"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1:35
Part III of the Katharsis exegesis (or maybe you would be happier if it were called an eisegesis?) will be concerned with explaining the various symbolism that can be found throughout many traditions in an attempt to reconcile them all with the idea of The Opportunity for Divine Providence. As such, as I take aboard different stories/images/scripture I will name them all under the banner of 'Part III' (a, b, c etc.).
The first such scriptural story that I wished to examine in this light is The Annunciation - the moment in which the archangel Gabriel informs Mary that she is to give birth to the Son of God. This scene has been the focus of countless visual depictions throughout the past two millenia, and I shall draw heavily upon some of the common elements amongst these depictions as they contain within them symbolism that was directly utilized by alchemical writers in their descriptions of the Great Work.
Theotokos vs ChristotokosAt the council of Ephesus in 431 (the Third Ecumenical Council) we see a debate as to the true nature of Mary and her relationship to the Christ. In the officially sanctioned term, Theotokos, Mary is seen as the child-bearer of God; thus with the Annunciation God enters Mary's womb and she conceives the incarnation of God. The other term, Christotokos, refers to the idea that Mary gave birth to the physical form that was Jesus (Mother of Christ); whilst the Divine Logos inhabited that body (or in relation to the idea of the OfDP, the physical man that was Jesus worked as the perfect conduit for the Divine Logos). The notion is basically that the physical flesh that became Jesus comes from Mary; whilst the Logos of God worked through Jesus and his physical form, but did not originate from within Mary herself. This idea, referred to as Nestorianism due to its main proponent at the time, was declared heretical at the Council of Ephesus and caused a schism within the Church.
When relating the story of Mary to the philosophical notion of Divine Providence being presented, the concept behind Nestorianism seems to be more in line. However, we will be taking this a step further by showing that the mythology of the Mary/Jesus connection was actually in reference to two seperate states of being within a single conscious entity - a state of being that led to the purity and cohesion of body/spirit/soul that is necessary for the Divine Providence to manifest in this physical, and most corrupted, realm of existence.
Imagery of The Annunciation and Alchemical Symbolism Alchemical writers were undoubtedly well versed in the mythology of the Annunciation and the various imagery that surrounded it - and indeed we see a surge of highly symbolic depictions of the event emerging between the 13th-16th centurys. What will be examined here are some of the common motifs that are present within the majority of the depictions, as well as an explanation of these motifs that relates them directly to the idea that the figure of Mary is in reality an allegory for a physical state of being that exists prior to the attainment of the Christ-Lapis. It is the White Elixir of the alchemists, the perfection of the feminine emotional aspect of our consciousness that is often referred to as the completion of the Lesser Work. Through the completion of this Lesser Work we are able to, free from emotional ego, work upon the 'masculine', intellectual ego without want for end result (a want which is the result of emotional attachment to particular outcomes). The freeing of ourselves from this intellectual ego is the completion of the Greater Work and the creation of the Red Elixir - it is the final step that must occur before the purification of the perfect conduit for Divine Providence - the Christ - can mature. With the creation of the Christ we have a physical conduit for the 'Holy Spirit', which is the Christ-Lapis that allows those who come into contact with it to feel the heavy weight of lead lifting towards the gold that is the experience of being in the presence of the Divine Logos. The concept of The Opportunity for Divine Providence is not solely based on alchemical imagery however, but at this stage it is the most relevant model that I have before me and as thus I will be relying heavily upon its language and concepts - at least for the near future.
