litewave

Mystical traditions in general are more attuned to the feminine as they seek unity with God in the subtle world of spirit rather than progress in the gross world of matter. In Christianity God reveals himself as a male - Jesus, incarnation of Son/Logos - and the Western civilization pays much more attention to this aspect than to the rest of the Trinity - not just in religion (Christianity) but in its individualistic and rational direction, in its democratic ideals, capitalism, science, technology, material progress. In Catholicism the feminine aspect of God is still present in the veneration of Mary (who is not regarded as God though) but if you go even furher west, to Britain and USA, where Protestantism prevails, even Mary is downplayed. On the other hand, if you turn your eyes toward the Eastern civilization, religion (like Hinduism or Buddhism) becomes more mystical, intuitive, the material world is de-emphasized as an illusion/maya and the goal is to dissolve your individuality and merge with God/everything in nirvana. Collectivist ideology, socialism, was established on a massive scale in Asia and Eastern Europe. But as globalization intensifies, the lines between Western and Eastern cultures become increasingly blurred: the totalitarian socialist experiment failed but so did unrestrained capitalism; democracy and market economy and Western technology spread in the East, while socialist principles, Eastern religions, yoga, meditation spread in the West. It looks like a manifestation of the unification of divine polarity on earth.

Wow, what a gorgeous rant.

I agree - the return of the feminine power in our age was the idea of my first post on this forum... Now that I realize that in Ultraviolence Lana may be using America as a symbolic representation of the Creation landscape it is easier for me to understand the esoteric meaning of her previous references to America in relation to herself. At the highest level, all souls merge into one (the world soul/anima mundi) and with God. At the lowest level (on earth) they achieve their most distinct (in the fallen state isolated) individuality as their egos. In the Ride video she speaks from the perspective of the world soul: I was in the winter of my life - and the men I met along the road were my only summer. At night I fell asleep with visions of myself dancing and laughing and crying with them. The "men" are the egos; the contrast between winter and summer is one between calm sleepy passivity and lively activity. But the unity in diversity didn't last; it disintegrated in the process of the Fall: I once had dreams of becoming a beautiful poet, but upon an unfortunate series of events saw those dreams dashed and divided like a million stars in the night sky that I wished on over and over again, sparkling and broken. In the end though, after enduring alienation and abuse that left both sides in the dead end, the time for reconciliation and renewed harmony has come: Every night I used to pray that I’d find my people, and finally I did on the open road. We had nothing to lose, nothing to gain, nothing we desired anymore, except to make our lives into a work of art. Again, individuals on the wave of oneness: I hear the birds on the summer breeze I drive fast, I am alone in the night (Ride) In line with the American symbolism, when she manifests in Creation she takes on elements of American culture: My pussy tastes like Pepsi-Cola My eyes are wide like cherry pies I fall asleep in an American flag I wear my diamonds on skid row (Cola) United States - individuals in union / egos in world soul Red, white, blue - red and blue are from the opposite ends (almost) of the color spectrum, with connotations of right wing (individualism/ego) and left wing (solidarity/soul); white is the union of all colors I believe in the country America used to be (Ride monologue) - nostalgia for the time when the Creation landscape was united with God, from East to West. John Wayne as God proclaims in Tropico: You ask me why I love her? I've a million reasons why: My beautiful America, beneath God's wide, wide sky In another guise, her Father proclaims his love for all egos: ( ) And at the end of her shows she asks to be treated with due reverence: Tell me I'm your National Anthem

If consciousness ends at death that makes life kinda awkward. Like, I look in the eyes of my loved one and say: "Honey I love you so much but after I die I won't give a fuck." And she replies "Ok lol, neither will I." And that's how the interview finished.

I can recommend books by Ken Carey. Although they are a bit too optimistic the prose is both intelligent and beautiful.

Funny that yesterday I was thinking about Adam's initial androgyny. The Hebrew word Adam means man, human or mankind (not necessarily a male human). So at the beginning Adam may have been androgynous but then God took out one of his ribs and made a woman from it. The Hebrew word tsela is traditionally understood as a rib but it also has a more general meaning: a side. So the scripture can be interpreted in the sense that God separated a feminine side from the androgynous human and made a female human from it. In the formerly androgynous human the masculine side remained, thus making this human a male. This was not the Fall yet, just a gender-specialization on the physical plane. The male and female egos/bodies were still in harmony with their souls and thus with God.

