Symbolism: Emergency EP Artwork

Greetings fellow travellers of space and time, rest yer weary bones. Take a moment to feast upon some esoteric knowledge. Perhaps you will learn something new. This entry explores the symbolism in the artwork from the Emergency EP, our trilogy of interpretation. Our guitarist, Sködt created the cover art for each song. So without further ado…

<a href="https://5thprojekt.bandcamp.com/track/burn-the-witch">Burn the Witch by 5th PROJEKT</a>

Burn The Witch

Previously, we introduced the triple moon goddess in an entry about the symbolism we used in the making of our music video for Burn The Witch, a song originally written by Radiohead. The triple moon goddess symbol (the trinity of maiden, mother, crone described in this post) represents moon magick, Wicca, witchcraft, women and the sacred feminine.

Tara, used the triple goddess symbol for her solo album, Panorama.

Fire is a symbol of rebirth, regeneration, transformation and revelation. The flames of our single’s cover art are made of eight points (the outer flame 5 = symbolic of the pentagram or earth magick, the elements, the orbit of Venus, health, humanity, etc, and the inner flame 3 = holy trinity, echoing the maiden, mother, crone). Together, these 8 points are symbolic of rebirth.

The dark moon, like the egg within the flames, is also symbolic of rebirth, much like the Phoenix. In myth, the phoenix dies in flames only to be reborn again from an egg out of those flames to share its gifts of music and culture again with the world. Symbolically, this represents the Great Awakening, or Great Revelation of the Ages. A rekindling of the ancient sacred flame present in each of us.

A circle or dot surrounded by the active element of fire can also be interpreted as an awakened ajna, or 3rd eye, often associated with ascended consciousness. Combined with the triple goddess, it represents a collective rebirth & return of moon magick, the reverence for the sacred feminine, to complement and balance the sacred masculine.

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<a href="https://5thprojekt.bandcamp.com/album/emergency">Emergency by 5th PROJEKT</a>

Emergency

The album cover for the Emergency EP plays off of The Tragically Hip lyric, “an endless emergency without end”.

The cross is a universal mark found in every corner of the planet that dates back to prehistory. Within the cross holds the symbolic meaning of the tree of life (our body), reflecting the infinite cycle of divine nature and the elements. Although the neon colour suggests the origin of this particular nature is man-made, perhaps a reference to The Fall of consciousness into matter, lost in the illusion of the creation.

The neon cross also suggests a modern association with western medicine, specifically military, where modern medicine originated on the battlefield. Trauma-based medicine excels in dealing with physical injuries, but not necessarily those of the psyche or the mind.

The Caduceus (Staff of Hermes)

The infinity sign is a derivation of the Ouroboros, a snake eating its tail. Placed on the cross, this is an abstracted depiction of the Caduceus, often associated with the western allopathic medical system since military adoption of the staff in 1902. The Caduceus is also symbolic for cosmic energy, duality, the union of opposites, and rising kundalini energy. Carl Jung believed kundalini energy to be an aid to awaken pure consciousness.

If you think about the inevitability of what’s being called the Great Awakening or Great Revelation of The Ages, this represents the cyclical rising of kundalini energy throughout the populace that leads to the ascended consciousness required to usher in the cornerstone of the coming Golden Age. Many awakened kundalini experiences are brought on by trauma, as was the case with both our guitarist, Sködt, and Chance Gardiner of Magical Egypt. It’s safe to say that we’re in the midst of some serious group trauma as a population right now. Perhaps this will accelerate our collective awakening?

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<a href="https://5thprojekt.bandcamp.com/track/were-in-this-together">We're In This Together by 5th PROJEKT</a>

We’re In This Together

The artwork for our Nine Inch Nails cover of We’re In This Together, is an ancient symbol presently used all around the world to protect against the forces of the Evil Eye. The Khamsa – or The Hand – is referred to by many names from land to land. The Hand predates the 3 Abrahamic religions, although it has always been used as a symbol of power, strength, action, domination and protection from evil, illness, or bad luck. Universally, it brings the wearer good fortune. Depicted upright as in our single cover art pictured above, it wards off evil in all machinations. Depicted with the fingers facing down, it confers blessings and good favour.

Mano Pantea

The origin of the Khamsa is unclear, but its use can be traced back to ancient civilizations that claim antediluvian origins, like Egypt. There is a tale claiming the Khamsa has its origins in the Mano Pantea, The Hand of the All-Goddess, a symbol adopted from ancient Egypt were it was referred to as The 2 Fingers. The 2 fingers pointing to the sky are said to represent Isis and Osiris (the sacred feminine and sacred masculine energies), and the open thumb, their son Horus. This mudra has been adopted by Roman Christianity to refer to the Trinity.

The eye in the centre of the palm is also said to have originated from the Egyptian Eye of Horus, which we previously spoke about in this entry. In the iconography of art history, the eye in the palm symbolizes clairvoyance, while representing compassionate wisdom in the Buddhist philosophy.

The Khamsa (which literally means 5 in Arabic) is associated with the number 5 and the 5 digits of the right hand, or white magick (the left hand path referring to black magick). The 5 digits of the hand are representative of the body (2 legs, 2 arms, 1 head). In Pagan traditions, The Hand of Venus represents the morning star, due to the pentagram created by its orbit symbolized by the 5 digits. In Islam, the Hand of Fatima (the daughter of Muhammad) is said to represent the 5 Pillars of faith, prayer, pilgrimage, fasting, and charity. In Christianity, the Hand of Mary is said to bestow the 5 benefits: protection from the evil eye, strengthen the weak, increase fertility, provide a healthy pregnancy, and boost lactation.

Interestingly enough, after Spain had been wrestled from the Moors, King Charles V, in a 1526 decree, banned all open right hand amulets. To add a bit of intrigue, not only is the king the 5th Charles, but the year is also reduced to 5 in numerology: 1+5+2+6=14, where 1+4=5.

5th PROJEKT: Peter, Nathan, Tara, Sködt (L-R)

Echoes of the past… This isn’t the first time that we’ve featured the Khamsa in our artwork. Pictured above, the band photo for our first album, CiRCADiAN, had a subtle Khamsa made from Tara and Sködt’s hand. We played with a computer scanner to create this composite photo – a modern adaptation of the technique of using a photocopier – like on the cover of The Tragically Hip’s, Fully Completely, and Tori Amos‘, From the Choirgirl Hotel.

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