Dreamtime Consulting

Did the author of, "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass", know what he was alluding to when he had the mouse in the teapot tell Alice, "Feed your head."?

Considering the role the head plays in the ancient world, in several traditions, one has to wonder if the author was responding to what Jung would have called the Collective Unconscious. In Lewis Carroll's culture, Celtic undertones would be very strong and tie very deeply into the spiritual side of the psyche.

Celtic lore has it that Bran the Blessed survived his ordeal of breaking apart the cauldron of rebirth which had been a wedding gift for his sister and her royal husband. Bran's head was severed but survived and, after many adventures with his remaining company of soldiers, was placed beneath the earth at the foot of a mountain. From this point different variations of what happen occur. In one, King Arthur himself digs up the head many years later, and thus transfers the kingship from Bran to himself. In other variations the head of Bran itself warns of impending invasions and other functions.

It is fascinating how the seat of inner power is viewed by various spiritual traditions. Some view the head as the seat of power, while others view the heart itself as the seat of power. The head is the site of the "third eye" while in other traditions the heart is the power base, such as in the fairy tales of giants and other beasts who keep their hearts in a secret place. For Bran the Blessed, the head not only denoted kingship, but a more ancient concept such as the king and land somehow being inter-dependent.

Even today this tradition is in exsistance, as evident to those who walk into a special Roman Catholic church located in Ireland, where in one of the shrines is displayed the severed and preserved head of Saint Oliver Plunket in sight for all to see. In several monastic sites there have been hundreds of skulls found in chambers set aside for the sole purpose of housing the skulls alone.

In tribal societies it is not uncommon for skulls of both animals(totems) to be displayed and in some island cultures the heads of both enemy and community member are displayed openly. In any hunter's trophy hall, the heads of his query are displayed with pride. So what is the fascination with heads? Even on our modern day currency we have the head of people stamped on it.

Perhaps, the threads go much deeper than we think. Psychologicly speaking, concern lies in behavior which is assumed to be controlled by the mind. Interesting in that if taken back to the root meaning of psychology, we find it means, "Study of the soul". In years past this was scoffed at because in the search to be a science, many psychologist and the like dismissed spirituality as delusional type thinking. It has only been recently spirituality and psychology have shaken hands with each other.

A profound saying, "The eyes are the windows to the soul." Criminology today has not totally dismissed the idea criminals share common features such as ear types, skulls shaped a certain way and other such features. All associated and situated on the head. In ancient times, it was the head which was usually displayed. Cosmetics companies advertise solely for the facial beauty of us all. Again, centered around the face. I have never seen or heard Mary Kay sellers talk about inner beauty, the beauty of the heart.

The intellect resides in the mind, so our culture believes. When we use words such as "figure head" are we in fact deep down resonating to the deeper calls from our ancestors which gave us the traditions of Bran the Blessed? What spiritual traditions and truths do these types of teaching give to us? Perhaps, as in many traditions, there is a paradoxical quality. In the song "Ask Alice" logic and proportion falls sloppy dead, and with Bran the Blessed and similar events this is at its best, for would one expect a severed head to live after separation of the body. Only the otherworld quality can accomplish this and perhaps here we have our warning. Without the intervention from a spiritual realm, our intellect and awareness falls short. Only when it is put into the healing cauldron do we reach a spiritual truth. But as all the traditions teach us, there is a danger when we stand between the worlds. Our expectations and ideas of normal are severed from us, and this in turn is the transforming event which moves us to a higher realm. To survive it, we must be open to it. To deny it means our spiritual, and perhaps physical death.