ShackledEidolon

Schwarze Katz

I do agree that there is a lot of reference to power used in the beginning and a some kind of threat to that power. The power is based off of the negative thoughts and feelings, opression/repression. But this can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Earlier I had mentioned that this seems like the shadow or possibly the ego holding its grip on the soul. I would have to say that I have moved more towards the latter concept now.

The Ego is responsible for creating and maintaining our identity. If things become too much or threaten this identity then the Ego represses it in some way. This repression creates the shadow (id). In this the Ego calculates what is and is not safe for the identity as a whole. It decides what we will and will not accept about the world or ourselves. It is because of this function that we can not give up our current world views.

On the road to enlightenment we find ourselves asking questions of this nature. Who am I? Normally we would simply answer by giving our name, or our occupation, or our status. These we feel are our identity...however these are not the things that define us...money is not a definition of who we are however we will say that I am a Doctor or I am a banker etc. These answers, my name is___, I am a ______, these are ways to skirt around the question. The easy way out. In order to find the truth and get to the core and find what we are we have to be willing to give away these things. Realize that these things do not define us and may even be meaningless.

The result of this action is an identity crisis. Without anyway to define itself the ego goes mad. It grips at anything that will give it a map, a structure, it is as if it is falling perpetually and searching for the ground that will snuff its fear. This fear and pain is that which has been eluded to in so many Tool songs. We have to grow from this pain. We cannot experience this pain and recoil back to an easy answer, we must step through it.

Without the Grudge, the easy answers, the refusal to look further for risk of pain, the soul is free to discover the truth to remove its cold fated anchor that is holding it in one place and allows it to move and progress.

As far as the reference to Saturn...there have been a lot of really good things said about it. I think that it is a powerful lyric because it has meaning in so many ways. On one hand we have the number of years that Saturn takes to make a complete trip around the Sun corresponding to some major time in the life. This mid life crisis or event is an identity crisis....one becomes childish or tries to redefine their lives at this point because they dont like the way they are going or are unhappy with their identity...letting go of those things that are truly meaningless. On the other hand we also have the alchemical reference to Saturn being the beginning and ending of events which is still this same concept. The ending is the slaying of the identity. And the beginning is the creation of a new. When we choose to fall back into the same pattern by creating another identity based on a new job or a new spouse or a new car or something we are ignorant to the spiritual damage we have caused ourselves by dropping anchor again.

This perpetual cycle of destruction and rebirth is also echoed in the concepts of reincarnation and the hope of breaking this cycle...if we choose to continue identifying in the same ways as we have been then we will never break free and change into something better.

I think the jist of this comes down to the idea that we must give up the safe things and give up the identity that we have and start on uncertain ground. Give up our idea of control over the world because in reality we have no control and have only been limiting ourselves with our notions of status/power/and spiritual censorship. This notion sets the stage for the rest of the album and clears the mind of the individual for something new.

Of course this song is about giving up grudges but these grudges are on differing layers of complexity....it can be the everyday ones...it can be giving up the meaning of the scarletletter and allowing the A to mean angel instead of adulterer, or it can mean relinquishing control and swimming in the chaos that ensues (giving out your 30 second maynard scream as you lose yourself...and your identity dies)

Sorry about writing a book, I hope you enjoyed