Awake by Gavin Tonks

AWAKE by Gavin Tonks - Walk with the words of Omar Khayyam on this journey of hidden meaning.
The advice given by the poet comes to us despite the translation from Persian to English. Fitzgerald translated these few stanzas in 1859.
Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009
AWAKE BY Gavin Tonks Cover: Russian / Greek Orthodox - Icon of George and the Dragon image sourced from the web I have grown up with stories and fabulous and romantic tales. I inadvertently learnt about cosmic puzzles through them. As I grow older I have sought more meaning from the stories and in particular the Rubiyat. This is a journey through the words of the poet Omar to some of these puzzles. I have explained the concepts with the words of the stanzas to simplify the metaphysical links. The Rubiyat is a set of instructions for me as a person to wake up. The information I have added is based on the references within the poems in the English translations of the RUBIAYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM by EDWARD FITZGERALD1959. I received the Rubiyat as a present on my 21st Birthday with all five translations from a friend Edna Williams. Fitzgerald only translated a handful of the poems. There are between 800 and 2000 poems attributed to the poet under the title of the Rubiyat. There is controversy about which are written by Omar and those that may be written by students or scholars. The number of stanzas varies considerably for those attributed directly to the poet Omar. I have spent half a lifetime reading and looking for meaning beyond the meter and rhyme of these stanzas. I came to realize that even though the translations are poetic there are key figures and artifacts that have aroused my curiosity. On delving into their meanings I have found another world which spans centuries of doctrine and religion. There are secret rites and ceremonies mentioned here that could never be coincidence. It was harder in the beginning to do my research but it is so much easier now with the internet. Western society tends to ignore the incredible written histories of Iran and Persia. The oldest living religion of the world that I know of is the Zoroaster religion of Orah Mazda which is still practiced today in India. The wealth of myth and legend that we so take for granted has many of their origins in these historical sources. This book of mine is purely personal but I do think it relevant to people wanting to start a spiritual journey. If you have curiosity regarding some of the people and places mentioned in the poems as I did, like Jamshyds seven ringed cup, then it is my hope that this brings the same excitement I felt when I joined the dots. I have also changed the format that the stanzas are normally presented to the public by grouping the different concepts together which make more sense to me. This gives the work more continuity of ideas and a beginning and an end.
Awake ISBN Number: 978-0-620-47064-3

Awake by Gavin Tonks
Barcode: 6009691421396 Self Published Edition Copyright 2009 Gavin Tonks www.tradesecretsrsa.co.za
Author: Gavin Tonks Date: 16/06/2008 Words approx 20 386
Edition, License Notes This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If youre reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
TRIBUTE TO THE UNDERTANDING OF THE MYSTICAL LINKS WITHIN THE RUBIAYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM THROUGH THE EDWARD FITZGERALDS TRANSLATION INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE - RUBIAYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM EDWARD FITZGERALDS
TRANSLATION. SO WHAT DOES THE POETRY MEAN OTHER THAN BEING LYRICAL AND PLEASANT TO RECITE? The musings of these words Confusion on waking up The Khundalini The allegory of the virgin sacrifice and the knight besting a dragon The Dragon The Knight The Heaven Parvin and Mushtara are Pleiades and Jupiter
CHAPTER TWO - DREAMING WHEN DAWNS LEFT HAND WAS IN THE SKY
Where the WHITE HAND OF MOSES on the Bough Puts out The Golden Bough
CHAPTER THREE The poem stanzas now become a story. This is no longer the single line information from the previous stanzas of the poem. CHAPTER FOUR THIS SECTION DEALS WITH THE EXPERIENCES OF THE
AUTHOR HIS LIFE AND HOW HE ARGUED ABOUT KNOWLEDGE. AT THE END OF HIS LIFE HE HAS NOTHING LEFT BUT THIS DIARY OF HIS LIFES EXPERIENCES
CHAPTER FIVE THE KUZA-NAMA / THE BOOK OF POTS / WE RETUN TO THE

POTTERS STUDIO TO ASK QUESTIONS OF GOD AND HOW WE FIT INTO THE TAPESTRY OF LIFE.
CHAPTER SIX HERE IS THE DISCUSSION OF GOD AND THE UNIVERSE AND
OUR ROLE WITHIN THE WORKINGS OF CREATION
CHAPTER SEVEN WHEN IT IS TIME TO DIE, EMBRACE DEATH AS WE DEAL

WITH FATE, GOD AND QUESTIONS OF HOW THE UNIVERSE IS RUN AND OUR ROLE WITHIN IT
CHAPTER EIGHT DO NOT CONFUSE CREATION WITH THE CREATED. AS THERE

WAS THOUGHT, SO WAS CREATION MADE. WE ARE LIVING OUT THESE THOUGHTS BACKWARDS FOR THE WANT OF A BETTER EXPLANATION
CHAPTER NINE THE POEMS TAKE AN INTERESTING TURN AND THE

