Naomi
12-16-2006, 02:10 PM
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Dante et Virgile au Enfers
William Bouguereau
Oil on Canvas
1850
Thewords looked upon by the magician Durante Alighiere over 800 years ago above the gates of Hell itself. Gladly he came back and transmitted the work to humanity, though it is seen as little more than a great poetic work. Hell has both a physical density below our own earthly vibrational rate and also a spheric vibration. That is, it exists as both a locale and as a psychological state of being. For instance the state of war vs the place of Mars, the planet of war. They are one and the same. The Inferno is completely accurate as a study in a journey to the realm of the underworld. Because the most versatile and commonplace language of discussing metaphysical concepts of this caliber is the Qabbala, the Hebrew interpretation of Egyptian magic, I will use those terms throughout the discussion. Keeping in mind that during the time in which Alighiere lived it was very unpopular to speak of anything strange and non-christian so it's common to see this Christian veiling among the texts of this era. Durante was well aware of the truth in what he saw, otherwise he could not have opened a passageway to Hell herself. He was a magus in every sense of the word, and was obviously tutelaged by some very influential and powerful Italian wizards, this is clear from his biography.
First we need to go over the planes or spheres of hell, and what we generally know of them.
Gehenna is the outermost sphere. Its overlord is Lelith, the consort of Satan, Queen of the Night. Properly it should be split up into circles, as Alghierre did because it has seperate and distinct regions. I will describe these three regions as best I can.
The Fortress of Philosophy
The first plate of Gehenna: The top most layer is often mistaken for a lower astral realm. It's not even really traditionally considered to be a part of hell, though it is a hellish existence comparitively, and it is within the gates.. The river Styx can be found here, and the boatman, Charon who can take you further down into hell. There is also a great castle here called the noble fortress of philosophy. It is a place of residency for the indifferent. This is a place of ghosts and the shades of those lost in darkness. Many famous philosophers and good people (or at least their souls) reside here, but they are, as described by Alighiere, "not baptised". Now, obviously we know by virtue of seeing beyond the veil of the occult that baptism in the Christian sense is not required for enlightenment. What is the occult meaning behind this "torment"? It can be discerned that these lost people are the shades of those who have not yet pierced the veil, they have not had communication with the source, and are yet mired in their own intellectualism, too preoccupied with thinking to be able to see the truth. The Thelemites refer to this baptism as "Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel" and after Christian baptism it is symbolized that the holy spirit, usually depicted in the form ofa dove, is present guiding the anointed. This key is required for rising to the higher spheres, just as different sorts of keys are required for descending into the Great Abyss. You can indeed enter the fortress and speak with many famous philosophers, and if you were to question them, you would find that they are in fact here by choice, and that they have had conversation with the source of all. This is a mystery that is up to you to figure out.
Gate of Judgement
The second plate of Gehenna: Smaller than the first plate, Here the divine judge sorts and directs the souls incoming from the Styx. This is the classical place of the weighing of the heart spoken of in various religions in the world. It is the gateway into the second plate of hell that you must pass through. The same gatekeeper (his name is Minos) who you will encounter if you try to get into this second circle, warns to Alighiere:
"Look how thou enterest, and in whom thou trustest;
Let not the portal's amplitude deceive thee."
Just as with the first and main gateway "Abandon Hope" you require some key to make it past here. Minos is a fair and just demon, as, in fact you find all of the high level demons are, though sometimes a bit mean.
If you do get past you will find here those who have 'sinned' in some way by becoming attached to love in the wrong way. Those not permitted to love who they wanted and who were killed prematurely, those who twisted love to achieve gains, fame or anything outside of love for love's sake. Those who loved in vain, not having their love returned. Those who cannot contain their lust and are controlled by it. Many souls are trapped here with their lovers from an earthly incarnation. They can see their fate but are not wont to do anything about it. There are also, again,two types of souls here, those who wronged against "god" and those who did nothing wrong but seek justice, for example: Romeo and Juliet would fit this category. Ah the mystery thickens.
The key to passing into the third plate is also an occult puzzle.
Rainy Valley with big ugly dog
The third plate of Gehenna: A cold, torrential downpour falls eternally here. Also here is Cerberus, the great dog demon.
".. . A monster not to be overcome and that may not be described,Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced hound of Hades,fifty-headed, relentless and strong."
Hesiod, Theogony 310
Well, Cerberus is said to have three heads in some texts though this is simplified. The three heads represent guilt, fear and envy. One must overcome these to escape the third circle as a prisoner here, thus overcoming Cerberus. In The Inferno, Ciacco speaks to Durante explaining that he is trapped here for the sin of gluttony. Gluttony is of course, one of the seven deadly sins of the Roman Catholic Church. Here again we encounter the political enviroment of the time. Why do people overindulge? Many times it is out of guilt. But don't try to mention that to the biggest guilt mongering organization in world history, the Roman Catholic Church. Ciacco mentions before allowing Durante to part:
"But when thou art again in the sweet world,
I pray thee to the mind of others bring me;
No more I tell thee and no more I answer."
The souls are aware of their condition but can't do much about it, though their plight seems to lie in the hands of enlightened ones incarnated here on earth. I would suppose that many incarnated humans you may see walking down the street, the greedy businessman, the judgemental priest, are already simultaneously residing in a sphere of hell. Their higher self is actually trapped here and this has an effect on their day to day life. So in the afterlife you can see why, if suddenly you popped up in front of Cereberus up to your knees in mud and filthy rain, why you might be inclined to follow the suggestions of your guide to be born into a less than savory lifestyle to learn your lessons and escape the pit.
Down, down down the pathway around the plate of the third circle of Gehenna, to the descent and exit from Gehenna.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
Plutus "the great enemy" as Alghiere calls him, is the ruling demon here, also known as the god of wealth,who is nursed by peace. His heavenly counterpart is Fortuna, the blissful goddess of the wheel. First let's look at a couple of things written of wealth to understand it better.
"The prosperous should live ostentatiously, and so make plain the god's bounty. For the god who has bestowed these blessings thinks that a man should feel grateful to him for what he has done. But when men try to hide their fortune, alleging that they are but indifferently well off, the god sees that they are ungrateful and are living meanly, and at the first opportunity he seizes and wrests from them all that he has given before."
Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae
Plainly this describes that one should not be a miser, if you recieve wealth you should spend it or it will not be forthcoming any longer, and one should also make plain the works of the benefactor, giving credit where credit is due.When you hoard wealth you are stifling life itself, money is a tool, not an aim in itself. Thus the name of the region "Valley of the Shadow of Death".
