Venus in the Dovecote (Part II): The Ancient Sanctuary

The ruins of the great Sanctuary of Aphrodite in Paphos, Cyprus.

The Sanctuary of Aphrodite Paphia

"The Sanctuary of Aphrodite Paphia was a sanctuary in ancient Paphos on Cyprus dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. Located where the legendary birth of Aphrodite took place, it has been referred to as the main sanctuary of Aphrodite, and was a place of pilgrimages in the ancient world for centuries."

"Before it was proved by archaeology it was understood that the cult of Aphrodite had been established before the time of Homer (c. 700 BC), as the grove and altar of Aphrodite at Paphos are mentioned in the Odyssey..."

"The sanctuary was closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire in the 4th-century, and had at that time been in function for thousands of years since the Late Bronze age."

- Several quotes from the Wiki entry for The Sanctuary of Aphrodite Paphia. The image (centered above the quote) is a scene of Aphrodite's birth carved in high relief in marble (460 BC).

"The systematic excavation of the much dilapidated remains of this sanctuary (1973-1979, 1992-1997, 2007-2008) enabled us to reconstruct the main outlines of its history. The continuity of cult in the sanctuary has been definitely established for more than 1500 years, from the Late Bronze Age (c.1200 BC) to the end of the 4th century AD. Furthermore, there are good reasons to believe that the worship of a fertility goddess on the site reaches back into the chalcolithic period: the Paphian sanctuary thus represents the longest cult tradition known so far in Cyprus. Peculiar to Paphos was the aniconic worship of Aphrodite: she was represented by a conical stone as symbol of fertility, depicted on many Roman coins."

- Via this University of Zurich page. Inset right is the conical stone - a baetylus of andesite - a sacred rock which represented Aphrodite and was imbued with her spirit. Although it looks blue-black in photos it is supposedly a dark green color. This photo was found in the Wiki entry linked to above. Whether or not this conical stone actually represented "fertility," is, however, open to debate.

My personal feeling is that the rock was meant to tether the goddess to a specific place on earth in the same way the magnificent Christian cathedrals were meant to tether the Christian god to a specific location. The pagans realized that no substance was more eternal than a rock - it would outlast both they and much of what they created. I think that many Christian churches possessed a "rock," as well; although not as obvious.*

In any case, Aphrodite's sanctuary was active for over 1500 years. Putting this in perspective, about 500 years longer than the existence of Christianity, thus far... and, realizing that in some places, worship of Venus Aphrodite never really ceased... well!

"Another myth associated with Cyprus and, in particular, with Paphos, is the myth of Pygmalion and his love for the beautiful Galatea. Pygmalion created a female statue of ivory; the statue was so perfect that the creator fell in love with it. Aphrodite took pity on the lovers, and breathed life into the magnificent statue.

The couple had a son, named Paphos, who became the founder of the homonymous town, which he built in gratitude for his birth. He is also credited with the creation and the first temple in honor of the goddess of love."

- From one of the most comprehensive discussions of Venus Aphrodite on the web (via Earth Storiez), we have mention of the goddess and Pygmalion. I had forgotten about the role of the goddess in the story, but, that's the beauty of Aphrodite: she seems to nourish love and creativity across the board, in all its permutations. In the case of Pygmalion, she brought a statue to life for an artist who fell in love with his creation. Inset left is Pre-Raphaelite, Edward Burne-Jones' romantic vision of Aphrodite animating the ivory statue. Note the doves and roses which accompany her.

***

Artifacts from Cyprus - 1450–1200 BC - in the Metropolitan Museum.

Welcome to the ancient world! Above, is an image of the emissaries for our journey to this place in time; 5 weird little Barbie Dolls, if you will... or maybe souvenir fetishes given (or sold) at a pagan sanctuary on major holidays. Regarding the two with rings in their "ears," these might also double as rattles or noise-makers... some hand-held percussion instruments pilgrims (or children) might use in processions or celebrations.

They're said to represent bird-women... and, certainly the large one in the center -  a little over 8" (20cm) in height - has a protrusion on her face that might be a beak... and the figure seems to be holding a bird-like object; perhaps a fledgling. Interestingly, this figure also has very large eyes... similar to the older Sumerian statues... which may indicate that, while this particular statue may have symbolized a goddess as a mother, it may also have represented a fetish imbued with the her spirit.

