The twilight language of the charyagiti

[RigdzinTrinley]

Short intro:

 

The charyagiti is an ancient manuscript of tantric dohas (scholars say its the first literature of Bengal)

 

The dohas are composed in twilight language to guard the secrets of tantric yoga, the language is very evocative and symbolic.

 

Their origin lies on the nexus of the tantric nath samdpradaya and Buddhist tantra. During these times it was still hard to say if a siddha was Buddhist or a Natha Sadhu

 

As far as I know there is no consensus on how to read these dohas, there are scholarly attempts to decipher them but nothing written in stone

 

So let's have fun and see if western hermetic knowledge can unlock the mysteries

 

I purposefully will post the dohas that are not too buddhist

 

I myself just started to discover them so I can't say much either

[RigdzinTrinley]

Let's start with that one:

 

The mountains are high, the Sabari girl lives there.

She wears peacock feathers.

Her neck is adorned with a necklace of gunja berries.

O wild Sabara, o mad Sabara,

Do not cry of make a noisy complaint.

Your own wife is the Sahaja Sundari.

The tree blossomed into flowers, the branch touched the sky.

Sabari wears ear- ornaments and vajra.

She wanders in this forest alone.

The bed of three metals is placed.

Sabara spreads the bed with great pleasure.

Sabara the lover and Sabari his mistress made love into the morning.

The heart is a betel leaf, eating camphor with great enjoyment.

By embracing the Void in his neck he passes the night in bliss.

Consider the Guru's advice as your bow and, with you mind as the arrow,

Pierce through Nirvana in one try.

[Taoist Texts]

For some context

[FraterUFA]

Please note that this is the Esoteric and Occult Discussion forum. I do appreciate that you stated:

 

So let's have fun and see if western hermetic knowledge can unlock the mysteries

 

But given the highly Eastern nature of the quoted text, perhaps this might be a better topic for one of the many Eastern philosophy forums?

 

Just trying to keep us focused.

 

UFA

[Michael Sternbach]

Please note that this is the Esoteric and Occult Discussion forum. I do appreciate that you stated:

 

 

But given the highly Eastern nature of the quoted text, perhaps this might be a better topic for one of the many Eastern philosophy forums?

 

Just trying to keep us focused.

 

UFA

 

This tread is spinning off

 

http://thedaobums.com/topic/40331-nirvana-is/page-7#entry670826

 

where the OP already expressly states his interest in the take of the Hermetic TDB order on this text. Whereas in one of the Eastern philosophical forums, it would almost exclusively attract attention from the specialists there.

 

It is therefore right where it belongs.

[FraterUFA]

Ok, sounds good.

[Jeff]

Here you go with my shot at it...

 

The mountains are high, the Sabari girl lives there.
She wears peacock feathers.
Her neck is adorned with a necklace of gunja berries.

 

As one reaches the higher (chakra) levels, consort practices start to make sense. Wearing peacock feathers meaning very noticeable (or now visible). Gunja berries are associated with female goddesses. The neck relates to the throat and communication.

O wild Sabara, o mad Sabara,
Do not cry of make a noisy complaint.

 

O crazy and horny guy, don't get lost in sexual desire.

Your own wife is the Sahaja Sundari.

 

Your own wife can be the goddess that you need for consort practices. 

The tree blossomed into flowers, the branch touched the sky.

 

It is not just about the woman, but more about your spiritual growth and being ready for it.

Sabari wears ear- ornaments and vajra.

 

The consort is about "reception" (ear-ornamnents) and returning your transmission.

She wanders in this forest alone.

 

She is energy and motion.

The bed of three metals is placed.

Sabara spreads the bed with great pleasure.

 

There is a huge rush of sexual fun and energy before you hit the void (described below).

 

Sabara the lover and Sabari his mistress made love into the morning.
The heart is a betel leaf, eating camphor with great enjoyment.

 

In making such love with consort practice the heart becomes the base of the connection and it is both a big stimulant (betel leaves) and quiets the mind (eating camphor).

