Horror Show

"The suitors' bodies made a carpet of flesh, blood, gore, and dust.  Outside the palace hall, in the court yard, the twelve unfaithful serving maids swung in the wind, hanged.  Everything else was still, save for the jaws  of the dogs fighting over Melanthius's testicles and penis (373)."

I really loved Cadmus and Harmony. I know I will read it again, it has it all. Beauty, celebration, love, betrayal, murder, suicide, blood and guts--the list goes on and on.  I love horror movies especially the really gory slasher flicks.  Most slasher movies, if not all of them, are based on the crimes of serial killers and, more often than not, the crimes of Ed Gein.  When Gein's Wisconsin farm house of horrors was discovered authorities found, among other things, masks made from human skin, bowls made from human skulls, and a belt made of nipples.  Ed Gein had a darkness that the religious age has many explanations for, but in mythology this darkness simply exists.  It is not the result of demons or some great evil.  It is a part of humans, just another tale to be told.  The violence and gore of Calasso is very casual because it is merely a fact.  It wasn't caused by evil spirits or demons spawned from uncontrollable woman. It is the shadow, our shadow. 

Myth and 'The Magus'

The Monster in the Maze

          “Asterius has a bull’s head, because his father was the big white bull Pasiphae fell in love with.  Asterius has been shut up in a building designed by an Athenian inventor…the moment had come for them to cover up their secrets, and ultimately to be ashamed of them (Calasso, 11).” Asterius is the Minotaur, the monster that Daedalus designed the labyrinth to conceal.  The concept of the maze is a prevalent theme in John Fowles novel The Magus. It is nearly impossible to separate the monster and the maze since the maze was designed for the monster.  But who is the monster in Nicholas’ maze?  Throughout Fowles novel Nicholas is struggling with a monster.  It is unclear who that monster may be but nonetheless there is a beast stalking Nicholas through his labyrinth. 

            Could Joe be the monster?  He first appears to Nicholas dressed as Anubis, a beastly creature with the head of a jackal and the body of a man. Joe is a shadowy figure that is always silently watching, stalking. He is always guarding, a person or a secret, similar to the monsters in mythology.  Perhaps, Conchis is the fiend?  There are many times is the narrative when Nicholas suspects Conchis of being more than the magician.  Nicholas suspects that there is something sinister about Conchis, something beastly, he wonders if Conchis is a pervert.  The depths to which Conchis’ maze takes Nicholas, the seemingly boundless manipulation, support that Conchis could be more the magician.   Conceivably any of the female leads could be the monster.   Allison is possibly the monster for having selfishly killed herself and haunted Nicholas’ thoughts.  Perhaps it is Julie and her flirtatious character or Lily with her monstrous manipulation of Nicholas.  All the players look the part; feasibly there could be more than one monster in Nicholas’ maze. 

            At the trial, the aforementioned participants and a few others from behind the scenes appear to Nicholas dressed in a monstrous fashion.  The figures marched in front of Nicholas, in elaborate and ghastly costume, at the trial are an illustration of the link between the monster and the maze.  “The long line of black-carnival puppets stared at me from the floor.  I stared down the line: the stag-devil, the crocodile-devil, the vampire, the succubus, the bird-woman, the magician, the coffin-sedan, the pierrot-skeleton, the corn-doll, the Aztec, the witch (Fowels, 503).”  All of the people inside the costumes were involved in the construction of Nicholas’ maze, all of the people appear in the garb of monsters and no doubt Nicholas thinks of them as beastly; even more so without their costumes.  Unfortunately for Nicholas they set him free from their constructed maze and Nicholas is left to search for his still unidentified monster; for identifying the monster brings about a conclusion, an answer and “an answer is always a form of death (Fowles, 626).”

            Still obsessed with finding his monster, so that he may slay it, Nicholas continues the investigation that leads him to Mrs. De Seitas; the mother of Lily and Julie.  Since the neither of the twins is the monster maybe the woman that raised them to be so deceitful is the true fiend.  Although disgusted by her, she is clearly not the monster he seeks. However, he does view her and her daughters as devilish. Nicholas remarks, “now I understand why you grow so many flowers.’ She shifted her head, not understanding. I said, ‘To cover the stink of sulphur’ (Fowles, 602).”  The secrets, lies, manipulations, and betrayals keep Nicholas always on the hunt for identifying the ogre in the shadows. 

When he learns that Allison is alive and all the correspondence concerning her unfortunate suicide is a sham his rage leads him to believe that undoubtedly Allison must be the monster that has been pushing him through the labyrinth; the being that had been both leading him and stalking him through the maze.   She had been there since the beginning, it was her fault--it was all her fault.  She had somehow been responsible for getting him mix up in this experiment in which “monstrous liberties where taken with my [Nicholas] liberties (Fowles).”  She was the only creature evil enough to do this to him.  Yes, she had to be his monster and he must go slay her, metaphorically, but where does one find the dead or rather falsely dead. 

