Above, the original draught of the Pearl of Epiphany.

Everything this author has learned about the psyche, sync, coincidence, and everything that will be read in “Syncphany” (the blog) and “Epiphany” (the book) began with the Pearl of Epiphany, a symbol that makes one of many views. So it is the appropriate symbol from which to begin sharing the perspective of symbols it has become and through it introduce the content of SYNCPHANY.

The Pearl of Epiphany was originally meant to be simply five symbol primarily recognized as representing the major role playing religions of the world in the age of Pisces put together to represent the objective unity and syncretism that pervades throughout theology.

Syncretism is the cogent and complimentary combining of various fields of thought. It shows a, preexisting, common bond between them, which may or may not have been recognized before or ever intended.

The Pearl of Epiphany is literally a visual syncretism of metaphor, lore, tradition and myth through popular association of symbols to the primary social spiritual powers of the age of Pisces.

The idea of the worlds religions working together and pointing to one or more unified truths is not anything new. There are a myriad of different theologians, philosophers and even accademics who have articulated examples in innumerable ways. C.G. Jung is one who stands out among these for his work with the concept of Archetypes. Joseph Cambell illuminated the specifics of the Hero Archetype.

Although, the effort here, to visually symbolize such a unity, disembodies the concept of archetypes, in so much as geometric symbols are absent any personal charachter, it is none the lesss and infact perhaps more directly a valid form of archetype, due to the definition of the word. Archetype means Prime imprinter.

Further the image is formed in such a perfect arrangement of geometry and meaning that it unveils forgotten and all together unknown, ancient symbolism piced together by the combination.

The initial concept was specifically inspired by the several ways in which just one man, Huston Smith, put it, prior to any understanding of Archetypes.

“Signposts are not the destination, maps are not the terrain. Life is too rich and textured to be fitted into pigeonholes, let alone equated with them. No affirmation is more than a finger pointing to the Moon.”
…

“Religions begin by assuring us that if we could see the full picture we would find it more integrated than we would normally suppose.”
…

“It is as if life were a great tapestry, which we face from its wrong side. This gives it the appearance of a maze of knots and threads, which for the most part appear chaotic.”
…

“The beauty and harmony of the design derive from the way its parts are related, the design confers on these parts a significance that we, seeing only scraps of the design, do not normally perceive.”
Houston Smith

In pursuit of symbolizing the truth behind these words and Over the course of about 2 years, these “scraps” (symbols) were arranged and rearranged in an effort to find the most economical and meaningful way to view them.

It was not until the following quote, by a Native American shaman, was considered that they were finally, quite appropriately, perhaps providentially, placed in what seems even a strangely obvious orientation, superimposed within a circle.

“Everything Tries to be round.”
Black Elk

It seems that EPiPHiNY is not, or perhaps not only, the creation of a single artist, but an inevitable cause of the develoupments in human consciousness from the last of the 20th and first of the 21st centuries. One might even say it is the logical product of an all inclusive view of religion and mythology in the modern age. Armed only with one of the concepts of love, equality and understanding, emersed in a social environment of accletic blending of everthing from myths to genders, how much chance was there that one of the millions of modern minds on the subject would not stumble upon this wonderous EPiPHiNY?

Is it not cogent to think it highly unlikely that no flower child/hippie of the 60s, no LCD tripping bell bottomed trancer from the seventies, nor the artisticly prolific star and rainbow children, lightworker or awakeners nor even the scholarly academics such as Jung and Cambell, no Ellron or Crawly, Acharia, Blavatski nor Smith would ever happen upon this combination?

Not to mention the all but invisible individual, who finnally did manifest EPiPHiNY, does not even identify, let alone practise as an artist, but as a curious, informally educated, accidental symbolist, and one who believes in nothing to boot, investigating possibilities without a hint of agenda other than the acquisition of understanding and truth.

Over years of work many more improbable coincidences surrounding this symbol were unveiled through the research that followed. These improbable phenomena revealed a deeper, subjective, unconscious layer of meaning being knit together through historical events, various trains of thought, scripture and, of course symbolism.

So totally unknown and down right incredible were these connections (Syncs) that they warented, perhaps even demanded, more than a personal research. The import of the meaning, the living truth emerging through a perspective simultaneously novel and ancient, compelled a student to become also a teacher. So begin the lessons.

Scraps of the Prime Imprinter, the Pearl of Epiphany

Above, second draught.

The five Symbols are; the (green) Crescent Moon of Islam, it represents the moon, associated primarily as a female, the Arch or Ark, the womb of God or gods.

The (blue) Aum of Hinduism, which, in short, is a representation of the vibration or sound of the universes creation, evolution and end.

The (yellow) Star of David of Judaism, which stands primarily for male and female or dualistic relationships aka polarity is rumored to be produced when Hindu (the true Origin of the symbol) monks chant “AUM” onto a sand covered metal surface (tonograph).

The (black & white) Yin Yang of Buddhism or Taoism, which stands for a kind of philosophical relativism.

Finally the (brown) Cross of Christianity, which stands for ultimate sacrifice, salvation and forgiveness, the Staff, the male, seed of God or gods.

Epiphany Outlining The Solstice Shadow.

Above, third Draught.

The deeper unconscious archetypal meaning referred to above is centered around a piece of the puzzle which proved difficult to symbolize without major taboos getting in the way.

It was of great importance to this draughtsman to include a symbol to represent what seemed to be the root of all religion. Namely, the medicine man or shaman’s perspective, which had been the key to finding the order of the chaos that arranged the symbols in what seems to be the correct positions, due to the resulting symbol that filled the aforementioned shamanic symbolism bill. Although the symbols were already arranged in the circular frame that solved the puzzle and produced the mushroom shape, the solstice shadow did not stand out to tell the uninformed viewer that it was there. The only two symbols that had been considered for representing shamanism, in the Pearl of Epiphiny, were the swastika and the pentagram, unfortunately both are littered with negative associations across the dogmatic traditions of the world. Of course the meanings of both have long been highjacked in the minds of western civilization, by dark and negative definitions. They would serve mostly as repellent to too many innocent or ignorant eyes. And in experimentation their presence was not so pleasing to the eyes anyhow. So, for the time being, the shaman was thought to be left out.

As it turned out, the shamanistic progenitor of religion was hidden inside the Pearl all along. The image of a mushroom was constellated by the ‘correct’ arrangement of these symbols.

Among its many facets, there are two contextually important aspects of nature from which shaman have gained knowledge of it. They are the macrocosmic stars and the microcosmic plants.

Although they are technically a fungus, Mushrooms are included in the microcosmic list of plant teachers. Science and Dogma were not always distinct, making it unlikely that an ancient shaman would have any ear for an academic breakdown on the difference in genre of a Tamarix tree and of an Amanita mushroom. Of all holy vegetation, and what not, the mushroom forms the most distinctive, and simple shape available, in regard to potential for visual symbolism.

The Solstice Shadow is the authors name for a set of identical Egyptian hieroglyphs shaped like mushrooms, that stand for solstice, turning or shadow.

*Bottom left, below, shows the Egyptian mushroom shape to be specific to the winter solstice. As -from the Northern Hemisphere- the Sun is farthest South at Winter Solstice.

Strangely enough, prior to the discovery of mushroom shaped hieroglyphs, the mushroom shape had already been brought out upon recognition of its resemblance to the solstice alignment; along with the correlation of the number of intersections along the mushroom’s center in EPiPHiPHiNY to the number of stars in the solstice alignment. Finding this hieroglyph was one of the most jaw dropping experiences this author has had.

In the spirit of unity -the inspiration for creating the pearl- all three Egyptian meanings (shadow, turning and solstice) are compiled together for a single and whole understanding of the symbol. As result the meaning of ‘Solstice Shadow’ is two fold.

The solstices are turning points from light to dark and back again, internally as without. So the turning of shadows, over any period of time or area of space, within reach of the shadows, between the ends of the dualistic spectrum of light and dark.

The meaning dualism is mirrored external to internal.
The external (macrocosmic) meaning is the path of the Sun and turn of the seasons from the dark of Winter to the light of spring in the world perceived outside of the observer.
Just as the life of the world is lit and lives by the Sun (light of the world), so psyche, reason and emotion are lit and live by consciousness. The internal meaning then is light as conscious awareness and knowledge while dark is a lack thereof, whether due to inexperience or suppconsciousDark content is unconscious or subconscious.Both the experience of psychedelics on the inside and the turning of the winter solstice are processes of enlightenment, lighting the dark. The solstice shadow then seams to mean enlightenment or, in a jungian senset it means individuation, coming to balance by consciously incorporating ones dark parts into an accepted asspect of one’s humanity.

In Egyptian Hieroglyphs, an Arch (usually red or yellow) is representative of bread and the phonetic sound of the letter ‘T’.

Incidentally outlined in the Pearl of Epiphany are both the Arc and T-shape of the Solstice Shadow. The outline of an Arc is made by the meeting of the tops of the (green) Crescent and the (blue) Aum which together form an arch, a perfect outline of a mushroom head, the rising Sun, and the yet unknown annual possession of the solar path by Tureis; of the constellation Argo, the Ark, which is to be described in the first chapter of the Solstice Shadows.

The significance of this simple little symbol (a bent line) was the tip of the iceberg, feather on top, or the catalyst (also to be read about elsewhere; namely in the mepiphany category) for writing this work (Epiphany/Syncphany). Of course, just below The Arch (wich is now outlined in red) is the T-shape, also already present in the Epiphany symbol.

Within this image containing symbols that represent the five major role playing religions of the world today, super imposed within a circle, are five intersections of the vertical center line and each horizontal line, as if X’s (more aptly +’s) were marking the space for each set of stars in the Solstice Shadow. The stars and their intersections are as follows from top to bottom of the vertical line at the center, marked in the example above by orange dots; except for the Sun which is instead a red arch and Tureis or Rho Pup, which is not represented, because it is, as yet, unknown to the public. The names associated with each are to the right of this illustration and the meanings thereof are included below.

Detail is very important here so here is an in depth description of how the stars of the winter solstice within the Solstice Shadow fit into Epiphany.

The stars of the winter solstice are fixed in the sky in a specific order and therefore their positions within these symbosl are like the Solstice Shadow in Epiphany, automatic or mechanical.

*The Rising Sun / Tureis- Possessor of the Argo constellation.

At the top of the entire symbol where the top of the (blue) Aum and the (green) Crescent meet, along with the top of the (black & white) Yin Yang’s S curve and the tip of the upward facing triangle of the (yellow) Star of David. The (red) Arc fills the space between the top of the circle and the upper horizontal line and represents the synchronized path of these two stars during the winter solstice. Also the shape of the Sun as it rises and the local of Tureis in Argo which is located at the very top and center.

Note again that this star remains unrepresented as it remains unknown even to most people who consider themselves informed of the star alignments of the winter solstice. It is still in the shadow of consciousness, and it is, therefore, providential that it should be located at the head of the symbol of the Solstice Shadow.

*Sirius Sothis- Vesica Pisces = () = cunjunction = Female, Isis = Cobra = Pearl= Tooth of Serpent,

Placed in the intersection of the Cross. Where also lies the center of the horizontal line of the downward facing triangle in the Star of David and the location of the white dot of the Yin Yang.

Note that the symbol () (Vesica Pisces) represents the tertium comparationis, which is what two things have in common, and it just so happens to go directly on the intersection of the cross, (i.e. the location that The horizontal and vertical have in common) and The white dot of the Yin Yang, which is what gives the black side a common value to the White side of the Yin Yang.

*Mintaka- Belt

This star is dead center of the entire work. Where the Yin Yang meets the upper and lower arches of the Aum.

*Alnilam- String of Pearls

At the base line of the upward facing triangle in the Star of David and The location of the black dot of the Yin Yang.

*Alnitak- Girdle

At the bottom where lies another intersection of the Aum, Crescent, Yin Yang and downward point of the Star of David.

So there you have it, somehow, this symbol, an Egyptian hieroglyph for solstice, turning and shadow, which stands for the mushroom and outlines the stars of the winter solstice (a shamanistic symbol of consciousness and shadow), ends up outlined by a, seemingly inevitable, super imposition of the symbols of all of the major religions of the world today.

Epiphany’s Eye of One Frame

Once the Egyptian corelation was identified, the inclusion of an Egyptian symbol in the picture was not only warranted, but essentially required.

Although the symbol of life called ‘Ankh’ would fit in beautifully, it seemed as if it would only be redundant imagery, as the ankh, mushroom and cross were all very similar. Even the cross has an Inner i.

In fact, if one were to ask the Bibles red letters for advice as to a symbol that represents unity, the most relevant answer would have to be Mathew 6:22, which must be examined closely or at least read in two or more different translations;

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”
King James

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,”

The key here is the interchanged words ‘healthy’ vs ‘single’.

The definition ‘single’ or ‘healthy’ is synonymous with the Eye of Horus, which is called ‘wjt’ in Egyptian, Which sounds like what you get if you read WWJD like a word, rather than an acronym. The exact definitions of ‘wjt’ are ‘the uninjured eye of Horus (Ra)’, therefore the healthy eye, or ‘the whole one’, thus the single. Now Add to that Jesus as the pearl of great price, plus the common allegory of pearls used in the Koran ie, “eyes like pearls”, then the Hindu concept of Indra’s Pearly net; “a string of Pearls so arranged that all are reflected in one; not to forget that the ‘Eye of Ra’ is a picture of the center of the brain; the pupil being the penial gland which calcifies with age, resembling the development of pearls as they accumulate nacre secreted by their creators, the often vesica pieces shaped oysters.

There you have the sum and reasoning for both the ‘wjt’, the ‘whole one’ being the frame around the Pearl and the name of the pupil in ‘Epiphany’ being the ‘Pearl of Epiphany’.

Above, Final product, “EPIPHANY”.

One would be hard-pressed to find a representative of any one of these religions that does not apply holly tradition and celebration to some span of time surrounding the Winter Solstice. They all do this whether their members are aware of it, or (more often) not. Whether their eyes are whole or divided.

The Hebrew and esspescially the Christian believer would not likely attribute credit to their God for, or even agree to there being anything significant about these incredible facts. More than likely the ironic response would be that it was all chance. In fact it has already been said that
“there is no basis for this.”

Although some would surely attribute the credit to Satan, the great trickster. This is because several of the main stream religions do not acknowledge any divine ordinance in other faiths; believe that only the ‘evil one’, the ‘deceiver’ would arrange things in such a way, as to mislead souls from “God’s truth.

And there you have it… The division and illness of seeing only one side, perceiving only by a fraction of the available senses.

Regardless of bias and belief, in all honesty the only rational explanation is that the relationships described here are acausal (synchronistic) syncretisms of visual homonym. That seconded only by a conspiracy theory of globally ancient proportions.

But just maybe..

Aliens…

Next up, HEPNEN – How the stars align for “Christmas”.

OTHER SYNCPHANY PAGES

ICHTHYOS – On fish symbolism.

EPiPHiNi? – Explaining the SYNCPHANY logo, the i of EPiPHiNi.

Syncphany Store – Various prints of your favorite SYNCPHANY art.