Metaphysical Time in Jorge Luis Borge’s “Garden of Forking P

1 a: the measured or measurable period during which an action, process, or condition exists or continues : DURATION b: a nonspatial continuum that is measured in terms of events which succeed one another from past through present to future… 2: the point or period when something occurs: OCCASION 3 a: an appointed, fixed, or customary moment or hour for something to happen, begin, or end b: an opportune or suitable moment 4 a: an historical period : AGE…8 a: a moment, hour, day, or year as indicated by a clock or calendar b: any of various systems (as sidereal or solar) of reckoning time….. (1231)

It appears that the definition of “time” depends on how we measure it.

Is time constant? For our lives to make sense, it must be. Seconds must tick into minutes; minutes must form hours

Upon reaching the top of the mountain, Faust encounters witches, wizards, spirits, and lost souls. Faust is entertained by demons and dancing. Eventually, he falls asleep and dreams of the marriage of the king and queen of the fairies and other fantastic events. Here we have two separate instances of ritual space and metaphysical time. First, the Walpurgisnacht festivities themselves utilize ritual space. Pagan rites take place on sacred ground. Though this is a mutated, Christianized version of the original festival, the assumption holds that the peak of Brocken Mountain is held as sacred ground to the participants. For that matter, any place one returns to regularly for the same purpose becomes sacred in some way, if by no other means than one’s fond memories. Think back to the time when you were young. At some point in time during the holidays, your family most likely traveled to a relative’s home for a family meal. Maybe it was your grandmother’s house or that of a favorite aunt. You probably remember the smell of something sweet baking in the oven or the family gathered to exchange gifts. This became a family ritual. Due to your fond memories, even if the ritual no longer takes place due to time and circumstance, this family member’s home has become personally sacred to you. Similarly, Brocken Mountain is sacred to Mephistopheles and his admirers. Spells were cast with dancing and rhyme, thus wrinkling the fabric of space and time. Thus you read the episode literally, as happening in a matter of normal hours, most likely between midnight and 4:00 am, the “traditional” hours for witches to be active. Think about the number of entities Faust encounters and the dances he participates in. Is it possible for him to ascend the mountain and do so much in four short hours? It is clear he exists in a bubble in spacetime, a metaphysical time.

We have established that time is not constant. The concepts of past, present, and future do not depend on the flow of time. Yu Tsun states, “Then I reflected that everything happens to a man precisely, precisely now. Centuries of centuries and only in the present…,” early in “The Garden of Forking Paths” (Borges 2874). Now is the only constant state yet ever changes.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was initiated into the Masons on June 23, 1780 after petitioning the Master of Lodge Amalia in Weimare, Germany (Grand Lodge of Costa Rica). He wrote the first part of Faust in 1808 and the second in 1832, just before his death. The Masons are a secretive organization descended from the Knights Templar. Very little of their practices are shared with outsiders. What is commonly known is they worship the Christian God, show respect for the gods of ancient Rome and Greece through re-enacting myths, and they believe that man has the power to shape the world around them through metaphysical means. A former Mason, who wishes to remain anonymous, once told me, “Masons believe the powers of the Saints are inherent in every person. The closer one walks to God, the easier it becomes to use these powers. At the same time, the temptation to use them for ill means grows. If you succumb to this temptation, you become an agent of Satan and no longer walk with God.” I remember this well, as if it were just spoken instead of related to me years ago.

Symbols are important in magikal workings. Masonry utilizes several star symbols. The most relevant to our study is a five-pointed star surrounded by a circle. Depending on the orientation of the points, the five-pointed star can have one of two names. If one point is directed upwards, it is called a pentacle and represents the cycle of life from birth through death and rebirth, or the five points of the human body, the heads, hands, and feet. If one point is directed downwards, it is called a pentagram and is associated with Satanic/demonic purposes. One way to think about it is, “One point up, pent

Some topics in this essay:
Goethe’s Faust, Using Masonic-like, Rome Greece, Brocken Mountain, Paths” Borges, Temple Mass, Collegiate Dictionary, Streghans Asatruans, Kalaharian African, Dr Albert, dr albert, dr tsun, ritual space, forking paths”, “the garden forking, garden forking paths”, garden forking, “the garden, brocken mountain, fabric space, sacred space, modern science, albert dr tsun, mephistopheles trapped pentagram, sacred ritual space,