so
dangerous, although only recently a few astronauts lost their way to it.
The danger is great, but this danger is confined to the body; only the
body is changed through death. But the danger in meditation is greater
than in going to the moon.
But why are we so afraid of danger? Have you ever thought why we fear
danger so much? It is ignorance that is behind all such fear. We fear that
we may come to an end; we fear we may disappear; we fear we may die. So we
do everything to protect, to secure, to fortify, to enclose and to hide
ourselves from dangers. We do everything to run away from them; we plunge
down every avenue of escape we know.
I have heard an anecdote. I have heard that a king had built a large
palace, but it had only one door, a single entrance, so the king may be
secure from dangers. The palace did not have any other doors or windows,
lest an enemy enter in through them. So it was more a grave than a house.
But even a single door posed a danger, since a killer could enter the
palace and go out of it through this door. So the king had placed a
thousand armed guards at this single door.
A neighboring king came to visit when he learned that his friend had built
a palace with such security devices as no other king ever had. And he was
pleased to see it -- he said that the palace was so secure, it had
absolutely no danger from enemies. And he also said that he would have a
similar palace built for himself.
When the two kings came out of the new palace, the visiting king
complimented his friend once again for building such a beautiful and
secure palace and said that he would have the like of it built for
himself. But as he said goodbye to his friend and mounted his chariot, a
beggar sitting by the side gave a ringing laugh. The master of the palace
asked him why he laughed. The beggar said, "As I see it, there has been a
mistake in the construction of this house. I have been sitting here since
the time the house was being built. And ever since, I have been waiting
for this opportunity to speak to you about it. There is a mistake -- and
only one mistake.
"
The king wanted to know about it, and the beggar said, "The one door that
you have allowed to be made is itself a danger, it is dangerous. Maybe no
one will be able to enter the house, but death will certainly enter
through this door. So I suggest that you get inside the house and get this
door sealed with bricks from inside. Then you will be absolutely
protected, since death cannot enter.
"
The king then said, "You are mad. In that case death will not need to
enter the palace, because I will be dead as soon as this door is sealed.
The house will become a grave." Now the beggar said, "It is already a
grave, except for this door. And you too admit that it will become a grave
if this door is removed" When the king nodded his head the beggar added,
"The more doors were removed the more like a grave it became. Now only one
door remains.
"
The beggar added, "A time was when I, too, lived enclosed in a house. But
then I discovered that an enclosed life was as good as dead. You, too, can
see that if the only door that remains in your house is sealed, it will
turn into a grave. I pulled down all the walls of the house I lived in,
and now I am under the open sky. And as you say, if the house is
completely closed it will be all death, so I say that it will be all life
if it is open and unprotected on all sides. I repeat that when it is all
open and unprotected it has become life -- life abundant. There is danger
enough, but it is life abundant.
"
There is danger, and that is why it is inviting. And it is for this reason
that you should go for it. And it is the coal, and not the diamond that
faces danger. And it is the river, and not the ocean that is in danger.
And it is you, and not God in you, who meets with danger. So now you think
it out for yourselves. If you want to save yourselves, you will have to
lose God. And if you want to find God, you will have to lose yourselves.
One night someone asked Jesus, "What should I do so that I find this God
you always talk about?" Jesus said, "You don't have to do a thing except
that you lose yourself. Don't save yourself." The man said, "What are you
talking about? What will I gain if I lose myself?" And Jesus answered, "He
who loses finds himself, and he who saves, loses himself forever.
"
You can ask if you have any more to ask.
It is being asked: How is it that when the kundalini begins to awaken
there appear impediments in its way and that its flow is blocked? What is
the reason for it? And what can we do to make it move again?
There are not many reasons but one. It is that we do not invoke it,
provoke it with all our will and might, and that we do not bring in all
our energy into awakening it. Our efforts are always fragmentary and
incomplete; they are never total. Whatsoever we do, we do it
half-heartedly. Nothing we do totally.
And this is the obstruction; there is no other obstruction than this. And
there will be no obstructions whatsoever, if we do things totally. But all
through our lives we have gotten into the habit of going only half the way
through, we never go the whole way. Even if we love, we do it
halfheartedly; we love a person and we also hate him. It sounds strange
that we hate the very person we love. We love a person, we want to live
for his sake, and at times we also think of murdering him. It is difficult
to find a lover who has not thought of his beloved being dead.
Our life is such that it is always divided, always half-and-half. And the
two halves are always pulling in opposite directions. Unlike our two legs,
the right and left, which move forward in the same direction, the two
halves of our divided mind move in opposite directions. And that is what
causes us tension and conflict.
What is this restlessness of our lives, but that we are always half and
half -- split, fragmentary and lukewarm?
God is not a man.. God's realm is not linear in time. God is both nature and super-nature,, things that happen in God's plans are not based on thinking like a human makes his plans.. The spiritual affinity is to things close in God.. not in time.. the plan of God is like the flow of a river or a wellspring of life.. Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism illuminate each other.. one teaches how to commit and love deeply properly.. one teaches how to non-commit and let go of pain properly.. the other teaches that they are two sides of one nature in the great way.. we grow out of nature into super-nature and out of time into eternity.. this may take several lifetimes.. life is more a process then a test.. a metamorphosis is not moral or immoral.. it just is.. and our spiritual mates help us in this..
If in this life, God and the devil are the two sides of one coin, the polar opposites of one orb, then God is complicit in the devils lies. This is because you have then made the Fates and the Furies both God and the devil. What we believe is the work of God and the devil is often just the equal and opposite reaction of hope and fear.. The best you can do is to try to increase love and trust and decrease fear and hate in your life at the present where you are. It is now or never. It is this that does the best work for bringing in the kingdom of heaven. So if you think you cannot let go of your vision and be faithful then know that you only have to find understanding and believe and let go and let God.. the first shall be last, and the last shall be first..
When we are born into this world we begin a journey.. but we are not sure of why. Then one day we see the city of God, and everything becomes clear and beautiful.. we see the light of it and we know the direction.. what we don't know.. is the way is across a desert.. though people have told of it and written it down.. we do not really understand the meaning of mystic dark night of the soul.. the shamans task.. or the metamorphosis.. to be born again requires dying to many things..
If we press on eventually we come over a rise in the terrain and we see it .. it was really there and we can continue.. this may take a very long time with much trial and tribulation.. but don't give up.. because the way is sure.. and the journey does have a wonderful end.. I see it today.. we are all truly married..
Hebrews 12
1Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
4Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
5And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
6For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
8But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
9Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
10For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
11Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
14Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
15Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
16Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
17For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
18For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
20(For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
21And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
22But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29For our God is a consuming fire.
"" The 'sons' this speaks of is in fact a kingdom.. a crown. It is your life itself.. no less. The contradiction is a part of it all.. indeed the main event.. and it is a metamorphosis.. and a pruning process.. the root of bitterness comes from not understanding the character of God. If we choose to speak in theistic or mythological terms then the agent of the chastisement is the devil and certainly the devil is to be despised. Remember not to confuse the lower spheres of the noo sphere with the higher realms of the super nature. When you see something from heaven; Her face.. a vision of a promise, you need to understand that the bringing of it means taking something from heaven and bringing it to earth, Your vision belongs to heaven, and the earth is like a ball and chain you must drag along with you on your journey there.. it is like taking a higher dimension and trying to fit it into a lower one.. this is because God works in many channels at one time.. and like the wind, you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell from where it comes or where it goes.. it really is similar to transcending the 7 spheres of the ancients.. you are driven back while being purified.. by an unholy ghost.. the only way transcending is accomplished is by great patience at first and entirely letting go at the end.. you must decide when to hold on a little longer and when to let go.. it is totally contrary to what you desire and expect.. but it ends all worldly pride from taking root.. only then is the abyss crossed and the miracle able to manifest.. and which may not appear in the manner you thought it would.. it is this that makes known the interpretation of the dream, and it is this that works out your salvation, and this that expresses your life to others as a wounded healer.. the lower levels of the spheres of God are like the first rooms of Teresa's interior castle which are filled with lower beings that resist you.. this was known to the ancients as the underworld.. the ruler of the underworld is Satan or Mara, sometimes called the prince of the power of the air.. or the unseen.. and the devil is a heartless parasite that preys on peoples lives.. it is this that must be transcended to reach the higher realms of the Kingdom and Nirvana.. you see, we experience both heaven and hell.. and because we are joined in a communion, if you suffer for the kingdom of heaven, this saves another's soul as well.. The more one suffers, the more one helps. The purer the suffering, the greater is the gain.. the pain in your life God uses as mercy in another's.. and your suffering has an end.. Like Christ you have the sins of humanity laid upon you on both an inner and outer level.. Those who do not suffer are the same who cause it on an interior level as well, the children of the devil .. You may discover that a good share of your pain comes from the desire for a heaven on earth... and the Spirit would have you live as simply as possible without pride, as broken bread and offered up wine.. further, if your vision was immediately realized you may not think or experience the things God wants you to think and experience first.. one of which is learning a great patience.. like forty years in the wilderness before entering into the promised land; turning from a spiritual slave into a spiritual warrior.. .. know that your karma debt is being burnt up at a faster rate.. and although grievous.. it is a blessing in disguise.. When difficulties are overcome, they become blessings... we grow out of this soil.. it is your sacrifice for the common good of all creation.. it has a higher purpose.. Learning compassion hurts.. and God will break your heart to leave it open.. In order for us to use our power well, we must become a clean vessel. We must clear ourselves to allow miracles to be poured out through us. Our channel must be clean before we can use our power well. We must be free of resentments, guilt, shame, anger, self pity and fear. If these things are in us, we cannot be clean. These things block us from our power. The clearer we are, the more power we move. We must become clean and clear so the Creator can use us to do what She wants us to do. Joining the common principles of Taoism, Christianity and Buddhism will help you understand this""
1 Peter 4
12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery
trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that,
when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
.........
19Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the
keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
James 1:3-5
3Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and
entire, wanting nothing.
The greater the faith, the greater the result. The Creator designed us to act on faith. We are able to do this by holding firm to our beliefs. If we believe something and if we don't want the belief to change, we need to add the power of the Great Spirit to this belief. We must always have the spiritual added to our beliefs. If we don't add the Spirit, then we may very well change our minds during the first time we are tested. Each time we are tested and we don't change our minds, we get stronger. The wind may blow on the red willow trees bending them and causing the roots to grow deeper. The more the wind bends the tree, the bigger, stronger and deeper the roots grow. We should be happy that we are tested. It's the Creator's way of making us have greater faith for greater results.
This planet must to a corresponding degree be a world of
suffering. But a world of suffering then constitutes the scene for the
development of life's greatest faculty. it transforms dark, animal and
unloving living beings into loving, divine beings who will ultimately
fulfil Creation's eternal plan: "Man in God's image after His likeness". A
world full of these beings constitutes the finished, that is, perfect
"kingdom of heaven".
When you are confronted with such great suffering, it is because you are
undergoing concentrated and forced development. You are thereby achieving
a development many times greater in a shorter period of time than if you
had not had precisely this condition which now fits your fate best to have
in your present life. You see here that a miracle that would suddenly
remove all your suffering would stop you in a very necessary passage
towards the pinnacles of light - the goal for all terrestrial beings. You
may perhaps say in answer to this that you would prefer to develop more
slowly if you could thereby be free of some of the difficulties and
sufferings with which you fate is now so filled. And you will perhaps add
that there are so many other people today who do not suffer in any
particular way. And this is true. But it does not mean that these others
are free from suffering. They have either suffered or are unavoidably on
their way towards suffering.
Endur
No being whatsoever can reach perfection in an easier or more painless way
than others. Everyone must experience the same in order to become the
same. the eternal laws are unshakeable.
WE ARE LIKE MOTHS TO THE FLAME AND THE OLD MAN DOES NOT PASS THROUGH.. WE BECOME WATER MADE INTO WINE. We live in a sea of spirits, good and evil shaken together like vinegar and oil, When we discover our psychic powers are growing we are shown heaven and awaken to hell.. we desperately need to sort this out and learn discernment.. as it is written, 'try the spirits for not every spirit is of God',. The higher realms are heavenly, but we have to crawl there on our knees.. The Archetype of the rescuing the Virgin from the dragon is about personal liberation into the light of our loves as well as about separating the work of the Holy Spirit from the trials of the devil.. being transformed into the likeness of Christ or Buddha and entering into returning to the source which is what the word religious means is not an easy task.. God shows you a heaven that exists outside of time and the direction is in our future, but Goddess will not change her own past for you where we still struggle against the powers of darkness..
What is the meaning of Hokhmah? Hakkeh mah. Since it cannot ever be grasped, hakkeh, "wait" for mah, "what" will come and what will be. This is the sublime, primordial wisdom emerging out of Ayin.
"the Elders say that if you want something good, you have to suffer for
it."
--Chuck Ross, LAKOTA
People sometimes have a misconception of sacrifice. This is a strong word
for Indian people. On the other side of sacrifice is another whole world.
During sacrifice, our beliefs are tested. We may all have good beliefs but
if you test a good belief, then you get real beliefs. Real beliefs make
new people; real beliefs make new self images. Real beliefs allow
determination and desires and faith to come true. Good is always available
to us but we often can't bring it within until we let go of the old ways.
We let go of the old ways by suffering. Suffering is only letting go of
things that don't work anymore. On the other side of suffering is a new
world.
Creator, help me to let go of old ways. Let my old thoughts and beliefs be
abandoned. Every change is preceded by struggle. Help me go through the
struggle today.
"I remember Dawson (No Horse) said, 'Once you say
your prayers, don't worry about them. If you worry about them, they'll
just fade away.'"
--Chuck Ross, LAKOTA
Today I need to remember You are everywhere. I need to remember how much
You love me. I need to know, Grandfathers, that You are always listening.
Today I need to know how much You care. Today I will remember the advice
of the Elders. "Say your prayers and then don't worry - know that the
Great One has heard you." It's so much easier to do this, Grandfather,
when I feel connected to You.
My Creator, allow me this day to feel your presence. Let me walk the path
of life today and talk to You many times. Give me faith, my Grandfather
before we can choose not to compromise ourselves, we must first become
acutely aware of those thoughts of ours that may be holding some secret
seed of self-defeat.
If we don't know we're doing this kind of compromised thinking -- or
acting out their emotional counterparts -- what else can follow but to
receive the defeat that they embody?
We are lead from knowing into unknowing.. It is a fine
thing to establish one's own religion in one's heart, not to be dependent
on tradition and second-hand ideals. Life will seem to you, later, not a
lesser, but a greater thing.
"The obstacle to the internal nature is the mind. If it relies on logic
such as the white man's mind, the domain of the inner nature is
inaccessible. The simple fact is a man does not challenge the wisdom of
the Holy Mystery.
--Turtleheart, TETON SIOUX
Why is it we need to analyze and understand everything? The Great Mystery
has designed certain areas of creation to be a mystery because humans
usually miss-use it. We use the Great Mystery and see It unfold only under
the direction of the Great Spirit. The Creator is in charge.
Great Spirit, let me realize You are in charge. I'm to do what You want
""If the ego actually saw how totally amazing, wildly
exotic, powerful and truly blessed you actually are, it would have to
die.""
Have you ever met someone who just knocked you off your
feet?
And you were overwhelmed by their presence? Maybe they were not even
particularly good looking.... or not even your "type?" But.....there was
something there--perhaps undefined, but definitely there, nonetheless.
C.G. Jung puts it this way---
"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical
substances: If there is any reaction, both are transformed."
Did this happen when you met your "significant other"--do you remember the
first time you ever saw them? Or perhaps the love of your life began with
a meeting less than ideal?
I think God/dess put us together with who we are supposed to be with--or
at least, they are thrown into our way so we can at least have a chance
with them. What do you think?
How did you get together with your mate--if you have/had one?
Have you ever met someone you've never been able to forget?
I believe that fate has brought us here
And we should be together babe
But we're not
I play it off, but I'm dreaming of you
And I'll try to keep my cool, but I'm feelin'
I try to say goodbye and I choke
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not here
Goodbye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
I may appear to be free
But I'm just a prisoner of your love
And I may seem all right and smile when you leave
But my smiles are just a front
Just a front, hey
I play it off, but I'm dreaming of you
And I'll try to keep my cool, but I'm feelin'
I try to say goodbye and I choke
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not here
Goodbye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not here
Here is my confession
May I be your possession
Boy, I need your touch
Your love, kisses and such
With all my might I try
But this I can't deny
Deny
I play it off, but I'm dreaming of you
(but I'm dreaming of you babe)
And I'll keep my cool, but I'm feelin'
I try to say goodbye and I choke (yeah)
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
(when you are not near aahh)
Goodbye and I choke (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I try to walk away and I stumble (hey, hey, hey)
Though I try to hide it, it's clear (say it Lord)
My world crumbles when you are not here
Goodbye and I choke (I'm choking)
I try to walk away and I stumbel
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
(when you are not near, yeah, yeah yeah)
Yeah, yeah..
Macy Gray Lyrics .. I try
Love exists for us in the future as well as the past.. and love exists right now in heaven..
And here is the conclusion of the matter.. you have sent your hearts petition to a thousand ministers.. none of them worthy or who understand.. your message is for the king and queen and only they will understand.. so continue to send that message in the understanding that some day they will receive it.. and that will be a grand day indeed.. for then the whole kingdom will see the judgment of God..
And think not you can direct the course of love, if
it finds you worthy, directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of
loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song
of praise upon your lips.
What exactly is the connection between suffering and
spiritual awakening? How does one lead to the other? When you look closely
at the nature of human suffering you will find that an essential
ingredient in most kinds of suffering is a diminishment of one’s sense of
self. Take illness, for example. Illness makes you feel smaller, no longer
in control, helpless. You seem to lose your autonomy, perhaps become
dependent on others. You become reduced in size, figuratively speaking.
Any major loss has a similar effect: some form that was an important part
of your sense of who you are – a person, a possession, a social role –
dissolves or leaves you and you suffer because you had become identified
with it and it seems you are losing yourself or a part of yourself. In
reality, of course, what feels like a diminishment or loss of your sense
of self is the crumbling of an image of who you are held in the mind. What
dissolves is identification with thought forms that had given you your
sense of self.
But that sense of self is ultimately false, is ultimately a mental
fiction. It is the egoic mind or the "little me" as I sometimes call it.
To be identified with a mental image of who you are is to be unconscious,
to be unawakened spiritually. This unawakened state creates suffering, but
suffering creates the possibility of awakening. When you no longer resist
the diminishment of self that comes with suffering, all role-playing,
which is normal in the unawakened state, comes to an end. You become
humble, simple, real. And, paradoxically, when you say “yes” to that
death, because that’s what it is, you realize that the mind-made sense of
self had obscured the truth of who you are – not as defined by your past,
but timelessly. And when who you think you are dissolves, you connect with
a vast power which is the essence of your very being...
the left brain must be servant of the right brain.. if the right brain was to remain subservient to the left brain.. the awakening process would be corrupted.. so what appears as cruelty from the cosmos is in fact most loving.. because the pain of your spiritual birth is the struggle between the two hemispheres for dominance.. and only the right brain is in tune with the greater cosmic mind..
The Journey
by Mary Oliver (Dream Work, Grove Atlantic)
On the day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
And there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do —
determined to save
the only life you could save.
~poetry~
don't become a polar opposite to your shadow.. remember the miracles come through the side door unseen..
We are in the phase of surrendering our will and ego to
the process of the Divine flow. I cannot convey how humbled I am in
realization that there is a grander plan than that which we are aware of.
It is a sweet and bitter surrender indeed.
The last thing most of us want to hear or think about when we are dealing
with profound feelings of sadness
is that deep learning can be found in this place. In the midst of our
pain, we often feel picked on by life, or
overwhelmed by the enormity of some loss, or simply too exhausted to try
and examine the situation.
We
may feel far too disappointed and angry to look for anything resembling a
bright side to our suffering.
Still, somewhere in our hearts, we know that we will eventually emerge
from the depths into the light of
greater awareness.
Remembering this truth,
no matter how elusive it seems, can help.
The other thing we often would rather not hear when we are dealing with
intense sadness is that the only way out of it is through it. Sitting with
our sadness takes the courage to believe that we can bear the pain and
the faith that we will come out the other side. With courage, we can allow
ourselves to cycle through the
grieving process with full inner permission to experience it. This is a
powerful teaching that
sadness has to offer us—the ability to surrender and the acceptance of
change go hand in hand.
Another teaching of sadness is compassion for others who are in
pain, because it is only in feeling our own
pain that we can really understand and allow for someone else’s.
Sadness is something we all go through, and we all learn from it and are
deepened
by its presence in our lives. While our own individual experiences of
sadness carry with them unique lessons, the implications of what we learn
are universal.
The wisdom we gain from going through the process of feeling loss,
heartbreak, or deep disappointment gives us access to the heart of
humanity.
We have dreamed up a situation for ourselves that
challenges us to our core, forcing us to react not as separate, discrete
entities who are apart from each other and the whole, but as interrelated
and interdependent parts of each other and the whole. Our wound is
revealing to us that we can sync-up with each other through our shared,
open-heart of collective lucidity and activate our latent collective
genius so as to heal ourselves in a way which benefits everyone. A deeper,
guiding intelligence becomes available to us when we reciprocally help
each other to recognize our inherent unity, grounded in the intention of
serving what is best for the whole.
Our wound is initiatory in that it is literally prodding and prompting us
to evolve into a freer, more coherent, and higher order of ourselves.
Hidden in our wound is its own re-solution. This is to say that the wound
itself is an expression of the part of us, which, to speak from outside of
linear time for a moment, is already healed. An expression of the ground
of being, our wound connects us to life itself. We don't cure our wound.
It cures us.
We can teach ourselves over time that we do not have to necessarily match the vibrations of others, but can hold our own vibration in balance and harmony instead. This comes with practice and a willingness to hold the highest vibration in the universe-unconditional love. We can also assist others with there own spiritual transitions if we all begin to open our hearts to understand the energy between us. As you open in the future to the energy in your life, a dramatic shift will occur as you gain greater empathy for people through your utilization of vibrational concepts.
Remember, Jesus says: Those who are the last here will be the first in my kingdom of God. He is talking about the watercourse way of Tao--not mentioning it, but talking about it. Be the last, be non-ambitious. Ambition means going uphill. Water goes down, it searches for the lowest ground. It does not want to declare itself unique, exceptional, extraordinary. It has no ego idea.
the life force this draws from you is returned to the greater good of our Goddess.
when we allow this fear and pain inside us to melt:
"The energy that was trapped in the pain-body then changes into
vibrational frequency and is transmuted into Presence. In this way, the
pain-body becomes fuel for consciousness. This is why many of the wisest,
most enlightened men and women on our planet once had a heavy pain-body.
