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Theosophy House
The Theosophical Glossary
By
H P Blavatsky
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The
Secret Doctrine by H P Blavatsky
AUTHOR
OF "ISIS UNVEILED", “THE SECRET DOCTRINE", " THE KEY TO THEOSOPHY"
London:
THE
THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY,
7,
The
Path Office: 132,
The
Theosophist Office: ADYAR,
1892
PREFACE.
The
Theosophical Glossary labours under the disadvantage of being an almost
entirely
posthumous work, of which the author only saw the first thirty-two
pages
in proof. This is all the more regrettable, for H.P.B., as was her wont,
was
adding considerably to her original copy, and would no doubt have increased
the
volume far beyond its present limits, and so have thrown light on many
obscure
terms that are not included in the present Glossary, and more important
still,
have furnished us with a sketch of the lives and teachings of the most
famous
Adepts of the East and West.
The
Theosophical Glossary purposes to give information on the principal
Sanskrit,
Pahlavi, Tibetan, Pâli, Chaldean, Persian, Scandinavian, Hebrew,
Greek,
Latin, Kabalistic and Gnostic words, and Occult terms generally used in
Theosophical
literature, and principally to be found in Isis Unveiled, Esoteric
Buddhism,
The Secret Doctrine, The Key to Theosophy, etc.; and in the monthly
magazines,
The Theosophist, Lucifer and The Path, etc., and other publications
of
the Theosophical Society. The articles marked [w.w.w.] which explain words
found
in the Kabalah, or which illustrate Rosicrucian or Hermetic doctrines,
were
contributed at the special request of H.P.B. by Bro. W. W. Westcott, M.B.,
P.M.
and P.Z., who is the Secretary General of the Rosicrucian Society, and
Præmonstrator
of the Kabalah to the Hermetic Order of the G.D.
H.P.B.
desired also to express her special indebtedness, as far as the
tabulation
of facts is concerned, to the Sanskrit-Chinese Dictionary of Eitel,
The
Hindu Classical Dictionary of Dowson, The Vishnu Purâna of
Royal
Masonic Cyclopædia of Kenneth Mackenzie.
As
the undersigned can make no pretension to the elaborate and extraordinary
scholarship
requisite for the editing of the multifarious and polyglot contents
of
H.P.B.’s last contribution to Theosophical literature, there must necessarily
be
mistakes of transliteration, etc., which specialists in scholarship will at
once
detect. Meanwhile, however, as nearly every Orientalist has his own system,
varying
transliterations may be excused in the present work, and not be set down
entirely
to the “Karma” of the editor.
G.
R. S. MEAD.
THEOSOPHICAL
GLOSSARY
A
---------
A
—The first letter in all the world-alphabets save a few, such for instance as
the
Mongolian, the Japanese, the Tibetan, the Ethiopian, etc. It is a letter of
great
mystic power and “magic virtue” with those who have adopted it, and with
whom
its numerical value is one. It is the Aleph of the Hebrews, symbolized by
the
Ox or Bull; the Alpha of the Greeks, the one and the first the Az of the
Slavonians,
signifying the pronoun “I” (referring to the “I am that I am”). Even
in
Astrology, Taurus (the Ox or Bull or the Aleph) is the first of the Zodiacal
signs,
its colour being white and yellow. The sacred Aleph acquires a still more
marked
sanctity with the Christian Kabalists when they learn that this letter
typifies
the Trinity in Unity, as it is composed of two Yods, one upright, the
other
reversed with a slanting bar or nexus, thus— a. Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie
states
that “the St. Andrew cross is occultly connected therewith”. The divine
name,
the first in the series corresponding with Aleph, is AêHêIêH or Ahih when
vowelless,
and this is a Sanskrit root.
Aahla
(Eg.). One of the divisions of the Kerneter or infernal regions, or Amenti
;
the word means the “Field of Peace”.
Aanroo
(Eg.). The second division of Amenti. The celestial field of Aanroo is
encircled
by an iron wall. The field is covered with wheat, and the “Defunct”
are
represented gleaning it, for the “Master of Eternity”; some stalks being
three,
others five, and the highest seven cubits high. Those who reached the
last
two numbers entered the state of bliss (which is called in Theosophy
Devachan)
; the disembodied spirits whose harvest was but three cubits high went
into
lower regions (Kâmaloka). Wheat was with the Egyptians the symbol of the
Law
of retribution or Karma. The cubits had reference to the seven, five and
three
human “principles
Aaron
(Heb.). The elder brother of Moses and the first Initiate of the
---------
Hebrew
Lawgiver. The name means the Illuminated, or the Enlightened. Aaron thus
heads
the line, or Hierarchy, of the initiated Nabim, or Seers.
Ab
(Heb.). The eleventh month of the Hebrew civil year; the fifth of the sacred
year
beginning in July.
[w.w.w.]
Abaddon
(Heb.). An angel of Hell, corresponding to the Greek Apollyon.
Abatur
(Gn.). In the Nazarene system the “Ancient of Days”, Antiquus Altus, the
Father
of the Demiurgus of the Universe, is called the Third Life or “Abatur”.
He
corresponds to the Third “Logos” in the Secret Doctrine. (See Codex Nazaræus)
Abba
Amona (Heb.). Lit., “Father-Mother”; the occult names of the two higher
Sephiroth,
Chokmah and Binah, of the upper triad, the apex of which is Sephira
or
Kether. From this triad issues the lower septenary of the Sephirothal Tree.
Abhâmsi
(
Demons,
Pitris and Men. Orientalists somehow connect the name with “waters”, but
esoteric
philosophy connects its symbolism with Akâsa—the ethereal “waters of
space”,
since it is on the bosom and on the seven planes of “space” that the
“four
orders of (lower) beings” and the three higher Orders of Spiritual Beings
are
born. (See Secret Doctrine I. p. 458, and “Ambhâmsi”.)
Abhâsvaras
(
upper
three celestial regions (planes) of the second Dhyâna (q.v.) A class of
gods
sixty-four in number, representing a certain cycle and an occult number.
Abhâva
(
substance,
or abstract objectivity.
Abhaya
(
As
an adjective, “Fearless,” Abhaya is an epithet given to every Buddha,
Abhayagiri
(
Monastery
in which the well-known Chinese traveller Fa-hien found 5,000 Buddhist
priests
and ascetics in the year 400 of our era, and a School called Abhayagiri
Vâsinah,,
“School of the
as
heretical, as the ascetics studied the doctrines of both the “greater” and
the
“smaller” vehicles— or the Mahâyâna and the Hinayâna systems and Triyâna or
the
three successive degrees of Yoga; just as a certain Brotherhood does now
beyond
the
as
unsectarian as their humble admirers the Theosophists
---------
are
now. (See “Sthâvirâh" School.) This was the most mystical of all the
schools,
and renowned for the number of Arhats it produced. The Brotherhood of
Abhayagiri
called themselves the disciples of Kâtyâyana, the favourite Chela of
Gautama,
the Buddha. Tradition says that owing to bigoted intolerance and
persecution,
they left
remained
ever since.
Abhidharma
(
philosophical
Buddhist work by Kâtyâyana.
Abhijñâ
(
acquired
in the night on which he reached Buddhaship. This is the “fourth”
degree
of Dhyâna (the seventh in esoteric teachings) which has to be attained by
every
true Arhat. In
powers,
but in
the
instantaneous view of anything one wills to see; the second, is Divyasrotra,
the
power of comprehending any sound whatever, etc., etc.
Abhimânim
(
words,
the first element or Force produced in the universe at its evolution (the
fire
of creative desire). By his wife Swâhâ, Abhimânim had three sons (the
fires)
Pâvaka, Pavamâna and Suchi, and these had “forty-five sons, who, with the
original
son of Brahmâ and his three descendants, constitute the forty-nine
fires”
of Occultism.
Abhimanyu
(
Mahâbhârata
on its second day, but was himself killed on the thirteenth.
Abhûtarajasas
(
Manvantara.
Abib
(Heb.) The first Jewish sacred month,
begins in March; is also called
Nisan.
Abiegnus
Mons (Lat.). A mystic name, from whence as from a certain mountain,
Rosicrucian
documents are often found to be issued— “Monte Abiegno”. There is a
connection
with
Ab-i-hayat
(Pers.). Water of immortality. Supposed to give eternal youth and
sempiternal
life to him who drinks of it.
Abiri
(Gr.). See Kabiri, also written Kabeiri, the Mighty Ones, celestials, sons
of
Zedec the just one, a group of deities worshipped in Phœnicia: they seem to
be
identical with the Titans, Corybantes, Curetes, Telchines and Dii Magni of
Virgil.
[w.w.w.]
Ablanathanalba
(Gn.). A term similar to “Abracadabra”. It is said by C. W. King
to
have meant “thou art a father to us”; it reads the same
---------
from
either end and was used as a charm in
(See
“Abracadabra”.)
Abracadabra
(Gn.). This symbolic word first occurs in a medical treatise in
verse
by Samonicus, who flourished in the reign of the Emperor Septimus Seveus.
Godfrey
Higgins says it is from Abra or Abar
“God”,
in Celtic, and cad ‘‘holy” ; it was used
as a charm, and engraved on
Kameas
as an amulet. [w.w.w.]
Godfrey
Higgins was nearly right, as the word “Abracadabra” is a later
corruption
of the sacred Gnostic term “Abrasax”, the latter itself being a still
earlier
corruption of a sacred and ancient Coptic or Egyptian word: a magic
formula
which meant in its symbolism ‘‘Hurt me not”, and addressed the deity in
its
hieroglyphics as “Father”. It was generally attached to an amulet or charm
and
worn as a Tat (q.v.), on the breast under the garments.
Abraxas
or Abrasax (Gn.). Mystic words which have been traced as far back as
Basilides,
the Pythagorean, of
for
Divinity, the supreme of Seven, and as having 365 virtues. In Greek
numeration,
a. 1, b. 2, r. 100, a. I, x 60, a. I, s. 200 = 365 days of the year,
solar
year, a cycle of divine action. C. W. King, author of The Gnostics,
considers
the word similar to the Hebrew Shemhamphorasch, a holy word, the
extended
name of God. An Abraxas Gem usually shows a man’s body with the head of
a
cock, one arm with a shield, the other with a whip.
[
w.w.w.]
Abraxas
is the counterpart of the Hindu Abhimânim (q.v.) and Brahmâ combined. It
is
these compound and mystic qualities which caused Oliver, the great Masonic
authority,
to connect the name of Abraxas with that of Abraham. This was
unwarrantable
; the virtues and attributes of Abraxas, which are 365 in number,
ought
to have shown him that the deity was connected with the Sun and solar
division
of the year——nay, that Abraxas is the antitype, and the Sun, the type.
Absoluteness.
When predicated of the UNIVERSAL PRINCIPLE, it denotes an abstract
noun,
which is more correct and logical than to apply the adjective “absolute ”
to
that which has neither attributes nor limitations, nor can IT have any.
Ab-Soo
(Chald.). The mystic name for Space, meaning the dwelling of Ab the
“Father”,
or the head of the source of the Waters of Knowledge. The lore of the
latter
is concealed in the invisible space or akasic regions.
Acacia
(Gr.). Innocence; and also a plant used in Freemasonry as a symbol of
initiation,
immortality, and purity; the tree furnished the sacred Shittim wood
of
the Hebrews. [w.w.w.]
Achamôth
(Gn.). The name of the second, the inferior Sophia.
---------
Esoterically
and with the Gnostics, the elder Sophia was the Holy Spirit (female
Holy
Ghost) or the Sakti of the Unknown, and the Divine Spirit; while Sophia
Achamôth
is but the personification of the female aspect of the creative male
Force
in nature; also the Astral Light.
Achar
(Heb.). The Gods over whom (according to the Jews) Jehovah is the God.
Âchâra
(
Âchârya
(
ethics”.
A name generally given to Initiates, etc., and meaning “Master”.
Achath
(Heb.). The one, the first, feminine; achad being masculine. A Talmudic
word
applied to Jehovah. It is worthy of note that the Sanskrit term ak means
one,
ekata being “unity”, Brahmâ being called ák, or eka, the one, the first,
whence
the Hebrew word and application.
Acher
(Heb.). The Talmudic name of the Apostle Paul. The Talmud narrates the
story
of the four Tanaim, who entered the
initiated;
Ben Asai, who looked and lost his sight; Ben Zoma, who looked and
lost
his reason; Acher, who made depredations in the garden and failed; and
Rabbi
Akiba, who alone succeeded. The Kabalists say that Acher is Paul.
Acheron
(Gr.). One of the rivers of Hades in Greek mythology.
Achit
(
intelligence.
Achyuta
(
Chyuta,
“fallen”. A title of Vishnu.
Acosmism
(Gr.). The precreative period, when there was no Kosmos but Chaos
alone.
Ad
(Assyr.). Ad, “the Father”. In Aramean ad means one, and ad-ad “the only
one”.
Adah
(Assyr.). Borrowed by the Hebrews for the name of their Adah, father of
Jubal,
etc. But Adah meaning the first, the one, is universal property. There
are
reasons to think that Ak-ad, means the first-born or Son of Ad. Adon was the
first
“Lord” of
Adam
(Heb.). In the Kabalah Adam is the “only-begotten”, and means also “red
earth”.
(See “Adam-Adami” in the S.D. II p. 452.) It is almost identical with
Athamas
or Thomas, and is rendered into Greek by Didumos, the “twin”—Adam, “the
first”,
in chap. 1 of Genesis, being shown, “male-female.”
Adam
Kadmon (Heb). Archetypal Man; Humanity. The
---------
“Heavenly
Man” not fallen into sin; Kabalists refer it to the Ten Sephiroth on
the
plane of human perception. [w.w.w.]
In
the Kabalah Adam Kadmon is the manifested Logos corresponding to our Third
Logos;
the Unmanifested being the first paradigmic ideal Man, and symbolizing
the
Universe in abscondito, or in its “privation” in the Aristotelean sense. The
First
Logos is the “Light of the World”, the Second and the Third—its gradually
deepening
shadows.
Adamic
Earth (Alch.). Called the “true oil of gold” or the “primal element” in
Alchemy.
It is but one remove from the pure homogeneous element.
Adbhuta
Brâhmana (
and
various phenomena.
Adbhuta
Dharma (
Buddhist
works on miraculous or phenomenal events.
Adept
(Lat.). Adeptus, “He who has obtained.” In Occultism one who has reached
the
stage of Initiation, and become a Master in the science of Esoteric
philosophy.
Adharma
(
Adhi
(
Adhi-bhautika
duhkha (
proceeding
from external things or beings”.
Adhi-daivika
duhkha (
proceeding
from divine causes, or a just Karmic punishment”.
Adhishtânam
(
Adhyâtmika
duhkha (
proceeding
from Self ”, an induced or a generated evil by Self, or man himself.
Adhyâtma
Vidyâ (
Sastras,
or the Scriptures of the Five Sciences.
Âdi
(Sk.) The First, the primeval.
Âdi
(the Sons of). In Esoteric philosophy the “Sons of Adi” are called the “Sons
of
the Fire-mist”. A term used of certain adepts.
Âdi-bhûta
(
Vishnu,
the “first Element” containing all elements, “the unfathomable deity”.
Âdi-Buddha
(
Church.
The Eternal Light.
Âdi-budhi
(
Mind.
Used of Divine Ideation, “Mahâbuddhi” being synonymous with MAHAT.
---------
Âdikrit
(
and
uncreate, but manifesting periodically. Applied to Vishnu slumbering on the
“waters
of space” during “pralaya” (q.v.).
Âdi-nâtha
(
Âdi-nidâna
(
the
principal cause (or the concatenation of cause and effect).
Âdi-Sakti
(
in
and of every male god. The Sakti in the Hindu Pantheon is always the spouse
of
some god.
Âdi-Sanat
(
“ancient
of days”, since it is a title of Brahmâ—called in the Zohar the
Atteekah
d’Atteekeen, or “the Ancient of the Ancients”, etc.
Âditi
(
aspect
of Parabrahman, though both unmanifested and unknowable. In the Vedas
Âditi
is the “Mother-Goddess”, her terrestrial symbol being infinite and
shoreless
space.
Âditi-Gæa. A compound term, Sanskrit and Latin, meaning
dual, nature in
theosophical
writings—spiritual and physical, as Gæa is the goddess of the earth
and
of objective nature.
Âditya
(
Âdityas
(
Âdi
Varsha (
first
races.
Adonai
(Heb.). The same as Adonis. Commonly translated “Lord”.
Astronomically—the
Sun. When a Hebrew in reading came to the name IHVH, which is
called
Jehovah, he paused and substituted the word “Adonai”, (Adni); but when
written
with the points of Alhim, he called it “Elohim”. [w.w.w.]
Adonim-Adonai,
Adon. The ancient Chaldeo-Hebrew names for the Elohim or creative
terrestrial
forces, synthesized by Jehovah.
Adwaita
(
philosophy
founded by Sankarâchârya, the greatest of the historical Brahmin
sages.
The two other schools are the Dwaita (dualistic) and the Visishtadwaita;
all
the three call themselves Vedântic.
Adwaitin
(
Adytum
(Gr.). The Holy of Holies in the pagan temples. A name for the secret and
sacred
precincts or the inner chamber, into which no
---------
profane
could enter; it corresponds to the sanctuary of the altars of Christian
Churches.
Æbe1-Zivo
(Gn.). The Metatron or anointed spirit with the Nazarene Gnostics; the
same
as the angel Gabriel.
Æolus
(Gr.). The god who, according to Hesiod, binds and looses the winds; the
king
of storms and winds. A king of Æolia, the inventor of sails and a great
astronomer,
and therefore deified by posterity.
Æon
or Æons (Gr.). Periods of time; emanations proceeding from the divine
essence,
and celestial beings; genii and angels with the Gnostics.
Æsir
(Scand.). The same as Ases, the creative Forces personified. The gods who
created
the black dwarfs or the Elves of Darkness in Asgard. The divine Æsir,
the
Ases are the Elves of Light. An allegory bringing together darkness which
comes
from light, and matter born of spirit.
Æther
(Gr.). With the ancients the divine luminiferous substance which pervades
the
whole universe, the “garment” of the Supreme Deity, Zeus, or Jupiter. With
the
moderns, Ether, for the meaning of which in physics and chemistry see
Webster’s
Dictionary or any other. In esotericism
Æther is the third principle
of
the Kosmic Septenary; the Earth being the lowest, then the Astral light,
Ether
and Âkâsa (phonetically Âkâsha) the highest.
Æthrobacy
(Gr.). Lit., walking on, or being lifted into the air with no visible
agent
at work; “levitation”. It may be conscious or unconscious; in the one case
it
is magic, in the other either disease
or
a power which requires a few words of elucidation. We know that the earth is
a
magnetic body; in fact, as some scientists have found, and as Paracelsus
affirmed
some 300 years ago, it is one vast magnet. It is charged with one form
of
electricity—let us call it positive—which it evolves continuously by
spontaneous
action, in its interior or centre of motion. Human bodies, in common
with
all other forms of matter, are charged with the opposite form of
electricity,
the negative. That is to say, organic or inorganic bodies, if left
to
themselves will constantly and involuntarily charge themselves with and
evolve
the form of electricity opposite to that of the earth itself. Now, what
is
weight? Simply the attraction of the earth. “Without the attraction of the
earth
you would have no weight”, says Professor Stewart; “and if you had an
earth
twice as heavy as this, you would have double the attraction”. How then,
can
we get rid of this attraction? According to the electrical law above stated,
there
is an attraction between our planet and the organisms upon it, which keeps
them
upon the surface of the globe. But the law of gravitation has been
counteracted
in many instances, by levitation of persons and inanimate objects.
How
---------
account
for this? The condition of our physical systems, say theurgic
philosophers,
is largely dependent upon the action of our will. If well-
regulated,
it can produce “miracles”; among others a change of this electrical
polarity
from negative to positive; the man’s relations with the earth-magnet
would
then become repellent, and “gravity”for him would have ceased to exist. It
would
then be as natural for him to rush into the air until the repellent force
had
exhausted itself, as, before, it had been for him to remain upon the ground.
The
altitude of his levitation would be measured by his ability, greater or
less,
to charge his body with positive electricity. This control over the
physical
forces once obtained, alteration of his levity or gravity would be as
easy
as breathing. (See Isis Unveiled, Vol. I., page xxiii.)
Afrits
(Arab.). A name for native spirits regarded as devils by Mussulmen.
Elementals
much dreaded in
Agapæ
(Gr.). Love Feasts; the early Christians kept such festivals in token of
sympathy,
love and mutual benevolence. It became necessary to abolish them as an
institution,
because of great abuse ; Paul in his First Epistle to the
Corinthians
complains of misconduct at the feasts of the Christians. [w.w.w.].
Agastya
(
reputed
author of hymns in the Rig Veda, and a great hero in the Râmâyana. In
Tamil
literature he is credited with having been the first instructor of the
Dravidians
in science, religion and philosophy. It is also the name of the star
“
Agathodæmon
(Gr.). The beneficent, good Spirit as contrasted with the bad one,
Kakodæmon.
The
“Brazen
Serpent” of the Bible is the former; the flying serpents of fire are an
aspect
of Kakodæmon. The Ophites called Agathodæmon the Logos and Divine Wisdom,
which
in the Bacchanalian Mysteries was represented by a serpent erect on a
pole.
Agathon
(Gr.). Plato’s Supreme Deity. Lit., “The Good”, our ALAYA, or “Universal
Soul”.
Aged
(Kab.). One of the Kabbalistic names for Sephira, called also the Crown, or
Kether.
Agla
(Heb.). This Kabbalistic word is a talisman composed of the initals of the
four
words “Ateh Gibor Leolam Adonai”, meaning “Thou art mighty for ever 0
Lord”.
MacGregor Mathers explains it thus “A, the first; A, the last; G, the
trinity
in unity; L, the completion of the great work”. [w.w.w.]
Agneyastra
(
Purânas
and the Mahâbhârata the magic weapons said to have been wielded by the
adept-race
(the fourth), the Atlanteans. This
---------
“weapon
of fire” was given by Bharadwâja to Agnivesa, the son of Agni, and by
him
to Drona, though the Vishnu Purâna contradicts this, saying that it was
given
by the sage Aurva to King Sagara, his chela. They are frequently mentioned
in
the Mahâbhârata and the Râmâyana.
Agni
(
in
all
the three, as he is the triple aspect of fire; in heaven as the Sun; in the
atmosphere
or air (Vâyu), as Lightning; on. earth, as ordinary Fire. Agni
belonged
to the earlier Vedic Trimûrti before Vishnu was given a place of honour
and
before Brahmâ and Siva were invented.
Agni
Bâhu (
Agni
Bhuvah (
of
Kshatriyas (the second or warrior caste) whose ancestors are said to have
sprung
from fire. Agni Bhuvah is the son of Agni, the God of Fire; Agni Bhuvah
being
the same as Kartti-keya, the God of War. (See Sec.Doct., Vol. II., p.
550.)
Agni
Dhätu Samâdhi (
Kundalini
is raised to the extreme and the infinitude appears as one sheet of
fire.
An ecstatic condition.
Agni
Hotri (
term
Agni Hotri is one that denotes oblation.
Agni-ratha
(
of
in ancient works of magic in
Agnishwattas
(
of
men. Our solar ancestors as contrasted with the Barhishads, the “lunar”
Pitris
or ancestors, though otherwise explained in the Purânas.
Agnoia
(Gr.). “Divested of reason”, lit., “irrationality”, when speaking of the
animal
Soul. According to Plutarch, Pythagoras and Plato divided the human soul
into
two parts (the higher and lower manas)—the rational or noëtic and the
irrational,
or agnoia, sometimes written “annoia”.
Agnostic
(Gr.). A word claimed by Mr. Huxley to have been coined by him to
indicate
one who believes nothing which can not be demonstrated by the senses.
The
later schools of Agnosticism give more philosophical definitions of the
term.
Agra-Sandhânî
(Sk.). The “Assessors” or Recorders who read at the
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
judgment
of a disembodied Soul the record of its life in the heart of that
“Soul”.
The same almost as the Lipikas of the Secret Doctrine. (See Sec.Doct.,
Vol.
I., p. 105.)
Agruerus
; A very ancient Phœnician god. The same as Saturn.
Aham
(Sk.). “I”—the basis of Ahankâra, Self-hood.
Ahan
(Sk.). “Day”;the Body of Brahmâ, in the Purânas.
Ahankâra
(Sk.). The conception of “I”, Self-consciousness or Self- identity; the
“I”,
the egotistical and mâyâvic principle in man, due to our ignorance which
separates
our “I” from the Universal ONE-SELF Personality, Egoism.
Aheie
(Heb.). Existence. He who exists; corresponds to Kether and Macroprosopus.
Ah-hi
(Sensar), Ahi (Sk.), or Serpents. Dhyân Chohans. “Wise Serpents” or
Dragons
of Wisdom.
Ahi
(Sk.). A serpent. A name of Vritra, the Vedic demon of drought.
Ahti
(Scand.). The “Dragon” in the Eddas.
Ahu
(Scand.). “One” and the First.
Ahum
(Zend). The first three principles of septenary man in the Avesta ; the
gross
living man and his vital and astral principles.
Ahura
(Zend.). The same as Asura, the holy, the Breath-like. Ahura Mazda, the
Ormuzd
of the Zoroastrians or Parsis, is the Lord who bestows light and
intelligence,
whose symbol is the Sun (See “Ahura Mazda”), and of whom Ahriman,
a
European form of “Angra Mainyu” (q.v.), is the dark aspect.
Ahura
Mazda (Zend). The personified deity, the Principle of Universal Divine
Light
of the Parsis. From Ahura or Asura, breath, “spiritual, divine” in the
oldest
Rig Veda, degraded by the orthodox Brahmans into A -sura, “no gods”, just
as
the Mazdeans have degraded the Hindu Devas (Gods) into Dæva (Devils).
Aidoneus
(Gr.). The God and King of the Nether World; Pluto or Dionysos
Chthonios
(subterranean).
Aij
Talon. The supreme deity of the Yakoot, a tribe in Northern Siberia.
Ain-Aior
(Chald.). The only “Self-existent” a mystic name for divine substance.
[w.w.w.]
Ain
(Heb.). The negatively existent; deity in repose, and absolutely passive.
[w.w.w.]
Aindrî
(Sk.). Wife of Indra.
Aindriya
(Sk.). Or Indrânî, Indriya; Sakti. The female aspect or “wife” of
Indra.
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Ain
Soph (Heb.). The “Boundless” or Limitless; Deity emanating and extending.
[w.w.w.]
Ain
Soph is also written En Soph and Ain Suph, no one, not even Rabbis, being
sure
of their vowels. In the religious metaphysics of the old Hebrew
philosophers,
the ONE Principle was an abstraction, like Parabrahmam, though
modern
Kabbalists have succeeded now, by dint of mere sophistry and paradoxes,
in
making a “Supreme God” of it and nothing higher. But with the early Chaldean
Kabbalists
Ain Soph is “without form or being”, having “no likeness with
anything
else” (Franck, Die Kabbala, p. 126). That Ain Soph has never been
considered
as the “Creator” is proved by even such an orthodox Jew as Philo
calling
the “Creator” the Logos, who stands next the “Limitless One”, and the
“Second
God”. “The Second God is its (Ain Soph’s) wisdom”, says Philo (Quaest.
et
Solut.). Deity is NO-THING; it is nameless, and therefore called Ain Soph;
the
word Ain meaning NOTHING. (See Franck’s Kabbala, p. 153 ff.)
Ain
Soph Aur (Heb.). The Boundless Light which concentrates into the First and
highest
Sephira or Kether, the Crown. [w. w. w.]
Airyamen
Yaêgo (Zend). Or Airyana Vaêgo; the primeval land of bliss referred to
in
the Vendîdâd, where Ahura Mazda delivered his laws to Zoroaster (Spitama
Zarathustra).
Airyana-ishejô
(Zend). The name of a prayer to the “holy Airyamen”, the divine
aspect
of Ahriman before the latter became a dark opposing power, a Satan. For
Ahriman
is of the same essence with Ahura Mazda, just as Typhon-Seth is of the
same
essence with Osiris (q.v.).
Aish
(Heb.). The word for “Man".
Aisvarikas
(Sk.). A theistic school of Nepaul, which sets up Âdi Buddha as a
supreme
god ( Îsvara ), instead of seeing in the name that of a principle, an
abstract
philosophical symbol.
Aitareya
(Sk.). The name of an Aranyaka (Brâhmana) and a Upanishad of the Rig
Veda.
Some of its portions are purely Vedântic.
Aith-ur
(Chald.). Solar fire, divine Æther.
Aja
(Sk.). “Unborn”, uncreated; an epithet belonging to many of the primordial
gods,
but especially to the first Logos—a radiation of the Absolute on the plane
of
illusion.
Ajitas
(Sk.). One of the Occult names of the twelve great gods incarnating in
each
Manvantara. The Occultists identify them with the Kumâras. They are called
Jnâna
(or Gnâna) Devas. Also, a form of Vishnu in the second Manvantara. Called
also
Jayas.
Ajnâna
(Sk.) or Agyana (Bengali). Non-knowledge; absence of
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knowledge
rather than “ignorance” as generally translated. An Ajnâni means a
“profane”.
Akar
(Eg.). The proper name of that division of the Ker-neter infernal regions,
which
may be called Hell. [w. w. w.].
Akâsa
(Sk.). The subtle, supersensuous spiritual essence which pervades all
space;
the primordial substance erroneously identified with Ether. But it is to
Ether
what Spirit is to Matter, or Âtmâ to Kâma-rûpa.
It is, in fact, the
Universal
Space in which lies inherent the eternal Ideation of the Universe in
its
ever-changing aspects on the planes of matter and objectivity, and from
which
radiates the First Logos, or expressed thought. This is why it is stated
in
the Purânas that Âkâsa has but one attribute, namely sound, for sound is but
the
translated symbol of Logos—“Speech” in its mystic sense. In the same
sacrifice
(the Jyotishtoma Agnishtoma) it is called the “God Âkâsa”. In these
sacrificial
mysteries Âkâsa is the all-directing ‘and omnipotent Deva who plays
the
part of Sadasya, the superintendent over the magical effects of the
religious
performance, and it had its own appointed Hotri (priest) in days of
old,
who took its name. The Âkâsa is the indispensable agent of every Krityâ
(magical
performance) religious or profane. The expression “to stir up the
Brahmâ”,
means to stir up the power which lies latent at the bottom of every
magical
operation, Vedic sacrifices being in fact nothing if not ceremonial
magic.
This power is the Âkâsa—in another aspect, Kundalini—occult electricity,
the
alkahest of the alchemists in one sense, or the universal solvent, the same
anima
mundi on the higher plane as the astral light is on the lower. “At the
moment
of the sacrifice the priest becomes imbued with the spirit of Brahmâ, is,
for
the time being, Brahmâ himself”. (Isis Unveiled).
Akbar.
The great Mogul Emperor of India, the famous patron of religions, arts,
and
sciences, the most liberal of all the Mussulman sovereigns. There has never
been
a more tolerant or enlightened ruler than the Emperor Akbar, either in
India
or in any other Mahometan country.
Akiba
(Heb.). The only one of the four Tanaim (initiated prophets) who entering
the
Garden of Delight (of the occult sciences) succeeded in getting himself
initiated
while all the others failed. (See the Kabbalistic Rabbis).
Akshara
(Sk.). Supreme Deity; lit., “indestructible”, ever perfect.
Akta
(Sk.). Anointed: a title of Twashtri or Visvakarman, the highest “Creator”
and
Logos in the
Rig
-Veda. He is called the “Father of the Gods” and “Father of the sacred Fire”
(See
note page 101, Vol. II., Sec.Doct.).
Akûpâra
(Sk.). The Tortoise, the symbolical turtle on which the earth is said to
rest.
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Al
or El (Heb.). This deity-name is commonly translated “God’, meaning mighty,
supreme.
The plural is Elohim, also translated in the Bible by the word God, in
the
singular. [w.w.w.]
Al-ait
(Phœn.). The God of Fire, an ancient and very mystic name in Koptic
Occultism.
Alaparus
(Chald.). The second divine king of Babylonia who reigned.. “three
Sari”.
The first king of the divine Dynasty was Alorus according to Berosus. He
was
“the appointed Shepherd of the people” and reigned ten Sari (or 36,000
years,
a Saros being 3,600 years).
Alaya
(Sk.). The Universal Soul (See Secret Doctrine Vol. I. pp. 47 et seq.).
The
name belongs to the Tibetan system of the contemplative Mahâyâna School.
Identical
with Âkâsa in its mystic sense, and with Mulâprâkriti, in its essence,
as
it is the basis or root of all things.
Alba
Petra (Lat.). The white stone of Initiation. The “white cornelian”
mentioned
in St. John’s Revelation.
Al-Chazari
(Arab.). A Prince-Philosopher and Occultist. (See Book Al-Chazari.)
Alchemists; From Al and Chemi, fire, or the god and
patriarch, Kham, also, the
name
of Egypt. The Rosicrucians of the middle ages, such as Robertus de
Fluctibus
(Robert Fludd), Paracelsus, Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes), Van
Helmont,
and others, were all alchemists, who sought for the hidden spirit in
every
inorganic matter. Some people— nay, the great majority—have accused
alchemists
of charlatanry and false pretending. Surely such men as Roger Bacon,
Agrippa,
Henry Khunrath, and the Arabian Geber (the first to introduce into
Europe
some of the secrets of chemistry), can hardly he treated as impostors—
least
of all as fools. Scientists who are reforming the science of physics upon
the
basis of the atomic theory of Democritus, as restated by John Dalton,
conveniently
forget that Democritus, of Abdera, was an alchemist, and that the
mind
that was capable of penetrating so far into the secret operations of nature
in
one direction must have had good reasons to study and become a Hermetic
philosopher.
Olaus Borrichius says that the cradle of alchemy is to be sought in
the
most distant times. (Isis Unveiled).
Alchemy
; in Arabic Ul-Khemi, is, as the name suggests, the chemistry of nature.
Ui-Khemi
or
Al-Kimia,
however, is only an Arabianized word, taken from the Greek chemeia,
(chemeia)
from cumoz— “juice”, sap extracted from a plant. Says Dr. Wynn
Westcott:
“The earliest use of the actual
term
‘alchemy’ is found in the works of
Julius Firmicus Maternus, who lived in
the
days of Constantine the Great. The
Imperial Library in Paris contains the
oldest-extant
alchemic treatise known in Europe;
it
was written by Zosimus the Panopolite
about 400 A.D.
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in
the Greek language, the next oldest is by Æneas Gazeus, 480 A.D.” It deals
with
the finer forces of nature and the various conditions in which they are
found
to operate. Seeking under the veil of language, more or less artificial,
to
convey to the uninitiated so much of the
mysterium magnum as is safe in the
hands
of a selfish world, the alchemist postulates as his first principle the
existence
of a certain Universal Solvent by which all composite bodies are
resolved
into the homogeneous substance from
which they are evolved, which
substance
he calls pure gold, or summa materia.
This solvent, also called
menstvuum
universale, possesses the power of removing all the seeds of disease
from
the human body, of renewing youth and prolonging life. Such is the lapis
philosophorum (philosopher’s stone). Alchemy first
penetrated into Europe
through
Geber, the great Arabian sage and
philosopher, in the eighth century of
our
era; but it was known and practised long ages ago in China and in Egypt,
numerous
papyri on alchemy and other proofs of its being the favourite study of
kings
and priests having been exhumed and
preserved under the generic name of
Hermetic
treatises. (See “Tabula Smaragdina”). Alchemy is studied under three
distinct
aspects, which admit of many different interpretations, viz.: the
Cosmic,
Human, and Terrestrial. These three methods were typified under the
three
alchemical properties—sulphur, mercury, and salt. Different writers have
stated
that there are three, seven, ten, and twelve processes respectively; but
they
are all agreed that there is but one object in alchemy, which is to
transmute
gross metals into pure gold. What that gold, however, really is, very
few
people understand correctly. No doubt that there is such a thing in nature
as
transmutation of the baser metals into the nobler, or gold. But this is only
one
aspect of alchemy, the terrestrial or purely material, for we sense
logically
the same process taking place in the bowels of the earth. Yet, besides
and
beyond this interpretation, there is in alchemy a symbolical meaning, purely
psychic
and spiritual. While the Kabbalist-Alchemist seeks for the realization
of
the former, the Occultist-Alchemist, spurning the gold of the mines, gives
all
his attention and directs his efforts only towards the transmutation of the
baser
quaternary into the divine upper trinity of man, which when finally
blended
are one. The spiritual, mental, psychic, and physical planes of human
existence
are in alchemy compared to the four elements, fire, air, water and
earth,
and are each capable of a threefold constitution, i.e., fixed, mutable
and
volatile. Little or nothing is known by the word concerning the origin of
this
archaic branch of philosophy; but it is certain that it antedates the
construction
of any known Zodiac, and, as dealing with the personified forces of
nature,
probably also any of the mythologies of the world; nor is there any
doubt
that the true secret of transmutation (on the physical plane) was known in
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days
of old, and lost before the dawn of the so-called historical period. Modern
chemistry
owes its best fundamental discoveries to alchemy, but regardless of
the
undeniable truism of the latter that there is but one element in the
universe,
chemistry has placed metals in the class of elements and is only now
beginning
to find out its gross mistake. Even sonic Encyclopædists are now
forced
to confess that if most of the accounts of transmutations are fraud or
delusion,
“yet some of them are accompanied by testimony which renders them
probable.
. . By means of the galvanic battery even the alkalis have been
discovered
to have a metallic base. The possibility of obtaining metal from
other
substances which contain the ingredients composing it, and of changing one
metal
into another . . . must therefore be left undecided. Nor are all
alchemists
to be considered impostors. Many have laboured under the conviction
of
obtaining their object, with indefatigable patience and purity of heart,
which
is earnestly recommended by sound alchemists as the principal requisite
for
the success of their labours.”
(Pop.
Encyclop.)
Alcyone
(Gr.), or Halcyone, daughter of Æolus, and wife of Ceyx, who was drowned
as
he was journeying to consult the oracle, upon which she threw herself into
the
sea. Accordingly both were changed, through the mercy of the gods, into
king-fishers.
The female is said to lay her eggs on the sea and keep it calm
during
the seven days before and seven days after the winter solstice. It has a
very
occult significance in ornithomancy.
Alectromancy
(Gr.). Divination by means of a cock, or other bird; a circle was
drawn
and divided into spaces, each one allotted to a letter; corn was spread
over
these places and note was taken of the successive lettered divisions from
which
the bird took grains of corn. [w.w.w.]
Alethæ
(Phœn) “Fire worshippers” from Al-alt, the God of Fire. The same as the
Kabiri
or divine Titans. As the seven emanations of Agruerus (Saturn) they are
connected
with all the fire, solar and” storm gods (Maruts).
Aletheia
(Gr.). Truth; also Alethia, one of Apollo’s nurses.
Alexadrian
School (of Philosophers). This famous school arose in Alexandria
(Egypt)
which was for several centuries the great seat of learning and
philosophy.
Famous for its library, which bears the name of “Alexandrian”,
founded
by Ptolemy Soter, who died in 283 B.C., at the very beginning of his
reign
; that library which once boasted of 700,000 rolls or volumes (Aulus
Gellius);
for its museum, the first real academy of sciences and arts ; for its
world-famous
scholars, such as Euclid (the father of scientific geometry),
Apollonius
of Perga (the author of the still extant work on conic sections),
Nicomachus
(the arithmetician); astronomers, natural philosophers, anatomists
such
as Herophilus and
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Erasistratus,
physicians, musicians, artists, etc., etc. ; it became still more
famous
for its Eclectic, or the New Platonic school, founded in 193 A.D., by
Ammonius
Saccas, whose disciples were Origen, Plotinus, and many others now
famous
in history. The most celebrated schools of Gnostics had their origin in
Alexandria.
Philo Judæus Josephus, lamblichus, Porphyry, Clement of Alexandria,
Eratosthenes
the astronomer, Hypatia the virgin philosopher, and numberless
other
stars of second magnitude, all belonged at various times to these great
schools,
and helped to make Alexandria one of the most justly renowned seats of
learning
that the world has ever produced.
Alhim
(Heb.). See “Elohim”.
Alkahest
(Arab.). The universal solvent in Alchemy (see "Alchemy "); but in
mysticism,
the Higher Self, the union with which makes of matter (lead), gold,
and
restores all compound things such as the human body and its attributes to
their
primæval essence.
Almadel; the Book. A treatise on Theurgia or White
Magic by an unknown mediæval
European
author; it is not infrequently found in volumes of MSS. called Keys of
Solomon.
[ w.w.w.]
Almeh
(Arab.). Dancing girls; the same as the Indian nautchies, the temple and
public
dancers.
Alpha
Polaris (Lat.). The same as Dhruva, the pole-star of 31,105 years ago.
Alswider
(Scand.). ‘‘ All-swift’’, the name of the horse of the moon, in the
Eddas.
Altruism
(Lat.). From alter = other. A quality opposed to egoism. Actions
tending
to do good to others, regardless of self.
Aize,
Liber; de Lapide Philosophico. An
alchemic treatise by an unknown German
author;
dated 1677. It is to be found reprinted in the Hermetic Museum; in it is
the
well known design of a man with legs extended and his body hidden by a seven
pointed
star. Eliphaz Lévi has copied it. [ w.w.w.]
Ama
(Heb.)., Amia, (Chald.). Mother. A title of Sephira Binah, whose “divine
name
is Jehovah” and who is called “Supernal Mother”.
Amânasa
(Sk.). The “ Mindless”, the early races of this planet; also certain
Hindu
gods.
Amara-Kosha
(Sk.). The “immortal vocabulary”. The oldest dictionary known in the
world
and the most perfect vocabulary of classical Sanskrit ; by Amara Sinha, a
sage
of the second century.
Ambâ
(Sk.). The name of the eldest of the seven Pleiades, the heavenly sisters
married
each to a Rishi belonging to the Saptariksha or the seven Rishis of the
constellation
known as the Great Bear.
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Ambhâmsi
(Sk.). A name of the chief of the Kumâras Sanat-Sujâta, signifying the
“waters”.
This epithet will become more comprehensible when we remember that the
later
type of Sanat-Sujâta was Michael, the Archangel, who is called in the
Talmud
“the Prince of Waters”, and in the Roman Catholic Church is regarded as
the
patron of gulfs and promontories. Sanat-Sujâta is the immaculate son of the
immaculate
mother (Ambâ or Aditi, chaos and space) or the “waters” of limitless
space.
(See
Secret Doctrine-, Vol. I., p. 460.)
Amdo
(Tib.). A sacred locality, the birthplace of Tson-kha-pa, the great Tibetan
reformer
and the founder of the Gelukpa (yellow caps), who is regarded as an
Avatar
of Amita-buddha.
Amên.
In Hebrew is formed of the letters A M N = 1,40,50 =91,and is thus a
simile
of “Jehovah Adonai”=10, 5, 6, 5 and 1,4, 50,10 =91 together; it is one
form
of the Hebrew word for “truth”. In common parlance Amen is said to mean “so
be
it”. [ w.w.w.]
But,
in esoteric parlance Amen means “the concealed”. Manetho Sebennites says
the
word signifies that which is hidden and we know through Hecatæus and others
that
the Egyptians used the word to call upon their great God of Mystery, Ammon
(or
“Ammas, the hidden god ”) to make himself conspicuous and manifest to them.
Bonomi,
the famous hieroglyphist, calls his worshippers very pertinently the
“Amenoph”,
and Mr. Bonwick quotes a writer who says: “Ammon, the hidden god,
will
remain for ever hidden till anthropomorphically revealed; gods who are afar
off
are useless”. Amen is styled “Lord of the new-moon festival”. Jehovah-Adonai
is
a new form of the ram-headed god Amoun or Ammon (q.v.) who was invoked by the
Egyptian
priests under the name of Amen.
Amenti
(Eg.). Esoterically and literally, the dwelling of the God Amen, or
Amoun,
or the “hidden”, secret god. Exoterically the kingdom of Osiris divided
into
fourteen parts, each of which was set aside for some purpose connected with
the
after state of the defunct. Among other things, in one of these was the Hall
of
Judgment. It was the “Land of the West”, the “Secret Dwelling”, the dark
land,
and the “doorless house”. But it was also Ker-noter, the “abode of the
gods”,
and the “land of ghosts” like the “ Hades” of the Greeks (q.v.). It was
also
the “Good Father’s House” (in which there are “many mansions”). The
fourteen
divisions comprised, among many others, Aanroo (q.v.), the hall of the
Two
Truths, the Land of Bliss, Neter-xev “the funeral (or burial) place”
Otamer-xev,
the “Silence-loving Fields”, and also many other mystical halls and
dwellings,
one like the Sheol of the Hebrews, another like the Devachan of the
Occultists,
etc., etc. Out of the fifteen gates of the abode of Osiris, there
were
two chief ones,
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the
“gate of entrance” or Rustu, and the “gate of exit” (reincarnation) Amh. But
there
was no room in Amenti to represent the orthodox Christian Hell. The worst
of
all was the Hall of the eternal Sleep and Darkness. As Lepsius has it, the
defunct
“sleep (therein) in incorruptible forms, they wake not to see their
brethren,
they recognize no longer father and mother, their hearts feel nought
toward
their wife and children. This is the dwelling of the god All-Dead. . . .
Each
trembles to pray to him, for he hears not. Nobody can praise him, for he
regards
not those who adore him. Neither does he notice any offering brought to
him.”
This god is Karmic Decree; the land of Silence—the abode of those who die
absolute
disbelievers, those dead from accident before their allotted time, and
finally
the dead on the threshold of Avitchi, which is never in Amenti or any
other
subjective state, save in one case, but on this land of forced re-birth.
These
tarried not very long even in their state of heavy sleep, of oblivion and
darkness,
but, were carried more or less speedily toward Amh the “exit gate”.
Amesha
Spentas (Zend). Amshaspends. The six angels or divine Forces personified
as
gods who attend upon Ahura Mazda, of which he is the synthesis and the
seventh.
They are one of the prototypes of the Roman Catholic “Seven Spirits” or
Angels
with Michael as chief, or the “Celestial Host”; the “ Seven Angels of the
Presence”.
They are the Builders, Cosmocratores, of the Gnostics and identical
with
the Seven Prajâpatis, the Sephiroth, etc. (q.v.).
Amitâbha.
The Chinese perversion of the Sanskrit Amrita Buddha, or the “Immortal
Enlightened”,
a name of Gautama Buddha. The name has such variations as Amita,
Abida,
Amitâya, etc., and. is explained as meaning both “Boundless Age” and
“Boundless
Light”. The original conception of the ideal of an impersonal divine
light
has been anthrdpomorphized with time.
Ammon
(Eg.). One of the great gods of Egypt. Ammon or Amoun is far older than
Amoun-Ra,
and is identified with Baal. Hammon, the Lord of Heaven. Amoun-Ra was
Ra
the Spiritual Sun, the “Sun of Righteousness”, etc., for—“the Lord God is a
Sun”.
He is the God of Mystery and the hieroglyphics of his name are often
reversed.
He is Pan, All-Nature esoterically, and therefore the universe, and
the
“Lord of Eternity”. Ra, as declared by an old inscription, was “begotten by
Neith
but not engendered”. He is called the “self- begotten” Ra,, and created
goodness
from a glance of his fiery eye, as Set-Typhon created evil from his. As
Ammon
(also Amoun and Amen), Ra, he is “Lord of the worlds enthroned on the
Sun’s
disk and appears in the abyss of heaven”. A very ancient hymn spells the
name
“Amen-ra”, and hails the “Lord of the thrones of the earth...Lord
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of
Truth, father of the gods, maker of man, creator of the beasts, Lord of
Existence,
Enlightener of the Earth, sailing in heaven in tranquillity. . . All
hearts
are softened at beholding thee, sovereign of life, health and strength We
worship
thy spirit who alone made us”, etc., etc. (See Bonwick’s Egyptian
Belief.)
Ammon Ra is called “his mother’s husband” and her son. (See “Chnourmis”
and
“Chnouphis” and also Secret Doctrine I, pp. 91 and It was to the
“ram-headed”
god that the Jews sacrificed lambs, and the lamb of Christian
theology
is a disguised reminiscence of the ram.
Ammonius
Saccas. A great and good philosopher who lived in Alexandria between
the
second and third centuries of our era, and who was the founder of the
Neo-Platonic
School of Philaletheians or “lovers of truth”. He was of poor birth
and
born of Christian parents, but endowed with such prominent, almost divine,
goodness
as to he called Theodidaktos, the “god-taught”. He honoured that which
was
good in Christianity, but broke with it and the churches very early, being
unable
to find in it any superiority over the older religions.
Amrita
(Sk.). The ambrosial drink or food of the gods; the food giving
immortality.
The elixir of life churned out of the ocean of milk in the Purânic
allegory.
An old Vedic term applied to the sacred Soma juice in the Temple
Mysteries.
Amûlam
Mûlam (Sk.). Lit., the “rootless root” ; Mulâprakriti of the Vedantins
the
spiritual “root of nature”.
Amun
(Copt.). The Egyptian god of wisdom, who had only Initiates or Hierophants
to
serve him as priests.
Anâ
(Chald.). The “invisible heaven”or Astral Light ; the heavenly mother of the
terrestrial
sea, Mar, whence probably the origin of Anna, the mother of Mary.
Anacalypsis
(Gr.)., or an “Attempt to withdraw the veil of the Saitic Isis”, by
Godfrey
Higgins. This is a very valuable work, now only obtainable at
extravagant
prices; it treats of the origin of all myths, religions and
mysteries,
and displays an immense fund of classical erudition. [ w.w.w.]
Anâgâmin
(Sk.). Anagam. One who is no longer to be reborn into the world of
desire.
One stage before becoming Arhat and ready for Nirvâna. The third of the
four
grades of holiness on the way to final Initiation.
