WINTERSPELLS: Life on the Magical Path

The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries

The Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries comprise an allegory of the fate of the pure soul in the world. The Unicorn has often been referred to as a Christ figure, but its meaning is much older than Christianity, for the image of a Beast, no matter how mythical, would not be used to symbolize the Son of God unless that God existed at the most primal, pre-conscious level, deep in the Soul of the World. When one meditates on the sequence of images in the Hunt of the Unicorn Tapestries, it looks more like an ancient Fertility Rite enacting the sexual awakening of the World. This has more to do with the Medieval Courts of Love than the Passion of Christ.

The innocence of the Unicorn is signified, not only by its clean, white coat, but by its single, uncloven, horn. One horn suggests unity,  it  cannot be entered, it wards off intrusion. Dual horns, in this context, suggest that that which was whole is now split. The possessor of two horns lives in the world of opposites, of two sexes, and therefore is concerned with procreation. That which is split then seeks reunion through the birth of the third, mirror image of itself, and so the regenerative cycle goes on.

That is why the Unicorn can only be tamed by a virgin, for the Virgin is undefiled, unitary, and protected. The Men of the World cannot open the Unicorn’s body unless he lies in the lap of the Virgin who comes forward voluntarily with an aura of sacrifice. The symbolism of the single fertilizing horn in a Virgin’s lap is clear. In the case of the Unicorn, there is a divine fertilization. Only when the Soul, (the Virgin) is torn away from her union with the Divine, can she be joined with man. Therefore the men, who seek to re-discover lost innocence, and because they are of the World, cannot value purity as inner possession only, and kill the Virgin’s Divine connection so she will be available for them in the world of duality.

This interpretation suggests that there is an alternate allegory to that of the passion of Christ possible here, something to do with the Virgin as World Soul in union with the Divine, and the Unicorn as the mystic seeking return to the source.It is also a Creation myth that shows the Fall into duality without which earthly life would not be possible.

For me, the quest for the Unicorn, and these beautiful tapestries, evoke great Mystery, so they are part of my Mysterious Domain…which is of course, in my imagination…

A Mystery is Sought

The Hunters represent primal man, crude, blind, and driven by base desires without the light of consciousness. They  enter the forest to hunt, but find themselves on the path of a great Mystery that will  instill a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves. Only a powerful encounter with the Otherworld will be shocking enough to awaken them.

They come upon a Unicorn dipping his horn in a fountain.

The  Hunters  break out of the woods and find a garden where all the animals, both hunter and hunted, live in peace and harmony together. It is the Garden of Paradise before the Fall,  before the intrusion of Man.

A beautiful, pure white Unicorn dips his horn into the Waters of Life, both to purify them, and fertilize the Earth with his divine power.

The Waters springing up from the Underworld  let us know we are in the Realm of Faery…

The Unicorn leaps over a stream

The Unicorn sees the Hunters and leaps over the stream that runs from the fountain. In the old traditions, bodies of water, especially rivers and streams, are crossing points between the mortal world and the Otherworld of Faery. It is interesting to note that while the Unicorn was at the fountain, he was safe in Paradise where the Hunters were not able to act against him. By leaping over the stream, is he not, therefore, running toward danger,  straight into the spears and arrows? If that is the case, it would seem his  sacrifice is voluntary, as all true sacrifices must be.
But why?

The Unicorn defends himself

The Unicorn defends himself by attacking the dogs. Is this not a representation of how the most pure, Divine power must seek protection from the defilement of the basest instincts of Man symbolized by the dogs?  In the old fairy stories, animals often stood for the gross sexual appetites, unrefined and undisciplined  by the consciousness of the higher mind. The idea of the tail wagging the dog comes to mind when you think of people who chase after sexual pleasure, or release, irregardless of the consequences.

Rather than defending himself, could the Unicorn be protecting the Virgin? Could he be trying to prevent the primitive Hunters despoiling her with rude weapons and coarse sexuality? For the Unicorn is the Virgin’s lover is he not?

The Ladies know what it means to capture the Unicorn

The Ladies of the Palace know what the mystery is and how it must climax. For they too have been virgins in love with the Unicorn.

