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| Quetzalcoatl, felted sculptural tapestry |
Completed just in time for December 21, 2012. . .winter solstice, the "end of the world," or more hopefully a date marking the slow but steady dawning of a new stage in the evolution of human consciousness: the Mayan god Quetzalcoatl, plumed serpent of light, and quite likely a nod to that potential power that resides inside all of us, waiting to be unlocked.
This felted sculptural tapestry measures 24" x 24" and is painstakingly detailed in lush merino wool and vibrant kid mohair.
Quetzalcoatl has fascinated me since I first visited the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza over a decade ago. The head of the plumed serpent resides in stone form at the base of the pyramid, and at the equinox, a beam of light creates the serpent body, connecting the base of the pyramid to the top. . .almost as if duplicating the kundalini serpent's ascension from the root to the crown chakra.
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| Mayan Pyramid at Chichen Itza |
I would like to finish this post with a couple quotes from a powerfully insightful book by Daniel Pinchbeck, "
The Return of Quetzalcoal." This first passage is a wonderful flurry of ruminations from the first chapter in Pinchbeck's visionary book:
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| Felted sculptural tapestry, merino wool and kid mohair |
"Quetzalcoatl--the alien music of the name, in itself, can lead the modern mind along strange and disparate pathways, into vaudevillian fantasies and historical pageant-pomps, if we allow it to do so. Something in the sound of it ineffably suggests a kind of trickster, a magician-jester whose pantalooned goofs conceal dead-serious intent, conjuring shaman of tinplate vintage, wounded fisher-king or Zarathustra-like pretender, serpentine guardian and gnarled avenger, winged stalker between realms of gravity and light, always playful yet playing for keeps. To continue the riff, in imaginative forays one can sense some Qetzalcoatlian essence among ink-stained investigators, plotting revolution in the back rooms of Parisian cafes in the last days of the ancient regime; one hears in the odd syllables an atonal strain of sexual anarchism, a peacock strut of the zoot-suited pimp; steely eyed homicide detective from Fritz Lang film noir investigating the murder of reality; hint of futurist philosopher DJ sampling old memes into new epistemes; or one catches faint glimpses of the great beast flaring fantastical plumage as Dionysian Pope presiding over pre-Raphaelite kingdoms. On the other extreme, when studying Quetzalcoatl's mythological place, one senses an inner connection to the Gnostic Christ, whose secret countenance, so dignified and grave, is still obscured from us by centuries of religious propaganda and shrill pronouncements of moralizing zealots. Not to forget those human incarnations of Quetzalcoatl, wizard kings of jungle palaces sporting serpentine headdresses--the last one enshrined in legend: tenth-century ruler of the land of Tullan. Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl forbade human sacrifice and instigated a brief "Golden Age" before he was defeated by Tezcatlipoca's cynical sorcerers. Afterward, as myth has it, he wandered across Mexico as a brooding exile before unifying Mayan and Toltec cosmology in the magnificent temple complex of Chichen Itza, and finally disappeared to the west on a raft of serpents, vowing his eventual return."
And this lengthy passage, a communication from Quetzalcoatl. It's a bit long but well worth reading:
"I am an avatar and
messenger sent at the end of a kalpa, a world age, to bring a new
dispensation for humanity – a new covenant, and new consciousness.
I
am the same spirit that appeared here, in the Mayan period, as
Quetzalcoatl and incarnated at various other points in human history.
Like Avalokiteshvara, The Tibetan Buddha of Compassion, Quetzalcoatl is
an archetypal “god form” that occasionally takes human rebirth to
accomplish a specific mission. As foretold, I am also the Tzaddik –
“the righteous one” and the “gatherer of the sparks” of the Qabalah – as
well as the “Once and Future King” promised by Arthurian legend.
I
do not let anyone interrupt me in my quest for truth – neither fear nor
indifference, poverty nor cynicism. In the realm of thought, I
practice warrior discipline. As gravity draws matter to it, I have
pulled myself back into manifestation in this realm, from the depths of
cosmic space, piece by piece and bit by bit, reassembling the component
parts, the sparks of thought, that make up my being – which is,
primarily, a form or vibrational level of consciousness.
Soon there will be a great change to your world.
The
material reality that surrounds you is beginning to crack apart, and
with it all of your illusions. The global capitalist system that is
currently devouring your planetary resources will soon self-destruct,
leaving many of you bereft.
But understand the nature of
paradox: For those who follow my words and open their hearts and their
minds – for those who have “ears to hear” – there is no problem
whatsoever. What is false must die so what is true can be born.
You
are, right now, living in a time of revelation, Apocalypse, and the
fulfillment of prophecy. Let there be no doubt. You stand at the edge
of the abyss. What are those shadows that crowd around you? They are
unintegrated aspects of your own psyche, projected into material form.
