Wednesday, April 29, 2009

[sonus] understanding issues: part 7

Let it never be said that alternative views are suppressed at this site. Take it away, Sonus:


I have written this in direct response to James.

Heliopolis was the Sun Centre of Egypt, but this was its Greek name. The Israelites called the place On, but to the Egyptians it was known as Annu, from which the Latin-English word “annum”, (year) derives. In Akkadian Mesopotamia, Annu, or Anum, had been the equivalent of Ra, whereas in Sumer, (Southern Mesopotamia), he was the great Sky God Anu.(Remember much earlier “Anunnaki”). It is for this reason that the winged disc of the Lord of The Sun is found in both Mesopotamia, and Egypt.

The determination of the earthly calender was said to be the prerogative of the Great Anu. An “annum” related to the Earth's solar orbit and was denoted by a “point within a circle”. It was called a “Sha”, - an ideogram of 360 degrees, stemming from “sha-at-am, which literally means “a passing”, with a 360 degree passing being defined as an orbit. (Even then, about 3,000BC and earlier it was understood that the Earth revolved around the Sun). The “Orbit of Light” was deemed to be the realm of the Sun God, and was thus defined as the “Sha-Ra-On”, (Sharon)

The transmitter of light (the light bearer) was the Rose of Sharon, the carrier of the “Rosi Crucis”. “Rosi” represented the “Ritu” (the redness of truth) and “Crucis” related to a cup, as in “crucible”. This was equivalent to the “Sacred Vessel of Light in Kabbalah”, and is why the mystical technology of the Zohar has been linked to the “Holy Grail”. The light bearer has been variously identified in different cultures, from Nin-Kharsag, (via Anunnaki), to Venus, and in that guise was the queen in the Old Testament Song of Solomon 2:1: ”I am the rose of Sharon......”. (I am the Truth of the Orbit of Light)

(But then again, all cultures involved here loved their puns, it was an art-form. They used puns to amuse, to explain, but also to hide “things” from those lacking comprehension)

An unforeseen problem that beset “The Royal Society”, the “Invisible College” and emergent Freemasonry in England in 1667, aided officially by the Stuart Monarchy, whose encouragement of scientific research, even alchemical research, and the (relative) encouragement of freedom of religion, was anathema to the elite Anglican church, being directly related to this “Sharon,” this “light,” this “enlightenment” aspect of their study. The Puritan faction in England was damaging to cultural pursuits in many ways, but most effectively and permanently by way of its own literary culture. As the Cromwellian movement set its sights fiercely against kingship and the Royal House of Stuart in military terms, so too did its writers. The puritan movement was threatening to all academic achievement of that time, with intellects such as Isaac Newton being constrained in their publication of their work (which in Newtons case had a large Alchemical content.

There is strong evidence that he solved the enigma of the “Philosophers Stone,” although the technology of that time would not allow for its physical replication. His unpublished papers were purchased at auction by John Maynard Keynes who referred to him as “The last of the Magicians; the last of the Babylonians; the last of the Sumerians,”) (Indeed, it would be the Vatican who financed William of Orange, at the request of the Anglican church in England, to remove the Stuart Monarchy, - which makes all the “troubles” in Northern Ireland seem totally misguided – some would say a sad indictment of state sponsored religion, others would be more worldly and say that it would be nothing more than expected.)

The London born poet, John Milton (1608-1674) was a powerful writer. “Paradise Lost” employed powerful rhetoric and dogma, and was a direct assault against the new philosophy of Christopher Wren, and others of the Royal Society. Ignoring Copernicus, Galileo, and the scientific discoveries of his day, Miltons cosmic vision centred on the traditional Christian belief that the Earth was at the centre of the universe.

Paradise Lost concerns the revolt of Satan, his fall from grace, and the establishment of Hell. At the time of publication the “Royal Society under Stuart encouragement was making remarkable discoveries and the Masonic Debate” was at its peak, with the Puritans and the “Kirk Presbytery” claiming that Royal Society members, and Masons were occultists with “second sight”, (evil eye) who could see the invisible, but worse, the Rosicrucian Academics of the Royal Society actually believed that the earth revolved round the Sun!! All were therefore also accused of being heretical sun-cultists!

