Shakespeare's Will

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," said Juliet.

"I don't believe a rose would be as nice if it were called a thistle or a skunk cabbage!" said Anne (of Green Gables).

Shakspere the Actor

It was Will the actor who was of humble origin and who came from Stratford upon Avon. It is said that this man signed his name as 'William Shakspere'.

Shakspere's parents were illiterate. Shakspere's daughter, Judith, was unable to write.

The most famous role that Will Shakspere played on the stage was the Ghost in Hamlet. He also worked as a moneylender.

It is odd that Will Shakspere, who once sued a man for an unpaid loan of two shillings, was never compensated for his plays during his lifetime and never seemed to have complained about it.

It's also said that, unlike most artists, Will Shakspere enjoyed prosperity during his lifetime. The only surviving letter to Shakspere is a letter from a neighbour asking for a loan of thirty pounds.

In his last will and testament, Will mentions a "second best bed" and a "silver gilt bowl" but makes no mention of his valuable literary works or who is to benefit from them.

It is therefore surmised that the actor 'Will Shakspere' and the author 'William Shakespeare' were two different people.

What's in a Name?

Shakespeare or "Spear Shaker" is believed to be a reference to the spear shakers of mythology: Apollo, Athena and Hercules, the mortal who became a god.

Will Shakspere had never travelled and knew little Latin or Greek so many theorists believe that he would have been unable to produce literary works that required an indepth knowledge of law, Platonic philosophy, Rosicrucian symbolism, the culture of royal courts and several languages.

The authorship of Shakespeare's plays is usually attributed to men such as Sir Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe or Edward De Vere.

Manly P. Hall writes: "A sentimental world, however, dislikes to give up a traditional hero, either to solve a controversy or to right a wrong."

However the real author of the plays must have had his or her reasons for keeping their identity a secret. Besides 'The Complete Works of Bacon' doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

All the World's a Stage

Most people today still believe that the moneylending actor from Stratford upon Avon is the authentic author of the Elizabethan literary masterpieces.

So either Will Shakspere was truly one of the greatest writers of all time. Or he was one of the greatest actors, convincing the world at large during his lifetime and beyond his death, that he was a literary genius and the author of some of the most celebrated masterpieces in English literature.

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Pandora's Box of Tricks

Humans have created many myths to explain the somewhat unexplainable origins of evil on Earth.

One of the themes of the origin of evil has been the Creation of Woman.

This belief is deeply entrenched both consciously and unconsciously in most cultures not only in religion or social mores but also in myths, jokes (e.g. God said, "Woe unto you, man." And created Woe-man.") and proverbs (e.g. "A woman has the form of an angel, the heart of a serpent, and the mind of an ass.")

Eve and Pandora

In the culture of Christianity, Eve, and thus all women, have been blamed for plunging mankind into a vale of tears, because she listened to the serpent in the Garden of Eden and ate of the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

In the Genesis version of the creation of humanity, Eve is fashioned from one of Adam's ribs. Whether viewed symbolically or literally, this has been interpreted as woman being subordinate and inferior to man.

In the similar Greek myth, Pandora was the first woman on Earth. Unlike Eve, she was not fashioned from one of man's ribs. She was created from water and earth by the god of craftmanship. She was given the gift of beauty from Aphrodite, the gift of music from Apollo, the gift of cunning from Hermes plus gifts from all the other gods.

Because of this, she was called All-Gifted. (pan - 'the great all' dora- 'gifted')

Some of the gifts bestowed on Pandora were rather dubious (such as the 'gift' of foolishness from Zeus and the 'gift' of curiosity from Hera).

The Pandora Legend

Unlike Eve, Pandora was not created to be a companion to man. Rather she was created by the gods expressly to be a punishment to mankind.

Pandora's unconscious purpose was to bring misery to the human race.

Before she was sent to Earth, the god Hermes gave her a beautiful jar (or box as it is now more famously known) and was instructed never to open it (but Hermes gave her the key anyway).

She was sent as a kind of 'honey trap' to the brother of Prometheus.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Against his brother's advice, Epimetheus was seduced by the beauty of Pandora and accepted this gift of a wife from the gods.

