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qedavathegrey:

RAKALA: Red Queen Redux

As previously mentioned in my Micromanifesto #1, my conceptualization of the Archetypes was necessarily reductive. The writings I provided concerning them, as such, was reflective of this same reductive process and, with time, I have come to appreciate these emergent figures as far more than the “archetypes” presented. I feel my previous writings a betrayal to the complexity of nature and character that they have shown me since initial contact. In this (series), I hope to both correct my misgivings and use what I have since learned to better relate their nature and function. Given that I have chosen to delve into these figures individually (most of my time has thus far been spent seeking to understand The Red Queen, whom I now call RAKALA), it seems right that I should redress them in the same manner. I cannot ensure that these revisions will be the last, but what I know is that this project will be one requiring time. Despite having studied RAKALA for more than a year now, I am conscious that I know only her most basic realities, and have only just begun transitioning to my phase of study under [the Earth Mother]. In short, do not assume what you find herein is absolute, for RAKALA exists, above all else, in the concept of Change.

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Does the Red Queen associate or remind you of any other more known deity or of a Pomba Gira spirit?

Oh, absolutely. Pomba Gira is what led me to RAKALA. I recognized in her something greater than a body of spirits, but a primordial force. Of course, Pomba Gira comes to us from Èṣù (comprised also of Bantu and Iberian influence), and in many ways RAKALA is also related to him. But Èṣù and RAKALA are not synonymous, rather parallel, in the way of most Tricksters.

As for the influence of Pomba Gira and the Red Queen (as a manifestation of RAKALA), they are most certainly linked. I was working with Pomba Gira (and continue to do so) at the time I came to know the Red Queen. As noted above, it is very like her to come to you as you wish for her to be, only to turn your perceptions on their head (granted, this can be a facet of Pomba Gira, too, which further confuses the situation). It was preemptive of me to write of the Red Queen without knowing RAKALA: and she has made this clear.

In essence, the Red Queen mirrors Pomba Gira, but they are born from two different ‘heads.’ In the same way that Pomba Gira does not represent Èṣù in his entirety, ‘unadulterated,’ the same can be said of the Red Queen and RAKALA.

Given her appearance, some might also conflate the Red Queen (and by extension RAKALA) with Crowley’s Babalon, but I am wont to discourage this relation. While the Red Queen represents the ‘liberated woman’ (a murky concept that merits its own post), she is also domineering and far from a “fertility” goddess. But these things do not matter, because the Red Queen is neither fixed nor ‘real.’ She is but one of RAKALA’s guises, fashioned to suit any situation or preconception. The Red Queen is very much a figure of projection: she is RAKALA’s “Pomba Gira costume.” Her answer to my preconceptions.

The Red Queen is only a mask, it has features, but it is obfuscation.

Additionally, I have very recently (a few weeks ago, by complete chance) learned of a new figure called Ellis/LS Godform of the DKMU (which I know next to nothing about) who may well reflect RAKALA in some ways, but such will require far more research (and/or snooping) before I can speak at length regarding similarity and difference.

Source: qedavathegrey

RAKALA: Red Queen Redux

As previously mentioned in my Micromanifesto #1, my conceptualization of the Archetypes was necessarily reductive. The writings I provided concerning them, as such, was reflective of this same reductive process and, with time, I have come to appreciate these emergent figures as far more than the “archetypes” presented. I feel my previous writings a betrayal to the complexity of nature and character that they have shown me since initial contact. In this (series), I hope to both correct my misgivings and use what I have since learned to better relate their nature and function. Given that I have chosen to delve into these figures individually (most of my time has thus far been spent seeking to understand The Red Queen, whom I now call RAKALA), it seems right that I should redress them in the same manner. I cannot ensure that these revisions will be the last, but what I know is that this project will be one requiring time. Despite having studied RAKALA for more than a year now, I am conscious that I know only her most basic realities, and have only just begun transitioning to my phase of study under [the Earth Mother]. In short, do not assume what you find herein is absolute, for RAKALA exists, above all else, in the concept of Change.

With that being said, I quote that which was written in the Evocation of the Red Queen in hopes that I might offer a both broader and more accurate portrait of her:

She is ruled by fire – the fearsome aspect of the planetary energy of Venus, volcanic and volatile. In a sense, she is the domineering match to the masculine Mars, the traitorous seductress.

This is misleading, for RAKALA’s nature is defined neither by gender nor sexuality. While this description is true for some of the aspects of RAKALA, it is not encompassing of her whole. In calling her ‘volcanic and volatile’ I highlight her potential for destruction, but not recreation. In fact, I have found that RAKALA is only part of a greater whole, whom I call MARAKALA: the figure responsible for separating the states of matter (the Body) and the consciousness (the Mind) of the Great Goddess – who comprises all things in all realities. To each state MARAKALA appointed a sovereign consciousness, a piece of the preeminent Great Goddess’ Mind (of which she was already a part). These would become [the Earth Mother], [the Lady of the Depths] and [the Queen of Heaven], ruling the solid, liquid and gaseous state respectively. MARAKALA would then sever herself in two, becoming MA (which one might equate with ‘energy,’ present in all things, though she is formless) and RAKALA. MA severs, RAKALA pieces together: together they are Change, though RAKALA is given form. While this speaks to what might be called the ‘greatest’ or ‘most removed’ reality of RAKALA, her relation to humanity is far more important (to me, as a human).