Anâhata
Chakram (Sk.). The seat or “wheel” of life; the heart, according to some
commentators.
Anâhata
Shabda (Sk.). The mystic voices and sounds heard by the Yogi at the
incipient
stage of his meditation, The third of the four states
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of
sound, otherwise called Madhyamâ—the fourth state being when it is
perceptible
by the physical sense of hearing. The sound in its previous stages
is
not heard except by those who have developed their internal, highest
spiritual
senses. The four stages are called respectively, Parâ, Pashyantî,
Madhyamâ
and Vaikharî.
Anaitia
(Chald.). A derivation from Anâ (q.v.), a goddess identical with the
Hindu
Annapurna, one of the names of Kâlî—the female aspect of Siva—at her best.
Analogeticists.
The disciples of Ammonius Saccas (q.v.), so called because of
their
practice of interpreting all sacred legends, myths and mysteries by a
principle
of analogy and correspondence, which is now found in the Kabbalistic
system,
and pre-eminently so in the Schools of Esoteric Philosophy, in the East.
(See
“ The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac,” by T. Subba Row in Five Years of
Theosophy.)
Ânanda
(Sk.). Bliss, joy, felicity, happiness. A name of the favourite disciple
of
Gautama, the Lord Buddha.
Ânanda-Lahari
(Sk.). “The wave of joy”; a beautiful poem written by
Sankarâchârya,
a hymn to Pârvati, very mystical and occult.
Ânandamaya-Kosha
(Sk.). “The illusive Sheath of Bliss”, i.e., the mâyâvic or
illusory
form, the appearance of that which is formless. “Bliss”, or the higher
soul.
The Vedantic name for one of the five Koshas or “principles” in man;
identical
with our Âtmâ-Buddhi or the Spiritual Soul.
Ananga
(Sk.). The “Bodiless”. An epithet of Kâma, god of love.
Ananta-Sesha
(Sk.). The Serpent of Eternity—the couch of Vishnu during Pralaya
(lit.,
endless remain).
Anastasis
(Gr.). The continued existence of the soul.
Anatu
(Chald.). The female aspect of Anu (q.v.). She represents the Earth and
Depth,
while her consort represents the Heaven and Height. She is the mother of
the
god Hea, and produces heaven and earth. Astronomically she is Ishtar, Venus,
the
Ashtoreth of the Jews.
Anaxagoras
(Gr.) A famous Ionian philosopher who lived 500 B.C., studied
philosophy
under Anaximenes of Miletus, and settled in the days of Pericles at
Athens.
Socrates, Euripides, Archelaus and other distinguished men and
philosophers
were among his disciples and pupils. He was a most learned
astronomer
and was one of the first to explain openly that which was taught by
Pythagoras
secretly, namely, the movements of the planets, the eclipses of the
sun
and moon, etc. It was he who taught the theory of Chaos, on the principle
that
“nothing comes from nothing”; and of atoms, as the underlying essence and
substance
of all bodies, “of the same nature as the bodies which they formed”.
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These
atoms, he taught, were primarily put in motion by Nous (Universal
Intelligence,
the Mahat of the Hindus), which Nous is an immaterial, eternal,
spiritual
entity; by this combination the world was formed, the material gross
bodies
sinking down, and the ethereal atoms (or fiery ether) rising and
spreading
in the upper celestial regions. Antedating modern science by over 2000
years,
he taught that the stars were of the same material as our earth, and the
sun
a glowing mass; that the moon was a dark, uninhabitable body, receiving its
light
from the sun; the comets, wandering stars or bodies ; and over and above
the
said science, he confessed himself thoroughly convinced that the real
existence
of things, perceived by our senses, could not be demonstrably proved.
He
died in exile at Lampsacus at the age of seventy-two.
Ancients,
The. A name given by Occultists to the seven creative Rays, born of
Chaos,
or the “Deep”.
Anda-Katâha
(Sk.). The outer covering, or the “shell” of Brahmâ’s egg; the area
within
which our manifested universe is encompassed.
Androgyne
Goat (of Mendes). See “Baphomet”.
Androgyne
Ray (Esot.). The first differentiated ray; the Second Logos; Adam
Kadmon
in the Kabalah; the “male and female created he them”, of the first
chapter
of Genesis.
Audumla
(Scand.). The symbol of nature in the Norse mythology; the cow who licks
the
salt rock, whence the divine Buri is born, before man’s creation.
Angâraka
(Sk.). Fire Star; the planet Mars; in Tibetan, Mig-mar.
Augiras.
One of the Prajâpatis. A son of Daksha ; a lawyer, etc., etc.
Angirasas
(Sk.). The generic name of several Purânic individuals and things; a
class
of Pitris, the ancestors of man ; a river in Plaksha, one of the Sapta
dwîpas
(q.v).
Angra
Mainyus (Zend.). The Zoroastrian name for Ahriman; the evil spirit of
destruction
and opposition who (in the Vendidâd, Fargard I.) is said by Ahura
Mazda
to “counter-create by his witchcraft” every beautiful land the God
creates;
for “Angra Mainyu is all death”.
AnimaMundi
(Lat.). The“Soul of the World”, the same as the Alaya of the Northern
Buddhists;
the divine essence which permeates, animates and informs all, from
the
smallest atom of matter to man and god. It is in a sense the “seven-skinned
mother”
of the stanzas in the Secret Doctrine, the essence of seven planes of
sentience,
consciousness and differentiation, moral and physical. In its highest
aspect
it is Nirvâna, in its lowest Astral Light. It was feminine with the
Gnostics,
the early Christians and the Nazarenes; bisexual with other sects, who
considered
it only in its four lower planes. Of igneous, ethereal nature in the
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objective
world of form (and then ether), and divine and spiritual in its three
higher
planes. When it is said that every human soul was born by detaching
itself
from the Anima Mundi, it means, esoterically, that our higher Egos are of
an
essence identical with It, which is a radiation of the ever unknown Universal
ABSOLUTE.
Anjala
(Sk.). One of the personified powers which spring from Brahmâ’s body—the
Prajâpatis.
Anjana
(Sk.). A serpent, a son of Kasyapa Rishi.
Annamaya
Kosha (Sk.). A Vedantic term. The same as Sthûla Sharîra or the
physical
body. It is the first “sheath” of the five sheaths accepted by the
Vedantins,
a sheath being the same as that which is called “principle” in
Theosophy.
Annapura
(Sk.). See “Anâ”.
Annedotus
(Gr.). The generic name for the Dragons or Men-Fishes, of which there
were
five. The historian Berosus narrates that there rose out of the Erythræan
Sea
on several occasions a semi-dæmon named Oannes or Annedotus, who although
part
animal yet taught the Chaldeans useful arts and everything that could
humanise
them. (See Lenormant Chaldean Magic, p. 203, and also “Oannes”.)
[w.w.w.]
Anoia
(Gr.). “Want of understanding”, “folly”. Anoia is the name given by Plato
and
others to the lower Manas when too closely allied with Kâma, which is
irrational
(agnoia). The Greek word agnoia is evidently a derivation from and
cognate
to the Sanskrit word ajnâna (phonetically, agnyana) or ignorance,
irrationality,
absence of knowledge. (See “Agnoia” and “Agnostic”.)
Anouki
(Eg.). A form of Isis; the goddess of life, from which name the Hebrew
Ank,
life. (See “Anuki.”)
Ansumat
(Sk.). A Purânic personage, the “nephew of 60,000 uncles” King Sagara’s
sons,
who were reduced to ashes by a single glance from Kapila Rishi’s “Eye”.
Antahkarana
(Sk.)., or Antaskarana. The term has various meanings, which differ
with
every school of philosophy and sect. Thus Sankârachârya renders the word as
“understanding”;
others, as “the internal instrument, the Soul, formed by the
thinking
principle and egoism”; whereas the Occultists explain it as the path or
bridge
between the Higher and the Lower Manas, the divine Ego, and the personal
Soul
of man. It serves as a medium of communication between the two, and conveys
from
the Lower to the Higher Ego all those personal impressions and thoughts of
men
which can, by their nature, be assimilated and stored by the undying Entity,
and
be thus made immortal with it, these being the only elements of the
evanescent
Personality that survive death and time. It thus stands to reason
that
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only
that which is noble, spiritual and divine in man can testify in Eternity to
his
having lived.
Anthesteria
(Gr.). The feast of Flowers (Floralia): during this festival the
rite
of Baptism or purification was performed in the Eleusinian Mysteries in the
temple
lakes, the Limnae, when the
Mystæ
were made to pass through the “narrow gate” of Dionysus, to emerge
therefrom
as full Initiates.
Anthropology.
The Science of man; it embraces among other things :—Physiology,
or
that branch of natural science which discloses the mysteries of the organs
and
their functions in men, animals and plants; and also, and
especially,—Psychology
or the great, and in our days, too much neglected science
of
the soul, both as an entity distinct from the spirit, and in its relation to
the
spirit and body. In modern science, psychology deals only or principally
with
conditions of the nervous system, and almost absolutely ignores the
psychical
essence and nature. Physicians denominate the science of insanity
psychology,
and name the lunacy chair in medical colleges by that designation.
(Isis
Unveiled.)
Anthropomorphism
(Gr.). From “anthropos” meaning man. The act of endowing god or
gods
with a human form and human attributes or qualities.
Anu
(Sk.). An “atom”, a title of Brahmâ, who is said to be an atom just as is
the
infinite universe. A hint at the pantheistic nature of the god.
Anu
(Chald.). One of the highest of Babylonian deities, “King of Angels and
Spirits,
Lord of the city of Erech”. He is the Ruler and God of Heaven and
Earth.
His symbol is a star and a kind of Maltese cross—emblems of divinity and
sovereignty.
He is an abstract divinity supposed to inform the whole expense of
ethereal
space or heaven, while his “wife” informs the more material planes.
Both
are the types of the Ouranos and Gaia of Hesiod. They sprang from the
original
Chaos. All his titles and attributes are grapfiic and indicate health,
purity
physical and moral, antiquity and holiness. Anu was the earliest god of
the
city of Erech. One of his sons was Bil orVil-Kan, the god of fire, of
various
metals, and of weapons. George Smith very pertinently sees in this deity
a
close connection with a kind of cross breed between “the biblical Tubal Cain
and
the classical Vulcan” . .who is considered to be moreover “the most potent
deity
in relation to witchcraft and spells generally”.
Anubis
(Gr.) The dog -headed god, identical, in a certain aspect, with Horus. He
is
pre-eminently the god who deals with the disembodied, or the resurrected in
post
mortem life. Anepou is his Egyptian
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name.
He is a psychopompic deity, “the Lord of the Silent Land of the West, the
land
of the Dead, the preparer of the way to the other world ”, to whom the dead
were
entrusted, to be led by him to Osiris, the Judge. In short, he is the
“embalmer”
and the “guardian of the dead”. One of the oldest deities in Egypt,
Mariette
Bey having found the image of this deity in tombs of the Third Dynasty.
Anugîtâ
(Sk.). One of the Upanishads. A very occult treatise. (See The sacred
Books
of the East.)
Anugraha
(Sk.). The eighth creation in the Vishnu Purâna.
Anuki
(Eg.). “See Anouki” supra. “The word Ank in Hebrew, means ‘my life’, my
being,
which is the personal pronoun Anocki, from the name of the Egyptian
goddess
Anouki ”, says the author of the
Hebrew
Mystery, or the Source of Measures.
Anumati
(Sk.). The moon at the full; when from a god—Soma—she becomes a goddess.
Anumitis
(Sk.). Inference, deduction in philosophy.
Anunnaki
(Chald.). Angels or Spirits of the Earth; terrestrial Elementals also.
Anunit
(Chald.) The goddess of Akkad ; Lucifer, the morning star. Venus as the
evening
star
was
Ishtar of Erech.
Anupâdaka
(Sk.). Anupapâdaka, also Aupapâduka; means parentless”,
“self-existing”,
born without any parents or progenitors. A term applied to
certain
self-created gods, and the Dhyâni Buddhas.
Anuttara
(Sk.). Unrivalled, peerless. Thus Anuttara Bodhi means unexcelled or
unrivalled
intelligence”, Anuttara Dharma, unrivalled law or religion, &c.
Anyâmsam
Aniyasâm (Sk.). A no-ranîyânsam (in Bhagavad gîtâ). Lit., “the most
atomic
of the atomic; smallest of the small ”. Applied to the universal deity,
whose
essence is everywhere.
Aour
(Chald.). The synthesis of the two aspects of astro-etheric light; and the
od—the
life-giving, and the ob—the death-giving light.
Apâm
Napât (Zend). A mysterious being, corresponding to the Fohat of the
Occultists.
It is both a Vedic and an Avestian name. Literally, the name means
the
“Son of the Waters” (of space, i.e., Ether),
for
in the Avesta Apâm Napât stands between the fire-yazatas and the
water-yazatas
.
(See
Secret Doctrine, Vol. II., p. 400, note).
Apâna
(Sk.). “Inspirational breath”; a practice in Yoga. Prana and apâna are the
“expirational”
and the “inspirational” breaths. It is called “vital wind” in
Anugîta.
Apap
(Eg.), in Greek Apophis. The symbolical Serpent of Evil. The Solar Boat and
the
Sun are the great Slayers of Apap in the Book of the
l
l
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Dead.
It is Typhon, who having killed Osiris, incarnates in Apap, seeking to
kill
Horus. Like Taoer (or
Ta-ap-oer)
the female aspect of Typhon, Apap is called “the devourer of the
Souls”,
and truly, since Apap symbolizes the animal body, as matter left
soulless
and to itself. Osiris, being, like all the other Solar gods, a type of
the
Higher Ego (Christos), Horus (his son) is the lower Manas or the personal
Ego.
On many a monument one can see Horus, helped by a number of dog-headed gods
armed
with crosses and spears, killing Apap. Says an Orientalist : “The God
Horus
standing as conqueror upon the Serpent of Evil, may be considered as the
earliest
form of our well-known group of St. George (who is Michael) and the
Dragon,
or holiness trampling down sin.” Draconianism did not die with the
ancient
religions, but has passed bodily into the latest Christian form of the
worship.
Aparinâmin
(Sk.). The Immutable and the Unchangeable, the reverse of Parinâmin,
that
which is subject to modification, differentiation or decay.
Aparoksha
(Sk.) Direct perception.
Âpava
(Sk.) Lit. “He who sports in the Water”. Another aspect of Nârâyana or
Vishnu
and of Brahmâ combined, for Âpava, like the latter, divides himself into
two
parts, male and female, and creates Vishnu, who creates Virâj, who creates
Manu.
The name is explained and interpreted in various ways in Brahmanical
literature.
Apavarga
(Sk.). Emancipation from repeated births.
Apis
(Eg.), or Hapi-ankh. The “living deceased one” or Osiris incarnate in the
sacred
white Bull. Apis was the bull-god that, on reaching the age of
twenty-eight,
the age when Osiris was killed by Typhon—was put to death with
great
ceremony. It was not the Bull that was worshipped but the Osiridian
symbol;
just as Christians kneel now before the Lamb, the symbol of Jesus
Christ,
in their churches.
Apocrypha
(Gr.). Very erroneously explained and adopted as doubtful, or
spurious.
The word means simply secret, esoteric, hidden.
Apollo
Belvidere. Of all the ancient statues of Apollo, the son of Jupiter and
Latona,
called Phœbus, Helios, the radiant and the Sun, the best and most
perfect
is the one known by this name, which is in the Belvidere gallery of the
Vatican
at Rome. It is called the Pythian Apollo, as the god is represented in
the
moment of his victory over the serpent Python. The statue was found in the
ruins
of Antium, in 1503.
Apollonius
of Tyana (Gr.). A wonderful philosopher born in Cappadocia about the
beginning
of the first century; an ardent Pythagorean, who studied the Phœnician
sciences
under Euthydemus; and Pythagorean philosophy and other studies under
Euxenus
of
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Heraclea.
According to the tenets of this school he remained a vegetarian the
whole
of his long life, fed only on fruit and herbs, drank no wine, wore
vestments
made only of plant-fibres, walked barefooted, and let his hair grow to
its
full length, as all the Initiates before and after him. He was initiated by
the
priests of the temple of Æsculapius (Asciepios) at Ægae, and learnt many of
the
“miracles” for healing the sick wrought by the god of medicine. Having
prepared
himself for a higher initiation by a silence of five years, and by
travel,
visiting Antioch, Ephesus, Pamphylia and other parts, he journeyed via
Babylon
to India, all his intimate disciples having abandoned him, as they
feared
to go to the “land of enchantments”. A casual disciple, Damis, however,
whom
he met on his way, accompanied him in his travels. At Babylon he was
initiated
by the Chaldees and Magi, according to Damis, whose narrative was
copied
by one named Philostratus a hundred years later. After his return from
India,
he showed himself a true Initiate, in that the pestilences and
earthquakes,
deaths of kings and other events, which he prophesied duly
happened.
At Lesbos, the priests of Orpheus, being jealous of him, refused to
initiate
him into their peculiar mysteries, though they did so several years
later.
He preached to the people of Athens and other cities the purest and
noblest
ethics, and the phenomena he produced were as wonderful as they were
numerous
and well attested. “How is it”, enquires Justin Martyr in dismay—” how
is
it that the talismans (telesmata) of Apollonius have power, for they prevent,
as
we see, the fury of the waves and the violence of the winds, and the attacks
of
the wild beasts; and whilst our Lord’s miracles are preserved by tradition
alone,
those of Apollonius are most numerous and actually manifested in present
facts?”
. (Quaest, XXIV.). But an answer is easily
found to this in the fact that after
crossing
the Hindu Kush, Apollonius had been directed by a king to the abode of
the
Sages, whose abode it may be to this day, by whom he was taught unsurpassed
knowledge.
His dialogues with the Corinthian Menippus indeed give us the
esoteric
catechism and disclose (when understood) many an important mystery of
nature.
Apollonius was the friend, correspondent and guest of kings and queens,
and
no marvellous or “magic” powers are better attested than his. At the end of
his
long and wonderful life he opened an esoteric school at Ephesus, and died
aged
almost one hundred years.
Aporrheta
(Gr.). Secret instructions upon esoteric subjects given during the
Egyptian
and Grecian Mysteries.
Apsaras
(Sk.). An Undine or Water-Nymph, from the Paradise or Heaven of Indra.
The
Apsarases
are
in popular belief the “wives of the gods” and called Surânganâs, and by a
less
honourable term, Sumad-âtmajâs or the “daughters of pleasure”, for it is
fabled
of them
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that
when they appeared at the churning of the Ocean neither Gods (Suras) nor
Demons
(Asuras) would take them for legitimate wives. Urvasi and several others
of
them are mentioned in the Vedas. In Occultism they are certain
“sleep-producing”
aquatic plants, and inferior forces of nature.
Ar-Abu
Nasr-al-Farabi, called in Latin Alpharabius, a Persian, and the greatest
Aristotelian
philosopher of the age. He was born in 950 A.D., and is reported to
have
been murdered in 1047. He was an Hermetic philosopher and possessed the
power
of hypnotizing through music, making those who heard him play the lute
laugh,
weep, dance and do what he liked. Some of his works on Hermetic
philosophy
may be found in the Library of Leyden.
Arahat
(Sk.). Also pronounced and written Arhat, Arhan, Rahat, &c., “the worthy
one”,
lit., “deserving divine honours”. This was the name first given to the
Jain
and subsequently to the Buddhist holy men initiated into the esoteric
mysteries.
The Arhat is one who has entered the best and highest path, and is
thus
emancipated from rebirth.
Arani
(Sk.). The “female Arani” is a name of the Vedic Aditi (esoterically, the
womb
of the world).
Arani
is a Swastika, a disc-like wooden vehicle, in which the Brahmins generated
fire
by friction with pramantha, a stick, the symbol of the male generator. A
mystic
ceremony with a world of secret meaning in it and very sacred, perverted
into
phallic significance by the materialism of the age.
Âranyaka
(Sk.). Holy hermits, sages who dwelt in ancient India in forests. Also
a
portion of the Vedas containing Upanishads, etc.
Araritha
(Heb.). A very famous seven-lettered Kabbalistic wonder-word ; its
numeration
is 813 ; its letters are collected by Notaricon from the sentence
“one
principle of his unity, one beginning of his individuality, his change is
unity”.
[ w.w.w.].
Arasa
Maram (Sk.). The Hindu sacred tree of knowledge. In occult philosophy a
mystic
word.
Arba-il
(Chald.). The Four Great Gods. Arba is Aramaic for four, and il is the
same
as Al or El. Three male deities, and a female who is virginal yet
reproductive,
form a very common ideal of Godhead. [w.w.w.]
Archangel
(Gr.). Highest supreme angel. From the Greek arch, “chief” or
“primordial”,
and angelos,
“messenger
”.
Archæus
(Gr.). “The Ancient.” Used of the oldest manifested deity; a term
employed
in the Kabalah ;
“archaic
”, old, ancient.
Archobiosis
(Gr.). Primeval beginning of life.
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Archetypal
Universe (Kab.). The ideal universe upon which the objective world
was
built. [w.w.w.]
Archons
(Gr.). In profane and biblical language “rulers” and princes; in
Occultism,
primordial planetary spirits.
Archontes
(Gr.). The archangels after becoming Ferouers (q.v.) or their own
shadows,
having mission on earth; a mystic ubiquity; implying a double life; a
kind
of hypostatic action, one of purity in a higher region, the other of
terrestrial
activity exercised on our plane.
(See
Iamblichus, De Mysterüs II., Chap. 3.)
Ardath
(Heb.). This word occurs in the Second Book of Esdras, ix., 26. The name
has
been given to one of the recent “occult novels” where much interest is
excited
by the visit of the hero to a field in the Holy Land so named; magical
properties
are attributed to it. In the Book of Esdras the prophet is sent to
this
field called Ardath “where no house is builded” and bidden “eat there only
the
flowers of the field, taste no flesh, drink no wine, and pray unto the
highest
continually, and then will I come and talk with thee”. [w.w.w.]
Ardha-Nârî
(Sk.). Lit., “half-woman”. Siva represented as Androgynous, as half
male
and half female, a type of male and female energies combined. (See occult
diagram
in Isis Unveiled, Vol. II.)
Ardhanârîswara
(Sk.). Lit., “the bi-sexual lord”. Esoterically, the unpolarized
states
of cosmic energy symbolised by the Kabalistic Sephira, Adam Kadmon, &c.
Ares.
The Greek name for Mars, god of war; also a term used by Paracelsus, the
differentiated
Force in Cosmos.
Argha
(Chald.). The ark, the womb of Nature; the crescent moon, and a
life-saving
ship ; also a cup for offerings, a vessel used for religious
ceremonies.
Arghyanâth
(Sk.). Lit., “lord of libations”.
Arian.
A follower of Arius, a presbyter of the Church in Alexandria in the
fourth
century. One who holds that Christ is a created and human being, inferior
to
God the Father, though a grand and noble man, a true adept versed in all the
divine
mysteries.
Aristobulus
(Gr) An Alexandrian writer, and an obscure philosopher. A Jew who
tried
to prove that Aristotle explained the esoteric thoughts of Moses.
Arithmomancy
(Gr.). The science of correspondences between gods, men, and
numbers,
as taught by Pythagoras. [w.w.w.]
Arjuna
(Sk.) Lit., the “white”. The third of the five Brothers Pandu or the
reputed
Sons of Indra (esoterically the same as Orpheus). A disciple of Krishna,
who
visited him and married Su-bhadrâ, his
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sister,
besides many other wives, according to the allegory. During the
fratricidal
war between the Kauravas and the Pândavas, Krishna instructed him in
the
highest philosophy, while serving as his charioteer. (See Bhaguvad Gîtâ.)
Ark
of Isis. At the great Egyptian annual ceremony, which took place in the
month
of Athyr, the boat of Isis was borne in procession by the priests, and
Collyrian
cakes or buns, marked with the sign of the cross (Tat), were eaten.
This
was in commemoration of the weeping of Isis for the loss of Osiris, the
Athyr
festival being very impressive. “Plato refers to the melodies on the
occasion
as being very ancient,” writes Mr. Bonwick (Eg. Belief and Mod.
Thought).
“ The Miserere in Rome has been said to be similar to its melancholy
cadence,
and to be derived from it Weeping, veiled virgins followed the ark. The
Nornes,
or veiled virgins, wept also for the loss of our Saxon forefathers’ god,
the
ill-fated but good Baldur.”
Ark
of the Covenant. Every ark-shrine, whether with the Egyptians, Hindus,
Chaldeans
or Mexicans, was a phallic shrine, the symbol of the yoni or womb of
nature.
The seket of the Egyptians, the ark, or sacred chest, stood on the
ara—its
pedestal. The ark of Osiris, with the sacred relics of the god, was “of
the
same size as the Jewish ark”, says S. Sharpe, the Egyptologist, carried by
priests
with staves passed through its rings in sacred procession, as the ark
round
which danced David, the King of Israel. Mexican gods also had their arks.
Diana,
Ceres, and other goddesses as well as gods had theirs. The ark was a
boat—a
vehicle in every case. “Thebes had a sacred ark 300 cubits long,” and
“the
word Thebes is said to mean ark in Hebrew,” which is but a natural
recognition
of the place to which the chosen people are indebted for their ark.
Moreover,
as Bauer writes, “the Cherub was not first used by Moses.” The winged
Isis
was the cherub or Arieh in Egypt, centuries before the arrival there of
even
Abram or Sarai. “The external likeness of some of the Egyptian arks,
surmounted
by their two winged human figures, to the ark of the covenant, has
often
been noticed.” (Bible Educator.) And not only the “external” but the
internal
“likeness” and sameness are now known to all. The arks, whether of the
covenant,
or of honest, straightforward, Pagan symbolism, had originally and now
have
one and the same meaning. The chosen people appropriated the idea and
forgot
to acknowledge its source. It is the same as in the case of the “Urim”
and
“Thummin” (q.v.). In Egypt, as shown by many Egyptologists, the two objects
were
the emblems of the Two Truths. “Two figures of Re and Thmei were worn on
the
breast-plate of the Egyptian High Priest. Thmé, plural thmin, meant truth in
Hebrew.
Wilkinson says the figure of
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Truth
had closed eyes. Rosellini speaks of the Thmei being worn as a necklace.
Diodorus
gives such a necklace of gold and stones to the High Priest when
delivering
judgment. The Septuagint translates Thummin as Truth”. (Bonwick’s
Egyp.
Belief.)
Arka
(Sk.). The Sun.
Arkites.
The ancient priests who were attached to the Ark, whether of Isis, or
the
Hindu Argua, and who were seven in number, like the priests of the Egyptian
Tat
or any other cruciform symbol of the three and the four, the combination of
which
gives a male-female number. The Avgha (or ark) was the four-fold female
principle,
and the flame burning over it the triple lingham.
Aroueris
(Gr.). The god Harsiesi, who was the elder Horus. He had a temple at
Ambos.
if we bear in mind the definition of the chief Egyptian gods by Plutarch,
these
myths will become more comprehensible; as he well says: “Osiris represents
the
beginning and principle; Isis, that which receives; and Horus, the compound
of
both. Horus engendered between them, is not eternal nor incorruptible, but,
being
always in generation, he endeavours by vicissitudes of imitations, and by
periodical
passion (yearly re-awakening to life) to continue always young, as if
he
should never die.” Thus, since Horus is the personified physical world,
Aroueris,
or the “elder Horus”, is the ideal Universe; and this accounts for the
saying
that “he was begotten by Osiris and Isis when these were still in the
bosom
of their mother”—Space. There is indeed, a good deal of mystery about this
god,
but the meaning of the symbol becomes clear once one has the key to it.
Artephius.—A
great Hermetic philosopher, whose true name was never known and
whose
works are without dates, though it is known that he wrote his Secret Book
in
the XIIth century. Legend has it that he was one thousand years old at that
time.
There is a book on dreams by him in the possession of an Alchemist, now in
Bagdad,
in which he gives out the secret of seeing the past, the present, and
the
future, in sleep, and of remembering the things seen. There are but two
copies
of this manuscript extant. The book on Dreams by the Jew Solomon Almulus,
published
in Hebrew at Amsterdam in 1642, has a few reminiscences from the
former
work of Artephius.
Artes
(Eg.). The Earth; the Egyptian god Mars.
Artufas.
A generic name in South America and the islands for temples of nagalism
or
serpent worship.
Arundhatî
(Sk.). The “Morning Star”; Lucifer-Venus.
Arûpa
(Sk.). “Bodiless”, formless, as opposed to rûpa, “body”, or form.
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Arvâksrotas
(Sk.). The seventh creation, that of man, in the Vishnu Purâna.
Arwaker
(Scand.). Lit., “early waker”. The horse of the chariot of the Sun
driven
by the maiden Sol, in the Eddas.
Ârya
(Sk.) Lit., “the holy”; originally the title of Rishis, those who had
mastered
the “Âryasatyâni” (q.v.) and entered the Âryanimârga path to Nirvâna or
Moksha,
the great “four-fold” path. But now the name has become the epithet of a
race,
and our Orientalists, depriving the Hindu Brahmans of their birth-right,
have
made Aryans of all Europeans. In esotericism, as the four paths, or stages,
can
be entered only owing to great spiritual development and “growth in holiness
”,
they are called the “four fruits”. The degrees of Arhatship, called
respectively
Srotâpatti, Sakridâgamin, Anâgâmin, and Arhat, or the four classes
of
Âryas, correspond to these four paths and truths.
Ârya-Bhata
(Sk.) The earliest Hindu algerbraist and astronomer, with the
exception
of Asura Maya (q.v.); the author of a work called Ârya Siddhânta, a
system
of Astronomy.
Ârya-Dâsa
(Sk.) Lit., “Holy Teacher”. A great sage and Arhat of the Mahâsamghika
school.
Aryahata
(Sk.) The “Path of Arhatship”, or of holiness.
Âryasangha
(Sk.) The Founder of the first Yogâchârya School. This Arhat, a
direct
disciple of Gautama, the Buddha, is most unaccountably mixed up and
confounded
with a personage of the same name, who is said to have lived in
Ayôdhya
(Oude) about the fifth or sixth century of our era, and taught Tântrika
worship
in addition to the Yogâchârya system. Those who sought to make it
popular,
claimed that he was the same Âryasangha, that had been a follower of
Sâkyamuni,
and that he was 1,000 years old. Internal evidence alone is
sufficient
to show that the works written by him and translated about the year
600
of our era, works full of Tantra worship, ritualism, and tenets followed now
considerably
by the “red-cap” sects in Sikhim, Bhutan, and Little Tibet, cannot
be
the same as the lofty system of the early Yogâcharya school of pure Buddhism,
which
is neither northern nor southern, but absolutely esoteric. Though none of
the
genunine Yogâchârya books (the Narjol chodpa) have ever been made public or
marketable,
yet one finds in the Yogâchârya Bhûmi Shâstra of the
pseudo-Âryasangha
a great deal from the older system, into the tenets of which
he
may have been initiated. It is, however, so mixed up with Sivaism and
Tantrika
magic and superstitions, that the work defeats its own end,
notwithstanding
its remarkable dialectical subtilty. How unreliable are the
conclusions
at which our Orientalists arrive, and how contradictory the dates
assigned
by them, may be seen in the case in hand. While Csoma de Körös (who,
by-the-bye,
never
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became
acquainted with the Gelukpa (yellow-caps), but got all his information
from
“red-cap” lamas of the Borderland), places the pseudo-Âryasangha in the
seventh
century of our era; Wassiljew, who passed most of his life in China,
proves
him to have lived much earlier; and Wilson (see Roy. As. Soc., Vol. VI.,
p.
240), speaking of the period when Âryasangha’s works, which are still extant
in
Sanskrit, were written, believes it now “established, that they have been
written
at the latest, from a century and a half before, to as much after, the
era
of Christianity”. At all events since it is beyond dispute that the Mahâyana
religious
works were all written far before Âryasangha’s time—whether he lived
in
the “second century B.C.”, or the “seventh .A.D.”—and that these contain all
and
far more of the fundamental tenets of the Yogâchârya system, so disfigured
by
the Ayôdhyan imitator—the inference is that there must exist somewhere a
genuine
rendering free from popular Sivaism and left-hand magic.
Aryasatyâni
(Sk.). The four truths or the four dogmas, which are (1) Dukha, or
that
misery and pain are the unavoidable concomitants of sentient (esoterically,
physical)
existence; (2) Samudaya, the truism that suffering is intensified by
human
passions; (3) Nirôdha, that the crushing out and extinction of all such
feelings
are possible for a man “on the path”; (4) Mârga, the narrow way, or
that
path which leads to such a blessed result.
Aryavarta
(Sk.). The “land of the Aryas”, or India. The ancient name for
Northern
India. The Brahmanical invaders (“ from the Oxus” say the Orientalists)
first
settled. It is erroneous to give this name to the whole,of India, since
Manu
gives the name of “the land of the Aryas” only to “the tract between the
Himalaya
and the Vindhya ranges, from the eastern to the western sea”.
Asakrit
Samâdhi (Sk.). A certain degree of ecstatic contemplation. A stage in
Samâdhi.
Âsana
(Sk.). The third stage of Hatha Yoga, one of the prescribed postures of
meditation.
Asat
(Sk.). A philosophical term meaning “non-being”, or rather non-be-ness. The
“incomprehensible
nothingness”. Sat, the immutable, eternal, ever-present, and
the
one real “Be-ness” (not Being) is spoken of as being “ Born of Asat, and
Asat
begotten by Sat”. The unreal, or Prakriti, objective nature regarded as an
illusion.
Nature, or the illusive shadow of its one true essence.
Asathor
(Scand.). The same as Thor. The god of storms and thunder, a hero who
receives
Miölnir, the “storm-hammer”, from its fabricators, the dwarfs. With it
he
conquer Alwin in a “battle of
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words”
breaks the head of the giant Hrungir, chastises Loki for his magic;
destroys
the whole race of giants in Thrymheim; and, as a good and benevolent
god,
sets up therewith land-marks, sanctifies marriage bonds, blesses law and
order,
and produces every good and terrific feat with its help. A god in the
Eddas,
who is almost as great as Odin. (See “Miölnir” and “Thor’s Hammer”.)
Asava
Samkhaya (Pali). The “finality of the stream”, one of the six “Abhijnâs”
(q.v.).
A phenomenal knowledge of the finality of the stream of life and the
series
of re-births.
Asburj.
One of the legendary peaks in the Teneriffe range. A great mountain in
the
traditions of Iran which corresponds in its allegorical meaning to the
World-mountain,
Meru. Asburj is that mount “at the foot of which the sun sets”.
Asch
Metzareph (Heb.). The Cleansing Fire, a Kabbalistic treatise, treating of
Alchemy
and the relation between the metals and the planets. [w.w.w]
Ases
(Scand.). The creators of the Dwarfs and Elves, the Elementals below men,
in
the Norse lays. They are the progeny of Odin; the same as the Æsir.
Asgard
(Scand.). The kingdom and the habitat of the Norse gods, the Scandinavian
Olympus
; situated “higher than the Home of the Light-Elves”, but on the same
plane
as Jotunheim, the home of the Jotuns, the wicked giants versed in magic,
with
whom the gods are at eternal war. It is evident that the gods of Asgard are
the
same as the Indian Suras (gods) and the Jotuns as the Asuras, both
representing
the conflicting powers of nature—beneficent and maleficent. They
are
the prototypes also of the Greek gods and the Titans.
Ash
(Heb.). Fire, whether physical or symbolical fire; also found written in
English
as As, Aish and Esch.
Ashen
and Langhan (Kolarian). Certain ceremonies for casting out evil spirits,
akin
to those of exorcism with the Christians, in use with the Kolarian tribes
in
India.
Asherah
(Heb.). A word, which occurs in the Old Testament, and is commonly
translated
“groves” referring to idolatrous worship, but it is probable that it
really
referred to ceremonies of sexual depravity; it is a feminine noun.
[w.w.w.]
Ashmog
(Zend). The Dragon or Serpent, a monster with a camel’s neck in the
Avesta;
a kind of allegorical Satan, who after the Fall, “lost its nature and
its
name”. Called in the old Hebrew (Kabbalistic) texts the “flying camel”;
evidently
a reminiscence or tradition in both cases of the prehistoric or
antediluvian
monsters, half bird, half reptile,
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Ashtadisa
(Sk.). The eight-faced space. An imaginary division of space
represented
as an octagon and at other times as a dodecahedron.
Ashta
Siddhis (Sk.). The eight consummations in the practice of Hatha Yoga.
Ashtar
Vidyâ (Sk.). The most ancient of the Hindu works on Magic. Though there
is
a claim that the entire work is in the hands of some Occultists, yet the
Orientalists
deem it lost. A very few fragments of it are now extant, and even
these
are very much disfigured.
Ash
Yggdrasil (Scand.). The “Mundane Tree”, the Symbol of the World with the old
Norsemen,
the “tree of the universe, of time and of life”. It is ever green, for
the
Norns of Fate sprinkle It daily with the water of life from the fountain of
Urd,
which flows in Midgard. The dragon Nidhogg gnaws its roots incessantly, the
dragon
of Evil and Sin; but the Ash Yggdrasil cannot wither, until the Last
Battle
(the Seventh Race in the Seventh Round) is fought, when life, time, and
the
world will all vanish and disappear.
Asiras
(Sk.). Elementals without heads; lit., “headless” ; used also of the
first
two human races.
Asita
(Sk.). A proper name; a son of Bharata; a Rishi and a Sage.
Ask
(Scand.) or Ash tree. The “tree of Knowledge”. Together with the Embla
(alder)
the Ask was the tree from which the gods of Asgard created the first
man.
Aski-kataski-haix-tetrax-damnameneus-aision.
These mystic words, which
Athanasius
Kircher tells us meant “ Darkness, Light, Earth, Sun, and Truth”,
were,
says Hesychius, engraved upon the zone or belt of the Diana of Ephesus.
Plutarch
says that the priests used to recite these words over persons who were
possessed
by devils. [w.w.w.]
Asmodeus.
The Persian Aêshma-dev, the Esham-dev of the Parsis, “the evil Spirit
of
Concupiscence”, according to Bréal, whom the Jews appropriated under the name
of
Ashmedai, “the Destroyer ”, the Talmud identifying the creature with
Beelzebub
and Azrael (Angel of Death), and calling him the “ King of the Devils
”.
Asmoneans.
Priest-kings of Israel whose dynasty reigned over the Jews for 126
years.
They promulgated the Canon of the Mosaic Testament in contradistinction
to
the “Apocrypha” (q.v.) or Secret Books of the Alexandrian Jews, the
Kabbalists,
and maintained the dead-letter meaning of the former. Till the time
of
John Hyrcanus, they were Ascedeans (Chasidim) and Pharisees; but later they
became
Sadducees or Zadokites, asserters of Sacerdotal rule as
contradistinguished
from Rabbinical.
Asoka
(Sk.). A celebrated Indian king of the Môrya dynasty which
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reigned
at Magadha. There were two Asokas in reality, according to the
chronicles
of Northern Buddhism, though the first Asoka—the grand father of the
second,
named by Prof. Max Muller the “Constantine of India”, was better known
by
his name of Chandragupta. It is the former who was called, Piadasi (Pali)
“the
beautiful”, and Devânam-piya “the beloved of the gods”, and also Kâlâsoka;
while
the name of his grandson was Dharmâsôká—the Asoka of the good law-—on
account
of his devotion to Buddhism. Moreover, according to the same source, the
second
Asoka had never followed the Brahmanical faith, but was a Buddhist born.
It
was his grandsire who had been first converted to the new faith, after which
he
had a number of edicts inscribed on pillars and rocks, a custom followed also
by
his grandson. But it was the second Asoka who was the most zealous supporter
of
Buddhism; he, who maintained in his palace from 60 to 70,000 monks and
priests,
who erected 84,000 totes and stupas throughout India, reigned 36 years,
and
sent missions to Ceylon, and throughout the world. The inscriptions of
various
edicts published by him display most noble ethical sentiments,
especially
the edict at Allahahad, on the so-called “Asoka’s column ”, in the
Fort.
The sentiments are lofty and poetical, breathing tenderness for animals as
well
as men, and a lofty view of a king’s mission with regard to his people,
that
might be followed with great success in the present age of cruel wars and
barbarous
vivisection.
Asomatous
(Gr.). Lit., without a material body, incorporeal; used of celestial
Beings
and Angels.
Asrama
(Sk.). A sacred building, a monastery or hermitage for ascetic purposes.
Every
sect in India has its Ashrams.
Assassins.
A masonic and mystic order founded by Hassan Sabah in Persia, in the
eleventh
century. The word is a European perversion of “Hassan”, which forms the
chief
part of the name. They were simply Sufis and addicted, according to the
tradition,
to hascheesl-eating, in order to bring about celestial visions. As
shown
by our late brother, Kenneth Mackenzie, “they were teachers of the secret
doctrines
of Islamism; they encouraged mathematics and philosophy, and produced
many
valuable works. The chief of the Order was called Sheik-el-Jebel,
translated
the ‘Old Man of the Mountains’, and, as their Grand Master, he
possessed
power of life and death.’
Assorus
(Chald.). The third group of progeny (Kissan and Assorus) from the
Babylonian
Duad, Tauthe and Apason, according to the Theogonies of Damascius.
From
this last emanated three others, of which series the last, Aus, begat
Belus—“the
fabricator of the World, the Demiurgus”.
l
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Assur
(Chald.). A city in Assyria ; the ancient seat of a library from which
George
Smith excavated the earliest known tablets, to which he assigns a date
about
1500 B.C., called Assur Kileh Shergat.
Assurbanipal
(Chald.). The Sardanapalus of the Greeks, “the greatest of the
Assyrian
Sovereigns, far more memorable on account of his magnificent patronage
of
learning than of the greatness of his empire”, writes the late G. Smith, and
adds:
“Assurbanipal added more to the Assyrian royal library than all the kings
who
had gone before him”. As the distinguished Assyriologist tells us in another
place
of his “Babylonian and Assyrian Literature” (Chald. Account of Genesis)
that
“the majority of the texts preserved belong to the earlier period previous
to
B.C. 1600”, and yet asserts that “it is to tablets written in his
(Assurbanipal’s)
reign (B.C. 673) that we owe almost all our knowledge of the
Babylonian
early history”, one is well justified in asking, “How do you know?”
Assyrian
Holy Scriptures. Orientalists show seven such books: the Books of
Mamit,
of Worship, of Interpretations, of Going to Hades; two Prayer Books
(Kanmagarri
and Kanmikri: Talbot)
and
the Kantolite, the lost Assyrian Psalter.
Assyrian
Tree of Life. “Asherah” (q.v.). It is translated in the Bible by “grove
”
and occurs 30 times. It is called an “idol”; and Maachah, the grandmother of
Asa,
King of Jerusalem, is accused of having made for herself such an idol,
which
was a lingham. For centuries this was a religious rite in Judæa. But the
original
Asherah was a pillar with seven branches on each side surmounted by a
globular
flower with three projecting rays, and no phallic stone, as the Jews
made
of it, but a metaphysical symbol. “Merciful One, who dead to life raises!
was
the prayer uttered before the Asherah, on the banks of the Euphrates. The
“Merciful
One”, was neither the personal god of the Jews who brought the “grove”
from
their captivity, nor any extra- cosmic god, but the higher triad in man
symbolized
by the globular flower with its three rays.
Asta-dasha
(Sk.). Perfect, Supreme Wisdom; a title of Deity.
Aster’t
(Heb.). Astarte, the Syrian goddess the consort of Adon, or Adonai.
Astræa
(Gr.). The ancient goddess of justice, whom the wickedness of men drove
away
from earth to heaven, wherein she now dwells as the constellation Virgo.
Astral
Body, or Astral “Double”. The ethereal counterpart or shadow of man or
animal.
The Linga Sharira, the “Doppelgäinger”. The reader must not confuse it
with
the ASTRAL SOUL, another name for the lower Manas, or Kama-Manas so-called,
the
reflection of the HIGHER EGO.
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Astral
Light (Occult) The invisible region that surrounds our globe, as it does
every
other, and corresponding as the second Principle of Kosmos (the third
being
Life, of which it is the vehicle) to the Linga Sharira or the Astral
Double
in man. A subtle Essence visible only to a clairvoyant eye, and the
lowest
but one (viz., the earth), of the Seven Akâsic or Kosmic Principles.
Eliphas
Levi calls it the great Serpent and the Dragon from which radiates on
Humanity
every evil influence. This is so; but why not add that the Astral Light
gives
out nothing but what it has received; that it is the great terrestrial
crucible,
in which the vile emanations of the earth (moral and physical) upon
which
the Astral Light is fed, are all converted into their subtlest essence,
and
radiated back intensified, thus becoming epidemics— moral, psychic and
physical.
Finally, the Astral Light is the same as the Sidereal Light of
Paracelsus
and other Hermetic philosophers. “Physically, it is the ether of
modern
science. Metaphysically, and in its spiritual, or occult sense, ether is
a
great deal more than is often imagined. In occult physics, and alchemy, it is
well
demonstrated to enclose within its shoreless waves not only Mr. Tyndall’s
‘promise
and potency of every quality of life’, but also the realization of the
potency
of every quality of spirit. Alchemists and Hermetists believe that their
astral,
or sidereal ether, besides the above properties of sulphur, and white
and
red magnesia, or magnes, is the anima mundi, the workshop of Nature and of
all
the Kosmos, spiritually, as well as physically. The ‘grand magisterium’
asserts
itself in the phenomenon of mesmerism, in the ‘levitation’ of human and
inert
objects; and may be called the ether from its spiritual aspect. The
designation
astral is ancient, and was used by some of the Neo-platonists,
although
it is claimed by some that the word was coined by the Martinists.
Porphyry
describes the celestial body which is always joined with the soul as
‘immortal,
luminous, and star-like’. The root of this word may be found,
perhaps,
in the Scythic Aist-aer—which means star, or the Assyrian Istar, which,
according
to Burnouf has the same sense.” (Isis Unveiled.)
Astrolatry (Gr.). Worship of the Stars.
Astrology
(Gr.) The Science which defines the action of celestial bodies upon
mundane
affairs, and claims to foretell future events from the position of the
stars.
Its antiquity is such as to place it among the very earliest records of
human
learning. It remained for long ages a secret science in the East, and its
final
expression remains so to this day, its exoteric application having been
brought
to any degree of perfection in the West only during the period of time
since
Varaha Muhira wrote his book on Astrology some 1400 years ago. Claudius
Ptolemy,
the famous geographer and mathematician, wrote his treatise Tetrabiblos
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about
135 A.D., which is still the basis of modern astrology. The science of
Horoscopy
is studied now chiefly under four heads: viz., (1) Mundane, in its
application
to meteorology, seismology, husbandry, etc. (2) State or civic, in
regard
to the fate of nations, kings and rulers. (3) Horary, in reference to the
solving
of doubts arising in the mind upon any subject. (4) Genethliacal, in its
application
to the fate of individuals from the moment of their birth to their
death.
The Egyptians and the Chaldees were among the most ancient votaries of
Astrology,
though their modes of reading the stars and the modern practices
differ
considerably. The former claimed that Belus, the Bel or Elu of the
Chaldees,
a scion of the divine Dynasty, or the Dynasty of the king-gods, had
belonged
to the land of Chemi, and had left it, to found a colony from Egypt on
the
banks of the Euphrates, where a temple ministered by priests in the service
of
the “lords of the stars” was built, the said priests adopting the name of
Chaldees.
Two things are known: (a) that Thebes (in Egypt) claimed the honour of
the
invention of Astrology; and (b) that it was the Chaldees who taught that
science
to the other nations. Now Thebes antedated considerably not only “Ur of
the
Chaldees”, but also Nipur, where Bel was first worshipped—Sin, his son (the
moon),
being the presiding deity of Ur, the land of the nativity of Terah, the
Sabean
and Astrolatrer, and of Abram, his son, the great Astrologer of biblical
tradition.
All tends, therefore, to corroborate the Egyptian claim. If later on
the
name of Astrologer fell into disrepute in Rome and elsewhere, it was owing
to
the fraud of those who wanted to make money by means of that which was part
and
parcel of the sacred Science of the Mysteries, and, ignorant of the latter,
evolved
a system based entirely upon mathematics, instead of on transcendental
metaphysics
and having the physical celestial bodies as its upadhi or material
basis.
Yet, all persecutions notwithstanding, the number of the adherents of
Astrology
among the most intellectual and scientific minds was always very
great.
If Cardan and Kepler were among its ardent supporters, then its later
votaries
have nothing to blush for, even in its now imperfect and distorted
form.
As said in Isis Unveiled (1. 259): “Astrology is to exact astronomy what
psychology
is to exact physiology. In astrology and psychology one has to step
beyond
the visible world of matter, and enter into the domain of transcendent
spirit.”
(See “ Astronomos.”)
Astronomos
(Gr.). The title given to the Initiate in the Seventh Degree of the
reception
of the Mysteries. In days of old, Astronomy was synonymous with
Astrology;
and the great Astrological Initiation took place in Egypt at Thebes,
where
the priests perfected, if they did not wholly invent the science. Having
passed
through the degrees
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of
Pastophoros, Neocoros, Melanophoros, Kistophoros, and Balahala (the degree of
Chemistry
of the Stars), the neophyte was taught the mystic signs of the Zodiac,
in
a circle dance representing the course of the planets (the dance of Krishna
and
the Gopis, celebrated to this day in Rajputana); after which he received a
cross,
the Tau (or Tat), becoming an Astronomos and a Healer. (See Isis
Unveiled.
Vol. II. 365). Astronomy and Chemistry were inseparable in these
studies.
