A little over a week ago I wrote about a significant partial dismissal granted to Marilyn Manson on July 2nd in the lawsuit issued by Bianca Allaine Kyne. First, it stated that Manson's motion to dismiss all allegations in Kyne's complaint referencing sexual abuse as a minor in 1995 when she was 16 years old was granted. Second, any reference to Kyne's own personal drawings of Manson from when she was 16 are to be removed. Third, Kyne is therefore ordered to make a Second Amended Complaint within 30 days removing all of the above. Despite this significant victory of Marilyn Manson in managing to get a partial dismissal in this case, on July 15th Bianca Allaine Kyne and her lawyer Jeff Anderson decided to issue statements spinning their loss into a victory. They argue that since Manson was not granted a full dismissal (which he was not seeking), then he lost and they won in this particular ruling. What Was the Ruling on July 2nd? When you read the ruling issued on July
Marilyn Manson's new teaser video, by which he announced his new record label Nuclear Blast and introduced us to new music after nearly four years, is also rich with imagery and symbolism in its brief one minute and ten second duration. It's not clear if this teaser is complete in itself or just a portion of something else to come, nonetheless I observed a possible explanation as to what we may be looking at, and I wanted to share my thoughts and open it up to criticism so we can arrive at the truth.
From what we have gathered so far, we know that Manson is bringing back the imagery of the Tryptich (Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, Holy Wood), with a special emphasis on the revolutionary theme of Holy Wood, since a parallel is being drawn to what inspired its creation (Manson being blamed for inspiring the Columbine shooters, the cancelation of his tour that ensued and his ultimate comeback) with Manson's current troubles of accusations against him and his subsequent cancelation and impending comeback. But there is also an underlying story within Holy Wood that connects it to Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, and this story ultimately is a cycle, since the protagonist of the story, whether you see it as Manson himself or even apply it to your own self, must continually face various struggles and oppressions which are responded to with personal renewals and revolutions.
From what we have gathered so far, we know that Manson is bringing back the imagery of the Tryptich (Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, Holy Wood), with a special emphasis on the revolutionary theme of Holy Wood, since a parallel is being drawn to what inspired its creation (Manson being blamed for inspiring the Columbine shooters, the cancelation of his tour that ensued and his ultimate comeback) with Manson's current troubles of accusations against him and his subsequent cancelation and impending comeback. But there is also an underlying story within Holy Wood that connects it to Antichrist Superstar and Mechanical Animals, and this story ultimately is a cycle, since the protagonist of the story, whether you see it as Manson himself or even apply it to your own self, must continually face various struggles and oppressions which are responded to with personal renewals and revolutions.
With this new teaser video (since it has no name attached to it, I will refer to it as "the teaser"), we are introduced to an image of Manson emerging from the darkness as a shadowy form and being brought more and more to light which is shown through a red background. For me this brings to mind the Order of the Golden Dawn's Neophyte Ritual, where red is said to symbolize light, and the Neophyte states his purpose: "My soul is wandering in darkness seeking for the Light of Occult Knowledge, and I believe that in this Order the knowledge of that Light may be obtained." The Neophyte is then placed in the part of the Hall which symbolizes the greatest possible darkness, and the Hierophant says:
"The Voice of my Higher Self said unto me: Let me enter the Path of Darkness and, peradventure, there shall I find the Light. I am the only Being in an Abyss of Darkness; from an Abyss of Darkness came I forth ere my birth, from the Silence of a Primal Sleep. And the Voice of Ages answered to my Soul: I am He who formulates in Darkness--the Light that shineth in Darkness, yet the Darkness comprehendeth it not."
"The Voice of my Higher Self said unto me: Let me enter the Path of Darkness and, peradventure, there shall I find the Light. I am the only Being in an Abyss of Darkness; from an Abyss of Darkness came I forth ere my birth, from the Silence of a Primal Sleep. And the Voice of Ages answered to my Soul: I am He who formulates in Darkness--the Light that shineth in Darkness, yet the Darkness comprehendeth it not."
These words are inspired by the Gospel of John 1:5 ("And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."), and have been repeated by Manson before in his song "I Have To Look Up Just To See Hell" from the album The High End of Low ("The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never understand it."). When Manson was asked about his album The High End of Low in 2009, he replied: "It's a phoenix from the fire and a redemption resurrection." This explanation can be applied to what we are also seeing in the teaser.
