Qabalistic Alice in Wonderland and the depths of Hell.
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I have been mulling over working on my own tarot for some time now as an exploration of the Self and the Universe. I also recently watched the new Alice in Wonderland (which is ironically the first time I've been to the theater with my wife in almost 2 years now since we had our son) and the imagery in it stirred something in me. After reading your wonderful analysis, I can see why. Sometimes people hear whispers in the ear and other times you get something screamed at you through a megaphone - like what has just happened to me. Thank you!
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Nice essay at the art of this thread!
I am starting to read "The Annotated Alice: The Definitive Edition" by Lewis Carroll, Martin Gardner, and John Tenniel. Martin Gardner and John Tenniel explain the Victorian in-jokes that would be lost upon the modern reader. So far, no mention of Qabalah. But I haven't gotten very far in the book.
Did Lewis Carroll study Qabalah? Apparently he was a mathematician.
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From what I've read, a lot of it was making fun of the 'real world' absurdities of the new math concepts going around the university at the time. (Stuff like the square root of -1).
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I found another book:
"Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Curiouser" by William Irwin and Richard Brian Davis
Might be interesting.
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Hey, someone reposted your essay here:
www.nachtkabarett.com/babalon/topic/1361--Qabalistic-Alice-In-Wonderland-And-The-Depths-Of-HellI don't know if you mind.
I do think more people should see it, but I don't know if they asked your permission.93 93/93
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This is so good. Sumptuous. Sublime. Dare I say, perfect?
Dare me.
I'll do it. -
@AliceNui said
"I found another book:
"Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy: Curiouser and Curiouser" by William Irwin and Richard Brian Davis
Might be interesting."I am finally getting around to reading this. Seems to be written by several philosophy professors - sort of like beginning philosophy, as illustrated by Alice in Wonderland. It's good.
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I just noticed the Interlude in Book Four, Crowley analyzes nursery-rhymes in terms of Qabalah. Crowley writes:
"But one can hardly comment upon a theme which has been so fruitfully treated by Ludovicus Carolus, that most holy illuminated man of God. His masterly treatment of the identity of the three reciprocating paths of Daleth, Teth, and Pé, is one of the most wonderful passages in the Holy Qabalah. "
Ludovicus Carolus is Lewis Carroll.
"Why did Charles Lutwidge Dodgson write under the pen name of Lewis Carroll? As a modest gentleman and a scholar/instructor at Oxford, he valued his privacy very highly. He would refuse letters sent to “Lewis Carroll, Christ Church, Oxford”, claiming no such person lived there! But he did occasionally use his pen name to smooth an introduction to a well-known member of society or new child friend.
**How did he come up with the name Lewis Carroll? ** He took the first two parts of his name, Charles Lutwidge, and translated them into Latin: Carolus Ludovicus. He then reversed their order: Ludovicus Carolus, and then loosely translated them back into English: Lewis Carroll. He actually supplied his first publisher with a short list of possible pen names, and it was the publisher who selected “Lewis Carroll” from the list."I also found this other weird site, an anti-Scientology site, someone anaylzes Through the Looking Glass in terms of Qabalah, but with a view to discredit L. Ron Hubbard, strangely enough. But makes a few interesting points, if you want to seperate the comments on Hubbard (Not that I support Scientology, I just find analyzing Through the Looking Glass to be irrelevant to the problems Scientology poses)
carolineletkeman.org/sp/index.php?Itemid=240&id=1728&option=com_content&task=view
I kinda liked the idea that The Walrus and the Carpenter refers to Buddha and Jesus.
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I have been reading Alice very carefully this past week.
Its perfection is undeniable."The Knower of Truth should go about the world outwardly stupid like a child, a madman or a devil."
~Mahavakyaratnamala~
It has assisted my initiation greater than any other piece of literature.
