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Post by Barry SR Gowing on May 23, 2008 8:07:57 GMT
As I read The Laughing Gnostic, I was struck by the number of names and phrases that I have come across in my KB reading. So I thought I'd post an extract...  Very good, Tannis. I was thinking of posting this myself. You'll see why when I post a link to another one of my songs soon. I guess the key Bowie song here is Quicksand, although Station To Station and Oh, You Pretty Things are also relevant. You also mentioned a Philip K. Dick story, in another thread, that seems to have been influential on Bowie (that "crack in the sky" imagery). Quicksand is the only song that's ever linked a fascination with the occult to 20th century fascism (and personality cults), as far as I'm aware. Well... the only song until NOW  --Paul-- |
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Post by tannis on May 24, 2008 4:29:12 GMT
KB: "I like a really extensive story with levels; I enjoy science fiction, especially Kurt Vonnegut. He's a mixture of humour and tragedy... I really like him."
Haunting Kate Bush (1978)gaffa.org/reaching/i78_nz.htmlSince she enjoys reading science fiction, I guess KB has also read Philip K. Dick's The Crack in Space (1966) and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968).Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928 – March 2, 1982) was an American science fiction novelist and short story writer. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments, and altered states. In his later works, Dick's thematic focus strongly reflected his personal interest in metaphysics and theology. He often drew upon his own life experiences and addressed the nature of drug use, paranoia and schizophrenia, and mystical experiences in his novels. And as early as 1978, Kate Bush confirmed that she was interested in the Occult:There are frequent references to her occult in her music; to Beelzebub, to her love of the "whirling of the dervishes", and even the invitation in 'Wuthering Heights' to "let me grab your soul away".
KB: "That's really interesting, that's an amazing thing about interviews, they really make you think. I am interested in the occult but not the negative side of it. I really don't know much about it. I believe we are controlled by forces... the moon and the stars."
And, as she describes in 'Strange Phenomena', seemingly purposeful coincidence.
"Haunting Kate Bush" (1978)gaffa.org/reaching/i78_nz.htmlDo you believe in the paranormal?
KB: "Yes, I do."
Is that it?
KB (Smiling): "Yes."
Booze, Fags, Blokes And Me (1993)gaffa.org/reaching/i93_q.htmlI'm closer to the Golden Dawn
Immersed in Crowley's uniform...David Bowie - Quicksandwww.youtube.com/watch?v=oP2SS8ggLtUDavid Bowie - Station to Stationwww.youtube.com/watch?v=O59CD81UAzwDAVID BOWIE live "Time" (Glass Spider Tour) 1987www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxp2ryrPwGgDavid Bowie Glass Spider - Intro and "Glass Spider"www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vCSFNrwxOQ&NR=1The Hanged Man... 5:00...
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Post by tannis on May 28, 2008 18:42:40 GMT
REVERIES OF THE AERIAL ALCHEMISTFIRST WALK: The Great Work and Thelemic MysticismI will come home again, but not until
The sun and the moon meet on yon hill...
I'll send your love to Zeus
Oh, by the time you read this...Amen is the Egyptian equivalent of ZeusAmen (Amon, Amun, Ammon, Amoun)Amen's name means "The Hidden One." Amen was the patron deity of the city of Thebes, and was viewed (along with his consort Amenet) as a primordial creation-deity by the priests of Hermopolis. When the Thebans had established their sovereignty in Egypt, Amen became a prominent deity, and by Dynasty XVIII was termed the King of the Gods. His famous temple, Karnak, is the largest religious structure ever built by man. Amen, by Dynasty XIX-XX, was thought of as an invisible creative power which was the source of all life in heaven, and on the earth, and in the great deep, and in the Underworld, and which made itself manifest under the form of Ra. During the New Kingdom, Amen's consort was Mut, "Mother," who seems to have been the Egyptian equivalent of the "Great Mother" archetype. The two thus formed a pair reminiscent of the God and Goddess of other traditions such as Wicca. Their child was the moon god Khons. Mut (Golden Dawn, Auramooth)The wife of Amen in Theban tradition; the word mut in Egyptian means "mother", and she was the mother of Khons, the moon god. Khons (Chons)The third member (with his parents Amen and Mut) of the great triad of Thebes. Khons was the god of the moon. The best-known story about him tells of him playing the ancient game senet ("passage") against Thoth, and wagering a portion of his light. Thoth won, and because of losing some of his light, Khons cannot show his whole glory for the entire month, but must wax and wane. The main temple in the enclosure at Karnak is dedicated to him. My Pussy Queen
Knows all my secrets.
