for Paul

The Resolution of Opposites & the Will of Heaven

This study ( an hermeneutic exploration of Rene Guenon) examines how the architecture of the various sacred traditions, all manifest in their built expressions a universal symbolic content, while at the same time being absolutely unique in their own inherent particular spiritual dispensation.

One major aspect of this symbolic content is the embedding of the three-dimensional cross in its various modes within their built arrangements. The correlation between the three dimensions of space and the metaphysical symbolism of the cross was the subject of a short but important work by the French traditional metaphysician Rene Guenon titled Symbolism of the Cross (Le Symbolisme de Ia Croix).

In describing the purpose of the work Guenon wrote that it was ‘to explain a symbol that is common to almost all traditions, a fact that would seem to indicate its direct attachment to the great primordial tradition’.

While several authors on sacred architecture acknowledge the importance of Guenon’s work, it has generally been applied only in limited considerations and to particular traditions. However, there remains many levels to this work that require further general elaboration and exploration. Guenon uses the symbolic potential of three-dimensional space as a coherent and indispensable means of developing traditional metaphysics. An hermeneutic exploration and study of Guenon’s Symbolism of the Cross, allows insights into various aspects of all sacred architecture, even when the tradition is unfamiliar. Equally, exploring various themes related to spatial symbolism in sacred architecture can give insights into the interpretative reading of Symbolism of the Cross.

• The Cycles of the Sun

The resolution of complementary and opposite dualities is a major theme of Symbolism of the Cross. While the Sun as a symbol of Being, its motion is perhaps the clearest example of these dualities. What follows is an examination of the Sun’s apparent movements and its symbolic characteristics, as well as other celestial motions, and how this resolution follows the traditional notion of the ‘Will of Heaven’.

The first and most obvious motion of the Sun is its daily rising in the East and setting in the West (Diagram 9.1(a)). This motion has four nodes: sunrise, midday and sunset and the inferred but invisible node of midnight. These nodes form a spatial and temporal cross superimposed on the Sun’s circular path. The second motion is annual, demonstrated by the Sun’s rise to a maximum angular elevation at midday in Summer followed by a minimum angular elevation in Winter (Diagram 9.1(b)). This change in angular elevation occurs on a meridian that is due North in the Southern Hemisphere and due South in the Northern Hemisphere. This meridian is the first naturally determinable direction caused by the seasonal displacement of the Sun. The seasonal motion of the Sun for areas outside the tropics occurs between the zenith of the visible hemisphere of the sky and the North for the Southern Hemisphere and the zenith and the South for the Northern Hemisphere. For those areas within the tropics, the motion is entirely North and South of the zenith. The position of the Sun’s rising and setting points on the horizon move correspondingly. These angles change according to the latitude of the place considered and constitute the azimuth of the Sun’s annual movement in the horizontal plane.

• T h e S o l s t i t i a l & E q u i n o c t i a l Cross

Just as the Sun’s diurnal cycle is divided into temporal quarters, so too is the annual cycle. This division of the annual cycle is determined by the highest and lowest meridian crossings of the Sun, when the days at each extreme of the cycle are respectively the longest (mid-summer) and shortest (mid-winter) days of the year. Between these two extremes lie the median points when the days and nights last 12 hours each. Thus the four annual time divisions reflect the four diurnal time divisions (Diagram 9.2(a)). Midday reflects the summer solstice, midnight reflects the winter solstice and sunrise and sunset reflect the spring and autumn equinoxes. The diurnal and annual motions of the Sun are thus homologous with the division of space and time into quarters, which can be summarised graphically as the spatial cross. The East-West axis symbolises the equinoctial axis of the Sun, which is the result of its rising in the East and setting in the West, and this axis corresponds to the horizontal or passive arm of the cross. The North-South axis corresponds to the motion of the Sun as it travels between the extremes of the winter and summer solstices and corresponds to the active, vertical arm of the cross (Diagram 9.2(b)).

The cross of the equinoctial axis and solstitial axis configure a pair of what Guénon terms ‘complementary opposites’. This symbolic relation between the Sun’s annual motion and the points of the compass can be expanded into a complex array of symbolism. (In the I Ching it is stated: ‘Thus men divide the uniform flow of time into the seasons, according to the succession of natural phenomenon, and mark off infinite space by the points of the compass. In this way nature in its overwhelming profusion of phenomenon is bounded and controlled.’ T’ai (Peace) Hexagram No. 11)

This is particularly significant in the Chinese and Indian traditions but finds application in other traditions as well. In the Hindu tradition it is the motion of the sun that ‘paces out’ the quartering of space and time and is mythologised as the three steps of Vishnu who in order to achieve the prized unity with the sun, strode across the three worlds emulating the Sun on its daily journey. The important consideration relevant to this study however is that the Sun alone is responsible for the quaternary divisions of space and of time. It is the Sun that quarters first time and then by implication the undifferentiated directions of space, bringing structure to the corporeal domain. The crossing of the equinoctial with the solstitial axis is an important configuration of the cross and is often incorporated into sacred architecture and will soon be developed.

The celestial vault or sphere which forms the backdrop of the sky from the perspective of the Earth has projected upon it what is known as the celestial equator. This band or belt is a celestial ‘great circle’ which is the projection of the equator onto the outer sphere of the sky. Although theoretically a geometric projection, this belt or band is real and the locus of the greatest stellar movements in the night sky. It lies at exactly 90° from the celestial pole, which is the projection of the North and South Poles on the celestial sphere. The significance of the celestial   equator is not evident during the day, when the brilliance of the Sun diminishes everything else, but at night its theoretical projection becomes apparent. However, the passage of the Sun across the sky coincides with the celestial equator only at the equinoxes. From a geocentric view, the Sun’s passage relative to the (unseen) starry vault is the ecliptic plane and inclines at 23° 27′ (termed the ‘obliquity of the ecliptic’) to the equatorial plane. This is not apparent during the day but the Sun’s position relative to the stars and the celestial sphere can be determined just before sunrise and just after sunset. From a heliocentric view, the ecliptic plane is the plane of the Earth’s rotation around the Sun (Diagram 9.3(a) & (b)).

When these two planes, or ‘great circles’, are considered from either perspective, two points are significant; these are the points where the two great circles or planes intersect and they coincide at the equinoxes. Thus they are the points in space and time where and when the Sun’s path lies on or crosses the celestial equator or congruently in the heliocentric perspective when the Earth’s rotation plane crosses its orbital plane. Each point can be either ascending (☊) or descending (☋). The passage of the Sun through this point into the northern celestial hemisphere is the vernal equinox (around 23rd March in the Northern Hemisphere) and the autumnal equinox (around 22nd September in the Northern Hemisphere) when it crosses into the southern celestial hemisphere. In terms of generalization and to avoid confusion with which hemisphere is the  viewing point, it is often referred to simply as the March equinox and the September equinox. The March (vernal) equinox is that point which is known as the ‘First Point of Aries⁸ and is the point from which the celestial Right Ascension is measured. It is also the vernal equinox that is the point of reference from which all the zodiac divisions, and indeed the sky in general, are composed.

Within a certain perspective, the two equinoxes correspond to two states of equilibrium or balance in the celestial machinery and are an external projection of the equinoctial and solstitial cross. From this perspective, one could say that the two points of the equinoxes lie at the intersection of the two arms of the cross and represent the balance between the equatorial and the ecliptic circles. These circles are responsible for the diversity of the seasons and it is their difference or non-correspondence that causes variety in the seasons and hence the calendar. This is symbolically significant, for if the two great circles of the celestial equator and the solar ecliptic coincided, there would be complete uniformity. The divergence of the two circles ruptures the equilibrium, and this in turn engenders variable order throughout manifestation. Further, manifested existence is subject to an indefinite projection of complementary and opposite dualities because of this variable order. Each day becomes a manifestation of the disequilibrium and is therefore unique in the annual cycle. The Earth’s two cycles, its rotation on itself and its rotation round the Sun, diverge most at the solstice points. There is no equilibrium between the two cycles at these points; only opposition and contrast (Diagram 9.4). (  This point used to coincide with the zodiacal constellation of Aries some 2,200 years ago but because of he precession of the equinoxes it now coincides with the constellation of Pisces. This transition is not without its symbolic consequence.)

      Without trying to labour this point unduly, all of manifest existence is subject to this complementary and contrasting projection, all manifestation being as it were composed of limited projections of the Universal complementary Principle of Essence and Substance. Each pole is universally reflected within each individual manifestation.

Whilst so far the cross has been used as a spatial symbol to characterize the opposition and unification of complementary but opposite principles, it is now shown equally to be applicable in a temporal sense. In fact, it is in the temporal context that the distinction between the opposing and complementary natures of the cross can be fully appreciated. In a complementary mode, the cross combines the annual orbital cycle with the equinoctial cycle of the Earth such that they are not oppositional. One cycle is compared to or superimposed on the other, both cycles exist in their own right and both are distinct in nature in the same way that Essence is distinct from Substance. This combination produces a unity of complementary principles, the centre being the exact point of unison of these principles (Diagram 9.5(a)). In opposition mode, the cross combines two pairs of equal but opposite tendencies (Diagram 9.5(b)). The summer solstice is opposed to the winter solstice and the vernal equinox is opposed to the autumnal. Rather than being two axes, the cross can be viewed as two pairs of opposing but complementary arms. Rather than being the point of union between the two tendencies, the centre becomes the pivotal point of symmetry around which the opposing tendencies are arranged. The two pairs are arranged about the centre or polar opposites; one pole is complementary to but opposite to the other, and both poles form the extreme positions inherent in the complete axis. In this way, the winter and summer solstices and their association with the ascending and descending nodes and achieve balance along the solstitial axis. The same holds true for the equinoctial axis. The centre of the cross in this instance becomes the resolution of opposites and the point of reconciliation, of synthesis, of all contrary terms, for points of crossing are contrary only from viewpoints that see only extremes and separate identities.¹⁰

Any sacred building orientated to the points of the compass symbolically manifests the balance of the Sun’s movements. The building plan laid out in the four directions of space on the ground becomes an architectural nomogram for the movements of the Earth and Sun. There is another aspect of solar symbolism related to the equinoxes. The equinoxes or nodes can symbolise ‘gateways’ or ‘doors’ in time that mark the transition of the Sun across from North to South and as such are spatial symbols for celestial mechanics. The symbol of the ‘gateway of the Sun’, referring to the Sun’s journey, can thus be taken spatially and or temporally. ( It could be said that this corresponds to the meaning of the word ‘cross’ as a noun or as a static configuration in space or as a verb as a ‘crossing’ in an active mode of the cross in time.)

How all this can be incorporated into an architectural configuration can be seen in the distribution of iconographic images and sculpture in some Gothic cathedrals and is related to the principles of the static and dynamic modes of the Duad. The two principle axes of a cathedral can support complementary and oppositional symbolic couplets. For example, iconography, in the form of sculpture or stained glass windows, in opposing positions across the North-South axis, could depict the complementary polarisation of the Old and New Testaments. The East-West axis could symbolise the polarity of the birth of Christ as Saviour and the formation of the New Jerusalem (Diagram 9.6).

There is a variation of such a schema at Chartres Cathedral, where the northern Rose Window depicting the 24 kings, priests and prophets of the Old Testament faces the southern window depicting the 24 elders of the New Testament Apocalypse. Thus a temporal transformation occurs across the aisle, that is, in space (Images 9.1(a) & (b)). The East-West axis for its part conforms to the Immanent Principle within, of Christ’s mission in the world under the stations of Christ the Child (Man), Christ resurrected and Christ in Judgement.

• T h e C h i – R h o

Related to the use of the quadripartite division of the annual solar cycle and the symbolic ‘cross of solar motion’ is one of the most complex and enigmatic ancient Christian symbols, the Chi-Rho (Image 9.2). The Chi-Rho is a combination of the ancient Greek letters Chi (X) and Rho (P) superimposed such that the ideogram becomes a monogram. While the monogram was associated with Early Christianity, being a form of crux dissimulata ( The term the crux dissimulata is supposedly an attempt by early Christians to use the cross as a Christian symbol of faith but in a mode that was disguised or dissimilar) and Chrismon, ( Chrismon comes from a Latin phrase, Christi Monogramma, or monogram of Christ and are a family of symbols that relate the different aspects of the Person, life and ministry of Christ.) the symbol was already well established in Ancient Greece as part of the Orphic- Pythagorean Mysteries and was associated with Aeon Chronos and later Kronos. It was also an abbreviation of the Greek Chreston, meaning ‘a good thing’, and used by scholars to mark important passages of text^. . The superficial connection with Christianity is twofold. First, Ch are the first letters of the Greek Christós (χρῑστός), later latinised as Christus and Christ. The figurative association with the crucifix or the cross of the crucifixion is obvious. Second, the Chi-Rho has an historical association with the Emperor Constantine I (306-337 CE) conversion to Christianity after his vision of the symbol and which he then used as a labarum or military standard.

The Chi or X component of the Chi-Rho in the more ancient examples depict a more flattened figure with the arms at a more obtuse angle than a right angle (Image 9.3(a)). There is an association of the more ancient and pre-Christian Chi or X to the ‘World Soul’ in Plato’s Timaeus.¹⁸ Plato relates that:

This entire compound he divided lengthways into two parts, which he joined to one another at the centre like the letter X, and bent them into a circular form, connecting them with themselves and each other at the point opposite to their original meeting-point; and, comprehending them in a uniform revolution upon the same axis, he made the one the outer and the other the inner circle. Now the motion of the outer circle he called the motion of the same, and the motion of the inner circle the motion of the other or diverse. The motion of the same he carried round by the side to the right, and the motion of the diverse diagonally to the left. And he gave dominion to the motion of the same and like, …¹⁹

The ‘circular form’ is most likely a metaphor for the great circles of the heavenly sky, the ecliptic circle and the celestial equator. The Chi is the point at which the celestial image of the supernal Sun crosses the celestial equator from one hemisphere to the other. The crossing paths coincide at the equinoxes. Thus Plato was seen by later church fathers as prefiguring the cosmic Chi or cross in the sky in a very Christian perspective, with St. Justin Martyr proclaiming that Plato ‘gives the second place to the Logos which is with God, who he said was placed crosswise in the universe’. The Chi-Rho takes on a greater symbolic potency when combined within the circle. The symbolism of the turning wheel combined with the turning of the great heavenly circles places Christ as the Logos, the centre of the cosmos (Images 9.3).

Images 9.3 (a) (Top left): Chi-Rho combined with the Anastasis, a symbolic representation of the resurrection of Christ. Panel from a Roman lidless sarcophagus from the excavations of the Duchess of Chablais at Tor Marancia (350 CE). (Top right): Chi-Rho symbol, detail from an altar stone. Limestone, third quarter of the 4th century. From Khirbet Um el ’Amad, Algeria .(Bottom left): Detail of Chi-Rho, from the Sarcophagus of St. Drausinus (Bottom right): Central panel of a Roman mosaic including the Chi-Rho found at Hinton, St. Mary, Dorset, UK.

• J a n u a C o e l i & J a n u a I n f e r n i

The two gateways previously discussed are known as Janui Coeli and Janui Inferni or the gates of Janus, the two-headed Roman god of openings, of beginnings and, more specifically, of passage and transitions.²¹ The first month of the Roman calendar year, January, retain this association as the beginning or opening of the year. The Janui Coeli is also spoken of in a broader context as the opening in heaven which is limited not only to space and time but is the subtle gateway to the empyrean, the gateway of ascension into heaven. Janus is the God of the doorway (januae) and archways (jani), symbolising the dual power of opening and closing.

The two faces of Janus were carved above archways and doorways of the city and his temples; they also symbolise the midwinter and midsummer ‘openings’ in the year. The temple of Janus itself was unique, a simple vaulted passageway that faced two ways and had two openings, a passageway from one world to another, from inside to outside, from war to peace. In this last context, it is not that far removed from the triumphal arch, exemplified by the Janus Quadrifrons arch, which however has four cardinal directions, rather than two arches (Image 9.4).

A different aspect of the duality is expressed by the terms Janua Coeli and Janua Inferni. Both relate to Janus and the world temple. The summer solstice, which occurs in the zodiacal constellation of Cancer, is the inferior gate, the gateway for men and symbolises the dying potency of the Sun, symbolised by the Janua Inferni. The winter solstice is in the sign of Capricorn and is the doorway of the gods. The Janua Coeli it is door of the Sun and its increasing power, the doorway identified with the opening from this world into heaven. The two terms define the two extreme points of the Sun’s passage around the ecliptic plane; they represent the opposing tendencies of advancing and retreating. The significance of the Janua is that they are the subtle doorways through which the cosmic ebb and flow of life proceeds in the wake of the Sun’s movement. As the entry doors of the solar extremes, they represent on one hand the opening door through which the Sun radiates existence and on the other hand the closing door which sees the Sun recede. ‘The Sun advances from the one gate, by the other he recedes,’ states Isidore of Seville. In other words the Januae Coeli and the Janua Inferni symbolize the regulating of the flux of existence, the inward and outward breath of creation (Diagram 9.7) ( The ideas of the janua coeli and the janua inferni have been absorbed into the Christian tradition intact. Burckhardt comments that ‘the two faces of Janus become identified in Christianity with the two Saint Johns, while a third face, the invisible and eternal countenance of the God, showed itself in the person of Christ’. Sacred Art East and West. There is also the related theme of the two crossed keys of St. Peter, one of gold (solar) and the other of silver (lunar) and the two pillars of Boaz and Jachin.

• Po l a r & S t e ll a r M o t i o n

The motion of the sun was previously discussed and it now follows to look at the symbolic motion of the starry vault itself and its particular application in the Chinese tradition in a sacred configuration known as the Ming T’ang. Simple observation of the stars shows that they progress during the night in a westerly direction, similar to the sun. This rotation presupposes a centre, called the celestial pole (Diagram 9.8), around which the stars rotate. The celestial poles are the points in the sky where the extension of the Earth’s axis would touch the outer limit of the starry sphere.²⁸ To a night-time observer, the motion of the various ‘heavenly bodies’ is every bit as significant as the daily diurnal motion of the Sun across the sky, perhaps even more so as the celestial pole is revealed by all those motions that do not rise or set on the horizon. These stars are the circumpolar stars and vary depending on the latitude of the observer or place (Image 9.5).

Diagram 9.8        The great wheel of the turning sky pivots around the northern or southern celestial pole, depending on the hemisphere from which it it is viewed. Those stars that do not rise or set below the horizon are the circumpolar stars. These stars, star groups (asterisms) or constellations symbolically present as special class stars that are not subject to the annual motion of rising and setting.

Image 9.5      The great wheel of the turning sky pivots around the North or southern celestial pole depending on the hemisphere. Those stars that do not rise or set below the horizon are the circumpolar stars. These individual stars, star groups (asterisms) or constellations symbolically present as something other than the annual stars that are subject to the annual motion of rising and setting.

The celestial pole is the apparent pivot of the heavens, that is, the stars and other heavenly bodies appear to rotate about this point. This phenomenon is symbolically significant for traditional cultures that are familiar with the night sky. The celestial point is symbolically the hub or pivot of heaven and the fixed point of heaven. In the Chinese tradition in particular it has great significance. The pole star Pei-Ch’en has its image on earth as the royal palace, or the Ming T’ang, in China’s imperial cities. (The cycle of the precession of the equinoxes varies and is slowing down. The cycle is about 25,772 years or about one degree every 71.6 years. The reason why this is significant is that the current pole star Polaris is for the current era only. In 300BC the closest star to the North celestial pole was Thuban or Alpa Draco in the constellation of Draconis. By the year 3000 CE the pole star will be Alrai or Gamma Cephei )

The celestial pole in the Southern Hemisphere at the present is not located sufficiently close to a star to be termed a ‘pole star’ for the current era.

