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]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/12696485/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/12696485/ Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:09:57 PDT [link]

]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/12206567/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/12206567/ Fri, 16 Mar 2007 13:15:05 PDT [link]

hes also available on netflix

]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/9404705/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/9404705/ Mon, 17 Jul 2006 11:23:51 PDT
vi·sion·ar·y Audio pronunciation of "visionary" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (vzh-nr)
adj.

1. Characterized by vision or foresight.
2.
1. Having the nature of fantasies or dreams; illusory.
2. Existing in imagination only; imaginary.
3.
1. Characterized by or given to apparitions, prophecies, or revelations.
2. Given to daydreams or reverie; dreamy.
4.
1. Not practicable or realizable; utopian: visionary schemes for getting rich.
2. Tending to envision things in perfect but unrealistic form; idealistic.

Since a lot of my friends are often put into this category {eithier by themselves or others} I was wondering how you would deffine a visionary artist, what is the goal of the visionary artist, and how it differs from cliche new-agism or old age surrealism?
Does visionary mean psychedelic? Does it agree entirely with the dictionary deffinition?

I think this is a good thing to think about. Let me know what you think ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/8786781/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/8786781/ Tue, 16 May 2006 09:17:26 PDT


For example I believe that our thoughts effect reality to a large extent....what if thoughts in the present effect the past self, meaning as children we are pulled to or grow to the thoughts we are having in the future tense? Can our thoughts effect the past? Is what the archeologists dig up there becuase of present day thinking?

Is there a past? Can it be that all of our memories are really just present day imaginings, and that the time line we see ourself on is an illusion of the mind?

What do you think the purpose of time is in relationship to human evolution? The speeding up of information transfer?

and 2012 if you so choose to discuss

use your imagination I'm interested in what people can come up with ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/8326120/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/8326120/ Fri, 31 Mar 2006 18:05:08 PST I'm usually happy if I get 1-2 faves a day but this is just ridiculous

Thanks to everyone who had a look/faved I'll try to have a look at most people's galleries but it might take just a little while

and thankyou to ^De-Profundis for nominating it
[link] ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/7779780/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/7779780/ Thu, 02 Feb 2006 10:37:17 PST
One of the greatest questions of all for humanity is what happens after death. Ironically this great question is one that can never be answered but is also one which many philosophers and writers dwell upon. It's like the question of whether the cup is half empty or half full is asked over and over again even though it is consciously known that this is a question which cannot be answered. So why do we sweat the question of death? It is because we have a need to escape the unknown, a need to find an answer. I will discuss arguments concerning the afterlife and reincarnation, how these different beliefs affect the world and finally the unanswerable itself brought to light.

The first question asked in this paper is: Is there an afterlife? My answer, of course, is that I cannot know, but for most people this is not a good enough answer. Yes and no play a good game of tug of war throughout the ages on the issue and ultimately get nowhere. Still, it is important to look closely at this belief because it is so widely held and the commonality of it gives it substance. The thought of being able to go to heaven for eternity is an alluring one for most and for others something that seemingly cannot be. It cannot be disproved but many non-believers seek to do just that. The greatest argument against it is that belief in the afterlife is merely wishful thinking and can be explained psychologically.
"It cannot be denied that the actually existing sense of dependence, the most diverse wishes and needs in man, play an important part in belief in an eternal life." {Kung 30}
Yes, this is true, but what does a statement such as this prove? There may be a psychological reason for it but this in no way discounts the possibility of an afterlife. It may even be that we feel this way because there IS an afterlife actually awaiting us. It seems almost as if every piece of evidence points one way to the believer and the other way to the nonbeliever. Meaning belief is the real culprit and "evidence" is interpreted accordingly. This goes for the other side of the argument as well. Just as nonbelievers are ready to believe any explanation to discredit the afterlife, so the believers are ready to believe anything that may credit it. This goes for the case of contacting the dead. Ouji boards, séances and particular psychics such as the infamous John Edward play on the eagerness of people to believe in afterlife. Many people would like to see these things as evidence for the afterlife because it lessons some grief and fear, when in fact there is no one explanation for these phenomena. A Ouji board could possibly be a way of contacting the dead but, seeing as how it works on the vibrations of in our hands, it may just be the subconscious that comes through; the same thing goes for séances. Maybe John Edward is just a very talented psychic who preys on grieving people, and maybe people are so eager to believe in his powers that they allow him more access into their thoughts about their dead relatives. I think he is a fishy character but perhaps he does not even know that he is preying on people. The need to believe is so powerful that maybe John Edward wants to believe that what he is doing is contacting the dead so he has the proof needed to believe in his own afterlife. The truth is that we don't know. Even if you say it's a "ghost"; what is a ghost? Do we know that ghosts are dead people for sure, or even that they are caused by dead people? These phenomena can be any number of things it's just that the common answers believers in afterlife found for the questions are the ones that fit into their schemas of reality. We all try to fit everything we experience into a pre-existing schema we have created.

