As Mircea Eliade observes in his book A History of Religious Ideas, every year a festivity related to Osiris' death and resurrection was held between October 29th and November 1st. Apart from the evident simultaneity with the dates of the Halloween, All Saints' Day and Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations, the aim of these festivals is also converging: they all intend to expose the death and rebirth cycle, free the devouts from the fear of death (originated from the panic of change) and even -in more extreme forms- reverse the values attributed to living and dying. "The three days of fasting, lamentations, and pantomimes depicting the search for the murdered and dismembered Osiris and the funeral rites performed by Isis were followed by the joy and jubilation of the disciples when it was announced to them that the God's body had been formed, reconstructed, and reanimated" (Eliade, p. 292). Even if the secrecy intrinsic to this ritual makes it difficult to know its specific contents, Eliade tries to give an outline of the sequence of tests the novice being initiated in these mysteries had to pass when undergoing Osiris' Celebration: "The neophyte descends to Hades and returns by way of the four cosmic elements: he sees the sun shining in the darkness of night, (...) passing through various halls ornamented with statues of the gods and representing the underworld, then suddenly coming out into a brightly lit chamber" (Eliade, pp. 292, 293).
Even if nowadays, the celebration of Halloween is widespread (even in Tokyo, Japan, one can see the famous Shibuya crossing filled with people dressed up on the night of October 31st), it has actually been washed up to appease the needs and hunger of capitalism. Let's face the truth: death is clearly a taboo topic in our modern western/ized society. Filled with fear and aversion, as well as a quota of reluctance to change, it is a subject we avoid at any cost, intensifying the ignorance around it and disregarding it as a part of life. Interestingly enough, if we do some research in near death experiences and survivals from clinical death, we will observe that those who have traversed those situations have come back with a totally new perspective about life. No negative aftermaths have been recorded for those "suffering" the experience, as opposed to the observers, who have actually revealed paralysing fear and lasting trauma.
Even if nowadays, the celebration of Halloween is widespread (even in Tokyo, Japan, one can see the famous Shibuya crossing filled with people dressed up on the night of October 31st), it has actually been washed up to appease the needs and hunger of capitalism. Let's face the truth: death is clearly a taboo topic in our modern western/ized society. Filled with fear and aversion, as well as a quota of reluctance to change, it is a subject we avoid at any cost, intensifying the ignorance around it and disregarding it as a part of life. Interestingly enough, if we do some research in near death experiences and survivals from clinical death, we will observe that those who have traversed those situations have come back with a totally new perspective about life. No negative aftermaths have been recorded for those "suffering" the experience, as opposed to the observers, who have actually revealed paralysing fear and lasting trauma.
Just as when we think of death, the sole image of the snake usually triggers us feelings of danger and fear of dying. However, according to mythologist Joseph Campbell, the serpent is in fact the symbol of life, which casts off the past and continues to live; it is the power of life that makes the snake shed its skin and be reborn. Again, if we step out of the ideas and preconceptions imposed on us by our society, not only will we realize that the world does not revolve around our biases, but also that in other cultures the snake is actually a sacred animal. In India, for example, the Cobra is venerated as sacred, being Nāga a deity of a high status. The same occurs in the case of the Rainbow Serpent of the Australian Aboriginal mythologies, the Korean Eobshin, the Sumerian Ningishzida, the famous Mesoamerican Quezacoatl, and the African Mami Wata (to list some among many others from all around the world). Even in the Roman and Hellenic traditions -cradles of the Western Civilization- the figure of the snake played an important role usually connected with healing, namely bringing life to overcome death. On the contrary, for Christianity (the real shaper of our cultural minds) the serpent has always been regarded as a negative symbol, linked to seduction and deception. It is interesting to note Campbell's vision on this matter: by rejecting the symbol of the snake, Christianity has rejected the affirmation of life, regarding the impulse to live as a sin.
This endless cycle of destruction and recreation, of life and death that the serpent has come to teach us is clearly depicted in the figure of the Uroboros, the ancient symbol of a snake eating its own tail. Now I invite you all to take a look to the Nameless Arcana (XIII) of the Marseille Tarot: watch closely its eye... yes, that's the Uroboros snake! In some other decks such as the Crowley-Thoth, the image of the snake is also depicted, but the presence of the Uroboros -and maybe the lack of a name that connects this arcana specifically to death- gives the Camoin (Marseille) deck a clearer and more dynamic meaning: that of revolution, endless change and transformation. Such as the novice in the mysteries, we should try to set aside our fear of change (that is, the unknown) and ask the Nameless Arcana (or even the snake!) to be by our side when shedding our old skin, letting parts of us die, and going through the ordeals that the path towards consciousness and ascension may bring us.
Bibliography:
- Campbell, Joseph, and Moyers, Bill: The Power of Myth. N.p.: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc, 1991.
- Eliade, Mircea: A History of Religious Ideas. Volume 2: From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity. USA: The University of Chicago Press, 1981.
- Grof, Stanislav and Christina: Beyond Death. The Gates of Consciousness. UK: Thames and Hudson, 1980.
- Jodorowsky, Alejandro: La Vía del Tarot. Madrid: Editorial Símela, 2004.
This endless cycle of destruction and recreation, of life and death that the serpent has come to teach us is clearly depicted in the figure of the Uroboros, the ancient symbol of a snake eating its own tail. Now I invite you all to take a look to the Nameless Arcana (XIII) of the Marseille Tarot: watch closely its eye... yes, that's the Uroboros snake! In some other decks such as the Crowley-Thoth, the image of the snake is also depicted, but the presence of the Uroboros -and maybe the lack of a name that connects this arcana specifically to death- gives the Camoin (Marseille) deck a clearer and more dynamic meaning: that of revolution, endless change and transformation. Such as the novice in the mysteries, we should try to set aside our fear of change (that is, the unknown) and ask the Nameless Arcana (or even the snake!) to be by our side when shedding our old skin, letting parts of us die, and going through the ordeals that the path towards consciousness and ascension may bring us.
Bibliography:
- Campbell, Joseph, and Moyers, Bill: The Power of Myth. N.p.: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc, 1991.
- Eliade, Mircea: A History of Religious Ideas. Volume 2: From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity. USA: The University of Chicago Press, 1981.
- Grof, Stanislav and Christina: Beyond Death. The Gates of Consciousness. UK: Thames and Hudson, 1980.
- Jodorowsky, Alejandro: La Vía del Tarot. Madrid: Editorial Símela, 2004.