While never posted, I have written of RAKALA (more in line with my current understanding) before, and find that it may offer further clarification. Concerning her complex and varying levels of existence, I wrote:

[S]he is the embodiment of change: she is potentiality and kinesis, she is the vibration of atoms, energy and expansion, defiant of the static. This is her most fundamental manifestation, without personification, devoid of ascription. Coextending is her sentience, be it prescribed by humanity or the inspiration for humanity’s prescriptions is of little importance: she exists as she does, regardless of the means. Notions of “how” and “why” are, in this case, inconsequential. […] When defining the Red Queen as infinite, I refer to the former conceptualization of her as a force; in defining her as omniscient, I refer to the latter, personified manifestation of her. The following exploration of her form, character, dominion and associations are largely identified with this sentient manifestation, but I caution against attempting to sever any one facet of her being from the rest, as each of her aspects are inseparably intervolved.

It is important to mention that this ‘intervolved’ reality extends not only to RAKALA, but MA. Despite their nominal and conceptual separation, MA and RAKALA are inextricably connected no matter MA’s “formlessness” or lack of individual consciousness. MA is Law without the need for governance, for the laws of MA are unbreakable in any given reality. MA is – in essence – that which holds realities together, but withholds the power to tear them apart.

Returning to the Evocation, I continued:

Despite our own moral connotations with such – she is not marred by our own virtue, for she exists unabashed and guiltless. She cannot be controlled, she cannot be mastered, and she cannot be owned. Her rage is explosive, her hunger insatiable, she is decadence and gluttony, she is wrath and vanity – and she will not be judged for it. What she wants, she takes; what she desires, she deserves.

RAKALA is a Trickster and that which is written here confers this inexplicitly, though in a way that is lopsided toward the “malefic” parts of her being. While what is written is true, I failed to capture the reverse. Not only is she unmarred by our concepts of ‘virtue,’ she demands that we question the very notion of what ‘virtue’ is: ‘What is its origin?’ ‘What is its purpose?’ RAKALA is intimately tied to humanity and all that it creates, for like Prometheus she defied her Sisters and gave unto our evolutionary progenitors the capacities we now possess. As a Trickster, RAKALA teaches survival through wit, manipulating Chance to her favor and whim. She knows what is, what can be, what might be, for she is what allows the possibility of all things. Without RAKALA there is no change, without change (at the most fundamental level) there is nothing: no charge, no reaction, no movement, only perpetual stasis. In describing her as I did in the Evocation, I note how she is reflective of humanity, but in the same way humanity mirrors her. By forcing us to consider our actions, or thoughts, our culture, RAKALA exposes indoctrination, misconception, constructs and the fabric of interaction. In doing so, RAKALA seeks to inspire cooperation without condemnation. She is rebellion, but not for rebellion’s sake. She will force you to question your every notion by putting them on display, by embodying the parts of you that are most loving and hateful; she is the Mirror. Furthermore, RAKALA is particularly invested in empowering the marginalized, recognizing her responsibility in creating hegemonic structures (one might say inadvertently, but, being a Trickster, RAKALA has her own motives that are decidedly ambivalent and largely incomprehensible). Whether she does this out of empathy or to delight in the dialectical, I am unsure, and I do not think it matters, for she – above all others – possesses an unwavering fondness for humans and their struggles.

Building on the nature of RAKALA, we must also consider this “form” she possesses and how she chooses to present herself. Much of the aforementioned unposted document focuses on gender and what one might expect when working with RAKALA, largely to offset the gendered features I had previously given her and to highlight her status as Trickster, which will become evident:

In true trickster fashion, the Red Queen – despite her gendered title – seems to delight in confounding people’s antiquated notions of gender, and while she can and does present on the classical, Western gender binary, she is not bound by it. If you factor in her assumed sex, things get even more delightfully complicated. In short, never presume which form the Red Queen might choose to simulate, and if you have apprehensions regarding gender liminality or possess any form of latent sexism, expect to be challenged and chided. Or worse. Discomfort both fuels and fascinates her. The opportunity to strip you of your privilege and constricted ways of thinking, expose you for all your backwards ideas and thoughtless subscriptions to hegemonic realities tickles her to no end. Embrace it: let her push your flawed notions to the point that they are engulfed in her cleansing fire, seared from your mind. Let her fill the void, let her inspire forward-thinking, innovation, rebellion. Let her come as she chooses to be, not as you expect her to.

I then continued to note some of the guises she had assumed in our work together. I refrain from adding it here for the fact that it is wholly unnecessary: RAKALA comes as she desires, fueled by the mind that perceives her. While she appears to me in many ways, these forms are undoubtedly catered to my preferences. Though she takes her name from her tendency to appear (to me) with crimson-colored skin, even this is not guaranteed, and is likely a way to assert her identity even when assuming different forms. Above all, her appearance is communicatory, working with and against your preconceptions simultaneously. As aforementioned, I have been witness to many forms of RAKALA, from that which I described in the Evocation (the Red Queen) to a naked, red man with a giant penis (her way of playing with the Trickster motif), to a skull suspended on a precarious neck of a balanced human femur and humerus (which I have no doubt was her way of mocking the Earth Mother, whose appearance I hope to document soon), to a great, red hand (one of her most frequent icons). But these do not matter: all are RAKALA, one no more so than the other.

Having touched only briefly on her layered nature, her character, her form, I recognize how difficult it is to capture her in words. As such, I believe story might more effectively convey the truth of her and will attempt soon to relate some of our interactions in further detail. But I have provided here what I hope might be the beginning of a more encompassing description of a figure that has become very important to me, even in such a short time. I seek to further correct initial misgivings and misrepresentation, concerning both the RAKALA and the other “Archetypes.” As I warned, however, I recognize that such an undertaking will require time to complete and graciously welcome such an opportunity.

[Forgive the mess, this was both much longer and more lacking than I anticipated. Stay tuned for more info, or thank me for at the very least adding a *read more* 😂]