“Hippocrates had so lively a faith in the influence of the stars on
animated
beings, and on their diseases, that he expressly recommends not to
trust
to physicians who are ignorant of astronomy.’ (Arago.) Unfortunately the
key
to the final door of Astrology or Astronomy is lost by the modern
Astrologer;
and without it, how can he ever be able to answer the pertinent
remark
made by the author of Mazzaroth, who writes: “people are said to be born
under
one sign, while in reality they are born under another, because the sun is
now
seen among different stars at the equinox ”? Nevertheless, even the few
truths
he does know brought to his science such eminent and scientific believers
as
Sir Isaac Newton, Bishops Jeremy and Hall, Archbishop Usher, Dryden,
Flamstead,
Ashmole, John Milton, Steele, and a host of noted Rosicrucians.
Asura
Mazda (Sk.). In the Zend, Ahura Mazda. The same as Ormuzd or Mazdeô; the
god
of Zoroaster and the Parsis.
Asuramaya
(Sk.) Known also as Mayâsura. An Atlantean astronomer, considered as a
great
magician and sorcerer, well-known in Sanskrit works.
Asuras
(Sk.). Exoterically, elementals and evil, gods—considered maleficent;
demons,
and no gods. But esoterically—the reverse. For in the most ancient
portions
of the Rig Veda, the term is used for the Supreme Spirit, and therefore
the
Asuras are spiritual and divine It is only in the last book of the
Rig
Veda, its latest part, and in the Atharva Veda, and the Brâhmanas, that the
epithet,
which had been given to Agni, the greatest Vedic Deity, to Indra and
Varuna,
has come to signify the reverse of gods. Asu means breath, and it is
with
his breath that Prajâpati (Brahmâ) creates the Asuras. When ritualism and
dogma
got the better of the Wisdom religion, the initial letter a was adopted as
a
negative prefix, and the term ended by signifying “not a god”, and Sura only a
deity.
But in the Vedas the Suras have ever been connected with Surya, the sun,
and
regarded as inferior deities, devas.
Aswamedha
(Sk.) The Horse-sacrifice; an ancient Brahmanical ceremony.
Aswattha
(Sk.) The Bo-tree, the tree of knowledge, ficus religiosa.
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Aswins
(Sk.), or Aswinau, dual ; or again, Aswinî-Kumârau, are the most
mysterious
and occult deities of all; who have “puzzled the oldest
commentators”.
Literally, they are the “Horsemen”, the “divine charioteers”, as
they
ride in a golden car drawn by horses or birds or animals, and “are
possessed
of many forms”. They are two Vedic deities, the twin sons of the sun
and
the sky, which becomes the nymph Aswini. In mythological symbolism they are
“the
bright harbingers of Ushas, the dawn”, who are “ever young and handsome,
bright,
agile, swift as falcons”, who “prepare the way for the brilliant dawn to
those
who have patiently awaited through the night”. They are also called time
“physicians
of Swarga” (or Devachan), inasmuch as they heal every pain and
suffering,
and cure all diseases. Astronomically, they are asterisms. They were
enthusiastically
worshipped, as their epithets show. They are the “Ocean-born”
(i.e.,
space born) or Abdhijau, “crowned with lotuses” or Pushhara-srajam, etc.,
etc.
Yâska, the commentator in the Nirukta, thinks that “the Aswins represent
the
transition from darkness to light ”—cosmically, and we may add,
metaphysically,
also. But Muir and Goldstücker are inclined to see in them
ancient
“horsemen of great renown”, because, forsooth, of the legend “that the
gods
refused the Aswins admittance to a sacrifice on the ground that they had
been
on too familiar terms with men”. Just so, because as explained by the same
Yâska
“they are identified with heaven and earth”, only for quite a different
reason.
Truly they are like the Ribhus, “originally renowned mortals (but also
non-renowned
occasionally) who in the course of time are translated into the
companionship
of gods”; and they show a negative character, “the result of the-
alliance
of light with darkness”, simply because these twins are, in the
esoteric
philosophy, the Kumâra-Egos, the reincarnating “Principles” in this
Manvantara.
Atala
(Sk). One of the regions in the Hindu lokas, and one of the seven
mountains;
but esoterically Atala is on an astral plane, and was, once on a
time,
a real island upon this earth.
Atalanta
Fugiens (Lat.). A famous treatise by the eminent Rosicrucian Michael
Maier;
it has many beautiful engravings of Alchemic symbolism: here is to be
found
the original of the picture of a man and woman within a circle, a triangle
around
it, then a square: the inscription is, “From the first ens proceed two
contraries,
thence come the three principles, and from them the four elementary
states
; if you separate the pure from the impure you will have the stone of the
Philosophers”.
[ w.w.w.]
Atarpi
(Chald.), or Atarpi-nisi, the “man”. A personage who was “pious to the
gods”;
and who prayed the god Hea to remove the evil
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of
drought and other things before the Deluge is sent. The story is found on one
of
the most ancient Babylonian tablets, and relates to the sin of the world. In
the
words of G. Smith “the god Elu or Bel calls together an assembly of the
gods,
his sons, and relates to them that he is angry at the sin of the world”;
and
in the fragmentary phrases of the tablet: “ . . . . I made them . . . .
Their
wickedness I am angry at, their punishment shall not be small . . . . let
food
be exhausted, above let Vul drink up his rain”, etc., etc. In answer to
Atarpi’s
prayer the god Hea announces his resolve to destroy the people he
created,
which he does finally by a deluge.
Atash
Behram (Zend). The sacred fire of the Parsis, preserved perpetually in
their
fire-temples.
Atef
(Eg.), or Crown of Horus. It consisted of a tall white cap with ram’s
horns,
and the urœus in front. Its two feathers represent the two truths—life
and
death.
Athamaz
(Heb.). The same as Adonis with the Greeks, the Jews having borrowed all
their
gods.
Athanor
(Occult.) The “astral” fluid of the Alchemists, their Archimedean lever;
exoterically,
the furnace of the Alchemist.
Atharva
Veda (Sk.) The fourth Veda; lit., magic incantation containing
aphorisms,
incantations and magic formula One of the most ancient and revered
Books
of the Brahmans.
Athenagoras
(Gr.) A Platonic philosopher of Athens, who wrote a Greek Apology
for
the Christians in A.D. 177, addressed to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, to
prove
that the accusations brought against them, namely that they were
incestuous
and ate murdered children, were untrue.
Athor
(Eg.) “Mother Night.” Primeval Chaos, in the Egyptian cosmogony. The
goddess
of night.
Atîvahikâs
(Sk.) With the Visishtadwaitees, these are the Pitris, or Devas, who
help
the disembodied soul or Jiva in its transit from its dead body to
Paramapadha.
Atlantidæ
(Gr.) The ancestors of the Pharaohs and the forefathers of the
Egyptians,
according to some, and as the Esoteric Science teaches. (See S.D.,
Vol.
II., and Esoteric Buddhism.) Plato heard of this highly civilized people,
the
last remnant of which was submerged 9,000 years before his day, from Solon,
who
had it from the High Priests of Egypt. Voltaire, the eternal scoffer, was
right
in stating that “the Atlantidæ (our fourth Root Race) made their
appearance
in Egypt It was in Syria and in Phrygia, as well as Egypt, that they
established
the worship of the Sun.” Occult philosophy teaches that the
Egyptians
were a remnant of the last Aryan Atlantidæ.
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Atlantis
(Gr.) The continent that was submerged in the Atlantic and the Pacific
Oceans
according to the secret teachings and Plato.
Atmâ
(or Atman) (Sk.). The Universal Spirit, the divine Monad, the 7th
Principle,
so-called, in the septenary constitution of man. The Supreme Soul.
Atma-bhu
(Sk.). Soul-existence, or existing as soul. (See “Alaya”.)
Atmabodha
(Sk.). Lit., “Self-knowledge”; the title of a Vedantic treatise by
Sankârachârya.
Atma-jnâni
(Sk.) The Knower of the World-Soul, or Soul in general.
Atma-matrasu
(Sk.) To enter into the elements of the “One-Self”. (See S. D.
I.,334
Atmamâtra is the spiritual atom, as contrasted with, and opposed to, the
elementary
differentiated atom or molecule.
Atma
Vidyâ (Sk.). The highest form of spiritual knowledge; lit.,
“Soul-knowledge”.
Atri,
Sons of (Sk.). A class of Pitris, the “ancestors of man”, or the so-called
Prâjapâti,
“progenitors”; one of the seven Rishis who form the constellation of
the
Great Bear.
Attavada
(Pali). The sin of personality.
Atyantika
(Sk.) One of the four kinds of pralaya or dissolution. The “absolute”
pralaya.
Atziluth
(Heb.) The highest of the Four Worlds of the Kabbalah referred only to
the
pure Spirit of God. [w. w. w.] See “Aziluth” for another interpretation.
Audlang
(Scand.). The second heaven made by Deity above the field of Ida, in the
Norse
legends.
Audumla
(Scand.) The Cow of Creation, the “nourisher”, from which flowed four
streams
of milk which fed the giant Ymir or Örgelmir (matter in ebullition) and
his
sons, the Hrimthurses (Frost giants), before the appearance of gods or men.
Having
nothing to graze upon she licked the salt of the ice-rocks and thus
produced
Buri, “the Producer” in his turn, who had a son Bör (the born) who
married
a daughter of the Frost Giants, and had three sons, Odin (Spirit), Wili
(Will),
and We (Holy). The meaning of the allegory is evident. It is the
precosmic
union of the elements, of Spirit, or the creative Force, with Matter,
cooled
and still seething, which it forms in accordance with universal Will.
Then
the Ases, “the pillars and supports of the World” (Cosmocratores), step in
and
create as All-father wills them.
Augoeides
(Gr.). Bulwer Lytton calls it the “Luminous Self ”, or our Higher Ego.
But
Occultism makes of it something distinct from
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this.
It is a mystery. The Augocides is the luminous divine radiation of the EGO
which,
when incarnated, is but its shadow—pure as it is yet. This is explained
in
the Amshaspends and their Ferouers.
Aum
(Sk.). The sacred syllable; the triple-lettered unit; hence the trinity in
One.
Aura
(Gr. and Lat.). A subtle invisible essence or fluid that emanates from
human
and animal bodies and even things. It is a psychic effluvium, partaking of
both
the mind and the body, as it is the electro-vital, and at the same time an
electro-mental
aura; called in Theosophy the âkâsic or magnetic aura.
Aurnavâbha
(Sk.) An ancient Sanskrit commentator.
Aurva
(Sk.). The Sage who is credited with the invention of the “fiery weapon”
called
Agneyâstra.
Ava-bodha
(Sk.). “Mother of Knowledge.” A title of Aditi.
Avâivartika
(Sk.) An epithet of every Buddha: lit., one who turns no more back;
who
goes straight to Nirvâna.
Avalokiteswara
(Sk.) “The on-looking Lord” In the exoteric interpretation, he is
Padmapâni
(the lotus bearer and the lotus-born) in Tibet, the first divine
ancestor
of the Tibetans, the complete incarnation or Avatar of Avalokiteswara;
but
in esoteric philosophy Avaloki, the “on-looker”, is the Higher Self, while
Padmapâni
is the Higher Ego or Manas. The mystic formula “Om mani padme hum” is
specially
used to invoke their joint help. While popular fancy claims for
Avalokiteswara
many incarnations on earth, and sees in him, not very wrongly,
the
spiritual guide of every believer, the esoteric interpretation sees in him
the
Logos, both celestial and human. Therefore, when the Yogâchârya School has
declared
Avalokiteswara as Padmâpani “to be the Dhyâni Bodhisattva of Amitâbha
Buddha”,
it is indeed, because the former is the spiritual reflex in the world
of
forms of the latter, both being one—one in heaven, the other on earth.
Avarasâila
Sanghârama (Sk.). Lit., the School of the Dwellers on the western
mountain.
A celebrated Vihâra (monastery) in Dhana-kstchâka, according to Eitel,
“built
600 B.C., and deserted A.D. 600”.
Avastan
(Sk.) An ancient name for Arabia.
Avasthas
(Sk.) States, conditions, positions.
Avatâra
(Sk.) Divine incarnation. The descent of a god or some exalted Being,
who
has progressed beyond the necessity of Rebirths, into the body of a simple
mortal.
Krishna was an avatar of Vishnu. The Dalai Lama is regarded as an avatar
of
Avalokiteswara, and the Teschu Lama as one of Tson-kha-pa, or Amitâbha. There
are
two kinds of avatars: those born from woman, and the parentless, the
anupapâdaka.
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Avebury
or Abury. In Wiltshire are the remains of an ancient megalithic Serpent
temple:
according to the eminent antiquarian Stukeley, 1740, there are traces of
two
circles of stones and two avenues ; the whole has formed the representation
of
a serpent. [w.w.w.]
Avesta
(Zend). Lit., “the Law”. From the old Persian Âbastâ, “the law”. The
sacred
Scriptures of the Zoroastrians. Zend means in the “Zend-Avesta”—a
“commentary”
or “interpretation”. It is an error to regard “ Zend” as a
language,
as “it was applied only to explanatory texts, to the translations of
the
Avesta”(Darmsteter).
Avicenna.
The latinized name of Abu-Ali al Hoséen ben Abdallah Ibn Sina; a
Persian
philosopher, born 980 AD)., though generally referred to as an Arabian
doctor.
On account of his surprising learning he was called “the Famous”, and
was
the author of the best and the first alchemical works known in Europe. All
the
Spirits of the Elements were subject to him, so says the legend, and it
further
tells us that owing to his knowledge of the Elixir of Life, he still
lives,
as an adept who will disclose himself to the profane at the end of a
certain
cycle.
Avidyâ
(Sk.). Opposed to Vidyâ, Knowledge. Ignorance which proceeds from, and is
produced
by the illusion of the Senses or Viparyaya.
Avikâra
(Sk.). Free from degeneration; changeless—used of Deity.
Avitchi
(Sk.) A state: not necessarily after death only or between two births,
for
it can take place on earth as well. Lit., “uninterrupted hell”. The last of
the
eight hells, we are told, “where the culprits die and are reborn without
interruption—yet
not without hope of final redemption. This is because Avitchi
is
another name for Myalba (our earth) and also a state to which some soulless
men
are condemned on this physical plane.
Avyakta
(Sk.). The unrevealed cause; indiscrete or undifferentiated; the
opposite
of Vyakta, the differentiated. The former is used of the unmanifested,
and
the latter of the manifested Deity, or of Brahma and Brahmâ.
Axieros
(Gr.). One of the Kabiri.
Axiocersa
(Gr.). " "
Axiocersus
(Gr.). " "
Ayana
(Sk.) A period of time; two Ayanas complete a year, one being the period
of
the Sun’s progress northward, and the other south ward in the ecliptic.
Ayin
(Heb.). Lit., “Nothing”, whence the name of Ain-Soph. (See“Ain”.)
Aymar,
Jacques. A famous Frenchman who had great success in the use of the
Divining
Rod about the end of the 17th century; he was often employed in
detecting
criminals; two M.D’s of the University of Paris,
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Chauvin
and Garnier reported on the reality of his powers. See Colquhoun on
Magic.
[ w.w.w.]
Ayur
Veda (Sk.). Lit., “the Veda of Life”.
Ayuta
(Sk.). 100 Kôti, or a sum equal to 1,000,000,000.
Azareksh
(Zend) A place celebrated for a fire-temple of the Zoroastrians and
Magi
during the time of Alexander the Great.
Azazel
(Heb.) “God of Victory”; the scape-goat for the sins of Israel. He who
comprehends
the mystery of Azazel, says Aben-Ezra, “will learn the mystery of
God’s
name”, and truly. See “Typhon” and the scape-goat made sacred to him in
ancient
Egypt.
Azhi-Dahaka
(Zend) One of the Serpents or Dragons in the legends of Iran and the
Avesta
Scriptures, the allegorical destroying Serpent or Satan.
Aziluth
(Heb.) The name for the world of the Sephiroth, called the world of
Emanations
Olam Aziluth. It is the great and the highest prototype of the other
worlds.
“Atzeelooth is the Great Sacred Seal by means of which all the worlds
are
copied which have impressed on themselves the image on the Seal; and as this
Great
Seal comprehends three stages, which are three zures (prototypes) of
Nephesh
(the Vital Spirit or Soul), Ruach (the moral and reasoning Spirit), and
the
Neshamah (the Highest Soul of man), so the Sealed have also received three
zures,
namely Breeah, Yetzeerah, and Aseeyah, and these three zures are only one
in
the Seal” (Myer’s Qabbalah). The globes A, Z, of our terrestial chain are in
Aziluth.
(See Secret Doctrine.)
Azoth
(Alch.). The creative principle in Nature, the grosser portion of which is
stored
in the Astral Light. It is symbolized by a figure which is a cross (See
“Eliphas
Lévi”), the four limbs of which bear each one letter of the word Taro,
which
can be read also Rota, Ator, and in many other combinations, each of which
has
an occult meaning.
A.
and Ω Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the beginning and
ending of
all
active existence; the Logos, hence (with the Christians) Christ. See Rev.
xxi,
6., where John adopts “Alpha and Omega” as the symbol of a Divine Comforter
who
“will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life
freely”.
The word Azot or Azoth is a mediæval glyph of this idea, for the word
consists
of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, A and Ω of the
Latin
alphabet, A and Z, and of the Hebrew alphabet, A and T, or aleph and tau.
(See
also “Azoth”.) [ w.w.w.]
B
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B
—The second letter in almost all the alphabets, also the second in the Hebrew.
Its
symbol is a house, the form of Beth, the letter itself indicating a
dwelling,
a shed or a shelter. “As a compound of a root, it is constantly used
for
the purpose of showing that it had to do with stone; when stones at Beth-el
are
set up, for instance. The Hebrew value as a numeral is two. Joined with its
predecessor,
it forms the word Ab, the root of ‘father’, Master, one in
authority,
and it has the Kabalistical distinction of being the first letter in
the
Sacred Volume of the Law. The divine name connected with this letter is
"Bakhour."
(R. M. [Cyclop.]
Baal
(Chald. Heb.). Baal or Adon (Adonai) was a phallic god. “Who shall ascend
unto
the hill (the high place) of the Lord; who shall stand in the place of his
Kadushu
(q.v.) ? ” (Psalms XX1V. 3.) The “circle dance” performed by King David
round
the ark, was the dance prescribed by the Amazons in the Mysteries, the
dance
of the daughters of Shiloh (Judges xxi., et seq.) and the same as the
leaping
of the prophets of Baal (I. Kings xviii). He was named Baal-Tzephon, or
god
of the crypt (Exodus) and Seth, or the pillar (phallus), because he was the
same
as Ammon (or Baal-Hammon) of Egypt, called “the hidden god”. Typhon, called
Set,
who was a great god in Egypt during the early dynasties, is an aspect of
Baal
and Ammon as also of Siva, Jehovah and other gods. Baal is the all
devouring
Sun, in one sense, the fiery Moloch.
Babil
Mound (Chald. Heb.). The site of the Temple of Bel at Babylon.
Bacchus
(Gr.). Exoterically and superficially the god of wine and the vintage,
and
of licentiousness and joy; but the esoteric meaning of this personification
is
more abstruse and philosophical. He is the Osiris of Egypt, and his life and
significance
belong to the same group as the other solar deities, all
“sin-bearing,”
killed and resurrected; e.g., as Dionysos or Atys of Phrygia
(Adonis,
or the Syrian Tammuz), as Ausonius, Baldur (q.v.), &c., &c. All these
were
put to death, mourned for, and restored to life. The rejoicings for Atys
took
place at the Hilaria on the “pagan” Easter, March 15. Ausonius, a form of
Bacchus,
was slain “at the vernal equinox, March 21st, and rose in three days”.
Tammuz,
the double of Adonis and Atys, was mourned by the women at the “grove”
of
his name “over Bethlehem, where the infant Jesus cried”, says St. Jerome.
Bacchus
is murdered and his mother collects the fragments of his lacerated body
as
Isis does those of Osiris, and so on.
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Dionysos
Iacchus, torn to shreds by the Titans, Osiris, Krishna, all descended
into
Hades and returned again. Astronomically, they all represent the Sun ;
psychically
they are all emblems of the ever-resurrecting “ Soul” (the Ego in
its
re-incarnation) ; spiritually, all the innocent scape-goats, atoning for the
sins
of mortals, their own earthly envelopes, and in truth, the poeticized image
of
DIVINE MAN, the form of clay informed by its God.
Bacon,
Roger. A Franciscan monk, famous as an adept in Alchemy and Magic Arts.
Lived
in the thirteenth century in England. He believed in the philosopher’s
stone
in the way all the adepts of Occultism believe in it; and also in
philosophical
astrology. He is accused of having made a head of bronze which
having
an acoustic apparatus hidden in it, seemed to utter oracles which were
words
spoken by Bacon himself in another room. He was a wonderful physicist and
chemist,
and credited with having invented gunpowder, though he said he had the
secret
from “Asian (Chinese) wise men."
Baddha
(Sk.). Bound, conditioned; as is every mortal who has not made himself
free
through Nirvâna.
Bagavadam
(Sk.). A Tamil Scripture on Astronomy and other matters.
Bagh-bog
(Slavon.). “God”; a Slavonian name for the Greek Bacchus, whose name
became
the prototype of the name God or Bagh and bog or bogh; the Russian for
God.
Bahak-Zivo
(Gn.). The “father of the Genii” in the Codex Nazarœus. The Nazarenes
were
an early semi-Christian sect.
Bal
(Heb.). Commonly translated “Lord”, but also Bel, the Chaldean god, and
Baal,
an "idol".
Bala
(Sk.), or Panchabalâni. The “five powers” to be acquired in Yoga practice;
full
trust or faith; energy ; memory; meditation ; wisdom.
Baldur
(Scand.). The “Giver of all Good”. The bright God who is “the best and
all
mankind are loud in his praise; so fair and dazzling is he in form and
features,
that rays of light seem to issue from him (Edda). Such was the
birth-song
chanted to Baldur who resurrects as Wali, the spring Sun. Baldur is
called
the “well-beloved”, the “Holy one”, “who alone is without sin”. He is the
“God
of Goodness”, who
“shall
be born again, when a new and purer world will have arisen from the ashes
of
the old, sin-laden world (Asgard)”. He is killed by the crafty Loki, because
Frigga,
the mother of the gods, “while entreating all creatures and all lifeless
things
to swear that they will not injure the well-beloved”, forgets to mention
“the
weak mistletoe bough”, just as the mother of Achilles forgot her son’s
heel.
A dart is made of it by Loki and he places it in the hands of blind Hödur
who
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kills
with it the sunny-hearted god of light. The Christmas misletoe is probably
a
reminiscence of the mistletoe that killed the Northern God of Goodness.
Bal-ilu
(Chal.). One of the many titles of the Sun.
Bamboo
Books. Most ancient and certainly pre-historic works in Chinese
containing
the antediluvian records of the Annals of China. They were found in
the
tomb of King Seang of Wai, who died 295 B.C., and claim to go back many
centuries.
Bandha
(Sk.). Bondage; life on this earth; from the same root as Baddha.
Baphomet
(Gr.). The androgyne goat of Mendes. (See Secret Doctrine, I. 253).
According
to the Western, and especially the French Kabalists, the Templars were
accused
of worshipping Baphomet, and Jacques de Molay, the Grand Master of the
Templars,
with all his brother-Masons, suffered death in consequence. But
esoterically,
and philologically, the word never meant “goat”, nor even anything
so
objective as an idol. The term means according to Von Hammer, “baptism” or
initiation
into Wisdom, from the Greek words bafh and mhtiz and from the
relation
of Baphometus to Pan. Von Hammer must be right. It was a Hermetico
Kabalistic
symbol, but the whole story as invented by the Clergy was false.
(See
“Pan ”.)
Baptism
(Gr.). The rite of purification performed during the ceremony of
initiation
in the sacred tanks of India, and also the later identical rite
established
by John “the Baptist” and practised by his disciples and followers,
who
were not Christians. This rite was hoary with age when it was adopted by the
Chrestians
of the earliest centuries. Baptism belonged to the earliest
Chaldeo-Akkadian
theurgy; was religiously practised in the nocturnal ceremonies
in
the Pyramids where we see to this day the font in the shape of the
sarcophagus;
was known to take place during the Eleusinian mysteries in the
sacred
temple lakes, and is practised even now by the descendants of the ancient
Sabians.
The Mendæans (the El Mogtasila of the Arabs) are, notwithstanding their
deceptive
name of “St. John Christians”, less Christians than are the Orthodox
Mussulman
Arabs around them. They are pure Sabians; and this is very naturally
explained
when one remembers that the great Semitic scholar Renan has shown in
his
Vie de Jésus that the Aramean verb seba, the origin of the name Sabian, is a
synonym
of the Greek baptizw. The modern Sabians, the Mendæans whose vigils and
religious
rites, face to face with the silent stars, have been described by
several
travellers, have still preserved the theurgic, baptismal rites of their
distant
and nigh-for gotten forefathers, the Chaldean Initiates. Their religion
is
one of multiplied baptisms, of seven purifications in the name of the seven
planetary
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rulers,
the “seven Angels of the Presence” of the Roman Catholic Church. The
Protestant
Baptists are but the pale imitators of the El Mogtasila or Nazareans
who
practise their Gnostic rites in the deserts of Asia Minor. (See “Boodhasp”.)
Bardesanes
or Bardaisan. A Syrian Gnostic, erroneously regarded as a Christian
theologian,
born at Edessa (Edessene Chronicle) in 155 of our era (Assemani
Bibl..
Orient. i. 389). He was a great astrologer following the Eastern Occult
System.
According to Porphyry (who calls him the Babylonian, probably on account
of
his Chaldeeism or astrology), “Bardesanes . . . . held intercourse with the
Indians
that had been sent to the Cæsar with Damadamis at their head” (De Abst.
iv.
17), and had his information from the Indian gymnosophists. The fact is that
most
of his teachings, however much they may have been altered by his numerous
Gnostic
followers, can be traced to Indian philosophy, and still more to the
Occult
teachings of the Secret System. Thus in his Hymns he speaks of the
creative
Deity as “Father-Mother”, and elsewhere of “Astral Destiny” (Karma) of
“Minds
of Fire” (the Agni-Devas) &c. He connected the Soul (the personal Manas)
with
the Seven Stars, deriving its origin from the Higher Beings (the divine
Ego);
and therefore “admitted spiritual resurrection but denied the resurrection
of
the body”, as charged with by the Church Fathers. Ephraim shows him preaching
the
signs of the Zodiac, the importance of the birth-hours and “proclaiming the
seven”.
Calling the Sun the “Father of Life” and the Moon the “Mother of Life”,
he
shows the latter “laying aside her garment of light (principles) for the
renewal
of the Earth”. Photius cannot understand how, while accepting “the Soul
free
from the power of genesis (destiny of birth)” and possessing free will, he
still
placed the body under the rule of birth (genesis). For “they (the
Bardesanists)
say, that wealth and poverty and sickness and health and death and
all
things not within our control are works of destiny” (Bibl. Cod. 223,
p.221—f).
This is Karma, most evidently, which does not preclude at all
free-will.
Hippolytus makes him a representative of the Eastern School. Speaking
of
Baptism, Bardesanes is made to say (loc. cit. pp. 985-ff “It is not however
the
Bath alone which makes us free, but the Knowledge of who we are, what we are
become,
where we were before, whither we are hastening, whence we are redeemed;
what
is generation (birth), what is re-generation (re.birth)”. This points
plainly
to the doctrine of re-incarnation. His conversation (Dialogue) with
Awida
and Barjamina on Destiny and Free Will shows it. “What is called Destiny,
is
an order of outflow given to the Rulers (Gods) and the Elements, according to
which
order the Intelligences (Spirit-Egos) are changed by their descent into
the
Soul, and the Soul by its descent into the body”. (See Treatise, found in
its
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Syriac
original, and published with English translation in 1855 by Dr. Cureton,
Spicileg.
Syriac. in British Museum.)
Bardesanian
(System). The “Codex of the Nazarenes”, a system worked out by one
Bardesanes.
It is called by some a Kabala within the Kabala; a religion or sect
the
esotericism of which is given out in names and allegories entirely
sui-generis.
A very old Gnostic system. This codex has been translated into
Latin.
Whether it is right to call the Sabeanism of the Mendaїtes (miscalled
St.
John’s
Christians),
contained
in the Nazarene Codex, “the Bardesanian system”, as some do, is
doubtful;
for the doctrines of the Codex and the names of the Good and Evil
Powers
therein, are older than Bardaisan. Yet the names are identical in the two
systems.
Baresma
(Zend). A plant used by Mobeds (Parsi priests) in the fire- temples,
wherein
consecrated bundles of it are kept.
Barhishad
(Sk.). A class of the “lunar” Pitris or “Ancestors”, Fathers, who are
believed
in popular superstition to have kept up in their past incarnations the
household
sacred flame and made fire-offerings. Esoterically the Pitris who
evolved
their shadows or chhayas to make there-with the first man. (See Secret
Doctrine,
Vol. II.)
Basileus
(Gr.). The Archon or Chief who had the outer super-vision during the
Eleusinian
Mysteries. While the latter was an initiated layman, and magistrate
at
Athens, the Basileus of the inner Temple was of the staff of the great
Hierophant,
and as such was one of the chief Mystæ and belonged to the inner
mysteries.
Basilidean
(System). Named after Basilides; the Founder of one of the most
philosophical
gnostic sects. Clement the Alexandrian speaks of Basilides, the
Gnostic,
as “a philosopher devoted to the contemplation of divine things”. While
he
claimed that he had all his doctrines from the Apostle Matthew and from Peter
through
Glaucus, Irenaeus reviled him, Tertullian stormed at him, and the Church
Fathers
had not sufficient words of obloquy against the “heretic”. And yet on
the
authority of St. Jerome himself, who describes with indignation what he had
found
in the only genuine Hebrew copy of the Gospel of Matthew (See Isis Unv.,
ii.,
181) which he got from the Nazarenes, the statement of Basilides becomes
more
than credible, and if accepted would solve a great and perplexing problem.
His
24 vols. of Interpretation of the Gospels, were, as Eusebius tells us,
burnt.
Useless to say that these gospels were not our present Gospels. Thus,
truth
was ever crushed.
Bassantin,
James. A Scotch astrologer. He lived in the 16th century and is said
to
have predicted to Sir Robert Melville, in 1562, the death and all the events
connected
therewith of Mary, the unfortunate Queen of Scots.
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Bath
(Heb.). Daughter.
Bath
Kol (Heb.). Daughter of the Voice: the Divine afflatus, or inspiration, by
which
the prophets of Israel were inspired as by a voice from Heaven and the
Mercy-Seat.
In Latin Filia Vocis. An analogous ideal is found in Hindu exoteric
theology
named Vâch, the voice, the female essence, an aspect of Aditi, the
mother
of the gods and primæval Light; a mystery. [ w.w.w.]
Batoo
(Eg.). The first man in Egyptian folk-lore. Noum, the heavenly artist,
creates
a beautiful girl—the original of the Grecian Pandora—and sends her to
Batoo,
after which the happiness of the first man is destroyed.
Batria
(Eg.). According to tradition, the wife of the Pharaoh and the teacher of
Moses.
Beel-Zebub
(Heb.). The disfigured Baal of the Temples. and more correctly
Beel-Zebul.
Beel-Zebub means -literally “god of flies” ; the derisory epithet
used
by the Jews, and the incorrect and confused rendering of the “god of the
sacred
scarabæi”, the divinities watching the mummies, and symbols of
transformation,
regeneration and immortality. Beel-Zeboul means properly the “
God
of the Dwelling:’ and is spoken of in this sense in Matthew x. 25. As
Apollo,
originally not a Greek but a Phenician god, was the healing god, Paiàn,
or
physician, as well as the god of oracles, he became gradually transformed as
such
into the “Lord of Dwelling”, a household deity, and thus was called
Beel-Zeboul.
He was also, in a sense, a psychopompic god, taking care of the
souls
as did Anubis. Beelzebub was always the oracle god, and was only confused
and
identified with Apollo latter on.
Bel
(Chald.). The oldest and mightiest god of Babylonia, one of the earliest
trinities,—Anu
(q.v.) ; Bel,
“Lord
of the World”, father of the gods, Creator, and “Lord of the City of
Nipur’;
and Hea, maker of fate, Lord of the Deep, God of Wisdom and esoteric
Knowledge,
and “Lord of the city of Eridu”. The wife of Bel, or his female
aspect
(Sakti), was Belat, or Beltis, “the mother of the great gods”, and the
“Lady
of the city of Nipur”. The original Bel was also called Enu, Elu and Kaptu
(see
Chaldean account of Genesis, by G. Smith). His eldest son was the Moon God
Sin
(whose names were also Ur, Agu and Itu), who was the presiding deity of the
city
of Ur, called in his honour by one of his names. Now Ur was the place of
nativity
of Abram (see “Astrology”). In the early Babylonian religion the Moon
was,
like Soma in India, a male, and the Sun a female deity. And this led almost
every
nation to great fratricidal wars between the lunar and the solar
worshippers—e.g.,
the contests between the Lunar and the Solar
Dynasties,
the Chandra and Suryavansa in ancient Aryavarta. Thus we find the
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same
on a smaller scale between the Semitic tribes. Abram and his father Terah
are
shown migrating from Ur and carrying their lunar god (or its scion) with
them
; for Jehovah Elohim or El—another form of Elu—has ever been connected with
the
moon. It is the Jewish lunar chronology which has led the European
“civilized”
nations into the greatest blunders and mistakes. Merodach, the son
of
Hea, became the later Bel and was worshipped at Babylon. His other title,
Belas,
has a number of symbolical meanings.
Bela-Shemesh
(Chald. Heb.). “The Lord of the Sun”, the name of the Moon during
that
period when the Jews became in turn solar and lunar worshippers, and when
the
Moon was a male, and the Sun a female deity. This period embraced the time
between
the allegorical expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden down to the no less
allegorical
Noachian flood. (See Secret Doctrine, I. 397.)
Bembo,
Tablet of; or Mensa Isiaca. A brazen tablet inlaid with designs in Mosaic
(now
in the Museum at Turin) which once belonged to the famous Cardinal Bembo.
Its
origin and date are unknown. It is covered with Egyptian figures and
hieroglyphics,
and is supposed to have been an ornament in an ancient Temple of
Isis.
The learned Jesuit Kircher wrote a description of it, and Montfaucon has a
chapter
devoted to it.
[
w.w.w.]
The
only English work on the Isiac Tablet is by Dr. W. Wynn Westcott, who gives
a
photogravure in addition to its history, description, and occult significance.
Ben
(Heb.). A son; a common prefix in proper names to denote the son of
so-and-so,
e.g., Ben Solomon, Ben Ishmael, etc.
Be-ness.
A term coined by Theosophists to render more accurately the essential
meaning
of the untranslatable word Sat. The latter word does not mean “Being”
for
it presupposes a sentient feeling or some consciousness of existence. But,
as
the term Sat is applied solely to the absolute Principle, the universal,
unknown,
and ever unknowable Presence, which philosophical Pantheism postulates
in
Kosmos, calling it the basic root of Kosmos. and Kosmos itself— “Being” was
no
fit word to express it. Indeed, the latter is not even, as translated by some
Orientalists,
“the incomprehensible Entity”; for it is no more an Entity than a
non-Entity,
but both. It is, as said, absolute Be-ness, not Being, the one
secondless,
undivided, and indivisible All—the root of all Nature visible and
invisible,
objective and subjective, to be sensed by the highest spiritual
intuition,
but’ never to be fully comprehended.
Ben
Shamesh (Heb.). The children or the “Sons of the Sun”. The
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term
belongs to the period when the Jews were divided into sun and moon
worshippers—Elites
and Belites. (See “Bela- Shemesh”.)
Benoo
(Eg.). A word applied to two symbols, both taken to mean “Phœnix”. One was
the
Shen-shen
(the
heron), and the other a nondescript bird, called the Rech (the red one),
and
both were sacred to Osiris. It was the latter that was the regular Phœnix of
the
great Mysteries, the typical symbol of self-creation and resurrection
through
death—a type of the Solar Osiris and of the divine Ego in man. Yet both
the
Heron and the Rech were symbols of cycles; the former, of the Solar year of
365
days; the latter of the tropical year or a period covering almost 26,000
years.
In both cases the cycles were the types of the return of light from
darkness,
the yearly and great cyclic return of the sun-god to his birth-place,
or—his
Resurrection. The Rech-Benoo is described by Macrobius as living 660
years
and then dying; while others stretched its life as long as 1,460 years.
Pliny,
the Naturalist, describes the Rech as a large bird with gold and purple
wings,
and a long blue tail. As every reader is aware, the Phœnix on feeling its
end
approaching, according to tradition, builds for itself a funeral pile on the
top
of the sacrificial altar, and then proceeds to consume himself thereon as a
burnt-offering.
Then a worm appears in the ashes, which grows and developes
rapidly
into a new Phœnix, resurrected from the ashes of its predecessor.
Berasit
(Heb.). The first word of the book of Genesis. The English established
version
translates this as “In the beginning,” but this rendering is disputed by
many
scholars. Tertullian approved of “In power”; Grotius “When first”; but the
authors
of the Targum of Jerusalern, who ought to have known Hebrew if anyone
did,
translated it “In Wisdom”. Godfrey Higgins, in his Anacalypsis, insists on
Berasit
being the sign of the ablative case, meaning “in” and ras, rasit, an
ancient
word for Chokmah, “wisdom”. [ w. w.w.]
Berasit
or Berasheth is a mystic word among the Kabbalists of Asia Minor.
Bergelmir
(Scand.). The one giant who escaped in a boat the general slaughter of
his
brothers, the giant Ymir’s children, drowned in the blood of their raging
Father.
He is the Scandinavian Noah, as he, too, becomes the father of giants
after
the Deluge. The lays of the Norsemen show the grandsons of the divine
Bun—Odin,
Wili, and We— conquering and killing the terrible giant Ymir, and
creating
the world out of his body.
Berosus
(Chald.). A priest of the Temple of Belus who wrote for Alexander the
Great
the history of the Cosmogony, as taught in the
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Temples,
from the astronomical and chronological records preserved in that
temple.
The fragments we have in the soi-disant translations of Eusebius are
certainly
as untrustworthy as the biographer of the Emperor Constantine—of whom
he
made a saint (!!)—could make them. The only guide to this Cosmogony may now
be
found in the fragments of the Assyrian tablets, evidently copied almost
bodily
from the earlier Babylonian records; which, say what the Orientalists
may,
are undeniably the originals of the Mosaic Genesis, of the Flood, the tower
of
Babel, of baby Moses set afloat on the waters, and of other events. For, if
the
fragments from the Cosmogony of Berosus, so carefully re-edited and probably
mutilated
and added to by Eusebius, are no great proof of the antiquity of these
records
in Babylonia—seeing that this priest of Belus lived three hundred years
after
the Jews were carried captive to Babylon, and they may have been borrowed
by
the Assyrians from them—later discoveries have made such a consoling
hypothesis
impossible. It is now fully ascertained by Oriental scholars that not
only
“Assyria borrowed its civilization and written characters from Babylonia,”
but
the Assyrians copied their literature from Babylonian sources. Moreover, in
his
first Hibbert lecture, Professor Sayce shows the culture both of Babylonia
itself
and of the city of Eridu to have been of foreign importation; and,
according
to this scholar, the city of Eridu stood already “6,000 years ago on
the
shores of the Persian gulf,” i.e., about the very time when Genesis shows
the
Elohim creating the world, sun, and stars out of nothing.
Bes
(Eg.). A phallic god, the god of concupiscence and pleasure. He is
represented
standing on a lotus ready to devour his own progeny (Abydos). A
rather
modern deity of foreign origin.
Bestla
(Scand.). The daughter of the “Frost giants”, the sons of Ymir; married
to
Bun, and the mother of Odin and his brothers (Edda).
Beth
(Heb.). House, dwelling.
Beth
Elohim (Heb.). A Kabbalistic treatise treating of the angels, souls of men,
and
demons. The name means “House of the Gods".
Betyles
(Phœn.). Magical stones. The ancient writers call them the “animated
stones”
; oracular stones, believed in and used both by Gentiles and Christians.
(See
S.D. II. p. 342).
Bhadra
Vihara (Sk.). Lit., “the Monastery of the Sages or Bodhisattvas”. A
certain
Vihara or Matham in Kanyâkubdja.
Bhadrakalpa
(Sk.). Lit., “The Kalpa of the Sages”. Our present period is a
Bhadra
Kalpa, and the exoteric teaching makes it last 236 million years. It is
“so
called because 1,000 Buddhas or sages appear in the course of it”. (Sanshrit
Chinese
Dict.) “Four Buddhas have already appeared” it adds; but as out of the
236
millions, over 151
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million
years have already elapsed, it does seem a rather uneven distribution of
Buddhas.
This is the way exoteric or popular religions confuse everything.
Esoteric
philosophy teaches us that every Root- race has its chief Buddha or
Reformer,
who appears also in the seven sub-races as a Bodhisattva (q.v.).
Gautama
Sakyamuni was the fourth, and also the fifth Buddha: the fifth, because
we
are the fifth root-race; the fourth, as the chief Buddha in this fourth
Round.
The Bhadra Kalpa, or the “period of stability”, is the name of our
present
Round, esoterically—its duration applying, of course, only to our globe
(D),
the “1,000” Buddhas being thus in reality limited to but forty-nine in all.
Bhadrasena
(Sk.). A Buddhist king of Magadha.
Bhagats
(Sk.). Also called Sokha and Sivnath by the Hindus; one who exorcises
evil
spirits.
Bhagavad-gita
(Sk.). Lit., “the Lord’s Song”. A portion of the Mahabharata, the
great
epic poem of India. It contains a dialogue wherein Krishna—the
“Charioteer”—and
Arjuna, his Chela, have a discussion upon the highest spiritual
philosophy.
The work is pre-eminently occult or esoteric.
Bhagavat
(Sk.). A title of the Buddha and of Krishna. “The Lord” literally.
Bhao
(Sk.). A ceremony of divination among the Kolarian tribes of Central India.
Bhârata
Varsha (Sk.). The land of Bharata, an ancient name of India.
Bhargavas
(Sk.). An ancient race in India; from the name of Bhrigu, the Rishi.
Bhâshya
(Sk) A commentary.
Bhâskara
(Sk). One of the titles of Surya, the Sun; meaning “life- giver” and
“light-maker”.
Bhava
(Sk.). Being, or state of being; the world, a birth, and also a name of
Siva.
Bhikshu
(Sk.). In Pâli Bihkhu. The name given to the first followers of
Sâkyamuni
Buddha. Lit., “mendicant scholar”. The Sanskrit Chinese Dictionary
explains
the term correctly by dividing Bhikshus into two classes of Sramanas
(Buddhist
monks and priests), viz., “esoteric mendicants who control their
nature
by the (religious) law, and exoteric mendicants who control their nature
by
diet;” and it adds, less correctly: “every true Bhikshu is supposed to work
miracles”.
Bhons
(Tib.). The followers of the old religion of the Aborigines of Tibet; of
pre-buddhistic
temples and ritualism; the same as Dugpas,
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“red
caps”, though the latter appellation usually applies only to sorcerers.
Bhrantidarsanatah
(Sk.). Lit., “false comprehension or apprehension”; something
conceived
of on false appearances as a mayavic, illusionary form.
Bhrigu
(Sk.). One of the great Vedic Rishis. He is called “Son” by Manu, who
confides
to him his Institutes. He is one of the Seven Prajâpatis or progenitors
of
mankind, which is equivalent to identifying him with one of the creative
gods,
placed by the Purânas in Krita Yug, or the first age, that of purity. Dr.
Wynn
Westcott reminds us of the fact that the late and very erudite Dr. Kenealy
(who
spelt the name Brighoo), made of this Muni (Saint) the fourth, out of his
twelve,
“divine messengers” to the World, adding that he appeared in Tibet, A.N.
4800
and that his religion spread to Britain, where his followers raised the
megalithic
temple of Stonehenge. This, of course, is a hypothesis, based merely
on
Dr. Kenealy’s personal speculations.
Bhûmi
(Sk.). The earth, called also Prithivî.
Bhur-Bhuva
(Sk). A mystic incantation, as Om, Bhur, Bhuva, Swar, meaning “Om,
earth,
sky, heaven, This is the exoteric
explanation.
Bhuranyu
(Sk.). “The rapid” or the swift. Used of a missile— an equivalent also
of
the Greek Phoroneus.
Bhur-loka
(Sk). One of the 14, lokas or worlds in Hindu Pantheism; our Earth.
Bhutadi
(Sk.). Elementary substances, the origin and the germinal essence of the
elements.
Bhutan.
A country of heretical Buddhists and Lamaists beyond Sikkhim, where
rules
the Dharma Raja, a nominal vassal of the Dalaї Lama.
Bhûhta-vidyâ
(Sk.). The art of exorcising, of treating and curing demoniac
possession.
Literally, “Demon” or “Ghost-knowledge”.
Bhûta-sarga
(Sk.). Elemental or incipient Creation, i.e., when matter was
several
degrees less material than it is now.
Bhûtesa
(Sk.) Or Bhûteswara; lit., “Lord of beings or of existent lives”. A name
applied
to Vishnu, to Brahmâ and Krishna.
Bhûts
(Sk.). Bhûta.: Ghosts, phantoms. To call them “demons”, as do the
Orientalists,
is incorrect. For, if on the one hand, a Bhûta is “a malignant
spirit
which haunts cemeteries, lurks in trees, animates dead bodies, and
deludes
and devours human beings”, in popular fancy, in India in Tibet and
China,
by Bhûtas are also meant “heretics” who besmear their bodies with ashes,
or
Shaiva ascetics (Siva being held in India for the King of Bhûtas).
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Bhuya-loka
(Sk.). One of the 14 worlds.
Bhuvana
(Sk). A name of Rudra or Siva, one of the Indian Trimurti (Trinity).
Bifröst
(Scand.). A bridge built by the gods to protect Asgard. On it “the third
Sword-god,
known as Heimdal or Riger”, stands night and day girded with his
sword,
for he is the watchman selected to protect Asgard, the abode of gods.
Heimdal
is the Scandinavian Cherubim with the flaming sword, “which turned every
way
to keep the way of the tree of life”.
Bihar
Gyalpo (Tib.). A king deified by the Dugpas. A patron over all their
religious
buildings.
Binah
(Heb.). Understanding. The third of the 10 Sephiroth, the third of the
Supernal
Triad; a female potency, corresponding to the letter hé of the
Tetragrammaton
IHVH. Binah is called AIMA, the Supernal Mother, and “the great
Sea”.
[ w.w.w.]
Birs
Nimrud (Chald.). Believed by the Orientalists to be the site of the Tower
of
Babel. The great pile of Birs Nimrud is near Babylon. Sir H. Rawlinson and
several
Assyriologists examined the excavated ruins and found that the tower
consisted
of seven stages of brick-work, each stage of a different colour, which
shows
that the temple was devoted to the seven planets. Even with its three
higher
stages or floors in ruins, it still rises now 154 feet above the level of
the
plain. (”See Borsippa”.)
Black
Dwarfs. The name of the Elves of Darkness, who creep about in the dark
caverns
of the earth and fabricate weapons and utensils for their divine
fathers,
the Æsir or Ases. Called also “Black Elves”.
Black
Fire (Zohar.) A Kabbalistic term for Absolute Light and Wisdom; “black”
because
it is incomprehensible to our finite intellects.
Black
Magic (Occult.). Sorcery; necromancy, or the raising of the dead, and
other
selfish abuses of abnormal powers. This abuse may be unintentional; yet it
is
still “black magic” whenever anything is produced phenomenally simply for
one’s
own gratification.
B’ne
Alhim or Beni Elohim (Heb.). “Sons of God ”, literally or more correctly
“Sons
of the gods”, as Elohim is the plural of Eloah. A group of angelic powers
referable
by analogy to the Sephira Hôd.
[w. w. w.]
Boat
of the Sun. This sacred solar boat was called Sekti, and it was steered by
the
dead. With the Egyptians the highest exaltation of the Sun was in Aries and
the
depression in Libya. (See “Pharaoh”, the “Son of the Sun”.) A blue
light—which
is the “Sun’s Son”—is seen streaming from the bark. The ancient
Egyptians
taught
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that
the real colour of the Sun was blue, and Macrobius also states that his
colour
is of a pure blue before he reaches the horizon and after he disappears
below.
It is curious to note in this relation the fact that it is only since
1881
that physicists and astronomers discovered that “our Sun is really blue”.
Professor
Langley devoted many years to ascertaining the fact. Helped in this by
the
magnificent scientific apparatus of physical science, he has succeeded
finally
in proving that the apparent yellow-orange colour of the Sun is due only
to
the effect of absorption exerted by its atmosphere of vapours, chiefly
metallic;
but that in sober truth and reality, it is not “a white Sun but a blue
one”,
i.e., something which the Egyptian priests had discovered without any
known
scientific instruments, many thousands of years ago!
Boaz
(Heb.). The great-grandfather of David. The word is from B, meaning “in”,
and
oz “strength”, a symbolic name of one of the pillars at the porch of King
Solomon’s
temple. [w. w. w.]
Bodha-Bodhi
(Sk.). Wisdom-knowledge.
Bodhi
or Sambodhi (Sk.). Receptive intelligence, in contradistinction to Buddhi,
which
is the potentiality of intelligence.
Bodhi
Druma (Sk.). The Bo or Bodhi tree; the tree of “knowledge the Pippala or
ficus
religiosa in botany. It is the tree under which Sâkymuni meditated for
seven
years and then reached Buddhaship. It was originally 400 feet high, it is
claimed;
but when Hiouen-Tsang saw it, about the year 640 of our era, it was
only
50 feet high. Its cuttings have been carried all over the Buddhist world
and
are planted in front of almost every Vihâra or temple of fame in China,
Siam,
Ceylon, and Tibet.
Bodhidharma
(Sk.). Wisdom-religion; or the wisdom contained in Dharma (ethics).
Also
the name of a great Arhat Kshatriya (one of the warrior-caste), the son of
a
king. It was Panyatara, his guru, who “gave him the name Bodhidharma to mark
his
understanding (bodhi) of the Law (dharma) of Buddha”. (Chin. San. Diet.).
