The first torchbearer was Prometheus, who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it as a gift to mankind." -- London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Media Guide, pg. 36
"As the name of a friction match to produce instantaneous light Lucifer succeeded to Prometheus (both recorded 1831)." -- Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
"Lucifer -- the morning star; the planet Venus when in the sky before sunrise; Satan, the Devil" -- The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
The theme of the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games was "Dreams of Russia". It featured a dream sequence of a little girl in a white dress. Dreams are indeed how The Powers That Be keep us hooked into chasing after a material filled life here on Earth. We have images in our mind of a dream girl, a dream car, a dream house and many chase after a bigger dream like a professional career in singing, dancing, acting or sports. Some even aspire to the Olynpic dream, Very, very few by definition can ever actually achieve these dreams. For instance 70,000 participants audition for American Idol, but usually only one is lucky enough to win a record contract.
These golden carrots are what keep the average person happy with an illusion of possible stardom -- fame and fortune, but it is all merely games as the title of the Olympics implies -- they are the World Games.
To begin the magic,on the BBC broadcast within the first couple of minutes of the intro proclaimed: "There is a magic and mystery to mountain sports, danger too in every move and the best know that they have to risk it all to gain the ultimate reward. These athletes live on the edge. Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the Winter Olympics......and in slope style which is brand new and brings with it a whole new language of tricks and kickers and it's about big error and creative expression of passionate performance."
The beginning of the Australian telecast the broadcasters stated, "Let the magic begin." In the Opening Ceremony the little girl is taken up in a dream sequence to the music of "Fly Away on the Wings of the Wind". She is pulled up to the moon, and then onward to different islands, the first being one with a white horse, the second what looks like a farm with a church.
These are what the rulers use to keep us strung along in a dream state -- religion etc when we are really just being farmed out as livestock.... a tower of rocks she is towed up to the moon again where she touches it.
The next segment features igor Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring". The commentators describe it: "Now the transiting through the Rites of Spring, particularly the symbolism of the troika, the traditional horse-drawn carriage... the troika became a cultural touchstone ceremoniously known for weddings and other festivities until modern transportation arrived... and when the storm settles Troika brings on the sun and eventually it will reveal an underwater landscape."
Wikipedia's section on the troika as a cultural icon:
"Troika has become a cultural icon of Russia, especially after it was featured in a scene of Nikolay Gogol's novel Dead Souls,[citation needed] where a "troika-bird" rides through the vast expanses of Russia (Oh troika, winged troika, tell me who invented you?). Gogol's "troika-bird" became a literary symbol of Russia despite it was noted that the person carried by the troika, the protagonist of the novel, Chichikov, was actually a fraudster buying the "dead souls", i.e. the documents on ownership of the dead serfs whose death was still not registered by population censuses, in order to put them into pledge and make money as well as a fake fame of rich serf owner. The paradox that the "troika-bird" of Russia carries the swindler Chichikov has been discussed in Vasily Shukshin's short story Started Skidding"
In this section of the programme features a sleigh ride (a slay ride?) where an open horse carriage carries the sun along. What is most curious is that the sun has a hole at its center.
an interpetation of the midevil period rules by the Borgois... she will discover a snow globe
"It was the time of Peter the Great... credited with with dragging Russia out of medieval-- reorganization of the army and of a navy"... "Tonight we expereince the military regime as a multidimensional, oversized diorama. Peter the Great was also regarded as Peter the Giant who was six feet nine, smart, towering over the nation to this day."
Next the little girl encounters a circus or carnival with concentric rings where tricksters merrily frolic everywhere culminating in circus performers eventually lifting the girl up who is reaching upward for a heavenly cathedral (said to represent a famous Russian cathedral) which the CBC commentated was built "to represent a bonfire rising to the sky".
"We begin to see renderings of this enlightened and productive time brought forth by a speeding locomotive [which seems to lead into the sun]. Surrounding the train are large pieces that seem straight from the paintings of ??... Bold colors and strong geometric shapes swing through the air as an assembly line of people and parts join us.. Things come together and things fall apart in the air. The Avant garde objects form a mechanical horse to the sound of "Time Forward". Cast members, giant tractors and cogs create an enormous human scultpure of a fervent industrial machine. But as the machine slowly grinds to a halt the mechanical horse sculpture implodes and everything will be in pieces."
