Search the Community

I am reading this book at the moment: The Holy Grail : The History of a Legend it's not New Agey or whacky in any way and is a sensible account of the Medieval Romance and how it began and developed. But some interesting things from a spiritual interpretive perspective. The hero (Perceval usually) goes to the court of the Fisher King who is wounded or ill. He sees or is shown a ) a sword which broken and has to be mended b ) the lance which drips blood from its tip continuously and c ) the grail. But because he doesn't ask the question 'whom does the grail serve' - the Fisher King is not healed. Interestingly the land is sick (a wasteland) because the king is sick. Question: why would asking that question heal the king???? It is suggested the grail serves his father who was killed by a wicked brother (hints of Osiris myth) ... and the Fisher Kings are of a lineage starting with Joseph of Aramithea's brother in law and established when Joseph of A. brought the Grail from the Levant as it was the cup of the last supper and which held the blood of the crucified christ when J of A buried him. the lance of course is the spear used to pierce Jesus' side when he was on the cross. Anyway - anyone got an answer - why would aksing that question heal the wounded king????

Since there is no other place for it on the board and because there is a branch of Hermetics which could be called 'Christian Hermetics' or 'Christian Mysticism' (Pico de Mirandola et al) I am starting this thread to discuss this tradition. I am conscious that because this board is so US centric that we suffer from the the Christian right and the reaction to that which tries to rubbish anything which is Christian. I'm not interested in these arguments and please keep them away from this thread. As Steward of the Hermetic Sub I will be hiding and/or splitting off any attempt to steer discussion towards particular debate which gets a good airing elsewhere. What I want to discuss is not mainstream Catholic, Protestant or Eastern Orthodox Christianity but the inner tradition of a mystical path within Christianity as expressed for instance in the Grail legends. The reason I think it is important and interesting is because I think Christ can be seen as heir to an old lineage which I call the 'Lineage of the Wounded or Sacrificed King' and that the life of Christ embodied, not just the Hebraic Messianic theme but also the theme of Osiris and the core teachings of the ancient pagan world. So for those that are interested let us begin.