albionspeak: a draught of language (4.3)
SESSION 31: 1ST NIGHT, 12/6/95
[Scribe] arrived at Seatac at about 8:30 PM, and both of us seemed to be in
good spirits and going strong, even though we each had reason to feel tired.
[Scribe] was still on New York time, and I had been up since 4:30 AM trying to get
my sub plans together for the next two days off. We drove home in my new
Toyota Corolla. The trip to Seatac and back marked for me its maiden voyage,
and the thrill of driving it and getting used to its feel kept my energy high. After
[Scribe] consumed a quick sandwich, we got down to business.
For our invocation [Scribe] recited Shelley’s “One word is too often
profaned….”
The Grotto
11:15 PM (2:15 EST)
1. Q: [Guide], are you there?
A: I AM
2. Q: Where is there?
A: IT IS OUR LAKE
Our Grotto, the cavern lake of stars (cf. 95: 24.14).
3. Q: Are we to cross again?
A: [YES] IN TIME
Our Spot out of Time
4. Q: And for now?
A: I SUGGEST WE TAKE THIS AZ OUR SPOT OUT OF TIME
5. Q: Do you have a topic?
A: [YES] [NO]T INSTANTLY
MAY I INTRODUCE OUR FRIENDZ
6. Q: Who is with us?
A: ANAND & MM…
7. Q: Anand and who else?
A: JANE OF COURSE
8. Q: Jane, what face this time?
A: HARDLY MORE THAN YOURS IN TIME
The reader need not be reminded that Jane has taken on an
older face each time we have encountered her. The first time we
met at the board she was but a little girl; the last time she was just
younger than [Scribe] & me, probably around thirty. Now she
seemed closer to forty.
9. Q: Anand, we greet you.
A: I AM MOST…
10. I AM LEARNING ALONG WITH YOU BOTH
11. Q: Are we on the shore or on the lake?
A: JANE – WE ARE MIDMOST IN [THE] DEEP
12. Q: The deep stars?
A: [YES] SURROUNDING US ON ALL SIDEZ
Last summer three constellations were pointed out to us on
the ceiling of our Grotto: the Leopard & the Jar, which corresponded
to tasks for me and [Scribe] respectively, and the Winged Ship, which
was our vehicle for travel.
13. Q: Jane, the constellations “Leopard” & “Ship” also appear in C.S.
Lewis’s Prince Caspian. Comment?
A: ONLY TO SAY THAT YOU BEGIN TO ATTEND TO WHAT IS
ALREADY OURS
[Scribe] could not tell if Jane had spelled out “ours” or “yours.”
The World is an Old Attic
14. Q: “Ours” or “yours”?
A: OURS
15. Q: Please explain.
A: CLUES -
[THE] WORLD IS FULL OF THINGS THAT USED TO BELONG TO US
IT IS AN OLD ATTIC
“Clues” in our language specifically refers to hints and
references in literature which seem to speak to each of us on a deeper
level. These are not the general chords of the human condition, but
rather very eclectic bits of synchronicity, like the constellations above,
which carry a personal occult connection (cf. 94: 19.14). “Attic” refers
to Jane’s famous illustration of “The Letter in the Attic,” which shows
how such a connection might be made (cf. 94: 23.8 ). [Such connections,
however, do not always imply a karass connection. There are many
other connections that we might also perceive through clues.]
16. Q: “Us” meaning our karass?
A: US MEANS BOTH JEWEL NET AZ A WHOLE
BUT ALSO [THE] THREE OF US
OUR…
17. OUR NARROW BAND OF COLOUR
18. Q: We are the three non-flyers (so far).
A: [YES] BUT WE HAVE MANY THINGS THAT FLYERS MAY
NOT MAKE USE OF
19. Q: Tell us more.
A: DON SPOKE TRULY WHEN HE TOLD OF ALL [THE] FACTS
HE DID [NO]T NO OF
20. Q: We have for instance your speech to us through the board.
A: ONLY ONE AND NOT [THE] MOST IMPORTANT EITHER
Recall that our mandala is composed of eight individuals,
four of whom are born flyers, while the others must learn to fly
within life. This, in fact, seems to be the goal of our current instruction,
where the flyers serve as our teachers. Jane in A#17 included among
the flyers Anand, who achieved flight suddenly and totally in his
lifetime; it has always been a flyer’s face he has presented to us.
