CANTO 43
"Who's that dancing w/ Boss Cupid in a body harness?" "Well, I'm not sure, but I've seen her a couple of times very drunk in public." Sitting in the Hog's Breath, I listened. I knew, but I kept my counsel. The Triumph of Marriage, or The Trials of Laura as a Calendar of the Moon Laura is the youngest, most beautiful daughter of a noble family in Provence. Her beauty rivals
that of Venus, and Venus, feeling dissed, orders her son, Cupid, to wound Laura with one of his
arrows. "Make Laura fall in love with the vilest of men or the most pitiful of beasts," she
commands. Cupid spies on Laura, but as he attempts to shoot her, he cuts himself with the tip of his arrow
and so falls in love with this mortal himself. Laura's suitors mysteriously disappear. Venus puts
a curse on the kingdom because no one is worshiping at her altar. The parents consult Apollo's
oracle, with the result that Laura is to be sacrificed to Apollo. Apollo owes one to Cupid and sets
up the escape. Laura is left on a cliff to await being devoured by a python. She is whisked away
by the wind god, Zephyrus. She wanders, and with the aid of Pan, she discovers Castle Wonderful. Once she occupies the
castle, spirits assist her. Draw her bath. Do her nails. Brew tea. She's disoriented and expects
the worse, but she's told by the spirits to relax and to expect her host after dark. Cupid arrives,
and although she can't see him, she can feel his downy body and strong wings. She's not sure
what he is, but she enjoys him and their lovemaking. He comes to her night after night. But after a time, she complains that she is bored during the day. There is only so much to see
and only so much primping she can do. She misses her two sisters. Cupid reluctantly complies
with her wish for them to visit. They have been married off, and although they are comfortable,
there's something missing in their lives. They look around Laura's digs, not fully comprehending
where they are, but blown away at how their sister has lucked out. They are jealous and tell
Laura she is married to a monster and that she should hide a dagger and a candle under their
bed, and when her husband is asleep to light the candle and plunge the dagger into his heart. Laura is naive. She has doubts, and that night, after her sisters have gone, and after her
husband is satisfied and asleep, she lights the candle and holds it over her husband's reclining
body. Here's an embellishment by Bulfinch that I like. The candle is so excited by Cupid's beauty
that the wax splatters on his skin. He awakes, and as he flies off he says, "Love cannot live with
Suspicion!" Laura wanders on a barren plain in search of Cupid. She comes upon Ceres's temple, which she
finds in disorder. She puts the hoes and rakes in nice, neat stacks, and she is rolling the hoses
into loops, when she is stopped by the goddess and told to cease and desist. She is instructed to
take her problem directly to Venus, and with trepidation, Laura does as she is told. She is received by Venus and given an interrogation definitely prohibited by the Geneva
Convention. After nearly drowning on a water board and then fouling her gown after being
given a hefty dose of Castor Oil, she is assigned a set of impossible tasks. Number one. She has
to separate a pile of mixed seeds for Venus's parrot because this bird likes his pistachios neat.
Laura knows the task is absurd. She sits down and has a good cry. The elementals take pity on her. Fire, air, earth and water all come into play in the four tasks.
While Laura mopes, the ants sort the different seeds into piles. When Venus returns and sees
the fine work of the ants, she can't believe her eyes, and she gives Laura a thrashing and feeds
her some moldy pizza. Task number two. Get some Golden Fleece. Laura despairs when she sees the ferocious rams in
the field across a raging river. So, she cries and thinks that maybe she'll drown herself. The river
hears her, and the reeds tell her to go downstream where there are some rocks she can cross
on, and for her to pick the fleece she needs from the thorn bushes. Laura does so, and when
she returns with an armload of fleece, Venus is angry and gives her a good Dutch rubbing. Task number three. Get water from the source of the River Styx, the river of death. The river
issues forth from a cliff face and is protected by multi-headed serpents protruding from the cliff
walls, their necks capable of covering all directions of approach. Laura is aided by an eagle,
which flies between the serpents and returns with a small jar of the river water. Bamboo
splinters under the fingernails, this time. Fourth and final task. Venus demands, "Get me a drop of beauty, enough to last a day." Laura is
given a box and sent to Proserpine, Goddess of the Underworld. Laura freaks and decides to
commit suicide, an even better solution than crying. She climbs up a tower and is about to jump
off, when the tower speaks to her. Laura discovers a hidden staircase, which she descends, and
is given a vial of the potion she requires. However, and this is where Laura shines, before she returns the box to Venus, she considers her
haggard condition, and knows that if Cupid were to see her in her present state, he wouldn't
love her. So, she opens the vial, and a deep sleep overcomes her. Cupid helps her recover with a kiss, and she completes her task. Cupid intercedes with Jupiter,
reminding the dude of the many times he has been helped to score. Laura is received into
