I've had this post sitting on the back burner for the last month but after Will Morgan recently mentioned The Hangover movie in
Mad Moon I took it as a sign that I should pull my finger out and finish the job I'd started. So here goes...
I knew straight off the bat that The Hangover was going to get personal when my name appeared in the opening shot. Richard's Floral Co.
As the camera panned across I noticed that the letters ORA, or ARO, were found beneath the name Richard. It was like a prompt from the universe to pay attention. Richard Aro. The Flo of Ra. Nice.
Within the first minute of the movie I knew that I was going have a post worth of stuff to write about, but at this point I had absolutely no idea where the flow was going to take me.
As the flowers are being delivered ^, the people inside are discussing wedding plans. In this scene we see that some of Richards Flora Flowers are Yellow. The father-in-law points his jUPiter finger Up reminding me that this Yellow FloWer might be worth pointing out.
Doug, the groom, is entrusted with his father-in-laws most prized possession, his Mercedes-Benz, so that he can make the roadtrip to Las Vegas to celebrate his bachelor party. As Doug parks outside a school to pick up one of his grooms-men....
....the Mercedes aligns with a Yellow Bus/Sub(marine), a Golden Chariot of the Gods:
The Yellow Bus points to the Chariot of The Fool. The vehicle which turns it's passengers Looney.
To me the Yellow suB symbolises guidance. It points The Fool, or Fools, in the right direction. It helps them to navigate the floW.
On the tip of the Nose we find the symbol of the Trinity.
I found this of interest because I recently explored the Triangle/Trinity symbol in
Tiger Love Triangle. Here's two quick examples from that post:
So while wondering about the Mercedes-Benz and Triangle/Tiger/Cat connection, I came across this advert.
The Mercedes has even further resonance with the Cat/Tiger via this Texas football team.
So getting back to the movie, the Mercedes Tiger-Chariot, carrying the four Fools, pulls into a Gas station to make a pit stop. Alan, the craziest Fool of the group, fills the car Up with Gas.
The Tiger mascot of the Gas Giant Esso entrains with the Gas Giant Jupiter.
As the Tiger-Mobile refuels on Jupiter Juice, the Red-Eyed Phil (left) and Doug (right) decide to buy some supplies for their journey to Las Vegas. As they wait in line at the checkout a Blue Circle (the Blue Sun...Jupiter?) targets Doug, creating a Halo directly above his head.
The Halo is depicted in religious art above the head of Enlightened Beings, like Christ, the Buddha, or Angels. This Blue Halo sync reminded me of these Las Vegas Angels which appeared momentarily in the opening credits of the movie.
The crew of the Tiger/jUPiter-Mobile continue on their journey and finally arrive at their destination. As they drive down the Las Vegas strip they pass this giant Blue Ball:
I was instantly reminded of Jakes
Blue Earth Star which he captured on camera during his visit to Amsterdam.
Jake wrote: "I saw the above Christmas - Celebration of the birth of Christ Consciousness - ornament in the Amsterdam terminal en route to South Africa and immediately thought, Blue Sun.
Pretty perfect as the Blue Sun or '2nd Sun/Son' is a symbol of the birth of Christ Consciousness, the meaning of Christmas."
On closer inspection of Jakes photo I noticed that Lady Liberty (LL/77/27) could be found pointing Up towards the illuminated Blue Ball.
As the Tiger/jUPiter-Mobile drives down the Las Vegas strip in The Hangover, we see the large Blue Sun, (LL/27) Lady Liberty, and the Tiger-Chariot all merging together in one smooth transition.
Notice ^ that the left brake light gives the Blue/Yellow Ball a single Red Eye.
The Mercedes Pyramid/Trinity symbol also aligns perfectly with Lady Liberty's Halo.
The four buddies drive to Caesars Palace and check in at the reception. We find another reference to the Chariot (Yelow Bus/Sub) in this wall mural which shows (JC) Julius Caesar being pulled by four White Horses.
Notice above that Julius Caesar is riding on what looks like a Wheel Chair. Sam Worthington rode in a Wheel Chair in (JC) James Camerons Avatar and he rides on the White Horse/Pegasus in the upcoming Clash of the Titans. Hercules, the Son/Sun of Zeus/Jupiter, has also flown on the White Horse in Disneys Hercules.
In Avatar the Chariot guides the Blue Son/Sun of PAN-(77/LL/27)-dora.
(JC) Julius Caesar was said to have been stabbed 23 times in the back, giving us a link to JC23.