The celestial pole is the apparent pivot of the heavens, that is, the stars and other heavenly bodies appear to rotate about this point. This phenomenon is symbolically significant for traditional cultures that are familiar with the night sky. The celestial point is symbolically the hub or pivot of heaven and the fixed point of heaven. In the Chinese tradition in particular it has great significance. The pole star Pei-Ch’en has its image on earth as the royal palace, or the Ming T’ang, in China’s imperial cities.(‘The “Pivot of the Law” is what almost all
traditions refer to as the “Pole”. Also ‘In the Far-Eastern tradition, the “Great Unity” (Tai-i) is represented as residing in the pole star which is called Tien-ki, that is, literally “roof of Heaven”.)

This location is also the axis-mundi the ti-chung. It is the ‘ridgepole’, or ji, of the world and is the axis-mundi and the pole itself, as well as the point that stabilises earth and heaven. The word ‘pole’ in English also has the dual meaning of being at once a vertical shaft and a terminus or pivot, such as the North Pole or the Celestial Pole. This leads to a strong symbolic association between the vertical axis on one hand and the pole at the end of the axis on the other. It is the symbol of order and stability, the ‘pillar to heaven’, or tianzhu.³² The pole star is to the heavens what the omphalos is to the earth. This location upon the earth is ‘the place where earth and sky meet, where the four seasons merge, where wind and rain are gathered in, and where yin and yang are in harmony’ (Diagram 9.9). On the other hand, the Infinite and Ultimate are without a ridgepole, or Wuji, which is non-duality and Ultimate Nothingness, prior even to Taiji, the Supreme Ultimate (ridge) pole.It is through this relationship that the ‘Will of Heaven’ unfolds upon the earth.

• T h e L o S h u & H o T ‘ u D i a g r a m s

To illustrate in the Chinese tradition how the ‘Will of Heaven’ manifests, it is necessary to discuss briefly the cosmological diagram known as the Lo shu which is also known as the Lo River Writing or the Nine Halls Diagram. The Lo shu is related to another diagram known as the Ho T’u or the Yellow River Map. It is through these two complementary diagrams that the action of the ‘Will of Heaven’ takes place. Both diagrams have mythical origins in ancient Chinese antiquity. The diagrams also constitute the basis of several schools of feng-shui. The relationship with feng-shui and architecture is another entire topic but the primary correspondence here is with the relationship and understanding of qualitative number as symbol. Qualitative number or what in the Western traditions are referred to as Platonic Numbers sees number as expressive of principial action and relationships. Earlier in Chapter 2

of the example of the Octad was discussed in relation to form. This could be called an expression of ‘formal number’ and the Duad and Triad are similar expressions but taken at a more principial level. In the Chinese tradition, the use of formal and principial numbers is expressed in the disposition of space and related relationships and movements and is comprehensively applied to architecture.

The Lo Shu diagram represents a number of metaphysical considerations. ( The Lo Shu diagram according to some sources, was associated with the legendary emperor Fu Hsi and his discovery of the markings on the back of a tortoise and in fact there are numerous traditional depictions of the Lo Shu associated with the tortoise. As noted earlier the tortoise is a symbol of heaven above the earth and is a symbol of mediation, and the natural location for Man.)

First, the diagram is made up of a number of open white or unfilled circles and black or filled circles. The white circles representing heavenly or yang odd numbers, while the black circles represent the earthly or yin even numbers. At the centre of the diagram is the number 5 expressed as a cross of white circles and, bearing in mind the number series 1 to 9, the number 5 lies midway and is the natural middle or mean. Above and below the central 5 are the numbers 9 and 1, to the left and right are the numbers 3 and 7, all as white or unfilled circles. The heavenly odd numbers in their figuration form a cross. At each corner of the diagram are the even, yin, or earthly numbers, also forming a cross but on the diagonal (Image 9.6).

The cosmological diagram known as the Ho T’u or Yellow River Diagram (Image 9.7) is supposedly more ancient than the Lo Shu diagram. At its centre it also has the symbolic heavenly number 5. Arranged around the perimeter are two outer squares of numbers. The bottom pair are the couplet 6/1, the top the couplet 7/2, the couplet 8/3 is at the left and the couplet 9/4 is to the right. Each couplet contains an odd, yang, or heavenly number and an even, earthly or yin number. The sum of the couplets correspond to the numbers 7, 9, 11 and 13 respectively.

The distribution of the numbers in the Lo Shu diagram can be arranged into a 3×3 square known as the Lo Shu magic square, with the number 5 at the centre (Diagram 9.10(a)). The sum of each row, each column and each diagonal is 15. The number 15 is the number of the supreme principle, the Great Tao or T’ai Chi, the summation or unity of Heaven and Earth. The Lo shu magic square thus becomes a figuration of the action of Heaven on Earth. There is a complementary magic square to the Lo Shu that reflects the action of Earth upon Heaven (Diagram 9.10(b)). It may seem contradictory that Earth can influence Heaven, but it should be understood as the Principial nature of earth, not the physical earth. The diagrams thus show in numeric terms the reciprocity between Heaven and Earth. This reciprocity sees the Heavenly number 5 within the Earthly Lo Shu mirrored as the Earthly 6 within the centre of its Heavenly counterpart.

Diagrams 9.10 (a) Left: The Lo Shu magic square derived from the Lo Shu or Lo River Writing. The summation of each column, row and diagonal equals 15 (or =3×5).

(b) Right: The heavenly or reciprocal counterpart to the Lo Shu. The summation of each column, row and diagonal equals 18 (or =3×6).

The Lu Shu has the outer couplets of the Ho T’u, namely, 6/1, 2/7, 8/3 and 4/9, arranged in its outer matrix in pairs, thus relating the two diagrams graphically. The four couplets in the Lu Shu form a swastika configuration when joined through the central square of 5, i.e., 6/1/5/9/4 and 2/7/5/3/8 (Diagram 9.11(a)). The same configuration of couplets and the arms of the swastika are present in the reciprocal celestial Ho T’u matrix, i.e., 7/2/6/10/5 and 9/4/6/8/3 (Diagram 9.11(b)).

Diagrams 9.11    (a) Left: The Lo Shu magic square with the Ho T’u couplets indicated as boxed rectangles form the basis of a swastika arrangement when connected through the central square of 5. (b) Right: Similarly the celestial counterpart to the Lo Shu magic square has the same Ho T’u couplets in the form of a swastika through the central square of 6.

    In this sense the ‘magic squares’ are a true ‘matrix’. The word ‘matrix’ is derived from the Late Latin matrix meaning ‘womb’ and is related to mater meaning ‘mother’ from the Greek mētra meaning ‘womb’. The word matrix here is entirely appropriate with its productive associations more so then ‘magic square’.

Viewed another way, the matrices are the same, only the centre hub of the two crosses differs. Nor are the hubs themselves absolute in the sense that they are inverted images of each other. A total matrix would take into account a superimposition of one matrix on the other. If this is done, the centres 5 and 6 total 11. The same earthly and heavenly totals are expressed by the corresponding numbers if the two diagrams are superimposed. Thus 4+7=11, 9+2=11 etc, each number in turn expressing a reciprocal antinomic relationship of the permutations of unity expressed by the number 11.

The two diagrams are thus superimposed swastika mandalas, the axis of which is the invariable middle (the 5 and the 6) of each matrix. In the context of what has been said previously about complementary opposites, such as the cross of the solstitial and equinoctial axes applied to the annual motion of the Sun, the totality of the two superimposed principles constitute the union of the two solar modes in question. The same applies to the two modes of the Lo Shu, the reciprocal activity of heaven on earth and earth on heaven that results in manifestation and can be held in balance only by reciprocal principles. Man, located between the two matrices, views the two from a position of centrality; while the earthly matrix is turning clockwise, the heavenly matrix (viewed from below) rotates anti-clockwise. The interaction of the two numeric matrix mandalas with their swastikas can also be seen as the rotation of one upon its reciprocal counterpart, producing an endless array of superimposed dynamic relationships.

Symbolically, this interaction results in the unfolding of Universal Possibilities, including the temporal cycles as part of the ‘Will of Heaven’ over the Earth. In another mode, this is the fundamental significance of Yin and Yang, in which the totality is expressible only by the symbol of the unity of the two complementary principles, as in the interpenetrating diagram of the taijitu.

The above considerations also need to be examined in relation to the ninefold division of agricultural land known as Jingtianzhi (or jǐngtián zhìdù) and the Middle Kingdom of China. This 3×3 matrix of division was not so much an actual plan of subdivision but a principial template applied to geography, cities, towns, palaces and houses alike. The template has the central controlling square with eight ‘houses’ or four quadrants and four intermediate quarters following the eight points of the compass. The points of space also correspond with the seasons in a fourfold division (Image 9.8).

The 3×3 or ninefold Jingtianzhi division of land was applied to cities in ancient China. The capital city or seat of the emperor had a walled area of 81 li squares or 9 x9 li. Other older cities for minor royalty had to be based on 5×5, 4×4 and 3×3 li. The ‘Holy Field’ was also embodied in sacred ritual by the emperors to respect various agricultural rites. The emperor himself initiated the agricultural season by ritually ploughing the first furrow. The ritual field was a square of four mu and was divided into the 3×3 or nine sections, the number 4 corresponding to the yin principle and the number 9 to the yang principle. The ritual was thus carried out in the context of cosmological balance.

This is another example of ‘hierogamic exchange’ of qualitative numbers in the same way as the action of the Asuras and Devas in the Samudra Manthan (the ‘Churning of the Sea of Milk’). It is an interaction of consanguine entities that are from a certain perspective, mirror opposites but unified through exchange.

The Holy Field matrix may be related to the curious ancient Chinese ritual object known as the bi, which have been manufactured in China from neolithic times, generally in jade (Image 9.9). Early examples from the Zhou dynasty are regulated by the 3×3 matrix and result in the centre hole being proportionally regulated by the overall radius of the bi. The outer circle of the bi symbolises heaven and the inner circle is regulated by the earth, albeit depicted as a circle but also as a square in many ancient Chinese coins. Thus, yin and yang are in balance and the centre is a manifestation of order and heaven’s influence on the earth.⁴³

Image 9.9      A Chinese jade bi disc from the Zhou dynasty. The relationship of the inner circle to the outer circle appears to be regulated by the 3×3 matrix of the Jingtianzhi or ‘Holy Field’.

The symbolic knowledge that led to the formulation of the Jingtianzhi can also be found in city and town planning (Images 9.10-9.13) layout of later palaces and many of the traditional architectural forms throughout Chinese history.

• T h e Swastika

Guénon, devotes a chapter in Symbolism of the Cross to a discussion of the swastika but concludes that ‘We cannot think of developing all the considerations to which the symbolism of the swastika can give rise’.⁴⁶ Such is the complexity of this symbol. Similarly here the discussion will have to be one limited primarily to the Chinese tradition in this Chapter.⁴⁷ However, similar metaphysical considerations could be applied to the Hindu and Buddhist traditions and in a limited context to Islam and even Christianity (Images 9.14, 9.15, 9.16 & 9.17).

In Chinese astronomy, the realm of the circumpolar stars was called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure and is one of the San Yuan or Three Enclosures of the night sky.⁴⁹ It is the function of the axis-mundi to link the heavens with the earth, to link the centre of the heavenly vault, the pole star, with the centre of the earthly plane, the omphalos. From this perspective, the axis-mundi, like a giant axle, forms the pivot around which the heavens and earth revolve like two giant wheels. Important among the asterisms of this group are the seven stars of the Northern Ladle, or the Pei-tou constellation. The ‘cup’ end of the group always points toward the northern celestial pole and Pei-Ch’en. The group rotates like seasonal clock hands around the immovable centre of Pei-Ch’en.⁵⁰ The Great Chinese historian Ssu Ma Ch’ien (Sima Qian, 145-87 BCE) wrote of the Pei-tou (northern Ladle) constellation:

The Dipper is the Thearch’s carriage. It revolves around the central point and majestically regulates the four realms. The distribution of Yin and Yang, the fixing of the Four Seasons, the coordination of the Five Phases, the progression of rotational measurements, and the determining of all celestial markers — all of these are linked to the Dipper

The configuration of the Northern Ladle set in the sky and considered as simultaneously superimposed over the four seasons, is the configuration of the swastika (Diagram 9.12) so the pole star is totally assimilable to the swastika. The swastika (when viewed toward the heavens is arranged in a counterclockwise configuration but as discussed in regard to the Lo Shu magic square with the Ho T’u couplets can also be seen as projected upon the earth in an inverse way. Together they establish the celestial axis. At the centre resides the Supernal Lord and Thearch, Shang-di driving his heavenly chariot in the constellation of Pei-tou (Image 9.18).

It should be noted that the depiction of Pei-tou is inverted in Diagram 9.12 compared to that of Image 9.18. This is a common transposition with depictions of the night sky. Even today, the depiction of stars can be viewed either as inverted, which makes sense when looking at a star map in a horizontal plan, or in the direct relationship when holding the map up to the night sky, such as when using an orrery or planisphere. This is a common question with representations of the heavens on earth: is it from the viewpoint of heaven or of earth? Apart from technical considerations, there is a profound symbolism at work here. Transparency, reflections and mirror image are attributes only of the world and not the celestial realm. The complex symbolism in regard to inversion and the mirror was discussed earlier. As was discussed with the inversion of the counterclockwise and clockwise swastika, it is only the two aspects that present the entire symbol, as does the combination of the Lo Shu magic square with its complement, the Ho T’u (Diagram 9.13). The significance of the Lo Shu matrix with the Ho T’u can only be touched on here and the implications of its incorporation into the integrated vision of Chinese science and metaphysics is indeed profound.

Note: The handedness of the swastika can be explained as its turning, an action that can be related to its dynamic nature as a horizontal cross on a pole with four flags attached. The clockwise turning is the flags or arms trailing behind the cross, such as in Image 9.16, or trailing fire, as in a spinning Catherine Wheel. Whone, Church Monastery Cathedral: A Guide to the Symbolism of the Christian Tradition (Tisbury: Compton Russell Element, 1977), 161. Technically the swastika is the counterclockwise rotating mode and the clockwise rotating mode is the sauwastika.)

Read also : The Thread of life: Wisdom for our Times

• T h e Ming T ’ a n g & t h e ‘ W ill of H e a v e n ‘

The Chinese cosmological and architectural schema known as the Ming T’ang embodied all the above considerations and more. The form of the Ming T’ang was the embodiment of a spatio-temporal and cosmological template that derived from the interaction of principial number configured upon a cruciform plan. As a subtle form rather than an architectural manifestation, the Ming T’ang exists as a formal idea as the abode of the Emperor. It is located at the ‘Invariable Middle’ or Ching-Yung. As the earthly ‘Hall of Light’ it represented the palace in which the Emperor dwelt as representative of Man situated midway between Heaven and Earth. The Ming T’ang comprised either 9 or 5 rooms, depending on the source consulted. The 9-room plan corresponded to the Lo shu and the 5-room plan to the Ho T’u diagrams (Diagram 9.14).

In other related versions of the Ming T’ang there are twelve ‘rooms’ or ‘views’ facing the four cardinal directions. To be represented in corporeal space, a limited representation is needed to reconcile the cross of the Ho T’u, the Lo shu and the twelve rooms or openings of the Ming T’ang. One way is to consider three openings on each of the four sides of the 3×3 matrix of the Lo shu square as the 3×4=12 openings. Alternatively, each corner room is divided into two and with the four centre rooms giving the twelve rooms of the Ming T’ang. In another possible arrangement, the twelve rooms could be seen as rooms surrounding a central Ho T’u, the cross of the Ho T’u acting as hallways, not rooms (Diagram 9.15).

The Emperor dwelling within the Ming T’ang moved ritually around its rooms (houses), following the cycles of the Sun and seasons and emulating his ritual tours of the empire every five years. Thus the Emperor’s role was to be a ‘regulator’ of space, time and the universe, to be an intermediary between Heaven and Earth and all according to primordial numbers. The Ming T’ang was built during various periods of Chinese early history. However, there are no Ming T’ang palaces remaining, although there are archeological remains that correspond strongly to the geometric models discussed here. For the purposes of this research, however, its significance lies not in its historical execution but in its mathematical and symbolic formulation (Images 9.19, 9.20(a) & (b).

• Lo-Shu and the labyrinth

 A journey from the primordial China of the legendary rulers to the maze of the palace of Knossos to the sovereignty of Saturn, in an attempt to unravel a plot which – like a dance – turns out to be based on rules animated by a lost science of rhythm whose vestiges are manifested in diagrams cosmological information informed by the observation of the highest heaven: the circumpolar region as it must have appeared in 3000 BC, different from the current one due to the precessional cycle.

We do not know how the original concept of the labyrinth, probably Minoan, was born. In any case, it was more concrete than the Greek references cited indicate, because the definition of “remarkable (stone) structure” sounds derivative and vaguely metaphorical. It is conceivable that the name of a certain structure attributed to Daedalus became a generic designation — as happened, for example, with the proper name “Caesar,” which came to mean the epitome of sovereign power and rank, as reflected in the German word “Kaiser” and the Russian word “tsar”.

Kern thinks it more likely that the primary use of the word was related to a dance, whose pattern would “crystallize” much later in permanent forms, such as graffiti, petroglyphs and – finally – built structures. However plausible it may seem, this hypothesis does not shed much light on the first meaning of this drawing and on the reasons for its established form, the one we usually refer to as Cretan o knossian. Nor does it explain why such an important “structure” as a king’s palace should have the shape of a dance path.

While it is true that a Latin given name such as Caesar has come to mean “the epitome of sovereign power and rank”, on the other hand we may find that the English word King and the German one King may share a common root with the word having the same meaning in the Turkic and Mongolian languages: Khan 

Is there any evidence that the Cretan-type labyrinth owes its shape to some earlier archetype? An appendix at the end of the first chapter of Kern’s book suggests a possible relationship between the design of the labyrinth and the “magic squares”  made up of an odd number of squares on each side. The origin of the custom of associating magic squares of different sizes with the seven “heavens” is extremely difficult to determine, both historically and geographically. We find mention of it in the treatise De Occulta Philosophia libri tres by Cornelius Agrippa . Albeit based on earlier works , is the first to have known a great diffusion in the western world. According to these accounts, the elements of the sequence are ordered as follows:

Regarding this order, understood from the highest to the lowest sky, it can be noted that it differs from the one traditionally used to number the seven days of the week: in this regard it is worth mentioning one of the two explanations provided by the Roman historian Cassio Dione in his monumental work Roman history:

As for the custom of referring the name of the days to the seven stars called planets, we know that it was invented by the Egyptians, but it is also practiced by all peoples. Its introduction is relatively recent: in fact the ancient Greeks, as far as I know, did not know it. Since we find it among all peoples and among the Romans themselves, who now consider it their own in a certain way, I want to speak briefly about it and say how and in what manner it was formed. I have heard that there are two explanations, not really difficult to understand, which rest on a different criterion. In fact, if one were to apply the so-called «tetrachord» harmony, which we agree in considering the basis of music, to those stars which make up the decoration of the sky, in the order according to which each star moves, and starting from Saturn, whose circle is the farthest, and then skipping the two stars that follow, stops on the fourth, and after it, skipping two other stars, reaches the seventh, and retracing all the planets in the same way, assigned the days the names of the gods who oversee the planets, he would find that all days agree in a certain musical way with the harmony of heaven.

Tracing this double sequence reveals, surprisingly, the same logic illustrated by another cosmological diagram  belonging to one of the few ancient civilizations that lasted to the present day: that Chinese.

The striking feature of magic squares composed of an odd number of squares is that the arrangement of the odd numbers forms the generating pattern from which a seven-circuit Cretan-type maze can be derived. This fact becomes more evident in larger magic squares [8].

The first written evidence we have of a magic square are Chinese and concern the simplest one, the one linked to Saturn. Notably, the son of Heaven and Earth was the only god in the Latin pantheon said to have once reigned over gods and mortals alike in perpetual spring. Saturn is the god who presides over agriculture and harvest time, the king of golden age. This can lead us to conclude that, at least in classical antiquity, the divinity corresponding to the seventh heaven embodied the very archetype of royalty.

The study of kingship in early China reveals a close relationship with astronomy, which in turn is associated with an institution known as Ming T’ang, Hall of Illumination, of Light or, literally, Luminous Hall, where things were clarified. The character Ming (明) of his name is composed of the two great luminaries of the sky, the sun and the moon, placed in opposition, and is significantly applied to the room in which they were observed.

On what principles was this institution founded? Who was its founder and when was it founded?

[…] the authority of the Ming T’ang resided “in Yi of Fu Hsi”, the first legendary ruler, whose dating is fixed by the ancient tradition around 2852 BC, and who was one of the Five Ti deified as rulers of the seasons. The Touched (literally: “The eight diagrams”) attributed to him was the octagonal shape of the Yi, or astronomical “changes,” for which it appears to have been invented. [10]

The design of the Ming Tang was based on Touched, usually octagonal in shape, but traditional sources use to correlate it numerologically to Lo-shu, the magic square of order three. Its figurative representation recalls the shape of a turtle. The middle number is a cross made up of five connected dots. The corresponding element of the Pa-kua is the symbol yin-yang.

Marcel Granet highlighted the presence of one swastika implied is in the Lo-shu than in another magic square which is its celestial counterpart. The two were engraved on wooden tablets, free to rotate around a common central axis. This tool was used for the ritual orientation of buildings.

A parallel has been considered between the meander of the swastika and the drawing of the Labyrinth (Kern, Cook): 

Only the influence of the swastika’s rectangular meanders can explain the singular fact that most of the early coin labyrinths from Knossos resemble the swastika in their rectangular shape. With this in mind, Arthur Cook may be right in regarding the swastika as a symbol of the labyrinth.  

This is particularly noteworthy, if we keep in mind that – at least originally – the swastika it is not a symbol of the sun. Confucius says:

Governing with Numb it means to be like the North Star, which remains in place while all other stars bow towards it.

This idea is closely related to the Taoist notion of Wu Wei (literally translated as “without action”), which is not a passive attitude but – on the contrary – it is the ideal condition from which the sovereign can exercise his polar activity. The ideal ruler must be to the kingdom what the North Star is to the sky. This achievement requires the ruler to conform to the divine mandate e the loss of this conformity necessarily implies a loss of legitimacy for the ruler himself. Ecosystem’s staff is Lo-shu it is a synthetic diagram of the Divine Commission.

American archaeologist and anthropologist Zelia Nuttal was the first academic author to support the theory of the polar origin of the svasta with empirical observations]. However, she associated this design with a stylization of only the two bears. This might give an idea of ​​the origin of the double meander motif in its square shape, but it might not be as satisfactory in explaining the design of the symbol yin-yang: if there was an exact match between lo swastika and yin-yang what would the colon represent? Because the latter consists of a double meander and two points instead of four points or four meanders ? The answer could come from an unexpected source: Bianchini’s planisphere, a map of the sky from the Hellenistic era whose fragments were found in Rome during excavations on the Aventine Hill in 1705 .

The core of the sky map is centered in the center of a dragon, which coils around Ursa Minor on the dragon’s head side and Ursa Major on the opposite side. Due to a phenomenon known as the precession of the equinoxes, the position of the North Star has changed over the millennia. The time when it was halfway between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor can be fixed at around 3000 BC, the time of Fu Hsi, the first of the three rulers to whom the Touched – according to tradition – it owes its origin. Needham was unable to find any documentary evidence to date the Lo-shu before the XNUMXst century AD ], but — as the American sinologist John Major later noted  — the diagram of the five processes (Wu xing) could be derived from it. The exact correspondence between numbers and elements in their traditional association would otherwise be an extraordinary coincidence. This would allow you to backdate the Lo-shu of five centuries.

The Ming T’ang was first built according to the design of Shên Nung”, the Divine Farmer and legendary second emperor, whose date is traditionally given between 2736 and 2705 BC, and who was the second of the Five Ti.[19]

Shen Nung, the Divine Farmer, who taught men how to plow and basic agriculture. The Book of Lord Shang he speaks of his times as one of golden age and plenty, when he could rule without the need for a judicial system or public administration and could reign without the need for arms or armor. Sometimes he is symbolically represented with the head of an ox on a human body . Shên Nung is credited with “sacrifices to predecessors” nei Ming Tang. The “five grains” that grew in the summer, harvested in the autumn and stored in the winter were tasted and offered to the Five Ti, the rulers of directions and seasons .

The Ming T’ang was the first national song center and the dances were accompanied by musical instruments. It was music that brought down spirits; and this belief, or at least this practice, has continued down to the present day, especially on the occasion of the most important sacrifices. Music has always been used to call the spirits on the occasion of the two solstice sacrifices, the equinoxes and the welcoming of the four seasons.

It is worth noting that in ancient China (since at least the XNUMXth century BC, according to Sung dynasty historians) the death of a chief was followed by a dance known as “Dance of the Crane“, and eventually the dancers could be buried alive along with the dead leader ]. The Dance of the Crane (Greek: Γερανός) is the same name that we find associated with the celebration of the killing of the Minotaur by Theseus, performed by young Athenian men and women, otherwise destined to be ritually sacrificed to the foreign ruler.

• Read here also the metaphysical symbolism of the Chinese tortoise

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• Sacred Architectural Order in Sufism

From Cosmology and Architecture in Premodern Islam

An Architectural Reading of Mystical Ideas By Samer Akkach

As a cosmic prototype based on numeric symbolism, the Ming T’ang is related to Chinese tradition at all levels of science, mathematics, geography and the geopolitical foundation of the Kingdom. It was a symbolic schema and embodied a traditional early Chinese worldview. The Ming T’ang is essentially a cosmological symbol in a crystallised form, a mandala, pure and simple. As Guénon comments, ‘The Ming T’ang was an image of the Universe not only in a spatial but also in a temporal sense, because in it the spatial symbolism of the cardinal points was directly associated with the temporal symbolism of the seasons and the annual cycle’. Its entire form is based on the resolution of the complementary opposites of Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon, Winter and Summer and Autumn and Spring in order to express the Will of Heaven.

The planning of some of the early Islamic cities, such as al-Kufa, al-Basra, and Baghdad also follow the model of a centralized open courtyard. As described by Muslim chroniclers, they were laid out around a large open court (sahn) centered by one or two buildings—a mosque in al-Kufa and al-Basra and a mosque and the caliph’s palace in Baghdad, revealing the same underlying spatial order at a larger urban scale.

Fig. 4.4 The centralized open courtyard model.

The courtyard of the Sultan Hasan school in Cairo showing the geometry and spatial order of the centralized open courtyard model.

Linear Composition

The linear composition is a variation on the concentric composition involving repetition. The repetition of a concentrically ordered unit generates a linear com-position, conveying motion and extensionality. The linear composition can be seen primarily in premodern bazaars, such as those still existing in Isfahan,

Kashan,

Aleppo,

and Jerusalem.

The repetitive form might have been generated by structural necessities, yet the spatial characteristics of the linear spaces are expressive of the same spatial sensibility that underlies the concentric compositions. While maintaining the order of centrality, axiality, and quadrature, the linear composition is created when the stationary center of a concentric space “moves,” so to speak, manifesting through this motion a linear space that joins two or more points.

In contrast to the concentric composition, the linear composition represents all spaces that are focused by a “moving” center, expressing the underlying spatial order in a dynamic way. Movement enables reiterative exposure to a similar formal unit and spatial structure, the arched base and domed roof, creating a sense of monotony and repetition. Colonnades, porticoes, and spaces covered with a multidomed structure, typical of Ottoman architecture, share with the bazaar its linear, dynamic characteristic.

Fig. 4.5 The geometry of the linear composition.

Architecturally, the linear composition is formed by the repetition of a spatial unit, creating a number of individual concentric spaces or “spatial pulses.” These units are linked together in a manner analogous to the way beads of a rosary are connected upon its thread. The monotony of linearity is often interrupted when the main route of the bazaar intersects with another or when the entry to a building is emphasized. These interruptions produce a series of nodal points that break the regulating monotony of linearity.

Whereas the static unfolding of space in the concentric composition reveals one center in a pictorially unified space, the dynamic nature of the linear composition manifests a multitude of centers, all of which are of more or less equal importance.

As a series of “spatial pulses” they embody in a repetitive manner the same underlying spatial order and reveal similar spatial characteristics. An architectural composition that is concentrically ordered may also comprise a multitude of centers, but usually varying degrees of importance can be distinguished. A geometrical analysis of the plan and form of Taj Mahal, for example, shows how the central space is distinguished in size and articulations from the other similar but smaller spaces, which nonetheless reveal the same underlying spatial order as the whole.

From an analogical perspective, one may observe that the concentric composition is the basis from which the linear composition derives, just as the point is thought of as the prin-ciple from which the line extends and stillness (sukun) as the state from which motion (haraka) proceeds.

Note: Spatial Connection Systems of the Bazaar

The form of a traditional city is based on its movement systems, of which the most important architecturally is the order of the bazaar. Each system, like a mode or dastgáh in music, is the most stable and least changeable part of a given expressive form.

Essentially, the bazaar is the line which ties the city into a totality as it moves between two points, the entrance and exit to the city itself.

As the musical mode gives scale and structure to the overall composition, so too the line of the bazaar gives the overall scale and structure of the city’s form.

Each mode (dastgáh) of Persian music has its own special repertoire of melodies (gashah-ha) which explore the most characteristic aspects of  the mode. The melodies evolve from the mode in a system corresponding to the traditional spatial connection system.

The spatial connection system of the bazaar dictates how one moves between encounter points. While traversing the line of the bazaar you meet first the dependent indoor spaces. These spaces rely for their existence upon the primary, secondary or nodal spaces, such as stores and shops along the bazaar route.

Occasionally you come upon another kind of opening, and this leads to nodal spaces. Nodal outdoor spaces, as seen in the caravanserai which sterns from the primary movement system, are essentially rooms around a courtyard. Nodal indoor spaces, as seen in the timchah, are essentially rooms around a covered courtyard; there is usually a centra] pool, and the roof often has an open oculus. Read more here

Cosmic Order in Sufism

• The Original Idea

In ‘Uqlat al-Mustawfiz Ibn ‘Arabï asks us to consider the situation of a person seeking shade and protection, who thought of the idea of a canopy. To build the canopy, however, he first had to prepare the ground and lay down the foundations. In seeking shade and protection, the foundations are the last thing to be thought of yet first to exist.

The canopy, by contrast, is the first thing to occur in the mind but last to exist. This is the situation of the world, Ibn ‘Arabï says. When God thought of revealing his “hidden treasures,” the first thing that occurred in his mind was the idea of humanity. To fulfill this idea, he first had to bring the entire world into existence to form the foundation for human existence. Although last in existence, humanity was the original idea.

Humanity could not have existed without the world, just as the canopy cannot stand up without the foundations. And just as the foundation alone without the canopy is meaningless, for it provides neither shade nor protection, so likewise the world without humanity is purposeless, for it lacks the core being for whose purpose it was brought into existence.

The celebrated thirteenth-century Sufi Jalâl al-Dïn Rtimï restates Ibn ‘Arabï’s idea in a poetic manner, drawing our attention to the fact that the outward appearance of things often conceals the inner reality. He writes:

Externally, the branch is the origin of the fruit;

intrinsically the branch came into existence for the sake of the fruit.

Had there been no hope of the fruit, would the gardener have planted the tree? Therefore in reality the tree is borne of the fruit,

though it appears to be produced by the tree.

The Sufis along with most premodern Muslim thinkers advocate the view of a purpose-built cosmos designed by God for the accommodation of humankind. Man is at once the center, the model, and the ultimate aim of existence. The ontological correspondence between man and the cosmos was complex and multilayered. It was conceived and presented in a variety of ways in premodern Islamic sources, although the structural core concerning the three-dimensional cross was consistent. Texts such as, for example, the Ikhwân’s Rasâ’il, Ibn Tu-fail’s, Hayy bin Yaqzân, Ibn ‘Arabï’s al-Tadbïrât, and al-Jïlï’s al-Insân al-Kâmil, reveal rich and sophisticated conceptions underpinned by a firm belief in a universal order and structural resonance among the various levels of being. This was not peculiar to the Islamic tradition, of course. In fact the term cosmos, from Greek kósmos, denotes the idea of “order” and “ornament,” meaning the universe as an ordered and ornamented whole. The Arabic equivalent, kawn, as already discussed in the Tree of Being, designates the “cosmos” as an embodiment of the metaphysical order. “Cosmic formation” (takwïn) refers to the materialization of the immutable essences (al-a’yân al-thâbita) in the form of the external essences (al-a’yân al-khârijiyya), revealing the last three states in al-Hindï’s hierarchy: the world of spirits, the world of similitude, and the world of bodies. These worlds correspond to the three modes of cosmic existence: spiritual (jabarüt), angelic (malaküt), and human (nâsüt).

In the metaphysical order, the human presence was presented as mediating between God and the world. This is as far as the designative mode of creation (taqdïr) is concerned. In the cosmic order, it is the cosmos that mediates between God and man, as far as the productive mode of creation (ijad) is concerned. The patterns of universal manifestation project into the realm of existence through the production of cosmic forms (al-suwar al-kawniyya).

Acting as a link between God and man, the cosmos comprises the formal, imaginable, and communicable vocabularies, which constitute the alphabet of the language of symbolism. By means of this alphabet human imagination is able to function, as already discussed, and by means of the governing order one is able to retrace the geometry of existence according to which the world is fashioned. Read more here

• Saint George and the dragon Cult, culture and foundation of the city

The figure of St. George fighting the dragon is an icon in the Eastern and Western world: the topos of the glorious and sacred image, the Saint on horseback with shield and spear, opposite to the winged monster comes from ancient times and places, subject to devotion and dedication.

From Palestine to England, from the Balkans – the sources agree that George was born in Cappadocia – to Catalonia (San Jordi), the figure of the saint also defines morphologically one of the most important martyrological cults in Mediterranean area.

Following the insights of René Girard, which describes the violent origins of human culture, I propose to analyze through the traditional image of St. George, the foundation of the “enclosed city”, model of the Mediterranean city during the Middle Ages, with particular reference sacrificial origins of living space.

The term “enclosed city” refers, specifically, the priority establishment of the Mediterranean city in the sacral area Christian. We recall, among other things, that the cult, the culture of the people who grow and the civilization of who builds the city limits are linked from the common reference to the cult, and not just etymologically.

Worship, cult and culture are, in fact, even the mythical-ritual moments of a single human being on earth, in its anthropological, historical and institutional and political-symbolic.

The continuity between the ancient world, medieval and modern can be analyzed and understood through the cults, the stories and legends of the patron saints and the rituals related to the different moments of the organization of the medieval city space, and their persistence politico-religious in the modern city.

The construction of the city is symbolically oriented toward a centre, the centre of forces and the centre from which it receives direction and strength. The town we are dealing with is enclosed, “strengthened” in a double sense: as an area defended by walls erected in a perimeter boundaries, and as a place founded by a collective force. Thus, from the ancient rite of moenia signare aratro, yet there was no distinction between the figure as supreme military chief, king and priest, the first form of a built space defines, unambiguously, the peaceful order that, within walls, exercises control over nature undifferentiated….

• The city

In Judeo-Christian tradition, the city is considered as a negative reality.

The first mention we find in the Bible about the city, is the story of Cain and Abel, where Cain is described as a builder of cities. ( Genesis 4, 17.)

After his crime, Cain is presented as the ultimate wanderer who tries to mend its ties with the earth and the human community cut off from his violent act. ( See R. Girard, La Violence et le sacré, Paris, Grasset, 1972. On Cain and Abel, see also M. S. Barberi, Adamo ed Eva avevano due figli, in D. Mazzù (editor), Politiche di Caino. Il paradigma conflittuale del potere, Transeuropa, Ancona-Massa, 2006, and id. Misteryum e ministerium. Figure della sovranità, Giappichelli, Torino, 2002. On violence and Bible, see Giuseppe Fornari, L’albero della colpa e della salvezza. La rivelazione biblica della violenza in D. Mazzù (editor), Politiche di Caino. Il paradigma conflittuale del potere, cit. p. 159 ss. See also Enzo Bianchi, Adamo, dove sei?, Qiqajon, Bose, 1990. Couriously, the legend of ROme foudation tells about two brothers, Romulus and Remo. The history is so well known, but the collective memory of a violent city’s foundation bring back to a sort of geological stratification, where ritual, tale and myth are postponed continually. See the insights of Michel Serres, on: Roma, il libro delle fondazioni, Hopefulmonster, Firenze, 1991.)

Instead of being considered the place where humans reside, the city is presented as an artificial product, made by men to protect themselves, following a transgression that has destroyed the organic bonds of community. This view becomes explicit in the second quotation of a biblical city.

This view becomes explicit in the second quotation of a biblical city. Figures of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11, 1-9) and the city of Sodom (Genesis 18-19) we have a situation similar to the story of the garden of Eden, in which human beings aspire to build their fate entirely, hence moving away from the precepts of the Lord. Later, another city made its appearance.

This is Jerusalem, the city of God, based not on human wisdom but on the divine promise. But even here, in the practice of injustice, the holy city can become a prostitute, just like in the cities of pagans, Babylon the Great. (See Isaia, 2, 2-4. The book of Revelation, by St. John, will take back the image of Babylon as a satanic model of the city. and Surate 2 Al Baqrah, the Cow)

In the New Testament, the disciples recognize Jesus as a righteous king. But Jesus himself dies thrown out of the city (Heb. 13, 12-14), and confirm with his death shocking not belong to the Kingdom of this world.

Christians staying since then as “strangers and pilgrims” in the city of man. (See. 1 Pt 2,11). S. Augustinus will be to clarify, through the doctrine of two cities, the relationship between membership in human community and sequela Christi: the Civitas Dei and the Civitas homini, opposite, but not conflicting, in hoc saecula.

This image of the two cities is crystallized in Rome: the Eternal City will be an expression of a conflict, that between the new Babylon – home of disorder, chaos, the Antichrist – and the new Jerusalem, the Universal Church, the heaven, the patria beata.

Just from Book X of De Civitate Dei we can trace a genealogy of the city. From Cain and Abel to the martyr, as mediator and life-giving of urban medieval centre, ordered from the new worship’s places. Writes Peter Brown: “The Mediterranean Christian and its eastern and northwestern foothills came to be dotted loci clearly indicated where they met the sky and earth. The shrine contains a tomb, or, more often, a relic in the form of fragments, was often called simply ‘the place’ loca sanctorum, O to ος”⁽ P. Brown, The cult of the Saints. Its rise and functcion in Latin Christianity, University of Chicago Press, 1980.)

Thus, the transition from pagan to Christian worship is dedicated to adaptation to local conditions. In particular, for urban areas, we can speak about a “mythical-ritual graft” of Christian foundation upon the pagan; of “political achievement” of the extra-urban areas characterized by religious superstition, “process of acculturation” – which includes a number of stations intermediate, which lasts for centuries, and which is marked by more than direct confrontation with paganism, the demystification through evangelization.

• Icon

In a massive production of paintings and images, the cycle of Carpaccio at the Scuola di San Giorgio Schiavoni in Venice, is the occasion for a reflection on the anthropological and theological-political figure of the Holy Knight in battle with the dragon on the foundations of space, in his sense of ritual, political and cultural. Example of the sixteenth century, the large canvases of St. George is a model of representation plans.

The series of paintings – made between 1502 and 1507 – includes, in addition to the well known panel of

St. George fighting the dragon (Fig. 1), and

he Triumph of St. George (Fig. 2)

The baptism of Selenitis (Fig. 3),

St. Tryphon tames the basilisk (Fig. 4),

St. Jerome and the lion in the monastery (Fig. 5),

The funeral of St. Jerome (Fig. 6),

The Calling of St. Matthew (fig. 7),

The Agony in the Garden (Fig. 8) and

St. Augustine’s vision (Fig. 9).