You can find the full encounter with the valley in Canto VII of the Inferno, it's one of the more difficult passages to understand. The people in this valley are constantly wrestling and arguing with each other, and resemble little more than apes. The souls are those of people who take wealth wrongfully by force or guile, those who lust after money and place it as a god in itself and other such crimes against Fortuna.
Oreb Zaraq and the Mire of Mud: Away on the far side of where you enter The Valley of the Shadow of Death is a fountain of boiling hot water that streams out into a canyon (this is actually where the river styx emerges again from being hidden partially along this stretch). If you were to pass through the canyon you willfind yourself in the land of death, called The Mire of Mud, and here in across this bubbling mire are the fabled Gates of Death that lead to the city Oreb Zaraq.
As you walk across the sludge you can plainly see the souls of naked men (please note than when I say men I also mean the souls of women) fighting in the moor, slamming themselves against each other and tearing skin from the flesh of their fellow residents. Below the surface are still others, complaining about their lot in life, no doubt despite the fact that the words are lost in futility, no one hears them... this is in fact the cause of the bubbling at the surface of the mire. Not a pleasant place, and slightly reminiscient of a flamewar on the forums, everyone is just screaming and fighting and no one is listening to each other. hahahaha. But seriously, if you can get this far without freaking out I will salute you. Durante writes of thisplace:
Fixed in the mire they say, 'We sullen were
In the sweet air, which by the sun is gladdened,
Bearing within ourselves the sluggish reek;
Now we are sullen in this sable mire.'
Meaning...stop complaining and start living! What do you have to complain about when the air is clean and the sun is out and you're alive. Well if you don't snap out of it make room for one of these poor fellows and trade places.
Oreb Zaraq
Oreb Zaraq lies in the center of this area, it is a great infernal city of fire and iron walls under the control of the demon Phlegyas (greek name) though Persephonem another of Satan's most favored wives (Proserpine) is the queen, and her word is law. The city is seen in the form of a enormous tower surrounded by fiery and blackened dwellings, with two flames burning at its summit, and around the tower is a lake that serves as a moat. You must pass through this city to reach deeper into hell, but the trouble is, the inhabitants are most hostile to intruders. The overwhelming ambiance of the city exhudes fear and incites cowardice in the traveller. If you have made it this far you have learned that Hell has the interestingeffect of reversing any emotion you put out. If you exhude love, you will certainly receive only hatred. If you are hopeful, you will find nothing but hopelessness. Hence the warning on the gates. "Abandon all Hope" that is why you must be very careful, when moving into the next circle, what baggage you carry with you, because it changes from circle to circle. The Inferno tells us about the city:
"This fen, which a prodigious stench exhales,
Encompasses about the city dolent,
Where now we cannot enter without anger."
This means that to enter the city you require a certain key, and that key is holding anger in your heart. The furies of classical mythology guard the city, three great demonesses, Megeara, Alecto and Tisiphone who will show you no mercy if you so much as stray a little from the straight and narrow path. There is also the Gorgon here, who they will loose on you and if you look at him you will be turned to stone. To pass through the gates of the city, Durante and his guide were saved by none less than an Archangel who rebuked the guards and assured them a safe passage. Any and all activity by outsiders in the underworld is monitored closely by other beings outside of Hell, to see if pure intentions are meant by trespassing in the realm of the dead. This might sound outrageous but it is their sole function and job...angels are actually lesser beings than any human, even the Catholic Church will tell you this. It is their function to manage these affairs. Anyways,if you make it into the city you will find that it is full of tombs reserved for Hesiarchs (heretical leaders) and their followers. I am not clear on just who these heretics are, nor their relationship to the furies. You can find them, laying in open sepulchres and some may even awaken to speak with you. Where their souls are at other times, who knows. To pass the city you should keep to the outer wall and move quickly to the other side of the circle. Though if you do choose to examine the inner city or the tower, you will find that not all of the inhabitants are being punished, there are lots of 'workers' here.
Tagiriron,the Shore of Disputers
As you come full circle you will encounter, just as recorded in The Inferno, the entrance to a valley (actually these"valleys" look like craters) that exhudes a sulphurous stench. Huge boulders dwarf the traveller, and a lagoon which is on the left side of the entrance (if you are exiting Oreb Zaraq) This part of The Inferno is really interesting because you see the first hard evidence of this journey into the underworld's suspicious motives by the god who cast Lucifer out of 'heaven', where Durante's guide chides him for asking the wrong questions, when he gets too nosy about the residents of the City of Oreb Zaraq that they just passed through (or The City of Dis in The Inferno). Pope Anastasius's tomb is here. Look ahead and youwill see a thin crevasse between two mesas. This is the entrance to Golohab.
Golohab, The Forest Primeval and the Labrynth
Probably the best part of the joint yet. This is the realm of Centaurs, Satyrs,and the Minotaur who guards the Labrynth aka the Tunnels of Set. Alghiere did not get to examine the labrynth at all, but if you chose to do so you would find Set indeed in his dreamtime state at the center of the Labrynth. Still there is the matter of his avatar, the Minotaur and he's not a friendly fellow, you have to know the key to pacifying him, though this is within the reach of any studious occultist. Chiron, Nessus and Pholus, their waist as high as a man's full height are the guardians of the region, and you can learn a great deal from these ancient centaurs. Chiron in fact was the one who brought up Achilles, only the greatest warrior of the Golden Age. A moat of blood surrounds the forest isle, where the souls of those who lust for bloodshed,warmongers and sadists are pierced by the arrows of thousands of centaurs. This is a very dangerous area, and you will need to befriend one of the leaders here to accompany you if you wish to explore the moat or forest unmolested. Bear in mind that the entrance to thet unnels of Set comes before you cross the threshold over the moat of blood, so if you have already encountered Centaurs you went too far.(It's highly unlikely you will miss the Minotaur)
Now you will notice the trend here by now, the circles of hell have an entrance on one side, and you can bet anything the entrance to the deeper hell is on the opposite side, well no different here. After crossing the bridge follow the inner edge of the piping hot moat of blood and gradually the "waters" will become more shallow and you will come to a ford. Cross the ford to enter the next circle.
Agshekeloh
Note: This region IS HUGE, especially the desert.