Bodhidharma,
who flourished in the sixth century, travelled to China, whereto he
brought
a precious relic, namely, the almsbowl of the Lord Buddha.
Bodhisattva
(Sk). Lit., “he, whose essence (sattva) has become intelligence
(bodhi)”;
those who need but one more incarnation to become perfect Buddhas,
i.e.,
to be entitled to Nirvâna. This, as applied to Manushi (terrestrial)
Buddhas.
In the metaphysical sense, Bodhisattva is a title given to the sons of
the
celestial Dhyâni Buddhas.
Bodhyanga
(Sk.). Lit., the seven branches of knowledge or understanding. One of
the
37 categories of the Bodhi pakchika dharma, comprehending seven degrees of
intelligence
(esoterically, seven states of
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consciousness),
and these are (1) Smriti “memory”; (2) Dharma pravitchaya,
“correct
understanding” or discrimination of the Law ; (3) Virya, “energy” ; (4)
Priti,
“spiritual joy” ; (5 )Prasrabdhi, “tranquillity” or quietude; (6)
Samâdhi,
“ecstatic contemplation”; and (7) Upeksha “absolute indifference”.
Boehme
(Jacob). A great mystic philosopher, one of the most prominent
Theosophists
of the mediæval ages. He was born about 1575 at Old Seidenburg,
some
two miles from Görlitz (Silesia), and died in 1624, at nearly fifty years
of
age. In his boyhood he was a common shepherd, and, after learning to read and
write
in a village school, became an apprentice to a poor shoemaker at Görlitz.
He
was a natural clairvoyant of most wonderful powers. With no education or
acquaintance
with science he wrote works which are now proved to be full of
scientific
truths; but then, as he says himself, what he wrote upon, he “saw it
as
in a great Deep in the Eternal”. He had “a thorough view of the universe, as
in
a chaos”, which yet “opened itself in him, from time to time, as in a young
plant”.
He was a thorough born Mystic, and evidently of a constitution which is
most
rare one of those fine natures whose material envelope impedes in no way
the
direct, even if only occasional, intercommunion between the intellectual and
the
spiritual Ego. It is this Ego which Jacob Boehme, like so many other
untrained
mystics, mistook for God; “Man must acknowledge,” he writes, “that his
knowledge
is not his own, but from God, who manifests the Ideas of Wisdom to the
Soul
of Man, in what measure he pleases.” Had this great Theosophist mastered
Eastern
Occultism he might have expressed it otherwise. He would have known then
that
the “god” who spoke through his poor uncultured and untrained brain, was
his
own divine Ego, the omniscient Deity within himself, and that what that
Deity
gave out was not in “what measure pleased,” but in the measure of the
capacities
of the mortal and temporary dwelling IT informed.
Bonati,
Guido. A Franciscan monk, born at Florence in the XIIIth century and
died
in 1306. He became an astrologer and alchemist, but failed as a Rosicrucian
adept.
He returned after this to his monastery.
Bona-Oma,
or Bona Dea. A Roman goddess, the patroness of female Initiates and
Occultists.
Called also Fauna after her father Faunus. She was worshipped as a
prophetic
and chaste divinity, and her cult was confined solely to women, men
not
being allowed to even pronounce her name. She revealed her oracles only to
women,
and the ceremonies of her Sanctuary (a grotto in the Aventine) were
conducted
by the Vestals, every 1st of May. Her aversion to men was so great
that
no male person was permitted to approach the house of the consuls where
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her
festival was sometimes held, and even the portraits and the busts of men
were
carried out for the time from the building. Clodius, who once profaned such
a
sacred festival by entering the house of Caesar where it was held, in a female
disguise,
brought grief upon himself. Flowers and foliage decorated her temple
and
women made libations from a vessel (mellarium) full of milk. It is not true
that
the mellarium contained wine, as asserted by some writers, who being men
thus
tried to revenge themselves.
Bono,
Peter. A Lombardian; a great adept in the Hermetic Science, who travelled
to
Persia to study Alchemy. Returning from his voyage he settled in Istria in
1330,
and became famous as a Rosicrucian. A Calabrian monk named Lacinius is
credited
with having published in 1702 a condensed version of Bono’s works on
the
transmutation of metals. There is, however, more of Lacinius than of Bono in
the
work. Bono was a genuine adept and an Initiate ; and such do not leave their
secrets
behind them in MSS.
Boodhasp
(Chald.) .An alleged Chaldean; but in esoteric teaching a Buddhist (a
Bodhisattva),
from the East, who was the founder of the esoteric school of
Neo-Sabeism,
and whose secret rite of baptism passed bodily into the Christian
rite
of the same name. For almost three centuries before our era, Buddhist monks
overran
the whole country of Syria, made their way into the Mesopotamian valley
and
visited even Ireland. The name Ferho and Faho of the Codex Nazaraeus is but
a
corruption of Fho, Fo and Pho, the name which the Chinese, Tibetans and even
Nepaulese
often give to Buddha.
Book
of the Dead. An ancient Egyptian ritualistic and occult work attributed to
Thot-Hermes.
Found in the coffins of ancient mummies,
Book
of the Keys. An ancient Kabbalistic work.
Borj
(Pers.). The Mundane Mountain, a volcano or fire-mountain; the same as the
Indian
Meru.
Borri,
Joseph Francis. A great Hermetic philosopher, born at Milan in the 17th
century.
He was an adept, an alchemist and a devoted occultist. He knew too much
and
was, therefore, condemned to death for heresy, in January, 1661, after the
death
of Pope Innocent X. He escaped and lived many years after, when finally he
was
recognised by a monk in a Turkish village, denounced, claimed by the Papal
Nuncio,
taken back to Rome and imprisoned, August 10th, 1675. But facts show
that
he escaped from his prison in a way no one could account for.
Borsippa
(Chald.). The planet-tower, wherein Bel was worshipped in the days when
astrolaters
were the greatest astronomers. It was dedicated to Nebo, god of
Wisdom.
(See “Birs Nimrud ”.)
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Both-al
(Irish). The Both-al of the Irish is the descendant and copy of the
Greek
Batylos and the
Beth-el
of Canaan, the “house of God” (q.v.).
Bragadini,
Marco Antonio. A Venetian Rosicrucian of great achievements, an
Occultist
and Kabbalist who was decapitated in 1595 in Bavaria, for making gold.
Bragi
(Scand.). The god of New Life, of the re-incarnation of nature and man. He
is
called “the divine singer” without spot or blemish. He is represented as
gliding
in the ship of the Dwarfs of Death during the death of nature (pralaya),
lying
asleep on the deck with his golden stringed harp near him and dreaming the
dream
of life. When the vessel crosses the threshold of Nain, the Dwarf of
Death,
Bragi awakes and sweeping the strings of his harp, sings a song that
echoes
over all the worlds, a song describing the rapture of existence, and
awakens
dumb, sleeping nature out of her long death-like sleep.
Brahma
(Sk.). The student must distinguish between Brahma the neuter, and
Brahmâ,
the male creator of the Indian Pantheon. The former, Brahma or Brahman,
is
the impersonal, supreme and uncognizable Principle of the Universe from the
essence
of which all emanates, and into which all returns, which is incorporeal,
immaterial,
unborn, eternal, beginningless and endless. It is all-pervading,
animating
the highest god as well as the smallest mineral atom. Brahmâ on the
other
hand, the male and the alleged Creator, exists periodically in his
manifestation
only, and then again goes into pralaya, i.e., disappears and is
annihilated.
Brahmâ’s
Day. A period of 2,160,000,000 years during which Brahmâ having emerged
out
of his golden egg (Hiranyagarbha), creates and fashions the material world
(being
simply the fertilizing and creative force in Nature). After this period,
the
worlds being destroyed in turn, by fire and water, he vanishes with
objective
nature, and then comes Brahmâ's Night.
Brahmâ’s
Night. A period of equal duration, during which Brahmâ. is said to be
asleep.
Upon awakening he recommences the process, and this goes on for an AGE
of
Brahmâ composed of alternate “Days”, and “Nights”, and lasting 100 years (of
2,160,000,000
years each). It requires fifteen figures to express the duration
of
such an age; after the expiration of which the Mahapralaya or the Great
Dissolution
sets in, and lasts in its turn for the same space of fifteen
figures.
Brahmâ
Prajâpati (Sk.). “Brahmâ the Progenitor”, literally the “Lord of
Creatures”.
In this aspect Brahmâ is the synthesis of the Prajâpati or creative
Forces.
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Brahmâ
Vâch (Sk.) Male and female Brahmâ. Vâch is also some-times called the
female
logos; for Vâch means Speech, literally.
(See Manu Book I., and Vishnu
Purâna.)
Brahma
Vidyâ (Sk.) The knowledge, the esoteric science, about the two Brahmas
and
their true nature.
Brahmâ
Virâj. (Sk.) The same: Brahmâ separating his body into two halves, male
and
female, creates in them Vâch and Virâj. In plainer terms and esotericlly
Brahmâ
the Universe, differentiating, produced thereby material nature, Virâj,
and
spiritual intelligent Nature, Vâch—which is the Logos of Deity or the
manifested
expression of the eternal divine Ideation.
Brahmâcharî
(Sk.) A Brahman ascetic; one vowed to celibacy, a monk, virtually,
or
a religious student.
Brahmajnâni
(Sk.) One possessed of complete Knowledge; an Illuminatus in
esoteric
parlance.
Brâhman
(Sk.) The highest of the four castes in India, one supposed or rather
fancying
himself, as high among men, as Brahman, the ABSOLUTE of the Vedantins,
is
high among, or above the gods.
Brâhmana
period (Sk.) One of the four periods into which Vedic literature has
been
divided by Orientalists.
Brâhmanas
(Sk.) Hindu Sacred Books. Works composed by, and for Brahmans.
Commentaries
on those portions of the Vedas which were intended for the
ritualistic
use and guidance of the “twice-born (Dwija) or Brahmans.
Brahmanaspati
(Sk.). The planet Jupiter; a deity in the Rig -Veda, known in the
exoteric
works as Brihaspati, whose wife Târâ was carried away by Soma (the
Moon).
This led to a war between the gods and the Asuras.
Brahmâpuri
(Sk.) Lit., “the City of Brahmâ.
Brahmâputrâs
(Sk.) The Sons of Brahmâ.
Brahmarandhra
(Sk.) A spot on the crown of the head connected by Sushumna, a
cord
in the spinal column, with the heart. A mystic term having its significance
only
in mysticism.
Brahmârshîs
(Sk.). The Brahminical Rishis.
Bread
and Wine. Baptism and the Eucharist have their direct origin in pagan
Egypt.
There the “waters of purification” were used (the Mithraic font for
baptism
being borrowed by the Persians from the Egyptians) and so were bread and
wine.
“Wine in the Dionysiak cult, as in the Christian religion, represents that
blood
which in different senses is the life of the world” (Brown, in the
Dionysiak
Myth). Justin Martyr says, “In imitation of which the devil did the
like
in the
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Mysteries
of Mithras, for you either know or may know that they also take bread
and
a cup of water in the sacrifices of those that are initiated and pronounce
certain
words over it”. (See “Holy Water”.)
Briareus
(Gr.) A famous giant in the Theogony of Hesiod. The son of Cœlus and
Terra,
a monster with 50 heads and 100 arms. He is conspicuous in the wars and
battles
between the gods.
Briatic
World or Briah (Heb.) This world is the second of the Four worlds of the
Kabbalists
and referred to the highest created “Archangels”, or to Pure Spirits.
[
w.w.w.]
Bride.
The tenth Sephira, Malkuth, is called by the Kabbalists the Bride of
Microprosopus;
she is the final Hé of the Tetragrammaton ; in a similar manner
the
Christian Church is called the Bride of Christ.
[
w.w.w.]
Brihadâranyaka
(Sk.) The name of a Upanishad. One of the sacred and secret books
of
the Brahmins; an Aranyaka is a treatise appended to the Vedas, and considered
a
subject of special study by those who have retired to the jungle (forest) for
purposes
of religious meditation.
Brihaspati
(Sk.) The name of a Deity, also of a Rishi. It is like wise the name
of
the planet Jupiter. He is the personified Guru and priest of the gods in
India
; also the symbol of exoteric ritualism as opposed to esoteric mysticism.
Hence
the opponent of King Soma—the moon, but also the sacred juice drunk at
initiation—the
parent of Budha, Secret Wisdom.
Briseus
(Gr.) A name given to the god Bacchus from his nurse, Briso. He had also
a
temple at Brisa, a promontory of the isle of Lesbos.
Brothers
of the Shadow. A name given by the Occultists to Sorcerers, and
especially
to the Tibetan Dugpas, of whom there are many in the Bhon sect of the
Red
Caps (Dugpa). The word is applied to all practitioners of black or left hand
magic.
Bubasté
(Eg.) A city in Egypt which was sacred to the cats, and where was their
principal
shrine. Many hundreds of thousands of cats were embalmed and buried in
the
grottoes of Beni-Hassan-el Amar. The cat being a symbol of the moon was
sacred
to Isis, her goddess. It sees in the dark and its eyes have a
phosphorescent
lustre which frightens the night-birds of evil omen. The cat was
also
sacred to Bast, and thence called “the (destroyer of the Sun’s (Osiris’)
enemies”.
Buddha
(Sk.). Lit., “The Enlightened”. The highest degree of knowledge. To
become
a Buddha one has to break through the bondage of sense and personality;
to
acquire a complete perception of the REAL SELF and learn not to separate it
from
all otherselves; to learn
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by
experience the utter unreality of all phenomena of the visible Kosmos
foremost
of all; to reach a complete detachment from all that is evanescent and
finite,
and live while yet on Earth in the immortal and the everlasting alone,
in
a supreme state of holiness.
Buddha
Siddhârta (Sk.) The name given to Gautama, the Prince of Kapilavastu, at
his
birth. It is an abbreviation of sarvârtthasiddha and means, the “realization
of
all desires”. Gautama, which means, on earth (gâu) the most victorious (tama)
“was
the sacerdotal name of the Sâkya family, the kingly patronymic of the
dynasty
to which the father of Gautama, the King Suddhodhana of Kapilavastu,
belonged.
Kapilavastu was an ancient city, the birth-place of the Great Reformer
and
was destroyed during his life time. In the title Sâkyamuni, the last
component,
muni, is rendered as meaning one mighty in charity, isolation and
silence”,
and the former Sâkya is the family name. Every Orientalist or Pundit
knows
by heart the story of Gautama, the Buddha, the most perfect of mortal men
that
the world has ever seen, but none of them seem to suspect the esoteric
meaning
underlying his prenatal
biography,
i.e., the significance of the popular story. The Lalitavistûra tells
the
tale, but abstains from hinting at the truth. The 5,000 jâtakas, or the
events
of former births (re-incarnations) are taken literally instead of
esoterically.
Gautama, the Buddha, would not have been a mortal man, had he not
passed
through hundreds and thousands of births previous to his last. Yet the
detailed
account of these, and the statement that during them he worked his way
up
through every stage of transmigration from the lowest animate and inanimate
atom
and insect, up to the highest—or man, contains simply the well-known occult
aphorism
: “a stone becomes a plant, a plant an animal, and an animal a man”.
Every
human being who has ever existed, has passed through the same evolution.
But
the hidden symbolism in the sequence of these re-births (jâtaka) contains a
perfect
history of the evolution on this earth, pre and post human, and is a
scientific
exposition of natural facts. One truth not veiled but bare and open
is
found in their nomenclature, viz., that as soon as Gautama had reached the
human
form he began exhibiting in every personality the utmost unselfishness,
self-sacrifice
and charity. Buddha Gautama, the fourth of the Sapta (Seven)
Buddhas
and Sapta Tathâgatas was born according to Chinese Chronology in 1024
B.C;
but according to the Singhalese chronicles, on the 8th day of the second
(or
fourth) moon in the year 621 before our era. He fled from his father’s
palace
to become an ascetic on the night of the 8th day of the second moon, 597
BC.,
and having passed six years in ascetic meditation at Gaya, and perceiving
that
physical self-torture was useless to bring enlightenment, be decided upon
striking
out a new path, until he reached the state of
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Bodhi.
He became a full Buddha on the night of the 8th day of the twelfth moon,
in
the year 592, and finally entered Nirvâna in the year 543 according to
Southern
Buddhism. The Orientalists, however, have decided upon several other
dates.
All the rest is allegorical. He attained the state of Bodhisattva on
earth
when in the personality called Prabhâpala. Tushita stands for a place on
this
globe, not for a paradise in the invisible regions. The selection of the
Sâkya
family and his mother Mâyâ, as “the purest on earth,” is in accordance
with
the model of the nativity of every Saviour, God or deified Reformer. The
tale
about his entering his mother’s bosom in the shape of a white elephant is
an
allusion to his innate wisdom, the elephant of that colour being a symbol of
every
Bodhisattva. The statements that at Gautama’s birth, the newly born babe
walked
seven steps in four directions, that an Udumbara flower bloomed in all
its
rare beauty and that the Nâga kings forthwith proceeded ‘‘to baptise him ”,
are
all so many allegories in the phraseology of the Initiates and
well-understood
by every Eastern Occultist. The whole events of his noble life
are
given in occult numbers, and every so-called miraculous event—so deplored by
Orientalists
as confusing the narrative and making it impossible to extricate
truth
from fiction—is simply the allegorical veiling of the truth, it is as
comprehensible
to an Occultist learned in symbolism, as it is difficult to
understand
for a European scholar ignorant of Occultism. Every detail of the
narrative
after his death and before cremation is a chapter of facts written in
a
language which must be studied before it is understood, otherwise its dead
letter
will lead one into absurd contradictions. For instance, having reminded
his
disciples of the immortality of Dharmakâya Buddha is said to have passed
into
Samâdhi, and lost himself in Nirvâna—from which none can return., and yet,
notwithstanding
this, the Buddha is shown bursting open the lid of the coffin,
and
stepping out of it ; saluting with folded hands his mother Mâyâ who had
suddenly
appeared in the air, though she had died seven (days after his birth,
&c.,
&c. As Buddha. was a Chakravartti (he who turns the wheel of the Law), his
body
at its cremation could not be consumed by common fire. What happens
Suddenly
a jet of flame burst out of the Swastica on his breast, and reduced his
body
to ashes. Space prevents giving more instances. As to his being one of the
true
and undeniable Saviours of the World, suffice it to say that the most rabid
orthodox
missionary, unless he is hopelessly insane, or has not the least regard
even
for historical truth, cannot find one smallest accusation against the life
and
personal character of Gautama, the “Buddha”. Without any claim to divinity,
allowing
his followers to fall into atheism, rather than into the degrading
superstition
of deva or idol-worship, his walk in life is from the beginning to
the
end, holy and
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divine.
During the years of his mission it is blameless and pure as that of a
god—or
as the latter should be. He is a perfect example of a divine, godly man.
He
reached Buddhaship—i.e., complete enlightenment—entirely by his own merit and
owing
to his own individual exertions, no god being supposed to have any
personal
merit in the exercise of goodness and holiness. Esoteric teachings
claim
that he renounced Nirvâna and gave up the Dharmakâya vesture to remain a
“Buddha
of compassion” within the reach of the miseries of this world. And the
religious
philosophy he left to it has produced for over 2,000 years generations
of
good and unselfish men. His is the only absolutely bloodless religion among
all
the existing religions tolerant and liberal, teaching universal compassion
and
charity, love and self-sacrifice, poverty and contentment with one’s lot,
whatever
it may he. No persecutions, and enforcement of faith by fire and sword,
have
ever disgraced it. No thunder-and-lightning-vomiting god has interfered
with
its chaste commandments; and if the simple, humane and philosophical code
of
daily life left to us by the greatest Man-Reformer ever known, should ever
come
to he adopted by mankind at large, then indeed an era of bliss and peace
would
dawn on Humanity.
Buddhachhâyâ
(Sk.). Lit., “the shadow of Buddha”. It is said to become visible
at
certain great events, and during some imposing ceremonies performed at
Temples
in commemoration of glorious acts of Buddhas life. Hiouen-tseng, the
Chinese
traveller, names a certain cave where it occasionally appears on the
wall,
but adds that only he whose mind is perfectly pure”, can see it.
Buddhaphala
(Sk) Lit., “the fruit of Buddha”, the fruition of Arahattvaphalla,
or
Arhatship.
Buddhi
(Sk.). Universal Soul or Mind. Mahâbuddhi is a name of Mahat (see
“Alaya”);
also the spiritual Soul in man (the sixth principle), the vehicle of
Atmâ
exoterically the seventh.
Buddhism.
Buddhism is now split into two distinct Churches : the Southern and
the
Northern Church. The former is said to be the purer form, as having
preserved
more religiously the original teachings of the Lord Buddha. It is the
religion
of Ceylon, Siam, Burmah and other places, while Northern Buddhism is
confined
to Tibet, China and Nepaul. Such a distinction, however, is incorrect.
If
the Southern Church is nearer, in that it has not departed, except perhaps in
some
trifling dogmas due to the many councils held after the death of the
Master,
from the public or exoteric teachings of Sâkyamuni—the Northern Church
is
the outcome of Siddhârta Buddha’s esoteric teachings which he confined to his
elect
Bhikshus and Arhats. In fact, Buddhism in the present age, cannot he
justly
judged either by one or
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the
other of its exoteric popular forms. Real Buddhism can be appreciated only
by
blending the philosophy of the Southern Church and the metaphysics of the
Northern
Schools. If one seems too iconoclastic and stero:, and the other too
metaphysical
and transcendental, even to being overgrown with the weeds of
Indian
exotericism—many of the gods of its Pantheon having been transplanted
under
new names to Tibetan soil—it is entirely due to the popular expression of
Buddhism
in both Churches. Correspondentially they stand in their relation to
each
other as Protestantism to Roman Catholicism. Both err by an excess of zeal
and
erroneous interpretations, though neither the Southern nor the Northern
Buddhist
clergy have ever departed from truth consciously, still less have they
acted
under the dictates of priestocracy, ambition, or with an eye to personal
gain
and power, as the two Christian Churches have.
Buddhochinga
(Sk) The name of a great Indian Arhat who went to China in the 4th
century
to propagate Buddhism and converted masses of people by means of
miracles
and most wonderful magic feats.
Budha
(Sk. “The Wise and Intelligent”, the Son of Soma, the Moon, and of Rokini
or
Taraka, wife of Brihaspati carried away by King Soma, thus leading to the
great
war between the Asuras, who sided with the Moon, and the Gods who took the
defence
of Brihaspati (Jupiter) who, was their Purohita (family priest). This
war
is known as the Tarakamaya. It is the original of the war in Olympus between
the
Gods and the Titans and also of the war (in Revelation between Michael
(Indra)
and the Dragon (personifying the Asuras).
Bull-Worship
(See “Apis” ). The worship of the Bull and the Ram was addressed to
one
and the same power, that of generative creation, under two aspects— the
celestial
or cosmic, and the terrestrial or human. The ram-headed gods all
belong
to the latter aspect, the bull—to the former. Osiris to whom the Bull was
sacred,
was never regarded as a phallic deity ; neither was Siva with his Bull
Nandi,
in spite of the lingham. As Nandi is of a pure milk-white colour, so was
Apis.
Both were the emblems of the generative, or of evolutionary power in the
Universal
Kosmos. Those who regard the solar gods and the bulls as of a phallic
character,
or connect the Sun with it, are mistaken, it is only the lunar gods
and
the rams, and lambs, which are priapic, and it little becomes a religion
which,
however unconsciously, has still adopted for its worship a god
pre-eminently
lunar, and accentuated its choice by the selection of the lamb,
whose
sire is the ram, a glyph as pre-eminently phallic, for its most sacred
symbol—to
vilify the older religions for using the same symbolism. The worship
of
the bull, Apis, Hapi Ankh, or the living Osiris, ceased over 3,000 years ago
the
worship of the ram and lamb continues to this day. Mariette Bey discovered
the
Serapeum, the
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Necropolis
of the Apis-bulls, near Memphis, an imposing subterranean crypt 2,000
feet
long and twenty feet wide, containing the mummies of thirty sacred bulls.
If
1,000 years hence, a Roman Catholic Cathedral with the Easter lamb in it,
were
discovered under the ashes of Vesuvius or Etna, would future generations be
justified
in inferring therefrom that Christians were “lamb” and “dove”
worshippers
? Yet the two symbols would give them as much right in the one case
as
in the other. Moreover, not all of the sacred “Bulls” were phallic, i.e.,
males;
there were hermaphrodite and sexless “bulls”. The black bull Mnevis, the
son
of Ptah, was sacred to the God Ra at Heliopolis; the Pacis of Hermonthis—to
Amoun
Horus, &c., &c., and Apis himself was a hermaphodite and not a male
animal,
which shows his cosmic character. As well call the Taurus of the Zodiac
and
all Nature phallic.
Bumapa
(Tib.). A school of men, usually a college of mystic students.
Bunda-hish.
An old Eastern work in which among other things anthropology is
treated
in an allegorical fashion.
Burham-i-Kati.
A Hermetic Eastern work.
Burî
(Scand) “The producer”, the Son of Bestla, in Norse legends.
Buru
Bonga. The “Spirit of the Hills”. This Dryadic deity is worshipped by the
Kolarian
tribes of Central India with great ceremonies and magical display.
There
are mysteries connected with it, but the people are very jealous and will
admit
no stranger to their rites.
Busardier.
A Hermetic philosopher born in Bohemia who is credited with having
made
a genuine powder of projection. He left the bulk of his red powder to a
friend
named Richthausen, an adept and alchemist of Vienna. Some years after
Busardier’s
death, in 1637, Richthausen introduced himself to the Emperor
Ferdinand
III, who is known to have been ardently devoted to alchemy, and
together
they are said to have converted three pounds of mercury into the finest
gold
with one single grain of Busardier’s powder. In 1658 the Elector of Mayence
also
was permitted to test the powder, and the gold produced with it was
declared
by the Master of the Mint to be such, that he had never seen finer.
Such
are the claims vouchsafed by the city records and chronicles.
Butler.
An English name assumed by an adept, a disciple of some Eastern Sages,
of
whom many fanciful stories are current. It is said for instance, that Butler
was
captured during his travels in 1629, and sold into captivity. He became the
slave
of an Arabian philosopher, a great alchemist, and finally escaped, robbing
his
Master of a large quantity of red powder. According to more trustworthy
records,
only the last portion of this story is true. Adepts who can be robbed
without
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knowing
it would be unworthy of the name. Butler or rather the person who
assumed
this name, robbed his “Master” (whose free disciple he was) of the
secret
of transmutation, and abused of his knowledge—i.e., sought to turn it to
his
personal profit, but was speedily punished for it. After performing many
wonderful
cures by means of his “stone (i.e., the occult knowledge of an
initiated
adept), and producing extraordinary phenomena, to some of which Val
Helmont,
the famous Occultist and Rosicrucian, was witness, not for the benefit
of
men but his own vain glory, Butler was imprisoned in the Castle of Viloord,
in
Flanders, and passed almost the whole of his life in confinement. He lost his
powers
and died miserable and unknown. Such is the fate of every Occultist who
abuses
his power or desecrates the sacred science.
Bythos
(Gr.). A Gnostic term meaning “Depth” or the “great Deep”, Chaos. It is
equivalent
to space, before anything had formed itself in it from the primordial
atoms
that exist eternally in its spatial depths, according to the teachings of
Occultism.
C
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C.—The
third letter of the English alphabet, which has no equivalent in Hebrew
except
Caph, which see under K.
Cabar
Zio (Gnost.). “The mighty Lord of Splendour” (Codex Nazaraeus), they who
procreate
seven beneficent lives, “who shine in their own form and light” to
counteract
the influence of the seven “badly-disposed” stellars or principles.
These
are the progeny of Karabtanos, the personification of concupiscence and
matter.
The latter are the seven physical planets, the former, their genii or
Rulers.
Cabeiri
or Kabiri (Phœn) Deities, held in the highest veneration at Thebes, in
Lemnos,
Phrygia, Macedonia, and especially at Samothrace. They were mystery
gods,
no profane having the right to name or speak of them. Herodotus makes of
them
Fire-gods and points to Vulcan as their father. The Kabiri presided over
the
Mysteries, and their real number has never been revealed, their occult
meaning
being very sacred.
Cabletow
(Mas.). A Masonic term for a certain object used in the Lodges. Its
origin
lies in the thread of the Brahman ascetics, a thread which is also used
for
magical purposes in Tibet.
Cadmus
(Gr.). The supposed inventor of the letters of the alphabet. He may have
been
their originator and teacher in Europe and Asia Minor; but in India the
letters
were known and used by the Initiates ages before him.
Caduceus
(Gr.). The Greek poets and mythologists took the idea of the Caduceus
of
Mercury from the Egyptians. The Caduceus is found as two serpents twisted
round
a rod, on Egyptian monuments built before Osiris. The Greeks altered this.
We
find it again in the hands of Æsculapius assuming a different form to the
wand
of Mercurius or Hermes. It is a cosmic, sidereal or astronomical, as well
as
a spiritual and even physiological symbol, its significance changing with its
application.
Metaphysically, the Caduceus represents the fall of primeval and
primordial
matter into gross terrestrial matter, the one Reality becoming
Illusion.
(See Sect.Doct. I. 550.) Astronomically, the head and tail represent
the
points of the ecliptic where the planets and even the sun and moon meet in
close
embrace. Physiologically, it is the symbol of the restoration of the
equilibrium
lost between Life, as a unit, and the currents of life performing
various
functions in the human body.
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Cæsar.
A far-famed astrologer and “professor of magic,” i.e., an Occultist,
during
the reign of Henry IV of France. “He was reputed to have been strangled
by
the devil in 1611,” as Brother Kenneth Mackenzie tells us.
Cagliostro.
A famous Adept, whose real name is claimed (by his enemies) to have
been
Joseph Balsamo. He was a native of Palermo, and studied under some
mysterious
foreigner of whom little has been ascertained. His accepted history
is
too well known to need repetition, and his real history has never been told.
His
fate was that of every human being who proves that he knows more than do his
fellow-
creatures; he was “stoned to death” by persecutions, lies, and infamous
accusations,
and yet he was the friend and adviser of the highest and mightiest
of
every land he visited. He was finally tried and sentenced in Rome as a
heretic,
and was said to have died during his confinement in a State prison.
(See
“ Mesmer”.) Yet his end was not utterly undeserved, as he had been untrue
to
his vows in some respects, had fallen from his state of chastity and yielded
to
ambition and selfishness.
Cain
or Kayn (Heb.) In Esoteric symbology he is said to be identical with
Jehovah
or the “Lord God” of the fourth chapter of Genesis. It is held,
moreover,
that Abel is not his brother, but his female aspect.
(See
Sec.Doct., sub voce.)
Calvary
Cross. This form of cross does not date from Christianity. It was known
and
used for mystical purposes, thousands of years before our era. It formed
part
and parcel of the various Rituals, in Egypt and Greece, in Babylon and
India,
as well as in China, Mexico, and Peru. It is a cosmic, as well as a
physiological
(or phallic) symbol. That it existed among all the “heathen”
nations
is testified to by Tertullian. “How doth the Athenian Minerva differ
from
the body of a cross?” he queries. “The origin of your gods is derived from
figures
moulded on a cross. All those rows of images on your standards are the
appendages
of crosses; those hangings on your banners are the robes of crosses.”
And
the fiery champion was right. The tau or T is the most ancient of all forms,
and
the cross or the tat (q.v.) as ancient. The crux ansata, the cross with a
handle,
is in the hands of almost every god, including Baal and the Phœnician
Astarte.
The croix cramponnée is the Indian Swastica. It has been exhumed from
the
lowest foundations of the ancient site of Troy, and it appears on Etruscan
and
Chaldean relics of antiquity. As Mrs. Jamieson shows: “The ankh of Egypt was
the
crutch of St. Anthony and the cross of St. Philip. The Labarum of
Constantine
. . . was an emblem long before, in Etruria. Osiris had the Labarum
for
his sign; Horus appears sometimes with the long Latin cross. The Greek
pectoral
cross is Egyptian. It was called by
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the
Fathers the devil’s invention before Christ . The crux ansata is upon the
old
coins of Tarsus, as the Maltese upon the breast of an Assyrian king ...The
cross
of Calvary, so common in Europe, occurs on the breasts of mummies. . . it
was
suspended round the necks of sacred Serpents in Egypt. . . . Strange Asiatic
tribes
bringing tribute in Egypt are noticed with garments studded with crosses,
and
Sir Gardner Wilkinson dates this picture B.C. 1500.” Finally, “Typhon, the
Evil
One, is chained by a cross”.
(Eg.
Belief and Mod. Thought).
Campanella,
Tomaso. A Calabrese, born in 1568, who, from his childhood exhibited
strange
powers, and gave himself up during his whole life to the Occult Arts.
The
story which shows him initiated in his boyhood into the secrets of alchemy
and
thoroughly instructed in the secret science by a Rabbi-Kabbalist in a
fortnight
by means of notavicon, is a cock and bull invention. Occult knowledge,
even
when a heirloom from the preceding birth, does not come back into a new
personality
within fifteen days. He became an opponent of the Aristotelian
materialistic
philosophy when at Naples and was obliged to fly for his life.
Later,
the Inquisition sought to try and condemn him for the practice of magic
arts,
but its efforts were defeated. During his lifetime he wrote an enormous
quantity
of magical, astrological and alchemical works, most of which are no
longer
extant. He is reported to have died in the convent of the Jacobins at
Paris
on May the 21st, 1639.
Canarese.
The language of the Karnatic, originally called Kanara, one of the
divisions
of South India.
Capricornus
(Lat.) The 10th sign of the Zodiac (Makâra in Sanskrit), considered,
on
account of its hidden meaning, the most important among the constellations of
the
mysterious Zodiac. it is fully described in the Secret Doctrine, and
therefore
needs but a few words more. Whether, agreeably with exoteric
statements,
Capricornus was related in any way to the wet-nurse Amalthæa who fed
Jupiter
with her milk, or whether it was the god Pan who changed himself into a
goat
and left his impress upon the sidereal records, matters little. Each of the
fables
has its significance. Everything in Nature is intimately correlated to
the
rest, and therefore the students of ancient lore will not be too much
surprised
when told that even the seven steps taken in the direction of every
one
of the four points of the compass, or —28 steps—taken by the new-born infant
Buddha,
are closely related to the 28 stars of the constellation of Capricornus.
Cardan,
Jérome. An astrologer, alchemist, kabbalist and mystic, well known in
literature.
He was born at Pavia in 1501, and died at Rome in 1576.
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Carnac.
A very ancient site in Brittany (France) of a temple of cyclopean
structure,
sacred to the Sun and the Dragon; and of the same kind as Karnac, in
ancient
Egypt, and Stonehenge in England. (See the “Origin of the Satanic Myth”
in
Archaic Symbolism.) It was built by the prehistoric hierophant-priests of the
Solar
Dragon, or symbolized Wisdom (the Solar Kumâras who incarnated being the
highest).
Each of the stones was personally placed there by the successive
priest-adepts
in power, and commemorated in symbolic language the degree of
power,
status, and knowledge of each. (See further Secret Doctrine II. 381, et
seq.,
and also “ Karnac”.)
Caste.
Originally the system of the four hereditary classes into which the
Indian
population was divided: Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra (or
descendants
of Brahmâ, Warriors, Merchants, and the lowest or Agriculturalists).
Besides
these original four, hundreds have now grown up in India.
Causal
Body. This “body”, which is no body either objective or subjective, but
Buddhi,
the Spiritual Soul, is so called because it is the direct cause of the
Sushupti
condition, leading to the Turya state, the highest state of Samadhi. It
is
called Karanopadhi, “the basis of the Cause”, by the Târaka Raja Yogis; and
in
the Vedânta system it corresponds to both the Vignânamaya and Anandamaya
Kosha,
the latter coming next to Atma, and therefore being the vehicle of the
universal
Spirit. Buddhi alone could not be called a “Causal Body ”, but becomes
so
in conjunction with Manas, the incarnating Entity or EGO.
Cazotte,
Jacques. The wonderful Seer, who predicted the beheading of several
royal
personages and his own decapitation, at a gay supper some time before the
first
Revolution in France. He was born at Dijon in 1720, and studied mystic
philosophy
in the school of Martinez Pasqualis at Lyons. On the 11th of
September
1791, he was arrested and condemned to death by the president of the
revolutionary
government, a man who, shameful to state, had been his
fellow-student
and a member of the Mystic Lodge of Pasqualis at Lyons. Cazotte
was
executed on the 25th of September on the Place du Carrousel.
Cecco
d’Ascolî. Surnamed “Francesco Stabili.” He lived in the thirteenth
century,
and was considered the most famous astrologer in his day. A work of his
published
at Basle in 1485, and called Commentarii in Sphaeram Joannis de
Sacrabosco,
is still extant. He was burnt alive by the Inquisition in 1327.
Cerberus
(Gr., Lat.). Cerberus, the three-headed canine monster, which was
supposed
to watch at the threshold of Hades, came to the Greeks and Romans from
Egypt.
It was the monster, half-dog and
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half-hippopotamus,
that guarded the gates of Amenti. The mother of Cerberus was
Echidna—a
being, half-woman, half-serpent, much honoured in Etruria. Both the
Egyptian
and the Greek Cerberus are symbols of Kâmaloka and its uncouth
monsters,
the cast-off shells of mortals.
Ceres
(Lat.) In Greek Demeter. As the female aspect of Pater Æther, Jupiter, she
is
esoterically the productive principle in the all-pervading Spirit that
quickens
every germ in the material universe.
Chabrat
Zereh Aur Bokher (Heb.) An Order of the Rosicrucian stock, whose members
study
the Kabbalah and Hermetic sciences; it admits both sexes, and has many
grades
of instruction. The members meet in private, and the very existence of
the
Order is generally unknown. [ w.w.w.]
Chadâyatana
(Sk.). Lit., the six dwellings or gates in man for the reception of
sensations;
thus, on the physical plane, the eyes, nose, ear, tongue, body (or
touch)
and mind, as a product of the physical brain and on the mental plane
(esoterically),
spiritual sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch and perception,
the
whole synthesized by the Buddhi-atmic element. Chadâyatana is one of the
12
Nidânas,
which form the chain of incessant causation and effect.
Chaitanya
(Sk) The founder of a mystical sect in India. A rather modern sage,
believed
to be an avatar of Krishna.
Chakna-padma-karpo
(Tib.) “He who holds the lotus”, used of Chenresi, the
Bodhisattva.
It is not a genuine Tibetan word, but half Sanskrit.
Chakra
(Sk.) A wheel, a disk, or the circle of Vishnu generally. Used also of a
cycle
of time, and with other meanings.
Chakshub
(Sk.) The “eye ”. Loka-chakshub or “the eye of the world” is a title of
the
Sun.
Chaldean
Book of Numbers. A work which contains all that is found in the Zohar
of
Simeon Ben-Jochai, and much more. It must be the older by many centuries, and
in
one sense its original, as it contains all the fundamental principles taught
in
the Jewish Kabbalistic works, but none of their blinds. It is very rare
indeed,
there being perhaps only two or three copies extant, and these in
private
hands.
Chaldeans,
or Kasdim. At first a tribe, then a caste of learned Kabbalists. They
were
the savants, the magians of Babylonia, astrologers and diviners. The famous
Hillel,
the precursor of Jesus in philosophy and in ethics, was a Chaldean.
Franck
in his Kabbala points to the close resemblance of the “secret doctrine”
found
in the Avesta and the religious metaphysics of the Chaldees.
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Chandra
(Sk.) The Moon; also a deity. The terms Chandra and Soma are synonyms.
Chandragupta
(Sk.) The first Buddhist King in India, the grand-sire of Asoka ;
the
Sandracottus of the all-bungling Greek writers who went to India in
Alexander’s
time. (See “Asoka”.)
Chandra-kanta
(Sk.) “The moon-stone”, a gem that is claimed to be formed and
developed
under the moon-beams, which give it occult and magical properties. It
has
a very cooling influence in fever if applied to both temples.
Chandramanam
(Sk.) The method of calculating time by the Moon.
Chandrayana
(Sk.) The lunar year chronology.
Chandra-vansa
(Sk.) The “Lunar Race”, in contradistinction to Suryavansa, the
“Solar
Race”. Some Orientalists think it an inconsistency that Krishna, a
Chandravansa
(of the Yadu branch) should have been declared an Avatar of Vishnu,
who
is a manifestation of the solar energy in Rig -Veda, a work of unsurpassed
authority
with the Brahmans. This shows, however, the deep occult meaning of the
Avatar
; a meaning which only esoteric philosophy can explain. A glossary is no
fit
place for such explanations; but it may be useful to remind those who know,
and
teach those who do not, that in Occultism, man is called a solar-lunar
being,
solar in his higher triad, and lunar in his quaternary. Moreover, it is
the
Sun who imparts his light to the Moon, in the same way as the human triad
sheds
its divine light on the mortal shell of sinful man. Life celestial
quickens
life terrestrial. Krishna stands metaphysically for the Ego made one
with
Atma-Buddhi, and performs mystically the same function as the Christos of
the
Gnostics, both being “the inner god in the temple”—man. Lucifer is “the
bright
morning star”, a well known symbol in Revelations, and, as a planet,
corresponds
to the EGO. Now Lucifer (or the planet Venus) is the Sukra-Usanas of
the
Hindus ; and Usanas is the Daitya-guru, i.e., the spiritual guide and
instructor
of the Danavas and the Daityas. The latter are the giant-demons in
the
Purânas, and in the esoteric interpretations, the antetypal symbol of the
man
of flesh, physical mankind. The Daityas can raise themselves, it is said,
through
knowledge “austerities and devotion” to “the rank of the gods and of the
ABSOLUTE”.
All this is very suggestive in the legend of Krishna ; and what is
more
suggestive still is that just as Krishna, the Avatar of a great God in
India,
is of time race of Yadu, so is another incarnation, “God incarnate
himself”—or
the “God-man Christ”, also of the race Iadoo—the name for the Jews
all
over Asia. Moreover, as his mother, who is represented as Queen of Heaven
standing
on the crescent, is identified in Gnostic philosophy, and
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also
in the esoteric system, with the Moon herself, like all the other lunar
goddesses
such as Isis, Diana, Astarte and others—mothers of the Logoi, so
Christ
is called repeatedly in the Roman Catholic Church, the Sun-Christ, the
Christ-Soleil
and so on. If the later is a metaphor so also is the earlier.
Chantong
(Tib.) “He of the 1,000 Eyes”, a name of Padmapani or Chenresi
(Avalokitesvara).
Chaos
(Gr.) The Abyss, the “Great Deep”. It was personified in Egypt by the
Goddess
Neїth, anterior to all gods. As Deveria says, “the only God, without
form
and sex, who gave birth to itself, and without fecundation, is adored under
the
form of a Virgin Mother”. She is the vulture-headed Goddess found in the
oldest
period of Abydos, who belongs, accordingly to Mariette Bey, to the first
Dynasty,
which would make her, even on the confession of the time-dwarfing
Orientalists,
about 7,000 years old. As Mr. Bonwick tells us in his excellent
work
on Egyptian belief—“Neїth, Nut, Nepte, Nuk (her names as variously
read !)
is
a philosophical conception worthy of the nineteenth century after the
Christian
era, rather than the thirty-ninth before it or earlier than that”. And
he
adds: “ Neith or Nout is neither more nor less than the Great Mother, a yet
the
Immaculate Virgin, or female God from whom all things proceeded”.
Neїth is
the
“Father-mother”
of the Stanzas of the Secret Doctrine, the Swabhavat of the
Northern
Buddhists, the immaculate Mother indeed, the prototype of the latest
“Virgin”
of all; for, as Sharpe says, “the Feast of Candlemas—in honour of the
goddess
Neїth— is yet marked in our Almanacs as Candlemas day, or the
Purification
of the Virgin Mary”; and Beauregard tells us of “the Immaculate
Conception
of the Virgin, who can henceforth, as well as the Egyptian Minerva,
the
mysterious Neїth, boast of having come from herself, and of having
given
birth
to God”. He who would deny the working of cycles and the recurrence of
events,
let him read what Neїth was years ago, in the conception of the
Egyptian
Initiates,
trying to popularize a philosophy too abstract for the masses; and
then
remember the subjects of dispute at the Council of Ephesus in 431, when
Mary
was declared Mother of God; and her Immaculate Conception forced on the
World
as by command of God, by Pope and Council in 1858. Neїth is Swabhdvat
and
also
the Vedic Aditi and the Purânic Akâsa, for “she is not only the celestial
vault,
or ether, but is made to appear in a tree, from which she gives the fruit
of
the Tree of Life (like another Eve) or pours upon her worshippers some of the
divine
water of life”. Hence she gained the favourite appellation of “Lady of
the
Sycamore”, an epithet applied to another Virgin (Bonwick). The resemblance
becomes
still more marked when Neїth is found on old pictures represented as
a
Mother
embracing
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the
ram-headed god, the “Lamb”. An ancient stele declares her to be “Neut, the
luminous,
who has engendered the gods”—the Sun included, for Aditi is the mother
of
the Marttanda, the Sun—an Aditya. She is Naus, the celestial ship ; hence we
find
her on the prow of the Egyptian vessels, like Dido on the prow of the ships
of
the Phœnician mariners, and forth with we have the Virgin Mary, from Mar, the
“Sea”,
called the “Virgin of the Sea”, and the “Lady Patroness” of all Roman
Catholic
seamen. The Rev. Sayce is quoted by Bonwick, explaining her as a
principle
in the Babylonian Bahu (Chaos, or confusion) i.e., “merely the Chaos
of
Genesis . . . and perhaps also Môt, the primitive substance that was the
mother
of all the gods”. Nebuchadnezzar seems to have been in the mind of the
learned
professor, since he left the following witness in cuneiform language, “I
built
a temple to the Great Goddess, my Mother”. We may close with the words of
Mr.
Bonwick with which we thoroughly agree “She (Neїth) is the Zerouâna
of the
Avesta,
‘time without limits’. She is the Nerfe of the Etruscans, half a woman
and
half a fish” (whence the connection of the Virgin Mary with the fish and
pisces)
; of whom it is said: “From holy good Nerfe the navigation is happy. She
is
the Bythos of the Gnostics, the One of the Neoplatonists, the All of German
metaphysicians,
the Anaita of Assyria.”
Charaka
(Sk.). A writer on Medicine who lived in Vedic times. He is believed to
have
been an incarnation (Avatara) of the Serpent Sesha, i.e., an embodiment of
divine
Wisdom, since Sesha-Naga, the King of the “Serpent” race, is synonymous
with
Ananta, the seven-headed Serpent, on which Vishnu sleeps during the
pralayas.
Ananta is the “endless” and the symbol of eternity, and as such, one
with
Space, while Sesha is only periodical in his manifestations. Hence while
Vishnu
is identified with Ananta, Charaka is only the Avatar of Sesha. (See
“Ananta”
and “Sesha”.)
Charnook,
Thomas. A great alchemist of the sixteenth century; a surgeon who
lived
and practiced near Salisbury, studying the art in some neighbouring
cloisters
with a priest. It is said that he was initiated into the final secret
of
transmutation by the famous mystic William Bird, who “had been a prior of
Bath
and defrayed the expense of repairing the Abbey Church from the gold which
he
made by the red and white elixirs” (Royal Mas. Cyc.). Charnock wrote his
Breviary
of Philosophy in the year 1557 and the Enigma of Alchemy, in 1574.
Charon
(Gr.) The Egyptian Khu-en-ua, the hawk-headed Steersman of the boat
conveying
the Souls across the black waters that separate life from death.
Charon,
the Sun of Erebus and Nox, is a variant of Khu en-ua. The dead were
obliged
to pay an obolus, a small piece of money, o this grim ferryman of the
Styx
and Acheron; therefore the ancients
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always
placed a coin under the tongue of the deceased. This custom has been
preserved
in our own times, for most of the lower classes in Russia place
coppers
in the coffin under the head of the dead for post mortem expenses.
Châryâka
(Sk.) There were two famous beings of this name. One a Rakshasa (demon)
who
disguised himself as a Brâhman and entered Hastinâ-pura; whereupon the
Brahmans
discovered the imposture and reduced Châryâka to ashes with the fire of
their
eyes,—i.e., magnetically by means of what is called in Occultism the
“black
glance” or evil eye. The second was a terrible materialist and denier of
all
but matter, who if he could come back to life, would put to shame all the
“Free
thinkers” and “Agnostics” of the day. He lived before the Râmâyanic
period,
but his teachings and school have survived to this day, and he has even
now
followers, who are mostly to be found in Bengal.
Chastanier,
Benedict. A French mason who established in London in 1767 a Lodge
called
“The
Illuminated Theosophists”.
Chatur
mukha (Sk) The “four-faced one”, a title of Brahmâ.
Chatur
varna (Sk.) The four castes (lit., colours).
Châturdasa
Bhuvanam (Sk.) The fourteen lokas or planes of existence.
Esoterically,
the dual seven states.
Chaturyonî
(Sk.) Written also tchatur-yoni. The same as Karmaya or “the four
modes
of birth”—four ways of entering on the path of Birth as decided by Karma :
(a)
birth from the womb, as men and mammalia (b) birth from an egg, as birds and
reptiles;
(c) from moisture and air-germs, as insects; and (d) by sudden
self-transformation,
as Bodhisattvas and Gods (Anupadaka).
Chava
(Heb.) The same as Eve: “the Mother of all that lives” "Life"
Chavigny,
Jean Aimé de. A disciple of the world-famous Nostradamus, an
astrologer
and an alchemist of the sixteenth century. He died in the year 16O4.
His
life was a very quiet one and he was almost unknown to his contemporaries;
but
he left a precious manuscript on the pre-natal and post-natal influence of
the
stars on certain marked individuals, a secret revealed to him by
Nostradamus.
This treatise was last in the possession of the Emperor Alexander
of
Russia.
