Chess

The strongest evidence that Sir Thomas Browne was a Chess-player occurs in his spiritual testimony and psychological self-portrait   Religio Medici. Browne not only displays a familiarity with the game of Chess, but also apprehends the impending schism in the western intellect between scientific reason and religious faith stating-

 Thus the Devill played at Chesse with mee, and yeelding a pawne, thought to gaine a Queen of me, taking advantage of my honest endeavours; and whilst I labour'd to raise the structure of my reason, hee striv'd to undermine the edifice of my faith. -  R.M. Part 1:19

The game of  Chess is mentioned in the lesser-known half of  the 1658  Diptych Discourses,  The Garden of Cyrus. Aptly to his theme of   pleasurable delights, Browne alludes to several pastimes, including Backgammon, skittles and  the little stones in the old game of Pentalithismus, or casting up five stones to catch them on the back of their hand.

In The Garden of Cyrus Browne orbits beyond the ordered patterns of games such as Chess  and Backgammon (Tables)  into a near stream-of-consciousness rapture, utilizing dense layers of cosmic and Hermetic symbolism-

In Chesse-boards and Tables we yet finde Pyramids and Squares, I wish we had their true and ancient description, farre different from ours, or the Chet mat of the Persians, and might continue some elegant remarkables, as being an invention as High as Hermes the Secretary of Osyris, figuring the whole world, the motion of the Planets, with Eclipses of Sunne and Moon.

The Tower

The Tarot card of the Tower seems a highly symbolic and appropriate depiction of contemporary world-events, not only of the unrest and challenge against incumbent governments throughout North Africa, but also of the sudden change of fortune experienced by many today. The card depicts a tower struck by lightning with two figures falling headlong from it.

It’s probably best to state at the very outset that personally I give little credence whatsoever to any fortune-telling aspect of Tarot cards, all such methods of divination of individual destiny being prone to highly subjective interpretation; but its also worth reminding those who condemn any form of occult divination that the foremost book which has shaped the Western psyche for millennia, namely the Bible, has itself been used as a source of divination in the form of bibliomancy, that is, the casual choosing of  a  verse from a randomly opened Bible to be heeded as God-given advice upon a situation.

The Tarot is believed to have originated from Northern Italy, a hand-painted Tarot pack was created for the Duke of Milan in 1415. Sometimes believed to contain the wisdom of the mythic ancient Egyptian god Thoth-Hermes, Tarot cards have fascinated and intrigued many minds throughout history. Even the eminent 20th century psychologist Carl Jung, after attending a lecture upon Tarot cards was open-minded enough to confess that- 

'It seems as if the set of pictures in the Tarot cards were distantly descended from the archetypes of transformation'.  (CW 9 i:81) 

 It’s in this context, as  pictorial representations of  archetypes, that the  cards of the Tarot are of particular  psychological interest.

Mention of towers can be found throughout the Old Testament; frequently alluded to in the form of a fortified frontier post or watch-tower for vine-yards. More importantly, the tower in the Bible often symbolizes  an impregnable stronghold in which to place one’s trust in God.

For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. 

-Psalm 61 v. 3

But occasionally  the tower in the Bible is likened to the human body, especially in the love poetry of Solomon’s Song –

Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury. 

Thy neck is  as a tower of ivory;….. thy nose  is as the tower of Lebanon.

I am a wall, and my breasts like towers.    Solomon’s Song  4:4, 7:4 and  8:10

The symbolism of the tower card in the Tarot may originate  from the Biblical Fall of Man, or more aptly, to the tower of Babylon which was destroyed by God as punishment for Man’s overweening pride (Genesis 11). In modern times the symbolism of a tower struck suddenly by lightning holds a peculiar resonance to the devastating trauma of the 9/11  attack upon the twin towers of the World Trade Centre.

There are a number of interpretations relating to the Tarot  card of the Tower but most conform to a standard meaning. These include - Chaos, Sudden change, Hard times, Crisis, Revelation, Disruption, Realizing the truth, Disillusion, Uncomfortable experience, Downfall, Ruin, Ego blow,  Explosive transformation, failure and catastrophe.