The story of George is directly inspired by medieval hagiographical texts of the martyrs, especially by the Passiones (around the year 1000), the records of the Acta Sanctorum, and especially the story of the Legenda Aurea by Jacopo da Varagine (1293). The epic of Holy Martyr on horseback in the act of defeating the dragon and saving the girl, with the fortified town standing in the background, is a recurring theme since the ancient iconographic applicant.

Over time and places, many similarities are found in the iconography of Saint Micheal (its begin in Gargano, south of Italy, then that spread throughout Europe), St Mercurial (or St. Mercurius, of oriental origin), Saint Theodorus (as is documented in the same Acta Sanctorum) and going backward, the legend of St. George could recall similar images in the Egyptian cosmogonythe solar god Horus in the shape of a knight’s head hawk while stabbing a crocodile, a symbol, like the dragon devil, the destructive energies of chaos.

This figure connected to chaos, undifferentiated sea is present in many stories of origin. The dragon, the crocodile, depicting the sea monster, in the cosmogony of Phoenician origin, the enemy that the deity can repel the abyss during creation. The fight with the dragon, the depiction of evil, brings us back to biblical themes, Egyptian and Mesopotamian, and before that, but it is an image that we find, moreover, also in sagas and Indian and Chinese cosmologies is for this reason that ‘ icon of Saint George and the Dragon speaks of man, and more specifically of human culture, not just of some traditions and devotions, scattered randomly in various parts of the world. The two canvases of St. George and St. Tryphon are elongated, as if to emphasize the character of the epic story that is going to tell: the first “step” of reading is described.

• Violent foundation

The desolate landscape, symbolizing a space not treated, undifferentiated, marks the morphology of an intra and extra Moenia, a determinatio negatio, in Baruch Spinoza’s definition. ( B. Spinoza, Epistola L (edited by C. Gebhardt): “Quia ergo figura non aliud, quam determinatio, et determinatio negatio est; non poterit, ut dictum, aliud quid, quam negatio, esse”. Every thing because of its existence is a negation of something else, writes the philosopher. Equally, the dimension of intra moenia exists as a negation of extra moenia.)

The work of the man on himself, this slow dressage described by Nietzsche in Zur Genealogie der Moral, comes here by a spatial form: the founding of the city, its places bearers of meaning, its lines, its boundaries and walls. A defined space, determined through dialectical oppositions: inside-out, order­-chaos, sacred-profane, differentiated-undifferentiated. An absolute negation, saving, exclusive, definitive. Interior space exists only differing from the outside. As mentioned, the outdoors and nature areas in the strict sense, not reached, namely, no civilization, nor any Zivilitation process.

Our culture, represented in the image of the bridge, it is summarized in this figure. George, we have seen, Saint, martyr and soldier. But his name means “farmer”. A farmer in arms to defend the faith. Or, a soldier of Christ, cleric devoted to the cultivation of fields. Culture comes from colere, same root of religion and culture: the act of defining the ground, creating an enclosed space, bounded, a boundary sacred. And ‘here we find the original relationship between employment and demarcation of land, religious rituals and birth culture. Following Carl Schmitt, “the creation of a primordial nomos, a law, but also a well-defined spatial location, with their own cults and rites: this is the first meaning of culture”. A culture that has had, “needs its martyrdoms”. The morphology of the area brings us so close to the triple figure commemorated in George, the farmer’s myth of the soldier of God, bearer of the three fundamental aspects of our culture, presented emblem. Is well known, of course, the theory by George Dumézil, that the institutions of the Indo-European civilization can be summarized into three major functions: Jupiter, the priest and the saint; Mars, the warrior, and Quirinus, the manufacturer. Dumézil writes: “The main elements and gears of the world and society are broken down into three areas that are harmoniously related, in descending order of dignity, sovereignty with its magical aspects and legal ceiling in a kind of expression of the sacred, the physical strength and value, whose most visible manifestation is the war victory, fertility and prosperity, with all sorts of conditions and consequences, almost always meticulously analyzed and represented by a large number of related but different deities, including one or the other by enumerating briefly describe the divine worth of formula. The grouping Jupiter Mars Quirinus, with nuances peculiar to Rome, corresponds to the lists prototypical observable in Scandinavia as in Vedic India and predictable.” The Holy Knight puts them together in one person, articulating with its image as a composite expression combat with spear and shield, protect the ritual function and production, the “three needs that are everywhere the essential: the power and sacred knowledge, the attack and defences, nutrition and well-being for all”. Read more here

• The secret of the old city: a quest for the symbolism in the structure of ‘s-Hertogenbosch

‘s-Hertogenbosch is eight hundred years old. It is a beautiful city, intensely alive and resilient ­. The city is one of the most fascinating in our country and is one of the coolest that the past has left us. There is a great charm in the ­special and friendly atmosphere that hangs around the people of ‘s-Hertogenbosch and their city. Over the last twenty-five years it has become apparent that the population is prepared to stand up for the preservation of its beauty and character.

What could be the reason for this? Is there a mysterious force at work in this city too? A Genius Loci that has contributed to its formation, its prosperous development and the well-being of its inhabitants throughout the centuries?

The reason for this is that the street walls are characterised by simple, mainly late 19th century facade architecture. Its simplicity does not make it very ­appealing. We are spoiled by the beauty of the rich 17th and 18th century facade ­architecture in many of our other old cities. Moreover, the late 19th century is still too close to our present time to be experienced as a period for which much value could _be attributed. The secret of the beauty of ‘s-Hertogenbosch therefore lies ‘not so much in the architecture of its facade walls, but rather in the street plan of the city that possesses a beauty that can only belong to a work of art of great allure. To attempt to fathom this secret, we will have to go back to the time when the city was founded.

Of these more than a thousand year old settlements, ­a large number have ­managed to maintain themselves in their original form to this day. A visit to some of these settlements provides a pleasant and surprising afternoon. It is almost unimaginable that at a ­distance of barely forty kilometres from Den Bosch one can see what the twelfth century city probably looked like.

What is the value of our old city centers? Why do they deserve our respect?

Using the construction and demolition history of ’s Hertogenbosch as an example , architect Jan van der Eerden unfolds his original vision on this. Based on his detailed knowledge of the city, but also of surprising connections, old stories and forgotten phenomena, he exposes the pattern that connects the city of ’s Hertogenbosch with the cosmos in a seemingly miraculous way. In doing so, he demonstrates that the preservation of our age-old built environment, especially in our rapidly changing times, is of vital importance to us all.

Read here in Dutch

THE TAMED DRAGON

Utensils do not simply exist. They are made of matter arranged in a certain way. This arrangement is done by an intelligent being, a designer, who starts by creating and imagining the object in his imagination. He uses the laws according to which matter exists, after which the object as we can see and use it is concretely created, while it is nothing more than a collection of ever-changing molecules and atoms that are arranged in a certain way. .

According to beliefs dating back thousands of years, it is the same in the Cosmos and nature in fact emerged from the Earth in a similar way. The Earth was seen as an animated being that was formed into tangible matter from the dream world of a higher Consciousness. In turn, the Earth similarly created nature. Plato described the Earth as the living being from which all other separate living beings are split-off parts. That is why we speak of her as Mother Earth who rewards us with her gifts if we take good care of her, but punishes us if we abuse her Nature .

This way of thinking is still very much alive today among the Australian aborigines , the American Indians and all other peoples connected to nature . When the whites were colonizing North America, around 1850 they had to deal with Seattle, the Indian chief after whom the city of the same name was later named. This Indian, probably born in 1786 , had already become chief of no fewer than six tribes at the age of 21 due to his strategic qualities . Impressed with the realization that the conquest of his country by the whites could not be stopped, he managed to prevent much unnecessary bloodshed by concluding treaties. During a meeting of 2,300 Indians from different tribes in preparation for yet another agreement, he is said to have given a dramatic speech in 1854, the text of which has been preserved. However, the Belgian researcher Gert Fabré noted that the solidarity expressed herein with nature is striking because of its similarity with the views of the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau who had only recently promoted the value of life with and in nature . This certainly appealed to the guilt of the white conquerors and the text of a speech typical of European romanticism could be attributed to a man like Seattle, who, according to Fabré , did not actually correspond at all to the image that emerges of him. . But although it may be doubted whether Seattle wrote the text itself , the views in it are certainly part of Indian thought. A small fragment of the speech is sufficient to clarify this:

‘The Earth is our mother. What happens to the Earth also happens to the children of the Earth. When people spit on the ground, they spit on themselves. We know one thing for sure: the Earth does not belong to humans. Man belongs to the Earth. So we also know: everything is connected to everything, just as blood unites the members of a family . There is a connection between everything. The web of life is not woven by man. He’s just a thread in it. What he does to the web, he also does to himself.’

Equally old was the idea that the Consciousness that created the Earth did so in the form of a pentagon dodecahedron. This is a stereometric crystal shape consisting of twelve faces of regular pentagons.

Socrates describes how, according to him, the Earth should originally have looked like a crystal from above, consisting of twelve connecting pentagonal faces . Later, through technical deformation and erosion, this crystal would have become the globe as we now know it as our planet . The places where the corner points of this crystal were originally located are said to be collection points for energy originating from the Cosmos. And from these corners the network of lines of force known to the Chinese as ‘dragon paths’ would have developed. These were the paths, invisible to the eye, along which the hidden earth energy flowed. They could through Feng Shui , that is the art of creating landscapes, can be traced.

In addition, a network of straight ‘spirit paths’, which were made visible by all kinds of structures such as obelisks, ceremonial bridges and temples. In China, these ghost paths were carefully maintained until the fall of the Chinese Empire in 1912. The British researcher Paul Devereux points out, among other things, that these paths, which, like the dragon paths, occur all over the world, were probably used by shamans and witches in a trance, whose spirits emerge from the universe during an out-of-body experience. They moved their body over great distances along those spirit paths. The monumental landmarks placed on these lines for the traveling spirits must also have stood on energy -radiating points of the dragon paths.

Related to these spirit paths are the paths that were known in the Middle Ages as (still existing here and there) ‘death paths’. These led straight to cemeteries because the deceased had to be carried there in a straight line . Some of these spirit paths are used (and sometimes abused) by the souls of the earthbound dead who do not yet realize that they have already died.

In Western Europe, and especially in England, much research has been carried out over the last three-quarters of a century into the existence of dragon and spirit paths. In 1925 Alfred Watkins published his book The old straight track in which he drew attention to a large number of ghost paths or, as he called them, jeylines . These ley lines were to be seen as straight lines deliberately set out in the land that would later be marked by architectural marks. The most known ley line turned out to be ‘Saint Michael’s’ , later discovered by John Michell leyline ‘to be, who herself straight as an arrow over a length of 585 km, stretching from Land’s End the extreme western point of Cornwall to Hopton on the east coast just south of Great Yarmouth . In the sun and the serpent Hamish Miller and Paul Broadhurst report on them in 1987/89 conducted research with the dowsing rod of this leyline . They found two dragon paths: one charged with positive ones, the other with negative energy, which wind around the ley line and cross each other at different places on the ley line .

The terms ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ do not imply any value judgement. They are comparable in contrast to the concepts of the same name in electrical engineering. On both dragon paths they found quite a few shrines that turned out to be dedicated to Saint Michael, then to Saint George on the positive one, and Saint Mary on the negative . At important intersections of the two streams, such as Avebiry Henge , Glastonbury and Saint Michael’s Mount in Cornwall appeared to be experiencing an increased outflow of earth energy. In the older cultures than the Christian, the junctions in the energy flows often appear to be marked by menhirs. These are upright monolithic columns, sometimes up to ten meters high , such as the unfortunately fallen and broken menhir of Locmariaquer in Brittany, which was over twenty meters high.

These menhirs were probably intended to merge the energy of the Earth with the energy of the Sun. They occur all over the world and this indicates that belief in this energy system was widespread.

The bed of the flow of power as a living energy channel of Mother Earth (known to Celts and Greeks as the goddess Gaia ) was seen as a winding snake or a dragon. That is why the Chinese talk about dragon paths. The Celts called her Wouivre ( Nwywre ), which means more like a snake.

Read more here: St George: The Art of Dragon Taming

One of these energy flows runs from Peru to Mongolia. After leaving South America it crosses the Atlantic Ocean to largely coincide with the course of the aforementioned Saint Michael’s from Land’s End in Cornwall. Just west of Glastonbury there is a branch that continues further south to the English east coast, from where it crosses the European mainland and continues to the Harz Mountains . There is a break here due to earthquakes, but beyond this point the line can be followed again into Mongolia. The part through our region turns out to run through the Bossche Markt. –

.The line passes the village of Den Bommel on Overflakkee, including Wigholt Vleer’s book Ley Lines and Ley Centers in the Low Countries noticed that there is a strong radiant energy center directly west of the church. Moreover, there is said to have been a menhir on this site until 1639, which was later used to strengthen the sea wall. In addition to sanctuaries, settlements were often founded at points that radiated strong energy, of which ‘s-Hertogenbosch was one of many. In order for this to function properly for the benefit of the residents, the earth’s energy had to be transported to the upper side or be removed to allow it to merge with the energy of the Sun. This was done by driving a wooden or iron rod into the ground using the energy flow under the proposed location.

That was not that simple and it is understandable that legends have arisen around the associated ritual. To this we probably owe the story of the legendary Saint George who defeated the dragon, bringing peace and prosperity to the people in the nearby settlement.

Legend of Saint George and the Dragon

Once Saint George came to the city of Silena in Libya. In a large lake near that city lived a poisonous dragon. He came right under the walls of the city and spoiled everything with his poisonous breath. To appease his anger, the citizens fed him two sheep every day. When they were almost gone, they agreed to give the dragon a sheep and a person every day. The lot decided who was to be sacrificed to the dragon. At one point, the lot also fell on the king’s only daughter. 

This made him very sad, and he tried to bribe the people with gold and silver and half of his kingdom, but the people became furious and cried out: “Your Majesty, we have lost almost all our children, and now you want to spare your daughter? If you do not keep your own agreements, we will burn you alive and your whole house with it!” The king saw how serious they were. He began to weep for his daughter, and to the people he said: “I ask you for one more favor: that I may have eight days to weep for her.” They agreed. 
On the eighth day exactly, the people gathered in front of his house again. The king realized that there was no saving his daughter. He embraced her warmly. Then she fell on her knees before her father and asked for his fatherly blessing. He gave it to her with tears. Then she went to the lake. 

Just then Saint George rode up. He asked why she had to cry so. She answered: “Dear young man, get away quickly, or you will go to your destruction with me.” And George again: “Do not be afraid, dear child, but rather tell me what you are waiting for here in front of all the people.” She answered: “Lord, I see that you have a good heart. But surely you do not want to die here with me? Therefore, get away quickly.” And George again: “I will not leave here until I know what is happening to you.” Then she told him the whole story. Then he said: “Dear child, do not be afraid. I will help you in the name of Christ.” She said: “Dear knight, I do not want you to die with me. That I should perish is bad enough. You cannot save me; at most you can perish with me.” And while they were still talking to each other, the dragon suddenly stuck his head out of the water. The girl trembled with fear and cried: “Come now, good man, flee as quickly as you can.” But George jumped on his horse, made a large sign of the cross and rode towards the dragon, who was already heading towards him. He raised the lance with all his might and entrusted himself to God in the meantime. The collision with the dragon was so hard that he fell to the ground.  Then he said to the girl, “Take your belt and throw it around the monster’s neck. You need not fear anything!” She did so, and the dragon followed her like a lap dog. When she entered the city in this way, the people were terrified and fled in all directions. The people cried, “Woe to us, now we are all lost.”

But Saint George waved to them and shouted, “You don’t have to be afraid, because the Lord God has sent me to you to deliver you from this dragon. You only have to believe in Christ and be baptized. Only then can I defeat the dragon.”  Then the king was baptized, and with him the whole population. Saint George then drew his sword and killed the dragon. Then he ordered the beast to be taken outside the city. That day twenty thousand men were baptized.

The king had a church built in honor of the Virgin Mary and Saint George. On the altar bubbled up a spring of living water. It made all the sick who drank from it healthy again. The king offered St. George incredible treasures. He would not accept them but had them distributed among the poor. Then he kissed the king goodbye and left.  Cleodelinde ’s shawl as a collar around the dragon’s neck and led it as a prisoner to the city.

The latter seems strange, because the dragon’s pierced head was still pinned to the earth and therefore the dragon should have been killed. The explanation is that this is about the logic that prevails in the world of dreams, in which the external facts depicted therein are never important. Those facts are only the symbols for inner realities that are shaped in this way that is understandable to humans. The intention was not to actually kill the dragon, but to transform its energy through a kind of rebirth and make it useful to the people. To celebrate the good outcome, this people gratefully converted to Christianity and venerated Saint George for centuries as one of their most important saints.

The legend of Saint George is the Christianized representation of the countless stories about dragon slayers . In his book The View Over Atlantis, John Michell extemporaneously mentions twenty-five of them by name in England alone. So indicates the aforementioned Saint Michael’s leyline shows how the energies of the dragon paths that run along it appear to be transformed again and again by Saint George for the well-being of the population living along the ley line.

In the legendary case of Saint George, the pinning down of the Earth’s energy flow only happened, to the detriment of the population, after the city had already existed for some time. Actually, this should have happened before the city was founded , as was common practice in antiquity . Before this ritual, the place had to be found where the earth spirit in the form of a dragon radiated the powers of Mother Earth. Then the character of the earth spirit had to be determined. This character was what the Romans described as the genius loci, the spirit of the place, which in later times was seen as a God revealing himself in that place. Later still in the western world this God was Christianized and replaced by a Christian patron saint.

We find a beautiful allegory of this process in the history of the oracle of Delphi in ancient Greece. At Delphi, which before the arrival of the Greeks was called Pytho , there existed from time immemorial an oracle of the earth goddess, which was guarded by the dragon Python. When the sun god Apollo was blocked from accessing the oracle, he defeated the dragon, allowing him to merge the sun’s energy with the earth’s energy and take over the oracle. It will therefore come as no surprise to hear that much of this oracle’s good advice had to do with finding the right place to found a settlement .

The formidable scientific knowledge of ancient Egypt led , via ancient Greece, to the shaping of our Western culture. That the science of ancient Egypt was not only known in the West is evident from the fact that the omphalos is a mark that occurs in all kinds of forms all over the world to indicate that the dragon had been defeated by a ritual act. and the energies of Sun and Earth had merged.

In many places this had of course happened much earlier. Following this example, Plato in his Republic advised people settling in a new country to first locate the sanctuaries and holy places of the local gods and to rededicate them to the corresponding principles of the faith of the new residents. This created continuity in the holy places and the roads that connected them. That is why our oldest churches were usually built on prehistoric cult sites . Such as the church of Elst in the Betuwe in the Netherlands, where the excavations of 1947 not only found the remains of a prehistoric sacrificial site, but also the foundations of several Roman temples.

Ther place of the slaying of the dragon and the erection of the omphalos were possible, while the design of the settlement was also not always the same. But the principle remained the same: the earth spirit had to be traced, tamed and connected to the spiritual energy of heaven, after which the design of the settlement had to be determined according to cosmic laws in order to function optimally.

In Man and its symbols by Carl Jung . Aniela Jaffé notes how, according to the historian Plutarch, Romulus had builders come from Etruria before the foundation of Rome . These taught him the ritual that had to be applied to the construction of a city based on the sacred customs and written rules. In the future center they dug a round pit and threw symbolic offerings of field fruits into it. Then each man threw a clod of earth from the land he came from into the pit called mundus (which also meant cosmos). With the pit as the center, Romulus moved with a plough, which passed through a bull and a cow was drawn, the boundary of the city was in the shape of a circle. The city was then divided into quarters by two main roads leading to the four gates in the circular wall. The mundus was covered with a large stone which was called ‘soul stone’.

