Interpretation of Grateful Dead Lyrics: Estimated Prophet

(originally posted to studioarcanis.com)

So I'm going to try something new here. Im curious of peoples feelings on certain songs that to me are very powerful. With my focus on necromantic traditions, people sometimes think Im a fan of death metal kind of music. This is not even slightly true. Although I would say that the music Im going to talk about here is definitely relative to the topic. One of my favorite bands of all time I grew up listening to with my hippy mother, is the Grateful Dead. The further I get along in life the more their songs mean to me, and I find that in some cases this is confirmation bias. I have had a solid interpretation in my head from listening to the song for 20+ years, and then a book or post on dead.net will come out with an interpretation from the band finally, which is nothing whatsoever like what I imagined. On the other hand there are some songs that have quite straightforward lyrics, regardless of Bob Weirs signature downplay of the meaning in his own lyrics. A few of these deal with some pretty esoteric concepts. Such as the angelic view of apotheosis presented in this first song Im going to post:

Estimated Prophet:

My time coming, anyday, don't worry about me, no
Been so long I felt this way, I'm in no hurry, no
Rainbows and down that highway where ocean breezes blow
My time coming, voices saying they tell me where to go.

Don't worry about me, nah nah nah, don't worry about me, no
And I'm in no hurry, nah nah nah, I know where to go.

California, preaching on the burning shore
California, I'll be knocking on the golden door
Like an angel, standing in a shaft of light
Rising up to paradise, I know I'm gonna shine.

My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no
It's gonna be just like they say, them voices tell me so
Seems so long I felt this way and time sure passin' slow
Still I know I lead the way, they tell me where I go.

Don't worry about me, no no no, don't worry about me, no
And I'm in no hurry, no no no, I know where to go.

California, a prophet on the burning shore
California, I'll be knocking on the golden door
Like an angel, standing in a shaft of light
Rising up to paradise, I know I'm gonna shine.

You've all been asleep, you would not believe me
Them voices tellin' me, you will soon receive me
Standin' on the beach, the sea will part before me
Fire wheel burning in the air!

You will follow me and we will ride to glory, way up, the middle of The air!
And I'll call down thunder and speak the same and my word* fills the sky with flame
And might and glory gonna be my name and men gonna light my way.

My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no
It's gonna be just like they say, them voices tell me so
Seems so long I felt this way and time sure passin' slow

My time coming, any day, don't worry about me, no
Don't worry about me, no no no, don't worry about me, no
And I'm in no hurry, no no no, don't worry about me, no.

*(official lyrics state "work", but the sung lyrics are "word", which clearly makes more sense, David Dodd confirms this is a typographical error that is perpetuated due to its early publication in that form)

Songwriters: John Barlow / Robert Hall Weir

So the song starts out with the claim of being directed by disincarnate voices, and then sets into a reassurance to whoever the song is addressed to not to worry that the guidance is good and the way is known. Then it gets interesting because the subject of the song directly relates themself to an angel enshrouded in the light.

I find the statement "Still I know I lead the way, they tell me where I go" very interesting. To me this is such a cryptic but true statement about the relationship with spirits. We lead our own way, but they explain the path both before us and behind us.

In the next "california, ..." section the subject specifically uses "I" & "I'm" indicating that he is claiming his own ascension AS an angel, not simply comparing himself to an angel. Very Enoch.

The next interesting statement comes after the next "california, ..." section: "You've all been asleep, you would not believe me" a fairly common sentiment from those who understand certain things towards people who do not, especially in that fervent stage when we first begin to understand and desire the ability to open others eyes. The subject then identifies themselves as a prophet with the Moses referencing claim of being able to part the waters before them. The next statement is what originally caught my attention years ago directly after reading one of the works in 'Hekate: Her Sacred Fires' which is either a reference to Hekates flaming strophalos, or the burning wheel Ixion is "tortured" on.

[click image to enlarge]

"You will follow me and we will ride up to glory, way up in the middle of the Air" ... we are all familiar with the terminology of "spirits of the middle Air" in various works on magic, mysticism, and spirits.. this needs little explaining. But I will note the choice of "ride" although a claim to rising has already been made by the subject, it is clearly implied that ascension does not happen IN the shaft of light, but is a "ride" and here i would step slightly on a limb and suggest that the nearly universal concept of solar vehicles is implied here, be it a barque, a chariot, or what have you.

