CHAPTER VIII
THE OLD LANGUAGE OF BLACK
Although science does not now consider black as a colour, yet it is still considered so by the public and was considered so by the ancients. To them it was the colour of mystery and of the mysterious ways and wisdom of God.
In Egypt, Kneph the Creative Mind was sometimes addressed as “Thrice unknown darkness transcending all intellectual perception,” for certainly the wisdom of God is beyond the comprehension of human intellect. One of our modern mystics, Henry Vaughan, seems to arrive at the same thought when he says, “There is in God a deep and dazzling darkness”; meaning that the mysteries of God are unfathomable but glorious. Black was considered the colour of wisdom, and Milton, who is so accurate in his symbolism, uses it as such:—
Black also symbolised eternity; thus Night, the mother of all things, was sometimes portrayed by the Greeks in a starry veil, holding two children—one white and the other black—to symbolise Time and Eternity. Osiris and also Horus are sometimes painted white and sometimes black, to show that they manifested themselves in time though they were eternal.
Black also meant silence—the things that are not to be revealed to everyone—the thoughts that lie too deep for tears—the innermost and most sacred experiences of life. It is not that we ought to be selfish with our knowledge—far otherwise:—
[20] Wordsworth, “Within King’s College Chapel.”
It is that certain experiences can only be comprehended by a person having similar experiences. In olden times a black rose was used as the symbol of the silence of an initiate, such a silence as that comprehended by St Paul when speaking of the man who was caught up into heaven and heard[21] unspeakable things which it is not lawful for any man to utter. The great promise[22] to every initiate is, “I will give thee the treasures of darkness.”
[21] 2 Corinthians xii. 4.
[22] Isaiah xlv. 3.
As the old proverb says, “If you would know more you must be more.” Until then there is a veil[23] and a defence[24] upon the face of all knowledge. This is no doubt the meaning of the veil of Isis. This is the reason why so much of the ancient belief is wrapped up in symbolism, and why the ancient pictures are so full of symbols, for in them an initiate could tell at a glance how much the artist knew of the inner mysteries; for example, one often sees the ornamental broken pavement in ancient pictures. This was one of the many hints to look well into the picture and ponder much, for it represented not historical fact but mystic truth. The almond-shaped aura or vesica piscis was used in much the same way. Many pictures of the Ascension of Christ and of the Assumption of the Virgin contain the vesica piscis to show that if you did not believe these events to be historically true yet they are deep truths relating to the spirit and soul of every man—that the spirit and soul do ascend when their labours are done. The architects, too, were versed in these hidden truths, so that we may truly say that our great cathedrals and churches represent the sum-total of all the architect knew. They are really “frozen religion.” The ordinary person sees a great and stately edifice but the initiate sees worlds on worlds unfold.
[23] Exodus xxxiv. 35.
[24] Isaiah iv. 5.
Black to us of the West is merely the sombre colour of mourning, a sign that our lives have been bereft of the joy of the presence of a loved one. It is perhaps the most depressing of all colours, physically, mentally, and morally, and surely if people believed in their religion they would never wear such a colour; but unfortunately few people have the courage to go against custom, and to openly rejoice that their loved ones are in a better land. We may remember how the Lady Olivia’s grief was reproved by the Clown in Twelfth Night:—
Clown: Good madonna, why mournest thou?
Olivia: Good fool, for my brother’s death.
Clown: I think his soul is in hell, madonna.
Olivia: I know his soul is in heaven, fool.
Clown: The more fool you, madonna, to mourn for your brother’s soul being in heaven.
Of course black used with other colours often gives beautiful effects and throws these colours into relief. It is a most useful decorative colour when used in moderation, but when totally unrelieved, it is an abomination. By shutting out the light rays of the sun it lays the whole system open to disease. In the human aura it is evidence of the deepest depths of human wickedness.
Black in its lowest symbolism means this wickedness and foulness, and hatred of the light of the healing sun. The black angels are the evil angels. Black magic was occult art used for selfish purposes and very often requiring blood sacrifice, even of human blood, in the performing of it.