Aidrian O’Connor 

Hey Vicki! 

Here’s my packet. (No, really?). Anyway, it’s not quite as long as the rest of my packets have been, and I feel kind of weird about that. I don’t feel like I did less work on this packet than any of the others, but because you only really see the finished product of the work I did, it looks a bit smaller. I am including some photocopied notes, just so you can see that they do indeed exist (as I claim later on in the packet). Also I have included some photocopies from the Bhagavad-Gita, as a large portion of my work was devoted to that text. I don’t know if you are very familiar with it or not, and that’s why I included the photocopies. I actually dealt with only a certain central portion of the text, and so it is only that part which I have reproduced for you here. Certainly, you don’t have to pay attention to the notes or the actual text at all, if you so decide. I just included them so that you could take a look if you wanted to. 

After meeting with you, I set out in search of a real mythology to try to interpret, and had a bit of trouble deciding what to go with. Finally I decided on the Bhagavad-Gita, and got down to work. Hopefully you’ll appreciate what I have done here, both with the three illustrations and the short story/reinterpretation. 

One thing that I would definitely like feedback on is whether or not you feel that I should continue trying to work with reinterpreting myth the way that I have here, with the Bhagavad-Gita. I feel that I can get the message I am trying to convey across easier when working with a non-fiction approach than with dry scholastic text. But just because I think so doesn’t mean that it’s true, so let me know your opinion. 

I described my work process a good bit in the body of the packet itself, so I won’t go on. Give me a call when you’re through with this, and I’ll swing by to pick it up. 

Good Luck! 
  
  
Explanation of Three Alchemical Illustrations 

I started these three illustrations while reading Neumann's section on the Great Mother archetype, but only finished them recently. Having finished his book in the meantime, I have somewhat a different idea as to what the Great Mother archetype is, mainly in that I don't think that she can be so oversimplified as to fit in to three basic stages as I have portrayed her here. The relationships which I have illustrated are, I believe, more complex than I realized when starting this work, and as such the illustrations do not suffice, in my mind, to fully cover the frankly overwhelming subject that I unknowingly dove into. 

That being said, however, I must now say that I do feel that my work here has portrayed accurately a certain level of understanding, such as might have been considered contemporary and modern in Neumann's heyday. This level of understanding is indeed appropriate, but only if one is able to move beyond it shortly after coming to terms with it. Like any study related to understanding the uroboros, be it internal (the subconscious realm) or external (the physical realm), we can apply a system of interpretation to it, but must always keep in mind that no one system can ever suffice to fully encompass it. Our conscious minds simply cannot fathom the ultimately simple over-complexity of the uroboros, and to put all of our belief in one system of interpretation is only to limit ourselves, and thus limit our experience of the uroboros itself. So yes, my illustrations are sufficient, and no, they absolutely are not. 

That being plainly said, let's get down to business. 

The basic idea I had was to use several common elements in all three of the drawings, and by showing variations on those elements in each illustration, show how the Great Mother was changing from stage to stage. As such, I will explain the what the common elements themselves are first, and then deal with each of the illustrations on its own. 

First and foremost, the central image in all three of the drawings is a representation of the four cardinal directions, a kind of four armed compass rose. This consists of three arrows (one pointing to left, right, and the bottom of the page) and a third object which "points" upward. The object which is on top changes with each of the illustrations, showing which power is dominant over the other three at that particular stage. It is important to note that north is not always "up" - in fact, it never is. In order to find out which cardinal direction lies where, we must look to four triangles, each of which we find on one arm of the compass rose. Two other elements which we find in the drawings are the number three (3) and the vesica pisces, both of which represent creativity in complementary forms. The vesica pisces is a sort of football shaped object, formed by overlapping two circles so that the circumference of each circle crosses through the center point of the opposite circle. Finally, at the bottom of the symbol on all three illustrations is a banner, naming each of the stages respectively. 

