Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 4

Here's a link to the latest addition to the series of videos entitled "Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview." 

These videos, taken together, attempt to lay out some of the most fundamental aspects of the common system of celestial metaphor underlying virtually all of the world's sacred scriptures and traditions, and to explore the possibility that this system of metaphor was employed in order to convey a shamanic worldview which is the shared inheritance of all humanity -- because virtually all the ancient sacred traditions were actually shamanic!

Here is an index of links to the videos in the series so far:

• Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 1
• Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 2
• Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 3
• Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 4

In part 4, we continue exploring evidence surrounding the metaphorical use of the vitally important equinox "crossing points," including some discussion of the story of Jephthah's daughter and the beginning of the discussion of the implications of the story of the crossing of the Red Sea. 

The Festival of Durga

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

It is currently the festival of Durga Puja, the celebration of the worship of the goddess Durga, also known by her many other names Bhavani, Kanaka Durgammathalli, and even as Adi-Parashakti the Great Mother Goddess.

The festival of Durga Puja (also known by its other names Durgotsava, Sharadotsav, Akalbodhan, Navaratri Puja, and many more) also specifically celebrates the goddess's triumph over the buffalo asura or demon Mahishasura. In fact, in the depiction of the goddess shown above, the bloodied head of the buffalo can be seen at her feet, directly underneath the lower end of her long scepter (this long scepter-shaped weapon strongly resembles the Vajra).

There are many aspects of the symbology of Durga which indicate that she is a celestial deity, and in fact that she is associated with the constellation Virgo, one of the most important of zodiac signs and one who takes on the form of many, many goddesses and other important female figures in the sacred scriptures and mythologies of the world. This blog has previously discussed the almost certain correspondence of the goddess Durga with the sign and stars of Virgo in posts such as this one and this one.

The clear symbolic indications that Durga corresponds to Virgo discussed in those posts include:

• the fact that she is often depicted as riding on a lion (Virgo follows Leo across the sky, and hence the Goddess in widely dispersed mythologies is very often associated with a lion or with lions, sometimes riding a lion, or riding in a chariot drawn by a lion or by lions, or seated on a throne flanked by one or more lions), 
• the fact that she is often depicted with an outstretched arm which is one of the most characteristic features of the constellation Virgo (see illustration below, as well as the video here entitled "Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 2," in which this outstretched arm of Virgo is associated with the plucking of the fruit by Eve in the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent), and 
• the distinctive bend in the hip depicted in some statues and reliefs featuring Durga, which corresponds to the outline of the constellation Virgo, and which can be seen in other artwork featuring Virgo-goddesses from ancient Greece and Rome as well.

Below is an image of Durga from a bas-relief in which her outstretched arm appears to be holding a bow. In other depictions, she may be holding a sword or other weapon in this outstretched arm. Female figures corresponding to Virgo often have bows, sometimes bows with miraculous powers -- see for example the story of "The old man and his daughter" from the Native American people of North America (in this case, from the northwest coastal island region near the modern-day state of Washington in the US and British Columbia in Canada). 

Note also in the bas-relief below that Durga is shown in the act of defeating the buffalo-bull-headed Mahishasura.

We can see more indications that Durga is associated with Virgo in the image at the top of this post. There, a lion is again prominently featured, and if we wanted to take the time to do so we could draw direct correspondences between the posture of that particular lion and the outline of the constellation Leo in the sky, who is so close to Virgo that he can be seen in the star-chart above, although his outline has not been drawn in (his stars are seen directly to the right of the word "Vindemiatrix" in that star chart).

Another clue that Durga is an aspect of Virgo can be seen in the fact that in the modern Durga Festival depiction of Durga at the top of this post, she is holding a serpent in the lowest of her hands on the right side of the image as we look at it (it is actually a cobra). This hand holding the cobra is on the opposite side of Durga's body from the hand that is holding the long Vajra-shaped scepter-weapon (the one that ends on top of the bloody buffalo-head).

