For the launch of Anja Rubik’s new magazine, 25, photographer and director Barnaby Roper teamed up with Kanye West to make a video dedicated to the issue’s theme of eroticism. The result is, well, umm…Satanic. I can’t really find another way of  describing it, because it is neither cool, nor fun or even interesting.

Mixing Christian images with BDSM has  been done ad-nauseam by pretty much every pop star the industry decided to shove down our collective throat and this video just wants to keep it going. However, today, the industry is not about being “original”, “artistic” or even “shocking” anymore, it is about bombarding the youth with the same set of images and meanings until it is completely indoctrinated.

While it is said that the video is about making eroticism “beautiful”, most probably get the feeling that it makes eroticism appear evil and wrong. It is full of what I call “semi-subliminals”, images that are flashed for a split second but long enough to be recognized. And these images are not very pretty. Let’s look at the some of the video’s scenes.

Kanye with one eye hidden…you know what that stands for.

The video begins with Kanye saying:

“Through me, the way into the suffering city,
Through me, the way to everlasting pain,
Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

This is an excerpt from Dante’s epic poem Inferno, specifically Canto III: The Gate of Hell. As its name states, that part of the poem describes what is written at the Gate of Hell – which is a somewhat strange introduction for a video about sexuality. It is however fitting, because the video is all about pain, suffering and evil.

The video then consists of images of people dressed in bondage with a whole lot of kaleidoscope effects. Images are quickly flashed and  many contain “shocking” symbolism. Well it was shocking in 1992. Now it is just repeated propaganda.

Topless woman posing as Jesus Christ…GENIUS! Wait, no, extremely lame.

Woman in bondage suit with cross over her face and an inverted pentagram (symbol of Satanism) in the background.

The head of Baphomet is flashed for a split second during the video.

Serpents emerging out of woman’s genitalia…Sex = Evil?

A woman getting suffocated in weird mask. Glamorizing torture and mixing it with sex is a way mass media attempts to debase the youth.

Fooling around with a skeleton (death) and a gun being shot…now that’s sexy.

Skull on woman’s genitalia…Sex = Death?

The video oddly ends with a triangle with an illuminated top, something that resembles the pyramid with all-seeing eye.

There is no in-depth analysis needed for this video: It is just a collection of clichéd images the industry keeps bombarding the youth with, juxtaposing one symbol over another and creating associations in the viewer’s minds. Why does sexuality always has to be associated with evil, violence and torture? Why does fashion always has to look like snuff films depicting live and real violence?

The answer is complex but also quite simply. It is about debasing the youth, furthering it from what is real and pure and introducing it to the elite’s perverted and twisted world.

The post Kanye West’s “Sensual” Video for New Fashion Magazine appeared first on The Vigilant Citizen.

What does Jay-Z have in common with Adam Lambert? At first glance, nothing at all. At second glance, they’re mainstream artists part of the music industry and at some point, even though they differ in style and substance, they are expected to push the agenda of the elite. As we discussed in the article The Transhumanist and Police State Agenda in Pop Music, the entertainment industry is used to promote and normalize the concept of a police state in the eyes of young people. Since the publishing of that article in early 2010, many other artists have featured an oppressive police force and violent repression as part of their works. From performances in live shows to music videos, there is a conscious and constant effort to associate the cool and sexy aura of pop stars with the otherwise abhorrent sight of riot police in a free society.

Two recent examples of the perpetuation of the police state agenda in popular culture are Jay-Z and Kanye West’s music video No Church in the Wild and Adam Lambert’s Never Close our Eyes. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the fact that these songs are two different genres that aim to reach two different markets, they both contribute to the saturation of popular culture with police state imagery. While the authorities are not necessarily portrayed as the “good guys”, they are nevertheless there, as if their presence at any kind of public demonstration is normal. Let’s look at the symbolism and the underlying meaning of these two videos.

