Dream 28 -
The diamond and the raven
On
this occasion I reached the special dream state as a result of a meditation. The
meditation was based on approaching a wall in which there was a marble high arch
on which was carved the four symbols of the Lion, the Bull, the Eagle, and the
Man. Far above the arch is a bright star, Sirius.
After
meditating while constructing this scene in imagination, after a while, the
scene became more than real and absolutely clear. There was a square fine earth
clearing in front of the arch. Suddenly the star fell to earth and landed in the
centre of the square as a beautiful sparkling diamond of great size. Then a
large Raven slowly but surely walked across the square to the diamond and
swallowed it. What is the interpretation?
Subsequent
meditation and consideration of the vision brought me to the three stages of the
development of consciousness. This is dealt with well by Jung4. It is based on
my understanding of the trinity, the Holy Affirming, the Holy Denying, and the
Holy Enabling, or the Holy Ghost.
Generally
the father denotes the earlier state of consciousness when one is still a child,
still dependent upon a ready made pattern of existence which is habitual and has
the character of law, imposed upon you by parents. It is a passive, unreflecting
condition, a mere awareness of what is given, without intellectual or moral
judgment.
When
the accent shifts to the next stage, the son, this is when the son starts to put
himself in his father's place. This first invokes identification with the father
and this is not an advance. Advance comes when detachment from the father is
achieved. This consists of conscious differentiation from the father and from
the habitus represented by him. This requires a certain amount of knowledge of
one's own individuality, which cannot be acquired without moral discrimination.
Habit can only be replaced by a mode of life consciously chosen and acquired. So
we have discrimination and reflection.
While
in the above I have referred to the male side, as I see it as a man, after first
working through all this from the masculine point of view, it is necessary to
retrace one's steps and work through it all again from a woman's point of view,
in order to develop understanding and balance. This applies in the appropriate
way to a woman.
The
third step, finally points beyond the "Son" into the future, to a
continuing realisation of the "Spirit", i.e. a living activity
proceeding from the "Father" and "Son" which raises the
subsequent stages of consciousness to the same level of independence of
"Father" and "Son". Though the new level of consciousness
acquired through emancipation of the son continues in the third stage, it must
recognise that it is not the source of the ultimate decision and flashes of
insight which rightly go by the name of "gnosis", but that these are
inspired by a higher authority which in projected form is known as the
"Holy Ghost". Psychologically speaking, "inspiration" comes
from an unconscious function. This is also known as the "Holy
Enabling".
Accordingly,
the advance to the third stage means something like a recognition of the
unconscious, if not actual subordination to it. This is the recognition of the
"Third Force". As we are we are said to be "Third Force
Blind". This is it is called the "Holy Ghost' since a ghost is
invisible.
Just
as the transition from the first stage to the second stage demands sacrifice of
childish dependence, so, at the third stage, an exclusive independence has to be
relinquished.
(So
this is the man who stands on the bridge and so comes under the instruction of
something higher.)
This
third stage, means articulating one's ego-consciousness with a supraordinate
totality, of which one cannot say that it is "1" but which is best
visualised as a more comprehensive being.
Alchemical
symbolism has produced, aside from the personal figure, a whole series of
non-human forms, geometrical configurations like the sphere, circle, square, and
octagon, chemical symbols like the Philosophers Stone, the ruby, the diamond,
quicksilver, gold, water, fire and spirit.
So
the diamond represents the third stage of transformation.
Coming
now to the Raven, which in the Mithraic sacrifice the messenger of the gods -
the "angel" - was a raven.
The
third stage of initiation in Mithraism is Corax, the Raven, and the head of the
Raven is a symbol in Alchemy of the alumbic, the vessels in which the
transformation takes place.
So
the vessel has been prepared, the Raven, which now contains the diamond, the
personal psyche,
The
four symbols of the Lion, the Bull, the Eagle, and the Man are the symbols for
the four Gospels, Mark, Luke, John and Matthew respectively. The arch is a
potent Hermetic symbol for the turning of the mind in meditation.
So
now we are at the beginning of the beginning. On the other hand my
interpretation may be totally wrong. It is my intention, however, to act on the
basis that it is correct, so this will determine that it is. It is also, I
believe, backed up by other visions and meditation results. In one of these I
became conscious of the phrase, render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. This
is in Luke, Chapter 20, verse 22. Christ is asked the question: "Is it
lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?
"But
He perceived their craftiness and said unto them, Why temp ye me?
"Show
me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said,
Caesar's.
"And
He said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's,
and unto God the things which be God's."
For
me this focuses the duality of the early stages of development in which there is
a tendency to try and reject or suppress the things of the earth and the flesh
and replace them by the things of heaven. This, I believe, to be all in
imagination, because there are no things of heaven until one first becomes a
single one and this is a long journey. What is important is to recognise that
the things of earth and the things of heaven are of equal importance. Until this
is recognised and accepted there is war in heaven, "The Holy War'.
The
relationship of this to Mithraism for me is that the usual basic interpretation
of Mithra slaying the Bull is that it is symbolic of the need to suppress or
overcome the earthly part of the human. This can lead to repression and
imagination, because one cannot eliminate the earthly part of the human. Our
bodies depend upon it and our souls are dependent upon our bodies carrying them
as a vessel in order that our soul can grow, fed by the life experiences, So a
better interpretation is that the slaying of the Bull is symbolic of coming to
the realisation of the duality and of accepting it and from then on rendering
unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God, that which is God's. One then
begins to use the minds and bodies most appropriate for the circumstances and
for one's aim.
So here again we have in some detail the various
levels of development and the need to interpret the complex archetypal
symbolism. As it is said "Truth did not come into the world naked, but it
came in the types and images. It (the world) will not receive it in any other
fashion".5
