9 minute read.
1600 words
- Maynard James Keenan
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| Oluf Olufsen Bagge - Yggdrasil, The Mundane Tree 1847 |
Here’s a
cool story about Odin.
The name and character Odin is tightly woven into the fabric of ancient Germanic culture. But the religion of Odin was practiced exclusively by the military and royal arms of the society. Odin is both a martial and magical god. When looking at the history of religious ideas one can see that these functions are typically handled by different gods. So why marry these two aspects? Let’s look at the myth of Odin for clues.
The name and character Odin is tightly woven into the fabric of ancient Germanic culture. But the religion of Odin was practiced exclusively by the military and royal arms of the society. Odin is both a martial and magical god. When looking at the history of religious ideas one can see that these functions are typically handled by different gods. So why marry these two aspects? Let’s look at the myth of Odin for clues.
The
central feature of the Odin myth is his hanging from the tree of life for nine
days. While enduring this predicament he is wounded by a spear and he
sacrifices an eye. Following this ordeal Odin receives religious revelations in
the form of runes, wisdom and poetry. These three gifts are related in that
they are all forms of occult knowledge. And the manner in which Odin receives
the gifts conforms to a widely disseminated archaic motif. The motif is as
follows.
1. Initiatory
ordeal. This is universally the first step of a vocational calling to
shamanism among archaic cultures. This ordeal can happen spontaneously as in
the form of illness or injury or it can be induced via the inflicting of pain,
or by exhaustion through dance, or by social isolation and so forth.
2. Otherworldly
contact, separation from body and a death/rebirth experience. This is
also a universal feature of shamanic initiation. In tandem with this form of
contact the shaman will ecstatically experience the ripping apart of his body.
Or he may offer a part of his flesh or blood to the spirits (it may be a
physical offering or via ecstatic state as is more common). The body, its
organs and fluids are then reassembled and the initiate is returned to the
mundane dimension. This is the death and rebirth motif.
3. Acquisition
of magical power. In archaic tradition it is only after the rebirth that the
initiate acquires magical powers. These abilities are then wielded via the
ecstatic state. The nature of these magical powers will be discussed in another
part of the book. For now we will superficially point out that the shaman was a
healer who used music, dance, hidden language and other tools to perform his
sacred function to the tribe.
Note how
Odin’s myth conforms to the above pattern. He is submitted to an ordeal
by hanging. He is separated from his body and his blood in that he loses
an eye and is stabbed with a spear. The spearing serves as a blunt symbol of death
from which Odin is reborn to the status quo. A return that exacts a
costin the form of the loss of an eye. In exchange for the eye Odin acquires
the magical power of occult knowledge. The symbolism is apparent. Odin
loses an eye but acquires the ability to see past the profane dimension. As
such, Odin like his archetypal counterpart, the shaman bridges the gap between
the sacred and the profane.
The
ancient germans like so many traditional cultures deeply valued their shamans
or shaman equivalents. They were the healers who practiced sacred medicine by
way of their ecstatic skill. This skill was attributed to the transmundane
condition of the shaman. A condition earned via the death/rebirth initiation.
In a brutal world where life is a death’s doorstep experience a healer is of
deep importance. By putting their war god through the shamanic initiatory
process the mythicists here were communicating an important symbolic message.
They were elevating their symbol of war to the status of shaman. Importantly not
the other way around. This is an idea not easily understood. Take a moment
to imagine - if you have the stomach for it - just how intense war death would
have been in the time of the ancient germans. It was no “bang! you’re dead”
affair. Before firearms the most likely strike to a soldier’s body would have
been to the head or the arms. Both of which were well protected. So a fatal
blow was most likely to the neck or the vital organs. This blow would have been
a sword, axe or cudgel and meant dying in a muddy field. As if that’s not
terrible enough remember that you are being trampled by men and animal alike as
you desperately try to gather your viscera back into your stomach which is now
open to the air and the the shit and the vomit. Now take another moment to
imagine bracing yourself to enter the melee full well knowing you must inflict
this sort of violence if you stand a chance of surviving. No wonder the ancient
germans innovate the ecstatic technique of “borrowing” the fury of animals to
enter a berserker rage. Now realize that in order to give the gory war death
experience its desired level of ecstatic importance the ancient germans equated
it to the “higher” ecstatic intensity of poetry. They did this by
amalgamating their war god with the domain of poetry. This should indicate just
how deeply the ecstasy of the poet was valued by the ancient germans. This is
not an easy idea to digest and it still be unclear how a war death could even
be considered an ecstatic experience to begin with. Let’s tweak the linguistic
dials so we’re on the same frequency.
