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Season of Photographic Eye - picture 9
Week 49, Wednesday
In previous post I told you about Roland Barthes, the French intellectual and philosopher, who has tried to explain the essence of photography and devised the term punctum to describe the unique feelings photography can bring up in us. Being especially a French philosopher his writings can be pretty abstract, but I do like what Barthes is trying to explain with his winding words. I myself used this term for my own purposes when I tried to describe what I am (ideally) searching for when taking family photographs – a certain sting that makes one see being, life and time in a lucid way. At best, photographs have that sort of effect on us. But what Barthes is really trying to do, is to create a new kind of understanding of photography that doesn't rely on any existing theories of art or cultural studies. Instead he claims that in the core of photographic experience there is the punctum, which is mostly an experience which cannot be described with words or existing discourses, and because of this the essence of photography remains, in the end, unexplained by words but still experienced from material photographs.
In another excerpt about the punctum, Barthes explains how some photographs have certain details that viewer just cannot help but keep on staring. It might be the suede shoes the subject wears, the certain posture of hands, the stingy gaze, the oppressive mood of the sky, the dusk that makes subject unknown, the furniture in the room, etc. What Barthes (probably) means relates to iconic character of some images that transmutes mundane everyday life into exquisite imagery. They are photographs that transcends time being beautiful yet strange, somewhat mysterious and in the end something that speak to people. If you have studied photographs with any sensibility for the subject, you definitely know the feeling of fascination when something just grabs your attention in photograph and makes you stare it for a long time without any explicit reason.
Rather than believing in strict rules of good photography which are usually part of any 'photography 101' lessons (rules of third, position of horizon, point of view, leading lines, etc.), I'm much more drawn to Barthes's philosophic discourse. Not only does it rescue the captivating nature of original photographic experience from overanalyzing and fractioning it, it also makes room for more authentic aesthetic experience. Thinking that photography is not about executing certain technical or aesthetic rules but about the photographic experience, gives me a permission to think that any everyday situation can potentially be a source of exquisite imagery. Rather than limiting myself to any genre and its established practices, I'm free to explore the world and life in the original, raw and unaltered way. And to be honest, I'm quite content that I haven't concentrated on an particular genre of photography (portraits, landscapes, sport and all the other usual suspects). Personally, having certain diversity is a great source of joy to me. I also think that because of this, it has been easier to find my own way of seeing things and world through a viewfinder.
Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com
After having made a few preparatory experiments, he concluded with a panegyric upon modern chemistry, the terms of which I shall never forget: "The ancient teachers of this science," said he, "promised impossibilities and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.
-Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
CLASSIFIED
Journal Entry, August 7th, 1993
Today me and my lab partners were successfully able to bond the material found in Arizona 6 years (Now known as Element Ω) ago to the property enhancing agent our lab sister lab has been working on. From what we are able to determine, the bonding agent has brought out the properties of the mineral as we had hoped and we are now able to study it and determine what other scientific applications it may have.
Head of the Scientific Research and Development team at Sector 7,
-Bob Jenkins
Journal Entry, November 21st, 1993
After considerably amount of research our team has come to the conclusion that Element Ω has the ability when applied correctly to replicate all aspects of what can be considered "Negative Emotions" such as anger, hate, rage or jealousy. We are now curios as to what would happen when this element is applied to a living organism.
Head of the Scientific Research and Development team at Sector 7,
-Bob Jenkins
Journal Entry, December 5th, 1995
Today we tested the affects of Element Ω on a chimpanzee and we are scheduled to test it on one of our human test subjects (One of the ones in a vegetative state, of course, I would never try it on a truly "alive" being, that would be monstrous) on Monday if the chimpanzee test has good results
Head of the Scientific Research and Development team at Sector 7,
-Bob Jenkins
Journal Entry, February 13th, 1996
Dear God, what have I done? In December I applied Element Ω to a vegetative human to see what would happen and for a few weeks everything seemed to be fine, until he woke up. After that we immediately quarantined him and put him under constant surveillance but soon after the mutations started to occur. Now he is barely recognizable as a human being and I am authorizing transportation to a high security facility.
Head of the Scientific Research and Development team at Sector 7,
-Bob Jenkins
Hi.
Welcome to “Alchemy”.
I’ve been told that my writing is cryptic. I say I mostly communicate in 2 layers. “Alchemy” is my hermetical statement.
Hermeticism has a long tradition of cloaking their written ideas in a labyrinth of coded jargon set with traps to mislead the uninitiate. Alchemists were forced to write about a spiritual discipline under a materialistic guise in order to avoid accusations of blasphemy from the church and state. Their entire philosophy revolved around their belief that man's soul was divided within himself after the fall of Adam. By purifying the two parts of man's soul, man could be reunited with God (or in psychology, Jung’s divine marriage: coming into wholeness as a human being). Generally Alchemy is centered on the transmutation of base metals into noble ones. For Hermeticism, Alchemy is fundamentally concerned with spiritual enlightenment and illumination. In this sense, the transmutation of lead into gold is an analogy for personal transmutation, purification and perfection of the soul, the evolution. Groups like the Rosicrucians and Freemasons have a continued interest in alchemy and its symbolism.
“Alchemy” is a series of visual allegories, besides being former experiments (on the border between science and charlatanism) meant to detract you from a physical plane and deliver you into mysticism via transformation and criticism.
As far as the etymology goes, the term Alchemy means Black Earth as the antique name for Egypt – borrowed by Greeks: Chemia, then by the Arab culture: Al Kimiya, arrived to Latin languages: alchymia. Modern Greek turned it into Chymeia (mixture) that would stand for today’s chemistry. The ultimate goal of Alchemy was the artificial creation of life including human life and the search for the philosopher’s stone (or grand elixir of immortality in the Chinese culture) which other is not but a metaphor for a hidden spiritual truth or power that would lead to that goal (passed by God to Adam).
“Alchemy” in the Hermetic key looks for the philosopher’s stone inward. Find yourself and you’ll find God (As above so below – the Hermetic axiom). Cuz God is within you.
Lastly, the philosopher’s stone is created by the alchemical method known as The Magnum Opus or The Great Work. The Great Work of Alchemy is often described as a series of four stages represented by colors (changes of chemical processes).
- nigredo, a blackening or melanosis
- albedo, a whitening or leucosis
- citrinitas, a yellowing or xanthosis
- rubedo, a reddening, purpling, or iosis
This would explain the colors I chose to work with.
Below, I’m going to give a brief description of the things you’re going to experience:
1. Where art though? ~ op art for dimension jumping into a metaphysical plane.
2. Transparent Report ~ Garden of Eden of sorts. Here you can rest and question everything you read above, let yourself be tempted by the cryptic symbolism. When you’re chrysanthemum full you can take a trip to the other side.
3. How much river do you need?? ~ the actual crossing. I guess it takes some resources to break on through on the other side. (In fact you should jump and then turn around)
4. The Fall ~ drowning into an ascent. Ultimately we’re all here on Earth – SL – B.O. - October 2017 with the eyes turned skywards.
5. Random International ~ a series of craftless but pretentious images with the only purpose of taking you to the big forward. The resurrection.
(I hope you enjoyed the journey. Otherwise go to IKEA and buy a table. Then make a damn good cup of coffee. If this doesn’t work, please take drugs and come back. Blue Orange is a deeply marvelous place full of the talent of more remarkable artists:
- Theda Tammas
- Aicha-Tubal Amiot
- Gitu Aura
- Chibbchichi
- Byrn Oh
- Nicole X
- Rebecca Bashly
- Xirana Oximoxi
- Jadeyu Fhang)
Thank you for taking the time to visit and read this.
A special Thank You goes to ini for otherwise Inventory experiments I made months ago would have never come to light and is such a great honor to celebrate B.O. 1y birthday.
Have a luminous existence.
Hugs,
Nevereux
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Empire%20State%20Island/24...
Vargo - Silence
So this is just another piece of artwork based on a scrapped crossover story idea I had. Along with a summary on how this story was to play out.
Thousands of years ago Mata Nui and Teridax fought on Bara Magna. Unlike the main timeline the battle ended with Mata Nui destroying Bara Magna using the fragments of Aqua Magna and Bota Magna in a desperate attempt to finish off Teridax once and for all.
The Kanohi Ignika survived, drifting through space and crash landing on Earth. Later discovered on the Orkney Islands and acquired by Arthur after forming a bond with the mask.
Several years later, the mask receives a message. A mysterious figure calling it through space. Arthur takes the Ignika and travels with Micah and Johnny Thunder to the location. Finding themselves at the coliseum in Metru Nui (The head of the great spirit robot partly survived, crashing onto a dead planet).
The mysterious figure is revealed to be Turaga Vakama, who tells the trio of the events that transpired thousands of years ago. When Mata Nui destroyed Bara Magna the inhabitants of the Matoran Universe were teleported to the Red star, trapped there due to a malfunction in the teleport. The star is deteriorating and only the Ignika can help free them.
Arthur, Micah and Johnny travel from the coliseum through the ruins of Metru Nui, finding a way onto the surface of the planet. Along the way they are attacked by Rahkshi and Makuta Teridax (Who survived the destruction by transferring his essence into the body of Ahkmou. And now has become a hideous tentacled mass of shadow, Matoran pieces and armour).
Arthur uses the Ignika to fend off Teridax, but soon the Makuta notices that the Ignika is slowly killing Arthur due to his more organic physiology unable to handle the power of the mask. He offers Arthur a chance to be free of the mask, but Arthur refuses.
The trio escape to the planet's surface, but Teridax follows close behind with his army of Rahkshi. Seeing no other alternative, Arthur puts on the Ignika, summoning the red star. The energies of the red star make contact with Arthur and the Ignika, however Teridax taunts Arthur and states that he will take control of the inhabitants when they arrive.
The Ignika takes control of Arthur, sending a blast of life energy that disintegrates the Rahkshi. As Teridax attempts to attack the Ignika incapacitates him, realising that the Makuta is simply nothing more than energy. Using Arthur's abilities, the Ignika transmutes Teridax into life energy, stripping him of consciousness and using his life force to terraform the planet. Teridax defiantly attempts to resist, stating that he is nothing. Speaking through Arthur the mask replies coldly 'And nothing you shall remain'.
Arthur however is rapidly deteriorating, Micah begs the Ignika to release Arthur but both their consciousnesses have become too linked. Micah tries to make Arthur remember past events, able to forcibly remove the Mask which then summons the teleportation sequence.
In a flash of blinding light, the inhabitants of the Matoran universe are returned. Witnessing a new world teeming with life and lush vegetation.
The mask uses it's power one last time to restore Arthur, saving him from death. With a new world and a second chance, the former inhabitants of the Matoran Universe celebrate and begin work on building a new life for themselves.
Arthur returns the Ignika to the inhabitants, leaving with Micah and Johnny after the celebrations end.
This quirky hippie-style specialty shop has been part of our neighborhood ever since I can remember. Sadly, it has now become a memory.
The website still exists:
"At The Alchemy Store, our goal is to provide our customers with the necessary tools to create real change in their lives and to deepen their connection to their true essence. Alchemy is the power to change. Our Transformative candles harness the power of intention through consciousness, sound and reiki energy to manifest the change we want to see in our lives... We hope that you enjoy our products as much as we do and that they help you on your path of alchemy."
I remembered alchemy had to do with transformation but had to remind myself of the actual definition:
"A medieval chemical philosophy having as its asserted aims the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea, and the preparation of the elixir of longevity."
經師棚相對大士台，掛滿佛、菩薩和護法的潮州刺繡，中央是釋迦牟尼佛、東方藥師佛及阿彌陀佛。經師誦經念佛，消除眾生孽障。勝會最後一日，經師舉行「放焰口」法事，讓孤魂「聞經享食」。
盂蘭勝會的經棚是其中重要的部份。經棚是面對著附薦棚，大師們在經棚裡日夜誦經，超度幽靈，以脫離苦困。
One of the five pavilions at the Hungry Ghosts Festival event, the Praying Pavilion is where priests will chant prayers day and night, to relieve the spirits from sufferings.
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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Hearts
Tom Hamel
pink alabaster, 2019
4” to 14” in length
Now at
If you are strolling in San Jose’s vibrant Japantown, why not stop by Ken Matsumoto’s Art Object Gallery on Fifth Street? Yes, it’s a challenge to know where to enter - there’s a glass door that faces the street that is usually locked - maybe not a good way to draw in art patrons. But those in the know know to step to their left and open the door in the beautifully wrought gate that encloses the outdoor half of the exhibition space. Ken’s work, massive boulders masterfully transmuted into vessels, is in the courtyard - Ken himself is at the back, working under the original corrugated tin roof of what was a fruit and nut processing building back when San Jose was largely agriculture, when the Santa Clara valley was the Valley of Heart’s Delight, filled with fragrant orchards. Ken can sell you one of these modern hearts, freshly harvested from my workshop.
Spent an absorbing afternoon at the Rubin Museum that specializes in Tibetan and Nepalese Art. Lots to photograph and all so beautifully lit!
“Mahākāla (Sanskrit) is a protector deity on whom all schools of Tibetan Buddhism rely. He is typically black in color and is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the five kleśās (negative afflictions) into the five wisdoms.” Adapted from Wikipedia
Seen at the Rubin Museum of Art, New York.
Leaves on the turn, green transmuting into gold before they fall to join the carpet of other leaves already on the grass below
The traditional arrangements of offerings on the altar featuring the five main elements 傳統潮籍拜拜用的供品：
茶，清酒，湯圓，飯, 谷果類供品
Tea, Rice Wine, Glutinous balls in candy soup, Rice, Grain / Nuts Offerings.
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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經師棚相對大士台，掛滿佛、菩薩和護法的潮州刺繡，中央是釋迦牟尼佛、東方藥師佛及阿彌陀佛。經師誦經念佛，消除眾生孽障。勝會最後一日，經師舉行「放焰口」法事，讓孤魂「聞經享食」。
盂蘭勝會的經棚是其中重要的部份。經棚是面對著附薦棚，大師們在經棚裡日夜誦經，超度幽靈，以脫離苦困。
One of the five pavilions at the Hungry Ghosts Festival event, the Praying Pavilion is where priests will chant prayers day and night, to relieve the spirits from sufferings.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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I hate doing self portraits because it makes me feel very egotistical. However, this picture is a bit old and a very symbolic for me. I didn't want to make a simple picture, so here is materialized what I felt when my old relationship broke up.
Inside us there is always the rotten. The rotting is required to be transmuted into life.
We live in a world of duality. Angels and Demons incite us and eventually we lost ourselves not knowing where to go.
"This morning I heard the angels. They kissed my face to make me smile.
We never touch, help me remember that I still believe in something beautiful.
I'm crying, pick me up, you're all I need.
In the winter, all the angels sit between us and wish we could know.
I'd like to tell you how much, but the words here are hard for me too. "
The line between love and passion is tenuous,
We aim to spirituality,
We leave the putrid matter dominate.
I hope that between angels and demons I can awaken the light that lives in the midst of my shadows.
You have the power to awaken the best of me, as the worst. I'm tired of destroying myself for you.
I see your imminent suffering, and there's nothing I can do.
I'm disengaging, and I hope that you can be happy on your own way...
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
七月盂蘭 Mid Summer Ghost Story
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
Caves & Temples
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======================================================
................. From the Sayings of Buddha ...............
The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest qualities is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
請神隊伍一路上灑柚子葉浸泡過的水開路，浩浩蕩蕩的帶著廟宇裡請上的香爐會到盂蘭勝會會場。
Along with the incense burners from the local temple, the brigade makes their way back to the venue of the Hungry Ghost Festival, sprinkling holy water soaked with Yuzhi leaf to cleanse the path.
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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其中扮演天兵的劇團演員 。
七姐暗動凡心，偷到人間與董永結緣。玉帝獲悉此事，強遣已懷身孕的七姐返回天宮。後永勤奮讀書，高中狀元，七姐重臨人間，把孩子交永撫養，從此仙凡永隔。
祭典期間，神公戲演員會扮演“天姬送子”一幕，把人偶送給理事，喻為”添丁帶福“。而扮演”董永“的演員則把官帽送上，喻為”陞官發財“。
During the hungry ghost prayers ritual, there is a section where the Chinese Opera actors will hand over a puppet and a governor's hat to the committee members, giving the symbolic meaning of prosperity and fortune.
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
The Final Transmutation is a rare spectacle of nature which occurs solely in the hardest of winters. Only the oldest Dryads then transform into an Old One - a Dryad deity. This may even involve a sex change as it did in this case when Fiérce, the oldest of the Sylvaneth Sisters, became Fiércc the Dryad God.