ALLEGORY OF POTTERY IS USED TO CONVEY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE NATURE OF MAN AND THE ACTION OF GOD IN THE CREATION OF MAN
CONCLUSION Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009
AUTHOR: GAVIN TONKS INTRODUCTION Much of the loss of spiritual knowledge began with the persecution of the Persian holy men. This led to the destruction of the great Alexander libraries by priests of modern religion who burnt the Alexandra Library it to the ground. This once great city even boasted the skins and skeletons of dinosaurs. The real stories of religion are rewritten in each subsequent historical age from the Sumerians, Greeks, Romans and dark ages. Even today they are rewritten under the guise of making information more accessible to us, the people. Most scholars of religion learn that all the stories are allegorical and are not to be taken at face value. However the Rubaiyat is a definitive poetic work of Omar who wrote these poems with universal truths in mind. This information is hidden in the pretext of poetry. It is said this may be the most read and sold piece of poetry in the world. This poem became famous in Western culture when Edward Fitzgerald translated a few of the poems into English. He tried to capture the essence and spirit of the originals in 1957. The translated texts were published in 5 editions with subtle changes. I personally prefer the first edition because of its poetic flow. There are usually 126 quatrains available and Fitzgerald worked on the translations for 25 years. There are only a few stanzas translated by Fitzgerald of the possible 2000 written by Omar. I noticed that the translations jump in places and seemed jumbled. I have changed the indexing of the normally published stanzas to make the ideas more grouped in my personal opinion. I have put all the pottery references together as it seems right to me to have done so. The epic poem begins with, Awake! for Morning in the bowl of night Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight and Lo! the Hunter of the east has caught The Sultans Turret in a noose of light
Reference original text at http://www.okonlife.com/poems/index.htm
CHAPTER ONE THE RUBIAYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM TRANSLATED BY EDWARD FITZGERALDS: - THE POETRY EVEN IN TRANSLATION IS LYRICAL AND PLEASANT BUT WHO ARE THE PEOPLE AND WHAT IS THE POET REFERING TO. Religion has three or more aspects to a theme, myth or story. Information that is discovered as with Egyptian mythology means we are more enlightened to the secrets of the ancients. The central theme with Egypt mythology appears to be quite clear. The information revolves around the simple statement as it is in heaven so it must be on earth. Buildings like the pyramids are aligned to star systems. Other structures all over the planet seem to do the same. Easter Island verbal religion is now recorded and recently translated. The stories identify the island as an axis mundi or the earths true navel. This is where the imaginary pole that the earth rotates on protrudes through the earth. The earth has obviously thousands of possible points on the circumference but the ancients new Easter Island as the closest land mass. One can see the entire Milky Way from any vantage point on the island. This means the viewer has a 360 degree view of the stars and the heavens across the horizon. This is also the place that gods or angels can interact with men. Mystical structures and places are constructed to mirror the Milky Way and other stars like Cygnus to create a map on the earth. These maps are relevant to the stars at specific points in time when they match as it is in heaven so on earth. The stars are the only means we have of telling time. Each of these patterns of stars is given a name Orion for instance and the there is a accompanying story that describes how and why the stars are in the sky. Every Egyptian God has a star counterpart. The nature of their actions is more akin to cosmology than humanlike emotions. The stories of the God stars and their actions are changed and rewritten many times over the last thousand years. The stories are also immortalized by famous artists and painters. Even the works of Shakespeare have inspiration from the past and bits of the Rubiyat are clearly translated into his works. Stories I refer too are ones like Europa and the bull, Zeus leida and the swan Pegasus as a winged flying horse. There are of course hundreds of the stories and too many too mention. There are far too many references through time for these stories to be pure coincidence. I do believe there are messages for us in these texts. The first version of the story is the direct reading of the text as a poem with beauty rhyme and meter. We are able to enjoy it for the music it produces to our ears. The pleasant sounds are enjoyed by us even though we now are reading them in English. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 7
The original text read in the Persian language is of course unknown to most of us. Maybe one day someone will read them in Ancient Persian and make them available as video files on the net. The second message is the meaning of the words as they are portrayed and the images the words conjure for us. AWAKE, as morning is dawning against the heavenly bowl of night. The sun creeps up against the sky as seen in the dessert. The hunter is already galloping across the sand chasing his prey. The hunter is the sun as well. I have read the texts repeatedly to try and understand the meaning of the words. I started to see a pattern and then the allegory and alternative meanings. Other meanings were revealed when I tracked down the words and the people mentioned. Clues are laid in the poems for an initiate and those wishing to take their first steps on the path of enlightenment. By carrying a page of poetry, no one would ever suspect that you are studying the mysteries of the universe and our relationship with God. Awake! for Morning in the bowl of night Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight and Lo! the Hunter of the east has caught The Sultans Turret in a noose of light So I began to read the actual words and saw that the meanings become apparent even through the Persian to English translation. Awake - Experience the first awakening This is the half awake state or half asleep state as you emerge from slumber. It is a point of denial where you do not wish to wake up even if you know you must. I hate getting up in the morning and I think this is pretty universal. So we are shouted at awake. The unknown is always frightening. So Awake a shout to the soul to wake up with joy laughter and gladness. It is shouted from the rooftops Awake. For Morning in the Bowl of Night Morning is the beginning. The first dawn light in the darkness that is the apprentices current existence. The poem continues with a powerful image of the night sky as an upturned bowl above our heads. The bowl is full of night and stars, and of course morning is now in the bowl as well. The image evokes the mysticism of day and night together in the same place. This is another mystery which I will not go into here. Has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight A piece of information, a thought or a vision is inspiring you. It can be said that it is chasing away old perceptions. These perceptions are the thoughts and beliefs that Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 8
have surrounded you so far in your life. This morning or dawning of this light is the first thoughts or stones that are chasing away these old perceptions. There is no reference to the hunter throwing the stones. It is the morning dawn that is doing so or the sun as the sun and the hunter are the same thing. There is a beautiful symmetry and simplicity in the texts that definitely transcends language. Stars are a symbol of light in the darkness and the morning sun is chasing way the darkness. and Lo! the Hunter of the east has caught And then the hunter captures his prey. The hunter is the sun, a symbol of brightness beyond that which humans can bear. The ball of light which is the sun represents many things. The sun is not actually here on the earth as it is millions of miles away. The sun cannot possible be seen by us. Light is information, intelligence, insight, intuitiveness and of course the light that is required by our bodies to keep us alive. Light is also thought as the first light of creation. This light as intuitive thought it is a concept. Thought is always followed by the articulation of the idea into sound or the voice. The voice is required in order to make the thought come true. Light and sound ensures the articulation of an idea. The first glow of dawn is a thought an awakening or a dawning insight. The hunter and his horse, or the sun personified as a man on horseback. The horse of the sun is always a white horse. A true white horse is an albino which is very rare. It carries a gene which generates no pigment in the horse so they are usually snow white with piercing human like blue eyes. Today they usually called a cremello. These two images appear many times in mythology. The subject matter and characters appears in mythical stories in Iranian and the Zoroaster religion from Persia to India, Rome, Greece and Ireland as the stores spread across the world. The white horse is symbolic of carrying the Sun God through the heavens. The horse is also part of the cycle of rebirth and recharging the sun so it does not burn out during winter. There must be a deeper meaning related to the white horse which I have as yet not uncovered. There are religious rites related to fertility connected to the white horse as well. The hunter is also seen on wallpaper and Persian tiles as a man on a galloping horse hunting a stag with two dogs. The image usually has some plants or part of a tree as well. This is Mithras the king hunting. Mithras hunts en[light]enment that is why he is trying to capture the tower with his lasso.
The Sultans Turret in a noose of light The sultans turret is an object standing in the dessert covered in gold leaf that at night was dark and ordinary. This same tower becomes an object of great beauty and a symbol of wealth when struck by light. It is now transformed into a pillar of shinning glory as the sun touches and reflects from the gold sheeting that coves the dome. The tower is an important symbol as an axis mundi or place where heaven meets the earth. As I have said before this is the pole that the earth spins around but it is also considered the place where interact with angels. The first fingers of light touch this object in the dark and the sun explodes from its surface. The hunters rope has caught the turret in noose of light. This ring of light is insignificant in the hunters hand. The light however is glorious on the edge of the turret. This is the potential of small things. A tiny bit of light or a little knowledge and information can illuminate us. We are the towers as well. The towers touched by the light of knowledge can become beacons of unimaginable brightness. We are bound to the hunter the sun and cannot escape the lasso. My musings of these words The tower is illuminated and standing now in the full glow of the day. We too stand in the sunlight. Information is all around us as we are flooded by the daylight. As a knowledge seeker we must knock at the door, and it will be opened. This is as true today as it was then. When we reach the path and begin to walk it you have a desire to want. With enlightenment most times people to be granted that which is good. What though is good? We are inspired by the transformation and seek change. The word good is usually an easy word to grasp, but it has in fact little real meaning. We need to learn at this point to be very specific about where you are going and what path you wish to choose. How can we know of things until we have experienced them with our fullest senses? Once we have a little we then expect and demand to know even more. We are also guilty of never seeming to take the time to appreciate the subtlety of meaning. These are pitfalls or traps we become ensnared in when we journey this path. What do we do with this knowledge that is given to us and how do we shape our future with it? Confusion on waking up This awakening is fraught with confusion. As there are so many feelings and emotions being awoken at the same time? There is confusion between sexuality and spirituality. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 10
There is this confusion in the senses as they stem from the same emotion well spring within our bodies. There is only one set of nerves that we have to experience all of these knew emotions with. You desire but the word desire is a strong sexual word for want. Knowledge is carnal as well as spiritual. Raising the conscious or brining enlightenment is the symbolic dragon called khundalini. This is an age old reference to the energy at the base of the spine. This is a primal energy that drives both our creativity and procreation. These words can be searched on the internet for more meaning of understanding of the concepts and their descriptions. Each word is a path to enlightenment and more understanding. The tower is caught in light as we ourselves are flooded with light and need to adjust to the changes around us. It is confusing and difficult and takes a while to adjust to the brightness and the changes in your perception of things. Nothing is ever the same again. The Khundalini The Khundalini other than being this spiritual energy within us is also depicted as the transformation of the Knight, Dragon and the Virgin. This is the reinvented story of the Hunter Mithras. You may wonder how these stories are linked. The messages are embodied in the stories and symbolism. Each artifact and icon has a meaning as does the whole story; I will unravel some of the threads and show where they lead. It must be questioned how we have started with the hunter on his horse and are now on the George on his white horse charging a dragon? The changing of the elements and characters within is the manor in which the story becomes acceptable to future generations. A Persian King would hardly be accepted in a Calvinistic society but a noble knight is not questioned at all. The icon has reached Russia, England, and France with the acceptance of the story. They stories have changed all the time to become relevant to the initiated, pursuing information of that time. No doubt we may translate them again one day for the initiated in the future. The Hunter and the knight both ride blemish free white horses. They both go charging around the country side after towers and dragons. The horse is a common theme. The pure white horse being a genetic rarity would be very expensive and not available to just anyone either. The horse on its own has various image associations from fertility, water, the star Sirius. The white horse was a gift to ensure that a piece of land was sold, and was the representation of the concluded deal and physical evidence of the transaction. St George is also the Patron Saint of horseman. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 11
