Orion: The philosopher's child

Orion's Conception (by Theodor de Bry)

Three-fathered (and no-mothered) Orion is said to be the son of Apollo, Vulcan and Mercury, or of Jupiter, Neptune and Mercury – take your pick (depending, of course, on whether you believe 16^th-century German alchemist Michael Maier or 18^th-century French alchemist Antoine-Joseph Pernety to be the true judge of the matter).

Any way you look at it, this somehow makes Orion filius philosphorum "the philosopher's child" (aka filius sapientiae "the child of wisdom," infans noster "our child," and infans solaris "sun child").  It also somehow makes Orion inextricably linked to the

child of the Sun and the Moon (aka "child of the Red King and White Queen"), to "hermaphroditic Hermes," and to "the child of the egg" (and we're not talking fluffy baby chicks here).

If all this seems somewhat esoteric, then "the philosopher's child" archetype might seem even more so.  According to alchemylab.com, the "Psychological Conjunction" (i.e., "the union of both the masculine and feminine sides of our personalities into a new belief system or state of consciousness") is psych-speak for "the philosopher's child."  This new state of consciousness enables one to "clearly discern what needs to be done to achieve lasting enlightenment."

Who knew Orion was so advanced a soul?  Why with all those stories about him running around chasing dogs and bulls, splitting hares, and boasting about it, to boot (or to belt) – it's rather shocking to learn that this was all just one… vast… cosmic joke.

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(mythology)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filius_philosophorum

Copyright October 19, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved