Book of Urizen
William
Blake’s, Book of Urizen represents
Blake’s attempt at rewriting the Bible, and incorporating Gnostic ideals. Rather than try to interpret the work, I just
want to examine the art for their mushroom implications. Take the title page for example; it has an
old man, sitting beneath a tree, writing a book. In the background, are the two-tablet like
tombstones, which represent Moses’ Ten Commandments. These two tablets form the silhouette of a
mushroom. In addition, Urizen is sitting
under a tree. Is this the tree of
knowledge of good and evil? Also, many
of Blake’s works are framed as a mushroom; the canopy of the trees forms the
cap, and the two tablets and the man form the stalk.
Object
4 of Urizen has Urizen reading a rainbow colored book, and his head appearing
to emanate light. His arms are
outstretched like the cap of a mushroom.
Object
5 is of an upside-down figure, entwined with a snake, with arms outstretched;
Blake’s version of the staff of Asclepius.
The snake is a symbol for the serpent from the Garden of Eden. And it appears underground, representing the
mycelium of the mushroom.
Object
15 has a bent over figure, atop a red globe.
I suspect the red globe to be the mushroom cap of the Amanita muscaria.
Object
20, shows Urizen chained, and mostly white.
Emanating from his head, appears to be a red light. His body is the white stalk of the mushroom,
which meets the red cap of the mushroom.
These are just the obvious examples.









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