The allegory of the virgin sacrifice and the knight besting a dragon The Dragon The symbol of the dragon is that of an animal or beast that has a fire that burns inside of it. The dragon can control the fire it breaths. Fire is the most destructive element on the earth yet the dragon itself is not consumed by it. The Dragon is the Khundalini. It is the raw energy within us that awakens us on this path of enlightenment. The beast is a magnificent and unique beast possessing great power. The icon depicts a choice. The choice is to prepare and attempt to slay the beast or bring it under control before it devours our innocence. The Khundalini sits at the base of the spine and is the first step to consciousness. It is the seat of all pleasure within our existence. We draw from this source as a dragon draws fire from within its own self. The fire once drawn makes its way up our spine and into the brain illuminating our senses and preparing the way for change. This effect is described as the Tower being caught in a noose of light. The dragon can be a beast of great beauty and terrible strength. The dragon is a beast that posses magic as it can fly with wings that are not able to carry its bulky body. The dragons blood and tears have magical properties of life and death. To slay the beast is to conquer the beast within us and to possess the magical attributes and power in a more controlled manor. Killing is forbidden so we need to conquer the beast and this is actually the first test. Would you slay or tame the beast? The Knight The Knight wears armor thats makes the person impenetrable. Not just any Knight can triumph over the beast. The beast can only be mastered by a person who is pure of heart. That person must undertake a crusade for their beliefs. The crusade is basically a journey upon a horse of pure colour. The knight also requires the magic armor in order to be protected from hidden threats. The knight must attune his mind and hone his body for this one fight. The Knight then realizes that it is in fact himself he is fighting. The purity of his heart protects from this revelation. Honesty assists in overcoming disbelief. This honesty is also responsible for overriding previous perceptions and the darkness that envelopes the soul before enlightenment. The darkness has previously prevented his ability to have clear sight. The Knight is also our male half. The ultimate prize is the virgin The virgin is the other half of each of us. She is our female half. She is pure sweet and beautiful. She gives us the chance to live a new life untainted from prior information that has kept us in the dark. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 12
The Virgin stood before the dragon and was saved by her male half. She is still virginal and ready to be swept off her feet and enjoy the knowledge of the beast in a different way. She was about to be devoured by the first beast. This one represents our lower spiritual self. She is freed by her masculine side and joins in a union with her male half savior in a marriage which is symbolic of a new purity. Understanding the journey that the two halves has taken, introduces them to their hopes and fears. The other parts of their journey are trust and sacrifice, self doubt and prowess. Ultimately there is gratitude for her savior and they join as one. The prize is the possession of the female half that has had no carnal experience. The two different halves male and female subjugate the beast and move forward into a new life of unknowns. The story references symbolism for which we need to seek a key to unlock the information and messages the story shields. The key is used to unlock knowledge which we currently do not have in our possession. To have this knowledge and understanding imparted to us we need to understand the true nature of our being. Our nature is that we are two bodies a physical and a spiritual joined as one and after death we continue to live carried within the spiritual body only. Our path is unknown and therefore we need to trust the virtues of our two halves to protect and guide us on the journey we will take one day into this unknown. We are the key we seek and at the same time we are the seekers of knowledge. There are three types of beings. One is born in an immortal body. One is born with a mortal and posses and immortal soul that becomes there new permanent body. The third is a mortal body only. One has no experience of death, one survives death and the other ends at death. The icon illustrates that if you still have not absorbed this information then you are the TOWER waiting for light which is your hope in the darkness. The body or tower is waiting for a thought or light in order to transform into a shinning thing of beauty. That is why all the characters are shown in the field but no action is taken, The Knight, damsel and dragon are all waiting for you to act/ The creation is written as first utter darkness which manifested as a void which was split into two halves. The two halves generated movement and between them one became physical and dense and the other light and spiritual. This is the representation of yin and yang. This is the knight and the maiden. The dragon is the force that binds them as they need each other to survive. The creation mythology speaks of a voce: A voice emerging from darkness and speaking. The voice is part of the motion or movement that is created. The energy that is life that exists from the halves being split. The voice was breath upon the waters of life. Then there was light and from this light all things were made. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 13
This is the horse and the dragon beast as symbols of extreme opposites. The dragon is destructive and the horse is useful and allows itself to be used despite having free will. The beginning of everything is nothing. Then something happened which generated motion or potential. The articulation of this thought made the creative come into being. There can be no creation without articulating your wants by saying them out loud. I hope this train of thought makes sense from the words awake to describing the fist awakening of consciousness in the first creation. We are after all made in this likeness. I tell Thee this---When, starting from the Goal, Over the shoulders of the flaming Foal Of Heav'n Parvin and Mushtara they flung, In my predestin'd Plot of Dust and Soul So when you start on your Journey know this, that the daily course of the sun is reflected not only in the image of Sol in his chariot but equally as Sol as an equestrian figure. This representation of the Rider sun god who is Helios is usually an incarnation of the original sun god. The sun god is described in inscriptions from Asia Minor. The tradition continued until well into the Byzantine period. A sculpture of the Neuenheim relief portrayed Mithras as the Sun god who at the same time is the ruler of the cosmos, as he holds a celestial orb. Well known Persian designs portray the god as an archer as well as a rider. Another image we may recognize portrays a rider with a tree as Mithras, astride a galloping horse shooting at a hare with a bow accompanied by bounding dogs The hare is the moon so the sun is chasing the moon. The hare is associated with the moon as the shadows look like a running hare. The Xhoi of Africa have a delightful story about the hare. The Moon asked hare to take a message to man. The message was as moon waxes and dies and lives again so shall man, but rabbit took half the story and said as the moon waxes and does so shall man. So the hunter the sun chases the moon with Orion in tow. Orion had two dogs; their names were Arktophonos and Ptoophagos. The dogs are also meant to eat the sun during an eclipse, so the dogs could be nearing the sun to create an eclipse. Mihryazd was recognized by the Persians as "The Living Spirit" a savior-figure who rescues the "First Man" from the demonic Darkness into which he had plunged. So we have the figure Mithras saving us from the darkness with his noose of light.
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We will see the references to the sun and light and replacing energy all through the stanzas that are translated here. The core of religions practices of sacrifice is to ensure the sun continues to burn and we need to burn life on earth to replenish the cosmic sun. Dadhikra is the name of the Celestial Horse. He is a personification of the Rising Sun. The other flaming horse is his counterpart a mare called Vajra or Vadavamukha. She lives at the bottom of the Ocean. The mare's skull is adamantine the only material indestructible enough to be able to resist the Fire of Doomsday. The mare contains massive forces that she keeps in check until their date of liberation. She keeps them in a precarious state of equilibrium. The fire she releases is consumed by water in a continuous manner at the bottom of the sea. This power controlled by water could destroy the world if she does not do this. The equilibrium is unstable and can be disrupted by even the slightest disturbance. This is why we have earthquakes because of the shifting equilibrium. This is a description of cosmic events and the natural balancing of titanic forces. Solar references to the horse. In the religion of Zoroaster there is a god called Tishtrya. This god is the giver of life and the angel of the star of Sirius. Tishtrya brings life giving rain. Tishtrya is involved in a cosmic struggle against the drought-bringing demon Apaosha who is the opposite of Tishtrya. They battle with the forms of horses. Tishtrya is a pure white stallion a horse sometimes depicted with ears and tail of gold and Apaosha a pitch black stallion. The demon is described as a terrifying black horse. Apaosha soon gained the upper hand over Tishtrya, who was weakened from the lack of sufficient prayers and sacrifices from humankind. The creator Ahura Mazda steps in and sacrifices for Tishtrya. Tishtrya is now infused with new power defeats Apaosha and brings rain ending the season of drought. Tishtrya is also seen as a young man or a bull. The pure white horses also draw divine chariots for the gods of water and therefore life. The horses of Arevvi Sura Anahita were called wind, rain, clouds and sleet. Winged horses are also used to guide the souls of the dead. The Heaven Parvin and Mushtara are Pleiades and Jupiter The Pleiades are a prominent sight in winter in the Northern Hemisphere and in summer in the Southern hemisphere. The stars are referenced since antiquity by cultures all around the world. Even the Maori who called them Matarik and the Persians of course called them Parveen or Parvin. The Babylonian star catalogue name them MUL.MUL or "star of stars", and they head the list of stars along the ecliptic, reflecting the fact that they were close to the point of the vernal equinox around the 23rd century BC. Greek astronomers considered them to be a distinct constellation and they are mentioned by Hesiod and in Homers Iliad and Odyssey. They are also mentioned three Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 15
times in the Bible and are revered in Hindu mythology as the six mothers of the war god Skanda and scholars of Islam think that the Pleiades Al thuraiya are the Star in Najm mentioned in the Quran. The nine brightest stars of the Pleiades are named for the Seven Sisters of Greek mythology: Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygete, Celaeno, and Alcyone, along with their parents Atlas and Pleione. As daughters of Atlas, the Hyades were sisters of the Pleiades. Jupiter was one of the more important of the Roman gods first appearing as an agricultural god in charge of the sun and moonlight. Jupiter Lucetius would be an incarnation responsible for wind, rain, storms, thunder and lightning. Jupiter Elicius would be an agricultural incarnation and responsible for sowing of grain. Jupiter Dapalis is responsible for creative forces. Jupiter Liber would hold sway over the boundary stones of fields. Zeus, Jupiter to the Romans overthrew his Father Cronus and then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades to determine who would be the supreme ruler of the gods. Jupiter won the draw and became the ruler of Olympus. Jupiter was the rain god and lord of the sky, making his name an appropriate one for the king of the planets. His weapon is a thunderbolt which he hurls at those who displease him. He is married to Hera but, is famous for his many affairs and he is also known to punish those that lie or break oaths. The names of Zeus and Jupiter refer to the same person. Predestination Predestination is a religious concept. This concept involves the relationship between God and his creation. Predestination is where we have no free will. Everything is already done and made and we live a path laid out for us, unable to change anything. The opposite of course is determinism and free will, where we have choices and can change the path we tread. This concept is evolved from the idea that when creation was thought every possibility came into existence. What also happened is that creation being a positive energy has to return to the source of nothing. Therefore we are living backwards as our energy becomes dissipated, and foretelling the future is actually viewing the past. Those who believe in predestination believe that before creation God determined the fate of the universe throughout all of time and space. So even if you believe that you can change your path and do it does not matter as it is still part of the plan. The stars are also flung in this stanza. Alan Alford has a theory that a meteor entered our solar system and destroyed a twin planet. The debris in our solar system is the chunks of this exploded planet. This planet and the chunks that hit the earth changed the nature of our planet. The extra water higher oxygen levels new life and the destruction of the Dinosaurs would make sense if large pieces of a planet hit the earth, Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 16
When the planet broke up it would bring new substances and the extreme pressure and heat required to create fossils and oil are better explained by impact from large heavenly bodies than rotting over a long period of time. This also accounts for the Death of a sibling in many stories. The male sibling of the story is chopped up and scattered over the earth. The bits of the dismembered corpse are found over the earth and in the rivers and seas. The sister then magically finds these pieces and puts them back together. A male planet scattered on the earth and impregnating earth is a likely story. The sister then mates with the brother which is basically taboo in any culture to produce a new life. This story alludes to the destruction of a planet that then creates new life in his sister Gaia. The reconstituted body of the brother ejaculates his seed. Seed is a metaphor for meteors. The meteors or seed magically impregnate the planet. Most Gods are symbols of Planets and like the Egyptian pantheon each of the animal gods actually represents a star cluster as well. This would also account for the sacrifice, destruction, death and rebirth that is so prevalent in all of the mythological references. Through the ages the improbable nature of the stories makes more sense if they are related to a planet instead of a person. The constellation of Draco's and the Pole star Thuban. The Pole star would appear in the sky and if observed would make you think that the Earth revolved around Draco. The Pole is an imaginary post stuck through the planet like the stick in a toffee apple. The pole should be North to South but the earth is tilted foreword so in order for the pole to skewer the earth it is stuck in at an angle. This is why the earth has a navel and the pole sticks out at Easter Island. It then revolves around this pole. Dragons and other similar creatures play a role in many creation myths. In these stories the gods do battle with unlikely creatures for control of the Earth. When defeated, the dragons are usually flung up into the skies and become star clusters. Roman myth called the dragon Ladon. Ladon guarded the golden apples on a tree in a garden tended by the Hesperides who are the daughters of Atlas. Hercules Jupiters son was sent to obtain the apples while under pledge to Eurystheus. The Romans and the Greeks both had versions of the stores just changing the names. Even in India there was a famous Heracles character equivalent. Nereus is the old man of the sea who helped Hercules with his twelve tasks. Nereus parent were the sea and the earth. Atlas who held up the Universe gave the task to Hercules and fetched the apples from the tree. In another twist Hercules shot and killed Ladon with an arrow allowing Atlas to get the golden apples. The goddess Hera was greatly distressed by the death of Ladon and placed the dragon in the heavens. A Greek legend tells the story of Draco as a horrible dragon that guarded a sacred spring and slew the soldiers when they went to get water. Cadmus was the first king of Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 17
