Death & Rebirth

In my previous post, Eye of the Beholder, I continued to delve into the reoccurring theme of dance in pop culture which led me to the ritualistic dances of Haitian voodoo to the trances of Shamanism. I eventually wound up exploring the Goddess symbolism associated with Madonna, Rihanna, and Lady Gaga and the Christ and Horus symbolism associated with Kanye West.

Ending the last entry with Jesus made me recall an entry that I coincidentally wrote a year ago titled Gaga for Death. In that entry I pondered the habitual response to media and artistic representations of death when death is an exalted subject of many cultures and religions across the world.

In fact, a large part of the worship of Jesus centers around his death and eventual return. Followers of Christ symbolically eat his flesh and drink his blood with the serving of wine and crackers in Communion.

With the Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations recently taking place I was reminded of just how much death is a common theme in many of our cultures. Although separated by various nuances it seems that we all share a common need to invest energy into the dead.

This need was resurrected with the recent Messiah like appropriation of Michael Jackson's image since his untimely death in June of 2009. At first glance you may assume that the pictures above were taken at a Day of the Dead celebration. They are actually images taken at a celebration in honor of Michael Jackson's birthday. The shot of the moon intensifies the ritualistic nature of the celebration of Michael Jackson.


Conspiracy aside, our global investment in the death of Michael Jackson did spark a major shift. Whenever that much energy is invested something will come of it, whether the shift was manipulated or not is beside the point. The brilliant Michael Jackson monolith series over at All Signs Point To God exposed the intensity of events that took place around the time of Michael's death and around the time of his media exploitation following his death.

The public's reaction to the news of the death of Michael Jackson displayed our need to invest energy into the deceased. It appears that this need may be instinctual if you take into account the footage of people immediately running to the streets and blasting Michael's music and lighting candles. Some of this took place in his hometown of Gary, Indiana, the Apollo where he performed throughout his career, and various places around the world. One celebration took place under the Eiffel Tower which is interesting if you take into account the aforementioned series over at All Signs Point to God and his thoughts on the exposure of Jackson's daughter Paris and the symbolism associated with it. There was even a Mass Moonwalk that took place in London.



The ritualistic nature of the death of Michael Jackson was presented once again with the recent premiere of the music video "Runaway" by Kanye West.

Michael, I can see your halo

Even other pop stars like Beyonce and Madonna got involved in the worship of the fallen king. During Madonna's tribute the four colors from Dimensions of Dance were even used.

Image taken from Paranoicos

The recent increase in celebrity deaths brought attention to many people to that fact that these deaths usually come in three. Another pattern people have began to notice is that many of these celebrities die on the 25th of the month. 2+5 would make 7 which in itself is a highly symbolic and important number in not just the Occult but many religions and cultures around the world. The fact that there are usually three deaths points to 777 which is an important number to Occultists as pointed out by Aleister Crowley.
The number 777 comes from the Qabalisitc (or Kabbalistic) Tree of Life. The Tree of Life has 22 pathways that connect the spheres and each Sephiroth has it's own number value. When those numbers are added together they equal 777. The gap between Binah and Chesed equals 3. The number 3 is also symbolic as it is representative of the triad and holy trinity.

The Tree of Life itself is for for spiritual beings to descend the Tree, and for human beings to ascend the Tree which is interesting if you take into account the context of this post.

Death and rebirth as a vehicle for spiritual power is a concept associated with the Occult. I first explored death in the Gaga for Death series around this time last year. I recently found a series by The Forerunner where he analyzed Lady Gaga's 2009 performance of "Paparazzi" at the MTV Video Music Awards. In the series he highlights the use of two pillars, winding staircase and light which are used in Freemasonic initiations. The same scenario was pointed out by Jake Kotze in his classic video the 911 Stargate. In Eye of the Beholder I explored the Goddess, Isis, and Lady Liberty symbolism associated with Lady Gaga.
In the Gaga for Death series all of the death symbolism were geared toward the negative aspects of death. The raven which is a symbol of the negative aspects of death along with the repetitive focus on dead celebrities who died in tragic circumstances such as Princess Diana, Jon Bonet Ramsey, and Marilyn Monroe. This ties in with Michael Jackson as his death was ruled a homicide.