Pandora hid the jar so that she wouldn't be tempted to open it. First she put it in a storeroom, then she put it in a chest in the storeroom, then she buried the chest in the garden. So she did try.

Finally Pandora could no longer restrain herself and decided to peep into the box/jar.

The gods had each put a nasty gift into the box. So once opened, all kinds of sorrows were unleashed unto humanity: Sickness, Insanity, Pestilence, Vice, Greed, Crime, Death, Theft, Lies, Jealousy, and so on.

But all was not lost. Pandora managed to close the box before Elpis, the gift of hope could escape.

Alternative Versions

Just as the gods had all bestowed Pandora with divine gifts, each god had put a blessing in the box such as peace, abundance, health and so forth.

So when Pandora opened the box, all these blessings flew away and there was misery upon the earth.

There is also a version similar to Eve enticing Adam to eat of the forbidden fruit. In this version, Pandora persuades Epimetheus to open the box.

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The Creation of Man

Ancient Adam and Eve joke that I remember reading on a TV message board years ago:

Wandering dejectedly in The Garden of Eden, Eve told God, "I'm lonely and I'm tired of eating apples all by myself."

"Okay," God said, "I'll create a man for you."

Eve said, "A man! What's that?"

"He's a creature with aggressive tendencies and an enormous ego. He won't listen very well,he'll get lost easily, but never stop to ask for directions. However, he is big and strong, he can open jars and hunt animals. And he'll be fun in bed."

"Sounds great!" said Eve.

"Oh, and one more thing," God said. "He will want to believe that I made HIM first."

Another version of this tale together with more alternative creation stories here.

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Saturn: Moons and Myths

In astrology, the negative aspect of the planet Saturn (named after the Roman god of agriculture) is said to be one of destruction, darkness and chaos.

Some of the names of Saturn's numerous moons reflect the dark side of this planet.

Prometheus was discovered in 1980.

This moon is named after the man who stole sacred fire from the gods and gave it to humankind. Zeus punished him by chaining him in Caucasus where an eagle (or vulture) would eat his liver. Each day his liver would be renewed so the punishment continued until the bird was killed.

Pandora was discovered in 1980.

This moon is named after the lady with the box.

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on Earth sent by Jupiter (Zeus) as a punishment for Prometheus' theft of fire. She brought with her a box which contained illnesses, death and strife. When she opened the box out of curiosity, she unleashed a plague of disasters onto humanity.

Atlas was also discovered in 1980.

This moon is named after the Titan who is forced by Zeus (yes, him again) to bear the sky/heavens on his shoulders after he attempted to storm the heavens.

Janus was discovered in 1966.

Janus is named after the two-faced god of gates and doors (similar to Capricornus) . Janus is also the god of beginnings and endings. In Roman mythology, Janus sheltered Saturn when he was fleeing from Jupiter.

Mimas was discovered in 1789 and is named after one of the Titans. It is also known as Saturn I. Its nickname is "The Death Star" because of its resemblance to the Death Star in Star Wars movies.


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Pan in Astrology

The god Pan corresponds to the Planet Saturn and the star sign Capricorn.

Pan is the name of one of the moons of the planet Saturn. It was discovered in 1990 and it is known as a shepherd moon. Pan is the closest moon to Saturn. It is also called Saturn XVIII.

Capricornus (Latin for "horned male goat"), is one of the constellations of the Zodiac. The stars of this constellation can be connected to form an image with the head of a goat and the tail of a fish. It is often called the Sea Goat.

In Greek mythology, Capricornus was viewed as the "Gateway of the gods" and it was believed that human souls passed through Capricornus after death.

On the positive side, like the god Pan, Capricorn represents nature and the abundance of the Earth.

On the shadow side, Capricorn also represents governments, elitist hierarchical structures and excessive control.

The sign Capricorn is ruled by the Planet Saturn viewed by many as a force of destruction and chaos.

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John Dee and the Angels

In the book, Living with Angels, author Theolyn Cortens says that Christopher Marlowe based his play The Tragical History of Dr Faustus on the misadventures of Dr John Dee, the court astrologer of Elizabeth I.