Reincarnation is another form of possible afterlife which has become fairly common. I myself find this schema of life after death a little bit more plausible in my mind than the prospect of heaven. Nature seems work this way, building itself up and breaking itself down, creating and destroying in a cycle that is never-ending. This is why the ancient peoples who lived in harmony with nature often believed in reincarnation. To say we are not reincarnated as everything else in nature is to say we are outside of nature or above it. However, for many reincarnation is harder to swallow than heaven because it raises many questions about the nature of the self. If I will live again with another personality and another body, then just how do I define my immortal self? People will define themselves in the terms of the ego, for it is impossible to find a definition anywhere else. Given this, the fact that the ego is not immortal is difficult, for then we have no definition that lasts. Another argument against reincarnation is the fact that we forget all the memories of previous lives. If we can not remember our lives then what good is it to have lived... ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/7574605/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/7574605/ Wed, 11 Jan 2006 14:17:07 PST
Just another poem..

EGO

The ego is a tricky thing…What is it? My memories, face, position in space?
Am I something definable, immutable, etched in flesh?
Habit and temperament and what I hold true, are these the things that make me different from you?
Or is it something subtler that I am made of. After all my personality shifts and my mind is always changing…
How could I be fixed?
And when I die where do I go? And how much of me is me?
Maybe it is that all we are is based on relativity!
For I have been a good one and I have been bad. I have bared my teeth and I have been bitten. I have begged and I have given. I have fallen and I have risen. I have succeeded and I have failed. I have laughed and I have wailed.
Just as the rest of humanity has.
This isn't me this is us. We are all the same things at different times appearing relative to each others positions.
Forming similar situations.
Like constellations.
Rearranging and becoming the other.
Pushing each little star further.
Face to face to face…I know what it feels like for I have been there.
Don’t despair,
For you are every light forming out of darkness.
One circuit of the grand machine which circles itself.
A reference point a peep-hole for God to see through.
A point of reference.
A way to see…when seeing is the only truth. ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/7156775/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/7156775/ Sun, 27 Nov 2005 09:54:02 PST It seems so simple but I jump to the conclusion that…
Perhaps…
Turning your head is the hardest thing to accomplish. ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6693434/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6693434/ Thu, 06 Oct 2005 08:31:32 PDT
The relation-ship sails on the ocean creating ripples
Intersecting the waves in its path.
Lighter than the depths
It floats
like meaning,
like the light itself
upon the water.

Language
Is an instrument
Whose music
Tunes itself

A Word is a Key
That opens the Door
To the Word itself

The question is
The only answer.

Eternity is but a switch for Eternity
That is On
Forever moving towards
Itself

This Poem is whatever you make of it
That is why.

This Poem is Within Itself ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6493876/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6493876/ Tue, 13 Sep 2005 12:01:47 PDT
The Tarot should be learnt as early in life as possible; a fulcrum for memory and a schema for mind. It should be studied constantly, a daily exercise; for it is universally elastic, and grows in proportion to the use intelligently made of it. Thus is becomes a most ingenious and excellent method of appreciating the whole of Existence.
{Crowley, 31}

