The Table of Contents below is too long to display fully. If you move the cursor to hover over one of the Lessons, you'll see the primary source documents displayed under each. These original sessions are a world treasure.
9:35 PM
On the Crests of Swift Waves
1. Question: [Dear Guide], are you there?
Answer: I AM STANDING ON [THE] FALCON WITH [THE] CREW
& I…
2. …GREET BOTH OF YOU
BEGIN PLEASE
3. Q: Where are we?
A: ANANDS PORT -
ON [THE] CRESTS OF SWIFT WAVES
4. Q: So we have risen from undersea to the surface? What’s the weather?
A: IT IS EARLY MORNING
A LIGHT GALE FRESHENING
Entering a Circle
5. Q ([Albion]): [Guide], my task was to choose our next port. Today I heard
(repeatedly) “I feel the pull on the rope, let me off at the rainbow.”
Is this a valid intuition?
A: CIRCLE WELL OBSERVD RATHER
6. Q: Rather than intuition as such, this is a case of a circle that exists
and was observed or “caught” by [Albion]?
A: [YES] IN CIRCLES ONE CAN COME ABOARD AT ANY POINT
This may have been a circle, but the circle is played out, at
least in part, within time. A Genesis song becomes significant here
only because it is recalled at exactly the correct time. In phrasing the
question, I decided to refer to our invocation.
7. Q: A falling star is not uncommon. However when a star falls as if in
response to our request for a sign, the timing makes us read it as a sign.
A: FROM YOUR VANTAGE
BUT FROM OURS THE FACTS ARE JOIND IN A CIRCLE THAT
CAN BE ENTERD AT MANY POINTS
Pulling & Seeing: The Descent to the Auroras
8. Q: Anand, is there anything you’d like to show us this morning?
A: [YES] LIGHTS BENEATH US
9. Q: Tell us more.
A: WORK WITH ME O SCRIBE
I WILL SHOW YOU
10. Q ([Scribe]): Should I resume my “immersed” position under the table?
A: STAND OUTSIDE IN DARKNESS
TOGETHER WE ARE GOING TO SUBMERGE -
ALBION WILL PULL US DOWN UNDERSEA
Another vision along with yet another new procedure.
11. Q ([Albion]): Any amendments to earlier instructions on pulling?
A: SAME POSTURE BUT THINK OF HEAVINESS &
DRAWING DOWN
AS YOU END I SHALL SHOW [THE] SCRIBE THESE LIGHTS
12. Q: So Albion intends us down?
A: EXACTLY
INTENT PULLS AWAY [THE] DISTANCE BETWEEN US & DEPTH
13. Q: Shall we face the board or each other?
A: BOTH FACE FOREWARD
14. Q: Shall we proceed?
A: [YES] GOOD LUCK FRIENDZ
It’s amazing how much can be lost from an experience in
a few days. This, of course, is especially true if the experience has
no categorical precedent and if it lacks cohesion. My job, once again,
was to pull. Each of my pulling experiences includes a visualization,
but not one that is sent to me ([Scribe]’s gift). Rather, I create a
scene to focus on and then move within it. What the reader is not
getting in these transcripts is the non-visual experience - especially
the verbalized thought messages, which race through my brain.
[Albion]: I imagined being submerged in a well-lit green
ocean and looking down. I caused us (in our boat) to descend quite
rapidly & straight down, as though we were like an anchor dropped
from a large ship (a simile I used during the exercise). After a long
descent, I spied a small black hole in the green depths. As we
approached, the hole grew larger and larger until abruptly we shot
through, as though it were an opening in a submarine cavern roof.
I imagined myself now within a dark ocean looking up to a large
green hole above. We continued to fall - still quite rapidly - and the
green hole got ever smaller until it was finally invisible. We
continued to fall in darkness without slowing down. I had no idea
how to slow. I thought that somehow the pressure alone would
hold us, but I don’t think it did. Actually, this is where my memory
completely fails me. Part of me remembers slowing eventually to
a dead stop and waiting until [Scribe] called an end, but I can’t
be sure. In any case, the real story belongs to [Scribe].