I am revisiting some of my figs at the moment. Thanks to "Nicebricks" , who sold me the headpiece, which can be bought as a part of his custom Sauron on his bricklink store.
Vivitar 55mm f2.8 / macro 1:1
== 右眼慢拍老鏡攝影展 < 第 32 講 > ==
盛夏的清晨我順著沿溪步道上行，晨光透過層層枝椏灑落地面，為這片森林添上一層微光，踩踏在軟木鋪墊的小徑上，眼睛緊盯著林間的蛛絲馬跡，搜尋昆蟲留下的存在證明。此時的溪頭森林裡是昆蟲們樂活的天堂，停停走走間，目光落在一根滿布苔癬的枝條上，一具露水沾濕的夏蟬空殼靜靜地攀附於樹枝之上，我停下腳步拿起 Vivitar 55mm f2.8 macro 這顆微距老鏡，將視線深入這殘留的軀殼之中，在逆光下，它不再只是空蕩蕩的殼，而是透出金黃的光澤，細微處浮現出昆蟲獨有的肌理。穿越時空彷彿來到法布爾的視界，他曾無數次在這樣的清晨裡，彎腰伏地，凝視蜂蟲留下的痕跡，研究那些微小卻深具奧義的生物，耗費一生追尋昆蟲的奧秘，因為他知道，生命的故事往往隱藏在最細微的輪廓裡。
--- 微距攝影的魅力，在於它讓被忽視的世界變得可感可見，使夏蟬的軀殼不只是殘存，而是彷彿仍在沉睡的存在，透過微距鏡頭，展現蝉蜕的細緻紋理，讓生命的痕跡在光影間閃動。
--- 逆光的運用，使影像產生透光層次，透過光線，使夏蟬的殼擁有通透感，使影像不只是靜態，讓焦點集中於昆蟲的紋理，使影像的敘事超乎正常視覺的感受，進而產生對生命的思索。
法布爾俯身在地然後緊靠過去，目光落在枝條上的夏蟬空殼，如凝視一帖舊時的情書，他伸出指尖並且輕觸那透明的外殼，微笑著低語：「你知道嗎？在法國的鄉間，每當夏日來臨，人們總能聽見蟬鳴如詩的樂章，響徹田野，如戀人細語，如遠方歸人的高歌。」他回過頭，看向我手中的 Vivitar 55mm f2.8 macro 眼底閃過一絲欣賞：「你用這鏡頭捕捉了一場離別的溫存，透過逆光，它彷彿仍擁有生命的溫度，就像普魯斯特筆下那些消逝的時光，短暫卻餘韻悠長。」我答應到：「我只是單純想讓這些瞬間被記住，讓影像擁有呼吸感，如你的《昆蟲記》一般，讓生命的細節化作詩行。」法布爾目光閃動著柔和的光芒：「是的，昆蟲的世界，就像人間的愛戀，它短暫、細膩、難以言說，而當它離去，我們才發現，它的歌聲仍然迴盪在風中。」他輕輕指向枝條上的蟬蜕：「這不只是殘留的軀殼，它是時間的吻痕。你拍下它，不是因為它美麗，而是因為它的存在值得被銘記，這就是藝術的真諦。」法布爾爬起身輕輕拍了拍衣袖上的微塵，最後看了一眼那具透光的蟬殼，對我說：「生命短暫，但每個生命的故事，總有值得傾聽的地方。」他轉身離去，步履從容，走向溪頭森林更幽深的深處，仿佛走進他筆下無數次描繪過的自然世界。我凝視著的蟬殼攀附依舊，而法布爾，或許早已消失在林間，但他對生命的熱愛，對微觀世界的讚頌，仍然留存於天地之間，與風共鳴，與蟬聲共存。
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作品名稱 / 金蟬脫殼 (Transmutation)
使用鏡頭 / Vivitar 55mm f2.8 macro
拍攝日期 / 2018.7.14 9:30 am
Waxed-paper lanterns written with the words "慈航普渡" bringing upon the well-wishes of salvation for the hungry spirits to pass on to the other side where they will no longer suffer.
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** Origin and facts of the Hungry Ghost Festival:
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
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More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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Photo shot with Nikon D600 + AF-S NIikkor 50mm f/1.8G
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If you are interested in purchasing this image, please visit Getty Images page at:
文通相手のうりこさんと。
Kimono - tomoto, hishou black men
Coat - ::Mr.Poet::Drape great coat - Olive
Neckerchief - ::Mr.Poet::Neckerchief - Lemon
Mustache - [INK] Mustache for HF14 Gift ::Black
Hair - little bones. Transmute
Pose -
momo:kimono_m_haraobi03_1_h47
momo:20150130_uriko_kimono1_2
Location - HyakuMonogatari
MACHINE GUN FACE (WAR MACHINE II)
12" x 16" ~ Acrylic on canvas
This is a character I plan to use in my latest large project, (TRANSMUTATIONISTS) I'm sure he will look considerable different by the time he gets in the big picture.
Transmutationists is a painting full of (allegorical) characters such as this. These players in my painting, (Painted story, if you will) are representative of the melding of man and machine. A merger or a unification of our inventions, our bodies and our minds.
Perhaps this idea is becoming cliche. However, I'm still very much interested in it.
In the large painting I am depicting different possibilities. Some are warlike, like this guy. Some are devoted to energy, some to information, some possibly to something more esoteric. I'm not done with the piece yet.
... And btw; it is for sale here:http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250620371844
Ronnie Raymond was an engineer, working on STAR Labs infamous particle accelerator project when he met the love of his life, Caitlin Snow. The two were engaged to be married the night the accelerator exploded, but in trying to contain the blast, Ronnie sacrificed his own life. ...Or so everyone thought. Ronnie would actually find himself fused with Professor Martin Stein, a physicist who was experimenting with means of transmutation. The two shared their single body, although not well, as they each fought the other for control for months, until Martin won out. Ronnie still siezed enough to control most of his actions, leading him to his former fiance, Caitlin, who helped the pair control their fusing and transmutational powers. Taking on the name of Stein's project, the two helped the Flash protect Central City on a number of occassions. Ultimately, Ronnie would sacrifice himself to close a black hole threatening to swallow the City, being forever remembered as the first hero to be known as Firestorm!
I have a theory, or perhaps a wish, regarding Firestorm. I think that Ronnie could've been swallowed by that black hole, and spat out a few years in the future at about the same height. The fall would paralyze Ronnie, leaving him in a wheelchair, but when the future inevitably becomes the present, Jax would find Ronnie, and the two would become the new Firestorm! This version of Ronnie's always been smarter than the average one, so he could easily fill Stein's shoes. But I'd say at this point, Crisis will solve the Firestorm issue before anything else does
Light stand providing light for every stick of incense at the event.
薪火相傳 - 場地提供點明燈以供信眾點燃香燭。
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
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Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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Just in time for Bionifight's closing, I managed to put together a MOC of my (second?) favorite character from the RPG: Virse, Toa of Sand. I've been wanting to MOC her for months, and now that I finally got some (knockoff) tan CCBS, I could finish her. I have to say I'm very proud of how she came out.
Virse hails from an alternate universe where the GSR was never built and the Toa were created to attempt to repair Spherus Magna. However, they only made it worse, and in the great Shattering that followed, the Great Beings were lost. The survivors were forced to war for resources, Glatorian vs. Toa. After thousands of years passed and hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, they reached an unsteady peace. Virse, like many other Toa, used this time to specialize her element, shifting from Stone to Sand, before being taken to fight in the Bionifight Tournament. When the Bionifight Facility crash-landed on Saarella Kirottu, Virse was lost and presumed dead in an attempt to liberate the prisoners of the Cult of War.
Virse wields a Heat Gauntlet, a weak Great Being relic capable of creating great heat, in which she can forge her hardened glass blades. She wears the Mask of Elemental Transmutation, allowing her to change her body into sand.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the Golden Dawn.The Breaking of the Golden Dawn
They had to fight from the start against Arthur Edward Waite, who, at the head of a group of followers, wanted to modify the system of leadership, for reasons he explained in 1903: to be caliph instead of the caliph, then make The Order give up all magic, overhaul all rituals, and all for good reason: Waite claims the Third Order doesn't exist. Waite and Blackden then founded their own Order, with a temple they named Isis-Urania after the first temple of the Golden Dawn. Brodie-Inner makes his Edinburgh temple independent.Following the Golden Dawn on the Tarot track is much easier indeed: Waite in 1910 gives his drawn version of the mysteries described in "book T" of the Golden Dawn, the "Rider tarot", and accompanies it with a book where he says too much or not enough. The particularity of this game is that, unlike Book T, the Minors are small scenes illustrating the principle attached to them. But no keywords, no visible alchemy or Qabala everywhere: Waite's mysticism emanates from all magic. From the book and the game, then from Book T when it began to be distributed under the coat, many creations flourished, up to recent authors such as the game of Hanson-Roberts, Salvador Dali or the Sacred rose…while that of Crowley inspired Barbara Walker, specialist in feminine magic, the German Haindl, Gill, Clark, or the Italian Mario…in his “Tarot of the Ages”… Attempts from Book T itself gave birth to the game of Robert Wang, supervised by Israel Regardie, the game of Gareth Knight, the game of Geoffroy Dowson, the very faithful game of Sandra Tabatha Cicero...
Paul Foster Case, member of the Order, founds the BOTA (Builders of Adytum), where everyone must paint their game themselves, according to Case's book; the drawing differs slightly from Waite, and has the Minors abstracted.
History, technology and survival
What is fascinating when one approaches the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is to see how this structure so brief - from 1887 to 1903: barely sixteen years! - Has dared to touch all areas of occultism, both Western and Eastern, has carried out a gigantic synthesis of contradictory or unusual teachings, and has influenced all the schools of the 20th century throughout the English- and French-speaking world. Audacities forged by Golden Dawn seekers are considered gospel by many esoteric groups, either directly from Golden Dawn because they were founded by a former member, or indirectly through the discovery of their work and the adaptation of the said works to their own research. We are going to see first of all which are the researchers whose discoveries or affirmations have been used by the GD; then we will see the history of the Order itself, and finally the continuators of the GD and its current influence.
Masters of the Golden Dawn
We can first see a theoretician of ceremonial magic, Cornelius Agrippa, whose work was centered on the analogies between objects, elements, man, and the cosmos. Acting on one according to certain rules, one could act on the other by way of sympathy and by the union of all in all. Henri-Corneille Agrippa de Nettesheim, (1486-1535) is a man who alternately occupies multiple official functions, as theologian, philosopher, linguist, jurist and astrologer, zigzagging with the hunters of the Inquisition who want the head of this man free from any school. His books are a classic reference on talismans and other magic rituals. If the name of Paracelsus (1493-1541) is not unknown to the GD, it is Agrippa who is the "essential" base. Another important base, although much more obscure, will be the angelic system developed by John Dee, (1527-1608), Welsh scholar, following revelations seen in rock crystal by the medium Kelly, visions that Dee took notes. He explains three magics: natural (by sympathy), acting on the elemental; mathematics (numbers and figures) for the celestial world; and religious, acting on the supra-celestial world through a kabbalistic system based on angels. This system includes a true new language, with grammar, syntax, symbolism, only adapted to the angels who can come called by their true names. This carries with it enormous and illegible implications, which Dee called “the Enochian”, in reference to Enoch who was taken up to heaven without dying.
Enochian magick is one of the pillars of the secret teaching of the GD. Good books (in English) have been devoted to him, and a divinatory game was even developed a short time ago in order to facilitate the evocative work of the follower. Of course, the great classics of alchemy (Corpus Hermeticus, the Fama Fraternitatis, the Confessio Fraternitatis) and grimoires (especially the Clavicles of Solomon and the Book of Abramelin the Wise) are also used, dissected, reworked and reorganized.
The vogue aroused by Francis Barrett's "The Magus" (1801) grew steadily, despite the blunders with which it was riddled, to the point that Barrett founded a magic association, of which Montagne Summers (1880-1948) and Frédérick Hockley were members. But France will have a great part in the elaboration of the rituals of the future Order: indeed, one of the avowed references of the GD is Papus, jointly with Eliphas Lévi and Court de Gébelin.The old methods and the slow technological revolution since the liturgical catechism. appeared as a trophy . The stigmata are an alchemical ordeal and the symbolism of the way of the cross of an initiation. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The references
Papus (1865-1916) began to write in 1884, at the age of 19, and his written work - like his occult work as founder and unifier of various traditions - was followed with passion across the Channel.
Eliphas Lévi (1810-1875) is considered the Great Kabbalist of the century, and his books are scrutinized, dissected, commented on with feverishness. He made known Antoine Court de Gébelin who had revealed the secrets of the primitive world in 1775 and who had given back to the game of tarot peddled in the countryside its letters of nobility.
The efforts of the Parisian Rosicrucians (Stanislas de Guaita, Joséphin Péladan) resuscitate the old dream of reviving all these specifically Western forgotten heritages, in the face of the growing Orientophilia due to Madame Blavatski's Theosophy: the Templars and their rites, the Rose+ Cross and their alchemy, the druids and their Celtic secrets, the Egyptian gods and the strength of their symbols, the Enochian mysteries revealed to John Dee and still untapped, divination and communication with the Invisible as sources of esoteric knowledge... Further energized in London by the lightning advances of the Theosophical Society, revealing an invisible world to converse with, and the demonstrations of the spiritualist Douglas-Home, the project is becoming more and more 'in tune with the times'.
The founders
It was to originate in the minds of three Freemason friends who were also members of the "Societas Rosicruciana In Anglia" (SRIA): Doctor William Wynn Westcott, (friend of Mme Blavatski, reader of John Dee, and Grand- Master of the Societas from 1878); Samuel Liddel Mathers, who later styled himself MacGregor Mathers, claiming descent from the Scottish Clan MacGregor; and William Robert Woodman their friend. One will note in the same Societas Kenneth Mackenzie, admirer of Eliphas Lévi whom he had gone to meet in Paris, and Doctor Felkin. All these names will become familiar to you, because it is around them, and barely a dozen other names, that everything will be built.The foundation : One of the legends has it that the seer Frédérick Hockley, pupil of Francis Barrett and teacher of Mackenzie, died in 1885, leaving behind him a vast library, including manuscripts encrypted with probably a code of the "Polygraphy" of the Abbé Tritheme, initiator of Cornelius Agrippa.
Woodford, a friend of Mackenzie, receives these documents from him. He is not a Mason, but knows Westcott's taste for grimoires. He hands her the texts, which Westcott passes on to Mathers for decoding. In these manuscripts, which turn out to be abbreviated kabbalistic notes, Westcott finds the address of a Rosicrucian connected with the oldest and surest branch of the original true Rose+Cross, Die Goldenne Dammerung (The Dawn Doree): Anna Sprengel, in Nuremberg. He contacted her immediately and obtained the right to establish an English branch of the Order of the Rose+Croix under the name of The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which was done in 1887. Mathers was named Imperator. The first Temple (equivalent to a Masonic Lodge) was opened in 1888 under the name of Isis-Urania. Recruitment is rapid among the Brothers of the Societas, but the Order is also open to non-Masons, and to women. In 1891, Mathers announced the death of Anna Sprengel and the decision to continue working outside the "third Order", the German Rose+Croix. The GD then included an external order, and since 1892 two internal orders, where all the decisions concerning the rituals and the axes of work were taken. Woodman died in 1891. Westcott and Mathers remain sole leaders of the Order.
Secret names and ranks
The custom of “nomen” in Latin, the sacred language of the Rosicrucians, is established: at the rank of Neophyte, a nomen was chosen. The texts of the Order sent to the followers bore as signature the initials of the nomen of the author. For example, note that of Mathers: Frater Deo Duce and Comite Ferro (DDCF), that of Westcott: Frater Sapere Aude (SA), that of Anna Sprengel: Soror Sapiens Dominabitur Astris (SDA). One will be struck by the resemblance to the customs of the Strict Templar Observance of Germany, transformed into a Masonic rite known as the “Rectified Scottish Regime” by the Lyonnais occultist Jean-Baptiste Willermoz in 1785. The decoration of the temples and numbers of accessories or costumes were heavily inspired by ancient Egypt, apart from the symbolic creations specific to the GD. Here are the names of the ranks of the Outer Order (Golden Dawn): Neophyte, Zealator, Theoricus, Practicus, Philosophus. In the Inner Order (Ordo Rosae Rubae et Aurae Crucis) (The Red Rose and the Golden Cross), nine months after the ceremony of the Portal or the Veil of the Temple, one received the degree of Adeptus Minor which was subdivided into Zelator Adeptus and Theoricus Adeptus; then came the ranks of Adeptus Major, and finally Adeptus Exemptus. The chiefs carried, in the Third Order, the titles of Magister Templi, Magus and finally of Ipsissimus.