All of this talk of energy reminded me of an article written by Matthew Delooze titled You Say She's a Virgin. The article was about Al Gore's Live Earth event headlined by Madonna. Matthew has written many articles about events and festivals being used to extract energy. In this particular article he pointed out something I'm sure no one watching the event noticed. At the same time as someone in the audience threw a flag barring the Knights Templar symbol the same symbol appeared unnoticed on the screen projections behind Madonna.

It is interesting that Madonna, the pop culture face of Kabbalah, is being used to showcase Knights Templar symbolism. The Knights Templar's utilized the Dome of the Rock. It has been speculated that they began to deviate from Christianity (and/or Gnosticism) and learned the Kabbalah from the Jews. The Jews had learned the arts from the Pagans in Egypt. Some have connected the Knights Templar's to what would later become the Freemasons; this connection has, however, been disputed by many.

Solomon's Temples got a Secret

Speaking of energy harvesting at festivals, Jay-Z recently performed at Coachella with his wife Beyonce. As he performed for the crowd he told them that he felt their "energy and spirit". His wife Beyonce wore what some would describe as a Baphomet ring. They perfomed Jay-Z single "Forever Young". Immortality is of course a key theme in many Occult orders.


furthermore, "celebrity", rooted in "celebration", is our modern version of the celebration the ancients undertook for literal stars. celebration, dance..

Dancing in the Dark

Madonna celebrated the dead by incorporating Michael Jackson into her music video for "Celebration".

...you wanna dance?

The music video was used as a promotional tool for Madonna's greatest hits album. Also used as promotional tools were short clips which played many of her hits backwards. The use of backwards recordings, known as backmasking, was advised by Aleister Crowley. This applies to Necromancy which is, in short, communication with the dead.

David Bowie also used both the Kabbalah and the summoning of spirits in his song "Station to Station". The station in the title refer to the 10 Sephirot's of the Tree of Life as well as the fourteen landmarks on Christ's path to crucifixion. David Bowie also sings of the descent of God to the physical plane thus making man one with God.

"Bring the heavens and the stars down to Earth for me" - Madonna, Isaac

The rebirth theme was exemplified in Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" music video as she burns and is reborn as Sasha Fierce much like a Phoenix. We have also seen a return to form from actor Joaquin Phoenix after a downward spiral which many speculate was orchestrated to promote a movie.

We also witnessed the 33 Chilean miners as they were rescued by the Fenix (Phoenix). 33 is of course a highly symbolic number. 33 is the highest degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. The first temple of Solomon also stood for 33 years. Jesus Christ also lived to be 33.

Kanye West, who's current music video "Runaway" prominently uses a Phoenix theme, is 33 this year. The rapper, who's Horus/Christ symbolism I explored in Eye of the Beholder, debuts this week at #1 on the billboard charts after what some guessed would mark the end of his career after a series of media backlashes.

Sacred Heart

Eye of the Beholder

Disclaimer : Please click on the pictures to enlarge them so that you can see the text.

"welcome to the 22nd century
everybody's dancin, dancin
cause we are the stars, we're the stars" - kelis, 22nd century

In my previous post, True Blood, I continued my exploration of the spiritual elements of dance contained in pop culture. That exploration led me down the path of genealogy and the Reptilian and Draconian symbolism associated with the ruling elite. As the post continued I eventually ended up with strange connections between the ruling elite and the inter-sex and Solar symbolism contained within many of the leading religions and spiritual practices.

Pop star Madonna has remained a prominent presence in this blog. As I've mentioned before, many of her songs contain the theme of dance. In fact it was the repetitive themes in her music that first allowed me to spot the pattern. The fact that many of what the general public assumes are mindless songs were paired with esoteric symbols caught my attention. Madonna is frequently portrayed as a Goddess with symbolism associated with many Goddesses.

