the net
So this drawing was supposed to accompany my last post (about da'ath and the tree of knowledge), but as is evidenced by the fact that it took me several days to draw it, it seems obvious that I'm much more willing to express myself verbally than graphicaly. Interestingly enough, when it comes to my own understanding of these concepts things are much more multisensory. A weave of words, lines, sounds, feelings, colors, tensions, etc. is conjured up by any thought, so expressing anything in just words or images falls far short of catching any intended meaning. And so of course, this picture is nothing like what I had intended it to be, but still manages to capture some of the nuances that have been bouncing around my head the past week. It also doesn't help that I'm not trying to represent any sort of "truth", but only shades of interpretation.
That being said, it should be obvious that the straight lines running towards the axis are supposed to represent the tree of life, or an ordered (linear) perspective of reality. I debated leaving a blank line between each of the trees around the circle, but once the pen's on the paper, that's that (and it amuses me to think of the trees as overlapping). The eye at the axis is kether, or non-local connection, or universal conscioussness (singularity). There would ideally be an infinite amount of tree of life lines connected here to show how everything is connected, but that would have been a bit messy. The radial lines are da'ath, the tree of knowledge, or the connections on which the various jewels (sephiroth) hang. They could also be seen as ripples emanating from the axis, like those caused by a stone dropped in water, and are thus also representative of the waves that are space-time and the primordial ocean of chaos on which an ordered perspective is placed to form the matrix/ net of reality.
The faint curving lines that look like lotus petals are an example of phyllotaxis, which is the method by which certain flower petals form along the golden spiral (taught to me by my good friend Alberto Almarza, one of the greatest living alchemical artists, but with absolutely no web presence of his work (yet)). I only penciled these lines in to see how they lined up with the paths of the tree of life, which they did remarkably well, except that they connect chokmah to geburah (15) and binah to chesed (17) through the abyss placement of da'ath and not to tipharet. Which would make sense if da'ath were actually a sphere and a higher harmonic of tipharet and not an infernal ghost in the machine.
The striated lines surrounding the spheres and the net itself indicate radiance, and are purely decorative. I also considered drawing an arrow to malkuth labled "you are here," but thought it wasn't all that necessary.
and here's a little something I wrote the other day while immersed in the wonderful illustrations of Roob's "Alchemy and Mysticism":
Drawn forth from the flood
all being resplendent
in a single shared cup.
Drink your fill
and dance on the waves.
The whole world falls
at your feet
ring after ring after ring.
Where is the kingdom
with a thousand centers
and none?
Drawn down from the stars
and traced in the dirt.
At crossed roads
and the shifting shore,
standing with one foot
in the the sea. The tides
stop for no man,
they wash up and you
are in,
they sway back and you
are naught.
Up and back, ceaseless
and serene at dawn
but so terrible
when they are gone.
So rise, plant both feet
in the air, the wind
waves as well; but across
no bounds
but your skin.
Strip it away and away.
What is left for the wind
to caress but your soul?
4 comments:
thanks again, I am more than happy to share my experiences, and it is a pleasent surprise when someone else is actually touched by them. It's funny because I feel myself pulled in two different spiritual directions right now, a yogic (almost zen) one that focuses on being very present in my body and in the small details of my life, and of course the more esoteric qabalistic direction, which I know very little about and often get confused over my lack of a grasp on some of the concepts. Never-the-less I am trying to find a place where these paths join, where my intellectual and qabalistic understanding of the world matches my visceral nad moment to moment experiences of it. And sharing and getting feedback is crucial to that
Currently I am meditating on the spheres as a series, each night working up from my roots to my crown. For this purpose I usually focus on the chakras, as I have a lot more physiological relationship with them than the sephiroth. Up till now I have gone with the mapping between the two that metachor and I worked out (and detailed in that wonderful mapping he posted on vortex egg with other systems he has been working with). But now I am beginning to feel uncertain about a lot of the traditional mappings of the tree of life and need to establish a new framework for the spheres in the qabalistic context. But meditation seems to aid in that greatly. Thanks again for your input.
Man, I freaking love that piece. I painted something similar, oddly enough - but in a completely non-similar way. Mine is a great series of concentric rings of blended colour, but even so, I get this one deeply. Kick arse.
One Faced Janus (not to be confused w/ any other Jani - is Jani even the right plural?)
what is right? what is wrong? words are so maleable that sometimes any will do. I think Jani works well enough in this case.
thanks for your appreciation of the drawing. I think i have actually done a few paintings like this with silk paint, which I will try and post here soon.
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