Teaching content
Let us now see the panorama of what the follower of the Golden Dawn must know, or experience, or deepen, aided in this by strict rituals and finicky astrological calendars: 1) To the rank of Neophyte was given a partial view of all the activities of the Order, and of the already important rituals such as the Qabalistic Sign of the Cross and the Minor Ritual of the Pentagram.
2) The other degrees correspond to the Tree of the Sephiroth, the ubiquitous key in the Golden Dawn at all levels; the Zelator corresponds to Malkuth, the Theoricus to Yesod, etc.
In the First Order magical works are not very developed; rather, we insist on self-knowledge through exercises such as "the Middle Pillar" based on kundalini and the Sephirotic tree, introspection, visions in drawings called Tattvas following a Hindu technique, the practice of Geomancy, Tarot, and learning the theoretical bases of Qabalah, astrology, etc. The first principles of the almighty imagination are explained and put into action, principles which will be at the origin of all the theories and methods of creative visualization of which the New Age is fond. 3) In the Second Order, ceremonial magic takes a prominent place, the Tarot is used in another way, and the Adept is supposed to master many rituals, know how to make and consecrate various objects, Lotus staff, Rose+croix personal and pantacles, knowing how to study the why and how of the rituals he once underwent in the first Order, and entering the Enochian world. 4) The Third Order was only in contact with the two founders; it was nicknamed "the Grand White Lodge of Adepts" and received its directives from "mahatmas" whom Mathers contacted, in the purest Theosophical style, by clairvoyance, astral projection, mysterious appointment, or unknowingly....Most theoretical texts have been published in English. The collection by Israel Regardie, a member of the Order, gives only the texts, with little commentary; the French version is well explained by active members of the Order; the publications of Waite or Crowley bear the mark of the remodeling due to their authors; and many followers, members or not, such as Gareth Knight, Robert Wang, Gerald Schueler, Dion Fortune, Moryason...use the techniques, sometimes adapting them. The researcher who would like to operate concretely should make a rigorous synthesis of these different sources... Unless he receives directly from a true Adept the oral teachings which accompany the texts.
And, of course, each follower calls himself “the sole holder of THE TRUE Golden Dawn”! But let's not anticipate. Let us only reflect on techniques as diverse as they are divergent, often based on subjective parapsychological phenomena and clearly affirmed traditions, brought together for the first time, the link being established by constants such as the Tarot, the Qabalah, the Enochian mysteries... Such a conflagration of diverse and passionate thoughts could only explode, both for human reasons due to the development of the pride inherent in all magic, and for purely eggregoric reasons, due to the reworking of rituals and structures as time went by. as the experiences of the Inner Order (RR and AC) impacted the Outer Order (GD).
The flaw
The flaw came to light with the departure of Doctor Westcott in 1897. The Golden Dawn had been open for ten years. The official reason for leaving is as follows: having forgotten in a "cab" official documents of the Order implicating him, Westcott was summoned by the English authorities to choose between his post of coroner (medical examiner) and his membership of the Order. Rumors about magic around the corpses did not allow a serene exercise of this profession to a follower... We can legitimately suppose that the autocratic character of Mathers was for a lot in the final choice of Westcott, founder of the first hour. Freed from any moderator, MacGregor Mathers had a field day, ruling and deciding everything. Who will be able to judge whether, on the esoteric plane, Mathers' decisions were good or not? Either way, the full powers of the Imperator began to unnerve the spirits - the embodied spirits of his co-followers.
With Westcott's departure begins the decline of the Order as such. One of the points which aroused the anger of the "rebels" was the initiation into the Order in 1898 of a young magician, Aleister Crowley, who, against the opposition of the Brothers and Sisters, was raised to the degree of Adeptus Minor ( the highest grade concretely practiced in the Interior Order) by Mathers himself at the "Ahathoor" Temple in Paris on January 16, 1900.
So much has been said of Crowley that he can't be as black as that. If his personal life was a succession of sexual debauchery and excess, his initiatory written work is fascinating, lucid and balanced. But in Victorian England, even in a secret society where angels, demons and entities roam, Crowley was seen as the reincarnation of Satan himself, a legend he maintained with that mocking smile that we see in certain photos, drawing on his pipe and loving to make the ladies in feathered hats shiver with fright...Mathers' revelation. But finally a satanic legend pays off, and a famous actress, Florence Farr, the leader of the Isis-Urania Temple in London since April 1897, resigns from her post to Mathers. And there, an incredible thing will happen, a clap of thunder in a serene sky: Mathers believes to see in this resignation an underground action of Westcott, and he answers to Florence Farr a letter, dated February 16, 1900 from Paris, which I translated here: "...I cannot let you mount a combination to create a schism with the idea of working secretly or openly under the orders of Sapere Aude (=Westcott) under the false impression that he has been given a power on the work of the Second Order by Soror Dominabitur Astris (=Anne Sprengel). So all of this forces me to tell you completely (and don't get me wrong, I can prove to the hilt every word I say here, and more...) and if I'm confronted with SA I'd say the same , if only for the love of the Order, and in these circumstances which would really kill the reputation of SA, I beg you to keep the secret from the Order for the moment, although in fact you are perfectly free to show him this, if you consider it appropriate after careful consideration".
"(Wescott) was NEVER in communication, at any time, either personally or in writing, with the Secret Heads of the (Third) Order, he had himself forged - or caused to be forged - the alleged correspondence between him and them , and my tongue having been bound all these years by an Oath of Secrecy intended for this purpose, lent to him, asked by him, to me, before showing me what he had done, or caused to be done, or both. You must understand that I say little on this subject, given the extreme gravity of the matter, and once again I ask you, both for his love and that of the Order, not to force me to go further forward on this subject. Mathers does not go so far as to deny the existence of Anna Sprengel - whom he confused for a time with an adventurer, Loleta Jackson, alias Madame Horos, alias Swami Viva Ananda - but the word was out: all the German Rosicrucian guarantee was a bluff, a huge bluff, as was the fanciful "History of the Order" by the same Westcott.
The fall of the Imperator
Florence waits a few days, asks Westcott for an explanation, who calmly denies it, regretting that the witnesses from the first hour are dead. Florence then divulges Mathers' letter to all the Adepts in London, who on March 3 elect a Committee of Seven to hold Mathers to account. Mathers proudly refuses to show any evidence, does not recognize any authority above him except the leaders of the Third Order. On March 23, he dismissed Florence Farr from her duties; on March 29, the Second Order meeting in plenary assembly dismissed Mathers and expelled him from the Golden Dawn, all orders combined. Mathers threatens them with all possible karmic punishments, affirms that one cannot impeach him without his agreement because of magic bonds. Crowley joins him in Paris, comes up against the secession of the Ahatoor temple, and organizes with Mathers a veritable "duel of sorcery" between them and the "rebels". It's tragic to see a mind as vast as Mathers sink in this war of leaders for a power that is crumbling anyway. Each Temple thinks of itself as the sole holder of the "true" rituals, since their personal experiences have been positive (and they were logically positive, given the magnificent work of the founders on the rituals). In addition, each Frater or Soror with a different experience - through the visualization of the Tattvas among other things - feels invested with the duty to "save the true Golden Dawn".
This phenomenon of fragmentation was precipitated by the existence of secret working groups within the Order itself, an existence desired by Mathers as early as 1897 for the purpose of deepening the knowledge acquired. Florence Farr had thus founded a group called “La Sphère”. Enter William Butler Yeats, (1865-1939) Irish, future Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. After having been leader of Isis-Urania, he left the Order in 1901, the same year as the trial of Théo Horos. and his wife for fraud and sexual offenses, trials where the name and practices of the Golden Dawn were called into question with the distorting amplification that you can guess, and above all the publication of pieces of Ritual of the Neophyte where the oath pronounced by the recipient was considered blasphemy. The demoralizing effect on the followers of the Outer Order accentuated the ravages of the war of leaders... In 1902, the Second Order gave itself a triumvirate to lead it: PW Bullock, quickly replaced by Doctor RW Felkin; MW Blackden, Egyptologist, and JW Brodie-Inner. The tarot forms another set of beliefs, values and processes to replace them, Magdalene translated the Ark of the Covenant into a tree where the branches became cards for a deck....As far as the Golden Dawn initiation on the TOWER is concerned; the couple is falling apart, and an inevitable fight is going to happen.Translation "You must remain in control of the situation and keep your cool. Avoid saying anything that might hurt others. As far as your life is concerned, your romantic relationship may be coming to an end.
Take this as a warning - if you really care about your relationship, it's time for you to do some damage control or open up a line of communication to clear up any misunderstandings. " iation into the system of telepathic speech and quantum science was transmitted by medieval chivalry, which brought to the West the sacred science that had survived in the East. The knight is this transmitting agent, and he inspired the language of the alchemists, which symbolises the force that enables a chemical reaction and therefore a transformation of matter. In chemistry, transmutation has not yet been mastered, but it is a common phenomenon among alchemists. Alchemists are Initiates or, better still, Adepts.
The initiatory process for accessing the coded language of the ancient knights probably came to the USA via Rosicrucians inspired by wonderful tales such as The Alchemical Wedding attributed to the name of Christian Rozenkreuz or Goethe's The Wonderful Tale and the Beautiful Lily. Both drew their inspiration from Eastern philosophers, as did Dante, Shakespeare and Hugo. The initiation process was adapted to the tarot deck by Marie Magdalena . Mary Magdalene and Jesus, two great Essene initiates, when they came to Earth, their souls split into five parts to incarnate in as many different bodies. This journey took place between the Resurrection in 33 AD and the Ascension in 73 AD. During these years, Mary Magdalene, Jesus and their children travelled through France, the Netherlands and England. Later, Mary Magdalene and Jesus travelled to Spain, where they met Mary of Bethany and her daughter Sarah. Magda left us the tarot as a tutorial for accessing pure consciousness free of the ego that came mainly from the Romans and was unfortunately taken over by. Rome and therefore by the various occupants of a high command located on the banks of the Tiber. The genesis of the Golden Dawn. is to take our spiritual history early and rediscover this primordial alignment between earthly and cosmic forces. The initiatory process, represented by the imagiers of the Middle Ages, was left dormant in Marseille by Magda. Magda, with her tarot perhaps drawn in the Baumes cave not far from Marseille, has survived to this day. The founders of Golden Dawn asked the Rider Waite Smith trio to recreate a more modern system of representation than the tarot left by Magda and already illustrated by imagiers keen on coded language. Example our knight has worked well, he's a good knight, good night...
The image shows the path to follow to become a magician like Magda or, from a more recent, slightly phallocratic and Western point of view, a magician like Jesus.
We start with the knight of the sword, and the sword is the intellect. The tower here by. Strasbourg (birth of the free masons). it's this card which sees two guys fall. in jest, it's the loss of ego and weightlessness useful for splitting the soul into thirds. The ace. de baton is the one that Hermes Trimegoiste receives but. it is also that of Moses, it became. the caduceus of. doctors. The page of pentacle brings the philosophical gold to make this transmutation made possible by the operating mode.
The Knight of Swords is often taken to represent a confident and articulate young man, who may act impulsively. The problem is that this Knight, though visionary, is unrealistic. He fights bravely, but foolishly. In some illustrations, he is shown to have forgotten his armor or his helmet.A young man stands alone in a field. Pretty flowers, a ploughed field and fruit trees surround him, symbols of the harvest and Abundance to come. He is holding a Denarius in his hand. He looks at it intently. He studies it. The sky is clear. This Jack is quietly building his road to material success.
Like all the Jacks in the Tarot, the Jack of Pence represents a beginning, the first stages of a project. The Suit of Pence is the Suit associated with the Earth Element, material possessions and everything we hold dear - our health, our values, our skills. The Jack of Pence symbolises an awareness of the importance of all the material aspects of life. Wands are associated with fire energy, and the Ace of Wands is the core representation of fire within the deck. The card shows a hand that is sticking out of a cloud while holding the wand.
When we look at this card, we can see that the hand is reaching out to offer the wand, which is still growing. Some of the leaves from the wand have sprouted, which is meant to represent spiritual and material balance and progress. In the distance is a castle that symbolizes opportunities available in the future.The Ace of Wands calls out to you to follow your instincts. If you think that the project that you've been dreaming of is a good idea, and then just go ahead and do it. The Tower card depicts a high spire nestled on top of the mountain. A lightning bolt strikes the tower which sets it ablaze. Flames are bursting in the windows and people are jumping out of the windows as an act of desperation. They perhaps signal the same figures we see chained in the Devil card earlier. They want to escape the turmoil and destruction within. The Tower is a symbol for the ambition that is constructed on faulty premises. The destruction of the tower must happen in order to clear out the old ways and welcome something new. Its revelations can come in a flash of truth or inspiration.
Symbolism of the House of God or the House of God? or Tower for Rider-Waite-Smith in Golden Dawn system: the decisive question of the determinant in the name of the card. I've just been talking about language. And when it comes to language, it's important to be aware of the name of the card. It's a curious name for a tower, alas a dungeon, a fortress used both to protect itself from enemies and to symbolise its power and mark out its territory. It's hard to make the connection between a house and a fortified tower (there are crenellations). The name on the card doesn't match the drawing: symbolism behind it. Joy! Some anti-Cathos tarot cards, generally from the 19th century, call the card the House of God. Wrong! It is not the House of God. It is the House of God. Or Maison Dieu. This also requires a few notes.
The House of God leaves no room for ambiguity: it's a church, a place of worship. The tarot card is not to be taken as such.
The medieval house of God is something else again. "Another meaning of house, "building for specialised use" (12th c.), gave rise to a large number of expressions that appeared in Old French, then again in the 19th-20th c.: the oldest are based on the assimilation between the house and the temple of God (c. 1120, maison Dieu): the hospital where the poor were housed and cared for also received the name Maison Dieu (1165), analogous to hôtel-Dieu, and convents and monasteries that of maison (1165).".
The Maison-Dieu gave rise to legions of small villages and hamlets, particularly on the route to Santiago de Compostela.
Any esoteric researcher knows that when they come across villages with this name, they can stop. The likelihood of finding something symbolic, esoteric or occult in the area is relatively high. God's house (today in US Golden Dawn) is therefore a building where the poor, the sick and pilgrims can find refuge, comfort and care. We're a long way from Babel!.....? And if I remember the meaning of the card[2] at level 2, I'd be happy to add the following: "There is nothing in this world, apart from the spirit, that should not perish from slow or sudden dissociation. Heaven is outside. It is also within. And when its fire consumes or sets ablaze, strips the skin or strikes with lightning, it is always because a fault has been committed against harmony and disorder has arisen... This is how accidents, illnesses, cancers, revolutions and wars arise. Thus perish empires, peoples and races: from false notes." As always, there are many ideological undertones with the Rosicrucians. Food for thought.
www.vincentbeckers-cours-de-tarot.net/maison-dieu-symboli...
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was founded by persons claiming to be in communication with the Secret Chiefs. One of these Secret Chiefs (or a person in contact with them) was supposedly the (probably fictional) Anna Sprengel, whose name and address were allegedly decoded from the Cipher Manuscripts by William Wynn Westcott. In 1892, S. MacGregor Mathers (another founder) claimed that he had contacted these Secret Chiefs independently of Sprengel, and that this confirmed his position as head of the Golden Dawn.[1] He declared this in a manifesto four years later saying that they were human and living on Earth, yet possessed terrible superhuman powers.[1] He used this status to found the Second Order within the Golden Dawn,[2] and to introduce the Adeptus Minor ritual. The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (Latin: Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (Aurora Aurea), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known as a magical order, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was active in Great Britain and focused its practices on theurgy and spiritual development. Many present-day concepts of ritual and magic that are at the centre of contemporary traditions, such as Wicca[1] and Thelema, were inspired by the Golden Dawn, which became one of the largest single influences on 20th-century Western occultism.[ The three founders, William Robert Woodman, William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell Mathers, were Freemasons. Westcott appears to have been the initial driving force behind the establishment of the Golden Dawn. The Golden Dawn system was based on hierarchy and initiation, similar to Masonic lodges; however, women were admitted on an equal basis with men. The "Golden Dawn" was the first of three Orders, although all three are often collectively referred to as the "Golden Dawn". The First Order taught esoteric philosophy based on the Hermetic Qabalah and personal development through study and awareness of the four classical elements, as well as the basics of astrology, tarot divination, and geomancy. The Second or Inner Order, the Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis, taught magic, including scrying, astral travel, and alchemy. The Third Order was that of the Secret Chiefs, who were said to be highly skilled; they supposedly directed the activities of the lower two orders by spirit communication with the Chiefs of the Second Order.