A Virgin Tames the Unicorn

This is event is always referred to as the Virgin taming the Unicorn, but it not be seen another way?  It is really an image of the Unicorn laying hos head in the Virgin’s lap. While lying there between her legs, he is killed by the Hunters. Perhaps the Unicorn lays down its life to protect the Virgin from the instinctual, untamed, and unenlightened desires of the Hunters. He is her purity, and her inviolability. Once the unity is cleft, there can be no return to Paradise. Innocence is lost forever.
Interestingly, this piece of the tapestry is damaged and the figure of the virgin torn away. The red gowned  Lady coyly looking on is merely her handmaiden. We see the dog drawing the Unicorn’s blood.

So much for the pure, innocent Soul of the World in our times…

The Hunters slay the Unicorn

The Unicorn is pierced through the heart , both his spiritual heart located below the throat and his physical heart in his breast. The Palace of civilization stands on the other side of a lake. The refined Lords and Ladies stream down from the palace to receive the Hunters who seem changed by their encounter with the Unicorn.They approach the Ladies who appear to instruct them, perhaps on the proper attitude of respect to maintain regarding the Procreative Mysteries.

Indeed, the Lord and Ladies seem to ignore the Unicorn as he is impaled  above them, at the edge of the palace garden.  They seem much more intent on sharing the gifts of civilization with the Hunters. The palace is thus the realm between the higher and lower levels of being.

The Unicorn is restored to life

Often called ‘The Unicorn in Captivity’.

This is an apt title, although it leaves out the impression that the Unicorn has come back to life. Perhaps this is because he never was a mortal creature, but a symbol all along, a representation of innocence and purity too good for the World. Now he is captured, fenced in, and controlled by the forces of civilization that would use him as an example of perfection. Yet he is set apart, no longer part of the whole, rendered, in a sense, useless. He is emptied of the numinous wholeness he once wielded in the lost Paradise. In the  World, duality is all, for without duality, the cloven horn and hoof, the Creation as we know it, would cease to exist.

The Unicorn knows this. That is the nature of his sacrifice. He is at peace.

Go to my Videos for a beautiful Medieval song that goes well with these tapestries

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Those Sneaky Psychic Attacks

This is a core story that is not in my Free Report “Psychic Self Defense”  offer on the box to the right — Sign up and get it while I still have it available as this blog is going through changes –

It took me eight years to figure this out.

In the Free Report I discuss my first experience with psychic attack — this story can be found  on the front page at Occult View.com. My second experience was very different and is related in the report.  I had moved into a haunted house in London. This can be kinda hard to avoid really…

Was the attack in the London house caused by spirit activity attached to the house, or was is the result of an attack from another quarter altogether? I am still not sure of that, but I have since received some answers.

Life in London…at First…

In March 1998, I was compelled to move to London. I don’t really know the real reason, but I could not prevent myself selling everything I owned and going. In 1997 I had taken my King Arthur Holy Grail tour to research art  for my channeled Tarot deck: Grail Keepers Tarot, and fell in love with the U.K. It seems 1998 was a big  year for major life changes. The Hale Bop comet had flown over — I saw it in Tintagel, Cornwall just floating above the sea. Perhaps that was the cause.

I needed to make money and stay below the radar, so I got a pitch in Camden Lock Market and began reading Tarot cards there two days a week. I made just enough to keep the roof of the haunted house over my head and travel and eat.

Shortly after I had set myself up on the traditional Tarot pitch that I shared with the resident psychic, Patricia,  I was visited by an  old Irish woman who announced to me that she was Queen of all the psychics in London and it was her job to oversee them all. I think we swapped readings or discussed it — I honestly cannot remember how we dealt with our relationship. All I ever found out about her was that she worked at the top of the Stables Market behind Camden Lock and charged very little for her work. We didn’t speak when we saw each other — I felt as if I couldn’t, and I didn’t make anything of it.

