gallimaufry - A medley or confused jumble, especially a dish made of leftovers. From French galimafrée: ragout, hash, of unknown origin.A linked video, Sufi - La Danza del Cosmo is an echo of the "astrology of the ancients". Seven planets only are represented, some remained undiscovered. The sheik of the whirling dervishes dressed in black is Saturn. The Sun is not represented, but they are all "circling" around the (invisible)Sun who gives the energy, life and rythm (the music) and is their center. The absence of a visible 7th planet, the Sun can be interpreted as corresponding to Islam's forbidding any representations of Allah.
(Hat-tip to Gian Paul for this).
Sufis, the mystical Muslims, are also known as fakirs and dervishes. In their whirling dances they seek to communicate with their God.
From Contemporary Aesthetics The Dervishes Dance — The Sacred Ritual of LoveIn the Islamic world, humans' movement, the way they understand the process of time and space, depends on nature and parallels the cosmic order and the basic underlying forms that are found in nature. They are not only circular, which means they revolve and repeat, but rather spiral. They grow and expand in a way that radiates from the center outAn interesting interview by Garry Phillipson with astrologer Nick Campion at the website of The Astrological Association of Great Britain is a good read for anyone with a serious interest in astrology.
One brief clip:Natural astrology survives today in astro-physics. We know there is a common mathematical order linking the Earth to the rest of the universe; that’s the laws of physics and nobody disputes it. What arouses disagreement is how far that affects human society. There is very little evidence to suggest that it does, but at the same time it seems perfectly logical to suggest that there should be links. If human rhythms and cycles are linked to annual cycles, they are linked to the Sun and the Moon, and solar and lunar motions are part of the rest of the mathematical order in the solar system, then I see no theoretical reason why one day we shouldn’t be able to substantiate the existence of planetary connections with human affairs to the satisfaction of society as a whole, not just astrologers.Long ago, and far away, in the days when I attended church, I was asked to read the lesson at a service held on a certain "Youth Sunday". I've never forgotten the Bible text I was asked to read, from The Song of Deborah in chapter 5 of Judges in the Old Testament. When I read the text now I wonder why it was ever thought appropriate for such an occasion.
(Engraving from The Dore Bible illustrating Judges v 1 and 2 Deborah by Gustave Dore 1832-1883 French artist and illustrator.)
The Song of Deborah tells the story of a battle, and of how Israelites overcame Canaanites with help from their judge and prophetess, Deborah.
(See here)
A line from the Bible text often slips into my mind, unbidden:"The stars in their courses fought against Sisera"I'm unclear whether those words refer to something astrological, or to the storm which occurred during the battle, and assisted the Israelites. Perhaps both are interwoven. The Song of Deborah is one of the oldest texts in the Bible. I'd like to think that Deborah was an astrologer as well as judge, prophet and lady of some strength, and that, long ago, I was reading about astrology in church!
On art, music, books, movies, politics, life - sometimes with astrology thrown in.
GP: Leftovers of another time can still have a living message. And today's 10-planet astrology, when it comes to predicting future events, does not appear to have any advantage over what the ancients used.
ReplyDeleteKnowing (more than a little) about Tarot readings, I can say that using just the major 22 arcana gives better results than "going the complicated way".
Anonymous/Gian Paul ~~
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't argue regarding the value of "leftovers" from another time - except to say that I have found that the comparatively recently discovered planets do, in their transits, leave a very distinct "mark". The "marks" inner, quicker moving, planets make and leave, though often noticed, are less significant in the grand scheme of things - and in our lives.
Astrologer Grant Lewi once wrote (and it has remained in my memory) that because the inner planets' cycles occur so frequently thoughout a lifetime, we somehow become used to them. The outers touch our natal chart significantly maybe only once or twice (if that), so these outer planets' transits, when hitting our natal planets, make us sit up and take notice.
Re tarot - you have a point. I use the full deck though - to me it feels a bit like cheating to use only the Major arcana, because there's not always going to be something major in the wings, and Major cards could give an overblown impression of a minor incident or experience. My view only - I could be way off, of course.
:-)
GP: If one uses Tarot (and alia) very sparcely, only when really needed (e.g. never for money matters or similar trivia), the major arcana are what's indicated.
ReplyDeleteOn the outer planets: what you say is true, the big cycles...
But since all is linked, the inner planets obey the outer and give a pretty good picture. Is not 7x12 equal to 84? (7 times Jupiter = Uranus) or 1 1/2 times Saturn = 42 = half Uranus? etc.
Anon/Gian Paul ~~~
ReplyDeleteNowadays I hardly ever use tarot, GP - maybe once a year, near to turn of each year.
In the past I found that tarot could be spookily accurate or way off beam, and since it was hard to know which, before the event, I decided to leave well alone and help my blood pressure to remain serene. :-)
Yes, the links, using mathematical measurement, are there. My theory is that the planets are simply "markers" on the "rings" or cycles of time. It's not the planets' "effects" we experience but the crossing, in some way, of one layer of time-waves or time-pressures, with another. Something of that sort, anyway - something a lot less garbled too!
:-)