An Outline of Plato’s Philosophy as Applied to Literature of the Occult
The world of forms is eternal perfection. This is where thoughts, emotions, and ideas are born and reside. The world of forms is also the home of the soul, the birthplace of the essence of all things. It is also believed that the world of forms is the real existence, and that the physical world is merely a shadow of the world of forms (www.trinity.edu).
The world of forms is also the birthplace of religion and the occult. Plato’s definition of the world of forms later translated into the Christian view of heaven (perfection, peace, knowledge, etc). The world of forms is invisible and untouchable. In the world of forms you will find Santa Claus, Allah, ghosts, Jesus and the Loch Ness Monster. This is where our dreams and our “imagination” come from. Our concept of numbers and the formation of melodies also come from the world of forms.
Since the world of forms is beyond our reach and out of sight, it is hard for some people to accept that it is there. The world of forms consists of things above the world of man (the metaphysical). It is unchanging and absolute, a constant and perfect world. This is the place where philosophers and great thinkers aim to rest at the end of their physical existence.
The world of particulars is the physical world as we know it. It is a flawed and ever changing place. This is the realm of physical and material things. The senses; sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound all belong to the physical world. Through these senses, we come to know about physical objects (www.trinity.edu). This is the world of cars and mountains and dogs and cats and people. This is the tangible world where things are created and destroyed. Here, people are born and then they die. The world of particulars is an ever changing place.
Unlike the world of forms, the world of particulars is within our reach and visibly all around us. People come to trust in the particular world because it is more real to them. This is a world of relativity and uncertainty. Since people come to rely on the particular world, they often cannot accept a reality other than the one they know. The senses make it difficult for humans to detach themselves from the physical world.
However different these two worlds may be, they are dependant upon each other in order to exist. For example, the soul, which is a form, is tied to the body, a particular. The soul brings life to the body, and the body becomes a vehicle for the soul. Similarly, a melody and an instrument are tied to each other in the same fashion; dependant on each other to create something (music), yet from different planes. It is in this way that the world of forms and the world of particulars are opposites. Like Yin and Yang, light and dark, good and evil, these two worlds are opposites, yet alike.
This theme of opposites is heavily apparent throughout the poem Christabel by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The most outstanding and obvious opposite in this poem are between the maiden Christabel and the mysterious woman Geraldine. Christabel is a product of the world of particulars and Geraldine’s character belongs in the realm of forms. In the poem, these two women are opposites that are bound together by some unexplainable force. They strongly represent their place in the two worlds by their actions and their roles in society.
Christabel is a creature of the world of particulars. She lives in a world where everything is as it seems until the night she meets Geraldine. That night she leaves
her chambers to pray in the woods, and by doing so, she deviates from the world of particulars. She enters the woods, an area often associated with the occult (formative), because she is drawn there. “What makes her in the woods so late, a furlong from the castle gate?” (Coleridge). She is drawn into the woods by her opposite, Geraldine.
Geraldine is a formative creature who seems to be stuck in the world of particulars. It is never made clear whether she is a ghost, a fairy, a witch, a vampire, or all of the above. She is unable to transcend certain relevant physical objects (such as the iron gate), and cannot speak of certain religious things. However, her connection with Christabel makes her presence possible in the particular world.
The idea of reincarnation is also apparent in this poem. Christabel represents birth (particular-always changing) and Geraldine represents death (forms-the unknown and the soul). Together, these opposites create a rebirth of something new, a union between the two where Geraldine is a lover and a mother to Christabel.
Like we all come to see in The Blair Witch Project and Fall of the House of Usher, in Christabel there is a trinity. Trinities are a recurring theme amongst the occult and the world of forms; The Matrix, The Father/Son/Holy Ghost and many other literary examples. In most of these works, when the trinity is formed, the world of forms takes over and strange things happen. The trinity in Christabel is Geraldine, Christabel, and Sir Leoline. Upon Geraldine meeting Sir Leoline, a true trinity is formed and she fully takes on the role of mother to Christabel.