By embracing the Void in his neck he passes the night in bliss.

 

The void in the neck is the transmission point (or throat chakra).  If the male stays with the transmission, rather than get caught up in what he is transmitting, he can stay with the bliss all night.

Consider the Guru's advice as your bow and, with you mind as the arrow,
Pierce through Nirvana in one try.

 

The guru's teaching is what points and sends your mind in the right direction.  Pay attention and you will go the right way from the beginning.

 

Best wishes.

[Michael Sternbach]

Alright, let's try to tackle this baby.

 

The mountains are high, the Sabari girl lives there.
She wears peacock feathers.
Her neck is adorned with a necklace of gunja berries.

 

High mountains, the home of the Sabari girl, are symbolizing closeness to the highest spiritual principle.

 

 

 

She wears peacock feathers: In Hinduism, the peacock is associated with Lakshmi, a deity whose attributes are benevolence, patience, kindness, and compassion.

 

The gunja berries necklace plays a role in the worship of the prominent goddess Radha, which stands for beauty, humanity, kindness, nature, devotion, and actually for the whole world. She is the companion of Krishna and sometimes identified with the original goddess Shakti. There is actually a belief that aforesaid Lakshimi emanated from Radha!

 

So it seems like Sabari partakes in all that Radha/Lakshimi represent.

 

In short, Sabari is the female, the Yin to Sabara's Yang - in Jungian terms his anima.

 

O wild Sabara, o mad Sabara,
Do not cry of make a noisy complaint.

 

Sabara is wild and mad and needs to be told not be too noisy. Well...

 

 

For some reasons, different versions of The Fool keep popping up here in our discussion!

 

Your own wife is the Sahaja Sundari.

 

I have found "Sahaja Sundari" translated as "the Beauty of Naturalness", which ties in quite nicely with the naturalness and unconventional spontaneity symbolized by the Fool.

 

The Archetypes of the collective unconscious are universal, and can show up pretty much the same way in both the Tarot and an ancient Indian text.

 

The tree blossomed into flowers, the branch touched the sky.
Sabari wears ear- ornaments and vajra.

 

The ear ornaments are probably meant to underline Sabari's divine nature (deities often wear them). The mention of the vajra here is very interesting, since, in Tantric tradition, it is a common symbol for sunyata or the underlying unity of things - which brings us back to the aforementioned thread with its references to Tarot, specifically to the High Priestess with my discussion of this Archetype:

 

http://thedaobums.com/topic/40331-nirvana-is/page-7#entry670810

 

 

 

More and more, I feel that Sabari must be a really close relative of hers...

 

She wanders in this forest alone.

 

The forest could be a symbol for the apparently impenetrable thicket of the manifest world. Wandering Sabari symbolizes the true unity that exists throughout it.

 

The bed of three metals is placed.

 

The union of the male and female polarities occurs on all levels - physical, psychological, spiritual.

 

Sabara spreads the bed with great pleasure.
Sabara the lover and Sabari his mistress made love into the morning.

 

The union of the sexes (on all levels) also plays in important role in the Hermetic tradition, for instance in the Alchemical imagery of the famous Rosary of the Philosophers.

 

 

The heart is a betel leaf, eating camphor with great enjoyment.

 

In the betel leave, all the most important Hindu deities are said to be present.

 

http://www.hindu-blog.com/2010/09/betel-leaves-in-hindu-rituals.html

 

By the union with the female, Sabara became whole and unified all the forces of his being in his heart (the symbol of unity).

 

 

By embracing the Void in his neck he passes the night in bliss.

 

The night once again symbolizes the opaqueness of the manifest world; however, Sabara now moves through it in the bliss of his union with Sabari (sunyata).

 

Consider the Guru's advice as your bow and, with you mind as the arrow,
Pierce through Nirvana in one try.

 

Using Artemis's bow and arrow shown on the High Priestess card perhaps?

[Apech]

@ Michael : good work!