Biblical CommentaryIn regards to biblical commentary I must begin with a disclaimer. I am not attempting to spin every line of the bible into the exegesis of Divine Providence that I am presenting - the books that make up the accepted bible (and we will also be examining many from the same era that don't) are told from a certain perspective and with a particular outcome in mind. Whether or not the various accounts are historically valid, pure allegory, or are complicated pastiches of past traditions is not the concern of this portion of the Katharsis series (there is a strong argument to be made that the Mary/Jesus figures were directly influenced by the Isis/Horus statues of Egypt but that is for another time). What is of concern here are the aspects of imagery that are being presented that are in line with the theological argument being considered - which to repeat once more is that the Divine Light requires the use of our physical bodies, readied through a systematic purification and union of body/spirit/soul, to affect change (Providence) in this corrupted, material realm. I do realise that being able to pick and choose which lines I want to interpret in this manner allows me to define the battlelines as such, but as this is a developing work I do not see this as much of a problem at this early stage; there will be plenty of time for a more cohesive vision of the argument to emerge over the course of the Katharsis series and the dialogues with others that come about as a result. Now to begin proper...
Our main source of information that inspires the Annunciation is the Gospel of Luke 1:26-38; with an extension of the story after that where Mary visits Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. So it is with these verses that we will begin our commentary (from the KJV):
To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. It is here that we are introduced to Mary as the virgin who is espoused to Joseph of the House of David. It should be noted here that if the story is to be taken literally then Jesus would not be of the lineage of King David, as Jesus is born of a virgin and is therefore only of the Lineage of the Divine and is not a part of the lineage of Joseph on a biological level. What is of real importance here then is the notion that Mary is a virgin, and as such represents the most pure form of femininity conceived of at the time.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.Now, with the words of Gabriel is where things start to get interesting. Firstly, there is the notion of the words 'in unto her' - it is possible, and hopefully by the time I have posted this I will have checked the Greek, that the term could actually mean that Gabriel was inside her, that is to say that the voice comes from within and it is not a meeting on the material plane but one of spirit. 'the Lord is with thee' is a correlation with Mary being representative of a state in which the physical corruption of the emotions has been lifted and the Divine conduit has thusly been strengthened. 'blessed art thou' solidifies this idea by stating that the state of feminine purity that Mary exists in is opposed to the other, corrupted, 'women'.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.Here we complicate the above idea that maybe Gabriel was 'within' - there is both 'saw' and 'his saying'. What the final part of the sentence is relating is that the intellectual, masculine, aspect has not yet been fully purified; there is still a questioning of intention there. The feminine principle being purified, the masculine principle will become aware of the change in the state of being and will begin to question it from an intellectual perspective. This is not a feeling that emerges out of the wants of the emotions, but from the thought processes of the rationale experiencing its new environment along with the physical shift in consciousness that can lead to uneasyness (uneasyness that does not come from the emotional ego but from the instinctual physical corruption - there is a difference).
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.The intellectual and instinctual questioning that is raised before is brought to peace here. The new environment is recognised as being closer to purity and the perfection of the conduit. 'favour with God' is repeated here as the earlier 'highly favoured' to show that the conduit is becoming clearer and more effective.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUSConception here is the creation of the perfect masculine principle - the union of the intellect with the pure emotional state devoid of ego that has already been achieved. What is born of this union is a child, here referred to as a son but it is essentially both feminine and masculine. This child is representative of the pure being; the union of mind/body/spirit that is represented by the Mary with the infant Jesus. The conduit has been opened fully but has not yet matured to the point where the message can be properly articulated. Thus with the birth of Jesus as an infant we have the notion of the perfect Divine conduit that is not yet able to properly articulate the message that is shining forth through them. It is only with the growth of Jesus that the Christ-Lapis is created in full, Divine Providence requires the ability of the conduit to articulate the Logos in a manner that those around them will understand and accept. We will jump now to line 35;
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.With the dissolution of the emotional aspects of humanity and the union of this state of being with the submissive intellect we have the possiblity of a return to the state before the Fall - the connection with the Divine Principle that is uncorrupted. This is why the term 'overshadow' is so relevant - the ego, both emotional and intellectual, is dissolved and bathes in the presence of the Divine. From this is born the new 'self' that is the Divine self, the Son of God.
From this brief exposition we can see how the theory of The Opportunity for Divine Providence can be placed within the story of The Annunciation. I do not want to labour too much longer on biblical commentary, but if anybody wishes to discuss aspects of this then please ask questions, or make comment, and we can look more closely into them (just wait until I get stuck into the Gospel of Thomas...). From here I would like to look briefly at a depicition of The Annunciation and how the symbolism of this image, which contains elements found within most depictions of the event, can also be related to our central theology on Divine Providence.