I'll never fall in love again...The cover to THE RED SHOES is predominately black and red (as is the video and TLTC&TC film). The colors BLACK and RED date back to Ancient Egypt. Egypt was known as the "Black and Red Land" - a "Black Land" because of the rich black soil; a "Red land" because of the desert that protected Egypt on both sides from enemies. Where sands sing in crimson, red and rust...Egypt was also the center of Alchemy. Lucifereans regard alchemy as the transformation of the human soul into the godhead, a transformation which completes Satan's unfinished work! I'm busy chasing up my demon...The true meaning of the "Temple of Solomon" is the TEMPLE OF THE SUN. "Sol" "Om" and "On" are all words for the Sun. "Sol" is the Latin word for the Sun and is close to the English word "soul." "Om" is a name given by the Hindus to the Spiritual Sun, and "On" is an Egyptian word for Sun. During dynastic Egypt Ra's cult center was Annu (Hebrew "On", Greek "Heliopolis", modern-day "Cairo"). And this curve, is your smile
And this cross, is your heart
And this line, is your path...The Chi Rho (the line, the cross and the curve) originates from the skull and crossed bones. The Skull and Bones is symbolic of the Nigredo stage of the Magnum Opus (the transformation of the soul into the godhead). This is the death stage in the work, before the soul is purified into the godhead. The dross is separated from the pure. THE ALCHEMICAL WORKMummy...
Daddy...
The day is full of birds
Sounds like they’re saying words... The photography and artwork accompanying AERIAL very much suggest that magic and spiritual alchemy were at play in creating the Great Work, and that Kate obviously felt a need to cryptically inform us 'fans' that this was the case. Indeed, the AERIAL artwork - 'Design by Kate and Peacock' - shows Kate self-proclaiming AERIAL as her Magnum opus or Great Work.And maybe the AERIAL booklet actually represents a 'Thank You' card to the Great Architect of The Universe... Alchemy endeavours to produce noble and bright metal, precious stones, the panacea, and above all the Philosopher's Stone. On the one hand, it seeks to do this by finding the right mixture (Eukrasia) of natural substances according to the ancient doctrine of elements and qualities. Alternatively, it adds the Philosopher's Stone, usually a powder or elixir prepared from an unknown substance, to the base metal. But first of all this unknown substance must be reduced to the prima materia (first matter). This occurs in the alchemical process, the "Great Work" (opus magnum) which passes through various stages. According to the colours that appear, these are called nigredo (black), albedo (white), citrinitas (yellow), rubedo (red) among others. This change of coloration may be observed when an amalgam of copper and mercury is heated. According to the amount of evaporating mercury, white, yellow, red, gray and black colors are seen, described by alchemists as the cauda pavonis ("Peacock's Tail").The color booklet accompanying AERIAL shows the 'soundwave of blackbird song' (?) in several colors: gray, black, white, sun-yellow, and maroon-red.
So could the gray, black, white, sun-yellow, and maroon-red soundwave colors represent ALCHEMICAL WORK? Nigredo (black), albedo (white), citrinitas (yellow), rubedo (red) among others? 
'Kate and Peacock' (?) chose the maroon 'soundwave of blackbird song' to compliment the Luciferean lightbearing yellow, sun-drenched album cover (Lucifer means "Light Bearer")...
And Rubedo (redness) represents the marriage of sol and luna... I will come home again, but not until
The sun and the moon meet on yon hill...Nigredo, or blackness, in alchemy means putrefaction or decomposition. The alchemists believed that as a first step in the pathway to the philosopher's stone all alchemical ingredients had to be cleansed and cooked extensively to a uniform black matter. In psychology Carl Jung interpreted nigredo as a moment of maximum despair, that is a prerequisite to personal development. Nigredo is sometimes called ‘blacker than the blackest black’. "Help this blackbird!"
"She's a witch!"
"There's a stone around my leg"
"Uh! Damn you, woman!"
"Help this blackbird!
There's a stone around my leg"Psychologically, nigredo is a process of directing oneself to find self-knowledge. A problem is given full attention and reduced to its core. This is not done so much in an intellectual way, but especially by feeling the emotions. By really going into it, one causes putrefaction, the decomposition of that in which one had been stuck. Split me open
With devotion
You put your hands in
And rip my heart out
Eat the music...
All emotion
And with devotion
You put your hands in
What ya thinking?
What am I singing?
