The artwork inside the album cover of Led Zeppelin IV is from a painting
by William Holman Hunt, influenced by the traditional Rider/Waite Tarot
card design for the card called “The Hermit”. Page transforms into this
character during his fantasy segment in Led Zeppelin’s concert film The
Song Remains the Same. The Hermit was his favourite Tarot card.
The Hermit (IX) is the ninth trump or Major Arcana card in most
traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in
divination.
The Hermit has internalized the lessons of life to the point that he is
the lesson. The Hermit, as a kind of shamanistic hero, has made the
complete journey both the withdrawal and the return.
The Hermit is related through a cross sum (the sum of the digits) to The
Moon. While The Hermit mostly integrates the lessons of the sunlit
world, the Moon stands at the threshold of light and dark and churns the
waters of life. In both cases, treasures can be uncovered through
contemplation of what is brought forth. In both cases, monsters may be
found.
A potentially dangerous aspect of The Hermit is his retreat, his
isolation. We all need to retreat sometimes; retreat and renewal are
necessary for growth. But The Hermit may be tempted to completely
withdraw from the world, not because the journey is done, but because
the dragons of the real are too daunting, or because the trivial
pleasures of the cave are too intoxicating. Withdraw at the wrong time,
stay withdrawn too long, and growth stops.
In the Vikings Tarot, the Hermit is Heimdall living at the edge of
Asgard, standing ready with Gjallarhorn watching for the signs of the
coming of Ragnarok.
Photo 1: The Hermit as shown in the Tarot card.
Photo 2: The Hermit in the Led Zeppelin IV album done by Barrington Colby.
As we celebrate the birthday of John Henry Bonham (May 31, 1948 – September 25, 1980), I’m taking some time to mediate on John Bonham’s Sigil of three interlocking circles representing the trinity.
Bonham is by many regarded as the greatest and most influential rock drummer of all time. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 1 in their list of the “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time.” The power of his influence is not only heard in the sampled music of Led Zeppelin, his influence is also seen via tattoos of his Sigil on drummers across the globe. Jason Bonham & Dave Grohl being just two examples.
“We decided the album couldn’t be called Led Zeppelin IV. Each of us decided to choose a metaphysical symbol which represented us individually.” ~ Robert Plant
[Continued] “Each of us decided to go away and choose a metaphysical type of symbol which somehow represented each of us individually–be it a state of mind, an opinion, or something we felt strongly about, or whatever. Then we were to come back together and present our symbols.”
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page did not find their Sigils in Rudolf Koch’s The Book of Signs, a rather limited reference book if you will, but everyone else John Paul Jones, John Bonham & Sandy Denny all did. One could assume that Sandy Denny’s Sigil was chosen for her. And when one looks at these three Sigils they all have something in common, three identical objects visually working together symbolically. John Bonham’s three overlapping circles, John Paul Jones’s [See my post on the Triquetta here]three vesicae piscis, with a circle interconnecting them, and Sandy Denny’s three triangles connected at a corner, symbolizing the Godhead.
The commonality of these THREE Sigils is that they all feature THREE Objects. John Bonham’s Sigil representing the Trinity, John Paul Jones Sigil, Tri-quetra literally meaning “THREE Cornered” and Denny’s
[FROM WIKI] In Trinitarian doctrine, God exists as three persons or hypostases, but is one being, having a single divine nature. The members of the Trinity are co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. As stated in the Athanasian Creed, the Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated, and all three are eternal without beginning. “The Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” are not names for different parts of God, but one name for God because three persons exist in God as one entity. They cannot be separate from one another. Each person is understood as having the identical essence or nature, not merely similar natures.
Other Trinities Prior to the Christian Doctrine include
The myth of Osiris was deeply influential in ancient Egyptian religion and was popular among ordinary people. One reason for this popularity is the myth’s primary religious meaning, which implies that any dead person can reach a pleasant afterlife. Another reason is that the characters and their emotions are more reminiscent of the lives of real people than those in most Egyptian myths, making the story more appealing to the general populace. In particular, the myth conveys a “strong sense of family loyalty and devotion”, as the Egyptologist J. Gwyn Griffiths put it, in the relationships between Osiris, Isis, and Horus.
