Joining the End to the Beginning (1/5)

It was through the study of the relationship between the cosmic hero and the cycles of time that I was able to interpret Thor’s nine steps backwards (see the quotations from Voluspa and Gylfaginning below) as a cyclic return back to the cosmogonic beginning through the act of an eschatological destruction, with Thor in the mythic guise of a cosmic hero walking nine steps (the number nine is symbolic of the Norse cosmos) along the body of the Midgard Serpent from head to tail uniting both in a cosmic circle.

Cernunnos’ Path: Walking the Cosmic Beast (Altar Symbolism 2)

Destroy the universe and in the act of destruction via the Cosmic Being (partaking in the Cosmic Drama) the universe is reborn via the ambrosial boon of the Creative Spirit. Paradoxically the Cosmic Being (who is a ‘dying god’) is self-consuming, drinking the life-giving elixir and imbuing the universe.

Such a being is the Vedic Purusha (primordial man) a sacrifice for god of a god by the gods. An obvious parallel to Purusha would be the primordial giant Ymir from Norse myth, but I am also reminded primarily of Odin who hung upon the wind swept Cosmic Tree, self-wounded with his spear (of life and death), for nine nights, a sacrificial offering to himself, obtaining the runes (the cosmic boon) in the process.

The cosmic puzzle is solved through the cyclic cosmos, set in motion by the Cosmic Being who also transcends all modes of existence, being itself also beyond the cosmic circle of death and life.

Using the myth of the Cretan Labyrinth as a vehicle, all are destined to be consumed by the Lunar-cosmic Bull, but it is in the very heart of Ariadne’s womb from which the star of rebirth (the Asterios: also parallel to the gateway of the gods) rises from the darkness between the horns of death and re-creation. The symbolism of the Bull’s horns are also represented by the Minoan Double Axe (Labys: likely the root of Labyrinth i.e. ‘the place of the double axe.’), whose blades are reminiscent of the waxing and waning moon.

Via Ariadne’s ball of thread, Theseus is able to navigate the cosmic womb, slay the cosmic bull and gain access to the Otherworld beyond through the divine gateway only to re-emerge from the labyrinth whence he came, the beginning (also the middle) and the end being one.

No longer is life here and now a place of “wandering and wearisome roaming, and fearful travelling through darkness with no end to be found.” Rather a “marvellous light… …appears, and open places and meadows await, with voices and dances…. In that place one walks about at will, now perfect and initiated… …and free.” (Plutarch according to “Stobaeus, Anthology [Anthologion] 4.52.49″ [Meyer: 1999]). Life’s journey is no longer a fearful procession in chains toward oblivion. Life becomes a joyous dance.

According to Plutarch (Theseus), after rescuing the young men and woman from the Minotaur, they came to the island of Delos and performed the Crane Dance (Geranos), in imitation of the intricacies of the labyrinth. Interestingly, Homer (Iliad 18:590) also refers to a dance floor at Cnossos in Crete, which, like the labyrinth, was built by Daedalus for Ariadne, where men and woman also performed a similar dance.