So I started my 2010 off reading an enlightening and rich new book by J Daniel Gunther of Aleister Crowleys Thelemic Ordo Templi Orientis. The book reveals the new methods of Initiation that have been conceived by and since Aleister Crowley founded the order. Much of the Thelemic current now revolves around the Initiatic spritual paradigms of the New Aeon of Horus the Child.
I have alot of thoughts on this book id like to share, but for now mainly and especially the fact that the Thelemic Current holds the Goddess Babalon as a Supreme expression of the Divine and Mortal Feminine. I understand Crowley appreciated her Likeness to Kali the Black Vedic Feminine Goddess of Time and Death. Death being the womb from which life Springs and Returns, Kali and Babalon more fully represent the aspects or spectrum of the Divine Feminine Godhead. Kali has alot in common with aspects of Saturns Feminine properties, being the fabric of all space and matter. Saturns color is also black, which is what Kali's name means, but she is mainly known as the force of Time, in Alchemy Saturn and Time are associated with Nigredo or Decomposition, ie Death. This post is mainly a study of this archetype of the Feminine aspect of Death. Lets note the emphasis on Kalis Tounge, Teeth and Skeletons present, symbols of Death.
Saturns tarot Card "the Universe" features in early editions a Woman within a womb-like Wreath, on Aleistar Crowleys Thoth Cards, is depicted Babalon. As the Feminine Saturn, the Pure Void of Space that is Love, that seeks the Love of Stars, the Anima that Seeks to Integrate the Animus, Unconsciousness yearning to unite with Consciousness. In this sense the Unconscious is well represented by the unknowable Womb of Death Momma, he Universe that seeks our Awarness of it, and its Awareness of itself. The Fabric of space can be represented by Kali-Babalon, as well the Unconsciousness that seeks the Love of union with Consciousness.
See the Universe as Womb. A common psychedelic experience is to awaken from a womb.
Neo awakens in the Cosmic Kali Momma Matrix, his Womb even Shaped like a Coffin, he is reborn.
In a sense Unconsciousness can be a Devourer of Consciousness, Consciousness gaining victory over Unconsciousness is the expression that Jesus Embodies. The Victory of Consciousness over the Shadow or Husks of the Unconscious. This Journey of the Son/Sun this is symbolized by the Moon Tarot Card, the Journey of Awareness into the Unknown aspects of itself and the Universe. This path is also known as the Dark (K)Night of the Soul. Consciousness Journey into the Underworld/Duat of Unconsciousness. This card is the Hebrew letter Qophs card, which means the Back of the Head(Unconsciousness).
Death itself is to our awarenss a Void, Blackness, Unknown, Unconsciousness, it is the Womb from which Life Springs and returns, metaphysically it is the Womb of space, Physically we return to the Womb of the Earth and come back through our Earthly Mommas
We can see Saturns Tarot Card, and the Final and most Material card in the deck. There is Womblike Templating to both Tarot Cards, its more accentuated in the Crowley Trump on the right, where we can see Babalon, Nuit, Kali etc Stirring in the Universe, holding what appears to be a Scythe, a Symbol of Saturn and Harvesting(time).
See the Death Tarot card, with Osiris hat as well as Saturns Scythe, even though this is Scorpios Tarot Card, the Energy of Death/Pluto is that which breaks down the Structure that Saturn functions as.
Death is so much a part of life, and out of fear many cultures hide and mask deaths role in life, this creates much fear and unconsciousness of the importance of consciously dealing with Mortality and Death. The Thelemic path appears to attempt to confront the Shadow of the Psyche rather than Deny it or call it simply Evil. J Daniel Gunther the Author of the book mentions that in some religions it would be a Sin to be depressed or Critically self analytical because it would be self Absorbed and ungreatful to God to do so. Its important not to deny or let deaths repression affect us, as the more we know death, the more we know what it truely is to live.
The Alchemical and psychological process of Nigredo is the state of despair or depression or self Analysis and Deconstruction that results in personal salvation. Mentioned in the book is the orders interest in the Alchemical Function of Nigredo, which is Putrefaction or Decomposition. The mysterious functions of Depression and heaveyness likened to Heavey Lead and the planet Saturn, symbolic of Matter, and Time.
"The alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the Philosophers Stone all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter. In Psychology Carl Gustav Jung interpreted nigredo as a moment of maximum despair, that is a prerequisite to personal development."- Wiki
Nigredo the Passage of Death.
We can see the devouring death mouth of Unconsciousness enveloping the self in Alex Greys Despair. Note the Teeth and the Devouring Mouth.