The first stage depicted is "Mater Mutata." This term I took from Neumann without knowing the exact translation, but being well aware that it in some way represents the stage I have depicted. Mater Matuta is the earliest stage of development, when the subconscious is still in absolute control, and the consciousness is but a seed within her, floating and undifferentiated. Two strong symbols represent the agricultural stage of human civilization, when we as a race were still fully dependent on the Mother, and showed this with various vegetative cults. The symbol which takes precedence here, claiming top position on the "compass rose," is nothing other than the creative hands of the Mother herself, with life sprouting from the palms in what I hope is an organic feeling symbol of multiple overlapping vesica pisces'. At the peak of this symbol we find the number three, as this stage is where the creative aspect has taken utmost precedence in what could be considered its most blatant form, and near the base of the hands we find a traditional symbol for east - an upward pointing triangle with a line through the middle of it. East is traditionally associated with the element air, and with dawn, spring, and birth, which nicely corresponds to this early stage. The laurel behind the symbol sets up an outer circle, once again suggesting uroboros, and in this particular case reminding us that all of the activity we see here represented is still very much under uroboric control. 

Drawing two is labeled, "Mater Acceptus,' or the Receiving Mother. At this point, the Mother has fallen out of her role as dominant, and has taken temporary submission to the active, or what has been labeled the masculine, principle. The reasoning behind the Mother's sudden, apparently self sacrificing, submission is simple - in order for her to fertilize herself, she must allow that which carries the seed to bestow its seed. It is at this point that the consciousness has become strongly developed, and it wrests control away from the Great Mother. The Uroboric Snake from the last illustration has now unraveled to become the phallic snake, male companion to the Mother. It is he, the phallus, which we find in the controlling position here. The old uroboric circle is still present, but it has fallen to the rear of the compass rose, representing it's continued presence, though in a less dominant form. The number three has moved to the center of the four directions, showing its descent from ultimate creative ideal to actual physical action (fertilization) within the bounds of the material world. It is the symbol for fire, the upright empty triangle, which takes dominance here, and we find it emblazoned on the neck of our winged serpent. Fire is associated with the south, with action and the midday sun, and we find it dominant here because this is the stage of pure action. The wings themselves show movement toward the spiritual, an urge associated with consciousness and ego. Also to be noted is the haft behind the serpent, which suggests the entire compass rose figure as a sort of sword or weapon (the haft is the cross piece which guards the hand on a sword handle). The sword here has taken the place of the shaft of wheat which we found at the last stage - as symbol of human civilization as a whole. Before advancing to the next and final stage, I would add that it is my feeling that the Mater Acceptus stage is where our civilization stands today, though I don't feel that we will be remaining at this stage much longer, as the next stage, Mater Larum, is closing in fast… 

So - the final stage - Mater Larum. She is the Dark and Terrible Mother - that which has given birth, received her fertilization, and now will kill that which issued forth from her to make way for the life which is growing in her belly. The skull appears on top here, resting atop the cold and hard wings of death. On his forehead is etched a downward pointing fish in the shape of the vesica pisces. This fish is the fish of the Osiris saga, and is a symbol for castration of the masculine. When Set cut Osiris into fourteen pieces and threw them to the four directions, the phallus landed in a body of water, where it was eaten by a fish. Thus when Isis reassembled Osiris, this one piece was never recovered, and Osiris' role as fertilizer was limited strictly to the spiritual sense of the term. So is the case with the masculine energy which took precedence at the last stage. In the center of the compass rose is an iron cross, representing the imprisoning aspect of the unforgiving fate which all life in the material realm is confined to. The symbol of water and the west - the downward pointing empty triangle - is found ascendant here. It is associated with dusk, autumn, and the decline of life in old age. Our number three has fallen to the lowest position - it is still present, but only in an apparently contradictory way. This stage is the furthering of creation through destruction, and it is destruction which takes the center stage, with the creative aspect understandable only in a removed, analytic sense. In my view, it is this stage which is quickly approaching our human civilization. We have swung too far into consciousness, and now the subconscious is coming to reclaim us, whether we would choose it to be so or not.. 