With this widespread appeal, the myth appears in more ancient texts than any other myth and in an exceptionally broad range of Egyptian literary styles.These sources also provide an unusual amount of detail. Ancient Egyptian myths are fragmentary and vague; the religious metaphors contained within the myths were more important than coherent narration. Each text that contains a myth, or a fragment of one, may adapt the myth to suit its particular purposes, so different texts can contain contradictory versions of events.Because the Osiris myth was used in such a variety of ways, different versions often conflict with each other. Nevertheless, the fragmentary versions, taken together, give it a greater resemblance to a cohesive story than most Egyptian myths.
SEE BONHAM’S SIGIL ON ALEISTER CROWLEY’s THE HIEROPHANT CARD
The Symbol of the Three interlocking circles on Crowley’s Thoth Card is said to represent Themelas Three Aeons & Egyptian Deities.
The Aeon of Isis (10,996B.C.-8830B.C.)
The Aeon of Osiris (166B.C. – 2000A.D.)
The Aeon of Horus (2000 A.D+)
The Aeon of Isis – Known as the Aeon of the Great Goddess and associated with the astrological age of Leo. She represented a time of the divine feminine and was the human embodiment of the earth giving forth life. Life was seen to be given birth from the earth and from woman, with the woman having the cycles of birth.
The Aeon of Osiris – Known as the Aeon of the dying God and associated with the astrological age of Pisces. Osiris is on the Stele of Revealing.
Osiris is usually distinguished as the god of the afterlife, the underworld & the dead, but more appropriately as the god of transition, resurrection, and regeneration. In this Aeon people were more advanced in agriculture and the role of the Sun in growing crops. Also the role of men was more widespread in the birth process. So from this, just as the sun (masculine) was important for life on earth (feminine), so man was important in the birth of a child.
The Aeon of Horus –
Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris & is associated with the age of Aquarius. The Aeon of Horus is also known as the crowned and conquering child and the ever-living Sun and continuous life. In this Aeon death is an illusion. The modern Aeon of Horus is portrayed as a time of self-realization as well as a growing interest in all things spiritual matters and the evolution of the soul. Alternative medicines have also evolved coupled with a growth in meditation groups and spiritual practises. Crowley emphasised the need to follow ones ‘true will’ or soul direction in life.
The Sigil’s of Zeppelin’s rhythm section formed the foundation of Led Zepplin’s music. As musicians they were bedrock on which the magick was created. It is no surprise to me that these two Sigil’s each representing the magickal concept of The Trinity, come together andfound a third Sigil in Sandy Denny’s, on Led Zeppelin’s “FOUR SYMBOLS”. In a strange way with the additional 5th symbol they completed their own TRINITY in BONHAM JONES & DENNY.
“The first book I read about Aleister Crowley was The Great Beast and it created an intense curiosity. The more I read about him, the more fascinated I became, because he’d tied so many traditions in Western magic. He’d introduced yoga to the West as well, and because I found that his system worked. Plus, all the aspects of the ritual magic, talismanic magic – I could see that it worked.”
— Q Magazine Special Edition (2003) “BRING IT ON HOME” by Nick Kent
[Excerpt] Rock Magic: Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, And a search for the elusive Stairway to Heaven
by William Burroughs, Crawdaddy Magazine, June 1975.
“I summarized my impressions after the concert in a few notes to serve as a basis for my talk with Jimmy Page.
“The essential ingredient for any successful rock group is energy–the ability to give out energy, to receive energy from the audience and to give it back to the audience. A rock concert is in fact a rite involving the evocation and transmutation of energy.”
The Led Zeppelin show depends heavily on volume, repetition and drums. It bears some resemblance to the trance music found in Morocco, which is magical in origin and purpose–that is, concerned with the evocation and control of spiritual forces. In Morocco, musicians are also magicians. Gnaoua music is used to drive out evil spirits. The music of Joujouka evokes the God Pan, Pan God of Panic, representing the real magical forces that sweep away the spurious. It is to be remembered that the origin of all the arts–music, painting and writing–is magical and evocative; and that magic is always used to obtain some definite result. In the Led Zeppelin concert, the result aimed at would seem to be the creation of energy in the performers and in the audience. For such magic to succeed, it must tap the sources of magical energy, and this can be dangerous.”
I felt that these considerations
could form the basis of my talk with Jimmy Page, which I hoped would not take
the form of an interview. There is something just basically WRONG about the
whole interview format. Someone sticks a mike in your face and says, “Mr. Page,
would you care to talk about your interest in occult practices? Would you
describe yourself as a believer in this sort of thing?” Even an intelligent mike-in-the-face
question tends to evoke a guarded mike-in-the-face answer. As soon as Jimmy
Page walked into my loft downtown, I saw that it wasn’t going to be that way.
