I like the idea, never made that connection. I don't see where we can just throw away obvious connections though. I will admit that what you propose, that the darkness no longer precedes him, he does, is indeed what it's meant to represent. He's essentially taking over that role, of Onkhis. Because, for everyone else (basically) on Earwa the darkness does precede them.
Indeed, I think that is one reason why Moe is dead. He surmised that nothing breaks the Principle of Before and After and he was
wrong. While the Onkis connection is strong, I don't think the Head is representational of Her. I feel pretty sure it's Kellhus' own head, especially given what Bakker said about it's inspiration. I'm open to being proven wrong later, but I think we have good evidence that it is indeed a case of a Watcher-Watched loop with Kellhus himself.
All this looking forward/looking back stuff makes me think of the WLW visions.
If there is a head on a pole behind everyone, then why is only Kellhus safe in the Outside? Its implied early on that no-one, except Kellhus, that has 'traveled' to the outside has returned.
That's a good question. One I don't know that we have textual evidence to prove, one way or another. Perhaps Kellhus is the first to be able to access the Outside through the cipher of his own soul? In this way, his access is recursive, his body through his soul, his soul through his body. That probably doesn't actually make sense, but note, his eyes are in his brow, even though he is in the Outside. So, he keeps the loop closed by never breaking the eye contact he has with himself (the Head) and so the loop never breaks. I am guessing that only a Dunyain would have that kind of willpower, or at least, no one else ever tried it who would.
I think the key though is the
indivisibility that the Watcher-Watched loop provides. As in the quote I had above, the ciphrang seek to tear him apart, he cannot be. Because of the Head on the Pole, in other words, because he can recursively look back and
in that looking, he
is a loop, with no
end. In other words, a
circle, so there are no gaps, no holds, no purchase for an agency to tear him away from his body.
The part where he uses the Head and the Pole as a weapon of sorts is a bit more confusing. I think here, the idea is that his physical form, in relation to the Outside, is unmovable. So, he can cast them against it, since they have no ability to move him on the Inside, yet being in the Loop allows him to be on
both the Outside
and the Inside.
No doubt I am missing something, but I feel pretty good about this being on the right track, overall.