Trilogy (New Directions Classic)

by Hilda Doolittle

  27.1 Christos In Greek, Christos is the word for Christ, which means the anointed, and is a translation from Hebrew mashiah, meaning the Messiah.

  28.1–2 the authentic Jew / stepped out from Velasquez “The authentic Jew” would be Jesus Christ as Yeshua the Messiah (his name from Aramaic), the crucified rabbi. Diego Velazquez (the Spanish painter, 1599–1660) painted a realistic “Christ on the Cross,” for which the model might have been a converso, a Jew who became a “new Christian” after 1492.

  29.17 Mage The Mage or Magi were Zoroastrian wise-men priests/astrologers from Persia. The word magic comes from Magus, the priest who was deft in magic. In Matthew 2 they appear as the wise men of the East.

  30.8 Amen, Aries, the Ram H.D. was deeply immersed in astrology. Aries, which in Latin means “the ram,” is a constellation containing the stars of the spring equinox, and is the first sign of the Zodiac. Early mythologies identify the Ram with Zeus and with Amon/Ammon, the ram God of Egypt. Aries is also connected to the Golden Fleece, who bore the mistreated children of King Athamas away. In the Old Testament, Abraham found the ram in the bush and sacrificed him instead of his son Isaac. Typologically, this ram is linked to the later Lamb of God, the Christ, sacrificed for the world. H.D. connects Amen-Ra, Amen, and Aries the Ram.

  33.4 Sirius, Vega, Arcturus Sirius or the Dog star is the brightest star in the sky and is located in the constellation canis major. Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra. “Vega” in Arabic means “falling eagle.” Arcturus, from the Greek, meaning “Protector of the Bear,” is a giant star, the fourth brightest in the sky. See 121.6.

  33.18 unguent, myrrh, incense The three wise men or magi stop at Mary’s house over which the great star in the sky stops. They bring gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh to the child Jesus. Matthew 2.7–11.

  33.19 jasper, beryl, sapphire In Revelation, in a vision of the New Jerusalem, the walls of heaven are made of jasper, beryl, and sapphire. Rev. 21.18.

  35.5–6 the phoenix, / your bennu bird A bird that burns itself up, then rises from its own ashes, and is a symbol of immortality. In Egyptian symbolism, the Phoenix represents the sun dying each night and resurrecting each morning. In Pompeii, where Isis was worshiped, Osiris is depicted in a painting with his bennu bird. The bird’s head is adorned with Isis’s emblems: the uraeus, solar disk, and lunar crescent. See note 4.7.

  40.1-6 Scorpion … Archer … Goat’s horns … the Waterman All astrological references. Scorpion corresponds to Scorpio; Archer to Sagittarius; Goat’s horns to Capricorn; the Waterman to Aquarius. H.D. wrote in a letter, “I wish Aquarius would get born before we perish” (NHP vi).

  40.13 the elixir of life, philosopher’s stone The notion of the philosopher’s stone (also called the elixir of life and the grand magistery) is alchemical and may have its origin in Alexandria. The stone was an imaginary substance capable of transmuting base into gold and restoring youth to the old. See 71.1–2.

  40.19–20 sub-conscious ocean where Fish / move two-ways Probably a reference to Freud and to the god Janus whom H.D. compares to Freud (TF 100, 102). Fish is a symbol for Christ. See notes 5.13, 105.3.

  47.10–11 Hest, / Aset, Isis See note 5.18.

  48.5–7 palette, / point pen or brush … papyrus or parchment See notes for 16.1, 17.11, 48.8–12.

  48.8–12 Thoth … Hermes-thrice-great … his tau-cross H.D. wrote: “Hermes of the Greeks … took the attribute of Thoth of the Egyptians. The Tor Tau-cross became caduceus with twined serpents, again corresponding to the T or Tay-cross that Moses lifted from the desert” (TF 101). The Tau-cross, a cross with a loop at the top, also known as an ankh, is an Egyptian symbol of life, fertility, specifically the sun fertilizing the earth. The Egyptian Christians, the Coptics, appropriated the ankh as a symbol of the life-giving power of the Christ’s cross. See Caduceus 7.5.

  48.15–20 let him (Wisdom) … be ye wise / as asps, scorpions, as serpents. H.D. associates the serpent with “the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil” as well as with “that serpent of Wisdom that crouched at the feet of the goddess Athené and was one of her attributes, like the spear … she held in her hand” (TF 89). H.D. also associates Thoth and Mercury with Athené (TF 52). Athené is the Greek goddess of wisdom. “Be ye wise … / as serpents” is a quotation from Matthew 10.16 in which Jesus says “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” See notes 7.1, 7.5.

  49.1–3 the pillar-of-fire When H.D. says the pillar-of-fire “before” and “after,” she evidently refers to its appearance in the Old and New Testaments. Images in the New Testament, especially in Revelation, often have their typological origins in the Old Testament. When the children of Israel escape from Egypt, we read, “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night” (Ex. 13.2 id). In Revelation 10.1–2, John writes: “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven clothed with a cloud with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet were pillars of fire. And he had in his right hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.”