The word ecstasy may conjure images of blissful entrancement. After all we named a drug ecstasy, the effect of which generates pleasurable sensations. How could a gory death be considered an ecstatic experience then? Well, I’ve never been sliced open by an axe but I can imagine how such an experience would alter the experience of time. Do you imagine time would move at a different speed in the throes of dying from a sword wound? Would it generate an altered state what with all the adrenaline and endorphins coursing through the system? I think it would. Not to mention the jarring, surreal intensity of the violence must cause a strange state of consciousness on its own. This is an indication of what an ecstatic state is. Webster’s dictionary defines ecstasy as “A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.” A thing need not be pleasant to be ecstatic. It needs simply be of such intensity as to carry one where things exist that rational thought can not understand. Knowing that the ancient germans underlined the intensity of war by equating it to the ecstasy of poetry indicates just how deeply important the ecstatic state associated with poetry was to them. The depth and elegance of this revelation is bewildering.
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Here’s a cool story about Orpheus.
The word ecstasy may conjure images of blissful entrancement. After all we named a drug ecstasy, the effect of which generates pleasurable sensations. How could a gory death be considered an ecstatic experience then? Well, I’ve never been sliced open by an axe but I can imagine how such an experience would alter the experience of time. Do you imagine time would move at a different speed in the throes of dying from a sword wound? Would it generate an altered state what with all the adrenaline and endorphins coursing through the system? I think it would. Not to mention the jarring, surreal intensity of the violence must cause a strange state of consciousness on its own. This is an indication of what an ecstatic state is. Webster’s dictionary defines ecstasy as “A state of emotion so intense that one is carried beyond rational thought and self-control.” A thing need not be pleasant to be ecstatic. It needs simply be of such intensity as to carry one where things exist that rational thought can not understand. Knowing that the ancient germans underlined the intensity of war by equating it to the ecstasy of poetry indicates just how deeply important the ecstatic state associated with poetry was to them. The depth and elegance of this revelation is bewildering.
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Here’s a cool story about Orpheus.
The
relationship between the arts and magical powers is also made explicitly clear
in the greek myth of Orpheus. It too bears the archaic mark. Orpheus’ descent
to the underworld was very popular in its time. Like a best seller or
something. There are two main components to the myth that interests us. After
his descent to the underworld Orpheus is torn apart and his head is sent afloat
on the river, singing as it is pulled by the current (what a sight!). The head
is later recovered by some pious Orphics and used as an oracle. The gory
initiation grants Orpheus magical powers that are equated with artistic skill.
Once again we see the archaic motif: a descent to the underworld where violent
ordeals with initiatory intent are inflicted upon a god who gains magical
powers and whose domain becomes music and poetry.
In both
of the myths of Odin and of Orpheus, war death, violence and pain are placed at
an adjacent level on the hierarchy of ecstasy as the artistic impulse. To
emphasize further we can say that in the thinking modality of our ancestors,
music and poetry are foundational pillars Being, along with Pain and Suffering.
Think about your ability to ignore your pain. I don’t mean a paper cut. I mean
the upper case “P” pain described in the above myths. It is impossible to
ignore it. Imagine you break a leg and someone tells you that the pain isn’t
real. It’s all in your head. You would disagree with this claim I’m sure.
That’s the amount of “real” pain contains. In this text I’m making a case that
Music has at least the same amount of “real” as upper case “P” Pain.
Even the most self-identifiedly secular among us senses the importance of music on a subconscious level. We behave towards music in a religious manner. Consider this scene: Tens of thousands of people expending resources to mobilize across great distances. They arrive at a designated location dressed in costumes signaling their group association. The space is full of dancers writhing in time to enthralling rhythms. All are assembled towards or around a central point of focus. Some are there as a pilgrimage. An esoteric elite partake in sacraments that induce altered states. They experience personal epiphanies and return to their homes transformed. This is a close match to the various mystery cults throughout the ages. Deny it as we may, we still harbour a secret belief in Music as a bridge to the sacred dimension.
To
understand the Meaning of Music we have to look at the world through a layered
lens. We will soon draw parallels between the shaman’s function and the
musician’s. We will explore the similarities between mystery cults and modern
musical movements. And we will get at the core Meaning of Music. First we must
tackle some hurdles to the understanding of these ideas. We will do this in the
next section.
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