A song of seeds
The food of love
Eat the music...The confrontation with the inner reality is often painful, and can lead to depression. But once in the depth of the darkness, with the discovery of the seed of the problem, the seed in the ‘prima materia’, the white light is born (=albedo, whiteness, the next phase). A state of rest arises. Insight into the problem has been gained, it has been worked out emotionally, and knowledge arises on how to handle it in a more positive way and to build a more pure attitude. "Tiefer, tiefer
Irgendwo in der Tiefe
Gibt es ein licht"Being deep in nigredo, a white light appears. We have arrived at the second stage of the Great Work: albedo, or whiteness. The alchemist has discovered within himself the source from which his life comes forth. The source is one: male and female are united. When man descended into the physical world his body entered a world of duality. On the bodily level this is expressed by the sexes. But his spirit is still androgen, it contains duality in unity. When male and female are united again, one will experience his true self. Conscious and unconscious are totally united. Albedo happens when the Sun rises at midnight. It is a symbolic expression for the rising of the light at the depth of darkness. It is the birth of Christ in the middle of the winter. In the depth of a psychological crises, a positive change happens, ‘the hour of gold’. "Come here with me now"Albedo is also symbolized by the morning star Venus/Aphrodite. Venus has a special place in the Great Work. Aphrodite was born from the foam that arose when the genitals of Uranus (cut of by Chronos, out of hate and jealousy) fell into the sea. The cutting of the genitals represents repressed and tormented love. The sea, symbol of the soul, however will bring forth the love goddess. Liberation will happen when we become conscious again of the contents of the soul. As Aphrodite is born from the sea, she is the guide through the fearful world of the unconscious (the sea, or the underworld). The alchemist descends into these depths to find the ‘prima materia’, also called the ‘green lion’. The color green refers to the primal life forces. Venus also has the green color. An important characteristic of Aphrodite is that she helps us in our human shortcomings. She gives ideals and dreams to fulfill. But she also gives frightening images in order to make man aware of his lower nature. Liberation can only happen by becoming conscious of the lower nature and how we transmute it. It's wonderful
Everywhere, so white...There are many other symbols in alchemy for the second phase, or albedo: the white swan, the rose, the white queen, the white dove, and so on. As lead is the metal of nigredo, silver is the metal of albedo, transmuted from lead. As silver is the metal of the moon, the moon was also a symbol for albedo. Alchemists also talk about the white stone or white tincture. Being born again
Into the sweet morning fog
D'you know what?
I love you better now...The further steps of the alchemical opus are citrinitas (yellowness) and rubedo (redness)... The AERIAL cover is full of yellowness and redness... citrinitas and rubedo? The cover "Design by Kate and Peacock [Design]" features ravens/crows and herons, the former symbolic of nigredo and the latter symbolic of the phoenix...see more:On the "WOODPIGEON" photography accompanying PRELUDEkatebush.proboards6.com/index.cgi?board=parttwo&action=display&thread=2448On the "BLACKBIRD & RAVEN IN FLIGHT" photography katebush.proboards6.com/index.cgi?board=parttwo&action=display&thread=2452On the "Indus Bird Mask" photography accompanying NOCTURNkatebush.proboards6.com/index.cgi?board=parttwo&action=display&thread=2455On AERIAL - A SKY OF HONEYkatebush.proboards6.com/?board=aerial&action=display&thread=2447&page=5
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Post by tannis on May 28, 2008 18:44:25 GMT
REVERIES OF THE AERIAL ALCHEMISTSECOND WALK: The Black Sun and The Golden DawnSol niger (black sun) is the name of the result of the first stage of the Opus Magnum in alchemy, the blackening (nigredo). The complete Opus magnum (Great Work) ends with the production of gold. And the "Kate and Peacock Design" for the completing photograph accompanying 'Aerial' uses a gold soundwave!
The philosopher's stone (Latin: lapis philosophorum) is a legendary substance, supposedly capable of turning inexpensive metals into gold; it was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For a long time it was the most sought after goal in Western alchemy. In the view of spiritual alchemy, making the philosopher's stone would bring enlightenment upon the maker and conclude the Great Work.
AERIAL is KT's Great Work, twelve years in the making!
KT et al have found the philosopher's stone! They have been working secretly, turning base metal and ideas into Gold... the Golden Dawn cover, the Golden soundwave of 'Aerial', the Golden Sea of Honey, the Golden Sky of Honey...
Pure Alchemy! ... Pure Gold! ...a Golden Egg... All Noble and Brite! ... Within Thelema, the Great Work is generally defined as those spiritual practice leading to the mystical union of the Self and the All— Crowley: "The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting of the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego." And here I am again, my girl
Wondering what on Earth I'm doing here
Maybe he doesn't love me
I just took a trip on my love for him...According to Aleister Crowley, this is first represented by what he called the "Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel." From another perspective, he also considered the Great Work to be the pursuit of self-knowledge, to "obtain the knowledge of the nature and powers of my own being." Although Crowley often discussed the idea of "succeeding" or "accomplishing" in the Great Work, he also recognized that the process is ongoing: "The Quest of the Holy Grail, the Search for the Stone of the Philosophers—by whatever name we choose to call the Great Work—is therefore endless. Success only opens up new avenues of brilliant possibility. Yea, verily, and Amen! the task is tireless and its joys without bounds; for the whole Universe, and all that in it is, what is it but the infinite playground of the Crowned and Conquering Child, of the insatiable, the innocent, the ever-rejoicing Heir of Space and Eternity, whose name is MAN?"[/color] In the snow with Rosebud
And king of the mountain...Inside the AERIAL booklet is a photograph of Katie and Bertie seemingly taken underwater in a swimming pool. Bertie wears green goggles and Katie wears purple goggles.Green is the color of nature, fertility, life. Green symbolizes self-respect and well being, balance, learning, growth and harmony. Green represents the life force.Purple is the color of good judgment and of people seeking spiritual fulfilment. It is said if you surround yourself with purple you will have peace of mind. Being the combination of red and blue, the warmest and coolest colors, purple is believed to be the ideal color, and has been used to symbolize magic and mystery. The scarcity of its shellfish dye, meant that purple became a symbol of royalty and riches....'Is that a storm in the swimming pool?' ...Or is that a Prince?AERIAL is a Ray of Light, a Body of Light, and the realisation of KT's Thelemic mysticism![/color] There is much magic and mystery in the 'Washing' Photography by John Carder-Bush. Some people believe there is a red devil hidden within the 'Washing' photograph accompanying the lyrics to 'Mrs Bartolozzi' in the CD/Vinyl booklet. Look at the center, out-of-focus red image of trees. A nose, lips and two hollow eyes can just be made out. This may well be just the light and shade in the foliage or the red devil may be an Occult sign, a hint at what is about to happen, The Omen... "It's in the trees! It's coming!""Woman let me in!
