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Though the imagery Manson utilizes is one which both graphic and dark it is in no way one which is glorifying to such violence, and in fact quite the contrary. Manson has been quoted on numerous occasions that an artist he did not create the world but instead reflects upon it. This theme is one, as previously stated, concurrent throughout Manson's body of work but one most apparent after being scapegoated for the Columbine shootings and also a theme which was subsequently validated by the very same society and media blitzing that Manson was indicting. The point was proven when the two killers, only days prior were mere 'Nobodies', made the cover of Time magazine for a mass killing just as Charles Manson made the cover of Life magazine in the late 1960's under similar circumstances, just as the song 'The Nobodies' lyricizes on Holy Wood. On Manson's preceding album, Mechanical Animals, the song 'Posthuman' summarizes this in what is referred to in metaphorical terms is a society where violence is the religion and the saints are dead stars with the preconditional of being beatified is either a public death or causing one.

For more on Celebritarian and Celebritarianism read THE LAMB OF GOD .COM, HIDDEN SITES, VALENTINE'S DAY and the CELEBRITARIAN CORPORATION section of The NACHTKABARETT.

One of the more esoteric references in Holy Wood, King Kill 33° is one of the most blatant references to the Kennedy assassination after the song 'President Dead', which again represents the theme of Kennedy becoming the Second Christ in the eyes of America because his death was televised and subsequently portrayed as martyrdom. The title is a reference to the manuscript 'King Kill 33' by James Shelby Downard and Michael A. Hoffman. Most Marilyn Manson fans at one time or another have probably come across the web page entitle King-Kill/33: Masonic Symbolism in the Assassination of John F.Kennedy which is a preface and excerpts to the entire 35 page manuscript, and upon reading the excerpt it is a very interesting treatise and is essentially what the song and imagery surrounding the album are evocative of.

Left; cover of Downard's 1987 essay 'King Kill 33'. Right; 18th century Masonic apron related to the death of Grand Master Hiram Abif, architect of King Solomon's Temple, assassinated by the three ruffians with a square, gauge, and gavel to obtain his secret soon after the Temple was built.

The concept dealt with within 'King Kill 33' is reference to the esoteric rite of The Killing Of The King (an ancient, radical version of the Masonic initiation ritual of the Death of Hiram), often associated with alchemy, and particularly how the enactment of this rite was the motive behind John F. Kennedy's assassination. The number 33 is the highest degree of the Scottish rite of Masonry, it is also the degree of latitude at which JFK was assassinated at the Dealy Plaza, the degree of latitude which the detonation of the first atomic bomb at Trinity and the degree of latitude which the the Temple of Solomon in Israel is to be rebuilt, as foretold in the Book of Revelations as one of the signs heralding the Apocalypse, The Second Coming Of Christ.

Left; depiction of Hiram Abif, sometimes amalgamated with Hiram, King of Tyre, in his coffin surrounded by the three assassins. Right; 1866 engraving from the book of Duncan's Ritual, in which the Mason aspirant blindly reenacts the final scenes of Hiram Abiff's life before being resurrected, a ritual Downard associates to the Killing of The King one in his essay.

The whole mass manipulation idea in the essay is obviously at the basis of Manson's Celebritarian philosophy, as illustrated in the lyrics for 'The Fall of Adam', with a nice allusion to Downard's essay :

As outlined by the book Secret Societies And Psychological Warfare, "Fabled alchemy had at least three goals to accomplish before the total decay of matter was fulfilled. These are :

• The Creation and Destruction of Primordial Matter
• The Killing Of The King
• The Bringing of Prima Materia to Prima Terra

"The Creation and Destruction of Primordial Matter was accomplished at the White Head ("Ancient of Days"), at White Sands, New Mexico, at the Trinity Site. The Trinity Site itself is located at the beginning of an ancient western road in old Mexico as the Jornada del muerto (the Journey of Death).

"Early in this century a Freemason named Peter Kern was ordered to build a highly symbolic 'Gate of Death' at a key point on the ancient Jornada del muerto trail. It was known as the Gate with a Thousand Doors. At the front of this gate Kern was ceremonially murdered (decapitated) by a hooded executioner.

"The are 33 segments in the human spinal column which according to occult lore is the vehicle of the fiery ascent of the Kundalini serpent force which resides in the human body. 33 is the highest degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. The Creation and Destruction of Primordial Matter occurred exactly on the Trinity Site, the 'Place of Fire,' with the explosion of the first atomic bomb, culminating untold thousands of years of Alchemical speculation and practise.