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn has been considered one of the most important Western magical systems for over a century. Although much of their knowledge has been published, to really enter the system required initiation within a Golden Dawn temple--until now. Regardless of your magical knowledge or background, you can learn and live the Golden Dawn tradition with the first practical guide to Golden Dawn initiation. Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero offers self-paced instruction by two senior adepts of this magical order. For the first time, the esoteric rituals of the Golden Dawn are clearly laid out in step-by-step guidance that's clear and easy-to-follow. Studying the Knowledge Lectures, practicing daily rituals, doing meditations, and taking self-graded exams will enhance your learning. Initiation rituals have been correctly reinterpreted so you can perform them yourself. Upon completion of this workbook, you can truly say that you are practicing the Golden Dawn tradition with an in-depth knowledge of qabalah, astrology, Tarot, geomancy, spiritual alchemy, and more, all of which you will learn from Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition. No need for group membership
Instructions are free of jargon and complex language
Lessons don't require familiarity with magical traditions
Grade rituals from Neophyte to Porta. Link with your Higher Self
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to learn the Golden Dawn system, Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition explains it all. The lessons follow a structured plan, adding more and more information with each section of the book. Did you really learn the material? Find out by using the written tests and checking them with the included answers. Here is a chance to find out if the Golden Dawn system is the right path for you or to add any part of their wisdom and techniques to the system you follow. Start with this book now. At the beginning of the twentieth century the esoteric order of the Golden Dawn deposited part of its magical wisdom in Tarot decks. The Golden Dawn Magical Tarot uses symbology and colours as adhered to by the Order of the Golden Dawn. The major arcana show abstract and very vibrant scenes, but the minors are overly repetitive. Little changes between the cards of a suit but the number of cups or pentacles.More than thirty years ago, U.S. Games Systems published the The Golden Dawn Tarot, revealing for the first time many truths and secrets of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and its interpretation of the tarot. The card designs follow the symbolic framework of the Inner Tradition. The foundational documents of the original Order of the Golden Dawn, known as the Cipher Manuscripts, are written in English using the Trithemius cipher. The manuscripts give the specific outlines of the Grade Rituals of the Order and prescribe a curriculum of graduated teachings that encompass the Hermetic Qabalah, astrology, occult tarot, geomancy, and alchemy. According to the records of the Order, the manuscripts passed from Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie, a Masonic scholar, to the Rev. A. F. A. Woodford, whom British occult writer Francis King describes as the fourth founder[2] (although Woodford died shortly after the Order was founded).[3] The documents did not excite Woodford, and in February 1886 he passed them on to Freemason William Wynn Westcott, who managed to decode them in 1887.[2] Westcott, pleased with his discovery, called on fellow Freemason Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers for a second opinion. Westcott asked for Mathers' help to turn the manuscripts into a coherent system for lodge work. Mathers, in turn, asked fellow Freemason William Robert Woodman to assist the two, and he accepted.[2] Mathers and Westcott have been credited with developing the ritual outlines in the Cipher Manuscripts into a workable format.[c] Mathers, however, is generally credited with the design of the curriculum and rituals of the Second Order, which he called the Rosae Rubae et Aureae Crucis ("Ruby Rose and Golden Cross" or the RR et AC).
www.loscarabeo.com/en/products/tarocchi-iniziatici-della-...
A. E. Waite and A. Crowley were inspired by that philosophy, as well as famous poets, intellectuals and artists. Today the Golden Dawn Tarot comes back to light in a new form that translate the secret instructions transmitted only to the initiates of the Brotherhood into extraordinary images.
In a professional draw, The Magician, also known as The Bateleur, indicates that you are highly competent in your field, and that you know how to use your skills and knowledge to achieve your professional goals. So use your natural talents to shine! This is not the time to lose self-confidence, to hide or worse to minimise the extent of your abilities. On the contrary! Show what you can do, and accept the challenges that come your way.
From a slightly more divinatory point of view, you can also expect to receive positive feedback from your manager or a potential employer.In esoteric decks, occultists, starting with Oswald Wirth, turned Le Bateleur from a mountebank into a magus. The curves of the magician's hat brim in the Marseilles image are similar to the esoteric deck's mathematical sign of infinity. Similarly, other symbols were added. The essentials are that the magician has set up a temporary table outdoors, to display items that represent the suits of the Minor Arcana: Cups, Coins, Swords (as knives). The fourth, the baton (Clubs) he holds in his hand. The baton was later changed to represent a literal magician's wand.
The illustration of the tarot card "The Magician" from the Rider–Waite tarot deck was developed by A. E. Waite for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1910. Waite's magician features the infinity symbol over his head, and an ouroboros belt, both symbolizing eternity. The figure stands among a garden of flowers, to imply the manifestation and cultivation of desires.
In French Le Bateleur, "the mountebank" or the "sleight of hand artist", is a practitioner of stage magic. The Italian tradition calls him Il Bagatto or Il Bagatello. The Mantegna Tarocchi image that would seem to correspond with the Magician is labeled Artixano, the Artisan; he is the second lowest in the series, outranking only the Beggar. Visually the 18th-century woodcuts reflect earlier iconic representations, and can be compared to the free artistic renditions in the 15th-century hand-painted tarots made for the Visconti and Sforza families. In the painted cards attributed to Bonifacio Bembo, the Magician appears to be playing with cups and balls. How can we put our spiritual knowledge and beliefs into practice on a daily basis? That's the question posed by Le Magicien. How do you go from thinking of spirituality as a series of intellectual concepts to actually living them? How can you apply them to embody your Authentic Being and bring to life what you really want?
The Magician indicates that these answers are already within you and that you have the tools - symbolised by the Tarot Suits on the table - to move towards self-fulfilment. The Magician is very 'hands-on' and advises you to test to find what gives you the greatest sense of well-being and grounding; to practise your Magic to develop yourself and reach your full potential. Intuitive practices create the link between Body, Soul and Spirit... Open your Heart to Intuition and practise!
vivre-intuitif.com/apprendre-le-tarot/signification/majeu...
The Magician - or Bateleur in the Tarot de Marseille - points his wand towards Heaven, while his other hand points towards Earth. This gesture signifies that he captures the Energy of the Universe, that it flows through him, to manifest itself in the world, in everyday life. In front of him, the attributes of the four Tarot Suits are placed on the table: a Rod, a Cup, a Sword and a Denarius. Each represents an Element: Fire, Water, Air and Earth. The magician thus has everything at his disposal to manifest his dreams and desires, to materialize them, to make them possible, tangible. In this Energy, the possibilities are infinite, as underlined by the symbol above his head and belt, a snake biting its own tail. The Magician is associated with the planet Mercury, the planet of competence, logic and intelligence. His number is 1, the number of beginnings. The Magician , also known as The Magus or The Juggler, is the first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing and divination; in the English-speaking world, the divination meaning is much better known. Within the card game context, the equivalent is the Pagat which is the lowest trump card, also known as the atouts or honours. In the occult context, the trump cards are recontextualized as the Major Arcana and granted complex esoteric meaning. The Magician in such context is interpreted as the first numbered and second total card of the Major Arcana, succeeding the Fool, which is unnumbered or marked 0. The Magician as an object of occult study is interpreted as symbolic of power, potential, and the unification of the physical and spiritual worlds. The Magician is one tarot card that is filled with symbolism. The central figure depicts someone with one hand pointed to the sky, while the other hand points to the ground, as if to say "as above, so below". This is a rather complicated phrase, but its summarization is that earth reflects heaven, the outer world reflects within, the microcosm reflects the macrocosm, earth reflects God. It can also be interpreted here that the magician symbolizes the ability to act as a go-between between the world above and the contemporary, human world. On his table, the magician also wields all the suits of the tarot. This symbolizes the four elements being connected by this magician - the four elements being earth, water, air, and fire. The infinity sign on his head indicates the infinite possibilities of creation with the will. Upright Magician Meaning. The Magician is the representation of pure willpower. With the power of the elements and the suits, he takes the potential innate in the fool and molds it into being with the power of desire. He is the connecting force between heaven and earth, for he understands the meaning behind the words "as above so below" - that mind and world are only reflections of one another. Remember that you are powerful, create your inner world, and the outer will follow. Remember that you are powerful, create your inner world, and the outer will follow. When you get the Magician in your reading, it might mean that it's time to tap into your full potential without hesitation. It might be in your new job, new business venture, a new love or something else. It shows that the time to take action is now and any signs of holding back would mean missing the opportunity of becoming the best version of yourself. Certain choices will have to be made and these can bring great changes to come. Harness some of the Magician's power to make the world that you desire most.
labyrinthos.co/blogs/tarot-card-meanings-list/the-magicia...
Symbolism
Rider–Waite
If The Fool - The Mate symbolises the desire to discover, The Magician is "The Alchemist" of the Major Arcana, the one who can create everything from nothing, transforming lead into gold. The Magician card is therefore the card of "manifestation" par excellence, i.e. to make possible, to concretise and to have an impact on one's environment and the world. The Magician is a card that highlights your unique talents... unique talents that serve your unique and authentic desires.
With the Magician, success is within reach. You're ready to use your abilities and skills to achieve your goals. The desire to do something new, to start a cycle, is very strong. In Magician's Energy, you feel optimistic and in a conquering frame of mind. You're able to use all the resources at your disposal to achieve this: your skills, those close to you and all the tools - intuitive or otherwise - that are at your disposal.
The Magician is a card that also evokes concentration and focus. So this is not the time to spread yourself too thin or try to do everything at once. It's all about staying focused on a single objective and putting all your energy and resources into it. The Magician warns against distractions, or even temptations, that could lead you astray and compromise the achievement of your objective.
The Magician is depicted with one hand pointing upwards towards the sky and the other pointing down to the earth, interpreted widely as an "as above, so below" reference to the spiritual and physical realms. On the table before him are a wand, a pentacle, a sword, and a cup, representing the four suits of the Minor Arcana. Such symbols signify the classical elements of fire, earth, air, and water, "which lie like counters before the adept, and he adapts them as he wills". The Magician's right hand, pointed upwards, holds a double-ended white wand; the ends are interpreted much like the hand gestures, in that they represent the Magician's status as conduit between the spiritual and the physical. His robe is similarly also white, a symbol of purity yet also of inexperience, while his red mantle is understood through the lens of red's wildly polarised colour symbolism—both a representative of willpower and passion, and one of egotism, rage, and revenge. In front of the Magician is a garden of Rose of Sharon roses and lily of the valley lillies....
Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily from Goethe, Johann Wolfgang was demonstrating the "culture of aspiration", or the Magician's ability to cultivate and fulfill potential of the ouroboros wo symbolized the Green Snake in this tale, the Magician is an. alchemist. The Magician is associated with the planet Mercury the Ouroboros alchemist , and hence the signs of Gemini the two will-o-wisp and Virgo Lily in astrology.
Marseilles
Although the Rider–Waite Tarot deck is the most often used in occult contexts, other decks such as the Tarot of Marseilles usually used for game-playing have also been read through a symbolic lens. Alejandro Jodorowsky's reading of the Magician as Le Bateleur draws attention to individual details of the Marseilles card, such as the fingers, table, and depiction of the plants, in addition to the elements shared between the Rider–Waite and Marseilles decks.[10] The Magician in the Marseilles deck is depicted with six fingers on his left hand rather than five, which Jodorowsky interprets as a symbol of manipulating and reorganizing reality. Similarly, the table he stands behind has three legs rather than four; the fourth leg is interpreted as being outside the card, a metafictional statement that "[i]t is by going beyond the stage of possibilities and moving into the reality of action and choice that The Magician gives concrete expression to his situation". Rather than flowers, the Magician of the Marseilles deck is depicted with a small plant between his feet. The plant has a yonic appearance and has been interpreted as the sex organs of either a personal mother or the abstract concept of Mother Nature.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magician_(tarot_card)
Divination
Like the other cards of the Major Arcana, the Magician is the subject of complex and extensive analysis as to its occult interpretations. On the broad level, the Magician is interpreted with energy, potential, and the manifestation of one's desires; the card symbolizes the meetings of the physical and spiritual worlds ("as above, so below") and the conduit converting spiritual energy into real-world action.
Tarot experts have defined the Magician in association with the Fool, which directly precedes it in the sequence; Rachel Pollack refers to the card as "in the image of the trickster-wizard". A particularly important aspect of the card's visual symbolism in the Rider–Waite deck is the magician's hands, with one hand pointing towards the sky and the other towards the earth. Pollack and other writers understand this as a reflection of the Hermetic concept of "as above, so below", where the workings of the macrocosm (the universe as a whole, understood as a living being) and the microcosm (the human being, understood as a universe) are interpreted as inherently intertwined with one another. To Pollack, the Magician is a metaphysical lightning rod, channeling macrocosmic energy into the microcosm.
According to A. E. Waite's 1910 book Pictorial Key To The Tarot, the Magician card is associated with the divine motive in man. In particular, Waite interprets the Magician through a Gnostic lens, linking the card's connection with the number eight (which the infinity symbol is visually related to) and the Gnostic concept of the Ogdoad, spiritual rebirth into a hidden eighth celestial realm. Said infinity symbol above the Magician's head is also interpreted as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, the prophetic and theophanic aspect of the Trinity. Like other tarot cards, the symbolism of the Magician is interpreted differently depending on whether the card is drawn in an upright or reversed position. While the upright Magician represents potential and tapping into one's talents, the reversed Magician's potential and talents are unfocused and unmanifested. The reversed Magician can also be interpreted as related to black magick and to madness or mental distress.[14] A particularly important interpretation of the reversed Magician relates to the speculated connection between the experiences recognized in archaic societies as shamanism and those recognized in technological societies as schizophrenia; the reversed Magician is perceived as symbolizing the degree to which those experiences and abilities are unrecognized and suppressed, and the goal is to turn the card 'upright', or re-focus those experiences into their positive form.
In art
The Surrealist (Le surréaliste), 1947, is a painting by Victor Brauner. The Juggler provided Brauner with a key prototype for his self-portrait: the Surrealist's large hat, medieval costume, and the position of his arms all derive from this figure who, like Brauner's subject, stands behind a table displaying a knife, a goblet, and coins.
www.amazon.fr/Self-Initiation-into-Golden-Dawn-Tradition/...
Founding of the First Temple
In October 1887, Westcott claimed to have written to a German countess and prominent Rosicrucian named Anna Sprengel, whose address was said to have been found in the decoded Cipher Manuscripts. According to Westcott, Sprengel claimed the ability to contact certain supernatural entities, known as the Secret Chiefs, that were considered the authorities over any magical order or esoteric organization. Westcott purportedly received a reply from Sprengel granting permission to establish a Golden Dawn temple and conferring honorary grades of Adeptus Exemptus on Westcott, Mathers, and Woodman. The temple was to consist of the five grades outlined in the manuscripts.
In 1888, the Isis-Urania Temple was founded in London. In contrast to the S.R.I.A. and Masonry,[6] women were allowed and welcome to participate in the Order in "perfect equality" with men. The Order was more of a philosophical and metaphysical teaching order in its early years. Other than certain rituals and meditations found in the Cipher manuscripts and developed further, "magical practices" were generally not taught at the first temple. For the first four years, the Golden Dawn was one cohesive group later known as the "First Order" or "Outer Order". A "Second Order" or "Inner Order" was established and became active in 1892. The Second Order consisted of members known as "adepts", who had completed the entire course of study for the First Order. The Second Order was formally established under the name Ordo Rosae Rubeae et Aureae Crucis (the Order of the Red Rose and the Golden Cross) Eventually, the Osiris temple in Weston-super-Mare, the Horus temple in Bradford (both in 1888), and the Amen-Ra temple in Edinburgh (1893) were founded. In 1893 Mathers founded the Ahathoor temple in Paris.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetic_Order_of_the_Golden_Dawn
Secret Chiefs: in various occultist movements, Secret Chiefs are said to be transcendent cosmic authorities, a spiritual hierarchy responsible for the operation and moral calibre of the cosmos, or for overseeing the operations of an esoteric organization that manifests outwardly in the form of a magical order or lodge system. Their names and descriptions have varied through time, differing among those who have claimed experience of contact with them. They are variously held to exist on higher planes of being or to be incarnate; if incarnate, they may be described as being gathered at some special location, such as Shambhala, or scattered through the world working anonymously. One early and influential source on these entities is Karl von Eckartshausen, whose The Cloud upon the Sanctuary, published in 1795, explained in some detail their character and motivations. Several 19th and 20th century occultists claimed to belong to or to have contacted these Secret Chiefs and made these communications known to others: Aleister Crowley (who used the term to refer to members of the upper three grades of his order, A∴A∴), Dion Fortune (who called them the "esoteric order"), and Max Heindel (who called them the "Elder Brothers").