Milton added more however.

The Old Testament Book of Isaiah, 14:12 prophesied the overthrow of Babylon's king, saying :”How are you fallen from Heaven, Day Star, Son of the Dawn”. As is made clear by the term “son of the dawn”, the Isaiah reference was to the King of Babylon, but astronomically the “day star”, or “morning star”, is Venus. In Latin, Venus, the “Light Bringer” was referred to as the “Lux-fer”, commonly written as Lucifer. Milton has deliberately, deceitfully, treated this descriptive feminine term as a proper noun (in accordance with St Jerome's “Vulgate” translation, as it appears in the Isaiah verse today). Additionally, in Paradise Lost, Lucifer was associated with Satan:

“Of Lucifer, so by allusion called,

Of that bright star to Satan paragon'd.”

Prior to 1667, Venus was “female” and the term Lucifer, (“lux-fer”, “light bringer”) had never been associated with a male entity, and certainly not with a satan.

Nathan Baileys Etymological Dictionary (1721-94) states : “Lucifer, - The Morning or Day Star; The Planet Venus when it rises before the Sun”.

Miltons work therefore declared that Royal Society members, the Invisible College, and Masons therefore were not just Sun Cultists, they were also Satanists!

Therefore, from 1667, Lucifer became an alternative name for Satan, while the “Lux-fer” associations with Venus, light bearer and Goddess of Love, were forgotten by way of religious clerical indoctrination and control. Significantly, three hundred years later the puritan view is still being regurgitated by hard line religious extremists, pursuing a modern day witch hunt, based on an entirely deliberate mistranslation. Indeed an entire film and electronic gaming industry has grown around this abherent thinking.

The dishonesty of the “Vulgate” translation is visible: The direct Greek equivalent to “Lux-fer”, is Phos phoros, from whence phosphorus derives. When this was used in the New Testament (2 Peter 1:19), it was translated as “day star”.

The Oxford English Dictionary gives Phosphorus as “relating to the morning star”, and it was applied to the Messiah Revelations 22:16 - “I am the root and offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star”.

The original term in Isaiah was not phos phoros but Hebrew “heylel”. Heylel relates to “boasting, boastful”. Isaiah should not read “How are you fallen from Heaven, day star, son of the dawn.” but “How are you fallen from Heaven, boastful one, son of the dawn”, that is, a direct reference to the King of Babylon, with no connection to Venus, or a light bearer of any kind. Milton, because of his religious views, deliberately created a monstrous falsehood which “religion,” - the Anglican and Roman Catholicism was able to capitalise on, in order to increase its “control” of a fearful population. Commercial interests similarly found it very lucrative, centuries later.


The puritan view, and established religion thus distorted original facts and writings, and created the belief that Lucifer, a “light bearer”, or more accurately in the case of Venus, a “light reflector”, was in fact another name for a Satan, a name that has extremely evil connotations. The motivation was entirely derived from Vatican/Catholic teachings that denied recent scientific discoveries, and sought to enforce their dogma, to strengthen their power base, by deliberate propagation of fear in a largely illiterate population, and acquiescence was enforced through fire and torture.

Since the view of the Puritan faction in England at that time seemed to fear Satan(s), and ascribe to them such terrible powers, a closer scrutiny of Satan(s) is in order..

The modern perception of Satan, as that of an evil imperialist whose despicable hordes wage war on God and humankind is an invention of the evangelical era, as are so many other painfully wrong concepts. Satan is a fabulous myth with no more authenticity than players in a Gothic novel.

Satans, though rarely mentioned in the Old Testament are generally portrayed as obedient servants or sons of God who perform specific duties of strategic obstruction The Hebrew root of the word satan is STN, which defines an opposer, adversary, or an accuser, whereas the Greek equivalent was “Diabolos” (from which derive the words diabolical and devil.), again meaning no more than obstructor or slanderer.

Until the Roman Christian era the term Satan had no sinister connotation whatsoever, and in biblical times, members of a political opposition party would have customarily been called “satans”

In the Old Testament, satans are seen as members of the heavenly court, - angels who carry out Gods more aggressive dictates.