Once again, this depiction is astronomically correct for the constellation Virgo. In the star chart above which shows the outline of the constellation, we can see that Virgo's outstretched arm (represented in the top image by the Vajra-scepter) is on the opposite side of her body from the long constellation of the serpent Hydra (whose starry outline does in fact resemble a cobra, if the circle of stars at the far right of his body as we look at it corresponds to the cobra's hood).

But perhaps the most important clues that we are correct in connecting Durga and Virgo are seen in the timing of her festival, and the fact that the festival celebrates her triumph over the buffalo-bull demon. The festival's timing is tied to the complex lunar-sidereal Hindu calendar, but it basically falls near the fall equinox and the part of the year which has anciently been associated with the sign of Virgo (particularly in the Age of Aries).

The reason Virgo is associated with this part of the year is that, during the Age of Aries, she was the constellation and zodiac sign seen above the eastern horizon just prior to the rising sun. Even today, although the background of stars has been delayed due to the ages-long motion of precession, the sun's rising at this time of year is in the sign of Virgo, a fact you can readily see for yourself by going to the excellent online, browser-based, free planetarium app at Neave.com.

There, if you simply leave the "location" at its default point, and dial up the app for today (October 2), you can swing the sky around to the east and then "dial back the hours" using the "upper arrow" on the date-time window (be sure to dial back the hours, not the days) until you see the sun rising on the eastern horizon. You will quite clearly see that the sun is in the midst of the constellation Virgo as it rises.

Now, if you "freeze" at the point where the sun is just below the horizon (and Virgo is already charging up over the eastern horizon), swing the view back along the horizon from the east (where the sun is rising) to the west (where the stars are setting). If you then shift your view upwards a bit, you can find the distinctive outline of Taurus, the Bull, who contains the V-shaped Hyades and is just "above" (actually "to the right of") the constellation Orion. Taurus is getting ready to set in the west as Virgo (Durga) rises in the east. Dial the hours forward and Taurus will be banished below the western horizon, as Virgo rises more and more fully into the sky in the east.

This is the meaning of Durga's slaying of the buffalo-bull demon Mahishasura.

At least, it is according to my interpretation of the celestial clues. And the number of clues in this case is pretty overwhelming. Thus, the Festival of Durga is another example of the fact that nearly all the ancient sacred myths and scriptures and traditions are built upon a common system of celestial metaphor.

The implications of this commonality are profound and far-reaching, but one of them is that humanity is actually united and not divided by these scriptures and traditions -- and thus we can all in some measure celebrate the Durga Puja, if we choose to do so!

Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 3: Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac

Above is a link to the latest installment in the series of videos entitled "Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview." Here are links to part 1 and to part 2 of the same series.

This video constitutes part 3 and introduces the earth's annual orbital motion around the sun, in addition to the earth's daily rotation on its axis (which was important in part 2, in which we examined the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent, and saw that the westward motion of the constellations was important to understanding the celestial aspects of the Garden of Eden story).

The same caution applies to this video that was articulated in part 2: those who are not ready to examine very strong evidence that the stories in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are almost completely metaphorical in nature (as opposed to literal or historical) may not want to see this video. The post associated with part 2 also advised that this information should not be used as a "club" with which to browbeat someone who is not already looking for this information: sensitivity and respect should always be exercised when coming into contact with someone else's personal beliefs and faith.

In part 3, we begin to examine the importance of the "upper-half" and "lower-half" of the year, and the critical "crossing points" of the equinox.

The upper half of the year can be demonstrated to metaphorically represent heaven, the spirit world, the realm of the gods. The lower half can be demonstrated to metaphorically represent hell, the material world of incarnation, and the underworld of ancient Egypt and many other mythologies.

The equinoxes, then, being the crossing points between these two realms, were the points at which the two worlds intersected. As such, they were associated with birth and with death, with incarnation in the physical body and with release back to the world of spirit at the end of each incarnational cycle -- and they were often depicted in ancient myth and sacred tradition with the metaphor of a sacrifice, which befits their status as the points of contact between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead.