            Even though Allison is very much alive she might as well exist only in a spirit realm that Nicholas could not enter; for despite his best efforts he had no way to find her.  When Allison finally reveals herself to Nicholas he accuses her of being his ever present monster.  She in turn makes the same accusation of him.  In that pivotal moment, in the park, when Nicholas slaps Allison it is unclear if the truth becomes apparent to Nicholas.  But to the reader it is right there just as it has been all along.  The creature that knows his secrets, the being that both propels him forward while stalking him, the ultimate evil, the monster; is Nicholas himself.  “A creature who would never be able to go back to being either beast or man.  He would be a hybrid (Calasso, 11).”    

  

A Religious Experience Rooted In Mythology

 Art from Tool's Aenima album

"With the music of his lyre, Cadmus said, he would be able to stop the planets in their courses and enchant wild beasts (381)."
Earlier in the semester I was reading one of Jason's blogs entitled The Story of Nachiketa in in his conclusion he was discussing sacrifice. Which got me thinking about a paper I had written for Dr. Lansverk's Biblical Lit class about Cain and Abel.  In this paper I argued that this story was an example of confusion during the transition between the pagan age and the monotheism.  At the time I really couldn't see why the monotheism came about. I mean polytheism is perfection right?  There is a god of the hunt, the hearth, of love, and so on; there are gods and goddess'. What possible reason would the ancients have for turning to monotheism?  This question remained largely unanswered until I read Calasso's book.  Rape, abduction, jealousy, and the sodomizing of children are all aspects of mythology i was unaware of.  The gods were not perfect and they could not judge humans because they possessed the same flaws.  The ancients needed perfection; they needed perfection to guide them and judge them.  The gods of mythology, with their excesses, had set the stage for the religious age. It all makes sense now.
Discussing the relationship between mythology and religion reminds me of a mythological religious experience I had once (or was it a religious mythological experience?).  In 1998, I saw Tool live for the first time.  They were touring in support of their album Aenima.  Even though I'd been concert going for several years this was to be the biggest rock band I had seen and in one of the largest venues I'd been in at that point.  I love Tool.  I will swear til my dying day that they are my generations Pink Floyd.  I was all of sixteen years old and Tool was just starting to make it big; we grew up together.  Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon was sold out that night and I felt an excitement that to this day I only feel before a Tool show.
The crowd was electric, the entire venue was on fire with energy as we all paid our respects to the Melvins and eagerly awaited Tool.  When the band hit the stage the shit hit the fan.  I was never so glad to be in the balcony instead of out on the floor. Music surrounded me not only in sound but in color.  I'd never felt more alive yet was completely paralyzed by the ferocity of the bands performance and Maynard's vocals--there are no words, he must be an Angel sent from Hell.  Then I felt a pounding and heard an indescribable roar, the crowd was moved by their performance in their own way.  A situation had developed on the floor and three songs into the set security completely lost control.  In addition to the gatecrashers on the ground floor, the pounding and roar was the feeling of hordes of people sitting at the top of the balcony rushing past us in the lower balcony and jumping to the floor.  In the middle of extreme chaos I felt the most peace I had ever known.  I saw music, I felt music, and tens of thousands of people danced in the spirit realm that night.
Since then I have seen Tool on tour for Lateralus and 10,000 Days and I always tell people I'm going to church when I'm heading to a Tool show.  From these experiences I've come to the conclusion that it's not the crowd or even the band, it's the music. Pure and strong. Like the band is channeling the gods themselves.
  

Lessons

"From that moment on, every event, every encounter occurred in parallel, in two places. To tell a story meant to weave those two series of parallel events together, to make both worlds visible (95)."
Telling stories is teaching lessons, recounting the past is education for the future.  We all remember being told stories that taught  morals as children. There are so many lessons contained in mythology. I interpret myths like Eros and Psyche or Orpheus and Eurydice as cautionary tales about the woes of impatience.  In both of these myths they already had what they wanted most but they became impatient and lost faith.  As a result, the  object of their affection was taken as punishment for impatience.  The myth of Zeus and Semele is also a tale faith and of not asking for proof of love; for it is Zeus' love for Semele that causes him to destroy her.  There are multitudes of of lessons contained within mythology but I find the love stories and tragedies concerning patience, as well as faith in love and faith in a lover to be the most interesting.  I believe that if you believe in love the impossible is possible.  I like the myths that illustrate all the bad things that can happen when we lose faith in love and faith in our lovers. It is faith that connects us to whatever spirits, God, or gods we believe in; it is our faith in each other that connects us all.

thank you

"Everything repeats itself, everything comes back again, but always with some slight twist in its meaning. (249)"
I would like to thank everyone for their interesting and entertaining group presentations. And special thanks to my group (Group 4): Megan, Stephanie, Rosemary, Darrell, and Jeremy. I normally hate group projects but this was a positive experience for once. My group was very creative, hard working, intelligent, and respectful of each others ideas. Everyone contributed and few people even went the extra mile trying to figure out the tech stuff. Thanks guys it was was a pleasure to have learned with you and from you.