While in Algeria in 1909, Aleister Crowley, along with Victor Neuburg, recited numerous Enochian Calls or Aires. After the fifteenth Aire, he declared that he had attained the grade of Magister Templi (Master of the Temple), which meant that he was now on the level of these Secret Chiefs, although this declaration caused many occultists to stop taking him seriously if they had not done so already. He also described this attainment as a possible and in fact a necessary step for all who truly followed his path.[a] In 1947, when Aleister Crowley died, he left behind a sketch of one of the Secret Chiefs, Crowley's invisible mentor that he called LAM. The sketch looks like a grey alien. The church invisible, invisible church, mystical church or church mystical, is a Christian theological concept of an "invisible" Christian Church of the elect who are known only to God, in contrast to the "visible church"—that is, the institutional body on earth which preaches the gospel and administers the sacraments. Every member of the invisible church is "saved", while the visible church contains all individuals who are saved though also having some who are "unsaved".[1] According to this view, Bible passages such as Matthew 7:21–27, Matthew 13:24–30, and Matthew 24:29–51 speak about this distinction.
Views on the relation with Visible church
Distinction between two churches
The first person in church history to introduce a view of an invisible and a visible church is Clement of Alexandria. Some have also argued that Jovinian and Vigilantius held an invisible church view.
The concept was advocated by St Augustine of Hippo as part of his refutation of the Donatist sect, though he, as other Church Fathers before him, saw the invisible Church and visible Church as one and the same thing, unlike the later Protestant reformers who did not identify the Catholic Church as the true church.[8] He was strongly influenced by the Platonist belief that true reality is invisible and that, if the visible reflects the invisible, it does so only partially and imperfectly (see theory of forms). Others question whether Augustine really held to some form of an "invisible true Church" concept.
The concept was insisted upon during the Protestant reformation as a way of distinguishing between the "visible" Roman Catholic Church, which according to the Reformers was corrupt, and those within it who truly believe, as well as true believers within their own denominations. John Calvin described the church invisible as "that which is actually in God's presence, into which no persons are received but those who are children of God by grace of adoption and true members of Christ by sanctification of the Holy Spirit... [The invisible church] includes not only the saints presently living on earth, but all the elect from the beginning of the world." He continues in contrasting this church with the church scattered throughout the world. "In this church there is a very large mixture of hypocrites, who have nothing of Christ but the name and outward appearance..." (Institutes 4.1.7) Richard Hooker distinguished "between the mystical Church and the visible Church", the former of which is "known only to God."[11]
John Wycliffe, who was a precursor to the reformation, also believed in an invisible church made of the predestinated elect. Another precursor of the reformation, Johann Ruchrat von Wesel believed in a distinction between the visible and invisible church.
Pietism later took this a step further, with its formulation of ecclesiolae in ecclesia ("little churches within the church").
Non-distinction
Roman Catholic theology, reacting against the protestant concept of an invisible Church, emphasized the visible aspect of the Church founded by Christ, but in the twentieth century placed more stress on the interior life of the Church as a supernatural organism, identifying the Church, as in the encyclical Mystici corporis Christi of Pope Pius XII, with the Mystical Body of Christ. In Catholic doctrine, the one true Church is the visible society founded by Christ, namely, the Catholic Church under the global jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome.
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This encyclical rejected two extreme views of the Church:
A rationalistic or purely sociological understanding of the Church, according to which it is merely a human organization with structures and activities, is mistaken. The visible Church and its structures do exist but the Church is more, as it is guided by the Holy Spirit:
Although the juridical principles, on which the Church rests and is established, derive from the divine constitution given to it by Christ and contribute to the attaining of its supernatural end, nevertheless that which lifts the Society of Christians far above the whole natural order is the Spirit of our Redeemer who penetrates and fills every part of the Church.
An exclusively mystical understanding of the Church is mistaken as well, because a mystical "Christ in us" union would deify its members and mean that the acts of Christians are simultaneously the acts of Christ. The theological concept una mystica persona (one mystical person) refers not to an individual relation but to the unity of Christ with the Church and the unity of its members with him in her. This is where we can find direct contrast to Christian philosophy like the preachings of Rev.Jesse Lee Peterson, yet the personification is similar. There is another view, that contrasts these two school-of-thought, and that is from Albert Eduard Meier, as he includes Electric Theory in his teachings, similar to Creationism.
Eastern Orthodox theologian Vladimir Lossky too characterizes as a "Nestorian ecclesiology" that which would "divide the Church into distinct beings: on the one hand a heavenly and invisible Church, alone true and absolute; on the other, the earthly Church (or rather 'the churches'), imperfect and relative".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_invisible
The fall of the Imperator
Florence waits a few days, asks Westcott for an explanation, who calmly denies it, regretting that the witnesses from the first hour are dead. Florence then divulges Mathers' letter to all the Adepts in London, who on March 3 elect a Committee of Seven to hold Mathers to account. Mathers proudly refuses to show any evidence, does not recognize any authority above him except the leaders of the Third Order.
On March 23, he dismissed Florence Farr from her duties; on March 29, the Second Order meeting in plenary assembly dismissed Mathers and expelled him from the Golden Dawn, all orders combined. Mathers threatens them with all possible karmic punishments, affirms that one cannot impeach him without his agreement because of magic bonds.
Crowley joins him in Paris, comes up against the secession of the Ahatoor temple, and organizes with Mathers a veritable "duel of sorcery" between them and the "rebels". It's tragic to see a mind as vast as Mathers sink in this war of leaders for a power that is crumbling anyway.
Each Temple thinks of itself as the sole holder of the "true" rituals, since their personal experiences have been positive (and they were logically positive, given the magnificent work of the founders on the rituals). In addition, each Frater or Soror with a different experience - through the visualization of the Tattvas among other things - feels invested with the duty to "save the true Golden Dawn".
This phenomenon of fragmentation was precipitated by the existence of secret working groups within the Order itself, an existence desired by Mathers as early as 1897 for the purpose of deepening the knowledge acquired.
Florence Farr had thus founded a group called “La Sphère”. Enter William Butler Yeats, (1865-1939) Irish, future Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. After having been leader of Isis-Urania, he left the Order in 1901, the same year as the trial of Théo Horos. and his wife for fraud and sexual offenses, trials where the name and practices of the Golden Dawn were called into question with the distorting amplification that you can guess, and above all the publication of pieces of Ritual of the Neophyte where the oath pronounced by the recipient was considered blasphemy.he demoralizing effect on the followers of the Outer Order accentuated the ravages of the war of leaders... In 1902, the Second Order gave itself a triumvirate to lead it: PW Bullock, quickly replaced by Doctor RW Felkin; MW Blackden, Egyptologist, and JW Brodie-Inner.
The Breaking of the Golden Dawn
They had to fight from the start against Arthur Edward Waite, who, at the head of a group of followers, wanted to modify the system of leadership, for reasons he explained in 1903: to be caliph instead of the caliph, then make The Order give up all magic, overhaul all rituals, and all for good reason: Waite claims the Third Order doesn't exist.
Waite and Blackden then founded their own Order, with a temple they named Isis-Urania after the first temple of the Golden Dawn. Brodie-Inner makes his Edinburgh temple independent.
Felkin reacts with a magical act: he abolishes the name "Golden Dawn" and gives it the name "Stella Matutina". It is this branch that is the legal (and spiritual?) successor to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It is under this name that Dion Fortune or Israel Regardie will know the Order. We are in 1903. The history of the Order is over: begins that of its heirs.The Continuators
The Golden Dawn had almost as many successors as the Martinist order of Papus, while having the original branch that survives alongside its imitators.
Crowley
One of the most famous followers of the spirit of GD is of course Crowley. After founding his Order, Astrum Argentinum, he received the patents of the Ordo Templis Orientiis during one of his many trips to the Orient - from where he also brought back yogas.
One of the fundamental designs of the OTO represents an oval containing an Egyptian-style eye at the top, in the middle a beaked dove at the bottom, and at the bottom a Flaming Cup stamped with the Templar cross. He had frequent contact with Rudolf Steiner, who found himself imbued with Golden Dawn for many of his afterlife theories.
Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives.
While we have already discussed the planetary archetypes, it is worth reminding ourselves at this point exactly how the alchemists looked on the relationship between the planet and its metal. They believed that the metals had the same “virtue” as the corresponding planet, that a single spirit infuses both the planet and the metal. In other words, the planet was a celestial manifestation and the metal a terrestrial manifestation of the same universal force. Therefore, the metals are the purest expression of the planetary energies in the mineral kingdom, which is the basis for material reality on earth. The next stage of evolution on our planet is the plant kingdom, and the alchemists assigned a metal and its corresponding planet to describe the characteristics of every known herb, flower, and plant. Similarly, on the next level in the evolution of matter in the animal kingdom, all creatures carry their own metallic or planetary signatures, which are expressed in their behavior. In human beings, the alchemists referred to the sum total of the cosmic signatures of the metals as a person’s “temperament.” Originally, that word referred to the metallurgical process of “tempering” or mixing different metals to produce certain characteristics in an alloy. Although the alchemists considered lead the lowest of the base metals, they treated it with a great deal of respect, as they did its corresponding planet Saturn. Lead was said to carry all the energy of its own transformation, and it was that hidden energy that the alchemists sought to free. To the alchemists, the ancient metal was a powerful “sleeping giant” with a dark and secret nature that encompassed both the beginning and end of the Great Work.
Lead is the heaviest of the seven metals; it is very tied to gravity, form, and manifested reality. It is also a very stubborn metal known for its durability and resistance to change. Lead products dating from 7000 BC are still intact, and lead water pipes installed by the Romans 1,500 years ago are still in use today. Alchemists depicted lead in their drawings as the god Saturn (a crippled old man with a sickle), Father Time, or a skeleton representing death itself. Any of these symbols in their manuscripts meant the alchemist was working with the metal lead in the laboratory or a leaden attitude in his accompanying meditation.Lead is a boundary of heaviness for matter. Metals of greater atomic weight are too heavy and disintegrate over time (by radioactive decay) to turn back into lead. So radioactive decay is really a Saturnic process that introduces a new characteristic in the metals – that of time. All the hyper-energetic metals beyond lead are trapped in time to inexorably return to lead. There is no natural process more unalterably exact than radioactive decay. Atomic clocks, the most precise timekeeping devices we have, are based on this leaden process. Geologists measure the age of radioactive rocks by how much lead they contain, and the age of the earth is estimated by taking lead isotope measurements. In many ways, lead carries the signature of Father Time.Native lead, which is lead metal found in a chemically uncombined state, is actually extremely rare. It is found in the earth's crust in a concentration of only about 13 parts per billion. Lead does not form crystals easily, and thus the pure mineral form is very rare and extremely valuable as rock specimens. Such elemental lead can also be found in very unusual “metamorphosed” limestone and marble formations that are equally rare.Surprisingly, lead is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and when it occurs in nature, it is always found with gold and silver. In fact, the chemical symbol for lead (Pb) is from the Latin word plumbum, which means “liquid silver.” We derive our words “plumbing” and “plumb bob” from the use of lead in those applications. In the smelting of silver, lead plays an important role by forming a layer over the emerging molten silver and protecting it from combining with the air and splattering out. The volatile molten lead covering is gradually burnt away, until only the pure silver metal “peeks out” (in the smelter’s terminology) in a stabilized form. Thus, lead protects and even sacrifices itself for the nobler metals.The planet Saturn and its metal and the planet have the same symbol (L) in alchemy. The Hermetic interpretation is that the symbol is basically the cross of the elements that depicts the division between the Above and Below or spirit and matter. The lunar crescent of the soul is below the cross, representing the manifestation (or entrapment) of soul below in matter. Despite these associations with the noble metals, lead itself never makes it to such heights among the metals. The silvery luster of fresh cut lead quickly fades, as if it were “dying” before your eyes. Furthermore, alchemists considered lead to be “hydrophobic” or against the life nourishing archetype of water. Lead ores lack the slightest water content and tend to form machine-like structures.The most common ore of lead is galena, which also contains the noble metals silver and gold. Galena is lead sulfide, a favorite of rock collectors because of its distinctive cubic shapes, characteristic cleavage, and high density. In fact, the structure of galena is identical to that of natural table salt. The two minerals have exactly the same crystal shapes, symmetry and cleavage, although galena crystals are thousands of times larger. Some galena may contain up to 1% silver and often contains trace amounts of gold. The large volume of galena that is processed for lead produces enough silver as a by product to make galena the leading ore of silver as well Galena definitely has the signature of lead. Its color is silver gray with a bluish tint. The luster ranges from metallic to dull in the weathered faces, and the isometric crystals are opaque to light. The massive crystals of galena almost always take the form of a cube or octahedron, and the cleavage is perfect in four direction always forming cubes. Because of the perfect cleavage, fractures are rarely seen and the dark crystalline structure is nearly perfect.Lead is also found in other sulfuric minerals like calcite and dolomite, as well as lead oxidation minerals such as and anglesite and cerussite, which is found in the oxidation zone of lead deposits usually associated with galena. Some formations show cerussite crusts around a galena core as if the act of oxidation was frozen in time. Cerrussite is lead carbonate and also a favorite of rock hounds. Its very high luster is due mostly to the metallic lead content, and just as leaded crystal glass sparkles more brilliantly because of its lead content, so too does cerussite. Cerussite has one of the highest densities for a transparent mineral. It is over six and a half times as dense as water. Most rocks and minerals average only around three times the density of water. Cerussite is famous for its great sparkle and density, and its amazing twinned (or double) crystals. The mineral forms geometrically intricate structures and star shapes that simply amazing to behold – sometimes the twinned crystals form star shapes with six "rays" extending out from the star.When freed from its ores, lead metal has a bluish-white color and is very soft – capable of being scratched by a fingernail. With its dull metallic luster and high density, lead cannot easily be confused with any other metal. It is also malleable, ductile, and sectile – meaning it can be pounded into other shapes, stretched into a wire, and cut into slices. However, lead is a dark, sluggish, base metal. Of the seven metals, it is the slowest conductor of electricity and heat, the least lustrous or resonant. Its Saturnic signature of heaviness is expressed not only in its being the heaviest metal but also in its tendency to form inert and insoluble compounds. No other metal forms as many. Although it tarnishes upon exposure to air like silver, lead is extremely resistant to corrosion over time and seems to last forever. Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. The surface of lead is protected by a thin layer of lead oxide, and it does not react with water. The same process protects lead from the traditional “liquid fire” of the alchemists – sulfuric acid. In fact, lead bottles are still used to store the highly corrosive acid. Lead is so inalterable, that half of all the lead in the world today is simply recovered from scrap and formed directly into bullion for reuse.Lead is truly a destroyer of light. It is added to high-quality glassware (lead crystal) to absorb light reflections and make the glass clearer. Lead salts in glass are not changed by light but change light itself by absorbing it. Incoming light in lead crystal meets with high resistance, but once it is within the glass, light is immediately absorbed or dispersed without any reflected light escaping. Sheets of lead are also impermeable to all forms of light, even high energy X-rays and gamma rays, which makes lead the perfect shield against any form of radiation and is why it is used to transport and store radioactive materials.Lead is an extremely poor conductor of electricity and blocks all kinds of energy transmission. Indeed, one of the signatures of lead is its ability to “dampen” or absorb energy. Unlike other metals, when lead is struck, the vibrations are immediately absorbed and any tone is smothered in dullness. Lead is an effective sound proofing medium and tetraethyl lead is still used in some grades of gasoline as an antiknock compound to “quiet” the combustion of gasoline.Thin lead sheets are used extensively in the walls of high-rise buildings to block the transmission of sound, and thick pads of lead are used in the foundations to absorb the vibrations of street traffic and even minor earthquakes. Lead sheets are widely used in roofing to block solar rays, and lead foil is used to form lightproof enclosures in laboratory work. Ultimately, lead corresponds to the galactic Black Hole that absorbs all forms of radiation and light.Lead reacts with more chemicals than any other metal, however, instead of producing something new and useful, lead “kills” the combining substance by making it inert, insoluble and unable to enter into further chemical reactions. Its salts precipitate out of solutions heavily and copiously. Lead has the same effect in the plant kingdom. It accumulates in the roots and slows down the “breathing” process in plants. Young plants are adversely affected by even the smallest amount of lead in the soil.Lead is poisonous and accumulates over time in the bones of the human body, where it cannot be flushed out. It has also been found in high concentrations in gallstones and kidney stones. The old alchemical graphic for lead – a skeleton – was grotesquely appropriate. The symptoms of lead poisoning (known as “Saturnism”) are lack of energy, depression, blindness, dizziness, severe headaches at the back of the head, brain damage, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and mental retardation, antisocial behavior and anger, atrophy of muscular tissue and cramping, excess growth of connective tissue resulting in a rigid appearance, rapid aging, coma, and early death. Rats fed only 5 parts per million of lead had a lifespan 25% shorter than normal rats. Children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, and it is believed to be an important factor in stillborn fetuses. Children with more than just 0.3 parts per million of lead in their blood suffer a significant slowing of brain function and corresponding drop in IQ. Lead in paint has caused mental retardation and premature aging in hundreds of children who ingested old flaking paint from the walls of their homes. Lead paint was used extensively until the poisonous effects were documented in the 1960s. Because of its lasting durability, lead paint is still used outdoors in advertising and the yellow lines on highways and curbs. The subtly controlling aspect of those applications is another signature of lead and of “leaden” persons in general.Not surprisingly, lead has found use as an insecticide and was even once considered