We started talking over a cup of tea
and found we have friends in common: the real estate agent who negotiated Jimmy
Page’s purchase of the Aleister Crowley house on Loch Ness; John Michel, the
flying saucer and pyramid expert; Donald Camel, who worked on ‘Performance’;
Kenneth Anger, and the Jaggers, Mick and Chris. The subject of magic came up in
connection with Aleister Crowley and Kenneth Anger’s film ‘Lucifer Rising’, for
which Jimmy Page did the sound track.
Since the word “magic” tends to
cause confused thinking, I would like to say exactly what I mean by “magic” and
the magical interpretation of so-called reality. The underlying assumption of
magic is the assertion of ‘will’ as the primary moving force in this
universe–the deep conviction that nothing happens unless somebody or some being
wills it to happen. To me this has always seemed self-evident. A chair does not
move unless someone moves it. Neither does your physical body, which is
composed of much the same materials, move unless you will it to move. Walking
across the rooom is a magical operation. From the viewpoint of magic, no death,
no illness, no misfortune, accident, war or riot is accidental. There are no
accidents in the world of magic. And will is another word for animate energy.
Rock stars are juggling fissionable material that could blow up at any time…
“The soccer scores are coming in from the Capital…one must pretend an
interest,” drawled the dandified Commandante, safe in the pages of my book; and
as another rock star said to me, “YOU sit on your ass writing–I could be
torn to pieces by my fans, like Orpheus.”
I found Jimmy Page equally aware of
the risks involved in handling the fissionable material of the mass unconcious.
I took on a valence I learned years ago from two ‘Life-Time’ reporters–one
keeps telling you these horrific stories: “Now old Burns was dragged out of the
truck and skinned alive by the mob, and when we got there with the cameras the
bloody thing was still squirming there like a worm…” while the other half of
the team is snapping pictures CLICK CLICK CLICK to record your reactions–so
over dinner at Mexican Gardens I told Jimmy the story of the big soccer riot in
Lima, Peru in 1964.
We are ushered into the arena as
VIPs, in the style made famous by ‘Triumph of the Will’. Martial music–long
vistas–the statuesque police with their dogs on leads–the crowd surging in a
sultry menacing electricity palpable in the air–grey clouds over Lima–people
glance up uneasily… the last time it rained in Lima was the year of the great
earthquake, when whole towns were swallowed by landslides. A cop is beating and
kicking someone as he shoves him back towards the exit. Oh lucky man. The dogs
growl ominously. The game is tense. Tied until the end of the last quarter, and
then the stunning decision: a goal that would have won the game for Peru is
disqualified by the Uruguayan referee. A howl of rage from the crowd, and then
a huge black known as La Bomba, who has started three previous soccer riots and
already has twenty-three notches on his bomb, vaults down into the arena. A
wave of fans follows The Bomb–the Uruguayan referee scrambles off with the
agility of a rat or an evil spirit–the police release tear gas and unleash
their snarling dogs, hysterical with fear and rage and maddened by the tear
gas. And then a sound like falling mountains, as a few drops of rain begin to fall.
“Yes, I’ve thought about that. We
all have. The important thing is maintain a balance. The kids come to get far
out with the music. It’s our job to see they have a good time and no trouble.”
And remember the rock group called
Storm? Playing a dance hall in Switzerland…fire…exits locked…thirty-seven
people dead including all the performers. Now any performer who has never
thought about fire and panic just doesn’t think. The best way to keep something
bad from happening is to see it ahead of time, and you can’t see it if you
refuse to face the possibility. The bad vibes in that dance hall must have been
really heavy. If the performers had been sensitive and alert, they would have
checked to be sure the exits were unlocked.
Previously, over two fingers of
whiskey in my Franklin Street digs, I had told Page about Major Bruce
MacMannaway, a healer and psychic who lives in Scotland. The Major discovered
his healing abilities in World War II when his regiment was cut off without
medical supplies and the Major started laying on hands…”Well Major, I think
it’s a load of bollocks but I’ll try anything.” And it turns out the Major is a
walking hypo. His psychic abilities were so highly regarded by the Admiralty
that he was called in to locate sunken submarines, and he never once missed.
I attended a group meditation
seminar with the Major. It turned out to be the Indian rope trick. Before the
session the Major told us something of the potential power in group meditation.
He had seen it lift a six-hundred-pound church organ five feet in the air. I
had no reason to doubt this, since he was obviously incapable of falsification.