Thebes. Cadmus fought the dragon and won. The dragons teeth sewed in the ground grew into soldiers who helped Cadmus found Thebes. A Babylonian story tells of Tiamat, who turned herself into a dragon and was defeated as a dragon. She was then split into two parts. One part became the heavens and the other the Earth. The Chinese saw a dragon that ate the Sun or Moon during an eclipse. A Norse creation myth tells of a dragon that gnaws at the roots of Ygdrasil, the tree that covers the world. Thuban was the pole star 5000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians keenly observed it as Draco / Thuban. Some of Draco's stars were part of their constellation of the Egyptian Hippopotamus and others of the constellation of the Egyptian Crocodile. The stars depiction as these animals appears on the planisphere of Denderah and the walls of the Ramesseum tomb at Thebes. The hieroglyph of the Hippopotamus was used to represent the heavens in general. Tawaret is the Hippopotamus goddess and the bride of the god of evil Apep. Apep lived below the horizon and was only present at night; Tawaret was the Northern sky which covered the constellation of Draco, and lies above the horizon. Tawaret was known as mistress of the horizon and depicted on the ceiling of the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings. Draco's stars were also said to represent the falcon headed god Horus. Around 800 BC, the prehistoric Adena people who lived in the Ohio area of the United States created a Serpent Mound which is believed to mirror the constellation Draco. This huge mound is nearly a quarter of a mile long. Imagine the cost to the Adena people to build such a thing it had to be extremely important to them. The Persians have regarded Draco as a man-eating serpent called Azhdeha. In early Hindu worship, Draco is given the form of an alligator known as Shi-shu-mara. The words and stories connected to the image links are powerful and universal and would be the information made known to new initiates. Please remember that this is my understanding and writings of what I have discovered. These discoveries have taken many years to unravel and make sense to me. I am by no means an expert but this is how I joined the dots. CHAPTER TWO = DREAMING WHEN DAWNS LEFT HAND WAS IN THE SKY Dreaming when dawns left hand was in the sky I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry," Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup" Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry." Do not concern yourself with the names of the different deities and if the were Greek or Roman or not. At the end of the day they represented concepts and energies and this is more important for the telling of the stories. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 18
In Roman Mythology Aurora the goddess of the dawn, renews herself every morning. She flies across the sky announcing the arrival of the sun. She has two siblings a Brother Sol the sun and a Sister Luna the moon. She also has four children the Anemoi or Winds. Eos is the rosy fingered goddess of the dawn. She rises up into the sky from the river Okeanos at the start of each day. Her rays of light dispersed the mists of night. She sometimes rides in her golden chariot drawn by winged horses or she flies with her own wings. I am surprised that the goddess only has her fingers described as rosy. It is a reflection of the clouds illuminated in the morning sun with a rosy glow. Imagine this beautiful woman against the morning sky and slowly her pink fingers are revealed as the sun rises. Eos precedes the morning star Venus. Many of the deities are born of God and human parents or as gods with semi human offspring. They always seem to have a direct link to the sun, moon, planets and stars. Dreaming here again refers to the somnambulistic state when our consciousness begins to become aware. The state is also one of desire as to dream about something is to own it. So the poem returns to the time of night when people are dreaming. The subconscious desires that arise within our dreams. These are experienced while we are in rem [rapid eye movement] or dream like states. People in a dream state are sleeping and therefore not fulfilling their destiny. They need to get up and get on with life thats the day that is currently dawning. If you do not make your dreams real then there is no point in living either. The eyes flick quickly back and forth like reading this is the time you are experiencing dreams. The statement is quite clear that desires and issues are dormant. As you have not begun any action you cannot achieve any dreams. The first line of the poem makes reference to the mother of the morning, as she holds her hand in the sky as a blessing. The left hand is pure and untainted and symbolizes the 5 senses taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell. These represent a blessing of your physical senses. Yours senses must awake and be as new as a fresh morning. As you are still dreaming you have not physically woken up and connected with your senses to actually start doing things. The left hand belongs to the Prophet Muhammads wife and is a female symbol much like Eos. The hand raised is a gesture to stop and hold back. This is at the same time a ward to prevent unwanted actions coming forward. Was in the sky is past tense so a wish you have had is now gone. It means some of the towers are waiting for a sign from heaven before they will stir from their Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 19
slumber. My interpretation is that the sign has come and gone so get a move on and start on a path of blessings. How many people would still not believe it to be a sign even if it was God who gave it to them in their hands? This new path should not bring fear. You were kept safe while you slept so you in turn will be safe on your new journey. I heard a Voice within the Tavern cry The cry is a call within the tavern. The tavern is a meeting place and a place to drink wine. The tavern is a place you go to meet with others like you. The senses are enjoyed in a tavern as well. You open your senses to the largess that happens there. Usually the Taverner would cry or shout that the tavern is opened or closed for business. So the call is a request to come inside and to experience life. Life that is chaotic like a busy tavern. This is the new journey. The tavern is a physical place with form substance and chaos. However it also holds nourishment and intoxicating drink. It is a place to meet strangers and make friends while listening to gossip. The Tavern is loud and the articulated voice and movement refers to the opposite of the stillness before dawn when everything was asleep and no potential was realized. "Awake, my Little ones, and fill the Cup Awake, open your eyes and stop dreaming, my little ones refers to ownership. Children here belonging to the voice in the tavern that is God. Fill the cup is the chalice of the Holy Grail which you need to fill with wine [life] and drink to the fill. Little ones are young nave people who do not have lifes experience. They are children and have a long way to travel to adulthood. The road of life and the cup full of life is pushing them on to start living. The chalice which held the blood of Christ is the Holy Grail that everyone is looking for. It is only found at death. This is the amount of life energy you have in yourself. It is the battery of life and your allotted energy that powers your soul to live. "Before Life's Liquor in its Cup be dry." Before you die and have no more juice left in your body to live with. The Holy Grail is now empty of its juice or energy that powers your life. You awaken as a child from sleep. The drink is this intoxicating liquor called life. What you do not use dries in your cup and can sustain you no more. If you do not use it you will die with little experience of life. And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before The Tavern shouted--"Open then the Door! "You know how little while we have to stay, "And, once departed, may return no more." Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 20
And, as the Cock crew, those who stood before the Tavern shouted The cock and the rooster is the time to get up and alarm clock from Mother Nature. The cock is male and is making a call wake up. The people who have recently heeded this call and have already woken up are waiting at the tavern door to enter. The cockerel was used in the Bible to signifying betrayal as the cock crowed 3 times. The cock is an omen capable of giving signs and portents. The various people now standing outside the tavern are impatient and are shouting for the door to be opened as they want to get in and on with life. This could also be people who are passing through as their life is over and they are impatient to get inside another life. Roosters are again a symbol of the sun and solar power. The night and the deamons of night are chased away by the approaching sun. The Rooster warns that the sun is on its way and the deamons must flee. The cock is also a voice, a voice that is a proclaiming shout. The voice is telling everyone it is time to be awake. The poem is repeating urgent messages in other ways. Alectryon is the Ancient Greek word for a "rooster". In Greek Mythology, Alectryon was a youth, charged by Ares to stand guard outside his door while he was entertaining a pretty visitor. The visitor was Aphrodite. Alectryon fell asleep and Helios the sun god walked in on the couple. Ares furious at being caught punished Alectryon by changing him into a rooster. The rooster now never forgets his duty to announce the arrival of the sun in the morning. "Open then the Door! This is the biblical or religious reference to knock and the door will be opened ask for knowledge and it will never be withheld. There is an urgency now to live the rest of your life with knowledge. Once you have awakened you need to get inside and drink all the life you have left before you die The thirst for knowledge and the fact that the door is not yet opened. There is impatience from waiting and a new wanting that arises within you. This is also a demand and an instruction to open the door. You are taking control and excising authority over your life. "You know how little while we have to stay, On realizing how short a time we have to live and how precious this time actually is. The thought of wasting a moment just waiting after your awakening is enough to create anxiety. Your stay is the time we have in our mortal bodies on this mortal earth. The people who have awakened are impatient with the knowledge that you do not have much time left to live. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 21
Awakening usually comes with experience or knowledge gained in life. So much time is already wasted. The people outside admonish the innkeeper who knows that they wait outside to hurry up. Who better than he the innkeeper to know how little time there is? "And, once departed, may return no more." Once you have lived a life you do not come back and live this same life over again. It is forbidden to do so or not recommended. It is also about living life without regrets as it is doubtful we will have the opportunity to go back in the past and change things. So no matter what, move forward and do not look back. Live with no regrets. Know this that when this life is over embrace the experience but view it as over. Make the best of this chance at this life that you can. Now the New Year reviving old Desires. The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires, Where the White Hand Of Moses on the Bough Puts out, and Jesus from the Ground suspires. Now the New Year reviving old Desires, The whole of a life and all that has happened from the closing of a year to the awakening of a new year. With this new hope awakening you remember what you had wished for, that has not yet come true. Time, energy and emotion are all rolled up into one at this nostalgic point in time. We become complacent and apathetic then wake up and become energetic and wistful. We have a sense of loss that we have lost something but cannot put a finger on what it is. So once we have finished the passing of the old year celebrations we now are required to meditate on our future desires. The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires, The soul of the person thinks about these things and quietly contemplates in a corner and a thoughtful soul is a contemplative person who is considering the secrets of the Universe. The soul is both the entity and the person. This concept means that our mortal existence is two parts making one whole. Our mortal body which we inhabit for a while and then it is freed and we exist with our immortal body. This is the combination of spirit and matter or the male and female elements of our existence. Retires is thoughtful inner thinking. A place in your head and then the soul accepts the information without conflict of emotion. The there is sadness as you wish to know everything and have all the answers but you also realize you do not know as much as you think. There is not enough time on earth to find out everything. You must evaluate how much time you have left and what can you accomplish in this time. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 22
Where the WHITE HAND OF MOSES on the Bough Puts out The Golden Bough The Golden Bough and Fleece The bough is the oak tree wrapped in mistletoe where the Golden Fleece was hung by King Aeetes in his garden dedicated to Ares. The Golden Ram belonged to Zeus and was sacrificed to him after it saved Phrixus from being murdered through a misguided omen to have him and his sister sacrificed. Moses was the peasant king who achieved his dreams. Moses This line is all about symbols, healing and the rebirth of the sun. The time is Aries being the star sign of the cosmic period. Moses did healing magic in front of the Pharaoh. So the greatest dreamer heals with the power of the sun in Aries. Moses is an enigmatic character who we never know his true name as his mother gave him up at birth and he was christened Moses. Knowing your name was a way in which you could be subjugated by magic. So not knowing his real name would give Moses a major edge in the world of religion and magic. Historians believed this to have happened in the middle of the fourteenth century. Moses is a cross cultural icon and is important to Judaism. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and he received the Ten Commandments from God. He is mentioned for the same deeds in Christianity and he is an important figure in Islam as well. The white hand is from exodus 4. 6 and 4.7 where Moses put his hand to his breast and his hand turned leprous white. Exodus. 4:6: And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous white as snow. Exodus: 4:7: And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. So it is very strange that Moses is used in context with taking his white hand off the bough. How did his hand get to the bough in the first place? Why on a bough when this specific incident was performed for the Pharaoh? Moses hand on the white hand is about his skin. People who were not sunburned would be very wealthy or important people. Moses was dark from the sun and by putting his hand on his heart his hand turns white. The white skin is leprosy. He returns has hand over the heart and his hand goes back to the natural sun burnt colour. So by taking his hand off the bough meant he was healed of leprosy. We need to delve back a bit further to see where this leads us. Puts out meaning is to expel or to leave. I am not sure the bough is putting out something to Moses to ensure his hand is healed. It may mean too that the hand was being healed by expelling the leprosy disease by the bough. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 23
