Lebe
the conscious ancestor

The divinity who was chosen for the month of August in the Damanhurian calendar is Lebe. In the mythology of the Dogon people, he is the ancestor of all humanity, he who offers himself so that other human beings may be born. The Dogon are a population of western Africa who have settled between the lands of Mali and those of Burkina Faso. In their tradition, the god creator of all things, Amma, told Lebe to pretend to be dead and to let himself be buried. In this way, Lebe’s body could be devoured by a snake sent by the creator himself. After the meal, the snake vomited stones that were placed on the ground, reproducing the design of the human body. From these stones, all women and all men were born, while Lebe, in the form of a snake, continued his life associated with earth, vegetation, and everything that dies and is reborn. Through the sacrifice and transmutation of his physical body, Lebe became a kind of father to all of humankind.

Unlike the mythology of religions connected to the Bible, where a creator god gives life to man from clay and to woman from the sacrifice of one of the man’s ribs, in the Dogon myth, the creation of humanity comes about through an agreement between the divinity and an ancestor, who – through an aware choice – becomes the initiator of his lineage. So, his figure recalls the awareness of all humans as being the fruit of the choice of their ancestors, and not only of divine intervention. The stones coming out of the body of the serpent who swallowed Lebe represent not only human beings, but also social relationships, community, marriage, respect, and they underline the precise will not only to exist, but also to choose one’s own values and to define the way of being a people.

The Dogon are a people with a mysterious past. One of the mysteries that anthropologists have never understood is their refined knowledge in the field of astronomy. To represent this, on the walls of the Temples of Humankind, Lebe is depicted pointing to the firmament painted on the body of the Egyptian sky goddess Nut, to share the connection with the stars and the universe with anyone who happens to observe the precious paintings on the walls of the Temples. Lebe invites us to question the origin of humanity, who we really are and what is the true history of our planet, in relation to a much larger galactic civilization.

Through arcane and mysterious ways, Lebe knows the secrets of the sky and he points them out to us, indicating the sky drawn on the body of Nut, who is a divinity connected to rebirth as well. Perhaps this is the message of the Dogon hero, “We are alive, and we are born and continuously reborn in order to continue living, so that we can participate in the realization of the universal designs.”

So, Lebe invites us to reflect upon the importance of awareness, of why we exist. We are “here” because we wanted to exist, because – through an agreement with a force greater than ourselves – we decided to participate in the great game of life, in the world of forms. Lebe reminds us that we have not simply discovered that we exist, we have decided it. This is a great responsibility and a great strength. Every time we face challenges, we choose to exist with more intensity, to be a more conscious part of the universe. Facing the collective problems of this age and those of the planet, with courage and commitment, with the same sense of responsibility and attention with which we handle our personal problems, this allows us to affirm our will to evolve.

We open the eyes of our soul to see our goals, beyond Lebe’s finger pointing to the sky. Our ancestor Lebe tells us not to fear difficulties and the harshness of the paths we walk along, but to remain serene and consider them as the best way to affirm our dignity as beings who are seeking evolution. Being reborn again and again is the best way to exist, as Falco Tarassaco said; he even entitled one of his books “Reborn to Live.” The wisdom of an ancestor and the message of a spiritual master are linked in the same objective: for us to experience our growth and the development of our soul as a serene, positive and vital process. May the stars be with you.