THE OLD LANGUAGE OF BLACK
“Upon all the glory shall be a defence.”--ISAIAH.
Although science does not now consider black as a colour, yet it
is still considered so by the public and was considered so by the
ancients. To them it was the colour of mystery and of the mysterious
ways and wisdom of God.
In Egypt, Kneph the Creative Mind was sometimes addressed as “Thrice
unknown darkness transcending all intellectual perception,” for
certainly the wisdom of God is beyond the comprehension of human
intellect. One of our modern mystics, Henry Vaughan, seems to arrive
at the same thought when he says, “There is in God a deep and dazzling
darkness”; meaning that the mysteries of God are unfathomable but
glorious. Black was considered the colour of wisdom, and Milton, who is
so accurate in his symbolism, uses it as such:--
“Goddess staid and holy,
Whose saintly visage is too bright
To hit the sense of human sight;
And therefore to our weaker view
O’erlaid with black, staid wisdom’s hue.”
Black also symbolised eternity; thus Night, the mother of all things,
was sometimes portrayed by the Greeks in a starry veil, holding
two children--one white and the other black--to symbolise Time and
Eternity. Osiris and also Horus are sometimes painted white and
sometimes black, to show that they manifested themselves in time though
they were eternal.
Black also meant silence--the things that are not to be revealed to
everyone--the thoughts that lie too deep for tears--the innermost and
most sacred experiences of life. It is not that we ought to be selfish
with our knowledge--far otherwise:--
“Give all thou canst; high heaven rejects the lore
Of nicely-calculated less or more.”[20]
[20] Wordsworth, “Within King’s College Chapel.”
It is that certain experiences can only be comprehended by a person
having similar experiences. In olden times a black rose was used as
the symbol of the silence of an initiate, such a silence as that
comprehended by St Paul when speaking of the man who was caught up into
heaven and heard[21] unspeakable things which it is not lawful for any
man to utter. The great promise[22] to every initiate is, “I will give
thee the treasures of darkness.”
[21] 2 Corinthians xii. 4.
[22] Isaiah xlv. 3.
As the old proverb says, “If you would know more you must be more.”
Until then there is a veil[23] and a defence[24] upon the face of
all knowledge. This is no doubt the meaning of the veil of Isis. This
is the reason why so much of the ancient belief is wrapped up in
symbolism, and why the ancient pictures are so full of symbols, for
in them an initiate could tell at a glance how much the artist knew
of the inner mysteries; for example, one often sees the ornamental
broken pavement in ancient pictures. This was one of the many hints
to look well into the picture and ponder much, for it represented
not historical fact but mystic truth. The almond-shaped aura or
_vesica piscis_ was used in much the same way. Many pictures of the
Ascension of Christ and of the Assumption of the Virgin contain the
_vesica piscis_ to show that if you did not believe these events to
be historically true yet they are deep truths relating to the spirit
and soul of every man--that the spirit and soul do ascend when their
labours are done. The architects, too, were versed in these hidden
truths, so that we may truly say that our great cathedrals and churches
represent the sum-total of all the architect knew. They are really
“frozen religion.” The ordinary person sees a great and stately edifice
but the initiate sees worlds on worlds unfold.
[23] Exodus xxxiv. 35.
[24] Isaiah iv. 5.
Black to us of the West is merely the sombre colour of mourning, a sign
that our lives have been bereft of the joy of the presence of a loved
one. It is perhaps the most depressing of all colours, physically,
mentally, and morally, and surely if people believed in their religion
they would never wear such a colour; but unfortunately few people have
the courage to go against custom, and to openly rejoice that their
loved ones are in a better land. We may remember how the Lady Olivia’s
grief was reproved by the Clown in _Twelfth Night_:--
_Clown_: Good madonna, why mournest thou?
_Olivia_: Good fool, for my brother’s death.
_Clown_: I think his soul is in hell, madonna.
_Olivia_: I know his soul is in heaven, fool.
_Clown_: The more fool you, madonna, to mourn for your brother’s soul
being in heaven.
Of course black used with other colours often gives beautiful effects
and throws these colours into relief. It is a most useful decorative
colour when used in moderation, but when totally unrelieved, it is an
abomination. By shutting out the light rays of the sun it lays the
whole system open to disease. In the human aura it is evidence of the
deepest depths of human wickedness.
Black in its lowest symbolism means this wickedness and foulness, and
hatred of the light of the healing sun. The black angels are the evil
angels. Black magic was occult art used for selfish purposes and very
often requiring blood sacrifice, even of human blood, in the performing
of it.