Over the time I was there, I was told the history of the area. The stables had been  built for horses used in the city for fire brigades and taxis and  things like that. The lock was part of a canal that ran through Saint Johns Wood and  through Little Venice, its picturesque aspects and gypsy house boats marred by the tendency of dead bodies to surface at least once a year — victims of some of the most horrific murders in town. Camden had also been the location for mass graves during the 1667 plague epidemic that swept London after the Great Fire in 1666. Breugel’s Triumpth of Death is like a portrait of Camden Town during the Plague. Camden Tube Station had also been built on the spot where the cottage of  the infamous witch, Mother Damnable, once stood. It was alleged that the cottage was full of demons that floated through the air in all sorts of weird shapes.
Camden Town was also to home to young Charles Dickens before his father went to debtors prison.

Another thing about that place was that the whole length, from Camden Stables down to the Lock was said to be on a ley line. Knowing about this ley line obscured many things from me because the Tarot pitch was right on it and it was thought to be a very active and polluted current.

When I worked In Camden Lock for two days  a week everything was fine and I soon had lots of clients. Two days was just enough.Suddenly, Patricia had to cut back, so the market manager offered me an extra day on the stall. This was fine too — until she wanted to return. I had customers who expected me to be there by this time and I had come to rely on the extra money. To cut a long story short, certain people may not have been too pleased with these complications, but they didn’t say anything to me about it.

Around Samhain, I began to experience the horrific attacks in the night that I describe in the Free Report and have mentioned in earlier blog posts. I thought they were caused by someone else…

I began having a terrible time in the market. For one thing the energy coming down under the Tarot pitch was so violent sometimes that with my super-sensitivity I was thrown off balance and stressed out something fierce. My mind would get fixated on people and things and I couldn’t shift out of it. I started having conflicts with other traders out of the blue — misunderstandings cropping up — all kinds of volatility.

I moved at one point to a shop under the stables  that is no longer there — just to try to get out of the bad energy. But business wasn’t as good because it didn’t have the visibility. It was a bit more peaceful though.

Then that situation deteriorated because business was too slow and the owner got stressed out. I went back up to Camden Lock Market. It was good for a while and then got really horrible again. I never had so much stress and conflict and bad luck in my life before. I couldn’t leave though because of my situation and business was really good and the money was good. I was really stuck.

My cards would come up all black!

Ever since the night attacks between Samhain and  Christmas, I had been seeing a Carribean Priestess/ Healer, Mother Bridget. She helped me all the time — mostly clearing my energy field. I became known for never being able to keep bad energy off. I was always suffering from over-stress and  entity invasion. I had ideas about what was behind this stuff — partly the rat-race of London — partly these people who would turn on me and start making trouble in the market. I am also the type that needs lots of seclusion to balance myself and I was living in group housing. Never being alone could have contributed to stress and unhappiness for me. I never thought it was an occult attack!

“There are two women crossing you. A blond one and darker one. These are clairvoyant mediums.”
“But who? I have no idea who these people are. Why?”
“Jealousy.”
“But why?”
I could not for the life of me figure out who they were because nobody I knew fit the description.
“There’s a coven working against you. Clairvoyant mediums. They are trying to bury you.”
“Who?”
“They set it up like clockwork with the moon. They brought in another medium.”
I was lost for trying to figure it out so I decided she must be wrong.
After my first horrible year being back in the States and moving to Seattle, I finally got a studio apartment in which I could be 100% alone. This was  the only condition in which I could begin to heal from the mountains of stress  and wounds form all of that conflict. I had never thought of myself who has enemies — so I always in shock about these things. About six months after this absolute solitude it hit me who those Clairvoyant Mediums were.  The other tarot readers in the market. Since I had never had words with them, very little to no contact – I could not even think of them. But I am sure it was them now — very clever, very subtle, very evil.

What is also really strange is that I went to the British Isles initially to research my Grail Keepers Tarot. In the Celtic Faery tradition I had been working in that is woven into the tarot deck I painted, I was very connected to the goddess Brighid: triple moon goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft. I had been working with the bright Brighid when I went to London. When the attacks happened, the lady who saved me was a black Bridget — Mother Bridget. But there  was a third Bridget in the mix — the Queen of the tarot readers — that Irish crone in the Stables Market. She was using the ley-line to send her curses straight at me.

