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Pan: Pan is Capricorn, which in astrology is the detriment of the Moon, and is depicted in Key 15 of the Tarot, The Devil. When the moon is in Capricorn, it symbolizes a time for taking responsibility, and as such implies will. Thus Pan is a chaos in the orderly lunar cycle, and a free spirit in the carefully controlled world of the lunar shrine. The Archetypical interpretation of a free radical. What is more, he is the undisciplined desire of the Satyr that has matured to the point of single minded fixation, in that his whole purpose is to find union with the goddess who is herein enshrined, and whom all present worship and adore, albeit from afar. While his will is unflagging, it's expression is as varied as the moon itself, being ironic and humorous one moment, and fully psychotic the next. He is lust as it is expressed through all things until it is at last expressed in it's most sublime sense, in the transcendence of even itself, when Pan comes to rest.
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Aleister
Crowley's The Rite of Luna, a rock opera The Characters |
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| Pan | Cancer | Taurus | Nymph | Satyr | Luna |
Taurus:
Taurus is the Earthy sign in which the moon is exalted, and
in the Tarot is depicted as The Heirophant. Thus Taurus fills the duel role
of worshiper (exalted) and physical enactor of those impulses from the sleeping
Goddess (earth). The Heirophant is a creator of laws from intuition (earthly
manifestation of lunar influence), or one who sees the heavenly fluctuation
and denotes the related earthly pattern. I see him also as an exalted elemental,
whose bow is the tool of his authority (as well as a symbol of the horns of
Taurus) which becomes the tool of his earthly dominion. When faced with difficulty,
he is likely to respond with brutality (bull), or to await direction from
above (as would be seen in a domestic creature, and a worshiper)
Cancer and Taurus can also be seen as an interpretation of two western occult
paths: the Wiccan (feminine) and Ceremonial (masculine), but taken to an unbalanced
and extreme expression through hubris. Both these characters share a flaw
of ambition for the sake of pride, seeking not a greater spiritual experience,
but a greater spiritual authority.
Luna (Artemis): The Moon rules Cancer, is exalted in Taurus, and its detriment is Capricorn, as mentioned, and in the Tarot is associated with The High Priestess. The Moon thus symbolizes purity, not just chastity, because she represents the primal mater from which all things are formed and is thus united to all things, without carrying the taint of any one thing. As the moon she is both dark and light, good and evil, lust and satiation, but all of these are expressed in a pure, incorruptible way. Both the center around which the others revolve, and the goal toward which they climb, Luna is silent and unmoving until the chaotic force of the universe it laid before her, when she becomes the actor and assumes control.
Nymph: Nymphs have been known to symbolize both the objects of desire, and chastity. In my mind, much like the Satyr, she is an evolved elemental, and like him craves experience, but is equally frightened by the prospect of what that experience might mean. She is therefore more strictly directed by Cancer and Taurus, because they represent the dominion of Artemis, and less easily seduced away from what she interprets as her duty. While appearing meek at the outset of the Rite, she develops through the course of the drama into a formidable force for maintaining the order that has been the worship at the shrine, even when it begins to crumble, because while this order held her in a position of service, it was less terrifying than the unknown.
Satyr: Satyrs are symbolically associated with desire, and folly. In my interpretation of Luna, the Satyr would be a median between the elementals (extras) and the zodiacal expressions of Cancer and Taurus, being more self aware than the other elementals, but as yet unaware of the possibilities or avenues he can explore. He is youth, and as such filled with unrestrained and unfocussed desire. His attention moves and shifts from one object of his desire to the next, without finding any true consummation of these desires. Hence he seeks to drink, but cannot, or lacks to will to either act or refuse to act when challenged. He is so easily manipulated that the contending forces cannot lead him anywhere, and as such he vexes everyone equally.
Cancer: Cancer is a watery sign ruled by the moon, and is represented in the Tarot by the Chariot. As such Cancer is the vehicle for the divine force that is Artemis (Luna) as it is expressed in it's reflective(watery) nature. She is the guardian of the Holy Grail (itself a vessel for fluid and of reflection) and this role grants her mastery of the shrine where-in Artemis sleeps. I see her as an elemental, not unlike the other elementals that will appear as extras in the play, who has been elevated to this position, and who seeks to set herself apart from the others by virtue of the authority reposed in her. Thus she is both vain, and occasionally uncertain (note again the connection to the reflective and fluid state of water) and enjoys employing her authority, but may not respond well to a true crisis.