Theos-Talk Archives (July 2006 Message tt00578)

Greetings! 
This is a reminder about this weekend's presentation in
Theosophy Virtual Lodge.  Thank you for your support and  we look
forward to "seeing" you at this presentation.

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Saturday July 29, 3pm New York (EDST)

"The Women of the /Revelation/"

by Zachary Lansdowne

Zachary Lansdowne presents the lecture "The Women of
the /Revelation/," which considers the two vivid feminine symbols
that are contained within the /Revelation of St. John/, the last
book of the Bible. The first feminine symbol is the celestial woman
of chapter 12, described as "a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars." The
second feminine symbol is the seductive prostitute of chapter 17,
described as "the great whore that sitteth upon many waters." What
do these symbols mean? Many diverse interpretations have been
proposed for the celestial woman: the constellation Virgo when the
moon is at the feet of Virgo, Mary the mother of Jesus, the people
of Israel, and the heavenly church. Most commentators interpret the
seductive prostitute as representing the ancient city of Rome.

Helena P. Blavatsky, the founder of the Theosophical Society,
provides the following key to interpreting the /Revelation/: "The
fact is . . .the whole /Revelation/, is simply an allegorical
narrative of the Mysteries and initiation therein of a candidate,
who is John himself."

This quotation suggests the use of a psychological approach that
takes every symbol as representing some aspect of an aspirant who is
on the spiritual journey. If we do use a psychological approach of
interpretation, then what do the celestial woman and the seductive
prostitute represent? This lecture considers the meaning of these
symbols by analyzing the first five verses of both chapters 12 and 17.

Zachary Lansdowne, Ph.D., is a past president of the Theosophical
Society in Boston. This talk is based on his forthcoming article with
the same title that will be published by the Theosophical Society of
America in the November-December issue of their /Quest Magazine/.
This talk is also based on his recently published book, /The
Revelation of Saint John/, which is available from Amazon.com.
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*How to attend the Theosophy Virtual Lodge*
>
> 1- Download for free paltalk at: http://www.paltalk.com/download.html 
<http://www.paltalk.com/download.html>
> 2 - On the right side of paltalk window click on Rooms
> 3 - Choose the Category Religion and Theology - Sub-Category
> Metaphysical - Room Theosophy Virtual Lodge
Please note that the lodge room may not be open except at scheduled
presentation times. If you can't find the room, please try back during the
presentation times listed above.
> 4 - Be sure to install a microphone in your computer so you can
> participate in the audio discussion, and also be sure to have your
> computer speakers on.
> That's all you need to do to join us.

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