The Phoenix



via Amazon.com

 The US cover of the Jonathan Stroud's latest book sports a gorgeous specimen of the phoenix. Don't you think?

The Ring of Solomon is a prequel to the Bartimaeus Trilogy. This installment of the series is based on the grandfather of all djinn tales, King Solomon's supposed connection to the djinn and an infamous ring talisman. Even I couldn't avoid mentioning it my MS. But back to the phoenix. I love those too and I guess I'm not the only one who thought it was a fitting creature for a djinn. Except my use of the phoenix is more symbolic and sometimes metaphysical.

For example, some important lore that led to my use of the Phoenix for dinn nature and more specifically, my MC:

• Phoenix Rising has many similarities to Kundalini, which I use as an energy source for djinn.
• A phoenix is a creature (or person) rising from the ashes of the former self. An arabian Phoenix is born of fire, dies by fire, and is symbolic of rebirth.
• In Chinese culture, the phoenix represents the female or the yin. The Taoist idea of duality of all things is the balance of Yin and Yang.
• The bird famously kills snakes - even a basilisk. If you read my earlier post, The Seed, you'll know where I'm going with this.

Related articles

• The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud (collectedmiscellany.com)
• Kundalini in ancient Greek and other non-Indian cultures (auromere.wordpress.com)