[Scribe] ("Auroras"): This vision did not arrive abruptly
and completely as earlier ones had. Instead, I was dismayed to find
myself staring into darkness for at least four minutes. Then I realized
that if I looked downward I could see a cluster of soft, pale lights
extending indefinitely below me. Descending, I (or we or “the
camera”) came to the level of the uppermost of these lights and
passed through them. There were now lights in front of me: white
phantasmal lights in veils and streams like the auroras (but not multi-
coloured). The sensation of steady continual descent was now very
strong, and I kept looking down to see if we had come through all the
lights. After several minutes (perhaps six to eight), we were still
descending through them with no end in sight. I called a halt. In
retrospect, I think I would have relaxed and enjoyed this episode
more if I had known beforehand that I would see nothing with
definite or solid visual contours.
10:17 - 10:25 PM
Why We Descended
15. Q: Anand, where are we now?
A: IN ORBIT ABOVE [THE] WORLD OF OCEANS
16. Q: But didn’t we go down?
A: WE DID & ARE NOW PREPARING TO LEAVE MY PORT
WE WAIT ON ALBION TO VOICE HIS. . .
17. AND OUR DESTINATION
18. Q: Tell us about why we did what we just did together.
A: TWO REASONS
FIRST WE WANT ALBION TO SEE HOW TO WORK NOT
ONLY WITH PLACES BUT WITH MEMBERS
INDIVIDUALLY –
IT WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER
This is portentous, since it implies I will be working with
members other than [Scribe]. Perhaps I’ll be working with non-living
members in this manner, but I think the implication here is that there
will be other living members, none of whom [Scribe] & I yet know
by name.
19. Q: And the second reason?
A: I VILANSIT SPEAK NOW –
THANK ANAND?
20. Q: We do thank you, Anand. Please go on, Vilansit.
A: WE WANT THE SCRIBE TO RECEIVE EVENTS NOT
ONLY IMAGES
While [Scribe]’s vision was, indeed, an event – that is, it was
not a still photo, but rather a moving 3-D picture – this was not new.
His napkin also showed multiple dimensions, while the Loom
presented, if anything, too many dimensions. Clearly, however,
[Scribe] was beginning a new phase of his training.
21. Q ([Scribe]): So we began with something fairly simple (and pleasing)?
A: IT ALWAYS BEGINS SIMPLY WITH YOU SCRIBE
22. Q: Albion seems to have to begin with what’s difficult or effortful.
A: ALAS
So it goes with each of us. I note Vilansit neither confirms
nor denies Albion’s trials here; she merely confirms my perception
of labor by expressing sympathy.
23. Q: Shall we proceed?
A: FIRST I ASK IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TASKS
YOU JUST CARRIED THROUGH
NEXT WE TRAVEL
“Pure intent. . . has nothing in back of it”
24. Q ([Albion]): When I pull, I am not sure what part of what I do is effective.
I would like to know so that I can focus on it more specifically.
A: FLUX CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS TURBULENCE OR
IMPEDIMENT
PURE INTENT IS ALWAYZ. . .
25. …UNIFORM AND SMOOTH
IT HAS NOTHING IN BACK OF IT
26. Q: Is pure intent therefore always effortless?
A: [NO] ON THE CONTRARY
BUT IF YOU INTEND PURELY A FEELING OF EFFORT
WILL SIMPLY LEAVE YOU
Note: Another numbering error; #26 is used twice.
Therefore, there is a discrepancy between this and the original of
one question.
27. Q: Will you clarify “pure intent. . . has nothing in back of it”?
A: AS LONG AS YOU ARE BEHIND OR IN BACK OF YOUR
INTENT IT IS MIXED
28. Q ([Albion]): That means I lead my intent?
A: [NO] LEADING [NO] GUIDING
[THE] ACTOR VANISHEZ
While the language was initially confusing, [Scribe] &
I have since come to understand what Vilansit is saying here. Both
of us have had moments where we have experienced pure intent.