No Church in the Wild

No Church in the Wild has rather profound philosophical implications. The lyrics are of course up for interpretation, one of which is that the song is a rejection of religious dogma to embrace a more humanist (and maybe hedonistic) way of life. The title of the song itself is a figurative way of saying that religious institutions such as the Church are unnecessary human constructs that are not found in nature. That being said, the video consists of lovely footage of trees and streams … oh no, actually the video is about a bunch of dudes getting beat up by riot police. Why? What’s the relationship to the lyrics? I am not totally sure, but the video is pretty much five straight minutes of angry rioters and violent police repression. A great way to desensitize young people to the concept of police state.

The video begins with a guy lighting up a Molotov cocktail in Prague (although some shots appear to be taken in Paris, France).

In the video, the rioters do not appear to have a valid cause and they are clearly portrayed as the aggressors.

So, right away, we are right in the middle of a confrontation between police in riot gear and young rioters. There is no prior explanation and the rioters have been given no “noble cause” to defend. Even if they do, the viewer is not made aware of it, sort of how mass media relays stories of riots across the world. We’re just seeing senseless violence that is initiated by rioters.

The rioters are angry and aggressive. Without a back story describing the source of their grief, it is rather hard to identify with them.

The policemen do not take this crap for long. The young guys charge, violently, giving police an excuse to take out their shiny weapons and retaliate with even more violence.  And boy, do they bash on them.

This guy gets clubbed back to sanity.

This one gets his feet swiped off to fall on his back while other policemen apparently laugh at him.

This one gets a face full of tear gas at point blank range, a lot like student protestors at UC Davis. I am pretty sure that this is NOT the way the user manual recommends using tear gas.

All of these scenes happen in slow motion with a cool beat in the background. As Dave Chappelle once said in his legendary Chappelle Show, everything looks cool in slow motion. Even police clubbing down a young defenseless guy. Is police oppression being glamorized in an indirect way? Here’s a strange juxtaposition of images:

This guy got chased down by police cavaliers and got smacked right on the head with a nightstick.

Right after this scene, we see a shot of a statue that gives a deeper meaning to the violence shown.

Right after we see a rioter get clubbed down by a policeman, we see a shot of a statue of Theseus clubbing the Minotaur. This story from Greek mythology esoterically represents the slaying of man’s “lower animal” side in order to achieve illumination. Is the video saying that the rioting masses are the “lower animal” side of society that needs to be tamed (or slayed) by the illuminated?

The video features several other dramatic shots of sculptures found in Paris, notably a few from the Arc de Triomphe. As we’ve seen in the series of articles Sinister Sites, sculptures and monuments in major cities are often imbued with the symbolism, mythology and philosophy of the world elite and the secret societies behind it. Since these massive monuments are often commissioned and funded by members of the world elite, it is rather expected that they represent them and their views. In the context of the video, showing these stone monuments implacably overlooking the chaos that is happening on street level is a reminder that the elite is seeing what is happening and probably approves of it. After all, isn’t the Masonic motto of the world elite Ordo Ab Chao (Order Out of Chaos)?

Later in the video, day turns into night … and strobe lights, the kind we usually see in clubs and raves, appear in the riot scene.

Police in riot gear surrounded by strobe lights. They are really trying to associate police with stuff young people enjoy.

Usually when strobe lights are on, it is because something cool is happening, like music, partying or dancing. That being said, why are they around police in riot gear? Are we trying to confuse young minds with good old-fashioned cognitive dissonance? Just in case you might be confused: Being repressed by police does NOT equals a party.

At the end of the video, nobody truly wins or loses. Rioters fight back and appear triumphant while police still stand their ground. In other words, nothing has changed and status quo is preserved. An elephant makes an odd appearance in the streets of Paris, reminding the viewers that the “wild” in question is, in fact, our society, where people act like animals and the strongest one wins. In this wilderness, there is no Church, no respite from the savagery, just the stone gaze of statues overlooking the violence. These sculptures represent the puppet masters, those who pull the strings on both sides in order to advance their agenda of a more controlled and repressive society.