Not so bird-like is the smaller sculpture on the far left which looks like it might possess a ram's head, and the largest one on the far right which appears (to me) as if it has the face of a lamb. As for the two flanking the central bird-woman, however, well, I don't know, but I bet kids would love them. (I would!)

(Continued after the jump...)

Chasing Ancient Pentagrams Part III: The Quintessence - The Fellowship of Pentalpha

A floor mosaic - featuring a stellated dodecahedron - in St Mark's Basilica, Venice by Paolo Uccello circa 1430.

Featured in the center of the image (above) and in center of the image inset left is the geometrical figure known as the small stellated dodechahedron.

I don't know that this polyhedron has any specific esoterica attached to it - apart from it's obvious relationship with the pentagram and the regular dodecahedron - and, yet, its presence in the mosaic  and the print seem to hold a special significance for both artists... in spite of the fact that more than 400 years and several countries separated them.

Maurits Cornelis (M.C.) Escher (1898-1972), was a Dutch graphic artist especially known for the mathematical figures and motifs in his work, while Italian painter, Paolo Uccello, was not. Uccello accomplished amazing feats of perspective in his paintings, but his online oeuvre contains only one other example of a geometric solid. And, yet, it's his polyhedron which is unquestionably the "star" of the mosaic at St. Mark's basilica... surrounded by what looks like a string of... well, sliced zucchini (but don't quote me). In any case, regardless of the vegetables, his dodecahedron is a powerful icon.

In M.C. Escher's still-life, however, the same stellated polyhedron has become an illuminated life form... or a small, extraterrestrial vehicle which has landed in a patch of earthly refuse... a broken egg, bottle, pipe, discarded tin can, etc. It seems as if the two images could not be less alike.

But, there is one continuum between Uccello's mosaic and Escher's drawing.  Both images glorify the stellated dodecahedron while, at the same time, revealing its fundamental source: the pentagram.

Inset left is a great shot of Escher inking in a most amazing spiral. The full image - Sphere Surface with Fish - is below the jump.

Running Forward

  

 

 “Is there anyone left with any integrity? Anyone at all? I ask myself that on an almost daily basis,” she says, despairingly." 

-  Shirley Manson from a Spin review of Garbage's 7th (2021) release: No Gods No Masters. (Note: Louis Auguste Blanqui, a 17th century socialist and anarchist, coined the phrase “ni dieu ni maître”—neither god nor master—in reference to the "world order" he envisioned. After that, it became a slogan used by different groups and individuals throughout history. See: the Wiki entry. )

Another quote from Manson:

"If they ever kill me for anything that I ever say, just know I lived in truth."

 

   ***

The video above - Garbage's No Horses - borrows from Margaret Atwood's harrowing modern classic: The Handmaid's Tale... a novel I deliberately avoided reading at the time because it represented a dark place I'd already visited in my worse nightmares and had no compulsion to revisit. Moreover, it was loosely based on historical truth... and not a pleasant one!

Basically, in the story, a group of patriarchal, Old Testament religious fanatics take over a country (in this case, America), stripping women of many human rights - reading, writing, owning property, handling money (sound familiar?) - and forcing those few (the Handmaids) who remained fertile - apparently some form environmental pollution caused mass sterility - to bear children for the State.

That story.

Another story:

"At dawn on Friday, 13 October 1307 - a date sometimes incorrectly linked with the origin of the Friday the 13th superstition - King Philip IV ordered de Molay and scores of other French Templars to be simultaneously arrested. The arrest warrant started with the words: Dieu n'est pas content, nous avons des ennemis de la foi dans le Royaume ("God is not pleased. We have enemies of the faith in the kingdom") Claims were made that during Templar admissions ceremonies, recruits were forced to spit on the Cross, deny Christ, and engage in indecent kissing; brethren were also accused of worshiping idols, and the order was said to have encouraged in homosexual practices. These allegations, though, were highly politicized without any real evidence...

... As for the leaders of the order, the elderly Grand Master Jacques de Molay, who had confessed under torture, retracted his confession. Geoffroi de Charney, Preceptor of Normandy, also retracted his confession and insisted on his innocence. Both men were declared guilty of being relapsed heretics, and they were sentenced to burn alive at the stake in Paris on 18 March 1314. De Molay reportedly remained defiant to the end, asking to be tied in such a way that he could face the Notre Dame Cathedral and hold his hands together in prayer. According to legend, he called out from the flames that both Pope Clement and King Philip would soon meet him before God. His actual words were recorded on the parchment as follows:

"Dieu sait qui a tort et a péché. Il va bientot arriver malheur à ceux qui nous ont condamnés à mort"

(God knows who is wrong and has sinned. Soon a calamity will occur to those who have condemned us to death). 