Our Lady

Songs such as "La Isla Bonita" and "Vogue" reference dreaming in relation to creativity, empowerment, and escapism. Dreaming is taken even further as a reference in the music video for "Bedtime Story". Many of the themes featured in Madonna's work can still be found in current pop culture.
Often times as I research these themes I find striking similarities between spiritually rooted altered states and mind control and possession. This shouldn't be too surprising considering many ancient spiritual practices were studied in order to create the system that sends victims of mind control into dissociative states. Genealogy plays a major role in determining which child will be chosen as a mind control experiment. Beyonce's Creole ancestry and their Voodoo traditions could be a major contributing factor to the themes contained within her work. She even admitted that her music video for "Deja Vu" was inspired by Creole Voodoo.

Put on your red shoes
Let's dance under the moonlight,
the Sirius moonlight

In True Blood I explored the Twilight series. A prominent theme in the series are the moon cycles which are even referenced in the titles of the books and films such as New Moon. The moon cycles are important in rituals. There are rituals done on every moon cycle.
I explored moon references almost a year ago with Aaliyah, Left Eye, Horus, and the Moon. In that post I found connections between Aaliyah, Left Eye, and Horus symbolism including Falcons (the symbol for Horus) and of course the emphasis on the left eye. As I mentioned in that post during the battle of Horus and Set, Horus' left eye was torn out. Thoth magically restored Horus' left eye. The myth is representative of the restoration of the moon every lunar month.

Horus and the Eye of Horus are of course hot button topics among many researchers of pop cultural symbolism. It seems any artist who uses anything similar to any symbolism associated with Horus is branded a demonic satanist. In the same respect, anyone who points out symbolism associated with Horus is assumed to be exposing some evil conspiracy resulting in the true information being lost in translation.

Besides the connection to Horus, the Moon is often seen as a symbol representing feminine energy. Many Goddesses have Lunar iconography. Many other symbols took on these Goddess attributes including Lady Liberty and Columbia. This is of course evident in pop culture as Rihanna holds the torch in "Run This Town" as Isis in the Osiris, Isis, and Horus trinity with Jay-Z and Kanye West.

After listening to an interesting interview over at Indigo Nine I began to think about aspect of the Goddess and/or feminine energy in our personal lives. In the interview Greg Ilg describes the feminine energy as dark. He explains that many people assume that this is negative energy and run towards lighter energy which results in them missing out on lessons that could be learned. This makes sense considering the Moon is representative of the subconscious mind. When you bring about that energy it's not always happy go lucky. The subconscious stores many of the issues we reject and don't come to terms with. Repressing this energy halts spiritual growth.

That section of the interview made me recall when I first began my spiritual journey. A lot of Venus references began popping up in my life. Venus is also representative of feminine energy. Many unresolved issues began to prop up but luckily I chose to deal with them instead of suppressing them.

As the interview continues Greg goes on to explain that a balance of these energies brings about our pure clear essence.

Thanks to Mechanical Dummy for this image.

In True Blood I also discussed pop star Kylie Mingoue's representation of Greek Goddess Aphrodite. Since then she's released yet another video, this time for the song "Outta My Way". When the video was released a lot of people compared it to Black Lodge of the TV show Twin Peaks. I personally have never seen the show but a side by side comparison shows a striking similarity.
As we see above the Moon Goddess Kylie confronts the Sun. Upon research I found out that the Black Lodge is a extra-dimensional place which is often seen in dreams. Native American character Deputy Hawk says it is based on the mythology of his people. The Black Lodge can also be reached through a portal. I'm sure you're spotting the connection to the themes I've been exploring by now. It is said to be the shadow self of the White Lodge and every spirit must pass through there on the way to perfection.
"Have you ever had sex with a pharaoh, put the pussy in a sarcophagus" - Kanye West

Apparently "the pussy" is inside there.

Kanye West recently caused controversy by wearing a giant Horus necklace. His necklace caught my attention because as I mentioned earlier I had already noticed the Osiris, Isis, and Horus connection with him, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. Horus is a Sun God of the sky which draws comparisons to Jesus Christ.

I'm not telling you something new, there ain't no time to lose.