"Bleeding White Butterflies"

The Image of the Soul

"In the maximum pointlessness lies maximum splendor. And the real never shines so brightly as when its reality is duplicated (340)"
We suffer so that it may be written about and sung about. Since life is suffering then music, art, and literature are the reason we exist. Of course life is not always suffering and we celebrate that in the arts as well. One of my favorite artists once wrote: "making an album is like anything else. it's like living and dying, like bleeding white butterflies."  I mentioned in an earlier blog that I do not remember when i stopped believing in Santa Claus. The day I finished The Magus, I realized that I never really stopped believing in Santa Claus because I believe in the importance of the myth. When I realized that Santa wasn't real I started perpetuating the myth to the next generation.  Even though I knew he wasn't 'really real', for whatever reason I felt the need to continue the myth that had brought me so much joy and excitement as a child. Our continuing to perpetuate myths like Santa Claus only speaks to their importance as part of our identity.  When I look at my youngest nephew or my friend's children I believe in Santa Claus, even though I sometimes am Santa Claus. It's the myth and the importance of that myth that both unites and defines.  This realization came only after my initial disappointment with the end of The Magus. 
At first I was a little irritated with the way the book ends, on its surface, with little to no resolution. Then, while watching a preview for a Christmas movie and thinking about Santa, I realized that the only way The Magus could have a definite ending is if Nicholas would have died.  I can't remember if it was Conchis or one of the twins who informed Nicholas that the 'rat' had control over the parameters of the maze. Even though Nicholas' labyrinth was constructed for him, it was to give him an appreciation of life. Not only his own life but how he interacted with other people and how those actions effected the lives of those around him. Nicholas was so arrogant and jaded that even though he was living he was not alive. His belief that he was above the maze that led him right into the heart of it.  Life is a labyrinth.

Ritual De Lo Habitual

"But such is Zeus: any old oak tree. Only Zeus can sustain the wonder of normality (319)."
"covered now by three days, we saw shadows of the morning light, the shadows of the evening sun, til the shadows and the light were one" Eh what's a blog without some Jane's Addiction, Ritual De Lo Habitual (funny, I know someone who thinks Perry Farrell is a satyr). Three days, three days in an ordinary mythology. Cyclical and ritual, forever paying homage to Order. I wake up at 5:30 in the morning. Feed the cats. Smoke. Clean litter box. Get ready for work and school. Brush my cat. Make sure all doors and widows are locked. Upon exiting I check 5 times to see if the garage door is shut, once in each mirror and twice over the shoulder.
Once I get in my car the all day music worship begins. At work, we all have various morning rituals for the purposes of cleanliness and order (music is worshipped faithfully all day, by all present). Work. Class. Shower. Dinner. Homework. Cartoons, dessert, and vitamins. Bed.  Three days go by without variation.  All other days the variation is slight. What is the point of all this repetition? Why carry on the same tasks in the same order day after day, faithfully and continually? Order. Ritual is a way of bringing order to the chaos that is life. Performing rituals is a way of exercising control over our lives and actively participating in our existence.
Rituals are performed often at or soon after birth in the form of naming ceremonies or christenings. Rituals are performed to restore or renew the land. Rituals are performed at death, but from birth until death rituals are a part of our lives. Rituals can bring us closer to our environment, our families, our communities, and even ourselves.  
The reasons why rituals are performed and how they are performed is very complex. Inspired by this complexity I chose the Japanese ritual of Seppuku to present in class. Seppuku was a form of ritual suicide reserved for the Samurai class in ancient Japan.  Seppuku is currently illegal in Japan and the last Seppuku was committed in 1970 as a protest.  Seppuku, also know as Hara-kiri or Hari-kari, literally means "stomach cutting" and was an key part of the Bushido or warrior code. Seppuku was used by warriors to keep from falling into enemy hands or to rid oneself of shame. Warriors could be ordered to commit Seppuku by their feudal lords or could use Seppuku as the ultimate protest when their morals stood in the way of executing a master's order. Seppuku is very complex, has many forms, and is of course different for women. 
I decided to focus on the most formal performance of Seppuku.  Dressed ceremonially with his sword in front of him the participant writes his death poem. After completing the poem, with his selected attendant or his second standing behind him, he wraps a cloth around the base of his sword then opens his kimono and plunges the sword into his abdomen. First he cuts right to left, then slightly upward. After the upward cut he lowers his head and his second, usually a trusted warrior and friend, then cuts off his head. In battle or other less formal settings the second may or my not be a part of the ritual. Like most rituals Seppuku produces more questions, for those outside of its practice, than answers.
Rituals are not only something that is done, but something that is done to exercise power over our lives and ourselves. Through the practice of rituals we are active participants in our existence and not mere bystanders witnessing the drama of the gods played out in an endless cyclical narrative.