So there it is - a representation of the cycles of the uroboros. These three stages can most easily be seen in the cycles of nature on our planet Earth, such as in the stages of our individual birth, growth, peak, and decline into death. These stages can be found in the seasons of the year, or the cycle from night to dawn to day to dusk which occurs every 24 hours. And they can also be found in the development of the individual human consciousness, as well as in the development of human civilization through all of our brief history. And yet, though these stages can be clearly defined and perceived in our realm of consciousness, they can never apply outside that very small and limited realm. So think about this system, but don't put your money on it, because one of these days the good old Mother, just to be funny, might just jump straight from spring to winter - there's no way to be sure. 
  
  
Krishna and Arjuna; 

An Explanation 

Having decided, with some help, that it was time to start trying to interpret some actual traditional mythology according to what I have learned from my studies up until this point, I set to work looking for an appropriate myth - nothing too complex, as this is my first attempt, but something with some real meat to it as well. What I decided, after much consternation, was to work with the Bhagavad-Gita. I was interested in working particularly with the idea that there are in fact two major stages to the hero's quest, as described in my last packet. The juxtaposition of Arjuna and Krishna in the Bhagavad-Gita seemed to lend itself nicely, Arjuna representing the adolescent hero stage, and Krishna the post adolescent hero stage. As I started working with the text, I found that I really didn't want to get involved with a dry, scholastic analyzation of the material. I have said it before, and I repeat it now - scholars are not the group of people that I hope to reach with my work. It is, instead, the common man of today that I feel needs access to the ideas inherent in comparative myth and religion. So I decided to reinterpret the text, as if Arjuna and Krishna were people living today, in a situation which any one of my peers might relate to. I came up with the following product. I have purposely used slang terms and incorrect english to try to express the mode and manner of speaking which is the living language of young Americans in 1996. 

The thing that might not be self-evident, which I feel I need to stress, is that I have not simply read the Bhagavad-Gita, and written something similar to it in my own manner of writing. The reason that I say this is that, on the surface, it could appear that I just sat down and wrote this, using the names "Arjuna" and "Krishna" just to be clever. Instead, I took the part of the text which I choose to focus on (stanzas 24[2].1 - 26[4].1), and literally interpreted them line for line in an initial set of notes. I then took these notes and wrapped the new metaphor around them. Thus the conversation in the following work follows the original text, issue by issue as they are brought up. Arjuna asks the same questions, and Krishna answers with the same answers, although it would probably require some serious time comparing the two texts to understand why I have interpreted their words the way that I have. I feel it is important for the reader to understand this. 

Without further ado - the work. 
  
  
Krishna and Arjuna; 

The Bhagavad-Gita Reinterpreted 

"The Police Chief and his party just arrived," said one of the waitresses with a sneer, as she collected her order and headed back out the door of the cramped kitchen. On the other side of the counter, sandwiched between the heavy wooden preparation table and the gaping maw of the 500 degree oven, Arjuna's face visibly reddened. Krishna noticed with a little smile, wiping the dish water off his hands and onto a nearby hanging dish towel. Just then the dishwasher cycle ended, and Krishna turned to unload the clean and steaming dishes from the teal plastic tray where they rested. Arjuna spoke: 

"Man, it really pisses me off, ya know... it pisses me off." Hot pans hissed as he dropped them into a large pot of soapy water, where they sat to cool before Krishna took them to the sink. The last pan went in with a splash, sending greasy brown water over the pot lip and onto the off-white linoleum floor. Krishna noticed out of the corner of his eye, raising his eyebrow.. Arjuna didn't seem to notice. 

"What pisses you off?" the dishwasher asked, speaking over the combined din of the kitchen and the nearby dining room. The smirk on his face betrayed that he knew full well the answer. 

"The Police Chief is such an asshole. He and his cronies march around like they own this town - and the sick part is, for the most part they do! You know about how I got arrested - for writing on a building with a piece of chalk! I mean, c'mon. There are prostitutes and crackheads living up the street from us, and the pigs are spending their time harassing kids like us. And you heard about all the whack shit that went on down in Philly, when he was police chief there. I mean, the guy had a fire bomb dropped on a bunch of squatting homeless people, blamed it on them, and walked away scot free! The police are just out of control man... they're out of control." Arjuna worked quickly as he spoke, deftly throwing servings of food into gray metal pans, and then throwing the pans in the oven. A quick gout of flame shot up from a sauté pan on the range, burning the liquid out of the vegetable and oil concoction resting in the pan. 

