"Oh, God of Earth and Altar
Bow down and hear our cry
Our earthly rulers falter
Our people drift and die
The walls of gold entomb us
The swords of scorn divide
Take not thy thunder from us
Take away our pride"

Just a babe in a black abyss
No reason for a place like this
The walls are cold and souls cry out in pain
An easy way for the blind to go
A clever path for the fools who know
The secret of the Hanged Man, the smile on his lips

The light of the blind
You'll see
The venom tears my spine
The Eyes of the Nile are opening
You'll see

She came to me with a serpent's kiss
As the Eye of the Sun rose on her lips
Moonlight catches silver tears I cry
So we lay in a black embrace
And the seed is sown in a holy place
And I watched, and I waited for the dawn

The light of the blind
You'll see
The venom that tears my spine
The Eyes of the Nile are opening
You'll see

Go

Bind all of us together
Ablaze with hope and free
No storm or heavy weather
Will rock the boat you'll see
The time has come to close your eyes
And still the wind and rain
For the one who will be king
Is the watcher in the ring

It is You, oh
It is You


Lyrics submitted by numb

Revelations Lyrics as written by Bruce Dickinson

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group

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Revelations song meanings
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  • +6
    General Comment

    This song is about spiritual alchemy, from the Hermetic/Golden Dawn/Aleister Crowley tradition.

    It starts out talking about the tragedy of the human condition, then explains the method to achieve Illumination and rise above it.

    "A clever path for the fools who know the Secret of the Hanged Man-the smile on his lips."

    This refers to two keys from the Tarot - Key 0, "The Fool" and Key XII, "The Hanged Man". The Fool in this context represents the spiritual seeker ready to take a leap of faith in his quest for enlightenment. The Hanged Man refers to the 23rd path on the Qabalistic Tree Of Life, and represents the reversal of consciousness or suspension of the mind that is the object of transcendental meditation.

    Achieving a state of suspended mind is required as part of this technique for awakening Kundalini energy within the body, which rises up the spine through the body's energy centers. When this energy is raised sufficiently it creates elevated states of consciousness that bring on higher spiritual awareness and a sense of transcendence. The second verse and chorus refer to this process:

    "She came to me with a serpent's kiss, As the Eye of the Sun Rose on her lips"

    Kundalini Shakti is the female Goddess-personification of this energy and is often depicted as a serpent coiled around the base of the spine. This refers to the Kundalini rising and the blinding spiritual states that accompany it.

    "The light of the Blind-you'll see," promise of the enlightened state that can be achieved.

    "The venom that tears my spine," - again, the rising Kundalini energy as it coils around the spine.

    "The Eyes of the Nile are opening-you'll see." - As the Kundalini reaches the 3rd eye and crown chakras, a new sense of vision emerges - the enlightened state. This is represented in ancient Egyptian art by the figure of the cobra (for Kundalini energy) emerging from the center of the Pharaoh's forehead.

    The last verse is about the benefits of the completion of this process, and the exalted state the seeker achieves, with a reminder that this is achieved by closing one's eyes and moving inward to meditative states of consciousness.

    wanderingminstrelon September 05, 2009   Link

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