In Job (1:6-12, 2:1-7) a satan is sent twice to tease and frustrate job, but with the express instruction that he should not harm the man- an instruction that is obeyed.

In 1 Chronicles21:1, a satan figure suggests that king avid should count the number of the Children of Israel.

Also in Psalm 109:6,

A magistrate type of satan appears in Zechariah 3:1-2, agreeing with the Israelites in their endeavours to re-establish their family stations in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity.

These are the only entries, - there are only four in the entire Old Testament – and in no instance is anything dark or sinister implied.

In the new Testament, only one reference introduces a devil character. Other Satanic entries are symbolic, eg, at the Last Supper it is stated “Then entered satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve”.

Elsewhere when the scribes admonished Jesus for performing exorcisms when he was not himself a priest: - “he called to him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan?”

A few other references in the Acts and the Epistles are of a similarly obscure nature.

Revelation refers to blasphemers as being of the synagogue of Satan, while claiming that, having been dismissed from heaven, satan would be imprisoned for 1,000 years.

In Matthew 16:23, Jesus rebukes Peter for being a satan for advising Jesus against becoming too complacent. Jesus says, “Get thee behind me satan: thou art an offence to me, for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

The best known satanic reference in the New Testament is in Matthew 4:5-11, where “Satan took Jesus up to an exceedingly high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them: and saith onto him, All these things I will give thee if thou will fall down and worship me” Jesus declined the offer, whereupon “the devil leaveth him and, behold, angels came and ministered onto him”

Whoever the tempter may have been, (real or symbolic) he is not presented as being in any way persuasive or influential, and bears no similarity to the terrible demon of satanic mythology.

There is nothing fearsome in any of the biblical portrayals of satan(s), not the vaguest reference to a physical form. So from where did the diabolical horned satan of the fire and brimstone preachers come from?

In the first century, and thereafter, many sects, creeds, in the Roman Empire were vying for authority. This frequently exploded into violence. Finally in 325 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine 1, at a meeting at Nicea in Turkey, convened by him, of some 300 Christian Bishops, declared that Christianity would become the state religion of the Roman Empire. Jesus was therefore declared to be a God, 325 years later, by the Roman Emperor, and the result of these deliberations is the Nicean or Nicene Creed, so called after the location of the council, that is recited to this day in most Anglican, and Catholic churches.

The creation of a common religion for the Roman Empire, which we call Christianity today, was undertaken to restore control to an empire that faced internal revolt and civil war, an Empire that in any event was dying in the western regions. Once constituted as the “State Religion”, Christians became no less resolute in their suppression of other religions as had their oppressors been shortly before the Nicea meeting, and squabbling between differing Christian sects continued for many years, mostly over irrationally technical points.

The early Catholic faith was based on the subjugation of the masses to the dominion of the Bishops, and to facilitate this an Antichrist, (anti catholic) figure was necessary as a perceived enemy. This enemy was said to be Satan, the “evil one” who would claim the souls of any who did not offer absolute obedience to the church. Authority was then established on the back of a statement made by St Paul in the New Testament Epistle to the Romans (13:1-2) :

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation”.

The Catholic Church thus became the self nominated bridge between God and the people. This was done by granting a vicarious office to the Pope, who became designated “Vicar of Christ”.

For this scheme of threat and trepidation to succeed, it became necessary to promote the notion that this diabolical Satan had existed from the beginning of time, and there was no earlier story with which he could be associated with than the story of Adam and Eve. Genesis, however made no mention of Satan, but there was the account of Eve and the Serpent. It was therefore necessary to rewrite the original text, which was a Jewish text, and Christianity had long since departed from Judaism, even the Liberal Judaism taught by Jesus.

No comprehensive translation of the Bible existed at that time. The Jews had their Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek versions of the Old Testament, while the primary Christian Bible (the Vulgate) existed in an obscure form of Church Latin, translated from Greek by St Jerome in the 4th century.

Along side the Roman Church of the West, there were Eastern Christian branches in Syria and Ethiopia, and it was from these areas that the New Genesis accounts emerged.