Chelâ
(Sk.) A disciple, the pupil of a Guru or Sage, the follower of some adept
of
a school of philosophy (lit., child).
Chemi
(Eg.). The ancient name of Egypt.
Chenresi
(Tib.) The Tibetan Avalokitesvara. The Bodhisattva Padmâpani, a divine
Buddha.
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Cheru
(Scand) Or Heru. A magic sword, a weapon of the “sword god” Heru. In the
Edda,
the Saga describes it as destroying its possessor, should he be unworthy
of
wielding it. It brings victory and fame only in the hand of a virtuous hero.
Cherubim
(Heb.) According to the Kabbalists, a group of angels, which they
specially
associated with the Sephira Jesod. in Christian teaching, an order of
angels
who are “watchers”. Genesis places Cherubim to guard the lost Eden, and
the
O.T. frequently refers to them as guardians of the divine glory. Two winged
representations
in gold were placed over the Ark of the Covenant; colossal
figures
of the same were also placed in the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple of
Solomon.
Ezekiel describes them in poetic language. Each Cherub appears to have
been
a compound figure with four faces—of a man, eagle, lion, and ox, and was
certainly
winged. Parkhurst, in voc. Cherub, suggests that the derivation of the
word
is from K, a particle of similitude, and RB or RUB, greatness, master,
majesty,
and so an image of godhead. Many other nations have displayed similar
figures
as symbols of deity ; e.g., the Egyptians in their figures of Serapis.
as
Macrohius describes in his Saturnalia; the Greeks had their triple-headed
Hecate,
and the Latins had three-faced images of Diana, as Ovid tells us, ecce
procul
ternis Hecate variata figuris. Virgil also describes her in the fourth
Book
of the Æneid. Porphyry and Eusebius write the same of Proserpine. The
Vandals
had a many-headed deity they called Triglaf. The ancient German races
had
an idol Rodigast with human body and heads of the ox, eagle, and man. The
Persians
have some figures of Mithras with a man’s body, lion’s head, and four
wings.
Add to these the Chimæra Sphinx of Egypt, Moloch, Astarte of the Syrians,
and
some figures of Isis with Bull’s horns and feathers of a bird on the head. [
w.w.w.]
Chesed
(Heb.) “Mercy ”, also named Gedulah, the fourth of the ten Sephiroth; a
masculine
or active potency. [ w.w. w.]
Chhâyâ
(Sk.) “Shade” or “ Shadow”. The name of a creature produced by Sanjnâ,
the
wife of Surya, from herself (astral body). Unable to endure the ardour of
her
husband, Sanjnâ left Chhâyâ in her place as a wife, going herself away to
perform
austerities. Chhâyâ is the astral image of a person in esoteric
philosophy.
Chhandoga
(Sk) A Samhitâ collection of Sama Veda;
also a priest, a chanter of
the
Sama Veda.
Chhanmûka
(Sk) A great Bodhisattva with the
Northern Buddhists, famous for his
ardent
love of Humanity; regarded in the esoteric schools as a Nirmanakâya.
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Chhannagarikah
(Tib.). Lit., the school of six cities. A famous philosophical
school
where Chelas are prepared before entering on the Path.
Chhassidi
or Chasdim. In the Septuagint Assidai, and in English Assideans. They
are
also mentioned in Maccabees I., vii., 13, as being put to death with many
others.
They were the followers of Mattathias, the father of the Maccabeans, and
were
all initiated mystics, or Jewish adepts. The word means ‘‘ skilled learned
in
all wisdom, human and divine”. Mackenzie (R.M.C.) regards them as the
guardians
of the Temple for the preservation of its purity ; but as Solomon and
his
Temple are both allegorical and had no real existence, the Temple means in
this
case the “ body of Israel ” and its morality.“ Scaliger connects this
Society
of the Assideans with that of the Essenes, deeming it the predecessor of
the
latter.”
Chhaya
loka (Sk.) The world of Shades; like Hades, the world of the Eidola and
Umbræ.
We call it Kâmaloka.
Chiah
(Heb.) Life; Vita, Revivificatio. In the Kabbala, the second highest
essence
of the human soul, corresponding to Chokmah (Wisdom).
Chichhakti
(Sk.) Chih-Sakti; the power which generates thought.
Chidagnikundum
(Sk.). Lit., “the fire-hearth in the heart” ; the seat of the
force
which extinguishes all individual desires.
Chidâkâsam
(Sk); The field, or basis of consciousness.
Chiffilet,
Jean. A Canon-Kabbalist of the XVIIth century, reputed to have
learned
a key to the Gnostic works from Coptic Initiates; he wrote a work on
Abraxas
in two portions, the esoteric portion of which was burnt by the Church.
Chiim
(Heb.) A plural noun—“lives”; found in compound names Elohim Chum, the
gods
of lives, Parkhurst translates “the living God” and Ruach Chiim, Spirit of
lives
or of life. [ w.w. w.]
China,
The Kabbalah of. One of the oldest known Chinese books is the Yih King,
or
Book of Changes. It is reported to have been written 2850 B.C., in the
dialect
of the Accadian black races of Mesopotamia. It is a most abstruse system
of
Mental and Moral Philosophy, with a scheme of universal relation and
divination.
Abstract ideas are represented by lines, half lines, circle, and
points.
Thus a circle represents YIH, the Great Supreme; a line is referred to
YIN,
the Masculine Active Potency; two half lines are YANG, the Feminine Passive
Potency.
KWEI is the animal soul, SHAN intellect, KHIEN heaven or Father, KHWAN
earth
or Mother, KAN or QHIN is Son; male numbers are odd, represented by light
circles,
female numbers are even, by black circles. There are two most
mysterious
diagrams, one called “HO
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or
the River Map”, and also associated with a Horse ; and the other called “The
Writing
of LO” ; these are formed of groups of white and black circles, arranged
in
a Kabbalistic manner. The text is by a King named Wan, and the commentary by
Kan,
his son ; the text is allowed to be older than the time of Confucius. [ w.
w.w.]
Chit
(Sk.) Abstract Consciousness.
Chitanuth
our (Heb.). Chitons, a priestly garb; the coats of skin given by Java
Aleim
to Adam and Eve after their fall,
Chitkala
(Sk.). In Esoteric philosophy, identical with the Kumâras those who
first
incarnated into the men of the Third Root-Race. (See Sec.Doct.; Vol. 1. p.
288
n.)
Chitra
Gupta (Sk.) The deva (or god) who is the recorder of Yâma (the god of
death),
and who is supposed to read the account of every Soul’s life from a
register
called Agra Sandhâni, when the said soul appears before the seat of
judgment.
(See “Agra Sandhâni ”.)
Chitra
Sikkandinas (Sk). The constellation of the great Bear ; the habitat of
the
seven Rishis (Sapta Riksha). Lit., “ bright-crested”.
Chnoumis
(Gr) The same as Chnouphis and Kneph. A symbol of creative force ;
Chnoumis
or Kneph is “the unmade and eternal deity” according to Plutarch. He is
represented
as blue (ether), and with his ram’s head with an asp between the
horns,
he might be taken for Ammon or Chnouphis (.q.v’. ). The fact is that all
these
gods are solar, and represent under various aspects the phases of
generation
and impregna tion. Their ram’s heads denote this meaning, a ram ever
symbolizing
generative energy in the abstract, while the bull was the symbol of
strength
and the creative function. All were one god, whose attributes were
individualised
and personified. According to Sir G. Wilkinsen, Kneph or Chnoumis
was
“the idea of the Spirit of God” ; and Bonwick explains that, as Av, “matter”
or
“flesh”, he was criocephalic (ram- headed), wearing a solar disk on the head,
standing
on the Serpent Mehen, with a viper in his left and a cross in his right
hand,
and bent upon the function of creation in the underworld (the earth,
esoterically).
The Kabbalists identify him with “Binah, the third Sephira of the
Sephirothal
Tree, or Binah, represented by the Divine name of Jehovah”. If as
Chnoumis-Kneph,
he represents the Indian Narayâna, the Spirit of ( moving on the
waters
of space, as Eichton or Ether he holds in his mouth an Egg, the symbol of
evolution
; and as Av he is Siva, the Destroyer and the Regenerator ; for, as
Deveria
explains:“His Journey to the lower hemispheres appears to symbolize the
evolutions
of substances, which are born to die and to be reborn.” Esoterically,
however,
and as taught by the Initiates of the inner temple, Chnoumis-Kneph was
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pre-eminently
the god of reincarnation. Says an inscription: “I am Chnoumis, Son
of
the Universe, 700”, a mystery having a direct reference to the reincarnating
EGO.
Chnouphis
(Gr.). Nouf in Egyptian. Another aspect of Ammon, and the
personification
of his generative power in actu, as Kneph is of the same in
potentia.
He is also ram-headed. If in his aspect as Kneph he is the Holy Spirit
with
the creative ideation brooding in him, as Chnouphis, he is the angel who
“comes
in” into the Virgin soil and flesh. A prayer on a papyrus, translated by
the
French Egyptologist Chabas, says; ‘ 0 Sepui, Cause of being, who hast formed
thine
own body! 0 only Lord, proceeding from Noum ! 0 divine substance, created
from
itself! 0 God, who hast made the substance which is in him! 0 God, who has
made
his own father and impregnated his own mother.” This shows the origin of
the
Christian doctrines of the Trinity and immaculate conception. He is seen on
a
monument seated near a potter’s wheel, and forming men out of clay. The
fig-leaf
is sacred to him, which is alone sufficient to prove him a phallic
god—an
idea which is carried out by the inscription: “he who made that which is,
the
creator of beings, the first existing, he who made to exist all that
exists.”
Some see in him the incarnation of Ammon-Ra, but he is the latter
himself
in his phallic aspect, for, like Ammon, he is “ his mother’s husband”,
i.e.,
the male or impregnating side of Nature. His names vary, as Cnouphis,
Noum,
Khem, and Khnum or Chnoumis. As he represents the Demiurgos (or Logos)
from
the material, lower aspect of the Soul of the World, he is the Agathodæmon,
symbolized
sometimes by a Serpent ; and his wife Athor or Maut (Môt mother), or
Sate,
“the daughter of the Sun”, carrying an arrow on a sunbeam (the ray of
conception),
stretches “mistress over the lower portions of the atmosphere”.
below
the constellations, as Neїth expands over the starry heavens. (See
“Chaos”.)
Chohan
(Tib.) “Lord” or “Master” ; a chief; thus Dhyan-Chohan would answer to
“Chief
of the Dhyanis”, or celestial Lights—which in English would he translated
Archangels.
Chokmah
(Heb) Wisdom; the second of the ten Sephiroth, and the second of the
supernal
Triad. A masculine potency corresponding to the Yod (I) of the
Tetragrammaton
IHVH, and to Ab, the Father.
[w.w.w.]
Chréstos
(Gr.) The early Gnostic form of Christ. It was used in the fifth
century
B.C. by Æschylus, Herodotus, and others. The Manteumata pythochresta, or
the
“oracles delivered by a Pythian god” “through a pythoness, are mentioned by
the
former (Choeph.901). Chréstian is not only “the seat of an oracle”, but an
offering
to, or for, the oracle.
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Chréstés
is one who explains oracles, “a prophet and soothsayer”, and
Chrésterios
one who serves an oracle or a god. The earliest Christian writer,
Justin
Martyr, in his first Apology calls his co-religionists Chréstians. It is
only
through ignorance that men call themselves Christians instead of
Chréstians,”
says Lactantius (lib. iv., cap. vii.). The terms Christ and
Christians,
spelt originally Chrést and Chréstians, were borrowed from the
Temple
vocabulary of the Pagans. Chréstos meant in that vocabulary a disciple on
probation,
a candidate for hierophantship. When he had attained to this through
initiation,
long trials, and suffering, and had been ‘‘anointed’’ (i.e., “rubbed
with
oil”, as were Initiates and even idols of the gods, as the last touch of
ritualistic
observance), his name was changed into Christos, the “purified”, in
esoteric
or mystery language. In mystic symbology, indeed, Christés, or
Christos,
meant that the “Way”, the Path, was already trodden and the goal
reached
; when the fruits of the arduous labour, uniting the personality of
evanescent
clay with the indestructible INDIVIDUALITY, transformed it thereby
into
the immortal EGO. “At the end of the Way stands the Chréstes”, the
Purifier,
and the union once accomplished, the Chrestos, the “man of sorrow”,
became
Christos himself. Paul, the Initiate, knew this, and meant this
precisely,
when he is made to say, in bad translation : ‘‘I travail in birth
again
until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. iv.19), the true rendering of which
is
. . . ‘‘until ye form the Christos within yourselves” But the profane who
knew
only that Chréstés was in some way connected with priest and prophet, and
knew
nothing about the hidden meaning of Christos, insisted, as did Lactantius
and
Justin Martyr, on being called Chréstians instead of Christians. Every good
individual,
therefore, may find Christ in his “inner man” as Paul expresses it
(Ephes.
iii. 16,17), whether he be Jew, Mussulman, Hindu, or Christian. Kenneth
Mackenzie
seemed to think that the word Chréstos was a synonym of Soter, “an
appellation
assigned to deities, great kings and heroes,” indicating
‘‘Saviour,’’—and
he was right. For, as he adds:“It has been applied redundantly
to
Jesus Christ, whose name Jesus or Joshua bears the same interpretation. The
name
Jesus, in fact, is rather a title of honour than a name—the true name of
the
Soter of Christianity being Emmanuel, or God with us (Matt.i, 23.).Great
divinities
among all nations, who are represented as expiatory or
self-sacrificing,
have been designated by the same title.’’ (R. M. Cyclop.) The
Asklepios
(or Æsculapius) of the Greeks had the title of Soter.
Christian
Scientist. A newly-coined term for denoting the practitioners of an
art
of healing by will. The name is a misnomer, since Buddhist or Jew, Hindu or
Materialist,
can practise this new form of
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Western
Yoga, with like success, if he can only guide and control his will with
sufficient
firmness. The
“Mental
Scientists” are another rival school. These work by a universal denial
of
every disease and evil imaginable, and claim syllogistically that since
Universal
Spirit cannot be subject to the failings of flesh, and since every
atom
is Spirit and in Spirit, and since finally, they—the healers and the
healed—are
all absorbed in this Spirit or Deity, there is not, nor can there he,
such
a thing as disease. This prevents in no wise both Christian and Mental
Scientists
from succumbing to disease, and nursing chronic diseases in their own
bodies
just like ordinary mortals.
Chthonia
(Gr.) Chaotic earth in the Hellenic cosmogony.
Chuang.
A great Chinese philosopher.
Chubilgan
(Mongol.) Or Khubilkhan. The same as Chutuktu.
Chutuktu
(Tib.) An incarnation of Buddha or of some Bodhisattva, as believed in
Tibet,
where there are generally five manifesting and two secret Chutuktus among
the
high Lamas.
Chyuta
(Sk.) Means, “the fallen” into generation, as a Kabbalist would say; the
opposite
of achyuta, something which is not subject to change or
differentiation;
said of deity.
Circle.
There are several “Circles” with mystic adjectives attached to them.
Thus
we have: (1) the
“Decussated
or Perfect Circle” of Plato, who shows it decussated in the form of
the
letter X ; (2) the
“Circle-dance”
of the Amazons, around a Priapic image, the same as the dance of
the
Gopis around the Sun (Krishna), the shepherdesses representing the signs of
the
Zodiac ; (3) the “Circle of Necessity”
of
3,000 years of the Egyptians and of the Occultists, the duration of the cycle
between
rebirths or reincarnations being from 1,000 to 3,000 years on the
average.
This will be treated under the term
“Rebirth”
or “Reincarnation”.
Clairaudience.
The faculty, whether innate or acquired by occult training, of
hearing
all that is said at whatever distance.
Clairvoyance.
The faculty of seeing with the inner eye or spiritual sight. As
now
used it is a loose and flippant term, embracing under its meaning a happy
guess
due to natural shrewdness or intuition, and also that faculty which was so
remarkably
exercised by Jacob Boehme and Swedenborg. Real clairvoyance means the
faculty
of seeing through the densest matter (the latter disappearing at the
will
and before the spiritual eye of the Seer), and irrespective of time (past,
present
and future) or distance.
Clemens
Alexandrinus. A Church Father and a voluminous writer, who had been a
Neo-Platonist
and a disciple of Ammonius Saccas. He
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lived
between the second and the third centuries of our era, at Alexandria.
Cock.
A very occult bird, much appreciated in ancient augury and symbolism.
According
to the Zohar, the cock crows three times before the death of a person;
and
in Russia and all Slavonian countries whenever a person is ill on the
premises
where a cock is kept, its crowing is held to be a sign of inevitable
death,
unless the bird crows at the hour of midnight, or immediately afterwards,
when
its crowing is considered natural. As the cock was sacred to Æsculapius,
and
a the latter was called the Soter (Saviour) who raised the dead to life, the
Socratic
exclamation “We owe a cock to Æculapius”, just before the Sage’s death,
is
very suggestive. As the cock Was always connected in symbology with the Sun
(or
solar gods), Death and Resurrection, it has found its appropriate place in
the
four Gospels in the prophecy about Peter repudiating his Master before the
cock
crowed thrice. The cock is the most magnetic and sensitive of all birds,
hence
its Greek name alectruon.
Codex
Nazaraeus (Lat.) The “Book of Adam”—the latter name meaning anthropos, Man
or
Humanity. The Nazarene faith is called sometimes the Bardesanian system,
though
Bardesanes (B.C. 155 to 228) does not seem to have had any connection
with
it. True, he was born at Edessa in Syria, and was a famous astrologer and
Sabian
before his alleged conversion. But he was a well-educated man of noble
family,
and would not have used the almost incomprehensible Chaldeo dialect
mixed
with the mystery language of the Gnostics, in which the Codex is written.
The
sect of the Nazarenes was pre-Christian. Pliny and Josephus speak of the
Nazarites
as settled on the banks of the Jordan 150 years B.C. (Ant.Jud. xiii.
p.
9); and Munk says that the “Naziareate was an institution established before
the
laws of Musah” or Moses. (Munk p. 169.) Their modern name is in Arabic— El
Mogtasila;
in European languages—the
Mendæans
or “Christians of St. John”. (See “Baptism”.) But if the term Baptists
may
well be applied to them, it is not with the Christian meaning: for while
they
were, and still are Sabians, or pure astrolaters, the Mendæans of Syria,
called
the Galileans, are pure polytheists, as every traveller in Syria and on
the
Euphrates can ascertain, once he acquaints himself with their mysterious
rites
and ceremonies. (See Isis Unv. ii. 290, et seq.) So secretly did they
preserve
their beliefs from the very beginning, that Epiphanius who wrote
against
the Heresies in the14th century confesses himself unable to say what
they
believed in (i. 122); he simply states that they never mention the name of
Jesus,
nor do they call themselves Christians (loc. cit. 190. Yet it is
undeniable
that
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some
of the alleged philosophical views and doctrines of Bardesanes are found in
the
codex of the Nazarenes. (See Norberg’s Codex Nazaræous or the “Book of
Adam”,
and also “Mendæans ”.)
Coeur,
Jacques. A famous Treasurer of France, born in 1408, who obtained the
office
by black magic. He was reputed as a great alchemist and his wealth became
fabulous;
but he was soon banished from the country, and retiring to the Island
of
Cyprus, died there in 1460, leaving behind enormous wealth, endless legends
and
a bad reputation.
Coffin-Rite,
or Pastos. This was the final rite of Initiation in the Mysteries
in
Egypt, Greece and elsewhere. The last and supreme secrets of Occultism could
not
be revealed to the Disciple until he had passed through this allegorical
ceremony
of Death and Resurrection into new light. “The Greek verb teleutaó,”
says
Vronsky, “signifies in the active voice ‘I die’, and in the middle voice ‘I
am
initiated”. Stobæus quotes an ancient author, who says, “The mind is affected
in
death, just as it is in the initiation into the Mysteries ; and word answers
to
word, as well as thing to thing ; for teleutan is ‘ to die ‘, and teleisthai
‘to
be initiated’”. And thus, as Mackenzie corroborates, when the Aspirant was
placed
in the Pastos, Bed, or Coffin (in India on the lathe, as explained in the
Secret
Doctrine), “he was symbolically said to die.”
Collanges,
Gabriel de. Born in 1524. The best astrologer in the XVlth century
and
a still better Kabbalist. He spent a fortune in the unravelling of its
mysteries.
It was rumoured that he died through poison administered to him by a
Jewish
Rabbin-Kabbalist.
College
of Rabbis. A college at Babylon; most famous during the early centuries
of
Christianity. Its glory, however, was greatly darkened by the appearance in
Alexandria
of Hellenic teachers, such as Philo Judæus, Josephus, Aristobulus and
others.
The former avenged themselves on their successful rivals by speaking of
the
Alexandrians as theurgists and unclean prophets. But the Alexandrian
believers
in thaumaturgy were not regarded as sinners or impostors when orthodox
Jews
were at the head of such schools of “hazim”. These were colleges for
teaching
prophecy and occult sciences. Samuel was the chief of such a college at
Ramah;
Elisha at Jericho. Hillel had a regular academy for prophets and seers;
and
it is Hillel, a pupil of the Babylonian College, who was the founder of the
Sect
of the Pharisees and the great orthodox Rabbis.
Collemann,
Jean. An Alsatian, born at Orleans, according to K. Mackenzie; other
accounts
say he was a Jew, who found favour owing to his astrological studies,
with
both Charles VII. and Louis XI., and that he had a bad influence on the
latter.
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Collyridians.
A sect of Gnostics who, in the ear]y centuries of Christianity,
transferred
their worship and reverence from Astoreth to Mary, as Queen of
Heaven
and Virgin. Regarding the two as identical, they offered to the latter as
they
had done to the former, buns and cakes on certain days, with sexual symbols
represented
on them.
Continents.
In the Buddhist cosmogony, according to Gautama Buddha’s exoteric
doctrine,
there are numberless systems of worlds (or Sakwala) all of which are
born,
mature, decay, and are destroyed periodically. Orientalists translate the
teaching
about “the four great continents which do not communicate with each
other”,
as meaning that “upon the earth there are four great continents” (see
Hardy’s
Eastern Monachism, p. 4), while the doctrine means simply that around or
above
the earth there are on either side four worlds, i.e., the earth appearing
as
the fourth on each side of the arc.
Corybantes,
Mysteries of the. These were held in Phrygia in honour of Atys, the
youth
beloved by Cybele. The rites were very elaborate within the temple and
very
noisy and tragic in public. They began by a public bewailing of the death
of
Atys and ended in tremendous rejoicing at his resurrection. The statue or
image
of the victim of Jupiter’s jealousy was placed during the ceremony in a
pastos
(coffin), and the priests sang his sufferings. Atys, as Visvakarma in
India,
was a representative of Initiation and Adeptship. He is shown as being
born
impotent, because chastity is a requisite of the life of an aspirant. Atys
is
said to have established the rites and worship of Cybele, in Lydia. (See
Pausan.,
vii., c. 17.)
Cosmic
Gods. Inferior gods, those connected with the formation of matter.
Cosmic
ideation (Occult.) Eternal thought, impressed on substance or
spirit-matter,
in the eternity ; thought which becomes active at the beginning
of
every new life-cycle.
Cosmocratores
(Gr.). “Builders of the Universe”, the “world architects”, or the
Creative
Forces personified.
Cow-worship.
The idea of any such “worship” is as erroneous as it is unjust. No
Egyptian
worshipped the cow, nor does any Hindu worship this animal now, though
it
is true that the cow and bull were sacred then as they are to-day, but only
as
the natural physical symbol of a metaphysical ideal; even as a church made of
bricks
and mortar is sacred to the civilized Christian because of its
associations
and not by reason of its walls. The cow was sacred to Isis, the
Universal
Mother, Nature, and to the Hathor, the female principle in Nature, the
two
goddesses being allied to both sun and moon, as the disk and the cow’s
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horns
(crescent) prove. (See “Hathor ‘ and “isis”.) In the Vedas, the Dawn of
Creation
is represented by a cow. This dawn is Hathor, and the day which
follows,
or Nature already formed, is Isis, for both are one except in the
matter
of time. Hathor the elder is “the mistress of the seven mystical cows ”
and
Isis, “the Divine Mother is the “cow-horned” the cow of plenty (or Nature,
Earth),
and, as the mother of Horus (the physical world)—the “mother of all that
lives
The outa was the symbolic eye of Horus, the right being the sun, and the
left
the moon. The right “eye” of Horus was called “the cow of Hathor”, and
served
as a powerful amulet, as the dove in a nest of rays or glory, with or
without
the cross, is a talisman with Christians, Latins and Greeks. The Bull
and
the Lion which we often find in company with Luke and Mark in the
frontispiece
of their respective Gospels in the Greek and Latin texts, are
explained
as symbols—-which is indeed the fact. Why not admit the same in the
case
of the Egyptian sacred Bulls, Cows, Rams, and Birds?
Cremer,
John. An eminent scholar who for over thirty years studied Hermetic
philosophy
in pursuance of its practical secrets, while he was at the same time
Abbot
of Westminster While on a voyage to Italy, he met the famous Raymond Lully
whom
he induced to return with him to England. Lully divulged to Cremer the
secrets
of the stone, for which service the monastery offered daily prayers for
him.
Cremer, says the Royal Masonic Cyclopedia, “having obtained a profound
knowledge
of the secrets of Alchemy, became a most celebrated and learned adept
in
occult philosophy . . . lived to a good old age, and died in the reign of
King
Edward III.”
Crescent.
Sin was the Assyrian name for the moon, and Sin-ai the Mount, the
birth-place
of Osiris, of Dionysos, Bacchus and several other gods. According to
Rawlinson,
the moon was held in higher esteem than the sun at Babylon, because
darkness
preceded light. The crescent was, therefore, a sacred symbol with
almost
every nation, before it became the ‘standard of the Turks. Says the
author
of Egyptian Belief, “ The crescent is not essentially a Mahometan ensign.
On
the contrary, it was a Christian one, derived through Asia from the
Babylonian
Astarte, Queen of Heaven, or from the Egyptian Isis . . . . whose
emblem
was the crescent. The Greek Christian Empire of Constantinople held it as
their
palladium. Upon the conquest of the Turks, the Mahometan Sultan adopted it
for
the symbol of his power. Since that time the crescent has been made to
oppose
the idea of the cross.”
Criocephale
(Gr.). Ram-headed, applied to several deities and emblematic
figures,
notably those of ancient Egypt, which were designed
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about
the period when the Sun passed, at the Vernal Equinox, from the sign
Taurus
to the sign Aries. Previously to this period, bull-headed and horned
deities
prevailed. Apis was the type of the Bull deity, Ammon that of the
ram-headed
type: Isis, too, had a Cow’s head allotted to her. Porphyry writes
that
the Greeks united the Ram to Jupiter and the Bull to Bacchus. [w.w.w.]
Crocodile.
“The great reptile of Typhon.” The seat of its “worship” was
Crocodilopolis
and it was sacred to Set and Sebak—its alleged creators. The
primitive
Rishis in India, the Manus, and Sons of Brahmâ, are each the
progenitors
of some animal species, of which he is the alleged “father”; in
Egypt,
each god was credited with the formation or creation of certain animals
which
were sacred to him. Crocodiles must have been numerous in Egypt during the
early
dynasties, if one has to judge by the almost incalculable number of their
mummies.
Thousands upon thousands have been excavated from the grottoes of
Moabdeh,
and many a vast necropolis of that Typhonic animal is still left
untouched.
But the Crocodile was only worshipped where his god and “father”
received
honours. Typhon (q.v.) had once received such honours and, as Bunsen
shows,
had been considered a great god. His words are, “ Down to the time of
Ramses
B.C. 1300, Typhon was one of the most venerated and powerful gods, a god
who
pours blessings and life on the rulers of Egypt.” As explained elsewhere,
Typhon
is the material aspect of Osiris. When Typhon, the Quaternary, kills
Osiris,
the triad or divine Light, and cuts it metaphorically into 14 pieces,
and
separates himself from the “god”, he incurs the execration of the masses; he
becomes
the evil god, the storm and hurricane god, the burning sand of the
Desert,
the constant enemy of the Nile, and the “slayer of the evening
beneficent
dew”, because Osiris is the ideal Universe, Siva the great
Regenerative
Force, and Typhon the material portion of it, the evil side of the
god,
or the Destroying Siva. This is why the crocodile is also partly venerated
and
partly execrated. The appearance of the crocodile in the Desert, far from
the
water, prognosticated the happy event of the coming inundation—hence its
adoration
at Thebes and Ombos. But he destroyed thousands of human and animal
beings
yearly—hence also the hatred and persecution of the Crocodile at
Elephantine
and Tentyra.
Cross.
Mariette Bey has shown its antiquity in Egypt by proving that in all the
primitive
sepulchres “the plan of the chamber has the form of a cross”. It is
the
symbol of the Brotherhood of races and men; and was laid on the breast of
the
corpses in Egypt, as it is now placed on the corpses of deceased Christians,
and,
in its Swastica form (croix
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cramponnée)
on the hearts of the Buddhist adepts and Buddhas. (See “Calvary
Cross”.)
Crux
Ansata (Lat.). The handled cross,T; whereas the tau is T, in this form, and
the
oldest Egyptian cross or the tat is thus +. The crux ansata was the symbol
of
immortality, but the tat-cross was that of spirit-matter and had the
significance
of a sexual emblem. The crux ansata was the foremost symbol in the
Egyptian
Masonry instituted by Count Cagliostro; and Masons must have indeed
forgotten
the primitive significance of their highest symbols, if some of their
authorities
still insist that the crux ansata is only a combination of the cteis
(or
yoni) and phallus (or lingham). Far from this. The handle or ansa had a
double
significance, but never a phallic one; as an attribute of Isis it was the
mundane
circle; as symbol of law on the breast of a mummy it was that of
immortality,
of an endless and beginningless eternity, that which descends upon
and
grows out of the plane of material nature, the horizontal feminine line,
surmounting
the vertical male line—the fructifying male principle in nature or
spirit.
Without the handle the crux ansata became the tau T, which, left by
itself,
is an androgyne symbol, and becomes purely phallic or sexual only when
it
takes the shape +.
Crypt
(Gr.) A secret subterranean vault, some for the purpose of initiation,
others
for burial purposes. There were crypts under every temple in antiquity.
There
was one on the Mount of Olives, lined with red stucco, and built before
the
advent of the Jews.
Curetes.
The Priest-Initiates of ancient Crete, in the service of Cybele.
Initiation
in their temples was very severe ; it lasted twenty-seven days,
during
which time the aspirant was left by himself in a crypt, undergoing
terrible
trials. Pythagoras was initiated into these rites and came out
victorious.
Cutha.
An ancient city in Babylonia after which a tablet giving an account of
“creation”
is named.
The
“Cutha tablet” speaks of a temple of Sittam”, in the sanctuary of Nergal,
the
“giant king of
war,
lord of the city of Cutha”, and is purely esoteric, it has to be read
symbolically,
if at all.
Cycle.
From the Greek Kuklos. The ancients divided time into end less cycles,
wheels
within wheels, all such periods being of various durations, and each
marking
the beginning or the end of some event either cosmic, mundane, physical
or
metaphysical. There were cycles of only a few years, and cycles of immense
duration,
the great Orphic cycle, referring to the ethnological change of races,
lasting
120,000 years, and the cycle of Cassandrus of 136,000, which brought
about
a complete
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change
in planetary influences and their correlations between men and gods—a
fact
entirely lost sight of by modern astrologers.
Cynocephalus
(Gr.) The Egyptian Hapi. There was a notable difference between the
ape-headed
gods and the “Cynocephalus” (Simia hamadryas), a dog-headed baboon
from
upper Egypt. The latter, whose sacred city was Hermopolis, was sacred to
the
lunar deities and Thoth Hermes, hence an emblem of secret wisdom—as was
Hanuman,
the monkey-god of India, and later, the elephant-headed Ganesha. The
mission
of the Cynocephalus was to show the way for the Dead to the Seat of
Judgment
and Osiris, whereas the ape-gods were all phallic. They are almost
invariably
found in a crouching posture, holding on one hand the outa (the eye
of
Horus), and in the other the sexual cross. Isis is seen sometimes riding on
an
ape, to designate the fall of divine nature into generation.
D
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D. Both in the English and Hebrew alphabets the
fourth letter, whose numerical
value
is four. The symbolical signification in the Kabbala of the Daleth is
“door”.
It is the Greek delta D, through which the world (whose symbol is the
tetrad
or number four,) issued, producing the divine seven. The name of the
Tetrad
was Harmony with the Pythagoreans, “because it is a diatessaron in
sesquitertia”.
With the Kabbalists, the divine name associated with Daleth was
Daghoul.
Daath
(Heb.) Knowledge; “the conjunction of Chokmah and Binah, Wisdom and
Understanding”:
sometimes, in error, called a Sephira. [w.w.w.]
Dabar
(Heb.) D (a) B (a) R (im), meaning the “Word”, and the “Words” in the
Chaldean
Kabbala, Dabar and Logoi. (See Sec.Doct. I. p. 350, and “Logos”, or
“Word”.)
Dabistan
(Pers.) The land of Iran; ancient Persia.
Dache-Dachus
(Chald.) The dual emanation of Moymis, the progeny of the dual or
androgynous
World-Principle, the male Apason and female Tauthe. Like all
theocratic
nations possessing Temple mysteries, the Babylonians never mentioned
the
“One” Principle of the Universe, nor did they give it a name. This made
Damascious
(Theogonies) remark that like the rest of “ barbarians” the
Babylonians
passed it over in silence. Tauthe was the mother of the gods, while
Apason
was her self-generating male power, Moymis, the ideal universe, being her
only-begotten
son, and emanating in his turn Dache-Dachus, and at last Belus,
the
Demiurge of the objective Universe.
Dactyli
(Gr.) From daktulos, “a finger”. The name given to the Phrygian
Hierophants
of Kybele, who were regarded as the greatest magicians and
exorcists.
They were five or ten in number because of the five fingers on one
hand
that blessed, and the ten on both hands which evoke the gods. They also
healed
by manipulation or mesmerism.
Dadouchos
(Gr.) The torch-hearer, one of the four celebrants in the Eleusinian
mysteries.
There were several attached to the temples but they appeared in
public
only at the Panathenaic Games at Athens, to preside over the so-called
“torch-race”.
(See Mackenzie’s R.M, Cyclopædia.)
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Dæmon
(Gr.) In the original Hermetic works and ancient classics it has a meaning
identical
with that of “god”, “angel” or “genius”. The Dæmon of Socrates is the
incorruptible
part of the man, or rather the real inner man which we call Nous
or
the rational divine Ego. At all events the Dæmon (or Daimon of the great Sage
was
surely not the demon of the Christian Hell or of Christian orthodox
theology.
The name was given by ancient peoples, and especially the philosophers
of
the Alexandrian school, to all kinds of spirits, whether good or bad, human
or
otherwise. The appellation is often synonymous with that of gods or angels.
But
some philosophers tried, with good reason, to make a just distinction
between
the many classes.
Dænam
(Pahlavi) Lit., “Knowledge”, the principle of understanding in man,
rational
Soul, or Manas, according to the Avesta.
Dag,
Dagon (Heb.). “Fish” and also “Messiah”. Dagon was the Chaldean man-fish
Oannes,
the mysterious being who arose daily out of the depths of the sea to
teach
people every useful science. He was also called Annedotus.
Dâgoba
(Sk.), or Stûpa. Lit: a sacred mound or tower for Buddhist holy relics.
These
are pyramidal-looking mounds scattered all over India and Buddhist
countries,
such as Ceylon, Burmah, Central Asia, etc. They are of various sizes,
and
generally contain some small relics of Saints or those claimed to have
belonged
to Gautama, the Buddha. As the human body is supposed to consist of
84,000
dhâtus (organic cells with definite vital functions in them), Asoka is
said
for this reason to have built 84,000 dhâtu-gopas or Dâgobas in honour of
every
cell of the Buddha’s body, each of which has now become a dhârmadhâtu or
holy
relic. There is in Ceylon a Dhâtu-gopa at Anurâdhapura said to date from160
years
B.C. They are now built pyramid-like, but the primitive Dâgobas were all
shaped
like towers with a cupola and several tchhatra (umbrellas) over them.
Eitel
states that the Chinese Dâgobas have all from 7 to 14 tchhatras over them,
a
number which is symbolical of the human body.
Daitya
Guru (Sk.) The instructor of the giants, called Daityas (q.v.)
Allegorically,
it is the title given to the planet Venus-Lucifer, or rather to
its
indwelling Ruler, Sukra, a male deity
(See
Sec. Doct.. ii. p. 30).
Daityas
(Sk.) Giants, Titans, and exoterically demons, but in truth identical
with
certain Asuras, the intellectual gods, the opponents of the useless gods of
ritualism
and the enemies of puja sacrifices.
Daivi-prakriti
(Sk.) Primordial, homogeneous light, called by some Indian
Occultists
“the Light of the Logos” (see Notes on the Bhagavat Gita, by T. Subba
Row,
B.A., L.L.B.); when differentiated this light becomes FOHAT.
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Dâkinî
(Sk.) Female demons, vampires and blood-drinkers (asra-pas). In the
Purânas
they attend upon the goddess Kâli and feed on human flesh. A species of
evil
“Elementals” (q.v.).
Daksha
(Sk.) A form of Brahmâ and his son in the Purânas But the Rig Veda states
that
“Daksha sprang from Aditi, and Aditi from Daksha”, which proves him to be a
personified
correlating Creative Force acting on all the planes. The
Orientalists
seem very much perplexed what to make of him; but Roth is nearer
the
truth than any, when saying that Daksha is the spiritual power, and at the
same
time the male energy that generates the gods in eternity, which is
represented
by Aditi. The Purânas as a matter of course, anthropomorphize the
idea,
and show Daksha instituting “sexual intercourse on this earth”, after
trying
every other means of procreation. The generative Force, spiritual at the
commencement,
becomes of course at the most material end of its evolution a
procreative
Force on the physical plane ; and so far the Purânic allegory is
correct,
as the Secret Science teaches that our present mode of procreation
began
towards the end of the third Root-Race.
Daladâ
(Sk.)A very precious relic of Gautama the Buddha; viz., his supposed left
canine
tooth preserved at the great temple at Kandy, Ceylon. Unfortunately, the
relic
shown is not genuine. The latter has been securely secreted for several
hundred
years, ever since the shameful and bigoted attempt by the Portuguese
(the
then ruling power in Ceylon) to steal and make away with the real relic.
That
which is shown in the place of the real thing is the monstrous tooth of
some
animal.
Dama
(Sk.). Restraint of the senses.
Dambulla
(Sk.) The name of a huge rock in Ceylon. It is about 400 feet above the
level
of the sea. Its upper portion is excavated, and several large
cave-temples,
or Vihâras, are cut out of the solid rock, all of these being of
pre-Christian
date. They are considered as the best- preserved antiquities in
the
island. The North side of the rock is vertical and quite inaccessible, but
on
the South side, about 150 feet from its summit, its huge overhanging granite
mass
has been fashioned into a platform with a row of large cave-temples
excavated
in the surrounding walls—evidently at an enormous sacrifice of labour
and
money. Two Vihâras may he mentioned out of the many: the Maha Râja Vihâra,
172
ft. in length and 75 in breadth, in which there are upwards of fifty figures
of
Buddha, most of them larger than life and all formed from the solid rock. A
well
has been dug out at the foot of the central Dâgoba and from a fissure in
the
rock there constantly drips into it beautiful clear water which is kept for
sacred
purposes. In the other, the Maha
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Dewiyo
Vihâra, there is to be seen a gigantic figure of the dead Gautama Buddha,
7
feet long, reclining on a couch and pillow cut out of solid rock like the
rest.
“This long, narrow and dark temple, the position and placid aspect of
Buddha,
together with the stillness of the place, tend to impress the beholder
with
the idea that he is in the chamber of death. The priest asserts . . . .
that
such was Buddha, and such were those (at his feet stands an attendant) who
witnessed
the last moments of his mortality” (Hardy’s East. Monachism). The view
from
Dambulla is magnificent. On the large rock platform which seems to he now
more
visited by very intelligent tame white monkeys than by monks, there stands
a
huge Bo-Tree, one of the numerous scions from the original Bo-Tree under which
the
Lord Siddhârtha reached Nirvâna. “About 50 ft. from the summit there is a
pond
which, as the priests assert, is never without water.”
(The
Ceylon Almanac, 1834.)
Dammâpadan
(Pali.) A Buddhist work containing moral precepts.
Dâna
(Sk.). Almsgiving to mendicants, lit., “charity”, the first of the six
Paramitas
in Buddhism.
Dânavas
(Sk.). Almost the same as Daityas; giants and demons, the opponents of
the
ritualistic gods.
Dangma
(Sk.) In Esotericism a purified Soul. A Seer and an Initiate; one who has
attained
full wisdom.
Daos
(Chald.) The seventh King (Shepherd) of the divine Dynasty, who reigned
over
the Babylonians for the space of ten sari, or 36,000 years, a saros being
of
3,600 years’ duration. In his time four Annedoti, or Men-fishes (Dagons) made
their
appearance.
Darâsta
(Sk) Ceremonial magic practised by the central Indian tribes, especially
among
the Kolarians.
Dardanus
(Gr.) The Son of Jupiter and Electra, who received the Kabeiri gods as
a
dowry, and took them to Samothrace, where they were worshipped long before the
hero
laid the foundations of Troy, and before Tyre and Sidon were ever heard of,
though
Tyre was built 2,760 years B.C.
(See
for fuller details “Kabiri”.)
Darha
(Sk.) The ancestral spirits of the Kolarians.
Darsanas
(Sk.) The Schools of Indian philosophy, of which there are six;
Shad-darsanas
or six demonstrations.
Dasa-sil
(Pali.) The ten obligations or commandments taken by and binding upon
the
priests of Buddha; the five obligations or Pansil are taken by laymen.
Dava
(Tib.) The moon, in Tibetan astrology.
Davkina
(Chald.) The wife of Hea, “the goddess of the lower regions,
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the
consort of the Deep”, the mother of Merodach, the Bel of later times, and
mother
to many river-gods, Hea being the god of the lower regions, the “lord of
the
Sea or abyss”, and also the lord of Wisdom.
Dayanisi
(Aram.). The god worshipped by the Jews along with other Semites, as
the
“Ruler of men”; Dionysos—the Sun; whence Jehovah Nissi, or Iao-Nisi, the
same
as Dio-nysos or Jove of Nyssa.
(See
Isis Unveil. II. 526.)
Day
of Brahmâ. See “Brahmâ's Day” etc.
Dayus
or Dyaus (Sk). A Vedic term. The unrevealed Deity, or that which reveals
Itself
only as light and the bright day—metaphorically.
Death,
Kiss of. According to the Kabbalah, the earnest follower does not die by
the
power of the Evil Spirit, Yetzer ha Rah, but by a kiss from the mouth of
Jehovah
Tetragrammaton, meeting him in the Haikal Ahabah or Palace of Love.
[w.w.w.]
Dei
termini (Lat.). The name for pillars with human heads representing Hermes,
placed
at cross-roads by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Also the general name
for
deities presiding over boundaries
and
frontiers.
Deist.
One who admits the existence of a god or gods, but claims to know nothing
of
either and denies revelation. A Freethinker of olden times.
Demerit.
In Occult and Buddhistic parlance, a constituent of Karma. It is
through
avidya or ignorance of vidya, divine illumination, that merit and
demerit
are produced. Once an Arhat obtains full illumination and perfect
control
over his personality and lower nature, he ceases to create merit and
demerit
Demeter
The Hellenic name for the Latin Ceres, the goddess of corn and tillage.
The
astronomical sign, Virgo. The Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated in her
honour.
Demiurgic
Mind.The same as “Universal Mind”. Mahat, the first “product” of
Brahmâ,
or himself.
Demiurgos
(Gr) The Demiurge or Artificer; the Supernal Power which built the
universe.
Freemasons derive from this word their phrase of “Supreme Architect ”.
With
the Occultists it is the third manifested Logos, or Plato’s “second god”,
the
second logos being represented by him as the “Father”, the only Deity that
he
dared mention as an Initiate into the Mysteries.
Demon
est Deus inversus (Lat) A Kabbalistic axiom; lit., “the devil is god
reversed”;
which means that there is neither evil nor good, but that the forces
which
create the one create the other, according to the nature of the materials
they
find to work upon.
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Demonologia
(Gr.). Treatises or Discourses upon Demons, or Gods in their dark
aspects.
Demons.
According to the Kabbalah, the demons dwell in the world of Assiah, the
world
of matter and of the “shells”’ of the dead. They are the Klippoth. There
are
Seven Hells, whose demon dwellers represent the vices personified. Their
prince
is Samael, his female companion is Isheth Zenunim—the woman of
prostitution:
united in aspect, they are named “The Beast”, Chiva. [w.w.w.]
Demrusch
(Pers.). A Giant in the mythology of ancient Iran.
Denis,
Angoras. “A physician of Paris, astrologer and alchemist in the XIVth
century”
(R.M.C.).
Deona
Mati. In the Kolarian dialect, one who exorcises evil spirits.
Dervish.
A Mussulman—Turkish or Persian—ascetic. A nomadic and wandering monk.
Dervishes,
however, sometimes live in communities. They are often called the
“whirling
charmers”. Apart from his austerities of life, prayer and
contemplation,
the Turkish, Egyptian, or Arabic devotee presents but little
similarity
with the Hindu fakir, who is also a Mussulman. The latter may become
a
saint and holy mendicant the former will never reach beyond his second class
of
occult manifestations. The dervish may also be a strong mesmerizer, but he
will
never voluntarily submit to the abominable and almost incredible
self-punishment
which the fakir invents for himself with an ever-increasing
avidity,
until nature succumbs and he dies in slow and excruciating tortures.
The
most dreadful operations, such as flaying the limbs alive; cutting off the
toes,
feet, and legs ; tearing out the eyes and causing one’s self to be buried
alive
up to the chin in the earth, and passing whole months in this posture,
seem
child’s play to them. The Dervish must not be confused with the Hindu
sanyâsi
or yogi. (See “Fakir”).
Desatir.
A very ancient Persian work called the Book of Shet. It speaks of the
thirteen
Zoroasters, and is very mystical.
Deva
(Sk.). A god, a “resplendent” deity. Deva-Deus, from the root div “to
shine”.
A Deva is a celestial being—whether good, bad, or indifferent. Devas
inhabit
“the three worlds”, which are the three planes above us. There are 33
groups
or 330 millions of them.
Deva
Sarga (Sk.). Creation: the origin of the principles, said to be
Intelligence
born of the qualities or the attributes of nature.
Devachan
(Sk.). The “dwelling of the gods”. A state intermediate between two
earth-lives,
into which the EGO (Atmâ-Buddhi-Manas, or the Trinity made One)
enters,
after its separation from Kâma Rupa, and the disintegration of the lower
principles
on earth.
Devajnânas
(Sk.). or Daivajna. The higher classes of celestial beings, those who
possess
divine knowledge.
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Devaki
(Sk.). The mother of Krishna. She was shut up in a dungeon by her
brother,
King Kansa, for fear of the fulfilment of a prophecy which stated that
a
son of his sister should dethrone and kill him. Notwithstanding the strict
watch
kept, Devaki was overshadowed by Vishnu, the holy Spirit, and thus gave
birth
to that god’s avatara, Krishna. (See “Kansa”.)
Deva-laya
(Sk.). “The shrine of a Deva”. The name given to all Brahmanical
temples.
Deva-lôkas
(Sk.). The abodes of the Gods or Devas in superior spheres. The seven
celestial
worlds above Meru.
Devamâtri
(Sk.). Lit., “the mother of the gods”. A title of Aditi, Mystic Space.
Dêvanâgarî
(Sk.). Lit., “the language or letters of the dêvas” or gods. The
characters
of the Sanskrit language. The alphabet and the art of writing were
kept
secret for ages, as the Dwijas (Twice-born) and the Dikshitas (Initiates)
alone
were permitted to use this art. It was a crime for a. Sudra to recite a
verse
of the Vedas, and for any of the two lower castes (Vaisya and Sudra) to
know
the letters was an offence punishable by death. Therefore is the word lipi,
‘‘writing”,
absent from the oldest MSS., a fact which gave the Orientalists the
erroneous
and rather incongruous idea that writing was not only unknown before
the
day of Pânini, but even to that sage himself That the greatest grammarian
the
world has ever produced should be ignorant of writing would indeed be the
greatest
and most incomprehensible phenomenon of all.
Devapi
(Sk.). A Sanskrit Sage of the race of Kuru, who, together with another
Sage
(Moru), is supposed to live throughout the four ages and until the coming
of
Maitreya Buddha, or Kalki (the last Avatar of Vishnu) ; who, like all the
Saviours
of the World in their last appearance, like Sosiosh of the Zoroastrians
and
the Rider of St. Johns Revelation, will appear seated on a White Horse. The
two,
Devapi and Moru, are supposed to live in a Himalayan retreat called Kalapa
or
Katapa. This is a Purânic allegory.
Devarshis,
or Deva-rishi (Sk). Lit., “gods rishis” ; the divine or god like
saints,
those sages who attain a fully divine nature on earth.
Devasarman
(Sk.). A very ancient author who died about a century after Gautama
Buddha.
He wrote two famous works, in which he denied the existence of both Ego
and
non-Ego, the one as successfully as the other.
Dhârana
(Sk). That state in Yoga practice when the mind has to be fixed
unflinchingly
on some object of meditation.
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0
Dhâranî(Sk.).
In Buddhism—both Southern and Northern—and also in Hinduism, it
means
simply a mantra or mantras—sacred verses from the Rig Veda. In days of old
these
mantras or Dhâranî were all considered mystical and practically
efficacious
in their use. At present, however, it is the Yogâchârya school alone
which
proves the claim in practice. When chanted according to given instructions
a
Dhâranî
produces wonderful effects. Its occult power, however, does not reside
in
the words but in the inflexion or accent given and the resulting sound
originated
thereby. (See “Mantra” and “Akasa”).