Other opposites in this poem can be represented by objects in the physical world. The castle where Christabel and her father live are of the particular world. The woods, where Geraldine is discovered, are a product of the world of forms. Both worlds are invaded by the presence of outsiders from opposite worlds and this causes a change in the surroundings or the guest. When Christabel enters the woods, she opens herself up to a change in herself and is exposed to formative, occult phenomena. As Geraldine enters the castle, she changes the surroundings to become a more formative world (lights flickering, etc.). Similarly, in the poem there is a clash in time and seasons and night and day, suggesting a change because of the presence of Geraldine.
In The Blair Witch Project, we are also confronted with conflicts and unions of the two opposite worlds. The world of particulars is represented through the three student film makers; Josh, Mike, and sometimes Heather. The world of forms is obviously represented by “the entity” or the so called Blair Witch and the setting, the dark and endless woods.
The first and most important opposites in this movie are the tools with which they were made; the cameras. One is an 8mm camera with black and white film. This camera shoots the world formatively, showing clarity, depth and dimension. This is the film that the documentary was filmed on (knowledge=world of forms). Similarly, the 8mm film camera seems to capture most of the action that is unknown; smoke, strange bumps in the night, and so forth. This camera captures the world as we rarely see it or as we refuse to see it.
The other camera is a color camcorder and represents the world of particulars. This is the medium where the film makers record when they joke around or do basic everyday things. Because we naturally see the world in color (for the most part) some may assume that the camcorder medium would represent reality. However, as Josh says in the movie, that camera alters the way that things really are. The camera acts as a filter and also manipulates and distorts reality for the film makers.
The things that occur from the metaphysical world are rarely captured on color film. These two camera types are opposites in the way that they represent the world and in the way that they impact the viewer. Black and white film represents the dark (evil, forms) and color represents the light (good, particulars). At the end of the movie when we witness the implied demise of the film makers, we see a merge of the two cameras (two worlds) as Heathers’ voice mixes in the distance and we are left with a black and white nothing.
Other opposites in this film are the male and the female. The men in the film are the products of the world of particulars, and the females are from the world of forms. The two men, Josh and Mike, are very attached to worldly things. As their adventure turns sour, they complain and yearn for material things; mashed potatoes, sex, and cigarettes to name a few. Their goal is to get out of the strange woods and get back to “real” things like girlfriends and jobs that bring them comfort and security. They oppose the world of forms because they cannot accept and understand the phenomenon that is happening to them. Josh dismisses the strange happenings as practical jokes from locals, and Mike just seems indifferent and skeptical.
Heather and the Blair Witch are products of the world of forms. Heather is an opposite to Josh and Mike because she accepts and embraces the phenomena that happens to them. Unless she is narrating the documentary, Heather is rarely in front of the camera, and even then it is usually on 8mm film (forms). However, Heather transcends both worlds when she is emasculated by the boys or becomes intimidated by the unknown. In their constant bickering, Heather is often called “dude” or “man” and her heightened emotions make her swear and emasculate her. It is in these states of heightened emotion that she is brought back into the world of particulars (the want for safety, food, home). Heather belongs in the formative world because, despite the fear for her safety, she still strives to make her art (the documentary). This opposes Josh, especially who often criticizes her for making movies in the face of danger. Her reply of “It’s all I have left” is a clear sign that she depends on the metaphysical world to survive.
The Blair Witch opposes the students in many ways. She is ambiguous and legendary, and unlike the students, remains unseen. She is also and opposite from the students in that her ultimate goal is death and theirs is life. She is active and does her work in the dark (formative-unknown) while the students move and work in the day (particular). She is the huntress and they are the kill. Also, unlike the students she is eternal and her history dates back hundreds of years. Like any other opposites, the students and the witch need each other. Without stories and folklore, the witch wouldn’t survive. Without the unknown, the student wouldn’t have anything to learn.