JC23 happens to be the name of Jim Carreys production company which ties all this in nicely with The Fool/Crazy, and the post
Mad Moon. Having read Jims post it makes more sense to me why these four Fools stand beneath the Chariot of the Blue Sun. It's the Chariot that all Fools must learn to ride.
Notice above that the Wheel of the Chariot/Wheelchair aligns with Dougs head, creating a large golden Halo. Remember that we saw this Blue Sun Halo on Doug earlier on at the Gas station.
Anyway, once the four Fools settle into their rooms they decide to go Up in the elevator to the very top floor and climb a ladder onto the roof of Ceasars Palace. As they unite under the Moon in preperation for the jovial night ahead of them, we see the word Flamingo (in Pink) in the background.
The Flamingo also appeared in the opening credits, directly opposite Julius Caesar:
This Flamingo sync caught my attention because I'd recently spotted it this '2010: International Year of Biodiversity' logo from Jims
2010 Matrix Code. I noticed the Flamingo was found inside the 'O', the number of The Fool/Crazy in the Tarot deck.
The Pink Flamingo might point to The Fool (or Fools), but it's a bird which also points to the Heart. I like to think of 2010 in terms of 'The Year We Make Contact with the Heart'. The Year when Two becomes One and it all begins to get a little crazy. The Flamingo seems to represent the Flaming(o) Heart. The firey
Passion of the Christ.
Having had a heart-to-heart in front of this Pink Flamingo neon sign...
...the guys go out to celebrate Dougs' bachelor party, Vegas-style. The lights fade to black and the next time we see the four Fools, they're recovering in their hotel room, each suffering from a throbbing Hangover and amnesia.
Alan, the craziest Fool of the group, is now wearing a Rainbow chain around his neck. He enters the bathroom (a place we could associate with Water/Pisces and the Age of Aquarius) and begins freaking out at the sight of this Tiger:
Meanwhile, the character Stu wakes up to find that one of his Teeth are missing. The Mirror forms a Halo around his head.
The reference to a hurting Tooth reminded me of these posters. Again we find another nod in the direction of the Angel.
They discover that Doug, the Groom, is nowhere to be found so they go outside to try and piece together the events of the previous night. As Stu nurses his sore Tooth, he interacts with the White Horses once again.
As they head off in search of the Truth, they find that their Mercedes Tiger Chariot has now become a Cop Car. As they drive away from JC's Palace we see the 24/42 on the roof and 9/11 on the side...
....and 1244 on the back.
Their new Chariot leads them straight to the Heart:
And again we find a reference to the Guardian Angel, the Daemon/Phooka/Higher Self which oversees and guides all matters of the Heart.
Later in the movie the police find their stolen cop car and the guys are taken into custody. As punishment for stealing their wheels, the cops allow a group of visiting school kids to tazer them. James Ratte highlighted this very scene in an old post called
The Hangover.
As the school kid aims the tazer at Alans head, the cop shouts encouragement by telling him:
50,000 volts. Eye of the Tiger. Ride the Lightning.
The Red tazer light gradually comes to rest on the location of the third eye.
The Pine Tree on Alans T-shirt brings to mind the Pine-al Gland.
Apparently the Pineal regulates our sleep/dream patterns. It's also associated with hallucinations/visions, and the opening of the spiritual Eye/I.
The Red I of the Tiger.
50,000 volts. Eye of the Tiger. Ride the Lightning.
The school kid squeezes his Jupiter Finger and a lightning bolt strikes Alans Red-I, knocking him unconscious. It makes me think that kids are playing a key role in our awakening process. Children have the natural ability of sending their energy straight to the source. Children help to empower The Fool.
The Fool/Crazy is someone who has chosen to embrace their Inner Child. In turn, children naturally choose to gravitate towards them.
I watched The Hangover a couple of days after reading Jakes
Yellow Sunflower In The Shell. When I noticed the same symbolism that Jake had discussed, only this time on the front of Alan's T-Shirt, it made me think that this guys role was particularly important.
Here's an image from Jakes post showing pretty much the same thing.
The plant/tree emerging from the crown makes me think of a bridge which connects us to Plant Consciousness, to Gaia, Mother Earth. It reminds me the hair link that the Na'vi in Avatar use to plug themselves into the spirit of their planet. It's what keeps them connected to their Goddess Pandora. I like to think that we all plug into Gaia in a similar way. There's an invisible thread that allows us to hear the heart beat of Mother Earth. We just need to learn how to tune in to it.
Actress Mel Streep starred alongside Nicholas Cage in the movie Adaptation (see poster above) and she recently made an appearance in a post called
It's Complicated.
In the post Jim pointed out that:
THE + O = THEO or THEOS, which is GOD in Greek.