  49.7–22 we are each, householder, / each with a treasure; … for every scribe / which is instructed, // things new and old. Jesus says: “Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.” Matthew 13.52. (For another reference to this chapter of Matthew, see pearl-of-great-price, 9.24.)

  50.1 Thou shalt have none other gods but me The first of the Ten Commandments, delivered by Moses to the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 5.7).

  50.3 Triton The largest and innermost of the eight moons of Neptune. In Greek mythology, Triton was the son of Poseidon; the upper half of his body was human, the lower was like a fish. He blew a conch shell or trumpet.

  50.9 Orion or Sirius Orion is one of the most easily recognizable constellations in the sky. Orion in Greek mythology was a hunter who raped his betrothed. Her father blinded him, but his vision was restored by the rays of the sun. For Sirius, see 33.4.

  50.10 the Bear The constellation of the seven brightest stars, Ursa Major, also known as the Big Dipper.

  50.12 Algorab, Regulus or Deneb Algorab is probably a star. Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo; its name is prince in Latin. Deneb is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus.

  53.9 butterflies The butterfly in Greek story often symbolizes the soul (Gr., psyche). In Christian symbolism, it represents immortality and resurrection.

  54.2 Osiris See notes for 5.18 and 25.1–4.

  54.13 before Abraham was I am In John 8.58, Jesus says, before Abraham was, I am, which is an echo of the passage in Exodus 3.14: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

  55.1–4 in the beginning, Creator, / Fosterer, Begetter, the Same-Forever / in the papyrus-swamp / in the Judean meadow. The papyrus-swamp refers to the Egyptian gods, the Judean meadow to the Judeo-Christian God, implying that each religion has its own landscape. in the beginning also cannot but recall both the first words of Genesis and the Gospel of John. See 17.15–16.

  56.15–18 where heat breaks and cracks … white, little flowers H.D. explained that the white little flowers symbolize life after death: “The mystery of death, first and last—stressed in XL, XLI, XLII, Osiris being the spirit of the underworld, the sun under the world, the setting-sun, the end—implicit there always the idea of the sun-rise—and above all the everlasting miracle of the breath of life—where heat breaks and cracks / the sand-waste / you are a mist / of snow: white, little flowers” (NHP vii).

  TRIBUTE TO THE ANGELS

  63.1 Hermes Trismegistus See 16.1.

  63.10 Mithra’s tomb Mithra, a major god of Persia and India (
Mitra), was originally a minor god of the Zoroastrians. By the 5th century B.C. the god of light and sun had become the principle Persian god, and dualistic Mithraism was a widespread religion—reaching to Rome. There, through the first two centuries A.D. it had more adherents than Christianity, with which it shared many characteristics including dualism, continence, fasting, and a belief in the immortality of the soul.

  64.2 your walls are made of jasper In Rev. 21.18 “the walls of it was of jasper” in the city of heaven.

  64.3 but not four-square, I thought “The city lieth foursquare.” Rev. 21.16.

  64.7 twelve foundations “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.” Rev. 14.

  64.8 transparent glass Rev. 21.21 describes the street of the city of Heaven: “and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.”

  64.9–10 for no need of the sun / nor moon to shine In God’s heavenly city there is no need of sun or moon since the glory of God provides light and the Lamb is the light: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Rev. 21.22–23).

  65.1 I John saw “And I John saw these things, and heard them.” Rev. 22.8.

  65.1–3 I testify; / if any man shall add // God shall add unto him the plagues H.D. condenses Rev. 22.18: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.”

  65.4–5 but he that sat upon the throne said, / I make all things new. “And he that say upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” Rev. 21.5. See 103.9–12.

  65.8 He of the seven stars In Revelation, Jesus explains to John the significance of John’s vision of the Son of man, who stands in the midst of seven golden candlesticks, holding seven stars in his right hand. “The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the seven angels of the seven churches: and seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (Rev. 1.20). Norman Holmes Pearson writes: “Tribute to the Angels gives thanks for the services of the seven angels at the throne of God, un-named by Saint John and to-be-named by scribes later, like H.D. herself. Both her book and Saint John’s are filled with cited sevens. Even the 43 sections of each third of H.D,’s Trilogy add up to seven” (NHP x).

  65.9 he of the seventy-times-seven “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Mt. 18.21–22.

  66.2 the plowshare for the sword “And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2.4). Similar passages appears in Joel 3.10; Micah 4.3.

  66.6 no grape-leaf for the thorn Christ the lamb of God is often depicted standing between grapes and thorns. Jesus says, “Ye shall know them by their fruit. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles.” Mt. 7–16.

  66.9–10 the voice to quell the re-gathering, / thundering storm H.D. said of Tribute to the Angels (which she wrote in a bus): “I really DID feel that a new heaven and a new earth were about to materialize. It lasted … for a few weeks—then D-Day! And the ‘re-gathering thundering storm’” (NHP ix).

  67.1 peace be still Jesus and his followers are on a ship in a storm. They wake him saying, “Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose and rebuked the wind and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” (Mk 4.39).

