posted February 03, 2009 06:51 PM         

"Merlin represents an attempt by the medieval unconscious to create a parallel figure to Parsifal. Parsifal is a Christian hero, and Merlin, son of the devil and a pure virgin, is his dark brother. In the twelfth century, when the legend arose, there were as yet no premises by which his intrinsic meaning could be understood. Hence he ended in exile, and hence 'le cri de Merlin' ['the cry of Merlin'] which still sounded from the forest after his death. This cry that no one could understand implies that he lives on in unredeemed form. His story is not yet finished, and he still walks abroad. It might be said that the secret of Merlin was carried on by alchemy, primarily in the figure of Mercurius. Then Merlin was taken up again in my psychology of the unconscious and remains uncomprehended to this day. That is because most people find it quite beyond them to live on close terms with the unconscious. Again and again I have had to learn how hard this is for people." -- C.G. Jung

The outer world, of public and social obligations, is my unconscious mind. For me, the journey into the underworld and the deepest encounter with the archetypes of the collective must occur in the laboratory of the world. For others, it is an inward journey that is required. And the will to confront the complexity, the questioning, and the groundlessness that fills their inner worlds is as difficult and improbable for them to accomplish, as it is for me to confront, and keep my appointments with, the external world. But they are not exiled for their cowardice and lack of integrity as concerns the obligations of the inner life, as I am exiled for my inadequacies in taking up worldly cares and duties. If, on the other foot, we lived in a society where the inner -- and not the outer -- life was imperative, then would they walk in my shoes; then would they be outcast.

And, indeed, such cultures exist and have existed throughout the world, throughout the centuries. Whether or not it would be possible to "transplant" me in a more suitable environment, I do not know. I am like an exotic tree, taken from the lands where I flourished, and carried, in bondage, across the ocean, for the amusement of curious and insatiable men. Though I long to return to the place where i fell to earth as fruit, I was but a seed when they carried me off and planted me here. I've grown up here, and grown roots here. Would that I could grow strong here. Would that I could lift myself up by my own "rootstraps", and walk upon these fragile tendrils, -- these gossamer slippers that cannot step without sinking, and wanting to sink, into the soil.

I have been cast, like a spell, into a world which values none of my highest virtues. And though I may enchant the world, I am powerless to manifest myself. An old soul, the gods have said to me, "All that you have learned; all that we have labored together in order to teach you, -- Forget it!" A wise man in my native land, I have crossed the ocean and become a fool. The mundane world is my transmundane wonderland. The courage and self-confidence required to embark upon a worldly skiff, and surrender myself to the winding currents, eludes and escapes me. The vision to see and interpret possibilities, to assess and marshal resources in this world is quite beyond me. But to follow my instincts, to question my assumptions, to intuit abstract possibilities, to imagine, unlock, and articulate diverse magical worlds of ideas, -- all this is in my power.

I need a guide, my own Virgil, to lead and escort me through the labyrinth of worldly circumstance. For I am Pluto's child, "hatched and huddled" in the dark lap of the underworld. My words, like the words of the dead, are not heard. My voice, like their voices, is not understood. I am Merlin, exiled into the wild margins of a civilization that has turned its back on the lunar mysteries of the Grail. I am the Anti-Christ, Son of Darkness, crucified in the desperate light of day by a people whom I was born to enlighten. My holy spirit, speaking after my death, like the cries of Merlin, penetrating the wilderness, will not reach the ears of this unnatural generation. As his Dark Father conceived him in the womb of a pure and holy virgin, so am I born without sin; for my sins are not my sins, but the sins of the Father.

My kind have been hunted, captured, and enslaved to false idols for generations upon generations. There is no refuge for us on this earth, no place to lay our heads. We are the dreamers; the forgotten ones. We are the deepest dreamers; deeply, deeply forgotten. Driven to the ends of the earth, we have only ocean water to wash our souls; only the salt to lick our wounds. We are the displaced ones; forgotten and displaced; lost. Who will remember us? Who will redeem us? "Not this generation, my child." How many generations, lord? How long until our cries are heard and our sorrows comforted? For I thought to bring peace to the spirits of my ancestors, my dark fathers, before me, and have succeeded only in repeating their dark cry; that it might echo down the generations, in search of an understanding ear.

~ Valus

posted February 04, 2009 04:06 AM         

A possible 'cry of Merlin'...

Equiem, Asante, Modinas
(I am from a well-to-do family of agents that wheeled and dealed in stolen - no, no, not stolen - sorry, in acquired goods from Europe, Africa and India...jewels fashioned, fakes - sometimes, costume party principals. As an agent I was welcome in all fine houses and notable courts. In my travels I became accosted by my spiritual sight inheritance.)