Let me bring in the memories!
Woman let me in!
Let me bring in the Devil Dreams!"Then there's that sexy red dress... The Devil Wears Prada!On the album/CD cover, the Magician changes whites into doves. In Biblical tradition, the dove is a symbol of purity, simplicity, peace, harmony and re-found happiness. Pagans associate the dove with Aphrodite and with physical love. In both views, the dove stands for that imperishable part of the human being, the vital principle or soul. The Dove also represents the feminine power of giving prophecy, and the hope of a new beginning. The Dove shows and reveals the veils between the spiritual and physical worlds, e.g. as Holy Spirit or as bearers of the ambrosia for the immortal gods. Their symbolism stems from their grace and beauty, spotless white feathers and gentle cooing. It is said that the Dove’s nature is so pure that even Satan himself cannot shape-shift into its form. The dove also has strong esoteric connections to alchemy in partnership with the Phoenix. In her Magician aspect, Isis is associated with the spiritual-alchemy of the dove. In The Alchemist's Dream, there are many symbols for albedo, such as the white swan, the rose, the white queen, and the white dove...Now take a look at the following book cover - it is just like PB in the 'Delius (Song of Summer)' video...Ooh, ah, ooh, ah
Delius
Delius amat
Syphilus
Deus
Genius, ooh...The Black Sun: The Alchemy and Art of Darkness (Marlan, 2005) www.alchemylab.com/8935332.jpgBook Description
"The black sun, an ages-old image of the darkness in individual lives and in life itself, has not been treated hospitably in the modern world. Modern psychology has seen darkness primarily as a negative force, something to move through and beyond, but it actually has an intrinsic importance to the human psyche...
"He draws upon his clinical experiences and on a wide range of literature and art to explore the influence of light and shadow on the fundamental structures of modern thought as well as the contemporary practice of analysis.
"An important contribution to the understanding of alchemical psychology, this book draws on a postmodern sensibility to offer insight into modernity, the act of imagination, and the work of analysis in understanding depression, trauma, and transformation of the soul."The Black Sun, the Raven, the Crow, and the color black also symbolize the Nigredo stage. The Peacock is sacred to Satan and represents the multi-colored stage of the Magnum Opus following the Nigredo. This is a song of colour...‘Cauda Pavonis’, the peacock’s tail, or the peacock itself, is a phase in which many colors appear. Many alchemists place this phase before albedo, whiteness, although some of them place it after albedo. Bright, white coming alive jumping off of the aerial...The peacock’s tail can have two meanings in the Great Work. It can be the collection and totality of all colors in the white light (KaTe sing Pi to 137 decimal places. The Number 137 corresponds with light, the ONE WHITE or Whole light that consists of THREE primary rays, the red, green and blue, or SEVEN spectrum colours). Remember, the white light refers to the second stage, albedo, or whiteness. The alchemist is seeking unity, expressed in the white light. In this sense the peacock was seen as a royal bird in ancient times, and it corresponded with the phoenix. Lucifer, Lucifer, stretch your tail, and lead me away full speed through the strait passage, of the valley of death, to the shining light, the palace of of the Gods - Isanatha Muni The second meaning is that it represents the failure of the alchemical process. When the conscious enters the unconscious "each part of a thought can take shape and become visible in color and form", according to a Chinese text about yoga exercises. One starts seeing all kinds of forms which look real and which look like they have an independent life. But one cannot go into it as it leads to discord of the mind, and possibly to schizophrenia. John Wilson: So you've been working on this record, on “Aerial”, for six years. And you said earlier, it's almost like a process of distillation, and you have to let it sit there in the vat, and ferment and change. [Kate laughs] And finally you hand it over to the public. Is there a sense relief when you do that, or reluctance?
Kate: Oh, I was so relieved when I finished this record. I thought I was never going to get it finished. There were so many times, I thought that I was just not going to have the energy to just see it through. It was really hard work. I always tend to try and do things that are bit overambitious, really.
John Wilson: How did you know when it was finished? Did someone have to come in the room and say ‘stop now’?
Kate: No, it was when I knew that, you know, I couldn't go on any longer, or it would have killed me. I was so fed up with it, so fed up with listening to the thing.
John Wilson: I know you'd argue that you haven't been away, that you just been getting on with your life, but people will say that ‘Kate Bush has returned’. Is it good to be back?