You'll have to read the post if you want to make full sense of this. It not really that complicated.
Shortly after coming across Jims banner above I noticed that The Hangover poster also features the O containing the letters THE. It's another example of THEO, or GOD.
We've seen that the God Jupiter/Zeus has more than a few things in common with the Tiger. So where does the Goddess fit into the scheme of things?
What role does Lady Liberty have to play as we journey into the I of the Tiger?
If we start with Meryl Streep (seen earlier in Jims
It's Complicated banner) we find that she entrains with the Ginger Cat (or Tiger) in her new movie based on a book called Dewey.
Meryl Streep has also starred in a movie called Dark Matter.
Dark Matter = Dark Mater = Dark Mother
The Dark Matter/Mater/Mother/MoM has a thousand different names and wears a thousand different masks, like Gaia, Mary, Isis, Juno, Kali, Shakti, Iris, or Frejya, to name just a few. The Dark Mother is the Female deity who is often associated with the Cat.
The Norse Goddess Freyja rode through the heavens in a Chariot pulled by Cats while the Sumerian Goddess Inanna/Ishtar was often shown standing on the back of the Lion.
If we take Kali as another example of the Dark Mother, we find that she's often depicted riding on the back of the Bengal Tiger. The Cat is most definitely the Chariot of the Dark Goddess.
We find similarities between Freyja/Inanna/Kali and the Goddess Juno thanks to actress Ellen Page. Here we see Juno, Goddess of Jupiter, with both feet planted firmly on the Tiger. Kinda similar to the images above.
In X-Men 3 we see that Juno (Ellen Page) is most definitely a Black Kitty Kat:
Actress (JC) Jennifer Connolley, like Meryl Streep and Ellen Page, also entrains with the Dark Mater/Mother.
I like how Jennifer Connolley also starred in a movie called Dark City, or Dark Kitty.
Isis is yet another Dark Kitty/Black Cat resonator. In this comic cover we see that the tip of her spear points towards the Black Whole, or Black Sun, the Galactic Heart.
The Black Whole, or Black Sun, is also a Blue Sun.
Lady Liberty/Isis pointed this out in Jakes photo.
Each aspect of the Dark Mother (Isis/Kali/Juno/Lady Liberty/etc) seems to lead back to the Heart in one way or another.
Alice/Juno is the Goddess of the Underworld. That's why she's called Dark MoM, and not Light MoM. She uses her Cat's Eyes (the Moon) to lead us towards her Black Heart.
There's naturally a dark edge to the Dark MoM. The vibe I get from the image above is that if you choose not to relinquish your heart to her, she'll simply come along and cut it out of your chest anyway. At this moment in time Dark MoM is taking no shit!
In the book
2012: The Year of the Mayan Prophecy, author Daniel Pinchbeck wrote a little about the wrathful side of the Goddess.
I read that: 'According to Hinduism and Buddhism, we are currently in the Kali Yuga, ruled by Kali,
the dark mother, Shakti's wrathful aspect, who liberates through decapitating. When we explore our current reality through this mythological, archetypal, and suprapersonal prism, we reach a level of insight beyond the stereotypical critique that sees modern civilization as patriarchal and women as victims. In the Kali Yuga, it is the feminine current of Shakti energy that has gone berserk - like an electric line that is cut, shooting out sparks - not the masculine Shiva principle of consciousness.
During this Aeon, the lunar, sinister current of the Feminine Daimonic is at its zenith, a spiritual condition which allows for the breaking up of all boundaries and the free play of creative chaos, unrestricted by the male ordering principle. The Kali Yuga could be characterized as the goddess Shakti throwing a hissy fit. When such a powerful diety goes haywire, the entire Earth suffers and strains from her fury.'
That last line brings to mind imagery of what recently took place in Haiti. When the Dark Mother/Gaia releases her frustration on the planet, watch out! Considering recent events it's natural to feel a little uneasy about what the age of the Kali Yuga has in store for us. It's natural to fear the wrath of the Earth MoM.
In this banner we find the Golden Boy/Horus/JC side by side with Dark MoM (Meryl Streep).
The Golden Boy and Dark MoM can also be found at the Manitoba Legislature Building.
Actress CATe Blanchett, who played the role of Queen Elizabeth, has the Cat in her name, and also happens to look like one.
Meryl Streep, the Dark Matter/Dark Mater, also represents the Queen.
I was recently browsing the banners and artwork over at the newly-born
Synch Hole and noticed that James Ratte had included the Queen in this illustration called Circumcision. Notice that James gave the Queen the body of the Tiger. The themes in his picture entrain perfectly with Queen Kali, the Decapitator. The Dark MoM.
