An old Czech fairy tale speaks of a girl who won the favor of the Duke with her audacity and her wits. One day the Duke spotted a pretty girl, a commoner on his travels, and she responded boldly to his flirtations, daring him to make her his bride. Impressed, the Duke says,
‘I will marry you, but you must come to my castle alone, and fulfill my three commands – you must come to me neither clothed nor naked, neither empty-handed nor bearing gifts, and you must come neither on foot nor by a carriage.’
And so she comes to his castle neither clothed nor naked, wearing only a fisherman’s net, neither on foot nor by a carriage, riding a scooter, bearing a gift that disappears as soon as it is opened – a bird that flies away.
The Castle bears much symbolism in medieval mysticism, and it appears to be a place that can be entered only in a state of Chemical Wedding, transcending duality. This is symbolized by the dancing twins on Arcanum XIX. The Sun. This is the neither-nor symbolism of the black-and-white Masonic chessboard. She is the High Priestess who sits between the Pillars.
The Infernal Bride must embody both the High Priestess and the Harlot, at the same time, exist outside of the rules of society, outside of duality.
