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1st
Rotation of February
Year of
OurSELF 2010
~ Epok of Horus ~
DEAR
BROTHERS & SISTERS,
COMRADES
OF MOTHER EARTH:
The Sabbat of Imbolc (meaning generation within,
specifically within the womb) & Solar Feast of Brighid (alternately Brigid,
Briget, Bridie, Bride, etc.) in the midst of Winter, reminds us that Spring
isn’t too far ahead. Brighid is connected with Northern European fire
deities. As was the case with many
Pagan divinities, particularly those associated with forces of nature & linked
to the 8 major Nature Festivals of the year, Bridgit was transformed into a
christian saint. Both goddess & saint shared the attributes of fertility,
generosity & a patron of the common folk. It’s not surprising that so many
girls of Celtic descent were givin the birth name Bridgit.
Brigid was also a guardian of the hearth much like
the Roman Vesta. This was obviously an important function, particularly before
the invention of matches. Both goddess & saint are often depicted holding a
bowl of fire. This also represented the intellect, that indicates that the
goddess was a sort of Prometheus divinity, aiding the intellectual development
of humanity. The fire the saint holds (“St. Bridgid’s Fire”) was considered
miraculous & supposedly burned in her
convent for over 400 years.
It has
been suggested that the fire bowl may represent the Holy Grail.
The
following is an excerpt from our review of The Serpent Grail by Philip Gardiner:
In Chapter
3 THE MIXING BOWL the authors describe various interpretations of the Grail’s
physical aspects and the nature of the Elixir mixed in it. They also expand on
the idea of the fusion of opposites or male and female energy.
The
feminine principle is the healing element here in that the feminine-related
subconscious contains the meaning behind the seemingly random process observed
by the masculine-related conscious mind. This is why the Grail is also
associated with romance, chivalry and a moral code of conduct in which respect
for the feminine principle is not only paramount, but is also essential for the
initiate. The reintegration of the psyche is really only the first step in the
Grail quest, however, since the goal of the quest is the transcendence
of duality.
[P. 45]
St. Brigid (formerly a Celtic
Fire Goddess)
holding the Grail.
__________
One of the charming customs associated with
Brigid/Imbolc eve (Jan. 31)
was to place a candle in front of every window in the house. This was to
welcome the goddess as she embraced the land
under her protection.
The Bridgit Cross is associated with both goddess
& saint.
It is woven from wheat and bears a remarkable
resemblance to the Eastern Swastika of Good
Luck—as opposed to the fascist reverse
symbol of evil.
In tune with the season, Suzanne has been delving
into the Druidic Tradition online & posted new links on the Gnostic Pagan Index
page—and a few related links below as well.
__________
This month we continue to explore the work of
American photographer
Walter Bibikow.
Follow
the link for a biography
of the artist.
Regards,
Freddy David WebWeaver
We’re always interested in posting original
metaphysical/political documents, art work & links. This also applies to
CDs, DVDs & books for review.
– Our Favorite Sight –
DVD
Into
the Wild (2007)
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn Director: Sean Penn Rating: R (Restricted)
I
remember reading the factual account this film was based on, and I remember
feeling sad about it. From what I read, I assumed that the subject of the news
article had been suffering from some form of mental illness. So I knew the
ending & this movie provided the history.
Director Sean Penn's film presents us a young man who is not mentally
disturbed, but a person who is clearly "troubled," a person seeking a
Self unstiffled by the realities of modern, materialistic society. This causes
him to engage in very few relationships, and those he does form are on his own
terms & with his right to terminate at any time. This is more than a kid
running from a bickering upper middle class mother & father. I don't know how
many other viewers saw the hero (anti-hero hero really) as much mentally ill as
a rebel. When you do see it that way, you can't help but sympathize with the
parents--and particularly with the sister who seemed very close to him.
In the opening sequence, we see Nemo (I call the main character
"Nemo" because he saw himself as a reality in search of an identity)
graduate from college & offered a place at Harvard. His parents are
ectsatic, but he's not interested. The fact that he graduated with honors does
not necessarily rule out mental illness. Schizophrenia, for example, often
doesn't manifest until young adulthood.
Nemo carries on full conversations with himself, acting out the parental anger
& dysfunction. A major symptom of schizophrenia. He makes up wild names for
himself. Another sign of borderline personality disorder. However, his quest
for perfect freedom in Alaska is on a par with any one who is inspired by a
goal, vision of a painting, etc. Nemo logically plans his quest over an
extended period of time, demonstrating that if he is mentally ill, at least
he's very high functioning.
I see Nemo's Alaska goal as being a form of "The Great
Work" for him. It's accomplishment will free him from the lower forms of
reality & raise him into unified, perfected/pure consciouness, a
transcendental unity with Oneness. He has overcome his father & mother and
in doing so, has become his OWN father & mother. He states as much in the
course of the movie. This is a metaphor of alchemy & magick ritual--it is
also found in the New Testament teachings of Josahua ben Joseph (Jesus.) Nemo
has also cut off the emotional attachment to his sister, his last long term
relationship. He does not have sex—even when offered by a beautiful girl. Celibacy,
another stage of The Work. He eats strange plants & roots--yep, yet another
stage. Finding the bus in the middle of a gorgeous nowhere was like a gift from
a spirit, an offering literally out of the blue.
When in extremis, he encounters a bear who snifs him, then passes casually on.