Like Christopher Marlowe, Dr Dee was also said to be a Government spy. According to this site, John Dee was the original 007 and that was his coded signature for his secret correspondence with the Queen. The double zero ‘00’ stood for two eyes meaning that he was the secret eyes of Elizabeth I with Lucky number 7 guarding the two eyes.

John Dee was a brilliant scholar who was obsessed with the paranormal. He was not clairvoyant but he recruited a medium called Edward Kelley to assist him with his work.

Edward Kelley was able to contact what he referred to as ‘angels’. They communicated with him in an unknown language. Linguistic experts have verified that this language is authentic with its own grammar, number and alphabet system. They believe it was unlikely that Kelley was able to devise this language by himself.

In his lecture on The Origins of Evil, astro-theologian, Michael Tsarion referred to these entities as Macrobes.

In return for giving away alchemical secrets, these entities made many requests. One described as a child spirit (in some accounts referred to as the Archangel Uriel and in other accounts a spirit called Madimi) instructed that Kelley and Dee should share all things - including their wives.

Dee and Kelley complied with the wife-swapping demand “with much anguish”. And things spiralled downhill for Dee from then on.

Like Marlowe’s Faust, Dee paid a heavy price for attempting to use paranormal forces for material gain and ended up dying in poverty and social disgrace.

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February Overview

As the month draws to a close, I thought I would take another look at what I've covered so far particularly to hunt out any unintentional connections between different blog posts.

Peter Pan, Jackson and the Phantom

The Peter Pan theme connects with the concept of Shadow Selves as discussed in Beauty and the Beast and Golden Shadows as for a time, in the story, Peter Pan is literally separated from his shadow.

Peter Pan also became connected with my Devil theme through the god Pan.

Marilyn Monroe was weirdly compared to the Phantom of the Opera in my last summary. But there is also a bit of a link between the Michael Jackson/Peter Pan topic and the Phantom of the Opera. People compare him to the Phantom quite a lot.

As this blogger writes: "There are legends. There are icons. And then there is Michael Jackson. Mention his name today and you probably think of pop music’s Phantom of the Opera – upturned rodent nose, albino skin, dangling his child from a hotel balcony."

I remember Michael Crawford talking in an interview about how he met Jackson after performing in The Phantom of the Opera. Apparently Jackson was mesmerised by Crawford's performance and kept saying,"Your hands...I loved your hands..." (?!?)

Unintentional Links

Hitchcock has been creeping into my posts a bit too through my brief Psycho-Analysis and my mention of The Birds in the End of the World and Six Degrees of Peter Pan.

Jude Law popped up as a "ghost whisperer" in Haunted Hotels then as a serial killer in The Curse of the Divided Self and then as the victim of a serial killer of sorts in The Curse of the Divided Self - Part II.

As for where the blog is going over the next few weeks, pretty much in the same vein, I think. Plus I feel a bit of an Elizabethan theme coming on...("William Shakespeare didn't exist")

It's probably better if I don't know what's coming.

The Strange Deaths of Christopher Marlowe

The Elizabethan playwright, Christopher Marlowe, is nowadays more famous for the manner in which he died. But there are a fair few versions of his death.

Version One: He was stabbed to death by a love rival in a drunken fight at a pub.

Version Two: He was stabbed to death by a jealous husband in a street brawl.

Version Three: Christopher Marlowe was gay and his death was the result of a homophobic attack.

Version Four: His death was a punishment for heresy. He was said to have authored documents which denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Version Five: An argument over a bill during a game of backgammon at a house in Deptford turned into a fight. Marlowe attacked one of the men who accidentally and mortally stabbed him above the right eye in self-defence. The man was pardoned.

Version Six: Marlowe was a government spy. The three men he’d spent his last day with (supposedly playing backgammon) were also spies. They assassinated him.

Version Seven: He wasn’t murdered at all. His death was faked after which he wrote several plays under the name “William Shakespeare”.


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God created man in the image of himself,

in the image of God he created him,
male and female he created them.

Genesis 1: 27

In many myths about the birth of humanity, the first human was said to be an androgynous creature being both male and female.

The removal of one of Adam's ribs could be interpreted as a symbol of the separation of the androgynous human into two genders rather than the Creation of Woman.