In triads and trinities the third representative is often a combination of the first two. With Horus this is represented with his eyes. His right eye of is the sun and his left eye is the moon representing Osiris and Isis. When this is considered Horus has masculine and feminine attributes. In Greek culture Hermes and Aphrodite's child was Hermaphrodite. This is where the name of people who have both sex organs came from. In Kabbalah Severity and Mercy are the dual masculine and feminine aspects of the Tree of Life. These connections could explain the strange connections I made with Jesus in my last post. Also consider David Bowie's androgynous image while he was the messiah-like character Ziggy Stardust.
In True Blood I shared an exert from the book Way of the Shaman in which a Shaman identified the Serpents/Dragons from the authors dream as the rulers of the sky. In Greg Ilg's interview with Colleen Thomas there is talk of sky/star people returning to Earth. They are said to be of the same race as the rulers of planet Earth but not all are evil.

To be continued.

Rik Clay - 2012 Exposed

I know it's long but please watch the full thing. It's very rewarding.

Gaga for Death 4

In Gaga for Death 3 I posted a promotional picture of Lady Gaga for her current The Fame Monster project. In the post I noted that I was not sure if the bird was a crow or a raven but my question was answered when I stumbled upon the video above. The video is an interlude from Lady Gaga's current Monster Ball Tour which continues on the symbolism presented in the promotional photo. The interlude is titled Raven Forest which answers my question on the bird.

Esoteric Kitten also present this photo of Madonna which explains the nature of the necklace worn by Madonna in her music video "Frozen".

Gaga for Death 3

The photo above is of Lady Gaga during The Fame Monster photo sessions. One of the main things you notice from this photo is the fake bird on her head. I'm not sure if this bird is suppose to be a crow or a raven but either way it's inclusion is significant.

In Occult circles the crow represents the positive aspects of death and the transition into the afterlife. On the contrary, ravens represent the negative/physical aspects of death. I guess the identity of the bird on Lady Gaga's head is up to your own perception.


This bird was represented in the first of the many costumes worn by Lady Gaga at the MTV Video Music Awards. Death, of course, was a huge theme of hers that night as she staged her own death during her performance.
Since then I have been thinking about death and how it is perceived in various scenarios. In 2009 MTV Video Music Awards I compared the deaths of celebrities to religious iconography. This theme was heightened by the Catholic setting of her performance combined with lyrics that deal with themes of fame. It is interesting that after she dies in the performance she rises and we see a halo behind her. The next night she appears as a blood soaked version of Mary at Marc Jacobs party.

In the original Gaga for Death post I went as far as to find connections between the themes of death and resurrection found in religion and in the "Monster" themes found in Gaga's work and suggested that maybe we've been Gaga all along and the presence of Lady Gaga is simply a mirror to what is already present in our culture.

In Going Green I examined Lady Gaga and Madonna as pop culture representations of various Gods of death and Mother Goddesses which would also mean they represent life and death. What was interesting about this post was that Isis gave birth to Anubis which means that while Isis represents life she also represents death. Life and death are apart of the same continuous cycle as Madonna and Gaga are apart of the same music continuum.


A good example of this is Madonna representing the embodiment of death and life in her music video "Frozen".
In this scene we see Madonna dematerialize into a flock of crows representing the death of an aspect of herself.At various points throughout the video Madonna does the Hindu Mudra invoking infinity/perfection.As her power gets stronger she is able to alter the weather/nature.
She is then shown taking in energy.
The Hindu Om symbol is on her hand representing the absolute, omnipresence, or as Madonna would say "the sound of the universe".She is then reborn as the Triple Goddess.

To be continued?

Myztifyan

The link below is to a blog by a blogger/Youtube video creator by the name of Myztifan. The video is very well done and I highly suggest you watch the full series. Very informative and eye opening.

In The Beginning Series “Can You Feel It”?

Britney Spears - 3

Triangle An emblem of the triad or three-in-one, expressing more than the three dots alone: the points, lines, and the whole figure give a septenate composed of two triads and a monad.

The triangle also symbolizes twin rays proceeding from a central point, and when the other ends of these lines are joined, the base line signifies that which is produced by the interaction and interblending of the two formative rays. The apex, the side lines, and the base thus represent the three chief stages of cosmic evolution. The idea is further elaborated in the square pyramid.