I phrase it in this manner, rather than saying “we intended,” because
the experience is more direct than subjective perception, even if
it is undeniably personal and expresses one’s deepest personal
desire or will.
For me, an even greater understanding of intent comes from
my failed attempts at achieving it and from an ability to hear behind
my own thoughts. That is, at times - mostly just before sleep, or
especially when stoned (again, a very rare event for me now) - I
hear myself thinking. I hear the voices which vocalize my thoughts.
I wonder from where they arise. I wonder where the wonderer is,
who he is. These wonderings may often also be subvocalized;
but if they are, they are somehow cheapened, hollow. The internal
words come after the fact; the words are already disconnected from
the source of wonder. Pure intent is neither the words, nor is it
consciousness attempting to direct the source; it simply is. There
are no voices in back of it.
29. Q: As long as “I intend,” my intent is not pure?
A: ALL FEELINGS ABOUT ONESELF ARE OBSTACLES TO INTENT
30. Q: What’s the difference between intent and receiving aliah?
A: IT IS [THE] DIFFERENCE BETWEEN [THE] TWO FACES OF
YOUR BOARD
We took a break, during which [Scribe] asked me which
side of the board I felt was the intent side and which was the aliah
side. This was obvious to me: I had spent a year struggling with
the mandala side (intent), while I just close my eyes and receive ouija
messages (aliah). For [Scribe], however, receiving messages is hard
work, since he must follow every nuance of the planchette, whereas
for him the mandala was received as a fait accompli.
31. Q: We’re looking at the side with the letters. For [Albion], this suggests
receiving; for [Scribe], intent. Which is it?
A: IT COULD BE EITHER
BUT THE COMPLEMENTARY SKILL IS ALWAYS [THE]
OTHER SIDE
32. Q: Shall we travel?
A: I STILL WAIT TO ANSWER [THE] SCRIBES QUESTION
I had completely forgotten we had not asked about [Scribe]’s
vision. It’s amazing how much energy this process takes and how
focused we become on single topics, occasionally at the expense of
common sense. Had [Scribe] forgotten as well?
On the Young of the Fire Fishes
33. Q ([Scribe]): As we descended, I saw auroras of light extending through the
darkness, and especially beneath me. It seemed no matter how far
we descended, there would always be more below. Can you help
me understand what I saw?
A: [THE] AURORAS ARE ANIMALS
IN FACT [THE] YOUNG OF THE FIRE FISHES
WE THINK OF THEM AS MAKING A LIVING GALAXY
Something else we’d forgotten to inquire after, if there ever
was opportunity: the fire fishes.
34. Q ([Scribe]): So this is an analogue of, or a form of travelling among the deep
stars in the grotto?
A: VERY MUCH SO
[THE] GROTTO IS SHALLOW ANANDS SEAS ARE DEEP
BOTH ARE IMPORTANT FOR YOU
35. Q: If the young make living galaxies, what do the adult fire fishes make?
A: [THE] SHOOTING STARS JANE SPOKE OF
THEY ARE FEWER AND MORE WIDELY SEPARATED AND
MUCH MORE LUMINOUS
I have no idea what to make of these “animals.” However,
it seems reasonable to say that either many die young (since there
are fewer adults) or that somehow the young combine to become
adults. Again, I don’t believe our friends ever speak in vain.
Therefore, we’ll learn more of these fire fishes in the coming years.
Vilansit Makes Aliah
36. Q ([Albion]): We are ready to go on. I intend to visit your port, Vilansit.
A: GOOD I SHALL BRING US THERE
I MUST EXPLAIN SOMETHING HERE
37. Q: Please go on.
A: ALBION HAS NOT YET [THE] ALIAH NEEDED TO COME
TO MY PORT
I intuit Vilansit’s port is “farther” from us, because she is so
much “higher” than we currently are. What about Josef’s port then?
And [our guide]’s?
38. Q: What will it take?
A: I MAY BRING US FOR NOW
YOU MUST WORK ON TRAVEL ALBION - INTENDING
39. Q: How will we proceed?
A: I MAKE ALIAH
YOU WAIT IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER
To “make aliyah” is the proper diction in a synagogue.
