Great Expectations...

Sometimes waiting is the hardest part in life, and so we showed you many of the aspects that are involved in the music, art and even poetry of Marilyn Manson.

What´s for the near future? Well, for sure it ain´t written in stone, however there is one particular card in the Tarot that reminds of the concept of waiting for better things to come and that is Number 12, The Hanged Man.

The Hanged Man, in an upside down position is tied to a tree shaped like a "T", the man in question crosses his legs in the form of the number 4 or Tau Cross and has a halo around his head.

The first that one could possibly get is that it suggests a burden, a sacrifice or a death sentence. However one must understand that the tree has sprouts or leaves and the face of the individual is calm and serene and awaits for life, not death.

Some keywords while reading this card are:

• Sacrifice ----- Letting go ----- Surrendering ----- Passivity

• Suspension ----- Acceptance ----- Renunciation ----- Patience

• New point of view ----- Contemplation ----- Inner harmony

• Conformism ----- Nonaction ----- Waiting ----- Giving up

The Hanged Man in The Egyptian Deck

The Hanged Man in the Marseilles Deck

The Hanged Man in the Rider-Waite Deck

Other Names for The Hanged Man: 

Hanging Man, Lo impichato (hanging man), L'impiccato, Traditore (traitor), Pendu (hanged man), Le Pendu, Le Pendut, Lependu, La prudence (prudence), l'Appeso

In Literature:

An excerpt from a poem by T.S. Eliot, "The Wasteland":

Madame Sosostris, famous clairvoyante,
Had a bad cold, nevertheless
Is known to be the wisest woman in Europe,
With a wicked pack of cards. Here, said she,
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,
The lady of situations.
Here is the man with three staves, and here the Wheel,
And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find
The Hanged Man. Fear death by water.
I see crowds of people, walking round in a ring.
Thank you. If you see dear Mrs. Equitone,
Tell her I bring the horoscope myself:
One must be so careful these days.

The Hanged Man,  reinvented by
MM, it bears more resemblance with
Christ in the Cross, this one hangs in
space.

Another "hanged man",
Christ of Saint John of the Cross by
Salvador Dali.

Daily Reflections: The World

This is the last of the Major Arcana deck; number 21, the World. It is visually beautiful; a naked woman or hermaphrodite dances above the Earth holding a staff in both hands, sourrounded in a green wreath observed by four different creatures. In ancient decks there was a human face instead of the woman. The four animals represent the symbols of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It also resembles a vision of Ezequiel from the Old Testament. According to astrological interpretation the beasts are the signs of the Zodiac: Aquarius, Taurus, Leo and Scorpio.

Even in some decks the wreath is a legendary basilisk that bites its own tail known as Ourobouros.

Alchemical woodcut of the Seal of Solomon with Ouroboros

WHAT IT MEANS

Generally it represents completion. In ancient Kabbalah, it can be associated to the sephirot or sphere of light named Malkuth (kingdom) which is at the end of the Tree of Life and is considered the link between the material and the spriritual realm. An explanation of Malkuth:

Malkuth represents the physical world of matter, the final stage in the descent into matter, the lowest point on the great arc of evolution. If Kether has within it the idea of all created life, unfolded like the oak in the acorn, then Malkuth represents life's most complete expression. If Kether is the alpha of the universe, then Malkuth is its omega.

A passage from the Bible illustrates the idea of this last:

Gen 1:29-30 - "And Elohim said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat.' And it was so."

It's also been related with one of the last chakras, number 7 meaning knowledge. This is revealed as the ultimate state of consciousness, the end of a journey; identification with the Universe and Nirvana.

In Tarot readings the World can have the following meanings:

- Fulfillment, accomplishment, success, integration, involvement, prospering, satisfaction, good feelings, wholeness.

Compare the meaning of the World with an example from the Alchemic treatise named "Paradoxa Emblemata", "It Is Finished When Seven Are One," which represents the planets.

 "'The curse of God has entered the seven figures, so they are in conflict with one another.' Just as the human will was transformed 'into eternal sun, calm in God,' 'so in the Philosophical Work must all figures be transformed into one, into Sol. From seven must come one, and yet it remains in seven but in one desire, as every figure desires the others in love, so there is no longer any conflict.' (Jacob Böhme, De signatura rerum). D.A. Freher, Paradoxa Emblemata, manuscript 18th century."

IN MARILYN MANSON´S ART:

As always Manson does have many different levels of interpretation, but here´s one based on what we learned from the Tarot.

In Marilyn Manson's 'universe' back in 1998 when Mechanical Animals came out it included numerous alchemical references. Several messages were hidden and spread among the booklet and could only be seen placing the blue jewel box against the yellow lettering, revealing as green.

