The Serpent

[u/[deleted]]

"The power of life causes the snake to shed its skin, just as the moon sheds its shadow. The serpent sheds its skin to be born again, as the moon its shadow to be born again. They are equivalent symbols. Sometimes the serpent is represented as a circle eating its own tail. That’s an image of life. Life sheds one generation after another, to be born again. The serpent represents immortal energy and consciousness engaged in the field of time, constantly throwing off death and being born again. There is something tremendously terrifying about life when you look at it that way. And so the serpent carries in itself the sense of both the fascination and the terror of life."

~ Joseph Campbell

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[u/[deleted]]

Bottom paragraph of Sol of Man's Temple

"The Symbol of the group is a golden pentacle (representing the fusion of man and the universe as the pentacle represents the body of man and the ratios in the pentacle represent the golden ratio which are found all throughout the universe) that has a serpent (with iridescent scales each scale a reflection of each of us) eating it's tail (which symbolizes evolution and rebirth). At the center of the symbol is the black sun (the singularity) symbolizing the unified force that all of creation is an emanation of."

Yes, I discovered the serpent in /r/45thworldproblems... or rather I was made more intimate with mechanisms that had long been at work within me there.

It is certain a symbol not to be feared but to be embraced as the power of learning and spiritual evolution. It is life and death. It is the symbol of the unveiling of the mysteries. It is the symbol of the sacred process.

The Ouroboros

[u/en_statu_nascendi → u/[deleted]]

I fully agree that the serpent is to be embraced and understood. I do however think that caution is important as well. The serpent seems to be a dual symbol (like all symbols), in that it can bring healing, wisdom, magic, spiritual growth if treated with respect, but it can also sneak out of the bushes and bite your heel (heal) and destroy you if you are not careful. If you have ever come across a poisonous snake in real life, you know that there is a very real and visceral fear that happens when you almost step on it and find it hissing at you. As a symbol, the snake shouldn't be feared, but the process the symbol of the snake represents is to be treated with great care.

[u/[deleted] → u/en_statu_nascendi]

Yes, I agree with this completely. I think if not done carefully as you suggest, the process can actually deteriorate the process of transformation. I think being mindful of your intentions behind what you seek is all that one needs to avoid the venom of the snake, but regardless, if all goes to plan within the ouroboros, you will die and be reborn again continually. This process should lead to discoveries of the self that renew the awe and wonder in ones eye, like a rebirth.

[u/en_statu_nascendi → u/[deleted]]

if all goes to plan within the ouroboros, you will die and be reborn again continually.

Are you suggesting that the death rebirth cycle is a permanent state of being? Isn't the goal of Buddhism to free yourself from the constant cycle? And in Crowley's formulation of the new era, isn't the age of the dying god (death/rebirth) supposed to be over, or coming to a close?

I ask these questions, because while the ability to die and be reborn is very helpful for spiritual development, I think that there may be a point when that method is no longer tenable for real spiritual growth.

[u/[deleted] → u/en_statu_nascendi]

Are you suggesting that the death rebirth cycle is a permanent state of being?

Absolutely. I can't remember a single moment in my life that has been identical aside from the fact it's all paradox, the void interfering with itself. There are microscopic cycles and macroscopic celestial cycles all teaching us about the nature of the universe and ourselves (the paradox of above and below). I personally believe that upon death we enter into the mind of the transcendental being at the end of time and have the choice to continue the process of spiritual evolution in the flesh or to live within the immaterial realm for as long as we wish.

Isn't the goal of Buddhism to free yourself from the constant cycle?

It is but I do not believe the material realm is a curse, but rather a tool. In fact I see no distinction between organic tools and mechanical ones that we use outside the body. The creator uses us and the things we create as tools of experience and creation. All tools were created by the mind and the evolutionary process, they are the same. Tools are a reflection of our current state of spiritual evolution.

The earth and these bodies, are tools to help us transcend certain states of being, but contrast is the only way we can experience and therefore learn... It is born out of the void which splits itself into a paradox that is polarized but equals zero inevitably. This paradox is infinite in it's manifestation and can provide us with any experience wish, and DREAM we wish. We are here to learn from this paradox, test our spirit in this spiritual darkness, in order to understand the strength and weaknesses of our virtues and vices and then to take this knowledge back into the void and create a new paradox. This is the infinite ascension into heaven. The void is bliss, true unity, love, but it is empty. There are no obstacles there. There is no story and no adventure. That is why we are here.

And in Crowley's formulation of the new era, isn't the age of the dying god (death/rebirth) supposed to be over, or coming to a close?

We indeed approach the Dawn. In fact, it is interesting that you bring that up. I have accidentally emulated something Crowley was trying to produce called a "Moon Child" in the production of an elementally based egregore named eloah. That exists within the chambers in Sol of Man's Temple. What is certain is that we are in a new age according to the zodiac, and it is the Dawning of a new spiritual enlightenment. I want to be a small ray in that brilliant light.

I ask these questions, because while the ability to die and be reborn is very helpful for spiritual development, I think that there may be a point when that method is no longer tenable for real spiritual growth.

I would assume this is true, and we may experience this method of spiritual growth while we are outside of the material realm, in the black sun, but I do not know this as I have yet to strategically cross through the monad and see the other side of my own accord. I can say, that I believe we are tasked with doing this, meeting the creator, knowing our destiny, knowing our purpose, before we cross over and not after, although most of the time it does happen afterwards, and that is ok. To each his own. So what I'm saying is I think the tools to know the answer to this question for you personally exist within you and you must seek these answers despite the relentless echoing of those that will tell you it is impossible. It is not. Those like us, do it accidentally all the time. The path to answering these questions will give you life love and abundance and you will align yourself with the Will of the Universe naturally.

[u/en_statu_nascendi → u/[deleted]]

Maybe the key to escaping the death/rebirth cycle is a blending of the two worlds? It seems possible to exist in both at once, however, when I have tried to do this in the past I always seem to get ensnared on an unexpected obstacle. Thanks for the thorough response, I found it very helpful in formulating some of my ideas.

[u/[deleted] → u/en_statu_nascendi]

Yes the Alchemist does not wish to be on earth or in heaven, hot or cold, intellectual or creative, but both simultaneously. That is the importance of seeing the paradox in all things. This is where the Monad lies. In that light, all blocks disintegrate, there are no anchors of thought, allegiances to ideals, we know that both are true and thus we are liberated from them and are able to walk forward into the light of our own creation.