for use as a military weapon. Lead metal reacts violently with fluorine and chlorine to form the highly poisonous gases, lead fluoride and lead chloride. Lead is also used in all kinds of ammunition – another appropriate application of lead’s esoteric signature as Father Time and the Grim Reaper. There are many research studies linking lead exposure to anger and violence, especially in adolescents. One recent study of all counties in the United States conducted by Colorado State University revealed that the murder rate in counties with the highest lead levels were four times higher than in counties with the lowest levels of lead.More benevolent uses of lead are in storage batteries, covering for underground and transoceanic cables, waste plumbing, shielding around X-ray equipment and nuclear reactors, solder, pewter, fine lead crystal glass, and flint glass with a high refractive index for achromatic lenses.Even the elemental metal carries the seed of its own redemption. The alchemists knew that Fire is lord over lead, for the metal has a low melting point and is easily separated from its ore by roasting in an open flame, and the metal itself melts in a candle flame. Lead expands on heating and contracts on cooling more than any other solid heavy metal. (Silver is the opposite and is considered an antidote to lead.)Perhaps owing to its dual nature, lead carries deeply hidden within its structure the fire of its own transformation. Many lead salts reveal a whole rainbow of brilliant colors, with the solar colors of yellow, orange, and red predominating. This is why lead has been used in paints for so many centuries. Finely divided lead powder is pyrophoric (“fire containing”) and easily catches fire or erupts spontaneously in flames. When made into a fine powder, lead metal must be kept in a vacuum to keep from catching fire. Otherwise, it ignites and burns down to a bright yellow ash, revealing its deeply hidden solar signature. So, the wonder of lead is that hidden deep inside the gray, dead metal is a tiny, eternal spark that is the seed of its own resurrection. In the eyes of alchemists, this makes lead the most important metal despite its unattractive darkness. For dull lead and gleaming gold are really the same things, only at different stages of growth or maturity.The Secret Fire inside lead is really the alchemical basis for transforming lead into gold, and correspondingly, gives mankind hope for its own spiritual transformation. That tiny spark of light in the darkest part of matter makes resurrection part of the structure of the universe. So, deep down inside, the metal lead also yearns to be transformed. It wants to rise in the air and fly, leave matter and form behind, and be free as Fire. Lead unites two contrasting forces: rigid heaviness and revivifying inner fire. Archetypically, the lead process is concerned with death and resurrection. Greek myth says that after death our soul is put on a scale, and the weights of the scale are made from lead, the metal that carries Saturn's signature.Lead is used in magical rituals, spells, and amulets to promote contact with deep unconscious levels (the underworld), deep meditation, controlling negativity, breaking bad habits and addictions, protection, stability, grounding, solidity, perseverance, decisiveness, concentration, conservation, and material constructions (buildings). Pick up a hunk of lead and the first thing you notice is its weight – its connection to gravity. It is that connection to something beyond matter and light, the very form of the universe that is the physical basis for this experiment. During the winter months, preferably on some clear night in late January or early February, go outside and find the planet Saturn in the northern sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Saturn and place a piece of lead metal in your hand. You should be able to feel a strange resonance building. That eerie, cold vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of lead.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The strange connection between lead and Saturn has been documented by modern scientists, who have shown that lead compounds react differently depending on Saturn’s position in the sky. For instance, solutions of lead nitrate produce the greatest weight of crystallization (or manifestation) during February, when Saturn rules the sky, and the least during June, when Saturn is barely visible. Lead compounds also exhibit different properties when Saturn aligns with other planets. For example, lead sulfate solution rises 60% higher on strips of filter paper during conjunctions of Saturn with Mars than at other times. It is also known that the ease of making lead solutions (the “solubility coefficient” of lead) varies with the position of Saturn relative to the other planets. NASA is even considering a series of astrochemical experiments to see if the Saturn-lead effects become more pronounced in outer space.Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Because the lusterless metal is so “dead” and resists interaction with other substances, it is used as containers for acids, like automobile batteries, and is used as a lining in pipes that carry corrosive substances. Similarly, the lead tempered person is like an acid-proof container that stores up caustic feelings and anger. Phrases like “acid tongued” and “vitriolic” have their origins in this alchemical process of storing negative emotional energy.On the psychological level, lead is symbolic of a person’s inertness and unwillingness to change. There is a denial of all higher or spiritual energies, and the alchemists often portrayed the leaden person as lying in an open grave or hopelessly chained to matter in some way. A feeling of being trapped in material reality is symptomatic of a leaden attitude. Leaden people are stubborn, unyielding, and often control other people by making them wait. They must always be right, rarely accept blame or admit to being in error, and have no real regard for the truth of a situation. They may be religious but not spiritual. They tend to be suspicious of genius and inspiration, which they will often attribute to fantasy, They feel threatened by freedom of thought and expression, and sometimes use ridicule or try to “push people’s buttons” to control it. They tend to be very uncreative, judgmental, and smug.On the other hand, leaden people are grounded, earthy, and practical. They are good friends during times of bereavement – a rock of support at funerals and deathbeds. Such people secretly crave stimulation, excitement, and new ideas. They gravitate to people who supply energy and entertainment in their lives. This craving for stimulation often makes them focus on nervous energy instead of higher inspiration. Therefore, Saturn’s children can be very reactive and excitable instead of lethargic, as they try to escape from their prison of matter.As soon as bright, fresh lead metal is exposed to air, it forms a dull-gray oxide layer called the “litharge” that resists any further chemical interaction. In alchemy, air is associated with spiritual energy, and lead reacts to it by instantly forming a barrier or blocking it. Likewise, one of the distinguishing characteristics of someone with a lead temperament is their lack of interest in spiritual ideas. There is also a general lack of interest in life in general, and leaden people often seem lazy, lethargic, or unresponsive.In the individual, lead absorbs the inner light or insight necessary for personal growth and blocks all outside “radiations,” such as attempts at spiritual instruction by others. Because psychological lead absorbs both the deeper vibrations of intuition and higher spiritual energies and aspirations, the person with a lead temperament is uninspired, unimaginative, and lacks that creative spark so necessary for positive change. Before long the lead person starts to feel trapped in his or her dull environment and seeks out excitement, death-defying feats, lively people, and challenging conversation. Their favorite color is often red, and unconsciously, they are seeking the alchemical element of Fire. Fire is one of the Four Elements that represents activity, energy, creative thinking, and transformation. Fire is the tool alchemists use to begin the transmutation of lead into gold as well as transform leaden consciousness into a golden awareness of higher reality. In the laboratory, the changes in the metal and in the alchemist take place simultaneously. Otherwise, there can be no real transformation. The alchemists transmuted the Lead temperament using the Fire operation of Calcination. Physically, lead and Saturn rule the bones, teeth, spleen, and slow chronic processes such as aging. The therapeutic effects are contracting, coagulating, drying, and mineralizing. Saturn-ruled plants enhance the structures of life. They give a sobriety of disposition, en-abling one to see limitations. These plants give steadiness, solidity of pur-pose, subtlety, diplomacy, patience, and an ability to work on the physical plane better.Saturnic or leaden energies are needed for those who have a hard time finishing pro-jects or for those with plenty of ideas but never realize them. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Generally speaking, any other elixir mixed with a Saturn elixir will be earthed, which makes them of great value when working on physical plane phenomenon. Their physical therapeutic properties become refrigerant, anti-pyretic, sedative, styptic, and astringent.For instance, if one mixes a saturnine elixir with a mercurial one, the alchemists believed it would release knowledge contained in secret magical manuscripts or in ancient hermetic traditions, because the Saturn-Mercury vibration contains all hidden knowledge of an esoteric nature within it. Alchemical oils were mixed in the same way. For example, to treat leukemia, alchemists would prescribe an equal mixture of lead oil and gold oil. The alchemists made an Oil of Lead that was good for “growth of bones after breaking, strengthening the skeleton, osteoporosis and atrophy of the bones, stimulation of the spleen, drying tissue, reducing secretions and discharges, stopping bleeding, reducing fever, increasing patience, and stopping visions and an overactive imagination.” They also suggested it for hallucinations due to neurological disorders that have delirious after-effects such as encephalitis and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In the “like cures like” philosophy of homeopathy, lead is used to treat sclerosis, the hardening of bones and arteries, which is the hallmark of old age and signature of lead. The homeopathic name of lead is Plumbum metallicum. Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.
Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.
Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.
Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.
Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.
Flowers last longer in tin vases, and food has been preserved in the tin cans (actually a thin layer of tin on iron) for over a century. Beer (ruled by the jovial Jupiter) is said to taste best from a tin mug. Jupiter rules growth, the metabolic system, the liver, and the enrichment of the blood from food. Jupiter therapeutic effects are anti-spasmodic and hepatic. Jupiter-ruled plants preserve the body and promote healthy growth and are the natural healing herbs of the planetary system. They af-fect the mind in such a way as to promote an understanding of ritual form from the highest point of view, and religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. will find great benefit from jovian herb remedies. They also attune one to the wealth vibration and open up channels for growth and expansion, materi-ally as well as spiritually.Jupiter controls the circulation of blood in the human body. If mixed with a solar herbal eider, it will give the alchemist access to the highest plane. Jupiter-Mercury combinations produce insight into the philosophical principles of any system and their part in the cosmic scheme and provide an intuitive understanding of the great spiritual masters. This particular herbal mixture also produces a lightheartedness and gaiety, which can be very useful to those with a predisposition to depression or gloominess. The physical properties of such a mixture are anabolic and antispasmodic.The alchemists made an Oil of Tin that was used to treat the liver (jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis), certain types of eczema, liquid ovarian cysts, inflammatory effusions, pleurisies, acne, water retention, and certain types of obesity. This oil was said to be excellent for someone "loosing shape." The oil was also used as a sweat inducer, wormer, antispasmodic, cathartic, and laxative.The polar (opposite) metal to tin is mercury, and Oil of Tin was said to be an excellent antidote for mercury poisoning, and likewise mercury was said to balance the bad effects of tin. Tin and mercury oil combined are said to provide deep insight and cure lightheadedness and certain phases of manic-depressive syndrome.The homeopathic form of tin is called Stannum, a remedy which is said to strengthen and regenerate muscle and brain tissue. It is also a remedy for the joints and connective tissue of ligaments and cartilage. Stannum is allegedly beneficial in liver disease and is used for congestion, hardening, encephalitis, and other illnesses where the fluid balance is upset.During the early Spring, preferably sometime in March, go outside and find the red planet Mars in the night sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the tiny red sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Mars and place a piece of iron in your hand or a small cast iron pot or other object but not something of made of steel or chromed. You should be able to feel a resonance building. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of iron.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin. See how your feelings compare to how the alchemists felt about this powerful metal.When mixed with solar herbs, iron herbs increase energy and activate the energetic potentials of other herbs. Martian elixirs release the action poten-tial of the soul of something. When mixed with other herbs, martian herbs acti-vate the potentialities of the other herbs to a great degree making them more forceful in applica-tion and generally more active. Mars herbs are wonderful tonics when mixed with Sun herbs. The combination gives great physical energy, tones the muscles, and increases sexual potency. They also provoke self-reliance, spontaneity, and indepen-dence of attitude. If the alchemist is involved in magical evocation, a mixture of a mars, moon, and mercurial elixirs will help produce the physical plane vehicle of manifestation.Copper is a reddish-brown metal with a bright metallic luster. It is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and like gold, it is remarkably ductile. It is also very malleable and sectile (it can be pounded into other shapes and cut into slices) and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Molten copper is a sea green color, and copper tarnishes with a green color and burns with a blue-green flame with flashes of red, and the alchemists sometimes described Venus, the metal’s archetypal planetary source, as dressed in a blue cloak over a red gown.Pick up a piece of copper and the first thing you notice is its surprising feeling of warmth and moisture. It is that connection to something archetypal and nourishing that makes up the signature of this metal. It is easy to connect with copper, just as its planet (Venus) is easy to see in the sky. It is so brilliant it is often mistaken for a bright star or even a UFO. The best time to see it is in the early evening or morning when it is close to the horizon. In fact, Venus has been called both the “Morning Star” and the “Evening Star” and is associated with magical energies. It is the “first star I see tonight” upon you make you wish that will come true with the sympathetic venusian energies. On some clear night or morning, go outside and find the planet Venus. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the brilliant white sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon the planet and grab a piece of copper, a fistful of pennies, or even a copper cooking utensil. You should be able to feel a warm resonance building. That deep and soothing vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of copper.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The venusian signature gives refinement of senses and the ability to appreciate beauty. Artists, actors, and others in the public eye will find these elixirs a great aid to performing their work. Venus herbs also enhance the taste perceptions, promote affection, give an amiable disposition, and make one more psychically sensitive to astral influences. For those who feel a lack of charm, or some of the softer human qualities, a venusian elixir will stimulate the right vibration in your aura. Venusian elixirs also promote harmony and balance within our being and in our dealings with others. Venusian elixirs are said to give access to that realm of the astral that is intimately connected with the working and forces of the most intimate magic of nature. They are a great aid to alchemists who wish to make herbal alchemy their life work, as they open up the human consciousness to the secrets of the plant kingdom. Naturalists will find these elixirs most illuminating, as they will give conscious con-tact with the various “deities” of long past nature religions.Mercury is truly unique. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and the heaviest natural liquid on the planet. According to alchemical theory, all the metals began in the liquid state on deep in the earth, but only mercury was able to retain it original innocence and life force and resist taking on a final form, and for that reason, the ancients called it Mercurius vivens (the “living mercury”). This silvery liquid metal (also known as “Quicksilver”) was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 BC and has been found in sacred tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 BC. It was first used to form alloys with other metals around 500 BC. The Greeks applied germ-killing ability of mercury in healing ointments (to the benefit of those afflicted with wounds and skin infections), and in the Middle Ages, Paracelsus used it successfully to treat syphilis. However, the ancient Romans applied mercury compounds for long-term use in cosmetics, and many beautiful women eventually died of its cumulative poisonous effects. Today, many popular brands of eye makeup still contain low levels of mercury.In the East, metallic mercury was the main ingredient in most Tantric medicinal preparations. In his travels through India, Marco Polo observed that many people drank a concoction of mercury and sulfur twice monthly from early childhood with no observable ill effects. They believed the drink gave them longevity. Tantric alchemists in India still take metallic mercury in place of food as an elixir of life, although they caution that the body must be perfectly attuned and strengthened to tolerate the intense cosmic infusion of life force. In Indian alchemy, mercury is called rasa, which refers to the subtle essence that is the origin of all forms of matter. The cosmic chaos from which the universe sprang is called the Rasasara or “Sea of Mercury.” The craft of alchemy is referred to as Rasayana or “Knowledge of Mercury.” Go outside on the night of the full moon and gaze up at the silver orb. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the surface of the moon. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let our closest planetary body influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection. Now, pick up piece of silver jewelry or dinnerware, and hold it in your left hand until it gets warm. You should be able to feel a liquid-like sensation of cool metallic energy. This is what alchemists refer to as the “call of silver.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with the moon itself. Try to remember how this feels in your body. Has the taste in your mouth changed? Has your eyesight altered? How does your skin feel.The alchemists prepared an Oil of Silver they used to treat disorders of the brain and cerebellum, reduce stress, balance emotions, improve memory, treat nervous disorders and epilepsy, improve both melancholia and mania. It was also used as a physical purgative and mental purifier. It was said to affect the subconscious mind, see into the past clearly, remove fears and blockages, allow one to unwind, produce “homey” feelings, give a feeling of grace and sensitivity, and enhanced imagination.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.Gold is a stubbornly pure metal when it comes to reacting or even associating with “lesser” elements. That signature explains a lot of the chemical characteristics of gold. Unlike nearly every other metal, there are no plants that contain even trace amounts of metallic gold. There are very few gold ores, because the noblest metal never alloys with the baser metals, but does alloy with the noble metal silver and makes an amalgam with mercury.Gold is extremely ductile, malleable, and sectile, and so soft it can be cut with a knife, which makes gold impractical to use for tools. It is also very heavy. A gold bar is twice as heavy as an equal-sized bar of lead. Furthermore, gold embodies an inner equilibrium of forces that make it pretty much indestructible. Gold never tarnishes like copper or silver or rust like iron and, whether found buried in the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, in an ancient tomb, or in the ring on your finger, it always looks the same. It cannot be damaged by heat and was considered completely inalterable until around 1100 AD, when alchemists concocted a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids known as Agua Regia (“Royal Water”) that could dissolve gold. The immortal metal is endlessly recycled, and all the gold known today is very nearly equal to all the gold that has ever been mined. One ounce of gold can be stretched into a single wire 35 miles long, or it can be beaten to just a few atoms thick. It is the most flexible, enduring, and beautiful of all metals.