"Ya, I suppose they are..." Krishna paused for a moment, now on the opposite side of the kitchen, stacking clean plates on the shelf where they would await further use. He quickly weaved across the little room, through loitering waitstaff, and back into his alcove, grabbing dirty dishes from a gray bustray as he went. He turned to the sink and started to scrub once more. 

"Hey - I got a few minutes, you wanna take a butt break?" The stress was plainly evident in Arjuna's tone. 

"Sure, What the hell." Krishna dropped a few more dishes in the metal box of a dishwasher, added some soap, and shut the door. The dishwasher began to fill with water. 

********* 

Outside on the stoop at the side door of the restaurant, Arjuna and Krishna sat down. It was a balmy summer night, and the thick, heavy air carried the smell of the nearby port. 

"Can I bum one off ya?" asked Krishna. 

"Hell no!" came the reply, as Arjuna handed him a cigarette and a shiny black lighter. This kind of sarcasm was a familiar game for the two. Arjuna lit up his own cigarette with a sigh, and started to speak: 

"Here's the thing, man - That guy is in there, sitting around the table with a bunch of old white guys in their fancy suits, drinking fancy wine. He's made his living off of living off the system. We're taxpayers, man. We pay for him to sit in there and live high on the hog, while we sweat and toil and bust our asses and barely pay the rent. Guys like him are what mess everything up these days. They've got their little position of power, and their gonna juice it for everything it's worth. And meanwhile, the rest of us pay the price for their corruption. It's fucked up. He's just a man, like you or me, but he gets to live off of everybody else's work, and live comfortably at that. Why should I cook dinner for him? Why should you wash his dishes? He should be doing us a favor for once, right? I mean, really - why should I cook dinner for this guy when I know that it's just feeding everything that's fucked up in society? Doesn't that make me somehow responsible? Shouldn't I stand up and be like, "Hell no, I ain't feedin' you! We've all been feedin' you long enough!" I mean, if I was gonna take full responsibility for my actions, I wouldn't be feeding him tonight, would I?" 

Krishna took a long drag on his cigarette and thought for a moment before speaking. 

"I don't think we're responsible for that, Arjuna. You're angry over something that doesn't really need any anger. You and me are just here, man. We're just here doing what we're supposed to be doing. If you want to sit around and think about every person that you cook for, and decide whether or not you can take responsibility for preparing their food or not, you'll go nuts." 

"But is that some kind of excuse for just taking the easy way out? I mean, what we're talking about here is taking responsibility for your actions. I want to take responsibility, ya know? At some point somebody has to draw the line and be like, "The bullshit stops here." That's what I'm saying - the bullshit stops here. I'm not gonna cook for him tonight, and maybe he'll get the point when the waitress comes out and says, "Sorry, the cook refuses to cook for you." Then he'll have to stop and think about it for a minute, ya know? He'll have to think about what he does, and the way he lives his life." 

Krishna gave a light laugh and slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Look man, you gotta disengage yourself from it a bit. When you get all caught up in all that, when you put so much of your mind into that, you're just creating more shit than it's worth. The shit starts to pile up, and sooner or later, it bites you in the ass. You and me, we have roles to play, and that's really what it comes down to. You are the cook, and I am the dishwasher. He may be the corrupt politician, but that doesn't really matter. We all have our roles to play, and the best thing that we can do is just to play them. I mean, jesus - do you really think you can take full responsibility for all of your actions? Of course you can't. How many times have you done something that caused some kind of ill that you never intended? Sometimes we just can't help it. If you tried to take full responsibility for the results of all of your actions, you'd go mad, and there is a perfectly good reason for that. The reason is this - it's not our place to try to decide what is right and what is wrong. I know that sounds crazy, man, but I think it sounds just as crazy to try to say that we, as people, as human beings, have any idea where life is taking us, that we have any sense of what is really right or wrong. What do we know? We don't know a damn thing. All that we really know is that we can take action. That's like one of the only things we can do. Everything, all the time with us is some kind of action. You can't avoid that. There's no way to wake up in the morning without doing something, even if it's to scratch your ass. If you wanna be ridiculous, we could say that scratching your ass really does damage to the poor innocent dust mites that live there. So just act, man, and don't worry about it. Act like the cook and cook the food." 