Kate: Well, it's very nice speaking to you.
[both laugh]
John Wilson: Kate Bush. Thank you very much.
Kate: Thank you.BBC4, Front Row, 2005gaffa.org/reaching/iv05_bbc_front_row.htmlI want to be up on the roof
I’ve gotta be up on the roof
Up, up high on the roof
Up, up on the roof
In the sun! see more:
House of the Sunwww.soul-guidance.com/houseofthesun/index.htmThe Alchemical Workwww.ljfind.com/post/107748576/TLTC&TC and the CHI RHOkatebush.proboards6.com/index.cgi?board=leaveitopen&action=display&thread=1998&page=2
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Post by rosabelbelieve on May 28, 2008 22:10:42 GMT
Tannis, these connections with alchemy are fascinating and inspiring. Thank you for putting this together - I really enjoyed it. I'll do my best to comment intelligently. REVERIES OF THE AERIAL ALCHEMISTFIRST WALK: The Great Work and Thelemic MysticismWhere sands sing in crimson, red and rust...Egypt was also the center of Alchemy. Lucifereans regard alchemy as the transformation of the human soul into the godhead, a transformation which completes Satan's unfinished work! It sounds quite like the work of spiritual enlightenment, to me. I think this is a theme that runs repeatedly through Kate's work - in Suspended In Gaffa, where the narrator longs to 'have it all', in Houdini, where the magician attempts the escape act from the whole snare of mortality and death, in The Morning Fog where the heroine seems to me to feel her spiritual unity with an immense and wonderful source of light and water. There is also a great deal of alchemy in Aerial - in Mrs. Bartolozzi, where the washing machine becomes the mystical sea, and an ordinary task becomes one of almost archetypal feeling and signifigance. And of course the whole of A Sky Of Honey, with its transformation of sea and sky into a transcendent gold, its celebration and exalting of natural passages and circadian rhythms... This is really interesting. I could see these alchemical colors corresponding with certain albums... like nigredo with The Dreaming, albedo as Hounds Of Love/The Ninth Wave, and citrinitas and rubedo as Aerial. They could also relate to particular songs within all of these works. This definitely reminds me of The Dreaming. And I think you're very right about the Aerial colors. "I kept it in a cage... watched it weeping, but I made it stay." Maybe X is speaking of locking herself within the house of the psyche to find self-knowledge, and purify the 'base metals' through the painful but necessary process of nigredo? This fits perfectly with The Ninth Wave, I think. Maybe the uncovered spark of albedo is what allows the heroine to keep herself spiritually whole through the ordeal of her drowning or almost drowning. And this fits as well, with Venus being born out of the sea... The Ninth Wave is like a descent into the unconscious, but this time, as what you said suggests, with a guide. Also, the part about Aphrodite also giving frightening images to make humans aware of their lower nature reminds me of what Joseph Campbell says about the meeting with the goddess, terrible and beautiful, the life of everything that lives and the death of everything that dies simultaneously. I find that a very powerful symbol, and the role of the ocean in TNW I think is reminiscent of it. Reminds me of the swan in the Delius video and the white rose in Under The Ivy. Yes. REVERIES OF THE AERIAL ALCHEMISTSECOND WALK: The Black Sun and The Golden DawnSol niger (black sun) is the name of the result of the first stage of the Opus Magnum in alchemy, the blackening (nigredo). The complete Opus magnum (Great Work) ends with the production of gold. And the "Kate and Peacock Design" for the completing photograph accompanying 'Aerial' uses a gold soundwave!
The philosopher's stone (Latin: lapis philosophorum) is a legendary substance, supposedly capable of turning inexpensive metals into gold; it was also sometimes believed to be an elixir of life, useful for rejuvenation and possibly for achieving immortality. For a long time it was the most sought after goal in Western alchemy. In the view of spiritual alchemy, making the philosopher's stone would bring enlightenment upon the maker and conclude the Great Work.
AERIAL is KT's Great Work, twelve years in the making! I agree very much. Aerial, IMO, is definitely her masterpiece so far, though I love all the rest of her work as well, of course. It really seems like the completion of a creative search - or the creation of a philosopher's stone. [/b]KT et al have found the philosopher's stone! They have been working secretly, turning base metal and ideas into Gold... the Golden Dawn cover, the Golden soundwave of 'Aerial', the Golden Sea of Honey, the Golden Sky of Honey... Pure Alchemy! ... Pure Gold! ...a Golden Egg... All Noble and Brite! ...[/color] Within Thelema, the Great Work is generally defined as those spiritual practice leading to the mystical union of the Self and the All— Crowley: "The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting of the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego."[/quote] Interesting quote. [/color] [/quote] Again, thank you for the really fascinating post. I've always been somewhat intrigued by alchemy, and the connections with Kate's work are remarkable. |
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Post by tannis on May 29, 2008 1:11:27 GMT
Thank you Rosa for your comments. I thought you would enjoy the posts as I remember you mentioning Jung's Psychology and Alchemy in your posts on The Dreaming. Jung seems to offer a key to a Deeper Understanding of The Sensual World of Kate Bush... along with the writings of Aleister Crowley! I could see these alchemical colors corresponding with certain albums... like nigredo with The Dreaming, albedo as Hounds Of Love/The Ninth Wave, and citrinitas and rubedo as Aerial. They could also relate to particular songs within all of these works.