In the video above, one example of such an equinox-sacrifice is examined: the story of Abraham and Isaac found in Genesis 22. Evidence is provided that this event was not meant to be understood literally, but rather that it takes place on the way up a metaphorical mountain (the mountain which leads to the top of the year, and to "heaven"), and that the Ram which was ultimately sacrificed is directly connected to the zodiac sign of Aries.

The ramifications of this understanding of the scriptures are far-reaching. One important conclusion we can draw is that -- like the stars over our heads -- these stories are universal in their scope, and they are part of the celestial inheritance of all humanity. Various literalistic interpretations of these scriptures have been used in the past -- and continue to be used to this day -- to try to separate out one or another family of humanity from the others. The celestial understanding of these stories overturns such a usage of the ancient mythologies.

One of the important interpretations of the celestial metaphors contained in the sacred traditions of the human race is the teaching that we all have a spiritual component, and are not ultimately defined or bounded by our physical body and our material form. Using these scriptures to divide humanity based on different physical lineages focuses on the physical form instead of the inner spiritual spark which the scriptures themselves are trying to point us towards.

There are many other important messages that these star myths convey to us, messages that have been hidden and even deliberately obscured for thousands of years. Ultimately, I believe they teach a very liberating message, and one that is intended to advance human consciousness -- and one that will ultimately prevail over the enemies of that consciousness.

image: Wikimedia commons (link). Modified. 

Marc Bolan (September 30, 1947 - September 16, 1977)

As I said in my recent interview, there are some ways in which it can be truly said that we  --  and the universe  --  are made of music.

Welcome to new visitors from Midwest Real (and returning friends)!

image: Khafre Pyramid, Wikimedia commons (link). Edited.

Special thanks to Midwest Real host Michael Phillip Nelson for having me over to  Midwest Real for a conversation on a variety of important and real subjects -- and welcome to all those visiting who may be here for the first time after learning about The Undying Stars via that interview!

The breadth of Michael's lines of inquiry was truly impressive, and I think that listeners will agree that the conversation covered all sorts of different terrain than that visited in other recent interviews.

I will be listening to the interview again in order to recall some of the topics that we discussed, so that I can put up some helpful links to resources to explore those subjects further.  Also, please note, that when I am talking and get going on a thought and say only "he" or "him," I should be saying "he or she" and "him or her" -- there are plenty of things during a spoken interview which I later realize could have been phrased better or more clearly!

Here is the list so far:

• Evidence that all the world's myths and sacred traditions are founded upon a common system of celestial metaphor.
• The extensive and incredibly insightful analysis of Martin Doutré and the evidence he presents on his website Ancient Celtic New Zealand, as well as some discussion of why those who argue that such lines of inquiry are somehow "racist" are mistaken.
• Evidence that the Khafre Pyramid at Giza encodes advanced understanding of our moon and its relation to the earth (this is from an article by Martin Doutré as well).
• The research and analysis Ross Hamilton has presented regarding the "star mounds" of North America, and the evidence that their builders incorporated sacred geometry into their design. 
• The evidence presented by Jim Alison showing that the ancient monuments of the world reveal a sophisticated understanding of the size of our spherical earth, as well as the ability to locate sites along great circles on our planet.
• Additional evidence that ancient sites are positioned in such a way that reveals an understanding of the size of our planet and the ability to measure longitude thousands of years before this ability was "re-acquired" by humanity.
• Still more evidence that the ancient sites are positioned as part of some kind of world-wide grid whose purpose we still do not fully understand.
• Sophisticated alignments at Stonehenge and in the passage mounds of Ireland, and how they blow apart the conventional historical paradigm (not to mention the conventional tectonic paradigm that dominates modern geology).
• The overwhelming archaeological evidence suggesting ancient and consistent contact across the oceans, a scenario which is still widely opposed by academia and the defenders of the conventional paradigm.
• The stone face at Ollantaytambo as it relates to other similar examples worldwide, and the concept of pareidoleia, which may be a real concept and a useful idea to bear in mind but cannot be used to dismiss all of the patterns and evidence pointing to a lost civilization and ancient transoceanic contact. 
• The case of the Michigan relics, and the possibility they raise that refugees fleeing the religious persecution enacted in the Roman Empire during the imposition of the strict literalist form of Christianity that took over during the third, fourth, and fifth centuries AD may have reached the Americas -- a possibility that is bolstered by the almost-undeniable fact that the Americas were known to certain parties in the ancient world.
• Evidence that institutions such as the Smithsonian might be "in on" the cover-up, and that "mere venality" cannot be used to explain all of the conventional academic world's resistance to alternative historical paradigms.
• Evidence that what we would call today a shamanic understanding of the universe anticipates the "holographic universe" models that arose during the twentieth century as a result of the experiments which gave rise to quantum physics.
• The likelihood that all the ancient sacred traditions convey a shamanic worldview, and that they reveal the shared shamanic heritage of the human race (a heritage which has been formally targeted for suppression and destruction since the rise of literalist Christianity).
• Evidence of the suppression of the shamanic seen in the opposition to and even outlawing of drums, which are one of the most commonly-used tools for inducing shamanic journeying.
• The wide range of methodologies and techniques that have been employed in different cultures and different time periods in order to access the hidden realm, the spirit world.
• The teaching found around the world that the hidden realm or spirit world is actually the "real world that is behind this one," and that this material world which occupies most of our attention is actually projected from the "seed realm."
• Evidence that the pharaohs of ancient Egypt undertook deliberate shamanic journeys in order to gain information or effect positive changes on behalf of their kingdom which could not be accomplished any other way.
• Evidence that ancient techniques for contacting the spirit world were widespread all the way up through the first five centuries AD, for example at the extremely important rites of the Eleusinian mysteria. The Eleusinian mysteries were finally shut down after two thousand or more years by the emperor Theodosius, who was almost certainly connected to the takeover of the Roman Empire by the forces responsible for literalist Christianity.
• The possibility, raised by Jeremy Narby, Lucy Wyatt, and other researchers that shamanic journeys to the hidden realm may have been the source of much of the otherwise-inexplicable advanced knowledge of many cultures around the globe and throughout history.
• Evidence that these subjects are related to a broader "war against consciousness" and that suppression of human consciousness always accompanies systematic violation of natural universal law (see also the discussion of the "war on consciousness" articulated by Graham Hancock).
• The importance of singing praises, according to the ancient wisdom preserved in different parts of the world (see also here and here).
• Evidence that the "ideology of materialism" is not as certain as its proponents like to maintain.
• The speech of Jon Rappoport on the bankruptcy of the materialist ideology, and the power of the individual to transcend the materialist ideology and other synthetic realities, which he illustrated with the brilliant evocation of the "trickster god." 
• Evidence that the "raising of consciousness" of the inner spiritual "spark" buried inside each human being is part of our mission or our purpose or our opportunity in this physical life (maybe even the purpose), and that ancient practices such as Yoga may be related to that concept.

I hope everyone enjoys the interview -- visit again soon!

Star Myth Index!

image: Wikimedia commons (link).

For your Star Myth research convenience, here is the index portion which was included in a previous post, but this time without the other discussion -- just the Star Myths! There are many more discussed in The Undying Stars -- and even adding those together with these, it just scratches the surface of the world's mythology, virtually all of which can be shown to be built on a common system of celestial metaphor (a fact with profound implications, and one that shows all by itself that the world's history is very different from what we are being taught by conventional historians).