Other interpretations of this flexible and inevitably inexhaustible symbol include the paradigms constructed by the ego and the sum total of all schemata which the mind constructs to understand the universe. Frequently a symbol of ascent heavenwards, as in the Babylonian tower, the Tower is struck by lightning when reality does not conform to expectation. Another interpretative insight of the Tower card is the war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth, in which, ‘false concepts, beliefs and institutions come tumbling down, suddenly, violently and all at once resulting in being blinded by a shocking revelation'. It sometimes takes a devastating  lightning strike to see a truth that one refuses to see. Such  cataclysmic activity is sometimes necessary for real change and growth.

Yet another highly relevant interpretation of this enigmatic, yet archetypal card is that it symbolizes hard times, sudden change, crisis and ruin, a trauma experienced by many individual lives at present.

                                                         *  *  *   *  *   *
Highly  Recommended reading-
Meditations on the Tarot : A journey into Christian Hermeticism
by Anon, Element  1985
(Although the author is stated as anon, the Russian theosophist,
Valentin Tomberg is considered to be the author).

Dragon

The city of  Norwich UK  hosts its second-ever Dragon Festival from 12th - 27th February. Norwich’s association with the fabled, mythic beast is strong and images of dragons  in either carving, stained-glass or wood sculpture can be found throughout the City, often in its fine medieval buildings. 

The Dragon played a prominent role in the medieval Guild processions once held in Norwich. Simon Wilkins describes a medieval Guild procession thus-

There has been from time immemorial, on Mayor’s Day at Norwich, an annual pageant, the sole remnant of St. George's guild, in which an immense dragon, horrible to view, with hydra head, and gaping jaws and wings, and scales bedecked in gold and green, is carried about by a luckless wight, whose task it is, the live-long-day, by string and pulley from within to open and shut the monster's jaws, by way of levying contributions on the gaping multitude, especially of youthful gazers, with whom it is matter of half terror, half joy, to pop a half-penny into the opened mouth of SNAP, (so is he called) whose bow of thanks, with long and forked tail high waved in air, acknowledges the gift. Throughout the rest of the year, fell Snap lives on the forage of that memorable day: quietly reposing in the hall of his conqueror's sainted brother, St. Andrew, where the civic feast is held.

The association of the dragon with England's Saint George was developed throughout the middle Ages. The story of Saint George slaying the dragon does not describe an historical event, but is symbolic of the victory of St. George, the embodiment of Christian faith, over evil and the forces of the devil, the enemy of God, the dragon. As a patriotic symbol of national pride and power, George and the dragon became synonymous with the forces of good versus evil and the triumph of England over her enemies. But in fact the dragon and its complex, archaic symbolism can  be found throughout World-cultures.

In ancient Egypt Pharaoh was assimilated to the God Re, the conqueror of the dragon Apophysis. The dragon Marduk in the Babylonian creation myth was the tutelary god of ancient Babylon. Depicted as a composite creature  Marduk had a head and tail of a serpent, the body and fore-legs of a lion and hind legs of a falcon. In Judaic tradition the pagan kings were represented in the likeness of a dragon, such is the Nebuchadnezzar described by Jeremiah and the Pompey in the Psalms of  Solomon. In Chinese mythology the dragon represents the east, sunrise, spring and fertility. Long Wang, the dragon kings who were responsible for rain were also gods of rivers, lakes and oceans who protected ferryman and water-bearers. In many cultures, including China, the dragon  is a celestial symbol of the life-force and the power of manifestation.

The roots of the word dragon originate from the Greek drakon meaning a serpent. The eminent scholar of comparative religion, Mircea Eliade succinctly defines the interconnection of dragon/serpent/snake symbolism thus-

The dragon is the paradigmatic figure of the marine monster, of the primordial snake, symbol of the cosmic waters, of darkness, night, and death – in short, of the amorphous and virtual, of everything that has not acquired a form. 

Though today the dragon is now reduced to commercial fantasy and heritage promotion status,  in the seventeenth century the Norwich philosopher Sir Thomas Browne was aware of the extensive symbolism associated with  dragons. Browne was a scholar of comparative religion who, not only devoted a short chapter upon the history of the George and the Dragon myth  in his Pseudodoxia Epidemica, (Bk.5 chapter 17) but also possessed  books in which alchemical  symbolism  associated with the dragon was developed.

In Martin Ruland's Lexicon Alchemiae (Frankfurt,1612) for example, once upon the groaning shelves of Browne’s vast private library, the magic powers of a stone acquired from the dragon are recorded. The psychologist Carl Jung, referring to Ruland's Dictionary explains-  

This stone was known to Pliny and to medieval alchemists, who named it dracnites, or drachetes. It was reputed to be a precious stone, which could be obtained by cutting off the head of a sleeping dragon.. But it becomes a gem only when a bit of the dragon's soul remains inside, and this is the "hate of the monster as it feels itself dying." ...Even though there are no dragons nowadays, these draconites are occasionally found in the heads of water-snakes. Ruland asserts that he has seen such stones, blue or black in colour.  Vol. 9 ii 214

During the twentieth century Jung wrote extensively upon the dragon's varied symbolic attributes, including its being chained to the underworld, its many-eyes, its wings, ever-wakefulness, fire-spitting, poison and tail-eating. In fact a bewildering number of references, often of a seemingly contradictory nature in the dragon's symbolism can be found in Jung's writings. Importantly however, Jung knew of the dragon's intimate relationship to alchemy, for the tail-eating dragon, or Ouroboros or mercurial serpent it became a major emblem of the alchemical art itself. In Alchemy and Religion Jung speculates-

They are personified by the serpens mercurii, the dragon that creates and destroys itself and represents the prima materia. This fundamental idea of alchemy points back to the Tehom, to Tiamat with her dragon attribute, and thus to the primordial matriarchal world which, in the theomachy of the Marduk myth, was overthrown by the masculine world of the father. The historical shift in the world's consciousness towards the masculine is compensated by the chthonic  femininity of the unconscious.  - CW 12:26

Its great that the Norwich Dragon Festival is back by popular demand in 2014.  The  events held in Norwich during the next two weeks - predominantly those of an educational, arts and crafts, children-orientated theme, help promote awareness of this mythic creature and the City’s cultural heritage. But expect no learned lectures upon the chthonic origins of the dragon, or its powerful role in esoteric symbolism. However, the consequences of the present-day socio-economic climate for many in the UK, indeed for many of the wider world, may be described as being in combat against the dragon.

Pictures Top - An engraving by Lucas Jennis from alchemical tract  

De Lapide Philisophico (1599)

Bottom - Norwich Snap Dragon in Castle Museum

Books consulted

The Sacred and Profane Mircea Eliade 1957

The Penguin Dictionary of Symbols 1977

C. G. Jung Collected Works vol 9 i and ii, vol. 12, 13, 14.

Facsimile of 1711 Sales Auction of Sir Thomas Browne's Library

Martin Ruland -Dictionary of Alchemy Frankfurt 1612
listed in 1711 Sales Catalogue page 22 no. 119

Black Swan

                                   Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Yesterday I attended a screening of  the latest Darren Aronofsky film, the controversial  Black Swan. Set in  New York in the gruelling world of  a Ballet company in rehearsal, it’s the story of  Nina  who has to prove herself capable of performing the dual lead role of Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. The theatrical director thinks  she is too much a perfectionist and although technically  able to perform the part of Odette, the white swan, out of touch with her inner, sexual self  to  perform the role of Odile, the black swan.

It should be remembered that in some ways the dual role of white swan/black swan in Tchaikovsky's perennial masterpiece is the Hamlet role in the ballet world. It requires that the dancer not only projects the pure innocence of the white swan heroine, but also the seductive femme fatale role of the black swan. There's  not too many dramatic roles which demand acting both the goodie and the baddie.

It’s a slow burner of a film which deliberately plays tricks upon the viewer. Natalie Portman’s acting throughout totally engages the audience to empathize with her fate as she confronts her possessive and manipulative mother, jealous peers and predatory director.  Issues such as body image, sexuality, rivalry, madness, obsessiveness and the quest for perfection are explored as Nina’s psyche  slowly unravels under pressure into  a deceptive hallucinatory world.

Natalie Portman has already won numerous awards for her acting in Black Swan and may yet well win more in the coming Oscar season. Personally I feel she deserves to. She acted a  not dissimilar role of  disintegration of personality in Milos Foreman’s 'Goya’s Ghosts' (2006).

