Aeon, over more than 8 minutes, is unmistakable the centerpiece of the album. However, in the booklet the lyrics are incomplete, but they can be found on this site. So, what’s this song about? Basically, I think they are two possible themes. The first theme involves Gnosticism, that is ancient Gnosticism. If I remember correctly, Coleman once called himself a Gnostic. So, this explanation is not that far-fetched. What he meant by that I don´t know, but there are several modern-day Gnostic movements and churches. The second theme is related to Crowley and his religious system of Thelema. In earlier posts, I already pointed to a connection of Killing Joke with Crowley. In this song, I think such a connection can be found as well.
First, let´s look at the title: Aeon. What is an Aeon? In antiquity, the name Aeon was used by many Gnostic systems. The divine realm “Pleroma” was made up of different aeons. These aeons developed out of God and were given names, by the Gnostics, like Nous (Mind), Thelema (Will), and Logos (Word). In a certain sense these aeons are attributes of God. The last aeon Sophia (Wisdom) is responsible for the creation of evil and also for the creation of the cosmos. The Demiurge, the de facto creator of the material world, blew divine power into the human body, thus trapping divine spirit in the flesh. However, the Gnostics considered men asleep and ignorant of their divine roots. The only road to salvation lies in waking up and realising it’s divine origin. Only, then it is possible for his divine spark to return to the heavenly realm, the aeons.
This springs to my mind when I hear Coleman sing: “And then I noticed there’s a change \ That’s coming over me \ Tapping into the aeon.” Like other songs on this album it song offers hope and compassion especially in the last verse. In this verse we get a look at the change. A balance of the eco-system, no skyscrapers, only Nature and “the whisper of the voice.” To this voice, I will return later. This blissful state comes after Coleman´s “tapping into the aeon”. In Gnostic systems tapping into the aeon means that man makes contact with the divine realm. This is followed by the salvation of his Soul (or divine spark).
Above, I mentioned that the Gnostics considered men asleep. How can one wake up? According to ancient Gnosticism, through listening. This is essentially what Coleman suggests when he sings that “we wake up to the whisper of the voice.” So for me, Gnosticism pervades the lyrics of this song very much.
Now lets switch to Crowley. The term “aeon” is important in Crowley’s writing where it refers to a new age. The new age, the Aeon of Horus began in 1904 with the writing of Crowley’s “Book of the Law”. According to Crowley the old age of Christianity was at its end. The transition from the old age to the new was not easy. It was an event of truly cosmic proportions, that resulted in wars and suffering on earth. This birth of a new age can be found in Coleman’s lyrics. Coleman sees “turmoil in the marketplace” and economies that “perpetuate the next arms race.” Followed by the blissful state of the new age in the last verse.
Tags: Aleister Crowley, Killing Joke, New Age, Thelema