This brings us to what I have recently just learned of, Vagina Dentata. The archetypical Myth or Dream of a female having a Vagina with Sharp Teeth that would devour the males penis. In young men it is said to come with the Fear of Castration. In Psychology the Devouring Womb would be the Animus or Consciousnesses fear of Castration or Death, to total Unconciousness. Also known as LUNAcy.
When I was a Teenager I had an exact Dream of the Vagina Dentata, Claws and all, it was terrifying in the Dream. It turns out that this phenomenon is a Cross Cultural Archetype that has even made its way into Hollywood, as the film- TEETH.
Notice the Submerged Symbolism of the poster, Dominance of the Watery Unconscious, as well as the rose which is also featured on the Death Tarot Card. Every Rose has its Thorn*! haha
We can see the fashioned Vagina Dentata dress featuring the Watery Unconscious Anima at the top and the Dentata Womb Death Momma at the Bottom.
The Predator resonates with Vagina Dentata.
Vagina Dentata Death Momma in Little Shop of Horrors
The HellMouth as it is called is a strong Resonator of Kali and Babalon and Vagina Dentata, often Hell is seen as a Fiery Mouth that Devours its dwellers.
While Watching the movie Howard the Duck, the Vagina Dentata from my childhood dreams appeared as the mad Scientist was creating his own Babalon, much like in Metropolis. His Machine breaks and a giant Scorpion with a Vagina Dentata Mouth erupts from the ground
Appearing in front of the West Gate, as a Scorpion Babalon, Scorpio, Kali Vagina Dentata arises. West is the Direction of Scorpio in Elemental Astrology. Scorpio is also the Mother of the Zodiac, and the Tarot Card DEATH. So here we have the Death Momma Vagina Dentata of the West brought to us by Geore Lucas. Inspired by an amazingly synched out book called Childhoods End by Arthur C Clarke. Basically the story is about an Alien Overmind that is merging with Human Consciousness, and how certain Agents on Earth have been working to assimilate the Human race into the Overmind Consciousness. WIthin the overmind are the Dark Overlords, which are the Monsters that inspired Lucases death Momma Scorpion Above. The Wiki Notes that the Alien Overmind (valis?) is especially attracted to the human Occult Experience, and that the Overlords also Study Humans through humans Metaphysical experiences. See the Wiki, this will be worked into another post
Mictlantecuhtli (Lord of Mictlan) God of death and the underworld (Mictlan, or “place of the dead”), he is identified with gloom and darkness. He is frequently represented as a skeleton with bloody spots. He is married to Mictlancihuatl. Quetzalcoatl fought with Mictlantecuhtli to retrieve the bones of human beings of the previous era and create them again in the present era, the fifth sun. This battle symbolized the constant interaction and duality between life and death.- Aztec Gods
Note Osiris Resonant Hat, this guy appears on the "Dead Guy Ale" beers you can find at the store.
The Day of The Dead in Mexico Celebrations also resonate with Vagina Dentata and the Black Goddess of Death, note the Saturnian Scythes and Black Symbolism.
These are called Catrinas, dancing dead souls of Females.
Catrinas
More day of the Dead and Kali Babalon celebrations.
15t Century Babalon Riding the Beast
Studying the godess Inanna yesterday, I learned that she was known as the Sacred Whore, thus resonating with Babalon, the SCarlet Woman from Revelations.
I was watching Year One last night, and the whole film is about Jack Blacks intuition that he is the Chosen One (Animus) that is set to have a great destiny. He makes his way to the city of Sodom, and unites with the Whore Princess Inanna, fulfilling his Destiny.
William Blakes Babalon
Im listening to Neurosis as I write this Post, their Album Times of Grace features a Wolf/Dog Devouring with Flames, to me resonating the Hell Mouth.
Neurosis Away lyrics
cease this long, long rest
wake and risk a foul weakness to live
when it all breaks down
watch the smoke and bury the past again
sit and think what will come
raise your fears and cast them all away
when it all breaks down
watch the smoke and bury the past again
sit and think what will come
raise your fears and cast them all away
nice. I spent some time with the WOB a couple years back--Archetype of the Apocalypse/Edward Edinger.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I find fascinating is how The Goddess begins to return, but in some traditions she (the goddess) is the WOB--everything that some traditions fear, and heralds the end of days.
I don't know how familiar you are with Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but 'The Hellmouth' is a major part of the series mythology.
ReplyDelete"From beneath you, it devours":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellmouth_(Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer)
It just so happens that the Sunnydale High School library, where her and her friends congregate, sits directly atop the Hellmouth. One way the Hellmouth manifests is to make the imagined become real...manifesting the unconscious into material reality.
Although Buffy and her friends are portrayed in near-constant opposition to the Hellmouth and those who would open it and unleash apocalyptic Hell on Earth, I've always kind of felt that the Hellmouth is in some way intertwined inextricably with Buffy herself. Buffy is reluctantly The Chosen One, The Slayer (bringer of Death), not quite human and not quite demon, destined to return to and confront the Hellmouth, which she ultimately does in the very last episode of the series. She finds a vast cavern filled with demons which she cleanses with a jewel of clear light (focused, oddly enough, through the body of an ensouled vampire). In the destruction of the Hellmouth is the destruction of the entire town as Buffy and her friends drive away, indicating, I think, that Sunnydale and the Hellmouth are like light and dark twins, two sides of the same coin; the destruction of one is the destruction of both.
Very resonant article :D Are you going to continue with an Albedo and Rubedo post, or stop at Nigredo?
ReplyDeleteMoon card: "This card is the Hebrew letter Qophs card, which means the Back of the Head(Unconsciousness)." The visual cortex is at the back of the head - internal sight?
Speaking of the Death XIII/13th card, in the movie 1408 (=13), a haunted room on the thirteenth floor (called 14 because 13 is bad luck), kills all who enter it. Anyways, in addition to the 13ness of it, the protagonists elderly father plays the role of Death and gives Death's line: "As you are, so was I. As I am, so you shall be."
Amazing you had a vagina dentata dream - eeek! You may have missed my posts on the subjects at hand, which, not to pimp my own blog too much, I think you may find interesting reads :D
Purification, and Virgins, Vampires and Vagina Dentata.
"Every Rose has its Thorn*! haha"
Hehe, I just watched Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey and when in Heaven they are asked what the meaning of life is and they quote those song lyrics: "Every rose has its thorn / Just like every night has its dawn / Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song"
Notice that in Little Shop he names his vagina dentata plant after his love interest, "Audry 2."
Oh man, Howard the Duck, uber classic! Great image of that the monster in the West/sunset/death!
The duality of life and death: the usually unnamed Death card is sometimes named La Mort ("Death," the personification.).
La Mort = Mortal
I'm Mortal = I'm La Mort or "I'm Death"
= Immortal
Hey Joe, regarding Hellmouth/Sunndale, "dale" means valley (same as "vale"). So, Sunnydale means Sunny Valley, but not really. Reading "valley" as "veilley" makes it easier to see, or replacing "dale" with "vale," since they both mean valley. Sunnydale is a veil between two worlds; which is kinda obvious, I know. Anyways, names such as Percival from the Grail Legend would really mean: "one who pierces the veil." Just a bit of symbolism I figured out a while ago, in case anyone was interested :D
Ishmael-Yes I totally agree, it reminds me of Jungs Enantiodromia concept that Terrence Mckenna liked, one dominant force or archetype always reults in its opposites equal gaining potential energy and soon becoming the dominant.Like thesis(Jesus) -antithesis(Satan). The feminine finality is expressed in the Tarots creation symbolism sequence of Kings(wands)-Queens(cups)-Princes (Swords)-Princesses(Earth) Symbolizing the 4 Elements and the 4 Letters in IHVH. The last He of Yod(king) He(queen) Vau(prince)and He (Princess) represents Earth and the Material world of Form or completion. Just remembered Kali being the final Yuga fits in as well. Interesting subject forsure. Thanks for sharing Ishmael, be very well :)namaste
ReplyDeleteJoe- Ive totally gotta checkout buffy, that storyline sounds quite interesting. THanks forsharing Im looking forward to looking into it. Be very well :)
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ReplyDeleteWow, tarot symbolism overload! Thanks for that rant :D Reminds me of a couple of things. One is that Pisces is connected to the feet on the macrocosmic-man, so it kinda relates to traveling (on the bridge), or to the ankh/sandal-strap symbol perhaps. Also, when the moon looks like a smiley face crescent, it may have been thought of as a boat/ark like during the Egyptian flood season and the argha-noa.
ReplyDeleteDid you notice that the first song in my video was sung by the girl who plays the Childlike Empress/Moonchild from The Neverending Story? :D One of the lyrics is something like "riding out of darkness / heading toward the light"
That Vagina Dentata is the most disturbing fantasy in the mind of a common person .... nice post!
ReplyDeleteHi, thank you for sharing this great info. Was just browsing through the net in my office and happened upon your blog. It is really very well written and quit comprehensive in explaining with a very simple language.
ReplyDelete