About the cover

About the Cover:

 

 

 

            The Cover for Blues 4 Kali is completely designed by Amana Mission, publisher/protagonist.

            The image depicts the eternal recurring cycle of creation and destruction personified by the ancient figure of Kali.

            Due diligence has been paid to incorporating symbolism from the traditional images of the Goddess, which are abundant and highly varied, while also developing a radically post-modern conception of this archetypal force.

            This understanding is spiritual and not religious, and intends to convey a philosophical rather than devotional impression.

            Kali is the Goddess of Death and Rebirth, and is variously identified with the many Goddesses of India. In Her ultimate, primal aspect, the Eye of Devi, She is the force that gives birth to Order from absolute Chaos and swallows the ruins of Order to begin the cycle anew.

            Kali adherents may or may not be pleased by this interpretation. Kali, unlike other Deities, is not constrained by the prejudices of Her followers. With due respect to those who have been born to this tradition, some of Her followers have a bad reputation for overzealous sacrifices. We regard this madness as a crazed misinterpretation of Her command to slay the ego, and no more Her fault than the crimes of other faiths' followers.

            Like other Deities, and many of us Earthbound folk, She is misunderstood by being taken too literally.

            This image shows Kali as She revealed Herself to Indi Riverflow while meditating on the Vedas. The structure of the novel, Blues4Kali is closely based on this pattern and is an experiential representation of this same cycle. Readers are advised to look carefully for this pattern, which, as in life, is not always evident at first.

            Every aspect of the design has significance, which can best be comprehended by viewing the full animation sequence and of course a thorough reading of Blues 4 Kali.

            She is pictured with four arms, each identified with an Element and holding an instrument integrated with Tarot symbology. These represent the symphony of forces which play about the evolution of the cosmic journey.

 

 

 

 

                            

 

"Icons of Evolution"

(In Order of Birth)

 

1.  The pure White Light of creation. Kali gives birth to undifferentiated light, which, being apart from chaos, immediately assumes the characteristics of Order, bringing about (in infinite manifestations),

2. The Sun, giver of life and energy, which gives rise to

3. The Earth, Great Goddess Gaia, nature's Garden and host to the

4. Matrix of Consciousness, represented by the Sri Yantra, which resolves to the

5. Pentacle, symbol of All, showing the rise of human collective action. This also aligns with the Tarot suit of Pentacles, and all interpretations apply equally to its use here. The Hand which guides the Pentacle is the Material arm of Kali, Her movement in the world. This point divides the sequence; all subsequent icons refer to the evolution of human civilization, symbolized by the

6.  Pyramid, monument to the ancient Golden Age, which has grown into

7. The Sacred Chao, pitting static against dynamic, until the victory of

8.  The Monotheopoly of Western culture, which has been supplanted by

9. The Black Iron Prison of Corporate Capitalism, which profits from

10. War and Death, signs of the faltering monolith, bringing about

11. Destruction of the World Order, clearing the way for the rise of something new.

 

 

Each arm holds an emblem corresponding to an Elemental Tarot suit, and shows the ways Kali manifests as a Cosmic force.