Themes Of Message At The Deep (And Later Books)

When I come up with a viable idea for a story often I’m also thinking of a theme that I want to explore. When I actually sit down to write the theme is somewhere in the back of my mind. It isn’t always specific or granular at this stage. It is more hazy. As I write the theme becomes more developed and specific.

So, what themes, you might wonder? I have touched on them slightly in the past on this blog. The Chapel Perilous. Cosmic Awe. Cosmic Horror. Others, I will expound more on this blog are knighthood and the ideals of chivalry, both historic and my own personal views on it. Spiritual Light and Spiritual Darkness, (or the good old-fashioned themes of Good and Evil). As far as the latter is concerned, if you’ve read my most recent novel you may have discerned that theme already.

So many people these days take offence over the idea of calling something what it actually is. Say, the question of Evil. I think that naming something for what it is, is just as important as the old idea of truly knowing someone’s name. Naming something gives it power. Knowing the name of something, whether that something is a person or an idea or an action gives YOU power. Not naming or refusing to name can rob you of power. This, too, is a theme in my current series.

Recently, I talked about a few of the obvious themes in Frank Herbert’s Dune series. This will be a blog series spread over several weeks I’ve mentioned some themes already that I am trying to explore. Others may include the struggle of new scientific ideas supplanting the old edifice of scientific ideas, alchemy, knighthood, celibacy, the issues of a highly stratified society, oppression and rebellion, social and cultural decay, anarchy in relation to personal and community freedom vs anarchy as a philosophical idea taken to an extreme, occultism vs enlightenment, psychopathy vs conscience on the personal level and on a societal level. Father and son relationships. So, there are a lot of things brewing in my mind.

First, the Occult versus Enlightenment. From what I’ve known, it first arose from ancient Babylon. It rose in tandem and was very much a part of ancient pagan religious practices of the time. The promise of knowing the future, of desiring good fortune, power, love or the tantalizing promise of secret knowledge - which often can confer power upon the seeker - I believe allowed the Occult to rise into existence. These are human desires, normal desires but they are often twisted and lead many to a dark road after a time. The very word “occult” has more than one meaning but they are related. It is both a noun and a verb. The more well-known meaning is “hidden knowledge” or secret knowledge. The other meaning which comes from astronomy means “to hide” or to “cover over”. Interestingly enough, two scientific disciplines that I’m aware of come directly out of the occult; astronomy, which comes from astrology and chemistry which was born from alchemy.

The Occult, from my own experience and many years of observations, leads ultimately, to darkness and despair. One must not dabble or dwell there. That doesn’t mean that some good has not come out of it. Science, which is an excellent thing, has come out of it. After all, it is a search for knowledge, and born from it, science too, is the search for knowledge and knowing the world around us. I suppose this is the part where one walks the gray areas of life when you ponder it. That sliver of life where you look beyond Good and Evil to the third way. But that way in my mind is a short and narrow path and only to be walked under extenuating circumstances.

My story deals with alchemy, both in regards to the proto-science idea and the psychological, that second arm of alchemy being related to Gnosticism. Jonas has a friend who actually practiced alchemy in when he created his various drug paraphernalia and this is very much dealt with in the second book that I am now writing, The Red Book of Ralston. In the acquired dust, Ralston hides his true work with it and makes his own version of the drug to experiment with higher consciousness and knowledge and personal power; an attempt to take the human body and mind past known the known physical boundaries. The main character in the book, Jonas Johnson, throughout the entire series will go through the seven steps of alchemical change in his life, or at least that is my idea. Sometimes ideas change in the writing but I’ve had this idea about my character going through this process for a long time now. So, Jonas will have to go through these steps and acquire a greater well of self-knowledge, a greater knowledge of not only who he really is and wants to be but what is his true place in the world; in the universe? The seven steps will burn away the dross and rebuild him into a new man with clarity of purpose. In that sense, the occultic trappings of alchemy are a positive thing, not just for a story character but also for the living human being. In the alchemical sense, Jonas is on the road to an enlightenment, no longer in the dark, on the outside, if physically, than at least not in a spiritual sense. He will not only reach physical strengthening and power but also “see the light” in regards to his attitude and spiritual practice, which right now is non-existent. He will also help others see the light where they are lost in darkness, especially going near the end of the series. Stay tuned for the next post in this series.