In this segment of the dream messages are displayed, ones that are typically conveyed to the populace to keep them productive members of society. The following words are displayed in a series of individual messages:
PIONEERS PILOTS HURRY UP! WORK HARD STUDENTS HIPSTERS ATHLETES LOVERS WEDDING KIDS
The scene ends with parents pushing baby carriages and the last message, KIDS.
Commentators: "Les colombes de la paix, Doves of Peace, Golub Mira ... Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake performed thousands of times and in a myraid of ways but never like tonight: unfolding on the stadium floor is a drama that merges the bird-like dancers of beloved classical ballet with a symbol of peace and hope that stretches back to Noah's Ark: the dove. It's based on Russian folktales relaying the story of the Sorceror's curse. which turns a princess, Ordette, into a swan... Vishneva is the center of attention as the ballet of Light comes to a final position, creating the shape of a dove." The Canadian CBC commentator claimed she "awakens the doves with her powerful movements" .
As far as the sorceror's curse, Wikipedia's entry for Swan Lake describes the villain in the ballet:
"Rothbart is the central antagonist in the ballet. Rothbart is rarely seen in human form, as he appears as a giant owl in the second and fourth acts. His human form is seen only in the third act with his daughter Odile, when she dances with the Prince Siegfried.
Rothbart is a powerful sorcerer who casts a spell on Odette that turns her into a swan every day and returns her to human form at night. The reason for Rothbart's curse upon Odette is unknown; several versions, including two feature films, have suggested reasons, but none is typically explained by the ballet.
When Rothbart realises that Odette has fallen in love with Prince Siegfried, he tries to intervene by tricking Siegfried into declaring his love for his daughter Odile. The plan succeeds, yet in the end, Rothbart is not triumphant. When Siegfried and Odette make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their love by throwing themselves into the lake, Rothbart's powers are overcome and he is destroyed.
However, his fate is different in some versions, as there are productions where Rothbart is triumphant and survives. One example is the Bolshoi Ballet's version, where he is portrayed as a sadistic schemer and plays a wicked game of fate with Siegfried, which he wins at the end, causing Siegfried to lose everything. In the second American Ballet Theatre production of Swan Lake, he is portrayed by two dancers. One of them depicts him as young and handsome; it is this von Rothbart that is able to lure Odette and transform her into a swan (this is shown during the introduction to the ballet in a danced prologue especially created by choreographer Kevin McKenzie). He is also able to entice the Prince to dance with Odile, and thus seal Odette's doom. The other von Rothbart, a repulsive, reptilian-like creature, reveals himself only after he has performed an evil deed, such as transforming Odette into a swan. In this version, the lovers' joint suicide inspires the rest of von Rothbart's imprisoned swans to turn on him and overcome his spell, which ultimately defeats him."
The two torch bearers are shown running through a tunnel of cast mambers who are all waving them on. Imagine all the energy coming out of their hands and directed toward them.
BBC commentators: "And the six of them are running out of the Fisht [pronounced like 'fished'] stadium towards the Olympic Cauldron directly ahead through the whole cast and crew of this memorable opening ceremony. Cheering on their way, echoes of the torch coming into London's Olympic stadium a couple of years ago when the construction workers were there to welcome it. It was a lovely touch of the cast there to welcome them through the tunnel. And they make their way out towards the Cauldron... To the strains of "The Firebird", Tchaikovsky's which you alluded to earlier. It's the feather upon which the torch has been designed. Yes, the magical golden shining bird that lights the way in Russian fairy tale. How appropriate that it signals the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron of the 22nd Olympic Winter Games. Here we go, together."
