Spiritualism and mythology in MIKA's Concert and Music.

[Stormy Weather]

I was just wondering about some of these things today!! I knew Mika said he grew up a good catholic boy, but I wondered if he was still religious or spiritual.

And I noticed a while back that in "Live in Cartoon Motion" during the "Long Way From Home segment, in Chapter 4, at 38:12 there is a picture of Jesus from the movie "Jesus of Nazareth". And it scares me every single time I see it!

 

Wow! I never noticed that

[Stormy Weather]

So I'm not the only one who's seen Jesus in the Mika dvd!? Yes! I thought i was going crazy for a while.

 

That's it, I am going to watch the DVD right now and pay ATTENTION!!!!!

[Hi Mika]

Where's Mika?

[violet_sky]

Where's Mika?

 

What a fundamental question.

[Hi Mika]

What's all this officialness about anyway?

[RAK1]

btw..on the back of the dvd cover, what does the falling-from-the-cloud frog grabbing a red dice with a sorta nimbus around stand for:confused:

 

And in the booklet, what's that handle bar {or its a gun?} among the leaves of one tree?!

 

Finally..dunno if someone already answered, why that sitting nude human figure{a mannequin?} with hands up?

 

The naked man is actually the androgenous man, either man or woman, completely asexual.

The first appearance of Grey Skelly was on All Souls day at the EMAs, in Germany. Since the German church leaders were up in arms about it being held that day, I think Mika was inspired in doing that, maybe to make up for it.

[xBillyBrownx]

Wow this is interesting.. Never though about it! I guess it's possible!

[canuckchick]

This is quite an interesting thread and I would love to see where all of this goes. It all makes perfect sense, but then again it could all be coincidence of course. Maybe MIKA himself could elaborate, hmmmmm??? ( wink wink nudge nudge)

[elanorelle]

well hello!

I've been thinking of this today myself!

 

wonder if there is something Jungian here!

 

(not going to psychoanalyze this...but hey)

 

there is so much symbolism! I see so much of it!

[greta]

well hello!

I've been thinking of this today myself!

 

wonder if there is something Jungian here!

 

(not going to psychoanalyze this...but hey)

 

there is so much symbolism! I see so much of it!

yeah..some symbols are quite easy to understand

The shadow

Sex and the life instincts in general are, of course, represented somewhere in Jung's system. They are a part of an archetype called the shadow. It derives from our prehuman, animal past, when our concerns were limited to survival and reproduction, and when we weren't self-conscious.

It is the "dark side" of the ego, and the evil that we are capable of is often stored there. Actually, the shadow is amoral -- neither good nor bad, just like animals. An animal is capable of tender care for its young and vicious killing for food, but it doesn't choose to do either. It just does what it does. It is "innocent." But from our human perspective, the animal world looks rather brutal, inhuman, so the shadow becomes something of a garbage can for the parts of ourselves that we can't quite admit to.

Symbols of the shadow include the snake (as in the garden of Eden), the dragon, monsters, and demons

 

The hermaphrodite, both male and female, represents the union of opposites, an important idea in Jung's theory. In some religious art, Jesus is presented as a rather feminine man. Likewise, in China, the character Kuan Yin began as a male saint (the bodhisattva Avalokiteshwara), but was portrayed in such a feminine manner that he is more often thought of as the female goddess of compassion!

without speakig of the trees...

http://www.symbols.net/treeoflife/

 

or the birds

http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Birds/id/231293

 

but i also think that overanalizing it's pointless...

the hot-air baloon of the Brits bg maybe was only a reprise of the Big Girl verse, not a longing for something spiritual

[sparkly1]

This is the first time I have seen this thread, it's really interesting, I am not religious in the slightest, but I find these comparisons really interesting. I do think Mika probably does things on purpose, he always seems so in control of things in his life so I am sure he thinks deeply about how and what he is portraying to the public.

 

I am definitely going to look deeper into these things in future, I normally do that with the lyrics anyway and I also the art work etc, but I guess I had my own interpretations, like....the tree to me also symbolized how important his family are to him, and the asexual person was him to me as I see him sometimes that way, that is why he appeals so much to both sexes IMO.

 

I also like analysing, I think its really interesting, and harmless it's not like we are saying our interpretations are right, it's just interesting to wonder.