When I first heard Old Money I took the line about "words" and "beauty" as referring to the archetypes of Word and Beauty, the polarity of ego-soul or of Son-Spirit in God, so when she sang "Will you still love me when I shine from words but not from beauty" I interpreted it as foreshadowing her shift from soul to ego, descent to earth where the Spirit of God is subdued and only the Word remains, also in the sense that the beauty of God is gone and only scriptures remain. This parallels the theme of growing old and devitalization where eventually the physical beauty is lost too. The nostalgia for youth is also evident in the child voices at the beginning of Bel Air and at the beginning of the Summertime Sadness video where a child's voice says: "Remember, always love you, bye." The power of youth is on my mind Sunsets, small town, I'm out of time (Old Money) The "I'm out of time" is another delightful double entendre: (1) she is out of time because she grows old and approaches death as the separated ego; (2) she is not touched by time as the eternal (albeit repressed) soul. My father's love was always strong My mother's glamour lives on and on Yet still inside I felt alone For reasons unknown to me (Old Money) The first two lines evoke the glory of God, of the eternal masculine-feminine polarity in God (Son and Holy Spirit) that created her, as it creates everything. And the next two lines contrast this with the disruption of union in her own being and life.

Cruel World shows a really nice contrast, in sound, voice and lyrics, between the pure and fallen states of Lana (typified by Mary and Eve, for instance). The first line - Shared my body and my mind with you - can be interpreted both exoterically (relationship between a woman and a man as one) and esoterically (soul and ego communing in one body and mind). In the beginning they were in a union, in both exoteric and esoteric sense, but then came separation as the man got famous and abused the woman / the ego became bloated and suppressed the soul. Now Lana shifts from the role of the pure female/soul into the alienated female ego, alienated from both her man and her soul, indulging in alcohol, drugs and superficial relationships in which she desperately seeks a substitute for the glorious union she once had. Yes, in the esoteric sense the Other Woman is the soul that is pushed aside. The relationship between man and woman, or between ego and soul, is also a reflection of the triune God which is best known as the Holy Trinity in Christianity (but also appears for example in Taoism as Tao-yin-yang or in Hinduism as the Trimurti of Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu). In the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit - Son is the principle that defines, differentiates, strengthens boundaries and materializes (also known as Logos, which in Greek means Word or Reason) and Holy Spirit is the principle that relaxes, merges, dissolves boundaries and spiritualizes (also known as Pneuma, which in Greek means Breath or Wind). In other words, Son is the masculine principle and Holy Spirit is the feminine principle. Father is their source, which is absolutely undefined ("lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see") and eternally creates by analysis (Son) and synthesis (Holy Spirit). Catechism of the Catholic Church likens Son and Holy Spirit to Father's hands. And so ego and soul are to be united/harmonized in each person, or man and woman in a relationship, as Son and Holy Spirit are in Father. In an alternative view of Holy Trinity, Holy Spirit can be seen as a unifying intermediary principle between the partializing Son and the undifferentiated unity of Father, and so analogically the soul/feminine is an intermediary between the ego/masculine and a larger identity, reality and ultimately God.

lol that's scary

Yes and with her philosophical curiosity and studies her view of God is probably more complex and open than an average Joe's. In this particular interview she leans toward an impersonal concept of God, the Greatness that stands behind everything. But she also mentioned in the past that she values tradition and considers herself Catholic. She is trying to reconcile a lot of things, which may sound contradictory.

Yes, the surreal images of Lana in Shades of Cool suggest she is in the role of the soul and she wants to come back to his consciousness to restore psychological balance. He is old and lonely, apparently has forgotten his spiritual origin. He is reminded of the soul in his visions, resurfacing memories or relationships with women.

In a sense, I agree. He repressed ("killed") the soul in him but she wants to come back to surface. He is also reminded of her in his women.

(Eurovision 2013 winner)

http://www.clashmusic.com/features/american-dreamer-lana-del-rey-interviewed She seems to be using America as a symbolic representation of the Creation landscape. East Coast as the origin, Eden, full of ideals, Brooklyn baby, the Queen of New York City. She wants to experience love and freedom, so she leaves home and moves to West, earth. It's more vivid and exciting down there but she also tastes separation, addictions, madness. Now she understands that the key to happiness is in a balance - in uniting West and East, ego and soul, heaven and earth... Ultraviolence is mainly about being in West though, down on earth and with a fading memory of heaven; Lana alternates between the role of the soul that is abused and repressed by the ego and the role of her ego, which, having repressed her soul, enters into abusive relationships with men.