On HOL, she descends into the depths of the unconscious to find the ‘prima materia’, the light in the dark, the guide in the abyss, the albedo. And then the cover to TSW returns to nigredo, before the citrinitas and rubedo of AERIAL...
And I wonder if KT had alchemy in mind when designing the cover to TKI?Spiritual enlightenment, archetypes and the longing to 'have it all' really do seem to run through KaTe's body of work. And a little bit of alchemy really does deepen one's appreciation!Hermes Trismegistus
is patron of alchemists;
his province is thought,
inventive, artful and curious;
his metal is quicksilver;
his clients, orators, thieves and poets.H.D. (Collected Poems, 547)"The return of alchemy since the late 20th century is part of a larger cultural phenomenon: the crisis of the Western world and the resultant search for solutions. The crisis was caused by a profound disillusionment with the modern belief in progress and the perfectibility of humankind, which gained new force after World War Two. The return to alchemy can be seen as a product of both this crisis of the modern world and the rise of interest in esoteric and New Age beliefs." The Heritage of HermesQ. When must the Philosopher begin his enterprise ?
A. At the moment of daybreak, for his energy must never be relaxed.
Q. When may he take his rest?
A. When the work has come to its perfection.
Q. At what hour is the end of the work ?
A. High noon, that is to say, the moment when the Sun is in its fullest power, and the Son of the Day-Star in its most brilliant splendour.
Alchemical CatechismGolden Key of the Grand Work: The words of Father Aristeus to his son (c1600)"Know that all beings which are under heaven, each after its own kind, derives origin from the same principle, and it is, as a fact, unto Air that all owe their birth as to a common principle... Learn then, my Son, to make use of Air, learn to conserve the Key of Nature. It is truly a secret which transcends the possibilities of the vulgar man, but not those of the sage, this knowledge of the Extraction of Air, the Celestial Aerial Substance, from Air; for Air may be familiar to all beings, but he who would truly avail himself thereof must possess the secret Key of Nature." www.levity.com/alchemy/aristeus.htmlMichael Sendivogius (1556-1636) published his ‘findings’ about the essential material of the universe in 1604 in a book titled On the Philosopher’s Stone. Sendivogius believed that the Elixir of Life that many alchemists all sought was saltpeter, known then as nitre or potassium nitrate. Sendivogius believed that the saltpeter crystals condensed out of thin air. He based this belief on the fact that most saltpeter was to be found in farmyards, condensing out of the components of barnyard dung. Sendivogius wrote that “there is in the Aire a secret food of life” and that its “ invisible congealed spirit is better than the whole earth.” The fact that this substance was then harvested and applied to plants to make them grow enhanced its reputation as the ‘food of life.’ Of course, saltpeter could equally well have been called the ‘food of death,’ as it was used in gunpowder to produce the explosive charge. You and me
Knew life itself is
Breathing...Expanding on the work of Sendivogius, Cornelis Drebbel (1572-1633) concluded that thunder helped produce a substance called aerial nitre, today known to be oxygen. On that basis, historians believe, Drebbel discovered that heating saltpeter caused it to emit a gas that seemed to the one humans could breathe. From there, it was a short step—well, a relatively short step—to completely enclose a boat, put 12 oarsmen underwater, and have them row it from Westminster to Greenwich, a distance of less than ten miles. While underwater, they breathed ‘aerial nitre’, created by heating a bottle of saltpeter and allowing the ‘gas’ to escape. The gas, of course, was pure oxygen... Life is Breathing... Life is Aerial...The Alchemist in Search of the Philosopher's Stone, by Joseph Wright, 1771www.chimie.ens.fr/w3hynes/jwrightderby_alchemist.jpgIn 'Resurrection, Imperfect', Donne draws an analogy between Christ and The Philosopher's Stone, a connection that was also established by alchemists. RESURRECTION, IMPERFECT
by John DonneSLEEP, sleep, old sun, thou canst not have repass'd,
As yet, the wound thou took'st on Friday last ;
Sleep then, and rest ; the world may bear thy stay ;
A better sun rose before thee to-day ;
Who—not content to enlighten all that dwell
On the earth's face, as thou—enlighten'd hell,
And made the dark fires languish in that vale,
As at thy presence here our fires grow pale ;
Whose body, having walk'd on earth, and now
Hasting to heaven, would—that He might allow
Himself unto all stations, and fill all—
For these three days become a mineral.
He was all gold when He lay down, but rose
All tincture, and doth not alone dispose
Leaden and iron wills to good, but is
Of power to make e'en sinful flesh like his.
Had one of those, whose credulous piety
Thought that a soul one might discern and see
Go from a body, at this sepulchre been,
And, issuing from the sheet, this body seen,
He would have justly thought this body a soul,
If not of any man, yet of the whole.