An Ethiopic work, titled “The Book of Adam and Eve”, subtitled “The Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan” was produced around the 6th century AD.

From Syria came “The Book of the Cave of Treasures”. It was originally compiled in the 4th century, but surviving copies date from the 6th century AD. This book has Satan as the constant protagonist of evil. In one section it has Adam and Eve dwelling in a cave, where they are visited 14 times by Satan, but each time he is put to flight by an Angel of God. This book further states that Christianity was in existence before the time of Adam and Eve, and the emergent Hebrews.

The biblical satan had no physical description, and early artwork portrayed him no differently than any other angel. In the year 591 AD, Pope Gregory 1 described satan as having “horns and hooves, and powers to control the weather.” Thus horned animals (stags and goats) were considered to be devilish and imagery became gradually more exaggerated with a tail, and other add-ons based on the satyrs of Greek mythology.

The “Book of the Bee”, a Nestorian Syriac text from 1222 AD, by Bishop Shelemon of Basra follows the same lines as “The Book of the Cave of Treasures”

The New Testament carries no such character as the Antichrist. The word is only used as a general, descriptive term. 1 John 2:18 says “even now there are many antichrists”, and in 1 John 2:22 continues “he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ; he is antichrist.”

The satanic myth is just that, a myth, concocted long after biblical times to undermine historical record and intimidate Christians into compliance with the dogmatic and subjective rule of the Bishops.

The entirety of this deception was thus nothing more than the preservation of a wealthy hierarchy by deceit in order to control the fearful masses.

The Scene is set.

Don Genaro, and Don Juan are accomplished Sorcerers.

Pablito is apprenticed to Genaro, Carlos is apprenticed to Juan.

The apprentices are being taught The Way of the Warrior as the way forward in their quest to be a Man of Knowledge, to find Freedom, and to become, themselves, what is called a Sorcerer. (Although by western definitions that would be incorrect, they would more correctly be called, “A Man of Power”, although the qualification is not limited to the male gender.)

Both Pablito and Carlos are “part qualified” (in western terms), having already spent many years under tutelage from their respective guides.


This is the narrative of Carlos, who is being instructed together with Pablito. The time is almost darkness just before dawn, the location is the Mexican desert, on a high plateau.

Following an outburst of laughter...........

“That's a better mood” Don Juan said, “And now, before Genaro and I say good bye to you, you two may say anything you please. It may be the last time you utter a word, ever”.

Pablito shook his head in the negative, but I had something to say. I wanted to express my admiration, my awe for the exquisite temper of Don Juan, and Don Genaro's warrior spirit. But I became entangled in my words and ended up saying nothing; even worse yet, I ended up sounding as if I were complaining again.

Don Juan shook his head and smacked his lips in mock disapproval. I laughed involuntarily; it did not matter, however, that I had flubbed my chance to tell them of my admiration. A very intriguing sensation began to take possession of me. I had a sense of exhilaration and joy, an exquisite freedom that made me laugh. I told Don Juan and Don Genaro that I did not give a fig about the outcome of my encounter with the “Unknown”, that I was happy and complete, and that whether I lived or died was of no importance to me at that moment.

Don Juan and Don Genaro seemed to enjoy my assertions even more than I did. Don Juan slapped his thigh and laughed. Don Genaro threw his hat on the floor and yelled as if he were riding a wild horse.

“We have enjoyed ourselves and laughed while waiting, just as the witness recommended” Don Genaro said all of a sudden.”But it is the natural condition of order that it should always come to an end”.

He looked at the sky.

“It is almost time for us to disband like the warriors in the story,” he said. “But before we go our separate ways I must tell you two one last thing. I am going to disclose to you a warriors secret, Perhaps you can call it a Warriors Predilection.”

He addressed me in particular and said that once I had told him that the life of a warrior was cold and lonely and devoid of feelings. He even added that at that precise moment I was convinced that it was so.

“The life of a warrior cannot possibly be cold and lonely and without feeling,” he said, “because it is based on his affection, his devotion, his dedication to his beloved. And who you may ask, is his beloved? I will show you now.”

“Don Genaro stood up and walked slowly to a perfectly flat area right in front of us, about ten or twelve feet away. He made a strange gesture there. He moved his hands as if he were sweeping dust from his chest and stomach. Then an odd thing happened. A flash of an almost imperceptible light went through him : it came from the ground and seemed to kindle his entire body. He did a sort of backward pirouette, a backward dive, more properly speaking and landed on his chest and arms. His movement had been executed with such precision and skill that he seemed to a weightless being, a worm like creature that had turned on itself. When he was on the ground he performed a series of unearthly movements. He glided just a few inches above the ground, and rolled on it as if he were lying on ball bearings; or he swam on it, describing circles and turning with the swiftness and agility of an eel swimming in the ocean.

My eyes began to cross at one moment and then without any transition I was watching a ball of luminosity sliding back and forth on something that appeared to be the floor of an ice skating rink with a thousand lights shining on it.

The sight was sublime. Then the ball of fire came to a rest. A voice shook me and dispelled my attention. It was Don Juan talking. I could not understand at first what he was saying. I looked again at the ball of fire; I could distinguish only Don Genaro lying on the ground with his arms and legs spread out.

Don Juan's voice was very clear. It seemed to trigger something in me and I began to write.

“Genaro's love is the world” he said. “He was just now embracing this enormous earth, but since he's so little, all he can do is swim in it. But the earth knows that Genaro loves it and it bestows on him his care. That's why Genaro's life is filled to the brim and his state, wherever he'll be, will be plentiful. Genaro roams on the paths of his love and, where ever he is, he is complete”.

Don Juan squatted in front of us. He caressed the ground gently.

“This is the predilection of two warriors”, he said. “This earth, this world. For a warrior there can be no greater love”.

Don Genaro stood up and squatted next to Don Juan for a moment while both of them peered fixedly at us. Then they sat in unison, cross-legged.

“Only if one loves this earth with unbending passion can one release ones sadness”. Don Juan said. “A warrior is always joyful because his love is always unalterable and his beloved, the earth, embraces him and bestows upon him inconceivable gifts. The sadness belongs only to those who hate the very thing that gives shelter to their being”.

Don Juan again caressed the ground with tenderness.

“This lovely being, which is alive to its last recesses and understands every feeling, soothed me, it cured me of my pains, and finally, when I had fully understood my love for it, it taught me freedom”.

He paused. The silence around us was frightening. The wind hissed softly, then I heard the distant barking of a lone dog.

“Listen to that barking,” Don Juan went on, “That is the way my beloved earth is helping me now to bring this last point to you. That barking is the saddest thing one can hear.”

We were quiet for a moment. The barking of that lone dog was so sad and the stillness around us so intense that I experienced a numbing anguish. It made me think of my own life, my sadness, my not knowing where to go, what to do.

“That dog's barking is the nocturnal voice of man”, Don Juan said. “It comes from in that valley towards the south. A man is shouting through his dog, since they are companion slaves for life, his sadness, his boredom. He's begging his death to come and release him from the dull and dreary chains of his life”.

Don Juan's words had caught a most disturbing line in me. I thought he was speaking directly to me.

“That barking, and the loneliness it creates, speaks of the feelings of men,” he went on, “Men for whom an entire life was like one Sunday afternoon, an afternoon which was not entirely miserable, but rather hot and dull and uncomfortable. They sweated and fussed a great deal. They didn't know where to go or what to do. That afternoon left them only with the memory of petty annoyances and tedium, and then suddenly it was over. It was already night.”

He recounted a story I had once told him about a 72 year old man who complained that his life had been so short that it seemed to him that it was only the day before when he was only a boy. The man had said to me, “I remember the pyjamas I used to wear when I was 10 years old it seems that only one day has passed. Where did the time go?”

“The antidote that kills that poison is here” Don Juan said, caressing the ground. “The Sorcerers Explanation cannot at all liberate the spirit. Look at you two. You have gotten the Sorcerers Explanation, but it doesn't make any difference that you know it. You're more alone than ever, because without an unwavering love for the being that gives you shelter, aloneness is loneliness.”

“Only the love for this splendorous being can give freedom to a warriors spirit; and freedom is joy, efficiency, and abandon in the face of any odds. That is the last lesson. It is always left for the very last moment, for the moment of ultimate solitude, when a man faces his death and his aloneness. Only then does it make sense.”

Don Juan and Don Genaro stood up and stretched their arms and arched their backs as if sitting had made their bodies stiff. My heart began to pound fast. They made Pablito and I stand up.

“The twilight is the crack between the worlds.” Don Juan said. “It is the door to the unknown”

He pointed with a sweeping movement of his hand to the mesa where we were standing.

“This is the plateau in front of that door.”

He pointed to the northern edge of the mesa.

“There is the door. Beyond, there is an abyss, and beyond that abyss is the unknown.”

Don Juan and Don Genaro then turned to Pablito and said goodbye to him. Pablito's eyes were dilated and fixed; tears were rolling down his cheeks.

I heard Don Genaro's voice saying goodbye to me, but I did not hear Don Juan's.

Don Juan and Don Genaro moved towards Pablito and whispered briefly in his ears. Then they came to me. But before they had whispered anything I already had that peculiar feeling of being split.

“We will now be like dust on the road,” Don Genaro said. “Perhaps it will get in your eyes again, someday”.

Don Juan and Don Genaro stepped back and seemed to merge with the darkness.

Pablito held my forearm and we said goodbye to each other. Then a strange urge, a force, made me run with him to the northern edge of the mesa. I felt his arm holding me as we jumped.

Then I was alone.

------------------------------------------

Be aware :-

Both Carlos and Pablito became as dust on the road. They met again later with Don Juan and Don Genaro who were also as dust, to continue their apprenticeship.

They had both Stopped the World on that twilight morning. Juan and Genaro, in peering, or “Seeing” had known they would. Their “induced abandon” and “warrior spirit” had triumphed. Part of the essence of the “warrior spirit” is “Unbending Intent”.

Neither had yet met a Worthy Opponent. They were unaware of the concept.

Neither had met, nor engaged with The Nagual. They were unaware of the concept, although at times Carlos could be induced to engage the “Second Attention”.

The lesson that night would represent far less than 0.1% of their teachings.

Don't dare make presumptions!

---------------------------------------------

Many separate thoughts to consider.

Have fun.

Comments please.

Brevity will be rewarded. Verbosity disqualifies you. 1500 words max. More disqualifies you. Presumptions disqualify you.

(Big Smile)

4 comments:

  1. The fallacies in Sonus's take on history here are largely those of the historical record and sources he takes as 'gospel', whereas in fact they can be disputed without great effort in some cases.

    The answer, correcting the misinterpretations on many points and accepting the assertions on others, will take a couple of weeks to write but it will be done.

    :)

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  2. I read a few of Castaneda's books in the 70s; but then I also read T. Lobsang Rampa. Now, I wouldn't trust either of them as far as I could throw them. Truth so mashed up with fantasy (and drug apologia, in Castaneda's case) that you can't separate out the good stuff; like burgers made of mechanically recovered meat.

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  3. Very interesting post. The problem with referring to old texts is you have to translate them into a modern day context. Also when translating from a different language you have to take into account the meaning of the words and not just the literal translation...

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  4. Cherry...

    When referring to old texts, you have to translate their true meaning, from that time.
    Until quite recently, with the discovery of several ancient texts, understanding of the context of those times has been impossible.
    "Things" were totally different in those times, and translation into our understanding absolutely impossible.
    Not to mention the inherent mistranslations, but there were deliberate mistranslations for political reasons, and also selective presentation of texts, and deliberate exclusion of others, once again for political reasons, to the extent that the finished, presented article, represented a totally distorted, hijacked version, of a reality that was in any event, totally lost to the final presenters.
    The "truth" that you now read is so mashed up with fantasy, that you can't separate out the good stuff; like burgers made of mechanically recovered meat, stuffed in turn with hormones via agri-business, and made-up noxious carbohydrates, courtesy of Cargill et al.

    :-)

    ReplyDelete

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