Sci-Fi was a massive influence on me as I grew up.  Even today it is one of the only fields in media that willingly explores esoteric, mystical and philosophical ideas.  Perhaps the greatest work of inspiration to me was Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’, which works on so many levels and has such amazing depth.  In fact Frank Herbert’s own term of ‘Wheels within wheels’ can be applied to the novel.  Every time I re-read the book, an entire new slant and perspective emerges.

Interestingly it is no longer just the area of Sci-Fi which is dealing with esoteric and philosophical concepts.  Leading edge science is now treading that same ground, as they return to the ideas of ancient times, taking with them the combined knowledge and technology of the modern age.  I like the way Battlestar Galactica merges ideas of a spiritual nature with the scientific possibilities.  And that stuff is going on right now, here’s a great example:

Yet – that is a view I have never really been a part of. Eventually I discovered that my thinking process is far more symbolic than literal. Maybe this is true for many people. At any rate, this has always caused me to look deep into reality and seek any and all hidden subtexts. It was therefore only a matter of time before I found that there is a whole body of knowledge out there which functions in this very manner; buried within the symbolism of the worlds history, myths and religions is a view on reality that is very different to contemporary beliefs.

I begun this Symbolism series with the intent to show those new to this idea exactly what symbolism is, where it can be found and how it can be interpreted. In the previous part I hinted at the vast and hidden knowledge buried within ancient history.

How Deep is this Rabbit Hole?

There are literally hundreds of books and articles out there on this very subject. In recent decades a growing body of information has been collected, based upon a certain idea. This idea has been born from the modern day clash between modern thinking and the ancient shamanic thinking. The shamanic traditions of the world are older by far than any other tradition. Unlike those stereo-types depicted in Hollywood, the shamanic way is based within reality and possesses a deep understanding of the human psyche – an understanding which is deeper by far than what we have in modern society.

The shaman is concerned with a ‘different’ level of reality. In the shaman perspective everything in existence is ‘language’ – unlike ‘western’ understanding – the shamanic view is that language is visual. That language itself comprises literally everything. This is the ancient Logos, it is “The Word” from the Christian Bible and the Tao from Eastern philosophy. Once this key fact is uncovered, an entirely new perspective on symbolism unfolds.

As I mentioned, the Western mind holds a very rigid view on language, this titan-like grip solidifies our Ego. Language aids us in self-identification because it enforces our relationship with society. We think in terms of labels. As such – as a society – we have become far more concerned with the map than we have with the territory. Most people are aware of the problems of associating too heavily with semantic meanings of words and labels; it causes us to stop looking at the reality behind those words and labels.

Shamanic Experience

The shamanic way is about dissolving the map and our dependence upon words – so that we may directly experience reality. This is the reason for consumption of various psychoactive plants, just as it is the reason for the many rituals which induce one into a trance. It causes the dissolution of the Ego.

Once the Ego has dissolved, the barriers of language collapse. The dissolution of the Ego is also the aim of Eastern traditions. When this occurs, one no longer attaches to their identity. The old labels which we cling to disappear, and one is left naked facing themselves and reality. If one is so inclined – it is possible to learn great truths about yourself and reality. Without the barriers and labels language creates, one gains the ability to see their true personal motivations. Here it is impossible for the Ego to hide behind justifications, logic, and excuses – because the language to create them doesn’t exist. In short one gains the ability to see right from wrong – to clearly comprehend the distinction between “Good and Evil”.

When under the influence of these trances, one literally enters ‘another world’. This is a world of visions…a world where ’spirits’ and reality talk to the individual through visual representation – the shamanic visual language. As with dreams, when in a trance it is common to perceive symbolic meanings and images. One specific image that appears to be common to many peoples and cultures all across the world, and throughout time is the snake.

When asked what the snakes are the shamans invariably reply with ‘The snake is wisdom’, or ‘Knowledge’ – and that this reality itself is built upon that knowledge. But why do people from cultures all over the world see snakes? One theory is that the human brain has an instinctual fear of snakes, and thus when in an altered state, images of snakes are offered up. Yet this theory does not seem to fit the experiences of many who report these visual snakes to be beneficent and overwhelmingly comforting. So we find ourselves having to return to the shamans idea – based upon thousands of years of accumulated wisdom – that these visual snakes may indeed represent knowledge.

Uncovering the Symbolism

Jeremy Narby proposed an interesting theory in his book ‘The Cosmic Serpent’. Narby, an anthropologist with many years experience with the tribal Amazonian cultures, stumbled into the visual snakes on his own psychoactive experience whilst trying to understand the shaman ways. Years later and after much research, he uncovered many historical records from cultures all around the world referencing snakes. In each case the snake would represent ‘knowledge’ – or on occasion a twisted rope ladder (much like coiled snakes). This fact held true, even for those cultures, such as the Australian Aborigines who were separated from the rest of the world for 40,000.

The unavoidable question then, was where were these cultures obtaining this idea? In many cases that answer is lost in antiquity. In other cultures that answer can still be found – often hidden in shamanic knowledge and vision. As the shamans would say; the snakes are always there because they represent the knowledge upon which reality is built.

The ancient Caduceus is a prime example of the snake representing wisdom or knowledge. This symbol has been dated back over four thousand years!

As with other ancient representations of the snake of knowledge, it is often intertwined, or has two heads, or comes in pairs. There is another ’symbol’ that is very similar.

Could the snakes of ‘knowledge’ represent the DNA helix? Jeremy Narby and many others certainly seem to think so. The shamans have always claimed to have been in communication with the spirits, where they obtain information about the nature of reality. Could the shamanic psychoactive plants and ritual which induce an altered state of consciousness, be moving the individuals point of awareness down to the molecular level?

Certainly it is known that the psychoactive experience provides knowledge or awareness very different from ‘normal’ everyday states of consciousness. But scientifically little is known about consciousness, and almost nothing is known about how and why psychoactive plants modify consciousness in the manner they do.

The Origin of Knowledge

So with the above in mind, it is possible to sit quite comfortably with the idea that the snakes do indeed represent knowledge. From there it isn’t too much of a leap to believe – based upon the drawings, and representations from visions made by hundreds of people and many cultures – that the snake could represent DNA. If this is true – and it certainly feels true. Then suddenly many things click into place.

DNA is the ultimate source of knowledge, DNA is often described as language. Thus it could be the ‘invisible’ linguistic knowledge which the shamans claim reality itself is built upon.

If we take this symbolism as a key – we can use it to unlock deep meaning from many of the ancient myths and religions. Eve ate of the Tree of Knowledge (a psychoactive plant?) because she was tempted by the serpent. This was called the Fall, in the Christian Bible, God said of this event; “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, to prevent his putting out his hand and taking also from the tree of life, eating, and living forever –”

With that in mind we can interpret the symbolism as this: Mankind ate of the forbidden fruits (the psychoactive plants were forbidden, just as they are still illegal today), from this experience man gained tremendous insight – standing in stark naked realization of himself, in dissolution of the Ego, he clearly learned right from wrong – he knew Good and Evil. For this ‘God’ punished him with exile. Or another way of interpreting; once man gained knowledge – we Fell from being at one with nature, and began the slow entrance into the realms of authoritative knowledge and reason.

Take a look at a few images of the Tree of Knowledge, or the Yggdrasil Tree – the World Tree. Often it is depicted with a snake (serpent) coiled around its roots. Could this be the tree in Eden? Psychoactive experiences are induced by plants, could this be the Forbidden Fruit?

Remember, as clearly highlighted in the first part of this symbolism series; these myths and religions were originally great knowledge and understandings encoded into the form of symbolism. Over the millennia the symbolism was lost to the general populations, and thus the meanings were forgotten. Instead the stories were interpreted in literal manner, just as they still are today. But once we find the key to the original symbolism the ancient wisdom once again can be unlocked…

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Further reference:

If you are interested in this subject, the following documentaries are totally recommended, especially the first one “Other Worlds”, however it does need a small plugin before it will work.