I will attempt to explain the inner workings of the tarot.
We start at the beginning, with the big bang, or what I like to think of as the fall of the Garden of Eden. How unfortunate this disaster, and yet what a blessing. Things must be separate for anything to exist in a way that we may perceive them. If everything was one thing that could not be differentiated consciousness could not exist. We need to be able to tell things apart and we need the element of motion in order to gain understanding of interaction. The first rule is that of division and synthesis, things come together and fall apart according to magnetism. This is the root of the tarot; this is the root of the universe.
Separation is reconciled not through fulfillment, which would be the end of consciousness, but through understanding. The tree of life attempts to map out the movement of the universe and the interaction of the archetypes in a way that can be understood by man, although it takes many years of study and can never be fully understood. Consciousness is the constant awakening, we thirst for knowledge but we are never fulfilled, we are forced to continue awakening. The tree of life shows us cycles of un-fulfillment, just as we are stuck in the continuum of the universe, we are stuck in the continuum of the tree.
Perhaps this can be more easily understood if I begin an explanation of the number cards which are part of the Minor Arcana. There are 40 number cards; they pertain to the four elements, the four forces that make up consciousness, as they march through the sephiroth, the ten numerical states expressed in the tree.
The four elements are defined as the following:
Fire: Represented as the wand. Fire is active masculine energy, passion and intuition.
Water: Represented as the cup. Water is passive feminine energy, reflection and feeling.
Air: Represented as the sword. It is the world of the mind, division and thinking.
Earth: Represented as the disk or pentacle. It is the material world, matter and sensation.
It is important to remember that the elements are not so much the actual physical elements {i.e. water does not specifically mean a pond or ocean} as they are the qualities these elements represent in nature. These forces flow through the ten sephiroth where they can express themselves in different ways. They start off as energy and descend into matter.
“The Kabbalah…like most esoteric philosophies insists that the visible is undergirded by the invisible, matter came not first but last.” { Smoley, 83}
1.The first of the sephiroth is Keter, the crown, and is located at the top of the tree. Here are the four aces of each element; they have no form other than that of potential. The seeds have been planted but nothing has yet to grow. It is the root or the point before there are other points to define it by. This is divine consciousness.
2. The second is Chokmah, located to the bottom right of Keter. This is the first manifestation of the element. It exists uncontaminated and so is represented as the element in its original condition.
3. The third is Binah, to the left of Chokmah. Here the idea can now be understood. With three points given we can now see how things are alike and different.
4. The forth is Chesed, bellow Chokmah. Now that the idea is understood it manifests in a material way.
5. The fifth is Gevurah and it can be defined as motion set forth on the stability of Chesed, it is seen as a disturbance.
6.The sixth of the sephiroth called Tiphareth and holds a great importance within the tree. It is the center of the tree on the middle pillar directly below Keter. Here is the perfection of the self where all of the elements take on their best practical nature. This is human consciousness.
7. Netzach the seventh is even more unbalanced than the fifth. It is repetition and the inevitable degradation of each element.
8. The eighth is Hod which sits across from the seventh. It does not reconcile for the degradation of the previous number, it merely reacts to it, realizing the consequences.
9. The ninth is Yesod which returns once more to the middle pillar. It is the crystallization of energy. Because it is on the middle pillar there is some dignity in this s... ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6353363/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6353363/ Sun, 28 Aug 2005 18:04:08 PDT

Divination systems are ancient tools that are used to discover hidden knowledge that deals with the movement of energy around the signifier {the person being read} and are usually associated with foretelling the future. When I think of the word divination immediately the practice of the tarot comes to mind. Although I have worked with a few other systems, such as runes, my relationship with the tarot has been an important part of my life for over five years. Of divination systems, it is one of the most complex and esteemed forms and truly presents us with a complete map of the archetypal universe.
Before I get into the meat of the system I will answer some questions surrounding it.

Logically, the first question to be posed about a system is where it originated and how it came to be what it is. The answer to this question, as answers to this question usually are, is that nobody can really know for sure. The first tarot deck we have evidence of was made in the 1300’s but most scholars on the subject believe that the origin of the tarot has its roots in ancient times. Some people argue that the origin has its place in India. Some say that it was medieval or from Lemuria or Atlantis which are lost civilizations. I believe that the tarot relies on very fundamental principles of the universe and so does not have it’s origin in one place, but rather all places. If the tarot does have some sort of particular origin I believe it must be in Egypt with the god Thoth, who is the patron of magic and communication. Before the decline of ancient Egypt it was said that he created 22{which is the number of the Major Arcana} tablets filled with symbols to help lead humanity to enlightenment. The teachings of Thoth as well as the kabalah become deeply entwined with the tarot in the practices of the Golden Dawn. Aliester Crowley, the infamous magician, sought to rediscover and reinvent tarot and he did so very extensively in The Book of Thoth, which I think of as the most in depth tarot book on the market. Following his book is an actual Thoth tarot deck made many years later which has become my only deck of choice.

Why the God Thoth? Unlike in the myths of most gods who played with humanity as if it were a toy, Thoth’s goal was to be a teacher of men. He, as Hermes Trithageris, defined the principles that the occult has at its very core:
1. The physical universe is a reflection of the mind. The basic force of the universe is mental.
2. As above so below. The microcosm and the macrocosm are reflections of the same universal principle.
3. Everything is in continual motion.
4. Opposites are different vibrations on the same continuum. They exist as the two extreme degrees of the same idea.
5. Everything is part of a rhythm or pattern that appears to move back and forth.
6. There are many causes for every effect, nothing is random.
7. Every unit in the universe expresses two sides, the Yin and Yang.
These principles are good to keep in mind not sometimes but all the time. To most thinkers these are undeniable and even obvious facts, but they are still good things to keep them in mind when thinking about the tarot.