Gold shows a distinct affinity for sulfur and forms an ore with a rare element called tellurium. It is one of the few elements gold easily bonds with. In fact, telluride is rarely found without gold. Gold also appears in minerals that are part of a group of tellurium sulfides called the tellurides. However, the amount of gold in these minerals is really miniscule next to the amount of gold found in its native metallic state. Native gold seems to like the company of the purest white quartz and is also found mixed with deposits of pyrite and a few other sulfide minerals. Gold is six times rarer than silver, and it takes about three tons of gold ore to extract an ounce of gold metal.Around the world, nearly every culture associated their supreme god or goddess with gold. For many centuries only the images of gods graced gold coins, until Alexander the Great began the trend of rulers’ images appearing on gold coins around 30 BC. Even the most primitive societies recognize the sacred properties of gold. For example, the Makuna tribes of modern Brazil believe that gold contains “the light of the sun and stars." The chemical symbol for gold (Au) comes from the Latin word aurum meaning "gold.” The alchemical cipher for gold is a rendition of the sun (A), and gold was considered a kind of congealed light. Sol is the King of alchemy, and his royal purple-red color is revealed in gold colloidal solutions, and red is his symbolic color. Sol Philosophorum was the name the alchemists gave to this living spirit of gold, which they saw as the refined essence of heat and fire. Gold was known and considered sacred from earliest times. Gold became popular because it reminded people of the sun with its warm, life-giving properties. Because of its imperishability, the ancient Chinese thought that gold conveyed immortality to its owners. Egyptian inscriptions dating back to 2600 BC describe these same associations with gold. Gold replaced bartering around 3500 BC when the people of Mesopotamia started using it as a kind of money because of it eternal value. By 2800 BC, gold was being fashioned into standardized weights in the form of rings. People started carried black stones called “touchstones” onto which they scraped a piece of gold to leave a streak. Depending on the brightness of the streak, one could estimate how much gold was in the sample. Around 1500 BC, Mesopotamian alchemists discovered a process for purifying gold known as "cuppellation," which involved heating impure gold in a porcelain cup called a “cuppel.” Impurities were absorbed by the porcelain, leaving a button of pure gold behind. Later alchemists used cuppels to test the quality of their transmutations.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.According to the medieval alchemists, Nature sought continually to create the perfection achieved in gold, and they looked at every metal as gold in the making. Alchemists also thought that the objective of every metal was to become gold, and every metal was tested for corrosion and strength and ranked as to how far it was from gold. Many alchemists felt that mercury was the closest metal to gold and that it could be transmuted directly into gold. Their intuition was correct, for mercury can indeed be turned into gold. Gold and mercury are next to each other on the Periodic Table. Mercury is element 80 (has 80 protons) and gold is element 79 (has 79 protons). In the 1960s, physicists were able to knock out a proton in mercury atoms using neutron particle accelerators, and thereby create minute quantities of gold.Gold is at the head of the metals, paired with what in the medieval mind was the strongest planet, the Sun. The alchemists were obsessed with gold’s signature of perfection. Medieval Italian alchemist Bernard Trevisan speculated, "Is not gold merely the Sun’s beams condensed into a solid yellow?" Seventeenth-century alchemist John French asked fervently: “Is there no sperm in gold? Is it not possible to exalt it for multiplication? Is there no universal spirit in the world? Is it not possible to find that collected in One Thing which is dispersed in all things? What is that which makes gold incorruptible? What induced the philosophers to examine gold for the matter of their medicine? Was not all gold once living? Is there none of this living gold, the matter of philosophers, to be had anymore?”Gold is highly valued in the everyday world too. It is used as coinage and is a standard for monetary systems in many countries. It is used to make jewelry and artwork, and also in dentistry, electronics, and plating. Since it is an excellent reflector of infrared energy (such as emerges from the sun), the metal is used to coat space satellites and interstellar probes. Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image. It is also used in medicine to treat degenerative diseases such as arthritis and cancer.Chemist Lilly Kolisko performed experiments with gold chloride and showed its chemical behavior coincided with events that altered the strength of the sun, such as the weakening in solar forces during solar eclipses or their increase during the summer solstice. Moreover, she found that both silver and gold salts seemed to be equally influenced by the sun. In the case of silver, it was the forms or patterns that changed, whereas in the gold, it was the colors that changed. Silver shapes moved from jagged spikes to smooth rolling forms but the colors remained hues of grey, while the basic shape of gold patterns remained the same but the colors changed from brilliant yellows through violet to reddish-purple hues. This work presents an amazing confirmation of how the King and Queen, Sol and Luna, work together in creation, with the female principle representing soul and form and the male principle representing spirit and energy. Kolisko’s innovative work with the metals is presented in the Appendix. Her work has been duplicated by dozens of other chemists and has been confirmed many times.The signatures of gold are invoked in rituals, magical spells, and talismans concerning solar deities, the male force, authority, self-confidence, creativity, financial riches, investments, fortune, hope, health, and worldly and magical power. Gold talismans can be very expensive, but you can make one of gold colored cardboard or write the symbols on it with gold paint or plate an object with gold. Gold jewelry is said to improve self-confidence and inner strength. To charge water with the signature of gold, put a gold object in a glass of water and let sit in the sunlight for 6-10 hours.During sunrise or sunset, face the sun and try to feel it archetypal presence. If not too bright, gaze into the rising or setting sun and try to see the metallic solar disk of which the Egyptian alchemists spoke. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the presence at the center of our solar system influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant sun. Continue facing the sun as you pick up a piece of gold jewelry or a vial of pure gold flakes (such as sold in some novelty shops) into your right palm. You should be able to feel a electric warmth building. That eerie, warm vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of gold” – the resonation of the metal with its “planet.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence, and for gold, this is the most perfect expression of all materials. If you can connect with this archetype, you will realize that it a very personal as well as divine presence. As Above, so Below. This is perfection on all levels of your mind, body, and soul resonating with the perfection inherent in the Whole Universe.For those with weaker wills or loss of contact with the divine presence, gold represents a psychological cure. The solar essences gives great ambition, courage, self-re-liance, dignity, authority, and the ability to manage oneself and others. The creative principle, no matter how small and insignificant it is within us can be enhanced to a great degree by tapping into the solar archetype. Just as the Sun represents the di-vine creative force in our immediate solar system, gold represents the same thing in our inner temperament. For lasting manifestation, the golden temperament needs to be firmly grounded in the world, and the danger at this phase of transformation is that the individual become too focused on the workings Above and forget his or her connection to the real world. Gold and the blazing Sun correspond to personal ambition, courage, and creative energy and vitality, but without a constant effort to remain pure and alive in the real world, the golden temperament can quickly transmute into the leaden qualities of despair, poor self esteem, lack of confidence, and impurity. Most important for the golden temperament, however, is to realize that once having reached this plateau, one has certain personal and karmic obligations. The golden attitude of this temperament is what brings the rewards of health, wealth, and happiness through synchonistic responses from the universe. Go against these archetypal powers at this level of achievement and even the slightest deviation from the golden path of righteousness and personal integrity can have disastrous and immediate consequences. The alchemists transmuted the Gold temperament using the operation of Coagulation.Chrysotherapy is the name given to healing with gold. The mystical metal has been used for both spiritual and medical purposes as far back as ancient Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry and ingested it for mental, bodily, and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels. In Alexandria, alchemists developed a powerful elixir known as “liquid gold,” which reportedly had the ability to restore youth and perfect health. In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers, and today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers. The great alchemist and founder of modern medicine, Paracelsus, developed many highly successful medicines from metallic minerals including gold. In medieval Europe, gold-coated pills and “gold waters” were extremely popular. Alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," and today, it is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In the 1900s, surgeons implanted a $5.00 gold piece under the skin near an inflamed joint, such as a knee or elbow. In China, peasants still cook their rice with a gold coin in order to help replenish gold in their bodies, and fancy Chinese restaurants put 24-karat gold-leaf in their food preparations.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.Sun-ruled plants affect the soul in its positive phase of manifestation, which manifests on the personal level as our idea of ourselves as a progressive unified entity. Solar herbs help us realize our evolutionary epoch as an individual among many other individuals, helping to synthesize and synchronize our goals with those of the macrocosm. In this sense they are ego fortifiers, but with a divine purpose.Solar herbs heal inferiority complexes, bolstering people and giving them a sense of purpose beyond the norm. The Sun represents the Christ and Osiris consciousness in man, as well as Hercules in his monumental strength. For those with weaker wills, Sun ruled herbs will provide the springboard for more posi-tive action; they also bestow the quality of generosity to our souls. Solar plants, when alchemically charged, will reveal the divine purpose of our solar system, and will let you be-come aware of the will of God in manifestation. Solar essences give great ambition.
picking up my transmuting news series which explores what contexts or forms support the spontaneous transformation of news
(NZZ 20. Okt 2018)
Some see nothing but death and destruction for the future of Mankind, so spread your Love and Light around you and help transmute it for them.
Old photo, new version. Hope u like Flickr!
Foto e Edição by ME
Seen here is the big signage by the entrance, made out of paper with bamboo frames, this is one of the most traditional signage which is called the" 花牌 " or "Flower Board", often used during celebrations or praying ceremonies.
It used to be a bamboo structure, but due to the new district council regulations, the newly renovated playground doesn't allow bamboo structures anymore, it is now being replaced by these metal structures instead.
There are approximately 50 big and small events around Hong Kong during the Lunar month of July. These events usually takes place at the local play ground, for 3 - 5 days.
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
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Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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Vincent van Gogh - Chaumes de Cordeville à Auvers-sur-Oise [Thatched Cottages at Cordeville, Auvers-sur-Oise]
This picture was painted during the artist's most frenetic creative period, a few weeks before his tragic death. Van Gogh had left Provence in May 1890, at the end of his voluntary stay at the asylum in Saint-Rémy. He moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris. On 10 June, he wrote to his brother Theo that "he was doing two studies of houses out in the countryside". Corot, Daubigny, Pissarro and Cézanne had already evoked the peaceful charm of Auvers. Van Gogh would transform it into a volcanic land where the houses seem to have been twisted by an earthquake.
Here the painter subjects the landscape to a veritable transmutation driven by psychic forces. The peaceful thatched cottages, which can still be seen in old photographs, seem to have been lifted by some powerful telluric force that has dilated them. The wild, swirling design makes the roof undulate, sends the tree branches up in spirals, transforms the clouds into arabesques... Moreover, the image is worked in thick impasto with real furrows gouged into the paint.
It is clear that this artist is not overwhelmed as the Romantics were by the awe-inspiring landscape. On the contrary, it is he who torments and inflames the lowliest hovel and the smallest cypress tree. Just as in Starry Night (New York, MoMA) from 1889, all the elements in the landscape unite in distorting their contours and give the whole scene a supernatural air.
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What happened three days ago is a very bad story, a 63-year-old man shot two women in the face, one 48 years old, the other 49 years old, and then took his own life, all of which happened in a town in the province of Catania, one of them allegedly had an extramarital affair with the killer: in 2022 120 women were killed, 97 of them were killed in the family or emotional sphere, of these 57 died for hand of the partner or former partner. This tragic and sad incipit linked to the ever-present drama of feminicides, to introduce the photographic story that I made in the town of Savoca (Messina - Sicily) on 08/13/2022, of a very particular representation that was held last time in August 2018; is a narration that pits Evil (a devil armed with a long grappling hook) against Good (Saint Lucia, who holds a silver palm leaf in her hands), the Evil-Devil tries to seduce-distract Saint Lucia with own grappling hook, instead Saint Lucia remains impassive in front of her flattery: violence against women in this very suggestive representation finds distant and deep roots, Saint Lucia actually represents those women who in medieval times had to suffer the abuses perpetrated by the Baron of Savoca nicknamed "Barone Altadonna", which making use of the law "ius primae noctis" (from the Latin "right of the first night"), referred to the "right" according to which a feudal lord could rape a newly married woman on her wedding night. Therefore, this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a report of the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The living re-enactment of the history of St. Lucia takes place on two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some moments of Saturday, the day during which the celebration does not take place in its full beauty, it is the day during which "the silver palm" is delivered "from the Lucia of the previous edition" to the "Lucia of the current edition", it is the day during which the last details are tested, above all the "impassivity of the little girl who impersonates Saint Lucia", lovingly called "the Lucia".. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened.
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E' una bruttissima storia quanto accaduto tre giorni fa, un uomo di 63 anni, ha ucciso a colpi di pistola in pieno volto due donne, una di 48 anni, l'altra di 49 anni, per poi togliersi la vita, il tutto accaduto in una cittadina in provincia di Catania, una di loro avrebbe avuto una relazione extraconiugale con l'assassino: nel 2022 sono state 120 le donne uccise, 97 di loro sono state uccise in ambito familiare o affettivo, di queste 57 hanno trovato la morte per mano del partner o ex partner. Questo tragico e triste incipit legato al sempre attuale dramma dei femminicidi, per introdurre il racconto fotografico che ho realizzato nella cittadina di Savoca (Messina - Sicilia) il 13/08/2022, di una particolarissima rappresentazione che si era tenuta l'ultima volta nell'agosto del 2018; è una narrazione che vede contrapposto il Male (un diavolo armato di un lungo rampino), al Bene (Santa Lucia, che stringe tra le mani una foglia di palma d'argento), il Male-Diavolo tenta di sedurre-distrarre Santa Lucia col proprio rampino, invece Santa Lucia resta impassibile davanti le sue lusinghe: la violenza sulle donne in questa rappresentazione molto suggestiva, trova radici lontane e profonde, Santa Lucia in realtà rappresenta quelle donne che in epoca medioevale dovevano subire gli abusi perpetrati dal Barone di Savoca soprannominato "Barone Altadonna", che avvalendosi della legge "ius primae noctis" (dal latino "diritto della prima notte"), si riferiva al “diritto” secondo cui un signore feudale poteva violentare una donna appena sposata durante la sua prima notte di nozze. Quindi questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da tutti coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report della rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di Santa Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata del sabato, giorno durante il quale la festa non si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza, è il giorno durante il quale “la palma d’argento” viene consegnata “dalla Lucia della edizione precedente” alla “Lucia dell’attuale edizione”, è il giorno durante il quale si testano gli ultimi dettagli, soprattutto si mette alla prova “l’impassibilità della bambina che impersona Santa Lucia”, chiamata amorevolmente “la Lucia”. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza. La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamato dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei stringe devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza.