"
..the wicked are forever
intending evil and yet evil forever does the work of turning toward
the good..
those who grasp at lesser
things often try to remain stuck in those things..
God is a creator.. the
source of Creation.. Any and all acts of creation are also a recreation
out of what came before it.. any act of recreation is also an act of
dissolution and rebirth.. like a phoenix.. your inner character is your
life.. and the humility that serves God is also your gift from the
Goddess.. it is the loss of selfishness and the gaining of a vision of
unity.. the acquiring of compassion..
love perfected casts out all fear
On the other side of every breakdown is a BREAKTHROUGH. It's not that we don't want to change but rather we are afraid to breakdown. Just let go and let God work her magic. FEEL the emotion that is there. You are designed to FEEL your emotions as they are exquisitely designed to guide you to all you need to know. As you experience the emotion, you may be uncomfortable to say the least. But it's worth it. You can take consolation in knowing that there is a miracle taking place....AND it is waiting for you on the other side.
Often the instruments of change
are not kind or just
and the hardest openness
of all might be
to embrace the change
while not wasting your heart
fighting the instrument.
The storm is not as important
as the path it opens.
The mistreatment in one life
never as crucial as the clearing
it makes in your heart.
This is very difficult to accept.
The hammer or cruel one
is always short-lived
compared to the jewel
in the center of the stone.
And God blessed the latter end of Job more then the first.. in all the land there were none so fair as the daughters of Job..
this love is difficult but it is real..
Love never dies. She
cannot. She is life itself. The cooling passion we feel toward what once
enflamed us is not the end of Love's fire, but only signals that we have
now consumed all of the stuff of self available at that level of
ourselves.
It may help to see this new idea by visualizing the action of actual
physical flames as they move about in a fireplace. See how all open flames
reach ever upward. See how they rise to ignite what they are created to
consume.
Now, see that Love works in this exact same way. But the difference is
that Love burns her way up, and through, the stuff of self. First, as an
unwelcome visitor, she burns through our vanities. Where before we were
warmed by glowing images of ourselves, Love shows us all that glitters
isn't gold. And as her fires move through this lower soul region, they
take with them -- in their purifying path -- our self-fascination.
But in the very act of first enticing us with this ego-centered love, and
then through expiring this same stuff of self in her compassionate flames,
she accomplishes two feats at once:
First, her fires remove an interior section of our self's sub-flooring
once felt by us as being our entire foundation -- an act whose gradual
consummation feels to us to be the loss of our life itself. And it is in
this moment of our heart's cold confusion that our part in this eternal
play is called onto the stage now set within us. For here, time and time
again, we must choose whether to close ourselves off from Love's internal
action -- or offer ourselves over to it.
We have all seen the effects of shutting out Love: A hopeless frost clings
to the heart, choking off higher emotion until only a shrunken shell of
its former self sits there in place of the heart, its own beating a
punishment.
And we have all had some level of experience with Love's successful
passage through our various life stages -- how the seeming loss of one
love (or passion) first creates a sense of emptiness that is followed by
the hope and promise of yet a deeper or wiser one, and then -- although
impossible to glean in the moment of such a sense of loss, and yet through
this very loss -- how Love reveals a new place within us for her next and
higher incarnation.
This is how Love works her magic. This is her timeless motions and
miracle. But we must agree to move with her according to her secret ways.
We must each learn what it means to open the hearth of our hearts to her
mystical fires and not to fear the stages through which she will take us.
If we consent, then ever on and upward will her flames work their way
through our passions and take with them, into the air of their origin, our
hopes in self, our hopes for things seen, and sometimes, in dark nights,
even our hope for Love herself.
But if we agree to stay the course of Love's action in us through the
passage of time, even though it may be often hidden in the residue of ash
and smoke created by the upward passage of these living fires, the next
level of Love is revealed to us. Herein we stand in amazement upon a whole
new floor of what we now realize is our own self -- a floor previously
hidden by the self below it in a nature that could only be burned away
through experience. Like the phoenix we rise again, ready to live out Love
anew…
If you want to be truly free, you will have to be
aware. One kind of awareness is when you are consciously making the effort
to be aware of everything that you are doing. But there is another kind of
awareness that is more mysterious. And you will begin to discover this
mysterious awareness as you surrender more and more to your own desire to
be free.
At times there will be an unexpected movement from deep within you; a
response will arise that moves faster than thought. You will do or say
something that expresses the passionate intensity of enlightened
consciousness, a consciousness that, a moment before, you had no awareness
of.
You will have the strange sense of not knowing who responded, even though
it was none other than your own Self
.
So our True Self is always paying attention in a way that we are usually
not conscious of. And when we discover this Self we find that which is
miraculous. We discover who we truly are. It's the Self that we cannot see
with the mind, but when we experience it directly we will understand what
it means to be enlightened.
And when we liberate this Self that mysteriously sees and knows what we
cannot see or know with our conscious mind, we will begin to respond to
life in ways that, left to our own devices, we never could.
If we are true to the desire to be free, we will find that we always are
paying attention, even at times when, in our conscious experience, it
appears to us that we are not.
This happens to me often. Sometimes my own inner experience may appear to
be, for a certain period of time, quite mundane. And then a response will
occur to some event that is happening around me, a response that is so
fast and so precise that it amazes me every time. I don't know where it
comes from. I only become aware of it as its happening.
Usually when we speak about paying attention, we are only referring to
that which engages the conscious mind. The problem is that it leaves the
most important part of our Self out of the picture, which is that part of
our Self that we can never know with the conscious mind. Enlightenment is
about the liberating discovery of the profound mystery of our own Self, a
mystery that we will never be able to understand only with the mind.
The true, spiritual conscience is experienced as caring. And this caring
is a painful emotional experience but it's this caring that finally
liberates us, slowly but surely, from the attachment to the ego and its
endless fears and desires.
It is the emergence of this conscience that gives us the energy, strength,
and inspiration to give ourselves to the most important task that there
is.
So if we want to be free, it's very important to ask ourselves: How much
do I care?
The degree to which we are able to liberate ourselves from self-concern
will be the degree to which we are able to recognize that our true nature
as human beings is love. It happens automatically.
This is one of the miracles of human life. When you are ready to leave
self-concern behind, your heart will expand and you will know a love that
is impossible to imagine. The nature of this love is not personal; it does
not have its roots in the personality.
Love is literally liberated from the depths of our own being and just
emerges of its own accord. Anybody can know this miracle if they really
want to. They just have to be willing.
The normal way never leads home.
Once you start to awaken, no one can ever claim you again for the old
patterns. Now you realise how precious your time here is. You are no
longer willing to squander your essence on undertakings that do not
nourish your true self; your patience grows thin with tired talk and dead
language. You see through the rosters of expectation which promise you
safety and the confirmation of your outer identity. Now you are impatient
for growth, willing to put yourself in the way of change. You want your
work to become an expression of your gift. You want your relationship to
voyage beyond the pallid frontiers to where the danger of transformation
dwells. You want your God to be wild and to call you to where your destiny
awaits.
You have come out of Plato’s Cave of Images into the sunlight and the
mystery of colour and imagination. When you begin to sense that your
imagination is the place where you are most divine, you feel called to
clean out of your mind all the worn and shabby furniture of thought. You
wish to refurbish yourself with living thought so that you can begin to
see.
don't be afraid.. we will make it out of this mess.. its a love story.. baby, just say YES!
Truth is the only real religion and what is done out of love is beyond good and evil..
Love makes everything possible
it is also your acquiring of bravery..
take a chance.. your
transcending isn't all about you.. archetypal memories are connected to
cosmic man and woman.. and something's remain hidden in the mist..
it is the movement of heaven and earth,, just as the collective feminine
is the goddess so is the collective negative the dragon, and when this
dragon is slain there will be a great wedding of heaven and earth.. every
tear was counted..
Who was St. George, What is
myth and what is fact? Did he really slay
a Dragon? Why is he such a popular Saint, celebrated in so many
Countries, Races, Religions and Organizations? and what did he do to
become England’s Patron Saint? Very little is known about St. George’s
life, but it is thought he was a high ranking officer in the Roman army
who was killed in around AD 303. However, what St. George remains is the
Christian warrior. the symbol of bravery in the face of great danger
defending the cause of truth.
In the Middle Ages the dragon was commonly
used to represent the Devil; The slaying of the ‘Dragon’ was first
credited to him in the twelfth-century. St. George, so the
story goes, killed a dragon on the flat topped Dragon Hill in Uffington,
Berkshire, and it is said that no grass grows where the dragon’s blood
trickled down! It was probably the 12th century Crusaders however who
first invoked his name as an aid in battle.
Killing the dragon depicts the conflict between fight
and darkness; overcoming the dark nature and attaining self-mastery, or,
if the dragon is a guardian, it symbolizes the winning of the treasure of
inner or esoteric knowledge, or in rescuing the princess it releases pure
forces kept in bondage by the powers of evil.
The dragon is frequently a fire-breathing monster. Euripides describes it
as breathing forth fire and slaughter; in the Old Testament Moses has
fiery serpents and Isaiah a fiery flying serpent.
The celebration of St George's Day is currently fairly low
key in England and much more celebrated elsewhere. However, the Society
and its members are clearly succeeding in their constant efforts to revive
St. George's Day. There are
many legends in many cultures about St. George, but they all have a common
theme; he must have been an outstanding character in his lifetime, for his
reputation to have survived for almost 1,700 years! Most authorities on
the subject seem to agree that he was born in Cappadocia in what is now
Turkey, in about the year 280 AD. It is probable that from his physical
description, he was of Darian origin, because of his tall stature and fair
hair. He enlisted into the Cavalry of the Roman Army at the age of 17,
during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian and very quickly established a
reputation amongst his peers, for his virtuous behaviour and physical
strength; his military bearing, valour and handsome good looks. He quickly
achieved the rank of Millenary or Tribunus Militum, an officer's rank
roughly equivalent to a full Colonel, in charge of a regiment of 1,000 men
and became a particular favourite of his Emperor. Diocletian was a skilled
military tactician and strict disciplinarian, who set himself the task of
rejuvenating the morale of the citizens of Rome by reviving the prevailing
traditions and paganism of Rome. It may be recalled that this was a time
of high inflation and civil unrest and one outcome of this was the
increasing influence of Christianity. Diocletian's second in Command was
Galerius, the conqueror of Persia and an avid supporter of the Pagan
religion. As a result of a rumour that the Christians were plotting the
death of Galerius, an edict was issued that all Christian Churches were to
be destroyed and all scriptures to be burnt. Anyone admitting to being a
Christian, would lose his rights as a citizen, if not his life. Many
Christians feared to be loyal to their God; but, having become a convert
to Christianity, St. George acted to limit the excesses of Diocletian's
actions against the Christians. He went to the city of Nicomedia where,
upon entering, he tore down the notice of the Emperor's edict. St. George
gained great respect for his compassion towards Diocletian's victims. As
news spread of his rebellion against the persecutions St. George realised
that, as both Diocletian and Galerius were in the city, it would not be
long before he was arrested. He prepared for the event by disposing of his
property to the poor and he freed his slaves. When he appeared before
Diocietian, it is said that St. George bravely denounced him for his
unnecessary cruelty and injustice and that he made an eloquent and
courageous speech. He stirred the populace with his powerful and
convincing rhetoric against the Imperial Decree to persecute Christians.
Diocietian refused to acknowledge or accede to St. George's reasoned,
reproachful condemnation of his actions. The Emperor consigned St George
to prison with instructions that he be tortured until he denied his faith
in Christ. However despite some of the most terrible torture even for that
time, St George showed incredible courage and faith and was finally
beheaded near Lydda in Palestine. His head was later taken to Rome where
it was interred in the church dedicated to him. As a consequence,
Diocletian took strict action against any alternative forms of religion in
general and the Christian faith in particular. He achieved the reputation
of being perhaps the cruellest persecutor of Christians at that time. St
George, having defended his faith was beheaded at Nicomedia near Lyddia in
Palestine on the 23rd of April in the year 303 AD. Stories of St. George's
courage soon spread and his reputation grew very quickly. He soon became
known in Russia and the Ukraine as the Trophy Bearer and his remains are
said to have been buried in the church that bears his name in Lydda.
However, his head was carried to Rome, where it was preserved in the
Church that is also dedicated to him. St George was beatified by the Roman
Catholic Church and is recognised in the liturgy of the Russian Orthodox
and Greek Orthodox Churches as well as the Roman Catholic Church. He has
been revered in the Ukraine since Christianity was established in 988 AD
by Volodymyr the Great the Prince of the Kyivan empire. The Romanesque
Monastic order in Prague established St. George's Church in the Castle in
the year 920AD and in the year 1119 AD the Cathedral of St George was
founded in Novgorod. His reputation for virtue and chivalrous conduct
became the spiritual inspiration of the Crusaders and by this time the
pennant or flag with a red cross on a white or silver background became
prominent as a means of recognition by English Knights. It was also worn
on breast plates. It became the symbol of the Templars. So we see the
establishment claiming the symbols of St. Goerge and also the symbols of
the Templars as thier own. In reality it is these brave knights who are
the heros of their age, not the establishment they often resisted. First
Rome killed St. George, then the Roman Catholic Church killed the
Templars. In the year 1348 King Edward Ill established the Knights of the
Garter, which is the oldest order of Chivalry in Europe. The Order of the
Garter was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Edward the Confessor and
St George. In 1620 it was the flag that was flown by the Mayflower when
the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in Plymouth Massachusetts. It is also the flag
of the Church of England and as such is known throughout Christendom. St.
George is also the Patron Saint of Barcelona in Catalonia, Aragon, Russia,
Bavaria, Beirut, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Lithuania and Hungary, to name
but a few. Virtually every country in Europe and the Commonwealth has a
church dedicated to St. George. The legends about St George spread far and
wide and it was claimed that near the town of Silene in Libya, a dragon
dwelt, keeping the population in terror. To satiate him the population
tethered an animal, until they had no more. They then provided human
sacrifices and in ultimate desperation, a young princess was selected, the
king's daughter named Cleolinda. The story then relates how St. George
rode up on his white charger, dismounted and fought the monster on foot;
until it eventually succumbed. He then dragged the dying monster into the
city, using the girdle of the Princess and slew the dragon in front of the
people. St. George was greeted as their saviour and the King offered him a
bag of gold as a reward for saving his daughter. This he refused and asked
that it be given to the poor. The story is a powerful allegory, emblematic
of the triumph of good over evil; but it also teaches of enduring
Christian faith in the extreme and the trust that at all times should be
placed in the Almighty by the invocation of the name of St. George,
Soldier, Saint and Martyr. St. George has in a manner become identified
with the idea of knighthood, and even in Elizabeth's days, Spenser, at the
beginning of his Faerie Queene, tells us of his hero, the Red Cross
Knight: But on his breast a bloody Cross he bore, The dear remembrance of
his dying Lord, For whose sweet sake that glorious badge we wore And dead
(as living) ever he adored. We are told also that the hero thought
continually of wreaking vengeance: Upon his foe, a dragon horrible and
stern.
King Edward III made him the Patron Saint of England when he formed the
Order of the Garter in St. George's name in 1350, and the cult of the
Saint was further advanced by King Henry V, at the battle of Agincourt in
northern France. Shakespeare made sure that nobody would forget St.
George, and has King Henry V finishing his pre-battle speech with the
famous phrase, ‘Cry God for Harry, England and St. George!’ King Henry
himself, who was both warlike and devout, was thought by his followers to
possess many of the saint’s characteristics. St. George’s Day is still
celebrated, and his flag flown, on his feast day, April 23rd all over
England. Shakespeare was born on St. George’s Day. 1564, and if the story
is to be believed, died on St. George’s Day, 1616. An appropriate end
perhaps for the man who helped to immortalise the Saint in English
tradition.
A spiritual quest is only possible if something has
happened to you without your knowing. It may be in love, it may be in
music, it may be in nature, it may be in friendship -- it may be in any
communion.
Something has happened to you that has been a source of bliss and it is
now just a remembering, a memory. It may not even be a conscious memory;
it may be unconscious. It may be waiting like a seed somewhere deep within
you. This seed will become the source of a quest, and you will go on
searching for something that you do not know. What are you searching for?
You do not know. But still, somewhere, even unknown to you, some
experience, some blissful moment, has become part and parcel of your mind.
It has become a seed, and now that seed is working its way through and you
are in quest of something which you cannot name, which you cannot explain.
What are you seeking? If a spiritual person is sincere and honest he
cannot say, "I am seeking God," because he does not know whether God is or
not.
And the word god is absolutely meaningless unless you have known. So you
cannot seek God or moksha, liberation -- you cannot. A sincere seeker will
have to fall back upon himself. The seeking is not for something outward,
it is for something inward. Somewhere something is known which has been
glimpsed at, which has become the seed, and which is compelling you,
pushing you, toward something unknown.
You cannot be free by obeying the rules. You cannot be free by
waiting for someone to rescue you. You cannot be free simply by hoping for
a brighter day tomorrow. Freedom comes from within. It does not come from
without. It does not come from a charismatic leader. It does not come with
a set of instructions. It does not come from being raised with doses of
discipline and dogma. It does not come from being given your freedom only
after you prove yourself to your parents, teachers, pastors, or other
authority figures. It does not come from any God who demands obedience
before He promises blessings (or threatens curses). It does not come from
delineated rights. It does not come from The Constitution. It is you from
whom freedom springs. It is you in whom freedom thrives. No one gave it to
you. Like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, your way home was with you all
the time. You just didn't realize it. Do you understand? You are freedom.
Contrary to that tiresome cliché, freedom is free.
The fame of St George throughout Europe was greatly increased by the
publication of the Legenda Sanctorum (Readings on the Saints), later known
as the Legenda Aurea (The Golden Legend) by James of Voragine in 1265. The
name 'golden legend' does not refer to St George but to the whole
collection of stories, which were said to be worth their weight in gold.
It was this book which popularized the legend of George and the Dragon.
The legend may have been particularly well received in England because of
a similar legend in Anglo-Saxon literature. St George became a stock
figure in the secular miracle plays derived from pagan sources which
continued to be performed at the beginning of spring. The origin of the
legend remains obscure. It is first recorded in the late sixth century and
may have been an allegory of the persecution of Diocletian, who was
sometimes referred to as 'the dragon' in ancient texts. The story may also
be a christianized version of the Greek legend of Perseus, who was said to
have rescued the virgin Andromeda from a sea monster at Arsuf or Jaffa,
near Lydda (Diospolis), where the cult of St George grew up around the
site of his supposed tomb.
Like the maiden of Arc who was the warrior priestess avenging the Carthers and liberating France from a hundred year war..
Jacques d'Arc, Joan's father, was a small peasant farmer, poor but not needy. Joan seems to have been the youngest of a family of five. All the witnesses in the process of rehabilitation spoke of her as a singularly pious child, grave beyond her years, who often knelt in the church absorbed in prayer, and loved the poor tenderly. Great attempts were made at Joan's trial to connect her with some superstitious practices supposed to have been performed round a certain tree, popularly known as the "Fairy Tree" (l'Arbre des Dames), but the sincerity of her answers baffled her judges. She had sung and danced there with the other children, and had woven wreaths for Our Lady's statue, but since she was twelve years old she had held aloof from such diversions.
It was around 1424, when she was 12, that Joan said she began to have visions of Saints Catherine and Margaret (two early Christian martyrs) and St. Michael the Archangel (identified in the Bible as the commander of Heaven's armies who led the war against Satan). Michael had been chosen in 1422 as one of the patron saints of the French Royal army (along with Saint Denis), and had long been the patron of the fortified island of Mont-St-Michel, which had been holding out against repeated English assaults.
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Although Joan never made any statement as to the date at which the voices revealed her mission, it seems certain that the call of God was only made known to her gradually. But by May, 1428, she no longer doubted that she was bidden to go to the help of the king, and the voices became insistent, urging her to present herself to Robert Baudricourt, who commanded for Charles VII in the neighbouring town of Vaucouleurs. This journey she eventually accomplished a month later, but Baudricourt, a rude and dissolute soldier, treated her and her mission with scant respect, saying to the cousin who accompanied her: "Take her home to her father and give her a good whipping."
However, at Joan's earnest entreaty a short campaign was begun upon the Loire, which, after a series of successes, ended on 18 June with a great victory at Patay, where the English reinforcements sent from Paris under Sir John Fastolf were completely routed. The principal aim of Joan's mission was thus attained, and some authorities assert that it was now her wish to return home, but that she was detained with the army against her will.
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No words can adequately describe the disgraceful ingratitude and apathy of Charles and his advisers in leaving the Maid to her fate. If military force had not availed, they had prisoners like the Earl of Suffolk in their hands, for whom she could have been exchanged. Joan was sold by John of Luxembourg to the English for a sum which would amount to several hundred thousand dollars in modern money. There can be no doubt that the English, partly because they feared their prisoner with a superstitious terror, partly because they were ashamed of the dread which she inspired, were determined at all costs to take her life. They could not put her to death for having beaten them, but they could get her sentenced as a witch and a heretic.
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The scene of her execution is vividly described by a number of those who were present that day. She listened calmly to the sermon read to her, but then broke down weeping during her own address, in which she forgave her accusers for what they were doing and asked them to pray for her. The accounts say that most of the judges and assessors themselves, and a few of the English soldiers and officials, were openly sobbing by the end of it. But a few of the English soldiers were becoming impatient, and one sarcastically shouted to the bailiff Jean Massieu, "What, priest, are you going to make us wait here until dinner?" The executioner was ordered to "do your duty". They tied her to a tall pillar well above the crowd. She asked for a cross, which one sympathetic English soldier tried to provide by making a small one out of wood. A crucifix was brought from the nearby church and Friar Martin Ladvenu held it up in front of her until the flames rose. Several eyewitnesses recalled that she repeatedly screamed "...in a loud voice the holy name of Jesus, and implored and invoked without ceasing the aid of the saints of Paradise". Then her head drooped, and it was over. Jean Tressard, Secretary to the King of England, was seen returning from the execution exclaiming in great agitation, "We are all ruined, for a good and holy person was burned." The Cardinal of England himself and the Bishop of Therouanne, brother of the same John of Luxembourg whose troops had captured Joan, were said to have wept bitterly. The executioner, Geoffroy Therage, confessed to Martin Ladvenu and Isambart de la Pierre afterwards, saying that "...he had a great fear of being damned, [as] he had burned a saint." The worried English authorities tried to put a stop to any further talk of this sort by punishing those few who were willing to publicly speak out in her favor: the legal records show a number of prosecutions during the following days. ******* |
The lion represents two things. One: it never moves in a crowd. It is
always alone, it loves solitude.