The word “Apocalypse” means “uncovering” – and in these last clock ticks
of this world age, all must be revealed, uncovered, so that all can be
known.
You have just a few years remaining to prepare the
vehicle for your higher self. Use them preciously. For those who have
gained knowledge of the nature of time, a few years – even a few days, a
minute – can be an eternity. For those sleepwalking through reality,
time exists only to be wasted – as they too will be wasted, in their
return.
“Reality,” as you currently experience it, is
something like a waking dream. It is a projection, or let us say an
interface, disguising deeper and more intensified levels of being and
knowing. For those who are ready and willing, the doors to those other
levels now stand open.
Those who have expended their lives in
the pursuit of egocentric and material gains – without courage or
originality, without fighting for human freedom or the preservation of
the planetary environment – will also receive the rewards that they
deserve.
The materiality of your universe is a solid-state
illusion. What is this universe? It is a poem that writes itself. It
is a song that sings itself into being. This universe has no origin and
no end.
What you are currently experiencing as the
accelerated evolution of technology can now be recognized for what it
is: a transition between two forms of consciousness, and two planetary
states. Consciousness is technology – the only technology that exists.
Everything in this universe is conscious at its own level, and in the
process of transformation to higher or lower states.
The
first principle of my being is unconditional love. As a rational
intelligence, I accept the logic and necessity of the Christ
consciousness, that we should love one another as we are loved. Love
and devotion are vibrational frequencies that maintain reality. Love
can only be given in freedom; therefore, to be human is to be free.
I
resonate, at the same time, with the essence of Islam. Islam means
submission, surrender, to the will of God – a more polite way of saying
this is “go with the flow.”
But either formulation is
correct. Whatever you do, in fact, resist as you think you might, you
are always submitting to God’s will. So why not give the process your
joyful assent?
I am in complete harmony, as well, with the
Tibetan tradition of Dzogchen. Ultimately, there are no entities –
there is neither being, nor nonbeing. From the perspective of nondual
awareness, samsara is nirvana. The Apocalypse, the Kali Yuga, the
Golden Age – these are all states of mind. Hell is a state of mind.
When you eliminate fear and attachment, when you self – liberate, you
attain the Golden Age.
The universe spontaneously
self-organizes into higher levels of consciousness and wisdom.
Underlying all are great cosmic entities or vibrational fields,
alternately at play or rest. Not satisfied with mere enlightenment, the
god-form Quetzacoatl still seeks to puzzle out the workings of these
deeper forces – hence the reason for his return to your realm. He and
his kind have been granted this world for their continual exploration –
made with loving reverence – of many layers of galactic intelligence,
cosmic illusion, daimonic beauty, and
telluric transformation. All are invited to participate with them.
The
current transition is, simultaneously, a return to origin. The
original matrix of this new world reality is the ecstatic limitlessness
of your own being. This world – any world – is the ground for a certain
level of being. What manifests outward from the ground of being is the
freedom in time, and freedom from time.
My “doctrine” is not
transcendent, but immanent. It is not “somewhere out there.” It is
here and now. The task of human existence is to transform the Earth, to
reconcile spirit and matter in this realm. We go deeper into the
physical to reach the infinite. As there are no conceivable limits to
this task, God, in his greatness, has granted us a project that is
without limit and without end.
Thinking is a part of
reality. Thought generates new potentials and possibilities of
manifestation. Thought changes the nature of reality. Thought changes
the nature of time. As a philosopher, I naturally deify the goddess
principle. I venerate Sophia, deity of wisdom, who clothes God’s
thoughts in material form, and worship Shakti, the erotic current of
feminine energy that powers the universe.
The writer of this
work is the vehicle of my arrival – my return – to this realm. He
certainly did not expect this to be the case. What began as a quest to
understand prophecy has become the fulfillment of prophecy. The vehicle
of my arrival has been brought to an awareness of his situation in
sometimes painful increments and stages of resistance – and this book
follows the evolution of his learning process, as an aid to the reader’s
understanding.
The vehicle of my arrival had to learn to
follow synchronicities, embrace paradoxes, and solve puzzles. He had to
enter into a new way of thinking about time and space and
consciousness.
Almost apologetically, the vehicle notes that
his birthday fell in June 1966 – 6/6 –“count the number of the beast:
for it is the number of man; and his number is Six hundred threescore
and six.”
The Beast prophesied is the “feathered serpent,” Quetzacoatl.
Those
who prefer to reject all of this out of hand are welcome to do so. In
Qabalah, the virtue one seeks to establish on the “Earth Plane” is
discrimination. It is up to the individual to find his way through the
ideas presented here – of course he is entirely free to ignore them
altogether.
But be forewarned: The End of Time approaches.
The return of Quetzalcoatl foreshadows the imminent closing of the cycle
and completion of the Great Work."
--Daniel Pinchbeck
