The Red Hibiscus: Anthology Volume 1 Preface
In memory of Tracy R. Twyman and HRH Prince Nicholas de Vere
“Today “Baphomet” is almost a household name, thanks to the prevalence of conspiracy theories that have spread widely on the internet. It is even pre-loaded into the dictionary on my smartphone, unlike a lot of normal English words that I am surprised to find missing. Nevertheless, despite the great many words being written about Baphomet, very few seem to understand it as anything more than a symbol of Satan. It may be that, but it is a lot more also. In fact, as Masonic writers have hinted in the past, it may be the preeminent mystery of the Western spiritual tradition. Understanding Baphomet sheds light not only on the motivations of the Devil, but on the mind of God as well.”
― Tracy R. Twyman, Baphomet: The Temple Mystery Unveiled
An extraordinary 19th Century mystic, Anna Kingsford, believed The Poet was the highest type of mankind on earth. Most people pass indifferent to life and the world, but the poet has no self apart from his higher self. Thusly, the personality of the poet is both limitless and divine as it contains the whole world. The heart of the poet can respond to every flower and invisible etheric currents which form the building blocks of every last thing in the universe. The title of Anna’s seminal book, Clothed with the Sun, reminds me of red flowers I see daily. Aside from being a beautiful adornment, vibrant hibiscus flowers transport us to a world of passion, energy and healing. It is the very same inner radiance that permits the poet to see beyond the surface of things and bring new messages from the depths of the starry skies.
How does the poet keep remembrance of the ineffable? How does the sacred well of Brigid, a Celtic saint of poets, retain its preternatural powers? Intuition is the memory of the soul and our souls need to be firmly rooted in black soil, ancestral whisperings, respect for our local history and heritage. The cosmic and the minute, the divine and the mundane…O how gloriously they fuse in the psychospiritual essence of every gifted artist. I hope this anthology will bring forth both clay and fire — man and Prometheus — in your imagination.
Diana Thoresen, Palm Cove, Australia.
13/10/2020