Arjuna looked dubious. "OK, I'm not saying I agree with you or anything, but let's just say that you're right - we don't know what is right and what is wrong. If that's true, than how the hell are we supposed to take action? I mean, there's more to it than just being the cook or the dishwasher. Don't we have to decide whether we're gonna cook for the corrupt politician or not? I mean, don't we have to decide which actions were gonna take and which ones we won't take? And if we don't know what's right and wrong, than who the hell does, anyway?" 

"Well, you see, that's just it - we don't have to decide. We can, as humans, take action without attaching "right" or "wrong" to it. We can just wash the dishes, and see what happens. We don't have to decide whether we want to wash this dish or not - if the dish comes in front of us, and we are dishwashers, then we wash the dish. It's the same thing with cooking. When the order comes in, you look at the ticket, and you cook the food. You don't have to think about where the food is going to, or if you like this type of food or not. In fact, you don't really have to think at all when you're making the food. You can just sort of sit back and watch yourself make the food - not get too attached to what you think about it, and see what happens. I mean, when we're mad rushed in there, on a Saturday night or something, do you sit there and think about the repercussions of everything you do it that kitchen? Of course not, if for no other reason than the fact that there's just no time. There's a job to do, and it's got to be done, and you're the only one who can do it. You're there, and the job needs to be done. So you do it - you don't particularly think about it, you just do what has to be done, right? And you do it well, too. Right?" 

"Well, ya. I mean, I know what you're talking about with the rush thing, but what does that have to do with the rest of life? It's not cool to just not think about right and wrong ever, is it?" 

"What I'm talking about goes for any kind of action, not just in the kitchen. The reason that it is OK not to worry about whether or not what your doing is right is because there is something that does know that it is right. You can call it God, or you can call it Fate, or you can call it Nature, or Brahmin, or Buddha, or Ala, or Jehova, or whatever you want. You don't even have to get religious about it - the fact is, something is happening all around us that involves us completely, and it's called life. It's constantly unfolding, and we are constantly reacting to it. We can't help but react to it. Some people try to tell themselves that they can control it, that they know what is right for their life and what is wrong for their life, but they're wrong and they're gonna get fucked because of the fact. The big mistake that they're making is in thinking that it's their life, like they had some kind of choice in the fact that they're here, being what they are. The best thing that we can do is put all of our effort into the action that is required right here and now, and not worry about whether it's the right action or not. What it really comes down to is that we can't act in hopes of making ourselves more comfortable, because that clouds the issue just as much as right and wrong do. Really, the "right and wrong" thing is just a way to keep ourselves comfortable - it's the exact same thing. If we can just stop trying to foresee where things are going to, and thinking that we have some kind of ultimate control over the whole thing, then we enter into a whole different state of mind, and it's that state of mind that's really the most important thing. It's like, we get beyond all the petty parts of being human, and we start to see what it really means to be human. Reaching that point, that state of mind, is the most important thing that we can ever do." 

Arjuna took a short drag on his cigarette, and spoke, "Wait a minute - I don't really know what you mean. What state of mind of mind are you talking about? I mean, what's so important about it? And why is the "right and wrong" thing the same as trying to make ourselves comfortable?" 