Throughout the teaser, we see images of Manson as if he is being renewed and refashioned, and we hear a voice whispering a refrain: "Keep sleeping, I'll make you dream of me." One possible explanation of this refrain is that it is the voice of Manson's Higher Self as he is in the Silence of Primal Sleep. The dark background throughout the teaser video may play a role in portraying this metaphor. We can also see Manson sleeping in a reclining position at one point in front of the Tree of Life.
Throughout the teaser, we see images of Manson as if he is being renewed and refashioned, and we hear a voice whispering a refrain: "Keep sleeping, I'll make you dream of me." One possible explanation of this refrain is that it is the voice of Manson's Higher Self as he is in the Silence of Primal Sleep. The dark background throughout the teaser video may play a role in portraying this metaphor. We can also see Manson sleeping in a reclining position at one point in front of the Tree of Life.
I should note that the teaser is only partly presented in chronological order, but it doesn't seem like it should be interpreted chronologically since various images pop up throughout, and it seems that the conclusion is scattered throughout video rather than in the end. As we proceed to examine it, this should make a little more sense.
If you recall in the story of the Tryptich, the order of the albums from beginning to end are meant to be reversed, so that Holy Wood in reality is the beginning of the story. In Holy Wood we are introduced to the character of Adam, the Alpha whose counterpart is Mechanical Animal's Omega which he ultimately evolves to: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" (Revelation 1:8). The Alpha is the Primordial Man, known as Adam Kadmon in Kabbalist teachings.
Adam Kadmon is the first human person and the initial paradigm of humanity, according to Kabbalist tradition, and he is thought to be the "Tree of Life" and the "original atom" from which all creation emerged. (One interesting sidenote to this is that Nuclear Blast was announced as Manson's label with this teaser, and in the song "Cruci-Fiction in Space" Manson sings "The atom of Eden, was the bomb", replacing the name Adam with "atom" and referencing the nuclear bomb as a metaphor for Adam destroying his oppressors, which is part of the storyline of the Tryptich.)
The Tree of Life is a design in Kabbalah that portrays the ten emanations or "sephirot" by which God created the world. The sephirot are arranged on the tree in a precise pattern, with each sephira representing a different facet of God's creation. The divine will is represented by the topmost sephira, Keter, while the corporeal universe is represented by the bottom most sephira, Malkhut. Practitioners use it as a way to reach the Higher Self.
If you recall in the story of the Tryptich, the order of the albums from beginning to end are meant to be reversed, so that Holy Wood in reality is the beginning of the story. In Holy Wood we are introduced to the character of Adam, the Alpha whose counterpart is Mechanical Animal's Omega which he ultimately evolves to: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending" (Revelation 1:8). The Alpha is the Primordial Man, known as Adam Kadmon in Kabbalist teachings.
Adam Kadmon is the first human person and the initial paradigm of humanity, according to Kabbalist tradition, and he is thought to be the "Tree of Life" and the "original atom" from which all creation emerged. (One interesting sidenote to this is that Nuclear Blast was announced as Manson's label with this teaser, and in the song "Cruci-Fiction in Space" Manson sings "The atom of Eden, was the bomb", replacing the name Adam with "atom" and referencing the nuclear bomb as a metaphor for Adam destroying his oppressors, which is part of the storyline of the Tryptich.)
The Tree of Life is a design in Kabbalah that portrays the ten emanations or "sephirot" by which God created the world. The sephirot are arranged on the tree in a precise pattern, with each sephira representing a different facet of God's creation. The divine will is represented by the topmost sephira, Keter, while the corporeal universe is represented by the bottom most sephira, Malkhut. Practitioners use it as a way to reach the Higher Self.
We see what looks like to be the Tree of Life in the teaser video, with Manson usually standing or sleeping in front of it, seemingly portraying Adam Kadmon as the Tree of Life and the Primordial Man. We also see in the costume Manson is wearing that it is split down the middle. The reason for this splitting can possibly be seen in the outgrowth of veins on his right side, which leads to what looks like a surgical procedure. If I am looking at this chronologically correct, then it is this procedure which leads Manson to wear that outfit split down the middle (showing perhaps a unification), and his right arm now has spikes on them, while his left arm remains normal. The traditionally dominant right arm embodies the concept of “Severity” and the non-dominant left arm expresses “Mercy”. This could also represent his transformation into the Beast of Revelation, or the Hydra.
