DOORS
It’s a time in a misty, distant past where our psyches dwell in
faint remembrances of the Great Gods of Rome. Juno, sister and
wife of Jupiter, Queen and Goddess of Heaven, descends from the
skies and smites open the portals of the Temple of Janus, God of
Doors. The country is in flame. As long as the doors are open,
the populace breathes nothing but war.
Janus, as a god, was always portrayed with two heads, one
looking forward, and one looking behind. Watch your back was
something one never had to say to Janus, because he did. He was
called upon by Jupiter to protect the beginnings of all
endeavors. It was his association with past and future that gave
him the title of God of Doorways. The first month of the year was
named after him.
The concept of doors as a symbol of perception have been part of
man’s history from the beginnings of time. Maybe even earlier.
What do I know? William Blake made reference to the Doors of
Perception. So did Aldous Huxley. The doors imply passage from
one domain to another. Example. Doors to Temples and Churches
speak of the passage from the mundane to the spiritual. A
cathedral’s three doors represent Faith, Hope, and Charity. This
mythology of doors, so strongly represented by Janus, also
stretches into Egyptian and Hindu and Buddhist beliefs.
Janus guarded public gates and private doors. He used a stick
with which to strike the unwelcome. His two faces allowed him to
watch both ways at once. He was the best of guards. As late as
the mid- nineteenth century, in parts of England, when a person
was dying, all doors were opened to let the soul escape more
easily.
Janus even appears in Celtic mythology. The Smithy among the
Celts was held in high regard, for his creations carried within
themselves the aura of supernatural competence. His creations
could help the powers of healing. No wonder then, that when one
of them created a gold bracelet with the heads of Janus at its
center…no wonder then that it was preserved for posterity.
So…how does one get to see a bracelet such as this…with the
two heads of Janus watching front and back. Funny you should ask,
folks. 'Cuz I have such a picture. Yes indeed I do my friends.
All you have to do to see it is to go to my home page, scroll
down the table menu till you get to the box that has the link to
Tidbit Graphics…and click on Janus.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark
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