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blesSINGSblOOmingRADicalhOpes
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rOses #3 Catherine L. Johnson 2011
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For further information on the rOses 2011 series, please click on links below:
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“… And this above all: that through these petals light must pass. From a thousand skies, each drop of darkness is filtered out and the glow at the core of each flower grows stronger and rises into life.
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And the movement of the roses
has a vibrancy none could discern,
were it not for what it ignites in the universe entire…
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One could say they were self-contained
if self-contained meant to transform the world outside, patience of springtime, guilt and restlessness,
the secrecy of fate and the darkness of Earth at evening-on out to the streaming and fleeing of clouds and, farther yet,
the orders of the stars-take it all
and turn it into a handful of inwardness.
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See how it lies at ease in these open roses.”
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Excerpt from:
A BOWL OF ROSES
Rainer Maria Rilke
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Phoenix in a Burning Nest:
Fresco from the “Greek Chapel” in the Catacomb of Priscilla,
Mid-3rd Century, Rome.
Photo by J.C. Kałużny.
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“Ever associated with the East, in many cultures, the great bird also held the alchemical wisdom of the direction of the coming dawn and the daily promise of re-birth. But for re-birth to be possible, death must come first. So when the phoenix was approaching the end of its life, it would begin to build a nest, a pyre, of aromatic branches, resins and spices. The pyre would catch alight and the bird consumed in the flames, burning down to ashes. Across cultures, the significance of this remained and still remains the same today because to transform fully, the pain of utter and complete destruction must often be experienced.
There is a type of metamorphosis which is more gradual: a shapeshift, a more gentle, flowing, evolutionary change. But the phoenix teaches us that this is not always the way of life: to hold on too firmly to who we used to be when this iteration is nearing its end will bring more harm than good, denying the natural order. This is why the bird willingly builds its pyre and participates in the path that it must take.
In some legends the re-birth is quick, coming before the flames have died down, and some tell of three days going by before the phoenix rises from the ashes. It is easy to see the correlation here, between this and the Christian myth of resurrection (and the rising of the Sun/Son of God). The new, re-born phoenix is greater, more powerful and more beautiful than its previous incarnation, and it is both the surrender to the process and the quality of the ashes which create this new, improved splendour.
The myth teaches us of the power of destruction, and that it is not something to be feared and resisted, but a natural, albeit dangerously powerful part of life. The fire is also significant, being one of the four alchemical elements, all of which are required to affect change in the world and our lives. And whilst fire offers a destructive force, it also, clearly, has the power to transform and transmute, which is why the myth of the phoenix has long been associated with the legend of the Philosophers Stone – a mythical substance first mentioned in Ancient Greece (300 AD) and supposed to be able to turn base metals into gold, to heal any illness or bring immortality to anyone who consumes a small part of it.”
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twentyTWENTY2
blesSINGSblOOmingRADicalhOpes
The
NEW,
re-born phoenix
is
greater,
more powerful
and
more beautiful
than its previous incarnation,
and
it is both
the surrender to the process
and
the quality of the ashes
which create this new,
improved
splendour.
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HUMANITY PORTFOLIO: WHITEWASH Catherine L. Johnson 2013
CATHERINE L. JOHNSON 