The Pythagoreans recognized the triangle as the first regular rectilinear figure, as three is the first odd number -- the one being considered as the origin and unit, out of which all subsequent parts flow. The usual form of the triangle in symbology is equilateral, with the apex up or down. The circle, triangle, and square form another important triad representing stages in evolution. For interlaced triangles,
Theosophy Dictionary

Gaga for Death Continued

All seeing eye on dancers jacket + Gaga's Occult hand sign

Lady Gaga kicked off her Monster Ball tour this week and added more weight to the themes I covered in Gaga for Death. In addition to the symbolism featured in the photo above, there were other elements worth noting. The show started with her new song "Dance In The Dark" which is a song about the tragic deaths of icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Sylvia Plath, and Jon Bonet Ramsey. This is yet another example of how this era in Lady Gaga's career is all about death. Later on in the show Lady Gaga performed as Egyptian God Anubis. Anubis was the Egyptian God of death. He was the patron of mummification and the dead on their path to the underworld.

But it's only about her emotional monsters...

A Sirius Spell

Saturnalian

LOVE the ending. Right along the lines of things I've been covering. Can someone tell me what the name of the Jodie Foster movie at the end is?

Update: The movie is called Contact.

The Twilight Zone

Above is the final scene of the increasingly popular movie Twilight. As you may notice Edward and Bella are dancing on an 8 pointed star in an illuminated setting similar to the film Eyes Wide Shut. The movie itself has a lot of interesting things, including a sacrifice at one point.

The movie is based on the popular book Twilight which, as you can see above, has an entire series to the story. I have not read any of the books but there is a lot of symbolism in these covers. First, in the Twilight cover there's a hand holding an apple which automatically brings to mind the biblical Garden of Eden scenario. Do you want to bite the apple, do you want Gnosis?

I cannot find a photo of it but if you have Goldfrapp's Supernature album you'll see a photo of a bitten apple. Of course this Garden of Eden symbolism is found all over popular culture. It's all about us, the ones that observe, subconciously being altered by Occult symbolism and knowledge.

Of course we've all seen this logo.

The cover for Kate Bush's album The Dreaming is another example of Eve scenerio being depicted in popular culture. Kate Bush, in a checkerboard coat, goes in to kiss her male counterpart who is chained. Notice the key in her mouth, so she is setting him free with a kiss by passing on the Occult knowledge/Gnosis to him. Kate's lyrics are very blunt in their revelations on Gnosis. Kate Bush is an artist and not really a pop tart like Britney, so she doesn't have handlers disguising Occult symbolism under mundane themes like the circus to con her viewers into Occult rituals, so it's much easier for her to be an artist and portray what she wants without unnecessary illuions and tricks. Here's one of her songs that is very revealing.
Sat In Your Lap Lyrics
Artist(Band):Kate Bush

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I see the people working,
And see it working for them.
And so I want to join in,
But then I find it hurts me.

Some say that knowledge is something sat in your lap.
Some say that knowledge is something that you never have.

I see the people happy,
So can it happen for me?
'Cause when I am unhappy,
There's nothing that can move me.

Some say that knowledge is something that you never have.
Some say that knowledge is something sat in your lap.
Some say that heaven is hell.
Some say that hell is heaven.

I must admit, just when I think I'm king,
(I just begin.)
Just when I think I'm king, I must admit,
(I just begin.)
Just when I think I'm king,
(I just begin.)

I've been doing it for years.
My goal is moving near.
It says, "Look! I'm over here."
Then it up and disappears.

Some say that knowledge is something sat in your lap.
Some say that knowledge is ho-ho-ho-ho.

I want to be a lawyer.
I want to be a scholar.
But I really can't be bothered.
Ooh, just gimme it quick, gimme it, gimme gimme gimme gimme!

Some say that knowledge is ho ho ho.
Some say that knowledge is ho ho ho.
Some say that heaven is hell.
Some say that hell is heaven.

I must admit, just when I think I'm king,
(I just begin.)
Just when I think I'm king, I must admit,
(I just begin.)
Just when I think everything's going great,
(I just begin,)
Hey, I get the break,
Hey, I'm gonna take it all--
(I just begin.)
When I'm king--
(-- just begin.)

In my dome of ivory,
A home of activity,
I want the answers quickly,
But I don't have no energy.