"I no longer knew if Coma White was real or just a side effect,"(sic) "Now children it's time for recess, please roll up your sleeves," "A sun with no planets, burning in circles", "Even machines can see that we are dead", and "In the end I became them and I led them/ After all none of us really qualified as humans/ We were hardworn, automatic and as hollow as the 'o' in God/ I reattatched my emotions cellular and narcotic/ From the top of Holywood it looked like space/ Millions of capsules and Mechanical Animals/ A city filled with dead stars and a girl I called Comawhite/ This is my Omēga."

Omēga is a loose reference to the last letter of the Greek alphabet, as well as to the phrase from the book of Revelation, "I am the Alpha and the Omega". (the beginning and the end). Thus, Omēga is the end.

Also, a hidden track was found when Mechanical Animals was played as an Enhanced CD.

IN THE END I BECAME AND I LED THEM / AFTER ALL NONE OF US REALLY QUALIFIED AS HUMANS / WE WERE HARDWORN AUTOMATIC AND AS HOLLOW AS THE "O" IN GOD / I REATTACHED MY EMOTIONS CELLULAR AND NARCOTIC / FROM THE TOP OF HOLLYWOOD IT LOOKED LIKE SPACE / MILLIONS OF CAPSULES AND MECHANICAL ANIMALS / A CITY FILLED WITH DEAD STARS AND A GIRL I CALLED COMAWHITE / THIS IS MY OMĒGA.

Manson as the androgynous Omēga

We were hardworn, automatic and as hollow as the 'o' in God

The letter "O" could also symbolize the round space in the wreath as well the round space where the Mercury Symbol rests. The hollowness then could mean that there are no elements to continue the act of creation, like a void.

According to our own interpretation the "world" could be referred to "consciousness" or "completion" so then it could also be tied with the idea of unconsciousness or being comatose, thus Coma White.

Coma White was once described by Manson as a feminine figure that was to be the symbol of perfection. Ironically it is labeled as an "artificial perfection" made by man and not by the actual God. So in the end, Coma White represents some of the opposite values of the World, which are:

REVERSED TAROT CARD MEANING:

- Unchanging, inability to conclude a task, loss of purpose, imperfection, delay, waiting, lack of vision

In other words, Coma White is a destructive vice. And, ironically Omēga epitomizes this spiritual Apocalypse to bring change and transition into a new levels a destructive vice. And, ironically Omēga epithomizes this spiritual Apocalypse to bring change and transition into a new level; a new world, and higher level of self.

The stages of coma, compare to idea of "consciousness".

I chose a particular Marilyn Manson song that helps to illustrate the reference to the Tarot Card ; the opening track from Mechanical Amimals "Great Big White World". Omēga, a mysterious androgynous alien-like figure falls on Earth.


GREAT BIG WHITE WORLD
(written by White, Jeordie;Bier, Stephen;Linton, Timothy;Warner, Brian)

In space the stars are no nearer


They just glitter like a morgue


And I dreamed I was a spaceman


Burned like a moth in a flame


And our world was so fucking gone


But I'm not attached to your world


Nothing heals and nothing grows


Because it's a great big white world and we are drained of our colors


We used to love ourselves, we used to love another


All my stiches itch


My prescription's low, I wish you were queen just for today


In a world so white what else could I say?


And hell was so cold


All the vases are so broken


And the roses tear our hands all open


Mother marry miscarry


And we pray just like insects


The world is so ugly now


Because it's a great big white world and we are drained of our colors
(chorus repeat)

Daily Reflections: The Moon

"Here comes the Moon again..."

("If I Was Your Vampire", MM)

Everyone knows the Moon has a special effect on people, specially when it's full. It's mystery and magic have inspired thousands of stories and songs but on this ocassion we find that it has a special meaning in the imagery of Manson's music

IN THE TAROT:

The Moon (XVIII) is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

Two large, foreboding pillars are shown. Some see them as tombstones, others relate them to Karma.


A wolf and a domesticated dog howl at the moon.

A crayfish appears in the water.

The Moon is "shedding the moisture of fertilizing dew in great drops". These are numbered 15 in the Rider-Waite deck and are all Yodh-shaped. On this basis, some associate this card with impregnation.
 
Specific to the Rider- Wait deck:
 
Very clearly, the figure in the moon is frowning, reflecting displeasure.

The waxing moon has 16 chief rays and 16 secondary rays.

The beasts are a dog and a wolf, which represent "the fears of the natural mind".

The crayfish crawls from the water onto the land.

There is a pathway into the distant, dark unknown.
 
