Titian, Diana
and Actaeon Hyborian Bridge 31
The body that is
roughly used in the wild ways of the everlasting hunt through dale and grove is
sometimes to be found in a bathing grotto. The tough skin is lathered, the
smells of the chase anointed with heady perfume.
A grotto; a
cave; ancient folk memories of women washing animal skins; pungent smells and
cunning fragrances; bodily fluids and empirical tradition (prev.) How much of
what is deemed psyche has an ancient early physical origin? Contrariwise, how
much of modern psyche has no such early origin? Bodily smells – animal or human
– act on the memory.
If you say that
a lot of our psyche in primitive society has an ancient and early physical
origin, it begs the question of what actually is in the modern head, aside from
facts. Greek oracles at Delphi imbued heady fumes from underground vents,
probably from oily lime (ethylene, a sweet-smelling noxious vapour).
The
ancient Greeks placed an Omphalos signifying the navel at Delphi, the spiritual
centre of their universe. The womanly origin of things is deep in classical culture;
even if the shrine was dedicated to Apollo, oracles were ever women and known
as the Thriae and fed on nectar (see
Noto Hyborian Bridge 14)
For
there are sisters three, called Thriae, maiden things,
Three
they are and they joy in the glory of swift wings.
Upon
their head is sprinkled the flour of barley white,
They
dwell aloof in dwellings beneath Parnassos’ height.
They
taught me love of soothsaying, whilst I my flocks did feed,
Being
yet a boy; of me and mine my father took no heed.
And they
flitted, now this way, now that, upon the wing,
And of
all things that were to be they uttered soothsaying;
What
time they fed on honey fresh, food of the gods divine,
The holy
maidens made their hearts to speak the truth incline.
But if
from food of honeycomb they needs must keep aloof,
Confused
they buzz among themselves and speak no word of
sooth. Apollo, Homeric Hymn to Hermes
The physical
origins of mystical visions they would have had no problem with. Perhaps it is
more absurd to think that the head can be detached from physical reality and
deduce things from pure reason!
So the Greeks
seemed to mix physical with psychology and, I guess, the performance of the
oracle in filmy garments, perhaps sighing and wailing out the prophecy in
verse. This brings-in a real problem with empirical reason, dating from The
New Atlantis (Hyborian Bridge 22). Isn’t it true to say that life is physical
and psychical and performance art? In that case, the facts that modern
societies get are in another universe to do with ordered logic; if that
universe is “won” isn’t the other universe lost?
The pungency of prophecies may not be “true”, but maybe their very
ambiguity is more true than our convincing facts – that are fictions of perspective
illusion. It’s because our illusions are so convincing that we (or “they”)
cannot actually see the physical, psychic and performance or dramatic narrative
(of the stars). They see “facts” such as the supermassive black hole (prev) but
cannot interpret it in physical terms.
The oracular tradition is the exact opposite of that, a heady mix of
fumes, performance and interpretation on-the-hoof. The question is, would you
rather a world of perspective illusion or one of dramatic narrative? One is
factual (and fictive); the other is interpretive (and ambiguous). Do you want
the universe to be some sort of perspective boredom? There’s music in them
there spheres.
I’m reading an interview of Craig Chaquico – the surviving member of
Jefferson Starship – and his espousal of musical healing. Whatever is in the
head is physical and psychic and performance, which means an interpretation
rather than a fact. He mentions that when Paul Kantner died, five planets were
in alignment
I’m hoping the five of us will get together,
especially with the idea that Paul passed on a very cosmic time with five
planets in alignment at dawn which doesn’t happen again until the summer. I
thought that would be a great time for the five remaining members to play under
those same planets underneath the stars with Paul. If we can get Grace also, it
would be like Venus, the Goddess of Love (laughs). Maybe we can get it all
going on. (Smashing Interviews)
To some that would seem as barmy as ancient Greek oracles; it depends if
you want a dramatic narrative (interpretation) or a fact (the black hole) that
is also a fiction with no physical, figurative meaning. The oracles were fairly
filthy hippies half-clothed in ragged raiments. In fact, the threads they wore
could be likened to the threads pulled by the fuller’s art (prev.) Strong and
silken, worn like skins of yore, animal-women who get high on Earth-power, or
absolute physical reality of earth’s rotation.
This is the active reality (of performance), whereas we live in the
perspective reality of an inert Earth (staring at the sun). Absolute reality
has absolute power of divination by the stars; you can disbelieve it and choose
to believe in a convincing illusion (of the sun) run by acolytes of sorcerers
(see passim). In that case you will be in the head and lose the physical
absolutes of the body.
It was very clear from Robert Robertson’s book on the art of fulling
(prev) that the ancient art springs from raw and rudimentary products of the
history of man and woman. Even if competition is there it is at the rudimentary
level of women washing linen on riverbanks (singing and yelling).
The competition takes place in the absolute world ; the thread that binds
us to nature if you like. It is an Earth power with the physicality of woman.
Where you see birds stockpiling twigs for nests you see that Earth power. The
absolute world is an active one that migrates with Earth’s orbit.
These are the threads that bind us to earth, and they receive rough
treatment, as in Fulling (see prev, Hippocrates quote). The roughness of
absolute power is very visible in Hyboria, right down to the strong, loose
vestments that women tend to wear (and men, natch.) Awhile back I mentioned my
favorite fashion designer was Gaultier (Pictorial 13
), who dresses for women and men, and I
happened to see this picture of Eva Green in a Gaultier number
The
fabric and design are very classic, and actually a close match to Margo Lane of
The Shadow
Treat this as a
classical diversion; I’m just winding up for some spiel on Howard for the next
instalment (actually, starting reading People of the Black Circle on
Gutenberg, having ludicrously lost my Complete Conan)
