BABALON-DURGA and BEAST SCULPTURE
by Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule


 The cover of this issue depicts a new clay sculpture by Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule. Completed just in time to display at the http://www.esotericbookconference.com Seattle Esoteric Book Conference Sept 09, the artist discovered only a few days later that the Conference was on the first two days of the NavaRatri ('NineNights') Festival of Durga. A wonderful subconscious devotional cycle, as the work was originally inspired in India 07 by the Nava-Durga Goddess celebrated during this Festival, and Her correllations with Thelemic Babalon.
 Nine (Nava) different forms of Durga are celebrated, two of which are on foot. Therefore the mounts of the other seven forms combined form together a seven-headed Beast.

 I originally tried to manifest the idea of this sculpture in Melbourne late 08, but it was so complicated with all the heads, arms and weapons that parts would break while others were being crafted. So this time I decided to make Babalon and the Beast separately, and inspired by the old Tantric bronzes of India inwhich Shiva and Shakti are two separate pieces conjoined genitally in yab-yum position, I gave the Beast a phallic hump that She can sit on.

 The blood in the chalice (and on Babalon's lips) was offered by the artist leading into Peter and Alkistis's (Scarlet Imprint) talk at the Conference on the Goddess Babalon.