'..as buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever-branching and beautiful ramifications.' - Charles Darwin, red transmutation notebook B (1872)
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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;
or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;
clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;
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www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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What happened three days ago is a very bad story, a 63-year-old man shot two women in the face, one 48 years old, the other 49 years old, and then took his own life, all of which happened in a town in the province of Catania, one of them allegedly had an extramarital affair with the killer: in 2022 120 women were killed, 97 of them were killed in the family or emotional sphere, of these 57 died for hand of the partner or former partner. This tragic and sad incipit linked to the ever-present drama of feminicides, to introduce the photographic story that I made in the town of Savoca (Messina - Sicily) on 08/13/2022, of a very particular representation that was held last time in August 2018; is a narration that pits Evil (a devil armed with a long grappling hook) against Good (Saint Lucia, who holds a silver palm leaf in her hands), the Evil-Devil tries to seduce-distract Saint Lucia with own grappling hook, instead Saint Lucia remains impassive in front of her flattery: violence against women in this very suggestive representation finds distant and deep roots, Saint Lucia actually represents those women who in medieval times had to suffer the abuses perpetrated by the Baron of Savoca nicknamed "Barone Altadonna", which making use of the law "ius primae noctis" (from the Latin "right of the first night"), referred to the "right" according to which a feudal lord could rape a newly married woman on her wedding night. Therefore, this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a report of the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The living re-enactment of the history of St. Lucia takes place on two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some moments of Saturday, the day during which the celebration does not take place in its full beauty, it is the day during which "the silver palm" is delivered "from the Lucia of the previous edition" to the "Lucia of the current edition", it is the day during which the last details are tested, above all the "impassivity of the little girl who impersonates Saint Lucia", lovingly called "the Lucia".. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened.
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E' una bruttissima storia quanto accaduto tre giorni fa, un uomo di 63 anni, ha ucciso a colpi di pistola in pieno volto due donne, una di 48 anni, l'altra di 49 anni, per poi togliersi la vita, il tutto accaduto in una cittadina in provincia di Catania, una di loro avrebbe avuto una relazione extraconiugale con l'assassino: nel 2022 sono state 120 le donne uccise, 97 di loro sono state uccise in ambito familiare o affettivo, di queste 57 hanno trovato la morte per mano del partner o ex partner. Questo tragico e triste incipit legato al sempre attuale dramma dei femminicidi, per introdurre il racconto fotografico che ho realizzato nella cittadina di Savoca (Messina - Sicilia) il 13/08/2022, di una particolarissima rappresentazione che si era tenuta l'ultima volta nell'agosto del 2018; è una narrazione che vede contrapposto il Male (un diavolo armato di un lungo rampino), al Bene (Santa Lucia, che stringe tra le mani una foglia di palma d'argento), il Male-Diavolo tenta di sedurre-distrarre Santa Lucia col proprio rampino, invece Santa Lucia resta impassibile davanti le sue lusinghe: la violenza sulle donne in questa rappresentazione molto suggestiva, trova radici lontane e profonde, Santa Lucia in realtà rappresenta quelle donne che in epoca medioevale dovevano subire gli abusi perpetrati dal Barone di Savoca soprannominato "Barone Altadonna", che avvalendosi della legge "ius primae noctis" (dal latino "diritto della prima notte"), si riferiva al “diritto” secondo cui un signore feudale poteva violentare una donna appena sposata durante la sua prima notte di nozze. Quindi questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da tutti coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report della rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di Santa Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata del sabato, giorno durante il quale la festa non si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza, è il giorno durante il quale “la palma d’argento” viene consegnata “dalla Lucia della edizione precedente” alla “Lucia dell’attuale edizione”, è il giorno durante il quale si testano gli ultimi dettagli, soprattutto si mette alla prova “l’impassibilità della bambina che impersona Santa Lucia”, chiamata amorevolmente “la Lucia”. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza. La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamato dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei stringe devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza.
Fashion details at Around the Grid
All the poets I've ever read
say lovers, old or new, must meet
in fields of green grass or new-mown hay
places blowing with wildflowers
and warm with sunshine
But you don't find places like that everywhere and when
You can't meet your lover in a field of poppies and daisies
when you're in Michigan in the winter
Two may plight their troth 'neath an arch of roses
but never in December northlands
Still, the heart recks not the time nor place
for a lover's reunion
The skies may be grey as a ghost's eyes,
the wind howling from the heights,
flurries blowing in the breeze
instead of peony blossoms —
but when he calls,
wherever he is,
whenever he is,
you will come
You need not even touch him;
just see him
and naught else matters to you
The freezing blast becomes
balmy breezes of May
The seabirds' croaks transmuted
to the song of bluebirds
And a world of snow and brown grasses
refashions itself in your heart’s eye
to the greenest of gardens
all for the sake of one person
You rush to meet him —
or he comes to you
for it doesn't really matter —
and you wouldn't trade where you are
for the warmest resort
in Spain or Italy
All you want is the touch of his hand
the caress of his arms
the brush of his warm lips against yours —
and the promise of later
when even this shall pale
before bright moments in the dark
and the quiet
and the solitude of two
What do time or place mean
to the union of hearts?
To those in love and separated
a second apart is an eternity
and Eden a barren desert
To those rejoined
a day is too little
and the emptiest desert a paradise
When you find the one who’s the Other You
cling to the time together
glory in the places you can share your lives
and glorify God in gratitude
for the happiness showered on you both
Harper Ganesvoort, 2016
What: A furious volcanic eruption is due to take place.
When: Possibly at any given time.
Where: In somebody’s mind.
Why: ANGER
Blood concentrations of catecholamines like adrenalin and similar - iin - stuff are skyrocketing. The once finest symphony the body’s chemicals admirably play during normal wakefulness intervals is no longer in harmony. The heart, being the greatest drummer ever, is maniacally drumming the “Tachycardia Rhythm” or simply hurrying heartbeats. Shallow breathing and sweat reflections on the anger-flushed face make only a small fraction of the underneath turmoil only partially surfacing to the skin. The vocal cords are almost torn. Every bit of the facial muscles (and many other ones) is tensely stretched resulting in the most unpleasant appearance! The brain, our brilliantly talented conductor is only getting mad!
WARNING: The entire system is on ALERT!
But wait a minute: anger is not always as bad as it seems to be.
To be angry is not a decision we make…neither is a goal by itself. It is a logical byproduct of a number of inner emotional disturbances that if kept suppressed inwardly and untreated, the outcome could yet be more destructive than when released. At least in this sense, anger plays the safety valve that protects us from hurting ourselves.
Problem, therefore, is not with anger itself but rather with what we do with it. And like the case with any other tool of dual use: positive results are attainable if we learn to channel our furious feelings towards positive ends. Key word is self-discipline!
The photograph, as you see, is consisted of two parts: One with the flame being blue and neatly congruent and thus depicting anger under control. The other one is with the flame being furiously red and hysterically chaotic depicting anger in its unleashed form!
I do get angry now and then…actually so angry sometimes but there is one thing I’d love to share with you in this regard: I’ve developed a habit that whenever I realize things are almost getting out of control, I intentionally pay MORE attention to self-discipline. Attentively focusing on what I’m about to say (and not what already saying as that would be too late as you know), I enjoy it seeing the other getting snared in their own-set net! Do you believe me if I say that if you give it a try you’ll see that around 95% of the skirmishes will end with you being the winner?! As soon as the sky is clear again you’ll start hearing things like “I’m sorry…I got mad…I should not have said that…I apologize…you were right about such and such but I was so angry”
Can you imagine a situation in which a lord (in old times) is furiously shouting and accordingly taking the blame (even silently in others’ minds) for a mistake done by his servant just because of the lord’s lack of self-discipline? Not so many people around would keep the blame placed on the servant’s negligence! Do you get me? Anger is like fire: a good servant but a bad master!
Following is a bunch of quotes on anger I love to share with you. Hope you like it and the photograph as well.
“A man is about as big as the things that make him angry” by Winston Churchill (British Orator, Author and Prime Minister during World War II. 1874-1965)
“Anger is a great force. If you control it, it can be transmuted into a power which can move the whole world.” By William Shenstone (Scottish Writer, 1714-1763)
“In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves” By Abraham J. Heschel (Jewish theologian and philosopher, 1907-1972)
“Anger is a harmless naughty teenage boy when is rear-seated and belt-fastened but a reckless cowboy once it gets behind the wheel” by Salwan Binni (your Flickr friend...lol)
“When provoked to reflect anger remember that it is better to be a good servant than a bad master” by Salwan Binni…inspired by the English proverb “Fire is a good servant but a bad master”…
“Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.” By Dr. Laurence J. Peter (American "hierarchiologist", Educator and Writer, 1919-1990)
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.” By Buddha (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)
“When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger.”By Epictetus (Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics, AD 55-c.135)
NB: by posting my own quotes I don’t mean to show off…I just love to share with you my thoughts…wish you ALL a WONDRFUL TIME!
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What happened three days ago is a very bad story, a 63-year-old man shot two women in the face, one 48 years old, the other 49 years old, and then took his own life, all of which happened in a town in the province of Catania, one of them allegedly had an extramarital affair with the killer: in 2022 120 women were killed, 97 of them were killed in the family or emotional sphere, of these 57 died for hand of the partner or former partner. This tragic and sad incipit linked to the ever-present drama of feminicides, to introduce the photographic story that I made in the town of Savoca (Messina - Sicily) on 08/13/2022, of a very particular representation that was held last time in August 2018; is a narration that pits Evil (a devil armed with a long grappling hook) against Good (Saint Lucia, who holds a silver palm leaf in her hands), the Evil-Devil tries to seduce-distract Saint Lucia with own grappling hook, instead Saint Lucia remains impassive in front of her flattery: violence against women in this very suggestive representation finds distant and deep roots, Saint Lucia actually represents those women who in medieval times had to suffer the abuses perpetrated by the Baron of Savoca nicknamed "Barone Altadonna", which making use of the law "ius primae noctis" (from the Latin "right of the first night"), referred to the "right" according to which a feudal lord could rape a newly married woman on her wedding night. Therefore, this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a report of the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The living re-enactment of the history of St. Lucia takes place on two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some moments of Saturday, the day during which the celebration does not take place in its full beauty, it is the day during which "the silver palm" is delivered "from the Lucia of the previous edition" to the "Lucia of the current edition", it is the day during which the last details are tested, above all the "impassivity of the little girl who impersonates Saint Lucia", lovingly called "the Lucia".. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened.
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E' una bruttissima storia quanto accaduto tre giorni fa, un uomo di 63 anni, ha ucciso a colpi di pistola in pieno volto due donne, una di 48 anni, l'altra di 49 anni, per poi togliersi la vita, il tutto accaduto in una cittadina in provincia di Catania, una di loro avrebbe avuto una relazione extraconiugale con l'assassino: nel 2022 sono state 120 le donne uccise, 97 di loro sono state uccise in ambito familiare o affettivo, di queste 57 hanno trovato la morte per mano del partner o ex partner. Questo tragico e triste incipit legato al sempre attuale dramma dei femminicidi, per introdurre il racconto fotografico che ho realizzato nella cittadina di Savoca (Messina - Sicilia) il 13/08/2022, di una particolarissima rappresentazione che si era tenuta l'ultima volta nell'agosto del 2018; è una narrazione che vede contrapposto il Male (un diavolo armato di un lungo rampino), al Bene (Santa Lucia, che stringe tra le mani una foglia di palma d'argento), il Male-Diavolo tenta di sedurre-distrarre Santa Lucia col proprio rampino, invece Santa Lucia resta impassibile davanti le sue lusinghe: la violenza sulle donne in questa rappresentazione molto suggestiva, trova radici lontane e profonde, Santa Lucia in realtà rappresenta quelle donne che in epoca medioevale dovevano subire gli abusi perpetrati dal Barone di Savoca soprannominato "Barone Altadonna", che avvalendosi della legge "ius primae noctis" (dal latino "diritto della prima notte"), si riferiva al “diritto” secondo cui un signore feudale poteva violentare una donna appena sposata durante la sua prima notte di nozze. Quindi questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da tutti coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report della rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di Santa Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata del sabato, giorno durante il quale la festa non si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza, è il giorno durante il quale “la palma d’argento” viene consegnata “dalla Lucia della edizione precedente” alla “Lucia dell’attuale edizione”, è il giorno durante il quale si testano gli ultimi dettagli, soprattutto si mette alla prova “l’impassibilità della bambina che impersona Santa Lucia”, chiamata amorevolmente “la Lucia”. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza. La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamato dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei stringe devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza.
Part of the Tarot Garden by Niki de Saint Phalle, Tuscany, Italy
The Tarot Garden (Giardino Dei Tarocchi) is an exploration of the human condition whose medium is mosaic on a monumental scale. These almost impossibly brightly coloured combinations of buildings and sculpture reflect the metaphysical qualities represented by the 22 main tarot cards (the major arcana). They're not concerned with the fortune-telling uses of the cards, rather the elements of life's experience, personality and self-knowledge they refer to. Work on the garden began in 1979 and the main part of the work was carried out in the 1980s; it was officially opened to the public in May 1998. During construction Niki de Saint Phalle lived in the sphinx-like Empress, a mirror-glassed cavern with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom leading off.
The Oracle is the female version of the hermit. Her whole body is wrapped in serpents. Niki de Saint Phalle is fascinated by this creature an ambivalent symbol of sin and new life, a rescuing animal but also an accursed beast. The serpent is a symbol of healing and also as a being of the underworld. It communicates with the realm of the dead and embodies the transmutation cycle of life death rebirth.
On the occasion of the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, one of Venice’s most celebrated landmarks, the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, will host Together, a major exhibition of new works by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
Plensa (Spain, b.1955) is one of the world’s foremost artists working in the public art space, with permanent works spanning the globe including the Crown Fountain (Chicago), Echo (Seattle), Breathing (London) and Roots (Tokyo). The exhibition is curated by Clare Lilley, Director of Programmes at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The works in the exhibition all make their debut in San Giorgio and reflect the artist’s continued interest in a bodily relationship to space, scale, material and place.
For four hundred years the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore has been a place of worship, communication and meditation, where Palladio’s profound architecture creates a stilling and contemplative environment. Plensa’s response to this powerful space is Together; a conversation between two sculptures - hand, suspended beneath the cupola in the foreground of the altar, and head, sited in the nave. Placed on the dominant west-east axis of the building, the works set up a line of spiritual and intellectual discourse which evokes emotion and seeks to connect with his viewers on an intuitive level.
As a speaker of five languages alongside a nomadic life that takes him around the globe, Plensa’s work reflects a desire to break down barriers. Merging difference is a cornerstone of his work, and here it is further emphasized by the installation of meticulous drawings and a group of five alabaster portraits in the contiguous Officina dell’Arte Spirituale, located 300 meters from the entrance to the Basilica on the island’s northern edge. Plunged in darkness and lit to reveal their luminous opacity, the sculptures were carved using reformed scans of real girls; chosen because, like nomads, they have traveled, settled and traveled again. Chosen, too, because they are teenage girls on the cusp of leaving and arriving, whose potential – like that of all humanity – so deeply glows.
Plensa’s sculptures reference a Judeo-Christian tradition while connecting with a much longer human history, where the making of art has social purpose and which we see played out across histories and geographies – in heads from the Croatian Upper Paleolithic, carved some 26,000 years ago; in exquisite, elongated hands incised in stone from 1300 BCE Egypt. For these and other reasons, Plensa’s forms will connect people and welcome them into the Basilica. Made from stainless steel which distills and diffuses light, Plensa’s hand and head are at times transmutable hazes that pull and root the gaze. The opening, gestural hand formed from characters of eight languages, speaks of a coming together of peoples and traditions. Similarly, Nuria’s face speaks of diversity; indeed the subject is the daughter of a Chinese friend in Barcelona, who in her young life has already crossed many borders.
Clare Lilley, Curator, commented: “Plensa’s installations for the Isola di San Georgio Maggiore are testament to his acute understanding of space and scale. His sculptures do not impose themselves on these historic spaces; rather they capture and reflect the actual light and shadows within to communicate a metaphorical language. Both visually stunning and intimate, they draw our attention to a world where migration and difference challenge civilized behavior; in this place, which for centuries has welcomed world travelers, Plensa’s work will connect people of many faiths and of no faith.
In collaboration with the monks of the Abbazia di San Giorgio, as part of the cultural activities of the Benedicti Claustra Onlus, Together hopes to advance the Benedictine community’s efforts to develop a number of restoration projects of the monumental Palladian complex on San Giorgio Maggiore. Inspired by textual elements in the body of Plensa’s work, the project has contributed a significant donation to restore the Abbazia’s 15th and 16th Century illuminated manuscripts; prayer books previously too delicate for public view. (Press release)
盂蘭勝會不擺放神像，而是由從廟裡請來的香爐代替。請神隊伍一路走來，經過附近廟宇，往往請上3~5個香爐。
Teochew tribe worships the Gods Of Heaven and Earth, the Father of Heaven and Mother of Earth, it is believed that the world was created by them.
Instead of statues, these temporary event that lasts for about 3 - 5 days, carried the copper incense burners from the temples as a symbolic representation of the Gods respectively:
- 天地父母 Gods of Heaven and Earth
- 南辰北斗 Gods of Spiritual Realm
- 諸位福神 Gods of Blessings
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
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Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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