The Forest of Agshekeloh
Here now is the forest of moaning trees, and the only bird you will find here who dares place her nest in the bowels of hell is the Harpy, who somewhat resemble shapeshifting eagles or condors, yet with breasts and a foul disposition. Now I must say on the Hebrew view of the Qlippoth this is placed as a domain of its own, however, I consider it to be an extension of Golohab, and it appears to me the Hebrew Qlippothic correspondences have also been distorted on purpose, that is, the true occult meaningis (or was) known only to the innermost members of Israel's Qabbalistic circles. I have found that it is often the case with "secret" texts that they are never revealed to outsiders in a holistic form.
The trees do audibly moan and the reason for this is that they actually contain souls. Durante was most unfortunate in discovering this by (at the suggestion of his guide) breaking of a small sprig which started bleeding allover the place and the tree rebuked him, saying (let's go to quotes shall we?)
"And the trunk cried, "Why dost thou mangle me?"
After it had become embrowned with blood,
It recommenced its cry: "Why dost thou rend me?
Hast thou no spirit of pity whatsoever?
Men once we were, and now are changed to trees;
Indeed, thy hand should be more pitiful,
Even if the souls of serpents we had been."
- Inferno: Canto XIII
Alghiere apologized, after which he managed to question it a bit, to discover that they were souls of those who had died in suicide, thrown as a seed to this level of hell by the judge Minos (found in Gehenna) The Harpies pluck off their leaves, and the black hounds of hell roam this forest as well, the same known of amongst mythology as ominous supernatural creatures who appear before a death is about to occur. And who knows what else dwells in this forest...keep going straight from the place where you entered (the ford) otherwise you my end up just going in circles because the forest actually is a ring around the next region.
The Desert of Agshekeloh
So-called because this is the place of wandering without knowing, the fabled desert where Moses wandered for weeks before finding the Well of Midea,where Jesus did his forty days thing and one learns to thirst for wisdom and true knowledge.
A beautiful and terrible place,where many naked souls wander, their skin scorched by the continual shower of tiny embers. Most of them are pretty unhappy, others are"hanged men" (as in the Tarot card of the major arcana) and are just sitting there hanging out. Don't assume that just because they are in hell doesn't mean they are not enlightened. The forest of the harpies rings the entire desert. It is IMPORTANT to stay to the edge of the forest and keep following it until you find the bloody rivulet, then itis safe to follow this and wander out into the desert.
Three of the five rivers of Hell, Acheron, Styx, and Phlegethon flow together, joining here in a tiny bloody rivulet that flows out of the side of the forest and through the fiery desert. The rivers originate from Mount Ida in Crete. Cocytus and Lethe are the other two rivers of Hell. If you keep to this rivulet you will be safe from the rain of fire and youwon't be in danger of getting hopelessly lost. If you do get lost, just keep going straight until you reach the forest, or a lake into which the rivulet of blood flows (Though I wouldn't want to be you eitherway, and I am not sure if this will work.)
As you follow the rivulet eventually it will widen, and deepen, and you will encounter a beast by the shore of the river that resembles a fabulous manticore.This is the beast of warfare, and it would be wise not incite his wrath. His name is Geryon, and it is he who you must beseech to carry you across the lake, carefully. The people in this region were seen by Durante as carrying a little pouch on their necks with a symbol of an animal on it in different colors. It is most puzzling to me, obviously symbolic in a visionary nature to him but I can only speculate on what the actual meaning is. Of them is written:
"That from the neck of each there hung a pouch,
Which certain colour had, and certain blazon;
And thereupon it seems their eyes are feeding.
And as I gazing round me come among them,
Upon a yellow pouch I azure saw
That had the face and posture of a lion.
Proceeding then the current of my sight,
Another of them saw I, red as blood,
Display a goose more white than butter is."
-Canto XVII, Alghiere's Inferno
Now as you mount Geryon be certain to tell him to carry you with all due consideration. He will move across the lake, but then the dimensions will shift. You will be moving into a deeper part of hell, and it is like crossing a void. Darkness will overcome your vision and you will descend for what seems like a great distance. Apparently the journey can be quite terrifying if you let it get to you. He will supplant you, safely I hope, upon a rocky outcropping, below this whirlpool of void, and depart swiftly.
Satariel: The Malbolge (Eighth circle of Hell)
Formed wholly of blackened iron-rich stone, this is the circle where the fraudulent and malicious are kept, of which are included seducers.. The appearance of this plate of hell is described in Inferno. The water from above, from where you descend, flows via aquaducts into ten citadels, called bolgia and they in turn have little bridges that reach out over a vast expanse, the water of the rivers of the Acheron, Styx, etc dropping into a huge well in the midst of a field in the center of the eight circle of the plane of Hell, surrounded by the ten keeps, ringed about with moats. And there are mountains and ridges surrounding the whole area, that passage through leads to other strange dimensions and places below the universe we see. It is from this place that you can most easily walk right out of the zone girdling the earth into hells unknown to us. This plane runs right under every single damn place in the universe and there are undoubtedly demons foreign to our experience in the infernos of other planets and places which bear life. But can you imagine traversing such an expanse and the weird things you might encounter? I don't really encourage this. That's a "here be dragons" area and is uncharted.
First Bolgia- Seducers and Panderers
The outcropping upon which you will be deposited is the first bolgia, the tower of seducers and panderers. Of the inhabitants is written:
"While speaking in this manner, with his scourge
A demon smote him, and said: "Get thee gone
Pander, there are no women here for coin."
Alghier's Inferno, Canto XVIII
Second Bolgia - Flatterers
The next bolgia is across a bridge and up a stair, and in the moat you may find here deceivers of the kind that flatter others, miserable and attended by demons like all the rest. So you continue this way around the entire circle, moving from tower to tower...and each one has its own specialty.
Third and Fourth Bolgia - Simoniacs
Thistomb is for those who seek to buy and sell spiritual favors, a person who thinks they can trade money for enlightenment, or one who pays money to be granted dignities of a spiritual nature and on the other hand, someone who does not share spiritual knowledge or gifts freely, but instead seeks to profit off of them. (Plastic shamans) Of it is written:
"O Simon Magus, O forlorn disciples,
Ye who the things of God, which ought to be
The brides of holiness, rapaciously For silver and for gold do prostitute,
Now it behoves for you the trumpet sound,
Because in this third Bolgia ye abide."
Inferno, Canto XIX
The surface of the torturous pit which comprises this bolgia is lava-filled holes, and the prisoners are seen with the heads and upper body in the holes, and their feet are in flames as well. When Durante questions one of the souls here, it is recounted that the souls in the little pits hope to fall through to the bottom, and into a lower part of hell, when they have finished their penance. Notable, since it is specifically stated they wish to move lower towards Satan's chambers to find their penance resolved.
At this time I am unaware of the difference between the third and fourth bolgias.
Fifth Bolgia - The Vale of Distortion
A particularily moving section for Durante. This will be an interesting discussion for readers familiar with the occult. Here is shown various soothsayers mired in the pits, twisted and mutilated. Virgil is completely vague about their lot...probably for good reason, in text at least. A tedious time during the reign of the Catholic church requiring delicate treatment of this topic. His text may have never survived without approval of the church. If we speculate a little on the manner in which he points out and describes various culprits of so-called soothsaying and witchcraft, We can deduce that perhaps these souls represent those who would use the arcane arts to stand between the universe and its will to be done, or even, some might say, those who cripple themselves by relying on controling all aspects of life through foretelling the future or other magical means, instead of just doing our homework on our own as we should allow ourselves sometime. Without an explanation by some other entity this is all just speculation and is offered as an alternative to the sensitive reader. Here are some excerpts of note, very cryptic, well worth meditating on (This is Virgil to Durante):
"Behold the wretched ones, who left the needle,
The spool and rock, and made them fortune-tellers;
They wrought their magic spells with herb and image....
.......And yesternight the moon was round already;
Thou shouldst remember well it did not harm thee
From time to time within the forest deep
Thus spake he to me, and we walked the while.......
From bridge to bridge thus, speaking other things
Of which my Comedy cares not to sing."
Durante's Inferno, Canto XX-XXI
The Sixth Bolgia - The Ebon Pits
The place of hypocrites. It's worth noting that in the fifth bolgia Durante has troubles with the residents there as he attempts to find passage towards the sixth bolgia. He imagines a horde of demons after him, upon which time Virgil is forced to whisk him away with him as a form of protection against the demons he conjured up. The way he speaks in the fifth bolgia is altogether mysterious. After I pore over it sometime I think I will be able to discover some hidden meaning there that would be important to know.
Once they pass over the border into the sixth bolgia.
The inhabitants here are seen through Durante's eyes as wearing heavy cloaks that weigh them down...beautiful cloaks "like the mantles made in Cologne" for the use of clergy, and he goes on to describe them as being gilded and dazzling--yet unbearably heavy like a leaden weight. Not really gold, in a metaphorical sense.
Durante and Virgil garner more and more curiosity the further they journey into hell. Souls wander up to them with great curiosity, except in the case of extreme violence - those engaged in such do not seem to even realize the two interlopers are present.
The cloaked individuals in the sixth bolgia halt Durante after shuffling up to him, and demand of each other or the two travellers why they are allowed to go about in Hell alive or without the heavy cloaks if they are dead.
After some talking, Virgil inquires the whereabouts of an exit from the sixth bolgia, and a friar responds thus:
Then he directed to the Friar this voice:
"Be not displeased, if granted thee, to tell us
If to the right hand any pass slopes down By which we two may issue forth from here,
Without constraining some of the black angels
To come and extricate us from this deep."
Then he made answer: "Nearer than thou hopest
There is a rock, that forth from the great circle
Proceeds, and crosses all the cruel valleys,
Save that at this 'tis broken, and does not bridge it;
You will be able to mount up the ruin,
That sidelong slopes and at the bottom rises."
Onwards...
The Ruined Bridge and the 7th Pit
As Virgil and Durante arrive at the ruined bridge, Durante notes that his guide is greatly concerned, and this disturbs him. With difficulty they cross up and over the rim of the circle, where a break out of the 7th pit is found. Exhausted, Durante sits to rest, but Virgil chides him:
"Now it behoves thee thus to put off sloth,"
My Master said; "for sitting upon down,
Or under quilt, one cometh not to fame,
Withouten which whoso his life consumes
Such vestige leaveth of himself on earth,
As smoke in air or in the water foam.
And therefore raise thee up, o'ercome the anguish
With spirit that o'ercometh every battle,
If with its heavy body it sink not.
A longer stairway it behoves thee mount;
'Tis not enough from these to have departed;
Let it avail thee, if thou understand me."
They continued, up what is described a narrow and treacherous path through the way beyond, and coming to the next moat, they cross over the arch bridge there, and Dante hears a incoherent and angry voice speaking from the blackness below him. He looks down and cannot see anything. Curious, he asks Virgil to descend so as to find out the cause of this mystery, but Virgil just tells him to do whatever he pleases.
"We from the bridge descended at its head,
Where it connects itself with the eighth bank,
And then was manifest to me the Bolgia;
And I beheld therein a terrible throng
Of serpents, and of such a monstrous kind,
That the remembrance still congeals my blood"
Durante goes on to describe the serpents as tranfixing and binding the hands and throats of men, and burning them to ash with their gaze, after which the person is reborn from the ashes or hypnotizes them to sleep. This pit is reserved for thieves and one soul mentions rape, but there are some curious allusions to defying god in this part. I shouldn't have to repeat the extreme peril Alghiere found himself in in conveying these ideas, so it takes some work to extrapolate the symbolism.
At one point, one of the denizens of the 7th pit, an former acquiantance of Durante, lifts his hand and shouts.
At the conclusion of his words, the thief
Lifted his hands aloft with both the figs,
Crying: "Take that, God, for at thee I aim them."
and Durante thinks:
"Pistoia, ah, Pistoia! why resolve not
To burn thyself to ashes and so perish,
Since in ill-doing thou thy seed excellest?
Through all the sombre circles of this Hell,
Spirit I saw not against God so proud,
Not he who fell at Thebes down from the walls!"
- Canto XXV (http://www.ccel.org/d/dante/inferno/infer27.htm)
At this point the centaur Cacus arrives, with serpents and a fire breathing dragon on the back of its neck, and demands angrily to know who dares to scoff at god.
Durante places a finger horizontally over his lips, touching his nose, raising his eyebrows as if to say to the reader "This is a secret, pay attention." as he beholds a 'serpent' with six legs entwine itself around the body of someone named "Agnello" whereupon they merge like "heated wax" and the two "onlookers" exclaim "Behold, thou now art neither two nor one."
The 8th Pit
Over the bridge of the 8th pit, Durante observes the souls below as horned flames, fitting with the earlier visions in the pit where serpent's gaze turns souls to ash. He speaks to a few, though I did not find much of interet in this passage. The pit is reserved for those of "thievish fire".
The 9th Pit
Reserved for sowers of discord, as mentioned at the end of Canto XXVII
tbc.