Dharma
(Sk.). The sacred Law; the Buddhist Canon.
Dharmachakra
(Sk.). Lit., The turning of the “wheel of the Law”. The emblem of
Buddhism
as a system of cycles and rebirths or reincarnations.
Dharmakâya
(Sk). Lit., “the glorified spiritual body” called the “Vesture of
Bliss”.
The third, or highest of the Trikâya (Three Bodies), the attribute
developed
by every “Buddha”, i.e., every initiate who has crossed or reached the
end
of what is called the “fourth Path” (in esotericism the sixth “portal” prior
to
his entry on the seventh). The highest of the Trikâya, it is the fourth of
the
Buddhakchêtra, or Buddhic planes of consciousness, represented figuratively
in
Buddhist asceticism as a robe or vesture of luminous Spirituality.
In
popular Northern Buddhism these vestures or robes are:
(1)
Nirmanakâya (2) Sambhogakâya (3) and
Dharmakâya the last being the highest
and
most sublimated of all, as it places the ascetic on the threshold of
Nirvâna.
(See, however, the Voice of the Silence, page 96, Glossary, for the
true
esoteric meaning.)
Dharmaprabhasa
(Sk). The name of the Buddha who will appear during the seventh
Root-race.
(See “Ratnâvabhâsa Kalpa”, when sexes will exist no longer).
Dharmasmriti
Upasthâna (Sk). A very long compound word containing a very
mystical
warning. “Remember, the constituents (of human nature) originate
according
to the Nidânas, and are-not originally the Self”, which means—that,
which
the Esoteric Schools teach, and not the ecclesiastical interpretation.
Dharmâsôka
(Sk.). The name given to the first Asoka after his conversion to
Buddhism,—King
Chandragupta, who served all his long life “Dharma”, or the law
of
Buddha. King Asoka (the second) was not converted, but was born a Buddhist.
Dhâtu
(Pali). Relics of Buddha’s body collected after his cremation.
Dhruva
(Sk). An Aryan Sage, now the Pole Star. A Kshatriya (one of the warrior
caste)
who became through religious austerities a
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Rishi,
and was, for this reason, raised by Vishnu to this eminence in the skies.
Also
called Grah-Âdhâr or “the pivot of the planets”.
Dhyan
Chohans (Sk). Lit., “The Lords of Light”. The highest gods, answering to
the
Roman Catholic Archangels. The divine Intelligences charged with the
supervision
of Kosmos.
Dhyâna
(Sk.). In Buddhism one of the six Paramitas of perfection, a state of
abstraction
which carries the ascetic practising it far above this plane of
sensuous
perception and out of the world of matter.
Lit.,
“contemplation”. The six stages of Dhyan differ only in the degrees of
abstraction
of the personal Ego from sensuous life.
Dhyani
Bodhisattyas (Sk.). In Buddhism, the five sons of the Dhyani-Buddhas.
They
have a mystic meaning in Esoteric Philosophy.
Dhyani
Buddhas (Sk.). They “of the Merciful Heart”; worshipped especially in
Nepaul.
These have again a secret meaning.
Dhyani
Pasa (Sk.). “The rope of the Dhyanis” or Spirits; the Ring “Pass not”
(See
Sec.Doct., Stanza V., Vol. I., p. 129).
Diakka.
Called by Occultists and Theosophists “spooks” and “shells”, i.e.,
phantoms
from Kâma Loka. A word invented by the great American Seer, Andrew
Jackson
Davis, to denote what he considers untrustworthy “Spirits”. In his own
words:
“A Diakka (from the Summerland) is one who takes insane delight in
playing
parts, in juggling tricks, in personating opposite characters; to whom
prayer
and profane utterances are of equi-value; surcharged with a passion for
lyrical
narrations; . . . morally deficient, he is without the active feelings
of
justice, philanthropy, or tender affection. He knows nothing of what men call
the
sentiment of gratitude; the ends of hate and love are the same to him; his
motto
is often fearful and terrible to others—SELF is the whole of private
living,
and exalted annihilation the end of all private life. Only yesterday,
one
said to a lady medium, signing himself Swedenborg, this: ‘Whatsoever is, has
been,
will be, or may be, that I AM.; and private life is but the aggregative
phantasms
of thinking throb- lets, rushing in their rising onward to the central
heart
of eternal death’
(The
Diakka and their Victims; “an explanation of the False and Repulsive in
Spiritualism.”)
These “Diakka” are then simply the communicating and
materializing
so-called “Spirits” of Mediums and Spiritualists.
Dianoia
(Gr.). The same as the Logos. The eternal source of thought, “divine
ideation”,
which is the root of all thought. (See “Ennoia.”)
Dido,
or Elissa. Astarte; the Virgin of the Sea—who crushes the Dragon under her
foot;
The patroness of the Phoænician mariners. A Queen of Carthage who fell in
love
with Æneas according to Virgil.
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Digambara
(Sk.). A naked mendicant. Lit., “clothed with Space”. A name of Siva
in
his character of Rudra, the Yogi.
Dii
Minores (Lat.). The inferior or “reflected group of the twelve gods ” or Dii
Majores,
described by Cicero in his De Natura Deorum, I. 13.
Dîk
(Sk). Space, Vacuity.
Diktamnon
(Gr.), or Dictemnus (Dittany). A curious plant possessing very occult
and
mystical properties and well-known from ancient times. It was sacred to the
Moon-Goddesses.
Luna, Astarte, Diana. The Cretan name of Diana was Diktynna, and
as
such the goddess wore a wreath made of this magic plant. The Dihtamnon is an
evergreen
shrub whose contact, as claimed in Occultism, develops and at the same
time
cures somnambulism. Mixed with Verbena it will produce clairvoyance and
ecstasy.
Pharmacy attributes to the Dihtamnon strongly sedative and quieting
properties.
It grows in abundance on Mount Dicte, in Crete, and enters into many
magical
performances resorted to by the Cretans even to this day.
Diksha
(Sk). Initiation. Dikshit, an Initiate.
Dingir
and Mul-lil (Akkad.). The Creative Gods.
Dinur
(Heb.). The River of Fire whose flame burns the Souls of the guilty in the
Kabbalistic
allegory.
Dionysos
(Sk.). The Demiurgos, who, like Osiris, was killed by the Titans and
dismembered
into fourteen parts. He was the personified Sun, or as the author of
the
Great Dionysiak Myth says “He is Phanes, the spirit of material visibility,
Kyklops
giant of the Universe, with one bright solar eye, the growth-power of
the
world, the all-pervading animism of things, son of Semele Dionysos was born
at
Nysa or Nissi, the name given by the Hebrews to Mount Sinai (Exodus xvii.
15),
the birthplace of Osiris, which identifies both suspiciously with “Jehovah
Nissi”.
(See Isis Unv. II. 165, 526.)
Dioscuri
(Gr.). The name of Castor and Pollux, the sons of Jupiter and Leda.
Their
festival, the Dioscuria, was celebrated with much rejoicing by the
Lacedæmonians.
Dîpamkara
(Sk.). Lit., “the Buddha of fixed light”; a predecessor of Gautama,
the
Buddha.
Diploteratology
(Gr.). Production of mixed Monsters; in abbreviation teratology.
Dis
(Gr.). In the Theogony of Damascius, the same as Protogonos, the “first born
light”,
called by that author “the disposer of all things.
Dises
(Scand.). The later name for the divine women called Walky-rics, Norns,
&c.,
in the Edda.
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Disk-worship.
This was very common in Egypt but not till later times, as it
began
with Amenoph III., a Dravidian, who brought it from Southern India and
Ceylon.
It was Sun-worship under another form, the Aten-Nephru, Aten-Ra being
identical
with the Adonai of the Jews, the “ Lord of Heaven” or the Sun. The
winged
disk was the emblem of the Soul. The Sun was at one time the symbol of
Universal
Deity shining on the whole world and all creatures; the Sabæans
regarded
the Sun as the Demiurge and a Universal Deity, as did also the Hindus,
and
as do the Zoroastrians to this day. The Sun is undeniably the one creator of
physical
nature. Lenormant was obliged, notwithstanding his orthodox
Christianity,
to denounce the resemblance between disk and Jewish worship. “Aten
represents
the Adonai or Lord, the Assyrian Tammuz, and the Syrian Adonis”(The
Gr.
Dionys. Myth.)
Divyachakchus
(Sk.). Lit., “celestial Eye” or divine seeing, perception. It is
the
first of the six
“Abhijnas”
(q.v.) ; the faculty developed by Yoga practice to perceive any
object
in the Universe, at whatever distance.
Divyasrôtra
(Sk). Lit., “celestial Ear” Or divine hearing. The second “Abhijna”,
or
the faculty of understanding the language or sound produced by any living
being
on Earth.
Djâti
(Sk.). One of the twelve “Nidanas” (q.v.); the cause and the effect in the
mode
of birth taking place according to the “Chatur Yoni”(q.v.), when in each
case
a being, whether man or animal, is placed in one of the six (esoteric
seven)
Gâti or paths of sentient existence, which esoterically, counting
downward,
are: (1) the highest Dhyani (Anupadaka); (2) Devas ; (3) Men; (4)
Elementals
or Nature Spirits; (5) Animals; (6) lower Elementals; (7) organic
Germs.
These are in the popular or exoteric nomenclature, Devas, Men, Asûras,
Beings
in Hells, Prêtas (hungry demons), and Animals.
Djin
(Arab.). Elementals ; Nature Sprites; Genii. The Djins or Jins are much
dreaded
in Egypt, Persia and elsewhere.
Djnâna
(Sk), or Jnâna. Lit., Knowledge; esoterically, “supernal or divine
knowledge
acquired by Yoga”. Written also Gnyana.
Docetæ
(Gr.). Lit.,“The Illusionists”. The name given by orthodox Christians to
those
Gnostics who held that Christ did not, nor could he, suffer death
actually,
but that, if such a thing had happened, it was merely an illusion
which
they explained in various ways.
Dodecahedron
(Gr.). According to Plato, the Universe is built by “the first
begotten”
on the geometrical figure of the Dodecahedron. (See Timaeus).
Dodona
(Gr.). An ancient city in Thessaly, famous for its Temple of
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Jupiter
and its oracles. According to ancient legends, the town was founded by a
dove.
Donar
(Scand.), or Thunar, Thor. In the North the God of Thunder. He was the
Jupiter
Tonans of Scandinavia. Like as the oak was devoted to Jupiter so was it
sacred
to Thor, and his altars were over shadowed with oak trees. Thor, or
Donar,
was the offspring of Odin, “the omnipotent God of Heaven”, and of Mother
Earth.
Dondam-pai-den-pa
(Tib.). The same as the Sanskrit term Paramarthasatya or
“absolute
truth”, the highest spiritual self-consciousness and perception,
divine
self-consciousness, a very mystical term.
Doppelgänger
(Germ.). A synonym of the “Double” and of the “Astral body” in
occult
parlance.
Dorjesempa
(Tib.). The “Diamond Soul”, a name of the celestial Buddha.
Dorjeshang
(Tib.). A title of Buddha in his highest aspect; a name of the
supreme
Buddha; also Dorje.
Double.
The same as the “Astral body” or “Doppelgänger”.
Double
Image. The name among the Jewish Kabbalists for the Dual Ego, called
respectively:
the Higher, Metatron, and the Lower, Samael. They are figured
allegorically
as the two inseparable companions of man through life, the one his
Guardian
Angel, the other his Evil Demon.
Dracontia
(Gr.). Temples dedicated to the Dragon, the emblem of the Sun, the
symbol
of Deity,
of
Life and Wisdom. The Egyptian Karnac, the Carnac in Britanny, and Stonehenge
are
Dracontia
well
known to all.
Drakôn
(Gr.) or Dragon. Now considered a “mythical” monster, perpetuated in the
West
only on seals,. &c., as a heraldic griffin, and the Devil slain by St.
George,
&c. In fact an extinct antediluvian monster In Babylonian antiquities it
is
referred to as the “scaly one” and connected on many gems with Tiamat the
sea.
“The Dragon of the Sea” is repeatedly mentioned. In Egypt, it is the star
of
the Dragon (then the North Pole Star), the origin of the connection of almost
all
the gods with the Dragon. Bel and the Dragon, Apollo and Python, Osiris and
Typhon,
Sigur and Fafnir, and finally St. George and the Dragon, are the same.
They
were all solar gods, and wherever we find the Sun there also is the Dragon,
the
symbol of Wisdom—Thoth-Hermes. The Hierophants of Egypt and of Babylon
styled
themselves “Sons of the Serpent-God” and “Sons of the Dragon”. “I am a
Serpent,
I am a Druid”, said the Druid of the Celto-Britannic regions, for the
Serpent
and the Dragon were both types of Wisdom, Immortality and Rebirth. As
the
serpent casts its old skin only to reappear in a new one, so does the
immortal
Ego cast off one personality but to assume another.
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Draupnir
(Scand.). The golden armlet of Wodan or Odin, the companion of the
spear
Gungnir which he holds in his right hand; both are endowed with wonderful
magic
properties.
Dravidians.
A group of tribes inhabiting Southern India; the aborigines.
Dravya
(Sk.). Substance (metaphysically).
Drishti
(Sk.). Scepticism; unbelief.
Druids.
A sacerdotal caste which flourished in Britain and Gaul. They were
Initiates
who admitted females into their sacred order, and initiated them into
the
mysteries of their religion. They never entrusted their sacred verses and
scriptures
to writing, but, like the Brahmans of old, committed them to memory;
a
feat which, according to the statement of Cæsar took twenty years to
accomplish.
Like the Parsis they had no images or statues of their gods. The
Celtic
religion considered it blasphemy to represent any god, even of a minor
character,
under a human figure. It would have been well if the Greek and Roman
Christians
had learnt this lesson from the “pagan” Druids. The three chief
commandments
of their religion were:—“Obedience to divine laws; concern for the
welfare
of mankind; suffering with fortitude all the evils of life”.
Druzes.
A large sect, numbering about 100,000 adherents, living on Mount Lebanon
in
Syria. Their rites are very mysterious, and no traveller, who has written
anything
about them, knows for a certainty the whole truth. They are the Sufis
of
Syria. They resent being called Druzes as an insult, but call themselves the
“disciples
of Hamsa ”, their Messiah, who came to them in the ninth century from
the
“Land of the Word of God”, which land and word they kept religiously secret.
The
Messiah to come will be the same Hamsa, but called Hakem—the “All-Healer ”.
(See
Isis Unveiled, II 308, et seq.)
Dudaim
(Heb.). Mandrakes. The Atropa Mandragova plant is mentioned in Genesis,
XXX.,
14, and in Canticles: the name is related in Hebrew to words meaning
“breasts”
and “love”, the plant was notorious as a love charm, and has been used
in
many forms of black magic. [ w.w.w.]
Dudaim
in Kabbalistic parlance is the Soul and Spirit; any two things united in
love
and friendship (dodim). “Happy is he who preserves his dudaim (higher and
lower
Manas) inseparable.”
Dugpas
(Tib.). Lit., “Red Caps,” a sect in Tibet. Before the advent of
Tsong-ka-pa
in the fourteenth century, the Tibetans, whose Buddhism had
deteriorated
and been dreadfully adulterated with the tenets of the old Bhon
religion,—were
all Dugpas. From that century, however, and
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after
the rigid laws imposed upon the Gelukpas (yellow caps) and the general
reform
and purification of Buddhism (or Lamaism), the Dugpas have given
themselves
over more than ever to sorcery, immorality, and drunkenness. Since
then
the word Dugpas has become a synonym of “sorcerer”, “adept of black magic”
and
everything vile. There are few, if any, Dugpas in Eastern Tibet, but they
congregate
in Bhutan, Sikkim, and the borderlands generally. Europeans not being
permitted
to penetrate further than those borders, the Orientalists never having
studied
Buddho-Lamaism in Tibet proper, but judging of it on hearsay and from
what
Cosmo di Köros, Schlagintweit, and a few others have learnt of it from
Dugpas,
confuse both religions and bring them under one head. They thus give out
to
the public pure Dugpaism instead of Buddho-Lamaism. In short Northern
Buddhism
in its purified, metaphysical form is almost entirely unknown.
Dukkha
(Sk.). Sorrow, pain.
Dumah
(Heb.). The Angel of Silence (Death) in the Kabbala.
Durga
(Sk). Lit., “inaccessible”. The female potency of a god; the name of Kali,
the
wife of Siva, the Mahesvara, or “the great god”.
Dustcharitra
(Sk.). The “ten evil acts”; namely, three acts of the body viz.,
taking
life, theft and adultery; four evil acts of the mouth, viz., lying,
exaggeration
in accusations, slander, and foolish talk; and three evil acts of
mind
(Lower Manas), viz., envy, malice or revenge, and unbelief.
Dwapara
Yuga (Sk.). The third of the “Four Ages” in Hindu Philosophy ;
or
the second age counted from below.
Dwarf
of Death. In the Edda of the Norsemen, Iwaldi, the Dwarf of Death, hides
Life
in the depths of the great ocean, and then sends her up into the world at
the
right time. This Life is Iduna, the beauti- ful maiden, the daughter of the
“Dwarf”.
She is the Eve of the Scandinavian Lays, for she gives of the apples of
ever-renewed
youth to the gods of Asgard to eat ; but these, instead of being
cursed
for so doing and doomed to die, give thereby renewed youth yearly to the
earth
and to men, after every short and sweet sleep in the arms of the Dwarf.
Iduna
is raised from the Ocean when Bragi (q.v.), the Dreamer of Life, without
spot
or blemish, crosses asleep the silent waste of waters. Bragi is the divine
ideation
of Life, and Iduna living Nature—Prakriti, Eve.
Dwellers
(on the Threshold). A term invented by Bulwer Lytton in Zanoni; but in
Occultism
the word “Dweller” is an occult term used by students for long ages
past,
and refers to certain maleficent astral Doubles of defunct persons.
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Dwesa
(Sk.). Anger. One of the three principal states of mind (of which 63 are
enumerated),
which are Râga—pride or evil desire, Dwesa— anger, of which hatred
is
a part, and Moha—the ignorance of truth. These three are to be steadily
avoided.
Dwijâ
(Sk.). “Twice-born”. In days of old this term was used only of the
Initiated
Brahmans; but now it is applied to every man belonging to the first of
the
four castes, who has undergone a certain ceremony.
Dwija
Brahman (Sk.). The investure with the sacred thread that now constitutes
the
“second birth”. Even a Sudra who chooses to pay for the honour becomes,
after
the ceremony of passing through a silver or golden cow—a dwijâ.
Dwipa
(Sk.). An island or a continent. The Hindus have seven (Sapta dwipa ); the
Buddhists
only four. This is owing to a misunderstood reference of the Lord
Buddha
who, using the term metaphorically, applied the word dwipa to the races
of
men. The four Root-races which preceded our fifth, were compared by
Siddhârtha
to four continents or isles which studded the ocean of birth and
death—Samsâra.
Dynasties.
In India there are two, the Lunar and the Solar, or the Somavansa and
the
Suryavansa. In Chaldea and Egypt there were also two distinct kinds of
dynasties,
the divine and the human. In both countries people were ruled in the
beginning
of time by Dynasties of Gods. In Chaldea they reigned one hundred and
twenty
Sari, or in all 432,000 years; which amounts to the same figures as a
Hindu
Mahayuga 4,320,000 years. The chronology prefacing the Book of Genesis
(English
translation) is given “Before Christ, 4004”. But the figures are a
rendering
by solar years. In the original Hebrew, which preserved a lunar
calculation,
the figures are 4,320 years. This “coincidence” is well explained
in
Occultism.
Dyookna
(Kab.). The shadow of eternal Light. The “Angels of the Presence” or
archangels.
The
same as the Ferouer in the Vendidad and other Zoroastrian works.
Dzyn
or Dzyan (Tib.). Written also Dzen. A corruption of the Sanskrit Dhyan and
jnâna
(or gnyâna phonetically)—Wisdom, divine knowledge. In Tibetan, learning is
called
dzin.
.
E
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E.—The
fifth letter of the English alphabet. The he (soft) of the Hebrew
alphabet
becomes in the Ehevi system of reading that language an E. Its
numerical
value is five, and its symbolism is a window; the womb, in the
Kabbala.
In the order of the divine names it stands for the fifth, which is
Hadoor
or the “majestic” and the “splendid.”
Ea
(Chald.) also Hea. The second god of the original Babylonian trinity composed
of
Anu, Hea and Bel. Hea was the “Maker of Fate”, “Lord of the Deep”, “God of
Wisdom
and Knowledge”, and “Lord of the City of Eridu”.
Eagle.
This symbol is one of the most ancient. With the Greeks and Persians it
was
sacred to the Sun; with the Egyptians, under the name of Ah, to Horus, and
the
Kopts worshipped the eagle under the name of Ahom. It was regarded as the
sacred
emblem of Zeus by the Greeks, and as that of the highest god by the
Druids.
The symbol has passed down to our day, when following the example of the
pagan
Marius, who, in the second century B.C. used the double-headed eagle as
the
ensign of Rome, the Christian crowned heads of Europe made the double-headed
sovereign
of the air sacred to themselves and their scions. Jupiter was
satisfied
with a one-headed eagle and so was the Sun. The imperial houses of
Russia,
Poland, Austria, Germany, and the late Empire of the Napoleons, have
adopted
a two-headed eagle as their device.
Easter.
The word evidently comes from Ostara, the Scandinavian goddess of
spring.
She was the symbol of the resurrection of all nature and was worshipped
in
early spring. It was a custom with the pagan Norsemen at that time to
exchange
coloured eggs called the eggs of Ostara. These have now become
Easter-Eggs.
As expressed in Asgard and the Gods: “Christianity put another
meaning
on the old custom, by connecting it with the feast of the Resurrection
of
the Saviour, who, like the hidden life in the egg, slept in the grave for
three
days before he awakened to new life”. This was the more natural since
Christ
was identified with that same Spring Sun which awakens in all his glory,
after
the dreary and long death of winter. (See “Eggs”.)
Ebionites
(Heb.). Lit., “the poor”; the earliest sect of Jewish Christians, the
other
being the Nazarenes. They existed when the term “Christian” was not yet
heard
of. Many of the relations of Iassou (Jesus), the adept ascetic around whom
the
legend of Christ was formed, were among the Ebionites. As the existence of
these
mendicant ascetics can
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be
traced at least a century earlier than chronological Christianity, it is an
additional
proof that lassou or Jeshu lived during the reign of Alexander
Jannæus
at Lyd (or Lud), where he was put to death as stated in the Sepher
Toldos
Jeshu.
Ecbatana.
A famous city in Media worthy of a place among the seven wonders of
the
world. It is thus described by Draper in his Conflict between Religion and
Science,
chap. i, . . “ The cool summer retreat of the Persian Kings, was
defended
by seven encircling walls of hewn and polished blocks, the interior
ones
in succession of increasing height, and of different colours, in
astrological
accordance with the seven planets. The palace was roofed with
silver
tiles; its beams were plated with gold. At midnight in its halls, the sun
was
rivalled by many a row of naphta cressets. A paradise, that luxury of the
monarchs
of the East, was planted in the midst of the city. The Persian Empire
was
truly the garden of the world.”
Echath
(Heb.). The same as the following—the “One”, but feminine.
Echod
(Heb or Echad. “One”, masculine, applied to Jehovah.
Eclectic
Philosophy. One of the names given to the Neo-Platonic school of
Alexandria.
Ecstasis
(Gr.). A psycho-spiritual state; a physical trance which induces
clairvoyance
and a beatific state bringing on visions.
Edda
(Iceland.). Lit., “great-grandmother”of the Scandinavian Lays. It was
Bishop
Brynjϋld Sveinsson, who collected them and brought them to light in
1643.
There
are two collections of Sagas, translated by the Northern Skalds, and there
are
two Eddas. The earliest is of unknown authorship and date and its antiquity
is
very great. These Sagas were collected in the XIth century by an Icelandic
priest;
the second is a collection of the history (or myths) of the gods spoken
of
in the first, which became the Germanic deities, giants, dwarfs and heroes.
Eden
(Heb.). “Delight”, pleasure. In Genesis the “Garden of Delight” built by
God
; in the Kabbala the
“Garden
of Delight”, a place of Initiation into the mysteries. Orientalists
identify
it with a place which was situated in Babylonia in the district of
Karduniyas,
called also Gan-dunu, which is almost like the Gan-eden of the Jews.
(See
the works of Sir H. Rawlinson, and G. Smith.) That district has four
rivers,
Euphrates, Tigris, Surappi, Ukni. The two first have been adopted
without
any change by the Jews; the other two they have probably transformed
into
“ Gihon and Pison”, so as to have something original. The following are
some
of the reasons for the identification of Eden, given by Assyriologists. The
cities
of Babylon, Larancha and
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Sippara,
were founded before the flood, according to the chronology of the Jews.
“Surippak
was the city of the ark, the mountain east of the Tigris was the
resting
place of the ark, Babylon was the site of the tower, and Ur of the
Chaldees
the birthplace of Abraham.” And, as Abraham,
“the
first leader of the Hebrew race, migrated from Ur to Harran in Syria and
from
thence to Palestine”, the best Assyriologists think that it is “so much
evidence
in favour of the hypothesis that Chaldea was the original home of these
stories
(in the Bible) and that the Jews received them originally from the
Babylonians”.
Edom
(Heb.). Edomite Kings. A deeply concealed mystery is to he found in the
allegory
of the seven Kings of Edorn, who “reigned in the land of Edom before
there
reigned any King over the children of Israel”. (Gen. xxxvi. 31.) The
Kabbala
teaches that this Kingdom was one of “unbalanced forces’ and necessarily
of
unstable character. The world of Israel is a type of the condition of the
worlds
which came into existence subsequently to the later period when the
equilibrium
had become established. [ w.w. w.]
On
the other hand the Eastern Esoteric philosophy teaches that the seven Kings
of
Edom are not the type of perished worlds or unbalanced forces, but the symbol
of
the seven human Root-races, four of which have passed away, the fifth is
passing,
and two are still to come. Though in the language of esoteric blinds,
the
hint in St. John’s Revelation is clear enough when it states in chapter xvii
,
10: “And there are seven Kings; five are fallen, and one (the fifth, still)
is,
and the other (the sixth Root- race) is not yet come Had all the seven Kings
of
Edom perished as worlds of “unbalanced forces”, how could the fifth still be,
and
the other or others “not yet come” ? In The Kabbalah Unveiled, we read on
page
48, “ The seven Kings had died and their possessions had been broken up”,
and
a footnote emphasizes the statement by saying, “these seven Kings are the
Edomite
Kings”.
Edris
(Arab.), or Idris. Meaning “the learned One”, an epithet applied by the
Arabs
to Enoch.
Eggs
(Easter). Eggs were symbolical from an early time. There was the “Mundane
Egg”,
in which Brahmâ gestated, with the Hindus the Hiranya-Gharba, and the
Mundane
Egg of the Egyptians, which proceeds from the mouth of the “unmade and
eternal
deity”, Kneph, and which is the emblem of generative power. Then the Egg
of
Babylon, which hatched Ishtar, and was said to have fallen from heaven into
the
Euphrates. Therefore coloured eggs were used yearly during spring in almost
every
country, and in Egypt were exchanged as sacred symbols in the spring-time,
which
was, is, and ever will be, the emblem of birth
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or
rebirth, cosmic and human, celestial and terrestrial. They were hung up in
Egyptian
temples and are so suspended to this day in Mahometan mosques.
Egkosmioi
(Gk). “The intercosmic gods, each of which presides over a great
number
of daemons to whom they impart their power and change it from one to
another
at will”, says Proclus, and he adds, that which is taught in the
esoteric
doctrine. In his system he shows the uppermost regions from the zenith
of
the Universe to the moon belonging to the gods, or planetary Spirits,
according
to their hierarchies and classes. The highest among them were the
twelve
Huper-ouranioi, the super-celestial gods. Next to the latter, in rank and
power,
came the Egkosmioi.
Ego
(Lat.). “ Self” ; the consciousness in man “I am I”—or the feeling of
“I-am-ship”.
Esoteric philosophy teaches the existence of two Egos in man, the
mortal
or personal, and the Higher, the Divine and the Impersonal, calling the
former
“personality” and the latter “Individuality Egoity. From the word “Ego”.
Egoity
means “individuality”, never “personality”, and is the opposite of egoism
or
“selfishness”, the characteristic par excellence of the latter.
Egregores.
Eliphas Lévi calls them “the chiefs of the souls who are the spirits
of
energy and action” ; whatever that may or may not mean. The Oriental
Occultists
describe the Egregores as Beings whose bodies and essence is a tissue
of
the so-called astral light. They are the shadows of the higher Planetary
Spirits
whose bodies are of the essence of the higher divine light.
Eheyeh
(Heb.). “I am”, according to Ibn Gebirol, but not in the sense of “I am
that
I am”.
Eidolon
(Gr.). The same as that which we term the human phantom, the astral
form.
Eka
(Sk.). “One”; also a synonym of Mahat, the Universal Mind, as the principle
of
Intelligence.
Ekana-rupa
(Sk.). The One (and the Many) bodies or forms; a term applied by the
Purânas
to Deity.
Ekasloka
Shastra (Sk.). A work on the Shastras (Scriptures) by Nagarjuna; a
mystic
work translated into Chinese.
El-Elion
(Heb.). A name of the Deity borrowed by the Jews from the Phœnician
Elon,
a name of the Sun.
Elementals.
Spirits of the Elements. The creatures evolved in the four Kingdoms
or
Elements—earth, air, fire, and water. They are called
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by
the Kabbalists, Gnomes (of the earth), Sylphs (of the air), Salamanders (of
the
fire), and Undines (of the water). Except a few of the higher kinds, and
their
rulers, they are rather forces of nature than ethereal men and women.
These
forces, as the servile agents of the Occultists, may produce various
effects;
but if employed by” Elementaries” (q.v.)_in which case they enslave the
mediums—they
will deceive the credulous. All the lower invisible beings
generated
on the 5th 6th, and 7th planes of our terrestrial atmosphere, are
called
Elementals Peris, Devs, Djins, Sylvans, Satyrs, Fauns, Elves, Dwarfs,
Trolls,
Kobolds, Brownies, Nixies, Goblins, Pinkies, Banshees, Moss People,
White
Ladies, Spooks, Fairies, etc., etc., etc.
Elementaries.
Properly, the disembodied souls of the depraved; these souls
having
at some time prior to death separated from themselves their divine
spirits,
and so lost their chance for immortality; but at the present stage of
learning
it has been thought best to apply the term to the spooks or phantoms of
disembodied
persons, in general, to those whose temporary habitation is the Kâma
Loka.
Eliphas Lévi and some other Kabbalists make little distinction between
elementary
spirits who have been men, and those beings which people the
elements,
and are the blind forces of nature. Once divorced from their higher
triads
and their bodies, these souls remain in their Kâma-rupic envelopes, and
are
irresistibly drawn to the earth amid elements congenial to their gross
natures.
Their stay in the Kâma Loka varies as to its duration; but ends
invariably
in disintegration, dissolving like a column of mist, atom by atom, in
the
surrounding elements.
Elephanta.
An island near Bombay, India, on which are the well- preserved ruins
of
the cave-temple, of that name. It is one of the most ancient in the country
and
is certainly a Cyclopeian work, though the late J. Fergusson has refused it
a
great antiquity.
Eleusinia
(Gr.). The Eleusinian Mysteries were the most famous and the most
ancient
of all the Greek Mysteries (save the Samothracian), and were celebrated
near
the hamlet of Eleusis, not far from Athens. Epiphanius traces them to the
days
of Inachos (1800 B.c.), founded, as another version has it, by Eumolpus, a
King
of Thrace and a Hierophant. They were celebrated in honour of Demeter, the
Greek
Ceres and the Egyptian Isis; and the last act of the performance referred
to
a sacrificial victim of atonement and a resurrection, when the Initiate was
admitted
to the highest degree of “Epopt” (q.v.). The festival of the Mysteries
began
in the month of Boëdromion (September), the time of grape-gathering, and
lasted
from the 15th to the 22nd, seven days. The Hebrew feast of Tabernacles,
the
feast of Ingatherings, in the month of Ethanim (the seventh), also began on
the
15th and ended on the 22nd of that month,
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The
name of the month (Ethanim) is derived, according to some, from Adonim,
Adonia,
Attenim, Ethanim, and was in honour of Adonai or Adonis (Thammuz), whose
death
was lamented by the Hebrews in the groves of Bethlehem. The sacrifice of
both
“ Bread and Wine” was performed before the Mysteries of initiation, and
during
the ceremony the mysteries were divulged to the candidates from the
petroma,
a kind of book made of two stone tablets (petrai), joined at one side
and
made to open like a volume.
(See
Isis Unveiled II., pp. 44 and 91, et seq., for further explanations.)
Elivagar
(Scand.). The waters of Chaos, called in the cosmogony of the Norsemen
“the
stream of Elivagar”.
Elohîm
(Heb.). Also Alhim, the word being variously spelled. Godfrey Higgins,
who
has written much upon its meaning, always spells it Aleim. The Hebrew
letters
are aleph, lamed, hé,yod, mem, and are numerically 1, 30, 5, 10, 40 =
86.
It seems to be the plural of the feminine noun Eloah, ALH, formed by adding
the
common plural form IM, a masculine ending; and hence the whole seems to
imply
the emitted active and passive essences. As a title it is referred to
“Binah”
the Supernal Mother, as is also the fuller title IHVH ALHIM, Jehovah
Elohim.
As Binah leads on to seven succeedent Emanations, so “ Elohim” has been
said
to represent a sevenfold power of godhead. [ w.w. w.]
Eloї
(Gn.). The genius or ruler of Jupiter; its Planetary Spirit. (See Origen,
Contra
Celsum.)
Elu
(Sing.). An ancient dialect used in Ceylon.
Emanation
the Doctrine of. In its metaphysical meaning, it is opposed to
Evolution,
yet one with it. Science teaches that evolution is physiologically a
mode
of generation in which the germ that develops the foetus pre-exists already
in
the parent, the development and final form and characteristics of that germ
being
accomplished in nature; and that in cosmology the process takes place
blindly
through the correlation of the elements, and their various compounds.
Occultism
answers that this is only the apparent
mode, the real process being
Emanation,
guided by intelligent Forces under an immutable LAW. Therefore, while
the
Occultists and Theosophists believe thoroughly in the doctrine of Evolution
as
given out by Kapila and Manu, they are Emanationists rather than
Evolutionists.
The doctrine of Emanation was at one time universal. It was
taught
by the Alexandrian as well as by the Indian philosophers, by the
Egyptian,
the Chaldean and Hellenic Hierophants, and also by the Hebrews (in
their
Kabbala, and even in Genesis). For it is only owing to deliberate
mistranslation
that the Hebrew word asdt has been translated “angels” from the
Septuagint,
when it
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means
Emanations, Æons, precisely as with the Gnostics. Indeed, in Deuteronomy
(xxxiii.,
2) the word asdt or ashdt is translated as” fiery law”, whilst the
correct
rendering of the passage should be “from his right hand went [ not a
fiery
law, but a fire according to law “; viz., that the fire of one flame is
imparted
to, and caught up by another like as in a trail of inflammable
substance.
This is precisely emanation. As shown in Isis Unveiled : “In
Evolution,
as it is now beginning to he understood, there is supposed to be in
all
matter an impulse to take on a higher form—a supposition clearly expressed
by
Manu and other Hindu philosophers of the highest antiquity. The philosopher’s
tree
illustrates it in the case of the zinc solution. The controversy between
the
followers of this school and the Emanationists may he briefly stated thus
The
Evolutionist stops all inquiry at the borders of ‘ the Unknowable “; the
Emanationist
believes that nothing can be evolved—or, as the word means,
unwombed
or born—except it has first been involved, thus indicating that life is
from
a spiritual potency above the whole.”
Empusa
(Gr.). A ghoul, a vampire, an evil demon taking various forms.
En
(or Ain) Soph (Heb.). The endless, limitless and boundless. The absolute
deific
Principle, impersonal and unknowable. It means literally “no-thing” i.e.,
nothing
that could be classed with anything else. The word and ideas are
equivalent
to the Vedantic conceptions of Parabrahmn. [ w.w.w.]
Some
Western Kabbalists, however, contrive to make of IT, a personal “He”, a
male
deity instead of an impersonal deity.
En
(Chald.). A negative particle, like a in Greek and Sanskrit. The first
syllable
of “En-Soph” (q.v.), or nothing that begins or ends, the “Endless”.
Enoichion
(Gr.). Lit., the inner Eye” ; the “Seer”, a reference to the third
inner,
or Spiritual Eye, the true name for Enoch disfigured from Chanoch.
Ens
(Gr.). The same as the Greek To On “Being”, or the real Presence in Nature.
Ephesus
(Gr.). Famous for its great metaphysical College where Occultism
(Gnosis)
and Platonic philosophy were taught in the days of the Apostle Paul. A
city
regarded as the focus of secret sciences, and that Gnôsis. or Wisdom, which
is
the antagonist of the perversion of Christo-Esotericism to this day. It was
at
Ephesus where was the great College of the Essenes and all the lore the
Tanaim
had brought from the Chaldees,
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Epimetheus
(Gr.). Lit., “He who takes counsel after” the event. A brother of
Prometheus
in Greek Mythology.
Epinoia
(Gr.). Thought, invention, design. A name adopted by the Gnostics for
the
first passive Æon.
Episcopal
Crook. One of the insignia of Bishops, derived from the sacerdotal
sceptre
of the Etruscan Augurs. it is also found in the hand of several gods.
Epoptes
(Gr.). An Initiate. One who has passed his last degree of initiation.
Eridanus
(Lat.). Ardan, the Greek name for the river Jordan.
Eros
(Gr.). Hesiod makes of the god Eros the third personage of the Hellenic
primordial
Trinity composed of Ouranos, Gæa and Eros. It is the personified
procreative
Force in nature in its abstract sense, the propeller to “creation”
and
procreation. Exoterically, mythology makes of Eros the god of lustful,
animal
desire, whence the term erotic esoterically, it is different. (See “
Kâma”.)
Eshmim
(Heb.). The Heavens, the Firmament in which are the Sun, Planets and
Stars;
from the root Sm, meaning to place, dispose ; hence, the planets, as
disposers.
[ w. w.w.]
Esoteric
(Gr.). Hidden, secret. From the Greek esotericos, “inner” concealed.
Esoteric
Bodhism. Secret wisdom or intelligence from the Greek esotericos
“inner”,
and the Sanskrit Bodhi, “knowledge”, intelligence— in contradistinction
to
Buddhi, “the faculty of knowledge or intelligence” and Buddhism, the
philosophy
or Law of Buddha (the Enlightened). Also written “ Budhism”, from
Budha
(Intelligence and Wisdom) the Son of Soma.
Essasua.
The African and Asiatic sorcerers and serpent charmers.
Essenes.
A hellenized word, from the Hebrew Asa, a “healer”. A mysterious sect
of
Jews said by Pliny to have lived near the Dead Sea per millia sæculorum—for
thousands
of ages. “ Some have supposed them to be extreme Pharisees, and
others—which
may be the true theory—the descendants of the
Benim-nabim
of the Bible, and think that they were ‘Kenites and Nazarites. They
had
many Buddhistic ideas and practices; and it is noteworthy that the priests
of
the Great Mother at Ephesus, Diana-Bhavani with many breasts, were also so
denominated.
Eusebius, and after him De Quincey, declared them to be the same as
the
early Christians, which is more than probable. The title ‘ brother’, used in
the
early Church, was Essenean ; they were a fraternity, or a koinobion or
community
like the early converts.”
(Isis
Unveiled.)
Ether.
Students are but too apt to confuse this with Akâsa and with
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Astral
Light. It is neither, in the sense in which ether is described by
physical
Science. Ether is a material agent, though hitherto undetected by any
physical
apparatus; whereas Akâsa is a distinctly spiritual agent, identical, in
one
sense, with the Anima Mundi, while the Astral Light is only the seventh and
highest
principle of the terrestrial atmosphere, as undetectable as Akâsa and
real
Ether, because it is something quite on another plane. The seventh
principle
of the earth’s atmosphere, as said, the Astral Light, is only the
second
on the Cosmic scale. The scale of Cosmic Forces, Principles and Planes,
of
Emanations—on the metaphysical—and Evolutions—on the physical plane—is the
Cosmic
Serpent biting its own tail, the Serpent reflecting the Higher, and
reflected
in its turn by the lower Serpent. The Caduceus explains the mystery,
and
the four-fold Dodecahedron on the model of which the universe is said by
Plato
to have been built by the manifested Logos—synthesized by the unmanifested
First-Born—yields
geometrically the key to Cosmogony and its microcosmic
reflection—our
Earth.
Eurasians.
An abbreviation of “European-Asians”. The mixed coloured races: the
children
of the white fathers and the dark mothers of India, or vice versa.
Evapto.
Initiation; the same as Epopteia.
Evolution.
The development of higher orders of animals from lower. As said in
Isis
Unveiled: “Modern Science holds but to a one-sided physical evolution,
prudently
avoiding and ignoring the higher or spiritual evolution, which would
force
our contemporaries to confess the superiority of the ancient philosophers
and
psychologists over themselves. The ancient sages, ascending to the
UNKNOWABLE,
made their starting- point from the first manifestation of the
unseen,
the unavoidable, and, from a strictly logical reasoning, the absolutely
necessary
creative Being, the Demiurgos of the universe. Evolution began with
them
from pure spirit, which descending lower and lower down, assumed at last a
visible
and comprehensible form, and became matter. Arrived at this point, they
speculated
in the Darwinian method, but on a far more large and comprehensive
basis.”
(See “Emanation”.)
Exoteric.
Outward, public; the opposite of esoteric or hidden.
Extra-Cosmic.
Outside of Kosmos or Nature; a nonsensical word invented to assert
the
existence of a personal god, independent of, or out side, Nature per se, in
opposition
to the Pantheistic idea that the whole Kosmos is animated or informed
with
the Spirit of Deity, Nature being but the garment, and matter the illusive
shadow,
of the real unseen Presence.
Eye
of Horus. A very sacred symbol in ancient Egypt. It was
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called
the outa the right eye represented the sun, the left, the moon. Says
Macrobius
: “ The outo (or uta) is it not the emblem of the sun, king of the
world,
who from his elevated throne sees all the Universe below him”?
Eyes
(divine). The “eyes” the Lord Buddha developed in him at the twentieth hour
of
his vigil when sitting under the BO-tree, when he was attaining Buddhaship.
They
are the eyes of the glorified Spirit, to which matter is no longer a
physical
impediment, and which have the power of seeing all things within the
space
of the limitless Universe. 0n the following morning of that night, at the
close
of the third watch, the “ Merciful One” attained the Supreme Knowledge.
Ezra
(Heb.). The Jewish priest and scribe, who, circa 450 B.c., compiled the
Pentateuch
if indeed he was not the author of it) and the rest of the Old
Testament,
except Nehemiah and Malachi. [w.w.w.]
Ezra
(Heb.). The same as Azareel and Azriel, a great Hebrew Kabbalist. His full
name
is Rabbi Azariel ben Manahem. He flourished at Valladolid, Spain, in the
twelfth
century, and was famous as a philosopher and Kabbalist. He is the author
of
a work on the Ten Sephiroth.
F
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F
—The sixth letter of the English alphabet, for which there is no equivalent in
Hebrew.
It is the double F F of the Æolians which became the Digamma for some
mysterious
reasons. It corresponds to the Greek phi. As a Latin numeral it
denotes
40, with a dash over the letter (F) 400,000.
Faces
(Kabbalistic), or, as in Hebrew, Partzupheem. The word usually refers to
Areekh
Anpeen or Long Face, and Zeir-Anpeen, or Short Face, and Resha Hivrah the
“White
Head” or Face. The Kabbala states that from the moment of their
appearance
(the hour of differentiation of matter) all the material for future
forms
was contained in the three Heads which are one, and called Atteekah
Kadosha
(Holy
Ancients and the Faces). It is when the Faces look toward each other, that
the
Holy Ancients” in three Heads, or Atteekah Kadosha, are called Areek
Appayem,
i.e., “Long Faces”. (See Zohar iii., 292a.) This refers to the three
Higher
Principles, cosmic and human.
Fafnir
(Scand.). The Dragon of Wisdom.
Fahian
(Chin.). A Chinese traveller and writer in the early centuries of
Christianity,
who wrote on Buddhism.
Fa-Hwa-King
(Chin.). A Chinese work on Cosmogony.
Faizi
(Arab.). Literally the “heart”. A writer on occult and mystic subjects.
Fakir
(Arab.). A Mussulman ascetic in India, a Mahometan “Yogi”. The name is
often
applied, though erroneously. to Hindu ascetics; for strictly speaking only
Mussulman
ascetics are entitled to it. This loose way of calling things by
general
names was adopted in Isis Unveiled but is now altered.
Falk,
Caїn Chenul. A Kabbalistic Jew, reputed to have worked “miracles”.
Kenneth
Mackenzie
quotes in regard to him from the German annalist Archenoiz’ work on
England
(1788) :—“ There exists in London an extraordinary man who for thirty
years
has been celebrated in Kabbalistic records. He is named Caїn Chenul
Falk.
A
certain Count de Rautzow, lately dead in the service of France, with the rank
of
Field-Marshal, certifies that he has seen this Falk in Brunswick, and that
evocations
of spirits took place in the presence of credible witnesses.” These
“spirits”
were Elementals, whom Falk brought into
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view
by the conjurations used by every Kabbalist. His son, Johann Friedrich
Falk,
likewise a Jew, was also a Kabbalist of repute, and was once the head of a
Kabbalistic
college in London. His occupation was that of a jeweller and
appraiser
of diamonds, and he was a wealthy man. To this day the mystic writings
and
rare Kabbalistic works bequeathed by him to a trustee may be perused in a
certain
half-public library in London, by every genuine student of Occultism.
Falk’s
own writings are all still in MS., and some in cypher.
Farbauti
(Scand.). A giant in the Edda; lit., “the oarsman”; the father of Loki,
whose
mother was the giantess Laufey (leafy isle); a genealogy which makes W. S.
W.
Anson remark in Asgard and the Gods that probably the oarsman or Farbauti
“was
the giant who saved himself from the flood in a boat, and the latter
(Laufey)
the island to which he rowed”—which is an additional variation of the
Deluge.
Fargard
(Zend.). A section or chapter of verses in the Vendidad of the Parsis.
Farvarshi
(Mazd.). The same as Ferouer, or the opposite (as contrasted) double.
The
spiritual counterpart of the still more spiritual original. Thus, Ahriman is
the
Ferouer or the Farvarshi of Ormuzd— “demon est deus inversus”—Satan of God.
Michael
the Archangel, “he like god”, is a Ferouer of that god. A Farvarshi is
the
shadowy or dark side of a Deity—or its darker lining.
Ferho
(Gnost.). The highest and greatest creative power with the Nazarene
Gnostics.
(Codex
Nazaræus.)
Fetahil
(Gr.). The lower creator, in the same Codex.
First
Point. Metaphysically the first point of manifestation, the germ of
primeval
differentiation, or the point in the infinite Circle “whose centre is
everywhere,
and circumference nowhere“.
The
Point is the Logos.
Fire
(Living). A figure of speech to denote deity, the “One” life. A theurgic
term,
used later by the Rosicrucians. The symbol of the living fire is the sun,
certain
of whose rays develope the fire of life in a diseased body, impart the
knowledge
of the future to the sluggish mind, and stimulate to active function a
certain
psychic and generally dormant faculty in man. The meaning is very
occult.
Fire-Philosophers.
The name given to the Hermetists and Alchemists of the Middle
Ages,
and also to the Rosicrucians. The latter, the successors of the
Theurgists,
regarded fire as the symbol of Deity. It was the source, not only of
material
atoms, but the container of the spiritual and psychic Forces energizing
them.
Broadly analyzed, fire is
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a
triple principle; esoterically, a septenary, as are all the rest of the
Elements.
As man is composed of Spirit, Soul and Body, plus a four fold aspect:
so
is Fire. As in the works of Robert Fludd (de Fluctibus) one of the famous
Rosicrucians,
Fire contains (1) a visible flame (Body); (2) an invisible, astral
fire
(Soul); and (3) Spirit. The four aspects are heat (life), light (mind),
electricity
(Kâmic, or molecular powers) and the Synthetic Essence, beyond
Spirit,
or the radical cause of its existence and manifestation. For the
Hermetist
or Rosicrucian, when a flame is extinct on the objective plane it has
only
passed from the seen world unto the unseen, from the knowable into the
unknowable.
Fifty
Gates of Wisdom (Kab.). The number is a blind, and there are really 49
gates,
for Moses, than whom the Jewish world has no higher adept, reached,
according
to the Kabbalas, and passed only the 49th. These “gates” typify the
different
planes of Being or Ens. They are thus the “gates” of Life and the
“gates”
of understanding or degrees of occult knowledge. These 49 (or 50) gates
correspond
to the seven gates in the seven caves of Initiation into the
Mysteries
of Mithra (see Celsus and Kircher). ‘I’he division of the 50 gates
into
five chief gates, each including ten—is again a blind. It is in the fourth
gate
of these five, from which begins, ending at the tenth, the world of
Planets,
thus making seven, corresponding to the seven lower Sephiroth—that the
key
to their meaning lies hidden. They are also called the “gates of Binah” or
understanding.
Flagæ(Herm.).
A name given by Paracelsus to a particular kind of guardian angels
or
genii.
Flame
(Holy). The “ Holy Flame” is the name given by the Eastern Asiatic
Kabbalists
(Semites) to the Anima Mundi the “world- soul” The Initiates were
called
the “Sons of the Holy Flame.