 Black Swan has been compared in its decent into paranoia and madness to Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby, Repulsion and The Tenant as a psycho-drama. It's as scary as the aforementioned Polanski films in horror and subtle deception of the viewer.  Film critics  however seem to be sharply divided between hate and admiration of Black Swan, some considering Aronofsky’s offering  to be shallow, pretentious and stereotypical in its portrayal of ambitious women, and those who consider it  redeemed by compelling performances  and direction.

 Black Swan shares some of the thematic concerns of Powell and Pressburger’s 1948 ballet film The Red Shoes in its portrait of artistic destruction in the quest for perfection. In essence however Aronofsky's Black Swan is a  horror psycho-drama which exploits the physical and mental pressures of ballet for its own artistic agenda.

                   Prima ballerina Irena Kolesnikova in the role 
                     of the black Swan in  Swan Lake

Cosmo's Factory

 Probably the greatest American 70’s rock album ever !

 Can it really be 40 years ago today that I purchased for my birthday at the princely sum of 39 shillings and 11 pence, the album 'Cosmo's Factory'?  As a choirboy the  singing of John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s front-man simply astounded me.  Not only did he pen the band’s numerous hits, playing  a mean, lean, clean and bluesy lead guitar, but also sang  like some crooning Mississippi swamp bull-frog. It was unknown to me and to most Brit’s probably, that in fact the band hailed from Berkeley, California and  were  not from the south at all, but  were  creating a highly original pastiche, inspired by the music of New Orleans and the bayou swamp lands. In fact their first ‘hit ‘Proud Mary’ alludes to New Orleans.  When Tina Turner covered 'Proud Mary' it regenerated her career.  But what a lot of people don’t know is that  the British band Status Quo's  mega-hit  ‘Rockin’ all over the world’   was also penned by J .C. Fogerty.

Emerging out the late 60’s Creedence  Clearwater played at the swan-song  festival of the 60’s,‘Woodstock’, but because of the over-indulgence of the previous act, Grateful Dead, they didn’t appear on stage until 3 a.m. Not too surprisingly  given the circumstances, the footage of their performances is long lost.

 It’s just the sheer joy of hearing Creedence’s tight, 3 minutes  of feelgood songs with strong melodies which makes them  continue to be one of the most played bands on American radio. The quintessential all-American band, as  American as Mom's apple-pie, they have now sold over 26 million records world-wide. When other bands went for a slick studio production Creedence’s ‘keep it simple’ style ensured that they were as good to hear live as in the studio.

 During their meteoric and short-lived rise to fame CCR spawned number one hit after hit  in America and the UK.  Powered by the driving bass and drums of Stu Cook and Doug Clifford with Tom Fogerty on rhythm guitar CCR became the sound of early 70's American pop-rock. However, a grueling schedule of near non-stop recording sessions and touring meant that the  band did not last long with artistic conflicts between band-members, notably between John and his elder brother Tom Fogerty.

 At first hearing many believe the band’s  2 minute hit-single ‘Travelling Band’  on 'Cosmo's Factory'   to be a 50’s song, but its evidence  of  J.C.Fogerty’s genius to pastiche classic 50’s pop in an updated way. Every track on ‘Cosmo’s Factory’ is a classic.

One of the most amazing rock-guitar solo’s ever occurs on Cosmo’s Factory.  Fogerty, who is easily a guitar virtuoso equal to Carlos Santana or Jimmy Page,  covers Marvin Gaye’s ‘I heard it through the Grapevine' with soulful vocal and blistering guitar solo.  His funky soul-based guitar playing on the track confirms him to be  a musical  adept  of many genres, including country and western,  R 'n' B, pop, rock  and soul music.

I had the pleasure of seeing John Fogerty interviewed on a T.V. chat-show a few years ago.  A modest, soft-spoken, American gentleman, ever the musician-trooper he continues to successfully tour and is popular in  Scandinavian countries.

Tonight  I hope to be celebrating my birthday with  friends and a 1970’s cold war drink, vodka and coke, cranking  up the volume for what is quite simply in my humble opinion, the greatest guitar solo ever  - as heard on the 11 minute studio jam track of Creedence's cover version of ‘I heard it through the Grapevine’.  

Today is the birth-dates of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lewis Carroll and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. It is also World Holocaust Memorial Day.