[UA] Symbolism of Alex Able (was Re: Abel and "A Void"-ance)

[Chad Underkoffler]

> From: "Timothy Ferguson" <ferguson at beyond.net.au>
> Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2000 00:46:06 +1100
>
> > From: "Gregory Paul Stolze" <holycrow at mindspring.com>
> >
> > I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the symbolism that 
> > (to me) seems really obvious with Alexander Abel.
>
> That he finances Al Anon?  He has a sort of Anti-dipsomancer
> training program that works on Twelve Step?  That he and the 
> Salvation Army are in close cahoots?  That, oh my -God-, TNI 
> members can play tambourines and are actually the New 
> Salvation Army?
>
> Damn it man, you're sick!

My take:

==============================
ALEXANDER = the Great, "aka ALEXANDER OF MACEDONIA king of
Macedonia (336-323 BC). He overthrew the Persian Empire, carried
Macedonian arms to India, and laid the foundations for the
Hellenistic world of territorial kingdoms. Already in his
 lifetime the subject of fabulous stories, he later became the
hero of a full-scale legend bearing only the sketchiest
resemblance to his historical career." (Thanks, Brittanica!)

More:

"In the organization of his empire, Alexander had been content
in many spheres to improvise and adapt what he found. His
financial policy is an exception; though the  details cannot be
wholly recovered, it is clear that he set up a central
organization
 with collectors perhaps independent of the local satraps. That
this proved a failure was partly due to weaknesses in the
character of Harpalus, his chief treasurer. But the
establishment of a new coinage with a silver standard based on
that of Athens in  place of the old bimetallic system current
both in Macedonia and in Persia helped trade everywhere and,
combined with the release of vast amounts of bullion from the
Persian treasuries, gave a much-needed fillip to the economy of
the whole  Mediterranean area.

"Alexander's foundation of new cities--Plutarch speaks of over
70--initiated a new chapter in Greek expansion. No doubt many of
the colonists, by no means volunteers, deserted these cities,
and marriages with native women led to some dilution of Greek
ways; but the Greek (rather than Macedonian) influence remained
strong in most of them, and since the process was carried
further by Alexander's Seleucid successors, the spread of
Hellenic thought and customs over much of Asia as far as Bactria
and India was one of the more striking effects of Alexander's
conquests.

"His plans for racial fusion, on the other hand, were a failure.
The Iranian satraps were perhaps not efficient, for out of 18,
ten were removed or executed--with what justice it is no longer
possible to say. But, more important, the Macedonians, leaders
and men alike, rejected the idea, and in the later Seleucid
Empire the Greek and Macedonian element was to be clearly
dominant. [...] It is not untrue to say that the Roman Empire,
the spread of Christianity as a world religion, and the long
centuries of Byzantium were all in some degree the fruits of
Alexander's achievement."

This would imply that upon his death or Ascension, his
"generals" will fall to squabbling over the pieces of his
Empire.

In terms of Alexander of Legend:
"The chief source of all Alexander romance literature was a folk
epic written in Greek by a Hellenized Egyptian in Alexandria
during the 2nd century AD. Surviving translations and copies
make its reconstruction possible. It portrayed Alexander as a
national
 messianic hero, the natural son of an Egyptian wizard-king by
the wife of Philip II of Macedon. Magic and marvels played a
subsidiary part in the epic--in the story of Alexander's birth,
for example, and in his meeting with the Amazons in India. In
later romances, however, marvels and exotic anecdotes
redominated and gradually eclipsed the historical personality.
Minor episodes in the original were filled out, often through
"letters"  supposedly written by or to Alexander, and an
independent legend
about his capture of the wild peoples of Gog and Magog was
incorporated into several texts of many vernacular versions."

Alex fits the Emperor Tarot card, too. From
http://magicalgrove.com/Tarot/Emperor.cfm

"The Emperor: The Emperor deals with issues of control and
responsibility. This card represents the part of each of us that
must handle responsibility, be in control, or let go at the
proper time. There is always a time when someone must make a
decision and this card represents the highest qualities in us
for handling those times. The Emperor teaches us the very
important lesson of responsible decision-making. Sometimes, it
is extremely important to use our wisdom to exercise control
over our surroundings. This is the card of authority --
authority used responsibly to see that things get done.
Decisions have to be made, whether we wish to be in that
position or not. Our physical surroundings are such that we must
be in charge of our lives. The Emperor shows us how to exercise
control in a wise and moderate manner. In some ways, the Emperor
and the Empress cards are almost interchangeable -- they both
deal with using one's wisdom to direct one's life. But the
Emperor card deals more with putting one's knowledge and wisdom
to use in a controlled manner in the everyday world. It is a
card of actively controlling one's life, whereas the Empress
card is more one of providing for one's life." 

ALEXANDER: Short forms for the name incled "Lex." Think = Lex
Luthor, another domineering businessman with access to
powers/technology beyond the ken of mundanes.

ABEL: "in the Old Testament, second son of Adam and Eve, who was
slain by his older brother, Cain (Genesis 4:1-16). According to
Genesis, Abel, a shepherd, offered the Lord the firstborn of his
flock. The Lord respected Abel's sacrifice but did not respect
 that offered by Cain. In a jealous rage, Cain murdered Abel.
Cain then became a fugitive because his brother's innocent blood
put a curse on him. [...] The storyteller in Genesis assumes a
world of conflicting values, and he makes the point that divine
authority backs self-control and brotherhood but punishes
jealousy and violence. Cain had not mastered sin (v. 7); he had
let it master him. The narrator takes a somber look at the human
condition, seeing a dangerous world of Cains and Abels.
Nevertheless, God is on the side of the martyrs; he avenges
their deaths in the ruin of the Cains. In the New Testament the
blood of Abel is cited as an example of the vengeance of
violated innocence (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51)."

ABEL: Homonym of "able." Capable.

A.A.: Aleister Crowley founded a magical order to continue where
the Golden Dawn had left off, called the A:.A:. (Astron Argon or
Astrum Argentium or Silver Star), and it became the primary
vehicle for the transmission of Crowley's mystical and magical
training system based on the principles of Thelema. 

(According to Thelemic doctrine, the expression of Divine Law in
the Aeon of Horus is "Do what thou wilt". This "Law of Thelema",
as it is called, is not to be interpreted as a license to
indulge every passing whim, but rather as the divine mandate to
discover one's True Will or true purpose in life, and to
accomplish it; leaving others to do the same in their own unique
ways.)

==============================

At least, that's how I interpret him.


Okay, what did I miss, Greg?




=====
Chad Underkoffler [chadu at yahoo.com]
http://www.geocities.com/chadu/index.html
"Hold your breath. Make a wish. Count to three."
  -- Willy Wonka

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