Pope Clement died only a month later, and King Philip died in a hunting accident before the end of the year."

- Via the Wiki entry for the Knights Templar.

 

Happy Friday the 13th!

A Journey to the Bottom of a Rabbit Hole (Interlude #3)

Rosslyn Chapel - window on north side. Photo credit ©: Rob Farrow.
(All images in this post can be clicked-on for original size.)

"The building of cathedrals was part of a colossal and cleverly devised plan which permitted the existence of entirely free philosophical and psychological schools in the rude, absurd, cruel, superstitious, bigoted and scholastic Middle Ages. These schools have left us an immense heritage, almost all of which we have already wasted without understanding its meaning and value."

- A quote attributed to P.D. Ouspensky. sourced from Tim Wallace Murphy's Enigma of the Freemasons: Their History and Mystical Connections (2006). Inset right is a column from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, featuring the Kabbalistic Tree of Life symbol.

"The Gothic cathedral, that sanctuary of tradition, science and Art, should not be regarded as a work dedicated solely to the glory of Christianity, but rather as a vast concretion of ideas, of tendencies, of popular beliefs, a perfect whole to which we can refer without fear, whenever we would penetrate the religious, secular, philosophic or social thoughts of our ancestors."

- Another quote sourced from Murphy's book which originated from Le Mystère des Cathédrales (1926) by a mysterious French alchemist known only as "Fulcanelli." Inset left is another - more enigmatic - column from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

From Chartres Cathedral in France: a mechanized astrological clock added in 1528.

***

What's this? A third Interlude?

Alas, yes. As you may have guessed, I've been tottering on the brink of one rabbit hole or another for months now, so, I suppose it was inevitable I'd lose my footing eventually. Originally, I intended to add 2 quotes I found recently (now posted above) to the Chinese Sewing Basket addendum - in which I mention Notre Dame de Paris - and, for all sensible reasons, that's where the operation should've ended.

But, no. Instead, I decided to Google the French alchemist Fulcanelli (who wrote the second quote above)... a man I was unfamiliar with. After all, a writer should know her subject matter, right?

Famous Last Words. For, at that very moment, although unbeknownst to myself, a massive black rabbit hole was silently opening directly beneath my feet like the mouth of a terrestrial Moby Dick.

Maybe it's the topic itself: alchemy - specifically hermeticism - the black hole of the esoteric world. The further you go, the less you know. And, as for Fulcanelli... ah, yes, Fulcanelli, now there's a name to conjure with. And, certainly many have. For some he's the man-who-never-was with an ongoing archive of potential identities (see the Fr. Wiki entry).

But, ultimately, this post isn't about Fulcanelli any more than it's about cathedrals. As it so happened, while ferreting out info about Fulcanelli I discovered his friend, Julien Champagne, also a French alchemist and an artist. It was he who created the frontispiece emblem (inset left) for Fulcanelli's Mystère des Cathédrales.

(Continued below the jump...)

The Starman & The Swan People (Part II)

"Some Sanskrit mystics locate seven planes of being, the seven spiritual lokas
or worlds within the body of Kala Hamsa, the Swan out of Time and Space..."
- From The Voice of the Silence by H. P. Blavatsky.
(Link to the image above has been lost.)
(All images in this post can be clicked-on for original size.)

"While scientists are still in heated debates about what exactly consciousness is, the University of Arizona’s Stuart Hameroff and British physicist Sir Roger Penrose conclude that it is information stored at a quantum level. Penrose and his team have found evidence that 'protein-based microtubules - a structural component of human cells - carry quantum information - information stored at a sub-atomic level.'

Penrose argues that if a person temporarily dies, this quantum information is released from the microtubules and into the universe. However, if they are resuscitated the quantum information is channeled back into the microtubules and that is what sparks a near death experience. 'If they’re not revived, and the patient dies, it’s possible that this quantum information can exist outside the body, perhaps indefinitely, as a soul.'"

