One of the most popular motifs of
occult folklore is blood. Traditionally, blood is a symbol of purity and
fertility. In some ceremonies, water is substituted for blood but the idea of
blood and the chalice is a paramount occult teaching. Anybody who has read ‘The
Da Vinci Code’ recognizes the importance of blood in esotericism. Although a
pop culture phenomenon, which, incidentally makes most occultists howl in
disgust, the idea of Sang Real or ‘Holy Grail’ as the womb of Mary Magdalene is
a much older initiatory teaching. The holy bloodline of Christ is an oral
narrative has been passed down in the recesses of secret society membership for
hundreds of years. Tarot symbolism also preserves this secret and anybody who
has studied the cards knows of the importance of the suit of cups and its
relation to blood.
Moreover, the etymology of blood is
ripe with esoteric connotations. According to Judy Brahn, “Old English forms
related to blod, ‘blood’ are blowan, blew and blown, meaning ‘to bloom, to
blossom.’ In French, fleur means ‘flow’,
and fleurs, ‘flowers’.” (Judy Brahn. Blood, Bread, and Roses: How menstruation
Created The World. Boston. Beacon Press. 1993)
And therein lays one of the mysteries of the original Rosicrucians. The
red rose is much more than a flower. It is the flowing of sacred blood. It is
blooming and the vessel that carries the
godhead into this world.
Red hair was also a symbol of
blood. The Malleus Malifacarum asserted that red hair was a sign of a witch.
Again, this superstition dates back to the taboo associated with menstruation.
Menstrual blood is considered polluting or toxic. As Ambrose Pare remarked, “a
child conceived during the menstrual flow takes his nourishment and growth…from
blood that is contaminated, dirty, and corrupt”. (On Monsters and Marvels-
Translated by Janis L. Pallister. Chicago. University of Chicago. 1983)
Poisonous blood also leads to the metaphor of snakes or ‘serpent’. We all know the theological importance of the serpent in the Bible. And we’ve all seen the auroboros image and are familiar with Medusa in Greek myth. But how often do we ask ourselves what these symbols mean? It’s strange to relate snakes and blood with Time but it’s probably the most appropriate meaning of the representation. Janis L. Pallister reiterated the idea when she stated, “Indeed, we have seen that association between feminine blood and snakes implies cyclic renovation on the model of moon revolutions.” (Archaeology of Intangible Heritage. Chicago. Univ. of Chicago Press. 198
Perception
of the occult is one of filth and revulsion. The reason why is because many of
its tenets are misconstrued as perversions of traditional Christian ethos. For
example, the mirroring of sacrificial and menstrual blood is something the
occult has been teaching for centuries. Modern Christianity- especially
Evangelical denominations- consider this concept absolutely horrifying. It is
more than repugnant; it is blasphemous.
But the folklore behind such thought is very spiritual. When Even
partook of the red fruit, the apple
of folklore, menstrual blood and thus Original Sin was introduced into
creation. Christ’s redemption of this
curse is with the spilling of sacrificial blood. When Jesus chooses to sacrifice
his holy blood he chooses menstrual blood as a vehicle for redemption. As
Colledge and Walsh remark, “the incarnate godhead redeems humankind by opposing
the blood of Mary to that of Eve, and sacrificial bloodshed to menstrual
bleeding” (200- Edmund Colledge and James Walsh, ed. Julian of Norwich:
Showings. New York 1978. Paulist Press. ). For somebody who doesn’t understand
that Eve’s folly and Mary’s purity are mirror-image archetypes, the idea that
Christ chose Eve’s polluting blood is at best contradictory, and at worst
heretical. Occultists don’t shy away from this idea. Those that use menstrual
blood in their Eucharist cakes or in other forms of ritualization know that
ingesting menstrual blood has bewitching properties. Groups like Kenneth Grant’s
Typhonian Order consider menstrual blood as essential aspect of the ritual
because they know that in its pollution
is purity.
The serpent is also a symbol for renewal. It seems
counterintuitive due to the nature of the serpent and its role in Biblical
narratives. Nevertheless, the serpent shares themes of re-vitalization as well.
In its propensity for cyclic renovation, it is the perfect candidate for
renewal. The serpent’s position as something Trickster or evil is also part of
what Occultists call the veil. It is
the veil that separates Man from his spiritual evolution. It is like a cataract
that covers the inner eye and keeps us blind to the daimonic world around us.
The veil must be sloughed like snake skin. Often times, this shedding of the
past is celebrated ceremonially. For example, Francisco Vaz Da Silva has
studied the House of Shrouds in Iberian folklore. He found that when somebody
who was deathly ill made a miraculous recovery, they would embark on a
pilgrimage to the “Casa des Montalhas”.
He states that “over centuries, those past hope who were healed would
make a point of travelling to the healing sanctuary wearing a shroud or carried
in a coffin. The main idea underlying this custom is that people given up as
dead had come back to life and so would take off the death garb at the
sanctuary in token of resurrection” (152- Francisco Vaz Da Silva. Archaeology
of Intangible Heritage. New York. Peter Lang Publishing. 2008). This sloughing
of the shroud is the equivalent of the shedding of serpent’s skin and symbolic
of renewal as personified in Jesus of
Nazareth. Furthermore, the “Shroud of Turin”-long famous as a holy relic and
artifact of resurrection, can be considered a form of snakeskin. For many,
equating Jesus Christ with the serpent is the vilest heresy but if we ignore
traditional orthodoxy in favor of esoteric ism and folklore of renewal, we have
a very profound message. If we but open our minds to the possibility, then that
solemn image embedded in the fabric of the cloth really is proof that Jesus
slipped the veil and became re-embodied in the spirit. In this sense, the
shroud is not proof of death but of life. And when we look upon the image, we
bear witness to the Dying God mythology. As Jesus undergoes the trials and
tribulations of the sloughing of his former existence, he is in a liminal state
betwixt and between ontological statuses. His being is moving from potentiality to actuality and in doing so, becoming something new.
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