On certain days this was removed so that the spirits of the deceased ancestors could emerge from the underworld . At this point the Earth’s surface was crossed by the axis mundi that connects the three cosmic spheres of heaven, earth and underworld. It is still clearly visible in many Western European cities such as Trier and Chichester . The location of the axis mundi was always marked there by a remarkable building. Jaffé sees this as ‘the transformation of the city into an ordered cosmos; a sacred place connected to the other world through its center . The city, the fortress and the temple built in this way therefore became symbols of psychic totality. They thus exert a special influence on the people who visit or live in this place.’ Jaffé compares this city form to a magical circle or mandala , the omphalos or well as the center. ‘The mandala,’ like that she continues, ‘is the expression of the totality of humanity psyche including the relationship between man and all of nature. His presence always indicates the very best – most important aspect of life, namely its ultimate totality .’

If we accept that visible Creation is the materialization of a divine thought, then the spirit of this can also be perceived in the Earth. In other words: the Earth is an animated living being with its own consciousness. And that is why we may consider her, together with the Indians and all ‘primitive’ natural peoples, as our mother .

The dragon paths are the energy channels in the skin of the Earth. They are comparable to the invisible energy lines in the subtle part of the human body as known from acupuncture. The silver needles used in this medical practice are used to heal disturbed energy flows through the skin are inserted into the energy channels can be compared to the

for the mentioned menhirs. It should be noted that the energy channels of the gross body are the visible blood vessels. There are vessels and nerves, which can be compared to the senses visually observable transport paths of the Earth such as railways and highways. To tap into the energies flowing along the dragon paths.

To make man subservient, the dragon must be defeated again and again. This, among other things, gave rise to the legend of Saint George. But also the ritual as described in Plutarch ’s story about the founding of Rome.

As mentioned, one of the world-wide dragon paths appears to run through ‘s-Hertogenbosch and it is therefore not surprising that one of the sacred places referred to by Jaffé can be found on the Bossche Markt. Just like the course of the aforementioned dragon path, he saw that there is a particularly strong radiation of earth energy on the Bossche Markt, which can be observed with the dowsing rod. Apparently this is one of the energy-radiating places on Earth where the axis mundi is marked by a special building.

The well house is depicted there in the 16th century painting of the Bossche Lakenmarkt that is in the North Brabant Museum depicted with a double eagle that refers to the eagles of Zeus on the omphalos in Delphi. The shutters depicted in the painting around the well house refer to the “”soul stone ” described above . In the modern 1980 reconstruction of the well house , the ” soul stone” has been replaced by a heavy wooden lid. Above the eagles is the crown of the city maiden who in ancient times was seen as the representative of Mother Earth – and was therefore often depicted with a crown on her head in the shape of a walled city.

This collection brings together some of the most outstanding and representative writings of Martin Lings (1909–2005), drawn from his broad span of works. He was former Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts at the British Museum, as well as being a distinguished translator, scholar, and poet.

Lings was the author of several awardwinning books on subjects ranging from Sufism to Shakespeare, including A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ahmad al-ʿAlawi, His Spiritual Heritage and Legacy (1961), the best-selling Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (1983, translated into over a dozen languages), and Shakespeare in the Light of Sacred Art (1966). He also wrote works addressing the spiritual crisis of our times, such as The Eleventh Hour (1987), Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions (2001), and A
Return to the Spirit (2005). This anthology conveys wisdom of a timeless nature— neither of the East nor of the West—which the world today desperately needs.

This volume is divided into six themes—Metaphysics; Hermeneutics; Tradition and Modernity; Traditional Psychology; Islam; and Art and Poetry, which contain some of Lings’ most compelling writings on these subjects. For example, there are essays on comparative spirituality, such as ‘Do the Religions Contradict One Another?’, which show how each spiritual tradition is akin to points on a circle that connect to the center through diverse radii, representing their mystical dimensions, and how they all come together in a unitary Divine Essence. It is this metaphysical perspective that could be said to be his point of departure for this anthology.
The essay ‘Oneness of Being’ is an unsurpassed distillation of waḥdat al-wujūd, a doctrine associated with Ibn ‘Arabī (1165–1240). While central to Sufism, it is found across all spiritual traditions, most evidently in their esoteric dimensions. Lings maintains that the waḥdat al-wujūd is ‘the Supreme Truth and therefore the ultimate goal of all mysticism’ (p. 8). He demonstrates parallels between the formulations of Sufism and those of other traditions, while demonstrating a truly universal perspective that deepens one’s orientation toward this ‘Supreme Truth’.

In the section ‘Hermeneutics’, we witness Lings’ impressive command of the science of symbolism. He supervised the English translation of the consummate work Fundamental Symbols: The Universal Language of Sacred Science (1995) by René Guénon (1886–1951) and, as his mentor, Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998), haddone, he too sought to interweave symbols into the depths of the human psyche, with a view to actualizing them spiritually. Through the keys provided by the science of symbolism, we may come to see that the Absolute clothes itself in salvific self-revelations.
‘Tradition and Modernity’ explores the rise of desacralization in modernity, particularly the psyche of ‘fallen’ humanity. We are shown how traditional cosmology informs epistemology which, in turn, defines our connection to the cosmos and all sentient beings. Although the errors of the Zeitgeist are thoroughly exposed, so too are the compensations; for example, we now have extraordinary access—more than ever before—to the world’s sapiential traditions (whether or not we take advantage of this boon).
The section ‘Traditional Psychology’ (not to be confused with its modern aberrations) pertains to the ‘science of the soul’ as informed by the spiritual traditions of the world; it presents a fundamentally different approach to conventional psychology in that it includes a fully integrated approach which unifies the tripartite structure of the human being, consisting of spirit, soul, and body. A key essay that illustrates this theme is ‘The Decisive Boundary’ (1991). The anthology includes sections from Lings’ writings on the Islamic tradition and its inner dimension of Sufism: notably, his magisterial account of the life of the Prophet Muhammad; his acclaimed biography of the Algerian Sufi master, Ahmad al-ʿAlawī (1869–1934); his pioneering work on the Qurʾānic art of calligraphy and illumination; and his celebrated translations (from the Arabic) of classics from the field of Sufi mystical poetry. Both biographical and theoretical information are provided here, with explanations of basic elements in Islamic spirituality.
The final section, ‘Art and Poetry’ provides rich insights into the genius of William Shakespeare (1564–1616). Lings worked as a university lecturer in Cairo for many years and had the opportunity to produce many of Shakespeare’s plays. In this way, he not only acquired a practical understanding of how to present such works on stage, but was also able to shed light on the spiritual dimension of these plays.

In his preface, Reza Shah-Kazemi elucidates the many important themes contained in Lings’ œuvre, yet observes: ‘To extract from these writings those which are “essential” is, therefore, a very difficult task’ (p. vii). Nevertheless, he has accomplished this undertaking admirably, making Lings’ work more accessible to new audiences, while offering a rich compendium to those already familiar with his writings.

In these deeply troubled times, the enduring insights of Martin Lings appear as ‘Light upon Light’ (nūr ‘alā nūr) which serve to dispel the paralyzing nihilism and profane outlook of the present day. By way of conclusion, we cite Shah-Kazemi’s observation that the character of Martin Lings ‘invited in the very core of his being the truth manifested by the splendor of beauty’ (p. vii). It is a fitting tribute to a saintly figure who, through his far-reaching vision, will continue to influence sincere seekers for generations to come.

• The wonder of the light-birth

During the autumn equinox light and darkness are precisely in balance with each other. Subsequently the influence of the darkness begins to increase more and more as the power of the light is fading. The darkness is the deepest around Christmas and we can only wait in confidence until the light is born again. That is how people of yore experienced the alternation and struggle between the light and the darkness in their own lives.

Before villages and towns were bathed in electric light, the increasing darkness was almost tangible to the inhabitants and they could not help but eagerly await the new light.
They heard stories about the miraculous birth that took place in this darkness in the distant past: God’s son was born in a hidden place in order to liberate humanity from the darkness.
The light that would soon become stronger again was a sign of this birth. It was not only an external light but could also be experienced as an inner light that pierced the darkness of
everyday life.
Christmas has always been interpreted in a spiritual way in the Christian mystical movements. It is not so much important whether the son of God ever came to be born on earth or not; what matters is that his birth is going to take place within us.
Not until the increasing influence of the writings of Jacob Boehme was the inner meaning of Christmas discussed more and more outside the monastery walls: Christmas is not so much the commemoration of an historical event but rather a miracle that can happen to all of us:

it is the birth of this son within us.

The Christian Theosophical tradition of Jacob Boehme relates that we are living in darkness as long as there has not been an inner transformation or rebirth. What to our ordinary eyes is light, is deep darkness to the inner being.

This tradition emphasizes that we should make a radical distinction between the outer and the inner man. We are the outer being, as it is functioning in our daily lives. Our attention is
constantly drawn to our sensory experiences.

But above all we are governed by the incessant flow of our thoughts, feelings, fantasies and desires. Although we believe that we ourselves are the source of this continuous flow, we are unable to stop it.

Consequently we are determined by this stream, rather than the opposite.

Since this condition is comparable to the dream state, most traditions emphasize that we are not awake in our daily lives, but rather still asleep. The only difference between daytime sleep and the ‘normal’ night time sleep is that during the former we do respond to all kinds of sensory stimuli. And just as during sleep we believe to be awake, even in our so-called waking state we are still in a kind of sleep.

But what or who, then, is the inner man? It is the soul which can be born within us. Just as Jesus was born of Mary, so may the soul be born of us, external people. For that reason, Angelus Silesius, a pupil of the Christian Theosophical and Rosicrucian tradition , wrote:

What good does Gabriel’s “Ave, Mary” do Unless he give me that same greeting too?

We can – like Mary – learn to no longer identify ourselves with the incessant flow of thoughts, feelings and desires. But that implies that we, outer beings, need to wake up and be willing to
listen to the words that Gabriel and other messengers speak to us.
Living in our darkness, but awakened by these messengers, we learn to say in complete self-surrender: let it be to me according to Your word. Therefore, Angelus Silesius said:

Be silent, silent, dearest one,
Only be silent utterly.
Then far beyond thy farthest wish
God will show goodness unto thee

In order to receive this message, it should become silent within us so that we can become focused. It means that we no longer automatically respond to whatever we are being told, but that we are really going to listen, and – like Mary – keep the words in our hearts like a seed that will later be able to unfold.

This attentive attitude of life is a necessary condition for the inner man – the Son of God – to be born within us. Such an attitude to life means that we learn to listen and observe in a responsive manner.
Usually, however, we have already made up our minds before the other person has finished speaking and we do not really listen to what he or she is telling us. Only rarely do we let ourselves be surprised by what presents itself to us in the world. For we have seen it all so many times; by now we know what the world looks like.

A receptive mode of perception, however, suddenly allows the everyday things to present themselves to us in new and refreshing ways.That is the beginning of the return of the light!
When we are waiting, being quiet and receptive, then the light can penetrate into the darkness of our waking consciousness; then the moment of the inner Christmas has arrived.

The outer human being lives mainly from the head; hence the incessant stream of thoughts that constantly drags us along. On the other hand, the heart takes the central place, often symbolized by the rose. The heart will open, to the extent that we learn to live our lives with attention.
As Angelus Silesius said:
Thy heart receives God’s dew and all that with Him goes
When it expands toward Him as does an opening rose.

Dew is an alchemical symbol. When the dew descends from heaven on the outer man who has died, then the resurrection will take place: the soul – the son of God – will arise from the earthly shell of the outer man.

Indeed, this process means that the outer man must die. If we no longer speak and act from our own will and desire, but instead become attentive and receptive to the soul, then the outer man actually begins to die. Without this process of dying – without the darkness that precedes the birth of the light – the birth of the soul cannot take place:
If He should live in you, God first Himself must die.
How would you, without death, inherit His own life?
Without this birth, our life as an outer human being is infertile. The outer man is composed of dust and will return to dust. This ‘dust’ refers not only to the physical body but to our entire personality, to everything with which we usually identify ourselves.
We should learn to let go of all this, because:
Though Christ a thousand times in Bethlehem were born,
but not within thy self, thy soul will be forlorn.

That sounds serious, and it is. But the annual return of the light which we celebrate at Christmas reminds us ever again of the light that can be born within us. The annual – and daily – return of the outer light nourishes our hope and our confidence that the miracle of the birth can also take place in us.

In English, the time period following Christmas has a meaningful name: ‘holidays’, which literally means ‘holy days’, days that can be seen as a gift to focus on healing in the broadest sense of the word.
These days, when you can be ‘vacant’ from all your usual worries, allow you to be filled with healing powers. The word ‘vacant’ means ‘empty’, while the word ‘holy’ is related to ‘being whole’.

• Zodical light , crossroads to Heaven

Zodiacal light, band of light in the night sky, thought to be sunlight reflected from cometary dust concentrated in the plane of the zodiac, or ecliptic. The light is seen in the west after twilight and in the east before dawn, being easily visible in the tropics where the ecliptic is approximately vertical. Sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust causes this phenomenon. Zodiacal light is best seen during twilight after sunset in spring and before sunrise in autumn, when the zodiac is at a steep angle to the horizon. However, the glow is so faint that moonlight and/or light pollution often outshine it, rendering it invisible.See Plato’s Visible God: The Cosmic Soul Reflected in the Heavens

PLATO’S X & HEKATE’S CROSSROADS ASTRONOMICAL LINKS TO THE MYSTERIES
OF ELEUSIS

Plato describes gates to the afterlife in the Myth of Er at the end of Republic – infernal
gates like the cave of Hades at Eleusis, as well as celestial portals that would be located at
the intersections in the sky that he describes in Timaeus. The initiated Cicero’s translation
into Latin of a section of Timaeus – The initiated Cicero’s translation into Latin of a section of Timaeus – the part with Plato’s celestial X – suggests an astronomical aspect to the Mysteries.
Read more here

• The Twelve Holy Nights

According to several traditions the cosmic ‘gates to the divine’ are wide open during the period from December 24 until January 6. This time period from Christmas until Epiphany is also referred to as the twelve holy nights. This idea is not based on historical events of more
than two thousand years ago; rather it concerns cosmic processes.
Where did the idea of the twelve nights originate?

Long before Christianity arrived in Europe, the Germanic and Celtic peoples celebrated a midwinter feast (or Jul-feast) sometimes lasting eleven days and twelve nights, following the winter solstice.

That time period is exactly the difference between twelve revolutions of the moon around the earth, in 29.5 days (354 in total), and the 365 days it takes the earth to complete one rotation around the sun: 365-354 = 11 days and 12 nights.

The number twelve expresses fullness and completeness. Think of the 12 signs of the Zodiac, the 12 hours of the day and the 12 hours of the night. Consider also the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 disciples of Jesus and the 12 Knights of the Round Table. Twelve is the product of three and four: 3 x 4 = 12. The twelve holy nights can be seen as stages along the path of spiritual development, symbolically indicated in the twelve hours of the Nuctemeron of
Apollonius of Tyana, the twelve labours of Hercules and the thirteen songs of repentance in the Gospel of the Pistis Sophia.

In many traditions three is considered a divine number, while four is considered an earthly number. From this point of view the number 12 encompasses both the earthly and the divine.
Humanity also holds both the earthly and the divine within itself.
Human beings as we know them are indeed manifestations of the divine, but they themselves are not divine and never will be. Our physical bodies will eventually die. The physical body is dust and will return to dust.

• The bridge between time and eternity

Several wisdom teachings speak about an immortal divine principle, lying dormant in every human being, that is just waiting to wake up and be active. Based on that awakened and active divine principle, the human being can become a bridge between time and eternity. What matters is not that we will enter eternity, but that the eternal being within us may be vivified. That is the core of all Gnostic teachings and also of esoteric Christianity: the human
being is twofold.

“The sleep of the body becomes the sobriety of the soul” are the profound words of Hermes Trismegistus. By directing ourselves inwardly, the quiet of the body can become the freedom of the soul. In the spatiotemporal nature there is no place of rest for the soul.

During sleep, however, it may travel to the place where the turmoil of the opposites cannot exist: the Temple of Silence.
In that sacred place, it is nourished with the essence of a higher human life and receives the rich teachings of universal wisdom.
Upon awakening, the soul will transfer the inner certainty obtained to the physical human being. In this way sleep can be a blessing for those who seek for the truth. Read more Here

Draumkvedet and the medival English Dream Vision

Draumkvedet” (“The Dream Poem”; ) is a Norwegian visionary poem, probably dated from the late medieval age.^[ It is one of the best known medieval ballads in Norway. The first written versions are from Lårdal and Kviteseid in Telemark in the 1840s.

The protagonist, Olav Åsteson, falls asleep on Christmas Eve and sleeps until the twelfth day of Christmas. Then he wakes, and rides to church to recount his dreams to the congregation, about his journey through the afterlife. The events are in part similar to other medieval ballads like the Lyke Wake Dirge: a moor of thorns, a tall bridge, and a black fire. After these, the protagonist is also allowed to see Hell and some of Heaven. The poem concludes with specific advice of charity and compassion, to avoid the various trials of the afterlife.

The Medieval English dream vision evidence influences from a variety of earlier vision
literature, notably the apocalyptic vision and narrative dream. Philosophical visions by Plato,
Cicero and Boethius, and Christian revelations of John and Paul contain traits that found their
way into the dream poems by Langland, the Pearl poet and Chaucer. The Norwegian ballad
Draumkvedet exhibits features that mirror these English visions. Notable characteristics
pertaining to the character of the dreamer, the interplay between dreamer and dream, imagery of the vision, and structure, point to a common set of generic influences. Comparing Draumkvedet with its English counterparts demonstrates that they stem from the same tradition. Draumkvedet bares special resemblance to the Dream of the Rood, Piers Plowman and Pearl in its exploration of Christian doctrine and its appeal to the audience. Read more here…

Dream song of Olaf Asteson text and notes

• Mystical Nativity for our Times:

The Mystical Nativity is a painting of circa 1500-1501 by the Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, in the National Gallery in London. Botticelli built up the image using oil paint on canvas. It is his only signed work, and has a very unusual iconography for a Nativity.

It has been suggested that this picture, the only surviving work signed by Botticelli, was painted for his own private devotions, or for someone close to him. It is certainly unconventional, and does not simply represent the traditional events of the birth of Jesus and the adoration of the shepherds and the Magi or Wise Men.

Rather it is a vision of these events inspired by the prophecies in the Revelation of Saint John. Botticelli has underlined the non-realism of the picture by including Latin and Greek texts, and by adopting the conventions of medieval art, such as discrepancies in scale, for symbolic ends. The Virgin Mary, adoring a gigantic infant Jesus, is so large that were she to stand she could not fit under the thatch roof of the stable. They are, of course, the holiest and the most important persons in the painting. Read more here

• The Prayer of the Heart in Hesychasm and Sufism

Dear friend, your heart is a polished mirror. You must wipe it clean of the veil of dust that has gathered upon it, because it is destined to reflect the light of divine secrets.” 

-al-Ghazali

Read here The Prayer of the Heart in Hesychasm and Sufism

• Symbol of  Divine Child, Peace and Mercy in Islam and Sufism.

We can find the same Symbol of  Divine Child, Peace and Mercy in Islam and Sufism:

Bism ‘Lláh al-Rahmán al-Rahim

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Bismillah

Now the letter ب  ba’ of the bismillah (meaning in)   implies connection, and it is itself connected (directly) to God (‘Llah); the word ‘Name” (Ism) does not separate them, since it is identical with the Named according to the Sufis as well as most of the Ash’aris.

