THUS SPOKE TALIESYN
Alexander Kopytin
Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Department of Psychology, St. Petersburg Academy of Postgraduate Pedagogical Studies (St.-Petersburg, Russian Federation)
I was inspired to write a series of poems called “Thus Spoke Taliesyn” by the poetic legacy of the poet of the Early Middle Ages (who lived in the 6th century AD), as well as the works of other authors who were influenced by him. In the image of this bard, in his very perception of the world, as far as one can judge from the relatively few surviving poems, I found the embodiment of the archetypal ideal of the Poet, who feels not only the human drama, but also the universe, our planet, his native Wales, and who is capable of communicating not only with his contemporaries, but also with nature itself and the Web of Life.
The historical Taliesyn is the oldest of the poets who wrote in the Welsh language. His name is associated mainly with the “Book of Taliesyn”. It includes poetry written in the 6th century by the historical Taliesyn, as well as texts presumably written in the 15th, 16th, and possibly earlier, in the 10th and 11th centuries. Taliesyn later became the hero of a legend written down or created in the 16th century by Elis Gruffydd, probably based on the oral tradition.
The biography of Taliesyn is almost unknown, and can only be reconstructed from indirect references in the poems of other authors. Taliesyn was a court poet and wrote poems praising those rulers in the territory of Wales in whose service he was. Through the Welsh cultural tradition, he could have been introduced to the knowledge of the Druids and apparently could also read texts in Latin, and, presumably, he was able to integrate the knowledge and practices characteristic of ancient Celtic culture with a monotheistic worldview.
More is known about the legendary Taliesyn than the historical one. He was credited with prophetic abilities and a unique poetic gift. Later, in the era of romanticism and in the 20th century, he became popular among authors writing historical novels and works in the fantasy genre, especially those based on plots from Celtic mythology.
The appeal to the figure of Taliesyn and the attempts of various authors to endow him with certain sought-after qualities - wisdom, the ability to use creative imagination and vision, etc. - have something in common with attempts to idealize a number of other historical figures. One of them is, for example, the figure of Zarathustra, who is credited with the authorship of the Avesta - the scriptures of Zoroastrianism. At one time, his image inspired Friedrich Nietzsche to write the philosophical saga, "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" [4]. In this work, however, Nietzsche describes Zarathustra's personality quite freely and turns him into an exponent of those thoughts and ideals that characterize Nietzsche himself more than Zarathustra and his teaching. Nevertheless, finding a legendary character who raised key questions about human existence and its morality helped Nietzsche formulate his ideas about the death of God, the will to power, and the superhuman.
Just as Nietzsche found his Hero in Zarathustra, helping the philosopher formulate his worldview and view of the superhuman, I also found my Hero in the person of Taliesyn. Identification with him and the use of poetic language helped me express my own life experience and picture of the world, as well as my ideal of eco-human beings, characteristic for ecological civilization [3, 5].
In the few surviving original poetic texts of Taliesyn himself, as well as the texts of his imitators and followers, the theme of human beings’ connection with the natural world, their ability to identify with different creatures and elements of nature, an animistic view of the world with its ecological basis is clearly visible. It lies in the recognition of the connection of everything with everything, the unity of humans with their living environment. Developing the idea of identification with the natural world, potentially inherent in human beings, the archetypal psychologist James Hillman once wrote about personification, which helps to distinguish between the different subjective qualities of humans and natural objects. “Personifying not only aids discrimination; it also offers another avenue of loving, of imagining things in a personal form so that we can find access to them with our hearts.” [2, p. 14]
Such a perception of the world, according to Jerome Bernstein [1], is transrational (but not irrational), connected with the comprehension of life as a “sacred” reality, when “everything animate and inanimate has within it a spiritual dimension and communicates in that dimension to those who can listen.” (p. 8) Thanks to this, we enter into communication with the “Kingdom” of the living world, fall in love with it and feel its creative, poetic beginning. Poetry, artistic words and creative imagination do not simply reflect or imitate nature and humans, but represent a “meeting place” for communication and connection of everything with everything, which is facilitated by “the spiritual perception of the heart in agreement with the thinking brain and the expressive body” [6]. The poetic images inspired by Taliesyn's works are born with the intention and the capacity to be present in the "Kingdom" of the more than human, and can serve as a bridge or means of communication with the "soul of the living world" [6]. My poetic cycle includes 12 poems. Below are seven of them, reflecting the main stages of the journey and metamorphosis of the legendary Taliesyn.
References
- Bernstein, J. (2005). Living in the Borderland. NY: Routledge.
- Hillman, J. (1995). Re-visioning psychology. NY: Harper Collins Press.