In the session, after some preliminary excercises, the Major asked us to see a
column of light in the center of the room and then took us up through the light
to a plateau where we met nice friendly people: the stairway to heaven in fact.
I mean we were really THERE.
I turned to Jimmy Page: “Of course
we are dealing here with meditation– the deliberate induction of a trance state
in a few people under the hands of an old master. This would seem on the
surface to have a little in common with a rock concert, but the underlying
force is the same: human energy and its potential concentration.” I pointed out
that the moment when the stairway to heaven becomes something actually POSSIBLE
for the audience, would also be the moment of greatest danger. Jimmy expressed
himself as well aware of the power in mass concentration, aware of the dangers
involved, and of the skill and balance needed to avoid them…rather like driving
a load of nitroglycerine.
“There IS a responsibility to the
audience,” he said. “We don’t want anything bad to happen to these kids–we
don’t want to release anything we can’t handle.” We talked about magic and
Aleister Crowley. Jimmy said that Crowley has been maligned as a black
magician, whereas magic is neither white nor black, good nor bad–it is simply
alive with what it is: the real thing, what people really feel and want and
are. I pointed out that this “either/or” straitjacket had been imposed by
Christianity when all magic became black magic; that scientists took over from
the Church, and Western man has been stifled in a non-magical universe known as
“the way things are.” Rock music can be seen as one attempt to break out of
this dead soulless universe and reassert the universe of magic.
Jimmy told me that Aleister
Crowley’s house has very good vibes for anyone who is relaxed and receptive. At
one time the house had also been the scene of a vast chicken swindle indirectly
involving George Sanders, the movie actor, who was able to clear himself of any
criminal charges, Sanders committed suicide in Barcelona, and we both
remembered his farewell note to the world: “I leave you to this sweet
cesspool.”
I told Jimmy he was lucky too have that
house with a monster in the front yard. What about the Loch Ness monster? Jimmy
Page thinks it exists. I wondered if it could find enough to eat, and thought
this unlikely–it’s not the improbability but the upkeep on monsters that
worries me. Did Aleister Crowley have opinions on the subject? He apparently
had not expressed himself.
The book has established itself as the authoritative text on the subject of esoteric belief systems and secret societies.
Now, with The Illustrated Secret History of the World, this landmark book achieves a new level of authority, adding to its thorough and revealing text more than 350 illustrations—many of them rare—of the symbols, drawings, engravings, paintings, and photographs that are a key part of the world’s secret history.
Scarlett said:
“The Secret History Of The World’ was published in 2007 and became a New York Times Bestseller. It’s author Mark Booth attended several of my poetry readings and requested to use a line from my poem Euphoric Kiss for the reissue anniversary edition ‘The Illustrated Secret History Of The World’.
It is available now and the line from Euphoric Kiss is ‘Surely Gods here at play…’ and it is featured on page 400.” “I’m looking forward to getting my copy
“Light & Shade” – Musical Dynamics or The Equinoxes of The Gods?
As I meditate on yesterdays event of the Vernol Equinox, it reminds me of when Jimmy Page briefly touched on what the term ‘light and shade’ meant to him, in the 2009 music documentary “It Might Get Loud”…
“Dynamics…whisper to thunder; sounds that invite you in and intoxicate. The thing that fascinates me about the guitar is that no one ever approaches it the same way. Everyone plays differently and their personality always comes through.”
40 years earlier, Cameron Crowes reminded us of a time when Jimmy Page used this phrase in his essay titled “Light & Shade” that was reprinted inthe 30 page booklet of the 1990 “The Complete Collection” Boxset (not to be confused with the later 1993 release The Complete Studio Recordings Boxset).
[circa 1968] “…At Page’s home, they explored each other’s tastes by playing favorite records—everything from Buddy Guy to the Incredible String Band to Muddy Waters and Elvis. Then Page broke out an odd choice. It was Joan Baez’s dramatic version of the ballad, “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You.” Page outlined a plan for a band that could play a song like that. “I’d like to play it heavy,” he said, “but with a lot of light and shade.”
