I am starting to be more and more convinced that the Black/White Lodge mythos has to do with Carl Jung's idea of the Collective Unconscious. Perhaps this other dimension is created by our minds (dreams, intentions, imagination, etc). In the TP universe, everything that can be conceived in our minds will come into existence in another plain of reality. The entities/environment of the lodges are really archetypes that may change from person to person, but everyone has been seeing the same entities since they are all connected somehow to Coop/Laura Palmer (maybe these entities/archetypes are a product of Laura's dreams/mind). Electricity has been emphasized so much especially in The Return. Electricity is the primary ingredient (or force) that allows us to think on a conscious and subconscious level (neurons, synapses, etc.). I think in the TP universe, the dream world is an actual plane of reality that can be accessed in a variety of ways in addition to our dreams.
The concept of Tulpas is part of the Tibetan mythology, but a Tulpa in this mythology is created by the power of mind/intention so it is still aligned with the concept of the collective subconscious. I still think that once these "beings" are created, they exist independently of their creators. I realize there are a lot of holes here, and I am so far from having even close to all the answers, but this concept has intrigued me since the original run. I am curious to hear others' thoughts on this....although I am probably alone on this one. I have the feeling that the full mythology will remain a mystery upon completion of the series...and I'm actually okay with that.
That's an interesting thought. I don't know much about Tibetan traditions, but there is an awful lot in Twin Peaks that seems rooted in the philosophical aspects of Hinduisim, particularly Vedanta. The concepts of connectedness, time as illusion, and existence as Brahman's dream are all prominent. Figures like Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell appreciated the aspects of archetypes and mythos which intersect and pervade all human cultures.
Here's some food for thought you might enjoy:
https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/IJoDR/article/download/20360/19140
(PDF - verified safe)
Thanks for the link to the article. Very interesting stuff. Maybe none of this will be explained in the show, but if it is left to be open to interpretation, I will definitely be leaning on this theory.
Twin Peaks invites this kind of metaphysical exploration. Your theory could be entirely or partially correct though my sense is we will only get partial answers to some of these questions.
The most interesting thing that could happen is that the show ends and then our reality ends hahah. The simulation ends and the wizard comes out from behind the curtain to tell us this dream is over. If that doesn't happen I'll meet you at the ep 18 talkback. Hahaha
Hahaha...I agree though that we will most likely get partial answers. The mystery is the best part!
In TSHOTP there is a reference to Aleister Crowley's novel Moonchild, about two rival lodges, black and white.
That's right. I forgot about that. I thought that was there to illustrate how a specific group of people (Thelema?) interpret this phenomenon of the conscious/unconscious mystical powers. I think Hastings didn't fully understand what he discovered either and had his own interpretation of it. However, I love how TSHOTP blends non-fiction with fiction. It enhances the Twin Peaks universe that much more.
This thread is getting at my favorite part of the whole thing. I'm always back and forth on whether Twin Peaks is best classified as fiction, mythology, or philosophy. TSHOTP has so much real life fact in it that it's just as close to an interpretative linking of historical events than it is to a fantasy narrative. Is the black/white lodge, tulpa actors, and worlds connected a philosophical take on reality, or just a good story? And where does one draw the difference? I mean, this isn't Narnia or Westeross, it's north of Spokane just off the Colombia river. Immense respect for this intellectual masterpiece.
There are also elements from Alchemy and the Freemasons too.
There are elements from all kinds of stuff.
I think getting into a black lodge might have been mentioned in The Grand Grimoire, but I could be getting mixed up with another grimoire. I've read lots of stuff like that. There are so many interesting books out there if you are into folklore.
Here are a couple of sites that I use to read folklore/occult stuff, if anyone is interested:
There's a good deal of theosophy/new age concepts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_White_Brotherhood
Written by: Nicholas and Helena Roerich
"Certainly, when the black lodge directs its arrows against the White Brotherhood, the consequences are self-destructive, and the manifestation of a rebounding blow is unavoidable. What you heard is a consequence of self-destruction, because the aimed arrow returned to the sender."
And:
Written by: The AMORC Rosicrucian
[there's] a difference between the "Great White Brotherhood" and the "Great White Lodge", saying that the Great White Brotherhood is the "school or fraternity" of the Great White Lodge, and that "every true student on the Path" aspires to membership in this Brotherhood.
There was a link in posted on this forum for one of the earlier episodes to a video by a guy called Jay Dyer who analysis film and TV for esoteric and occult references, so obviously had a field day with Twin Peaks. Through reading his stuff he links this article for The Independent here in UK from 1992 which is an interview with Mark Frost. In it he says:
'The whole mythological side of Twin Peaks was really down to me, and I've always known about the Theosophical writers and that whole group around the Order of the Golden Dawn in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century - W B Yeats, Madame Blavatsky and a woman called Alice Bailey, a very interesting writer.'
Well worth a read, but what I've just noticed is that Twin Peaks was originally going to be set in South Dakota.
There was a link in posted on this forum for one of the earlier episodes to a video by a guy called Jay Dyer who analysis film and TV for esoteric and occult references, so obviously had a field day with Twin Peaks. Through reading his stuff he links this article for The Independent here in UK from 1992 which is an interview with Mark Frost. In it he says:
'The whole mythological side of Twin Peaks was really down to me, and I've always known about the Theosophical writers and that whole group around the Order of the Golden Dawn in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century - W B Yeats, Madame Blavatsky and a woman called Alice Bailey, a very interesting writer.'
Well worth a read, but what I've just noticed is that Twin Peaks was originally going to be set in South Dakota.
Cool article!
Here's Psychic Self-defense - where he got the idea of the lodges from:
https://archive.org/stream/pdfy-kDIEdiqtnMyLWk6L/Psychic%20Self-Defense_djvu.txt
Pantstrovich - Awesome, thank you for that! I knew about many of the occult references and inspiration, but had no idea there was a book which spoke explicitly of concepts like the "black lodge."
Fire walk with