A Symbolic Exposition of The Annunciation (using Federico Barocci's depiction 1592-96)In The Annunciation by Barocci we see many of the common themes that are displayed throughout depictions of this event. The most important of these symbols can be summed up as such:
a)
White Lillies - lillies have for a long time been associated with the feminine principle, and white with purity. Here we have an ancient symbol of feminine purity, which is in turn symbolic of a state of being that has freed itself from the ravages of emotional turmoil and purified the emotions of the corrupting ego.
b)
Bed Chamber - this represents the internal realm in which the process occurs; it is not an exoteric place but an esoteric one, and thus the setting that this scene is almost exclusively placed in reminds us of the internal process that is occuring in order to prepare the physical conduit for the 'Holy Spirit'.
c)
White Dove - classic symbol of the Holy Spirit, which represents the acceptance of Divine Providence as guiding principle - free from the corrupting force of the ego, the emotional and intellectual aspects can be unified with the physical body to create the perfectly pure conduit for the Divine to influence this corrupted realm through the newly created channel. Of course the purity of that channel is of varying quality and therefore effect. In the case of Mary this conduit is not fully completed, but the stage of ego dissolution that leads to the purification of the emotional aspect has here been completed and we are ready for the development of the union between intellect and body that occurs within the infant Son of God. This is why the Holy Spirit is said to have entered the womb so that it is instilled in the Child, the next stage has experienced the wonder of Divine Providence and is spurred on by its presence even though it does not fully understand what it is...
d)
The Red and Blue clothing of Mary (notice also in this depiction the colours are reversed for God) - Early depictions of Mary place her in red clothing with a blue cloak. The blue is a water symbol which is an elemental symbol of the feminine principle that is the emotions. The intellect (red) is clothed in the emotions and directed by them in the physical realm, thus with the purification of the emotions we have the freeing of the masculine intellectual principle from the ego and the ability for Divine Providence to guide its' manifestation. In this depiction, God is clothed in the intellect with the blue emotional garb beneath - just what this means is open to discussion here and I would encourage it strongly to further our understanding. Is it because God is a primarily intellectual/creative force, at least in relation to the physical realm that he created but is now distant from 'emotionally'?
There are plenty of other symbols that could be discussed within this painting and other depictions, I just wanted to briefly cover some of the more common ones here so that we can build a basis from which to work. One thing that needs to be examined and thought about more closely is the nature of the angelic beings and realms, this is something that will hopefully be developed over time. This is just the first of many expositions on well known, and some not so well known, mythology in an attempt to pursue this idea of Divine Providence that I feel is fundamental to our relationship to the Divine. What shall become central to the idea being put forward over the course of this, rather long, series will be that the Divine Light requires this relationship for its presence to have an effect in this realm; and that it is theoretically possible (although incredibly rare) for each and every fully conscious entity in existence to attain this state of being the perfect conduit. When such a conduit does occur it does not have to announce itself to the world in any way that we would commonly expect, but such a perfect channel will have a profound effect on the future of this physical plane whether we are aware of it or not. As will also be shown in the future, there are many steps along the path that lead one towards becoming a perfect conduit; and even though for the vast majority of us we will never attain this state, it does not mean that we cannot work towards purifying the conduit to a certain extent and allowing the Divine Light to flow through us all at differing levels.
Finally, another disclaimer. I do not profess to be infallible, nor do I think that I have all the answers; I am just writing what has been shown to me and what guides me on the path that I have chosen to walk towards the Divine. I have, and will continue to, post these writings in the Guardian Light Publications forums in the hope that they will encourage dialogue; but it is also a way for me to develop the concepts and figure them out for myself as well. As such, things will change and these ideas are not set in stone; expect updated sections and concepts as I move along this path...I hope that at least some of you will find it interesting enough to come with me.
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