The days are getting longer now. Light returns to the Hemisphere, softening the hard edges of evening and soothing fragile psyches such as my own.
There is another name for Light, a sobriquet for the One by whom dawn is cleaved from dim.
Why is the name Lucifer so abhorred? Certainly the Light-bringer — Venusian eminence or Byzantine king — is not the same character as that cruel villain of Christiandom. Was not Jesus himself once heralded as Morning Star?
May the Morning Star which never sets
find this flame still burning:
Christ, that Morning Star,
who came back from the dead,
and shed his peaceful light on all mankind,
your Son, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
I blame Milton.
Let it be said that this humble physician does not traffic in Darkness. Rather, I embrace Light in all its manifestations, for it is truly the disinfectant of Soul. Spontaneous compassion are its hallmarks, forgiveness its augury.
Kenneth Anger‘s oft-cited film Lucifer Rising aims to present the Morning Star as the symbol of lust, awakening and the harnessing of True Will. I’m not certain it succeeds. I am fond of the movie’s soundtrack(s), however — both Bobby Beausoleil‘s prison-composed opus and Jimmy Page‘s abandoned dronescape.
A website I frequent called Peromyscus recently published a thorough examination of Page’s involvement with Anger’s film. Peromyscus is something of a Page aficionado; another entry concerns an unfinished satin stage suit commissioned by the guitarist. Peromyscus astutely concludes that one of the suit’s half-finished embroideries is that of the Stele of Revealing — an ancient Egyptian funerary artifact reappropriated by one Aleister Crowley for his Church of Thelema. Not something your average rock ‘n’ roll fan would deduce.
Now, I knew this Crowley character in my youth, and let me say, the less we dwell on him the better.
So let us return to Page and Anger. Peromyscus offers details about their curious (and brief) collaboration, which came to an end with Page being booted from the project after having completed but 20 minutes of music in nearly half a decade. Anger’s stated reason for dismissing Page was that the guitarist had, by then, become well-ensorcelled by heroin. Page no doubt sees things differently, but is reticent on the subject (and that of his rumored occult involvement).
Recently, a torrent appeared online purporting to be an early cut of Lucifer Rising with Page’s original soundtrack. As it turns out, the file — extracted from decaying VHS tape of dubious origin — is legitimate. Curious parties may find it here.
I am no expert on either Anger or Page, so I again refer you to Peromyscus for what surely approaches the full story. However, I am acquainted with the rumor that Anger put “the Curse of Midas” on Page, rendering him a stultified millionaire, possessed of great material wealth but creatively bankrupt.
One supposes the Horse also aided Page’s general dissipation.
I bring this up as an example of how Ego, even when put to service in one’s creative work, is a faulty vehicle. The greater Agency is service, wherein one eliminates one’s selfish tendencies through the dual application of mindfulness and magnanimous dispensation.
At least that’s what I have heard.
Someone is selling a vinyl bootleg on eBay that has the Page LR soundtrack:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Jimmy-Page-Led-Zeppelin-Lucifer-Rising-1973-Rare-LP_W0QQitemZ370177607481QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMusic_on_Vinyl?hash=item370177607481&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50
Downloaded the flick. Interesting, the music seems to be a different mix of the LP boot I downloaded… Perhaps there were a few mixes put out during Magus Page’s affair with the Chinese Dragon?
Could be, could be. He was fiddling with it (the sndtrk, not the needle) forever.
I’ve heard the Page soundtrack before; never married to the picture, though. Not bad, but I think I prefer Bobby Beausoleil’s Freedom Orchestra. Speaking of Bobby, There are a few goodies out there: highly recommended is the Orkestra LP (Bobby w/ David LaFlamme of It’s a Beautiful Day fame. Great Jams! There’s also a Bobby picture disk with Lucifer demos, etc. that’s really good). RE: Page. I’d highly recommend seeking out Jake Holmes’ “Dazed & Confused.” You can find it on the CD James Patrick Page: Session Man. I love Page as a synthesis of his influences, but he’s never been afraid to outright steal…