Healing and Mistletoe and the bough This is then an older repeat of the current story of the green man. The mans essence is hidden in the mistletoe. This means that his spirit now in the tree cannot be affected by external forces. In Greek Mythology, the Golden Fleece is the fleece of the gold-haired winged ram. It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest for the Golden Fleece. The quest is required in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Lolcus in Thessaly. We have the knight story all over again. This may also be the link to Moses as an orphan child who became King. Phrixus, whose name means "curly" as a ram's fleece at first appears unrelated to Moses. The similarities though exist between Moses and the children of the Golden Fleece as they had to flee, were protected by gods and were raised by other people. Phrixus is rescued by King Aeetes who is the son of the sun god Helios. Aeetes sacrifices the Ram to Zeus and puts the fleece on an oak tree [sometimes a golden apple tree] in his grove dedicated to Ares. The grove is protected by a dragon that does not sleep. Sometimes bulls that breathe fire are also protectors of the fleece. The fleece is meant to bring prosperity to anyone who posses it. Phrixus marries the Kings daughter and they have four children the eldest being Argon. Argon is involved with the Argonaughts who eventually look for the fleece. The Golden Fleece reflects the idea that the fleece is information, wealth or spirituality lost on a journey. You never find the living winged ram, but merely the outer skin. The skin though is from something very beautiful that is gone. What is left behind is something so wondrous that it was desired by the known world at the time The fleece is two parts the gold as a colour or maybe made of gold itself. We are never really told. The fact is a fleece is the skin that still has wool on it. This skin has magic properties and the skin is large and hidden from mortal man. The spiritual journey starts with an undertaking and great challenges. This is required to perform the tasks so you can be proven worthy. If you then see this thing you desire and you get to touch or possess it you, become almost god like. The person who eventually finds the fleece was once a powerful and really cruel man who does terrible things to his family. Through this challenging journey he becomes a beacon of strength and power. In fact in his last challenge he has to face a dragon as well. This is then the same story as the Knight or St George and the Dragon. Phrixus eventually is a ghost that requires a boat ride home with the fleece in order to fulfill the requirements of the Argonaughts expedition. The fleece must have outstanding value for something to be so protected. This story has cosmology significance which I am sure will one day be decoded. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 24
Phrixus has a twin sister Helle. Their stepmother spoils the seeds of Helle so that they do not germinate when sown. The stepmother then bribes the local oracle to have them sacrificed in order to ensure that the crops grow again. Their real mother a goddess steps in to save them from certain death. The fleece remained there until taken by Jason. The Ram previously at its death was sent to heaven and became the constellation Aries. All of these symbols refer to celestial beings. The Dragon as we have seen before is mentioned as our lower bestial self or as the Pole star Draco. Achieving knowledge or information is hard work. Nothing comes easy it requires patience commitment and perseverance. In the end you could find the fleece on a golden bough which is then your passport to empower you to another realm. Oak tree However the Oak tree the fleece was hung on has significance as the tree is one of the homes of the many Mistletoe bushes. Mistletoe is believed to have great healing powers for many reasons. The green and fresh leaves of the mistletoe are twined about the boles of the oak even in winter. The yellow or golden leaves are stark contrast against the leafless limbs of the host tree Mistletoe only grows on certain host plants. In Norse mythology Balder the sun god is killed by a mistletoe arrow bringing on winter. It could be even considered that the mistletoe looks like large golden apples in the tree. Virgil described it as the shady holm-oak. The leafy gold, so rustled in the gentle breeze the golden leaf. Here Virgil definitely describes the Golden Bough as growing on a holm-oak. The seeds of the mistletoe die if kept in darkness. The mistletoe has yellow leaves that can easily look like a rams fleece hung in a tree in winter. By observation in winter the mistletoe growing on the oak remains green, while the oak itself is leafless. The position of the growing mistletoe plant is important as well. The plant has no roots and does not grow in the ground. The plant grows in the trunk and the branches of a tree. The berries are highly toxic and can kill. The plant was used as a tea for a wide variety of illnesses and its hallucinogenic properties. The plant is an antidote for poison. The plant was harvested with a golden or silver cycle only at night under a fool moon. The berries are white as well. This mistletoe becomes an important celestial object because of this. The plant is believed to have fallen to earth as a gift from God. The plant then has never touched the earth as it has no roots and does not need to be nourished or sustained from the earth. These points give the plant even stronger magical properties. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 25
Another tale relevant to the story is that the spirit of the oak is a personified figure. This figure could appear as human and would live as part of the tree. These tree spirits or for instance this oak-spirit could deposit their life in a secret place. The idea is that the life of the oak was in the mistletoe. This place could or would be the mistletoe. This meant that the spirit in a sense was neither on earth nor in heaven. This of course is another celestial secret. Not being in either place would make it almost impossible to be found. Rites regarding the sun Aryans kindled the solstitial [sun fire] and other ceremonial fires from oak wood. These fires were part of rituals that represented sun charms. They were performed in order to supply the sun with fresh fire. The fires were made by rubbing the oak branches to create combustion. The sparks were then encouraged and kindled to a flame and then fire. This was done in order to access the fire which resided in the sacred oak tree. This fire from the oak was the original storehouse or reservoir of the fire initially harnessed from the sun. By drawing it out on special occasions the fire of the oak could in turn feed the suns fire. If you needed the suns energy for magic it was simple you would burn a part of an oak tree. Alternatively you could release the stored energy from the mistletoe. The life of the oak was in the mistletoe as the mistletoe held the life of the oak. The suns fire came to earth and was absorbed by the oak. This energy was then stored and protected by the mistletoe. The using of this fire generated a cult of worship and healing. The cult in turn had a number of stories about young men who took the chariot of the sun for a spin. They end up loosing control of the horses and sometimes come to close to the earth. The chariot brings the sun too close to the earth bringing the earth into deadly peril by fire. The youths are stopped in various ways. They are killed or die or are seriously injured when they fall from the chariot. The intervention by a god prevents further harm to the earth. Virbius [aka Hyppolytus] as one of these characters killed while driving the sun chariot. He was resurrected as Virbius. His death was caused by the horses harnessed to the chariot being spooked by a Bull rising from the sea, sometimes blowing or snorting flames. His new name Verbius means "twice a man", in reference to the fact that he was mortally wounded when he was thrown from the chariot but brought back to life. Virbius was worshipped as a god of the forest at Nemi. Nemi is now a town but was the Nemus Aricinum, or "grove of Aricca. Nemi the place was associated with the cult of Diana and led to the development as an influential and affluent center of healing and medicine. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 26
Aricca is the center of a region that was extremely important in Roman and preRoman mythology and religion because of its association with the goddess Diana and the god Virbius. So now we find another link to the sun, as Virbius a tree-spirit linked to being the spirit of the oak on which grew the Golden Bough. Virbius in tradition represented the first of the Kings of the Wood and as the oak and an oak-spirit he would have taken part in rekindling the suns fire. Another Norse personality the son of Odin named Balder or Lord of the Day, was also an oak-spirit. He was described as so fair of face and so shining that a light went forth from him, and he represented the sun. The ram also references to a point in time as Aries. The planet Venus is a steady constant in time. The movement of Venus relative to us on earth enables us to gauge time through the precession of the stars. Venus traverses the sky backwards and forewords from a central point. This point is below the morning sun as it rises in the East. This happens every 27 days and has done for thousands of years. Not only then is the sun and Venus aligned but a zodiac constellation of stars is over head at this time as well. The rising of the stars as it appears to us from earth is then said to be governed by the Zodiac in that quarter at that time. Like when we are born the Zodiac in the sky at the time of our birth. Our next cycle, Aquarius, begins on the 5th May 2012 and this marks the end of 54 000 years cycle of Aries the Ram the male and the first sign of the Zodiac. Mystics believe that creation was created and then we move backwards unraveling the creation that is why we can see the future because it is the past. Astrological symbols abound The twins Pieces, The Bull coming from the sea as Taurus, caused the death of one of the twins. Aries the ram saved one of them and is sacrificed to the sun to be reborn due the burning of the oak. This is all related to time and epochs in human history. Mythology, of course, influenced the naming of many objects in the night sky, not just the constellations. The planets all bear names from Roman mythology which reflect their characteristics: Mercury, named for the speedy messenger god, revolves fastest around the sun; Venus, named for the goddess of love and beauty, shines most brightly; Mars, named for the god of war, appears blood-red; Jupiter, named for the single most important god, is the largest planet in our solar system. So the commandment from Omars text is telling us to put out a scared grove of trees for their healing powers. We are being told to heal ourselves. Diana and Verbius together with the groves are dedicated to the knowledge of healing which we must go and find. This is a dizzy journey from just one line of text. The text is actually about finding the Green man. He is the spirit of the wood that preserves the power of the sun. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 27
He is eventually sacrificed in order for the sun to continue burning. So we need to sacrifice a part of ourselves to continue on our path of spiritual enlightenment. We are required to heal ourselves. We need to kindle a flame of knowledge that will help us to eventually burn bright. We are required to study in the healing arts and the workings of the physical and spiritual universe. Moses has attained the power that ensures the sun continues to burn. This knowledge is part of his ability to promote healing and health and cures the leprosy of his hand in an instant. , and Jesus from the Ground suspires. In keeping with the references to plants and healing this line refers to the Jesus bush. The bush is named after the biblical Jesus. Here suspire means to breathe. The new bush has broken through the ground or earth of its womb. The new plant has breached the lower earth and has found the sun and light. Once now in the sunlight the leaves of the plant unfurl and the plant begins to breathe. This is a whole new period of life. We are required to lift our heads above the ground or our carnal side. The mud is the lower more base half of our being. If we can lift ourselves from here we can breathe a new life in the sun and air above our carnal desires. This is a continuation of the lessons on mans dual nature. This again refers to the one base, lower or mortal carnal side we are born with. The other is the higher spiritual side of light, knowledge and freedom from earthly desires. The new life requires sacrifices from the carnal nature in order to embrace our spiritual nature. We have room for growth after the heavy exertion from poking through the ground. Emotions are heavy and fearful as we exit the womb of the earth no matter how hard it is. We feel very exposed and vulnerable at this point. Suspire as a word has emotional sadness. The emotion speaks to you as if you are leaving behind a place of safety for a new journey fraught with unknown dangers. Like a ghost leaving the body lying in the ground and rising up into the unknown of the heavens. Iram indeed is gone with all his Rose, And Jamshd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows; But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields, And still a Garden by the Water blows. Iram indeed is gone with all its Rose, The city of Iram is hardly remembered and few even know of its existence. It was famous for its magnificent rose gardens. A rose garden was also the reference to heaven and the Garden of Eden. The rose is a spiritual flower. The thorns, the beautiful scent and their deep red colour are the most prized symbols of love and sacrifice. The red rose is a symbol of blood and the heart and of course the white rose is a symbol for purity. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 28
Picking the rose can result in you drawing blood. A thorn punctures the finger for not taking care in the handling of the rose. So acquiring or attaining great beauty and possessing it always comes with a warning sticker. The label reads Handle with care blood can flow if not handled correctly. And Jamshyd's Sev'n-ring'd Cup where no one knows; This is a most magical and valuable artifact of which collectively no one knows where it is has disappeared too. It is one of the most powerful magic artifacts ever made. It contained the liquid of immortal life. The cup was a magical scrying cup that could help you map the world The cup further abilities were the power to tell the future present and past. It could also show the viewer any place on earth or heaven. If you desired to look it could also find anyone on heaven and earth. The desire to own this artifact would be enormous. This cup itself has much symbolic meaning as well. It was also known as the cup of days for it had seven magical rings. The magical number 7 stood for the seven days in the week. So now the bowl that enables you to see everything is itself nowhere to be seen. But still the Vine her ancient Ruby yields, The grape vine for thousands of years is still bearing fruit that when squeezed produces the red liquid just like blood. The wine made years ago still stands in bottles and is a ruby in the light of the sun, All life is connected like a vine growing along a fence each tendril seeking its own way, but still part of the whole. The grape is juice or alcohol. The choice is yours to be intoxicated with life or miserable. But what ever your choice is the grape will always grow. Despite thousands of years of living man is still being born onto the earth and will be for some more time to come. And still a Garden by the Water blows. An old garden that the dandelions are blowing next to water be it a river or a stream. This is a mature garden where the plants are blowing. Dandelions blow when their stalks detach and they fly up to spread their seed. Dandelions which are both edible and medicinal have a period in their life cycle where they blow. The name is derived from several European languages. The plant or at least its parachute ball stage is named after the popular children's pastime. Children blowing the parachutes off the stalk: Pusteblume is German for "blowing flower", soffione is Italain for "blowing" and dmuchawiec is Polish derived from the verb "blow." The Dandelion plant is ruled over by Jupiter. Jupiter was the original sky god who became the chief of Gods and is also Zeus. He drove a chariot with four horses and originally had a wine festival celebrated in his honour.
