conspiracy theories: what fun. ( i fancied a breath of fresh air after this bout of attempted sectarian stirring-up) Secret societies, the Illuminati, the Freemasons, kabbalah, yum yum.
of course, Umberto Eco: Foucault”s Pendulum is a must on any conspiracy theory fan”s reading list.
the quest for secret knowledge - is a fascinating topic and a study of the quest for secret knowledge is even more intriguiging.
the history of halloween is interesting. not least as its ancient roots - derived from ancient celtic traditions - are lost in the mist somewhere.
the pre-christian europeans had four major pagan festivals: candlemas, beltane, lammas and samhain. Samhain which was celebrated on the 31st of october ( or around at that time!) was a fire festival, and represented the end of the year- the final harvest - and the onset of winter. the belief was that during this night, the portal which separates the living from the dead opened and released all sorts of spirits for that one night.
samhain means literally ’summer’s end.’
“The master of the monstrous… the discoverer of the unconscious” –- Carl Jung, on Hieronymus Bosch
A Flemish painter ( circa 1450 - 1516) from the small Dutch town of Hertogenbosch, we know very little about this enigmatic character. The Surrealists were rather fond of him, and you can see why in the symbolism and iconography of the garden of earthly delights - painted about 1504. The original painting ( well alright its a triptych: [works of three paintings on wooden panels that are attached to each other] ) hangs in the Museo del Prado, Madrid. Other important works include the temptation of st. anthony.
Hell - right panel of the Garden of Earthly Delights
im going to see the british museum exhibition “Forgotten Empire: the world of Ancient Persia” - should be fascinating. its all about the Achaemenid Great Kings from 550–330 BC, and they’ve got loans from the National Museum of Iran, the Persepolis Museum and the Louvre. unfortunately i managed to miss what i’m sure must have been a wonderful documentary depicting a CGI recreation of the palace at Persepolis - last friday evening. ( see now that’s what a great friday is all about..)
ah well. however there are a lot of other yummy things on offer - including the Iran Lecture Series : one that interests me in particular is ‘the art of Achaemenid Persia’ on the 6th october, also the ‘ Sasanian Heritage‘ on the 1st Dec.
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