In Greek mythology, Zeus, the ruler of the gods, created androgynous human beings. Because their masculine and feminine energies were in perfect balance, these humans were powerful and godlike.

When these humans plotted to overthrow the gods in Mount Olympus, Zeus split each being into half - not into two separate beings but two halves (male and female) of the same being.

In their new state, these half-humans lacked the vitality and power of their original whole selves.

So (in mythological terms) the quest for romantic love is really a quest to find the other half of one's self and restore the original harmonious balance of innate energy and power. Hence the "you complete me" nonsense.


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Just the Three of Us: Charles, Camilla and Di

A furtive glance at Prince Charles' bizarre triangle of lurve:

The TV movie, Whatever Love Means, implied that it was Camilla (the “crocodile wife” as Mohamed Al Fayed affectionately calls her) who selected Diana as the ideal wife for Prince Charles believing that the young girl would be dutiful, silent and turn a blind eye to their clandestine relationship. (“We’ve got to find you a wife, Charles!”)

It’s also been said that during their marriage, Camilla would give Diana advice about how to handle Prince Charles.

I’ve no idea whether Camilla did choose Diana for Prince Charles in reality or whether this twist was invented solely for dramatic purposes for the film.

But it does give an extra significance to Diana’s famous: “There were three of us in that marriage."

In his equally famous speech at Princess Diana’s funeral, her brother, (the other Charles) said, "It is a point to remember that of all the ironies about Diana, perhaps the greatest was this - a girl given the name of the ancient goddess of hunting was, in the end, the most hunted person of the modern age."

Here's another irony. In Roman mythology, Camilla, the Virgin Queen of the Volscians in ancient Italy, was a favourite of the Goddess Diana.

The goddess Diana says of Camilla, “There is not a girl in Italy that I love more, and have loved ever since she was a child.” (The Aeneid for Boys and Girls)

During her life, Camilla (the Virgin Warrior, not the “crocodile wife”) rejected the idea of marriage in favour of remaining faithful to the goddess Diana.

Diana Inquest: Mohamed Al-Fayed

Yesterday Mohamed Al Fayed accused the "Establishment" of being involved in the alleged murder of Diana, Princess of Wales and its subsequent cover-up.

Al-Fayed's all-inclusive group of conspirators included Prince Philip ("the Nazi"), Prince Charles, Tony Blair, Diana's sister, Diana's brother-in-law, the secret services, the bodyguards, French toxicologists and many more.

He referred to Camilla Parker-Bowles as the "crocodile wife" and the Royals as the Dracula family.

The only person Al-Fayed didn't name in the plot to murder Princess Diana was himself.

He should read The Biggest Secret to find out about his own alleged involvement. Or maybe he already has.

In related news, Paul Burrell was apparently caught on camera admitting that he had lied at the Inquest. ("I was very naughty.")

Related Links

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5inGp3donwJrvN5cFo4eRLz69cyrg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7250241.stm

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3390450.ece

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/royals/article813688.ece

The Collective Unconscious

The Jungian analyst, June Singer, wrote:

"The wonder of the collective unconscious is that it is all there, all the legend and the history of the human race, with its unexorcised demons and gentle saints, its mysteries and its wisdom, all with each one of us - a microcosm within the macrocosm. The exploration of this world is more challenging than the exploration of outer space."

Peter Pan of Pop

Since I’ve recently been looking at all things Peter Pan, I thought I’d take a glance at the Peter Pan of Pop. Not Cliff Richard, the other one.

This month, Michael Jackson has celebrated the 25 years since his record-breaking album Thriller was released, by releasing it again.

As his star wanes, Jackson continues to be something of an enigma.

Like his namesake, Michael Llewellyn Davies, Jackson is (was?) extremely creative, something of a poet and had a strong affinity with the character Peter Pan.

Jackson’s mantra in his later interviews had been, “I am Peter Pan.”

His other mantra “I never had a childhood” is somewhat paradoxical. Rather than a boy who wouldn’t grow up, it implies a person that has never been a child in the first place.

We have the photographs and the video footage to prove that Jackson was indeed once a child and wasn’t beamed down onto the Planet Earth as a fully formed adult.