- Excerpt from the August 13, 2017 article: Life After Death? - Physicists Says "It's Quantum Information that Transcends from One World to Another." (Inset left: a Penrose tiling)

***

I never could wrap my head around the idea of death; even as a child. Most especially as a child. My first "dead" person was, in fact, my mother's mother. I never really understood why everyone was so dismal when Grandma died. I was, after all, quite convinced she still existed; I could feel she was still there somewhere. In my mind - my primary reality - she just, well, went away. In other words, she went elsewhere, leaving her sick body behind; which was sad (for us) but certainly not tragic (for her). And, really, if she managed to find a better place and feel well again, that was a good thing, wasn't it?

And, to this day, part of me - the part that never "grew up" - still feels the same way. The adult part, on the other hand, is unsure and doesn't know what to think. The adult part mourns. The adult part can't handle death. So, when David Bowie - our Starman - set sail, the adult was devastated and perplexed. Then, one morning - about a month later - I had a strange dream (described in Part I). Or, perhaps, my inner child had the dream. In any case, in the dream the Starman did not die; he "left with the Swan People"... which, in terms of a child's imagination, is not really an odd thing for a Starman to do. Hardly more odd than, let's say, imagining a flock of swans might carry a person to the moon. But, in 1638, Francis Godwin imagined just exactly that...  and wrote about it (inset right). More importantly, nobody even thought he was cracked; some people (Edgar Allen Poe, for one) thought he was ingenious.

(Very obviously) a young swan.

Now, had my adult self merely accepted the dream and moved on, this post would not have been necessary. Instead, "self" felt compelled to google "Swan People," forgetting that, when researching on the web, one invariably gets sucked down a rabbit hole. Call it "obsessive research disorder," a syndrome peculiar to cyberspace where information is (too) easily accessible, and what begins as innocently clicking on a link leads to a dizzying minefield of other links, each a tiny rabbit-hole all in itself.

So, the Starman and the Swan People - originally intended to be merely one (fairly short) post - somehow morphed into three separate posts. Sorry about that, but I can't seem to wrap things up in a lesser number. Could it be a Tesla kind of thing, that is, the Rule of Three? Maybe. Not that it did Tesla any good...

A Tale of Two Symmetries: A Lover's Pentacle, A Lover's Cross (updated 11/17/16)

Illustration from "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" - 1907, Arthur Rackham
(All images in this post can be clicked on for larger views.)

Alice Takes Another Leap

"What IS a Caucus-race?’ said Alice; not that she wanted much to know, but the Dodo had paused as if it thought that SOMEBODY ought to speak, and no one else seemed inclined to say anything.
`Why,’ said the Dodo, `the best way to explain it is to do it.’ (And, as you might like to try the thing yourself, some winter day, I will tell you how the Dodo managed it.)

First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, (`the exact shape doesn’t matter,’ it said,) and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no `One, two, three, and away,’ but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over."

- Excerpt from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Chapter 3) found here.

"The Dodo is a fictional character appearing in Chapters 2 and 3 of the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). The Dodo is a caricature of the author."

- From the Wiki entry for the Dodo in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Note: the now-extinct dodo was the first example of humanity's ability to wipe out an entire species.)

***

Earlier this year, when I was first inspired to write a series of posts on the topic of Love, I was at loss for a central focus. The topic of Love is vast; where to begin... and how? As a visual artist, it's almost as if I needed a metaphorical image, a symbolic embodiment of the myriad ideas and images that began to flood my mind. Had I no muse, no intuition, no relationship with my unconscious mind (and no respect for spontaneous inspirations), the entire project would've floundered from day one. But, this is not the case. I love leaping down rabbit holes! I am the Alice of all Alices, when it comes to pursuing mysterious prompts from the unconscious realm.

As it happened, my first clue arrived in the form of a sudden attraction to an old graphic of mine: a three-headed "sacred" bird I created several years ago as an experiment in creating faux elements; in this case, transforming a plaster carving into a wooden one. (see inset, left). I found myself playing with this image - and, when you come right down to it, unpremeditated play is probably the best way to initiate a dialogue with the unconscious - flipping and juxtaposing copies of the image side by side. I noticed that when the birds faced each other, their necks and their backs formed the shape of heart. I cropped their legs off and this became the first image. But, I also felt the full body mirrored images were intriguing as well and realized I could use all three designs if I created a box in three dimensions.  The idea of making it a music box was the true epiphany - the eureka moment - when the concepts of the language of the birds and the power of Love were united. In other words, I found my metaphor; the Music Box was born...