In Kabbalist teaching, the Primordial Man is both Human and Divine, thus we have the name Adam Kadmon. Adam Kadmon is also both male and female. In Genesis 3 we read that God put Adam in a deep sleep in order to create for him a companion. Some Kabbalist teachers point out the fact that Genesis never says that Adam ever woke up, which could possibly mean that everything we read in the Bible from that point forward is Adam Kadmon in a dream-like state imagining the events of biblical history, and through revelations, which are the dreams and miracles and visions recorded in the Bible, Adam discovers the path towards his reawakening. This could add further meaning to the refrain: "Keep sleeping, I'll make you dream of me." The "me" being the Higher Self, which is using dreams to restore Adam to a state of awakening.
It is in this state of sleep, that the female (represented by Adam's right side) is separated from the male part of Adam Kadmon, and this separation is part of what needs to be eventually repaired, since the Primordial Man was meant to be a unification of male and female. This fact may also play a role in what we are seeing in this teaser video. The female in Kabbalist teaching is known as Sophia (Wisdom). And as we saw from Manson's wife Lindsay in the photo's she posted on May 14th, there she calls Manson "My Soulmate" which, if applied literally according to Plato's theory of the forms and the fall of souls, could indicate the fact that their souls at one time were one, but have now found each other in their separated state and have become one once again through marriage.
The image of Manson/Adam putting what looks like an oxygen mask to his face could be on the one hand representative of what puts him to sleep, or more likely represent something like the breath of life mentioned in Genesis 2:7, which reads: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." The possible meaning of this is that Adam could here be awakened (possibly as the Beast of Revelation, or the Hydra), and is alive and breathing, and has been placed in the Garden to be the Tree of Life. And as the Tree of Life, according to Kabbalist teaching, he has two arms, his right arm representing love and mercy, and his left arm representing severity and judgment. It is the left arm that we see Adam/Manson stretch out at the end of the video extending his fingers and turning them into a fist. The message being that he is out to exact judgment on those who sought to oppress him.
Towards the beginning of the video we also come across quick flashes of images that also hold symbolic value to the overall message. Let's go over these individually:
Towards the beginning of the video we also come across quick flashes of images that also hold symbolic value to the overall message. Let's go over these individually:
1. First we see an image of Manson holding a book, as if being offered. Right now I can't tell what book this may be, but this detail may not be important, since symbolically it could simply represent knowledge.
2. Then we see Manson holding a key. In the Book of Revelation, Christ is said to hold a key which represents his authority over death (Rev. 1:18), but later on in Revelation 20:1 we also read how an angel holds a key to the abyss. It could therefore signify that Adam has emerged from the abyss and the sleep of death to be resurrected and renewed. Though the key could also simply signify an unlocking of our understanding to comprehend knowledge, or solving a mystery of something hidden.
3. We then see a sword leaning over what looks like an armchair, and on the backrest of this armchair are images that are somewhat blurry, but appear to be either children or females crucified, with massacred children's bodies on the ground, and two soldiers in what appears to be like a duel or something of the sort (who could also be representatives of Cain and Abel). The overall image could represent violence and judgment.
4. The apple being offered by Adam/Manson may represent the fruit of the Tree of Life, or perhaps the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
If we were to fit in all four of these images to whatever else we are seeing in the teaser, then they could be images of the results of the fall of Adam, such as knowledge, understanding and violence, but they also could be symbols of the dreams of Adam leading to his awakening, this being knowledge and understanding and seeing the violence of the world, and thus the apple of the Garden is a symbol of what brings him back to reality.
To conclude, I want to emphasize that everything above is just my own personal theories based on the limited knowledge we have of the new Marilyn Manson era so far, and with so much more to come we may find that it is way off what is originally intended. My main goal in all this is to get people thinking about all the imagery and what it could mean, and it may be helpful in understanding what is to come. As I think about this more and get feedback, I may provide future updates and corrections below.
If we were to fit in all four of these images to whatever else we are seeing in the teaser, then they could be images of the results of the fall of Adam, such as knowledge, understanding and violence, but they also could be symbols of the dreams of Adam leading to his awakening, this being knowledge and understanding and seeing the violence of the world, and thus the apple of the Garden is a symbol of what brings him back to reality.
To conclude, I want to emphasize that everything above is just my own personal theories based on the limited knowledge we have of the new Marilyn Manson era so far, and with so much more to come we may find that it is way off what is originally intended. My main goal in all this is to get people thinking about all the imagery and what it could mean, and it may be helpful in understanding what is to come. As I think about this more and get feedback, I may provide future updates and corrections below.