"The Killing of the King rite was accomplished at another Trinity Site located approximately ten miles south of the 33rd degree of north parallel latitude between the Trinity River and the Triple Underpass at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Dealey Plaza was the site of the first masonic temple in Dallas. In this spot, which had been known during thr 19th century cowboy era as 'Bloody Elm Street,' the world leader who had become known as the 'King Of Camelot,' President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was shot to death." The third and last goal, The Bringing of Prima Materia to Prima Terra, was also allegedly fulfilled in 1969 when the Apollo brought back moon rocks from the 'Prima Materia,' to the Earth, the 'Prima Terra.'

Left; photograph of Kern's Gate revealed in Marilyn Manson's hidden website TheLambOfGod.com, among other images hinting at the themes for the album.

Menu for 'The Death Parade' from the Guns, God and Government DVD, documenting backstage scenes from the band's trip around the world. The first part is entitled Journada Del Muerte as a reference to Kern Gate's site.

Manson has also used the moniker 'The King Of Camelot' in referencing Kennedy during the writing of Holy Wood. At a later date I plan on adding more on how this actually relates to In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death and the Triptych but as this is a very esoteric and misunderstood reference in Holy Wood, this is what the title of the song if referring to.

It should be noted that these facets of Alchemy stated here are those claimed by Hoffman in relation to the manuscript 'King Kill 33' which are his own interpretations and are are not discussed herein for the purpose of accuracy in regard to historical alchemy, but those which reflect the theme of the writing.

The deadly ritual Downard invokes which is part of Greening Ritualism corresponds to a fertility oblation, and thus expresses by its symbolism an idea of cyclicical nature of time and actions, another theme which is recuringly played upon by Manson. This was first seen in 1996's Antichrist Svperstar where each of the albums three sections were titled 'cycles' and with the last track 99 flowing seamlessly back into track one creating such a loop. As Holy Wood is the third dimension of the story drawn upon in the Triptych of Antichrist Svperstar, Mechanical Animals and the aforementioned, the use of cycles continued and particularly through the use of alchemical themes. Most notable is the theme of rebirth and transformation which is not only present Holy Wood but is one of the most consistent links throughout all of Manson's works.

The cyclical nature of Holy Wood is represented both by the parallelism of 'Godeatgod' and 'Count To Six & Die (The Vaccuum of Infinite Space Encompassing)', the first and last songs respectively, but also through the use of visuals in this occurrence. The hidden feature of Holy Wood when it was released was that it was an enhanced disc that when inserted into the computer it acted as a link to a video which most recently was also included as a bonus on the newly released Lest We Forget video collection DVD. As discussed above and the reasons for which, Manson has previously reenacted Kennedy's death. The bonus video of Holy Wood is a black and white depiction or Manson reenacting Kennedy's autopsy (or revelation of secrets), and the removal of his brain, the disappearance of which afterwards is compared in Downard's essay to 'aphanism', or disappearance of Hiram's body from the Masonic legend.

The operative intentional difference between the original footage of Kennedy and Manson's interpretation is that instead of the removal of Manson's brain at the end of the film, when his skull is sawed open the technicians remove from the head cavity a fetus attached to an umbilical cord.

Though a very squeamish and disturbing imagery, the autopsy bares much significance and many parallels throughout Holy Wood and Manson's work. One of the aspects which, prior to its release Manson stated about the album, was that two core themes throughout was the idea of evolution and revolution (and yes, that in itself is also a reference to John Lennon who, like Kennedy, is another public martyr) with this bonus video being yet another reiteration of such. Manson, in Holy Wood, took the concept of being Born Again and applied it to another more metaphorical dimension, which specifically in alchemy, is the idea that one transforms oneself continually throughout the accomplishments of one's work. This, again, was played upon in Antichrist Svperstar with the use of a cyclical timeline and recurs in Holy Wood with the illustration that metaphorical death is a necessary step to such a rebirth, with the use of a cyclical illustration to depict the regeneration to life. The title of the song 'Godeatgod' reflects this particularly in that, as in the above illustration, the concept of Ouroubourous the self devouring serpent to represent the infinite process that there is no life without death, an vice versa.

The closing sentence is another reference to 'King Kill 33' and throughout the text of the one chapter of the Holy Wood novel which has been public are further allusions to Kennedy as the King of Camelot which is prevalent in the American lore of Kennedy but discussed particularly within the manuscript as occult elements surrounding Kennedy's assassination :

Within the album of Holy Wood, the song 'A Place in the Dirt' holds further reference to Downard's essay and Kennedy with the chorus repetition of "Put me in the motorcade, put me in the death parade" and with "Now we hold the 'ugly head'" to the manuscript allegations of Kennedy being Gaelic for the term "ugly or wounded head".

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Technological innovations by Alex Deleyn