The house of invisibility
It would be a terrible thing if the invisibility of Hades was breached.
And the horrors of decay exposed...
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| Uley Long Barrow. |
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| 80 degrees. |
I like the stars, sun and moon...
I like wondering why
- Uley
- Nympsfield
- The burial at The Sanctuary...
Aligned to 80 degrees.
10 degrees off the equinox sun/moon position.
Pleiades?
something else...?
But gazing at the stars
Avoids seeing what's underneath...
The dead exist in liminal spaces
Death in atrocities committed
In broadcast-media land
The vanished dead
In land marked by barrows and tomb-stones.
The slaughter of animals
The disposal of corpses
Invisibility
During my 'religious education' I learnt a different attitude to death.
It is a religion in which mummification of the respected dead, still occurs.
The ritual of Chod.
And Chod itself.
- The ritual is a set of visulisations and offerings
- Chod is dealing with the dead- 'sky burial'.
Nor during the British Neolithic..
At Nympsfield the barrow is laid bare
Open to the sky
But once upon a time
The way in was between two tight stones.
As if once inside, you may not get out again.
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| Nympsfield. |
Uley Long Barrow
Still covered by earth
Will not let you enter
Unless...
You crawl.
Like West Kennet, once you are inside
There is enough space
For several people to stand.
Uley Long Barrow is a restricted space
But not closed.
As if
The dead- semi decayed, some bones still hanging together
Were significant
Who deals with the dead?
In Tibetan culture
- Sky burial -ground frozen too hard for burial
- No trees for cremation.
- The people who offer the bodies of the dead to the birds-chodpas (plural)
Before the 'sky burial takes place
After the burial
The prayers and rituals.
Depend upon the wealth and status of the family.
The 'religious specialists' get to wear the fancy clothes
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| Vulture: Catal Hoyuk. |