Fludd
(Robert), generally known as Robertus de Fluctibus, the chief of the
“Philosophers
by Fire”. A celebrated English Hermetist of the sixteenth century,
and
a voluminous writer. He wrote on the essence of gold and other mystic and
occult
subjects.
Fluvii
Transitus (Lat.). Or crossing of the River (Chebar). Cornelius Agrippa
gives
this alphabet. In the Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol. III., part 2, 1890,
which
work is the Report of the proceedings of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge of
Freemasons,
No. 2076, will be found copies of this alphabet, and also the
curious
old letters called Melachim, and the Celestial alphabet, supplied by W.
Wynn
Westcott, P.M. This Lodge seems to be the only one in England which really
does
study “the hidden mysteries of Nature and Science” in earnest.
Fohat
(Tib.). A term used to represent the active (male) potency of
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the
Sakti (female reproductive power) in nature. The essence of cosmic
electricity.
An occult Tibetan term for Daiviprakriti primordial light: and in
the
universe of manifestation the ever-present electrical energy and ceaseless
destructive
and formative power. Esoterically, it is the same, Fohat being the
universal
propelling Vital Force, at once the propeller and the resultant.
Foh-tchou
(Chin.). Lit., “Buddha’s Lord”, meaning, however, simply the teacher
of
the doctrines of Buddha. Foh means a Guru who lives generally in a temple of
Sakyamuni
Buddha—the Foh-Maeyu.
Fons
Yitæ (Lat.). A work of Ibn Gehirol, the Arabian Jewish philosopher of the
Xlth
century, who called it Me-gôr Hayyûn or the “Fountain of Life” (De Materia
Universali
and Fons Vitæ). The Western Kabbalists have proclaimed it a really
Kabbalistic
work. Several MSS.,Latin and Hebrew, of this wonderful production
have
been discovered by scholars in public libraries; among others one by Munk,
in
1802. The Latin name of Ibn Gebirol was Avicebron, a name well-known to all
Oriental
scholars.
FourAnimals.
The symbolical animals of the vision of Ezekiel (the Mercabah). “
With
the first Christians the celebration of the Mysteries of the Faith was
accompanied
by the burning of seven lights, with incense, the Trishagion, and
the
reading of the book of the gospels, upon which was wrought, both on covers
and
pages, the winged man, lion, bull, and eagle” (Qabbalah, by Isaac Myer,
LL.B.).
To this day these animals are represented along with the four
Evangelists
and prefixing their respective gospels in the editions of the Greek
Church.
Each represents one of the four lower classes of worlds or planes, into
the
similitude of which each personality is cast. Thus the Eagle (associated
with
St. John) represents cosmic Spirit or Ether, the all-piercing Eye of the
Seer;
the Bull of St. Luke, the waters of Life, the all-generating element and
cosmic
strength ; the Lion of St. Mark, fierce energy, undaunted courage and
cosmic
fire; while the human Head or the Angel, which stands near St. Matthew is
the
synthesis of all three combined in the higher Intellect of man, and in
cosmic
Spirituality. All these symbols are Egyptian, Chaldean, and Indian. The
Eagle,
Bull and Lion-headed gods are plentiful, and all represented the same
idea,
whether in the Egyptian, Chaldean, Indian or Jewish religions, but
beginning
with the Astral body they went no higher than the cosmic Spirit or the
Higher
Manas—Atma-Buddhi, or Absolute Spirit and Spiritual Soul its vehicle,
being
incapable of being symbolised by concrete images.
Fravasham
(Zend). Absolute spirit.
Freya
or Frigga (Scand.). In the Edda, Frigga is the mother of the gods like
Aditi
in the Vedas. She is identical with the Northern Frea of
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the
Germans, and in her lowest aspect was worshipped as the all- nourishing
Mother
Earth. She was seated on her golden throne, formed of webs of golden
light,
with three divine virgins as her handmaidens and messengers, and was
occupied
with spinning golden threads with which to reward good men. She is Isis
and
Diana at the same time, for she is also Holda, the mighty huntress, and she
is
Ceres-Demeter, who protects agriculture—the moon and nature.
Frost
Giants or Hrimthurses (Scand.). They are the great builders, the Cyclopes
and
Titans of the Norsemen, and play a prominent part in the Edda. It is they
who
build the strong wall round Asgard (the Scandinavian Olympus) to protect it
from
the Jotuns, the wicked giants.
Fylfot
(Scand.). A weapon of Thor, like the Swastika, or the Jaina, the
four-footed
cross ; generally called “Thor’s Hammer”.
G
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G
•—The seventh letter in the English alphabet. “In Greek, Chaldean, Syriac,
Hebrew,
Assyrian, Samaritan, Etrurian, Coptic, in the modern Romaic and Gothic,
it
occupies the third place in the alphabet, while in Cyrillic, Glagolitic,
Croat,
Russian, Servian and Wallachian, it stands fourth.” As the name of “god”
begins
with this letter (in Syriac, gad; Swedish, gud: German, gott; English,
god;
Persian, gada, etc., etc.), there is an occult reason for this which only
the
students of esoteric philosophy and of the Secret Doctrine, explained
esoterically,
will understand thoroughly; it refers to the three logoi—the
last,the
Elohim, and the emanation of the latter, the androgynous Adam Kadmon.
All
these peoples have derived the name of “god” from their respective
traditions,
the more or less clear echoes of the esoteric tradition. Spoken and
“Silent
Speech” (writing) are a “gift of the gods”, say all the national
traditions,
from the old Aryan Sanskrit-speaking people who claim that their
alphabet,
the Devanâgari (lit., the language of the devas or gods) was given to
them
from heaven, down to the Jews, who speak of an alphabet, the parent of the
one
which has survived, as having been a celestial and mystical symbolism given
by
the angels to the patriarchs. Hence, every letter had its manifold meaning. A
symbol
itself of a celestial being and objects, it was in its turn represented
on
earth by like corresponding objects whose form symbolised the shape of the
letter.
The present letter, called in Hebrew gimel and symbolised by a long
camel’s
neck, or rather a serpent erect, is associated with the third sacred
divine
name, Ghadol or Magnus (great). Its numeral is four, the Tetragrammaton
and
the sacred Tetraktys; hence its sacredness. With other people it stood for
400
and with a dash over it, for 400,000.
Gabriel.
According to the Gnostics, the “Spirit” or Christos, the “messenger of
life”,
and Gabriel are one. The former “is called some-times the Angel Gabriel
Hebrew
‘the mighty one of God’,” and took with the Gnostics the place of the
Logos,
while the Holy Spirit was considered one with the Æon Life,
(see
Irenæus I., xii.). Therefore we find Theodoret saying (in Hævet. Fab., II
vii.)
: “ The heretics agree with us (Christians) respecting the beginning of
all
things. But they say there is not one Christ (God), but one above and the
other
below. And this last formerly dwelt in many; but the Jesus, they at one
time
say is from God, at another they call him a Spirit;” The key to this is
given
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in
the esoteric philosophy. The “spirit” with the Gnostics was a female potency
exoterically,
it was the ray proceeding from the Higher Manas, the Ego, and that
which
the Esotericists refer to as the Kâma Manas or the lower personal Ego,
which
is radiated in every human entity by the Higher Ego or Christos, the god
within
us. Therefore, they were right in saying: “there is not one Christ, but
one
above and the other below”. Every student of Occultism will understand this,
and
also that Gabriel—or “the mighty one of God”—is one with the Higher Ego.
(See
Isis Unveiled.)
Gæa
(Gr.). Primordial Matter, in the Cosmogony of Hesiod; Earth, as some think;
the
wife of Ouranos, the sky or heavens. The female personage of the primeval
Trinity,
composed of Ouranos, Gæa and Eros.
Gaffarillus.
An Alchemist and philosopher who lived in the middle of the
seventeenth
century. He is the first philosopher known to maintain that every
natural
object (e.g., plants, living creatures, etc.), when burned, retained its
form
in its ashes and that it could be raised again from them. This claim was
justified
by the eminent chemist Du Chesne, and after him Kircher, Digby and
Vallemont
have assured themselves of the fact, by demonstrating that the astral
forms
of burned plants could be raised from their ashes. A receipt for raising
such
astral phantoms of flowers is given in a work of Oetinger, Thoughts on the
Birth
and Generation of Things.
Gaganeswara
(Sk.). “Lord of the Sky”, a name of Garuda.
Gal-hinnom
(Heb.) The name of Hell in the Talmud.
Gambatrin
(Scand.). The name of Hermodur’s “magic staff” in the Edda.
Ganadevas
(Sk.)A certain class of celestial Beings who are said to inhabit
Maharloka.
They are the rulers of our Kalpa (Cycle) and therefore termed
Kalpâdhikârins,
or Lord of the Kalpas. They last only “One Day” of Brahmâ.
Gandapada
(Sk.) A celebrated Brahman teacher, the author of the Commentaries on
the
Sankhya Karika, Mandukya Upanishad, and other works.
Gândhâra
(Sk.) A musical note of great occult power in the Hindu gamut—the third
of
the diatonic scale.
Gandharva
(Sk.) The celestial choristers and musicians of India. in the Vedas
these
deities reveal the secrets of heaven and earth and esoteric science to
mortals.
They had charge of the sacred Soma plant and its juice, the ambrosia
drunk
in the temple which gives “omniscience".
Gan-Eden
(Heb.) Also Ganduniyas. (See “Eden”.)
Ganesa
(Sk.) The elephant-headed God of Wisdom, the son of Siva.
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He
is the same as the Egyptian Thoth-Hermes, and Anubis or Hermanubis (q.v.).
The
legend shows him as having lost his human head, which was replaced by that
of
an elephant.
Gangâ
(Sk.) The Ganges, the principal sacred river in India. There are two
versions
of its myth: one relates that Gangâ (the goddess) having transformed
herself
into a river, flows from the big toe of Vishnu; the other, that the
Gangâ
drop from the ear of Siva into the Anavatapta lake, thence passes out,
through
the mouth of the silver cow (gômukhi), crosses all Eastern India and
falls
into the Southern Ocean. “An ‘heretical superstition ”, remarks Mr. Eitel
in
his Sanskrit, Chinese Dictionary “ascribes to the waters of the Ganges
sin-cleansing
power” No more a “superstition” one would say, than the belief
that
the waters of Baptism and the Jordan have “sin-cleansing power”.
Gangâdwâra
(Sk.) “The gate or door of the Ganges”, literally; the name of a town
now
called Hardwar, at the foot of the Himalayas.
Gangi
(Sk.) A renowned Sorcerer in the time of Kâsyapa Buddha (a predecessor of
Gautama).
Gangi was regarded as an incarnation of Apalâla, the Nâga (Serpent),
the
guardian Spirit of the Sources of Subhavastu, a river in Udyâna. Apalâla is
said
to have been converted by Gautama Buddha, to the good Law, and become an
Arhat.
The allegory of the name is comprehensible : all the Adepts and Initiates
were
called nâgas, “ Serpents of Wisdom”.
Ganinnânse.
A Singhalese priest who has not yet been ordained—from gana, an
assemblage
or brotherhood. The higher ordained priests “are called terunnânse
from
the Pali théro, an elder”(Hardy).
Garm
(Scand.). The Cerberus of the Edda. This monstrous dog lived in the Gnypa
cavern
in front of the dwelling of Hel, the goddess of the nether-world.
Garuda
(Sk.) A gigantic bird in the Ramâyana, the steed of Vishnu.
Esoterically—the
symbol of the great Cycle.
Gâthâ
(Sk.) Metrical chants or hymns, consisting of moral aphorisms. A gâthâ of
thirty-two
words is called Âryâgiti.
Gâti
(Sk.) The six (esoterically seven) conditions of sentient existence. These
are
divided into two groups: the three higher and the three lower paths. To the
former
belong the devas, the asuras and (immortal) men; to the latter (in
exoteric
teachings) creatures in hell, prêtas or hungry demons, and animals.
Explained
esoterically, however, the last three are the personalities in
Kâmaloka,
elementals and animals. The seventh mode of existence is that of the
Nirmanakâya
(q.v.).
Gâtra
(Sk.) Lit., the limbs (of Brahmâ) from which the “mind-born” sons, the
seven
Kumâras, were born.
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Gautama
(Sk.) The Prince of Kapilavastu, son of Sudhôdana, the Sâkya king of a
small
realm on the borders of Nepaul, born in the seventh century B.c., now
called
the “Saviour of the World”. Gautama or Gôtama was the sacerdotal name of
the
Sâkya family, and Sidhârtha was Buddha’s name before he became a Buddha.
Sâkya
Muni, means the Saint of the Sâkya family. Born a simple mortal he rose to
Buddhaship
through his own personal and unaided merit. A man—verily greater than
any
god!
Gayâ
(Sk.) Ancient city of Magadha, a little north-west of the modern Gayah. It
is
at the former that Sakyamuni reached his Buddha- ship, under the famous
Bodhi-tree,
Bodhidruma.
Gayâtri
(Sk.) also Sâvitri. A most sacred verse, addressed to the Sun, in the
Rig
-Veda, which the Brahmans have to repeat mentally every morn and eve during
their
devotions.
Geber
(Heb.) or Gibborim. “Mighty men”; the same as the Kabirim. In heaven, they
are
regarded as powerful angels, on earth as the giants mentioned in chapter vi.
of
Genesis.
Gebirol,
Solomon Ben Jehudah. Called in literature Avicebron. An Israelite by
birth,
a philosopher, poet and Kabbalist, a voluminous writer and a mystic. He
was
born in the eleventh Century at Malaga (1021), educated at Saragossa, and
died
at Valencia in 1070, murdered by a Mahommedan. His fellow-religionists
called
him Salomon the Sephardi, or the Spaniard, and the Arabs, Abu Ayyub
Suleiman
ben ya’hya Ibn Dgebirol; whilst the scholastics named him Avicebron.
(See
Myer’s Qabbalah.) Ibn Gebirol was certainly one of the greatest
philosophers
and scholars of his age. He wrote much in Arabic and most of his
MSS.
have been preserved. His greatest work appears to be the Megôr Hayyîm,
i.e.,
the Fountain of Life, “one of the earliest exposures of the secrets of the
Speculative
Kabbalah”, as his biographer informs us. (See “Fons Vitæ”.)
Geburah
(Heb.) A Kabbalistic term ; the fifth Sephira, a female and passive
potency,
meaning severity and power; from it is named the Pillar of Severity. [
w.
w w.]
Gedulah
(Heb.) Another name for the Sephira Chesed.
Gehenna,
in Hebrew Hinnom. No hell at all, but a valley near Jerusalem, where
Israelites
immolated their children to Moloch. In that valley a place named
Tophet
was situated, where a fire was perpetually preserved for sanitary
purposes.
The prophet Jeremiah informs us that his countrymen, the Jews, used to
sacrifice
their children on that spot.
Gehs
(Zend) Parsi prayers.
Gelukpa
(Tib.) “Yellow Caps” literally ; the highest and most
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orthodox
Buddhist sect in Tibet, the antithesis of the Dugpa (“Red Caps”), the
old
“devil worshippers”.
Gemara
(Heb.) The latter portion of the Jewish Talmud, begun by Rabbi Ashi and
completed
by Rabbi Mar and Meremar, about 300 A.D. [w.w.w.] Lit., to finish. It
is
a commentary on the Mishna.
Gematria
(Heb.) A division of the practical Kabbalah. It shows the numerical
value
of Hebrew words by summing up the values of the letters composing them and
further,
it shows by this means, analogies between words and phrases. [w.w.w.]
One
of the methods (arithmetical) for extracting the hidden meaning from
letters,
words and sentences.
Gems,
Three precious. In Southern Buddhism these are the sacred books, the
Buddhas
and the priesthood. In Northern Buddhism and its secret schools, the
Buddha,
his sacred teachings, and the Narjols (Buddhas of Compassion).
Genesis.
The whole of the Book of Genesis down to the death of Joseph, is found
to
he a hardly altered version of the Cosmogony of the Chaldeans, as is now
repeatedly
proven from the Assyrian tiles. The first three chapters are
transcribed
from the allegorical narratives of the beginnings common to all
nations.
Chapters four and five are a new allegorical adaptation of the same
narration
in the secret Book of Numbers; chapter six is an astronomical
narrative
of the Solar year and the seven cosmocratores from the Egyptian
original
of the Pymander and the symbolical visions of a series of Enoichioi
(Seers)—from
whom came also the Book of Enoch. The beginning of Exodus, and the
story
of Moses is that of the Babylonian Sargon, who having flourished (as even
that
unwilling authority Dr. Sayce tells us) 3750 B.C. preceded the Jewish
lawgiver
by almost 2300 years. (See Secret Doctrine, vol. II., pp. 691 et seq.)
Nevertheless,
Genesis is an undeniably esoteric work. It has not borrowed, nor
has
it disfigured the universal symbols and teachings on the lines of which it
was
written, but simply adapted the eternal truths to its own national spirit
and
clothed them in cunning allegories comprehensible only to its Kabbalists and
Initiates.
The Gnostics have done the same, each sect in its own way, as
thousands
of years before, India, Egypt, Chaldea and Greece, had also dressed
the
same incommunicable truths each in its own national garb. The key and
solution
to all such narratives can be found only in the esoteric teachings.
Genii
(Lat.) A name for Æons, or angels, with the Gnostics. The names of their
hierarchies
and classes are simply legion.
Geonic
Period. The era of the Geonim may be found mentioned in
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works
treating of the Kabbalah ; the ninth century AD. is implied. [ w. w.w.]
Gharma
(Sk.) A title of Karttikeya, the Indian god of war and the Kumâra born of
Siva’s
drop of sweat that fell into the Ganges.
Ghôcha
(Sk.) Lit., “the miraculous Voice”. The name of a great Arhat, the author
of
Abhidharmamrita
Shastra,
who restored sight to a blind man by anointing his eyes with the tears
of
the audience moved by his (Ghôcha’s) supernatural eloquence.
Gilgoolem
(Heb.) The cycle of rebirths with the Hebrew Kabbalists; with the
orthodox
Kabbalists, the “whirling of the soul” after death, which finds-no rest
until
it reaches Palestine, the “promised land”, and its body is buried there.
Gimil
(Scand.). “The Cave of Gimil” or Wingolf. A kind of Heaven or Paradise, or
perhaps
a New Jerusalem, built by the “Strong and Mighty God” who remains
nameless
in the Edda, above the Field of Ida, and after the new earth rose out
of
the waters.
Ginnungagap
(Scand.). The “cup of illusion” literally ; the abyss of the great
deep,
or the shoreless, beginningless, and endless, yawning gulf; which in
esoteric
parlance we call the “World’s Matrix”, the primordial living space. The
cup
that contains the universe, hence the “cup of illusion”.
Giöl
(Scand.) The, Styx, the river Giöl which had to be crossed before the
nether-world
was reached, or the cold Kingdom of Hel. It was spanned by a
gold-covered
bridge, which led to the gigantic iron fence that encircles the
palace
of the Goddess of the Under-World or Hel.
Gna
(Scand.) One of the three handmaidens of the goddess Freya. She is a female
Mercury
who bears her mistress’ messages into all parts of the world.
Gnâna
(Sk.) Knowledge as applied to the esoteric sciences.
Gnân
Devas (Sk.) Lit., “the gods of knowledge”. The higher classes of gods or
devas;
the “mind-born” sons of Brahmâ, and others including the Manasa-putras
(the
Sons of Intellect). Esoterically, our reincarnating Egos.
Gnânasakti
(Sk.) The power of true knowledge, one of the seven great forces in
Nature
(six, exoterically).
Gnatha
(Sk.) The Kosmic Ego; the conscious, intelligent Soul of Kosmos.
Gnomes
(Alch.) The Rosicrucian name for the mineral and earth elementals,
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Gnôsis
(Gr.) Lit., “knowledge”. The technical term used by the schools of
religious
philosophy, both before and during the first centuries of so-called
Christianity,
to denote the object of their enquiry. This Spiritual and Sacred
Knowledge,
the Gupta Vidya of the Hindus, could only be obtained by Initiation
into
Spiritual Mysteries of which the ceremonial “Mysteries” were a type.
Gnostics
(Gr.) The philosophers who formulated and taught the Gnôsis or
Knowledge
(q.v.). They flourished in the first three centuries of the Christian
era:
the following were eminent, Valentinus, Basilides, Marcion, Simon Magus,
etc.
[ w.w. w.]
Gnypa
(Scand.) The cavern watched by the dog Garm (q.v.).
Gogard
(Zend.) The Tree of Life in the Avesta.
Golden
Age. The ancients divided the life cycle into the Golden, Silver, Bronze
and
Iron Ages. The Golden was an age of primeval purity, simplicity and general
happiness.
Gonpa
(Tib.) A temple or monastery; a Lamasery.
Gonpîs
(Sk.). Shepherdesses — the playmates and companions of Krishna, among
whom
was his wife Raddha.
Gossain
(Sk.). The name of a certain class of ascetics in India.
Great
Age. There were several “great ages” mentioned by the ancients. In India
it
embraced the whole Maha-manvantara, the “age of Brahmâ”, each “Day” of which
represents
the life cycle of a chain—i.e. it embraces a period of seven Rounds.
(See
Esoteric Buddhism, by A. P. Sinnett.) Thus while a “Day” and a “Night”
represent,
as Manvantara and Pralaya, 8,640,000,000 years, an “age” lasts
through
a period of 311,040,000,000,000 years;
after which the Pralaya, or
dissolution
of the universe, becomes universal. With the Egyptians and Greeks
the
“great age” referred only to the tropical or sidereal year, the duration of
which
is 25,868 solar years. Of the complete age—that of the gods— they say
nothing,
as it was a matter to he discussed and divulged only in the Mysteries,
during
the initiating ceremonies. The “great age” of the Chaldees was the same
in
figures as that of the Hindus.
Grihastha
(Sk.) Lit., “a householder”, “one who lives in a house with his
family”.
A Brahman “ family priest” in popular rendering, and the sarcerdotal
hierarchy
of the Hindus.
Guardian
Wall. A suggestive name given to the host of translated adepts
(Narjols)
or the Saints collectively, who are supposed to watch over, help and
protect
Humanity. This is the so-called “Nirmanâkâya” doctrine in Northern
mystic
Buddhism. (See Voice of the Silence, Part III.)
Guff
(Heb.) Body; physical form; also written Gof.
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Guhya
(Sk.) Concealed, secret.
Guhya
Vidyâ(Sk.) The secret knowledge of mystic Mantras.
Gullweig
(Scand.) The personification of the “golden” ore. It is said in the
Edda
that during the Golden Age, when lust for gold and wealth was yet unknown
to
man, “when the gods played with golden disks, and no passion disturbed the
rapture
of mere existence”, the whole earth was happy. But, no sooner does
“Gullweig
(Gold ore) the bewitching enchantress come, who, thrice cast into the
fire,
arises each time more beautiful than before, and fills the souls of gods
and
men with unappeasable longing ”, than all became changed. It is then that
the
Norns, the Past, Present and Future, entered into being, the blessed peace
of
childhood’s dreams passed away and Sin came into existence with all its evil
consequences.
(Asgard and the Gods.)
Gunas
(Sk) Qualities, attributes (See“ Triguna”) ; a thread, also a cord.
Gunavat
(Sk.) That which is endowed with qualities.
Gupta
Vidyâ (Sk.) The same as Guhya Vidyâ; Esoteric or Secret Science;
knowledge.
Guru
(Sk.) Spiritual Teacher; a master in metaphysical and ethical doctrines;
used
also for a teacher of any science.
Guru
Deva (Sk.) Lit., “divine Master”.
Gyan-Ben-Giân
(Pers.) The King of the Peris, the Sylphs, in the old mythology of
Iran.
Gyges
(Gr.) “The ring of Gyges” has become a familiar metaphor in European
literature.
Gyges was a Lydian who, after murdering the King Candaules, married
his
widow. Plato tells us that Gyges descended once into a chasm of the earth
and
discovered a brazen horse, within whose open side was the skeleton of a man
who
had a brazen ring on his finger. This ring when placed on his own finger
made
him invisible.
Gymnosophists
(Gr.) The name given by Hellenic writers to a class of naked or
“air-clad”
mendicants; ascetics in India, extremely learned and endowed with
great
mystic powers. It is easy to recognise in these gymnosophists the Hindu
Aranyaka
of old, the learned yogis and ascetic- philosophers who retired to the
jungle
and forest, there to reach, through great austerities, superhuman
knowledge
and experience.
Gyn
(Tib.) Knowledge acquired under the tuition of an adept teacher or guru.
H
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H
,—The eighth letter and aspirate of the English alphabet, and also the eighth
in
the Hebrew. As a Latin numeral it signifies 200, and with the addition of a
dash
200,000; in the Hebrew alphabet Châth is equivalent to h, corresponds to
eight,
and is symbolised by a Fence and Venus according to Seyffarth, being in
affinity
and connected with Hê, and therefore with the opening or womb. It is
pre-eminently
a Yonic letter.
Ha
(Sk.) A magic syllable used in sacred formulæ it represents the power of
Akâsa
Sakti. Its efficacy lies in the expirational accent and the sound
produced.
Habal
de Garmin (Heb.) According to the Kabbalah this is the Resurrection Body:
a
tzelem image or demooth similitude to the deceased man; an inner fundamental
spiritual
type remaining after death. It is the “Spirit of the Bones ” mentioned
in
Daniel and Isaiah and the Psalms, and is referred to in the Vision of Ezekiel
about
the clothing of the dry bones with life: consult C, de Leiningen on the
Kabbalah,
T.P.S. Pamphlet, Vol. II., No. 18. [ w. w.w.]
Hachoser
(Heb.) Lit., “reflected Lights”; a name for the minor or inferior
powers,
in the Kabbalah.
Hades
(Gr.), or Aїdes. The “invisible”, i.e., the land of the shadows, one
of
whose
regions was Tartarus, a place of complete darkness, like the region of
profound
dreamless sleep in the Egyptian Amenti. Judging by the allegorical
description
of the various punishments inflicted therein, the place was purely
Karmic.
Neither Hades nor Amenti were the hell still preached by some retrograde
priests
and clergymen; but whether represented by the Elysian Fields or by
Tartarus,
Hades was a place of retributive justice and no more. This could only
be
reached by crossing the river to the “other shore”, i.e. by crossing the
river
Death, and being once more reborn, for weal or for woe. As well expressed
in
Egyptian Belief: “The story of Charon, the ferryman (of the, Styx) is to be
found
not only in Homer, but in the poetry of many lands. The River must be
crossed
before gaining the Isles of the Blest. The Ritual of Egypt described a
Charon
and his boat long ages before Homer. He is Khu-en-ua, the hawk-headed
steersman.”
(See
“Amenti”, “Hel” and “Happy Fields”.)
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Hagadah
(Heb.) A name given to parts of the Talmud which are legendary. [w.
w.w.]
Hahnir
(Scand.), or Hönir. One of the three mighty gods (Odin, Hahnir and Lodur)
who,
while wandering on earth, found lying on the sea-shore two human forms,
motionless,
speechless, and senseless. Odin gave them souls; Hahnir, motion and
senses;
and Lodur, blooming complexions. Thus were men created.
Haima
(Heb.) The same as the Sanskrit hiranya (golden), as “the golden Egg”
Hiranyagarbha.
Hair.
Occult philosophy considers the hair (whether human or animal) as the
natural
receptacle and retainer of the vital essence which often escapes with
other
emanations from the body. It is closely connected with many of the brain
functions—for
instance memory. With the ancient Israelites the cutting of the
hair
and beard was a sign of defilement, and “the Lord said unto Moses. . . They
shall
not make baldness upon their head”, etc. (Lev. XX1., 1-5.) “Baldness”,
whether
natural or artificial, was a sign of calamity, punishment, or grief, as
when
Isaiah (iii., 24) enumerates, “instead of well-set hair baldness”, among
the
evils that are ready to befall the chosen people. And again, “On all their
heads
baldness and every beard cut” (Ibid. xv., 2). The Nazarite was ordered to
let
his hair and beard grow, and never to permit a razor to touch them. With the
Egyptians
and Buddhists it was only the initiated priest or ascetic to whom life
is
a burden, who shaved. The Egyptian priest was supposed to have become master
of
his body, and hence shaved his head for cleanliness; yet the Hierophants wore
their
hair long. The Buddhist still shaves his head to this day—as sign of scorn
for
life and health. Yet Buddha, after shaving his hair when he first became a
mendicant,
let it grow again and is always represented with the top-knot of a
Yogi.
The Hindu priests and Brahmins, and almost all the castes, shave the rest
of
the head but leave a long lock to grow from the centre of the crown. The
ascetics
of India wear their hair long, and so do the war-like Sikhs, and almost
all
the Mongolian peoples. At Byzantium and Rhodes the shaving of the beard was
prohibited
by law, and in Sparta the cutting of the beard was a mark of slavery
and
servitude. Among the Scandinavians, we are told, it was considered a
disgrace,
“a mark of infamy”, to cut off the hair. The whole population of the
island
of Ceylon (the Buddhist Singhalese) wear their hair long. So do the
Russian,
Greek and Armenian clergy, and monks. Jesus and the Apostles are always
represented
with their hair long, but fashion in Christendom proved stronger
than
Christianity, the old ecclesiastical rules (Constit. Apost. lib. I. C. 3)
enjoining
the clergy “to wear their hair
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and
beards long” (See Riddle’s Ecclesiastical Antiquities.) The ‘Templars were
commanded
to wear their beards long. Samson wore his hair long, and the biblical
allegory
shows that health and strength and the very life are connected with the
length
of the hair. If a cat is shaved it will die in nine cases out of ten. A
dog
whose coat is not interfered with lives longer and is more intelligent than
one
whose coat is shaven. Many old people as they lose their hair lose much of
their
memory and become weaker. While the life of the Yogis is proverbially
long,
the Buddhist priests (of Ceylon and elsewhere) are not generally
long-lived.
Mussulmen shave their heads but wear their beards; and as their head
is
always covered, the danger is less.
Hajaschar
(Heb.) The Light Forces in the Kabbalah; the “Powers of Light”, which
are
the creative but inferior forces.
Hakem.
Lit., “the Wise One”, the Messiah to come, of the Druzes or the
“Disciples
of Hamsa”.
Hakim
(Arab.) A doctor, in all the Eastern countries, from Asia Minor to India.
Halachah
(Heb.) A name given to parts of the Talmud, which are arguments on
points
of doctrine; the word means “rule”. [ w. w.w.]
Hallucination.
A state produced sometimes by physiological disorders, sometimes
by
mediumship, and at others by drunkenness. But the cause that produces the
visions
has to be sought deeper than physiology. All such visions, especially
when
produced through mediumship, are preceded by a relaxation of the nervous
system,
in variably generating an abnormal magnetic condition which attracts to
the
sufferer waves of astral light. It is the latter that furnishes the various
hallucinations.
These, however, are not always what physicians would make them,
empty,
and unreal dreams. No one can see that which does not exist—i.e., which
is
not impressed—in or on the astral waves. A Seer may, however, perceive
objects
and scenes (whether past, present, or future) which have no relation
whatever
to himself, and also perceive several things entirely disconnected with
each
other at one and the same time, thus producing the most grotesque and
absurd
combinations. Both drunkard and Seer, medium and Adept, see their
respective
visions in the Astral Light; but while the drunkard, the madman, and
the
untrained medium, or one suffering from brain-fever, see, because they
cannot
help it, and evoke the jumbled visions
unconsciously
to themselves, the Adept and the trained Seer have the choice and
the
control of such visions. They know where to fix their gaze, how to steady
the
scenes they want to observe, and how to see beyond the upper outward layers
of
the Astral Light. With the former such
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glimpses
into the waves are hallucinations: with the latter they become the
faithful
reproduction of what actually has been, is, or will be, taking place.
The
glimpses at random caught by the medium, and his flickering visions in the
deceptive
light, are transformed under the guiding will of the Adept and Seer
into
steady pictures, the truthful representations of that which he wills to
come
within the focus of his perception.
Hamsa
or Hansa (Sk.) “Swan or goose”, according to the Orientalists ; a mystical
bird
in Occultism analogous to the Rosicrucian Pelican. The sacred mystic name
which,
when preceded by that of KALA (infinite time), i.e. Kalahansa, is name of
Parabrahm
; meaning the “ Bird out of space and time”. Hence Brahmâ (male)is
called
Hansa Vahana “the Vehicle of Hansa” (the Bird). We find the same idea in
the
Zohar, where Ain Suph (the endless and infinite) is said to descend into the
universe,
for purposes of manifestation, using Adam Kadmon (Humanity) as a
chariot
or vehicle.
Hamsa
(Arab.). The founder of the mystic sect of the Druzes of Mount Lebanon.
(See
“Druzes” .)
Hangsa
(Sk) A mystic syllable standing for evolution, and meaning in its literal
sense
“I
am he”, or Ahamsa.
Hansa
(Sk.) The name, according to the Bhâgavata Purâna, of the “One Caste” when
there
were as yet no varieties of caste, but verily “one Veda, one Deity and one
Caste”.
Hanuman
(Sk.) The monkey god of the Ramayana; the generalissimo of Rama’s army;
the
son of Vayu, the god of the wind, and of a virtuous she-demon. Hanuman was
the
faithful ally of Rama and by his unparalleled audacity and wit, helped the
Avatar
of Vishnu to finally conquer the demon-king of Lanka, Ravana, who had
carried
off the beautiful Sita, Rama’s wife, an outrage which led to the
celebrated
war described in the Hindu epic poem.
Happy
Fields. The name given by the Assyrio-Chaldeans to their Elysian Fields,
which
were intermingled with their Hades. As Mr. Boscawen tells his readers—“The
Kingdom
of the underworld was the realm of the god Hea, and the Hades of the
Assyrian
legends was placed in the underworld, and was ruled over by a goddess,
Nin-Kigal,
or ‘the Lady of the Great Land’. She is also called Allât.” A
translated
inscription states:—“After the gifts of these present days, in the
feasts
of the land of the silver sky, the resplendent courts, the abode of
blessedness,
and in the light of the Happy Fields, may he dwell in life eternal,
holy,
in the presence of the gods who inhabit Assyria”. This is worthy of a
Christian
tumulary inscription. Ishtar, the beautiful goddess, descended into
Hades
after her beloved Tammuz, and found
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that
this dark place of the shades had seven spheres and seven gates, at each of
which
she had to leave something belonging to her.
Hara
(Sk.) A title of the god Siva.
Hare-Worship.
The hare was sacred in many lands and especially among the
Egyptians
and Jews. Though the latter consider it an unclean, hoofed animal,
unfit
to eat, yet it was held sacred by some tribes. The reason for this was
that
in a certain species of hare the male suckled the little ones. It was thus
considered
to be androgynous or hermaphrodite, and so typified an attribute of
the
Demiurge, or creative Logos. The hare was a symbol of the moon, wherein the
face
of the prophet Moses is to be seen to this day, say the Jews. Moreover the
moon
is connected with the worship of Jehovah, a deity pre-eminently the god of
generation,
perhaps also for the same reason that Eros, the god of sexual love,
is
represented as carrying a hare. The hare was also sacred to Osiris. Lenormand
writes
that the hare “has to be considered as the symbol of the Logos . . . the
Logos
ought to be hermaphrodite and we know that the hare is an androgynous
type”.
Hari
(Sk.) A title of Vishnu, but used also for other gods.
Harikesa
(Sk.). The name of one of the seven rays of the Sun.
Harivansa
(Sk.) A portion of the Mahâbhârata, a poem on the genealogy of Vishnu,
or
Hari.
Harmachus
(Gr.) The Egyptian Sphinx, called Har-em-chu or “Horus (the Sun) in
the
Horizon”, a form of Ra the sun-god; esoterically the risen god. An
inscription
on a tablet reads “0 blessed Ra Harmachus Thou careerest by him in
triumph.
0 shine, Amoun-Ra Harmachus self-generated ‘. The temple of the Sphinx
was
discovered by Mariette Bey close to the Sphinx, near the great Pyramid of
Gizeh
All the Egyptologists agree in pronouncing the Sphinx and her temple the
“oldest
religious monument of the world ”—at any rate of Egypt.
“The
principal chamber”, writes the late Mr. Fergusson “in the form of a cross,
is
supported by piers, simple prisms of Syenite granite without base or capital
.
. no sculptures or inscriptions of any sort are found on the walls of this
temple,
no ornament or symbol nor any image in the sanctuary”. This proves the
enormous
antiquity of both the Sphinx and the temple. “The great bearded Sphinx
of
the Pyramids of Gizeh is the symbol of Harmachus, the same as each Egyptian
Pharaoh
who bore, in the inscriptions, the name of ‘living form of the Solar
Sphinx
upon the Earth ‘,”writes Brugsh Bey. And Renan recalls that “at one time
the
Egyptians were said to have temples without sculptured images” (Bonwick).
Not
only the Egyptians but every nation of the earth began with temples devoid
of
idols and even of symbols. It is
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only
when the remembrance of the great abstract truths and of the primordial
Wisdom
taught to humanity by the dynasties of the divine kings died out that men
had
to resort to mementos and symbology. In the story of Horus in some tablets
of
Edfou, Rouge found an inscription showing that the god had once assumed “the
shape
of a human-headed lion to gain advantage over his enemy Typhon. Certainly
Horus
was so adored in Leontopolis. He is the real Sphinx. That accounts, too,
for
the lion figure being sometimes seen on each side of Isis. . . It was her
child.”
(Bonwick.) And yet the story of Harmachus, or Har em-chu, is still left
untold
to the world, nor is it likely to he divulged to this generation. (See
“Sphinx”.)
Harpocrates
(Gr.). The child Horus or Ehoou represented with a finger on his
mouth,
the solar disk upon his head and golden hair. He is the “god of Silence”
and
of Mystery. (See “Horus”). Harpocrates was also worshipped by both Greeks
and
Romans in Europe as a son of Isis.
Harshana
(Sk.) A deity presiding over offerings to the dead, or Srâddha.
Harvîri
(Eg.) Horns, the elder: the ancient name of a solar god: the rising sun
represented
as a god reclining on a full-blown lotus, the symbol of the
Universe.
Haryaswas
(Sk.) The five and ten thousand sons of Daksha, who instead of
peopling
the world as desired by their father, all became yogis, ‘as advised by
the
mysterious sage Narada, and remained celibates. “They dispersed through the
regions
and have not returned.” This means, according to the secret science,
that
they had all incarnated in mortals. The name is given to natural born
mystics
and celibates, who are said to be incarnations of the “Haryaswas”.
Hatchet.
In the Egyptian Hieroglyphics a symbol of power, and also of death. The
hatchet
is called the “Severer of the Knot ” i.e., of marriage or any other tie.
Hatha
Yoga (Sk.) The lower form of Yoga practice; one which uses physical means
for
purposes of spiritual self-development The opposite of Râja Yoga.
Hathor
(Eg.) The lower or infernal aspect of Isis, corresponding to the Hecate
of
Greek mythology.
Hawk.
The hieroglyphic and type of the Soul. The sense varies with the postures
of
the bird. Thus when lying as dead it represents the transition, larva state,
or
the passage from the state of one life to another. When its wings are opened
it
means that the defunct is resurrected in Amenti and once more in conscious
possession
of his soul. The chrysalis has become a butterfly.
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Hayo
Bischat (Heb.) The Beast, in the Zohar: the Devil and Tempter. Esoterically
our
lower animal passions.
Hay-yah
(Heb.) One of the metaphysical human “Principles”. Eastern Occultists
divide
men into seven such Principles; Western Kabbalists, we are told, into
three
only—namely, Nephesh Ruach and Neshamah. But in truth, this division is as
loose
and as mere an abbreviation as our “Body, Soul, Spirit ”. For, in the
Qabbalah
of Myer (Zohar ii.,141 b., Cremona Ed. ii., fol. 63 b., col. 251) it is
stated
that Neshamah or Spirit has three divisions, “the highest being
Ye’hee-dah
(Atmâ) the middle, Hay-yah (Buddhi), and the last and third, the
Neshamah,
properly speaking (Manas) ”. Then comes Mahshabah, Thought (the lower
Manas,
or conscious Personality), in which the higher then manifest themselves,
thus
making four; this is followed by Tzelem, Phantom of the Image (Kama-rupa in
life
the Kamic element); D’yooq-nah, Shadow of the image (Linga Sharira, the
Double);
and Zurath, Prototype, which is Life—seven in all, even without the
D’mooth,
Likeness or Similitude, which is called a lower manifestation, and is
in
reality the Guf, or Body. Theosophists of the E. S. who know the
transposition
made of Atmâ and the part taken by the auric prototype, will
easily
find which are the real seven, and assure themselves that between the
division
of Principles of the Eastern Occultists and that of the real Eastern
Kabbalists
there is no difference. Do not let us forget that neither the one nor
the
other are prepared to give out the real and final classification in their
public
writings.
Hay-yoth
ha Qadosh (Heb.) The holy living creatures of Ezekiel’s vision of the
Merkabah,
or vehicle, or chariot. These are the four symbolical beasts, the
cherubim
of Ezekiel, and in the Zodiac Taurus, Leo, Scorpio (or the Eagle), and
Aquarius,
the man.
Hea
(Chald.) The god of the Deep and the Underworld; some see in him Ea or
Oannes,
the fish-man, or Dagon.
Heabani
(Chald.) A famous astrologer at the Court of Izdubar, frequently
mentioned
in the fragments of the Assyrian tablets in reference to a dream of
Izdubar,
the great Babylonian King, or Nimrod, the “mighty hunter before the
Lord
”. After his death, his soul being unable to rest underground, the ghost of
Heabani
was raised by .Merodach, the god, his body restored to life and then
transferred
alive, like Elijah, to the regions of the Blessed.
Head
of all Heads (Kab). Used of the “Ancient of the Ancients” Atteehah
D’atteekeen,
who is the “Hidden of the Hidden, the Concealed of the Concealed”.
In
this cranium of the “White Head”, Resha Hivrah, “dwell daily 13,000 myriads
of
worlds, which rest upon It, lean upon
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It”
(Zohar iii. Idrah Rabbah). . . “In that Atteehah nothing is revealed except
the
Head alone, because it is the Head of all Heads. . . The Wisdom above, which
is
the Head, is hidden in it, the Brain which is tranquil and quiet, and none
knows
it but Itself. . . . And this Hidden Wisdom . . . the Concealed of the
Concealed,
the Head of all Heads, a Head which is not a Head, nor does any one
know,
nor is it ever known, what is in that Head which Wisdom and Reason cannot
comprehend
“ (Zohar iii., fol. 288 a). This is said of the Deity of which the
Head
(i.e., Wisdom perceived by all) is alone manifested. Of that Principle
which
is still higher nothing is even predicated, except that its universal
presence
and actuality are a philosophical necessity.
Heavenly
Adam. The synthesis of the Sephirothal Tree, or of all the Forces in
Nature
and their informing deific essence. In the diagrams, the Seventh of the
lower
Sephiroth, Sephira Malkhooth—the Kingdom of Harmony—represents the feet of
the
ideal Macrocosm, whose head reaches to the first manifested Head. This
Heavenly
Adam is the natura naturans, the abstract world, while the Adam of
Earth
(Humanity) is the natura naturata or the material universe. The former is
the
presence of Deity in its universal essence; the latter the manifestation of
the
intelligence of that essence. In the real Zohar not the fantastic and
anthropomorphic
caricature which we often find in the writings of Western
Kabbalists—there
is not a particle of the personal deity which we find so
prominent
in the dark cloaking of the Secret Wisdom known as the Mosaic
Pentateuch.
Hebdomad
(Gr.) The Septenary.
Hebron
or Kirjath-Arba. The city of the Four Kabeiri, for Kirjath Arba signifies
“the
City of the Four”. It is in that city, according to the legend, that an
Isarim
or an Initiate found the famous Smaragdine tablet on the dead body of
Hermes.
Hel
or Hela (Scand.). The Goddess-Queen of the Land of the Dead; the inscrutable
and
direful Being who reigns over the depths of Helheim and Nifelheim. In the
earlier
mythology, Hel was the earth-goddess, the good and beneficent mother,
nourisher
of the weary and the hungry. But in the later Skalds she became the
female
Pluto, the dark Queen of the Kingdom of Shades, she who brought death
into
this world, and sorrow afterwards.
Helheim
(Scand.), The Kingdom of the Dead in the Norse mythology. In the Edda,
Helheim
surrounds the Northern Mistworld, called Nifelheim.
Heliolatry
(Gr.). Sun-Worship.
Hell.
A term with the Anglo-Saxons, evidently derived from the name
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of
the goddess Hela (q.v.), and by the Sclavonians from the Greek Hades: hell
being
in Russian and other Sclavonian tongues—ad, the only difference between
the
Scandinavian cold hell and the hot hell of the Christians, being found in
their
respective temperatures. But even the idea of those overheated regions is
not
original with the Europeans, many peoples having entertained the conception
of
an underworld climate; as well may we if we localise our Hell in the centre
of
the earth. All exoteric religions—the creeds of the Brahmans, Buddhists,
Zoroastrians,
Mahommedans, Jews, and the rest, make their hells hot and dark,
though
many are more attractive than frightful. The idea of a hot hell is an
afterthought,
the distortion of an astronomical allegory. With the Egyptians,
Hell
became a place of punishment by fire not earlier than the seventeenth or
eighteenth
dynasty, when Typhon was transformed from a god into a devil. But at
whatever
time this dread superstition was implanted in the minds of the poor
ignorant
masses, the scheme of a burning hell and souls tormented therein is
purely
Egyptian. Ra (the Sun) became the Lord of the Furnace in Karr, the hell
of
the Pharaohs, and the sinner was threatened with misery “in the heat of
infernal
fires”. “A lion was there” says Dr. Birch “and was called the roaring
monster”.
Another describes the place as “the bottomless pit and lake of fire,
into
which the victims are thrown” (compare Revelation). The Hebrew word
gaї-hinnom
(Gehenna) never really had the significance given to it in Christian
orthodoxy.
Hemadri
(Sk.) The golden Mountain; Meru.
Hemera
(Gr.) “The light of the inferior or terrestrial regions” as Ether is the
light
of the superior heavenly spheres. Both are born of Erebos (darkness) and
Nux
(night).
Heptakis
(Gr.) “The Seven-rayed One ” of the Chaldean astrolaters: the same as
IAo.
Herakies
(Gr.). The same as Hercules.
Heranasikha
(Sing.) From Herana “novice” and Sikha “rule” or precept: manual of
Precepts.
A work written in Elu or the ancient Singhalese, for the use of young
priests.
Hermanubis
(Gr.). Or Hermes Anubis“ the revealer of the mysteries of the lower
world
”—not of Hell or Hades as interpreted, but of our Earth (the lowest world
of
the septenary chain of worlds)—and also of the sexual mysteries. Creuzer must
have
guessed at the truth of the right interpretation, as he calls
Anubis-Thoth-Hermes
“a symbol of science and of the intellectual world ”. He was
always
represented with a cross in his hand, one of the earliest symbols of the
mystery
of generation, or procreation on this earth. In the Chaldean Kabbala
(Book
of Numbers) the Tat
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symbol,
or +, is referred to as Adam and Eve, the latter being the transverse or
horizontal
bar drawn out of the side (or rib) of Hadam, the perpendicular bar.
The
fact is that, esoterically, Adam and Eve while representing the early third
Root
Race—those who, being still mindless, imitated the animals and degraded
themselves
with the latter—stand also as the dual symbol of the sexes. Hence
Anubis,
the Egyptian god of generation, is represented with the head of an
animal,
a dog or a jackal, and is also said to be the “ Lord of the underworld”
or
“ Hades ” into which he introduces the souls of the dead (the reincarnating
entities),
for Hades is in one sense the womb, as some of the writings of the
Church
Fathers fully show.
Hermaphrodite
(Gr.). Dual-sexed; a male and female Being, whether man or animal.
Hermas
(Gr.). An ancient Greek writer of whose works only a few fragments are
now
extant.
Hermes-fire.
The same as “Elmes-fire”. (See Isis Unveiled Vol. I.,p. 125.)
Hermes
Sarameyas (Greco-Sanskrit) The God Hermes, or Mercury, “he who watches
over
the flock of stars” in the Greek mythology.
Hermes
Trismegistus (Gr.). The “thrice great Hermes”, the Egyptian. The mythical
personage
after whom the Hermetic philosophy was named. In Egypt the God Thoth
or
Thot. A generic name of many ancient Greek writers on philosophy and Alchemy.
Hermes
Trismegistus is the name of Hermes or Thoth in his human aspect, as a god
he
is far more than this. As Hermes-Thoth-Aah, he is Thoth, the moon, i.e., his
symbol
is the bright side of the moon, supposed to contain the essence of
creative
Wisdom, “the elixir of Hermes ”. As such he is associated with the
Cynocephalus,
the dog-headed monkey, for the same reason as was Anubis, one of
the
aspects of Thoth. (See “ Hermanubis”.) The same idea underlies the form of
the
Hindu God of Wisdom, the elephant-headed Ganesa, or Ganpat, the son of
Parvati
and Siva. (See “Ganesa”.) When he has the head of an ibis, he is the
sacred
scribe of the gods; but even then he wears the crown atef and the lunar
disk.
He is the most mysterious of gods. As a serpent, Hermes Thoth is the
divine
creative ‘Wisdom. The Church Fathers speak at length of Thoth-Hermes.
(See
“Hermetic”.)
Hermetic.
Any doctrine or writing connected with the esoteric teachings of
Hermes,
who, whether as the Egyptian Thoth or the Greek Hermes, was the God of
Wisdom
with the Ancients, and, according to Plato, “discovered numbers,
geometry,
astronomy and letters”. Though mostly considered as spurious,
nevertheless
the Hermetic writings were highly prized by St. Augustine,
Lactantius,
Cyril and others. In the
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words
of Mr. J. Bonwick, “ They are more or less touched up by the Platonic
philosophers
among the early Christians (such as Origen and Clemens
Alexandrinus)
who sought to substantiate their Christian arguments by appeals to
these
heathen and revered writings, though they could not resist the temptation
of
making them say a little too much. Though represented by some clever and
interested
writers as teaching pure monotheism, the Hermetic or Trismegistic
books
are, nevertheless, purely pantheistic. The Deity referred to in them is
defined
by Paul as that in which “we live, and move and have our
being”—notwithstanding
the “in Him” of the translators.