INTERPRETATION:
 
Some ideas that we can find upon this card are:

Lack of clarity ----- Tension ----- Doubt ----- Fantasy


Deception ----- Psychological conflict ----- Obscured vision

Confusion ----- Illusion ----- Fear ----- Imagination ----- Worry

Romanticism ----- Anxiety ----- Apprehension ----- Unrealistic ideas

 
OTHER MEANINGS
 
The Moon has several phases or cycles, such as New Moon, crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Crescent and again New Moon. This rotation can also represents a renewal process in the human being or transformation. The idea is illustrated or explored on the CD sleeve of "Antichrist Superstar":
 
 

 
Also the Moon is used in the lyrics of "Cryptorchid" and the album title track "Antichrist Superstar":  

"prick you finger, it is done, the Moon has now eclipsed the Sun, angel has spread its wings, the time has come for bitter things."

and it is repeated numerous times in both songs as some kind of invocation, not that has to anything with the Devil but yes a new beginning, a cycle which is like a pattern for the famous Triptych (Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals and Holywood). Each of the identities he has experiments a rise and a fall, death and rebirth. The same concept has been used frequently in Alejandro Jodorowsky's work, specially in El Topo.
 
HERE COMES THE MOON AGAIN...
 
In "If I Was Your Vampire", the first track of "Eat Me, Drink Me" it begins with a suspicious hour of Christmas morning: 6:19
 
"6:19 and I know I'm ready..."
 
If we analyze this through Numerology, it would be: 6 + 1 + 9 = 16 and this sum reduced to one digit would be 7.
 
Remember these lyrics?
 

"when a boy is still a worm it's hard to learn the number 7."

 (Cryptorchid, 1996)
 
Seven has been a  favorite cabalistic number for centuries, why? The actual comes from the Hebrew, seven ([b'v, - Sheh'-bah) is from a root word meaning to be complete or full, as in Full Moon
 
The song continues:

"here comes the Moon again,"

which could be an analogy for a new beginning.
 
Is it really time for a new beginning in MM's career  6:19? or June 19th? It's only a suggestion...

Daily Reflections: Strength

"Stay strong, it's only a snake bite..." (MM, 2010)

Sometimes the figure is marked by XI or VIII according to the deck. Historically it was called Fortress, and the Thoth Tarot was called Lust.

Over the years it has been given several interpretations:

- Self Control

- Robust

- Patience

- Compassion

- Composture

- Stability

- Perseverance

- Moderation

- Courtesy

- Calm

- Sweetness

- Serenity

- Comprehension

- Discipline

- Inner strength


A Little History:

The Strength was also known originally as Fortitude and accompanies the cardinal virtues in the Major Arcana which are: Temperance and Justice. The meaning of the Fortitude was different from the interpretation of the card. It was something like moderation in attitudes as pain and danger, even if they were inevitable.




The oldest decks had other symbols as a woman holding a pillar while others showed a man or a woman taming a lion.




Other curious facts:

Heracles, the son of Zeus is an archetype of the Strength, and is remembered by the twelve tasks that are also linked to the Zodiac.

The goddess Cybele was associated with cats, either them around her throne or in a chariot drawn by cats.

Also this card is associated with Wands. The Fire, a creative force is balanced somewhat by the fact of being dominated by a female force.

In numerology the Strength is the sum of the letter of the Star (17) where: 1 +7 = 8, which would be the Strength.

The lion represents the sun, making the Strength a solar hero as he is associated with Heracles.

As is the eighth letter is associated with Arachne, who challenges Athena to a weaving contest and wins. The goddess Athena transforms her into a spider as punishment.

"I'll build you a church or shiny dollhouse
For You to shrink
Into a tiny spider wight
horrid memories and gorge on
conceited with wings. "(Wight Spider, the High End of Low).

When the Force is featured in a spread is facing a challenge that requires a tremendous response instead of using brutal force.

The card, carried out on Marilyn Manson's lyrics:

"There are the weak ones to justify the strong." (The Beautiful People)

"Together as One Against all others ..." (Running To The Edge Of The World)

"Because today is black, Because There Is No Turning Back. Because I Watered Have your lies, I Have Become the Strongest weed." (Kinderfeld)

And the opposite side of the Force:

"I'm on my way down now, I'd like to take
you with me
I'm on my way down
I'm on my way down now, I'd like to take
you with me
I'm on my way down
That the minute it's born
It Begins to Die
I'd love to just give in,
I'd love to live this lie. " (The Minute of Decay)

Daily Reflections: Death

013150051310, in Numerology from here you can extract two numbers: 13 and 15 and in the next sequence they would be backwards: 51 and 31. The constant play of the Devil and Tarot cards.


The mere fact of hearing this word causes fear, because the meaning that emerges in the minds of many is the loss or the end.