Note: When the bismillah اسم الله‎, is written in Arabic, the letter ba’ ‘in’, is directly connected to the word ism, ‘Name’. ب س م ل    What the Shaykh al-Alawi is saying is that since the Name (Ism) is identical with the Named, i.e. God Himself Ism does not really separate the letter bá’ from the Divine Name Allah. الله‎

Thus the beginning is in God (bi’llah): from Him all begins and to Him all returns.

• JURIDICAL : Four rulings can be deduced from the basmala:

Firstly,  all who write or recite the Qur’án must begin with the bismillah; this is inferred from that fact that the Almighty Himself begins the Book with it.

Secondly, we understand from this that God wishes us to praise Him for His Beauty more so that His Majesty ; this is inferred from how He begins with the two Holy Names ‘the Compassionate’ (al-Rahmán) and ‘the Merciful’ (al-Rahim), describing His Essence (Dhát) thereby.

Thirdly, we learn that there is a difference between the two Names, though they are derived from a single Quality (They are both derived from rahma);  for otherwise, to list both ‘the Compassionate’ and ‘the Merciful’ would be nothing but repetition.

Fourthly, we learn that the Name is identical with the Named; otherwise, it would not be proper to seek aid in it rather than its object, God (Allah).

• ALLEGORICAL : The way the letter ba’ is fastened to the Divine Name(Ism al-Jalála, the ‘Name of Majesty’ ), though it is not part of it, inspires in us a consciousness of how everything in existence, with all its different realities and divergent paths, is fastened to God.

Do not imagine that it touches Him—for in His transcendence, our Lord is not touched by any contingent thing, and such could not occur without the contingent thing vanishing altogether because of its lack of permanence in the presence of Him who is Eternal—rather, we mean that it is connected to Him and given being through Him: it subsists through God; not through itself. Its being is borrowed from that of its Being-Giver (mujid), as it has been said:

That which has no being in and of itself Could not be at all, were it not that He is.

The way the ba’ of the bismillah is lengthened where otherwise it is not, is because it is connected to the Name, and the one who is connected to the Named—and is thus one of God’s Folk—is worthy of being raised above the other members of his kind. As for the lengthened bá”s standing in for the elided letter alif of the word ism, it symbolises the representationi of God by he who possesses the Muhammadan inheritance: 0 David, We have made you a vicegerent on earth [Q.38- 26]; Whoso obeys the Messenger has obeyed God [Q.4- 8 0] .

Note:  In the bismillah, the first downward stroke of the letter ba’ is often lengthened, particularly in North African orthography, so that it is as tall as a letter alif, because it serves the function of representing both the letter bei’ and the alif of the word ism, ‘Name.’ See Martin Lings, A Sufi Saint, p. 156.

We have translated the word niyába as both ‘standing in’ and ‘representation‘. The Shaykh is saying that the letter ba’ is lengthened to represent the alif in the same way that a prophet or saint is God’s intermediary and His representative .

As for the position of the bismillah at the head and summit of the Book, it symbolises how God is raised above His Throne; and since this `rising’ (istiwa ) does not mean, as ordinary people think, that He is `contained’ by the Throne, but rather that He is present in every element of existence, the bismillah is placed at the head of every Chapter of the Qur’án (Sura), whether short or long: And He is with you, wherever you are [Q.57-.4].   (In fact it is placed at the head of all Chapters but one, the exception being Surat al-Tawba – Chapter9)

Traditions affirm that everything in the Book is encapsulated in the words ‘In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful’ ; this symbolises how all things are contained in the Being of their Being-Giver; that is, that everything in them branches from what is in Him: Nor is there anything but with Us are the treasuries thereof [Q.15.21]. That the Divine Name (Allah] comes before the other Beautiful Names  symbolises the precedence of the Essence, and how the Names and   Qualities are contained in Its treasury.see Commentary on the Bismillah.

• “Peace” shall be the word conveyed to them from their Merciful Lord.” Surah yasin 36-58

Surah Yasin: Heart of the Quran

It has been proposed that yā sīn is the “heart of the Quran”.The meaning of “the heart” has been the basis of much scholarly discussion. The eloquence of this surah is traditionally regarded as representative of the miraculous nature of the Qur’an. It presents the essential themes of the Qur’an, such as the sovereignty of God, the unlimited power of God as exemplified by His creations, Paradise, the ultimate punishment of nonbelievers, resurrection, the struggle of believers against polytheists and nonbelievers, and the reassurance that the believers are on the right path, among others. Yā Sīn presents the message of the Qur’an in an efficient and powerful manner, with its quick and rhythmic verses. This surah asserts that Muhammad was not a poet, rather he was the greatest and the Last Messenger of Allah (the “Seal of the Prophets”)

There are three main themes of yā sīn: the oneness of God (tawhid); Risala, that Muhammad is a messenger sent by God to guide His creations through divine revelation; and the reality of Akhirah, the Last Judgment.^[12] 36:70 “This is a revelation, an illuminating Qur’an to warn anyone who is truly alive, so that God’s verdict may be passed against the disbelievers.” ^[13] The surah repeatedly warns of the consequences of not believing in the legitimacy or the revelation of Muhammad, and encourages believers to remain steadfast and resist the mockery, oppression, and ridicule they receive from polytheists and nonbelievers.^[14] The arguments arise in three forms: a historical parable, a reflection on the order in the universe, and lastly a discussion of resurrection and human accountability.

The chapter begins with an affirmation of the legitimacy of Muhammad.^[12] For example, verses 2-6, “By the wise Qur’an, you [Muhammad] are truly one of the messengers sent of a straight path, with a revelation from the Almighty, the Lord of Mercy, to warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, and so they are unaware.”^[15] The first passage, verses 1-12, focuses primarily with promoting the Qur’an as guidance and establishing that it is God’s sovereign choice who will believe and who will not. It is stated that regardless of a warning, the nonbelievers cannot be swayed to believe. 36:10 “It is all the same to them whether you warn them or not: they will not believe.”^[15]

Surah Yāʾ-Sīn then proceeds to tell the tale of the messengers that were sent to warn nonbelievers, but who were rejected.^[12] Although the messengers proclaimed to be legitimate, they were accused of being ordinary men by the nonbelievers. 36:15-17 “They said, ‘Truly, we are messengers to you,’ but they answered, ‘You are only men like ourselves. The Lord of Mercy has sent nothing; you are just lying.”^[16] However, a man from amongst these people beseeched them to believe in the messengers. “Then there came running, from the farthest part of the City, a man, saying, ‘O my people! Obey the messengers: Obey those who ask no reward of you (for themselves), and who have themselves received Guidance.’”^{[Quran 36:20]} Upon his death, the man entered Paradise, and lamented the fate of the nonbelievers. 36:26 “He was told, ‘Enter the Garden,’ so he said, ‘If only my people knew how my Lord has forgiven me and set me among the highly honored.”^[17] This surah is meant to warn the nonbelievers of the consequences of their denial. Verse 36:30 goes on to state: “Alas for human beings! Whenever a messenger comes to them they ridicule him.”^[18] Ultimately, it is God’s will who will be blind and who will see.^[12]

The following passage addresses the signs of God’s supremacy over nature.^[12] This is presented by the sign of revived land, the sign of day and night, the sign of the arc and the flood, and the sign of the sudden blast that arrives on the day of judgement. 36:33-37 The sign of revived land follows:

There is a sign for them in this lifeless earth: We give it life and We produce grains from it for them to eat; We have put gardens of date palms and grapes in the earth, and We have made water gush out of it so that they could eat its fruit. It is not their own hands that made all this. How can they not give thanks? Glory be to Him who created all the pairs of things that the earth produces, as well as themselves and other things they do not know about.^[17]

The disbelievers do not recognize God’s power in the natural world, although He is the one Creator.^[12]

The surah further addresses what will happen to those who reject the right path presented by Muhammad and refuse to believe in God. On the last day, the day of reckoning, the nonbelievers will be held accountable for their actions and will be punished accordingly.^[12] God warned the nonbelievers of Satan, and yet Satan led them astray. 36:60-63 “Children of Adam, did I not command you not to serve Satan, for he was your sworn enemy, but to serve Me? This is the straight path. He has led great numbers of you astray. Did you not use your reason? So this is the fire that you were warned against.”^[19] Although God warned them against following Satan, the nonbelievers were deaf, and so now they will suffer the consequences of their ill judgements. 36:63 “So this is the Fire that you were warned against. Enter it today, because you went on ignoring [my commands].”^[19]

The surah proceeds to address the clear nature of the revelation and assure that Muhammad is a legitimate prophet.^[12] 36:69 states, “We have not taught the Prophet poetry, nor could he ever have been a poet.”^[13] Yāʾ-Sīn concludes by reaffirming God’s sovereignty and absolute power. 36:82-83 “When He wills something to be, His way is to say, ‘Be’—and it is! So glory be to Him in whose Hand lies control over all things. It is to Him that you will all be brought back.” ^[13] It is to God, the one Creator who holds everything in His hands, that everything returns. The closing passage is absolute and powerful and carries an essential message of the Qur’an. Read more : Commentary of surah Yasin or  Heart of the Qur’an: A Commentary to Sura Yasin

“All that is on the earth will perish: But the face of thy Lord willabide forever – full of Majesty, Bounty, and Honor.” (Qur’an, lv. 26-27).

• The birth of Jesus in man

Faouzi Skali in his book Jesus and the Sufi Traditon explains in the 10 chapter,The birth of Jesus in man:

The soul of the mystic, Rûmi teaches us, is similar to Mary: “If your soul is pure enough and full of love enough, it becomes like Mary: it begets the Messiah”.

And al-Halláj also evokes this idea: “Our consciences are one Virgin where only the Spirit of Truth can penetrate”

In this context, Jesus then symbolizes the cutting edge of the Spirit present in the human soul: “Our body is like Mary: each of us has a Jesus in him, but as long as the pains of childbirth do not appear in us, our Jesus is not born” ( Rumi, The Book of the Inside, V).

This essential quest is comparable to suffering of Mary who led her under the palm tree (Koran XIX, 22-26): “ I said:” 0 my heart, seek the universal Mirror, go towards the Sea, because you will not reach your goal by the only river! ”

In this quest, Your servant finally arrived at the place of Your home as the pains of childbirth led Mary towards the palm tree “(RÛMi, Mathnawî, II, 93 sq.)

Just as the Breath of the Holy Spirit, breathed into Mary, made him conceive the Holy Spirit, as so when the Word of God (kalám al-haqq) enters someone’s heart and the divine Inspiration purifies and fills his heart (see Matthew V, 8 or Jesus in the Sermon of the Mountain exclaims: “Blessed are pure hearts, for they will see God! “) and his soul, his nature becomes such that then is produced in him a spiritual child (walad ma’nawî) having the breath of Jesus who raises the dead.

“Human beings,” it says in Walad-Nama ( French translation, Master and disciple, of Sultan Valad and Kitab al-Ma’ârif  the Skills of Soul Rapture), must be born twice: once from their mother, another from their own body and their own existence. The body is like an egg: the essence of man must become in this egg a bird, thanks to the warmth of Love; then it will escape its body and fly into the eternal world of the soul, beyond space. ”

And Sultan Walad adds: “If the bird of faith (imán) is not born in Man during its existence, this earthly life is then comparable to a miscarriage.”

The soul, in the prison of the body, is ankylosed like the embryo in the maternal womb, and it awaits its deliverance. This will happen when the “germ” has matured, thanks to a descent into oneself, to a painful awareness: “The pain will arise from this look thrown inside oneself, and this suffering makes pass to beyond the veil. As long as the mothers do not take birth pains, the child does not have the possibility of being born (. Rumi, Mathnawî, II, 2516 sq.) (…) My mother, that is to say my nature [my body], by his agony pains, gives birth to the Spirit … If the pains during the coming of the child are painful for the pregnant woman, on the other hand, for the embryo, it is the opening of his prison ”(Ibid., 3555 sq)

Union with God, explains Rûmi, manifests itself when the divine Qualities come to cover the attributes of His servant:

“God’s call, whether veiled or not, grants what he gave to Maryam. 0 you who are corrupted by death inside your body, return from nonexistence to the Voice of the Friend! In truth, this Voice comes from God, although it comes from the servant of God! God said to the saint: “I am your tongue and your eyes, I am your senses, I am your contentment and your wrath. Go, for you are the one of whom God said: ‘By Me he hears and by Me he sees!’ You are the divine Consciousness, how should it be said that you have this divine Consciousness? Since you have become, by your wondering, ‘He who belongs to God’.

I am yours because ‘God will belong to him. Sometimes, I tell you: ‘It’s you!’, Sometimes, ‘It’s me!’ Whatever I say, I am the Sun illuminating all things. “(Mathnawî, I, 1934 sq).

Once the illusion of duality has been transcended, all that remains in the soul is the divine Presence: the soul then finds in the depths of its being the divine effigy.

It has become the place of theophany. This is what Rumi calls the spiritual resurrection: “The universal Soul came into contact with the partial soul and the latter received from her a pearl and put it in her womb. Thanks to this touch of her breast, the individual soul became pregnant, like Mary, with a Messiah ravishing the heart. Not the Messiah who travels on land and at sea, but the Messiah who is beyond the limitations of space! Also, when the soul has been fertilized by the Soul of the soul, then the world is fertilized by such a soul “( Ibid., II, 1184 sq.).

This birth of the spiritual Child occurs out of time, and therefore it occurs in each man who receives him with all his being through this “Be!” that Marie receives during the Annunciation: “From your body, like Maryam, give birth to an Issa without a father! You have to be born twice, once from your mother, another time from yourself. So beget yourself again! If the outpouring of the Holy Spirit dispenses again his help, others will in turn do what Christ himself did: the Father pronounces the Word in the universal Soul, and when the Son is born, each soul becomes Mary (Ibid., III, 3773.)

So Jesus can declare: “O son of Israel, I tell you the truth, no one enters the Kingdom of Heaven and earth unless he is born twice! By the Will of God, I am of those who were born twice: my first birth was according to nature, and the second according to the Spirit in the Sky of Knowledge!  » (Sha’ranî, Tabaqat, II, 26; Sohrawardî, ‘Awarif, I, 1)

The second birth corresponds to what we also gain in Sufism as the “opening (fath) of the eye of the heart“: “When Your Eye became an eye for my heart, my blind heart drowned in vision ; I saw that You were the universal Mirror for all eternity and I saw in Your Eyes my own image. I said, “Finally, I found myself in His Eyes, I found the Way of Light!” (Rumi, Mathnawî, II, 93 sq.)

This opening is the promise made by God to all those who conclude a pact with the spiritual master, pole of his time, like the apostles with Jesus or the Companions when they pledged allegiance to Muhammad: “God was satisfied with believers when they swore an oath to you under the Tree, He knew perfectly the content of their hearts, He brought down on them deep peace (sakina), He rewarded them with a prompt opening ( fath) and by an abundant booty  which they seized ”(Coran XLVIII, 18-19).(The abundant loot indicates Divine Knowledge (mari’fa)

Read more: Jesus and the Sufi Traditon

• Twelve Days of Christmas Predict the Future … Weather or more

Just about everyone has heard The Twelve Days of Christmas song: that one about partridges and pear trees. And maybe you’re familiar with Shakespeare’s play entitled, Twelfth Night. But during the Middle Ages the twelve days of Christmas were also important for predicting the weather in the coming year.

If you thought the Christmas season ended on December 25, you would be wrong: That’s just the beginning of the twelve days of Christmas.

In the sixth century, the days between Christmas and Epiphany (6 Jan) were set aside for sacred festivities. It was a reminder of the Biblical Nativity story and a celebration of the time between Jesus’ birth and the visit of the kings (or magi). So Christmas day, 25 Dec, is the first day of Christmas and the day before Epiphany, 5 January,  is the twelfth (and last) day of Christmas.

Medieval Predictions

Today we mostly associate partridges and pear trees with the twelve days of Christmas, but according to Medieval tradition, these twelve days would forecast the weather for the entire coming year: The first day of Christmas gives us an indication of the weather in January, the second day for February, the third day for March, and so on…

But in addition to predicting the weather, the 12 days of Christmas also foretold of economic fortunes, health, political unrest, crop success, etc. with the main indicators being wind, sunshine, and thunder.

25 December – First Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of January.
Wind: A windy Christmas means there will be good weather in the year ahead. But it could also indicate a financially difficult year for the wealthy.
Sun: Sunshine means everyone will enjoy a happy and prosperous year.

26 December – Second Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of February.
Wind: Wind means it will be a bad year for fruit.
Sun: Sunshine on the second day of Christmas is a good sign: money will come easily in the new year.

27 December – Third Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of March.
Wind: If it’s windy, the coming year will be good for cereal crops.
Sun: A sunny day means economic gain. However the poor will fight among themselves while the rulers make peace.

28 December – Fourth Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of April.
Wind: If it’s a windy day, it’ll be a bad year for cereal crops and finances.
Sun: Sunshine predicts wealth and plenty in the coming year.

29 December – Fifth Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of May.
Wind: Strong winds mean the coming year will bring many storms at sea.
Sun: Sunshine forecasts plenty of flowers and fruit.

30 December – Sixth Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of June.
Wind: A windy day predicts political unrest and scandal.
Sun: Sunshine means it will be a good year for dairy cattle

31 December – Seventh Day of Christmas – New Year’s Eve
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of July.
Winds: A windy day means there is a high risk of fire in the first half of the coming year.
Sun: Sunshine means it’ll be a good year for trees. 
Thunder: Thunder toward the end of the day, bad times are on the way.

If New Year’s Eve night’s wind blows south
It betokeneth warmth and growth;
If west, much milk and fish in the sea;
If north, much cold and storms there will be;
If east, the trees will bear much fruit;
If north east, flee it man and brute.

1 January – Eighth Day of Christmas – New Year’s Day
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of August.
Wind: A windy day means ill health for the elderly.
Sun: Sunshine means that mercury will be easy to get in the coming year. (This must have been important in medieval times.)
Thunder: Thunder during the early part of New Year’s Day means good times, and afternoon thunder means successful crops.

2 January – Ninth Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of September.
Wind: Strong wind means damaging storms.
Sun: Sunshine on this day predicts a very good year for our feathered friends. 
Thunder: is same as New Year’s Day.

3 January – Tenth Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of October.
Wind: Storms are in the forecast.
Sun: Sunshine foretells a prosperous year with a good supply of fish.
Thunder: Thunder is the same as on New Year’s Day.

4 January – Eleventh Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of November.
It seems that wind, sun and thunder all predict terrible events on this day. So let’s hope for a nice mild, cloudy day.

5 January – Twelfth Day of Christmas
The weather on this day is a forecast for the month of December.
Wind: A windy day means political troubles.
Sun: A sunny day means a year of hard work is ahead.
Thunder: Thunder warns of mighty storms.

And then there are some general predictions:

If it rains much during the twelve days of Christmas, the coming year will also be a wet one.

If there’s thunder during Christmas week, The winter will be anything but meek.

If it’s dark and foggy between Christmas and Epiphany, there will be a lot of sickness next year.

Thunderstorms on any day in late December could be a good omen for the coming year. But it depends on when the thunder booms: Early-afternoon thunder is the best, mid-afternoon is still good, but thunder later in the day just indicates storms.

Personal Good Luck

If the twelve days predict dire things for your part of the world, there’s a delicious and easy way to guarantee your own personal good luck: Eat mince pies. A medieval legend says that for every mince pie you eat during the twelve days of Christmas you will have one month of good luck in the new year.

• the Yule Log

The Yule log, Yule clog, or Christmas block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth as a winter tradition in regions of Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, and subsequently North America. The origin of the folk custom is unclear. Like other traditions associated with Yule (such as the Yule boar), the custom may ultimately derive from Germanic paganism.