Never Close Our Eyes

While Adam Lambert’s song Never Close Our Eyes differs greatly from No Church in the Wild, it still exposes young people to the same kind of imagery and ends a similar way: An illusion of victory by the revolutionaries – with a special emphasis on the word “illusion”.

Never Close Our Eyes takes place in a dystopian future (in mass media, the future is ALWAYS dystopian) in a setting that is reminiscent of George Lucas’ movie THX 1138 or Michael Bay’s The Island, where Adam Lambert finds himself living in a tightly monitored community (or prison), surrounded by emotion-less and zombie-like denizens.

Never Close Our Eyes is yet another video set in a dystopian future, characterized by the omnipresence of surveillance cameras. If we are not already in this vision of the future, we’re definitely heading directly towards it.

In this giant compound, the inhabitants are constantly under surveillance, are fed and sedated with pills and have their individuality repressed through eye color removal.

Adam and his mates must enter soul-sucking machines that remove the color from people’s eyes – representing the lost of free will and individuality. Isn’t that what TVs are for?

Adam’s eye color however stays the same – meaning that he rejects the system’s indoctrination. He ultimately gets fed up and starts an uprising. A funky uprising.

Adam doesn’t feel like doing back-breaking labor anymore. So he gets up in defiance and runs away with a few other rebels.

Adam and his crew then run towards the exit in order to escape the Big Brother prison.

So up until now, one could say: “Finally, someone who stands up to this NWO crap and delivers an inspiring message”. Most critics effectively describe this video as “Adam Lambert destroying Big Brother with dance”. But does he really destroy Big Brother? Let’s look at the rest of the video and see what really happens.

A bunch of officers meet the rebels at the fence and shoot smoke at them – turning the place into a dance floor!

In No Church in the Wild, police were surrounded by strobe lights and in Never Close our Eyes, they walk around with smoke makers like those found in clubs. Wow, riot police always really bring fun everywhere they go!

After getting smoked, do Adam and his friends fight harder to tear down the fence and run away? Nope, they stay behind the fence and start dancing. Does that equal destroying Big Brother? Last time I checked: No.

After being smoked out by the police, Adam and his friends are shown dressed in colorful attire and performing super funky choreography. Take that Big Brother!

If you look closely at the dance scene, Adam’s clothes keep changing, which may hint that the whole thing is just one big illusion or hallucination. Were they drugged by the gas? Is this all happening in their heads? Is all this dancing just “smoke and mirrors” making them believe that they’re free and happy? One thing is for sure, the entire thing seems to have confused Adam and his friends because, at the end of the video, they actually run back to where they came from!

Hey gang, freedom is the other way! Why are you running back there? Why are you so happy? Why … awww screw it I give up.

To sum up the video, Adam rebels against a highly monitored system where everyone is controlled and sedated. He runs towards freedom but, when he is met with police with smoke guns, his rebellion turns into a colorful party and, when all is said and done, nothing really happens. The rebels get all happy and cheerful, dance for a while and run back to Big Brother.

We can parallel the conclusion of this video to what happens in America and the world. While the masses are increasingly getting our rights revoked, our privacy eradicated and our freedoms taken away, we do nothing about it. We are distracted with smoke and mirrors, television and cinema, escapism and denial. We celebrate a contrived and fabricated illusion of freedom, then run right back to the comfort of the elite-controlled society, allowing the elite to pursue their agenda uncontested. As Frank Zappa said: “The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.”

In Conclusion

Jay-Z and Kanye West’s No Church in the Wild and Adam Lambert’s Never Close Our Eyes are two examples of a widespread and continual effort to promote police state imagery on TVs, movie screens and computer monitors across the world. Associating cool artists who are adored by millions of people with riot police not only normalizes the concept of a police state but also creates an unconscious positive association in the minds of the viewers. Meanwhile, in real life, protests across the Western world are increasingly being met with riot police. Violent repression, brutal arrests and sophisticated weaponry are being used with less and less restraint and are even becoming the norm. Peaceful protests are often purposely sabotaged by paid agent provocateurs who incite violence, “legitimizing” the police repression.