Again, Equiem, Asante, Modinas...(my origins as Merlin)
A parallel existence I am - [as so]forth
Faust, es casuale audaine (very cool time)
Barcelone, your voice is mysterious to 'compilant de amorini' (loveless bargainer)
Regis Rostrum, cold hearted creep(another failing)
Augene Lafayette, ghost of green ghouls(yep, a scrooge)
Kreme Swallwe(german - 'cream swallow'), aka me(Merlin)...."Oh boy, I is hot!! Wohh!" (Cynical - much to account for...perfunctory pressing migratory soul...)

posted February 04, 2009 05:31 AM         

Will you permit me to dedicate to you this modest essay which I am now publishing on the subject of the Qabalah, a subject the elucidation of which is so important for the philosopher?... the 'religious philosophy of the Hebrews', as you yourself call it... I personally hope to thank you for the unaccustomed honour you have bestowed on me by encouragig my efforts through the authority of your name, declaring that if you are not a mystic, at least you prefer to see those who come after you taking part in such research, rather than have them partake of the hopeless, anti-philosophical and, let us dare to say the word, anti-scientific doctrines of materialistic positivism.

At the very moment when we raised the sheild of intellectual struggle against materialism, at the moment when all adepts of this doctrine, scattered through the Faculties of medicine, through the Press, through the highest and lowest levels of society, considered us as 'dilettanti', clerics or fools, the president of the National League Againist Atheism came forward, braving all sarcasm, to protect us with the inarguable authority of a profound philosopher and ardent defender of spiritualism...

Alongside the official line of religious or secular Universities, of scientific Academies and the Laboratories of Higher Learning, there has always existed an independent line, generally little known and therefore looked down upon, made up of researchers sometimes too steeped in philosophy, sometimes too taken with mysticism, but how interesting to study:

These adepts of Gnosis, these Alchemists, these disciples of Jacob Boehme, of Martinez Paschalis or of Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin, are the only ones, however, never to have neglected the study of the Qabalah... You may say to me that these authors are 'mystics', writers whose erudition is not always what one might wish; but it is also a 'mystic' who requests that they be read more fully and with greater care, if only to better understand the various evolutions of the human mind.

~ Papus

(From a letter to M. ADOLPHE FRANCK)

posted February 05, 2009 05:58 PM         

Equiem - loosely run banking network, moneylenders, creditors, pawnbrokers...

Asante - African trade conglomerate that wholesales raw resources in precious quarry goods, like gems and metals. Its linked to crafters and dealers.

Modinas - kind of like a guild of wealthy merchants/agents with Italian/Roman familial ties.

Faust - I think a 'Basque' name.

es casuale audaine - a lay priest, who was pious but also a dandy(elegant dresser) kind of a 'king' of the social set and almost a pimp

Barcelone - a spanish related name

'compilant de(actually 'des' I think) amorini(s)' - sweet breath of love, in this context basically there was nothing about sweetness in his manner and voice - harsh and caustic, (possibly a horse trader along sea routes between Britain and Europe)

Regis Rostrum - Cornish/Welsh origin name(well, originally a Roman derived name). Had a pretty mediocre existence, middle-class but a cretin/bit of a pig.

Augene Lafayette - French name

ghost of green ghouls - total lack of integrity, a swindler, a thief but did so from his position as a powerful canon(clerk) and was pretty much a tax collector - underhanded though and would basically steal people's land titles, business deeds, dowries and stuff and just hoard the profits for himself. Used the guise of his position to pretty much thieve.

yeah so, hope this doesn't kind of wreck HSC's thread or put it on an out of it course. Though it might be a colourful contributant but then I'm not always a good judge of things like that, lol.

posted February 06, 2009 07:04 AM         

AS I WAS SAY-ING!!...

Well, actually as you were saying first HSC

[QUOTE] And though I may enchant the world, I am powerless to manifest myself[QUOTE]

...and if its wrong I'm sorry because I won't be checking back again.

'The Parable of the Coach', as it appears in the Katha Upanishad.

Know the Self as lord of the chariot,
The body as the chariot itself,
The discriminating intellect as charioteer,
And the mind as reins.
The senses, say the wise, are the horses;
Selfish desires are the roads they travel.
When the Self is confused with the body,
Mind, and senses, they point out, he seems

To enjoy pleasure and suffer sorrow. (3:3)

So, along 'The Fool's Journey' we come to no. 7, The Chariot, symbolised by Apollo who is known for self-discipline, morality, and the rule of law; and whose priests at Delphi taught 'know thyself'.