American folklorist Linda Watts provides the following overview of the custom:

The familiar custom of burning the Yule log dates back to earlier solstice celebrations and the tradition of bonfires. The Christmas practice calls for burning a portion of the log each evening until Twelfth Night (January 6). The log is subsequently placed beneath the bed for luck, and particularly for protection from the household threats of lightning and, with some irony, fire. Many have beliefs based on the yule log as it burns, and by counting the sparks and such, they seek to discern their fortunes for the new year and beyond.^[1]

Watts notes that the Yule log is one of various “emblem[s] of divine light” that feature in winter holiday customs (other examples include the Yule fire and Yule candle).^[1] Read more here

These all feasts are part of the Yule, the wheel of the year

Historical and archaeological evidence suggests ancient pagan and polytheist peoples varied in their cultural observations; Anglo-Saxons celebrated the solstices and equinoxes, while Celts celebrated the seasonal divisions with various fire festivals.^[4] In the tenth century Cormac Mac Cárthaigh wrote about “four great fires…lighted up on the four great festivals of the Druids…in February, May, August, and Novembe

– Blowing mid-winter horns to ward off evil spirits

Did you know that it is a long time tradition in parts of the rural east of the Netherlands to blow mid-winter horns between the first Sunday of Advent and Epiphany?

During sunset farmers take long horns made from hollow elder-tree branches and blow them while standing over water wells to amplify the sound. Some say the mid-winter horn is used to herald the coming of Christ while others believe it is blown to ward off evil spirits.

• The yule goat

The Yule goat is a Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbol and tradition. Its origin may be Germanic pagan and has existed in many variants during Scandinavian history. Modern representations of the Yule goat are typically made of straw.

The Yule goat’s origins go back to ancient Pagan festivals. While its origins are unclear, a popular theory is that the celebration of the goat is connected to worship of the Norse god Thor, who rode the sky in a chariot drawn by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr, it goes back to common Indo-European beliefs. The last sheaf of grain bundled in the harvest was credited with magical properties as the spirit of the harvest and saved for the Yule celebrations, called among other things Yule go at (Julbocken).^[2]

This connects to ancient proto-Slavic beliefs where the Koliada (Yule) festival honors the god of the fertile sun and the harvest. This god, Devac (also known as Dazbog or Dažbog), was represented by a white goat,^[3] consequently the Koliada festivals always had a person dressed as a goat, often demanding offerings in the form of presents.^[4] A man-sized goat figure is known from 11th-century remembrances of Childermas, where it was led by a man dressed as Saint Nicholas, symbolizing his control over the Devil.^[2]

Other traditions are possibly related to the sheaf of corn called the Yule goat. In Sweden, people regarded the Yule goat as an invisible spirit that would appear some time before Christmas to make sure that the Yule preparations were done right.^[2] Objects made out of straw or roughly-hewn wood could also be called the Yule goat, and in older Scandinavian society a popular Christmas prank was to place this Yule goat in a neighbour’s house without them noticing; the family successfully pranked had to get rid of it in the same way.

– The World Turned Upside Down: Feasts of Fools, Lords of Misrule

Taylor’s almost 900-page long A Secular Age (2007) . I would highly recommend it to anybody who is seriously interested in the past five hundred years of Western history and culture – whatever their belief system and persuasion. If you can’t afford to buy it, try locating it in a library.

The central story and question of the book goes something like this: “how did man go from purposefully living in an enchanted cosmos” to “being merely included in an disenchanted universe”? This main strand branches into several sub-themes and the author makes use of a variety of disciplines as he puts forward his ideas – philosophy, theology, sociology, science and technology, art and aesthetics.

There’s a lot in A Secular Age that I find interesting, for example, the porous v/s buffered self distinction – more on that sometime later perhaps. For now, I want to concentrate on one particular topic in the book that I keep thinking of again and again and from which, I believe, we can learn something for our time – Taylor’s discussion of a set of medieval European feasts of “misrule” during which “the world was turned upside down”, that is, strict social hierarchies were subverted in some way or another, the ordinary order of things was inverted, and a temporary sense of equilibrium was achieved. These events were certainly Carnival-like in their theatrical display of mockery and mayhem but not necessarily celebrated immediately before Lent. Many were observed around December or January. Among these festivities were the Feast of Fools (rooted in the Roman Saturnalia), the Feast of the Ass, the customs of the Boy Bishop, the Lord of Misrule or the Abbot of Unreason and, to an extent, Charivari. The primary logic was this – parodying the religious and political authorities and/or catapulting into limelight for just a day those who lived in subordinate positions, flipping the high and low ranks.

Rene Guenon. The message of French Sufi

Guenon is the founder of a unique direction in metaphysics – integral traditionalism. The main concept of his teachings is Primordial (lat. Primordialis) Tradition. And pathos of teachings is a tradition against the modern world. Tradition is a single truth from which secondary truths – all world religions originate. But the fragmentation of the original tradition into secondary religious forms was regarded by Genon as a fall, a degradation that, after all, led humanity to a modern world of antitradition, profanation and lies.

From this position, progress is an illusion, and history develops from better state to worse. Guenon took this idea from Hinduism, according to which the whole human cycle steps through four epochs: golden, silver, bronze and iron ages. You and I live in the Iron Age or otherwise in Kali Yuga. In this dark era of total oblivion of tradition, “the profane considers itself entitled to evaluate the sacral, the lowest judges the highest, ignorance evaluates wisdom, delusion dominates the truth, human displaces the divine, the earth puts itself above heaven, etc.”

In short, in the modern world everything is put upside down, the highest principles are violated, spiritual criteria are lost. Because of this radical nonconformism Guenon’s contemporaries tried to ignore him, were afraid and silenced the works of this mystic. But his criticism of the modern world from the position of tradition is logically verified, mathematically accurate, ethically impeccable and relies on strict and pure truths of ancient teachings. And if we take into account the current global crisis of capitalism, which affects the foundations of the world view of the new time (and it is from the 16th century that European civilization broke up with spiritual tradition), now is the time to turn to the message of the great French Sufi, to his fundamental works, where you can also find an answer to the always relevant question “what to do?” In brief, to stand on the path of tradition revival. To tirelessly explore yourself here and now, to go from the outside world, where noise is terrorizing, to the royal silence of the inner universe, to listen to the whisper of intuition and the beat of your own heart, to understand that the core of tradition is not somewhere, in the outer mazes of the historical past, but in the caches of our genetic memory, in the spiritual nerves of each individual soul… read more here

• The Feast of Fools

The Feast of Fools (Latin: festum fatuorum, festum stultorum) was a feast day celebrated by the clergy in Europe during the Middle Ages, initially in Southern France, but later more widely. During the Feast, participants would elect either a false Bishop, false Archbishop or false Pope.^[1][2] Ecclesiastical ritual would also be parodied and higher and lower level clergy would change places.^[2][1] The passage of time has considerably obscured modern understandings of the nature and meaning of this celebration, which originated in proper liturgical observance, and has more to do with other examples of medieval liturgical drama than with either the earlier pagan (Roman) feasts of Saturnalia and Kalends or the later bourgeois lay sotie.^[3] Read more here

Look also Bruegel’s Festival of Fools: To See Yourself within It

• Feast of the Ass

The Feast of the Ass (Latin: Festum Asinorum, asinaria festa; French: Fête de l’âne) was a medieval, Christian feast observed on 14 January, celebrating the Flight into Egypt. It was celebrated primarily in France, as a by-product of the Feast of Fools celebrating the donkey-related stories in the Bible, in particular the donkey bearing the Holy Family into Egypt after Jesus’s birth.^[1]

This feast mLord of Misruleay represent a Christian adaptation of the pagan feast, Cervulus, integrating it with the donkey in the nativity story.^[2] In connection with the biblical stories, the celebration was first observed in the 11th century, inspired by the pseudo-Augustinian Sermo contra Judaeos c. 6th century.

In the second half of the 15th century, the feast disappeared gradually, along with the Feast of Fools, which was stamped out around the same time. It was not considered as objectionable as the Feast of Fools. ^{Read more Here}

here the concert René Clemencic – La Fête de L’ Âne : Procession (IV)

• Lord of Misrule

In England, the Lord of Misrule – known in Scotland as the Abbot of Unreason and in France as the Prince des Sots – was an officer appointed by lot during Christmastide to preside over thttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOJ0OrqyiZohe Feast of Fools. The Lord of Misrule was generally a peasant or sub-deacon appointed to be in charge of Christmas revelries, which often included drunkenness and wild partying. In the spirit of misrule, identified by the grinning masks in the corners, medieval floor tiles from the Derby Black Friary show a triumphant hunting hare mounted on a dog.

The Church in England held a similar festival involving a boy bishop.^[1] This custom was abolished by Henry VIII in 1541, restored by the Catholic Mary I and again abolished by Protestant Elizabeth I, though here and there it lingered on for some time longer.^[2] On the Continent it was suppressed by the Council of Basel in 1431, but was revived in some places from time to time, even as late as the eighteenth century. In the Tudor period, the Lord of Misrule (sometimes called the Abbot of Misrule or the King of Misrule)^[1] is mentioned a number of times by contemporary documents referring to revels both at court and among the ordinary people.^[3][4][5]

Boy bishop is the title of a tradition in the Middle Ages, whereby a boy was chosen, for example among cathedral choristers, to parody the adult Bishop, commonly on the feast of Holy Innocents on 28 December. This tradition links with others, such as the Feast of Fools and the Feast of Asses.

• Feast “Holy Innocents”
• The Massacre of the Innocents is the incident in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem. The Catholic Church regards them as the first Christian martyrs, and their feast – Holy Innocents’ Day (or the Feast of the Holy Innocents) – is celebrated on 28 December.^[3] A majority of Herod biographers, and “probably a majority of biblical scholars,” hold the event to be myth, legend, or folklore.^[4]

The commemoration of the massacre of the Holy Innocents, traditionally regarded as the first Christian martyrs, if unknowingly so,^[20][b] first appears as a feast of the Western church in the Leonine Sacramentary, dating from about 485. The earliest commemorations were connected with the Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January: Prudentius mentions the Innocents in his hymn on the Epiphany. Leo in his homilies on the Epiphany speaks of the Innocents. Fulgentius of Ruspe (6th century) gives a homily De Epiphania, deque Innocentum nece et muneribus magorum (“On Epiphany, and on the murder of the Innocents and the gifts of the Magi”).^[c]

Today, the date of Holy Innocents’ Day, also called the Feast of the Holy Innocents or Childermas or Children’s Mass, varies. It is 27 December for West Syrians (Syriac Orthodox Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Maronite Church) and 10 January for East Syrians (Chaldeans and Syro-Malabar Catholic Church), while 28 December is the date in the Church of England (Festival),^[21] the Lutheran Church and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. In these latter Western Christian denominations, Childermas is the fourth day of Christmastide.^[22] The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the feast on 29 December.^[23]

From the time of Charlemagne, Sicarius of Bethlehem was venerated at Brantôme, Dordogne as one of the purported victims of the Massacre.^[24]

In the Roman Rite, the 1960 Code of Rubrics prescribed the use of the red vestments for martyrs in place of the violet vestments previously prescribed on the feast of the Holy Innocents. The feast continued to outrank the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas until the 1969 motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis replaced this Sunday with the feast of the Holy Family.

In the Middle Ages, especially north of the Alps, the day was a festival of inversion involving role reversal between children and adults such as teachers and priests, with boy bishops presiding over some church services.^[25] Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens suggest that this was a Christianized version of the Roman annual feast of the Saturnalia (when even slaves played “masters” for a day). In some regions, such as medieval England and France, it was said to be an unlucky day, when no new project should be started.^[26]

There was a medieval custom of refraining where possible from work on the day of the week on which the feast of “Innocents Day” had fallen for the whole of the following year until the next Innocents Day. Philippe de Commynes, the minister of King Louis XI of France tells in his memoirs how the king observed this custom, and describes the trepidation he felt when he had to inform the king of an emergency on the day.^[27]

In Spain, Hispanic America, and the Philippines,^[28] December 28 is still a day for pranks, equivalent to April Fool’s Day in many countries. Pranks (bromas) are also known as inocentadas and their victims are called inocentes; alternatively, the pranksters are the “inocentes” and the victims should not be angry at them, since they could not have committed any sin. One of the more famous of these traditions is the annual “Els Enfarinats” festival of Ibi in Alacant, where the inocentadas dress up in full military dress and incite a flour fight.^[29]

Massacre of the Innocents (Bruegel):

See also Bruegel Tales of Winter – The Art of Snow and Ice

Bruegel: an Interpreter of Ultimate Reality and Meaning

• Tudor Lord of isrule: How Edward VI Resurrected a Raucous Christmas Tradition

Antiquary John Stowe wrote of the popular Medieval tradition of the Lord of Misrule, explaining that:

“In the feast of Christmas, there was in the King’s house, wheresoever he was lodged, a Lord of Misrule, or Master of merry disports, and the like had ye in the house of every noble man of honour, or good worship, were he spiritual or temporal.”

He went on to explain that the Mayor of London and his sheriff also had their Lords of Misrule and that these lords would begin their ‘rule’ and organise “the rarest pastimes to delight the beholders” on All Hallows Eve (Hallowe’en) and end their rule on the day after Candlemas Day, at the beginning of February. The revelry, Stowe explained, consisted of “fine and subtle disguisings, maskes and mummeries, with playing at cards for counters, nails and points in every house, more for pastimes than for gain.”

Oxford and Cambridge universities, and Lincoln’s Inn, would also appoint Lords of Misrule, as would the royal court, although their ‘rule’ tended to be limited to the 12 days of Christmas. Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch, continued the Medieval tradition, electing a Lord of Misrule for every Christmas of his reign. His son, Henry VIII, also embraced the tradition, going so far as to appoint a separate Lord of Misrule for the young Princess Mary’s household at Christmas, 1525. However, it was in the reign of Henry VIII’s son, the boy king Edward VI, that the tradition reached its zenith under the patronage of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who was Lord President of the Privy Council from 1550 to 1553. The tradition had declined in the latter years of Henry VIII’s reign – an ambassador to Edward VI’s court remarked in January 1552 that a Lord of Misrule had not been appointed for “15 or 16 years” – but it was resurrected with great gusto at the royal court in the Christmas seasons of 1551-1552 and 1552-1553, the final Christmases of Edward’s reign.

Portrait miniature of Edward by an unknown artist, c. 1543–46

While the king’s uncle, Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and former Lord Protector, languished in the Tower of London awaiting execution as a traitor to the crown, the Duke of Northumberland sought to distract and divert both king and court with a programme of entertainment and revelry for the 12 days of Christmas. In December 1551, Northumberland appointed George Ferrers, a lawyer, courtier, MP, former servant of Somerset and a poet of some renown, as Lord of Misrule. Sir Thomas Cawarden, Master of the Revels, was informed of the appointment and asked to do all he could to aid Ferrers. Cawarden, who may well have felt slighted by the appointment of Ferrers instead of himself, had to be spurred into action by letters of complaint from both Northumberland and Ferrers regarding his inaction and the quality of items he had provided. In Cawarden’s defence, he was expected to provide a long list of apparel and items at very short notice indeed.

Although the Revels Accounts in the Loseley Manuscript are incomplete, they do show that the revels of these two Christmas seasons took the tradition of Lord of Misrule to new heights. Never before had the Lord of Misrule entered the City of London in a huge and elaborate procession that mimicked the procession of a monarch. Ferrers demanded a large retinue which, in January 1553, included no fewer than six councillors, a ‘dizard’ (talkative fool), jugglers, tumblers, a divine, a philosopher, an astronomer, a poet, a physician, an apothecary, a master of requests, a civilian, friars, two gentleman ushers and “suche other” as he needed. The fools included the “Lord Misrule’s ape”, his “heir apparent” and children.
Both of Edward VI’s final Christmases were spent at Greenwich Palace, the 15th century abode situated on the bank of the River Thames. Ferrers made his entry to the royal court at the palace under a canopy, presumably like a royal canopy of estate, and in one piece of pageantry at court he appeared “out of the moon”.

On 2 January 1552, Ferrers presided over a drunken mask at court for which he was furnished with eight “visars” (perhaps vizards or masks), eight swords and daggers, headpieces decorated with serpents and clubs that were full of “pykes” (spikes). The Christmas festivities also included the “Tryumphe of Horsemen”, in which 18 answerers ran six courses each against the Earl of Warwick, Henry Sidney, Sir Henry Gates and Sir Henry Neville as challengers. “Rich hangings” from the “King’s timber houses” were cut up and used for 12 bards for the challengers’ great horses, and caparisons and trappings for their eight light horses. A mock Midsummer Night festival was held that night and the furnishing of “as many Counterfett harnesses & weapons as ye may spare and hobby horsses” suggests that the entertainment included a mock joust. According to the Revels Accounts, other entertainment over the Christmas period included a mask of “Greek worthyes”, a mask of apes, a mask of bagpipes, a mask of cats and “a mask of medyoxes, being half man, half deathe.”

Two masked revellers by Jacob de Gheyn, circa 1595. Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum

On the night of 3 January 1552, there was a mock midsummer that required six hobby horses to be supplied, and then on 4 January the Lord of Misrule made his entry into the City of London. WR Streitberger points out that this entry was not only a parody of traditional royal entries into the capital but also “partly a burlesque of the power vested in royalty to dispense justice”. Diarist and merchant Henry Machyn gives a detailed contemporary account of Ferrers’ entry, writing of how Ferrers landed at Tower Wharf with a great number of young knights and gentlemen on horseback, “every man having a baldric of yellow and green about their necks”. They went first to Tower Hill, accompanied by a procession consisting of a standard of yellow and green silk with St George, guns and squibs, trumpet players, bagpipe players, flautists and other musicians, morris dancers, and the Lord of Misrule’s councillors in “gownes of chanabulle lyned with blue taffata and capes of the same”. Then came the Lord of Misrule, apparelled in a fur-trimmed cloth of gold gown, 50 men of the guard dressed in red and white, and a cart carrying a pillory, gibbet and stocks. The procession then made its way to the Cross at Cheapside where a great scaffold had been erected. There, a proclamation was made of Ferrers’ “progeny”, his “great household” and his “dignity”, before a beheading took place. Thankfully, it was a symbolic beheading; the ‘head’ of a hogshead of wine was “smitten out” for everyone to drink. After that, the Lord of Misrule enjoyed a sumptuous feast with the Lord Mayor before visiting the Lord Treasurer at Austin Friars and then taking a barge back from Tower Wharf to Greenwich.

As well as the pillory, gibbet and stocks described by Machyn as being part of the Lord of Misrule’s entry into London, the Revels Accounts list joints for a pair of stocks with hasps and staples, locks for the pillory and stocks, keys, manacles with a hanging locks, a “hedding ax” and “hedding block”. As well as symbolising the power of the monarch – or the Lord of Misrule at Christmas – to dispense justice, these items and the scaffold at Cheapside my well have alluded to the forthcoming execution of the Duke of Somerset.

On Twelfth Night 1552, a tourney was held during the day, and that evening, following a play performed by the King’s Players, there was a contest or feat of arms between Youth and Riches, with them arguing over which of them was better. It is thought to have been devised by Sir Thomas Chaloner, the statesman and poet. Sir Anthony Browne, Lord Fitzwater, Ambrose Dudley, Sir William Cobham and two other men fought on Youth’s side against Lord Fitzwarren, Sir Robert Stafford and four others on the side of Riches. “All these fought two to two at barriers in the hall. Then came in two apparelled like Almains [Germans]. The Earl of Ormonde and Jacques Granado, and two came in like friars, but the Almains would not suffer them to pass till they had fought. The friars were Mr Drury and Thomas Cobham.” It is not clear whether this contest between Germans (Protestants) and Catholic friars was, in fact, devised to ridicule the Catholic Church. This mock combat was followed by a mask of men and a mask of women, and then a banquet of 120 dishes. “This was the end of Christmas”, is how the account ends.