40. Q: Please describe.
A: STAND INSIDE THE CIRCLE
ALBION TAKE HOLD OF [THE] KNOTS
SCRIBE HOLD [THE] HEAD OF THE RAINBOW
I WAIT
41. Q: How long? Other instructions?
A: IT WILL NEED AROUND SIX MINUTES IN DARKNESS
CAN YOU MAKE THAT MUCH MUSIC?
WHEN IT ENDS WE ARRIVE
42. Q: What do you mean by “make music”?
A: YOU TWO DECIDE
IT IS MEANT TO CLARIFY YOUR RECEPTION
43. Q: What shall we be thinking about?
A: AN UNIMPEDED LINE OF LIGHT PASSING FROM [THE]
HEAD OF [THE] KITE TO [THE] KNOTS
44. Q: Shall we proceed? [Here the planchette uncharacteristically takes
off well before I’ve finished the oral rendering of the question.]
A: THIS IS THE ALIAH OF [THE] JEWEL YOU WILL BE RECEIVING
BE PURE NOW START
We chose the Adagio of Bach’s Concerto for Two Pianos in
C Minor, BWV 1060, one of the highlights of [Scribe]’s wonderful
concert in Seattle. It lasts 6 min. 21 sec. When the music ended, we
resumed.
[Albion]: I personally have little to report. I had a difficult
time maintaining the image Vilansit suggested. For most of the
exercise I struggled with a line of white light going around the table
to [Scribe]. Toward the end I had much more success picturing a
rainbow of light encircling the kite and running its length perpendicular
to the kite’s own spectrum.
[Scribe]: This was, for me, an important moment in our
sessions, although apparently unexceptional for [Albion]. If purity
(or unimpededness) is indeed something I am able to experience in
my current knotted state, this was it. I felt that my own wavering
needle was still: with the stillness not of inertia but of purpose --
not my own purpose, but a large, unerring and calm purpose that
included me, but that was essentially beyond me.
Vilansit’s Triangle
Corresponding Colours
12:15 – 12:22 AM
45. Q: Did we accomplish the task?
A: WE DID –
I THANK YOU FOR YOUR PART
46. Q: Tell us about your port, Vilansit.
A: IT IS NOT REPRESENTED BY A PLANET – YOU SAW
ACUTELY ALBION
IT IS A SPECTRUM
[THE] FALCON IS SUSPENDED IN [THE] MIDST
47. Q: Please continue.
A: EACH COLOUR ORIGINATES IN [THE] JEWEL & IS
EMBODIED BY A MEMBER OF [THE] CIRCLE
At this point [Scribe] & I felt compelled to lie on our backs
and study the rainbow triangle depicted on the mandala. While there
is no substitute for an accurate representation of this triangle (and I
hope, dear reader, you have it before you), I will try to describe it:
[Nah, modern tech let's me present here now.]
[Scribe] & I then listed these colors in an order which, in
retrospect, seems quite fortunate for the purposes of colour
correspondences and special relations within our circle. What follows
is quite involved and was quite a surprise for us. (Remember, I
drew this mandala before we had ever heard of our learning circle or
knew even of Vilansit’s existence!)
1. Rose 5. Lavender
2. Vermilion 6. Indigo
3. Orange 7. Blue
4. Yellow 8. Cyan
48. Q: These are the eight colours we see in the rainbow-triangle. Are
they the eight of us? If so, will you tell us in order who corresponds
to which?
A: [YES]
[1] ANAND [5] [our guide]
[2] SCRIBE [6] JOSEF
[3] JANE [7] VILANSIT
[4] ALBION [8] DON
I have added the numerals, but our names arrived in this
order; and we had prearranged to write them in this manner. That
is, the original transcript shows this arrangement as well. It is
noteworthy to mention that as [Scribe] & I prepared to view the
triangle, [Scribe] asked how many colors it contained. I guessed
six. When we counted eight, we bowed to this higher order.