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The meanings are some things from the past are still around for us today. Everything from the ancients has not disappeared. The delight of youth even in old age can still be enjoyed. Life is playful, serene or torture and heartache but above all else it must be lived. The recurring themes so far are the male and female joined as one emerging from the womb. Living life energetically, and knowing what can be used to heal yourself as you get older. Expecting life to be difficult and looking toward to heaven and the future earthly garden of delights. Growing old needing healing and finally leaving the mother plant behind and blowing in the wind like a dandelion case. Do not think that we are alone despite it appearing so. Knowledge needs to be learned but all in a balance between enjoying life and attaining enlightenment. Finally we need to understand the true nature of our being and the relationship with the universe. CHAPTER THREE THE POEM STANZAS NOW BECOME A STORY. THIS IS NO LONGER THE SINGLE LINE INFORMATION FROM THE PREVIOUS STANZAS OF THE POEM From here the pace quickens, almost like a dervish who is a priest who whirls for hours on end. He continues whirling copying the whirlwind which is a symbol of God until he has an epiphany and visions of God. These stanzas talk of life and death and peoples belief systems. It discusses how people think. Then it continues with time and the short amount of time, we have to live. Other points are the quality of belief, related to this life and what people should believe of death. The poem makes us aware of how many millions of people who have died before us. It is also the beginning when we are asked to take a journey with the author. He wishes us to visit all these places that were truly remarkable. The point he wishes to make is the past is nothing more than dust and fable. We need to put these issues into perspective and live our lives in the here and now. And David's Lips are lock't; but in divine High piping Pehlevi, with "Wine! Wine! Wine! "Red Wine!"---the Nightingale cries to the Rose That yellow Cheek of hers to incarnadine. David is the direct descendant of Moses. His lips are locked which means he can only speak the Iranian language of the Zoroastrian religion. This religion can only be practiced if you are born into it. It is an ages old religion with a sect still practicing in Bombay India. The late Freddie Mercurys families are practitioners of the Zoroaster religion. Pehlevi is the name of the language. So David is shouting words in an ancient language which translate to wine, wine, wine. Three times he repeats it as a magical number. A description of the type of wine is obviously red the same ruby grape of before. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 30
Both David and The nightingale sing the same song. The nightingale is considered the plainest bird with the most beautiful voice. The nightingale sings to the rose. Pleading as it asks for the shadow of its cheeks to be made the colour of red flesh. Yellow is knowledge and red is the ability to fight evil. The nightingale is one of the few birds that sing in the dark at night and it is also the lonely male that sings. Birds are inspired to sing by the presence of God. There is a story where the Nightingale impales itself on the rose and sings till it dies and in the morning the white rose has turned red with the blood of the Nightingale. This is an Old Persian story, so there must be lost allegory regarding sacrificing ones life for your beliefs. The giving of your life for something that seems plain and ordinary but in fact it is beautiful and has a voice that can inspire the heart with joy. David is in all 3 religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Historical writing portrays David with having the most beautiful voice of any man. He would be a fit partner to sing with a nightingale the bird considered to have the most beautiful voice of any bird. David was a writer of psalms and lived his life to the full. He is a fitting example to be named here as he lived life to the full. He was gifted and had deep religious devotion to God. I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV) God speaks to man in the morning through the songs of birds. The bird sings to the rose in the garden [in heaven] where god still lives. Early in the morning it asks to have its cheeks reddened so that it can have the tinge of healthy living. The tinged cheeks are the outward appearance of a person who is enjoying too much wine. Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring The Winter Garment of Repentance fling: The Bird of Time has but a little way To fly---and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing. So live your life like the fire of spring when everything is bursting with life. There is new sap and the sun rises gold and pure. Rain falls and everything is full of life. You no longer need a coat to protect you from the cold. You do not need to hide from this new energy. Everything that you have wrapped your life in, during the cold winter months you can throw away. You have nothing, so live by filling the Cup with the juice of life. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009
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Then the concept of time is presented again as a bird. The Bird of Time as a short distance to fly. Then the bird is in the air. What is the moment between being on the ground and being in the air? This is the distance the words are bringing to our attention. How many infinite moments before the moment actually happens? The conundrum is of time. For when do you take the decision to fly? When we take the decision to live it is just a small moment? The consequences of the decision will be an eternity for us at the same time. You will be trapped in eternity trying to fathom the questions of the Universe. In the end you may as well attempt to fly. So while you have the energy of spring rather take flight and in an instant you will be on your journey. And look---a thousand Blossoms with the Day Woke---and a thousand scatter'd into Clay: And this first Summer Month that brings the Rose Shall take Jamshyd and Kaikobad away. The blossoms are people being born and dying every day. The balance is that as many are born each day so as many will eventually die. The clay refers to the body which breaks up and in turn becomes clay to be the building block of the next creation. Clay is referred to the substance that creates life so life is made from the life that others have left behind. The flower becomes clay again. When clay is mixed with water it becomes malleable and can be shaped. Once shaped and then fired or tempered by fire this form becomes permanent. The firing process changes normal ground and water into something solid hard and permanent. Clay become pottery which has different properties So the beginning of summer when the earth has warmed from spring and the traces of winter are gone. The new time is marked by the flowering rose. This time is about the first Adam the Zoroastrian King Jamshyd who created an underground cavern to save the human race. The cavern was created to escape the winter snow. This cavern was the equivalent of the ark and helped the survival of the human race. The animals were also taken underground like Noah did thousands of years later. All are taken in death even Jamshyd and the poet Kaikobad there is no distinction to whom they are or when they are taken. Eventually everyone is taken. Kaikobad was a great poet who fought to inspire people. His inspiration was to stop people continuing with their endless warring ways. Jamshyd was recognized as taking man from a skin clad peoples to a great and noble race. But come with old Khayyam, and leave the Lot Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 32
Of Kaikobad and Kaikhosru forgot! Let Rustum lay about him as he will, Or Hatim Tai cry Supper---heed them not. So walk with the Poet Khayyam, and leave this group of people now forgotten. The poet Kaikobad and general Kaikhosru are long forgotten. No matter who and how powerful these people were walk with the poet now and remember they are all but forgotten. It is also about storing too much energy in the past and wishing information from the past instead of getting on with life now. The legend of Rustum a part human hero who plays in the great drama of good and evil who was so strong and brave that the king made him head of his army. Then the White Demon seized the king, and Rustum set out to rescue him. In the course of his travels, Rustum encountered a lion, a desert, a dragon, a demoness, and a demon army. He overcame all these obstacles with the help of his faithful horse Ruksh and a warrior named Aulad. He defeated Aulad in combat and Aulad became an ally. Rustum's adventure ended in a cave, the lair of the White Demon, where Rustum tore out the demon's heart. This sounds a lot like our previous knight and horse story. Haitim Tai lived in the sixth century a legendary personality famous for his generosity. His goodness and his adventures are featured in the tales of the Arabian Nights. The now famous Haitim Tai lived in the Najd province in the central part of the Arabian Peninsula now in Saudi Arabia. His generosity and fame for helping the poor spread over the Middle East and as far as India and Pakistan as well. He traveled to dangerous distant places to solve the seven questions that he faced, in the cause of justice and truth, and to help the poor and the weak. So if you see the great warrior Rustum or the generous Haitim Tai feeding the hungry ignore them. With me along some Strip of Herbage strown That just divides the desert from the sown, Where name of Slave and Sultan scarce is known, And pity Sultan Mahmud on his Throne. The souls walk a rope path 3000 miles long to get to God and their good deeds can become a horse to help them get there faster. Obviously the dead have no standing as they are all the same in the eyes of God. So walk along a path where the plants have sowed themselves. This path separates the planted fields by a narrow strip. No one here really knows anyone whether they were a slave or a sultan. Everyone has to travel this path rich and poor alike.
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Pity the Sultan Mahmud as he cannot enjoy this simple scene despite all his wealth and pomp. Also he is responsible for all his actions and deeds and therefore his wealth cannot buy him freedom. He has to walk the same path no matter how much wealth he has. Many of these next stanzas are pretty much self explanatory. Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough, A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse---and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness--And Wilderness is Paradise enow. Here again sustenance or food is bread and it is called the staff of life. Bread contains basically everything to sustain the body. The flask of wine, a book of poetry and you beside me singing in the wilderness and the wilderness soon becomes a paradise. The bough again is the oak and mistletoe and a perfect picnic scene. The place can only be perfect if you join and sing making use of your voice as it will change the wilderness to a paradise. David singing or is it God through the inspiration of the birds. People listen to the spoken word much better than reading it themselves. The reader is the person being addressed. Singing like the nightingale and so beautifully that even the wilderness is transformed into a paradise. The presence of God signing through the birds is converting everything into paradise through the presence of god. A sound or a musical note can make anything appear as something else. These things are transformed and changed by listening. They become something desirable and beautiful from a barren landscape and you can close your eyes and dream them. "How sweet is mortal Sovranty?"---think some: Others---"How blest the Paradise to come!" Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest; Oh, the brave Music of a distant Drum! What a boon it would be to have absolute power over our mortality or susceptibility to death. I am going to live in a place blessed by God called Paradise but! There is always a but. Take what you can get now and forget about everything else. Do not follow what other people believe. The drummer in the distance excites your blood to follow them blindly. People think that following the drum blindly into battle is a glorious way to die. Make your own path to paradise. Look to the Rose that blows about us---"Lo, "Laughing," she says, "into the World I blow: "At once the silken Tassel of my Purse Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 34
"Tear, and its Treasure on the Garden throw." We are told to speak to creation for some answers. Her purpose is to come into the world create seeds and leave again. Her seeds are the new life being a treasure for the garden. He tells us to take inspiration from the Rose bushes in full bloom about us. The rose in reply laughs and says, Into the world my flowers have bloomed. Now my purse of seeds is full. It is so full the poor old thread that has bound my purse is broken. The broken seam has opened the bottom of my purse and its treasure has spilled to the ground. Notice that no matter how strong the purse a single old thread can be its undoing. The treasured contents now spilled up the garden. The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon Turns Ashes---or it prospers; and anon, Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face Lighting a little Hour or two---is gone. Men have dreams and lofty ideals. These dreams may or may not be achieved. These dreams may die before they are consummated and made real by the dreamer. Dreams prosper and are achieved but soon each and every one will disappear as snow does in the hot dessert sun with absolutely no chance of staying. The dreams cannot sustain themselves in a dessert. So too can no idea ever be here for ever. Each thing has a moment of time allotted to it to live. It then fades or dies and then it is gone. Each brings with it a little hope and a glow of a spark in the dark before it is consumed. And those who husbanded the Golden Grain, And those who flung it to the Winds like Rain, Alike to no such aureate Earth are turn'd As, buried once, Men want dug up again. Then the workers in the fields who harvested the golden grain have died. The workers who separated the wheat from the stalk never thought of themselves part of a golden worded poetic earth. There gold that covered the earth worth more than any human treasure. They too are buried. Men want to dig them up to see what their life was like so to better understand the past. There is no rest and peace as the quest for knowledge continues.