It is an individual, utterly an individual. It is not like sheep.
The sheep can exist Only with the crowd, with the mob. Alone it is very
frightened. Alone it is very nervous. It does not know what to do, where
to go. It depends on the crowd to be led, to be guided. And the irony is
that others are also dependent on the same crowd. So everybody is
dependent on everybody else thinking that others know better. They all
live in an illusion.
But that's the situation of the ordinary human being too. They live as
part of the mob psychology They don't have their own psyche yet. Hindu --
yes, Mohammedan -- yes, Christian -- yes But it is very rare to find an
individual. They can become Communistic very easily. That is another
crowd.
Warrior priestesses have to be individuals. Each worriour priestess
has to depend on herself. That's why I am not giving detailed instructions
to you . So you cannot depend on anything. You have to fall upon yourself.
Sometimes it looks cruel. But that's the only compassionate way to help:
Unless you are thrown back again and again, you are not going to be an
individual . You will remain part of a crowd.
You can change crowds, that's not difficult. You can change your
affiliations, your labels. But the basic thing is missing: You don't have
an independent soul.
The lion represents individuality.
And secondly The lion represents immense courage.
It never escapes from any challenge. It may die but It will not turn its
back.
It is better to die than to be a coward. To be a coward is a far uglier
phenomenon. Death is not ugly.
Death can be beautiful if you die courageously. If you die accepting a
challenge joyously, dancingly, As Socrates died, as Jesus died, as George
and Joan died, It is one of the most beautiful phenomena on the earth.
Death depends on you.
If you are a coward even life is ugly.
What to say about death? If you are courageous even death is beautiful.
So remember these two things.
Be an individual and be absolutely courageous... that's the way of warrior
priestesses : Individuality and courage.
Unless one is ready to risk all, one cannot find ...
Mysteries of symbol and place
In 1947, in caves along the shore of the Dead Sea, a cache of documents
was found which dated back to the time of Jesus. These documents were
apparently written by a community of Essenes who had lived in the area.
The documents had been hidden in the caves, presumably, in case the Romans
were to overrun the Holy Land during one of the many Jewish revolts.
Unlike the Nag Hammadi texts which were discovered only two years earlier,
the Dead Sea scrolls were not turned over to a scientific team for
translation, but a team of clergy and academics who seemed to want the
respect and admiration that they would receive from possessing the texts
more than they wanted to translate and share them. As a result, by 1977,
the Nag Hammadi Library had been translated and published. By 1987, ten
years later, the world was still waiting on the Dead Sea Scroll team, with
only occasional publications of certain documents or fragments during the
previous 40 years. In addition to the parchments, there were also 450
bronze coins (dating from 135BC to 136AD), an urn of anointing oil (made
from a plant which has been extinct for hundreds of years), and a metal
roll which has become known as the Copper Scroll. These texts show a very
different proto-Christian religion being formed than what is today the
Roman Catholic Church. From those that have studied the texts, it has been
proposed that the Essenes followed the teachings of Jesus and his brother
James, who may be the one referred to as the "Teacher of Righteousness" in
the texts. The Pauline Catholic movement was viewed as a perversion of
traditional Jewish teachings, as well as those of Jesus and James. It has
also been proposed that the original research team suppressed the
translation of the texts because some of the writing were in direct
conflict with Roman Catholic dogma. In the Son of God Scroll, the writer
explains that "Son of God" is a title used to represent the true Davidic
bloodline heir to the throne of Israel. A title that could be applied to
either Jesus or James, yet very different from the meaning assigned to
that title in Roman Catholicism. Probably the most profound discovery
among the Dead Sea scrolls was the Copper Scroll. A rolled scroll actually
made from a sheet of copper, it was so badly oxidized it had to be sliced
into strips to be opened. The Copper Scroll was a treasure map, listing
various precious metals and religious relics that had been buried
throughout the Holy Land to keep them out of Roman hands in case of
revolution. Some believe this list of treasures to be a forgery,as none of
the treasures have been found. Others believe carving instructions into a
sheet of metal using technology of 2000 years ago and then rolling the
item into a tube seems to be a little far to go for a joke. The Copper
Scroll ends by mentioning another copy of itself, possibly hidden in the
ruins of the Temple of Solomon. Excavations at the ruins of the Temple of
Solomon in the 1950's revealed that the Knights Templar also excavated
under the temple while stationed there during the Crusades, possibly for
the purpose of building their stables there. Its possible that the
Templars located not only the second copy of the scroll, but also managed
to locate a good portion of the treasures described within it.
Within the golden portal Of the garden of the wise, Watching by the seven
sprayed fountain, The Hesperian Dragon lies. Like the ever burning
Branches In the dream of holy seer; Like the types of Asia's churches
Those glorious jets appear. Three times the magic waters Must the Winged
Dragon drain Then his scales shall burst asunder And his Heart be rent in
twain. Forth shall flow an emanation Forth shall spring a shape divine,
And if Sol and Cynthia and thee Shall the charmed Key be thine.
II
In the solemn groves of Wisdom Where black pines their shadows fling Near
the haunted cell of Hermes, Three lovely flowrets spring: The Violet
damask tinted In scent all flowers above: The milk white vestal Lily And
the purple flower of Love. Red Sol a sign shall give thee Where the
Sapphire Violets gleam, Watered by the rills that wander From the viewless
golden stream: One Violet shalt thou gather— But ah—beware, beware ! — The
Lily and the Amaranth Demand thy chiefest care.
III
With in the lake of crystal, Roseate as Sol's first ray With eyes of
diamond lustre, A thousand fishes play A net within that water A net with
web of gold If cast where air bills glitter One shining fish shall hold.
IV
Amid the oldest mountains Whose tops are next the Sun, The everlasting
rivers Through glowing channels run, Those channels are of gold And thence
the countless treasures Of the kings of earth are rolled. But far—far must
he wander O'er realms and seas unknown Who seeks the Ancient Mountains
Where shines the Wondrous Stone.
There is a huge outdoor temple in the Languadoc region of France,
surrounding a "Pentacle" of Mountains and prominently featuring the hamlet
of Rennes-le-Chateau. This temple, according to the author, was built
using the English units of mile and rod. The "holy place" is a region
around the village of Rennes-le-Chateau in France, and what makes it holy
is that the churches, castles and ruins of the area are all aligned in
complex geometrical patterns, and the high points of land surrounding the
area are situated in the shape of a pentagon. The building sites are on
points that form an arrangement of pentagons, stars, circles, and grids.
Most of the book describes and illustrates these geographic and geometric
relationships, This book details a very strong case for a Geometrical
Conundrum, in this mountain region and the surrounding area, and there
seems to be a strong desire to "reveal" the existence of a conspiracy
surrounding the region, church..The Templars had dicovered these ancient
codes for mathematics and geography. They used this knowledge exclusively
for their own purpose i.e. building technics and the choice of locations
respectively. This in a lasting attemp to find the buried treasure. For
myself it is a treasure map of metaphysical proportions, because I have
had a similar dream as the serpents rouge and have been pursuing the
mystery of ''serpent, treasure, goddess'' archetypes. Like a Holy Grail
myth. It was this dream, among other things that awakened me to the
Christian Goddess.
'Gold in the crucible' was the end of this educative process. It was what
was left when all the dross in man's nature had been burned off in the
furnace of life's tests and experiences. What the alchemists called the
homunculus to be created in the laboratory was neither a kind of
Frankenstein's monster nor a delusion, but St. Paul's "new man" born of or
sublimated from the "old man" of unreformed and unenlightened habit. The
performers of the magnum opus (the 'great work') were not really the men
who had found the secret of making metallic gold, but rather those who
were completing the work of refinement carried out on one's self. Stairway
of the Sages is the suggestive title of an old book in this field. Despite
the piety and devotion of Nicolas Flamel (1330(?)-1417) and others like
him, the Church was opposed to alchemy because it recognized that this was
not just a search for commercial gold, but that it provided a channel for
the continued transmission of heretical doctrines. In his Subterranean
Physics (1669), Becher writes: False alchemists seek only to make gold;
true philosophers desire only knowledge. The former produce mere
tinctures, sophistries, ineptitudes; the latter enquire after the
principles of things. The alchemical gnosis or wisdom was based on the
correspondence between progressive stages of illumination and successive
material operations. The psychotherapist Carl G. Jung realized but one
aspect of the symbolism of alchemy when he delved into the subject and
equated it with twentieth century psychology (Psychology and Alchemy and
Alchemical Studies, Vols. 12 and 13 Collected Works of C. G. Jung,
Bollingen Foundation, Pantheon Books, New York); his association of the
glyphs with the processes taking place within the mind of the human being
was intuitive, but the full parallelism seems to have been broader and
deeper than he envisaged. He referred to Paracelsus as the first scientist
in psychology, and to his alchemical writings as providing very brilliant
insights into such phenomena as the basic bipolarity within each
individual. But some other commentators have maintained that Paracelsus'
references to the elixir of life and to gold are screens for his profound
esoteric doctrines. When Paracelsus says the philosopher's stone is white,
obtainable only after nine months' work, he seems to be pointing to the
quality of purity and also making an analogy with the gestation period:
the physical course is a perfect symbol for the spiritual one, though the
time cycle may be much greater for the one than for the other. Is this not
a variant of the myths of the Quest for the Holy Grail, with the Holy
Vessel a synonym for the philosopher's stone, as Caron and Hutin suggest?
(The Alchemists, Evergreen Profile Books, 1961. 192 pages.) They have not
been alone in this, nor in the pointer to Parsifal, with his similarity to
the Celtic Pair Cyffail, the Cup of Regeneration, to give added force to
the comparison. There is certainly a parallel between alchemical research
and the gnostic illumination of the earliest Christian as well as
pre-Christian communities:
HAJR-E-ASWAD Its a black stone. It is narrated that Prophet Adam (a.s.)
when he was in heavens, he used to sit on this stone and pray. When he was
sent down to this earth, the stone started crying. So Allah sent this
stone to the earth along with him. Angels put it at the place of Kaba. On
the day of judgement it will be a witness for those who have gone there
for Hajj and Omra. HAJR-E-ASWAD Its a black stone. It is narrated that
Prophet Adam (a.s.) when he was in heavens, he used to sit on this stone
and pray. When he was sent down to this earth, the stone started crying.
So Allah sent this stone to the earth along with him. Angels put it at the
place of Kaba. On the day of judgement it will be a witness for those who
have gone there for Hajj and Omra. The Black Stone: Another Hadith:
Tirmizi 98/2: " It was sent down from Jannah and its color was whiter than
milk but sins of sons of Adam has turned it to black.
The “unknown” through which he travels, then, would be the zodiac - the
Celestial Sea, also represented by the serpent. They reached me
separately, nevertheless they form a whole for him who knows that the
colors of the rainbow give a white unity, or for the Artist, who, under
his brush, is able to, from the six hues of his magic palette, make the
night spurt out. This passage refers to the peculiar property of the seven
colors of visible light, which, when combined, form a pure white light,
the radiance of divine illumination. This may be an allusion to the
alchemical language of light. When all of the major pigment colors are
added together, they form the opposite - black. The Grail has always
symbolized, in part, the essential unity of diverse aspects of the
universe in this manner, including the unity of opposites such as black
and white. The author of this poem seems to be saying that that Grail has
been broken into disconnected pieces and scattered about, like the pieces
of Osiris’ body, or the original language of the Tower of Babel.
The “rose” mentioned may be the “hidden sun” said to be within the tomb,
which is referred to metaphorically in occult ritual as a rose. It may
represent, in this instance, the “heart” of Mt. Cardou. If the prime
meridian of the ancient world passes through this point, this may explain
why it is called “the Roseline.” The reference to the “heart” which
“radiates the source of love for one another” identifies this “rose” with
the Sacred Heart symbol as well, which was used by the Priory of Sion
under their guise as the Hieron du Val d’Or. The Sacred Heart symbol is
further linked with the rose-cross, the Celtic cross, the ankh, and the
Venus symbol. All of these represent this concept of the center of the
Earth and the prime meridian.
This friend, how does one present him? His name remains a mystery, but his
number is that of a famous seal. “His name remains a mystery” because the
true Enoch is hidden behind many veils of myth, and is given many names.
The “seal” is the six-pointed seal of Solomon, this symbol also represents
the “Arka” and the world-mountain. How does one describe him? Maybe like
the pilot of the imperishable Ark... A direct reference linking the main
character to the Flood hero. … impassable like a column on a white rock,
scanning towards the South, where the black rock is. Here we have a
reference to a white rock and a black rock. The Grail stone is said to be
both white and black, and this will have a very particular significance
later on in the poem.(1) The Ark’s pilot standing “impassable” upon the
white rock may also refer to the mountain that the Ark rested upon when
the Flood subsided, like Mount Ararat in the Bible. In my arduous
pilgrimage, I was tempted to clear for myself, with a sword, a way towards
the inextricable vegetation of the woods. I wanted the reach the
mysterious house of the Sleeping BEAUTY in whom certain poets see the
QUEEN of a fallen kingdom.
But how many have plundered the HOUSE, leaving nothing but embalmed
cadavers and metal objects that they could not have taken. What strange
mystery is concealed within the new temple of SOLOMON, edified by the
children of Saint VINCENT? This is clearly a reference to the sacking of
Solomon’s Temple, the loss of the Grail, and the “ruined house” concept
discussed earlier. The “new” Temple of Solomon reference alludes to the
concept of regaining that which was lost. But it may also refer to
Rennes-le-Chateau, linking it symbolically with the Temple of Solomon. In
other words, Rennes-le-Chateau is the real “Holy of Holies”, where the
real “stone from Heaven”, and the bodies of the real “holy patriarchs” are
buried: the real “center of the Earth”, and the ideal location to build a
sacred temple, which I believe also exists within the mountains. The
writer seems to be describing a tomb that has been partially plundered
except for the bodies, and other objects that were too heavy to carry.
This may indeed be the case with the tombs beneath Rennes-le-Chateau.
This describes the “Herculean” task of finding the tomb of the
goddess-queen said to be buried in the Pyrenees. She embodies the goddess
archetype of Venus, the Sleeping Beauty. The symbols of the labyrinth and
the dense woods are identical and are often combined in other versions of
the Tomb of Venus tale. Nicholas de Vere writes in The Dragon Legacy that,
“Labyrinths were often placed in the center of groves. Sleeping Beauty,
Diana and Rapunzel’s tower were all located in the middle of groves or
thick woods.” And as the poem says, Venus was indeed a queen during the
golden age. That kingdom is now “fallen”, and it is that “fallen kingdom”
which the Priory of Sion wishes to revive. Worried about finding the way
again, the parchments of this Friend were for me like the thread of
Ariadne. Here we have a direct reference to the aforementioned labyrinth,
specifically the one built on Crete which is the center of the famous
Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. This labyrinth symbol repeatedly
comes up in connection to the Venus myth and the Holy Grail. The labyrinth
is often located inside the caverns of Venus’s enchanted mountain, or, as
in the Rapunzel story, can be entered through a tower that represents a
mountain. In fact in Scandinavia labyrinths are referred to as “Babylons”,
indicating that perhaps a labyrinth was located underneath the Tower of
Babel, like the labyrinths that have been found underneath South American
ziggurats and the pyramids of Egypt. There may then be one underneath the
mountains of Rennes-le-Chateau. As Nicholas de Vere states, “The
labyrinth, like the pyramid and its collaterals, is thought to be a
development of the idea of the mountain cave.” The chequered pattern, and
the game of chess itself, is associated with the Knights Templar, who
purportedly acquired knowledge of these things through their extensive
contact with Eastern mystics during the Crusades. The game of chess not
only represents the eternal battle between the forces of good and evil,
light and dark; it also represents something astrological. First of all,
the board’s outer ring consists of twenty-eight squares, which, as Michael
Schneider acknowledges in The Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the
Universe, represents the twenty-eight days of the lunar cycle. The king
and queen are solar and lunar symbols, : “The king, the most important
piece, represents the Sun of this solar system... traveling only one step
at a time, along both square and triangular lines, in any of eight
directions. The king is virtually hidden from the action, yet the entire
game revolves around it...The queen is the most powerful piece on the
board, having unlimited movement in any of eight directions of
manifestation... In another sense she is Regina Coeli, Queen of the
Heavens, the widely traveling moon which always reflects the light of the
Sun, the king.” Besides the king and queen, other pieces on the board also
have special significance. The four rooks, or towers could represent the
“four watchtowers” that divide the zodiac into four cardinal points, and
which were incorporated into the headdress of the goddesses Isis and
Diana, as well as Mary Magdalene. (In fact, a statue of Mary Magdalene
crowned with four towers can be seen just outside in the courtyard of the
church at Rennes-le-Chateau.) The black and white squares could be
considered alternating periods of day and night. The chessboard itself,
made up of four concentric rings of squares, resembles a “bird’s eye view”
of a four-stepped ziggurat, and thus represents the world mountain that in
the eyes of the ancients provided the axis along which the cosmos
metaphorically rotated.
The Chess Patronesses
St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahmada (1515-1582), was born into an
aristocratic Castilian family at Avila, and her biography notes that she
was known for her charm, affectionate exuberance, prudence and charity. At
the age of twenty-one Teresa entered the Carmelite convent of the
Incarnation. After twenty-five years or more of unreformed Carmelite life,
in 1562 Teresa founded the house of St. Joseph of Avila, with very strict
rules. She was famous in her time for her deep spiritual life, her
administrative skills, and her real intelligence. Theresa wrote many books
during her lifetime; among the most noted of which is the "Way of
Perfection" (circa 1565). It is in the "Way of Perfection" that Teresa
utilized perhaps the most famous of her analogies:
"I hope you do not think I have written too much about this already; for I
have only been placing the board, as they say. You have asked me to tell
you about the first steps in prayer; although God did not lead me by them,
my daughters I know no others, and even now I can hardly have acquired
these elementary virtues. But you may be sure that anyone who cannot set
out the pieces in a game of chess will never be able to play well, and, if
he does not know how to give check, he will not be able to bring about a
checkmate. Now you will reprove me for talking about games, as we do not
play them in this house and are forbidden to do so. That will show you
what kind of a mother God has given you -- she even knows about vanities
like this! However, they say that the game is sometimes legitimate. How
legitimate it will be for us to play it in this way, and, if we play it
frequently, how quickly we shall give checkmate to this Divine King! He
will not be able to move out of our check nor will He desire to do so."
"It is the queen which gives the king most trouble in this game and all
the other pieces support her. There is no queen who can beat this King as
well as humility can; for humility brought Him down from Heaven into the
Virgin's womb and with humility we can draw Him into our souls by a single
hair. Be sure that He will give most humility to him who has most already
and least to him who has least. I cannot understand how humility exists,
or can exist, without love, or love without humility, and it is impossible
for these two virtues to exist save where there is great detachment from
all created things."
Chess is a game that developed across ancient political borders. Chess is
not an endeavour that can be claimed by any one cultures God or Goddess.
It truly transcends all political notions of time and place. People
believed that although Chess is played by two physical human beings, it is
on a metaphysical plane that the pieces are moved. In this regard it is
archetypal and psycho-spiritual. Moreover, although the chessboard itself
seemingly is nothing other than a fixed block of wood, or marble, covered
by 64 squares, in fact it juxtapositions into an arena of creativity,
imagination, and sacred dance. In this regard it is alchemical and
transformative. Things are in constant motion and the state of the players
are altered forever.
Recovery of the feminine face of chess emerges with the debut of the
queen. Granted sweeping new powers though final modifications introduced
in late 15th Century Spain, the "new chess" of Renaissance Europe invokes
multiple reflections of a matriachal past. Through this mirror, the
profiles of formidable goddess archetypes cast their shape and substance
onto various facets of chess, while opening new horizons for the study of
its origins. Survey examinations of traditional goddess iconography and
its status in many exceptionally ancient board games (Mehen, Senet,
Pentagram, etc.) pose questions that seem to have been overlooked on
several fronts.
There exists a sacred balance in this precious Game. For the male and
female powers are shared. There is no dominant piece. For even the lowly
pawn is able to transform itself into the most regal of all pieces, the
Queen. Each and every piece has a male and female element. And together
they are able to navigate the entire surface of the black and white
covered board. No square is restricted to any one piece. It is open for
anyone to enter.
The.. Masonic chessboard queen.. seems to be an archetype.. wisdom is
associated with the pearl of great price which is a geometric solid.. and
also an archetype.. If you associate sacred geometry with the sacred
feminine and place these elements in the central myth of Christianity then
you can re-establish that the ancients included science in their religion,
and was not anti-intellectual.. Which means that the number seven in
reference to Mary Magdalene ties ancient science/magic to the King and
Queen of Christianity.. This gives a myth to the middle ages which has
been missing in the pursuit of rationalism verses the anti-intellectualism
of the inquisition..
So the number 7 would tie the persona Wisdom in Proverbs to Mary M... Her
soul transcending the seven spheres of the heavens. The number seven in
reference to Mary M, would also mean to restore balance. She is the
curves. Sacred geometry and divine male and female relations have balance
in common.. they describe balance and the concept of balance describes
them. Checkerboard -Symbol of the sphere of water, life water. Alternates
with net. Chevron -Double or triple V ( V is the Bird Goddess’s emblem
from Upper Paleolithic times, derived from a triangle i.e. pubic triangle,
vulva. A main sign in the sacred script of Old Europe). Circle, single or
concentric -A transmitter of the concentrated divine energy of the center,
related to the sacred ring dance. Crescent -Energy sign, symbol of
becoming, denoting the beginning phase of the lunar cycle. <<<<<<< In
dream symbols.. associating Mary M. with a geographical location also
associates Her with the earth. . hence, associating her with the mother
archetype. The treasure, is Divine knowledge unfolding itself. It is about
magic.. The importance and relevance is what Divinity does for us in order
to reveal itself. To truly approach the Divine, we must, transcend the the
idea of self, the tribe, even one’s culture and society for Divinity is
the summation of all, quite beyond society.
Just like we can show Mary Magdalene as the divine feminine through the
meaning of the number 7 in ancient cosmology and science.. we can also
show that Mary is Queen through the use of Her title.. that is Mary (tower
of the flock).. or Mary of Bethany.. She is the only person associated
with Jesus who is called by a title representing a geographical location.
THIS IS PROFOUND! the reason being, a title is like a flag.. it represents
clans and territories. the purpose of a flag is to show a group, usually
associated by blood, within certain geographical boundaries. A title is
the very nearly the same thing in a political sense. They are symbols from
their familial, ethnic and national cultures. What is the last name
meaning and family coat of arms of my family history is a common question.
The family coat of arms will show the motto and crest {if it has one} of
your family genealogy. Titles represent boundaries and mating. Titles are
something that provides a basis for or justifies a claim; A legitimate or
alleged right. Titles are a formal appellation attached to the name of a
person or family by virtue of office, rank, hereditary privilege, noble
birth, or attainment or used as a mark of respect. They are a demand for
something as rightful or due and provide a basis for demanding something
claimed in a formal or legal manner, especially a tract of public land.
They represent a demand for payment in accordance with a policy or other
formal arrangement. Mary Magdalene is given a title this way because it
represents a household on the Queens side.
women will be restored to their place as the original healers, and when
this occurs they shall lead the way. The role of the men as the spiritual
warriors in this new time is to protect the sacred space of women so they
can do their work. When these things are done, the pendulum of imbalance
will stop for the first time since the beginning of time.<<<< >>>>The
Elders say, “nothing is created outside until it is created inside first.”
In the belief system of ancient man, it was the cosmos, and the heavenly
bodies contained within it, that controlled man’s fate. The chessboard
symbolizes an astrological mosaic of fate’s possibilities. On the board
there are six different types of pieces, and these six types of pieces can
move in any of eight directions (the four cardinal points, and the four
diagonal points). That there are sixty-four possibilities is fitting,
since there are sixty-four six-part “codons”, or “genetic words” in human
DNA. There are also, notably, sixty-four hexagrams in the Chinese
divination system known as I-Ching. The relationships between the pieces
on the chessboard form, as Michael Schneider suggests, “...lines of force
composing an energy web”, like the web of the spider goddess Arachne,
whose eight legs can be likened to the eight directions on a chessboard,
as well as the eight squares that are on each side of the chessboard’s
outer ring. Schneider writes that, “The chessboard, the spider’s web...
and the I-Ching each in its own way represents the world’s opposite forces
weaving the eight-fold ‘elements’... the warp and weft of matter’s web.”
The Web of Arachne, or the “Web of Fate”, was also likened by Nicholas de
Vere to the Buddhist eight-spoked Wheel of Life, and to the Tarot’s
eight-spoked Wheel of Fortune, which both seem, in this context, to be not
unlike Sleeping Beauty’s spinning wheel, which controlled the fate of an
entire kingdom.
The mandala idea originated long ago before the idea of history itself. In
the earliest level of India or even Indo-European religion, in the Rig
Veda and its associated literature, mandala is the term for a chapter, a
collection of mantras or verse hymns chanted in Vedic ceremonies, perhaps
coming from the sense of round, as in a round of songs. The universe was
believed to originate from these hymns, whose sacred sounds contained the
genetic patterns of beings and things, so there is already a clear sense
of mandala as world-model.
The word mandala itself is derived from the root manda, which means
essence, to which the suffix la, meaning container, has been added. Thus,
one obvious connotation of mandala is that it is a container of essence.
As an image, a mandala may symbolize both the mind and the body of the
Buddha. In esoteric Buddhism the principle in the mandala is the presence
of the Buddha in it, but images of deities are not necessary. They may be
presented either as a wheel, a tree, or a jewel, or in any other symbolic
manifestation. The origin of the mandala is the center, a dot. It is a
symbol apparently free of dimensions. It means a 'seed', 'sperm', 'drop',
the salient starting point. It is the gathering center in which the
outside energies are drawn, and in the act of drawing the forces, the
devotee's own energies unfold and are also drawn. Thus it represents the
outer and inner spaces. Its purpose is to remove the object-subject
dichotomy. In the process, the mandala is consecrated to a deity. In its
creation, a line materializes out of a dot. Other lines are drawn until
they intersect, creating triangular geometrical patterns. The circle drawn
around stands for the dynamic consciousness of the initiated. The outlying
square symbolizes the physical world bound in four directions, represented
by the four gates; and the midmost or central area is the residence of the
deity. Thus the center is visualized as the essence and the circumference
as grasping, thus in its complete picture a mandala means grasping the
essence.
The relationship between music, moves, pattern and geometry is one that
occurs naturally - yet the awareness of this can lead to greater insight
into the art of Oriental dance. Dance and religion - areas so often seen
as polarities of the other - are linked through manifestation of shape and
symbol; a universal articulation.
Sacred
geometry exists in dance - spacial shape-making, creative lines and
movement that affect our senses, understanding and perception of the space
we inhabit. Like nature and science, dance and music have their roots in
organic pattern that is part of a natural geometry or underlying
structure. Sacred geometry is based on cosmology. To understand cosmology,
we must first define a cosmos. A cosmos, by definition, presupposes an
underlying order to the universe. Cosmology is the study of the universial
creative principles and energies that begin with a centre point - or point
of creation and then grows from the centre via a point of departure - we
see this in the growing embryo, flowers, snowflakes and stars.
The study of this cyclic,
numerical order known as cosmology began evolving thousands of years ago,
with the first quest for knowledge of the workings of the universe
explored through the cyclic forces of nature by various nature worshipping
cults and societies; the Pharonic dynasties, pagans and goddess revering
religions, to the more recent religious sects of Buddhism, Hinduism,
Taoism and Islam. Today, some of the most prolific sacred geometry exists
in Islamic art. More than merely decorative art, the Islamic scholars
studied the laws and patterns of the cosmos to create art that brings
sacred cosmology to the spectator as well as the artist.
The Freemasons have been know to refer to God as the Grand Geometrician of
the Universe, and Masonic teachings are thick with geometric allegory.
Geometry, is, in the most basic sense, earth measurement, and the
Freemasons, as ‘traveling men’ would have to know a thing or two about
earth measurement in order to navigate their way in their travels.
As a
very basic science, earth measurement antedates Freemasonry and
Christianity. Obviously there were those ancients who were aware of the
spherical nature of the earth to include its approximate size, well before
this knowledge was common. Any who preserved such knowledge when it might
have been considered heretical would certainly want to keep it a secret
from the Holy Inquisition. History tells us that the builder of the
Jerusalem Temple was Hyrum of Tyre. Tyre, of course, was populated by the
Pagan Phoenicians. The Phoenicians, as traders, were the ‘traveling men’
of their day and Phoenician navigators, architects and geometricians who
designed the Jerusalem Temple may well have known the true nature of the
earth allowing them to align the pillars and holy of holies to significant
celestial events such as the rising of Venus in the east. Other Pagans had
similar knowledge as evidenced by the alignment, design and proportion of
their Temples and sacred structures.
This
knowledge was probably preserved by those who found it useful, builders
and navigators, in the face of later church opposition to such Pagan
science.
What is common for the beauty of a sculpture, picture, simphony, poem,
etc? Is it possible to compare the beauty of the temple to the beauty of a
nocturne? It appears it is, provided the unified criteria of beauty are
found. Among many proportions there is one having unique properties. This
proportion is called: "golden section", "golden ratio", "golden number"
and "golden mean".. The golden section- a precise way of dividing a line,
music or anything else-is showed up early in mathematics. It goes back at
least as far as 300 B.C., when Euclid described it in his major work, the
Elements. Moreover, the Pythagoreans apparently knew about the golden
section around 500 B.C. The oldest examples of this principle, however,
appear in nature's proportions, including the morphology of pine cones and
starfish. Further more, "The golden section is thought by some people to
offer the aesthetically most pleasing proportion." The Golden Proportion,
phi, has been observed to evoke emotion or aesthetic feelings within us.
The ancient Egyptians used it in the construction of the great pyramids
and in the design of hieroglyphs found on tomb walls. At another time,
thousands of miles away, the ancients of Mexico embraced phi while
building the Sun Pyramid at Teotihuacan. The Greeks studied phi closely
through their mathematics and used it in their architecture. The Parthenon
at Athens is a classic example of the use of the Golden Rectangle. Plato
in his Timaeus considered it the most binding of all mathematical
relations and makes it the key to the physics of the cosmos. During the
Renaissance, phi served as the "hermetic" structure on which great
masterpieces were composed. Renowned artists such as Michelangelo,
Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci made use of it for they knew of its
appealing qualities. Evidence suggests that classical music composed by
Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach embraces phi. Pythagoras (560-480 BC), the
Greek geometer, was especially interested in the Golden Section, and
proved that it was the basis for the proportions of the human figure. He
showed that the human body is built with each part in a definite Golden
Proportion to all the other parts. Pythagoras' discoveries of the
proportions of the human figure had a tremendous effect on Greek art.
Every part of their major buildings, down to the smallest detail of
decoration, was constructed upon this proportion. The Parthenon was
perhaps the best example of a mathematical approach to art. Throughout
history, the ratio for length width of rectangles of 1.6180339887... has
been considered the most pleasing to the eye.The Greek sculptor Phidias
sculptured many things including the bands of sculpture that run above the
columns of the Parthenon. There are golden rectangles throughout this
structure which is found in Athens, Greece. Phidia widely used the Golden
Ratio in his works of sculpture. The Golden Section, also known as Phi, is
manifested in the structure of the human body. If the length of the hand
has the value of 1, for instance, then the combined length of hand +
forearm has the approximate value of Phi. Similarly the proportion of
upper arm to hand + forearm is in the same ratio of 1: Phi . The human
face abounds with examples of the Golden Section. The head forms a golden
rectangle with the eyes at its midpoint.The mouth and nose are each placed
at golden sections of the distance between the eyes and the bottom of the
chin.Phi defines the dimensions of the human profile. Even when viewed
from the side, the human head illustrates the Golden Proportion. The human
body is based on Phi and the number 5.The number 5 appendages to the
torso, in the arms, leg and head. 5 appendages on each of these, in the
fingers and toes and 5 openings on the face.The human body illustrates the
Golden Section or Divine Proportion, also.The Divine Proportion in the
Body : The DNA cross-section is based on Phi.A cross-sectional view from
the top of the DNA double helix forms a decagon. A decagon is in essence
two pentagons, with one rotated by 36 degrees from the other, so each
spiral of the double helix must trace out the shape of a pentagon. The
ratio of the diagonal of a pentagon to its side is Phi : 1.So, no matter
which way you look at it, even in its smallest element, DNA, and life, is
constructed using phi and the golden section!
The DNA molecule, the program
for all life, is based on the Golden section. It measures 34 angstroms
long by 21 angstroms wide for each full cycle of its double helix
spiral.34 and 21, of course, are numbers in the Fibonacci series and their
ratio, 1.6190476 closely approximates Phi, 1.6180339. There are many
examples of the Golden Section or Divine Proportion in Nature. For
example,the eye, fins and tail all fall at Golden Sections of the length
of a dolphin's body. Phi is frequently expressed in many of Nature`s
creations, and by varying the angle between adjacent radii, a number of
Natural spirals and leafshapes can be created. The Fibonacci numbers form
the best whole number approximations to the Golden number. Plants
illustrate the Fibonacci series in the numbers and arrangements of petals,
leaves, sections and seeds.Plants that are formed in spirals, such as
pinecones, pineapples and sunflowers, illustrate Fibonacci numbers. Many
plants produce new branches in quantities that are based on Fibonacci
numbers. The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the oldest structures on the
face of the Earth. The exact number of stones was orginally estimated at
2,300,000 stone blocks weighing from 2-30 tons each, with some weighing as
much as 70 tons. the length of side OD (0.78615), when multiplied by 4
yields an amount (3.1446) that is almost exactly equal to Pi (3.1416).
This finding means that the 38010' right triangle offers a unique and most
interesting point of intersection between the Pi ratio and the golden
ratio phenomenon. How this unexpected agreement comes to be is that : As
we saw in the 38010' right triangle, 0.618034 ÷ 0.78615 = 0.78615. This
means, that 0.618034 = 0.78615 x 0.78615. Therefore, 8 x 0.618034 is the
same as 8 x 0.78615 x 0.78615; As we also saw, 4 x 0.78615 is a very close
approximation for Pi . Therefore,2*Pi can be said to equal 8 x .78615. For
the circumference of the circle using 0.78615 as its radius, we then have
C =2*Pi*R = (8 x 0.78615) x 0.78615 .As a result, the Great Pyramid turns
out to have the same perimeter length when measured in a horizontal plane,
as a square, and in a vertical plane, as a circle.
In the 16th
Century, Luca Pacioli (1445-1514), geometer and friend of the great
Renaissance painters, rediscovered the "golden secret". Luca Pacioli,
however, was a great admirer of the Golden Section, as evidenced by the
name of his treatise, Divina proportione, which actually comprises three
independent works ( 1509 ). At the beginning Pacioli places the Compendium
de divina proportione, the book about the Golden Section, which Pacioli
dedicated to Duke Lodovico Sforza of Milan in December 1498. The learned
Franciscan Pacioli finds five attributes of God in this special
proportion, the first four of which are unity and uniqueness, trinity, the
impossibility of defining in terms of human ratio, and the immutability.
In the fifth, functional comparison Pacioli sets the "divine proportion"
in relation to the Platonic quintessence: As God confers being to the
celestial virtue, called by the other name 'fifth essence', and through
that one to the other four simple bodies, that is, to the four earthly
elements. ..and so through these to every other thing in nature. Thus this
our proportion is the formal being of (according to Timaeus) heaven,
attributing to it the figure of the solid called Duodecahedron, otherwise
known as the solid of twelve pentagons. In the rest of the first book,
Pacioli describes in detail the geometrical attributes of the "proportion
having a middle and two extreme ends", in medieval words used also by
Pacioli. He does not advance the field of research in his discipline, does
not give any advice or thought about the practical application in the
pictorial arts. In fact Pacioli's achievement consists more in diligent
compilation than in scientific originality. Of course the Compendium is
not architectural theory, but Pacioli himself wrote probably by c.1509 in
Venice a small Tractato de l'architectura, published in the Divina
porportione as the second book. His connection with architecture dates
from his time in Rome, when he was Alberti's guest for months. Later in
Urbino between 1472 and 1474, he had an occasion to meet Francesco di
Giorgio Martini and Bramante, and in Milan (1494-1499/1500) he
collaborated with Leonardo. At Milan Pacioli and Leonardo quickly became
close friends. Mathematics and art were topics which they discussed at
length, both gaining greatly from the other. At this time Pacioli began
work on the second of his two famous works, Divina proportione and the
figures for the text were drawn by Leonardo.
Leonardo
da Vinci (1451-1519) was one of the greatest inventor-scientist of
recorded history. His genius was unbounded by time and technology, and was
driven by his insatiable curiosity, and his intuitive sense of the laws of
nature. Da Vinci was dedicated to discovery of truth and the mysteries of
nature, and his insightful contributions to science and technology were
legendary. As the archetypical Renaissance man, Leonardo helped set an
ignorant and superstitous world on a course of reason, science, learning,
and tolerance. He was an internationally renowned inventor, scientists,
engineer, architect, painter, sculptor, musician, mathematician,
anatomist, astronomer, geologists, biologist, and philosopher in his time.
Ever the perfectionist,
Leonardo turned to science in the quest to improve his artwork. His study
of nature and anatomy emerged in his stunningly realistic paintings, and
his dissections of the human body paved the way for remarkably accurate
figures. He was the first artist to study the physical proportions of men,
women and children and to use these studies to determine the "ideal" human
figure. Unlike many of his contemporaries -- Michelangelo for example --
he didn't get carried away and paint ludicrously muscular bodies, which he
referred to as "bags of nuts." All in all, Leonardo believed that the
artist must know not just the rules of perspective, but all the laws of
nature. The eye, he believed, was the perfect instrument for learning
these laws, and the artist the perfect person to illustrate them.
"...no
human inquiry can be called science unless it pursues its path through
mathematical exposition and demonstration." -Leonardo Da Vinci
Leonardo had for a long time displayed an ardent interest in the
mathematics of art and nature. He had earlier, like Pythagoras, made a
close study of the human figure and had shown how all its different parts
were related by the golden section. Leonardo's unfinished canvas Saint
Jerome shows the great scholar with a lion lying at his feet.A golden
rectangle fits so neatly around the central figure that it is often said
the artist deliberately painted the figure to conform to those
proportions. Knowing Leonardo's love of "geometrical recreations" as he
described them, this is quite likely. Looking back to classical themes and
techniques for their inspiration, artists of the Renaissance like
Michelangelo (1475-1564) and Raphael (1483-1530) once more began to
construct their compositions on the golden ratio. The proportions of
Michelangelo's David conform to the golden ratio from the location of the
navel with respect to the height to the placement of the joints in the
fingers. The Medieval builders of churches and cathedrals approached the
design of their buildings in much the same way as the Greeks. A good
geometric structure was their aim. Inside and out, their buildings were
intricate constructions based on the golden section.
Square/circle dual module was the design principle of the “Eighth Wonder
of the World.” Almost one and a half thousand years since its construction
in the center of ancient Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia has divulged the
secret of its design principle. Istanbul/Bern/Heerbrugg, July 14, 2004 –
Almost one and a half thousand years since its construction in the center
of ancient Constantinople, the Hagia Sophia has divulged the secret of its
design principle. Volker Hoffmann, professor at the Institute for Art
History at the University of Bern, deciphered this using state-of-the-art
3-D laser technology. Some of the first laser evaluations are to be shown
for the first time in mid-July 2004 in Istanbul at the Congress of the
International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS). Due
to its vast dome, which appears to be floating almost weightlessly over
the open main room, the cathedral erected at the commission of emperor
Justitian in the late antiquity period was regarded as the eighth wonder
of the world. The “Aya Sofya” was built in a period of just six years
between 532 and 537 AD according to the plans drafted by the mathematician
Anthemios von Tralles and the architect and structural engineer Isidoros
von Milet. However, the plans to this highly significant building and what
is today a UNESCO world cultural heritage site have always remained lost
without trace. For hundreds of years, experts have tried to fathom out
just how these scientists and artists working in the 6th century managed
to construct a freely suspended dome measuring almost 56 meters high and
31 meters wide, supported only by four pillars. Considering the technical
facilities available at the time of its construction, many experts still
regard this building even to this day as one of the boldest feats of
construction to have ever been achieved by human hand. The “impossible
task” of determining the dimensions “The key experience on entering the
main room through the emperor’s gate, which immediately presents itself in
full view exposing its full width and height up to the vertex of the huge
dome, is the impossible task of finding a clear relationship to the
dimensions and an accurate calculation of the dimensions. This phenomenon,
which was intended by its architects, is produced by the spatial
structure, the apparent weightlessness of the dome, and the bewildering
abundance of direct and indirect lighting effects”, writes the guide Marco
Polo. Thanks to the work of the Bernese art historian, insights into these
dimensions and their consistent application by the architects and builders
of the day are now available.
Constructional wonder of the world from one to one point zero six the
entire design of the Hagia Sophia is based on an analemma. This is a
projection technique that had already been described by Ptolemaeus, which
involves subsequently a square and circle and overlapping and penetrating
each other three-dimensionally in the form of a cube and sphere. For the
Hagia Sophia, , Anthemios and Isidoros had devised a crossed-over
double-square analemma as a uniform design shape for the ground plan and
the elevation of the cathedral. After performing 3-D laser measurements in
the Hagia Sophia, and the technique known as reversed engineering to
decipher a “master plan” what is now some 1470 years later. It is based on
a height-width ratio of 1 to 1.06 of the small square to the larger
square.
“there are no building plan related points or lines in the Hagia Sophia
that cannot be deduced from this master plan using geometric logic.”
Ingenious design principle
reconstructed This design and building principle of the Hagia Sophia is
truly ingenious. “Putting it simply, it can be said that the master plan
was marked out with pegs and strings on the building site, meaning that
the master builder then only had to measure in the double square, which in
turn allowed him to transfer across very precisely all the other points
(pegs) and lines (strings and/or lines of bearing) of the Hagia-Sophia
architectural elements”, To date, nobody had uncovered the secret of the
design principle used in this building devoted to Divine Wisdom, the Hagia
Sophia. That was until Volker Hoffmann, together with his employee
Nikolaos Theocharis, finally succeeded in deciphering it using
state-of-the-art 3-D laser measurement techniques some 1470 years later.
Just
like the entire Hagia Sophia, the south wall is also based on the
dimensions of a figure of circles and squares.
The original Rose sat 100 yards or so from the Globe. Both were on the
south side of the Thames, and safe from Puritan prosecution, in a small
village surrounded by meadows, with London and St. Paul’s Cathedral in the
background. The taverns, brothels, and bear-baiting venues immediately
surrounding the playhouses mostly sat on land belonging to the Church of
St. Mary’s (the Bishop of Winchester not having the same scruples as the
Puritan city), and was known as ‘the clink.’ The gardens surrounding our
Rose will evoke the rural/urban atmosphere of the Elizabethan south bank,
but we will probably give the bear-baiting and brothels a miss. It is
related to phenomena as diverse as the petal arrangements of roses, the
breeding patterns of rabbits and the shape of our galaxy. The Golden Mean
(phi=1.618) is a system of proportion derived from the pentagon that
underlies organic life and natural patterns of order. Pythagoras in the
seventh century BC found that tuned strings sound in harmony when their
lengths are related by proportion. Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, Bach,
Beethoven, DNA, viruses, and quasi-crystals all pulsate to the Golden Mean
ratio. It is a universal system linking natural phenomena with
mathematics, music and art. Philosophers and artists alike are naturally
drawn to it, for in many ways it is the pulse of the universe. …In the
human body there is a kind of symmetrical harmony between forearm, foot,
palm, finger, and other small parts; and so it is with perfect
buildings…Propriety is that perfection of style which comes when a work is
authoritatively constructed on approved principles. It arises from
prescription, from usage or from nature. - Vitruvius, Ten Books on
Architecture “Of all the incommensurable proportions, the most elegant and
efficient way to achieve harmony is the Golden Mean. The Golden Mean
proportion appears in nature constantly, from sunflowers, apple blossoms
and daisies in the plant world, to spiral shells beneath the seas. The
spirals of pinecones exhibit this proportion as do artichokes, pussy
willows, and pineapple husks. Many of the proportions of the human body
also conform to the Golden Mean. The tradition of rendering the human body
in this ratio dates back to Egyptian times The Golden Ratio is a
captivating journey through art and architecture, botany and biology,
physics and mathematics. It tells the human story of numerous phi-fixated
individuals, including the followers of Pythagoras who believed that this
proportion revealed the hand of God; astronomer Johannes Kepler, who saw
phi as the greatest treasure of geometry; such Renaissance thinkers as
mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci of Pisa; and such masters of the modern
world as Goethe, Cezanne, Bartok, and physicist Roger Penrose. Wherever
his quest for the meaning of phi takes him, Mario Livio reveals the world
as a place where order, beauty, and eternal mystery will always coexist.