49. Q: Are the pairings significant? [namely, as depicted laterally above]
A: [YES] LET ME EXPLAIN
Contacts & Working Partners
50. Q: Please do.
A: THERE ARE SEVERAL
FIRST [THE] NAME ABOVE YOURS IS YOUR CONTACT
THAT IS [THE] FIRST IN YOUR SEQUENCE
NOTICE ANAND LACKS A CONTACT
HE SAW [THE] JEWEL DIRECTLY
51. Q: Go ahead please.
A: THE NAME UNDER YOURS IS YOUR WORKING PARTNER
SCRIBE / JANE
ALBION / [our guide]
THIS IS WHY. . .
52. …ALBION WAS ABLE TO REACH [our guide]
WITH EASE
THE MEDIUM MEETING HIS PARTNER
Our first use of the “/” (slash) on our board.
53. Q: Tell us more about what it is to be someone’s contact.
A: THIS IS [THE] PERSON WHOM IT IS EASIEST TO SEE OR
HEAR DIRECTLY
I confess to a certain thrill over Vilansit’s correct use of
“whom.” I have read now so many channeled angels, aliens, &
enlightened beings who can’t speak better English than their
semi-literate mediums that grammar has become a kind of litmus
test for me. (Of course, neither [Scribe] nor I would make this
mistake, and I do not dismiss channeled bad grammar out of hand,
mind you - there are explanations - I just become more skeptical.)
One priority agenda item for me was confirming my
fantastic dream of nearly a year ago, A Picture of Jane , where I
believed I met Jane. Since Jane was my contact, this seemed a
good place in our sessions to find out.
About A Picture of Jane
54. Q ([Albion]): When I received the dream A Picture of Jane, was I seeing
her directly?
A: [NO] BUT YOU CAN SEE HER & ONLY HER IN DREAMS
IF YOU INTEND IT
Interesting that others are not potentially visible. Of
course, I’ve seen [Scribe] in many dreams. But is it really [Scribe],
or is it just his representation?
55. Q ([Albion]): So I have not yet received my picture of Jane?
A: NOT YET
56. Q ([Albion]): If it was not a picture of Jane, what was the point of the dream?
A: IT SHOWS A PORT – [THE] GATHERING PORT
YOU OFTEN GO THERE
Most of the dream took place “outside of time,” which
looked like a residential backyard by a pool at night. I also knew that
among my gathered friends I alone was currently alive. I was invited
back.
Teaching Pairs
57. Q: In the drawing, the lateral pairs seem to be important. Comment?
[On the drawing these are the only natural pairings.]
A: THESE ARE TEACHING PAIRS
58. Q: Tell us more.
A: EACH MEMBER ON [THE] LEFT MAY APPLY ESPECIALLY TO
[THE] ONE ON [THE] RIGHT FOR HELP –
EXAMPLE?
59. Q: Please.
A: ANANDS FIRST EFFORT AT BOARD SPEECH THROUGH
[our guide]
SCRIBES EARLY CAPACITY AT DREAMS OF INTENT
THROUGH JOSEF
60. Q: Do the four of us on the left offer you on the right anything in return
for teaching us?
A: WHAT DO YOUR CHILDREN GIVE YOU IN RETURN FOR
YOUR TEACHING?
Understood. But we also recognize that our teachers were
themselves children once, while [Scribe] & [Albion] in some
inconceivable future are far enough up the kite to be Mayan pyramids.
This response indicates the mandala illustrates eternal relations as
they exist at a moment in time.
While the message seemed clear and finished, [Scribe]
indicated that there appeared to be something more.
61. Q: Something on the end of that we missed?
A: JANE RESPONDED [and note, we did not catch her cursive]
Up until now, 8/2/95, I’d always considered A#60 to be
largely rhetorical & didactic, which I still think is the principle
meaning here. However, because Jane, another child, is uttering it,
I think the question is also genuine, albeit with didactic intent. Jane
helps me to be a better father to my daughters (cf. 93: 16.25). I
think she was asking me a very simple & direct question.
62. Q: We suspect that Albion was able to pull to Don’s port first, by virtue
of this teaching relation.
A: [YES] [YES] [perhaps even a third time]
63. Q: Have we missed anything in the drawing?
A: [YES] BUT THAT IS ALL I WANT TO SAY FOR NOW
Fibers & Filaments Distinguished
64. Q: Apparently you read charts in our quarter as well. (cf. 94: 19.32)
A: [THE] LOOM CAN BE READ LIKE A CHART
OUR CIRCLE IS A SMALL INSTANCE
What now? Since we were in Vilansit’s territory, we chose
from my prepared list the short topic most suited to her, more on
the Loom.
65. Q: Speaking of the loom, what governs the number of threads leading off
from a particular intersection? [namely, diverging realities]
A: I CAN TELL YOU BUT FIRST MUST MAKE A DISTINCTION
66. Q: A distinction between what two things?
A: TRAVELS IN TIME & OUTSIDE
IN TIME [THE] THREADS GIVE A RANGE OF HISTORIES
OUTSIDE [THE]Y GOVERN WHAT YOU CAN RECEIVE &
SO TO SPEAK WHAT YOU CAN KNOW
67. Q: Filaments = threads in time.
Fibers = threads outside of time
Is this correct?
A: [YES] FILAMENTS ARE EXTREMELY SIMPLE
YOU COULD ALMOST DRAW YOUR OWN
FIBERS ARE MY CONCERN
[Scribe] derived the equations; and I immediately agreed,
although in retrospect I don’t see how logic led us to them.
68. Q: We’re speaking now by virtue of a fiber? (We’re not connected by
a filament.)
A: A CERTAIN KIND OF FIBER THAT I CALL SILK
Somehow I think Vilansit probably weaves from a variety
of materials. (Incidentally, a correction to speculation last year
concerning the ancient silk trade. We thought silk first came to India
c. 500 AD; however, I now know for sure that the trade reached
Rome in quantity during Augustus’s reign. In fact, Tiberius had to
restrict silk imports because the market was so inundated. Since we
now know Vilansit lived c. 900 AD, this is a moot, but curious datum.)
Your History and a Stone’s
69. Q: What governs the number of filaments from a particular intersection?
A: PURE GEOMETRY
YOUR FILAMENT FOR INSTANCE LOOKS JUST LIKE
A STONE’S
70. Q: From this point of view, then, a person’s range of histories is not
much different from, say, a rock’s?
A: EXACTLY - HISTORY IS REALLY A VERY DULL SUBJECT -
DON
So says one whose life was devoted to its idiosyncrasies.
71. Q: But a rock doesn’t have free will.
A: TRUE - BUT FILAMENTS ARE CONCERND WITH
POSSIBILITIES NOT CHOICES AS SUCH
EVERY CHOICE INVOLVES A FIBER
And this distinguishes a person from plants or animals.
Years ago we were told animals did not possess souls. The
manipulation of fibers must be one component of this distinction.
“The Woman at the Ganges” (Poem)
72. Q: Will someone compose a poem?
A:
I BROUGHT YOUR CLOTHES TO THE SACRED RIVER
TO WASH
AT [THE] FOOT OF [THE] STONE STAIRS
[THE] RIVER TOOK [THE]M FROM ME
ONE BY ONE
IN RETURN I GIVE YOU THIS BODY
[THE] BELOVED’S BODY -
AND MINE
ANAND HELPT BY VILANSIT
Although we titled this poem “The Woman at the Ganges,”
it is the work of Anand. While I like & accept this title, in my mind
I tend to think of this more as “Whose Body?” Like the fire fishes,
these bodies will have to wait another year for explanation.
73. Q: If you agree, we’ll begin again tomorrow on your port, Vilansit.
Any parting words?
A: WILL YOU TWO LOOK AT OUR CHART & TELL US
SOMETHING YOU’VE NOTICED NEXT TIME?
GOOD NIGHT FRIENDS
[our guide]
The next morning we further studied Vilansit’s Triangle
as depicted on the mandala. We had several observations.
Hail aliah
§
Virgil
70 - 19 B.C.E.
