I’m thinking about a book today that I once read by C.S. Lewis called “Till We Have Faces”. It is a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche. Lewis’s story takes place in a Greek inspired setting in which Psyche is named “Istra” and Cupid is the “God of the Grey Mountain”. I don’t want to give away the whole story, but it touched me so much that I feel compelled to discuss it.
Till We Have Faces, being a story about Gods and men, made me think of humankind’s own interactions with the “Gods”. It made me think about native legends of the “Star People” who return to earth to gift knowledge to mankind during a time when mankind looses its way. And to be honest as the planet we live on dissolves both ecologically and sociologically I find myself hoping for their return too, asking:
“Why do you suppose the Gods haven’t come yet?” and “When do you suppose they will?”
While reading this book I became convinced I found the answers to these questions. It dawned on me when Orual, who’s Istra’s sister, says: “I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer.” And she goes on to say that the Gods cannot meet us until we ourselves have faces. Until we have faces? In other words, the Gods cannot meet us until we have learned to come from a place of authenticity, and developed faces of our own. I think that there’s something that must happen internally, within the hearts of mankind, in order for Gods who carry knowledge with them to return to us.
There were a lot of lessons in this story about not only love but also how humanity treats beauty. Istra was so beautiful that initially all the people fell to their feet & worshipped her as if she were a reincarnation of Venus. Then, in stark contrast to worshipping her, when the people began falling ill, they turned on her and began blaming her for their woes. They were so hyper-fixated on her that she became both the muse/savior and then the curse/problem.
I love Istra, because her beauty acted like a mirror revealing what lives within the hearts of mankind.
I told my Father about this book and he, being a lover of progressive rock music said: “Till We Have Faces is an album by Steve Hackett!” After doing a little bit of research we discovered Steve liked the story so much it inspired an entire album. It’s a no brainer that I must include a song from his album in honor of this beautiful story. After listening to the album myself I decided on this thought provoking song “Gulf”, which in my opinion, lyrically reminds me of Istra and the intense emotions her beauty may have evoked within the hearts of all those around her:
“Cover up your women like it says in the Koran. Well maybe it’s the will of the lord? Or the mind of man?”