But obviously he is referring to the fact that he spent his formative years working long hours in (some unsuitable) places whilst growing up in the public eye. He may also be alluding to the idea that he never had a childhood because his innocence was tampered with.

Whatever the case may be, Jackson grew up a very long time ago.

Those who know him well have said that in private, he has a deeper more masculine voice. The gentle softly-spoken childlike voice is used when addressing the public, the media, the worshipping fans and their parents.

The Peter Pan persona is like a figurative version of the literal mask he sometimes wears when he is out in public.

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The god Pan

Peter Pan is named after the god Pan in Greek mythology.

Pan was the god of desire, magic, creativity, sexuality, pan-ic and nightmares. He was said to haunt caves, mountains and streams and watch over shepherds. He also seduced young men with his pipes (pan-pipes, that is).

Pan’s father was the god Hermes (Thoth) and his mother was a wood nymph.

The word ‘Pan’ means ‘all’ or ‘everything’. He is also believed to be an aspect of the Green Man.

Pan had horns, hairy lower limbs and the feet of a goat.

The images of the god Pan later became the model for visual image for the Christian concept of the devil.

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Don't They Know It's the End of the World

Last night, there was a documentary on TV about a ten day End of the World Bus Tour.

A group of tourists convinced that the End is Nigh embarked on a tour of Israel, got baptised near the River Jordan and - the highlight for many - paid a visit to the Valley of Armageddon.

Based on a very literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation, they are convinced within the next five to ten years, Jesus/God is going to appear in the sky in Israel.

Apparently Man and Satan will rise up against God in a Phillip Pullman-esque fashion and embark in a futile war which God will inevitably win.

Before the apocalpyse takes place, all the good Christians will vanish in the Rapture while the rest of the world is subjected to the wrath of God.

One tourist likened the Rapture to the scene at the end of The Matrix where Neo rises up into the sky. "I could be wrong," he said. "I could be right."

They also had a disturbing attitude towards those they considered to be God's enemies - those they believe want to annihilate Israel.

When they weren't prophesising the End of the World with a disturbing relish, the tourists seemed to be very pleasant, amicable, lucid and of sound mind which makes it even weirder.

The film-maker, David Clews, was a sceptic and told them that their vision of God seemed divisive and egotistical.

"I guess it does seem egotistical," said one lady. "But he's God so I guess he can be."

These End of the World visions remind me a bit of that scene in the film The Birds where the townspeople are all putting forward theories to explain why the birds are attacking them.

Among them there is the scientific sceptic bird expert who doesn't believe that birds would attack anybody despite evidence to the contrary. Then there is the drunk in the corner joyfully declaring that it's the end of the world and quoting Bible passages.

There is also the hysterical mother who blames the blonde stranger who she thinks started it all. ("Where are you from? Who sent you? You're evil!" etc. etc.)

It's not just a portion of Christians that the believe the end of the world is nigh for humanity. Many believe that the forces of Nature will prove to be our undoing. Others believe that the end will be caused by an elite race of aliens/reptiles/secret societies who will enslave and destroy humanity.

Many seem to think we deserve the End either because they believe that we are evil or they think we are too dumb/sheeplike/easily manipulated to see what is really going on.

Although diverse groups of people are interpreting their vision of the End of the World from very different perspectives, they are all basically singing from the same hymn sheet united in a Chorus of Doooooooooommmmm.

Tonight there is a Cutting Edge documentary on Channel 4 called Baby Bible Bashers about pint-sized 8 year old preachers. You couldn't dream it up.

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Golden Shadows

Just as we tend to repress the dark side of our nature and project it onto scapegoats, we also tend to repress our divine attributes and project them onto...scapegoats. These are usually the individuals we see swishing down a red carpet in a designer frock or suit.

We call them stars, idols, and goddesses. We call ourselves fans, short for fanatics.

We grant them royal titles such as the King of this and the Queen of that and place them up on a pedestal.

Sometimes they are bemused by it all. Sometimes they believe all the hype.

Although we're much less worshipful than previous generations, we're still somewhat baffled and unforgiving, if they topple off their pedestal and turn out to be only human.

