What Kind Of ‘Tribute’ ?

In recent issues, NFTP has shown how St Stephen’s Cathedral’s ‘The Human Search For God’ shrine contains ‘systems of meaning’ drawn from the western occult. In particular, as earlier issues of NFTP have detailed, the references are to the occult practice and symbols of Aleister Crowley.

NFTP has also shown how this ‘Aboriginal’ shrine – said to be "a tribute to the Aboriginal people who originally owned the land on which the Cathedral is built" – gives every appearance of breaching Aboriginal protocol and customary law.

Also demonstrated was how panels 3, 4, 5 & 6 relate to artist Ms Fiona Foley’s work from the Northern Territory - which under Aboriginal customary law, should only have been installed in St Stephen’s after obtaining permission from the traditional owners of the relevant cultural knowledge in the shrine.

In this issue, we continue our examination of the shrine and present more of its meanings.

In previous issues, we outlined how panels 3, 4, 5 & 6 had been drawn from Ms Foley’s paintings, ‘Moon Fish’ and ‘Gunabibi 3’. Similarly, it can be seen how panels 3 & 6 also draw partly from Ms Foley’s 1988 painting, ‘Maningrida’.

‘Maningrida’ is interesting for a number of reasons, one of which is its distinctive skyline, which presents the sun in the eastern sky at the same time as the moon in the west.

This ‘Maningrida’ conjunction is readily seen to be significant when viewed in the light of the practice of timing the Kunapipi ceremony, "so that the last night of the performance coincided with the full moon, which rises at sunset and sets in the west at dawn, opposite the rising sun". (See Knowledge And Secrecy In Aboriginal Religion: Yolngu of North-East Arnhem Land, by Ian Keen of the Australian National University.)

In St Stephen’s, the ‘Kunapipi’ sun and moon appear in conjunction in the top left and right corners respectively of panels 3 & 6.

In translating this distinctive ‘Kunapipi’ (Aboriginal ‘Earth Mother’) reference into panels 3 & 6, Ms Foley - in what appears to be another departure from Aboriginal practice - has camouflaged the symbols somewhat to achieve particular western meanings. Both sun and moon have been darkened. The darkened sun in panel 3 is presented as a distinctive "false moon".

In NFTP_12, we set out how the 3 leaves and the 2 leaves immediately above in panels four & three respectively, constituted the numerological basis of 3² = 9, Crowley’s number for "witchcraft." (We also examined how this too corresponded with Ms Foley’s ‘Gunabibi 3’ painting.)

In his book Gematria, Crowley refers to the number 9 as signifying, "witchcraft, the false moon of the sorceress".

The darkened Kunapipi sun in the same panel, (no. 3), completes this "witchcraft, .." reference, visually depicting the ".. false moon of the sorceress". In St Stephen’s panels 3 & 4, then, Crowley’s reference, "witchcraft, the false moon of the sorceress" is presented in numerological and visual terms.

This same overall group of five leaves lining the right hand side of panels 3 & 4 is also of more than passing interest for yet another reason. This time, it is not the numerical reading of the leaves, but their shape which provides the significance.

Each of the five leaves forms a distinctive ‘V’ shape. We have seen in previous issues how Ms Foley’s "visual language" incorporates shapes and letters as well as numbers.

In this instance, the reference is to "Vi Veri Universum Vivus Vici", which translates as, "By force of truth, I, while living, have conquered the universe."

Characteristically compacted as "V V V V V", this is a signature reference to Aleister Crowley himself, "the initials of his motto for his grade as Master of the Temple". (See The Great Beast: The Life and Magick of Aleister Crowley, by John Symonds.)

With the five ‘V’ shaped leaves in panels 3 & 4, then, we have a direct, emblematic, readily recognizable motto for Crowley himself.

Undoubtedly it would be a matter of some interest to hear what the Aborigines of Maningrida might have to say about the apparently unauthorised and unacknowledged use of their cultural knowledge in St Stephen’s Cathedral.

Equally, it would be a matter of interest to see what their feelings are concerning the cafeteria-style ‘mix-and-match’ approach to Aboriginal spirituality on display in St Stephen’s Cathedral.

Given the Brisbane archdiocesan profile in matters spiritual and Aboriginal, the apparent resolve of church authorities not to address the issues raised by NFTP itself raises further questions.

There are the obvious questions concerning accountability and authority within the church.

There are questions relating to the church’s ability to examine itself, and the local leadership’s willingness and ability to address difficult problems.

• Can the church face the task of dealing honestly with the Aboriginal groups whose cultural property has been ‘appropriated’ without proper authorization?

• In an archdiocese known for its "tolerance", does this shrine stretch the limits of that tolerance?

• Is it, as some might suggest, a matter of ‘Anything Goes’? What, in fact, are the limits of Brisbane church "tolerance" when it comes to "spirituality"?

• Are all forms of the occult out of scope?

• What is the view on Crowley’s brand of "spirituality"?

• Is what is wrong in St Stephen’s Cathedral merely symptomatic of a wider problem in the archdiocese?

• Is this the real reason why church authorities do not appear able to face the issues raised in NFTP?

• Finally, who is going to apologize to the Aborigines about St Stephen’s?

Tim Pemble-Smith
3 – 111 Central Avenue
Indooroopilly Q 4068
after hours: (07) 3871 2047

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