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Post by rosabelbelieve on May 29, 2008 1:23:34 GMT
Well, you were right. You know a lot more about it than I did, it seems, though. I think the alchemy connections are very strong - after all, Kate even has a song mentioning alchemy, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was interested in it. Especially if, in her days of wanting to be a psychologist, she read some of Jung's work. I enjoyed the poems as well. |
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Post by tannis on May 29, 2008 1:41:17 GMT
You want alchemy.
They turn the roses into gold
They turn the lilac into honey
They're making love for the peaches...Maybe KaTe gives certain snippets of information away so that certain connections can be made. Like dropping breadcrumbs or leaving clues to buried treasure...And, yes, You Want Alchemy is a very strong connection... 
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Post by rosabelbelieve on May 29, 2008 1:43:19 GMT
Off topic, but I really wish You Want Alchemy had been on TRS. It's such a good song, and the theme fits so well! And the lyrics and music sort of remind me of the direction she would follow to create Aerial. |
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Post by tannis on May 29, 2008 2:05:44 GMT
^ I agree. You Want Alchemy really should have been there instead of Prince's Why Should I Love You. And thinking of alchemy, maybe KaTe had some magical purpose in mind when she sought the services of Prince. Like getting hold of Bowie's nail-clippings or hair-trimmings! ... ;D
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Post by tannis on May 29, 2008 2:16:03 GMT
Hymn to PanThrill with lissome lust of the light, O man! My man! Come careering out of the night Of Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan! Come over the sea From Sicily and from Arcady! Roaming as Bacchus, with fauns and pards And nymphs and satyrs for thy guards, On a milk-white ass, come over the sea To me, to me, Come with Apollo in bridal dress (Shepherdess and pythoness) Come with Artemis, silken shod, And wash thy white thigh, beautiful God, In the moon of the woods, on the marble mount, The dimpled dawn of the amber fount! Dip the purple of passionate prayer In the crimson shrine, the scarlet snare, The soul that startles in eyes of blue To watch they wantonness weeping through The tangled grove, the gnarled bole Of the living tree that is spirit and soul And body and brain---come over the sea (Io Pan! Io Pan!) Devil or god, to me, to me, My man! my man! Come with trumpets sounding shrill Over the hill! Come with drums low muttering From the spring! Come with flute and come with pipe! Am I not ripe? I, who wait and writhe and wrestle With air that hath no boughs to nestle My body, weary of empty clasp, Strong as a lion and sharp as an asp--- Come, O come! I am numb With the lonely lust of devildom. Thrust the sword through the galling fetter, All-devourer, all-begetter; Give me the sign of the Open Eye, And the token erect of thorny thigh, And the word of madness and mystery, O Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! I am awake In the grip of the snake. The eagle slashes with beak and claw; The gods withdraw: The great beasts come, Io Pan! I am borne To death on the horn Of the Unicorn I am Pan! Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! I am thy mate, I am thy man, Goat of thy flock, I am gold, I am god, Flesh to thy bone, flower to thy rod. With hoofs of steel I race on the rocks Through solstice stubborn to equinox. And I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend Everlasting, world without end, Mannikin, maiden, maenad, man, In the might of Pan Io Pan! Io Pan Pan! Pan! Io Pan! ~~~Aleister CrowleyThe AERIAL album cover also kinda reminds me of the Teletubbies' Rising Sun with baby center! ... And KT's hysterical Aerial laughter also makes me think of the Teletubbie Sun! ...
Flick between the front cover and the Bertie photograph accompanying 'Bertie', and Bertie could be the sun center! ...
Maybe Katie and Bertie watched the show... TELETUBBY SUNblogs.elcomercio.com.pe/santalima/teletubbies_01.jpgA prominent feature of each episode is a radiant sun that has an image of a smiling baby superimposed upon it. The baby in the sun occasionally laughs out loud in short bursts. To adults the laughter does not seem to be in response to any stimulus or humorous developments in the plot line of the episode. The Teletubby Sun's laughter brings to mind Katie's hysterical Aerial laughter!
And the Teletubbies go "Eh-Oh!"teletubbies introwww.youtube.com/watch?v=NuiynIn-g9s'Io' is a Greek Goddess. Her name is pronounced "ee-oh", not "eye-oh". Io was identified with the Egyptian goddess Isis, and her son Epaphos with the sacred bull Apis. Moloch - the sun god & god of war - went by many names including, Ba'al, Golden Calf, Chemosh, and the Apis Bull. Moloch was widely worshipped in the Middle East and wherever Punic culture extended. Baal Moloch was conceived under the form of a calf or an ox or depicted as a man with the head of a bull... as in KaTe's SIYL video?In magickal usage, Io is generally considered a "hail"... as in Crowley's Io Pan!, meaning Hail Pan!
So when the Tellytubbies say "Eh-Oh!" they seemingly Hail the Sun... or perhaps Moloch!
