16. SHESHEP-ANKH : HER LIVING IMAGE

O Men, why do ye vainly think on things
Too lofty, as if ye immortal were?
                -- The Sibylline Oracles, Book XIV

     The Sphinx, representative of the Great Mother, is multi-culturally universal, depicted in stone temples across ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Southeast Asia, India, and in royal palaces throughout Europe. She is the Untamable Wild Nature of the combined elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit, in Perfect Harmony. She is the Great-Mystery-from-the-Stars personified, the Original Vampiress, whose blood begat, and flows in, all Life.
     

     The Sphinx is the Biblical Cherubim : "One who prays, one who intercedes" - and the Akkadian, Karubu : "One who blesses". Sheshep-ankh, the Egyptian Sphinx, represents the Goddess Austet (Isis), and heralds the rising of the star Sirius. As the prophet Ezekiel attests, the Sphinx is composed of the four "fixed" astrological signs; bearing the face of a Woman (Aquarius), the breast of the lion (Leo), the body of the bull (Taurus), and the wings of the eagle (Scorpio). She is the Dragon Den Mother of the Seraphim (Aramaic, Kerabya "like a child") - her mixed prodigy of burning angels and flaming serpents.

     Circlot's Dream Dictionary states : "Being the supreme embodiment of the enigma, the Sphinx keeps watch over an ultimate meaning, which must remain forever beyond the understanding of man". She is the supernatural guardian of the secret formula of Creation - "The separation of the physical, towards the ascension or resurrection of consciousness, in the alchemy of Time."1 Writer Mary Daly's interpretation of the Sphinx, is that of "a symbolic message, or lesson, summoning us to participation in the Trans-temporal and Trans-Spatial Presence of all Creation. She invites us to Realize expanding Integrity, Harmony, and Splendor of form / forms across Time and Space."2
     Dear Mortal, let us clarify : Eternal Beings never die, despite being forgotten, or no longer believed in, by Mankind (who remains origin-confused). Despite the Greek myth, the Sphinx did not commit suicide, nor was She slain by Oedipus. Good Goddess, no! Man is not the ultimate answer, nor question, to that which the Sphinx riddled Oedipus, although the religious patriarchy of the time would have us believe Her defeat heralded the coming of their dominion. The dear old girl actually gave Oedipus a glimpse into his twisted (Oedipal) psychopathology, to be misunderstood at his own peril, fulfilling the prophecy of his unfolding doom (if you recall, he unknowingly kills his father, marries his mother, and upon realizing the horrors of his actions, gouges his eyes out).
     The riddle "Who crawls in the morning, walks upright at noon, and on three legs in the evening?", is intentionally mocking, for Mankind is, indeed, short-lived (King but for a Day!). The irony of human existence is its built-in expiration date. Ponder the wisdom inherent in the riddle's design - enticing us to look in the mirror, and ask : with the brief time allotted to us, why is our flash-in-the-pan species so intent upon destruction and harm? Mankind, take heed. Do not attempt to trick, manipulate for profit, or control the Sphinx, in any of Her Likenesses : the wild beasts, the planetary Goddess Earth (Gea), and Womankind. Our true salvation lies in keeping Her Wisdom (i.e. Living Body of Knowledge) Sacred.
     Humanity is a strange enigma, indeed, seemingly on a bad acid trip / quest to subvert the course of evolution; wastefully draining the blood (oil) of our Host, destabilizing / destroying eco-systems in the process, killing millions of folks in senseless feuds, committing atrocities to all other species, and ignorantly refusing to harmoniously share the planet. What is the purpose of this insanity? All Creation is inter-related, partaking of the same, originally-seeded, comet-laden DNA (a panopoly of evolved starlight, amoebic intelligence, shadow, flesh, scales, fur and feathers, more or less).

                                               Engelhardt, Peter
     Granted, blood is humanity's premiere sacrament, and rightly, its highest sacrificial offering....thus deserving our respect, gratitude, and homage. Tribal cultures ritually acknowledge this heritage, shedding blood in reverential rites of passage. From ancient Mayan royal bloodletters to Lakota Sun Dancers, offerings (not to exceed a ceremonial pint!) are returned, with prayers / praise for the Gift of Life, in appeasement of forces of Nature, and with courage and adoration for the Mystery. Shamanic women honor their sacred fertility / moon blood by gathering in Red Tents and Moon Lodges. 

     Matriarchal cultures were taught to value the currency of blood, and to never forfeit life lightly, without consideration of the consequences. Modern man has lost his respect for the Circle of Life, and his place within it. New World Order cabalists squander and trade-in the blood and suffering of sentient beings, for their own psychic energy and power, while ego-inflated corporate / dynastic entities build unholy Empires and wage perpetual war. If emotional maturity tests were given to the leaders of the world's nations and regimes, many would abysmally fail. "Jes sayin'." 
                    
     The Sphinx stands alone in Her Judgment, in the center of the Astrological Wheel, as our Intercessor. Her true significance and power (Timelessness - a state readily accessed in entheogenic devotion), begs us to riddle why, and how, after millennia of Goddess worship, Her temples have been abandoned, defaced, defiled, and re-built-upon, by Her oppressors. The Sphinx will rise again! - ripping impostors and their false knowledge apart, roaring to Life long past Humanity's bones, reduced to granular crystals, blow along shifting desert sands. Yet, perhaps it is not too late to make amends....by attending to Her Mystery once again......

1 www.crystalinks.com
2 Daly, Mary, Quintessence, Realizing the Archaic Future

                                  Moreau, Gustav, Oedipus and the Sphinx