As anyone with long term experience might be I must seem a little bit biased toward my deck of choice. I will take a moment to explain about different decks and why I chose the one I chose. Let me start by saying that there are hundreds of tarot decks on the market, all with similar themes but also with widely different interpretations and representations. There are Wicca decks, shaman decks, Satanic decks, artistic decks, decks that involve Buddhism, decks that involve i-ching, rune decks, fantasy decks, and even some very specific decks like the Halloween tarot and the Lord of the Rings tarot. This is extremely daunting when searching for the right deck to use. I myself have bought and used over a dozen which has given me a feeling for how and why they differ. The most striking truth I found was that decks have different “personalities” or ways of communicating. I think this personality can be attributed to subject matter, symbology used, and most importantly of all the intent of its creator. For example, my first tarot deck was the Dragon tarot, and I must say the deck conveyed knowledge in a manner much like I would expect from a dragon. The deck was stubborn, moody, and opinionated{they were western dragons of course}. When I did readings for other people this deck would sometimes decide it hated the person being read and so predict for them a horrible gloomy future. A deck such as this one cannot be trusted. Examples of the effect of the c... ]]> ~Null-Cipher http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6112954/ http://Null-Cipher.deviantart.com/journal/6112954/ Thu, 04 Aug 2005 07:39:46 PDT
I am really interested in the thoughts feelings and opinions others have concerning these topics...so if you have time and an opinion please share your thoughts!

The Importance of Myth in Modern Times

When I write about the idea of myth, I am writing about an idea that is commonly misunderstood by a majority of people. Most people see myth as belonging entirely to the past and thus dislocated entirely from their lives as they are currently living them. However, if looked at from a Jungian perspective, myth plays an important role in the human experience.

To first begin to understand myth from a Jungian perspective an understanding of some of his other theories must be gained. The first of these is the idea of the collective unconscious. This theory states that along with a personal individual unconscious everyone has an unconscious portion of their mind that is shared among humanity which exists outside of space and time. The collective unconscious is made up of archetypes which are motifs present in the human psyche for everyone to draw upon. Together they form a sort of symbolic map of the universe as we perceive it.

“There are as many archetypes as there are typical situations in life. Endless repetition has engraved these experiences into our psychic constitution, not in the form of images filled with content, but at first only as forms without content, representing merely the possibility of a certain type of perception and action” {Jung 66}

An easy example of an archetype would be either the father or mother figure. Although everyone might see the father and the mother figures slightly differently due to personal experience the core meaning remains the same, they are the most primitive masculine and feminine aspects and can not be disassociated from such. All archetypes are universal in nature because they exist within the collective unconscious, and so they exist outside of space and time. The archetypes form stories that repeat over and over in different forms throughout man’s experience on Earth. These stories are called myths.

The idea of the collective unconscious may seem very difficult to understand, mostly due to the common concept of time being linear, that is that we live on a giant timeline of separate events. However, for purpose of this argument time must be seen more as a continuous loop than a timeline. Every personal experience is just a version of a myth shared within the collective. Think of a fish swimming in a fish bowl, it has only about a five second memory so it forgets where it has been constantly. To the fish the bowl must not seem circular at all but linear because as soon as it returns to the starting point it has forgotten about its previous rotation around the bowl. On a slightly larger scale this is a model of the human experience within the Jungian construct. Each of us personally does not live long enough to realize that we are swimming in circles but since the collective unconscious exists always our lives become the constant act of remembering. Nothing is new or alien, the myths and archetypes of this world are embedded in all of us at birth.
“While the personal unconscious is essentially made up of contents which have at one time been conscious but which have disappeared from consciousness through having been forgotten or repressed, the contents of the collective unconscious have never been individually acquired, but owe there existence exclusively to heredity.”{Jung 60}
Although core meanings always remain the same, the forms in which myths and archetypes manifest themselves do shift around and evolve with the times. For example I will take the archetype of the tower from the tarot. The tower means horrible news, sudden collapse, and disaster. In the past this archetype would have taken the form of the invasion and fall of a castle or something else close along these lines. Now the same idea is seen in much different manifestations, such as the drop of the atom bomb or more recently the collapse of the twin towers in Manhattan.

One of the biggest developments to consider when speaking of the recent evolutions of myth in our society is the sudden and very rapid advance of technology. The invention of the computer followed by the invention of the internet has effected how we operate as a race to a massive degree. This is why I believe it is important to examine how these inventions have played a role in myth and the collective unconscious. L... ]]> ~Null-Cipher