Next is something I think we all recognize as well, "And I'll call down thunder and speak the same and my word* fills the sky with flame" the first part speaks for itself, if you are familiar with the Headless Ritual:

[I am the Headless One with sight in the feet!
I am the mighty one who possesseth the immortal fire!
I am the Truth that hateth that evil is wrought in the world!
I am the one who maketh the lightning flash and the thunder roll!
I am the one whose sweat is the heavy rain that falls upon the earth that it might be fertile!
I am the one whose mouth is utterly aflame!
I am the one who begetteth and destroyeth!
I am the Grace of the World!
“HEART GIRT WITH A SERPENT” is my name!]

The second part of the line even further solidifies the apotheosis concept at the core of the song: when the subject says "might and glory gonna be my name" which is also covered in the section of Akephalos above. "and men gonna' light my way" ... I see this light as the subject claiming as a god he will be worshipped with fire, but it isn't clear.

I mostly posted this out of curiosity for what other people think about the music. In general Bob Weir tends to minimalize the meaning of his songs when he speaks about them, despite very specific choice of words and despite the fact that several necromantic/apotheosic themes that run throughout their music, not least of all the obvious band name "The Grateful Dead".

In Blair Jackson's book on the Dead, Garcia is quoted as saying:
"One day we were over at Phil's house...He had a big dictionary. I opened it and there was 'Grateful Dead', those words juxtaposed. It was one of those moments, you know, like everything else went blank, diffuse, just sort of oozed away, and there was GRATEFUL DEAD in big, black letters edged all around in gold, man, blasting out at me, such a stunning combination. So I said, 'How about Grateful Dead?' And that was it." (This is quoted from an old mixtape that has interview snippets between the songs, though I do not know what, where & with who the original interview is with.)

The dictionary entry reads along these lines:

GRATEFUL DEAD: The motif of a cycle of folk tales which begin with the hero coming upon a group of people ill-treating or refusing to bury the corpse of a man who had died without paying his debts. He gives his last penny, either to pay the man's debts or to give him a decent burial. Within a few hours he meets with a travelling companion who aids him in some impossible task, gets him a fortune or saves his life. The story ends with the companion disclosing himself as the man whose corpse the hero had befriended.(Funk & Wagnall's Dictionary).

The name has also been attributed to this quote, though it's generally believed that they came across this one later:

"We now return our souls to the creator,
as we stand on the edge of eternal darkness.
Let our chant fill the void
in order that others may know.
In the land of the night
the ship of the sun
is drawn by the grateful dead."

-- Egyptian Book of the Dead


Hope to hear some interesting ideas on this all?

Verum Spells Demonstrate the Importance of Alkhemi in the Production of Artefacts

I have often written on the circumstance created by the ignorance of Alchemy among sorceri. Here I would like to point out a proof of the importance of this knowledge extant in one of the popular grimoires in use in our age. I will not comment here on those of the more obvious points, such as the instruction in many grimoires to make SOLID mercury artifacts, or the instruction in certain so-called keys of solomon of the process to create solic mercury plates. Here I will be focusing on Antimony, the aptly named Triumphal Chariot.

Antimony is heavily used in modern technology but almost completely unknown to the average person, it was also the kohl of Egyptian cosmetic fame. It's quite toxic and is also found with several other toxic minerals. Brother Bartlett interestingly points out that some consider these impurities to be a clue towards the etymology of Antimony, supposing that its root was anti-monos, being latin for "not alone". 1

The glyph for Antimony is,

and being the planetary metal of Tellus is thus this is the planetary glyph for Tellus. This is often ignored by pseudo-astrologists, who ignore also the influence of astrological magic and Alkhemi on their arte. This sadly extends to sorcery of many stripes. Anyone even slightly familiar with grimoire literature can tell you that a saturnine charm be made of lead, or a venusian charm be made of copper. Ask this same person what would be the most appropriate material to be used in the artefaction of a Tellusic charm, and they may not even recognize the name Tellus, no less be able to answer your question. This to me seems quite an important and rather large gaping hole.

I have often stressed that as sorcery depends on material bases, the potionary artes should be a priority for all sorceri. "… it is more efficacious not to neglect any thing that conduceth to it." 2
Goetic sorcery and all forms of nigromancy including nekromancy and nekyomancy heavily involve fire traditions, of which Alkhemi is sovereign. Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold is perhaps the most concise commentator on this point and his works on quimbanda must be consulted in this regard by the serious student.

Further relevant to the topic at hand, the traditions Mr. Frisvold operates and comments on have quite a high standard as to the perfection necessary when choosing materials and preparing them for the creation of artefacts. Most notably in the context of Verum', Quimbanda.

Jake Stratton Kent, Writing from a more "euro-centric" perspective is also a prominent commentator on the subject. In his Geosophia he continually relates fire traditions to goetic work, and rightly notes the symbolism of volcanos, the importance of Hekate, and one of her most notable followers -especially from the alkhemists point of view- Empedokles, both a goen and alkhemist. Stratton Kent also emphasizes the importance of the Cabiri/Dactyls, who to the reading of an alkhemist can be what, other than alkhemists?

In another of Stratton Kents highly recommended works The True Grimoire, a compilation edition of Grimorium Verum, he illustrates further the connection between Hekate/Astarot and the nekromantic/fire spirits of Quimbanda and the Grimorium Verum.
In The True Grimoire there is clearly found the survival of many older traditions not evident in most so-called keys of solomon; This is in fact the main thrust of Stratton Kents commentary. However, while this is all peripherally relevant, the proof of application of alchemical proces to sorceral charms occurs in The True Grimoire.

The basic charm format given in "The Second Part: Of Natural And Supernatural Secrets" is

It is quite obvious that the main framework of this is the glyph of Antimony. I have emphasized elsewhere that Antimony salts are by far the optimum material for grounding/seating natures in charms. Considering that half the purpose of material bases is the grounding of effects it is hard to believe that the Antimony glyphs inclusion in the charm format given in Verum' is not intentionally drawing on this.

That the remainder of the charm is inscribed INSIDE the Antimony glyph seems to further emphasize this symbolism of grounding the spell work on and in Tellus. This may not be sufficient to prove my conclusion from a historians point of view, yet i daresay that considering Mr Stratton Kents comments in the introduction to Geosophia, he would agree with me that in some instances such so-called proof is not the first concern of sorceri.

In his notes Jake Stratton Kent discusses the symbol that we have identified as the Antimony glyph. I am mostly in agreement with him that as all works are mediated by Luna and Sol, the upper "star" is most likely to be the symbol of the planetary nature incorporated into the work at hand, through the mediating influence of Luna and Sol, to Tellus. However it appears that the Antimony connection was lost on him. As I've noted elsewhere, it is telling that even visionaries such as Jake Stratton Kent, in the vanguard of sorcerys second diaspora in the english speaking world have completely overlooked the Alkhemi connection so prevalent in our field of work. Worse, even sorceri who have a half decent claim for the title of potioneer, such as Draja Mickaharic, completely overlook Antimony.

Antimony is the grounding agent par excellence in the material bases of sorcery. Antimony is referred to as the Triumphal Charriot because it is possessed of a penetrating fire that will deliver other planetary medicines powerfully into the targeted tissues. From a sorceral perspective the epithet is justified in that the same fire carries the work of the spell et al. into the targeted material or what have you. The use of the glyph of Antimony as the body of a charm format is elegant and a well suited integration of Alkhemical symbolism in sorcery (much unlike the blathering mystical nonsense most "occultists" subject alchemical symbolism to) and its presence in The True Grimoire illustrates the perseverance of the connection between sorcery and Alkhemi. Not surprising as it has been well shown my Mr. Stratton Kent that Verum' preserves much that is degraded in other popular grimoires.
As a side note of interest, Antimony is used as an agent in painting stealth planes and other equipment due to its ability to absorb, rather than deflect, radar. Though i have not yet begun my experimentation in this area, certain uses immediately suggest themselves such as cloaking charms for avoiding targeted effects or for clients looking not to be located. Though i must make this VERY adamant warning: antimony is POISONOUS, and since its not something you simply find a handful of in the kitchen cabinet, i doubt anyone will be playing with it without a little research, I woud be in the wrong to not point out the obvious: Do not use antimony in blow powders, pemba, or on the exterior surfaces of any artefacts!!!!!!!!
Finally, I have not in this small paper covered any of my ideas or experience on the application of alchemical knowledge and spagyric proces in sorceral work, this will follow as time permits.
-Nipha

1. Robert Allen Bartlett- See both Real Alchemy (2007) and Way of the Crucible (2008)
2. Agrippa, pg.94 Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy (ed. By Donal Tyson)
3. Further reading: Jake Stratton Kent- “The True Grimoire”, “Gesosphia Vol. 1 & 2”