I was behind a car yesterday that had several lefty and/or crunchy bumper stickers on the back, and then also had one that was otherwise unadorned except to say "as above so below." Anybody know what this is supposed to mean? I was able to spin out a half dozen possible interpretations, albeit increasingly far-fetched. If you know what it means, tell me.
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23 comments:
That phrase is probably the crunchiest of all the crunchy things on the car. It's some silly magic shit. You see, god(s) are the same as the universe, which is the same as the earth, which is the same as individual people, which are the same as their component cells, and so on into absurdity. It's a crunchified equivalent of a Jesus fish. So there. What do I win?
That, or it's an imperfect reference to the 5th Dimension's hit song "Good Morning Starshine."
Maybe both.
It is a mystical tenet - the principles of natural law, math, physics, chemistry, are set on high, so to speak, and manifest here on the earthly plane, as they do above - Sociology is not mentioned, however, and it is obvious as to why Mystics snub their noses at you folks. Look at that witless, informal survey you allowed to manifest in this blog - the one about donuts and athletics - and those unvalidated stories about feral children are giving the University a bad name. Shape up or keep getting black-balled by Mystics, that's about all I can say at present.
Component cells? Feral children? Gee, I was hoping it meant something simple, like: you're gonna have a fine old time in hell as well so quit worrying!
As above, so below = voo-doo statistics, cooking the numbers, oiling probability, deleting pesky variables - he who controls the numbers, controls the universe, or so one of those old alchemist philosophers said - wasn't it Hermes Trismegistus said that? In the tome " Corpus Hermeticum", mankind is warned about greased regressions early on - read and heed, buster!
Astrology works! Really, that's what it means.
It's probably just the Catholic in me, but it seems to paraphrase the Lord's Prayer ... "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
-G
How very typical of statisticians to laugh and scoff and thumb their noses at oral tradition and folk truisms, i.e. as above, so below and the terrible plight of feral children are prime examples of this elitist sneering. I hope some of the previous posters are reading this. In July of 1913, near the Carpathian mountain village of Bukowiec, Poland, a literal den of feral children was discoverd by professional fox hunters. For roughly 6 years preceding this discovery, and in a 30 kilometer area, small farm animals and poultry had been mysteriously disappearing. The locals were finally able to pool their resources and hire 2 pros out of Kielce to eradicate the menace. In the course of their duties, they stumbled onto a den of wild children dug into the side of a ravine. This was reported to the Polish Army by a one Dorek Gacek and can be found in their archives. The hunters were hit by an overpowering stench as they entered the den, and a huge pile of bones was noted. The feral Children advanced on the hunters, literally snarling and snapping and a couple of shots had to be fired in the air to keep them at bay while one of the pros went to get backup from the locals. Fortunately for the children, the Nuns at a local convent were also alerted and made their way to the den as irate locals converged. An angry mob of Polish peasants wanted to literally tear the kids apart but cooler heads prevailed and the Nuns were given permission to keep the children in a Catholic church on a promise that they keep them tethered in the basement. Several of the Nuns were seriously bitten but none of the children were harmed. 5423 poultry bones were found in the den and 2311 small mamal bones were found after the feral children were removed.
Unlike modern America where church and state are kept separate, old world europe was not like that at the time. Little else is known about the rehabilitation of the children because the Catholic Church put it all under wraps, most likely out of fear of failure. 8 feral children went into that Church and were never heard from again. An elderly, itinerant knife sharpener with a noted lack of vocabulary years later surfaced in the area and claimed to have been raised by nuns. Many believed she was a part of the original pack but it remained a rumor. The only other clue to any of these feral children may be found in the Officer's Barrack in Warsaw, Poland where there is a plaque on the wall that reads, " In memory of Piotr the Wolf Boy of the Western front, gone but never forgotten". It is believed the Army took one of the older feral boys and turned him into a scout during WW1, given his ability to sneak and scurry. It is assumed the Church sold Piotr to the Army in order to buy food for the rest of the feral children, but neither the Catholic Church or the Polish Army has ever released any statements to researchers, and probably never will.
To clarify: there was no Poland in 1913, nor was there a Polish Army. Bukowiec was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. I know because my grandfather left the region in those years to escape fighting for the imperial Austro-Hungarian Army.
Nina regularly threatens to show her own feral side on anyone who talks too much smack about Poland.
It means their head is full of poop. Like their butt. Hope this helps.
What year was your Grandfather born? I'm not trying to get personal, but was he Catholic and how good was his command of the Polish language? There is grant money available to fully validate these reports to the satisfaction of Western science,and Humanitarian monies to ease TPTSD (Transgenerational Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) - more money than you might dare to imagine..?? Ferality@aol.com - I understand the need for confidentiality, so we needn't discuss it here to satisfy the idle and curious and the ones with prying eyes.
Nina -- if you end up making any money off of this, I get a fee for bringing you and Mr/s. Ferality together.
Jaki masz zawod??
A dlaczego pytasz?
Witaj! Mowie po polsku. Uwierz mi - Cultural Antropologist - use the email address - say in Polish, " the basement is cold" and I will know it is you. Dolacz do nas! there is pieniadz to be made. Forget Freese - mam cos dla ciebie.
why do they call polish sausage polish sausage?
Jestes glupi!
All I know is that it was a line from the movie "The Craft," and I think it's pretty sad that I know that. :|
Napij sie herbaty ( have a cup of tea) - I think many come to this blog hoping for psychological advice but are only met with cold math - this may well be a trend in higher education given the scrabble for money - you can see the despair on the faces of Stat 101 students
I'm perfectly willing to dispense psychological advice. About what, though?
how does polish sausage differ from bratwurst? are either of these also known as a "half-smoke"?
"half smoke" - sexual innuendo is not warranted in a Sociology blog
Using equal portions from prime cuts of pork, beef and venison, the German-Russians far surpass the Poles in making sausages. The Poles brought with them a strong work ethic and many other good things, but not sausage making ability.
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