In Tarot, Death, is marked by the 13 (another number charged with superstition). But we see other versions:

"This is the Tarot card number 13 (XIII). In the Western world, this number is considered bad luck, so, for superstition in many decks you omit the name or number.
A human skeleton is displayed on the field and their feet, human remains can be seen from different genders and social positions, no one can escape his blade, or the rich (king) or the poor, in allusion to the literary topic sumus et pulvis reverterimur pulvis (Dust we are and we become dust) used during the Middle Ages remembering the equalizing power of death.
In the Tarot de Marseille, the skeleton has a scythe in his hands as plowing the land where the bodies are.
In the Tarot de Rider, Death is dressed in black armor on his horse, which progresses slowly and carries a black flag with a white flower with five leaves. In the background you can see a boat on a river (the symbol of the Styx, the border between the world of the living and the dead in Greek mythology) and the far right is seen a sunrise between the two columns. In this tarot death if they have a name. "

(Source: Wikipedia)

Some words used in the interpretation are:

"End of a cycle, lost, conclusion, sadly."

"Transition to new state, psychological transformation"

"Finish, regeneration, removal of old habits."

"Trapped end, goodbye, profound changes."

The Death Card, according to the Rider Waite Tarot.

The Death Card, according to the Marseilles Tarot

The Death Card, reinvented according to the album artwork of "Holywood: In The Shadow of the Valley of Death"

It is truly rare that the Death Card bears the literal meaning when it's consulted, meaning that he or she will never see it's own death reflected, unless it's for extraordinary circumstances.

So far Manson has given us clues for the appeal of his new album, words like "suicide death metal" and the number of tracks, 13. This has some resonance with the past albums but with 15 tracks, also resembling the Devil Card. What other mysteries does it hold?

In the meantime I leave you with this beautiful song from The High End of Low, "Running To The Edge of the World", which vaguely reminds us about some of the elements in the Death card.

Remember when i took you
up to the top of the hill?
we had our knives drawn.
they were as sharp
as we were in love.
if god crossed us
we'd take all his drugs,
burn his money
and his house down,
and wait for the fire to spread.

but sometimes hate is not enough
to turn this all to ashes.
together as one
against all others
break all of our wings to
make sure it crashes
now we're running to the edge of the world
running running away
we're running to the edge of the world
but i don't know if the world will end today

I had no choice,
I erased the debt of our family.
I let you say goodbye
with lips like dynamite.
And everyone
turned their backs
because they knew
when we held on tight
to each other,
that we were something
fatal
that fell into the wrong hands.

but sometime hate is not enough
to turn this all to ashes
together as one
against all others
break all of their wings and
make sure it crashes

we're running to the edge of the world
running running away
we're running to the edge of the world
but i don't know if the world will end today

i don't seek death
i seek destruction
until death we see destruction

we don't seek death
we seek destruction
until death we seek destruction

we're running to the edge of the world
running running away
we're running to the edge of the world
but i don't know if the world will end today
we're running to the edge of the world
running running away
we're running to the edge of the world
but I don't know if the world will end today

I can see a new beginning
rise behind the sun
but we can never catch up to it
as fast as we run

I can see a new beginning
rise behind the sun
but we can never catch up to it
as fast as we run
I can see a new beginning
rise behind the sun
but we can never catch up to it
as fast as we run

I can see a new beginning
rise behind the sun
but we can never catch up to it
as fast as we run

Daily Reflections: You and Me and the Devil Makes Three...

I decided to start this section to compare Marilyn Manson´s songs and words to some images displayed in the Tarot Cards. Here´s the first one I found; the Devil, number 15.

Now, lots of people get scared when they see the image of the Devil, but in fact in the cards it refers to different aspects of the human being. Notice it has a "sister" card which is "The Lovers" number 6.

The Devil card has as its ruling sign Capricorn, which also happens to be Manson´s actual astrological sign. Some meanings it has is that is a card of ambitions, temptations,addictions and all other things derived from the image. Compare these meanings with the lyrics of "You and Me and the Devil Makes Three". It would help you better if you played the song out loud.




"You And Me And The Devil Makes 3"

I'm just like rolling a stone up
A hill in Hades
If you want to lie with me
You're going to be a liar

Hell-flavored, I've got mood poisoning
You must be something that I hate
I'm just a prison of property
Buckets full of better misery
There's not a word for what I want to do to you
There's not a word for what I want to do to you

You and me and the devil makes 3
You and me
You and me and the devil makes 3
You and me
You and me and the devil makes 3
You and me

Murdercute happyrape
Murdercute happy, happy, happyrape
Killer
Murdercute happyrape
Murdercute happy, happy, happyrape
Killer
You and me and the devil makes 3
You and me
You and me and the devil makes 3
You and me
You and me and the devil makes 3
You and me
1-2-3
1-2-3
If you get in bed someone will fall in love
You and me and the devil makes 3
There's not a word for what I want to do to you
There's not a word for what I want to do to you
There's not a word for what I want to do to you
There's not a word for what I want to do to you