  67.2 Azrael In the Koran, Azrael is the angel who parts the body from the soul at death, whose name in Hebrew means help of God. The name and concept were borrowed from Judaism. H.D. wrote: “The Angel names are more or less traditional O[ld] T[estament], though I use the Mohammedan name for planet Saturn, ruler of time and death, Azrael” (NHP ix).

  67.6 Raphael An archangel mentioned in the Apocrypha in the book of Tobit. He is the angel associated with healing, whose name in Hebrew means “God hath healed.”

  67.6 lovest thou me? After Jesus rose from the dead, he showed himself to his disciples, and tested Peter’s faith, asking him three times, lovest thou me? John 21.15, 16, 17.

  67.10 Gabriel The messenger archangel who is the herald of good news in Daniel 8.16 and Luke 1.26. In the Annunciation, he told the Virgin Mary she would bear the Son of God, and is often depicted with a lily (symbol of the Virgin). He is also depicted with a trumpet raised.

  67.16 Uriel An archangel whose name in Hebrew means light of God.

  68.4 Thebes See 3.5.

  68.8–9 the battle of the Titans, / saw Zeus’ thunderbolts in action In the Greek religion, the Titans were the twelve deities who preceded the Olympian deities before the Olympians overthrew them. Zeus cut off the testicles of his father, Kronos; they fell into the sea off Paphos, Cyprus, and Aphrodite was born in their foam. The name Aphrodite means in Greek “foam-born.” Zeus sent Kronos to rule the Island of the Blest (see 120.4–5), and Atlas, a descendant of the Titans, was condemned to carry the sky on his shoulders.

  69.3–8 was part of that same fire / that in a candle on a candle-stick // or in a star, / is known as one of seven, // is named among the seven Angels, / Uriel. See 65.8.

  70.7–8 purple as with purple spread / upon an atlar The Lord is speaking to Moses and Aaron: “And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon.” Num. 4.13.

  70.9–10 This is the flowering of the rood, / The flowering of the reed Rood, derived from rod, means the cross of Christ (made up of two rods). Reed suggests the Reed Sea (the correct name for the Red Sea, which parted for Moses). Rood is related to the New Testament; reed to the Old. See 7.1 and 7.5 and note for the title The Flowering of the Rod 111.

  71.1–3 Now polish the crucible // and in the bowl distill // a word The reference is to alchemy, the precursor of modern chemistry, whose purpose was to transform base metals into silver and gold. According to legend, it was founded by Thoth, Hermes, the fallen angels, or was revealed by God to Moses and Aaron. Alchemy took on a mystical and magical character. The philosophy of the Hellenistic Greeks of Alexandria was influenced by alchemy, for the conversion of the ordinary into gold was seen as the striving for perfection and sublimation. See 40.3.

  71.9 marah-mar Bitter sea. Marah is bitter (Hebrew) and mar is sea in Spanish.

  71.12 mer, mere, mère, mater, Maia, Mary mer is sea (Fr.), mere is a small lake, pond, or marsh, mère is mother (Fr.), mater is mother (Lat.), Maia is, in Greek mythology, the eldest of the Pleiades and Hermes’ mother by Zeus. Mary is Mary mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and the other Marys in the New Testament who attend Jesus. See 135.9–10.

  73.7 Hesperus The name for the evening star, which is Venus. The planet Venus is brighter than any celestial body, except the sun and the moon.

  73.10 Venus, Aphrodite, Astarte Venus is Roman goddess of love, Aphrodite is Greek goddess of love, Astarte is Phoenician goddess of love. See 5.18.

  73.13 Phosphorus The name for the morning star, which is also the planet Venus.

  74.10–12 mandrake … mandragora The Latin name is Mandragora offincinarum, a plant in the potato family that resembles the human form, purported to be an aphrodisiac and fertilizer. When it is pulled up, the plant is said to scream and to drive people crazy or kill them. The Greeks associated it with Aphrodite and called its fruit “love apples.”

  78.1 Annael H.D. wrote: “The Venus name, I believe is Anael but I spelt it ANNAEL; it didn’t seem to ‘work’ until I did—it
links on too with Anna, Hannah or Grace, so has an authentic old-testament ring” (NHP ix).

  79.11–12 seven, / names among the seven Angels See 65.8.

  80.3–4 two of the seven Spirits / set before God John referring to seven churches which are in Asia: “Grace be unto you, and peace from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.” Rev. 1.4. (See Rev 3.1, 4.5, 5.6.)

  81.9 Thebes and Tyre For Thebes, see note 3.5. Tyre is a Phoenician city south of present day Beirut, built on a peninsula. It is one of the great cities of ancient days and frequently mentioned in the Bible.

  82.3 Astoroth Astarte or Ashtoreth. See note 5.18.

  82.14 may-tree or apple May-tree is hawthorn, out of which Christ’s crown of thorns was made. The apple is associated with fruitfulness, immortality, temptation, and magic. The apple and apple tree are associated with the exceedingly good, the best, as in the expression, “the apple of my eye”; and in the Song of Solomon 2.3, they have an erotic dimension: “As the apple tree among trees of the wood, so is my beloved among sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” See note 120.4–5.