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Dante et Virgile au Enfers
William Bouguereau
Oil on Canvas
1850
Thewords looked upon by the magician Durante Alighiere over 800 years ago above the gates of Hell itself. Gladly he came back and transmitted the work to humanity, though it is seen as little more than a great poetic work. Hell has both a physical density below our own earthly vibrational rate and also a spheric vibration. That is, it exists as both a locale and as a psychological state of being. For instance the state of war vs the place of Mars, the planet of war. They are one and the same. The Inferno is completely accurate as a study in a journey to the realm of the underworld. Because the most versatile and commonplace language of discussing metaphysical concepts of this caliber is the Qabbala, the Hebrew interpretation of Egyptian magic, I will use those terms throughout the discussion. Keeping in mind that during the time in which Alighiere lived it was very unpopular to speak of anything strange and non-christian so it's common to see this Christian veiling among the texts of this era. Durante was well aware of the truth in what he saw, otherwise he could not have opened a passageway to Hell herself. He was a magus in every sense of the word, and was obviously tutelaged by some very influential and powerful Italian wizards, this is clear from his biography.
First we need to go over the planes or spheres of hell, and what we generally know of them.
Gehenna is the outermost sphere. Its overlord is Lelith, the consort of Satan, Queen of the Night. Properly it should be split up into circles, as Alghierre did because it has seperate and distinct regions. I will describe these three regions as best I can.
The Fortress of Philosophy
The first plate of Gehenna: The top most layer is often mistaken for a lower astral realm. It's not even really traditionally considered to be a part of hell, though it is a hellish existence comparitively, and it is within the gates.. The river Styx can be found here, and the boatman, Charon who can take you further down into hell. There is also a great castle here called the noble fortress of philosophy. It is a place of residency for the indifferent. This is a place of ghosts and the shades of those lost in darkness. Many famous philosophers and good people (or at least their souls) reside here, but they are, as described by Alighiere, "not baptised". Now, obviously we know by virtue of seeing beyond the veil of the occult that baptism in the Christian sense is not required for enlightenment. What is the occult meaning behind this "torment"? It can be discerned that these lost people are the shades of those who have not yet pierced the veil, they have not had communication with the source, and are yet mired in their own intellectualism, too preoccupied with thinking to be able to see the truth. The Thelemites refer to this baptism as "Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel" and after Christian baptism it is symbolized that the holy spirit, usually depicted in the form ofa dove, is present guiding the anointed. This key is required for rising to the higher spheres, just as different sorts of keys are required for descending into the Great Abyss. You can indeed enter the fortress and speak with many famous philosophers, and if you were to question them, you would find that they are in fact here by choice, and that they have had conversation with the source of all. This is a mystery that is up to you to figure out.
Gate of Judgement
The second plate of Gehenna: Smaller than the first plate, Here the divine judge sorts and directs the souls incoming from the Styx. This is the classical place of the weighing of the heart spoken of in various religions in the world. It is the gateway into the second plate of hell that you must pass through. The same gatekeeper (his name is Minos) who you will encounter if you try to get into this second circle, warns to Alighiere:
"Look how thou enterest, and in whom thou trustest;
Let not the portal's amplitude deceive thee."
Just as with the first and main gateway "Abandon Hope" you require some key to make it past here. Minos is a fair and just demon, as, in fact you find all of the high level demons are, though sometimes a bit mean.
If you do get past you will find here those who have 'sinned' in some way by becoming attached to love in the wrong way. Those not permitted to love who they wanted and who were killed prematurely, those who twisted love to achieve gains, fame or anything outside of love for love's sake. Those who loved in vain, not having their love returned. Those who cannot contain their lust and are controlled by it. Many souls are trapped here with their lovers from an earthly incarnation. They can see their fate but are not wont to do anything about it. There are also, again,two types of souls here, those who wronged against "god" and those who did nothing wrong but seek justice, for example: Romeo and Juliet would fit this category. Ah the mystery thickens.
The key to passing into the third plate is also an occult puzzle.
Rainy Valley with big ugly dog
The third plate of Gehenna: A cold, torrential downpour falls eternally here. Also here is Cerberus, the great dog demon.
".. . A monster not to be overcome and that may not be described,Cerberus who eats raw flesh, the brazen-voiced hound of Hades,fifty-headed, relentless and strong."
Hesiod, Theogony 310
Well, Cerberus is said to have three heads in some texts though this is simplified. The three heads represent guilt, fear and envy. One must overcome these to escape the third circle as a prisoner here, thus overcoming Cerberus. In The Inferno, Ciacco speaks to Durante explaining that he is trapped here for the sin of gluttony. Gluttony is of course, one of the seven deadly sins of the Roman Catholic Church. Here again we encounter the political enviroment of the time. Why do people overindulge? Many times it is out of guilt. But don't try to mention that to the biggest guilt mongering organization in world history, the Roman Catholic Church. Ciacco mentions before allowing Durante to part:
"But when thou art again in the sweet world,
I pray thee to the mind of others bring me;
No more I tell thee and no more I answer."
The souls are aware of their condition but can't do much about it, though their plight seems to lie in the hands of enlightened ones incarnated here on earth. I would suppose that many incarnated humans you may see walking down the street, the greedy businessman, the judgemental priest, are already simultaneously residing in a sphere of hell. Their higher self is actually trapped here and this has an effect on their day to day life. So in the afterlife you can see why, if suddenly you popped up in front of Cereberus up to your knees in mud and filthy rain, why you might be inclined to follow the suggestions of your guide to be born into a less than savory lifestyle to learn your lessons and escape the pit.
Down, down down the pathway around the plate of the third circle of Gehenna, to the descent and exit from Gehenna.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
Plutus "the great enemy" as Alghiere calls him, is the ruling demon here, also known as the god of wealth,who is nursed by peace. His heavenly counterpart is Fortuna, the blissful goddess of the wheel. First let's look at a couple of things written of wealth to understand it better.
"The prosperous should live ostentatiously, and so make plain the god's bounty. For the god who has bestowed these blessings thinks that a man should feel grateful to him for what he has done. But when men try to hide their fortune, alleging that they are but indifferently well off, the god sees that they are ungrateful and are living meanly, and at the first opportunity he seizes and wrests from them all that he has given before."
Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae
Plainly this describes that one should not be a miser, if you recieve wealth you should spend it or it will not be forthcoming any longer, and one should also make plain the works of the benefactor, giving credit where credit is due.When you hoard wealth you are stifling life itself, money is a tool, not an aim in itself. Thus the name of the region "Valley of the Shadow of Death".