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Aureate means to be covered in gold. These people are not born to riches. The golden grain they bring into the world though is a greater wealth as it makes the bread that sustains life itself. Think, in this batter'd Caravanserai Whose Doorways are alternate Night and Day, How Sultan after Sultan with his Pomp Abode his Hour or two, and went his way. Caravans of the dessert, camel trains in the dessert in procession. Each camel has a tent and each tent flap is either day or night in an endless procession on the dessert sand. No matter if the caravan was of great wealth or not. Even if it is owned by sultans it only has this time on earth and nothing more then it too is gone never to be seen again. They say the Lion and the Lizard keep The Courts where Jamshyd gloried and drank deep; And Bahram, that great Hunter---the Wild Ass Stamps o'er his Head, and he lies fast asleep. The Avestan hero Yima Xsaeta over time became Jamshyd. Jamshyd was described as bright and shinning. The reference to the sun and he also became the world-ruling Shah Jamshid of Persian legend and mythology. According to the Shahnama of the poet Firdausi Jamshid was the fourth king of the world who also had command over the angels and demons of the underworld. He was also both king and high priest of Hormozd responsible for a great many inventions. He manufactured armor and weapons. He created weaving and dying of clothes of linen, silk and wool. He was responsible for the building of houses of brick. He oversaw the mining of jewels and precious metals, the making of perfumes and wine, the navigation of the waters of the world in sailing ships. He was considered immortal and reigned for over 700 years drinking deep in his long and fruitful life. Bahram on the other hand in the Persian tradition relates many stories of his valor and beauty. His many victories he won fighting the Romans, Turks, Huns and Indians. In Africa his adventures and love of hunting were legendary. He was called Bahram Gur "Onager," on account of his love for hunting the onagers a type of wild ass. The ass he hunted is now running over his head where he is buried and sleeps. I sometimes think that never so red The Rose as where some buried Caesar bled; That every Hyacinth the Garden wears Dropt in its Lap from some once lovely Head. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 36
Do you not think that the rose over there is more red than another because a famous Caesar bled there? Does his blood because of his fame make the petals of the rose more red? When the Hyacinth flower drops, it does not fall on the ground but rather in the lap of a beautiful woman who lays buried there. And this delightful Herb whose tender Green Fledges the River's Lip on which we lean--Ah, lean upon it lightly! for who knows From what once lovely Lip it springs unseen! And the delightful herb or dandelions again whose soft green borders on this river bank or edge. We are lying on the lips of some dead person so do not lean down to hard as it may be someone famous. The grass and herbs are growing from the lips and mouths of thousands of people who have died and are buried here before. Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears TO-DAY of past Regrets and future Fears--To-morrow?---Why, To-morrow I may be Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years. So drink the cup of life given to you. Have no emotional regrets about living your life to the full. Do it because you believe that life exists, and then all you will be is the sum total of your existence and all that you have lived. This cup of life at death clears any emotional ties to your past. Lo! some we loved, the loveliest and best That Time and Fate of all their Vintage prest, Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before, And one by one crept silently to Rest. It does not matter who you are, who you have loved or what they looked liked and how old they were. How much life they lived does not matter as they have all gone to rest. We will all die in the end. So when it comes time to die have no regrets and be prepared for death as in life. And we, that now make merry in the Room They left, and Summer dresses in new Bloom, Ourselves must we beneath the Couch of Earth Descend, ourselves to make a Couch---for whom? So while we lived we saw them die in the summer of their lives. The summer of their lives, whether it is when they are young or old they died when the pods of the dandelion were in full bloom. There is a type of wild lettuce that also has a stalk Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 37
and seeds that can be blown. The seeds have tufts of silk that the wind catches and spreads them as they float away. So their lives end when their flowers have dropped and the seeds of their life are blown. Now it is time for us to die and descend into the ground. The seed going beneath the ground is also a symbol of a new life starting with remnants of the original. We will become a couch for a stranger one day. Our bones too will be a couch for some stranger to lie on. Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend, Before we too into the Dust descend; Dust into Dust, and under Dust, to lie, Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and---sans End! Alike for those who for TO-DAY prepare, And those that after a TO-MORROW stare, A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries "Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There!" Live as much as you can, before you die. You will eventually become dust and lie under dust. Your body under the dust will have no life. No one will sing to you but you are immortal. So if you are only concerned with preparing to live today. If you feel that your life will only begin tomorrow then listen to the priest it is your consciousness. Your tower is dark as you are not yet ready and the consciousness or your priest cried out fools the answer is neither in preparation or wishing it is in living now. While the Rose blows along the River Brink, With old Khayyam the Ruby Vintage drink: And when the Angel with his darker Draught Draws up to Thee---take that, and do not shrink. Ah, with the Grape my fading Life provide, And wash my Body whence the Life has died, And in the Winding-sheet of Vine-leaf wrapt, So bury me by some sweet Garden-side. That ev'n my buried Ashes such a Snare Of Perfume shall fling up into the Air, As not a True Believer passing by But shall be overtaken unaware. CHAPTER FOUR THIS SECTION DEALS WITH THE EXPERIENCES OF THE AUTHOR HIS LIFE AND HOW HE ARGUED ABOUT KNOWLEDGE. AT THE END OF HIS LIFE HE HAS NOTHING LEFT BUT THIS DIARY OF HIS LIFES EXPERIENCES
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These stanzas are very self explanatory and catalogue his life and his journey, and how after each event the people have still died and no amount of knowledge argument or discussion has stopped one person from dying. Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss'd Of the Two Worlds so learnedly, are thrust Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn Are scatter'd, and their Mouths are stopt with Dust. Two worlds heaven and earth and everything they argued about is just dust in their mouths and still we seek the answers they so vehemently discussed. Oh, come with old Khayyam, and leave the Wise To talk; one thing is certain, that Life flies; One thing is certain, and the Rest is Lies; The Flower that once has blown for ever dies. Myself when young did eagerly frequent Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument About it and about: but evermore Came out by the same Door as in I went. All they achieve is passing time. Once an incident has happened you cannot bring it back again. People spend too much time focused on irrelevant issues. While you are arguing you are not living. The flower that has bloomed and the petals fallen away ad the seeds scattered you cannot put it back together again. The only thing they had in common is they used the same door of life and death. They continued to argue but he left for life. He was also guilty of arguing when he was young but as he has grown over and has so little life left he has decided to act instead. With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow, And with my own hand labour'd it to grow: And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd--"I came like Water, and like Wind I go." With all the knowledge I learned during my entire life. The most important things I actually learnt were I was born when the waters of the womb broke and I will die with a last breath upon my lips Into this Universe, and why not knowing, Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing: And out of it, as Wind along the Waste, I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing. I came without knowledge was born with water and carried through the river of life. I traveled in the river like water flowing in its bed. I will leave one day like wind blowing in the dessert as it too seems to be blowing without knowledge of where it is going. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 39
What, without asking, hither hurried whence? And, without asking, whither hurried hence! Another and another Cup to drown The Memory of this Impertinence! Up from Earth's Centre through the Seventh Gate I rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate, And many Knots unravel'd by the Road; But not the Knot of Human Death and Fate. Questions and life I never bothered to ask just hurried around without direction. Cups of liquor I drank but never the cup of life. The memory of how silly I was. Then he rises from earth during the solstice. The two solstices are the highest and lowest points of the year. They are called the janua coeli or "heaven's gates." The havens gates are the two points of entry and exit from the world-cavern in which we exist; an old Aristasian rhyme goes as follows: The city hath full seven gates A maid may travel through; But when thou speakst of Heaven's gates Know thou there are but two. The Southernmost of Heaven's gates Stands where red roses grow; The Northernmost of Heaven's gates Doth open in the snow. The Southernmost of Heaven's gates Leads far beyond the sea; The Northernmost of Heaven's gates Leads high above the tree. "Beyond the sea" refers to the Daughter's paradise of Avala which is said to lie far in the Western Ocean, while "above the tree" refers to the transcendence of the material world above the central World Tree, the highest earthly part of the World Axis, growing atop the Sacred Mountain. The world axis is an axis mundi where heaven and earth can reach or speak to one another. It is where angels can speak with men. The winter and summer solstices, as Heaven's gates, are known respectively as the Gate of Dea and the Gate of Maid, and this corresponds exactly to the solstitial mysteries, for the Nativity mystery is precisely concerned with the descent of Dea into the world-cavern, while the Rosa Mundi mystery is concerned with the ascent of maid "like a lark" directly upward into perfect union with Dea. Again we have references back to previous stanzas and religious doctrine as the golden Age of man when Saturn was said to have ruled, a great feast called Saturnalia was held during the winter months around the time of the winter solstice Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 40
[to reignite the sun] originally only one day long, taking place on the 17Th December but later lasted a week. During Saturnalia, roles of master and slave were reversed, moral restrictions loosened, and the rules of etiquette ignored. The author could become King and sit on the throne during this festival and later one person was chosen a year and sacrificed after his day as king. This is another side to Saturn and its ruling sign of Capricorn where old accounts are settled and the winter solstice is when the Sun enters the sign of Capricorn. Hesiod wrote of the five ages of mankind, Gold, Silver, two ages of Bronze and one age of Iron. The Age of Gold was the purest age, when no labor was required and weather was always pleasant. It was virtually a place of pleasant surroundings and of abundance. Death was not an unpleasant eventuality and people occupied their time in pleasant pursuits ruled by Cronus. Saturn's connection with agriculture relates to and the advent of seasons and Cronus as the Father of time brings all things to an end that have a beginning. The Golden Years is a term used to describe the retirement years and Saturn rules old age. Those who have learned the lessons of Saturn; perseverance, confrontation of limitations, tyrannies, and inner darkness; who learn to accept the world around them with tolerance of others and self-acceptance, age with dignity and acquire wisdom. Saturn represents our limitations, our restrictions, yet it is also our inner mentor and teacher. Saturn appears every 29 years with appearances at age 29, when we face the discipline of maturity; at 58, when we face the discipline of acceptance and wisdom; and at 87, few people make it to the third return. Basically he has passed his initiation and learnt all these things but still he does not know the answer to the reasons humans die and what happens after. Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn: And Lip to Lip it murmur'd---"While you live "Drink!---for once dead you never shall return." The final stanza says I came to earth to live and to drink of knowledge I drank from the sacred well of life. I drank from the cup and it spoke to me. The lip of the cup said, Drink of this life as once you are dead you cannot come to this life again. CHAPTER FIVE THE KUZA-NAMA / THE BOOK OF POTS / WE RETUN TO THE POTTERS STUDIO TO ASK QUESTIONS OF GOD AND HOW WE FIT INTO THE TAPESTRY OF LIFE. All I ever learned was that there was life and divine intervention and a confluence of ideas in the simple anecdotes of the pottery. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 41
The field, the vine and the wine made from the grape and the tavern from whence it is available and served. And lately, by the Tavern Door agape, Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel Shape Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and He bid me taste of it; and 'twas---the Grape! The Grape that can with Logic absolute The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute: The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute. The mighty Mahmud, the victorious Lord, That all the misbelieving and black Horde Of Fears and Sorrows that infest the Soul Scatters and slays with his enchanted Sword. And if the Wine you drink, the Lip you press, End in the Nothing all Things end in ---Yes--Then fancy while Thou art, Thou art but what Thou shalt be---Nothing---Thou shalt not be less. And, strange to tell, among that Earthen Lot Some could articulate, while others not: And suddenly one more impatient cried--"Who *is* the Potter, pray, and who the Pot?" Life and living is above everything else. When it comes to choices and questions about the creator and the created does it really matter? Some people are born with afflictions is this not part of the divine plan? The point of all creation is nothing so we are nothing. There had to be a point in time of nothing before creation was created. If the existence of everything is nothing than even if we are created then all of creation is a creation too. You cannot be lower than nothing so stop worrying about it. Mahmud was great reformer and could be said to be the leader of the modernist movement in the Turkish Empire. The pots are creations talking some can and others cannot. One amongst said who is the potter and who the pot. Is the potter who has created us the pots not a creation as well. Then said another---"Surely not in vain "My Substance from the common Earth was ta'en, "That He who subtly wrought me into Shape "Should stamp me back to common Earth again." Another said---"Why, ne'er a peevish Boy, "Would break the Bowl from which he drank in Joy; "Shall He that *made* the Vessel in pure Love "And Fancy, in an after Rage destroy!" Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009
