Warp and Woof

The symbolic meaning of the warp and woof. The vertical is the warp, which symbolically can mean the form, the way things should be, the unconscious, the ephemeral; while the horizontal is the woof, meaning the substance, the way things are, the conscious and concrete. Titus Burckhardt uses this warp and woof as an illustration in his collected writings I've been reading called 'The Essesntial Titus Burckhardt.' It is a collection of his writings concerning sacred art, alchemy, history, religion and architecture. Mr. Burckhardt is a perennial traditionalist, and it is surprising what some of the arcane subjects are that are classified as 'traditional'. The perennial philosophy, simply stated, is that there is more to life than what meets the eye. Titus Burckhardt beautifully emphasizes this point in what ever subject he writes about. Calmly he assures us that our myths tell us over and over again that while we have an animal nature that will die, we have a soulful and spiritual nature that are eternal. And what an adventure it is to look inward and discover this tripartite nature of a human being. To see that part of our selves that is universal, eternal and unchanging, the warp, along with that part of our selves that is particular, mortal and fickle, the woof. Looking inward critically, one can begin to see the interweaving of the animal, soulful and spiritual natures and how the three make one. 'A three cord rope is not soon broke' goes the wise saying.

It was not until I suffered a severe crisis that I realized I have these three elements within me. But I did indeed have one. And the thing is that when the three elements are highly distinct, this is a most dangerous time, as there should always be a link between the three. Joseph Campbell would describe the phase I am in now as the 'return'. Carl Gustav Jung would call it 'reintegration', in both cases meaning the reunification of the animal to the soulful, and the soulful to the spiritual. A ladder is broken, and then rebuilt, rung by rung. Or a person leaves on a long journey and finally returns home, stronger and wiser after the travelling is done and the obstacles along the way have been overcome.

The warp and the woof.