You can find the full encounter with the valley in Canto VII of the Inferno, it's one of the more difficult passages to understand. The people in this valley are constantly wrestling and arguing with each other, and resemble little more than apes. The souls are those of people who take wealth wrongfully by force or guile, those who lust after money and place it as a god in itself and other such crimes against Fortuna.
Oreb Zaraq and the Mire of Mud: Away on the far side of where you enter The Valley of the Shadow of Death is a fountain of boiling hot water that streams out into a canyon (this is actually where the river styx emerges again from being hidden partially along this stretch). If you were to pass through the canyon you willfind yourself in the land of death, called The Mire of Mud, and here in across this bubbling mire are the fabled Gates of Death that lead to the city Oreb Zaraq.
As you walk across the sludge you can plainly see the souls of naked men (please note than when I say men I also mean the souls of women) fighting in the moor, slamming themselves against each other and tearing skin from the flesh of their fellow residents. Below the surface are still others, complaining about their lot in life, no doubt despite the fact that the words are lost in futility, no one hears them... this is in fact the cause of the bubbling at the surface of the mire. Not a pleasant place, and slightly reminiscient of a flamewar on the forums, everyone is just screaming and fighting and no one is listening to each other. hahahaha. But seriously, if you can get this far without freaking out I will salute you. Durante writes of thisplace:
Fixed in the mire they say, 'We sullen were
In the sweet air, which by the sun is gladdened,
Bearing within ourselves the sluggish reek;
Now we are sullen in this sable mire.'
Meaning...stop complaining and start living! What do you have to complain about when the air is clean and the sun is out and you're alive. Well if you don't snap out of it make room for one of these poor fellows and trade places.
Oreb Zaraq
Oreb Zaraq lies in the center of this area, it is a great infernal city of fire and iron walls under the control of the demon Phlegyas (greek name) though Persephonem another of Satan's most favored wives (Proserpine) is the queen, and her word is law. The city is seen in the form of a enormous tower surrounded by fiery and blackened dwellings, with two flames burning at its summit, and around the tower is a lake that serves as a moat. You must pass through this city to reach deeper into hell, but the trouble is, the inhabitants are most hostile to intruders. The overwhelming ambiance of the city exhudes fear and incites cowardice in the traveller. If you have made it this far you have learned that Hell has the interestingeffect of reversing any emotion you put out. If you exhude love, you will certainly receive only hatred. If you are hopeful, you will find nothing but hopelessness. Hence the warning on the gates. "Abandon all Hope" that is why you must be very careful, when moving into the next circle, what baggage you carry with you, because it changes from circle to circle. The Inferno tells us about the city:
"This fen, which a prodigious stench exhales,
Encompasses about the city dolent,
Where now we cannot enter without anger."
This means that to enter the city you require a certain key, and that key is holding anger in your heart. The furies of classical mythology guard the city, three great demonesses, Megeara, Alecto and Tisiphone who will show you no mercy if you so much as stray a little from the straight and narrow path. There is also the Gorgon here, who they will loose on you and if you look at him you will be turned to stone. To pass through the gates of the city, Durante and his guide were saved by none less than an Archangel who rebuked the guards and assured them a safe passage. Any and all activity by outsiders in the underworld is monitored closely by other beings outside of Hell, to see if pure intentions are meant by trespassing in the realm of the dead. This might sound outrageous but it is their sole function and job...angels are actually lesser beings than any human, even the Catholic Church will tell you this. It is their function to manage these affairs. Anyways,if you make it into the city you will find that it is full of tombs reserved for Hesiarchs (heretical leaders) and their followers. I am not clear on just who these heretics are, nor their relationship to the furies. You can find them, laying in open sepulchres and some may even awaken to speak with you. Where their souls are at other times, who knows. To pass the city you should keep to the outer wall and move quickly to the other side of the circle. Though if you do choose to examine the inner city or the tower, you will find that not all of the inhabitants are being punished, there are lots of 'workers' here.
Tagiriron,the Shore of Disputers
As you come full circle you will encounter, just as recorded in The Inferno, the entrance to a valley (actually these"valleys" look like craters) that exhudes a sulphurous stench. Huge boulders dwarf the traveller, and a lagoon which is on the left side of the entrance (if you are exiting Oreb Zaraq) This part of The Inferno is really interesting because you see the first hard evidence of this journey into the underworld's suspicious motives by the god who cast Lucifer out of 'heaven', where Durante's guide chides him for asking the wrong questions, when he gets too nosy about the residents of the City of Oreb Zaraq that they just passed through (or The City of Dis in The Inferno). Pope Anastasius's tomb is here. Look ahead and youwill see a thin crevasse between two mesas. This is the entrance to Golohab.
Golohab, The Forest Primeval and the Labrynth
Probably the best part of the joint yet. This is the realm of Centaurs, Satyrs,and the Minotaur who guards the Labrynth aka the Tunnels of Set. Alghiere did not get to examine the labrynth at all, but if you chose to do so you would find Set indeed in his dreamtime state at the center of the Labrynth. Still there is the matter of his avatar, the Minotaur and he's not a friendly fellow, you have to know the key to pacifying him, though this is within the reach of any studious occultist. Chiron, Nessus and Pholus, their waist as high as a man's full height are the guardians of the region, and you can learn a great deal from these ancient centaurs. Chiron in fact was the one who brought up Achilles, only the greatest warrior of the Golden Age. A moat of blood surrounds the forest isle, where the souls of those who lust for bloodshed,warmongers and sadists are pierced by the arrows of thousands of centaurs. This is a very dangerous area, and you will need to befriend one of the leaders here to accompany you if you wish to explore the moat or forest unmolested. Bear in mind that the entrance to thet unnels of Set comes before you cross the threshold over the moat of blood, so if you have already encountered Centaurs you went too far.(It's highly unlikely you will miss the Minotaur)
Now you will notice the trend here by now, the circles of hell have an entrance on one side, and you can bet anything the entrance to the deeper hell is on the opposite side, well no different here. After crossing the bridge follow the inner edge of the piping hot moat of blood and gradually the "waters" will become more shallow and you will come to a ford. Cross the ford to enter the next circle.
Agshekeloh
Note: This region IS HUGE, especially the desert.
