Dante - Ptolemaic - The Labyrinth
Australia - Summer School
Dante - Ptolemaic Cosmology - The Labyrinth
PREAMBLE
The purpose of this paper is to validate the science of astrology, not by way of statistical data or empirical evidence, but by placing this sacred subject firmly within the Ancient Wisdom Tradition. In order to do this, we have to examine two closely interrelated strands, namely:
1. the whole question of universality of symbology - the manner in which symbolism, correctly interpreted, points towards the prisca sapientia (Ancient Wisdom); and then
2. the relationship between the macrocosm and the microcosm: between cosmos and man. Here we consider the ancient Ptolemaic cosmology and sho\v its correspondences with the mythical labyrinth at Knossos in Crete, which both depict the incarnation and ex-carnation of the human soul.
Both of these strands are beautifully woven in what is generally considered the supreme masterpiece of Western mystico-esoteric literature - Dante's Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy), which we shall adopt as our basis. This epic poem depicts the journey of mortal man (Dante) guided by the spirit of Virgil (Higher Mind) and Beatrice (the Monad). This journey becomes symbolic of the universal quest for wisdom as the soul mounts through the various planetary spheres from darkness to light, from damnation to salvation.
PART I-SYMBOLISM AND THE ANCIENT WISDOM TRADITION
The most significant aspects of the poem are: incredibly, but perhaps not surprisingly, its broad consonance and common symbolism with the perennial teachings of both the western and eastern esoteric traditions!
concerning human consciousness, and especially the post mortem states of the soul journeying through various spheres of being; Ptolemaic cosmology used to depict the nine spheres of Paradiso; and the role of spiritual guides in assisting the errant soul on the path away from wrongdoing towards virtue.
UNIVERSALITY OF THE DRAMA WITH THE ANCIENT WISDOM
Correspondences between the Divina Commedia and the Ancient Wisdom
Every ancient exoteric religion taught that the so-called 'heavens' are divided into steps or grades of ascending purity and bliss; and the so-called 'hells' into steps or grades of increasing purgation or suffering. However the Ancient Wisdom teaches that the one is not a 'reward', nor is the other strictly speaking a punishment. The teaching is simply that as an object immersed in water will, according to Archimedes' principle, either sink to the bottom, rise to the surface, or remain suspended in a state of neutral buoyancy, by analogous reasoning, each entity, after physical death is drawn to the appropriate sphere of 'neutral buoyancy' to which its destiny, character and impulses attract it. It is just the old adage that as a man sows causes - during earthly life - so shall he reap the consequences in his post-mortem existence. Good seed produces good fruit; bad seed, tares.
So there is a sphere or circle, with subdivisions, for every degree of development ofthe soul and it gravitates to that appropriate sphere. Thus after death the soul 'enters' an intermediary stage where it is purged of all its sins and the grosser elements are sloughed off. Thereafter, cleansed, it rise to a realm of bliss, or in the case of extreme evil committed during earthly life, sinks into unalloyed misery.
This grand scheme is depicted allegorically in the Divina Commedia. The most evident connection with the Ancient Wisdom is that the poem is made up of three canticas, corresponding with Dante's three journeys:
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1 Also known under various terms such as the Ancient Wisdom, the Perennial Philosophy, the Esoteric Doctrine, Priscus Sapientia and Theosophy. They are principally, but by no means limited to, Hermeticism, Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism, Rosicrucianism, Theosophia and Kabbalah in the West; and the Stanzas ofDzyan, the Vedas and Upanishads in the East. For consistency we shall use the term' Ancient Wisdom' throughout. From the huge mass ofliterature on this subject, we may cite the following three: Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times, eds. R. van del' Boek and Walter Hanegraaff, State University of New York Press; Modern Esotericism and Spirituality, eds. A. Faivre and J. Needleman, Crossroad Publishing Company; A. Faivre, Access to Western Esotericism, State University of New York Press.
Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Broadly equivalent terms from these esoteric traditions ofboth the East and West are:
1. Inferno corresponding to 'Hell' of exoteric Christianity or Avichi of the Vedantins. The general meaning of A vichi is 'waveless', i.e. having no waves or movement, suggesting utter stagnation or uninterrupted hell. It is of course a generalized term for 'places' of, meaning the state of consciousness pertaining to, evil realizations.
2. Purgatorio corresponding to Kama Loka or desire-world ofthe Vedantins, Hades of the ancient Greeks, Arnenti 0 f the Egyptians or the land of Silent Shadows, Y uh -kai and Gestation 0 f the Tibetan Bardo.2
3. Paradiso corresponding with Devachan or 'dwelling of the gods (devas)' of the Tibetans, Sukhavati of the Buddhists, Elysian Fields of the Greeks, region of Sekhem3 (Fields of Bliss) of the Egyptians, 'Heaven' of exoteric Christianity, Summerland ofIslam.
Next there is the actual journey through these three realms. The genius of Dante was his skill in writing a poem conveying a universal meaning for all mankind through his own experience of 'the particular', namely, his personal experience of characters past and present during his own life. In other words, Dante's encounters in the Beyond are based on a personification and projection of personalities and characters drawn during his life from three main sources: (a) ancient Roman history, e.g. Virgil, Brutus, Cassius; (b) mythology such as the Cretan legend of Minos who rules the First Circle (Limbo) of Infemo and sentences each soul to one of the lower eight circles, and the violent Minotaur who guards the entrance to the Seventh Circle; and (c) recent and contemporary Italian history, including his personal adversaries and friends. This depiction of the Beyond by constant allusions to human affairs makes the work, at one and the same time: a description ofthe Beyond containing a mystic vision ofDivinity with the allegorical progress of the individual soul to the Divine towards which it strives; as well as a portrayal of terrestrial life, with the constant reminder that experiences in the Beyond are the reverse side ofthe coin, being the deserved consequences of causes set out during earthly life, as for example, Francesca da Rimini tells Dante in the Second Circle of Hell how she and Paolo Malatesta, her brother-in-law committed adultery and so died a violent death at the hands of her husband, which tale causes Dante to faint (Canto V). A more general example from the path of moral decline is the gluttonous who sink to the Third Circle where, guarded by the three-headed monster-dog Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld, they are forced lie in mud constantly flailed by cold and filthy rain (Canto VI). The contrary applies equally, for example, those who did good out of a love for humanity who then ascend to the Third Venus Sphere of Paradiso (Cantos VIII and IX); and those who gained wisdom in earthly life will inhabit the Fourth Solar Sphere (Cantos X to XIV).
The universal esoteric teaching is that upon physical death the soul 'enters' or is drawn into the vortex of the kama-loka It is in the kama-Ioka that the 'second death' takes place after which the human entity, purged of its lower psychic encumbrances and terrestrial passions enters the devachan. The highest regions of the kamaloka blend insensibly into the lowest realms of the devachan; and the grossest regions of the kama-loka blend insensibly into the highest regions of Avichi. After the 'second death' the human monad (spiritual essence of each human being) 'enters', rather rises to Devachan - the 'Heaven -world'. But what becomes of the entity so befouled and weighted that it cannot rise? It sinks into Avichi - the so-called 'hells' and remains there until it is thoroughly purged, until the sin-energy has been completely washed out and exhausted.
Thus the Divina Commedia commences with an allegorical depiction of the passage ofthe soul after physical death. Dante is lost in a dark wood attacked by wild beasts (a lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf) and unable to find the 'straight way' (diritta via) to salvation. Realizing that he is degrading himself, that he is falling into a
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2 From the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
3 This term from the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
'deep place' (basso loco) where the sun is silent (l sol tace), Dante is at last rescued by Virgil after his love Beatrice intercedes on his behalf (Canto II). Then he and Virgil begin their journey to the underworld.
The allegorical parallels between Dante's journey and the Ancient Wisdom are illustrated by drawing upon the above passage, as a small and arbitrary example. For convenience, these correlations are shown in tabular form on the last page.
Dante passes through the Gate of Hell, on which is inscribed the famous phrase, 'Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate' or' Abandon all hope, ye who enter here'. Then Dante and Virgil reach the ferry that will take them across the river Acheron and to Hell proper. Having survived the depths
of Hell, Dante and Virgil ascend out of the gloom, to the Mountain of Purgatory on the far side of the world. Virgil guides Dante through the seven terraces of Purgatory. These correspond to the seven deadly sins, each terrace causing the purging of a particular sin in an appropriate manner.
The ascension ofterraces culminates at the summit, which is the Garden of Eden (Cantos XXVIII through XXXIII). From this point on, Beatrice (a woman Dante loved in childhood, and who died in 1290), becomes his second guide and saviour.
After an initial ascension (Canto I), Beatrice guides the pilgrim Dante through the nine spheres of Paradiso. These are concentric and spherical, similar to Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology. A soul that has reached Paradiso stops at the level applicable to it in the corresponding way that a soul in Inferno is consigned to the Circle applicable to his misdeeds.
An example of the Commonality of Symbol and Allegory between the Divina Commedia and the Ancient Wisdom
In depicting the allegorical aspect of human nature during earth life and its fate in the afterlife, it is deeply significant that Dante should draw on the metaphor of the Cretan King Minos and the Minotaur. References to these characters provides arguably the strongest allusion to the Ancient Wisdom. The legend is well known, the esoteric meaning, perhaps less so. First an outline
of the legend germane to this essay. Within the labyrinth at Knossos dwelt the Minotaur, a monster with a human torso and a bull's head, who quickly disposed of anyone wandering in the passages. During those bygone ages, Athens was under the dominance of Crete and one of the obligations imposed upon the ruler of Athens by the Cretan over-lord was that he must send a yearly tribute of seven youths and seven maidens to Minos. Theseus, son of Aegeus, king of Athens was chosen to be the first victim to be devoured by the human-flesh-eating Minotaur. However, Ariadne, the daughter of the king of Crete fell in love with the Athenian youth and, determined to rescue him from certain death, provided him with a sword and skein of thread, which he must unwind as he penetrated the maze while she would hold the other end at the entrance. The prince vanquished the monster and found his way out of the intricate passages by means of the guiding thread.
The interpretation is very much in line with the overall tenor of Dante's passage through Inferno - refer again to the table of correspondences on the last page. The Labyrinth stands for the arena of earth life into which human beings enter. Not having the clue to escape from the entanglements of life and not being able to attain liberation or union with the Divine, being mortals, they die (they are slain by the Minotaur in the Labyrinth).
The fate of mortals is to pass into the Underworld or Inferno, where Minos is the judge, very logically stationed by Dante in the First Circle. The judgment meted out by Minos to those who would enter his domain consists of being obliged to re-enter the Labyrinth,
signifying a return to wandering and suffering in the maze - only this time the maze is the flip side as the playing out in Inferno, rather as Inferno, of causes set forth during earthly life. The Minotaur - half animal and half human - represents man's lower nature, namely his self-seeking desire-driven thoughts, which, much of the time seeks to
gratify itself through the pleasures of the flesh and so, quite logically, the Minotaur feeds on human flesh. This desire-thought complex usually
dominates mortal man's life and is responsible for his becoming more enmeshed in earth life (and subsequent necessary purging of his sins in Purgatorio) unless the clue of the guiding thread and someone to hold the end of that thread is made available.
For Dante the guiding thread would appear to be Virgil; the maiden holding the end is Beatrice. It is Virgil who, after all, guides him through the labyrinth or the Circles
of Inferno; then it is Beatrice, the beacon light of love who takes over to guide him onwards and upwards through Paradiso.
According to the Ancient Wisdom, the Virgil-Beatrice coupling is the union of the Higher Mind and Spiritual Intuition, the latter loosely referred to as the Higher Self As in so many allegories (Dante's poem, Greek legends, Indian drama such as the epic Ramayana) the Higher
Self is portrayed as a maiden, be she Beatrice, Ariadne, Sita, or by any other name.
So we may infer that Dante was well aware of the key of Analogy, in showing lost human beings the results of their misdeeds and at the same time enabling such wandering souls to retrace their footsteps back on to the path of righteousness.
PART II - MACROCOSM AND MICROCOSM: COSMOS AND MAN
Our Thesis
'All is context-dependent' should be the statement replacing that simplistic remark one hears all too frequently: 'all is relative'. This context dependency certainly applies to our view of the cosmos. For example, if we wish to indulge in extra-galactic travel, then life is made easier if we treat our sun as neither stationary nor the centre of the universe, but rotating around the centre of our galaxy. For solar system dynamics and space travel a heliocentric frame is the most useful. But in order to understand our coming into, and exit from terrestrial incarnation, the geocentric, Ptolemaic, psycho-physical system is by far the most felicitous. This system formed the bedrock of ancient Greek4 and Medieval Cosmology where the coming into being of a universe and the birth of a human were not regarded as rigidly disconnected events, but as component aspects of one, organic and unitary process on the basis of' As Above, So Below' - the microcosm mirroring the macrocosm. For this reason, the Ptolemaic universe was gloriously encoded in the ancient world symbolism of the labyrinth and used as the poetical structure in works like Dante's Divina Commedia.
The Ptolemaic System
In barest outline then, Ptolemy's work was grounded upon Aristotle's idea of an ordered universe divided into the sublunary or earthly region which was corruptible, and the heavenly region which was perfect and immutable. Centremost was the stationary Earth and then the Ptolemaic order of the planets from Earth outwards was Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, each moving in its respective sphere, then the Fixed Stars, and finally the Primum Mobile. However, notice that the only difftrence between this ordering of planets from the heliocentric system is that the Earth and Sun have flipped places, the Earth now rotating in its orbit and the Sun essentially stationary. It is suggested that the Ptolemaic system is valid even nowadays provided that its symbolic meaning is distinguished from a literal physical interpretation where of course it does not work in a mechanistic scientific sense.
The Divina Commedia, The Ptolemaic View and The Labyrinth
The Divina Commedia reflects this symbolic meaning behind Ptolemaic cosmology in exotic detail with its circles, or spheres not only reaching out into the heavens, but funelling down into the very centre of Earth which is essentially the bottom of Hell. This last statement provides us with a clue to how the Ancients regarded Earth. (The old English word for a ball of string was 'clue' - a reminder of the crucial clue that princess Ariadne placed in the hands of the handsome prince Theseus before he entered the Labyrinth. We shall also 'enter' it shortly, indeed construct one to wit.) The Ancient view of placing Earth at the centre of the universe was not the egoistical attitude that we now presume it to be, but rather the notion that what is densest must fall to the centre and what is rarefied but rise upwards. Hence to be at the centre of things (Earth) was not the best, but the worst place to inhabit. Therefore Earth was Hell, the dregs, where everything sank down, the most undesirable part of the universe to be in. Not surprisingly then, Dante commences his epic journey from 'Hell on Earth' - a perfect correlation between the Ptolemaic notion and the Divina Commedia. But where does the Labyrinth enter into all this? As alluded to above, the Ptolemaic order is encoded in the labyrinth both symbolic and historical. We shall explain this.
Two Kinds of Labyrinth
There are two principal types oflabyrinth. In a multi -cursallabyrinth - the traditional maze - paths branch out into other paths that branch out further and it is likely that a traveler may never reach the centre. By contrast, a uni-cursallabyrinth, or meander has only one path which, however much it may twist and turn it ultimately
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4 But with notable exceptions like Aristarchus of Samos who postulated a heliocentric system.
leads, inexorably and with no dead ends to the centre. The labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral is a meander whilst the one at Knossos in Crete is definitely a maze - or is it? Let the tale unfold.
The Cretan Labyrinth at Knossos - Its Double Meaning
The Cretan legend and symbolic meaning behind the slaying of the Minotaur by Theseus is well known and was outlined in our first essay. Here we only emphasize that mythology demands that the labyrinth at Knossos had to be a maze. There was no doubt that unless you entered it with a clue you would soon get lost in its bifurcating passages and get devoured.
However the historical labyrinth at Knossos can be seen on early Cretan coins and pottery. The design is seen to be not a maze but actually a meander with seven circuits - a-mazing! Why this contradiction between the mythological maze and the historical meander? Why seven circuits?
When we enter into terrestrial life we are indeed in a labyrinthine maze of all kinds of experiences. We do not know which of many paths to take and we have to learn to control our personal Minotaur of sense-driven lust getting the better of our higher nature. When we succeed in controlling (or slaying to use the traditional term) our lower nature by finding the clue and using the sword of the mind, then our path ahead becomes clarifiedour personal maze has been transformed into a meander. The labyrinth is thus the symbolic pattern of our coming into birth, and our coming out of birth as we shall see by constructing and walking inside the one in Crete.
Building the Cretan Labyrinth
The figures on the last page show how the historical labyrinth, i.e. meander at Knossos may be constructed.
Starting with the template of the cross with four extra right angles in each of the cross angles and a dot in the middle of each second angle, start by joining the top end of the vertical cross bar to its immediate neighbour and work around the diagram clockwise as shown in the figure. We obtain seven circuits which we may label, working from the outermost to the innermost, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon and Earthnone other than a depiction of Ptolemaic cosmology.
Walking Into the Cretan Labyrinth = Entering Incarnation
Let us leave the Fixed Stars and walk into the historical Cretan labyrinth hoping to be born on Earth (we shall assume that we are old souls and know our path in the life to come.) The first circuit we encounter is not Saturn, but Mars, for it is passion and desire for life, symbolized by Mars that draws us into incarnation. On our way we pass through the circuit of the Moon which symbolizes the model-body5 around which the physical body is moulded. The last circuit we encounter before 'falling' on Earth is Venus.6 As we journey into incarnation each planet gives off some of its influence to the incoming soul. At death, the reverse occurs and we 'hand back' those borrowed qualities to the planets in turn as we 'ascend'. So Mars is this time the last planetary sphere we pass through as we must now give up the thirst or desire for sentient life. The planets in the Ptolemaic system, as mirrored in the labyrinth, thus indicate the order in which our life principles are activated as we come to Earth and the order in which they must be shed as we leave our labyrinth of experience - Earth.
Ptolemy - Crete - Dante
It would not be useful to attempt a literal cross-correlation of the Ptolemaic system as used by Dante with the historical Cretan labyrinth. Nonetheless the central and important role ascribed to Minos and the Minotaur in
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5 Etheric double and doppelganger are some of the many other names ascribed.
6 Venus symbolizing intuitive wisdom or insight. Thus it is said that just before birth we have an intuitive flash of our life ahead; and just before death we experience a review of the life we have lived.
the Divina Commedia demonstrates Dante's knowledge of the allegorical and symbolic meaning ofthe famous Cretan legend. Thus the Soul in Paradiso ascends to the level applicable to it, ranging from the first sphere of the Moon to the seventh sphere of Saturn. Although not quite the same as the order of the planetary circuits encountered at death as depicted in the Cretan meander, the principle is broadly the same; that of rising to the 'buoyancy level' of the planetary influence relating to the attribute of the Soul.
Coda
In conclusion we must with utmost sincerity pay obeisance to those great Souls who have ever shown Mankind a way out of the labyrinth of his own making - if only he will listen to their wise words; and Dante was assuredly one
of those lofty Souls. Just as the 'Kingdom of Heaven Must Lie Within', so the heroic journey that Dante undertook must ultimately become our own personal journey. Perhaps then, when we have truly absorbed this epic poem and it speaks its sublime message to us from within, the amazing Divina Commedia may alchemically transmute into just -
COMEDIA.
References
The esoteric significance and symbolic meaning behind Ptolemaic cosmology and the labyrinth have been taken mainly from the following works:
The Secret Doctrine, H. P. Blavatsky, Theosophical University Press, 1888 orig.
The Divine Plan, Geoffrey Barborka, Quest Books, 1986.
Labyrinth of Life, Professor John Algeo, Quest Books, The Theosophical Society in America, 1996.
The Soul's Imperative, Harold Tam, The Theosophical Society in England, 1999.