[kaeryana]

this makes me wonder,does he do all the choreography as a religious symbolism or just as to make a different showmanship from other singers?judging by all the stuff you've gathered up,i'm interpreting that Mika is trying to attract people from diff cultures and races to be a part of his performance,and simultaneously being charismatic in it himself.

[Gracekelly85]

this thread it's very interesting.. I like mythologic stories....

[sienna]

umbrella{as rain-shelter}:seeking repair under it means to escape from reality an responsability; a such accepted protection as is being traduced as a reduction of dignity, indipendence, life potentiality.

 

skeleton:as descripted in Petronius Satyricon its a symbol of death in general, lifes brevity. the view of a skeleton in the iddle of a banquet should excite the party people to enjoy more intensely the ephemeral moments of pleasure; it appears also in the medioeval danse macabre with similar function

 

tree=verticality, life in continue evolution, celestial ascension; it links the 3 cosmic levels: the underground{roots}+earth{trunk}+sky{hair} represents the cyclic cosm, death&regeneration{ especially the frail-leaves trees}; it reunites all the elements: water{sap}earth, air, fire{from the timber}....

 

 

11{tracks in LICM}: for St.Agostino twas the sin number;1+1=2= opposition,interior struggle,rebellion,angels revolt etc; the individual initiative against the cosmic armony; represents also the Tao number Ch'eng the way of sky and earh, in Divina Commedia 5=microcosm+6=macrocosm

 

nightingale=love+death {see Romeo&Juliet III act, that bird sings at night and if the 2 lovers listen to it they remain together but risk their life; see also the splendid Keats poem}

 

snake= physical & spiritual transformations agent...

 

lizard=represents the soul that seeks the light; in the egyptian hyerogliphics means goo will

 

dove= it pictures the soul of the good, it researches company; symbolizes the Sanctus Spiritus of the christian Trinity; purity, simplicity;see Noe-> peace ; in Greece was used to determine favorable omens in the Dodona forest, also bird sacredto Venus, being offered as gift for the lovers; according to Talmud is a symbol of castity

 

tiger= might, ferocious, if white= kingly virtue,"the initiator"; animal instinct {conscience/anger}y

turtledove={with a willow branch}cyclical renewal messenger for the grassland Indians; in the egyptians

hieroglyphs it correspond to the man who loves to sing and play flute. in the christian tradition is a marital fidelity symbol

 

violet={red+blue,earth+sky,senses+spirit,passion+intelligence,love+wisdom}Temperance

->the XIV tarots arcan is an angel who bring 2 jars one red the other blue, in the middle runs the uncolered lifes water

Greek&Romans used to give children violet stones necklaces for protege them against illness but also to make'm obedient

 

train=social life,psychic evolution, awareness of a new destiny

 

disguise/mask= reveals the inferior tendencies that have to be dispelled

 

{hidden}treasure= non-manifest divine essence, esoteric knowledge, interior life symbol;the monsters that eventually guard it are just aspects of ourselves

 

theatre=is cathartic, helps to dissolve subconscious complexes...

 

acrobat= joyful freedoom from everydays strings, critical equilibrum based on movement and nonconformism; the acrobatics figures represent the ascension at a superhuman condition, the body ecstasy

 

spiral=evolution, fertility, the souls travel after death...

 

androgynous= primary unit, bisexual divinity, the totality of religious/magical powers belonging to both sexes,human perfection...

 

 

 

 

to be continued{?}

 

Interesting!

 

What about women dressed like girls and women dressed like the big girls (symbols)

The astronaut boy…did you see the movie Mika recommended, Valentin btw?

 

Lollipops and monkeys…I could go on and on…

[sienna]

easy, i got very old materials for reference...no fancy dress for fun or children as spacexplorers

 

as for that type of candy & animal..there are a lot of worthybanning explanations I could add:naughty:

 

still haven't watched that movie btw

 

I know, that's why I don't dare to say anything about them!

 

The movie, first of all the boy in the movie use to dress up as an astronaut and funny enough this is the second movie Mika has recommended where the leading person is a young boy representing a character who is very sensitive and more well-advised than the adults around him.

The first movie was this Italian Cinema Paradiso!

Speaking Spanish and Italian and the story line located in the 50th s.

 

Verrry interesting!

[racinghorse83]

When I watched MIKA's concert i noticed major references to religious/spirituality that is quite deep and I going to do some research into his symbolism as there is SO MUCH. Tell me what you think and what is going on here. I think there is something subtle going on and I sense it . Do you? Its been bugging me ever since I went to the concert!

