Let us take a look at how the bird is represented in popular culture.
Consider Dracula. Archetypal bird figure. Magical being who feeds off of the masses. Able to fly, to hypnotize, to control, to do as he pleases. Has an aversion to crosses.
Look at Superman. Here is a good bird who fights for Truth, Justice, and the American way. Who is but a hobbled reflection of Nietzsche's Uberman. And let us not forget George Bernard Shaw's Man and Superman. In Shaw's work Superman is Don Juan, borrowed from Mozart's Don Giovanni. Don Juan as Superman turns up again in the works of Carlos Castaneda.
This figure is a representation of Faust, the man who made a deal with the devil for power. And who is Faust if not Simon Magus? He who sought the secret of the power that Peter possessed.
And what of the twelve sparrows that Jesus formed from clay?
The lord said to the disciples, "[...] from every house. Gather (things) into the father's house; but do not steal and remove (anything) while in the father's house."
Gospel of Philip 55:37-56:1-2 (Layton)
The disciples were thieves as well, taking from every house and gathering the things in the father's house. Like birds bringing shiny objects back to their nests. This is the nature of the relationship between the Church and those who support the Church. Teach the people the wonders of faith and then take advantage of the generosity of the faithful. The only disadvantage being that others might attempt to take advantage of the faithful as well. And so the crucifix serves as a warning to those able to perceive its overt message.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
Monday, June 09, 2003
Making Female Male
114 Simon Peter says to them: "Let Mary go out from our midst, for women are not worthy of life!"
Jesus says: "See, I will guide her so as to make her male so that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who has become male will enter the Kingdom of heaven."
I have noticed that this saying is almost always approached as a metaphor. To even think of it in a literal sense is absurd. So let us examine the absurdity. Let us suppose that the saying is to be understood that Jesus is going to guide Mary and make her male, in the physical sense of the word.
Are there any legends of women becoming male around the proper era?
Well, there is the Fable of Iphis and Ianthe
It is a long fable, the gist of which is: as a wife is about to give birth, her husband demands a boy, threatening to kill the child if it is a girl.
The wife gives birth to a girl which she disguises as a boy. The child is named Iphis. She is dressed and raised as a boy.
When Iphis turns thirteen, she becomes engaged to Ianthe, the most beautiful girl in Phaestus. Ianthe and Iphis are in love, but Iphis knows that shecan't fulfill that love. A woman is not to love another woman, so she appeals to her mother for help. The wedding is put off for as long as possible, but they soon run out of excuses. On the night before the wedding, the distraught mother prays to Isis that the goddess finds some way to end her daughter's misery. When she arises from the altar Iphis has been transformed into a man.
Isis, the Great Mother, performs a gender change from female to male.
The Fable of Iphis and Ianthe
But having done whate'er she could devise,
And empty'd all her magazine of lies,
The time approach'd; the next ensuing day
The fatal secret must to light betray.
Then Telethusa had recourse to pray'r,
She, and her daughter with dishevel'd hair;
Trembling with fear, great Isis they ador'd,
Embrac'd her altar, and her aid implor'd.
Fair queen, who dost on fruitful Egypt smile,
Who sway'st the sceptre of the Pharian isle,
And sev'n-fold falls of disemboguing Nile,
Relieve, in this our last distress, she said,
A suppliant mother, and a mournful maid.
Thou, Goddess, thou wert present to my sight;
Reveal'd I saw thee by thy own fair light:
I saw thee in my dream, as now I see,
With all thy marks of awful majesty:
The glorious train that compass'd thee around;
And heard the hollow timbrels holy sound.
Thy words I noted, which I still retain;
Let not thy sacred oracles be vain.
That Iphis lives, that I myself am free
From shame, and punishment, I owe to thee.
On thy protection all our hopes depend.
Thy counsel sav'd us, let thy pow'r defend.
Her tears pursu'd her words; and while she spoke,
The Goddess nodded, and her altar shook:
The temple doors, as with a blast of wind,
Were heard to clap; the lunar horns that bind
The brows of Isis cast a blaze around;
The trembling timbrel made a murm'ring sound.
Some hopes these happy omens did impart;
Forth went the mother with a beating heart:
Not much in fear, nor fully satisfy'd;
But Iphis follow'd with a larger stride:
The whiteness of her skin forsook her face;
Her looks embolden'd with an awful grace;
Her features, and her strength together grew,
And her long hair to curling locks withdrew.
Her sparkling eyes with manly vigour shone,
Big was her voice, audacious was her tone.
The latent parts, at length reveal'd, began
To shoot, and spread, and burnish into man.
The maid becomes a youth; no more delay
Your vows, but look, and confidently pay.
Their gifts the parents to the temple bear:
The votive tables this inscription wear;
Iphis the man, has to the Goddess paid
The vows, that Iphis offer'd when a maid.