5b Images & Attributions (in order of appearance)
1. Banner: Rhiannon C. 2016
a) Jewel Mandala (2): D.C. Albion 1994
b) Jewel Ouija Board (2): D.C. Albion 1994
2. Album cover to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis, lyrics by Peter Gabriel 1975 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/The_Lamb_Lies_Down_on_Broadway.jpg
3. Bust of Virgil (Naples): https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Publius_Vergilius_Maro1.jpg/800px Publius_Vergilius_Maro1.jpg
albionspeak: a draught of language (4.1)
SESSION 27: 4TH NIGHT, 6/26/95
[Sessions 25 & 26 already appear in the website (in Chapters 2.4 & 3.2), but there was a weekend gap between S#26 and S#27, not much on paper, not like an intervening year, but time nonetheless.]
The weekend went well for both of us. [Scribe] & C.L. ate great food, saw the new
Imax show (on repairing the Hubble telescope), and saw the best concert [Scribe] had
ever seen. My own weekend included a nice hike with the girls and some productive
yard work - also, I slept.
Late in the weekend I also had an intuition, one that crept up on me slowly and
needs to be explained: Every year of my adult life can be classified (in one of Don’s
libraries) according to the music I listened to most - generally an artist I’ve just
discovered. 1994-95 belongs to Bach, an old favorite, who, of course, always has
more to discover. The violin concerti, which I’ve long known & loved, came to the
fore, and The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I & II, were my new discovery. Of
these 48 piano masterpieces the Prelude & Fugue in C# Major from Book II grew to
a point of spiritual necessity for me. Just as [Scribe] developed the writing practice of
entering his magic circle (following Vilansit’s advice last year), I used this short piece repeated indefinitely as a deliberate kind of aural magic circle for my own writing
and meditations. The prelude in particular is distinctive, and I naturally found
myself hearing it at all times of the day - even in the middle of teaching school.
Another piece, “Anyway,” by my favorite group Genesis, also began to surface,
even though I hadn’t played it for at least a year. It took me months to realize the
reason for its resurfacing was that Tony Banks's piano is very similar to the C# major prelude. The music was mixing on the subconscious level and then bubbling up. I found
myself singing “Anyway” more & more often, at least the first verse or two. “All
the pumping’s nearly over for my sweet heart.” It’s a song about dying, with
first-rate Peter Gabriel lyrics. I’d been singing “Anyway” all the weekend, in fact - I couldn’t get it out of my head. Then, while driving to Seattle to pick up [Scribe], I found
myself repeatedly singing not the first verse, but the third, “I feel the pull on the rope, let
me off at the rainbow.” It was not for some time that I caught myself in the act, so
to speak. As soon I connected this lyric (which had always left me scratching) to
pulling and Vilansit, I knew we would not pull that evening for [Scribe]’s port, but
rather Vilansit’s rainbow triangle. Alas! We never did reach Planet [Scribe].
For our invocation this night [Scribe] read from Virgil's The Aeneid, (Fitzgerald, Book II. 889, “the fire portent”). Recounting his escape from a Troy in flames, Aeneas describes how the head of his son, Ascanius (a.k.a. Iulus), begins to burn with sacred fire, and upon witnessing this miracle, Anchises, the boy's grandfather calls for a sign. I offer it here in full because we employ it to navigate yet another difficult metaphysical concept.
But then a sudden portent came, a marvel:
Amid his parents' hands and their sad faces
A point on Iulus' head seemed to cast light,
A tongue of flame that touched but did not burn him,
Licking his fine hair, playing round his temples.
We, in panic, beat at the flaming hair
And put the sacred fire out with water;
Father Anchises lifted his eyes to heaven
And lifted up his hands, his voice, in joy:
"Omnipotent Jupiter, if prayers affect you,
Look down upon us, that is all I ask,
If by devotion to the gods we earn it,
Grant us a new sign, and confirm this portent!"
The old man barely finished when it thundered
A large crack on the left. Out of the sky
Through the depths of night a star fell trailing flame
And glided on, turning the night to day.
- translated by Robert Fitzgerald (1990)
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis (1975), a mystical album, if ever there was one.