It appears that Page has come to refer to the above performance idea “…with a lot of Light and Shade”, continuously over his career. He also appears to be describing something greater than what composers, musicians and instrumentalists mean when they discuss musical dynamics. Page describes musical dynamics in terms that evoke magick and will… “…sounds that invite you in and intoxicate” and also “ones unique approach”. His descriptions seem more akin to what Igor Skravinsky described in his six lessons titled “The Poetics of Music”, written in 1947. In his book, Stravinski describes something beyond dynamics when he writes about the phenomenon, typography, composition, avatars and performance of music. [Download It Here]
However, does the phrase “Light & Shade” really denote ideas around the approach taken with musical composition or performance? Google searches of the term “Light & Shade” result in an over abundance of references to Jimmy Page or Brad Tolinksi’s book of that title. This then poses the question, “is this really a unique phrase to Jimmy Page referencing musical dynamics or could this phrase have derived from the world of his esoteric occult interests?” If so, could this phrase have a deeper spiritual meaning to him?
If you alter the phrase slightly to “Light & Shadow”, something interesting happens in your search results, links to more esoteric content are returned. It appears that in many cultures throughout the world, prehistoric builders have been constructing monuments to create dramatic lighting effects from both the light of the sun and the moon. When do these dramatic effects of “Light & Shadow” often happen? …on the Vernal or Autumn Equinoxes.
One such structure that forms a unique Shadow on the Vernal Equinox is Temple of K’uk’ulkan at Chichen Itza, also known as “El Castillo”. El Castillo, is a stepped pyramid on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, that has four staircases running from the top to the bottom of the pyramid’s faces. The temple of K’uk’ulkan is notorious for the bloody human sacrifices that used to take place down its stairs. The staircases are built at a carefully calculated angle which makes it look like an enormous snake of sunlight slithers down the stairs at the precise moment of the Vernal (March) Equinox.
The March equinox celebration at the Temple of K’uk’ulkan connects the Maya astronomical knowledge and agricultural practices with mythology. K’uk’ulkan is one of the Maya creator gods who is usually pictured as part snake and part bird.
Other Solar and Lunar Light & Shadow events can be witnessed at Stonehenge on the Vernal and Autumn Equinoxes. Whatever the religious, mystical or spiritual elements were central to Stonehenge, it’s design includes a celestial observatory function, which might have allowed the prediction of an eclipse, solstice, equinox and/or other celestial events important to a contemporary religion.
A Giant “Egg Shaped Stone” ;-), floats above Stonehenge at Led Zeppelin’s last American performance in Oakland CA, on July 23/24, 1977.
So how does the term Equinox relate to Jimmy Page? Well for starters “The Equinox” (Booksellers & Publishers) was the name of the bookshop and publishing house that he opened in 1975. The bookshop sold hard to find Occult books and the Publishing house released two occult classics: the highly respected Astrology: A Cosmic Science by Spiritual Astrology Pioneer Isabel Hickey and Aleister Crowley and S.L. MacGregor Mathers’s translation of The Book of Goetia of Solomon the King.
Jimmy Page most likely chose this name due to the fact that The Equinox (subtitle: “The Review of Scientific Illuminism”) was also the title to a series of publications in book form that served as the official organ of the A∴A∴, the magical order founded by Aleister Crowley. Begun in 1909, it mainly features articles about occultism and magick, while several issues also contain poetry, fiction, plays, artwork, and biographies. It is no secret that Jimmy Page was a serious collector of Crowley’s works, including the Equinox Series. So considering that the cover logo of Crowley’s series and the Bookshop match perfectly, the coincidence seems to prove the influence.
But what exactly is an Equinox and what does it have to do with “Light & Shade”?
An equinox occurs twice a year (around 20 March and 22 September), when the plane of Earth’s equator passes the center of the Sun. At this time the tilt of the Earth’s axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens. The name “equinox” is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night), because around the equinox, night and day are about equal length.
It also turns out that in the religion of Thelema, the “Thelemic year” starts on the northern-hemisphere Vernal Equinox. This earth orbital event coincides with the Thelemic holiday called “The Feast for the Equinox of the Gods”. This is often observed on March 20th of the common calendar but truly occurs at the exact time of the Equinox. So in other words, Jimmy Page might say, “…Happy Thelemic New Year!”
The Thelemic calendar counts years from 1904 EV (the year Liber AL was received). Rather than simply giving the year count from 1904, the Thelemic calendar uses a two-tiered system. The “upper” level gives a count of twenty-two year periods since 1904; the “lower” level gives the years since the start of the current twenty-two year period. Both are zero-based, with nonzero numbers being represented as upper and lower case Roman numerals, respectively. So, for example, the civil year 2014 is (after March 20) Thelemic year V:0 because 1904 + (5x 22) + 0 equals 2014.