The Forest of Agshekeloh
Here now is the forest of moaning trees, and the only bird you will find here who dares place her nest in the bowels of hell is the Harpy, who somewhat resemble shapeshifting eagles or condors, yet with breasts and a foul disposition. Now I must say on the Hebrew view of the Qlippoth this is placed as a domain of its own, however, I consider it to be an extension of Golohab, and it appears to me the Hebrew Qlippothic correspondences have also been distorted on purpose, that is, the true occult meaningis (or was) known only to the innermost members of Israel's Qabbalistic circles. I have found that it is often the case with "secret" texts that they are never revealed to outsiders in a holistic form.
The trees do audibly moan and the reason for this is that they actually contain souls. Durante was most unfortunate in discovering this by (at the suggestion of his guide) breaking of a small sprig which started bleeding allover the place and the tree rebuked him, saying (let's go to quotes shall we?)
"And the trunk cried, "Why dost thou mangle me?"
After it had become embrowned with blood,
It recommenced its cry: "Why dost thou rend me?
Hast thou no spirit of pity whatsoever?
Men once we were, and now are changed to trees;
Indeed, thy hand should be more pitiful,
Even if the souls of serpents we had been."
- Inferno: Canto XIII
Alghiere apologized, after which he managed to question it a bit, to discover that they were souls of those who had died in suicide, thrown as a seed to this level of hell by the judge Minos (found in Gehenna) The Harpies pluck off their leaves, and the black hounds of hell roam this forest as well, the same known of amongst mythology as ominous supernatural creatures who appear before a death is about to occur. And who knows what else dwells in this forest...keep going straight from the place where you entered (the ford) otherwise you my end up just going in circles because the forest actually is a ring around the next region.
The Desert of Agshekeloh
So-called because this is the place of wandering without knowing, the fabled desert where Moses wandered for weeks before finding the Well of Midea,where Jesus did his forty days thing and one learns to thirst for wisdom and true knowledge.
A beautiful and terrible place,where many naked souls wander, their skin scorched by the continual shower of tiny embers. Most of them are pretty unhappy, others are"hanged men" (as in the Tarot card of the major arcana) and are just sitting there hanging out. Don't assume that just because they are in hell doesn't mean they are not enlightened. The forest of the harpies rings the entire desert. It is IMPORTANT to stay to the edge of the forest and keep following it until you find the bloody rivulet, then itis safe to follow this and wander out into the desert.
Three of the five rivers of Hell, Acheron, Styx, and Phlegethon flow together, joining here in a tiny bloody rivulet that flows out of the side of the forest and through the fiery desert. The rivers originate from Mount Ida in Crete. Cocytus and Lethe are the other two rivers of Hell. If you keep to this rivulet you will be safe from the rain of fire and youwon't be in danger of getting hopelessly lost. If you do get lost, just keep going straight until you reach the forest, or a lake into which the rivulet of blood flows (Though I wouldn't want to be you eitherway, and I am not sure if this will work.)
As you follow the rivulet eventually it will widen, and deepen, and you will encounter a beast by the shore of the river that resembles a fabulous manticore.This is the beast of warfare, and it would be wise not incite his wrath. His name is Geryon, and it is he who you must beseech to carry you across the lake, carefully. The people in this region were seen by Durante as carrying a little pouch on their necks with a symbol of an animal on it in different colors. It is most puzzling to me, obviously symbolic in a visionary nature to him but I can only speculate on what the actual meaning is. Of them is written:
"That from the neck of each there hung a pouch,
Which certain colour had, and certain blazon;
And thereupon it seems their eyes are feeding.
And as I gazing round me come among them,
Upon a yellow pouch I azure saw
That had the face and posture of a lion.
Proceeding then the current of my sight,
Another of them saw I, red as blood,
Display a goose more white than butter is."
-Canto XVII, Alghiere's Inferno
Now as you mount Geryon be certain to tell him to carry you with all due consideration. He will move across the lake, but then the dimensions will shift. You will be moving into a deeper part of hell, and it is like crossing a void. Darkness will overcome your vision and you will descend for what seems like a great distance. Apparently the journey can be quite terrifying if you let it get to you. He will supplant you, safely I hope, upon a rocky outcropping, below this whirlpool of void, and depart swiftly.
Satariel: The Malbolge (Eighth circle of Hell)
Formed wholly of blackened iron-rich stone, this is the circle where the fraudulent and malicious are kept, of which are included seducers.. The appearance of this plate of hell is described in Inferno. The water from above, from where you descend, flows via aquaducts into ten citadels, called bolgia and they in turn have little bridges that reach out over a vast expanse, the water of the rivers of the Acheron, Styx, etc dropping into a huge well in the midst of a field in the center of the eight circle of the plane of Hell, surrounded by the ten keeps, ringed about with moats. And there are mountains and ridges surrounding the whole area, that passage through leads to other strange dimensions and places below the universe we see. It is from this place that you can most easily walk right out of the zone girdling the earth into hells unknown to us. This plane runs right under every single damn place in the universe and there are undoubtedly demons foreign to our experience in the infernos of other planets and places which bear life. But can you imagine traversing such an expanse and the weird things you might encounter? I don't really encourage this. That's a "here be dragons" area and is uncharted.
First Bolgia- Seducers and Panderers
The outcropping upon which you will be deposited is the first bolgia, the tower of seducers and panderers. Of the inhabitants is written:
"While speaking in this manner, with his scourge
A demon smote him, and said: "Get thee gone
Pander, there are no women here for coin."
Alghier's Inferno, Canto XVIII
Second Bolgia - Flatterers
The next bolgia is across a bridge and up a stair, and in the moat you may find here deceivers of the kind that flatter others, miserable and attended by demons like all the rest. So you continue this way around the entire circle, moving from tower to tower...and each one has its own specialty.
Third and Fourth Bolgia - Simoniacs
Thistomb is for those who seek to buy and sell spiritual favors, a person who thinks they can trade money for enlightenment, or one who pays money to be granted dignities of a spiritual nature and on the other hand, someone who does not share spiritual knowledge or gifts freely, but instead seeks to profit off of them. (Plastic shamans) Of it is written:
"O Simon Magus, O forlorn disciples,
Ye who the things of God, which ought to be
The brides of holiness, rapaciously For silver and for gold do prostitute,
Now it behoves for you the trumpet sound,
Because in this third Bolgia ye abide."
Inferno, Canto XIX
The surface of the torturous pit which comprises this bolgia is lava-filled holes, and the prisoners are seen with the heads and upper body in the holes, and their feet are in flames as well. When Durante questions one of the souls here, it is recounted that the souls in the little pits hope to fall through to the bottom, and into a lower part of hell, when they have finished their penance. Notable, since it is specifically stated they wish to move lower towards Satan's chambers to find their penance resolved.