Jane, on the other hand, still appears to us as a non-flyer. While flight
is our current goal, it is important to understand its limitations. Flyers
may have direct access to much of the loom, but they are far from
perfected omniscient beings. Here, Jane tells us that Don, who has
before deceived us about what he knew in life, was indeed honest
with us when he said he did not know names (as [Scribe] and I
already do). [Scribe] and I have been given gifts to compensate for
our relative deficiencies. Apparently the board is only one such gift.
The Fable of the Shrine
21. Q: Anand, anything to add?
A: A FABLE OF FINDING –
ONCE A MAN SET OUT ON A LONG JOURNEY
22. IT WAS TO VISIT A SHRINE
AND ON THE WAY HE FOUND SMALL OBJECTS
THAT OTHERS HAD DROPPD ON [THE] WAY
UP TO [THE] MOUNTAINZ
23. THERE WAS NO SHRINE TO BE FOUND
SO HE MADE ONE OUT OF [THE] OBJECTS
QUESTION FOR YOU
24. Q: Yes?
A: WERE THE OBJECTS LEFT FOR [THE] TRAVELLER?
This harkens back to Jane’s illustration of the Letter in the
Attic. Based on her illustration, the answer to Anand’s question
was clear enough: Only the traveller would take the time to pick
up the objects. Because the question seemed largely rhetorical, we
felt no need to voice our response at the board (although we did talk
between ourselves, and our friends certainly listen in).
25. Q: Question for you: Did he pick up every object or only some?
A: ONLY [THE] ONES THAT FELL ALONG [THE] MOUNTAIN PATH
Objects Along the Path: an Illustration
26. Q: “Fell” or “were dropped” [like breadcrumbs]?
A: I AM PLEASED YOU ASK
THIS IS AN ANCIENT QUESTION IN OUR NET
ILLUSTRATION?
27. Q: Please.
A: ON BECOMING A FLYER ONE IS ALLOWD TO GREET
AND THANK EVERY MEMBER WHO HAS HELPD
28. Q: And one discovers?
A: THAT THERE IS ALWAYS AT LEAST ONE OBJECT THAT NO
MEMBER HAZ PARTED WITH
An important lesson. The traveller makes a shrine of the
objects he has collected and, upon achieving flight, discovers that
at least one of the objects left on the path – presumably for him –
was not dropped by anyone else. [Scribe] and I understood this
to mean that the traveller himself – that is, his higher self – dropped
the object for his non-flying self to find. If so, could this object
represent that facet of the traveller which is his facet of mastery
within our Jewel Net, his unique contribution?
29. Q: Does this object represent one’s facet of mastery?
A: IT MAY OR MAY NOT
OUR QUESTION IS WHO LEFT IT THERE?
We felt comfortable with this fable as it grew to allegory,
but decided overt confirmation couldn’t hurt.
30. Q: Traveller = non-flyer
Those who went up the path before = flyers
Objects = clues, pieces of knowledge, “helps”
Is that right?
A: EXACTLY –
AND THE SHRINE ITSELF?
No Knowing What You Will Teach (A Rule)
31. Q: The structure by virtue of which one becomes a flyer?
A: IT IS THAT AND ALSO A SOURCE OF OBJECTS
SINCE AS YOU KNOW PEOPLE ALWAYS…
32. TAKE SOMETHING AWAY FROM A HOLY PLACE
IT IS OUR NOTION OF A HOL…
33. …IDEA OF A HOLY PLACE
NOW DO YOU FOLLOW ME?
34. Q: What transpires at [or in?] the shrine that transforms the non-flyer
into the flyer?
A: I HAVE NO WAY OF DESCRIBING THIS
NOT A SECRET
Both [Scribe] and I intuit Anand’s linguistic problem here.
It seems there can never be a way to describe this transformation as
a process, for if there were a way, the process would be an extension
of what came before. A true transformation must be a complete break
from its past. One can speak of a process which leads up to the
moment of transformation or of those aspects (such as the objects)
which after transformation can be traced back in form prior to the
transformative moment, but the moment itself must necessarily remain
utterly unspeakable.
1:20 AM
35. Q: Jane, since the world is full of things that used to belong to us, then
we must drop some object for our own use [in time].
A: ABSOLUTELY - EXAMPLE -
JANE READS THIS CONVERSATION YEARS FROM NOW
WHAT AN IDEA
Somehow I fully expect to see this realized, which justifies
my typing & annotating labors in a new and beautiful way.