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None answer'd this; but after Silence spake A Vessel of a more ungainly Make: "They sneer at me for learning all awry; "What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?" Why would the creator go to so much trouble to make something if was just going to destroy it. If there is a divine plan then everything in that plan is designed? Why would someone who has expended so much effort to make me and then just stamp it back into the clay again. Not even a naughty child would deliberately break something it held of value. So if we are made through art and love why be destroyed in a fit of rage? Did the potter who can make so many perfect pots make one or two that were not? Was this deliberate or did he just have a lapse? Said one---"Folk of a surly Tapster tell "And daub his Visage with the Smoke of Hell; "They talk of some strict Testing of us---Pish! "He's a Good Fellow, and 't will all be well." Then said another with a long-drawn Sigh, "My Clay with long oblivion is gone dry: "But, fill me with the old familiar Juice, "Methinks I might recover by-and-bye!" The clay must be dry to be fired into something stronger and more useful. Death is therefore a transition to something more beautiful. The other comments are barbs at religious doctrine. So while the Vessels one by one were speaking, One spied the little Crescent all were seeking: And then they jogg'd each other, "Brother! Brother! "Hark to the Porter's Shoulder-knot a-creaking!" The first sighting of the moon of Ramadan and the pots having a sense of purpose as they will be taken to the Tavern and filled with wine. CHAPTER SEVEN WHEN IT IS TIME TO DIE, EMBRACE DEATH AS WE DEAL WITH FATE, GOD AND QUESTIONS OF HOW THE UNIVERSE IS RUN AND OUR ROLE WITHI IT But leave the Wise to wrangle, and with me The Quarrel of the Universe let be: And, in some corner of the Hubbub coucht, Make Game of that which makes as much of Thee. There was a Door to which I found no Key: There was a Veil past which I could not see: Some little Talk awhile of ME and THEE There seemed---and then no more of THEE and ME. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009
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The door to death is just a veil. You cannot see past until you die. My essence is separated from that which was once whole to become a greater integral part of the universe, god or whatever Thee ultimately is. For in and out, above, about, below, 'Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show, Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the Sun, Round which we Phantom Figures come and go. For "IS" and "IS-NOT" though with Rule and Line, And "UP-AND-DOWN" without, I could define, I yet in all I only cared to know, Was never deep in anything but---Wine. Then to the rolling Heav'n itself I cried, Asking, "What Lamp had Destiny to guide "Her little Children stumbling in the Dark?" And---"A blind Understanding!" Heav'n replied. This is just brilliant and self explanatory. It highlights other issues about how much of free will there really is. If for instance we play out our lives against the light of the sun, frame by frame, then despite all the knowledge I possess, it still not give me the answers to life itself. The blind understanding is ultimately our faith. 'Tis all a Chequer-board of Nights and Days Where Destiny with Men for Pieces plays: Hither and thither moves, and mates, and slays, And one by one back in the Closet lays. The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes, But Right or Left, as strikes the Player goes; And He that toss'd Thee down into the Field, *He* knows about it all---He knows---HE knows! The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky, Whereunder crawling coop't we live and die, Lift not thy hands to *It* for help---for It Rolls impotently on as Thou or I. Everything is night and day, each day we live the lives we lead and that which we cannot change. If a ball is struck it does not know where it is going to fall. So it is with our lives and the universal creator knows everything, the moving finger of God that wrote upon the wall. The writing refers to the story of Belshazzar who used the vessels from the sacred Temple stolen by his father. He and his lords, wives, and his concubines, drunk wine in Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 44
them; and they blasphemed by praising the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone and not God in whose hand holds his breath. While they were feasting a mans hand appeared and wrote on the wall and wrote MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN translated as MENE, MENE God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it, TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting and PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck. He made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. During the night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed and Darius the Median took the kingdom at the age of around 32. CHAPTER EIGHT DO NOT CONFUSE CREATION WITH THE CREATED. AS THERE WAS THOUGHT, SO WAS CREATION MADE. WE ARE LIVING OUT THESE THOUGHTS BACKWARDS FOR THE WANT OF A BETTER EXPLANATION Here lies the summing of the life that is led. and the statement made about being a part of the whole. We are a portion of the vine and the vision of the Sufi. The after life. If there is such a thing? To be punished by God. The punishment for our sins as mortal men is commented on. Better to have lived in sin and lived then to be devout and not have seen life at all. It was not me who was temped along the road with alcohol. You planned all my sins before I had a chance to live, therefore ensuring I sinned and therefore would be punished. So if God created sin, and then blackened the face of man with this creation called sin. Then what about forgiveness is this not also give and take? The Vine had struck a Fibre; which about If clings my Being---let the Sufi flout; Of my Base Metal may be filed a Key, That shall unlock the Door he howls without And this I know: whether the one True Light, Kindle to Love, or Wrath consume me quite, One Glimpse of It within the Tavern caught Better than in the Temple lost outright. Oh, Thou, who didst with Pitfall and with Gin Beset the Road I was to wander in, Thou wilt not with Predestination round Enmesh me, and impute my Fall to Sin? Oh, Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make, And who with Eden didst devise the Snake; For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man Is blacken'd, Man's Forgiveness give---and take! Ah Love! could thou and I with Fate conspire To grasp this sorry Scheme of Things entire, Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 45
Would not we shatter it to bits---and then Re-mould it nearer to the Heart's Desire Indeed the Idols I have loved so long Have done my Credit in Men's Eye much wrong: Have drown'd my Honour in a shallow Cup, And sold my Reputation for a Song. Indeed, indeed, Repentance oft before I swore---but was I sober when I swore? And then and then came Spring, and Rose-in-hand My thread-bare Penitence apieces tore. And much as Wine has play'd the Infidel And robb'd me of my Robe of Honour---well, I often wonder what the Vintners buy One half so precious as the Goods they sell. So if I knew all about these things in this world would I not try and change it more to what I wanted? Would I not unmake what is here and re make it? The idols I have loved so long and the drink and overindulgence that have sullied my position amongst men. Each time I promised to never do it again. Was I in a state of mind to actually know what I was swearing to do? So when spring arrived and my thinly veiled regrets for the things I had done wrong fell to bits as I did not keep them. My place in life was undone as I was not good enough to receive titles. I wondered how much the role of wine had to do with bringing me down. I also wondered if the dealers in wine have as good a life as the people who preach what our lives should be to live when they sell us the wine.
CHAPTER NINE THE POEMS TAKE AN INTERESTING TURN AND THE ALLEGORY OF POTTERY IS USED TO CONVEY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE NATURE OF MAN AND THE ACTION OF GOD IN THE CREATION OF MAN
I think there are bits missing here as we go straight into a person who once lived and with fugitive [fleeing from slavery] articulation [marking old and new information comparisons] answered. We do not know what the questions were. Yet we know they were answered. The person answering could well have been a dead person. This could also be the kiss of Judas as betrayal or related to the number of questions which could be any number of answers. The vessel is made from a previously dead people reworked into new clay. This s is why it asks to be handled gently and can speak. The clay may have been someone he knew and made love to. The potter is working during the day but the living pots are waiting in the night for the moon and then will be in the Tavern for opening. The life is born at night and night is a healing entity. For in the Market-place, one Dusk of Day, Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 46
I watch'd the Potter thumping his wet Clay: And with its all obliterated Tongue It murmur'd---"Gently, Brother, gently, pray!" I think the Vessel, that with fugitive Articulation answer'd, once did live, And merry-make; and the cold Lip I kiss'd How many Kisses might it take---and give! With Earth's first Clay They did the Last Man's knead, And then of the Last Harvest sow'd the Seed: Yea, the first Morning of Creation wrote What the Last Dawn of Reckoning shall read. When you knead clay to get the air bubbles out and prepare it for throwing you shape it like a tongue. The reference to creation thought. The action unraveling earths first clay man who is in fact made the last man created. So the first is the last. The understanding of thought is the first creation? Listen again. One Evening at the Close Of Ramazan, ere the better Moon arose, In that old Potter's Shop I stood alone With the clay Population round in Rows. Ah, fill the Cup:---what boots it to repeat How Time is slipping underneath our Feet: Unborn TO-MORROW, and dead YESTERDAY, Why fret about them if TO-DAY be sweet! One Moment in Annihilation's Waste, One Moment, of the Well of Life to taste The feast of Ramadan and waiting for the sighting of the moon to end the fast. The Stars are setting and the Caravan Starts for the Dawn of Nothing---Oh, make haste! How long, how long, in infinite Pursuit Of This and That endeavour and dispute? Better be merry with the fruitful Grape Than sadden after none, or bitter, Fruit. You know, my Friends, how long since in my House For a new Marriage I did make Carouse: Divorced old barren Reason from my Bed, And took the Daughter of the Vine to Spouse. Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose! That Youth's sweet-scented Manuscript should close! The Nightingale that in the Branches sang, Ah, whence, and whither flown again, who knows! Ah, Moon of my Delight who Know'st no wane The Moon of Heav'n is rising once again: How oft hereafter rising shall she look Through this same Garden after me---in vain! Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 47
I made a decision to embrace life. The moon will live longer than me and may eventually look for me in the garden. I have realized how short a time I have to live. There is no reason for me to argue or worry what has happened to the things that I have enjoyed. Here is the summary of living, reading, knowledge, love, argument, the universe. The caravan returns to the beginning of nothing. So with sadness the short bust of my life is over and I now prepare for my lifes winter. And when Thyself with shining Foot shall pass Among the Guests Star-scatter'd on the Grass, And in thy joyous Errand reach the Spot Where I made one---turn down an empty Glass! And one day when you are spirit and walk over the hundreds of people lying under the grass. They number as many as the stars. Your joy will be in finding the place where I understood that life was more important than the secrets of the universe. CONCLUSION Reading this and following the threads I have highlighted some areas. The areas mention and reveal names places and descriptions. There is a lot of talk of children of angels. God features and how men who have achieved great things have divine parentage. They were supported in their lives and signed up for a job at birth. They lived their lives supported by angels or God. Finally death and the placement of their spirit in heaven was the reward for their deeds. Live life to the full and tread a fine line between the future and the past. Knowledge and living of life now is pretty much impossible to change. The belief is that the whole of creation was thought of. Now the creation is unfolding back to the nothing from whence it began. Awake to life and live as much of it as you can. This existence on earth is a once off. Even if you do come back you will never be like this again. There are certain aspects of life that can only be lived here on earth. The stars sun moon and earth and the people that personified them where involved in a great pageant of destruction and rebirth. This radically changed things on our planet and it was reborn through the ultimate sacrifice of death. There were great mysteries. Wonderful artifacts have not survived other than in tales of secret caves. Stores of knowledge are spoken of that may well be found one day. These are of interest but they must not exclude you from living a full and fruitful life. You need to desire things and articulate them with your voice to make things happen. Live life with no regrets and like each day was your last. Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009 48
Man has a dual nature that of the earth and the liquid spirit of life which continues past the existence of death. Learn all things in a way that does not detract from living. Life is a journey so live it and interact with all those who walk along your path it makes the journey richer.
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GAVIN TONKS In my life I survived Avian Malaria or West Nile Fever and was shot 6 times surviving a bullet that from my rib cage that went through my intestines bounced off my hip and was cut out of my a left cheek and all for the deposit of a gas bottle. Every day I live is one I did not have [or is it?] yet I am inspired to live by these words and brave on through this life. I have done many things from being a shoe designer, interior decorator, artist author, poet, animator and designer. I now mentor small business and have planned a very large Agricultural Organic TechnoPark that I will be implementing soon. Life does have choices but the paths are never easy. I have written a 24 hour survival guide for small business as well.
Pictured with the Appaloosa Stallion Johnny Dollar
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AWAKE by Gavin Tonks - Walk with the words of Omar Khayyam on this journey of hidden meaning.

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake ISBN Number: 978-0-620-47064-3

Author: Gavin Tonks Date: 16/06/2008 Words approx 20 386

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

CHAPTER FIVE THE KUZA-NAMA / THE BOOK OF POTS / WE RETUN TO THE

CHAPTER SEVEN WHEN IT IS TIME TO DIE, EMBRACE DEATH AS WE DEAL

CHAPTER EIGHT DO NOT CONFUSE CREATION WITH THE CREATED. AS THERE

CHAPTER NINE THE POEMS TAKE AN INTERESTING TURN AND THE

CONCLUSION Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Reference original text at http://www.okonlife.com/poems/index.htm

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

Pictured with the Appaloosa Stallion Johnny Dollar

Awake by gavin Tonks 23/11/2009

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