- Kopytin, A.; Gare, A. (2023). Ecopoiesis: A manifesto for ecological civilization. Ecopoiesis: Eco-Human Theory and Practice, 4(1). [open access internet journal]. – URL: http://en.ecopoiesis.ru (d/m/y)
- On the way to ecological civilization: The eco-human perspective (2024). (Eds. A. Kopytin, A. Gare, Z. Wang, S.K. Levine). Moscow: Kogito-Centre.
- Nietzsche, F. (1962). Thus spoke Zarathustra. Baltimore: Penguin Books.
- Rugh, M. Sitting on the edge of wonder. Art and animism in the service of person and planet healing. Ecopoiesis: Eco-Human Theory and Practice, 1(1). [open access internet journal]. – URL: http://ecopoiesis.ru (d/m/y)
I am Taliesin
I have been alive,
I have been dead,
I am Taliesyn.
I know why the cow has horns,
Why the night is tender,
Why milk is white,
And the flower is voluptuous.
I was the doe and the hunter who hunted her,
I was the arrow that pierced the doe's body,
I was her blood that flowed onto the deathbed of grass.
I was the moon looking at the forest where the hunt took place.
I was the surface of the lake in the forest, listening to the confessions of the moon.
And the forest path along which in the middle of the night
A lonely rider hurried to reach the chambers of his beloved before dawn.
I was the blue salmon,
The grains that sprouted on the hill.
And when they gathered us, ground us, and kneaded the dough, and put us in the oven,
I turned into bread and fed the people.
And then I became one of them, who compared himself to bread.
The one who was judged,
Who ascended to the cross as a saving sacrifice,
But at the same time I was also a nail that pierced His body.
I was a shroud covering flesh and blood.
And His image was imprinted on me.
But I was also the one who is invisible, and who is eternally coming from the Source of Being.
I became a mystery, a law and a miracle,
Filling the heart, the spaces of the Earth and the heavens.
I was alive,
I was dead.
I was resurrected.
I am Taliesyn.
Taliesyn's Metamorphosis
I have gone through a million changes.
I was in a cocoon, from which I emerged as a butterfly.
I was a seed that became a ripe ear.
I was a tree growing in a Welsh forest,
Giving shelter to birds.
And then I became a ship that ploughed the sea,
Opening new horizons.
Singing on the seven winds, having made friends with water and wind.
I was a landscape with three flowering willow bushes.
I was a spiral shell of a unicorn,
Carrying within itself the poiesis of earth and sky.
This land taught me the writing of stones,
Like the Tablets of the Covenant,
Revealing themselves on the path of a visionary.
I know the language of the wave.
I was a drop in the rain.
I was a sword in the grip of a hand.
I was a shield in battle.
I was a harp sounding in the hands of a bard,
I was a star in the eyes of a prophet,
Sprouted as a seed in the field of heaven,
Becoming the Universal Tree,
Gathering the fragments of a broken vessel on its branches,
When they turn green in the darkness of immeasurable emptiness.
I am the one who is given the ability to rustle the leaves,
Turning the pages of the Tree,
In whose chest all the sciences of the world are collected,
And a living heart beats.
The Great Path
Once upon a time, beyond time and space, the bard Taliesyn made his way in the darkness.
He was in the abyss, and he himself was like it.
The bard overturned the cherished vessel of being,
It shattered into countless fragments.
He released the energy and will to create that had arisen in him into the world.
“Let there be light! Let there be creation!” the bard exclaimed.
Thus, poiesis entered the world.
The bard continued his way among the stars,
Having become a poetic embodiment,
He himself was like the sounding stars.
He held the music instrument in his hands, played and sang tirelessly,
He shone in the darkness like a fragrant lily blossoming in the vastness of the universe.
“Let the Word be a flower and it will become melodious!” he uttered.
Thus, the expressive and speaking being of the world manifested itself.
Once on his way he picked up one of the fragments of the universe and saw the Earth.
"Oh, how beautiful she is!" - the bard exclaimed in his heart,
And the Earth was like his heart,
It began to beat and resound with firmament, air and water,
The fire of the sun warmed it, and it became a Song.
When the bard made his way on Earth,
A feeling of Home, his Promised Land and the will of the Family arose in him.
"Let the Earth be a Great Home, a blessed abode of Life for a huge Family!" - the bard proclaimed.
And he himself was like the Home and the huge Family living in it.
Thus ecopoiesis appeared in the world -
The creation of the abode of Life for a huge Family of different creatures and their polyphony.
And the bard played on the strings and sang along with Life in the Home.
He saw how different creatures multiply,
And how they die, bearing the Crown of Life, the Crown of Love,
Making its cycle on the Great Path.
“Let Love be the Crown of Life!
Let it be melodious, resounding under the sun and under the moon,” the bard proclaimed.
And Love became the Song of Songs.
The bard continued his path on Earth,
He became a mortal man.
He became like a bridegroom and a bride, a king and a queen, and he sang:
“Let you kiss me with the kisses of your mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
Draw me after you; let us run.”
Your name is like poured incense,
Lead me along with you – let us run away!
O my groom,
O my bride,
O my king,
O my queen.
Lead me into your chambers!"
The bard continued his earthly path.
He was now the king and the queen,
And those whom they gave birth to,
He was also their Great Home and everything that fills it,
The Great Family of Life.
The bard returned to his origins,
Collecting the fragments of the broken vessel.
Finding his being, his Path,
Like the Song of Songs.
Hallelujah!
The poet sings.
So a tree rustles with its leaves
And reaches out to the sun, outgrowing itself.
So a summer shower, shining like a thunderstorm,
Enters the earth's bosom with blessed moisture.
So the waves beat against the rocky shore and call tirelessly
To push off from the firmament and sail away on a long journey.
So the moonlight shines on the mirror of the lake
And leads the fish, rising from the depths, to the starry sources.
The song of Taliesyn is in the ears of grain,
Giving themselves in the name of life,
In the sound of the harp
In the bottomless sky,
The dance of hands touching the transcendental strings,
The rays of dawn penetrating the darkness.
There is that song - the crown and the birth of mystery,
In it the word of life breathes,
Filling the chest with the spirit of peace,
Emitting a cry of praise: "Hallelujah!"
Recitation: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/W58AN18x2nbh2w
Music: Ethereal, Shoshana Michel
You will have peace
The dark green leaves of the holly shine,
The needles in the palm have found their shelter and oblivion.
The scarlet clusters of drupes have seen the light –
“You will have peace” – such spoke Taliesyn.
The trill of the linnet will wake you, and on the long journey
The morning will blow, hope will sparkle with dew,
The sun will be in an embrace with the beautiful earth. –
“You will have peace” – thus spoke Taliesyn.
The swift-footed doe goes down to the valley, breathing
The evening air, which is full of the scent of flowers.
Recognizing the invitation to copulation in the song of the cicadas –
“You will have peace” – thus spoke Taliesyn.
The Friday sun has descended beyond the horizon,
The Queen lights candles before the secret of the night.
The abyss is filled with the prayer of the moon and the bracha, the blessing.
"You will have peace," – thus spoke Taliesyn.
Recitation: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/GK8gZWp2aUAIzQ
Music: Soul Whispers: Shamil, Shoshana Michel
Spell of Love
Hope shines over the world with the young moon,
The intricate song of the golden-winged honey-eater flows.
The feathered poet, intoxicated with the juice of the correa,
Speaks loudly: "Let love be swift-winged!"
Stars look into the river waters, hearing
The singing of the bard, who, listening to the flow,
Opening his heart to the source of life,
Proclaims: "Let love be full-flowing!"
To the rocky ledges on the Cambrian slopes clung
A rose with five petals - a flower-poetess
With a dark crimson mouth, it calls out to the sun:
"Let the flame of love burn as a source of life!"
With flesh and blood, valleys, sea, mountains,
The mystery of life that filled the earthly womb,
The sensual fabric of creation, insight, prayer,
The world exclaims: "Let love be embodied!"
Recitation: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/vPQFP0rz6J_-qA
Music: Soul Whispers: LeShabos II, Shoshana Michel
Taliesyn's Posthumous Journey
Taliesin sailed posthumously to the source of life –
That which is hidden in the center of the Mystery and the Abyss.
Surrendering to the stream, he glided in the empty space,
Submitting to the breath of the world and the will of the earth.
And by night and by day, dwelling in languor and song
Listening to the guiding star, burning over the Abyss,
Having become dust, he heard the beating of the Great Heart. -
That which is called the poiesis of the world and the faith of the bard.
Having rejected the usual connections and meanings of the day,
In the darkness, seeing the all-powerful invisible source,
Love and creation, in which Taliesyn rested,
He returned to the light, heeding the cherished call.
In the Bay of Three Cliffs he appeared as the first ray of the sun,
Greeted the world in a hawk's free flight,
With a solemn song he came from the lips of the sky.
With his wings he embraced the whole world in the morning.
And the grey seals, blissfully lying on the beach,
And the gorse, peacefully blooming on the rocky ledge,
And the ship, standing in the Bay of Earthly Revelations,
With the awakened bard, and two lovers on the beach,
He sang: Let there be life!
Recitation: https://disk.yandex.ru/d/GNZqkOmDqgDvXg
Music: Shabbos V'Yom Tov, Zalman Goldstein and Alicia Svigals