OLD TESTAMENT

• Adam and Eve and the Serpent (here, hereand here).
• Noah and the Ark (here and here).
• Shem, Ham and Japheth (here).
• Sarah (here).
• Abraham and Isaac (here and here).
• Jacob and Esau (here).
• The Crossing of the Red Sea (here).
• Moses and the battle with the Amalekites (here). 
• Balaam and the Ass (here).
• Jephthah and his daughter (here).
• A land flowing with milk and honey (here).
• Samson (here,hereandhere).
• The Judgment of Solomon (here).
• Elisha the Prophet (here).
• Jonah and the Gourd (here).
• The vision of Ezekiel (here).
• Cherubim and Seraphim (here).

NEW TESTAMENT

• The birth in the manger and the visit of the Magi (here and here).
• The angel Gabriel (here).
• John the Baptist (here and here).
• The Triumphal Entry and the Betrayal by Judas Iscariot (here).
• The Cross (here, here and here).
• The Easter Story and the cycle of the zodiac (here and here).
• "Doubting Thomas" (here) and the significance of "Didymus" (here).
• Apostle Peter (here).
• The Tetramorphs and the Four Evangelists (here -- same link as the vision of Ezekiel -- and also here).
• The Samaritan woman at the well (here).
• Pentecost (here).
• The Scorpion and the Smoky Abyss of Revelation 9 (here).
• Hell (here).

ANCIENT GREECE

• Demeter and Eleusis (here).
• Delphi and the Pythia (here).
• Okeanos or Oceanus (here).
• Hercules (here and here).
• Atlas (here).
• Prometheus (here).
• Ares and Aphrodite (here).
• Ares and the Brazen Cauldron (here).
• Zeus and Aphrodite (here).
• Hermes and Aphrodite (here).
• Zeus-Jupiter (here).
• Pan (here).
• Asclepius (here).
• Amaltheia (here).
• Phaethon (here and here).
• Scylla and Charybdis (here).
• The homecoming of Odysseus (here).

ANCIENT SUMER AND BABYLON

• Gilgamesh and Enkidu (see here, here, and here). See also further discussion in my first book, The Mathisen Corollary.
• Ishtar (here).
• The Scorpion Goddess Ishara (here).
• The Oannes (here and here).

ANCIENT EGYPT

• Isis (see here, here, and here).
• Osiris (see here, here, here, here and here).
• Horus (see here and here).
• Set (see here, here, and here). See also further discussion in my first book, The Mathisen Corollary.

ANCIENT INDIA

• Indra, Vishnu, and the Vajra (hereand here).
• Agni (here).
• The Seven Rishis (here).
• Rahu (here).
• The Pandavas, Pandu, Kunti (Pritha), Madri, Draupadi, and the 5-husband pattern (here).
• The Bodhi Tree (here).
• The Bhagavad Gita - Arjuna and Lord Krishna (here).
• The Goddess Durga (here and here). 
• Dhritarastra, Upamanyu, and the Ashvins (here).

AFRICA

• Mukasa, the Guardian of the Lake

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

• Odin and Gunnlod
• Loki
• Skade
• Freya
• Sif
• Heimdall
• Valhalla
• Gefjon and her Plow

JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY

• Amaterasu and Uzume

SACRED TRADITIONS AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE AMERICAS

• The Old Man and his Daughter
• The Lucky Hunter
• The Hero Twins
• Tezcatlipoca
• Mother Scorpion
• Rock art at Painted Rock

SACRED TRADITIONS AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE PACIFIC

• Maui and the Jawbone
• Wahine Taweka
• The hairy man who fetched the Sun

SACRED TRADITIONS AND MYTHOLOGY OF AFRICA

• Mukasa, the Guardian of the Lake

ANCIENT CHINA

• The Magpie Bridge
• The Bow of the Emperors
• The Jade Emperor and the Lantern Festival
• Da Mo and Shen Guang

BONUS!

THE 1,001 NIGHTS! (or, "THE ARABIAN NIGHTS")

• Can you unlock their celestial metaphors?
• Star Myths in two episodes from the Thousand Nights and a Night!

Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 2: Adam and Eve and the Serpent

The video series which I am now titling "Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview" continues above with "Star Myths and the Shamanic Worldview, part 2: Adam and Eve" (see here for part 1).