 

I know certainly in the Buddhist dohas the young woman represents sunyata.

 

a couple more cards ... well certainly:

 

 

surely and the woman I agree with the High priestess - but there is also a sense of ecstatic joy ... so what would that be?

 

... what about ...

 

 

or as someone else put it:

 

[Nungali]

~ tags in ~






The mountains are high, the Sabari girl lives there. - the 'receptive soul ' , it awaits acknowledgment and enactment into its abode , often apart and 'above' 'ego consciousness' .

She wears peacock feathers. - on the verge of transformation ( via the above process )

Her neck is adorned with a necklace of gunja berries. - she is the 'Goddess' of 'nature and the whole world ' . The 'Moon'.

O wild Sabara, o mad Sabara, - the 'ego consciousness' , 'Man' , the ' Sun'.

Do not cry of make a noisy complaint. - The 'marriage' to be made is not to be approached rationally , nor to be approached by way of 'ego consciousness' , or any 'separation' is not to be seen as misfortune but a " sauce to whet one's appetite".

Your own wife is the Sahaja Sundari. - You are 'married ' to your 'soul' and nature , this is the first relationship and by making this all other relationships can be made ( better ) .

The tree blossomed into flowers, the branch touched the sky. - the new outcome , the 'child' of the 'operation', the connection to 'archetypal energy'

Sabari wears ear- ornaments and vajra. - Just like your wife , she knows what you say, and any disrespect is dealt with by lightning bolts ( but that does happen in nature ! * )

She wanders in this forest alone. - the perfect form of nature - without 'Man' ..... (does that shock you ? ) . The 'normal ' state of the soul , Psyche ( http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Psykhe.html ) .... 'pre-connection ' .

The bed of three metals is placed. - The process of the 'joining' ; Gold , Silver and Mercury .

Sabara spreads the bed with great pleasure. - This bed of joining and experience is life , one's incarnation, - not suffering but bliss .

Sabara the lover and Sabari his mistress made love into the morning. - Joined throughout the night , in the deep level of the psyche.

The heart is a betel leaf, eating camphor with great enjoyment. - The process en/ligthens the heart ( lighter than a feather ) and allows it to be more open to experience more of this 'bliss' in life.

By embracing the Void in his neck he passes the night in bliss. - certain 'ego consciousness' 'protestations' may arise ( often due to emotional energies - especially those that one may physically feel resticting the throat area or slightly below, remove any restrictions by making it a 'void' in that area.

Consider the Guru's advice as your bow and, with you mind as the arrow, - use the mind to achieve the marriage , but in the correct way and method .

Pierce through Nirvana in one try. - You can hit the target by shooting through it, but this means it isnt the 'target ' or the aim , that is to live life on the bed of bliss 'married' to the 'soul desire' ( Moon ) and expressing its desire in nature ( action of the Sun ) .


[ And the infant grew strong; yet its strength was in its weakness; and though to look at it from before was to look upon a man-child, from behind it was a little girl with golden hair. Now, when the child wished to tempt a maid he faced and approached her; and when the child wished to tempt a man she turned her back on him and fled.

But one day the child met, at the self-same hour, Love; and the man, seeing a woman, approached her eagerly, and the woman, seeing a man, fled, so that he might capture her. Thus it came about that the child met the child and wondered, not knowing that the child had lost the child. So it was that they walked side by side.

Then that part of the child that was man loved and lusted for that part of the child that was woman; and each knew not that each was the other, and felt that they were two and yet one, nevertheless one and yet two. And when one said: "Who art thou?" the other answered at the self-same moment: "Who am I?"

Soon becoming perplexed if I were Thou, or if Thou were I, it came about that the I mingled with the Thou, and the Thou with the I ..... Thus was the child reborn.

http://hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib963.html ]


~ tag out ~

Edited January 30, 2016 by Nungali

[RigdzinTrinley]

Great posts - I enjoyed the posts very much

 

I don't want to give a pure Buddhist comment because I feel these dohas are in good hands with you guys

 

Only this much I want to add:

The union of male and female are a main image or symbol of the charyagiti. I feel its not only limited to tantric sexual yogas but a symbol of enlightenment - non duality

 

Union of female prajna(wisdom, emptiness) and male upaya(method, compassion)

 

The peacock feather ornament I found very interesting, its used a lot in initiations (Hindu or Buddhist Tantra)

 

I would explain it like this: the peacock feather has a bindu on it, a circle that shimmers in different colors, as the female(wisdom) aspect is wearing it as an ornament it might point to the union of emptiness(the girl) and appearance(peacock feather)

 

That meaning is also symbolicaly introduced with the peacock feather, or a mirror in initiations

 

Sabara seems altogether confused and mad and wild - following only his senses and thoughts, emotions he hasn't turned inwards yet ->

He(upaya) is lost in duality without wisdom his wife

 

The night transforms to day when they are united, his dualistic mind becomes non dual wisdom

 

Then even the night becomes bliss

 

All is light then, all is morning

 

Also the main gate to the mandala of the deity is in the east (sunrise, morning)

 

The transformation is complete sabaras impure body became the deity through uniting the energies of sun/moon male/female etc.

Edited January 30, 2016 by RigdzinTrinley

[Michael Sternbach]

 

@ Michael : good work!

 

I know certainly in the Buddhist dohas the young woman represents sunyata.

 

a couple more cards ... well certainly:

 

 

surely and the woman I agree with the High priestess - but there is also a sense of ecstatic joy ... so what would that be?

 

... what about ...

 

 

or as someone else put it:

 

 

And let's not omit

 

 

 

And maybe now we understand what it is telling us that this card (no. 11) is linked to the High Priestess (no. 2) via its numeric value (1 + 1 = 2).

 

That's Tarot's numero-logic.

[RigdzinTrinley]

And let's not omit

 

 

 

And maybe now we understand what it is telling us that this card (no. 11) is linked to the High Priestess (no. 2) via its numeric value (1 + 1 = 2).

 

That's Tarot's numero-logic.

In the Indian vajrayana the initiator was mostly female

 

The secret source of the lineage

 

In this first chraryagata I think this fact is obvious - the female is what is to be realized, and also what bestows the initiation into the means of realizing her

 

(She is shown as wielding the vajra, or upaya - she is already in union with upaya or method. Sabara is running around drunk with the world and missing the point, while the true nature is already perfect and in union like nungali pointed out)

 

In light of this dear Micheal can you talk about the second and eleventh trump as the initiator or the principle of initiation???

 

Thank you

[RigdzinTrinley]

Also I just recognize that on the toth version of the high priestess there are two spheres emanating from her arms that look like the "eyes" or bindu of a peacock feather

[Apech]

And let's not omit

 

 

 

And maybe now we understand what it is telling us that this card (no. 11) is linked to the High Priestess (no. 2) via its numeric value (1 + 1 = 2).

 

That's Tarot's numero-logic.

 

Yes I thought about Strength - forgetting Crowley called it lust.  Good one.

[Apech]

Included for reasons of peacock ...

[Michael Sternbach]

Also I just recognize that on the toth version of the high priestess there are two spheres emanating from her arms that look like the "eyes" or bindu of a peacock feather

 

Isn't this kind of synchronicity absolutely amazing?

[ilumairen]

I'm enjoying this thread, and readily acknowledge that everyone posting here has more knowledge than myself. For the sake of my own clarity I'd like to present some of my own thoughts.

 

 

The first thought is that the Guru is the author of these words, and all that is needed to pierce through Nirvana has been presented.

 

 

So we start with the mountains, the lofty realm of the goddess. Sabara is a bit mad with thoughts of attainment - desire.

 

 

The Guru seems to say quiet your reaching mind. It is your naturalness that is your bride. Embrace your naturalness. (Thank you Michael, for your research.)

 

 

"The tree blossomed into flowers" seems to indicate 'ripeness'. Perhaps the branches reaching the sky are indicative of openness.

 

 

Here is where I'm differing (and perhaps not as much as it may seem to me), the goddess (as underlying unity - another nod to Michael) is wandering the forest in his mind (as was the mountain) alone. She is there, but has yet to be found, embraced, recognized - what have you.

Edited January 30, 2016 by ilumairen

[ilumairen]

Nungali, I'm curious about your idea of using the mind - in the right way, as you said. What is this right way to you?

[Michael Sternbach]

In the Indian vajrayana the initiator was mostly female

 

The secret source of the lineage

 

In this first chraryagata I think this fact is obvious - the female is what is to be realized, and also what bestows the initiation into the means of realizing her

 

(She is shown as wielding the vajra, or upaya - she is already in union with upaya or method. Sabara is running around drunk with the world and missing the point, while the true nature is already perfect and in union like nungali pointed out)

 

In light of this dear Micheal can you talk about the second and eleventh trump as the initiator or the principle of initiation???

 

Thank you

 

Sure.

 

As we have seen, the High Priestess is the alchemical Mercury - she dissolves the rigid dualistic boundaries of the "male" mind. Her counter part is basically the Magus, which we also talked about in the previous thread (linked above). On this one, I opted for the Fool as representing Sabara, mostly because he is described as "mad" - but this could also mean the very ordinary "madness" of the mind caught up in the dualities of the world.

 

In alchemical practice, the Philosophical Mercury dissolves the gross matter quite at the beginning of the Great Work. On the level of human initiation, this takes the form of an ego transcending experience - a powerful mystical experiencing as a result of meditation, a mind blowing drug-induced trip or an intoxicating love, preferably including some ecstatic sex . And here we see the connection to Trump XI or Lust.

 

In his description of the High Priestess, Crowley quotes his Book of Lies:

 

The Brothers of A.'.A.'. are one with the Mother of the Child.

The Many is as adorable to the One as the One is to the Many.

This is the Love of These; creation-parturition is the Bliss of the One; coition-dissolution is the Bliss of the Many.

The All, thus interwoven of These, is Bliss.

Naught is beyond Bliss.

The Man delights in uniting with the Woman; the Woman in parting from the Child.

The Brothers of A.'.A.'. are Women; the Aspirants to A.'.A.'. are Men.

 

The path of the High Priestess on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life leads over the Abyss (the veil of delusion) right up into the supernal triad. She has a special relationship to the "hidden" Sephira Daath, or Knowledge, which is located on this path. What I find really amazing in this regard is that a projection of the ToL onto the human body (such as in the Golden Dawn's Middle Pillar exercise) identifies Daath with the neck - and above, we read what?

 

By embracing the Void in his neck he passes the night in bliss.

 

The void we already saw as an equivalent to the High Priestess, and the night represents the Abyss rather nicely.

 

 

It should be mentioned that in the enchantment or ecstasy by this Archetypal force, there lies a danger. The rational and action oriented ("male") psyche must eventually regain its structure, lest it falls victim to things like illusion, apathy, psychosis. After the trip, it must come back to the ground. And it must not "take off" anew before it has integrated the transcending experience as to avoid getting damaged.

 

Likewise, for the alchemical process to succeed, it needs to go through repeated stages of solution and coagulation - "solve et coagula" is one of Alchemy's central maxims.

 

The successful Alchemist, Magus or Shaman will eventually have Mercury's transcendental Force fully at his disposal.

[RigdzinTrinley]

Fantastic

 

I had a feeling that the charyagiti might be an interesting subject for the hermetic order of TDB

 

And I for myself learned a lot from these posts so far.

 

I will slowly look into to charyagiti to find the next song to explore (I do have an idea based on what Micheal wrote up there......)

 

Edit: I just remember that I found this scholarly work on the tantric nath order and the author tries to understand the nath sadhus through western esoteric traditions - I had to stop reading it because although he used grand language what he actually had to say wasn't enough to satisfy my apatite. I'm currently looking to find the natheswari pundt somewhere in india and chat with them about their lineage masters, practices etc. (looks like couple of them went to tibet to teach there, and this natha lineage did also hold buddhist vajrayana lineages)

 

Unfortunately not easy to locate that brand of nath babajis

Edited January 31, 2016 by RigdzinTrinley

[RigdzinTrinley]

Charyapada 23

Poet: Bhusukupada, Raga Barari

 

If you want to go hunting

Then kill five people.

To enter the lotus-garden

Remain single-minded

At morning it is alive at night it is dead.

Unless he gets the hunter's meat

bhusuku will not enter the hut.

He caught the maya-deer

with the maya-net.

I know from Guru whose story it is.

The death of the body is not the end of self.

The garland remains.

The net cannot catch it.

Nor can the chains catch the deer.

In the restless race

the deer vanishes into the void.

[Nungali]

Nungali, I'm curious about your idea of using the mind - in the right way, as you said. What is this right way to you?

 

 

That could be a very long answer . 

 

Firstly you should be using the mind, the mind should not be using you. The mind is not the driver or the 'master controlling circuit.  It is a tool to be used and one of the main 'magical weapons' .  

 

From an 'eastern perspective', I ascribe to the 'no mind' concept. Which isnt actually no mind , but ' correct use of mind '  , but here we are back at the beginning again - I feel this is best described by ( and the wrong ideas about this concept pointed out by )  Thomas Cleary in the 'Japanese Art of War ' .   The best and briefest way to describe that is , in 'swordplay', to have a clear , relaxed and 'openly focused' mind .... I like to visualise 'clear blue sky' in a match .

 

Hermetically,  I ascribe mind  - in correct function -  to elemental air, and for me, it has to take its place as 3rd position;  first is fire, inspiration /  aspiration, individuation, connection to 'spirit' * ,  2nd is water , how you 'feel' about something, your sympathies and empathies, understandings, intuition, 'subconscious'  (  'dreaming on'  something ,  'sleeping on it ' - running it through the unconscious , etc ) , connect it to 'soul' ** , 3rd is air ; mind mentation calculation, sensibilities, logistics, achieve/abilities, various pathways to accomplishments,  possibilities , etc  and 4th  physicality , accomplishing, manifesting.

 

MInd is 3rd. Many of us have confused, volatile and disrupted emotional body, and  the fire plane is little understood, so they get knocked out and air ' fills the void ' .   Problems.     Any idea, action, point, etc  should manifest out of fire, be qualified by water, run through air and manifested in earth ***  .   Without fire we are unoriginal and uninspired,  without water we lack understanding and compassion, we dont have an emotional connection with what we are doing, without mind we can go off on all sorts of silly and impractical ideas and without earth, and manifestation, what's the point anyway, it was all just a pipe dream. 

 

Then there is the whole issue of mind working for you , supportive and critically ... but not working against you critically; one needs to 'make peace' with the mind,  one should not  have the mind as an enemy or a subversive or dissident in the camp. 

 

Maybe more on this  ^   later as it is deeper in to air and mind, and probably more important. 

 

 

 

 

* one's essential individual unique nature 

 

 

**  one's  desire to have imaginative forms expressed in some form of 'outer reality ' 

 

 

 

 

***  and each one of these  elements needs to be qualified and balanced within itself :  

 

The Powers of the Development of the Soul  ( An extract from an  instructional paper from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn )

 

" Be thou therefore prompt and active as the Sylphs, but avoid frivolity and caprice; be energetic and strong like the Salamanders, but avoid irritability and ferocity; be flexible and attentive to images like the Undines, but avoid idleness and changeability; be laborious and patient like the Gnomes, but avoid grossness and avarice.

 

" So shalt thou gradually develop the powers of thy soul, and fit thyself to command the Spirits of the elements. For wert thou to summon the Gnomes to pander to thine avarice, thou wouldst no longer command them, but they would command thee. Wouldst thou abuse the pure beings of the woods and mountains to fill thy coffers and satisfy thy hunger of Gold? Wouldst thou debase the Spirits of Living Fire to serve thy wrath and hatred? Wouldst thou violate the purity of the Souls of the Waters to pander to thy lust of debauchery? Wouldst thou force the Spirits of the Evening Breeze to minister to thy folly and caprice? Know that with such desires thou canst but attract the Weak, not the Strong, and in that case the Weak will have power over thee. " 

Edited January 31, 2016 by Nungali

[Nungali]

Sure.

 

As we have seen, the High Priestess is the alchemical Mercury - she dissolves the rigid dualistic boundaries of the "male" mind. Her counter part is basically the Magus, which we also talked about in the previous thread (linked above). On this one, I opted for the Fool as representing Sabara, mostly because he is described as "mad" - but this could also mean the very ordinary "madness" of the mind caught up in the dualities of the world.

 

In alchemical practice, the Philosophical Mercury dissolves the gross matter quite at the beginning of the Great Work. On the level of human initiation, this takes the form of an ego transcending experience - a powerful mystical experiencing as a result of meditation, a mind blowing drug-induced trip or an intoxicating love, preferably including some ecstatic sex . And here we see the connection to Trump XI or Lust.

 

In his description of the High Priestess, Crowley quotes his Book of Lies:

 

 

 

The path of the High Priestess on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life leads over the Abyss (the veil of delusion) right up into the supernal triad. She has a special relationship to the "hidden" Sephira Daath, or Knowledge, which is located on this path. What I find really amazing in this regard is that a projection of the ToL onto the human body (such as in the Golden Dawn's Middle Pillar exercise) identifies Daath with the neck - and above, we read what?

 

 

 

The void we already saw as an equivalent to the High Priestess, and the night represents the Abyss rather nicely.

 

 

It should be mentioned that in the enchantment or ecstasy by this Archetypal force, there lies a danger. The rational and action oriented ("male") psyche must eventually regain its structure, lest it falls victim to things like illusion, apathy, psychosis. After the trip, it must come back to the ground. And it must not "take off" anew before it has integrated the transcending experience as to avoid getting damaged.

 

Likewise, for the alchemical process to succeed, it needs to go through repeated stages of solution and coagulation - "solve et coagula" is one of Alchemy's central maxims.

 

The successful Alchemist, Magus or Shaman will eventually have Mercury's transcendental Force fully at his disposal.

 

Great post, but I would add one thing, re the highlights above 

 

After the trip, it must return  with a new structure   ( or regain any new structure ) .   My whole concept of this is to bring about change in the  male dominant paradigm  .   The work with the priestess, and her new role and position (in this type of 'magick' )  being congruent  with a type of 'world' ( or human consciousness / sociocultural )  evolution ,  has its counterpart in a new male female relationship model within our new social reality (re 'equality of the sexes' )  , especially magically, and specifically, a new role for the male to take   .... for brevity here ;  the 7 heads of the 'Beast'   and the function he exhibits in the image  ( what the man 'brings to the table' )  ;

 

 

Best understood IMO by seeing each one as a planetary manifestation, but also ; The Head of , an angel, a poet, a man of valour, a satyr,  a saint ,  an 'adulterous woman'  ,   and   a 'lion serpent'  (note the 'kundalini  tail '  ) . The beast also  supplies the motive power and force, led by the woman, this time, although the reins seem rather symbolic and voluntary .

 

Trampled underfoot are the now old dead and dying forms of 'male consciousness' . 

 

(oh yes  , ETA ....  above, in the background are the now swirling sephiroth,  they are 'off their tree'  and  awaiting to be restructured in a new pattern / form / tree,  more suitable to this new evolving energy (see Nungali's  ' Psychological/astrological Tree '       )

Edited January 31, 2016 by Nungali

[rex]

...

Edited February 1, 2016 by rex