I hold a cup of wisdom,
But there is nothing within.
My cup, she never overfloweth,
And 'tis I that moan- and groaneth.

Some grey and white matter,
"Give me the karma, mama!"
I'm coming up the ladder,
"A jet to Mecca,"
I'm coming up the ladder,
"Tibet or Jeddah,
Up the ladder...
"To Salisbury,
A monastery,
The longest journey,
Across the desert,
Across the weather,
Across the elements,
Across the water!"

Very Gnostic, the search for knowledge in which past conceptions of Hell end up looking more like. As Rihanna says, "it's like the darkness is the light."

Suspended In Gaffa Lyrics
Artist(Band):Kate Bush

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Out in the garden
There's half of a heaven,
And we're only bluffing.
We're not ones for busting through walls,

But they've told us
Unless we can prove
That we're doing it,
We can't have it all.
(I want it all) *

He's gonna wangle
A way to get out of it.
She's an excuse
And a witness who'll talk when he's called.

But they've told us
Unless we can prove
That we're doing it,
We can't have it all.
(I want it all) *
(I want it all) *
We can't have it all.
(I want it all) *

"I caught a glimpse of a god, all shining and bright."

Suddenly my feet are feet of mud.
It all goes slo-mo.
I don't know why I'm crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not 'til I'm ready for you, *
Not 'til I'm ready for you hoo hoo-oo-oo *
Can I have it all.

I try to get nearer,
But as it gets clearer
There's something appears in the way,
It's a plank in me eye,
With a camel
Who's trying to get through it,
Am I doing it?
Can I have it all now?
(I want it all) *

I pull out the plank and say
"Thank ye for yanking me back *
To the fact that there's
Always something to distract."

But sometimes it's hard
To know if I'm doing it right.
Can I have it all now? *
(I want it all) *

Can I have it all now?
(I want it all) *
Can I have it all?
(I want it all) *
I can't have it all. *

"We all have a dream...maybe."

Suddenly my feet are feet of mud.
It all goes slo-mo.
I don't know why I'm crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not 'til I'm ready for you,
Not 'til I'm ready for you hoo hoo-oo-oo
Can I have it all.

I won't open boxes
That I am told not to.
I'm not a Pandora.
I'm much more a like a *

That girl in the mirror.
Between you and me
She don't stand a chance of getting anywhere at all.
(I want it all) *
Not anywhere at all
(I want it all)) *
No, not a thing.
(I want it all) *
She can't have it all.

"Mother, where are the angels? I'm scared of the changes."

Suddenly my feet are feet of mud.
It all goes slo-mo.
I don't know why I'm crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not 'til I'm ready for you, *
Not 'til I'm ready for you *
Suddenly my feet are feet of mud,
It all goes slo-mo.
I don't know why I'm crying.
Am I suspended in Gaffa?
Not 'til I'm ready for you, *
Not 'til I'm ready for you hoo hoo-oo-oo *
Can I have it all now? *

Those lyrics are really self explanatory. There's even a Garden of Eden reference in there. it's all about how we're inprisoned and by seeking knowledge we'll set ourselves free. Gnostics believe that the Serpent tried to help humanity and that Lucifer is good and God is the one holding us in bondage. I will reference this lyrics in a future blog I plan on doing about Madonna and her song "Hung Up".


This is another interesting Kate Bush album cover. Notice the sound waves coming from the Sun. Don't you wonder sometimes about sound and vision?

But anyway, back to Twilight.


I was discussing these book covers before I went off track, which I often do. The breaking dawn cover obviously has a checkerboard. It's very similar to Madonna's performance of "Hung Up" on the Sticky & Sweet tour.

By the way, Madonna is rumored to be in the next Twilight film. Anyway, the usage of the checkerboard on the book Breaking Dawn is interesting. Youtube's Soundlessdawn (INTERESTING NAME) is very good at describing the symbolism of the checkerboard as an resignating image. He goes into details about how how characters are shown walking on a checkerboard floor before something changes and they're transported. When the dawn breaks in the morning the sun comes out. The morning star; Lucifer. All of the solar symbolism in the titles is also very Occult.