Do not be fooled by the smoke and mirrors that make up the news and music videos: The presence of heavily armed police forces during public demonstrations is not normal; rather, it is an aberration in a free and democratic society. However, this obvious fact seems to have been forgotten as police state laws and tactics and weaponry are being deployed with increasingly frequency across the world. But there is nothing cool or normal about riot police … even if they are shown with strobe lights in a Jay-Z video. Even if they dance around with Rihanna, Beyonce or Lady Gaga. Even if they’re in all the video games. An oppressive police force is the opposite of normal in a free and just society. And if riot police ever do become normal, the elite will have accomplished an incredible feat: Duping the masses into accepting a police state, without it even knowing it.

The post The Police State Agenda in Jay-Z and Kanye’s “No Church in the Wild” and Adam Lambert’s “Never Close Our Eyes” appeared first on The Vigilant Citizen.

Rapper and producer Kanye West has always found a way to stand out from the crowd. His video Power is no exception. It differs from the MTV norm in many regards, whether you look at the content or the form. The duration of the video, the filming style and the subject matter are quite distinct from today’s typical rap videos as it is short (1:43), filmed in a single shot (compared to the one-shot-per-second standard of music videos) and is very rich in archetypal symbolism.

Director Marco Brambilla sought to depict the concept of power in the form of a “video tableau”, a moving painting that slowly reveals itself to the viewer with a continuous camera movement. The director seem to have perfected this technique in his previous creation, Civilization, a video mural created for the new Standard Hotel in New-York city. The symbolism present there is simply overwhelming. Here it is:

For Power, Brambilla went for a neo-classic aesthetic, but still created a piece full of symbolic and cultural references. As it was the case for paintings of the neo-classic era, each object, each symbol and each detail in the video conveys an important meaning, a meaning that is needed to understand the entire story. As we will see later, many symbols in the video have a deep occult meaning and many of them point to Freemasonry and Mystery schools. By doing so, the director clearly states what type of power is being presented in the video. We will therefore look at the meaning of the symbols displayed in the video as they appear in the shot. If you haven’t seen it, here it is:

Symbols of the Video

The video starts off with a close-up of Kanye West with glow-in-the-dark eyes, as if he was “illuminated” from within. He stands between an infinite row of Ionic columns, which represent “wisdom” in Masonic symbolism.

Kanye with illuminated eyes between rows of twin pillars

Two Pillars

As regular readers of this site already know, the occult meaning of the twin pillars is ancient, profound and present in the symbolism of almost all mystery schools of History. There are many layers of interpretation attributed to the two columns, but one constant is always present: The pillars represent the entrance – the gateway – to the world of the initiate. Behind the columns can be found the key to the Mysteries and, consequently, the source of true power. This concept has been used for in many cultures and schools of thought.

The two columns called the “Pillars of Hercules” in Ancient Greece stood at the gateway to the sphere of the enlightened

“The city of the philosophic elect rises from the highest mountain peak of the earth, and here the gods of the wise dwell together in everlasting felicity. In the foreground are the symbolic pillars of Hercules which appear on the title page of Bacon’s Novum Organum, and between them runs the path which leads upward from the uncertainties of earth to that perfect order which is established in the sphere of the enlightened. “
- Manly P. Hall

Pillars of Hercules in Francis Bacon’s “New Atlantis” as a gateway to the New World

Two pillars leading to Jacob’s Ladder in this Masonic tracing board

Masonic initiate standing between the twin pillars as the third pillar, in the same fashion as Kanye West in the video.

In Power, Kanye is standing at the mouth of the gateway to the “sphere of the enlightened,” right at the border of the corrupt and decadent material world. So, right from the start of the video, the director reveals the true nature of power in this world: It is not your democratically elected officials, but those who consider themselves to be behind those pillars. One of the most significant lines of the song is

“In this white man’s world, we the ones chosen”

Does Kanye’s “white man’s world” refer to the hidden rulers, the Illuminati, who are hidden behind those pillars? Did they choose Kanye West and give him Power by permitting him to become an influential figure in the entertainment industry? Was he chosen to become one of them? The next symbol might shed some light into this.

Horus

Horus pendant on Kanye’s chain

The next thing that catches the viewer’s eye is most probably that gigantic chain with Horus’ head as a pendant. Horus is an ancient Egyptian deity that has an extreme importance in occult mysteries. Considered to be the Sky god, he is more often represented with the symbol of a single eye.  The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and royal power from deities, in this case from Horus or Ra.

“Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, was called “Horus who rules with two eyes.” His right eye was white representing the sun while his left eye was black representing the moon. According to Egyptian legend Horus lost his left eye during a fight with his murderous uncle, Seth, to revenged his father’s death. Seth tore out his nephew’s eye but lost the fight because the assembly of the gods declared Horus the victor. The eye was reassembled by the magic of Thoth. Then Horus gave the eye to Osiris who experienced rebirth in the underworld.”
- Jordan Michael, Encyclopedia of Gods

Horus, god of the sky

The importance of the “one-eye” in occult symbolism has been highlighted in many articles on The Vigilant Citizen. The All-Seeing Eye found on the Great Seal of the United States and many other occult symbols originate from the Eye of Horus.

The Eye of Horus as depicted by the Golden Dawn Mystery School

The symbolism of Horus is especially of great importance in Freemasonry, as the path of an initiate through the Masonic degrees is described as the process by which the Eye of Horus is opened.

So Kanye stands at the gateway between the corrupt world of the profane and the exclusive world of the illuminated, wearing a Horus pendant, an unmistakable symbol of the Mysteries. One might say: “Well maybe Kanye just likes Egyptian things.” Maybe so, but in the context of this video, where all details are important and extremely meaningful, Horus becomes another piece of this symbolic puzzle.

Horned Girls

The entrance of the gateway of pillars is guarded by two horned albino girls holding a staff. Their features are very reminiscent of depictions of Isis and Hathor, goddesses of ancient Egypt. Another allusion to Egyptian magic.

Kanye standing between two horned female figures

Isis and Hathor crowning Queen Nefertari. Both goddesses were depicted with bovine horns on their heads.

Isis was the mother of Horus (discussed above) and was the goddess of motherhood, nature and magic. Hathor was also considered as a maternal deity while also being the goddess of music, dance and fertility. Both Isis and Hathor were known to welcome and protect the dead during their journey to the afterlife, a concept that is particularly interesting in the context of the video.

Hathor holding a sceptre with Pharaoh Ramses II

“The goddess (Hathor) [...] manifests two aspects of her divine power: first of all, she participates in the afterlife rite of passage, by means of which the deceased attains eternal life, and, second, she demonstrates her special connection to the Egyptian king. Hathor is rightly called a royal goddess, and in this role she is linked in various ways to the life of the pharaoh. Often the pharaoh would call himself the oldest son of Hathor.”
-  Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism

Kanye, perhaps symbolizing the Pharaoh, is standing at the gateway to eternal wisdom, about to be executed/assassinated/sacrificed under the watchful eyes of Hathor, the “royal goddess.” Are the goddesses welcoming Kanye “behind the veil,” protecting him in this rite of passage to immortality? In occult circles, new candidates must symbolically die and be reborn to complete their initiation process. Is Kanye being killed an allegory for his initiation?

Sword of Damocles

Sword hanging above Kanye West’s head

While doing some preliminary research on this video, I came across an article on MTV.com titled Kanye West’s ‘Power’ Video: A Cultural Cheat Sheet. Here’s what it says about the sword hanging above his head:

“Dragonlance: An image of a sword descending into a crown hovers over Kanye’s head, bringing to mind Volume Two of Douglas Niles’ series “The Crown and the Sword: The Rise of Solamnia,” in which Sir Jaymes Markham commands the orders of the Rose, Sword and Crown.”
- Kanye West’s ‘Power’ Video: A Cultural Cheat Sheet, MTV.com

Really? The director of this neo-classical themed video, was inspired by an obscure fantasy novel released in, like, 2006? Seriously? Good job, MTV, in keeping our youth clueless. The descending sword is more probably a reference to the Sword of Damocles, a pretty widely known legend.

Wenceslas Hollar’s depiction of the Sword of Damocles

The tale of the Sword epitomizes the constant danger faced by those in positions of power. Kanye stands there, in a state of  impending doom, knowing he can be executed at any time. Right after we see the sword of Damocles, a figure appears holding a dagger and attempting to stab him. The assassination will not happen by dagger, however, as two other figures leap out of nowhere holding swords to accomplish the “Killing of the King.”

Killing of the King – The Initiation

Ritual initiation represented in a display of geometry and symmetry

At the ending of the video,  the decadent women and the dagger-holding assassins all disappear as two swords are about to hit him. Are we sacrificing the King?

The concept of regicide is reflected in the single’s cover art. It depicts Kanye’s severed, crowned head with a sword firmly jammed into it. Apparently Kanye was king and he got killed. Is this a symbol for a Masonic ritual? Note the stone on which Kanye’s head is placed. Is it the “perfect ashlar” of the Masons that represents the state of a perfected initiate?

Covert art of Power portraying the killing of Kanye West as a king.

A perfect ashlar in a Masonic lodge. In Masonic symbolism, the candidates start their journeys as allegorical “rough ashlars” and, through knowledge and wisdom, smooth out their edges in order to become a perfect ashlar.

Some occult researchers have stated that the “Killing of the King” is the name of a Masonic rite of passage to obtain the 33rd degree (see “King Kill 33″ by James Shelby Downard & Michael A. Hoffman II). Semi-interesting sidenote: King Kill 33 is also the name of a Marilyn Mason song, with rather interesting lyrics. Another sidenote: Researchers have reported that  Killing of the King rites often happens in public, as more witnesses give more power to the ritual, hence … JFK. A completely crazy theory?… DYR (Do your research).

Back to Kanye and his standing … the two swords flying towards him never actually touch him but instead form a triangular shape above his head, possibly hinting to a “symbolic” killing and not an actual one. Notice the position of the crown above Kanye’s head. The combination of those elements form an interesting image.

Masonic Square and Compass

In Conclusion

To sum up the the video, Kanye stands at the border between Masonic knowledge and the decadence of the mundane life, represented by lustful and gluttonous women, lounging around eating grapes. Kanye says “goodbye cruel world / I see you in the morning“, as he has been “chosen” to take part in an initiation process that is often metaphorically described as a “long night,” followed by a glorious awakening as a new being. In order to accomplish this, Kanye needs to kill his old self and be ritualistically reborn. Once this is done, true power is within his grasp.

This “moving painting” is definitely a multi-layered artwork, with many levels of interpretation: the first level is a commentary on power by using timeless symbols taken from ancient art; the second level describes a Masonic initiation with a ritual murder and an imminent rebirth.

This video lasts a mere minute and forty-three seconds but it manages to give the viewers plenty to ponder on and many symbols to decode. Looking at its meaning from a pop culture point of view, it is interesting to note that this short-film, intended to be viewed by the general public (especially young people), describes the concept of power with overt Masonic symbolism and occult references. This causes the uninformed viewers to unconsciously associate those symbols with the concept of Power, while “those in the know” get the “insider’s wink” sent by this video. Power ultimately becomes another piece in the on-going process called the “Revelation of the Method,” where the true source of power gradually and subliminally reveals itself to the world and occult rituals take place right in front of the public’s eyes.

How long before the complete revelation?

“The clock’s tickin’ / I just count the hours”

The post Kanye West’s “Power”: The Occult Meaning of its Symbols appeared first on The Vigilant Citizen.