When the Phi or Golden Mean Spiral is laid on the donut, the shape of all
pressures which survive, it makes a 7 Color Map Moebius Strip. The shadows
of that 3D spiral as it tilts to the angles which would allow the donut to
nest, are the ABC's. These elements of symmetry are the only language
light pressures ever had. Tilt to fit spin, and the permission to touch
among waves was called "word". ProperABC's make symbols in the brain
psychokinetic, like a sound hologram beating up on an optical hologram.
The heart's muscle is arranged in seven spiral layers exactly in the tilt
of the seven arrows through a tetrahedron. This is the universes maximum
symmetry spin shape. According to the wratcheting tilt of the voltage
donut converging at the heart, the muscles squeeze the blood different
tilt angles. The result is that the heart does not pump the blood, but
rather squeezes out messages to the body in nests of vortices. The eddies
carry sonic impressions to the thymus, which when ecstatic or coherent
make the tinkertoys wave lengths fit which we call an immune system. This
is the Alphabet of the Heart.
When we can let go of things
we have been carrying around, whether it is a belief system that we need
to change, formed at an earlier stage of our life, or a painful experience
that has prevented us from moving forward. The past is only showing up so
that we may forgive others and ourselves and release the fear or sadness
that we have been holding onto within our core.
We need to pass through times of darkness in order to learn the value of
spiritual consciousness. When our life becomes blinded by despair, all our
efforts seem unsuccessful; those are the moments when we need to hold
fast. When we have a thing, we do not realize the lack of it. For instance
when a person rolls in luxury, it is very difficult for him to imagine the
misery of poverty. Same is it when we have great spiritual consciousness
in us we do not appreciate what misery, what unhappiness, its absence can
create in a soul.
Ludwig Boltzmann is known to
us as the first to provide a probabilistic, statistical interpretation of
entropy. This is simply the tendency of everything in the Universe to cool
to a minimum energy or temperature --- known as thermal equilibrium. The
route to this second law of thermodynamics is via increasing disorder in
the organisation of energy and matter.
The current symmetry-breaking from the initial condition leads therefore,
from a highly symmetrical, ordered and energetic state towards the
opposite, an asymmetrical, disordered and lower energy one; from a low
entropy to a higher entropy present and future.
The great paradox of the second law then, is the evident, increasingly
complex, emergent and hierarchical order we see all about us. How is this
ordered, structured information (expressed in constantly oscillating
patterns of matter and energy) allowed to coalesce and persist from this
tendency towards the random --- towards increasing entropy?
Dynamical systems theory also deals with probability and can therefore
allow us to synthesise thermodynamics and so-called "Chaos", (which is
really a highly complex form of hierarchical, enfolded order that appears
to be disorder). The really interesting area here though, is the entities
at the transition zone between ordered, stable systems at equilibrium
(maximum entropy) and "disordered" (but complex) and unstable Chaotic
(minimum entropy) ones. According to the Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine,
these far from equilibrium dissipative systems locally minimise their
entropy production by being open to their environments --- they export it
in fact, back into their environments, whilst importing low entropy.
Globally, overall entropy increase is nevertheless preserved, with the
important caveat that the dissipative system concerned often experiences a
transient increase (or optimisation) of its own complexity, or internal
sophistication, before it eventually subsides back into the flux.
This is known as the region of alternatively, Emergence, Maximum
Complexity, Self-organised Criticality, Autopoiesis, or the Edge of Chaos.
(Nascent science debates nomenclature routinely - and appropriately, in
this case, the crucial point being that they are all different terms for
essentially the same phenomena.)
Lifeforms, ecosystems, global climate, plate tectonics, celestial
mechanics, human economies, history and societies, even consciousness
itself - all manifest this feedback-led, reflexive behaviour; they
maximise their adaptive capacities by entering this region of (maximum)
complexity on the edge of Chaos, whenever they are pushed far from their
equilibrium states, thereby incrementally increasing their internal
complexity, between occasional catastrophes.
Remarkably, this transition zone is mathematically occupied by The Golden
Mean. This ratio acts as an optimised probability operator, (a
differential equation like an oscillating binary switch), whenever we
observe the quasi-periodic evolution of a dynamical system. It appears in
fact, to be the optimal, energy-minimising route to the region of maximum
algorithmic complexity, and to be a basin of attraction for the edge of
Chaos.
Plato's definition of the logos, as the "proportion" which was
commensurate in square, which best squared the circle, or presented a
unity that was more than the sum of its parts.
this imperative behind form
(as static, precipitate matter resulting from dynamic flows of energy) is
the result of the way nature minimises energy waste (entropy production),
also known as the principle of least action - and that one way of
mathematically representing this behaviour appears to be analogous to the
dynamical behaviour of the Golden Mean.
So how does nature manifest this limiting principle in a way that still
allows for the immense emergent complexity we see, or to put it another
way, how can we demonstrate that least action acts as an attractor for
Complexity and self-organising emergence, by symmetry-breaking to lower
energy states, towards the edge of Chaos?
All fractal forms, inert (clouds, landscapes, galaxy clusters) or animate
(plants, animals), are self-similar scaled copies of an original; chaotic
systems (climate, the solar system, the stock market) also always possess
this fractal quality, but taken to the paradoxical extreme of having
infinite trajectories within a finite boundary. To produce these forms, a
recursive feedback regime must be operating. Feedback (encoding
similarities) underlies the entire subject,
The Golden Mean, or Phi for short, (as a ratio) must have been fractal in
nature. By extension, it seemed plausible that Phi may also have been
embedded in higher dimensional, dynamical systems as an attractor of some
kind, since complex dynamical systems always have a fractal temporal
structure as they evolve over time.
A major clue leading to the above interpretations can be seen in the fact
that Phi is simultaneously both an arithmetic and geometric expansion of
itself and One of the simplest possible kind. This immediately places it
in both the linear (arithmetic progression) and non-linear (geometric
progression) realms, and as an effective bridge, operating between the
two.
Virtually every aspect of fractal geometry and type of dynamical system
can be expressed by variations upon the simple quadratic iterator:
X = X**2 + c
which expresses the particular type of feedback being examined, Phi can be
expressed by a related but more archetypal variation to derive the
Fibonacci series:
X[n+1] = X[n] + X[n-1]
which incrementally gravitates towards a particular ratio which possesses
unique qualities. Numerically, it can be derived from the relation:
(1 + sqrt(5))/2.
For example, if one diminishes Phi by Unity you derive its reciprocal.
Additionally, Phi is the unique ratio that fulfils:
1/Ø + 1/Ø**2 = 1
in other words, Phi is also the only possible geometric and arithmetic,
expansion and partitioning of One.
People say, 'Let us enjoy ourselves and be happy; there
is plenty of sorrow in the world without choosing to mourn,' and they
strive after happiness in whatever way they can. But these passing and
momentary joys do not give lasting happiness, and the people who pursue
them are either asleep or dead. The soul's true happiness lies in
experiencing the inner joy, and it will never be fully satisfied with
outer seeming pleasures. Its connection is with God, and nothing short of
perfection will ever satisfy it. ... Everybody has an ideal in life, and
that ideal is the religion of his soul, and coming short of that ideal is
what we term sin. The thoughtful and serious-minded man repents in tears
for his shortcomings, and thus proves himself to be alive, while the
shallow man is angry at his fall, and is ready to blame those who seem to
him to have caused it.
In the Bible it is said that no one will enter the kingdom of God whose
soul is not born again. Being born means being alive. It is not only a gay
disposition or an external inclination to merriment and pleasure that is
the sign of a living soul. External joy and amusement may come simply
through the external being of man. However, even in this outer joy and
happiness, there is a glimpse of the inner joy and happiness, and that is
a sign of the soul having been born again. What makes the soul alive? It
makes itself alive when it strikes its depths instead of reaching outward.
The soul, after coming up against the iron wall of this life of falsehood,
turns back within itself; it encounters itself, and this is how it becomes
living.
Magi, Magic, Myrrh, Frankincense, Star of Bethlehem
V and M symbolism is connected to the shadows cast by Venus rising in the
east as the Morning Star, Eastern Star or Shekinah. In temples oriented to
the rising of Venus in the 40-year Venus cycle, these shadows would be
cast by either the doorways or pillars erected outside the doorways. Often
the light of Venus penetrating the interior of the Holy of Holies on it’s
40-year Venus cycle was taken as an omen of the feminine form of the Deity
joining the male form in the marriage bed of the Holy of Holies. This
penetration of the Holy of Holies was often taken as indicative of the
presence of God with the nation and could be a portent of an important
event such as the birth of a Messiah who might be named "God is with us"
or victory over an enemy. The Bible is thick with cycles of 40, be it days
or years.
The Magi saw
a celestial marker - archetype of creation. They followed the star
traveling from east to west just as the kings of ancient Egypt had moved
from east to west when were buried - then ascended to the land of the gods
... just as the sun moves from east to west each day. Who were these Magi?
Why did the storyteller give them this name? The word Magi comes from an
Indo-European root meaning great, exalted, raised up. Many English words
coming from the same root, such as magic, magnificent, majesty, master,
megalith, and even magnetics, still retain some of this original sense.
The word 'Magi' is also the plural form of the word magus (from old
Persian 'magu') which designates a member of an ancient Near Eastern
priestly caste. These were the priests - Initiates - whose time lines
moved from Egypt and the ancient Mystery School teachings, to Mesopotamia,
to Persia and Zarathustra / Zoroaster. These priests held the sacred
knowledge of creation, that which humanity has sought for generations and
which are presently called sacred geometry. This is about myth and
metaphor that began with Isis (Star - Birth - Creation - Rebirth) linked
with Sirius and Osiris linked with Orion and the story of our creation
based on male-female union. This represents the balance in all things -
the reunion of our male-female counterparts at this time. This is about
the Priesthoods - the Sacred Castes - the Initiates - the Watchers - the
Guardians of the Secrets - those of the Light vs. those of the Dark who
try to steal the secrets that would enable them to control the destiny of
Man. This lead to the creation of many Sacred/Secret Orders and
Knighthoods which have always existed both in the Public and as Hidden
Societies whose names and agendas repeat through recorded history. This is
all about the Priests - the Magicians - the Trickster - the Metaphors -
the Truth - linked to Male Energy polarities. According to the dialogue
'Alcibiades', ascribed to Plato, the Persian Magi were priests, who
practiced a form of spiritual mysticism which was their religion. In the
Orient, tradition favors twelve Magi - 12 being a number linked to Sacred
Geometry of creation Forming grid programs of eXperience - matriX - Xmas
'X' - As is above, So is Below - Hermes Trismegistus - Hermes The Magician
- Magic - Magi There are many metaphors linked to the story of Three Magi
who came from the East to adore the newborn Jesus. The truth about the
Magi, the Star, and this souls who descended to guide us are only known to
the Storyteller who continues to write us each a new story every day as we
experience through the matriX of third dimension. Catholics celebrate the
visit of the Magi with the Feast of the Epiphany - January 6th. There is
no mention of the number of the Magi who came to pay homage to Christ. The
idea that the Magi were three in number may have grown from the number of
gifts - gold, frankincense and myrrh - offered to the infant Christ. Gold
is a metaphor for alchemy - a transition from the physical to the
non-physical where life is eternal as we are spirit and there is no Time!
The giving of gold, frankincense and myrrh - the Trinity - 3 into 1
metaphor - Pyramid/Cone Reference. For thousands of years, the aromatic
gum resins of East African Frankincense and Myrrh have been harvested to
supply the demands of old civilizations, many faiths and for medical uses.
They run in the tandem with that of man's evolution. They were once
considered life-line to spiritual and physical health and well-being. They
continue to excite the imagination and are probably the most famous
aromatics of all time. Myrrh was used to prepare the body of Jesus for his
tomb. STAR OF BETHLEHEM The Star of Bethlehem has been a sign associated
with the Magi. This light is a metaphor for the flame of creation. Some
people feel that this light was a comet. Based on its movement it could
have been a shooting star rather than a fixed star. Adrian Gilbert in his
book Magi: The Quest for a Secret Brotherhood writes that the 'Star of the
Magi', which allegedly guided them to the stable in Bethlehem, was the
great conjunction of the two large planets Jupiter and Saturn. This
conjunction lasted on and off for several months. A celestial event is
oftentimes the precursor to the fulfillment of a prophecy from god about
great change on the planet and for humanity in general. This celestial
sighting must have been part of a prophecy of the birth of a great
prophet/ king who would change the thinking of the world forever. As the
years passed, the traditions about the Magi became increasingly
embellished. By the 3rd Century they were viewed as kings. By the 6th
century they were referred to by the names: Bithisarea, Melichior, and
Gathaspa. Some even associated them with Shem, Ham and Japheth - the three
sons of Noah - thus with Asia, Africa, and Europe. According to medieval
legends, the three wisemen were named Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar. Each
of them came from a different culture: Melchior was Asian, Balthazar was
Persian and Gaspar was Ethopian, thus representing the three races known
to the old world. These three priest-kings and wisemen brought royal gifts
to the divine infant: gold, frankincense and myrrh. Melchior brought a
golden cup, which, according to legend, was preserved by the Blessed
Virgin Mary and was the same cup used in the institution of the Holy
Eucharist. Balthazar brought a gold box of frankincense. The gift of
frankincense symbolizes the Godhead of Christ and our own gifts of honor
and reverence to our indwelling Divinity. Gaspar brought a curiously
chased flask of myrrh, a royal embalming oil. The gift of myrrh is a
prophecy of the death and burial of the earthly body of Christ, which
represents our understanding and empathy for the suffering of humanity.
The gift of gold symbolizes the kingship of Christ, which represents our
own true royal Selfhood and our giving of love and service as directed and
commanded by that Self. The word Epiphany comes from the Greek meaning 'to
appear' or 'to be shown forth'. According to Roman Catholic tradition,
Epiphany signifies the first appearance of Christ to the gentiles in the
story of the visit of the three wisemen to the divine infant Jesus. As the
three wisemen represent all the known peoples of the world, this signifies
an appearance to the entire world, not just a few who call themselves
Christians. Each of us has a unique and essential part in the work of
returning to wholeness - return of a savior. The evidence of the guiding
star in our own lives may not be so fantastic as the Biblical story. True
magic is a very subtle thing. A still small voice, a teacher in our
dreams, a waking vision, or a kinesthetic feeling of numinous presence is
all we may perceive in the way of guidance. Very often, these revelations
are more disturbing than helpful at the start. Yet these sometimes, very
subtle promptings and guidings can lead us closer and closer to the
epiphany of the Light within us. In Carl Jung's The Seven Sermons to the
Dead - he describes the star in terms of a light guiding the soul into
this repose.
'In the
immeasurable distance there glimmers a solitary star on the highest point
of heaven. This is the only God of this lonely one. It is his world, his
pleroma, his divinity... This star is man's god and goal. It is his
guiding divinity; in it man finds repose. To it goes the long journey of
the soul after death; in it shine all things with the brilliance of a
great light. To this One man ought to pray. Such a prayer increases the
light of the star. Such a prayer builds a bridge over death. It increases
the light of the microcosm; when the outer world grows cold, this star
still shines.' This star is thus the interior light of the Self, the
light-spark of divinity in each of us, the star that guided the wisemen to
Bethlehem, the star that guides us to our own awakening and birth of the
infant of light within us. So, as we celebrate the season of Epiphany, may
that star guide us to that altar within each of us and prepare us for the
showing forth, the Epiphany of the Light, 'Till you stand where the One
Initiator is invoked, till you see your star shine forth.'
For centuries men have sought to discover the treasure of the Templars,
but it has never been found, nor is anyone sure what it was. Did the
Templars find the legendary treasure of the Temple of Solomon in
Jerusalem? Was it a fabulous treasure trove of another kind? Was their
'treasure' a mere smokescreen for the possession of some arcane knowledge,
was it pearls?
the story of Jesus, Mary and the bad guys...is like the story of Adam, Eve
and the serpent.. that's the world we live in.. If geometry is everything
else besides, God/dess and our better halves, then perhaps it is the
serpent of time and choas in the world that best reveals God/dess.. Sacred
geometry reveals a God/dess that cannot be divided... ever...just like
counting can never end in a largest number. If God is all things then all
things will be well. So were does evil come from? from other numbers, it
does not exist in God/dess as one.. but it does exist when we see God/dess
in contrast to the apparent contridiction of evil.. but this is a lesser
truth then God/dess as one.. all the numbers are self generating from the
simpler numbers. The yin/yang is two, but dynamic and in equalibrim.. the
trinity is principles of operation, like space, time, motion.. It is not
new knowledge so much as it is something we all know intuitively. Because
the Creator created us to have children sexually then Jesus as """God/dess
message to humanity""" must naturally reflect this.
>>As with the Chakral Energy bodies, the Hebrew Soul is in seven levels.<<
God/dess, the universe or natural philosophy, and the organism.. medicine
and biology.. can all be unified into a logic framework through the first
7 numbers.. God is one.. and two.. and three... 4,5,6,7.. Universe is
one.. and two.. and three... 4,5,6,7.. Body is one.. and is two.. and
three.. 4,5,6,7... As above so below.. small mind, great mind.. Not that
the numbers are holy, but they are archetypes.. they express a relation
rather then standing alone.. Reflection is explaining.. intuitively.. not
saying that words or even numbers can explain God/dess. The thing is
though we are trapped making models of reality and we can have a more
liberating vision by expressing God/dess as including all of the physical
plane and life.. nothing is dead.. no dead rocks.. no dead atoms..
everything alive and expressed in a God/dess that is one in unity yet
transcends the number one through all created beings.
All of which leaves us asking, what has this to do with the Grail? it
seems likely that the Grail is not just a mere object, however sacred. for
C.G. Jung, the Grail was no less than the principium individuationis, that
in us which strives to realize itself and become conscious. the Grail is
preeminently "the mystery of regeneration."
the Grail is a nonphysical structure within the human organism. "We have
within us an intuitive sense, an apparatus that brings in totally clean
information" from the psychic airwaves. This nonphysical apparatus, which
overlays the central nervous system, is the Grail. "Grail is the French
word, a platter from which you can take anything you want," "You can take
anything you want off of your consciousness structure." this structure is
in some ways similar to the meridians known to Chinese medicine, but
unlike them, its structure can be altered. When your right brain
consciousness structure is working right, it is in the shape of a grail or
a rose. it is feminine and intuitive and open..
high prayer & deep meditation is an even higher and deeper level of 'thinking' and will illuminate the lower levels*
These are separate realms and we live in all 3.. the lower realm of the rational is subject to robin hood behavior on our part for survival in these dark ages.. as is illustrated by the parable of the unjust steward.. the middle realm is subject to long suffering for obtaining spiritual gifts.. as is illustrated by the parable of the unjust judge and several other parable of Jesus.. and the Higher realm is unattached to our individual behavior and is the ground of being.. and is illustrated by the parable of the workers waiting in the market, each receiving an equal sum from the master of the vineyard for their various labors..
The highest realm is experienced directly and is called mystic.. and the unspeakable
Wherever the Merovingian
family spread in Europe, (eventually over most of what is now Germany
and France right into the Spanish foothills), a friendly climate was
created for expatriate Jews (and apparently later, Moors as well). Many
Hebrew family-names appear in their generational records. Their tribal
laws, codified in the 5th century BCE as the Salic Code, have recently
been shown to be derived from a section of the Talmud. This is the tribe
who joined with Mary Magdalene when she fled with her children after the
crucifixion. In every statue and icon from this tradition, she is
portrayed with her child on her lap, and because her shrines nearly
invariably are built upon spots traditionally sacred to the ancient
Goddess, there is no reason to separate her significance from earlier
incidences of the Great Mother tradition.
In my opinion, the "lineage line" of Mary as an Apostle is at least as
important to the unfolding of history and culture as is her bloodline.
Whether or not there was a child or children to intermarry with the
Merovingians is a moot point. What is important is that Mary Magdalene,
first Apostle, carried the Sacred Christian teachings to Europe, and it
is that "line" that has proved potent and spiritually fertile, even
despite the Catholic Church's best efforts to wipe it out.
The Response from Rome
Apparently the early Roman church suspected that the story of the
Magdalene's arrival in Europe and the establishment of a bloodline was
true, because in 496 a Merovingian ruler named Clovis made a pact with
the Bishop of Rome, that Rome would convert to the Merovingian form of
Christianity. This pact bolstered the Roman church immensely because of
it's linkage to this charismatic royal family. The Church pledged to
uphold this family as it's special patrons, and serve as the secular
administration of it's spiritual authority as the Church of the Holy
Family. But within a few generations, the church regretted this pact,
and embarked upon a campaign which led to the assassination of the last
Merovingian king, Dagobert II. Within a decade, a new king was
designated by the Church in the brand-new sacrament called "coronation
and anointment," a blatant imitation of ancient Jewish coronation
ceremonies. The supposed authority for this creation of "instant
royalty" was drawn from a document forged for the occasion, the Donatin
of Constantine, and from this time forward the Pope certified the
coronations of all the kings and queens of Europe, eventually
undermining all political and ecclesiastical power which had accumulated
in the Merovingian bloodline.
In terms of the dissemination of the Gnosis, other families and
bloodlines were involved as well; the Merovingians do not have the sole
claim on the so-called "holy blood"! What they had was the foresight to
create a contract with the Pope at a politically sensitive time, which
put their lobbying for special status in the historical record. However,
popes change, and with them the winds of fortune, so their "special
status" was usurped anyway. The importance of this family in history is
their perpetuation of the feminine Apostolic Gnosis, which provided
fertile ground for a merging with the feminism of Celtic Christianity
and the Arthurian Grail mythos during later centuries.
I myself do not wish to
restore the Merovingain line in a physical sense. I do wish to restore
Christianity. What is important for me it the proof of Jesus' marriage to
Mary M. so that we can establish our Goddess in every area of Christian
theology. That is Mother Mary and Mary M. are the personification of our
Christian Goddess. (although we need to add more imagery to their lives,
for ourselves..) the chessboard does hold clues to proving Jesus' and
Mary's marriage, through ancient science and politics.. The male is
whatever balances the female.. circle,square.. house of David, House of
Bethany (Magdalene.. being ""the tower of the flock"") The catholic church
and organized religion has a long history of killing saints ( like George,
Joan, and the Brave Knights).. and then stealing the meaning of their
lives and symbols by canonizing them into the their traditions.. Just the
same as Jesus spoke of the Scribes and Pharisees being whitened
tombs full of dead men's bones, who garnish graves and murder the
prophets.. To me the whole mythology is about the victory of the higher
consciousness over the lower chakras of the reptilian brain... It is about
ALL of us becoming sensitives..
A similar perspective comes from the Prayer of the Heart if one carries
out this prayer properly, "one senses a kind of chalice opening upward. .
. . The chalice represents the spiritual development of man. The first
sphere is formed at the level of the chest. . . . The second sphere is
compressed at the level of the throat. And the third sphere opens in the
head."
The chalices depicted in the icons of the Orthodox Church, "represent the
science of those people who have learned how to direct their energy. They
are able to feel the chalice in themselves and to watch the transformation
of the energy as it takes place."
Does the Grail mystery ultimately lie in the Eucharist; if it were, why
would it have so often seemed dangerous and heterodox to ecclesiastical
opinion? Perhaps because a popular interpretation holds that the Grail --
sometimes called the Sangreal or "Holy Grail" -- isn't an object as such.
Instead it refers to the sang real or "royal blood." The 'Holy Blood, Holy
Grail' interpretation, holds that the true Sangreal is the lineage of
Jesus Christ himself. His children, borne through Mary Magdalene,
eventually came to constitute the Merovingian dynasty of the Frankish
kingdom. The perpetuation of this bloodline -- and its restoration to the
throne of France -- has supposedly been the preoccupation of a mysterious
secret society called the Prieuré de Sion or Priory of Sion, which has
enlisted the help of various other secret societies throughout the
centuries, including the Templars and the Rosicrucians.
the source of the Grail is that strange mixture of Celtic and Christian
beliefs that developed in the west of England and Ireland before the
Empire crumbled. It was defended by Arthur, and almost brought by him on
to the stage of European history at just that juncture when the politics
of the Empire would have allowed a completely new direction, a completely
new version based on the inner teaching of the Christian mysteries.
By the eighth century, the time of Charles the Great, Rome had established
her death grip on the religious community, and Charles, out of guilt, or
through the trickery of the Pope, allowed himself to accept the Imperial
Throne from the hands of the Patriarch of Rome. The fraudulent Donation of
Constantine, which supported the temporal power of the Church, clinched
the situation. From that point on, Rome was locked in a desperate struggle
against the various gnostic survivals, some of whose claim to be the real
"Church" was considerably better than Rome's. To admit any other claim was
to lose the position of defender of orthodoxy; for if there were many
churches, than Rome was not THE church, catholic and universal.
This power struggle would color the next seven hundred years, ending
finally with Luther's thesis nailed to the door of the seminary. That
rupture could not be healed, even by the sword. In the Grail, we see, even
at this late date, the radiant quality of that early church. The
importance of the Grail, for us now, as we plunge into the next cycle of
spiritual evolution, lies in its symbolic nature. Within the Grail can be
found a synthesis of all western mystical and magical traditions. It is
the source of that underground stream of meaning that flows through the
occult and esoteric teachings of the last two thousand years.
The Grail legends proper arose at the precise moment in history when the
Catholic Church was formulating the doctrine of transubstantiation. The
idea that the Grail contained the Real Presence of Christ must have been
very much in the minds of Chrétien and the authors of other Grail
romances.
the Grail is the heart, illumined and awakened so that it may serve as a
receptacle for divine energies. To this inner transformation, even the
Eucharist is only a preliminary; hence the discomfort churchmen have
always felt around the concept. Yet the Grail mystery ultimately lie in
the Eucharist. Indeed one way of interpreting the Perceval is that the
lance and grail in the procession are images of the broken world of the
Fall, which is to be redeemed in the Eucharist; and the Perceval ends with
an explanation of the mystery of the Eucharist.
"there are not many such people" who have awakened their inner centers in
this way, and "in general the process is a very difficult one." If this is
the case, it would explain one of the central themes in the Grail mythos:
that many are called but few are chosen. It would also explain why the few
successful candidates are those who are pure of heart, for the heart must
be pure before it can be illumined.
the Grail tradition, which is connected with a knightly quest -- the way
of the warrior. The legends arose in this chivalric setting and faded as
the knightly world gave way to modernity. I think it is no accident that
the legend of the Grail crystallized in this context. Chivalry, which
attempts to elevate the heart of the warrior, to dedicate it to high
ideals, and to blunt the edges of violence, was the solution.
What exactly did the Grail represent? For one thing - it was a visible,
tangible symbol of an alternative apostolic succession. The abuse of and
loss of the Grail was the most keenly felt, tragic loss, that marked the
start of the Dark Ages
Emporer Constantine adopted the "christian" which means annointed - faith
and sought to fashion the Bible to show the Jews as a false faith and the
bad guys because the people in the Roman population would not worship a
God of a concord people. He also had to alter the teachings of Jesus to
adapt to accepted Roman customs the masses enjoyed and he had to take the
blame of the death of Jesus and place it in the Jews hands - otherwise how
could the Romans justify it. All this was done because at the time he
became emporer he was a co-ruler and he decreed a law against persecution
of the Christians and make it a capital offence. He then baited the
co-regent, and when the co-regent persecuted the Christians, Constitine
had the co- ruler killed and assumed full power. He never accepted the
Christian faith personally until on his death bed and that was so the Pope
(a relative) he installed could hold the power of the church while his own
family held the political power. His mother though was a Christian.
The Medieval Catholic church claimed the priesthood authority through the
apostle Peter. It was important to them that they be the only church that
could claim such authority. But the Celtic church claimed equal authority,
also by a direct line direct from the Lord. They claimed their authority
through Joseph of Arimathea and through the apostle John. At the famous
synod of Whitby, 't was never questioned that the Celtic beliefs came from
John. The issue was just whether the weight of the Roman church implied
their claims were more important.
The Holy Grail, according to many, is the priesthood authority, as
preserved in a far flung corner of the Lord's vineyard, away from the
corruption of Rome. When it was lost it was sorely missed. The legends of
Arthur and the Grail were to enshrine the resistance of many peoples to
the authority of the Holy See.
The belief in the English Celtic church was that they traced their
authority back directly to Christ, without going through Rome. Indeed,
Malmesbury (in about 1125) refers to Glastonbury as a "second Rome". Some
go even further, and believe that the evidence shows that the British
church was far older than that of Rome, and built on stronger foundations.
So it was all the more important for these traditions, once absorbed by
the medieval church, to be changed into a simple story of a cup, just
another relic. (there is a similar story to the rosary) It was essential
to the medieval church that Christians should not be reminded of what they
had lost.
IN REALITY MARY IS APOSTLE TO THE APOSTLES AND SO OCCUPIES NOT ONLY THE
MESSIANIC LINEAGE BUT ALSO THE APOSTILIC SUCCESSION CLAIMED AS ONLY
THROUGH PETER BY ROME.
Catholic tradition claims that Peter was the first Bishop of Rome, or
Pope. Many base this teaching on the writings of the Ante-Nicene fathers.
Those who promote this idea quote Eusebius of Ceasarea (a personal friend
of Constantine the Great) as solid proof that Peter was sent to Rome in
A.D. 42 and remained as Bishop for twenty-five years, until A.D. 67. “But
this viewpoint is not without distinct problems. About the year A.D. 44,
Peter was in the council at Jerusalem (Acts 15). About A.D. 53, Paul
joined him in Antioch (Galatians 2:11). About A.D. 58, Paul wrote his
letter to the Christians at Rome in which he sent greetings to
twenty-seven persons, but never mentioned Peter.”3 If Peter were the
Bishop of Rome, you would think that the letter Paul wrote would have been
to Peter or at least would have included him. But it didn’t! "In the Roman
Republic, the Pontifex Maximus (in English, High Priest or Supreme
Pontiff) was the head of the polytheistic Roman religion. His was the most
important of the Pontifices (plural of Pontifex), positions in the main
sacred college (Collegium Pontificum), which he directed." "The Pontifex
was not simply a priest. He had both political and religious authority. It
is not clear which of the two came first or had the most importance. In
practice, particularly during the late Republic, the office of Pontifex
Maximus was generally held by a member of a politically prominent family.
Being Pontifex Maximus was not a full-time job and did not preclude the
office-holder from holding a magistracy or serving in the military." "The
Pontifices were in charge of the Roman calendar and determined when leap
days needed to be added to match the calendar to the seasons. Since the
Pontifices would often be politicians, and because a Roman magistrate's
term of office corresponded with a calendar year, this power was prone to
abuse: a Pontifex could lengthen a year in which he or one of his
political allies was in office, or refuse to lengthen one in which his
opponents were in power. It was under his authority as Pontifex Maximus
that Julius Caesar introduced the calendar reform that created the Julian
calendar." And the Gregorian Calendar was created by Caesar’s successor to
the office, Pope Gregory XIII in the year 1582. It seems the duties of
Pontifex Maximus haven’t changed much over the years. "After Caesar's
assassination in 44 BC, his ally Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was selected as
Pontifex Maximus. Though Lepidus eventually fell out of political favor
and was sent into exile as Augustus Caesar consolidated power, he retained
the priestly office until his death in 13 BC, at which point Augustus was
selected to succeed him and given the right to appoint other pontifices.
With this attribution, the new office of Emperor was given a religious
dignity. Most authors contend that the power of naming the Pontifices was
not really used as an instrumentum regni, an enforcing power. From this
point on, Pontifex Maximus was one of the many titles of the emperor. Even
the early Christian emperors continued to use it; it was only relinquished
in 382 by Gratian." From this, it would appear impossible for Peter to
have held the office of Pontifex Maximus, Pontiff or Pope, as from 13 BC
until 382 AD the title was an office of the Roman Emperor, and Peter was
never the Emperor of Rome. Another problem is Peter’s martyrdom. The
earliest Peter could have been martyred would have been in A.D. 67-68.
This is, according to Eusebius, based on his traditional twenty-five year
ministry. However, another early writer, Lactantius, wrote that Nero
“fixed Peter to a cross”. This would have been shortly after A.D. 64 when
Nero accused the Christians for the burning of Rome. This fire happened
several years before Peter’s traditional twenty-five-year ministry ended,
and most historians agree that the persecution of the small Christian
church in Rome took place the same year as the fire. If tradition is
sketchy about Peter being the Bishop of Rome, what does the Bible
indicate? The scriptures do state that Peter called himself an elder (1
Peter 5:1). But they don’t state he was an elder or bishop of any specific
city. Peter may have preached at Rome, and may have even started the
church in Rome, although the Bible seems to indicate otherwise. Peter’s
commission was to go to the “lost house” of Israel, which was probably
scattered throughout much of the Roman Empire, but his commission was not
to go to the gentile city of Rome (Matthew 10:5-6). The fact remains that
the Holy Bible never refers to Peter as the Bishop of Rome. Basically,
many of the early Christian writers were politically motivated to promote
Rome as the center of Christianity. By using the argument that Peter was
Bishop of Rome, which was purely based on tradition, the Roman bishop was
installed as the religious leader of the empire under Constantine, and was
reinstated in his preeminence after the division of the empire around A.D.
378. This tradition became the basis for the Catholic doctrine known as
the “Primacy of Peter,” “Primacy of the Pope,” or “Papal Primacy.”
Constantine the Great united the Roman Empire under the banner of
Christianity around A.D. 312. In doing so, he merged sun worship, which
was the Roman state religion, with Christianity. While he is given credit
for Christianizing the empire, he wasn’t baptized himself until his death.
Under Constantine’s reign, the Bishop of Rome was elevated to a supreme
position of power and influence. He was also given the emperor’s palace.
Initially, Roman pontiffs claimed preeminence over the church solely
because Rome was the capital of the empire. However, power was slowly
diverted to the eastern leg of the empire, and the Roman pontiff’s
political clout began to quickly erode. The Bishop of Rome needed to
somehow reclaim his authority and prestige. He strongly reasserted his
claim: he was the direct successor to Peter who had primacy over the
church and possessed the keys to the mysteries of heaven. This idea of the
primacy of Peter evolved into the modern day Catholic doctrine of “Papal
Primacy”. The idea of the primacy of Peter stems from the belief that
Jesus gave special authority to the Apostles, beginning with the Apostle
Peter. This teaching is based on the scripture in which Jesus said, “You
are Peter (Grk: petros), and on this rock (Grk: petra) I will build My
church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth
will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19). The doctrine of papal primacy boldly asserts
that Peter is the foundation of the church; that he was given the keys to
the mysteries of heaven; and that all Popes follow him in succession as
head of the church. But in truth, “it was not until the time of Calixtus,
who was Bishop of Rome from 218 to 223, that Matthew 16:18 was used in an
attempt to prove the church was built on Peter, and that the Bishop of
Rome was his successor.”4 And it wasn’t until after A.D. 378 that the
Pope’s authority was based on the doctrine of papal primacy. While several
Popes claimed the possession of primacy over all other churches, Pope Leo
(440-461) went even further. “According to Leo, Peter was ‘the Rock’ on
which the Lord built His church. His successors, the Popes, were merely
His temporary and mystical personification. In virtue of his office, the
Pope had the plenitude of power over the universal church: He was its
supreme ruler, its supreme teacher, and its supreme judge. All other
bishops only shared in his responsibility for the whole church.”5 Pope Leo
made his claim good and all following Popes have built upon this
fundamental Catholic doctrine. The Apostle Peter never claimed his primacy
over the other Apostles. In fact, Peter said, “Shepherd the flock of God
which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly,
not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade
away” (1 Peter 5:2-4). Notice that Peter does not claim to be the Chief
Shepherd. Also, he refused to allow Cornelius, a gentile convert, to show
deference to him by bowing down at his feet (Acts 10:25-26)…very unlike
the Bishops of Rome.
Yet there is a deeper lesson to be derived from the Grail legends, which
harks back to the essence of the mythos: that the Grail is the illumined
heart. Few of us are going to be knights or warriors, but we do retain the
possibility that our emotions, refined and purified by insight and
integrity of purpose, can form a chalice into which divine energies can
flow. Like the Grail itself, this ideal may seem remote, elusive, and
unattainable. Yet, as the old legends suggest, there is something in the
very quest for it that may serve as its own justification and reward.
A myth stands in relationship to mankind in general as a dream does to the
individual. A dream shows the individual an important psychological truth
about himself. A myth shows an important psychological truth that applies
to mankind as a whole. A person who understands a dream understands
himself better; a person who grasps the inner meaning of a myth is in
touch with the universal spiritual questions life asks all of us. To most
modem men, however, the word myth is almost synonymous with falsehood or
illusion. This is because of the misguided idea that myths were the
childish way ancient man had of explaining natural phenomena that science
explains so much better. But certain psychologists and anthropologists are
now helping us see myth in another light, to understand that mythology
reflects underlying psychological and spiritual processes taking place in
the human psyche.
Each version of the Grail story, while conforming to a central root idea,
is yet possessed of a certain individuality of its own. It is as though
the authors were continually repeating in their strange language the same
message, ever striving to vary the symbolism, and to give forth the hidden
knowledge each time under a difterent veil.
Throughout the stories appear mysterious hints as to the "Secrets of the
Grail," of which no man may speak for fear of wrath save at the fitting
time and place, lest great hurt should come upon those who have done no
harm.
In most of the romances the Grail and Dove issue from a mysterious inner
chamber, into which they eventually return. This inner chamber is the
Secret Sanctuary of the heart- refer to the High Priestess.
Finally, as to the real meaning of that mysterious title "the Fisher
King," it will be seen in "Elucidation" that the loss of the Court of the
Rich Fisher is equivalent to the loss of the Word--symbolizing the Rebirth
of the Soul.
THE VIRGIN The Latin word for ocean ("mar") is nearly identical to "Mary".
In English we might miss the connection, but in the romance languages of
Spanish, French, or Italian, the connection is obvious. Coincidence?
THE CASTLE OF THE FISHER KING...THE GRAIL MAIDEN
The Grail is the heart, illumined and awakened so that it may serve as a
receptacle for divine energies. For most of us, the Grail is a mirage or a
rainbow's end. We may catch a glimpse of it, but if we allow ourselves to
be led in its direction, we soon find that it recedes; if we steal a few
steps closer, it disappears. And so the Grail has become the
quintessential metaphor for all that is beautiful but unattainable.
The Grail is, or becomes, all things to all seekers. Perhaps it is best
seen as a state of mind, one in which the numinous exists in sharp and
bright detail, while the mundane becomes charged with significance and
meaning. If The Castle, or Temple of the Grail is the Garden, then the
Angel of the Fiery Sword becomes a Grail Knight. And to enter one must
simply ask: "Whom does the Grail Serve?" We are talking of nothing less
than the redemption of the human condition, the true promise of
Christianity, reneged on by the Church and forgotten by all but those who
take up the Quest.
the symbolism throughout the Grail romances is both continual and
consistent; everywhere it tells the same story, the story of the concealed
mysteries ..symbolizing the Rebirth of the Soul. The Grail is all things
to all people, and to all it is The Mystery. Omnia quia sunt, lumina sunt.
The work of enlightenment is partly to make conscious and whole the
divided and conflicting parts of ourselves, to experience a gesalt or
awakening, and wake to the eternal unity that underlies all things. To
awaken to the unity of the self is the great goal, the Pearl of Great
Price, the object of our deepest longings. It is this possibility that is
manifest by the masculaine/feminine nature of our eros and psyche.
For both men and women, to look honestly at romantic love is a heroic
journey. It forces us not only to look at the the beauty and potential in
romantic love but also at the contridictions and illusions we carry around
inside of us at an unconscious level. Heroic journeys always lead through
dark valleys and difficult confontations. Yet, if we realize that life has
been beautifully designed, we will come to know the light of the Spirit,
and we will begin to live in peace.
If you find the wound in an individual or a people, there you also find
their path to healing, and it is in our healing that we come to truly know
ourselves, our expanses and falls. Romantic love, if we truly undertake
the task of understanding it, becomes such a path to higher conciousness.
If we free ourselves form atuomatic assumptions and expectations we will
not only find a new awareness of our relationships but also of ourselves
and God.
In the light of the Spirit, we see that we are all playing out roles that
are the fulfillment of an exquisite and all encompassing plan. To
recognize this is to step out of conflict into grace.
This is why no matter what else we may do or pursue in our lives, love is
always our highest goal, our farthest reach, our most passionate quest.
That is because in our hearts we know that in this world of sorrow and
betrayal, love is what we have to hold on to. Only love can make our
hearts sing in even the deepest of darkness, can let our souls come to
peace in the midst of even the most tremendous travail. Love is the only
thing we will take with us when we walk out of this life.
Everything that we are-personality, body, emotions, achievements,
reputation, bank accounts, friendships, trophies, Academy Awards, gold
medals, houses, furniture, parents and children, even memories and great
expectationii-will all pass away. Only love, the beautiful light, will
remain. For love is the light that calls us into being and awaits us when
we have stepped our last curtsy across life's stage. Love is the mystical,
unconditionally all-affirming Yes. Love is being itself, consciousness
itself, the energy which itself is the substance and essence of life.
When we find ourselves in that moment of transcendental magic where we
discover our myth, how and where it intersects, and how it applies and
changes our lives we are transported into the realm of unlimited
possibilities, where we are The Lady of the Lake, or Lancelot, or Maid
Marian, Arthur, Mary of Magdala drying Her Lords feet with her hair, we
have found Gate and Key that opens the door to what is hidden in the core
of our being. The core that makes of us Children of God. When we find the
pattern of life laid out before us we are able to transend the mundane and
bring the divine down and within our hearts we combine them and we are
transformed, and in that moment we transform all humanity. Myths and Story
are the Keys that lead us into the wilderness, they guide us out of sleep
and wake us in the land of Faery. We then bring the lessons back to
inspire the poetry, music, literature of our race. We are then the
pathfinders that lead the next generation on to greater illumination. When
the time has come and we remain while the Knights ride off listening to
those of us who have come back from the Lands Adventurous and we take our
turn at the hearth, we become the Storytellers, The inspirerers for the
next questors. We become the depository of the Wisdom of the Quest for the
Grail. We must therefore listen to our guides and teachers, but always the
Myth itself leads us ever onward. Always the Myth calls us heart and soul.
For me it is a call I am literally unable to ignore. It is the heart of
life.
We love in the midst of Love.
The love we feel, the love we need, the love we give is surrounded by the
great Love that is the matrix and cradle and blessing and essence of our
being. This Love is the vessel, recipe, and map for all the words, gifts,
and happenings, beautiful moments and touching exchanges which in this
life we call loving, being loved, or feeling love. It is the limitless sea
in which all our human experiences of love-the love of lovers and
sweethearts, of husbands and wives, of parents for their children,
brothers and sisters for one another, of dearest friends and compassionate
strangers-swim like the vast and variegated multitude of fish in the
infinite ocean.
Love as we know it and live it-the love of duty, as a man to his cause; of
pleasure, as in the flower of friendship; of passion and ecstasy, as in
romance; of commitment, as in all the changing vicissitudes of our
intimate relationships-all these are faces, miniature and particular
embodiments, of the faceless, infinitely graceful, endlessly tenderhearted
Love that is the medium in which we all live and breathe.
All the love we need and know and seek and make is but the corner of a
postcard from this infinite and beautiful landscape. We can discover our
connection to that great, that infinite love through particular exalted
moments of love in our own lives. For, if we are willing to throw our
hearts wide open at such moments, we suddenly comprehend that we ourselves
are participants in that love. It is then that our human relationships
become radiant and illumined, the sacred chalice from which we can sip of
the love that is truly divine.
His Passion gave as meat and drink to His beloved Apostles and bequeathed to His Holy Church to be the perpetual Sacrifice and life-giving nourishment of His faithful people,
Parsifal
According to Chritien de
Troyes...Part 1
Not much is known about Chretien, his origins or his early works. He was
born around 1130 and by 1170, he was famous as the author of a version of
Ovid's Book of Love, now lost, and a version of the Tristan story which
has also disappeared. Erec is his first medieval bestseller. This poem
introduces in a formal way the Matter of Britain to the cosmopolitan
audience at the court of Marie de Champagne, and from there passed
throughout the courts of Europe. Erec sets the basic pattern for all
Arthurian Romances, but though the splendors of the Celtic world are here
on display, the Grail is not yet in evidence.