"The state of mind is like this - you stop needing external stuff to make you happy, and you become content just being what you are, and letting happen what happens. When you stop having this huge personal agenda, it doesn't really matter anymore if you encounter something that might be good or might be bad, what might make you more comfortable or what might make you uncomfortable. When you're just fine with yourself as you are, what you used to think of as good things no longer really apply, because you just don't care about that kind of petty shit anymore. To answer your other question, the whole "right or wrong" thing is really just an extension of the search for pleasure, because it helps us to feel more secure in our little mindsets. It makes us feel like we do know what's going on, when really we've never had a clear enough state of mind to really know what's going on. We use it as an excuse to push away things that might threaten our little world, saying, "No that's wrong," and we use it to try and pull things towards us that support our view of things, calling those things "right." It's not easy to get into the state of mind that's beyond all that, either, because your mind is so used to looking for the easy way out. You take an interest in everything because of what you can get out of it, and that starts this little chain reaction of emotions. The chain reaction, in one way or another, always ends up with the same result, though, and that's suffering, in one form or another. People look at life as what they personally can get out of it, but in the end, they can't really get anything out of it, and that makes them frustrated to no end. The frustration, the suffering, is really the thing that keeps us from just seeing what's going on here, because it turns into a vicious cycle. Once you start to feel suffering, you start to scramble to make what you see as pain stop, and that just causes the whole thing to continue. While we're caught up in all that, we never have a single moment of clarity, and we can't take effective action because of our lack of clarity. But there is a way to get beyond it, to escape from the cycle, and get back to real life. We just have to learn to recognize the messages in our heads that are based on securing pleasures and avoiding pain, and when they pop into our heads, we notice them, and then we let them go away. That's an important thing, too - we can't fight against them, and try to force them out of our heads, because that'll just make things worse. That's just trying to avoid pain in a more subtle way, which just aggravates the situation. We have to just kind of let them flow in, notice them, and then let them flow out again. That's probably one of the hardest parts about it, but man, it's worth it when you manage to do it. The sort of insight that comes out of not living in the cycle of hopes and fears is, to me, the whole point of living, because you can actually start to take part in what's happening in the real world, and not just what's happening in your head." 

Arjuna sat quietly for a minute, thinking. "OK, I think I see what you mean about not being all caught up in our heads. But I still don't get this idea of there being a better way to think about everything, because isn't that still just being caught up in our heads? And if it's that state of mind that is so important, than where does the importance of action fall? Earlier you said it's the action that counts, but now it sounds like it's this special state of mind that counts. Which one is it?" 

Krishna took another drag, and thought for a moment, and exhaled. "Well, it's kind of complex, I guess. There's no real way to act without having some internal process going on, ya know? At the same time, there's no way to just think about stuff and never take any action. I mean, we kind of exist in two places - on the inside, where our thoughts happen, and on the outside, where our actions happen. Taking action is really important - I mean, there's no real way to avoid it, is there? You can't escape from action, because it's gonna happen whether you want it to or not. But when you have all these fucked up internal processes going on, you can't see what the right action is, because you can't see what the real situation is. So our problem isn't so much with how important action is as compared to how important thinking is. Our problem's that because one half is all screwy, the internal half, the other half can't help but be screwy as well. The two halves are totally dependent on each other, so until we get the inside straightened out, there's not much hope for the outside. So for us, it's the inside problem that is more important right now, because we all have these weird processes already going on by the time we have enough brains to think about them. In fact, I think it probably requires that we get all caught up in ourselves, and what we want out of life, so that we can become intelligent enough to later get past all that. It's all good, ya know. It's all happening just like it's supposed to, and that's the thing to remember. Just taking that attitude, that what is happening is supposed to be, even when it seems really shitty, can help a lot, because it shows us how to just trust in the fact that everything is gonna be all right, no matter what. And I don't mean an apathetic, "Oh whatever, everything's fine." I mean really seeing that everything is fine, so let's not worry about it too much, or hope for too much more, and just see what's going on here, and then take the action that the situation calls for. It's a subtle thing, ya know. At the beginning it's hard, because you have to constantly wonder whether it's the situation calling for the action, or it's you trying to get something out of the situation that is calling for the action, but in the end, it's better not to worry about it too much, and just try to be as aware of everything as you can be. Do you see what I mean? I mean, there's a lot to everything that we've talked about, but do you get the idea?" 

"I think I do. I mean, I'm not too sure about a lot of it, but I think I see where you're coming from, at least. I think that...." 

Just then, a waitress stuck her head out of the door of the restaurant, interrupting Arjuna in mid-sentence. "Hey guys, order in." 

Arjuna and Krishna looked at each other, both with smiles on their faces. "That'll be the Police Chief's order," said the dishwasher. 

"Ya, I suppose it will," came the cook's reply. They both took one last drag of their cigarettes, threw them in a nearby coffee can left just for that purpose, and turned to enter the kitchen once more.