Daily Archives: March 4, 2002

Show’s Over; Go Home

Well, the show’s over. We all got together to strike the set yesterday, and I had more fun there connecting with people than I’d had through most of the run. It’s so painful to realize that the cast just hits its stride both on and off stage right around the time our two-week run comes to a close. We came close to selling out the house for the last week of the run (missed it only by a couple of seats each night), and the audiences loved it. A good show all around, in the end.

We had a terrific party after Saturday’s show, and I enjoyed myself quite a bit (to my utter surprise). We got there early, so we had a choice of seats. I firmly believe that sitting with Rob, Andee, Christina and Richard made our evening much more fun than it would have been had we arrived later than most (which is what we were expecting, having to drive back to NDG to wash up and change, then drive back to Dorval where the party was being held) and been relegated to whatever seats were left free.

And now… the glorious knowledge that my Tuesdays and Fridays are free once more until September! (And what have I done? Booked them up for the next couple of months teaching workshops at work. Sigh…)

Virtues

So I’ve picked up the latest issue of Alan Moore’s Promethea (number 19 for those who are following it), and wow. Wow not only for the lush Van Gogh artistic tribute, but for the portrayal of this particular stop along the storyline.

Okay, having some sort of background in occult studies made following Promethea’s trip through the Major Arcana possible, and I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the journey through the sephiroth along the Tree of Life as it progresses. Then last month I read The Witches’ Qabala by Ellen Cannon Reed to prep myself for a lecture on the Qabala, and it was the proverbial shock of recognition — my brain encompassed it all for a moment, then lost it as I saw that I had understood. (Never make the mistake of remarking that you’ve succeeded at something, particularly grasping the truth of the universe.) I proceeded to devour the first third of Self-Initiation Into the Golden Dawn (for the info, not to actually — oh, never mind) and amused my husband by exclaiming frequently in happy discovery and wearing out a highlight and a half. Qabala is like the blueprint for the universe, or a filing system in which every aspect of the universe is organised. It’s nifty.

Anywhats, all this led to another flash of recognition when I opened Promethea #19 (“Fatherland”) which talks all about Chesed, the sphere of greatness, benevolent ruler gods (excellently illustrated in a double-page spread), and the vision of perfect love. Seeing how the Virtue of this sphere is Obedience, the leap at the end into the unknown is just perfect. The next sphere will be the second to last, that of Binah, understanding and intelligence, or form and restriction, but not in a negative sense; more like a container. Binah is the feminine principle to Chesed’s male principle; the passive/negative side to the universe. It will be interesting to see how Moore envisions it.