I have composed this work neither for the common people, nor for beginners, nor for those who occupy themselves only with the Law as it is handed down without concerning themselves with its principles.
‘The Guide For The Perplexed’, Maimonides (12th Century)
Vol I: Chapter 2: “The Rabbit in The Garden”
Posted in Symbolism, The Quest on July 1, 2009 by spinoza38
E N T E R
……..~ The Garden Of Forking Paths ~………
I stared at the piece of paper again – “The Message”:
“To follow the Path, you must chase The Rabbit”
I looked back into the package from where it came, reached inside, and carefully removed the contents. They were just a few sheets of paper – weathered and yellow – resembling part of some ancient manuscript, that would crumble at the slightest touch.
The shapes and symbols were certainly from another Time and Place, yet they looked so familiar……”INstRuktIons:“, the letters on the first page read, in thick red ink.
Shaking with nervous anticipation, I placed them down on the large table in front of me, lit the candle so as to be able to read from my books, and set about deciphering the code.
“Friend or Foe?”
Posted in Commentary, Mysticism, Mythology, Occult, Philosophy, Religion, Symbolism on June 24, 2009 by spinoza38“The greatest mystery of the infinite is the existence of Him for whom alone all is without mystery.”
Preface to ‘The Key to the Great Mysteries’
by Eliphas Lévi (1861)
Baphomet
Baphomet is a name of unestablished origin.
It appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 1300s. However, in the 19th century the name came into popular English-speaking consciousness with the publication of various pseudo-history works that tried to link the Knights Templar with conspiracy theories elaborating on their suppression. The name Baphomet then became associated with a “Sabbatic Goat” image drawn by Eliphas Lévi.
Baphomet has occasionally been portrayed as a synonym of Satan or a demon, a member of the hierarchy of Hell.
Baphomet appears in that guise as a character in James Blish‘s The Day After Judgment. Christian evangelist Jack Chick claims that Baphomet is a demon worshipped by Freemasons, a claim that apparently originated with the Taxil hoax.
Léo Taxil‘s elaborate hoax employed a version of Lévi’s Baphomet on the cover of Les Mystères de la franc-maçonnerie dévoilés, his lurid paperback “exposé” of Freemasonry, which in 1897 he revealed as a hoax satirizing ultra-Catholic anti-Masonic propaganda.
In the 19th century, the name of Baphomet had become associated with the occult. In 1854, Eliphas Levi published Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (“Dogmas and Rituals of High Magic”), in which he included an image he had drawn himself which he described as Baphomet and “The Sabbatic Goat”, showing a winged humanoid goat with a pair of breasts and a torch on its head between its horns (illustration, top). This image has become the best-known representation of Baphomet.
The downward-pointing pentagram on its forehead is enlarged upon by Lévi in his illustration of a goat’s head arranged within such a pentagram, which he contrasts with the microcosmic man arranged within a similar but upright pentagram.
Source: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baphomet%5D
Wikipedia Portal to: [Occult]
~ The Consolation of Philosophy ~
Posted in Commentary, The Quest on June 22, 2009 by spinoza38Where does it come from – this Quest?
This need – to solve life’s mysteries from the simplest of questions, can never be answered:
Why are we here ?.. What is the soul ?.. Why do we dream ?
Perhaps we’d be better off not looking at all. Not delving; not yearning. But that’s not human nature – not the human heart. That is not why we are here.
Yet still we struggle to make a difference. To change the world. To dream of hope. Never knowing for certain who we will meet along the way.
Who among the world of strangers, will hold our hand. Touch our hearts. And share the pain of trying.
H E R (O) E S, Volume I: Genesis,
Chapter 23: How To Stop An Exploding Man
(2007)
~ Lessons in Strategy ~
Posted in Commentary, Ethics, History, Literature, Philosophy on June 20, 2009 by spinoza38It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.
Sun Tzu (6th Century BCE)
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.
(from Chapter One, ‘The Art of War’ by Sun Tzu)
To read or download the e-book of “The Art of War”:
[click here] format: [.pdf]
~ A Message of Hope? ~
Posted in Commentary, History, Philosophy on June 16, 2009 by spinoza38WAR is the Father and King of All:
Some He has made Gods, and some Men;
some slaves and some free.
Heraclitus of Ephesus, (c.535 BC – 475 BC)
“A man’s character is his fate”
~ The 9 in Numb3rland ~
Posted in Commentary, Mathematics, Metaphysics, Mysticism, Philosophy, Religion, Symbolism, The Quest on July 3, 2009 by spinoza38