At this time I am unaware of the difference between the third and fourth bolgias.
Fifth Bolgia - The Vale of Distortion
A particularily moving section for Durante. This will be an interesting discussion for readers familiar with the occult. Here is shown various soothsayers mired in the pits, twisted and mutilated. Virgil is completely vague about their lot...probably for good reason, in text at least. A tedious time during the reign of the Catholic church requiring delicate treatment of this topic. His text may have never survived without approval of the church. If we speculate a little on the manner in which he points out and describes various culprits of so-called soothsaying and witchcraft, We can deduce that perhaps these souls represent those who would use the arcane arts to stand between the universe and its will to be done, or even, some might say, those who cripple themselves by relying on controling all aspects of life through foretelling the future or other magical means, instead of just doing our homework on our own as we should allow ourselves sometime. Without an explanation by some other entity this is all just speculation and is offered as an alternative to the sensitive reader. Here are some excerpts of note, very cryptic, well worth meditating on (This is Virgil to Durante):
"Behold the wretched ones, who left the needle,
The spool and rock, and made them fortune-tellers;
They wrought their magic spells with herb and image....
.......And yesternight the moon was round already;
Thou shouldst remember well it did not harm thee
From time to time within the forest deep
Thus spake he to me, and we walked the while.......
From bridge to bridge thus, speaking other things
Of which my Comedy cares not to sing."
Durante's Inferno, Canto XX-XXI
The Sixth Bolgia - The Ebon Pits
The place of hypocrites. It's worth noting that in the fifth bolgia Durante has troubles with the residents there as he attempts to find passage towards the sixth bolgia. He imagines a horde of demons after him, upon which time Virgil is forced to whisk him away with him as a form of protection against the demons he conjured up. The way he speaks in the fifth bolgia is altogether mysterious. After I pore over it sometime I think I will be able to discover some hidden meaning there that would be important to know.
Once they pass over the border into the sixth bolgia.
The inhabitants here are seen through Durante's eyes as wearing heavy cloaks that weigh them down...beautiful cloaks "like the mantles made in Cologne" for the use of clergy, and he goes on to describe them as being gilded and dazzling--yet unbearably heavy like a leaden weight. Not really gold, in a metaphorical sense.
Durante and Virgil garner more and more curiosity the further they journey into hell. Souls wander up to them with great curiosity, except in the case of extreme violence - those engaged in such do not seem to even realize the two interlopers are present.
The cloaked individuals in the sixth bolgia halt Durante after shuffling up to him, and demand of each other or the two travellers why they are allowed to go about in Hell alive or without the heavy cloaks if they are dead.
After some talking, Virgil inquires the whereabouts of an exit from the sixth bolgia, and a friar responds thus:
Then he directed to the Friar this voice:
"Be not displeased, if granted thee, to tell us
If to the right hand any pass slopes down By which we two may issue forth from here,
Without constraining some of the black angels
To come and extricate us from this deep."
Then he made answer: "Nearer than thou hopest
There is a rock, that forth from the great circle
Proceeds, and crosses all the cruel valleys,
Save that at this 'tis broken, and does not bridge it;
You will be able to mount up the ruin,
That sidelong slopes and at the bottom rises."
Onwards...
The Ruined Bridge and the 7th Pit
As Virgil and Durante arrive at the ruined bridge, Durante notes that his guide is greatly concerned, and this disturbs him. With difficulty they cross up and over the rim of the circle, where a break out of the 7th pit is found. Exhausted, Durante sits to rest, but Virgil chides him:
"Now it behoves thee thus to put off sloth,"
My Master said; "for sitting upon down,
Or under quilt, one cometh not to fame,
Withouten which whoso his life consumes
Such vestige leaveth of himself on earth,
As smoke in air or in the water foam.
And therefore raise thee up, o'ercome the anguish
With spirit that o'ercometh every battle,
If with its heavy body it sink not.
A longer stairway it behoves thee mount;
'Tis not enough from these to have departed;
Let it avail thee, if thou understand me."
They continued, up what is described a narrow and treacherous path through the way beyond, and coming to the next moat, they cross over the arch bridge there, and Dante hears a incoherent and angry voice speaking from the blackness below him. He looks down and cannot see anything. Curious, he asks Virgil to descend so as to find out the cause of this mystery, but Virgil just tells him to do whatever he pleases.
"We from the bridge descended at its head,
Where it connects itself with the eighth bank,
And then was manifest to me the Bolgia;
And I beheld therein a terrible throng
Of serpents, and of such a monstrous kind,
That the remembrance still congeals my blood"
Durante goes on to describe the serpents as tranfixing and binding the hands and throats of men, and burning them to ash with their gaze, after which the person is reborn from the ashes or hypnotizes them to sleep. This pit is reserved for thieves and one soul mentions rape, but there are some curious allusions to defying god in this part. I shouldn't have to repeat the extreme peril Alghiere found himself in in conveying these ideas, so it takes some work to extrapolate the symbolism.
At one point, one of the denizens of the 7th pit, an former acquiantance of Durante, lifts his hand and shouts.
At the conclusion of his words, the thief
Lifted his hands aloft with both the figs,
Crying: "Take that, God, for at thee I aim them."
and Durante thinks:
"Pistoia, ah, Pistoia! why resolve not
To burn thyself to ashes and so perish,
Since in ill-doing thou thy seed excellest?
Through all the sombre circles of this Hell,
Spirit I saw not against God so proud,
Not he who fell at Thebes down from the walls!"
- Canto XXV (http://www.ccel.org/d/dante/inferno/infer27.htm)
At this point the centaur Cacus arrives, with serpents and a fire breathing dragon on the back of its neck, and demands angrily to know who dares to scoff at god.
Durante places a finger horizontally over his lips, touching his nose, raising his eyebrows as if to say to the reader "This is a secret, pay attention." as he beholds a 'serpent' with six legs entwine itself around the body of someone named "Agnello" whereupon they merge like "heated wax" and the two "onlookers" exclaim "Behold, thou now art neither two nor one."
The 8th Pit
Over the bridge of the 8th pit, Durante observes the souls below as horned flames, fitting with the earlier visions in the pit where serpent's gaze turns souls to ash. He speaks to a few, though I did not find much of interet in this passage. The pit is reserved for those of "thievish fire".
The 9th Pit
Reserved for sowers of discord, as mentioned at the end of Canto XXVII
tbc.