I noticed that James also depicted the Queen with her head peeking in from the side of the picture. I think this is very revealing because I keep coming back to the idea that the Cat-woman/Dark MoM prefers to remain hidden in the shadows. She never wants to come fully into view, prefering to keep her distance, out on the periphery, while still keeping a watchful Eye on things.
In this poster we find Jennifer Connolley, the Dark Kitty, inside the Blue Eye/Blue Sun. Notice that she has her back turned to us. Dark MoM doesn't appear to be watching, but she most certainly is.
The Third Eye, or Eye of the Trinity, is always trying to reach out and make contact with us. It's just damned hard to see her sometimes.
MATR = Mater = Mother
In this Eye of the Cat poster we find the Cat and the Chariot/Wheel Chair associated with the MATR/TEAR.
Again notice in the image above that the Dark MoM found inside the TEAR (wearing the Red Dress) looks a little reluctant to reveal herself. She looks unsure about how people are going to receive her. Maybe they would scream if she revealed herself fully.
The Cat's-Eye of the Dark Mother helps us navigate the Black Road ahead. The Cat's-Eye illuminates the path.
The Black Road leads our Chariot to the Third Kind, the Trinity.
The ancient Maya called this Dark Rift/Black Road by the name Xibalba:
Xilbalba leads to the Underworld - the womb of the Dark MoM.
The womb is where the Black Sun is born.
Actress Rachel Weisz aligns with the Black Madonna/Dark MoM/Mother Mary in the movie Constantine.
In the movie Mother Mary (represented by Rachel Weisz) lives with a Cat, and during a short stay in hospital, is given a wrist band with the letters CAT (in blue) stamped on it:
Guess whose up for the role of the Cat-woman?
Heck, she even walks like one!
In the movie Weisz allows (JC) John Constantine to use her Cat in order to practise Magick.
She provides the Bridge to the Otherside.
In the night sky we find this Bridge in Xilbalba, the Dark Rift or Black Road of the ancient Maya. Here we see Rachel Weisz staring up at Xilbalba and the Black Sun/Son. Notice that she has her back to us.
In the Agora poster we find that the Black Sun has been replaced by the Moon. Again, Rachel Weisz (MoM) has her back to us.
Just like we saw earlier with Jennifer Connolley.
Even CATe Blanchett, Queen of the Elves, is at it:
Maybe the Queen doesn't really want to show us her darker side. Maybe she knows it would probably freak us all out.
Because the path of the Goddess leads to a
Black Road, I think that many would rather choose not to travel it. Many of us naturally fear things of a Dark nature. The thought of coming face to face with Kali is quite an unsettling one. The fact that she likes decapitating people isn't really that welcoming. It doesn't really make you warm to her. If you wish to travel the Black Road of Xilbalba, guided by the Cat's-Eye of the Dark Mother, then you're pretty much guaranteed that you're going to lose your head, or your mind, somewhere along the way. Her path seems to be designed in a manner which forces you to go a little crazy. But I think that's probably just part of her test. You can't connect with the Moon Goddess if you're not willing to turn Looney. You'd have to be a Fool to choose to walk this path. But if you knew that the path ultimately lead to the Heart of the Goddess, the Lady who Librates, then only a Fool would choose not to walk it.
I've been curious about the Dark MoM for a couple of years now and I keep coming across the same reoccuring theme. Dark MoM prefers the shadows. She has no problem using her feline stealth to remain hidden. But because of this stealth, it's hard to find her. You can never quite pin her down. She doesn't come looking for you, so you're only option is to go looking for her. You've got to start walking her path before she'll reveal herself.
Last week I had a dream which helped me come to this same conclusion. In the dream I was walking into a dense lush rain forest and as I climbed up a mound of mossy boulders I suddenly entered a large bright clearing. The trees seemed to have been pushed back in a large circle and in this huge open space I noticed a giant female figure made out of trees, vines, and all manner of vegetation. She towered high above me. I knew instantly that this was the Dark Mother of the Forest. Gaia. She was introducing herself to me via the beautiful forest clearing, but as I stared up at her in awe I noticed that she was sitting/squatting, with her knees pulled up tight to her forehead, so that her face was completely obscured. Her arms were wrapped around her head as if she was deliberately trying to hide her face. She was happy for me to see her body, to see the outline of her form, but she didn't want me to see her true identity. Gaia seems to like keeping it a mystery. She doesn't want to be defined.
