William Blake sof 73 September 2005 Closing Session Here are some extracts from Rob Wheeler’s multi-media closing session, based on the work of poet-painter-engraver William Blake, visionary prophet, political radical and heretic:
I sing according to the inspiration of the Poetic Genius, who is the eternal all-protecting Divine Humanity to whom be Glory and Power and Dominion evermore.
The Poetic Genius The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with the properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged and numerous senses could perceive.
And particularly they studied the genius of each city and country, placing it under its mental deity; till a system was formed, which some took advantage of, and enslaved the vulgar by attempting to realise or abstract the mental deities from their objects: thus began Priesthood; choosing forms of worship from poetic tales. And at length they pronounced that the Gods had ordered such things.
Thus men forgot that all deities reside within the human breast.
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell God appears and God is light to those poor souls who dwell in night but does a human form display to those who dwell in realms of day.
The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy sea, and the destructive sword are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man.
Energy is Eternal Delight
The worship of God is: Honouring his gifts in other people each according to his genius and loving the greatest men and women best. Those who envy or calumniate great men and women hate God, for there is no other God.
All Bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of the following Errors:
That Man has two real existing principles, i.e. a Body and a Soul.
That Energy called Evil is alone from the Body and that Reason called Good is alone from the Soul.
That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies.
But the following Contraries to these are True:
Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that called Body is a portion of Soul discerned by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age.
Energy is the only life and is from the Body, and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy.
Energy is Eternal Delight.
Everything that Lives is Holy
Let us rejoice for empire is no more and now the Lion and Wolf shall cease.
Go therefore, cast out devils in Christ’s name. Heal thou the sick of spiritual disease. Pity the evil, for thou art not sent to smite with terror and with punishments those that are sick; like the Pharisees crucifying and encompassing sea and land for proselytes to tyranny and wrath. But to the publicans and harlots go! Teach them true happiness, but let no curse go forth out of thy mouth to blight their peace.
For hell is opened to heaven; thine eyes beheld the dungeons burst and the prisoners set free.
For everything that lives is holy!
Extracts from William Blake's prophetic writings ('The Marriage of Heaven and Hell', 'All Religions are One', 'Everything that Lives is Holy'), compiled by Rob Wheeler for the multi-media closing session of the SoF 2005 Conference.