Viewing:

Other Worlds – A Documentary on Shamanism, Ayahausca and its implications.

The Pharmacratic Inquisition

Reading:

The Cosmic Serpent

Taking a look at the eagle, the Native Indians saw the Eagle as a symbol for great strength, leadership and vision. As if to seemingly mirror this, the eagle has been used as a ‘banner’ by many of the great empires throughout history, from Babylon to Egypt, through to Rome and even the United States. In early Christianity the eagle was seen as a symbol of hope and strength. It is passing strange that such different cultures across thousands of years have adopted the same symbol.

The Buried Meanings of Symbolism

As shown before, symbolism carries within it often deep meaning which over the passing of centuries gets buried in literal interpretations and dogma. In this vein sun worship has been a large part of history, and many symbols can be found which reflect this. One of the most well known of sun worshippers, are the ancient Egyptians. But also sun worship was a large part of Aztec, Mayan, Native Indian and Greek cultures. The sun has always been worshipped as the giver of life, it was seen as the truth, light and life. The symbolism is clear enough – life and being comes only through the sun. It is also worth remembering the Christian Sun God – which is symbolically taught as the Son of God.

So interpreting symbolism works by understanding the associations of any particular story. When those association become buried, the original symbolical understanding often becomes ‘lost’, the original meaning then gets replaced with a literal interpretation. But even within the interpretation of symbolism itself there is a a blind spot. This blind-spot is related to certain pre-suppositions. For example modern thinking assumes that ancient cultures had a primitive understanding of the human body. Because of this assumption certain interpretations of symbolism are not even considered.

The following image shows the Egyptian Eye of Horus (or Eye of Ra) and how how it precisely matches exact formation of the thalamus within the human brain (click for a larger image).

The similarities are not just uncanny – they are exact. Yet this is viewed as nothing more than a coincidence, because in modern thinking it is assumed that the Egyptians could not have had this knowledge. Thus we are blinded to the obvious. The Eye of Horus was also broken into six basic components, each representing a different sense; smell, touch, taste, hearing, sight and thought. The thalamus is the part of the human brain which translates all incoming signals from our senses. Could the symbolism of this be any clearer?

There is a great deal of information buried within the symbolism of mythology, religion and ancient tradition. This information not only uncovers long lost ’secrets’, but also provides a key into one of the greatest mysteries; understanding ourselves. As researchers dig deeper into this amazing symbolism not only is new knowledge being found – but perhaps it is leading to the discovery of the origin of knowledge itself.

Part Four:  Symbolism – The Origin of Knowledge

The Net, in alchemy, is an alloy of copper and antimony, whose crystal structure induces a network pattern on its surface. It was described in the 17th century by the Harvard-educated alchemist George Starkey.

Starkey produced the substance by following what he regarded as a recipe, encoded in classical mythology, for part of the process of achieving the philosopher’s stone. The relevant myth involved the god Vulcan finding his wife Venus (alchemical symbol for copper) in bed with the god Mars

Starkey’s interpretation rested on typical alchemical associations, construing Vulcan as a stand-in for fire, Venus for copper, and Mars for iron; Vulcan, the craftsman of the gods, having made a metal net for the purpose of hanging the adulterous couple from a high ceiling, Starkey saw the use of iron to reduce antimony sulfide at high temperature to antimony regulus, and combining it with copper to produce the “network” on the alloy, as fulfilling the real meaning of the story.

Isaac Newton described his own synthesis of the Net in his secret notebooks (alchemy being a serious crime in England in its time), and adopted a theory like Starkey’s, of mythological tales as secret alchemical information.

The Net (Substance) – Alchemic recipe encoded into Greek Mythology

In many cases traditional understanding of ancient texts such as the above mentioned mythologies, are read in a literal manner. It is this literal interpretation which obscures the original meanings; as such the symbolism within the text either becomes forgotten or reversed. But when one understands how to read symbolism, then the original meaning can be ‘decoded’ and it will still retain its original essence. Whilst words and meanings change throughout the years – the root of symbolism is usually retained, at least within certain scholastic circles. It is quite possible that this was the original intent of symbolical messages; the preservation of ‘hidden knowledge’.

An Interpretation

Reading symbolism is much like reading or comprehending any other language, you simply need to know the associations to certain symbols. The Tarot is absolutely full of symbolism, and therefore presents the perfect opportunity to get to grips with how multiple symbolical meanings within a single image can give detailed amounts of information. The following card is “Judgment” from the Rider Waite Tarot Deck.

Before we ‘decode’ this card, I just want to express a clarifying point. I am not making any claims as to the powers of divination of the Tarot Deck, I am instead focusing on the symbolical content in order to show how deciphering an images symbolism can actually work.

All symbol interpretations taken from ‘The Mystic Eye’. In this card we have the following:

- A flag or banner with a red-cross, this means blood and innocence.
- The Trumpet is being blown; this represents “The Word” and mans liberation.
- The Angel represents hidden forces and heavenly power, sublimation of earthly desires.
- Storm clouds indicate unwise thinking, human thoughts in discord.
- The Sea indicates all potentials, universal principles
- A Boat means; The transition from life to death, a personal journey or progress through life or the relationship of conscious to unconscious
- A man represents the Conscious Mind
- A female represents the Subconscious Mind
- A child represents a regenerated personality.

Now we have the ‘content’ of the card – we need to figure its ‘context’ and thus its meaning. A crowd of people stand in supplication, seeming to willingly await judgment. A man and a woman stand on either side of a child. The man – representing conscious thinking stands on the left – man traditionally is dominated by the left-brain of logic, fact and reason. The woman representing the subconscious mind stands on the right – woman is traditionally right-brain dominate; imagination, intuition and symbol / image orientated.

The child stands between the two; the potential of regeneration and revitalization after judgment of the balance within the inner being. The child is the future, shaped by his / her awareness of the meaning and lesson contained within the judgment itself. A judgment reflected on blood and innocence, liberating the inner being from unwise thinking and discord.

In short; it is only when we are willing to stand in naked realization of ourselves – aware of both our conscious and sub-conscious self – that we are able to gain the clarity to truly judge ourselves. And in doing this we find the hidden power of confidence and deep self-awareness – which can propel us into a regeneration of our personality and life.

The thing that I have always found fascinating about the symbolism of ancient images – is the deth of knowledge contained within. Admittedly the Rider Waite deck is around 100 years old, but consider for a moment how accurately this ‘hidden knowledge’ reflects modern day psychology. Then consider that the Tarot has possibly been around for as long as 700 years.

But that is only the least of it, the truth goes far deeper; contained within the symbolism of ancient myths, legends and religions is a ‘hidden knowledge’ of the human mind and our origins which perhaps far exceeds established modern day theories…

Part Three:  Symbolism in History – Ancient Lost Knowledge

The word logo is from the Greek word Logos and in general terms means ‘to carry meaning’ or to say or speak. It is also the root of the word logic, and can also be applied to all forms of reasoning, thought and meaning. In the Christian Bible, the term “The Word” is a translation of Logos. To understand symbolism it is important to realize the connection with Logos.

Returning to the Coca-Cola logo for a moment; the logo itself carries meaning because it is instantly associated with the drink – the mind automatically makes this connection without even thinking about it. For many people the brand will also carry other meaning, such as refreshing, cool, and thirsty. Such is the power of this logo that it can have you reaching for a drink before you even realize it. This itself hints at the power of other symbolism, such as national or religious symbols.

Of course product branding by way of symbolism is a relatively new phenomena. Institutions, monarchs, empires and governments on the other hand have been using symbolism for millennia – one of the most well know being the Cross. The Cross is a symbol which carries many different meanings for a lot of different people.

Reversal of Meaning

There is an inherent problem with symbols which have been in existence for hundreds or even thousands of years. With passing centuries a sort of ‘drift of meaning’ affects symbols, and causes their original meaning to become lost or buried, to be replaced with new meanings in the form of mass-consensus. That is, the new meanings hold weight because it is the meaning which the majority of people apply to a specific symbol.

One of the best examples of this, is the swastika – often referred to as the ‘Nazi Swastika’. This specific symbol is over 3,000 years old and has roots in ancient India. The original Sanskrit meaning of the word swastika is ‘to be good‘. Before the Nazis adopted the symbol, it was often used to represent life, the sun and good will.

It is reasonable to say that – historically speaking – the swastika still carries the same meaning today as it has for the last 3,000 years. After all the fact the Nazis used this symbol doesn’t change its use in ancient history. However what it has done is change the meaning within peoples minds. For the modern person – especially those who lived through the 1940’s – the symbol carries a very different meaning; specifically death, hate and evil.

The reversal of the meaning of symbols is very common in history. This then, is one of the most important factors to remember when interpreting symbolism. The meaning a symbol carries today may not be the original meaning of said symbol.

What is Symbolism?

With the above in mind, symbolism is a language which is used to convey meaning through the use of symbols. These symbols can be product logos, or national or religious symbols. Symbolism isn’t just limited to imagery though, when used in context specific words, ideas or objects are also symbolic. Within religion for example, the word ‘crucifiction’ carries symbolical meaning. At certain times of the year specific objects will carry symbolical meaning, such as the egg, mistletoe, or the May Pole.

Symbolism then, is also interpreting the original meaning of these symbols and the story they tell from their context and their place in history. It is a form of ‘hidden’ language, which when used, uncovers knowledge and truths which have long fallen from the minds of humanity. Once you start to understand symbolism and untangle the many reversal of meanings which have occurred, it is possible to uncover a world history very different different from that which is officially recognized.

Part Two: Interpreting Symbolism

The average media outlet are still avoiding the words ‘market crash’, as they roll out expert after expert in an attempt to stifle fears.  But the truth can’t be hidden for much longer.  Round here the demand for state sponsored housing has gone through the roof.  It’s kept quiet – and many people still believe the government hands out house after house.  The truth is that the waiting lists for just one community is in the multiple of thousands.  Many people are living up to seven people in a two bedroom, you won’t read that in the news – though the information is readily apparent if you speak to community workers.  That alone reminds me of conditions in the 40’s and 50’s; yes we are a long way off from that yet, but the signs are all there.

Meanwhile I noticed that gold has it over £450 – that’s $900 per ounce!! $1000 really isn’t that far away now.  Silver is still selling relatively cheaply, and I would recommend stocking up on some if you have spare cash.  In the last 18 months alone – you would have seen around a 50% return.

On the environmental side of things – here in the UK the floods seem to keep on coming.

So all round the same old themes  we have been seeing for the last few years.  Only think missing is the ’surprise discovery’ news, or not; remains of 1 ton rodent discovered.

As I journeyed away from my thinking mind, it receded into the distance – becoming like a tiny boat upon a massive ocean. This ‘ocean’ was all encompassing – I realized that it was my awareness. And as I moved further away from my mind/ego, the quieter my thoughts became, until finally they no longer existed – instead I experienced the total silence of ‘being’.

And still I moved ever backwards, traveling further away from my ego and into the infinite dark. I discovered that our ego’s are a central aspect to our being, they are the anchor which binds us into a vast never ending space. Without that anchor our awareness would be left to drift aimlessly within the ocean of consciousness. We would lose all identity, all knowledge and all reason.

Finally I passed through the outer shell of this seemingly unending space, and found myself once again within the center of my mind/ego. Without ever re-tracing my footsteps, I had returned to the starting point. Exactly like a fractal.

Perhaps it’s a bit trite; but I envisioned my ego as a seed seated within the fruit of consciousness. Travel far enough away from that seed, and eventually you discover the tree. The tree exists to propagate more seeds, it is a never ending cycle – a Tree of Life.

Our consciousness is vast – perhaps infinite – and has many branches. Yet regardless of its ’size’, our consciousness exists as a repository within which our minds and egos sit. And perhaps our ego/mind is the only place from which we can truly experience this physical part of reality.

As to the future, it’s easy enough to extrapolate the direction we are heading in, from the various symbolism, and that hardly requires being prescient. At any rate, instead of a summary I am just going to collate all four parts together for easy access and for future reference, and provide a few ‘bullet-point’ observations for those that haven’t read the series yet.

Here are some of the over arching points which stand out for me this year:

• The quantity of ‘unusual phenomena’ noted both here on Earth – in terms of wild weather – and out in space.

• The increasing pace at which the political climate is shifting.

• The bottom falling from the economy.

Everything is in upheaval, as we approach what is bound to be great changes. As I see it, these events are not caused by our culture, but rather they are all reactions caused by far larger and somewhat unseen events (spiritual and otherwise).

So as the current materialistic dogma begins to crumble, here’s to a brighter future…

2007 Symbolism

2007 Symbolism – Part One: Space
2007 Symbolism – Part Two: Environment
2007 Symbolism – Part Three: Politics
2007 Symbolism – Part Four: Money

Housing Crash

Although it was obvious to a few long ago, the housing bubble finally burst this year.  It all started with the sub-prime mortgage issues in the US.  Countrywide, the largest mortgage lender in the US effectively needed Federal bail out.

The same problem hit the UK when Northern Rock faced financial crisis.  The situation got so bad that the Bank of England had to act as lender of last resort for all bank accounts held at Northern Rock.  This was an assurance to the public that if Northern Rock went under – the Bank of England would cover whatever money people held in that bank.

The current housing crisis in the US is now said to be the worst since The Great Depression.

Housing Predictor

Fall of the US Dollar

As the dollar continues to fall in value, countries all over the world are pulling out of using the dollar as a reserve currency:

“We will favor stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly,”  Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of China’s National People’s Congress, told a conference in Beijing. The dollar is “losing its status as the world currency,” Xu Jian, a central bank vice director, said at the same meeting. 

Bloomberg 

And for the first time in 30 years the Canadian Dollar is valued at more than the US Dollar.

Amero

The Amero is the proposed currency for the North American Union.  By many accounts the Amero could very well replace the US Dollar within the next few years.

“Injecting” money into the economy

The world markets have seen a massive decline this year, and there have been a lot of attempts to keep the markets artificially afloat by pumping unprecedented amounts of cash into the economy.  In August the Central Banks of Europe and Japan added $300 billion into the economy.  There have been a whole load of other such ‘injections’ but the figures are pretty difficult to locate.  I would be interested if anyone had further information to share on this!

The Federal Reserve between the start of January 2007 and today’s date 9 December 2007, have added a total of $2420 billion (!!) into the market.  These are phenomenal sums, a lot higher than previously; in 2006 added $1989 billion, whilst 2002 “just” $1044 billion.  So the trend has clearly got worse.  Figures calculated from here.

Where does all this extra money come from? Well the banks simple ‘create’ the money – then surround that fact in mystical economic mythos.  That is the nature of a fiat currency. 

Many central banks are “banks” in the sense that they hold assets (foreign exchange, gold, and other financial assets) and liabilities. A central bank’s primary liabilities are the currency outstanding, and these liabilities are backed by the assets the bank owns. Unusually, however, central banks in jurisdictions with fiat currencies may “create” new money to back its own liabilities, to theoretically unlimited amounts.

Central Banks – Wikipedia

This whole issue had a lot of people asking that very question, and a lot of vague answers have been given.  After all why would anyone want to pay back a loan plus interest on ‘money’ that has been pulled out of thin air?

Bank Runs

The psychological differences between US citizens and UK citizens showed a stark contrast in September; when during the Northern Rock crisis, the UK experienced its first Bank Run in 140 years, as people scrambled to withdraw their money from the failing bank.

Gold and Silver

Gold is at the highest value in nearly 30 years.  Gold recently sneaked over $800 per ounce.  Back in 2000 gold was at just $250; keep in mind the decreasing value of the dollar, and it really does highlight the growing gap.

Silver is also at a nearly 30 year high, recently hitting around the $15 per ounce, whilst being worth around $5 back in 2000.

Oil

The price of oil had shown slow increases for years.  Within the last few months it shot up to over $100 a barrel, and is now hovering around the $88 mark.

The Price of consumption keeps increasing.  How long before we feel the impact of this in the cost of living?

Issues in France

The French President feels that the answer to the growing economic crises is for everyone to work longer.  Simple meme creation.

“President Nicolas Sarkozy is trying to revamp France’s 35-hour working week without picking a fight with trade unions by making it easier and more attractive for employees to work longer.

Introduced in 1998 when the opposition Socialists were in power, the 35-hour work week has been blamed by the ruling centre-right UMP and business for inflation, competitiveness problems, sluggish growth, and a host of other ills.”

Issues in UK

The price of houses has nearly exceeded the average person’s means.  10 years ago a house could be brought for £32,000.  Today the same house costs £120,000.  That’s a four fold increase.  Meanwhile the majority of people are earning the same now as 10 years ago.

UK Housing Bubble

Symbolism

Money and trade has existed for thousands of years, and will continue to exist all the while humanity lives on.  Economics, like civilisations has risen and fallen in an ever ongoing cycle.  Money is a means of valuation between people, whilst economics is a means of power and control for the state.

Symbolically then money is often seen as the lifeblood of our daily existence; it allows us to get by and carve a life out for ourselves.  Economics on the other hand is the lifeblood of industry, commerce and governments.  The two are on the surface seemingly the same thing, but underneath they are markedly different.

As the lifeblood of the economy grows thin due to destabilisation in the markets – the lifeblood of money and its inherent value is being pulled away from the reach of the average person.  We see this as an increase in cost of life’s necessities; fuel, food, water, shelter.

In order to survive the economy has to centralise and consolidate its power further and further.  Symbolically it is often viewed as one of the aspects of The Beast.  Centralisation created the Euro, and soon the Amero.

The value of individual trade however can remain a simple means of barter between two people.  Would you accept payment in the form of gold or silver?  I certainly would, because those metals have a value which is independent of economics.   It is only in relatively recent times that the various institutions have performed a slight-of-hand and de-linked the supposed value of money from the gold standard.

Gold, which has so many symbolical meanings, has less and less value to the modern person – who instead values in higher regard a piece of state-sponsored paper, or digital numbers on a computer screen.

In this way we have fallen under the spell of ‘The Beast’, and given up our individual power and will, and placed it into its own hands.

Understanding that “barter” and “legal tender” are two different concepts, the Liberty Dollar was founded in the US, an alternative currency, with gold and silver backing – which could be used for barter.  The Liberty Dollar existed for just over nine years, and was cited as being legally sound by US officials on numerous occasions.

Despite being a totally legal currency, on 1 November 2007, the FBI raided the Liberty Dollar headquarters, and seized all assets, included the gold and silver upon which the Liberty Dollar was backed. 

The economic “Beast” is once again struggling, as it did in the approach to The Great Depression – and only gained power once again during and after World War 2.  As the illusion of the economy begins to fly apart people are seeing through the veil and trying to retain whatever they can; we will no doubt see many more bank-runs.

What we are witnessing is the formation of a  conflict between the two symbolical aspects of valuation; money and economics.  One a manifestation of the people, the other a manifestation of the powers of control.