Things I am wondering about:

 

1. The Angel coming from the Earth (the Creation Story-The Primordial Egg Story) I think she is Gaia

 

_also could be alluding to Hindu mythology (The cosmic egg):

in Hindu tantra, based on the Hindu philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, the Shri Yantra represents the expansion of the universe from the cosmic egg after its creation by Shiva through the power of Shakti. The cosmic egg is represented by a dot in the center of the Shri Yantra mandala called the bindu./QUOTE]

 

 

 

2. The Day of the Dead /Gray Skelly (please note she was wearing Mardi Gras Beads if you look really close at Gray Skelly in the Concert!

 

3. "Snow" which MIKA sees above him before he sees Gray Skelly:This is a quote from a website talking about Ray Gonzalez, a poet who is writing of the Day of the Dead Dance (where a man dances with a female skeleton). See what you think:

In a series called The History of Desire , based upon photographs and paintings in an exhibit, the "Baile con la Talaca" (Dance with the Skeleton) has the sound of gracefully executed music as befits a dance. The classic Mexican figure of death shows a female skeleton dancing with a "vato," "the king of the streets," who takes her to bed and the next morning sees only dust, "brown and white grains of soil/floating,/still excited in the air." Everyone dances with death ultimately, but the vato courts death by the way he lives"

 

4. The tree of life and the Serpent:

I think there was no coincidence that in the back drop of the concert , there was the tree with the serpent (its from the Kaballah)and

 

5. The Dove of Peace

 

6. The Umbrella

 

just a few symbols which have been making me really really think!

 

Its no coincidence that MIKA is sending us a message

 

LIke to hear what you have to think about this!

 

All i know is that he is not doing this randomly and if MIKA can make me get back to church and prayer..then something is going on!

 

Suzanne

 

 

 

 

whoa. i'd noticed quite a bit of spiritual stuff but having it all laid out like that it makes you take a step back.

i think mika is a deeply spiritual person but he knows if he puts too much of that into his music he'll get classed as "religious" and chucked in that basket before he's had a chance to get on his feet. i really admire the subtle way he's bringing it in.

[Biekje]

*subscribes*

 

Never thought of such symbolism in his shows...this thread made me think about it...hmm...

[IngievV]

Fascinating.... really I knew there was some hidden meaning but I never thought so deeply about it:thumb_yello:

[Marilyn Mastin]

When I watched MIKA's concert i noticed major references to religious/spirituality that is quite deep and I going to do some research into his symbolism as there is SO MUCH. Tell me what you think and what is going on here. I think there is something subtle going on and I sense it . Do you? Its been bugging me ever since I went to the concert!

Things I am wondering about:

 

1. The Angel coming from the Earth (the Creation Story-The Primordial Egg Story) I think she is Gaia

 

_also could be alluding to Hindu mythology (The cosmic egg):

in Hindu tantra, based on the Hindu philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, the Shri Yantra represents the expansion of the universe from the cosmic egg after its creation by Shiva through the power of Shakti. The cosmic egg is represented by a dot in the center of the Shri Yantra mandala called the bindu./QUOTE]

 

 

 

2. The Day of the Dead /Gray Skelly (please note she was wearing Mardi Gras Beads if you look really close at Gray Skelly in the Concert!

 

3. "Snow" which MIKA sees above him before he sees Gray Skelly:This is a quote from a website talking about Ray Gonzalez, a poet who is writing of the Day of the Dead Dance (where a man dances with a female skeleton). See what you think:

In a series called The History of Desire , based upon photographs and paintings in an exhibit, the "Baile con la Talaca" (Dance with the Skeleton) has the sound of gracefully executed music as befits a dance. The classic Mexican figure of death shows a female skeleton dancing with a "vato," "the king of the streets," who takes her to bed and the next morning sees only dust, "brown and white grains of soil/floating,/still excited in the air." Everyone dances with death ultimately, but the vato courts death by the way he lives"

 

4. The tree of life and the Serpent:

I think there was no coincidence that in the back drop of the concert , there was the tree with the serpent (its from the Kaballah)and

 

5. The Dove of Peace

 

6. The Umbrella

 

just a few symbols which have been making me really really think!

 

Its no coincidence that MIKA is sending us a message

 

LIke to hear what you have to think about this!