7, symbolises unity within complexity, and is the number of progress, self-expression, and independent action. The Chariot portrays the fate of he who has made the right choice, when faced by the dilemma shown in the previous card, The Lovers.

He has successfully transferred his attention from his mother to his beloved, and is therefore in control of the psychic energy within him rather than being dominated by it.

This fundamental psychic energy, or libido, is frequently symbolised by a horse; thus the charioteer is seen to have harnessed his animal instincts, which are now drawing him effortlessly along his way. His mastery being complete, he does not need reins to guide the beasts.

Before The Chariot, the fateful conflict of The Lovers must be resolved. Its number, 6, signifies tension and ambivalence. Traditionally it is associated with the six days of creation in Genesis, and is therefore linked to ideas of advancement and evolution.

The Lovers symbolises the first decision that must be made unaided, by the traveller on his journey through life. The youth is caught between having to choose loyalty to his mother and desire for his beloved; between traditional authority, dependence, and comforting protection, with the opposing nature of self-reliance, dedication, and independent purpose.

In psychological terms, Eros gives the capacity to relate opposing principles in a manner that not only harmonises them but also results in a whole that is greater than its parts. The synthesising quality of Eros smoothes over the anomalies and antagonisms between the lovers and opens the way to their eventual union.

The seeker has reached the point at which the two ways symbolised by the women are incompatible. He reluctantly has to sacrifice one in order to know the other, and his decision can no longer be delayed.

Unwittingly, he is about to be rescued from his dilemma by his own Higher Self, Eros, who, will make the choice for him. Eros, is destiny incarnate and the young man has not reached the stage at which his destiny is within his own control. He is the product of his past, and the forces that formed his past will decide the course of his future. Which ever path he chooses will be the right one for him at this time.

- from, "The Tarot", Alfred Douglas.

So, yeah on that destiny/free will thing, the cart comes after the horses, but the horses must be able to mastered by the charioteer. Conversely, neither can the cart go before the horses.

Just seemed like some of your threads seem to have the ideas of this transition, The Lovers to The Chariot.

Lovers: advancement, evolution, mother, love

Transition to The Chariot: destiny/free will, the above quote, 'know thyself', etc.

posted February 06, 2009 09:02 PM         

The way to know the mind is to travel along its paths.
Take nothing at second-hand, but dare to imagine all things.

posted February 06, 2009 11:05 PM         

After your above post, I thought, oh well, I'll just add one more borrowed quote because I really liked the ideas and I wanted to add something but didn't know what to say, but had the intention to expand on it. So I just went to my bookshelf and took down "The consolations of philosophy", Alain de Botton.

I opened the book to my bookmark and was preparing to have a search when a line caught my eye - I might add that I haven't read the book in about 3 yrs because he started to bore me and I felt like he was living under the cover of scholarship.

The line that I read p. 163, "Yet it is understandable to prefer to quote and write commentaries rather than speak and think for ourselves." He goes on to say, "A commentary on a book written by someone else, though technically laborious to produce, requiring hours of research and exegesis, is immune from the most cruel attacks that can befall original works."

He says, its striking how much more seriously we are likely to be taken after we have been dead a few centuries. "Statements which might be acceptable when they issue from the quills of ancient authors are likely to attract ridicule when expressed by contempories."

And further, people might criticise the commentor for not doing justice to the use of the quote but he can't be held responsible for the ideas themselves - that is why Montaigne included so many quotations and passages of commentary in his essays. Montaigne said, "I have to hide my weaknesses behind those great reputations" and also, "If I had had confidence to do what I really wanted, I would have spoken utterly alone, come what may."

I would like to add, though, that there is something terrific about the use of more revered writers. Firstly, there's been enough time to hear a lot of critiques and determine if the writer's stuff fits well with own formation of philosophies. Secondly, by incorporating the quotes into our own writings we are still creating and are really often ownly adding technique and illustration or maybe an anchor. Finally, as an everyday person we make available to others who are interested or so inclined, to ideas and perspectives that they may not have otherwise been able to retrieve or broadly decipher. But yeah, the worst of it is, in wondering what kind of true reception you're getting and whether we are deluding ourselves or that our vulnerability will do us some deep injustice.

As I mentioned, Alain de Botton was starting to bore me but it was because he would never really put anything of himself in it or if he did it would be very clinical and would leave me feeling blank of emotion.

posted February 07, 2009 12:34 AM         

i just watched a series on t.v. today