"The chessboard consists of 64 squares
alternately black and white and symbolizes the floor of the House of the Mysteries.
Upon this field of existence or thought move a number of strangely carved
figures, each according to fixed law. The white king is Ormuzd; the black king,
Ahriman; and upon the plains of Cosmos the great war between Light and Darkness is
fought through all the ages. Of the philosophical constitution of man, the kings
represent the spirit; the queens the mind; the bishops the emotions; the
knights the vitality; the castles, or rooks, the physical body. The pieces upon
the kings' side are positive; those upon the queens' side, negative. The pawns
are the sensory impulses and perceptive faculties--the eight parts of the soul.
The white king and his suite symbolize the Self and its vehicles; the black
king and his retinue, the not-self--the false Ego and its legion.
The game of chess thus sets forth the eternal struggle
of each part of man's compound nature against the shadow of itself. The nature
of each of the chessmen is revealed by the way in which it moves; geometry is the key to their
interpretation. For example: The castle (the body) moves on the square; the bishop (the emotions)
moves on the slant; the king, being the spirit, cannot be captured, but loses
the battle when so surrounded that it cannot escape."
No comments:
Post a Comment