We talk of stars imploding and call them fallen idols or fallen angels. We get to participate and comment on their downfall on interactive forums like a chorus in a Greek tragedy.

If we lose them prematurely, we might forget about them and replace them with a new icon. Or we might bestow them with immortality and elevate or restore them to cult or godlike status. And then the whole cycle begins again.

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“I suppose I always knew that I made Peter by rubbing the five of you violently together, as savages with two sticks produce a flame. That is all Peter is – the spark I got from you.”

J. M. Barrie was inspired to create the Peter Pan story after befriending the five children of the Llewellyn Davies family: George, Michael, Jack, Peter and Nicholas.

When their parents died, J.M. Barrie became their guardian.



George died fighting in the First World War in 1915.

Michael, who was said to be Barrie’s favourite, drowned when he was 20 with his friend Rupert Buxton. As Michael could not swim, there was speculation that the two young men had formed a suicide pact.

While researching his family history, Peter, who had become a successful publisher, burnt many documents, including the 2000 letters between Barrie and Michael.

When he was 63, Peter threw himself under a train at Sloane Square station.

J. M. Barrie was reportedly not fond of explanation or analysis. To say he did not want to be written about or analysed, is to put it mildly: “May God blast anyone who writes a biography about me.”

I don't like to end on that note. But I can't think of anything else to write, so I shall.


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The Multiverse in Comics

The DC Multiverse is a set of fictional parallel universes which allow the DC Comics writers to create alternative histories and stories for their characters without disrupting the flow of the official narrative of these characters.

Alternative stories can also be manipulated into becoming the official historical viewpoint. But that scenario usually happens in real life rather than in comics.

Related Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse_(DC_Comics)

The Curse of the Divided Self - Part II

“We all go a little mad sometimes…” Norman Bates, Psycho

[N.B. This post contains spoilers of the movies Psycho and The Talented Mr Ripley]

Psychotherapists, such as Jung, believe that when we repress our desires, our flaws, our sins and bad memories and refuse to acknowledge their existence, we create a Shadow Self. The Shadow Self may be both feared and loved at the same time.

An extreme example of the Shadow Self at work is seen in the movie Psycho.

"A Boy's Best Friend is His Mother"

Norman Bates, the ultimate Mummy’s Boy with a severe case of the Oedipals (“A son is a poor substitute for a lover,” says he) refuses to acknowledge his desires. Indeed he can’t even bring himself to say the word ‘bathroom’ despite being a Peeping Tom.

On the surface, Norman seems like a nice quiet self-effacing chap. But whenever he experiences even a flicker of forbidden feeling, his Shadow Self, in the form of his mother rears her head in a display of “pathological jealousy”.

When Norman eventually becomes his Shadow Self, he loses his own identity. The psychiatrist in the movie explains, “When the mind houses two personalities, there is always a battle. For Norman, the battle is over.”

The Two Trilbys

The psychiatrist’s explanation of Norman Bates’ two personalities is similar to the scene in the novel Trilby when Gecko explains what happened to Trilby under her shadow Svengali.

“There was the Trilby you knew...But all at once—pr-r-r-out! presto!...with one wave of his hand over her—with one look of his eye—with a word—Svengali could turn her into the other Trilby, his Trilby, and make her do whatever he liked...you might have run a red-hot needle into her and she would not have felt it...”

The Demons in the Basement

After the death of his mother, Norman gradually adopts her identity.

In the movie, The Talented Mr Ripley, a similar situation occurs when Ripley adopts the identity of the dead object of his desire. The object of his desire is his Golden Shadow, his idea of perfection, the person that he would really like to be.

Tom Ripley is faced with a future of always having to kill the people he loves so that they never get to see the true face behind his mask.

He says, “Don’t you just take the past and lock it in the basement? That’s what I do. You don’t want anyone to see all the demons, how ugly it all is.”

Tom Ripley’s “private trap” (to quote Bates again) is this basement of the past.

Ripley says, “I’m always gonna be stuck in the basement, aren’t I? I always thought it would be better to be a Fake Somebody than a real nobody.”

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Multiverse

A multiverse is a group of universes, a collection of parallel universes that are interconnected.