(h)Auororæ

 

hAurorae. The recalling or the retelling of the many Pasts made Present & Whole again. by Gabriel McCaughry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

(h)Auroræ is many things: A work of art, of poesis, of philosophy. Above all, it is a work of meditation. Another reviewer compared the book to the ouroboros, and this is a wise assessment. Reading from cover to cover is only the first way one might read this work. One might also begin with the "Glossary & Allegories" section near the end of the book, then jump to . . . wherever page feels right. This is ameditative work to be savored. "Powering through" this work(ing) dissipates Power. The author notes several times that these are, essentially, his notes for what he has found empowering and enlightening. He draws from several traditions in his search for gnosis, so there really is an entry point for just about anyone wanting to explore (h)Auroræ. It is as eclectic as it is esoteric, and that is a good thing.

McCaughty is best when he relies on the art of wordsmithing to overlay the artifice of philosophy. I'd much rather revel in his work than wade through it. When the open page can breathe and when compacted allusive poetry can convey as much as a block of text, why have the block of text? Let the words and art soar! Make their magic manifest!

Not surprisingly, the essay regarding the art in this book by Jose Gabriel Alegria Sabogal provides a grand key to this work:

More than once, I have dreamed of discovering strange books full of mysterious emblems. After these dreams, I felt I recognized the images as being the Aurora Consurgens . Later, I also found that Jung had almost identical dreams, and that he devoted 16 years of work to his Liber Novus . His drawing entitled 'Systema mundi totius' was the inspiration for the central circular piece in the present work. Borges's notion of a circular book in his tale 'The Library of Babel' inspired the work's overall structure and the format. Ultimately, the goal is to create that once-dreamed book, which, as a circle, may be read in all possible directions.

So, start wherever you think is best. Return when you need to. The door to the labyrinth is always open, one eternal round.

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