This recent rain forest dream reminded of another I had a few years ago. I was standing in front of a large glass wall that stretched off to the horizon for as far as the eye could see. On the otherside of the wall I could see the ocean, cool blue water stretching off to infinity. I was standing on sand at the bottom of the ocean floor, but the glass wall divided me from the water. In the distance, flashing in and out of view I saw what looked like a shy dolphin. As I concentrated on the figure I realised that it had arms and long flowing hair. It was the Lady of the Lake. Dark MoM. I wanted to go and swim with her so I put my hand to the glass only to find that there was no glass. The wall had simply been an illusion. My hand passed through the divide and straight into the cool ocean. I trusted that I was supposed to follow the mermaid so I closed my eyes and walked into the ocean. As I found myself floating in the water I realized I could still breathe. It was an awesome feeling to be underwater without the worry of oxygen. I noticed the figure darting about in the shadows up ahead of me so I quickly swam towards her. I caught up to the mermaid and we started swimming in circles around each other, like two playful kids. The annoying thing was that when I tried to look at her face, to try and make out her features, she kept on blowing bubbles into my eyes. I could only ever snatch fleeting glimpses of her, which annoyed the hell out of me. I knew she was blinding me on purpose.
The bubbles frustrated me so much that I snapped out of the dream. I woke up feeling great because deep down I felt like I'd just made contact with Mary/Mari the Marine Goddess. The Lady of the Lake. Gaia.
Shortly after that dream I watched the movie The Island. In the intro I was stunned to find actress Scarlett Johanssen acting like the mermaid from my dream. The imagery was nearly identical.
*Update: I just had the pleasure of reading Jakes new post
The Found Tin where he took a look at the movie
Nightmare on Elm Street 4: Dream Master. Jake noted that Freddy Kreuger entrains with the Tiger-striped planet Jupiter.
In one of Freddy's victims rooms we see this poster of a sexy woman lying on a Tiger, next to a Golden Boy statue and the words 'Sweet Dreams!'.
In a dream sequence later on in the movie we see the same poster again, only this time the Cat-woman has now disappeared.
The boy finds the Tiger-woman trapped within his waterbed. He tries desperately to break through the glass (the illusory wall) in order to help save her. This image is so uncannily similar to my mermaid dream, it makes my head wobble.
It always puzzled me why the dream mermaid had been so secretive about her identity, but in hindsight I'm now starting to realize that maybe she's happier keeping it that way. I was reminded of this quote:
'Thou art Isis, who art all that ever was, and all that there is to be, for no mortal man hath ever unveiled thee.'
It makes sense to me that Dark MoM would communicate with us via our dreams, as one of her aspects is Juno, Goddess of Jupiter. In this painting entitled 'The House of Dreams' we see Juno riding on a Chariot pulled by Peacocks. Also notice that Angels surround her, messengers who deliver Junos gifts to us via the Dreamscape.
Beneath the Peacock Chariot the people below lie sound asleep. This painting helped reinforce the idea that the Dark Mother speaks to us via the subconscious mind. This is probably one of the reasons why she's so effective at remaining out of sight. That's probably why few of us seem to notice the influence she has over our lives. It's why she remains a figment of our imagination.
I'd like to finish off this post with one more scene from The Hangover. Near the end of the movie the guys retrieve their Mercedes/Jupiter/Juno-mobile, and enter an underground tunnel. At this point in the movie The Fools are symbolically travelling the path of the Black Road. Having taken this perilous route they've managed to make sense out of their current predicament. The amnesia, unconsciousness, is beginning to wear off because they're finally getting to the Heart of the Matter.
At first none of the guys in the car notice that they have an extra passenger on board. This is because Dark MoM, in the form of the Tiger, has chosen to remain silent. When she does decide to make her presence known, everyone in the car is given the shock of their lives.
Dark MoM, the Cat Queen, tears up the Jupiter Mobile, reminding The Fools that she has always been in charge of the Chariot.
I like to think of the Dark Goddess as the silent passenger whose always lurking in the back seat of our lives, always helping to steer us down her Black Road. She's been hiding in plain sight all along, which is why we've never noticed her before.
She's always been part of the ride. She just preferred to sit at the back, leaving us to get on with the show.
I believe that 2010 will be a year when the Dark Mother makes herself more apparent in each of our lives. Kali is on a mission to liberate, and I have a feeling that any resistance is futile. I think that this could be the year when Dark MoM makes us all go WoW!
We can let her force her way inside, smashing glass with roars and snarls.
Or we can act like a complete Fool, and open our arms to her. I've got a feeling that Dark MoM has a softspot for The Fool whose willing to look beyond her scary exterior. Maybe she won't bite our heads off if we approach her. Maybe we'll find that all she's been looking for is a gentle hug. A little TLC.
Time will surely tell.
Thanks for reading.
Richard