And when we play AERIAL, we seemingly Hail the Sun... or perhaps "Bertie, The Sun" ... or perhaps Moloch! The Teletubbies characters have been analysed as representing:
Tinky-Winky - Hermes.
Dipsy - Dionysis/Pan/The Green Man.
La-La - Lilith.
Po - Kaios. Po is the Maori word for the void that exists before creation.
Noo-Noo - Shiva.
The windmill - a Swastika.
Occult Symbolism in Pop Culture www.thephora.net/forum/showthread.php?t=28470&page=3
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Post by Al Truest on May 29, 2008 3:51:59 GMT
Thank all you guys for keeping the level of quality here so high. I will contribute more soon. |
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on May 29, 2008 8:06:43 GMT
'Io' is a Greek Goddess. Her name is pronounced "ee-oh", not "eye-oh". Io was identified with the Egyptian goddess Isis, and her son Epaphos with the sacred bull Apis. Moloch - the sun god & god of war - went by many names including, Ba'al, Golden Calf, Chemosh, and the Apis Bull. Moloch was widely worshipped in the Middle East and wherever Punic culture extended. Baal Moloch was conceived under the form of a calf or an ox or depicted as a man with the head of a bull... as in KaTe's SIYL video? "Io" also sounds like the "mule braying sounds" at the end of Get Out Of My House. --Paul-- |
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Post by tannis on May 29, 2008 10:33:27 GMT
That's a really good comparison, because GOoMH and the story of Io both feature transformations into livestock. After Io's transformation, she was continually stung by a maddening gadfly. And in GOoMY, the "mule braying sounds" at the end could suggest a maddening battle between ongoing transformations.In Greek mythology, Io was the daughter of Inachus, a river god. One day Zeus noticed her and she quickly became one of his many lovers. Their relationship continued until Hera almost caught them -- Zeus changed her into a heifer to escape detection. However, Hera was not completely fooled and demanded Zeus give her the heifer as a present. Hera then set ever-watchful Argus Panoptes to guard her and to keep her separated from Zeus. So Zeus commanded Hermes to kill Argus, which he did. Heifer Io was loosed to roam the world, stung by a maddening gadfly sent by Hera, and wandered to Egypt, where she was transformed back into human form by Zeus. In Egypt Io gave birth to Epaphus.You and me on the bobbing knee
Didn't we cry at that old mythology he'd read!
I will come home again, but not until
The sun and the moon meet on yon hillMaybe Get Out Of My House is about X trying to escape the advances of Zeus or from someone who thinks he is a Genie-Zeus! Maybe the protagonist has identified herself with one of Zeus' many extramarital affairs with women such as Leda, seduced in the form of a swan; Europa, as a bull; Danae, as a golden shower*; Kallisto, as Artemis; Antiope as a satyr; and of course Io.They come with their weather hanging 'round them...And ZEUS, King of the Gods, was also the god of weather.* and KT uses golden shower imagery in the L&A video, even trying to seduce her fans with a handful of dust!Kate Bush - Love And Angerwww.youtube.com/watch?v=RWNVlZ74I3s
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Post by tannis on May 29, 2008 11:24:41 GMT
HERA, IO and the PEACOCK'S TAIL
"Juppiter [Zeus] [seduced the Nymphe Io, and] fore-sensing his spouse’s [Hera's] arrival, transformed poor Inachis [Io] into a sleek white heifer (lovely still although a cow). Saturnia [Hera], against her will, admired the creature and asked whose she was, and whence she came and to what herd belonged, pretending not to know the truth. He lied - ‘The earth had brought her forth’ - so to deflect questions about her birth. Then Saturnia [Hera] begged the heifer as a gift. What should he do? Too cruel to give his darling! Not to give - suspicious; shame persuades but love dissuades. Love would have won; but then - if he refused his wife (his sister too) so slight a gift, a cow, it well might seem no cow at all! The goddess won her rival, but distrust lingered and still she feared her husband’s tricks, till, for safe-keeping, she had given the cow to Arestorides [Argos] - Argus of the hundred eyes, all watching and on duty round his head, save two which took in turn their sleep and rest ... Heaven’s master [Zeus] could not endure Phoronis’ [Io’s] distress, and summoned his son [Hermes] ... and charged him to accomplish Argus’ death ... [So Hermes] visited him [Argos], and with many a tale he stayed the passing hours and on his reeds played soft refrains to lull the watching eyes ... [and Hermes] saw all Argus’ eyelids closed and every eye vanquished in sleep. He stopped and with his wand, his magic wand, soothed the tired resting eyes and sealed their slumber; quick then with his sword he struck off the nodding head and from the rock threw it all bloody, spattering the cliff with gore. Argus lay dead; so many eyes, so bright quenched, and all hundred shrouded in one night. Saturnia [Hera] retrieved those eyes to set in place among the feathers of her bird [the peacock] and filled his tail with starry jewels."
Source: Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.624"Kate and Peacock"
THE RED SHOES
"Sleeve Design and Artwork: Peacock Marketing & Design"
AERIAL
"Design by Kate and Peacock" |
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