Some Thelemites assign the twenty-two years of each cycle to the twenty-two Trumps of the Tarot. The 22-year period numbers themselves are also assigned in this way. Hence, 2014, the year V:0 may be seen as the year of the Fool (Card 0) in the cycle of the Hierophant (Card V)
Equinox of the Gods (March 20) aka Vernal Equinox is:
The anniversary of the beginning of the Aeon of Horus in 1904 e.v.. & the date that also marks the beginning of the Thelemic New Year.
So what Jimmy Page and or Led Zeppelin events coincided with a Vernal or Autumn Equinox?
It appears that the first two attempts to release music on an Equinox, may have commenced in 1973 with Houses of The Holy. Released on March 28th 1973, just 1 week and 1 day after the Vernal Equinox of 1973. The album’s second single D’yer Mak’er”/”The Crunge“ was subsequently released on September 17th 1973, just 6 days prior to the Autumn Equinox of 1973.
The second attempt to release an album on an Equinox appears to have been with Presence,which was released on March 31st 1976. This release missed the Vernal Equinox by only 11 days. Given the fact that the music industry had an industry wide rule of releasing albums on Tuesday’s and production schedules were constantly getting bumped due to manufacturing or shipping delay’s, coordinating an album’s release date was very hard to control from the artist’s position.
However the first major release by Led Zeppelin, post the Bands break up and post the bands last album, Coda, saw a release coinciding perfectly with a years Autumn Equinox. This occurred In 1990 when Jimmy Page released a collection of releases that would comprise the bands first comprehensive Boxed Set.
The Autumn Equinox of 1990 fell on September 21st. This day marked the first time a Led Zeppelin release since Coda would come out and coincidentally land on an Equinox. The album titled “Profiled”, was an interview album released by Atlantic Records precisely on 21 September 1990 in advance of the bands highly anticipated first ever Boxset remastered for the CD format, titled “The Complete Collection” (not to be confused with the later 1993 release The Complete Studio Recordings).
Profiled was a promo-only interview CD made specifically to accompany Led Zeppelin’s first ever box set [aka The Crop Circle box set], but oddly was not released on the same day. Instead it appears it was deliberately released ahead of the box set, so it could come out on the Autumn Equinox.
In the rush to complete the mastering of the box set, Jimmy Page not only missed the Autumn September 21st date, as the Box Set was released in late October. This release created mass confuision with consumers due the sets incompleteness and varying configurations (Vinyl, CD Cassette, etc). Also, an additional version of the set added to this confusion with the added “The Remasters” to the title, along with a different photo angle of initial Crop circle image. Eventually “Profiled” was commercially released as part of the special edition Led Zeppelin Remasters boxed set in 1992 and the entire set discontinued with the release of the The Complete Studio Recordings set.
In effort to finally release a truly complete box set, Jimmy Page completed all the Mastering in 1993 and released two box Sets surrounding the 1993 Autumn Equinox. On September 21th 1993, two days before “93” Autumn Equinox, (9/23/1993) the Led Zeppelin Box Set 2 was released. This box set provided all the tracks that were missing from the previous Box set. This was so that those who invest in the prior set didn’t have to pay again for an entirely new set and simply supplement what they had at a lower cost.
Then only 1 days after the Autumn Equinox of “93” (Sept. 23rd), Led Zeppelin The Complete Studio Recordings was released on September 24th 1993. This box set, with the steel framing of the inside of a Zeppelin covering the outer box, really was the definitive shining moment for Jimmy Page as a producer. So it seems fitting that not only was it released 1 day after the Autumn Equinox, (a Holy Day for Thelemites) but in a year ending in 93, a number that holds great significance in Thelema.
When reading the chapter Adolescence : Beginnings of Magick in the Equinox of The Gods, Crowley interestingly discusses traveling to Mexico and developing his Magick there via journal entries of his ritual work.
Equinox is a phenomenon that can occur on any planet with a significant tilt to its rotational axis. Most dramatic of these is Saturn, where the equinox places its normally majestic ring system edge-on facing the Sun. As a result, they are visible only as a thin line when seen from Earth. When seen from above – a view seen by humans during an equinox for the first time from the Cassini space probe in 2009 – they receive very little sunshine, indeed more planetshine than light from the Sun.
This lack of sunshine occurs once every 14.7 years. It can last a few weeks before and after the exact equinox. The most recent exact equinox for Saturn was on 11 August 2009. Saturn’s next equinox will take place on 30 April 2024.
Occult Aspects 