Florida Kilos sounds like the South Park theme song lol. Oh well, I guess it can't hurt to end the album with a bit of laugh. My favorite from the new songs is Old Money, so beautiful and moving.

Regarding the cult guru that Lana mentioned in Grazia, this echoes the general concept of her being in a destructive love relationship. The breaking down of people and building them up again obviously evokes the creative alchemical process of Solve et Coagula (analysis and synthesis), but I get the sense that this guru's specialty was mainly to break people down. I am also reminded of the mythical concept of the soul being imprisoned by the lord of the underworld: http://phoenixrise.awardspace.com/cayce.htm Basically I would say that the guru is another representative of the ego. Alternatively he is a male partner of the female ego. The female ego has a suppressed masculine aspect called animus, and as a suppressed aspect it needs to be re-activated in her consciousness (usually through interactions with males) on her way back to wholeness (the soul or Jungian Self).

I guess you could associate Lizzy with her "normal self" or ego, and Lana with her "higher self" or soul. It's the same person of course. She is heavily involved in the creation of her art so she certainly planned lots of details. But I am not sure how much she is guided by her intuition or aesthetic sense and how much she understands the esoteric/abstract aspects intellectually.

Here is a few instances when Lana explained the meaning of the word "ultraviolence": “Ultraviolence is about the male that meets the female. But before the actual sense, I just like the word. It has become the space of a sonorous world that I wanted to make.” http://lanaboards.com/index.php?/topic/4503-lana-covers-french-magazine-libération/?p=177195 "It's a matter of musicality. Ultra is a sweet sound that contrast with the meaning of the next word. I relate to that: my essence is sweet but inside me there's also a violent spirit who came out in the last 4 years." http://lanaboards.com/index.php?/topic/4785-lana-del-rey-interview-with-d-la-repubblica/?p=188232 "The juxtaposition of "ultra", which gives a certain idea of luxury; and "violence" which, to me, reflects the sound of the album really well — it's chaotic but also street music, melodic and sophisticating. Altogether then, [the word] Ultraviolence also means that I've lived between these two states; in my private life, a serene kind of love; in my professional life, a lot of negative press, in my opinion..." http://lanaboards.com/index.php?/topic/4831-lana-del-rey-in-elle-magazine-france/?p=189525 This shows that besides associating the word "ultraviolence" with a relationship between a male and a female, she also associates it with a duality within herself or in her life: sweet serene love on the one hand and a violent, critical spirit on the other.

http://www.clashmusic.com/news/exclusive-the-making-of-lana-del-reys-west-coast-video What, another Brooklyn baby that ended up in LA? Obviously a soulmate...

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gemini http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_and_Pollux (emphasis mine)

Apparently she also mentions Woodstock here: We could go back to Woodstock Where they don't know who we are That would make sense in a number of ways. Loss of individual identity in a crowd. Woodstock was a spectacle of hippie ideals - love, peace, spirituality. And the festival was hosted by the town of Bethel, NY - same name as the ancient Israeli town of Bethel, which means "House of God".

Ukraine is divided into a pro-EU Western part and a pro-Russian Eastern part. After violent demonstrations in February the pro-Russian government was removed and replaced with a pro-EU one. Now it is the Eastern Ukrainians who are dissatisfied and violence continues. They need to find an agreement between the two sides.

I guess it has to do with the suppressed soul trying to break through to the modern day ego.

I think Lana's "poisonous" character in the UV song can refer both to the soul as well as to the manifestation of the soul in a female body (female ego). As a soul she can be perceived by the ego as a threat to his autonomy and control; in a female body she can be a seductress who entrenches her male lover in matter. If interpreted in the latter sense, then Jim can be seen as a male ego (another person) or alternatively as a suppressed masculine aspect of herself, which in Jungian psychology is called animus - I guess that would be what you called her Holy Guardian Angel. To clarify, while I generally associate ego with masculinity (in the sense of separatist/analytical/definite/conscious) and soul with femininity (in the sense of integrative/intuitive/indefinite/unconscious), the male ego is more skewed toward masculinity than the female ego. The masculine aspect suppressed in the female ego is called animus in Jungian psychology and the feminine aspect suppressed in the male ego is called anima. By the soul I mean the integrative aspect of one's identity or what Jungians call the Self, one's identity as a whole.