A totem image? Hallucination? The bus was as much a gift as it was as a warning
he failed to read correctly. His failure to assess the element of water in his
calculations/metaphisical formula was, in the end, tragic. Such is the fate of
many of attempt "The Work" on totally on their own & for less
than noble reasons.
It is tragic, not just pathetic as some reviwers claim.
Maybe, unlike most of us who don't take risks for the sake of comfort &
security, Nemo could have found his inner Self, his true Godhood.
Maybe he could have really healed, but didn't.
That's a tragedy for any broken soul.
PS NOTES: Hal Holbrook is excellent as the bitter, sad old man who lost his
family—and who is regenerated via his relationship with Nemo. As matter of
fact, the persons Nemo managed to connect with, all benefited from the
relationship. There was a great deal of good in him that went unrealized &
unfulfilled
The music in the film is really good & very appropriate to the scenes they
illuminate.
At the films' conclusion, a photographic self-portrait of the real man seems to
indicate a person more troubled than at peace.
The Death of Religion and the Rebirth
of Spirit: A Return to the Intelligence of the Heart (Hardcover)
by Joseph
Chilton Pearce
----------------------
Building on Darwin, Pearce pleads that humanity rise above its
lower, instinctual "brain" to allow "our newest brain"—the
"fourth brain"—to flourish. This will bring about a higher stage in
evolution that prizes love and altruism. According to Pearce (The Biology of
Transcendence), the biggest roadblocks to this new order are religion and
science, which together promote violence and arrogance. These "two
mongrels" of culture have long forced civilized people into a false
either/or choice, one that Pearce characterizes as a choice "between being
hanged or shot." For Pearce, the two disciplines have produced "a
single monoculture sweeping the globe and bringing a mounting tide of
irrational and ever more intense violence," and leaving us—and especially
our children—"spiritually starved." To overcome the terrible evils of
science and religion and fulfill the promises of the fourth brain, we must
cultivate what Pearce calls "the dynamic of the heart-brain-mind
relationship," literally listening to our heart as a kind of brain itself
that prioritizes love and intimate relationship above all else. Heavy on the
science, Pearce's overall argument is slow going but worthwhile because of his
fluid prose and intriguing understanding of human evolution.
Copyright © Reed
Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
______________________________________
Beware! The photo of the author on
the book jacket is deceptive. It pictures a soulful, Quaker like
grandfather--when all the time the contents of his book are loaded with
intellectual hand grenades aimed at the very heart of our culture!
I began writing this review in the usual manner, underlining a phrase here, a
word there, scribbling little notes at corners, on the edge--you know, the
usual. But after a couple pages I saw that practically every word, every phrase
was highlighted, and that there were copious notes all over the place. The book
contains so much knowledge, so much insight, and addresses so many of the most
vital subjects of life--that to attempt restricting myself to a few ideas here
and there seemed almost sacrilegious.
And in the most positive sense this book IS sacrilegious.
In his call for humans to approach the next step of evolution, JC Pearce
challenges us to overcome the greatest obstacle to that evolution--our very
culture based on organized religion and orthodox science, that in turn arise
from humanity’s apparent need for prediction and control. The author is such a
master of phraseology that he'll have you convinced in a matter of a few pages
that, yeah, they really ARE holding us back.
Pearce is no mere iconoclast--he skillfully demonstrates that the natural
replacement for these cultural misconceptions exists and has existed all around
us from the beginning of our collective jump from chimp to human (via the
common shrew we are now told.) The author illustrates the power &
biological source of both the individual & collective creative process, and
how they interconnect in "fields of mind." We go along with the
author on a developmental human journey from pre-natal conditions, thru birth
and from there to the many stages that, where they should release ever higher
levels of freedom & pleasure, in reality bind us ever tighter to false
conformity, frustration & social violence.
And never fear--just because THE DEATH OF RELIGION is a mental revelation, it's
a pleasure to read. The writer's source material is life itself & is a
record of every day situations and their evolutionary potential.
Reading THE DEATH OF RELIGION allegorically feels like lifting a boulder from
one's very soul.
This is one of the most relevant books of our time.
It's a stunning achievement.
CD
English
Renaissance Music
John
Bull (Composer), William
[Composer] Byrd (Composer), Richard
(Deering) Dering (Composer), Arthur
Frackenpohl (Composer), Orlando
Gibbons (Composer), Antony
Holborne (Composer), John
[Composer] Holmes (Composer), Robert
[2] [Composer] Johnson (Composer), Thomas
Morley (Composer), Thomas
Weelkes (Composer), John
Wilbye (Composer), Canadian
Brass (Performer), David
Ohanian (Performer), Eugene
Watts (Performer), Ronald
Romm (Performer), W.
Fred Mills (Performer), Charles
Daellenbach (Performer)
Even today there are
some really good deals out there and this CD is one of them. It delivers the technique
of a highly acclaimed & proficient musical group (Canadian Brass)performing
an excellent selection of stellar Renaissance composers: Holborne, Gibbons,
Byrd, Holmes, etc. The music is powerful, stately & elegant. I know that
people might have a tendency to see the great price for this CD and assume it's
probably not so hot...Wrong! This infusion of historic grandeur from our past
is way more valuable than the cost of the CD.
Best
of the Canadian Brass
The
Essential Canadian Brass
Canadian
Brass: Legends
The
Canadian Brass Plays the Pachelbel Canon - Great Baroque Music
Our Beloved Founder
&
Guru
Barkenatem VI
NEW THIS
MONTH
Reviews: JEFarrow
© 2010 Parallel Perspectives