I am still unsure of the motive for wanting to use such low-down, evil means  to get rid of me. I do know, as an American, I was never taught to kiss anybody’s butt and suppose I must have offended her.

The take-away here is that attacks of this nature can be very hard to understand and pin down. Best install good defense mechanisms so you bounce them off immediately.

For an excerpt from my Free Report Psychic Self Defense go to:

http://www.occultview.com

For The Grail Keepers’ Tarot:

http://www.whiteswan-tarot.com

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The Color of Christmas is Black

Christmas is a celebration of the dawning of the light.

In the Western World we have combined elements of Pagan rituals with the Christian Mystery of the nativity for a joyous recognition that new Light comes out of Darkness, that the resurrection of life after death is part of the cycle of nature.

Red, green, gold, tinsel, these are the colors associated with Christmas. But the old color of Christmas is black. The black of the long night filled with stars, the black of life still quickening under the soil, The darkness of the evergreen forest with glints of sun shining through,  the darkness of snow banked  houses inwardly lit by candles and hearth fires.

And then there is the old tradition of Saturnalia.

Ancient Romans told tales of a Gold Age ruled over by King Saturn, God of sowing and husbandry. Old King Cole was a Merry Old Soul could have been written about him. The earth brought forth abundantly  as King Saturn brought people together from far and wide to teach them how to plant an harvest and till the ground, how to live lawful lives under his generous and peaceful rule. All property was held in common, greed and war were not even thought of.

After King Saturn vanished, or died, his reign continued to be commemorated by the Romans with shrines and festivals in his honor. And every winter from the 17th to the 23rd of December, great revels took place led by the Spirit of Misrule. Slaves were freed and allowed to act the part of Masters. Masters waited upon slaves. Class barriers were further razed as everyone indulged in feasting, drinking, dancing and orgies. The high point of this carnival was the coronation of the Mock King. Usually chosen by lot, the slave who was mad King, ordered the people around, often requesting the drunken revelers to perform ridiculous antics, like silly dances, mimicking animals, or carrying musicians on their backs.

But as was the case in most ancient agricultural societies known for an abundantly fertile and yielding earth. there was another side to these festivities. For the Mock King, who for a few days enjoyed every indulgence, for whom was his command, ended his reign with his head on the block, burned in the fire, or hung on the gallows tree.

It was believed that the Sun actually died on Winter Solstice, and that the only way to bring it back to life, was to exchange one life for another — a human life for the life of the sun.  The Mock King of the Saturnalia, chosen by chance — and therefore by the Gods — drunken and in a state of high excitement, was a slave for whom these few days may have been worth the price of his short and miserable life.

The Battle of the Summer and Winter Kings

What is this connection of Christmas time and death? For Christians it would be a pre-configuration of Easter, when the Son would die as a human being and be resurrected as God, and bright solar God at that.  In December, the Mock King, a Christmas Fool dies to bring back the Sun.

The Celts had a tradition of the Oak King and the Holly King meeting on the field of battle at Winter Solstice. The Oak King o Summer must give way to the Holly King of winter, but will not do so without a fight. That it was a fight to the death is a given in the books I have read on the subject. Was this another way to insuring the sun coming back in exchange for a human life? Or was this battle enacted in the Dreamtime — the Otherworld realm where European  shamans battled witches to protect the fertility of the land?

It is the brightness over the darkness that gives Christmas its special character. Gold over black. The warm glow of fire, the colored lights, the shining evening clothes and jewels shining in the long dark night of winter is the glamor of Christmas. But under the reassuring images of Santa Clause, and  abundant gift giving in honor of King Saturn’s Golden Age, and the Peace on Earth that also characterized his mythical reign, is the deeper complication of our mortality and our place in the scheme of things. We call on angels, wise Kings and a Great Mother Goddess to bring forth the Light now.  The Mystery still remains — the birth of the Divine Child, the one and only God, entering the darkness of the flesh to awaken the Light within us all.

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