In this episode, we continue the examination of evidence that the ancient scriptures found in the Bible (along with all the other sacred traditions of humanity) are built upon a common system of celestial metaphor, and that they convey a shamanic worldview -- the shared shamanic inheritance of our planet. 

From the passage in the Book of the Revelation of John discussed in part 1, we move all the way forward to the First Book of Moses, called Genesis, to examine the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent. 

Readers with a strong commitment to a literalistic interpretation of the Bible should be cautioned that this examination may be extremely challenging to the validity of the literalistic approach. If you are not comfortable examining the evidence suggesting that the scriptures found in the Bible are from first to last built upon an extremely sophisticated system of celestial allegory and that they may in fact have been intended to convey a profoundly shamanic worldview, you may wish to skip the above interview.

However, I would argue along with Alvin Boyd Kuhn, that "the sacred scriptures of the world are a thousand times more precious as myths than as alleged history" (Lost Light, page 24).

The video demonstrates some extremely powerful evidence which suggests that the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent describes actual events which take place in the celestial realm over our heads -- and that those events continue to take place to this day. Much of the celestial interpretation is derived from the explanations articulated by Robert Taylor (1784 - 1844) in a collection of his lectures published in 1857 under the title Astronomico-Theological Lectures (see Chapter IX: The Fall of Man, pages 151 - 166).

The story of Adam and Eve has played an absolutely fundamental role in "Western civilization" -- that culture, broadly defined, which descended from the western Roman Empire and which for seventeen centuries has been deeply influenced by a literalistic understanding of the scriptures of the Bible. Note that I am here very broadly using the term "literalistic" to mean, not necessarily a woodenly literalistic view which does not accept the validity of the rich layers of metaphor, allegory, and typology that are clearly present in the texts, but rather interpretations committed to the conclusion that those texts should (and must) be interpreted to describe literal earthly events which were enacted by actual historical figures named Abraham or Sarah or David or Solomon or Simon Peter or Jesus. 

It cannot be denied that literalistic interpretations of the story of Adam and Eve have been used to blame women for "the Fall of mankind," and to restrict and oppress women in all sorts of very real and tangible ways. How tragic that a myth which can be shown to reflect the motions and positions of very specific stars and constellations could be used to impose such a horrendous legacy of violation of natural universal law.

It has also been used through the centuries to inflict a doctrine of mind control (the control of the behavior of individuals and of large groups of individuals using primarily beliefs and ideologies rather than the threat of brute physical force) backed up by the threat of eternal damnation in a literal place of torment called Hell (a doctrine which almost certainly rests upon the same literalistic interpretation of ancient scripture which I believe to be mistaken).

In fact, as the above video begins to discuss towards the very end, the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent can be seen to teach a profoundly shamanic (and liberating) worldview -- one that has direct parallels to the shamanic worldview conveyed in other mythological episodes involving a World Tree and the opening of one's eyes to the divinity hidden inside each of us and hidden inside the world around us.

Much more could be said about the profound ramifications of the story of Adam and Eve and the Serpent, the celestial foundation of all the world's ancient sacred mythologies, and the fact that all of these star myths may well have been intended to convey an integrated and powerful shamanic understanding of the world around us, the infinite cosmos, and our place within it. It is hoped that the video above will be a good place to start examining those crucial subjects. 

Please feel free to share the above video widely with those who are searching for such information -- but please do not use it as a "club" with which to ambush someone's beliefs or to use it in a way that will cause harm. It is one thing if someone from a literalist worldview is approaching you and engaging in aggressive debate about such matters, but even in such a circumstance, presentation of this material to someone should always be done in a gentle manner and with respect and care towards them as another human being who after all is struggling with all the same questions common to existence in this material realm. With someone who is not already signaling a willingness to engage in "rough and tumble" discussions about matters spiritual, that care and sensitivity should be even greater.

Namaste.