Australian commentators: "All that awaits now is the arrival of the Torch and the lighting of the Cauldron. As we meet the Olympic Gods an ethereal atmosphere descends. Projection transforms the floor into a stunning starry night. Roller skaters lighting up the scene in white LED costumes. .. they meet in the middle to form concentric circles. Inside those circles we will see the projection, the representation of the seven international winter sport federations... They span into a different galaxy where giant Olympic gods reign and watch over us from the night sky. Majestic metal sculptures twinkle in the sky representing winter sport. And the figures will twist and turn as if in mid-action and light up in time. The music: a remix of "The Game Has Changed" by Daft Punk. And at the finale of this song one hockey player shoots his puck across the sky, beckoning the first torch bearer carrying the Olympic Flame."
"The Olympic Cauldron is liberated for Sochi 2014... it has been mesmerizing and captivating."
[They light the cauldron] "And that is how you light an Olympic Cauldron... The feather, the torch.. The torch that is now lit is also in the same shape as the feather Torch, and it is going to remain lit."
[Fireworks ensue]
In the Canadian CBC wrap-up they interviewed Canadian gold medalist, Kaillie Humphries where they asked her:... "Mark Tewksbury I know is your hero. He's a hero for all of us. Just maybe a thought on what attracted you to the Olympics, how Tewksbury in Barcelona kind of hooked you on the idea that has become a big part of your life.
Kaillie answered, "...I think Mark was what started my Olympic Dream. I was 7 watching the 1992 Olympics. The pride and the passion that you could see all over his face when he won. That's what hooked me. That's what got me so invested and so passionate about the Olympics, and I've been chasing that Olympic gold all the way up until Vancouver in 2010..."
The Olympics are symbolic of our existence here on earth playing the World Games and living the Olympic Dream. It is kept alive by the very elements presented in this ceremony: a dream, the moon, the sun, farms, working hard (as a slave), entertainment featuring royals and Princes with stories about curse and carnivals. Once again the moon and sun are at the center of the ceremony and more allusions to the phoenix firebird are given. It is clear from the language and symbolism being used that a deeper meaning exists. That they use a cauldron -- their own name for it -- is eye opening. The initial cauldron that they use in Greece according to them has to be a concave dish and lit by the rays of the sun. The constant usages and references to the phoenix are very telling. This time they used a feather of the phoenix firebird to light the torch. The phoenix is representative of the feathered serpent, Quetxalcoatl, Lucifer or Venus. Venus / Aphrodite is depicted as standing on a half shell and holding a mirror. I believe she is a moon goddess as well. Could it be that the moon is a half shell? it only ever shows one side toward us which is very curious. Perhaps this could be explained if one side had more mass than the other. The moon is also called a satellite and we have satellite dishes which are parabolic in shape. We have names here on earth such as Half Moon Bay.
There were scenes where the girl was pulled up to the moon and one where a sleigh carried the sun. Another scene showed a vast machinery of a train (light at the end of the tunnel?) with the sun behind it, and a carnival or three ring circus, featuring iconic cultural stories of curses or spells cast on mankind by a reptilian. Dancers, skaters and other cast members formed concentric or rotating circles that spun clockwise or counterclockwise (a component of spellcasting). Rings are a major symbol of the games. You have the Olympic rings (Lord of the Rings?) and rotating rings where "inside those circles we will see the projection" as if referring to some kind of holographic grid generator. Indeed, there were even dancers with lit costumes who which looked like a scene from Disney's Tron movies.
I would like to conclude with the overall idea of the Olympics. They are world games, theatre, sport that keep us in this dreamlike state. The culmination of the ceremony is always the lighting of the torch. The eternal flame which must always keep burning probably represents our sun. But it is mankind in this ritual who is used as a relay to light it and keep it alive. If Lucifer, whose name in Latin means "light bearer", and this is a big if, is indeed Satan who steals human souls and takes them to Hellfire, then the Games are symbolically performing an imitative magic ceremony or ritual of the taking of souls to the sun to be used as a source of energy or fuel.
Well. that's it. Please visit my other pages for more detailed info on some of the topics, especially the Trickster page which contains alot of the pagan symbolism because of Pan being the god of chaos and a trickster figure.
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