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bird speak 
"The reason why the serpent is especially supposed to impart a knowledge of the language of the birds appears from a folk-lore conception of the origin of serpents. According to Democritus as reported by Pliny, serpents are generated from the mixed blood of diverse birds. This explains why serpents should understand the language of birds; they do so, because they are blood relations of birds, having the blood of birds in their viens. If we ask why serpents are thought to be formed of the blood of birds, we may conjecture that the idea originated in the observation that serpents eat birds and birds' eggs. Hence on the folklore principle that in eating of an animal's flesh one absorbs the animal's mental qualites, (1) the serpent acquires the bird language, (2) anyone who eats a serpent also acquires the language of birds. From the language of birds to the language of animals in general is not perhaps a long step in folklore. The idea that birds are pre-eminently talkers appears in the practice, observed by some Turkish tribes in Asia, of giving to children who are long of learning to speak, the tongues of certain birds to eat."
james g. frazer, "whoever eats serpent's flesh understands the language of the animals", from "the language of the birds"
we might conjecture, yes, that serpents understand the language of birds because they eat birds eggs, but the link between the two is peculiar considering birds evolved from dinosaurs.
the plumed serpent, Quetzlcotyl
we were on a trip and having been unable to get a copy of Fulcanelli's book, "The Mystery of the Cathedrals" in which is discussed the language of the birds, we called what is reputed to be the largest used bookstore in the world. did they know if the book was somewhere in their stacks? no, they didn't know. we would have to come down and check it out. we did, and went to the metaphysical section. it was full of a good deal of trash. in the midst of the trash was not the book for which we were looking, but glaring up at me, black print on white, was the title, "the language of the birds," a collection of tales from around the world involving the ability of animals to speak, to communicate with humans.
Mayan vision serpent
with ancestral diety
emerging from mouth
the serpent's history involves inculcation of knowledge. the paraclete, the holy spirit so often symbolized by the dove, but also tongues of flame, is associated with the ability to speak in tongues. the pentecostal descent of the paraclete follows the election, by divination, of one to take the place of Judas, the apparent betrayer of Christ, the deliverer of him to the authorities. this is interesting for Judas, son of Simon (meaning "hearing") is given as being the keeper of the bag, and that when he went out to turn Christ over he was understood as perhaps going out to purchase something against the passover feast, or to give to the poor, as he kept the money bag. that bag is glossokomon, "a case to keep mouthpieces of wind instruments in), i.e. (by extension) a casket or (spec.) purse". It comes from glossa, "the tongue, by impl. a language (spec. one naturally unacquired)" and kosmos, the world, which comes from komizo "to tend, i.e. take care of; prop. to provide for, i.e. (by impl.) to carry off as if from harm; gen. obtain)."
bones speak as well. there is a fairy tale in which a flute is made from a bone, and it sings the story of a man who was murdered. thus the truth is known.
it's as though the very wind, breath, is itself knowledge which requires a mouthpiece by which it may express itself. the wind caused the reeds to whisper that Midas had donkey ears.
pynchon, in "the crying of lot 49," instead has the bones of secretly murdered guards made into ink. that ink is used to write a lie. but when that letter is later read aloud it is no longer the lying document, but miraculously has become a long confession of all the crimes committed by the individual, and a revelation of what really happened to the Lost Guard of Faggio. They had been massacred by him and thrown in the lake. Later on their bones were fished up again and made into charcoal, and the charcoal into ink with which he scribbed cryptic remarks in his missives, implying how it was a special fluid: "This pitchy brew in France is 'encre' hight...for 'anchor' it has ris'n, from deeps untold."
kundalini energy
image c. 18th century
what came after the reclamation page on the old bigsofa site? was something about a test mentioned?
when done with the test, click away the new browser window it came up in to return here and continue
MENU FOR CORE SITE
The "core" of bigsofa requires a color-coded navigation scheme. White links to the new "core". Tan links to the "old."
bigsofa
please read
lotus eaters
official welcome
tv eye
almost there
what is there to remember
reclamation center
(are you a winner or loser?)
bird speak
test
the unicorn is myopic
under your refrigerator
in the enemy camp
mundane is
coming down the ladder
WEB POINTERS
language of the birds
loplop
*Freud's couch image from the web, visit the Sigmund Freud museum to view his couch in all its colorful glory
Quoted excerpt of james g. frazer from "The Language of the Birds"
The images of Quetzycotyl, the Mayan Vision Serpent and Kundalini come from here and there. Very interesting when you have, all on one page, the Kundalini image and the Mayan expressions of the Plumed Serpent and the Vision serpent, to compare them. |