 

All i know is that he is not doing this randomly and if MIKA can make me get back to church and prayer..then something is going on!

 

Suzanne

I happen to think Mika IS a spiritual person. He DOES mention Jesus in two of his songs so far, Lollipop and Holy Johnny. In Holy Johnny he also mentions Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) and that Johnny prays for him now.

It wouldn't surprise me if Mika is into different aspects of spirituality, even stuff from other faiths, like Hinduism. He's also not afraid to bring spiritual things into his work, which is refreshing when we think that so many performers these days would sooner dodge the issue.

[kaeryana]

When I watched MIKA's concert i noticed major references to religious/spirituality that is quite deep and I going to do some research into his symbolism as there is SO MUCH. Tell me what you think and what is going on here. I think there is something subtle going on and I sense it . Do you? Its been bugging me ever since I went to the concert!

Things I am wondering about:

 

1. The Angel coming from the Earth (the Creation Story-The Primordial Egg Story) I think she is Gaia

 

_also could be alluding to Hindu mythology (The cosmic egg):

in Hindu tantra, based on the Hindu philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, the Shri Yantra represents the expansion of the universe from the cosmic egg after its creation by Shiva through the power of Shakti. The cosmic egg is represented by a dot in the center of the Shri Yantra mandala called the bindu./QUOTE]

 

 

 

2. The Day of the Dead /Gray Skelly (please note she was wearing Mardi Gras Beads if you look really close at Gray Skelly in the Concert!

 

3. "Snow" which MIKA sees above him before he sees Gray Skelly:This is a quote from a website talking about Ray Gonzalez, a poet who is writing of the Day of the Dead Dance (where a man dances with a female skeleton). See what you think:

In a series called The History of Desire , based upon photographs and paintings in an exhibit, the "Baile con la Talaca" (Dance with the Skeleton) has the sound of gracefully executed music as befits a dance. The classic Mexican figure of death shows a female skeleton dancing with a "vato," "the king of the streets," who takes her to bed and the next morning sees only dust, "brown and white grains of soil/floating,/still excited in the air." Everyone dances with death ultimately, but the vato courts death by the way he lives"

I happen to think Mika IS a spiritual person. He DOES mention Jesus in two of his songs so far, Lollipop and Holy Johnny. In Holy Johnny he also mentions Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit) and that Johnny prays for him now.

It wouldn't surprise me if Mika is into different aspects of spirituality, even stuff from other faiths, like Hinduism. He's also not afraid to bring spiritual things into his work, which is refreshing when we think that so many performers these days would sooner dodge the issue.

 

 

i couldn't agree more.songs should stress on the issue of spiritual heights,to form a meaningful remedy for the soul-that is,music! and that's the beauty of it,in my point of view.

[Kasia_xxx]

A little (ONLY a little) off topic... With reference to MIKA's blog entry about the new hat, here's a little excerpt of what he wrote:

However I have now realized, thanks to people’s comments, that the image on the hat is of Santa Maria De Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe in Mexico, and that I had posted it on the 12th of December, which is actually her feast day in Mexico and the first time I ever wore the hat!

We were talking so much here about the religious and spiritual references in his show... Quite a nice coinsidence (?!). I guess there's something in the air and I'm looking for more stuff of this kind - it's really fascinating!

[Biekje]

A little (ONLY a little) off topic... With reference to MIKA's blog entry about the new hat, here's a little excerpt of what he wrote:

However I have now realized, thanks to people’s comments, that the image on the hat is of Santa Maria De Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe in Mexico, and that I had posted it on the 12th of December, which is actually her feast day in Mexico and the first time I ever wore the hat!

We were talking so much here about the religious and spiritual references in his show... Quite a nice coinsidence (?!). I guess there's something in the air and I'm looking for more stuff of this kind - it's really fascinating!

 

I should recommend to read The Celestine Prophecy:wink2:

[Kasia_xxx]

I strongly believe in inexplicable phenomena, E.S.P. etc (well, apart from UFO)

[tauruslady]

ellanorelle, I love the way you think!

I'm the same always trying to figure out what all the symbols mean!

Everything you mentioned is so similar to what goes on in his art and concerts.

 

I personally think Mika has some very detailed hidden symbols just waiting to be found. Even his music backways:fisch:

 

I really wonder about that.

I want to know what he has to say about hidden messages and the like, but it might ruin the mystery...

 

Brilliant thread!!