Garden of Eden

[insomni4c]

I've recently found my self fascinated with the story of the Garden of Eden. The state of ignorant bliss and innocence of Adam and Eve reminds me of the concept of Pu in Taoism, the natural state or the uncarved block, the have no concept of duality and are living in accordance with the Tao in a way. When they eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge, this natural state is broken and now they see the world from a dualistic perspective and are banished from the Garden of Eden and cursed by God. Eden can be seen as representing that bliss and harmony felt in that natural state, and by regressing to that state of the uncarved block you find Eden within yourself.

In Genesis it's also stated that by eating from the tree they become like God in their knowledge. This could be representative of wisdom and mystical knowledge; the magician uses this knowledge to shape reality influencing creation in accordance to his will. It also would tie into science, since it is a way of understanding the universe and its laws, and the scientist uses this knowledge to shape reality as well (technology). The tree of life on the other hand would be like the kabbalistic tree of life, the nature of God or "what god is", and transcendence or henosis. So then studying the workings of the universe and it's laws, occult and mundane, is like eating from the tree of knowledge. And then understanding the connections between these things and the nature of God, and working towards transcendence or henosis is like eating from the tree of life. One must eat from both trees to achieve true transcendence, nirvana, liberation, heaven, or becoming as a god; really these all tie together in a way and are the ultimate goal in many forms of mysticism. After the tree of knowledge was eaten Adam and Eve they banished from the garden of eden were forced to create their own means of survival (agriculture) which draws upon human understanding of the world, had they also eaten from the tree of life perhaps they would have transcended to the level of God and not have been cursed with mortality.

These are just some thoughts I had on the subject, I look at this story as metaphorical and symbolic rather than as a factual account. What do you guys think about this? And what are your interpretations of the symbolism and concepts presented?

[albatross]

I've always been fascinated by the various stories of The Fall as well. I've read several interpretations of the story, and agree that its a myth, an amalgam of Mesopotamian myths about being denied or given knowledge by the gods. The interpretations I've read by non-secular scholars essentially say that it symbolizes ancient man's transition from naked hunter-gatherer of unspoiled wilderness, to garment-wearing farmer and city dweller. The myth shows they recognize the burden of their knowledge and the wishing for a return to a simpler, more innocent existence. The "knowledge" that they obtain in the mythical garden is the knowledge of how to work the land, weave cloth, construct buildings, and develop languages. Personally, I think there's also reason to believe that the "forbidden fruit" in the myth could also be a symbol of early man's discovery of psychoactive drugs and the self-awareness that it allowed them to experience.

Some Jungian scholars suggest that the myth of the Fall is related to man's aspirations of individuation. I like this explanation, given by Jungian scholars Donald Kalsched and Alan Jones: "The original unity of God and man, as in the Garden, is broken when the ego aspires to consciousness. The ego is then banished to a world full of opposites which war with each other within the personality, as brother falls upon brother in war and devastation. "

Unfortunately its really difficult to find scholarly works on the subject that aren't biased or ones that cover the myth of the Fall in all cultures, not just the Judeo Christian version. I haven't read this book, but it looks like it could offer a broader interpretation:
http://www.amazon.com/Memories-Visions- ... =pd_cp_b_1

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

I was on another forum recently and someone pointed out a thread of articles by a Rabbi David Fohrman analyzing Genesis 2,3 and 4. He seems to have come to the conclusion that it was a movement from a true/false morality to a good evil where the key was having a ramped up amount of subjective desire (the difference that the 'knowledge of good and evil' made). This took us to moral questions that weren't simply factual but had the extra element of desire computed in, it also - per his analogy - took us from having a personal system that was in perfect equilibrium such as a car with a straight four engine given a drive train perfectly tuned for a straight four, and swapping that straight four out for a V8 hence putting the kind of strain on the system which was in a nutshell the punishments listed in Genesis 4.
There was more to if of course, his thought on the serpent seemed to have been that it repsresented one of the animals that Adam had been asked to look at as a partner prior to chosing Eve and that the serpent, being at that time the closest animal to human, was trying to implore Eve to listen to what god gave her and Adam in terms of instincts over what he verbally said - particularly so if instinctual information contradicted the verbal (the added challenge really being "Just how different do you think you are from us (animals) as man/woman?").

[Eremita]

The Garden of Eden is truly a very interesting story. There are so many interpretations that can be attached to it, it's a shame so many people go with the most boring one - that it actually freakin' happened. [rofl]

I find it fun to look at along Qabalistic lines, imagining the characters as spheres on the Tree of Life.

In the Beginning, God (Ain Soph Aur) created the Heavens and the Earth. God said "Let there be light", thus birthingKether. Kether emanates the first structures and breathes the breath of life into Adam, the First Man - Chokmah. Adam is content for a time to simply wander about the garden naming all the plants and animals. He soon comes to the realisation that he is incomplete, and asks God for a companion. God complies, using one of Adam's ribs. Thus Chokmah emanates Binah - Eve, the First Woman. The Supernal Triad now being complete, Binah introduces Original Sin by breaking down the barriers that God first set in place (like that wasn't always going to happen!). God casts them out of the Garden (below the Abyss) and dooms them and their offspring to mortality and suffering - in other words, the curse of material form (thank you, Binah). The next emanation is Chesed, which Adam, Eve and their children next find themselves in - endeavouring to create functional society in the wilderness. The kind, gentle and faithful Abel embodies Chesed. Abel, through always giving perfect sacrifices to God, creates jealousy in his violent brother, Cain, and thus emanates Geburah. Cain murders Abel, is subsequently crushed by guilt and marked by God as a sinner - he travels into the wilderness in search of redemption (descending thus into Tiphareth). That's the last we hear of Cain.

The story clearly predates Qabalah, but nevertheless, the Tree of Life is apparently so damn appropriate that you can apply it to just about anything.