Disney's Esotericism

[Tamrin]

Although he had been in DeMolay, Walt Disney never became a Freemason. Matters esoteric are, however not confined to Freemasons and anyone interested in esotericism will find much of interest in many of Disney's themes. From quite overt tales such as in The Black Cauldron, to his retelling of Pinocchio, in turn a retelling of Apuleius' The Golden Ass, we find Disney drawn again and again to informing his young audience of what lies within. Consider the following excerpt from Disney's, The Gates of Shambhala:

[Tamrin]

We would expect Disney to repeat some themes when we bear-in-mind the huge diversity of tales told by his studio and that there are said to be only seven basic plots: overcoming the monster; rags to riches; the quest; voyage and return; comedy; tragedy; rebirth. I sugest a common Masonic theme is that of voyage and return (e.g., Whence come you? & the sojourners' return). I once wrote:

Freemasonry stresses that we are each an emanation of the Deity. Thus, we have divine origins and that which is essen­tial within each of us is divine. Emanationist theology was most clear­­ly espoused by the NeoPlatonists who held that, after exper­iencing the rigours of physical man­i­fest­­at­ion, during which we dev­elop self-consciousness, self-control and self-sacrifice, we re­turn to our source, enriched and better able to participate in the un­folding of consciousness and in the ongoing pro­cess of creation.

Pop­ular emanationist stories include the parable of the prodigal son; The Magic Flute, by Mozart (a mason); The Jungle Books’, by Rudyard Kipling (another mason); and ‘The Wizard of Oz, by Frank Baum (a theosophist). The same theme was central to many of the Ancient Myths and was depicted in the Ancient Mysteries.

[Tamrin]

Donald in Mathemagic Land

[hrafn9]