Now when the star of day had shewn his face,
Venus and Juno with their presence grace
The nuptial rites, and Hymen from above
Descending to compleat their happy love;
The Gods of marriage lend their mutual aid;
And the warm youth enjoys the lovely maid.
http://classics.mit.edu/Ovid/metam.9.ninth.html
So we have a legendary account of a woman being turned miraculousy into a man by the goddess Isis. So sex change was conceived of during that distant age.
Now I'd like to turn back to the saying.
Simon Peter says to them: "Let Mary go out from our midst, for women are not worthy of life!"
Calm down Peter. Why is he so upset? Because Jesus is revealing the inner secrets of his teachings and Mary is there, listening with the other disciples. Mary shouldn't have access to this knowledge because she is a woman. With that in mind let us examine a piece of text from the Library of Photius, an account from Diodorus Siculus:
There was an Epidaurian child, named Callo, orphaned of both her parents, who was supposed to be a girl. Now the orifice with which women are naturally provided had in her case no opening, but beside the so-called pecten [pubis] she had from birth a perforation through which she excreted the liquid residues.
On reaching maturity she became the wife of a fellow-citizen. For two years she lived with him, and since she was incapable of intercourse as a woman, she was obliged to submit to unnatural embraces. Later a tumour appeared on her genitals and because it gave rise to great pain a number of physicians were called in. None of the others would take the responsibility for treating her, but a certain apothecary, who offered to cure her, cut into the swollen area, whereupon a man's privates were protruded, namely testicles and an imperforate penis. While all the others stood amazed at the extraordinary event, the apothecary took steps to remedy the remaining deficiencies. First of all, cutting into the glans, he made a passage into the urethra, and inserting a silver catheter drew off the liquid residues. Then, by scarifying the perforated area, he brought the parts together. After achieving a cure in this manner he demanded double fees, saying that he had received a female invalid and made her into a healthy young man.
Callo laid aside her loom-shuttles and all other instruments of woman's work, and taking in their stead the garb andstatus of a man, changed her name (by adding a single letter, N, at the end) to Callon. It is stated by some that before changing to man's form she had been a priestess of Demeter, and that because she had witnessed things not to be seen by a man, she was brought for trial for impiety. (Diodorus Siculus, XXXII 11 [ = Photius, Library, codex 244, 378b])
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Observe the fact that Callo as a woman had been a priestess in the cult of Demeter. When she became a man she was brought to trial, because the secrets she knew were not lawful for a man to know. Compare to Peter's attitude to Mary.
Another point of interest, Demeter is the Greek version of Isis.
Jesus says: "See, I will guide her so as to make her male so that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who has become male will enter the Kingdom of heaven."
I have noticed that this saying is almost always approached as a metaphor. To even think of it in a literal sense is absurd. So let us examine the absurdity. Let us suppose that the saying is to be understood that Jesus is going to guide Mary and make her male, in the physical sense of the word.
Are there any legends of women becoming male around the proper era?
Well, there is the Fable of Iphis and Ianthe
It is a long fable, the gist of which is: as a wife is about to give birth, her husband demands a boy, threatening to kill the child if it is a girl.
The wife gives birth to a girl which she disguises as a boy. The child is named Iphis. She is dressed and raised as a boy.
When Iphis turns thirteen, she becomes engaged to Ianthe, the most beautiful girl in Phaestus. Ianthe and Iphis are in love, but Iphis knows that shecan't fulfill that love. A woman is not to love another woman, so she appeals to her mother for help. The wedding is put off for as long as possible, but they soon run out of excuses. On the night before the wedding, the distraught mother prays to Isis that the goddess finds some way to end her daughter's misery. When she arises from the altar Iphis has been transformed into a man.
Isis, the Great Mother, performs a gender change from female to male.
The Fable of Iphis and Ianthe
But having done whate'er she could devise,
And empty'd all her magazine of lies,
The time approach'd; the next ensuing day
The fatal secret must to light betray.
Then Telethusa had recourse to pray'r,
She, and her daughter with dishevel'd hair;
Trembling with fear, great Isis they ador'd,
Embrac'd her altar, and her aid implor'd.
Fair queen, who dost on fruitful Egypt smile,
Who sway'st the sceptre of the Pharian isle,
And sev'n-fold falls of disemboguing Nile,
Relieve, in this our last distress, she said,
A suppliant mother, and a mournful maid.
Thou, Goddess, thou wert present to my sight;
Reveal'd I saw thee by thy own fair light:
I saw thee in my dream, as now I see,
With all thy marks of awful majesty:
The glorious train that compass'd thee around;
And heard the hollow timbrels holy sound.
Thy words I noted, which I still retain;
Let not thy sacred oracles be vain.
That Iphis lives, that I myself am free
From shame, and punishment, I owe to thee.
On thy protection all our hopes depend.
Thy counsel sav'd us, let thy pow'r defend.
Her tears pursu'd her words; and while she spoke,
The Goddess nodded, and her altar shook:
The temple doors, as with a blast of wind,
Were heard to clap; the lunar horns that bind
The brows of Isis cast a blaze around;
The trembling timbrel made a murm'ring sound.
Some hopes these happy omens did impart;
Forth went the mother with a beating heart:
Not much in fear, nor fully satisfy'd;
But Iphis follow'd with a larger stride:
The whiteness of her skin forsook her face;
Her looks embolden'd with an awful grace;
Her features, and her strength together grew,
And her long hair to curling locks withdrew.
Her sparkling eyes with manly vigour shone,
Big was her voice, audacious was her tone.
The latent parts, at length reveal'd, began
To shoot, and spread, and burnish into man.
The maid becomes a youth; no more delay
Your vows, but look, and confidently pay.
Their gifts the parents to the temple bear:
The votive tables this inscription wear;
Iphis the man, has to the Goddess paid
The vows, that Iphis offer'd when a maid.
Now when the star of day had shewn his face,
Venus and Juno with their presence grace
The nuptial rites, and Hymen from above
Descending to compleat their happy love;
The Gods of marriage lend their mutual aid;
And the warm youth enjoys the lovely maid.
http://classics.mit.edu/Ovid/metam.9.ninth.html
So we have a legendary account of a woman being turned miraculousy into a man by the goddess Isis. So sex change was conceived of during that distant age.
Now I'd like to turn back to the saying.
Simon Peter says to them: "Let Mary go out from our midst, for women are not worthy of life!"
Calm down Peter. Why is he so upset? Because Jesus is revealing the inner secrets of his teachings and Mary is there, listening with the other disciples. Mary shouldn't have access to this knowledge because she is a woman. With that in mind let us examine a piece of text from the Library of Photius, an account from Diodorus Siculus:
There was an Epidaurian child, named Callo, orphaned of both her parents, who was supposed to be a girl. Now the orifice with which women are naturally provided had in her case no opening, but beside the so-called pecten [pubis] she had from birth a perforation through which she excreted the liquid residues.
On reaching maturity she became the wife of a fellow-citizen. For two years she lived with him, and since she was incapable of intercourse as a woman, she was obliged to submit to unnatural embraces. Later a tumour appeared on her genitals and because it gave rise to great pain a number of physicians were called in. None of the others would take the responsibility for treating her, but a certain apothecary, who offered to cure her, cut into the swollen area, whereupon a man's privates were protruded, namely testicles and an imperforate penis. While all the others stood amazed at the extraordinary event, the apothecary took steps to remedy the remaining deficiencies. First of all, cutting into the glans, he made a passage into the urethra, and inserting a silver catheter drew off the liquid residues. Then, by scarifying the perforated area, he brought the parts together. After achieving a cure in this manner he demanded double fees, saying that he had received a female invalid and made her into a healthy young man.
Callo laid aside her loom-shuttles and all other instruments of woman's work, and taking in their stead the garb andstatus of a man, changed her name (by adding a single letter, N, at the end) to Callon. It is stated by some that before changing to man's form she had been a priestess of Demeter, and that because she had witnessed things not to be seen by a man, she was brought for trial for impiety. (Diodorus Siculus, XXXII 11 [ = Photius, Library, codex 244, 378b])
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Observe the fact that Callo as a woman had been a priestess in the cult of Demeter. When she became a man she was brought to trial, because the secrets she knew were not lawful for a man to know. Compare to Peter's attitude to Mary.
Another point of interest, Demeter is the Greek version of Isis.
Sunday, June 08, 2003
Stereoscopic Training, Reloaded
Remember,
you are to make the male and the female into a single one,
so that the male is not male and the female not female,
you are to make eyes in place of an eye,
and a hand in place of a hand,
and an image in place of an image,
only then shall you exit the Matrix.
you are to make the male and the female into a single one,
so that the male is not male and the female not female,
you are to make eyes in place of an eye,
and a hand in place of a hand,
and an image in place of an image,
only then shall you exit the Matrix.
THE PARABLE OF THE EYE OF THE SQUINT-EYED
THE PARABLE OF THE EYE OF THE SQUINT-EYED
Now let's take a look at a sacred Islamic text on just this question.
Excerpt from THE ENCLOSED GARDEN OF THE TRUTH
EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY J. STEPHENSON,
[1910]
A squint-eyed son asked his father, O thou whose words are as a key to the things that are locked up, why saidst thou that a squinter sees double? I see no more things than there are; if a squint-eyed person counted things crookedly, the two moons that are in the heavens would seem four.
But he who spoke thus spoke in error; for if a squinter looks at a dome, it is doubled.
Now let's take a look at a sacred Islamic text on just this question.
Excerpt from THE ENCLOSED GARDEN OF THE TRUTH
EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY J. STEPHENSON,
[1910]
A squint-eyed son asked his father, O thou whose words are as a key to the things that are locked up, why saidst thou that a squinter sees double? I see no more things than there are; if a squint-eyed person counted things crookedly, the two moons that are in the heavens would seem four.
But he who spoke thus spoke in error; for if a squinter looks at a dome, it is doubled.
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