Two masked musicians perform for a noblewoman, by Jacob de Gheyn, circa 1595. Courtesy of the Rijksmuseum

The allusion to the Duke of Somerset’s scheduled execution was not the only controversial element of the Lord of Misrule’s programme of entertainment that year. Jehan Scheyfve, the imperial ambassador, recorded what he obviously saw as an anti-papist display. According to Scheyfve, a procession of mock priests and bishops “paraded through the Court, and carried, under an infamous tabernacle, a representation of the holy sacrament in its monstrance, which they wetted and perfumed in most strange fashion, with great ridicule of the ecclesiastical estate”. He wasn’t the only one upset about this affront to the Catholic Church; he wrote that “Not a few Englishmen were highly scandalised by this behaviour; and the French and Venetian ambassadors, who were at Court at the time, showed clearly enough that the spectacle was repugnant to them”. One can only assume, however, that the king was happy with this procession and the programme of festivities, for, as historian Jennifer Loach points out, the Revels Accounts show that the king took an active involvement in directing the entertainment and that changes were often made as “declared and commaunded by his highenes or his pryvie counsell” in order “to serve the kinge and his counsells pleasure and determinacion”. The King’s Printer, Richard Grafton, in writing about how well Ferrers was received at court as the Lord of Misrule, commented that he was “very well liked… But best of al by the yong king himselfe, as appered by his princely liberalitie in rewarding that service.” Ferrers was rewarded for his service with a payment of £50 from Northumberland and in September 1552 was appointed as Lord of Misrule for the 1552-1553 Christmas season.

The Christmas season of 1552-1553 began on with Ferrers sending his “solemn ambassador” to court, accompanied by a herald, trumpeter, “an orator speaking in a straunge language” and an interpreter. The ambassador’s mission was to speak to the king and ask for an audience for the Lord of Misrule. This audience was granted and the next day, Ferrers travelled to court along the Thames in the king’s brigantine, which was decorated in blue and white, escorted by other vessels and boys dressed as Turks and playing drums. At Greenwich, he was met by Sir George Howard, the Lord of Misrule’s Master of the Horse, who had come with a horse for Ferrers and who was accompanied by four pages of honour carrying Ferrers’ headpiece, shield, sword and axe. Ferrers writes of how he had taken Hydra, the serpent with seven heads, as his coat of arms, a holly bush as his crest and ‘Semper ferians’ (always keeping the holiday) as his motto.

Entertainments over Christmas and New Year included a pageant in which Ferrers emerged from “vastum vacuum” (a vast airy space), which must have been some kind of pageant car; a feat of arms; a mock midsummer show and joust of hobby horses, presumably like the previous year; a day of hunting and hawking, and masks of “covetus men with longe noses”, “women of Diana hunting”, “babions faces of tinsel black and tawny”, “pollenders”, “matrons” as well as soldiers.

University of Leicester Special Collections. ‘Lord of Misrule’ from: William Sandys, Christmastide: its History, Festivities and Carols, (London, [1852], SCM 12913.Ferrers ordered five different suits of apparel via Cawarden for the festive season: one to wear on both his entry to court and his entry into London, two for the next “hallowed daies”, another for New Year and a final one for Twelfth Night. He also ordered a fool’s coat and hood for John Smith, who was playing the Lord of Misrule’s “heir apparent”, a hunting costume consisting of a coat of cloth of gold decorated with red and green checkerwork, a cloth of gold hat decorated with green leaves, and six sets of outfits complete with horns for his attendants. Other items included “Irish apparel” for both a man and woman, costumes for members of his retinue, maces for his sergeant-at-arms, and hobby horses, one of which he ordered to be made with three heads.

Henry Machyn records the Lord of Misrule’s entry into London on 4 January 1553, writing that he was met at Tower Wharf by the Sheriff’s Lord of Misrule, who took a sword and bore it before Ferrers, who was dressed in royal purple velvet furred with ermine, his “robe braided with spangulls of selver full”. Ferrers was accompanied by a large retinue dressed in a livery of blue and white. As well as musicians, fools and morris dancers, there were once again gaolers armed with a pillory, stocks, an axe, shackles and bolts, and prisoners, presumably actors, who were “fast by the leges and sum by the nekes”. They processed through Gracechurch Street and Cornhill, and once again made their way to a scaffold. After a proclamation had been made, Ferrers gave the Sheriff’s Lord of Misrule a gown of gold and silver before knighting him. The two Lords of Misrule toasted each other and as they proceeded onwards, Ferrers’ cofferer distributed silver and gold. The day ended with a feast at the Lord Mayor’s home, a visit to the Sheriff’s house and a banquet course at the Lord Treasurer’s house.
Twelfth Night was celebrated with “The Triumph of Cupid, Venus and Mars”, which, according to Cawarden’s correspondence, was a play devised by Sir George Howard, who was also Master of the Henchmen. Enid Welsford believes that this play was an imitation of the Italian ‘trionfi’, a triumphal procession, and it appears that Venus did indeed enter in a triumphal chariot accompanied by a mask of ladies followed by the marshal and his band. Venus rescued Cupid from the marshal with some kind of mock combat, and at some point, Mars also made his triumphal entry. Thus ended the Twelve Days of Christmas. Once again, the King was pleased his Lord of Misrule and George Ferrers was granted an estate at Flamstead in Hertfordshire.

Although Sydney Anglo makes the point that few records survive detailing the Lord of Misrule’s entertainments in other years, we know from the accounts of Edward VI’s reign that £500 was spent on the revels of Christmas 1551-1552 and £400 on that of 1552-1553, compared to £150 in 1547-1548 and £11 in 1548-1549. The entertainment of George Ferrers’ time as Lord of Misrule was pageantry at its most lavish. Historian Ronald Hutton concludes that the spectacle of Ferrers’ entries into London, for example, “was one of the most elaborate in Tudor history”. It is a shame that the incomplete records only give us a tantalising glimpse into the revelry.

• Dance Away  Evil Spirits : Folklores of the Kukeri in Bulgaria, the Mamuthones in  Sardinia and St Georges in Europe

Return of Spring Sacrifice

The ancient custom of sacrificing divine kings is played out in both Bulgarian and Sardinian festivals in the Dionysian mode by distributing virtual fragments of their mutilated bodies over village fields, thus ensuring the return of a fertile spring. The tradition, which associates the sacrifice of the king or his children with a great scarcity of crops, points to the belief that the king is responsible for the weather and harvests. The spilled blood evokes rainfall for the parched earth, essential for collective survival. According to Frazer, when gods are killed, they take on the role of scapegoat, sweeping away disease, death, and sin from the community, and are eaten symbolically in order to be assimilated.

In the carnival enacted in Samugheo, Sardinia, a related character called S’urtzu-Dioniso, symbolizes the god to be sacrificed. He appears as a goat, which according to legend, is how Dionysus often appeared. Under the goat skin is a bladder filled with blood and water. When he is hit and falls, the bladder breaks and red blood soaks the ground. After this sacrifice, new life emerges.

Kukerovden, which translates as ‘Day of the Kukers’, is a Bulgarian mystery play within the festival, in which each player bears a strong symbolic connection to an archetypal aspect of nature. The Neolithic ritual is designed to bind heaven and earth together by telling a human story that echoes the greater, universal drama.

The wine-fueled Kukerovden ritual includes a tsar or king and a human couple along with a team of attendant kukeri. In an act of bawdy pantomime, the groom impregnates his bride as the kukeri charge, dance and interact with the crowd, jabbing, thrusting, and chasing girls with their long, red poles. Two kukeri are then yoked to a wooden plow, goaded by the tsar as they ritually till three concentric rings. The tsar scatters grain seeds symbolizing the sowing of fields.

The heated climax occurs when the tsar is struck down with the spindle of destiny. Raising his body announces the arrival of spring. By now the bride, a male disguised with kerchief and comically bulging dress is ready to give birth. When the child pops out, usually represented by an androgynous rag doll, the ceremony is complete.

The ritual seems to have originated as an initiation for young Kukeri, historically, boys and young bachelors. Through phallic thrusting and sowing movements. older men would convey the ways of the world and their community. Maimon is the name by which Dionysus is invoked in Sardinia. In Orotell, Maimones mime cultivation by dragging a plow behind them. The deep, indissoluble bond is indicated by ropes that bind the farmers to the yoke. It is no coincidence that Dionysus was especially adored by farmers who considered him the inventor of the plow and the one who had taught men how to lure oxen to ease their labour.

The Koukeri tradition recreates the connection between Nature and Man: earth – woman; ploughing the soil – taking the woman; sowing – inseminating; grain – semen; passing of winter – killing of the Tsar; coming of spring – the Tsar’s resurrection. The Koukeri’s moves bear the signs of sacral code: The stabbings with the red-painted swords represent the phallic copulation moves; the hopping and jumping are to make the wheat grow tall; the body swaying – to make the wheat sway with heavy grain; the rolling on the ground – for Man to take from Earth’s strength; the bells noise – to scare and chase away the evil spirits.

The Koukeri custom was part of the game cycle that prepared the young men for their future roles of husbands and land workers. It was an important rite-of-passage, which gave them the opportunity to learn about and experience life after marriage. A lad, who had not participated in the Koleda, Sourva and Koukeri games, would be considered a “second rate” marriage candidate, and would be put in the same group with the nwith the non-healthy and widowed men. He could only marry a “second rate’ woman – non-healthy, widowed, or one left by her husband.

The main actors of the Koukeri group are: a Tsar (king), a newly wedded couple or an elderly couple, koukeri. They have a chariot or a cart, in which they drive the Tsar around; a plough, with which they ritually till the soil; a wooden pot, full of grain, which the Tsar sows; wooden swords and a club, perceived as phallic symbols; a doll. Despite the regional variances, in the past, the ritual comprised the following sequence of actions: The Koukeri, only young single men, led by the Tsar, a man of respectable age and social standing – prosperous, with a family and children, gathered in the centre of the village, from where, with the musicians in front, they would go to all houses, offering blessings for health, fertility and prosperity. The Bride tries to sweep and clean up the front yard, but does it so clumsily that only causes disorder. The Hosts give the Koukeri food, wine and/ or money, and thank them cordially for the blessings. In turn, the Bride kisses the Host’s hand. After the house rounds have been completed, the Koukeri group, followed by villagers, return to the village square, where they perform their ancient ritual. First, they engage in a battle with the evil spirits by running around, waving arms and swords wildly, and making noise with their bells, thus chasing the evil forces away. The Groom / Old Man use the scuffle to “make love to and inseminate” the Bride / Old Woman. The Koukeri return from the battle and give their Tsar three pieces of bread. Then three circles of ritual ploughing take place. The Tsar walks behind the plough and sows grain, followed by the main group, who are jumping and waving their swords in the air. Upon completion of the tilling, the Tsar blesses the congregation for good health and prosperity, and is then killed by a Kouker. All Koukeri gather above him and resurrect him. The Bride/ Old Woman gives birth to a child, and the Koukeri celebrate with hopping and dancing. During the enactment of the custom, the Koukeri exchange jokes with the spectators. At the end, the Koukeri gather for a dinner with the food and wine, given to them by the villagers. It’s a joyous and elevating event.

In our days, the Koukeri Day is just a festive reminder of times gone by, a merry holiday, whose main importance is to gather people for a joyful celebration of life.

See also The archaic substratum of the end of year celebrations: the traditional significance of the 12 days between Christmas and the Epiphany

The Sardinian version of carnival is called Carrasecare,’meat carried in a cart to be dismembered’. But the term care does not mean meat for butchery, which is always called petta or petza. The term suggests human meat, revealing the arcane function of traditional Sardinia carnivals. Maskers continue to play out the roles, though with different intentions. They are sad events that require a victim or a stand-in effigy to be torn apart, incarnating the deity who had been eaten by Titans, then resurrected by his mother.

The cart also serves as the platform for enacting the consummation of the divine union between the Neolithic Great Mother and her consort-son in Bulgaria. They reappear in Minoan myth as either Demeter or Semele, depending upon the version, as the stand-in for the Great Mother and her consort- son, Dionysus in bull form, representing male virility.
Ensured through these mini-dramas is the fertility of the fields, fruit trees and grape vines, the source of the wine that keeps the excitement of the festivals alive. The magic of these long-repeated rituals seem to be regarded as guarantee for a rich harvest, health and fertility for humans and their domesticated animals with chaos subdued and evil spirits chased away. Read more here

• Nativity Fast

In Christianity, the Nativity Fast—or Fast of the Prophets in Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church—is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and Catholic Church in preparation for the Nativity of Jesus on December 25.^[1] Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches commence the season on November 24 and end the season on the day of Ethiopian Christmas, which falls on January 7.

The corresponding Western season of preparation for Christmas, which also has been called the Nativity Fast^[2] and St. Martin’s Lent, has taken the name of Advent. The Eastern fast runs for 40 days instead of four (in the Roman Rite) or six weeks (Ambrosian Rite) and thematically focuses on proclamation and glorification of the Incarnation of God, whereas the Western Advent focuses on three comings (or advents) of Jesus Christ: his birth, reception of his grace by the faithful, and his Second Coming or Parousia.

The Byzantine fast is observed from November 15 to December 24, inclusively. These dates apply to the Eastern Catholic Churches, and Eastern Orthodox churches which use the Revised Julian calendar, which currently matches the Gregorian calendar. For those Eastern Orthodox churches which still follow the Julian calendar—the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Georgian Orthodox Church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Mount Athos, the Portuguese Orthodox Church, and all Old Calendarists, as well as some parishes of the Romanian Orthodox Church, of the Polish Orthodox Church, and of the Orthodox Church of America—the Winter Lent does not begin until November 28 (Gregorian) which coincides with November 15 on the Julian calendar. The Ancient Church of the East fasts dawn til dusk from December 1 until December 25 on the Gregorian calendar.

• January 14 is “Feast of the Ass” Day

• On January 14, medieval Christians celebrated Feast of the Ass Day, although perhaps not the type of “ass” you may be thinking of!  It actually celebrated the various accounts in the Bible where a donkey (or ass) is mentioned, especially the one that supposedly carried Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt.

Digging Deeper

Not surprisingly, like many or even most Christian holidays, the Feast of the Ass had its origins in Paganism, being derived from the religious feast called Cervulus.

Flight into Egypt by Gentile da Fabriano

During this bestial-based holy day, a ceremony often took place in which a girl with a baby (or a pregnant girl) was led through a village on a donkey, followed by churchgoers answering the priest with “hee-haws” during the related church service or Mass.  In some accounts, the priest himself would bray. 

Amazingly, this nifty holiday fell out of favor around 1500 along with its sister feast, the Feast of Fools.  Apparently some thought the titles and actions of these two celebrations were less than “Christian.” 

Perhaps they should bring this particular feast back and give people a valid excuse, at least one day a year, to make an “ass” / donkey of themselves and ourselves in church or everywhere else in life outside. 

• Landscape as an Image of the Pilgrimage of Life :

Look at the donkey in The Rest on the Flight into Egypt of the “Holy Refugees” by Joachim Patinir…

..he is smiling in his heart…

It depends of the sturburness of our Ego, the Donkey.

In the Spiritual Land of Peace, the donkey, our ego is quiet, he submits totally to the “Holy Refugee” and eats the “Greenness” of the spiritual field of the Land watered by the Eternal Water of Life….

Corona or Covid- is like a rehab intervention that breaks the addictive hold of normality. To interrupt a habit is to make it visible; it is to turn it from a compulsion to a choice. The phenomenon follows the template of initiation: separation from normality, followed by a dilemma, breakdown, or ordeal, followed (if it is to be complete) by reintegration and celebration. Now the question arises: Initiation into what? What is the specific nature and purpose of this initiation? The popular name for the pandemic offers a clue: coronavirus. A corona is a crown. “Novel coronavirus pandemic” means “a new coronation for all.”
A Choice or a possible migration to the Spiritual Land of Peacet

To become a Refugee, a Holy Refugee through an emigration to Sincerity or uprightnees of Love

see:

• Landscape of the soul, as an Image of the Pilgrimage of Life
• Spiritual exercise for the “Refugee” of our Times
• To Become a “Refugee”: Emigration to Sincerity or “uprightness” of Love

We are not the first generation to know that we are destroying the world.  But  we could be the last that can do anything about it, not with the vanity of  earthly knowledge and so called democratic solidarity and wisdom here on earth  as the commercial of WWF wants to convince us, but with asking humbly the help of Divine Wisdom so realising in us the image of the man who painfully transcends his material ego: The birth of his soul. It is a test. It’s time to decide! 

• Treatise on Unification by Ibn al Arabi
  In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Blessings
  upon our master, Mu¢ammad, and upon his family and companions. This is a noble treatise in which I have consigned a tremendous discourse.
  From my incompleteness to my completeness, and from my
  inclination to my equilibrium
  From my grandeur to my beauty, and from my splendour
  to my majesty
  From my scattering to my gathering, and from my exclusion
  to my reunion
  From my baseness to my preciousness, and from my stones to
  my pearls
  From my rising to my setting, and from my days to my
  nights
  From my luminosity to my darkness, and from my guidance
  to my straying
  From my perigee to my apogee, and from the base of my
  lance to its tip

From my waxing to my waning, and from the void of my
moon to its crescent
From my pursuit to my flight, and from my steed to my
gazelle
From my breeze to my boughs, and from my boughs to my
shade
From my shade to my bliss, and from my bliss to my wrath
From my wrath to my likeness, and from my likeness to my
impossibility
From my impossibility to my validity, and from my validity
to my deficiency.
I am no one in existence but myself, so –
Whom do I treat as foe and whom do I treat as friend?
Whom do I call to aid my heart, pierced by a penetrating
arrow,
When the archer is my eyelid,
striking my heart without an
arrow?
Why defend my station? It matters little to me; what do I
care?
For I am in love with none other than myself, and my very
separation is my union.
Do not blame me for my passion. I am inconsolable over the
one who has fled me.

In this book I never cease addressing myself about myself and returning in it to myself from myself.
From my heaven to my earth, from my exemplary practice to my religious duty,

From my pact to my perjury,

from my length to my breadth.

---

From my sense to my intellect and from my intellect to my sense,
– From whence derive two strange sciences, without doubt or
confusion.
From my soul to my spirit and from my spirit to my soul,
– By means of dissolution and coagulation, like the corpse in
the tomb.
From my intuition to my knowledge and from my knowledge
to my intuition,
– Continuous is the light of knowledge; ephemeral the light
of intuition.
From my sanctity to my impurity and from my impurity to
my sanctity,
– Sanctity is in my present and impurity is in yesterday.

From my human-nature to my jinn-nature, and from my
jinn-nature to my human-nature,
– For my jinn-nature seeks to disquiet me and my humannature seeks to set me at ease.
From the narrowness of my body to the vastness of my soul,
And from the vastness of my soul to the prison of my body,
– For my soul denies my intellect and my intellect my soul.
From my entity to my nonentity, and my nonentity to my
entity,
– Where I rejoice to find my composition and lament to find
my dispersion.
From my likeness to my opposite and from my opposite to
my likeness,
– Were it not for Båqil no light of excellence would shine in
Quss.
From my sun to my full moon and from my full moon to
my sun,
– So that I might bring to light what lies hidden in night’s core.
From Persian to Arab and from Arab to Persian,
– To explain the mysteries’ roots and express the realities’
enigmas.
From my root to my branch and from my branch to my root,

For the sake of a life that was buried in death, animate or
inanimate.
Pay no heed, my soul, to the words of that jealous spitemonger,
Or to the remarks of that ignorant presumer, O myrtle of
my soul!
How many ignoramuses have slandered us spiritual beings!
While my revelation descends from the Spirit of inspiration
and sanctity,
He is like a man possessed by a demon whose touch makes
him tremble.18
On the matter of spiritual realization mankind does not
cease to err,
For God’s secret is poised between the shout and the
whisper.
I have called this treatise “Cosmic unification in the presence of essential witnessing, through the assembling of the Human Tree and the Four Spiritual Birds.” I have dedicated it to Ab¬ al-Fawåris Íakhr ibn Sinån, master of the reins of generosity and eloquence. I seek help
from God. He is my support and my assistance, glory be to him!

From The Universal Tree and the Four Birds by Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi,