Gardener
Brahma Father of Wands in the East
I did say I would post threads on the four daughters next, but I’m feeling guilty about leaving out all the men. Besides, I have this urge to explore the courts in their family context, especially after thinking about what dinner would be like at the Kali-Radha household. Those women are going to need some men around, and so I am looking at their mates.
(The following is adapted from Rachel Pollack's companion book.)
Although the followers of Tantra claim Kali as the original source of the Trimurti (Creator, Preserver, Destroyer), most Hindus name them Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Westerners may look at the three gods and think of their own trinity, but the three Indian gods are worshiped by separate religious groups. Hinduism in fact began as several religions that later became unified. Uneasily unified in some cases – rivalries exist among the sects. Just as Tantra gives Kali pride of place, so other stories describe Brahma as the source of all gods.
Brahma was originally the god of priests, the most intellectual and patriarchal, not as warm as Vishnu or wild like Shiva. His name comes from Brahman, the holy power that gives life to the cosmos. As Creator, Brahma would be the first manifestation of this power. Compared with the God of Genesis, YHVH, the unknowable source, Brahma is the form that the unknowable takes. In Hindu myth, the universe will last for a vast length of time, preserved by Vishnu, until Shiva or Kali dissolves it in the dance of destruction. Then, after the long night, when only Brahma exists, creation once more emerges and the cycle begins again.
The card for the Father of Wands in the East depicts the traditional representation of Brahma. The footprint above his head is part of this tradition. Haindl uses it to link to Bigfoot, the Father of the West. The soft colors of the picture evoke the calm of a balanced and unmoving god. He has four arms, power beyond limitation. Four faces symbolize the four elements, the four directions, and the four yugas (the great ages in each cycle of creation). Four is the number of universal law. The four faces blend into each other, reminding us that separateness is merely an illusion.
The blended faces share five eyes, and there are five lines on Brahma’s arms. Haindl here evokes the Hierophant, the other card of the priestly caste. Brahma wears a cord across his chest, a white cloth and a fringed cape, all symbols of the Brahmin (priest) caste.
The four hands show different aspects of the God. The upper-left makes a stylized gesture of prayer. The upper-right arm holds a scroll describing religious law. The lower-right hand holds a gold vessel containing milk and the lower-left a spoon for stirring the milk in the hold fire. Milk is a sacred food in India, produced by the cows which embody the Goddess.
Brahma wears a decorated crown, signifying religion as a developed concept. Brahma takes the energy of Kali and calms it. As Creator, he channels it into existing forms. Kali is the night, Brahma the dawn.
I did say I would post threads on the four daughters next, but I’m feeling guilty about leaving out all the men. Besides, I have this urge to explore the courts in their family context, especially after thinking about what dinner would be like at the Kali-Radha household. Those women are going to need some men around, and so I am looking at their mates.
(The following is adapted from Rachel Pollack's companion book.)
Although the followers of Tantra claim Kali as the original source of the Trimurti (Creator, Preserver, Destroyer), most Hindus name them Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Westerners may look at the three gods and think of their own trinity, but the three Indian gods are worshiped by separate religious groups. Hinduism in fact began as several religions that later became unified. Uneasily unified in some cases – rivalries exist among the sects. Just as Tantra gives Kali pride of place, so other stories describe Brahma as the source of all gods.
Brahma was originally the god of priests, the most intellectual and patriarchal, not as warm as Vishnu or wild like Shiva. His name comes from Brahman, the holy power that gives life to the cosmos. As Creator, Brahma would be the first manifestation of this power. Compared with the God of Genesis, YHVH, the unknowable source, Brahma is the form that the unknowable takes. In Hindu myth, the universe will last for a vast length of time, preserved by Vishnu, until Shiva or Kali dissolves it in the dance of destruction. Then, after the long night, when only Brahma exists, creation once more emerges and the cycle begins again.
The card for the Father of Wands in the East depicts the traditional representation of Brahma. The footprint above his head is part of this tradition. Haindl uses it to link to Bigfoot, the Father of the West. The soft colors of the picture evoke the calm of a balanced and unmoving god. He has four arms, power beyond limitation. Four faces symbolize the four elements, the four directions, and the four yugas (the great ages in each cycle of creation). Four is the number of universal law. The four faces blend into each other, reminding us that separateness is merely an illusion.
The blended faces share five eyes, and there are five lines on Brahma’s arms. Haindl here evokes the Hierophant, the other card of the priestly caste. Brahma wears a cord across his chest, a white cloth and a fringed cape, all symbols of the Brahmin (priest) caste.
The four hands show different aspects of the God. The upper-left makes a stylized gesture of prayer. The upper-right arm holds a scroll describing religious law. The lower-right hand holds a gold vessel containing milk and the lower-left a spoon for stirring the milk in the hold fire. Milk is a sacred food in India, produced by the cows which embody the Goddess.
Brahma wears a decorated crown, signifying religion as a developed concept. Brahma takes the energy of Kali and calms it. As Creator, he channels it into existing forms. Kali is the night, Brahma the dawn.