heaven. Drinks ambrosia. Is given a nice apartment. And Venus dances at the wedding. And just to round things out, Laura gives birth to a baby girl named Bliss. An occult outline of the story of Cupid & Laura follows, utilizing the Major Trumps of the Tarot
& the following numerological system: 1=beginning, 2=balance, 3=expansion, 4=realization,
5=change, 6=harmony, 7=uncertainty, 8=activity, 9=wisdom. 0 - The Fool - New Moon through Crescent Moon Phases - New beginnings, move forward on faith 1 - Magus - Access to power - The eclipse of Venus by a mortal, Venus calls Cupid - beginning 2 - Priestess - Hidden issues - Parents consult Apollo's oracle, Apollo & Cupid confer - balance 3 - Empress - Potential birth - Laura left on rock, aided by Zephyrus - expansion 4 - Emperor - Exertion of will - Laura wanders & finds Ceres's castle, aided by Pan - realization 5 - High Priest - Traditional search for meaning - Occupies castle, attended by spirits - change 6 - The Lovers - Testing, choice - Cupid charges her not to look upon his features - harmony 7 - The Chariot - Initiation & mastery of opposites - Laura begs to see her sisters - uncertainty 8 - Justice - Karmic retribution, an unfinished lesson - Sisters instill suspicion - activity 9 - The Hermit - Separation from others - Laura beholds her lover & wounds him - wisdom 10 - The Wheel - All things must pass - Laura tells the sisters her tale, sisters fall - Gibbous Moon Phase 11 - Strength - Lower nature brought into harmony w/ higher - Laura searches for Cupid - beginning 12 - The Hanged Man - Enlightenment through limitation, listening to inner voices - Laura
attempts to put Ceres's temple in order - balance 13 - Death - Transformation & regeneration, prepare for rebirth - Punished by Venus - expansion 14 - Temperance - Moderation, compromise, integration - Ants sort grains into piles - realization 15 - The Devil - A challenge to weakness - Venus angry, throws Laura in dungeon - change 16 - The Tower - Breakup of crystallized patterns - Laura despairs of getting the Golden Fleece
- harmony 17 - The Star - Clarity, insight - Laura aided by the river - uncertainty 18 - The Moon - Venus angry, gives Laura a new task - activity 19 - The Sun - Laura gets water from River Styx, aided by eagle - wisdom 20 - Judgment - A new moon phase f/ Disseminating to the Last Quarter 21 - The World - Laura returns to an angry Venus - beginning 0 - The Fool, the process of transformation - to get a vial of beauty 23 - Laura goes to the tower to commit suicide - balance 24 - Descent into Underground - expansion 25 - Returns, opens box, falls into deep sleep - realization 26 - Kissed by Cupid, completes task - change 27 - Cupid intercedes with Jupiter - harmony 28 - Laura received into Olympus, drinks Ambrosia - uncertainty 29 - Birth of Bliss, Pleasure, Joy - activity 0 - A new cycle with, hopefully, the gods wiser While the outer narrative reveals an arch-typical conflict between the gods and a mortal,
Laura's inner story moves from initial innocence to wisdom. Laura's adventure concerns her
evolution from the earth plane to the plane of heaven, the transmutation of a mortal into a
goddess. This is reflected in the Journey of the Fool & in the Zodiac. The Kore. This maiden's journey begins once her beauty becomes a challenge to Venus and the
involvement of Cupid. In terms of a calendar of the moon this is the New Moon phase, a
beginning ripe with uncertainty. The triple goddess is made up of the Maiden, the Mother and
the Crone. The Mother. The body of the story details Laura's gaining experience, her tests and
achievements. As for the part of the Crone, Laura completes her tasks and is immortalized. The story of The Marriage of Cupid & Laura illustrates that success comes from realizing your
unique achievements, that you can make do with what you've got (Aries). First thing you learn
is the need to make concrete sense of your individuality and to seek supports, even if it means
pulling yourself up by your bootstraps (Taurus). Evaluation and assimilation of ideas, then, and
the ability to communicate these ideas to others (Gemini). Stability is a must. Happiness
requires a feeling for home and roots (Cancer). Emotional energies overflow into the
environment (Leo). "I love you, but I kill you, but I'll love you forever." That sort of thing. The
cycle reaches its apex when Laura tries to put Ceres's temple into order. Her original impulse is
toward self-improvement and hard work (Virgo), but she gets knocked about. The four tasks are opportunities to figure out what works and what doesn't. Here, she learns to
rely on others (Libra). This is the point of the Full Moon. Then, the yoga of managing her energy
in order to accomplish the tasks at hand (Scorpio). This is the beginning of the Disseminating
Moon phase. In the Disseminating Moon phase, happiness is sought by deep study and by crisis and
reorientation (Sagittarius), and in the Last Quarter phase, Laura shows she's got the grit and
might just get her man (Capricorn). After missing her opportunity for an extreme makeover, she
gets a clue that there are larger issues (Aquarius). Finally, in the Balsamic Moon phase, all fruits
and final products are realized. This is where karma dissolves. This is where Laura attains the
rainbow body (Pices).
(Sources: The Lunation Cycle by Dane Rudhyar, The Metaphysical Handbook by David & Lucy Pond, and The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius.)