Chretien followed up his success with three more Arthurian tales. Cliges
is a Roman myth with an Arthurian background. It wasn't all that popular.
There are only two copies extant. But it did introduce certain key
elements in the Matter of Britain. Cliges contains the first mention of
the Round Table and the first specific mention of Camelot. Chretain may
have picked up this name from Camulodunum, the Roman name for Colchester.
The Knight of the Cart and The Knight with the Lion are perhaps Chretien's
masterpieces. Certainly Ywain or the knight with the lion with its
marvels, strange adventures and courtly love, its finely drawn characters
and well wrought unity is a masterpiece. The Knight of the Cart , our
introduction to Lancelot, fares less well. The action is unexplained and
unmotivated, requiring a broader canvas in order to give the causes and
consequences of the adventure. The overall feeling is that of a piece of a
larger work rather than a completed work of art in itself.
We can imagine Chretien working on just that problem of scope in the early
1180's.While Chretien produced most of the Arthurian stage dressing that
would define the very concept of Romance over the next three hundred
years, the Grail has yet to appear.
Chretien's last work, left unfinished at his death, was Perceval, or the
History of the Grail. With this uneven masterpiece, Chretien plants the
seed germ of the spiritual qualities that will, within only thiry years,
become the driving force behind works as unique as Wolfram's Parzival and
Walter de Mapp's Queste del Saint Graal.
While the scope of Perceval, or the History of the Grail is broad enough
to encompass the entire medieval world view, it is riddled with
difficulties and inconsistencies. Chretien himself claimed that he was
merely reworking the material that he had found in an old manuscript.
Perhaps the marvels and strange doings of his Celtic original simply
proved too much for Chretien's more down to earth approach. At any rate,
his version ends after Gawain's adventure of the Perilous Bed.
We can be sure that Chretien began his last work, commissioned by Phillip
of Flanders, with great enthusiasm. Chretien refers to the story as the
greatest ever told in any court. His opening scenes are full of color and
verve. He tells of his hero's blunders and gaucheries with a keen comic
sensitivity of effect. He invests the encounter with the Fisher King with
just the right amount of awe and reverence mixed in with the mystery and
strangeness. And Chretien is equally successful with the startling
appearance of the Loathly Damsel and her violent denunicaion of Perceval,
whose growth from boyish boorishness to knightly grace has been well drawn
and realized.
With the shift of narrative focus to Gawain, the tale begins to unravel.
By the time the story returns to Perceval, it is obvious that Chretien is
deeply confused and that some important concept concerning this "graal"
has been lost or misunderstood.
But the clues are there, painted in broad strokes in the Grail procession
scene. To understand the mystery of the Grail, it will be necessary to
have the outline of Chretien's scene in the Grail Castle firmly in mind.
Our first glimpse of the Grail offers many guideposts in the tangled
thickets of theological and eschatological speculations to follow.
Chretien faithfully followed his original, even when he didn't understand
it.
Perceval's early life echoes the boyhoods of the great Celtic Solar Heroes
Culchuin and Finn. His entry to the great hall of Camelot is taken from
the tale of Kulwich in the Welsh Mabinogion. After his knighting, Perceval
sets out in search of further adventures and arrives at the castle of the
Fisher King. The Fisher King presides over a vast, empty hall, large
enough for four hundred men. An old man is seated on a couch pulled close
to the central fire. The Fisher King presents Perceval with a Sword, a
richly appointed weapon, a marvel that "could not break save only in one
peril which no one knew save him who forged and tempered it."
A procession passes through the hall. First, a squire carries a Spear
dripping spackles of blood onto the floor. Two squires with ten-branched
candlesticks follow. A beautiful maiden enters carrying a "Graal" which
blazes so brightly that it puts out the light of the candles and the
stars. Following her is another maiden carrying a talleors, a casket or
tabernacle. Perceval watches all this but fails to ask its meaning.
In the morning, the castle is empty and disappears as soon as Perceval
moves across the drawbridge. He comes upon a lady holding a headless body.
She informs Perceval that all could have been healed if he had only asked
of the grail. She also tells him that his sword will break in a careless
moment, but that it can be renewed in t he lake where the smith,
Trebuchet, dwells.
On the surface, this is no stranger than any other marvelous encounter in
any of a dozen Celtic adventure tales. It is only when the hermit, whom
Perceval visits for confession after five years of godless adventure,
begins to explain and chastise that we sense that something is missing or
misunderstood.
Why does the hermit rebuke Perceval so severely for not asking of the
Grail when he was merely following the teachings of his chivalrous mentor?
And, in any case, Perceval did not know that he should ask, or that there
was any penalty for not asking. It somehow doesn't seem quite fair.
But even more disturbing is the hermit's assertion that the "Graal"
carried by the beautiful maiden did not contain a salmon or lamprey as
Chretien implied it should, but simply a consecrated wafer intended for
the King's father. Church orthodoxy specifically excluded women from
serving in such a priestly capacity. Yet the Grail Maiden passes
unexplained. At any rate, a dish wide enough to hold a large fish seems a
strange choice to hold a smallish wafer. And, if its purpose is simply
sacramental, why does it accompany each course?
The old hermit's explanations are more tantalizing than satisfying, and
suggests that Chretien found the need to alibi and cover over his
religious tracks. The idea of a miraculous dish is an ancient Celtic
motif. The later romances give the Fisher King the name of Bron, a close
proximity to the ancient Welsh Bran, whose cauldron supplied the needs of
any and everyone. Bran was wounded in the foot, echoing the Fisher King's
injury, a spear wound through the thigh.
And there is still the matter of a woman celebrating a form of the Mass,
something unheard of in orthodox tradition. Where could this have come
from?
To simply say "from Celtic sources" is to beg the point. For all the pagan
influences in the Grail story, it is still almost numinously Christian.
But it is a Christianity far removed from the corruption and politics of
Rome. This doesn't explain the eruption of Grail literature in the thirty
or so years between the major Romances. For that, a broader perspective is
needed.
Parsifal
According to Chritien de
Troyes...Part 2
The Holy Grail, the chalice of the Last Supper, is kept within a castle.
The king of the castle has been severely wounded and suffers continuously
because his wound will not heal. The entire country and its people are in
desolation.
The king had been wounded early in his adolescence. While wandering in a
forest, he had reached a camp that was empty except for a spit on which a
salmon was roasting. He was hungry, so he took a bit of the salmon. He
burned his fingers horribly. To assuage the pain, he put his fingers into
his mouth and tasted a bit of the salmon. He is called the Fisher King
because he was wounded by a fish. He was also wounded in the thighs, so he
is no longer productive, and his whole land is no longer productive. The
Fisher King lies on a litter and must be carried everywhere, but he is
sometimes able to fish, and only then is he happy.
The Fisher King presides over the castle where the Grail is kept, but he
cannot touch the Grail or be healed by it. The court fool has prophesied
that the Fisher King would be healed when a wholly innocent fool arrives
in the court.
In an isolated country a boy lives with his widowed mother, whose name is
Heart Sorrow. At first the boy does not seem to have a name; much later he
learns that his name is Parsifal. His father had been killed while
rescuing a fair maiden, and his two brothers had also been killed as
knights. His mother had taken him to tbis faraway country and raised him
in primitive circumstances. He has homespun clothes, has no schooling,
asks no questions. He is a simple, naive youth.
Early in his adolescence, he sees five knights riding by on horseback. He
is dazzled by the knights, their scarlet-and-gold trappings their armor,
and all their accoutrements. He dashes home to tell his mother that he has
seen five gods and wants to leave home to go with them.
His mother weeps. She had hoped that he would not suffer the fate of his
father and his brothers. But she gives him her blessing and three
instructions: He must respect all fair maidens; he is to go daily to
church where he will receive all the food he needs; and he is not to ask
any questions.
Parsifal goes off to find the knights. He never finds the same five
knights, but he has all kinds of adventures. One day he comes to a tent.
He had only known a simple hut, so he thinks this is the church his mother
had told him about. He sees a fair damsel wearing a ring on her hand, so
he obeys his mother's instruction by embracing the damsel, taking her
ring, and putting it on his own hand. He sees a table set for a banquet
and, thinking it is the food his mother had told him he would find in
church, he eats it, not realizing it is prepared for the damsel's beloved
knight. The damsel begs Parsifal to leave, because if her knight finds him
there he will kill him.
Parsifal goes on his way and soon finds a devastated convent and
monastery. He cannot restore them, but he vows to return and raise the
spell when he is stronger.
Then he meets a Red Knight who has come from King Arthur's Court. Parsifal
is dazzled by the knight and tells him that he too wants to be a knight.
The Red Knight tells him to go to Arthur's court, which he does. In this
court is a damsel who has not smiled or laughed for six years. A legend
says that when the best knight in the world comes along, she will smile
and laugh again. When she sees Parsifal, she bursts into laughter. The
court is impressed. Arthur knights Parsifal, gives him a page, and tells
him that he may have the horse and armor of the Red Knight if he can get
it.
Parsifal finds the Red Knight, kills him, and takes his armor and puts it
on over his homespun clothing. He finds his way to the castle of
Gournamond, who trains him to be a knight. Gournamond gives him two
instructions: He must never seduce or be seduced by a woman, and when he
reaches the Grail castle he must ask, "Whom does the Grail serve?"
Parsifal goes off and tries to find his mother and help her, but he finds
that she died of a broken heart. Then he meets Blanche Fleur. From this
time on, everything he does is in her service. She asks him to conquer the
army besieging her castle, which he does, and then he spends the night
with her.
After traveling all of the next day, he meets two men in a boat. One of
them, who is fishing, invites Parsifal to stay at his house for the night.
When ParsifaI reaches this house, he finds himself in a great castle,
where he is royally welcomed. He learns that the fisherman is the Fisher
King. He sees a ceremony in which a youth carries a sword that drips blood
constantly and in which a maiden carries the Grail. At a banquet the Grail
is passed about and everyone drinks from it. The Fisher King's niece
brings a sword, and the King straps it to Parsifal's waist. But Parsifal
fails to ask the question Gournamond had told him to ask. The next morning
Parsifal finds that all the people
of the castle have vanished. Then the castle itself disappears. He goes on
and finds a sorrowful maiden. He learns that her knight had been killed by
the jealous knight of the maiden of the tent, so the death was really his
fault. When she learns that he has been in the Grail castle, she berates
him for all his sins and tells him that the land and its people will
continue to be desolate because he failed to ask the right question.
Later he again finds the maiden of the tent. She reiterates all his
misdeeds and tells him t hat the sword he had been given will break the
first time it is used in battle, that it can only be mended by the smith
who made it, and that after that it will never break again.
In the course of his journeys, Parsifal has subdued many knights and sent
them back to King Arthur's Court. When he had been there before, they had
not realized who he was. Arthur sets forth to search for Parsifal so the
court can honor him. Parsifal happens to be camping nearby. A falcon
attacks three geese and wounds one of them. Its blood on the snow reminds
Parsifal of Blanche Fleur, and he falls into a trance. Two of Arthur's men
see him and try to persuade him to return to the court, but he unhorses
them. A third knight, Gawain, gently persuades him to go to the court with
him. Parsifal is received in triumph at the court.
But the rejoicing ends when a hideous damsel on a decrepit mule enters and
recites all of Parsifal's sins. Then she points a finger at him and says,
"It is all your fault." She assigns tasks to all the knights. She tells
Parsifal to search for the Grail castle again and this time ask the right
question.
Parsifal goes on through many episodes. Some versions say that he travels
for five years; others say twenty years. He grows bitter and
disillusioned. He does many heroic deeds, but he forgets the church,
Blanche Fleur, and the Graii castle.
Then one day he meets some pilgrims who ask him why he is armed on Good
Friday. He suddenly remembers what he had forgotten. Remorsefully he goes
with the pilgrims to a hermit for confession. The hermit absolves him and
tells him to go immediately to the Grail castle.
The poem by Chritien de Troyes stops here. Many authors tried to finish
it. One version says that Parsifal goes to the Grail castle and this time
he asks the right question: "Whom does the Grail serve?" The answer is
given: "The Grail serves the Grail King." He is not the Fisher King, but
the Grail King, who has lived in the central room of the castle from time
immemorial. The Fisher King is healed immediately, and the land and all
its people can live in peace and joy.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE ROMAN CHURCH We have to look at some other
related history first. The Roman system was an empire built on conquest
with incorporation. The secret of Rome's strength lie in her ability to
incorporate vanquished nations into her own political body. Never before
had so many people been brought under one government without making slaves
of most of them. The Romans were basically barbaric and lawless in
characteristics, but were experts in adaptability, absorbing nations,
cultures and religions and cross breeding them into one another, by force
if necessary. Through this, the rulers sought to keep the entire empire
under control. Gradually the Roman Empire became permeated with the
philosophy of the Greeks and the religions of the Jews and Christians. The
natural part of human life was raised to a higher plane. Combined with the
Greek influence, Roman law and political ideas have had a strong influence
on the West. Thus the Greek notion of democracy, the religions of the Jews
and Christian, the law and political influence of the Romans, all these
mixed together made the civilization of the later Western world. Clearly,
history tells us that the Roman civilization is the direct ancestor of the
modern West. Christianity became known as the official western religion,
and the native religions of the western world became known as heathen -
uncivilized and unenlightened. However it was not so in the beginning. It
may be a surprise for many to know that during the first 3 centuries, the
Christians suffered tremendously under the Roman government which tried to
destroy them. However, Christianity was spreading too vigorously to be
kept under control. The strategy of elimination through persecution
eventually changed to one of embracing it and controlling its destiny to
fulfill the purpose of their rulers. The church on the other hand made a
compromise to accept Rome and became the destroyer of her mother (Israel)
who bore her. In the process, truth suffered. Biblical commandments that
the Apostles taught were subordinated to pagan convenience. The church
entered into apostasy. This was fully realized in the 4th century when
Emperor Constantine the Great declared himself a Christian, the first pope
and the ruler of the church, which he called, the Roman Catholic Church
that existed to these days. By his own authority he set up church
councils, installed and deposed bishops, imprisoning and banishing them,
imposed religious edicts under penalty of Roman Law. He set up the Council
of Rome and Nicene, and bridged the Empire of Rome to the Church of Rome.
One after another, the unscrupulous and cruel wolves as prophesied in the
scriptures, entered the Church to take control, ravish and strip the
Church to total spiritual nakedness and bankruptcy, and then clothed her
in mockery and strange garments. Greco-Roman ideologies, values and pagan
practices and rituals were adopted as standards and holiness in the
Church. The Christian Jews who had understanding of God’s truths refused
to toe the line. As a result, they were denounced as traitors, betrayers
and murderers of the Lord, and were replaced by the Gentile "spiritual
Jews", where the old, including the Hebraic understanding of the
scriptures were forcibly put away and replaced by the Greco-Roman way of
interpreting the scriptures. The wolves now had a totally free hand, this
time in the Name of God. Sounds like a fairy tale, but painfully true.
This is the background and setting for the origin and history of the
"must-be" monogamy theology. CATHOLIC PRIESTS WERE MONOGAMOUS AND
POLYGAMOUS BUT MADE CELIBATE Due to the widespread illiteracy of the
scriptures, especially that of the Gentile believers who were totally
ignorant of the Torah, whatever the Catholic priests said were considered
as God’s Law and divine truths. One area of total distortion was that of
marital relationship. Surprising to almost all of us, it was common for
Catholic priests to have multiple wives and mistresses. In 726AD, it was
acceptable for a man with a sick wife to take a second wife so long as he
looked after the first one. With concerns for protecting Church property
from inheritance however, offspring could not inherit church property and
it was later declared that all sons of priests were illegitimate. In 1022,
Pope Benedict VIII banned marriages for priests (monogamous or
polygamous). Finally in 1139, Pope Innocent II voided all marriages of
priests and all new priests had to divorce their wives. All these were
done to possess and protect money and church property. Making polygamy a
sin and marriage unacceptable for a priest was a slow and purposeful
process. CELIBACY AND ASCETICISM PROPAGATED AS HOLINESS Backing up this
hidden agenda, was an anti-human Greek doctrine concocted from the pit of
hell by the hatred of Satan, manifested as holiness against all human
nature and passions. It is called asceticism; the paganistic teaching that
to be spiritual is to be poor, thus sex and all human passions would have
to be denied for the highest fulfillment found only in monastic lifestyle.
This distorted view of human passions and sexuality put a terrible burden
on the shoulders of all who wanted to be spiritual. Worse still, it became
the root and the source of much more other lies and deception regarding
holiness and marriage forms in the whole Christian world. Celibacy was
propagated as the new standard of high attainment in holiness. Sex was
taken to be unclean and sinful. Marriages were painted, at best as being a
necessary evil to guard against sexual sins such as fornication. Because
of such a heathen belief, monks and nuns were considered holier and closer
to God than anybody else, and priests would necessarily be celibates.
Marriage was considered an activity of the flesh, if possible, to be
avoided by those seeking spirituality. Thus monogamy would be tolerated as
an acceptable norm among the "less spiritual" and polygamy would be
condemned as an abomination. Clearly, Greek philosophy and Roman monogamy
were in control of the entire Church. This prevailed in what is known as
the Dark Ages of the Church. Roman Christianity was strongly and
aggressively propagated from the Roman Empire into the West and from the
West into the rest of the world and thus came to be known as a western
religion. Thus we see how Christianity was corrupted with the Greco-Roman
philosophy and values We are still under the power of the Roman Kingdom
(which was the last kingdom of the statue as seen by Nebuchadnezzar), even
thought it had collapsed. But the church is still under that power and is
still not yet into the Kingdom of the Rock that was not made with hands!
MONOGAMY, ROMANISM, ROMAN CATHOLISM Looking at the name, practices and
ordinances of the Roman Catholic Church, where polygamy is never to be
tolerated, it would be blind not to see that the culture of Rome had
become the culture of the Roman Catholic Church. It is also clear that the
medieval society and the modern world are the children of the Roman
Empire. The medieval society was a hodgepodge of customs, language, laws
and attitudes taken from the late great Roman Empire, with some Germanic
admixture and has now shaped our modern world. Both the medieval world and
our own world are very much descended from Rome. By the 14th century, much
of the Roman influence was no longer obvious, the culture of Rome had
become the culture of the Roman Catholic Church. Some educated commoners
who look beneath the surface could find the Roman roots of the many
institutions of medieval culture. But the Romans are now ancient history
and what they had left behind had been well tended to by the Christian
clerics. And today we still live in the shadows of a culture the Romans
began creating 2800 years ago. many Christians and non-Christians have
misunderstood the Christian message and Christian spirituality because of
the distorted views of sexuality and intimate relationships that have been
taught by the church. We believe that a fuller spirituality in every area
can be enjoyed by replacing these views with healthier ones based on
clearer biblical translation and interpretation. Celibate clergy are not
more religious than the married clergy and the former do not spend more
time with their parishioners than the latter. They have "shepherded" their
church to become nothing short of a cult of child rapists. Yes, of course,
I can hear it now even from evangelical leaders... "But there are many
priests in the Catholic Church who would never do such things." And of
course, this is true. But if you know how the RCC operates, then you know
that bishops and priests have long known about the reality of such abuse
and about the efforts of the RCC hierarchy to cover-up such cases. While
there may be common moral ground between individual Roman Catholics and
individual evangelicals, the fact that RCC hierarchical leaders are
commonly involved in the cover-up of gross sin by their own priests is a
contradiction to the front of morality that is deceptively projected by
RCC leaders. Of course, there are many Roman Catholics involved with
ecumenism who do have good and moral motives, but at the same time they do
represent an organization that commonly hides the moral corruption of MANY
of its leaders. This is IMMORAL. That, is the toleration of evil at the
expense of others for one's own benefit... and such wicked deception is
very evil. Roman Catholicism commands Celibacy in violation of the Word of
God. Celibacy in the Roman Priesthood adds to the problem and encourages
sexual sin in the Roman Priesthood. Not only is CELIBACY NOT REQUIRED BY
GOD, IT IS A DOCTRINE OF SEXUAL DEVIANTS!
A Brief History of
Celibacy in the
Catholic Church
First
Century
Peter, the first pope, and the apostles that Jesus chose were, for the
most part, married men. The New Testament implies that women presided at
eucharistic meals in the early church.
Second
and Third Century
Age of Gnosticism: light and spirit are good, darkness and material things
are evil. A person cannot be married and be perfect. However, most priests
were married.
Fourth
Century
306-Council of Elvira, Spain, decree #43: a priest who sleeps with
his wife the night before Mass will lose his job.
325-Council of Nicea: decreed that after ordination a priest could
not marry. Proclaimed the Nicene Creed.
352-Council of Laodicea: women are not to be ordained. This
suggests that before this time there was ordination of women.
385-Pope Siricius left his wife in order to become pope. Decreed
that priests may no longer sleep with their wives.
Fifth
Century
401-St. Augustine wrote, “Nothing is so powerful in drawing the
spirit of a man downwards as the caresses of a woman.”
Sixth
Century
567-2nd Council of Tours: any cleric found in bed with his wife
would be excommunicated for a year and reduced to the lay state.
580-Pope Pelagius II: his policy was not to bother married priests
as long as they did not hand over church property to wives or children.
590-604-Pope Gregory “the Great” said that all sexual desire is
sinful in itself (meaning that sexual desire is intrinsically evil?).
Seventh
Century
France: documents show that the majority of priest were married.
Eighth
Century
St. Boniface reported to the pope that in Germany almost no bishop or
priest was celibate.
Ninth
Century
836-Council of Aix-la-Chapelle openly admitted that abortions and
infanticide took place in convents and monasteries to cover up activities
of uncelibate clerics.
St. Ulrich, a holy bishop, argued from scripture and common sense that the
only way to purify the church from the worst excesses of celibacy was to
permit priests to marry.
Eleventh Century
1045-Pope Boniface IX dispensed himself from celibacy and resigned
in order to marry.
1074-Pope Gregory VII said anyone to be ordained must first pledge
celibacy: ‘priests [must] first escape from the clutches of their wives.’
1095-Pope Urban II had priests’ wives sold into slavery, children
were abandoned.
Twelfth
Century
1123-Pope Calistus II: First Lateran Council decreed that clerical
marriages were invalid.
1139-Pope Innocent II: Second Lateran Council confirmed the
previous council’s decree.
Fourteenth Century
Bishop Pelagio complains that women are still ordained and hearing
confessions.
Fifteenth Century
Transition; 50% of priests are married and accepted by the people.
Sixteenth Century
1545-63-Council of Trent states that celibacy and virginity are
superior to marriage.
1517-Martin Luther.
1530-Henry VIII.
Seventeenth Century
Inquisition. Galileo. Newton.
The idea of Catholic
celibacy is especially foolish when you realize the reason behind it.
Before the middle ages it was allowable for Catholic priests to have
multiple wives and mistresses (concubines). But with concerns for
protecting Church property from inheritance Pope Pelagius I made new
priests agree offspring could not inherit Church property. Pope Gregory
then declared all sons of priests illegitimate (only sons since lowly
daughters could inherit anyway in society).
In 1022 Pope Benedict VIII banned marriages and mistresses for priests and
in 1139 Pope Innocent II voided all marriages of priests and all new
priests had to divorce their wives. This had nothing to do with morality,
multiple women for males had long been the norm since before biblical
times, but it was about MONEY! In biblical times many wives, concubines
and breeders was common and never spoken against other than by Paul to the
Elders of Timothy and Titus. In the Tanakh, Jewish priests suggest 4 wives
was probably about the right number.
The whole celibacy nonsense was also the result of dark age gnostic
influences that false taught that the body was dirty and not spiritual and
to be more spiritual you had to avoid natural sexuality..
Pope innocent III who started the inquisition was reported to be
incestuous. Coincidence? Lets look at what the religious symbols became
after the killing of the Carthars.
God suffers from either multiple personality disorder or celibacy. Mother
and Father or just Father and no Mother. Analyze that! If you were
everything in general, who would you be specifically? God has a
dysfunctional family. Jeez what a mess! Jesus and Mother Mary ...the
Madonna and Child. Centuries of art and adoration. Perfection. Really?
Jesus was God's gift, the Son of God, Mary's special child...her Little
Prince. Who is Mother Mary without Jesus? If you believe in the "Virgin
Birth" take this as a reality check. Jesus said, "I and my Father are
one." What about Joseph? Sounds a little Oedipal doesn't it? Look at this
relationship in family terms. It is a completely co-dependent
relationship. Jesus' entire identity is wrapped up in being Mary's special
child, the perfect Son of God. Mary's entire identity is wrapped up in
being the Virgin Mother. The Mother of God. What about Joseph or any of
Jesus' brother or sisters? According to the catholic dogma he wasn't
supposed to have any because Mary was a pristine virgin her entire life,
pure as the driven snow; once again forgetting Joseph. So Mary was the
Mother of God the Son and the chosen Virgin of God the Father. And the Son
and the Father were one. The only woman in Jesus' life was his beloved
Virgin Mother. The only other woman he was close to had to be a whore whom
he forgave. Mary Magdalene and Jesus ...the repentant whore. The forgiven
prostitute. The fallen woman from whom Jesus cast out 7 devils. So,
according to the middle age world, Jesus was the Father who impregnated
Mother Mary, and was then born as her Son. So he was her father, spouse,
and son who lead a celibate life but loved a prostitute. It's just one big
Oedipal Complex!
Now imagine this, perhaps Jesus and his wife were very happy. Jesus of
Nazareth, the man, was the Son of God, in spirit. He had the Essence of
God the Father guiding him through his life. Thus Jesus was the essence of
God on Earth. It brings new light to his statement, "I and my Father are
one." Indeed they were. And yet they were separate as well. Jesus became a
new face of the Godhead for humanity. Remember before he came, the Jewish
God was a God of wrath and justice. Jesus became the God of love and
forgiveness. The wise and faithful counselor. The Son. The mediator. He
made God approachable to the people. We can relate to Jesus. He's not so
scary as the God of the Old Testament. He made things simple for us to
understand. He told simple stories and taught people about simple
universal truths. He was a peace lover. Mary of Magdala, the woman, was
the Daughter of Goddess, in spirit. She had the Essence of God the Mother
guiding her through her life. Thus Mary was the essence of Goddess on
Earth. She became "the Magdalene" as Jesus became "the Christ." She was a
pillar of strength and courage. Her story is one of great trial. Great joy
and great sorrow. Her life went on after Jesus. She went on. She was a
great teacher and a mother. She loved unconditionally and she gave from
her heart all that she had. The marriage of Jesus and Mary was sacred. It
represented on Earth the sacred marriage of God and Goddess in Heaven. The
unity and the balance. It was beautiful and human. And it was sacred and
holy. It was from this space of oneness and communion that the earliest
teachings of Christianity sprang. Men and women as equal and valuable
beings of the Creator. Love and forgiveness. Peace and healing. Jesus
Christ and Mary Magdalene stand as two pillars lighting the way to Truth.
They led by example. They showed the world what was possible for everyone.
They did not want the world to worship them. They wanted the world to
learn from them. To see what what was possible. To find God/Goddess within
the heart and be a shining light for the whole world.
Many people believe that Paul
was antagonistic toward marriage because of the passage, "For I would that
all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God,
one after this manner, and another after that.
"I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they
abide even as I.
"But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry
than to burn." (1 Cor. 7:7-9.)
But this belief does not account for all the other statements that Paul
made concerning marriage. Paul's teachings, as recorded in letters that
were sent to churches and saints in various stages of spiritual
progression, reflect the character and experience of a man who understands
family relationships and can speak with authority on the subject.
In the first place, Paul himself was likely to have been married because
of his Judaic background. In his defense before the Jewish crowd outside
the Roman barracks of the Antonian tower, Paul states that he was taught
according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers and was zealous
in living that law. (See Acts 22:3.) Again, in his defense before the
Pharisees and Sadducees, Paul claims that he is a Pharisee, the son of a
Pharisee. (See Acts 23:6.) To the Galatians, Paul had written that he was
more zealous in fulfilling the requirements of his religion than others of
his time. (See Gal. 1:14.) The emphasis that the Jews put on marriage as
part of their law and tradition would certainly have been used against
Paul in view of such statements if he had not been married.1
Further evidence that Paul was married is found in the likelihood that
Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin. One of the qualifications for becoming
a member of that body was that a man must be married and the father of
children,2 which was thought to make him more merciful in dispensing
justice in the courts. Paul (Saul) was one of the official witnesses of
the stoning of Stephen (see Acts 7:59), an action ordered by the
Sanhedrin. He also gave his vote with the Sanhedrin against the Christians
prior to his conversion. (See Acts 26:10.)3 Further evidence of Paul's
position is found in Acts 9:1-2 where Paul went before the high priest and
requested letters authorizing his "official" persecution in bringing
Christians to trial and imprisonment. In view of these evidences, most
scholars do not argue that Paul had never been married, but that he was
either divorced or was a widower by the time he wrote to the Corinthian
church.
But let us take a closer look at 1 Corinthians 7 to see if the evidence
supports this last conjecture. At the outset, Paul refers to a letter the
Corinthians wrote to him: "Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto
me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman." Although the King James
Version does not make it clear who makes the statement, "it is good for a
man not to touch a woman," the Greek text and the Inspired Version both
make this a statement of the Corinthians. We do not know the context of
this statement, because we do not have the Corinthian epistle to Paul. The
only context we can supply is Paul's answer and, fortunately, that does
give us some clue as to their problem. Paul wishes (see 1 Cor. 7:7) that
all men were as he was. But what is that? Could it be that he wishes all
men were divorced or that all had lost their companions in death, or does
he simply wish that men would be so dedicated to the work of the Lord that
they be as though single?
Evidence of the latter possibility can be found later in the chapter. In
verses 10 and 11, Paul does not tell the married saints to become
separated, but if they are separated, he suggests either that they remain
that way rather than marry someone else or that they become reconciled.
Paul even enjoins against separation in part-member families if the
husband and wife are compatible (verses 12-14), because the member may
someday be able to help save his spouse (see verse 16). Some scholars
conjecture that Paul was divorced as a result of a "mixed" marriage, but
the Corinthians would have thrown this advice right back to him if such
had been the case.
One reason Paul wrote to the Corinthians concerning these matters is found
in verse 29, where he states, "this I say, brethren, the time is short: it
remaineth, that they that have wives be as though they had none." He
further states (verse 32) that the unmarried saints (and those who are as
though unmarried) care for the things of the Lord, but too often a married
person puts other things before the work of the Lord (verse 33). Paul is
simply reminding those who have been called to God's work to put that
calling first, even before earthly matters.
Concerning the importance of
marriage for a member of the church and the relationships of family
members toward each other and the Lord, Paul exhorts the saints to be
followers of himself, especially in the ordinances of the church. (See 1
Cor. 11:1-2.) He teaches that "neither is the man without the woman,
neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." (1 Cor. 11:11.)
What sense would these statements make if they came from an unmarried man?
In view of all that Paul has said on marriage in 1 Corinthians, it is
quite unlikely that the Corinthians would accept his epistle and his
arguments if he had been divorced or separated from a wife. The message of
2 Corinthians 7, however, is that the first epistle was accepted and many
Saints repented.
It is evident from the frequency of Paul's counsel on marriage and family
that he placed great importance on the subject, comparing the husband and
the family to Christ and the Church. (See Eph. 5.) He also charges the
husbands to love their wives (see Eph. 5:25) as their Savior loved the
church, so that they might sanctify and perfect their families through
love. Paraphrasing one of the great commandments-to love one's neighbor as
oneself-Paul says, "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.
He that loveth his wife loveth himself." (Verse 28.) A husband is not to
rule as a tyrant over his wife but is to preside in love. (See verse 33.)
Paul's letter to Philippi deserves special consideration in pursuing this
subject. Philippi was the first European city in which Paul preached and
was one of the most righteous branches of the church at that time of which
we have record: "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as
in my presence only, but now much more in my absences" (Philip. 2:12.)
During Paul's missionary travels and while in prison at Rome, the
Philippian church was the only one to remain in constant communication
with him by courier, sending gifts and necessities to their beloved
apostle. (See Philip. 4:15-18.) In his letter to this faithful group, Paul
addresses some of the sisters: "I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche,
that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
"And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women who laboured
with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my
fellowlabourers." (Philip. 4:2-3; italics added.) Gnesie syzuge, the words
translated "true yokefellow," are here taken as feminine, and is a noun
that means "wife." Ancient commentators believed that Paul was addressing
his wife (e.g., Clement of Alex., Strom. 3:53:1, and Origen, Comm. in Ep.
ad. Rom. 1:1), and this is the most sensible translation of the Greek in
this context. If he were married at the time, one would expect Paul to
leave his wife with a faithful group of saints, where she would least
suffer from want and lack of support during his absence. Both her presence
in Philippi and the love of the members there for Paul would account for
the constant communication with the apostle, and, if this interpretation
is true, it is natural that Paul would ask his wife to assist some of the
women who had done so much on his behalf.
Finally, in Paul's last epistles, which were written to Timothy and Titus,
he places further emphasis on the desirability of marriage. In listing the
qualities necessary for a bishop, Paul includes being married (see 1 Tim.
3:2) and being a good leader over his house: "For if a man know not how to
rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" (1 Tim.
3:5; cp. Titus 1:5-9). Even those called "deacons" in that day (the Greek
literally means "one who serves" or a "helper") were to be married and
have orderly households. (See 1 Tim, 3:10-13.)
The evidence of Paul's writings leads to the conclusion that he not only
tolerated marriage among the saints, but encouraged and exhorted them to
marry and bear children. He indicated that marriage is an essential part
of the gospel framework, and asserted that one of the signs of apostasy in
the last days would be teachings against marriage. (See 1 Tim. 4:1-3.)
Certainly Jesus was foremost in importance to Paul, just as he should be
in the hearts of men today, and on occasion Paul had to remind men called
to the ministry to be fully dedicated to the Lord's work. Nevertheless,
Paul understood and taught that in the presence of the Lord, the man will
not be without the woman, neither the woman without the man.
It cannot be argued that Paul
rejected marriage on the basis of Christian conviction or because of the
dangerous or demanding nature of his future ministry, since Paul's parents
would have arranged his marriage when he was younger, some time prior to
his conversion to Christ. And far from rejecting marriage for Christian
leaders in general, Paul accepted that it was the norm for Christian
leaders to be married, and that in this regard he and Barnabas were
exceptions (1 Cor 9:5).
Paul does not refer to himself as a PARQENOS, a virgin, one who has never
married, nor class himself with such, nor does he suggest in any way that
he had never married. On the contrary: in 1 Cor 7:8 Paul writes, "Now to
the AGAMOI and widows I say: it is good for them to stay as I am." That
is, he classes himself with the AGAMOI, those who had previously been
married. And he recommends to his readers that in this regard they follow
his example and not remarry, unless and until it becomes clear that God is
continuing to give them the gift of a nature requiring marriage: in which
case they should in fact remarry (1 Cor 7:7,9).
There is no evidence on the other side, that is, is support of the view
that Paul had never married; and there are no reasonable grounds for
holding such a view.
Mary's life was rewritten by inquisition scribes and her reputation was
slandered beyond recognition. The history of Christianity is likewise a
history of how women were silenced and deprived of their rights." The
Christian Church grew into an imbalance of male-female power. However, She
is beginning to emerge from secrecy to show her face once again, as
humanity begins to lift the veils of illusion from their eyes.
***
links of interest
ARE VAMPIRES REAL? Or are they the Synagogue of Satan. (Revelations 2:9, 3:9) click here.
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MYRRH Myrrh Tree - [5-15 feet tall and 1 foot in diameter] Historical
background and spiritual uses: Even before the baby Jesus received Myrrh
as a gift, over 2000 years ago, Myrrh was one of the most desired and most
sought after items in the world. It is mentioned in the Bible over 22
times and it was used as incense in religious rituals. It promotes
spiritual awareness and is uplifting. Used in embalming, as a cure for
cancer, leprosy, and syphilis. Myrrh, mixed with coriander and honey, was
used to treat herpes. It was used as an anti-infectous, anti-inflammatory,
antiseptic, astringent and as a tonic. Because of myrrh's various
medicinal uses this gift represents Christ's human nature, the Suffering
Savior, the Great Physician, and the Passion. Myrrh is an aromatic gum
resin which oozes from gashes cut in the bark of a small desert tree known
as Commifera Myrrha or the dindin tree. (The gashes are reminders of the
wounds Christ received while being flogged by the Roman soldiers.) The
myrrh hardens into tear-dropped shaped chunks and is then powdered or made
into ointments or perfumes. Myrrh was an extremely valuable commodity
during biblical times and was imported from India and Arabia. The
Ishmaelite caravan which carried Joseph to slavery in Egypt also bore
myrrh. When Israel sent his sons into Egypt for food he told them to take
along some myrrh as a gift for the man in charge. Because myrrh was used
in the embalming or anointing of the dead, it came to represent mortality,
suffering and sorrow. The Israelites used perfumed ointments of myrrh in
their funeral preparations to postpone the decay and alleviate the odors
of the deceased. Although less than one pound was normally used in
Israelite funerary preparations, Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and
aloes, about a hundred pounds" to prepare Jesus's body for burial. Other
people burned myrrh as an incense during cremations. The Phoenix was said
to build its funeral pyre out of myrrh, frankincense, and other spices.
Myrrh has many medicinal uses. In ancient times it was used for cleaning
wounds and sores. As late as the 19th century it was given as a treatment
for worms, coughs, colds, sore throats, asthma, indigestion, bad breath,
gum disease, and gonorrhea. In Pilgrim's Progress, a bundle of myrrh was
used to keep Mercy from fainting. Too much myrrh can make one violently
sick. Until the invention of morphine and other modern painkillers, myrrh
was a common analgesic. In ancient times it was often mixed with wine to
make the drink more potent. As was the custom among the Jews, Christ was
offered 'wine mingled with myrrh'; to ease the pains of the cross.
However, He refused to drink it. Myrrh is named for its bitter taste
which, along with its funerary uses, has caused it to be associated with
the bitter things of life. St. Cyril applied the bittersweetness of the
Passion to Solomon's verse, "I have come to my garden, my sister, my
spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb
with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk." Myrrh has been
associated with bitter repentance, mortification of the flesh, and
penance. According to Aquinas, myrrh and aloes, by their bitterness, their
pleasant perfume, and their preserving qualities, represent the penance by
which we preserve our souls from the corruption of sin and the pleasing
odor of a good report rising before God. Fingers dripping with myrrh on
the handles of a lock are an image of the ability of bitter repentance to
unlock the doors of the hardened heart to Christ. During biblical times
myrrh was used in expensive perfumes. It was used in powdered form to
perfume garments and beds and to make sachets which were worn between the
breasts. In liquid form it was used as an Anointing oil or to perfume
men's beards. Myrrh was associated with lovemaking and was sometimes used
to anoint the door-posts of the bridegroom's house when his bride was
delivered to him. Esther received a six month long beauty treatment with
oil of myrrh before she was brought in to King Ahasuerus. A woman who had
been a great sinner showed her repentance and love of Christ by Anointing
his feet with a fragrant oil of myrrh and drying them with her hair. Jesus
took this opportunity to point out that those who are forgiven much, love
their redeemer more than those who are forgiven little. [Luke 7:36-50] The
psalmist portrays Christ as a king upon His wedding day being clothed in
garments "scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia." [Psa 45:8] John Wesley
believed that these perfumed garments represented the "sweet smelling
virtues" of Christ as He walked upon this earth. [Wesley's Notes on the
Bible] Augustine wrote that "by His garments are meant His Saints, His
elect, His whole Church" which are attracted to Christ by this same sweet
savor of peace and virtue. [Expositions on the Book of Psalms] Song 3:6
asks, "Who is this coming out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the merchant's fragrant
powders?" Matthew Henry answers that this is the bride of the king who was
formerly thought ugly and of little account by the daughters of Jerusalem.
She comes forth now 'perfumed with myrrh and frankincense' representative
of the sweet fruits of the Holy Spirit. The bride thus accompanied by
pillars of sweet incense is a symbol of the Israelites as they approached
the Promised land guided by a pillar of smoke. She is also an image of the
Church as Christ's Bride sweetly scented with the odors of Christian
virtue, righteousness, prayer, and praise approaching her eternal
Bridegroom and of 'Jesus returning from the wilderness full of the Holy
Ghost.' Insects and vultures are said to be repelled by the burning of
myrrh. So also the sweet odor of the Gospel of Christ, which dripped from
His lips like liquid myrrh, is an aroma which is pleasing to those willing
to be saved but repulsive to those who refuse His offer of peace. So also
are the preachers of the Gospel compared to the myrrh-like fragrance of
Christ which is to the repentant the "aroma of life to life" and to the
wicked the "aroma of death to death." [2 Cor 2:14-16] Wisdom also is said
to have a "pleasant odour like the best myrrh..." [Sirach 24:15] When
burned as incense, myrrh is a symbol of prayers rising to heaven. Liquid
myrrh was used in the making of the holy Anointing oil for the Anointing
of the priests and the articles of the Tabernacle. It was forbidden to use
this recipe which God gave to Moses for any secular purpose. [Ex 30:23-32]
Because myrrh (which is bitter) and frankincense which is sweet) were used
in the Temple, Mount Moriah (upon which it stood) was poetically referred
to as the "mountain of myrrh" and the "hill of frankincense."
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FRANKINCENSE Tree Gum Frankincense was one of the gifts of the Magi.
Tradition says that it was presented to the Christ Child by Balthasar, the
black king from Ethiopia or Saba, thus fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy that
gold and frankincense would be brought from the Gentiles to honor the
heavenly king. Frankincense was the purest incense. When burned it
produced a white smoke which symbolized the prayers and praises of the
faithful ascending to heaven. Because the ancients often burned
frankincense during religious rituals, this gift symbolizes sacrifice,
Christ's divinity, His sweet savor, and His priestly role. It is also a
symbol of the Divine name of God. Frankincense is a sweet smelling gum
resin derived from certain Boswellia trees which, at the time of Christ,
grew in Arabia, India, and Ethiopia. The frankincense trade was at its
height during the days of the Roman Empire. At that time this resin was
considered as valuable as gems or precious metals. The Romans burned
frankincense on their altars and at cremations. The mythical Phoenix bird
was thought to build its funeral pyre out of frankincense and myrrh. The
Israelites also used this popular incense. Pillars of frankincense's white
smoke, accompanying the Bride as she exits the wilderness, represent the
pillar of smoke which led the Israelites to the Promised Land, the sweet
savor of Christ, the praises and graces of the Christian Church, and the
Holy Spirit accompanying Christ as He returns from His testing in the
desert. Frankincense was an ingredient in the sacred incense and holy
anointing oil of the Israelites. [Ex 30:34-38] It was burnt with almost
every sacrifice offered in Jerusalem's temple. Salt was added to the
mixture to produce a fine white smoke. Since frankincense denoted
something pleasing and acceptable to God, it was not presented with
certain sin or jealousy offerings. A memorial portion of the sacred
incense was placed in two gold bowls on a table in the temple on which was
placed the twelve loaves known as the bread of the Presence or showbread.
This incense was burnt at the end of each week when fresh loaves came to
replace the old ones. Wisdom was said to give forth a sweet smell like
"the fume of frankincense in the tabernacle." [Sirach 24:15; see also
Sirach 39:14] Because of the sweet smells which accompanied the Temple
sacrifices, Mount Moriah was called the mountain of myrrh and
frankincense. Because he highly prized them, Solomon poetically referred
to his beloved's breasts as "the mountain of myrrh" and "the hill of
frankincense." [Song 4:6] Some commentators believe the sweet "hill of
frankincense" symbolizes Calvary while the bitter "mountain of myrrh"
represents the garden tomb. [Jamieson, Fausset, Brown] The combination of
myrrh and frankincense found in the Temple represents the bittersweet
nature of repentance. Frankincense was associated with prayers and burned
on pagan altars in Rome, Persia, Babylon, and Assyria. It was also used in
purification ceremonies. Nero burned it by the ton. In ancient Babylon one
thousand talents of frankincense was burnt on the altar of Bel during his
annual feast. Romans burnt this resin in their homes and on state
occasions. Large quantities were burnt along the routes of the Roman
triumphs or victory parades. The ancients mixed frankincense with wine and
myrrh to create a "strong drink" which eased the pains of the dying, the
bitter, and the condemned. [Prov 31:6] In China frankincense was thought
to be a treatment for leprosy. Pliny recommended it as an antidote to
poison. It was made into perfumes by many peoples. Egyptians used
frankincense to make cosmetics, embalm dead bodies, and provide an
aromatic warmth on the braziers of their homes in chilly weather. Today
frankincense is burnt during church services and funerals to show respect
for whatever is symbolized by the objects incensed. (For example - the
deceased or an altar.) There are over 52 references to Frankincense in the
Bible.
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