36. Q: It follows that every student is also a teacher (& vice versa).
A: [YES] BUT WE HAVE A RULE HERE
Yet another rule. Someday I will codify these rules, which,
I confess, stir a deep fascination within me.
37. Q: Yes?
A: ONCE GRASPED WE DON’T TELL STUDENTS WHAT THEY
ARE TO NO
38. Q: You mean: once we’ve grasped the principle [that every member is
both teacher & student], we can’t ask what we have to teach to, say, Josef?
A: [YES] TELL ME WHY [NO]T?
[(6/2017) I only just now observed a Jane-pun for the first
time. That's because this pun was invisible to us as we sat at the table,
equally invisible if one reads (or types) these words in their normal
sequence. But in downloading this page and then having to reformat
all the lost tabs, I caught this, because I was proceeding in reverse
order. A#39 is about knots, an important concept to us, new to the
night's discussion. Now notice Jane's answers to #37 and #38. Scribe
& I assumed "no" in A#37 was a rare, though clear, abbreviation of
"know," an abbreviation, incidentally, I'd always regarded as gratuitous.
A#38 has no spelling mistakes, but notice:
[NO] is to K[NO]W as [NO]T is to K[NO]T.
[Pretty cool, Jane. A little riddle that took over 21 years to
solve. That might be a record… Oh, wait! Continuing further—that
is, in reverse order—I find Jane pulls the same pun in A#19. Nothing
in vain at the board…]
Untying Knots
39. Q: The knowledge of what we can do outside of time might bias or
weaken our intent in time.
A: [YES] [THE] KNOTS ARE STILL THERE
AND ASK TO BE UNTIED IN TIME –
IT IS NO GOOD PRETENDING THAT [THE] TASK IS
FOREORDAINED *
Of course. But somehow I feel an empathy here with my
seventh graders who hope to learn their fractions somehow while they
sleep.
40. Q: What happens if we don’t untie all the knots before we die?
A: ALL KNOTS?
IF I HAVE NO ABILITY TO UNTIE ANY WHY ASK ABOUT ALL?
The degree of knottedness is not as important as the process
itself -- here, the ability to untie knots.
41. Q: In order to untie a knot, is it first necessary to identify it?
A: ODDLY [NO]
IT IS POSSIBLE TO UNTIE A KNOT WHILE THINKNG ABOUT
SOMETHING ELSE ALTOGETHER
Certainly what one thinks about is nonetheless important.
We know, for example, that some thoughts only lead to further knotting.
41. Q: To mix a metaphor, can an object along the path become a knot?
A: [YES] BECAUSE ALMOST ALL GIFTS CAN BE MISUSED
A TALENT IS ALSO A LIAB[ility]
We immediately thought of our grossest illustration of misused
power, Don’s Tale of a Fallen World (cf. 95: 25.89).
43. Q: Like the misuse of power by the members of the ally’s circle in Don’s tale?
A: [YES] BUT NEARER TO US AS WELL
At this point, after 5:00 AM [Scribe]’s time, we felt we had to
close. We planned our remaining questions, assuming we would be
travelling the next night. We figured we had better make use of what
our Grotto could uniquely offer while we were still there.
The Compasses
44. Q: Is there anything among these deep stars you want to point out to us?
A: A CONSTELLATION BELOW OUR BOAT
45. Q: Please go on.
A: IT IS THE…
46. IT IS THE COMPASSES
47. Q: More than one?
A: THE PAIR ONE NEEDS TO DRAW A CIRCLE
IS IT ONE OR TWO?
[Guide]
48. Q: It’s like a pair of scissors. Without both, you don’t have one.
A: EXACTLY THAT IS OUR THEME TO COME
Circles and more circles. For the record, after A#46 above
I was thinking only of the kind of compasses which point north,
instruments of navigation for our trip. Of course, navigators do use
both kinds of compasses.
“A Door is Opening” (Poem)
49. Q: Poem? (“A Door is Opening”)
A:
A DOOR IS OPENING
BEYOND IT [THE] STARS
I AM ON [THE] INSIDE
OUTSIDE ARE [THE] STRANGERS
APPEARING THEN…
50. …GONE
GOOD NIGHT FRIENDS
[Guide]
2:10 AM
Hail aliah
§
*The branch of mathematics that studies knots is topology. Strangely knots are exclusive to three dimensions. In 4-d all knots come free.
4b Session 32
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
The Table of Contents below is too long to display fully. If you click to the right of these Lessons, you'll see the primary source documents displayed under each. These original sessions are a world treasure.