nietzschepants
02-22-2003, 07:10 PM
"Merkaba" was defined in the Tool FAQ as "revolving lights" and as an internal vehicle of sorts. I was reading Mandala Symbolism by Carl Jung the other day (a fantastic read) when I came across the term "Merkabah", meaning the four animals (the winged bull, the golden eagle, the winged Lion, the archangel) used to describe the four archangels, or sometimes the four Christian evangelists. The four animals came from the Justinian gnomism (I think) and have other symbols as well. I don't think it ties into the song, but just something to think about. Jung used the "Merkabah" as part of an explanation of the mysterious quaternity (of three plus one (in this case three animals plus one human)) that seems to be omnipresent in Human art and society. Also in the book was an illustration of a mandala that looks quite a bit like lateralis (in that there was a black circle bordered by the creepy looking flaming eyes, with a central, lighter circle.) Also, there was a picture closely resembling the can opener thingy that is behind the cover art man's head. Maybe a sign of the collective unconscious alluded to in the song "reflection"?