Hetu
(Sk.). A natural or physical cause.
Heva
(Heb.). Eve, “the mother of all that lives”.
Hiarchas
(Gr.). The King of the “Wise Men”, in the Journey of Apollonius of
Tyana
to India.
Hierogrammatists.
The title given to those Egyptian priests who were entrusted
with
the writing and reading of the sacred and secret records. The “scribes of
the
secret records” literally. They were the instructors of the neophytes
preparing
for initiation.
Hierophant.
From the Greek “Hierophantes”; literally, “One who explains sacred
things
”. The discloser of sacred learning and the Chief of the Initiates. A
title
belonging to the highest Adepts in the temples of antiquity, who were the
teachers
and expounders of the Mysteries and the Initiators into the final great
Mysteries.
The Hierophant represented the Demiurge, and explained to the
postulants
for Initiation the various phenomena of Creation that were produced
for
their tuition. “ He was the sole expounder of the esoteric secrets and
doctrines.
It was forbidden even to pronounce his name before an
uninitiated
person. He sat in the East, and wore as a symbol of authority a
golden
globe suspended from the neck. He was also called Mystagogus” (Kenneth R.
H.
Mackenzie, ix., F.T.S., in The Royal Masonic cyclopædia). In Hebrew and
Chaldaic
the term was Peter, the opener, discloser; hence the Pope as the
successor
of the hierophant of the ancient Mysteries, sits in the Pagan chair of
St.
Peter.
Higher
Self. The Supreme Divine Spirit overshadowing man. The crown of the upper
spiritual
Triad in man—Atmân.
Hillel.
A great Babylonian Rabbi of the century preceding the Christian era. He
was
the founder of the sect of the Pharisees, a learned and a sainted man.
Himachala
Himadri (Sk.). The Himalayan Mountains.
Himavat
(Sk). The personified Himalayas; the father of the river Ganga, or
Ganges.
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Hinayana
(Sk.). The “ Smaller Vehicle”; a Scripture and a School of the Northern
Buddhists,
opposed to the Mahayana, “the Greater Vehicle”, in Tibet. Both
schools
are mystical. (See “Mahayana”.) Also in exoteric superstition the lowest
form
of transmigration.
Hiouen
Thsang. A great Chinese writer and philosopher who travelled in India in
the
sixth century, in order to learn more about Buddhism, to which he was
devoted.
Hippocrates
(Gr.). A famous physician of Cos, one of the Cyclades, who
flourished
at Athens during the invasion of Artaxerxes, and delivered that town
from
a dreadful pestilence. He was called “the father of Medicine “. Having
studied
his art from the votive tablets offered by the cured patients at the
temples
of Æsculapius, he became an Initiate and the most proficient healer of
his
day, so much so that he was almost deified. His learning and knowledge were
enormous.
Galen says of his writings that they are truly the voice of an oracle.
He
died in his 100th year, 361 B.c.
Hippopotamus
(Gr.) In Egyptian symbolism Typhon was called “the hippopotamus who
slew
his father and violated his mother,” Rhea (mother of the gods). His father
was
Chronos. As applied therefore to Time and Nature (Chronos and Rhea), the
accusation
becomes comprehensible. The type of Cosmic Disharmony, Typhon, who is
also
Python, the monster formed of the slime of the Deluge of Deucalion,
“violates”
his mother, Primordial Harmony, whose beneficence was so great that
she
was called “The Mother of the Golden Age”. It was Typhon, who put an end to
the
latter, i.e., produced the first war of elements.
Hiquet
(Eg.). The frog-goddess; one of the symbols of immortality and of the
“water”
principle. The early Christians had their church lamps made in the form
of
a frog, to denote that baptism in water led to immortality.
Hiram
Abiff. A biblical personage; a skilful builder and a “Widow’s Son”, whom
King
Solomon procured from Tyre, for the purpose of super-intending the works of
the
Temple, and who became later a masonic character, the hero on whom hangs all
the
drama, or rather play, of the Masonic Third Initiation. The Kabbala makes a
great
deal of Hiram Abiff.
Hiranya
(Sk.). Radiant, golden, used of the “Egg of Brahmâ”.
Hiranya
Garbha (Sk.). The radiant or golden egg or womb. Esoterically the
luminous
“fire mist” or ethereal stuff from which the Universe was formed.
Hiranyakasipu
(Sk.). A King of the Daityas, whom Vishnu—in his avatar of the
“man.lion”—puts
to death.
Hiranyaksha
(Sk.). “The golden-eyed.” the king and ruler of the
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5th
region of Pâtala, the nether-world; a snake-god in the Hindu Pantheon. It
has
various other meanings.
Hiranyapura
(Sk.). The Golden City.
Hisi
(Fin.). The “Principle of Evil ”in the Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland.
Hitopadesa
(Sk.). “Good Advice.” A work composed of a collection of ethical
precepts,
allegories and other tales from an old Scripture, the Panchatantra.
Hivim
or Chivim (Heb.). Whence the Hivites who, according to some Roman Catholic
commentators,
descend from Heth, son of Canaan, son of Ham, “the accursed”.
Brasseur
de Bourbourg, the missionary translator of the Scripture of the
Guatemalians,
the Popol Vuh, indulges in the theory that the Hivim of the Quetzo
Cohuatl,
the Mexican Serpent Deity, and the “descendants of Serpents” as they
call
themselves, are identical with the descendants of Ham (! !) “whose ancestor
is
Cain”. Such is the conclusion, at any rate, drawn from Bourhourg’s writings
by
Des Mousseaux, the demonologist. Bourbourg hints that the chiefs of the name
of
Votan, the Quetzo Cohuati, are the descendants of Ham and Canaan. “I am
Hivim”,
they say. “ Being a Hivim, I am of the great Race of the Dragons. I am a
snake,
myself, for I am a Hivim’ (Cortes 51). But Cain is allegorically shown as
the
ancestor of the Hivites, the Serpents, because Cain is held to have been the
first
initiate in the mystery of procreation. The “race of the Dragons” or
Serpents
means the Wise Adepts. The names Hivi or Hivite, and Levi—signify a
Serpent
“; and the Hivites or Serpent-tribe of Palestine, were, like all Levites
and
Ophites of Israel, initiated Ministers to the temples, i.e., Occultists, as
are
the priests of Quetzo Cohuatl. The Gibeonites whom Joshua assigned to the
service
of the sanctuary were Hivites.
(See
Isis Unveiled, Vol. II. 481.)
Hler
(Scand.). The god of the One of the three mighty sons of the Frost-giant,
Ymir.
These sons were Kari, god of the air and the storms; Hler of the Sea; and
Logi
of the fire. They are the Cosmic trinity of the Norsemen.
Hoa
(Heb.). That, from which proceeds Ab, the “Father”; therefore the Concealed
Logos.
Hoang
Ty (Chin.). “The Great Spirit.” His Sons are said to have acquired new
wisdom,
and imparted what they knew before to mortals, by falling—like the
rebellious
angels— into the “Valley of Pain”, which is allegorically our Earth.
In
other words they are identical with the “Fallen Angels” of exoteric
religions,
and with the reincarnating Egos, esoterically.
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Hochmah
(Heb.). See “Chochmah”.
Hod
(Heb.). Splendour, the eighth of the ten Sephiroth, a female passive
potency.
[ w. w.w.]
Holy
of Holies. The Assyriologists, Egyptologists, and Orientalists, in general,
show
that such a place existed in every temple of antiquity. The great temple of
Bel-Merodach
whose sides faced the four cardinal points, had in its extreme end
a
“Holy of Holies” hidden from the profane by a veil: here, “at the beginning of
the
year ‘the divine king of heaven and earth, the lord of the heavens, seats
himself’.”
According to Herodotus, here was the golden image of the god with a
golden
table in front like the Hebrew table for the shew bread, and upon this,
food
appears to have been placed. in some temples there also was “a little
coffer
or ark with two engraved stone tablets on it”. (Myer’s Qabbalah.) In
short,
it is now pretty well proven, that the “chosen people” had nothing
original
of their own, but that every detail of their ritualism and religion was
borrowed
from older nations. The Hibbert Lectures by Prof. Sayce and others show
this
abundantly. The story of the birth of Moses is that of Sargon, the
Babylonian,
who preceded Moses by a couple of thousand years; and no wonder, as
Dr.
Sayce tells us that the name of Moses, Mosheh, has a connection with the
name
of the Babylonian sun-god as the “hero” or “leader”. (Hib. Lect., p. 46 et
seq.)
Says Mr. J. Myer, “The orders of the priests were divided into high
priests,
those attached or bound to certain deities, like the Hebrew Levites;
anointers
or cleaners ; the Kali, ‘illustrious’ or ‘elders’; the soothsayers,
and
the Makhkhu or ‘great one’, in which Prof. Delitzsch sees the Rab-mag of the
Old
Testament. . . The Akkadians and Chaldeans kept a Sabbath day of rest every
seven
days, they also had thanksgiving days, and days for humiliation and
prayer.
There were sacrifices of vegetables and animals, of meats and wine. . .
.
The number seven was especially sacred. . . . The great temple of Babylon
existed
long before 2,250 B.c. Its ‘Holy of Holies’ was with in the shrine of
Nebo,
the prophet god of wisdom.” It is from the Akkadians that the god Mardak
passed
to the Assyrians, and he had been before Merodach, “the merciful”, of the
Babylonians,
the only son and interpreter of the will of Ea or Hea, the great
Deity
of Wisdom. The Assyriologists have, in short, unveiled the whole scheme of
the
“chosen people”.
Holy
Water. This is one of the oldest rites practised in Egypt, and thence in
Pagan
Rome. It accompanied the rite of bread and wine. “Holy water was sprinkled
by
the Egyptian priest alike upon his gods’ images and the faithful. It was both
poured
and sprinkled. A brush has been found, supposed to have been used for
that
purpose, as at this
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day.”
(Bonwick’s Egyptian Belief.) As to the bread, “the cakes of Isis were
placed
upon the altar. Gliddon writes that they were ‘identical in shape with
the
consecrated cake of the Roman and Eastern Churches’. Melville assures us
‘the
Egyptians marked this holy bread with St. Andrew’s cross’. The Presence
bread
was broken before being distributed by the priests to the people, and was
supposed
to become the flesh and blood of the Deity. The miracle was wrought by
the
hand of the officiating priest, who blessed the food. . . . Rouge tells us
‘the
bread offerings bear the imprint of the fingers, the mark of consecration
‘.”
(Ibid,
page 458.) (See also “ Bread and Wine”.)
Homogeneity.
From the Greek words homos “the same” and genos “kind”. That which
is
of the same nature throughout, undifferentiated, non-compound, as gold is
supposed
to be.
Honir
(Scand.). A creative god who furnished the first man with intellect and
understanding
after man had been created by him jointly with Odin and Lodur from
an
ash tree.
Honover
(Zend). The Persian Logos, the manifested Word.
Hor
Ammon (Eg.). “The Self-engendered”, a word in theogony which answers to the
Sanskrit
Anupadaka, parentless. Hor-Ammon is a combination of the ram-headed god
of
Thebes and of Horus.
Horchia
(Chald.). According to Berosus, the same as Vesta, goddess of the
Hearth.
Horus
(Eg.). The last in the line of divine Sovereigns in Egypt, said to he the
son
of Osiris and Isis. He is the great god “loved of Heaven”, the “beloved of
the
Sun, the offspring of the gods, the subjugator of the world”. At the time of
the
Winter Solstice (our Christmas), his image, in the form of a small
newly-born
infant, was brought out from the sanctuary for the adoration of the
worshipping
crowds. As he is the type of the vault of heaven, he is said to have
come
from the Maem Misi, the sacred birth-place (the womb of the World), and is,
therefore,
the “mystic Child of the Ark” or the argha, the symbol of the matrix.
Cosmically,
he is the Winter Sun. A tablet describes him as the “substance of
his
father”, Osiris, of whom he is an incarnation and also identical with him.
Horus
is a chaste deity, and “like Apollo has no amours. His part in the lower
world
is associated with the judgment. He introduces souls to his father, the
judge”
(Bonwick). An ancient hymn says of him, “By him the world is judged in
that
which it contains. Heaven and earth are under his immediate presence. He
rules
all human beings. The sun goes round according to his purpose. He brings
forth
abundance and dispenses it to all the earth. Everyone adores his beauty.
Sweet
is his love in us.”
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Hotri
(Sk.). A priest who recites the hymns from the Rig Veda, and makes
oblations
to the fire.
Hotris
(Sk). A symbolical name for the seven senses called, in the Anugita “the
Seven
Priests”. “The senses supply the fire of mind (i.e., desire) with the
oblations
of external pleasures.” An occult term used metaphysically.
Hrimthurses
(Scand.). The Frost-giants; Cyclopean builders in the Edda.
Humanity.
Occultly and Kabbalistically, the whole of mankind is symbolised, by
Manu
in India; by Vajrasattva or Dorjesempa, the head of the Seven Dhyani, in
Northern
Buddhism; and by Adam Kadmon in the Kabbala. All these represent the
totality
of mankind whose beginning is in this androgynic protoplast, and whose
end
is in the Absolute, beyond all these symbols and myths of human origin.
Humanity
is a great Brotherhood by virtue of the sameness of the material from
which
it is formed physically and morally. Unless, however, it becomes a
Brotherhood
also intellectually, it is no better than a superior genus of
animals.
Hun-desa
(Sk.). The country around lake Mansaravara in Tibet.
Hvanuatha
(Mazd.). The name of the earth on which we live. One of the seven
Karshvare
(Earths), spoken of in Orma Ahr. (See Introduction to the Vendidad by
Prof.
Darmsteter.)
Hwergelmir
(Scand.). A roaring cauldron wherein the souls of the evil doers
perish.
Hwun
(Chin.). Spirit. The same as Atmân.
Hydranos
(Gr.). Lit., the “Baptist”. A name of the ancient Hierophant of the
Mysteries
who made the candidate pass through the “trial by water”, wherein he
was
plunged thrice. This was his baptism by the Holy Spirit which moves on the
waters
of Space. Paul refers to St. John as Hydranos, the Baptist. The Christian
Church
took this rite from the ritualism of the Eleusinian and other Mysteries.
Hyksos
(Eg.). The mysterious nomads, the Shepherds, who invaded Egypt at a
period
unknown and far anteceding the days of Moses. They are called the
“Shepherd
Kings”.
Hyle
(Gr.). Primordial stuff or matter; esoterically the homogeneous sediment of
Chaos
or the Great Deep. The first principle out of which the objective Universe
was
formed.
Hypatia
(Gr.). The girl-philosopher, who lived at Alexandria during the fifth
century,
and taught many a famous man—among others Bishop Synesius. She was the
daughter
of the mathematician Theon, and became famous for her learning. Falling
a
martyr to the fiendish
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conspiracy
of Theophilos, Bishop of Alexandria, and his nephew Cyril, she was
foully
murdered by their order. With her death fell the Neo Platonic School.
Hyperborean
(Gr.). The regions around the North Pole in the Arctic Circle.
Hypnotism
(Gr.). A name given by Dr. Braid to various processes by which one
person
of strong
will-power
plunges another of weaker mind into a kind of trance; once in such a
state
the latter will do anything suggested to him by the hypnotiser. Unless
produced
for beneficial purposes, Occultists would call it black magic or
Sorcery.
It is the most dangerous of practices, morally and physically, as it
interferes
with the nerve fluid and the nerves controlling the circulation in
the
capillary blood-vessels.
Hypocephalus
(Gr.). A kind of a pillow for the head of the mummy. They are of
various
kinds, e.g., of stone, wood, etc., and very often of circular disks of
linen
covered with cement, and inscribed with magic figures and letters. They
are
called “rest for the dead” in the Ritual, and every mummy-coffin has one.
I
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I
.—The ninth letter in the English, the tenth in the Hebrew alphabet. As a
numeral
it signifies in both languages one, and also ten in the Hebrew (see J),
in
which it corresponds to the Divine name Jah, the male side, or aspect, of the
hermaphrodite
being, or the male-female Adam, of which hovah Jah-hovah) is the
female
aspect. It is symbolized by a hand with bent fore-finger, to show its
phallic
signification.
Iacchos
(Gr.). A synonym of Bacchus. Mythology mentions three persons so named:
they
were Greek ideals adopted later by the Romans. The word Iacchos is stated
to
be of Phœnician origin, and to mean “an infant at the breast ”. Many ancient
monuments
represent Ceres or Demeter with Bacchus in her arms. One Iacchos was
called
Theban and Conqueror, son of Jupiter and Semele; his mother died before
his
birth and he was preserved for some time in the thigh of his father; he was
killed
by the Titans. Another was son of Jupiter, as a Dragon, and Persephone ;
this
one was named Zagræmus. A third was Iacchos of Eleusis, son of Ceres: he is
of
importance because he appeared on the sixth day of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Some
see an analogy between Bacchus and Noah, both cultivators of the Vine, and
patrons
of alcoholic excess. [w.w.w.]
Iachus
(Gr.). An Egyptian physician, whose memory, according to Ælian, was
venerated
for long centuries on account of his wonderful occult knowledge.
Iachus
is credited with having stopped epidemics simply by certain fumigations,
and
cured diseases by making his patients inhale herbs.
Iaho.
Though this name is more fully treated under the word“Yaho” and “Iao”, a
few
words of explanation will not be found amiss. Diodorus mentions that the God
of
Moses was Iao; but as the latter name denotes a “mystery god”, it cannot
therefore
be confused with Iaho or Yaho (q.v.). The Samaritans pronounced it
Iabe,
Yahva, and the Jews Yaho, and then Jehovah, by change of Masoretic vowels,
an
elastic scheme by which any change may be indulged in. But “Jehovah” is a
later
invention and invocation, as originally the name was Jah, or Iacchos
(Bacchus).
Aristotle shows the ancient Arabs representing Iach (Iacchos) by a
horse,
i.e., the horse of the Sun (Dionysus), which followed the chariot on
which
Ahura Mazda, the god of the Heavens, daily rode.
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Iamblichus
(Gr.). A great Theurgist, mystic, and writer of the third and fourth
centuries,
a Neo-Platonist and philosopher, born at Chalcis in Cœle-Syria.
Correct
biographies of him have never existed because of the hatred of the
Christians;
but that which has been gathered of his life in isolated fragments
from
works by impartial pagan and independent writers shows how excellent and
holy
was his moral character, and how great his learning. He may be called the
founder
of theurgic magic among the Neo-Platonists and the reviver of the
practical
mysteries outside of temple or fane. His school was at first distinct
from
that of Plotinus and Porphyry, who were strongly against ceremonial magic
and
practical theurgy as dangerous, though later he convinced Porphyry of its.
advisability
on some occasions, and both master and pupil firmly believed in
theurgy
and magic, of which the former is principally the highest and most
efficient
mode of communication with one’s Higher Ego, through the medium of
one’s
astral body. Theurgic is benevolent magic, and it becomes goetic, or dark
and
evil, only when it is used for necromancy or selfish purposes; but such dark
magic
has never been practised by any theurgist or philosopher, whose name has
descended
to us unspotted by any evil deed. So much was Porphyry (who became the
teacher
of Iamblichus in Neo-Platonic philosophy) convinced of this, that though
he
himself never practised theurgy, yet he gave instructions for the acquirement
of
this sacred science. Thus he says in one of his writings, “Whosoever is
acquainted
with the nature of divinely luminous appearances fasmata ( knows also
on
what account it is requisite to abstain from all birds (and animal food) and
especially
for him who hastens to be liberated from terrestrial concerns and to
be
established with the celestial gods”. (See Select Works by T. Taylor, p.
159.)
Moreover, the same Porphyry mentions in his Life of Plotinus a priest of
Egypt,
who, “at the request of a certain friend of Plotinus, exhibited to him,
in
the temple of Isis at Rome, the familiar daimon of that philosopher “. In
other
words, he produced the theurgic invocation (see “Theurgist”) by which
Egyptian
Hierophant or Indian Mahâtma, of old, could clothe their own or any
other
person’s astral double with the appearance of its Higher EGO, or what
Bulwer
Lytton terms the “ Luminous Self”, the Augoeides, and confabulate with
It.
This it is which Iamblichus and many others, including the mediæval
Rosicrucans,
meant by union with Deity. Iamblichus wrote many books but only a
few
of his works are extant, such as his “Egyptian Mysteries” and a treatise “On
Dæmons”,
in which he speaks very severely against any intercourse with them. He
was
a biographer of Pythagoras and deeply versed in the system of the latter,
and
was also learned in the Chaldean Mysteries. He taught that the One, or
universal
MONAD,
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was
the principle of all unity as well as diversity, or of Homogeneity and
Heterogeneity;
that the Duad, or two (“ Principles”), was the intellect, or that
which
we call Buddhi-Manas; three, was the Soul (the lower Manas), etc. etc.
There
is much of the theosophical in his teachings, and his works on the various
kinds
of dæmons (Elementals) are a well of esoteric knowledge for the student.
His
austerities, purity of life and earnestness were great. Iamblichus is
credited
with having been once levitated ten cubits high from the ground, as are
some
of the modern Yogis, and even great mediums.
Iao
(Gr.). See Iaho. The highest god of the Phœnicians the light conceivable
only
by intellect”, the physical and spiritual Principle of all things, “the
male
Essence of Wisdom ”. It is the ideal Sun light.
Iao
Hebdomai (Gr.). The collective “Seven Heavens” (also angels) according to
Irenæus.
The mystery-god of the Gnostics. The same as the Seven Manasa-putras
(q.v.)
of the Occultists.
(See
also “Yah” and “Yaho”.)
Ibis
Worship. The Ibis, in Egyptian Hab, was sacred to Thoth at Hermopolis. It
was
called the messenger of Osiris, for it is the symbol of Wisdom,
Discrimination,
and Purity, as it loathes water if it is the least impure. Its
usefulness
in devouring the eggs of the crocodiles and serpents was great, and
its
credentials for divine honours as a symbol were: (a) its black wings, which
related
it to primeval darkness—chaos; and (b) the triangular shape of them—the
triangle
being the first geometrical figure and a symbol of the trinitarian
mystery.
To this day the Ibis is a sacred bird with some tribes of Kopts who
live
along the Nile.
Ibn
Gebirol. Solomon Ben Yehudah: a great philosopher and scholar, a Jew by
birth,
who lived in the eleventh century in Spain. The same as Avicenna (q.v.).
Ichchha
(Sk.). Will, or will-power.
Ichchha
Sakti (Sk.). Will-power; force of desire; one of the occult Forces of
nature.
That power of the will which, exercised in occult practices, generates
the
nerve-currents necessary to set certain muscles in motion and to paralyze
certain
others.
Ichthus
(Gr.). A Fish: the symbol of the Fish has been frequently referred to
Jesus,
the Christ of the New Testament, partly because the five letters forming
the
word are the initials of the Greek phrase, Iesous Christos Theou Uios Soter,
Jesus
Christ the Saviour, Son of God. Hence his followers in the early Christian
centuries
were often called fishes, and drawings of fish are found in the
Catacombs.
Compare also the narrative that some of his early disciples were
fishermen,
and the assertion
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of
Jesus― “I will make you fishers of men”. Note also the Vesica Piscis,
a
conventional
shape for fish in general, is frequently found enclosing a picture
of
a Christ, holy virgin, or saint; it is a long oval with pointed ends, the
space
marked out by the intersection of two equal circles, when less than half
the
area of one. Compare the Christian female recluse, a Nun—this word is the
Chaldee
name for fish, and fish is connected with the worship of Venus, a
goddess,
and the Roman Catholics still eat fish on the Dies Veneris or Friday.
[w.w.w.]
Ida
(Scand.). The plains of Ida, on which the gods assemble to hold counsel in
the
Edda. The field of peace and rest.
Ideos,
in Paracelsus the same as Chaos, or Mysterium Magnum as that philosopher
calls
it.
Idises
(Scand.). The same as the Dises, the Fairies and Walkyries, the divine
women
in the Norse legends; they were reverenced by the Teutons before the day
of
Tacitus, as the latter shows.
Idæic
Finger. An iron finger strongly magnetized and used in the temples for
healing
purposes. It produced wonders in that direction, and therefore was said
to
possess magical powers.
Idol.
A statue or a picture of a heathen god; or a statue or picture of a Romish
Saint,
or a fetish of uncivilized tribes.
Idospati
(Sk.). The same as Narayana or Vishnu; resembling Poseidon in some
respects.
Idra
Rabba (Heb.). “The Greater Holy Assembly ‘ a division of the Zohar.
Idra
Suta (Heb.). “The Lesser Holy Assembly”, another division of the Zohar.
Iduna
(Scand.). The goddess of immortal youth. The daughter of Iwaldi, the
Dwarf.
She is said in the Edda to have hidden “ life” in the Deep of the Ocean,
and
when the right time came, to have restored it to Earth once more. She was
the
wife of Bragi, the god of poetry; a most charming myth. Like Heimdal, “born
of
nine mothers”, Bragi at his birth rises upon the crest of the wave from the
bottom
of the sea (see “Bragi”). He married Iduna, the immortal goddess, who
accompanies
him to Asgard where every morning she feeds the gods with the apples
of
eternal youth and health. (See Asgard and the Gods.)
Idwatsara
(Sk.). One of the five periods that form the Yuga. This cycle is
pre-eminently
the Vedic cycle, which is taken as the basis of calculation for
larger
cycles.
Ieu.
The “first man”; a Gnostic term used in Pistis-Sophia.
Iezedians
or lezidi (Pers.). This sect came to Syria from Basrah. They use
baptism,
believe in the archangels, but reverence Satan at the
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same
time. Their prophet Iezad, who preceded Mahomet by long centuries, taught
that
a messenger from heaven would bring them a book written from the eternity.
Ifing
(Scand.). The broad river that divides Asgard, the home of the gods, from
that
of the Jotuns, the great and strong magicians. Below Asgard was Midgard,
where
in the sunny æther was built the home of the Light Elves. In their
disposition
and order of locality, all these Homes answer to the Deva and other
Lokas
of the Hindus, inhabited by the various classes of gods and Asuras.
Igaga
(Chald.) Celestial angels, the same as Archangels.
I.H.S.
This triad of initials stands for the in hoc signo of the alleged vision
of
Constantine, of which, save Eusebius, its author, no one ever knew. I.H.S. is
interpreted
Jesus Hominum Salvator, and In hoc signo. It is, however, well known
that
the Greek IHS was one of the most ancient names of Bacchus. As Jesus was
never
identical with Jehovah, but with his own “Father” (as all of us are), and
had
come rather to destroy the worship of Jehovah than to enforce it, as the
Rosicrucians
well maintained, the scheme of Eusebius is very transparent. In hoc
signo
Victor ens, or the Labarum T (the tau
and the resh) is a very old signum,
placed
on the foreheads of those who were just initiated. Kenealy translates it
as
meaning “he who is initiated into the Naronic Secret, or the 600, shall be
Victor”
but it is simply “through this sign hast thou conquered”; i.e., through
the
light of Initiation—Lux. (See “Neophyte and “Naros”.)
Ikhir
Bonga. A “Spirit of the Deep” of the Kolarian tribes.
Ikshwaku
(Sk.). The progenitor of the Solar tribe (the Suryavansas) in India,
and
the Son of Vaivaswata Manu, the progenitor of the present human Race.
Ila
(Sk.). Daughter of Vaivaswata Manu; wife of Buddha, the son of Soma; one
month
a woman and the other a man by the decree of Saraswati; an allusion to the
androgynous
second race. Ila is also Vâch in another aspect.
Ilavriti
(Sk.). A region in the centre of which is placed Mount Meru, the
habitat
of the gods.
Ilda
Baoth. Lit., “the child from the Egg”, a Gnostic term. He is the creator of
our
physical globe (the earth) according to the Gnostic teaching in the Codex
Nazaræus
(the Evangel of the Nazarenes and the Ebionites). The latter identifies
him
with Jehovah the God of the Jews. Ildabaoth is “the Son of Darkness” in a
bad
sense and the father of the six terrestrial “ Stellar”, dark spirits, the
antithesis
of the bright Stellar spirits. Their respective abodes are the seven
spheres,
the upper
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of
which begins in the “middle space”, the region of their mother Sophia
Achamôth,
and the lower ending on this earth—the seventh region (See Isis
Unveiled,
Vol. II., 183.) Ilda-Baoth is the genius of Saturn, the planet; or
rather
the evil spirit of its ruler.
Iliados.
In Paracelsus the same as “Ideos” (q.v.). Primordial matter in the
subjective
state.
Illa-ah,
Adam (Heb.). Adam Illa-ah is the celestial, superior Adam, in the
Zohar.
Illinus.
One of the gods in the Chaldean Theogony of Damascius.
Ilmatar
(Finn.). The Virgin who falls from heaven into the sea before creation.
She
is the “daughter of the air” and the mother of seven Sons (the seven forces
in
nature).
(See
Kalevala, the epic poem of Finland.)
Illusion.
In Occultism everything finite (like the universe and all in it) is
called
illusion or maya.
Illuminati
(Lat.). The “Enlightened”, the initiated adepts.
Ilus
(Gr.). Primordial mud or slime; called also Hyle.
Image.
Occultism permits no other image than that of the living image of divine
man
(the symbol of Humanity) on earth. The Kabbala teaches that this divine
Image,
the copy of the sublime and holy upper Image (the Elohim) has now changed
into
another similitude, owing to the development of men’s sinful nature. It is
only
the upper divine Image (the Ego) which is the same; the lower (personality)
has
changed, and man, now fearing the wild beasts, has grown to bear on his face
the
similitude of many of them. (Zohar I. fol. 71a.) In the early period of
Egypt
there were no images; but later, as Lenormand says, “In the sanctuaries of
Egypt
they divided the properties of nature and consequently of Divinity (the
Elohim,
or the Egos), into seven abstract qualities, characterised each by an
emblem,
which are matter, cohesion, fluxion, coagulation, accumulation, station
and
division ”. These were all attributes symbolized in various images.
Imagination.
In Occultism this is not to be confused with fancy, as it is one of
the
plastic powers of the higher Soul, and is the memory of the preceding
incarnations,
which, however disfigured by the lower Manas, yet rests always on
a
ground of truth.
Imhot-pou
or Imhotep (Eg.). The god of learning (the Greek Imouthes). He was the
son
of Ptah, and in one aspect Hermes, as he is represented as imparting wisdom
with
a book before him. He is a solar god; lit., “the god of the handsome face
“.
Immah
(Heb.). Mother, in contradistinction to Abba, father.
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Immah
Illa-ah (Heb.). The upper mother; a name given to Shekinah.
In
(Chin.). The female principle of matter, impregnated by Yo, the male ethereal
principle,
and precipitated thereafter down into the universe.
Incarnations
(Divine) or Avatars. The Immaculate Conception is as pre-eminently
Egyptian
as it is Indian. As the author of Egyptian Belief has it: “It is not
the
vulgar, coarse and sensual story as in Greek mythology, but refined, moral
and
spiritual “; and again the incarnation idea was found revealed on the wall
of
a Theban temple by Samuel Sharpe, who thus analyzes it: “First the god Thoth
.
. . as the messenger of the gods, like the Mercury of the Greeks (or the
Gabriel
of the first Gospel), tells the maiden queen Mautmes, that she is to
give
birth to a son, who is to be king Amunotaph III. Secondly, the god Kneph,
the
Spirit . . . . and the goddess Hathor (Nature) both take hold of the queen
by
the hands and put into her mouth the character for life, a cross, which is to
be
the life of the coming child”, etc., etc. Truly divine incarnation, or the
avatar
doctrine, constituted the grandest mystery of every old religious system!
Incas
(Peruvian). The name given to the creative gods in the Peruvian theogony,
and
later to the rulers of the country. “The Incas, seven in number have
repeopled
the earth after the Deluge ‘, Coste makes them say (I. iv., p. 19).
They
belonged at the beginning of the fifth Root-race to a dynasty of divine
kings,
such as those of Egypt, India and Chaldea.
Incubus
(Lat.). Something more real and dangerous than the ordinary meaning
given
to the word, viz., that of “nightmare ”. An Incubus is the male Elemental,
and
Succuba the female, and these are undeniably the spooks of mediæval
demonology,
called forth from the invisible regions by human passion and lust.
They
are now called “Spirit brides” and “Spirit husbands” among some benighted
Spiritists
and spiritual mediums. But these poetical names do not prevent them
in
the least being that which they are—Ghools, Vampires and soulless Elementals;
formless
centres of Life, devoid of sense; in short, subjective protoplasms when
left
alone, but called into a definite being and form by the creative and
diseased
imagination of certain mortals. They were known under every clime as in
every
age, and the Hindus can tell more than one terrible tale of the dramas
enacted
in the life of young students and mystics by the Pisachas, their name in
India.
Individuality.
One of the names given in Theosophy and Occultism to the Human
Higher
EGO. We make a distinction between the immortal and divine Ego, and the
mortal
human Ego which perishes.
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The
latter, or “personality” (personal Ego) survives the dead body only for a
time
in the Kama Loka; the Individuality prevails forever.
Indra
(Sk.). The god of the Firmament, the King of the sidereal gods. A Vedic
Deity.
Indrâni
(Sk.). The female aspect of Indra.
Indriya
or Deha Sanyama (Sk.). The control of the senses in Yoga practice. These
are
the ten external agents; the five senses which are used for perception are
called
Jnana-indriya, and the five used for action—Karma-indriya.
Pancha-indryani
means literally and in its occult sense “the live roots
producing
life”(eternal). With the Buddhists, it is the five positive agents
producing
five supernal qualities.
Induvansa
(Sk.). Also Somavansa or the lunar race (dynasty), from Indu, the
Moon.
(“See
“Suryavansa”.)
Indwellers.
A name or the substitute for the right Sanskrit esoteric name, given
to
our “inner enemies”, which are seven in the esoteric philosophy. The early
Christian
Church called them the “seven capital Sins ‘: the Nazarene Gnostics
named
them, the “seven badly disposed Stellars”, and so on. Hindu exoteric
teachings
speak only of the “six enemies” and under the term Arishadwarga
enumerate
them as follows: (1) Personal desire, lust or any passion (Kâma); (2)
Hatred
or malice (Krodha); ( Avarice or cupidity (Lobha); ( Ignorance (Moha); (
Pride
or arrogance (Mada); (6) Jealousy, envy (Matcharya); forgetting the
seventh,
which is the “unpardonable sin”, and the worst of all in Occultism.
(See
Theosophist, May, 1890, p. 431.)
Ineffable
Name. With the Jews, the substitute for the “mystery name” of their
tribal
deity Eh-yeh, “I am”, or Jehovah. The third commandment prohibiting the
using
of the latter name “in vain”, the Hebrews substituted for it that of
Adonai
or “the Lord”. But the Protestant Christians who, translating
indifferently
Jehovah and Elohim—which is also a substitute per se, besides
being
an inferior deity name— by the words “Lord” and “God”, have become in this
instance
more Catholic than the Pope, and include in the prohibition both the
names.
At the present moment, however, neither Jews nor Christians seem to
remember,
or so much as suspect, the occult reason why the qualification of
Jehovah
or YHVH had become reprehensible; most of the Western Kabbalists also
seem
to be unaware of the fact. The truth is, that the name they bring forward
as
“ineffable”, is not in the least so. It is the “unpronounceable”, or rather
the
name not to be pronounced, if any thing; and this for symbological reasons.
To
begin with, the “Ineffable Name” of the true Occultist, is no name at all,
least
of all is it that of
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Jehovah.
The latter implies, even in its Kabbalistical, esoteric meaning, an
androgynous
nature, YHVH, or one of a male and female nature. It is simply Adam
and
Eve, or man and woman blended in one, and as now written and pronounced, is
itself
a substitute. But the Rabbins do not care to remember the Zoharic
admission
that YHVH means “not as I Am written, Am I read” (Zohar, fol. III.,
23Oa).
One has to know how to divide the Tetragrammaton ad infinitum before one
arrives
at the sound of the truly unpronouncable name of the Jewish mystery-god.
That
the Oriental Occultists have their own “Ineffable name” it is hardly
necessary
to repeat.
Initiate.
From the Latin Initiatus. The designation of anyone who was received
into
and had revealed to him the mysteries and secrets of either Masonry or
Occultism.
In times of antiquity, those who had been initiated into the arcane
knowledge
taught by the Hierophants of the Mysteries; and in our modern days
those
who have been initiated by the adepts of mystic lore into the mysterious
knowledge,
which, notwithstanding the lapse of ages, has yet a few real votaries
on
earth.
Initiation.
From the same root as the Latin initia, which means the basic or
first
principles of any Science. The practice of initiation or admission into
the
sacred Mysteries, taught by the Hierophants and learned priests of the
Temples,
is one of the most ancient customs. This was practised in every old
national
religion. In Europe it was abolished with the fall of the last pagan
temple.
There exists at present but one kind of initiation known to the public,
namely
that into the Masonic rites. Masonry, however, has no more secrets to
give
out or conceal. In the palmy days of old, the Mysteries, according to the
greatest
Greek and Roman philosophers, were the most sacred of all solemnities
as
well as the most beneficent, and greatly promoted virtue. The Mysteries
represented
the passage from mortal life into finite death, and the experiences
of
the disembodied Spirit and Soul in the world of subjectivity. In our own day,
as
the secret is lost, the candidate passes through sundry meaningless
ceremonies
and is initiated into the solar allegory of Hiram Abiff, the “Widow’s
Son”.
Inner
Man. An occult term, used to designate the true and immortal Entity in us,
not
the outward and mortal form of clay that we call our body. The term applies,
strictly
speaking, only to the Higher Ego, the “astral man” being the
appellation
of the Double and of Kâma Rupa (q.v.) or the surviving eidolon.
Innocents.
A nick-name given to the Initiates and Kabbalists before the
Christian
era. The “Innocents” of Bethlehem and of Lud (or Lydda) who were put
to
death by Alexander Janneus, to the number of
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several
thousands (B.C. 100, or so), gave rise to the legend of the 40,000
innocent
babes murdered by Herod while searching for the infant Jesus. The first
is
a little known historical fact, the second a fable, as sufficiently shown by
Renan
in his Vie de Jésus.
Intercosmic
gods. The Planetary Spirits, Dhyan-Chohans, Devas of various degrees
of
spirituality, and “Archangels” in general.
Iranian
Morals. The little work called Ancient Iranian and Zoroastrian Morals,
compiled
by Mr. Dhunjibhoy Jamsetjee Medhora, a Parsi Theosophist of Bombay, is
an
excellent treatise replete with the highest moral teachings, in English and
Gujerati,
and will acquaint the student better than many volumes with the ethics
of
the ancient Iranians.
Irdhi
(Sk.). The synthesis of the ten “supernatural” occult powers in Buddhism
and
Brahmanism.
Irkalla
(Chald.). The god of Hades, called by the Babylonians “the country
unseen”.
Isarim
(Heb.). The Essenian Initiates.
Ishim
(Chald.). The B’ne-Aleim, the “beautiful sons of god”, the originals and
prototypes
of the later
“Fallen
Angels”.
Ishmonia
(Arab.). The city near which is buried the so-called “petrified city”
in
the Desert. Legend speaks of immense subterranean halls and chambers,
passages,
and libraries secreted in them. Arabs dread its neighbourhood after
sunset.
Ishtar
(Chald.). The Babylonian Venus, called “the eldest of heaven and earth“,
and
daughter of Anu, the god of heaven. She is the goddess of love and beauty.
The
planet Venus, as the evening star, is identified with Ishtar, and as the
morning
star with Anunit, the goddess of the Akkads. There exists a most
remarkable
story of her descent into Hades, on the sixth and seventh Assyrian
tiles
or tablets deciphered by the late G. Smith. Any Occultist who reads of her
love
for Tammuz, his assassination by Izdubar, the despair of the goddess and
her
descent in search of her beloved through the seven gates of Hades, and
finally
her liberation from the dark realm, will recognise the beautiful
allegory
of the soul in search of the Spirit.
Isiac
table. A true monument of Egyptian art. It represents the goddess Isis
under
many of her aspects. The Jesuit Kircher describes it as a table of copper
overlaid
with black enamel and silver incrustations. It was in the possession of
Cardinal
Bembo, and therefore called “Tabula Bembina sive Mensa Isiaca ”. Under
this
title it is described by W. Wynn Westcott, M.B., who gives its “History and
Occult
Significance” in an extremely interesting and learned volume (with
photographs
and illustrations). The tablet was believed to have been a
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votive
offering to Isis in one of her numerous temples. At the sack of Rome in
1525,
it came into the possession of a soldier who sold it to Cardinal Bembo.
Then
it passed to the Duke of Mantua in 1630, when it was lost.
Isis.
In Egyptian Issa, the goddess Virgin-Mother; personified nature. In
Egyptian
or Koptic Uasari, the female reflection of Uasar or Osiris. She is the
“woman
clothed with the sun” of the land of Chemi. Isis Latona is the Roman
Isis.
Isitwa
(Sk.). The divine Power.
Israel
(Heb.). The Eastern Kabbalists derive the name from Isaral or Asar, the
Sun-God.
“Isra-el” signifies “striving with god”: the “sun rising upon
Jacob-Israel
” means the Sun-god Isaral (or Isar-el) striving with, and to
fecundate
matter, which has power with “God and with man” and often prevails
over
both. Esau, Æsaou, Asu, is also the Sun. Esau and Jacob, the allegorical
twins,
are the emblems of the ever struggling dual principle in nature—good and
evil,
darkness and sunlight, and the “ Lord” (Jehovah) is their antetype.
Jacob-Israel
is the feminine principle of Esau, as Abel is that of Cain, both
Cain
and Esau being the male principle. Hence, like Malach-Iho, the “Lord” Esau
fights
with Jacob and prevails not. In Genesis xxxii. the God-Sun first strives
with
Jacob, breaks his thigh (a phallic symbol) and yet is defeated by his
terrestrial
type—matter; and the Sun-God rises on Jacob and his thigh in
covenant.
All these biblical personages, their “Lord God” included, are types
represented
in an allegorical sequence. They are types of Life and Death, Good
and
Evil, Light and Darkness, of Matter and Spirit in their synthesis, all these
being
under their contrasted aspects.
Iswara
(Sk.). The “Lord” or the personal god—divine Spirit in man. Lit.,
sovereign
(independent) existence. A title given to Siva and other gods in
India.
Siva is also called Iswaradeva, or sovereign deva.
Ithyphallic
(Gr.). Qualification of the gods as males and hermaphrodites, such
as
the bearded Venus, Apollo in woman’s clothes, Ammon the generator, the
embryonic
Ptah, and so on. Yet the phallus, so
conspicuous
and, according to our prim notions, so indecent, in the Indian and
Egyptian
religions, was associated in the earliest symbology far more with
another
and much purer idea than that of sexual creation. As shown by many an
Orientalist,
it expressed resurrection, the rising in life from death. Even the
other
meaning had nought indecent in it: “These images only symbolise in a very
expressive
manner the creative force of nature, without obscene intention,”
writes
Mariette Bey, and adds, “It is but another way to express celestial
generation,
which should cause the deceased to
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enter
into a new life”. Christians and Europeans are very hard on the phallic
symbols
of the ancients. The nude gods and goddesses and their generative
emblems
and statuary have secret departments assigned to them in our museums;
why
then adopt and preserve the same symbols for Clergy and Laity? The
love-feasts
in the early Church—its agapæ as pure (or as impure) as the Phallic
festivals
of the Pagans; the long priestly robes of the Roman and Greek
Churches,
and the long hair of the latter, the holy water sprinklers and the
rest,
are there to show that Christian ritualism has preserved in more or less
modified
forms all the symbolism of old Egypt. As to the symbolism of a purely
feminine
nature, we are bound to confess that in the sight of every impartial
archæologist
the half nude toilets of our cultured ladies of Society are far
more
suggestive of female-sex worship than are the rows of yoni-shaped lamps,
lit
along the highways to temples in India.
Iurbo
Adunaї. A Gnostic term, or the compound name for Iao Jehovah, whom
the
Ophites
regarded as an emanation of their Ilda-Baoth, the Son of Sophia
Achamoth—the
proud, ambitious and jealous god, and impure Spirit, whom many of
the
Gnostic sects regarded as the god of Moses. “Iurbo is called by the
Abortions
(the Jews) Adunai” says the Codex Nazaræus (vol. iii., p.13 The
“Abortions”
and Abortives was the nickname given to the Jews by their opponents
the
Gnostics.
Iu-Kabar
Zivo (Gn.). Known also as Nebat-Iavar-bar-Iufin-Ifafin, “Lord of the
Æons”
in the Nazarene System. He is the procreator (Emanator) of the seven holy
lives
(the seven primal Dhyan Chohans, or Archangels, each representing one of
the
cardinal Virtues), and is himself called the third life (third Logos). In
the
Codex he is addressed as “the Helm and Vine of the food of life”. Thus, he
is
identical with Christ (Christos) who says “I am the true Vine and my Father
is
the Husband- man “(John xv. i). It is well known that Christ is regarded in
the
Roman Catholic Church, as the “chief of the Æons”, and also as Michael “who
is
like god”. Such was also the belief of the Gnostics.
Iwaldi
(Scand.). The dwarf whose sons fabricated for Odin the magic spear. One
of
the subterranean master-smiths who, together with other gnomes, contrived to
make
an enchanted sword for the great war-god Cheru. This two-edged-sword
figures
in the legend of the Emperor Vitellius, who got it from the god, “to his
own
hurt”, according to the oracle of a “wise woman”, neglected it and was
finally
killed with it at the foot of the capitol, by a German soldier who had
purloined
the weapon. The “sword of the war-god” has a long biography, since it
also
re-appears in the half-legendary biography of Attila. Having married
against
her will Ildikd, the beautiful daughter of the King of
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Burgundy
whom he had slain, his bride gets the magic sword from a mysterious old
woman,
and with it kills the King of the Huns.
Izdubar.
A name of a hero in the fragments of Chaldean History and Theogony on
the
so-called Assyrian tiles, as read by the late George Smith and others. Smith
seeks
to identify Izdubar with Nimrod. Such may or may not be the case; but as
the
name of that Babylonian King itself only “appears” as Izduhar, his
identification
with the son of Cush may also turn out more apparent than real.
Scholars
are but too apt to check their archæological discoveries by the far
later
statements found in the Mosaic books, instead of acting vice versa. “The
chosen
people” have been fond at all periods of history of helping themselves to
other
people’s property. From the appropriation of the early history of Sargon,
King
of Akkad, and its wholesale application to Moses born (if at all) some
thousands
of years later, down to their “spoiling” the Egyptians under the
direction
and divine advice of their Lord God, the whole Pentateuch seems to be
made
up of unacknowledged mosaical fragments from other people’s Scriptures.
This
ought to have made Assyriologists more cautious; but as many of these
belong
to the clerical caste, such coincidences as that of Sargon affect them
very
little. One thing is certain Izdubar, or whatever may be his name, is shown
in
all the tablets as a mighty giant who towered in size above all other men as
a
cedar towers over brushwood—a hunter, according to cuneiform legends, who
contended
with, and destroyed the lion, tiger, wild bull, and buffalo, the most
formidable
animals.
J
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J
—The tenth letter in the English and Hebrew alphabet, in the latter of which
it
is equivalent
to
y, and i, and is numerically number 10, the perfect number (See Jodh and
Yodh),
or one. (See also “I”.)
Jâbalas
(Sk.). Students of the mystical portion of the White Yajur Veda.
Jachin
(Heb.). “In Hebrew letters IKIN, from the root KUN “to establish”, and
the
symbolical name of one of the Pillars at the porch of King Solomon’s Temple”
[
w.w.w.]
The
other pillar was called Boaz, and the two were respectively white and black.
They
correspond to several mystic ideas, one of which is that they represent the
dual
Manas or the higher and the lower Ego; another connected these two pillars
in
Slavonian mysticism with God and the Devil,to the“WHITE” and the “BLACK G0D”
or
Byeloy Bog and Tchernoy Bog. (See “Yakin and Boaz” infra).
Jacobites.
A Christian sect in Syria of the VIth cent. (550) which held that
Christ
had only one
nature
and that confession was not of divine origin. They had secret signs,
passwords
and a solemn initiation with mysteries.
Jadoo
(Hind.). Sorcery, black magic, enchantment.
Jadoogar
(Hind.). A Sorcerer, or Wizard.
Jagaddhatri
(Sk.). Substance; the name of “the nurse of the world”, the
designation
of the power which carried Krishna and his brother Balarama into
Devaki,
their mother’s bosom. A title of Sarasvati and Durga.
Jagad-Yoni
(Sk). The womb of the world; space.
Jagat
(Sk.). The Universe.
Jagan-Natha
(Sk.). Lit., “Lord of the World”, a title of Vishnu. The great image
of
Jagan-natha on its car, commonly pronounced and spelt Jagernath. The idol is
that
of Vishnu Krishna. Puri, near the town of Cuttack in Orissa, is the great
seat
of its worship; and twice a year an immense number of pilgrims attend the
festivals
of the Snâna yâtra and Ratha-âtra During the first, the image is
bathed,
and during the second it is placed on a car, between the images of
Balarâma
the brother, and Subhadrâ the sister of Krishna and the huge vehicle is
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drawn
by the devotees, who deem it felicity to be crushed to death under it.
Jagrata
(Sk.). The waking state of consciousness. When mentioned in Yoga
philosophy,
Jagrata-avastha is the waking condition, one of the four states of
Pranava
in ascetic practices, as used by the Yogis.
Jâhnavî
(Sk.). A name of Ganga, or the river Ganges.
Jahva
Alhim (Heb.). The name that in Genesis replaces “Alhim”, or Elohim, the
gods.
It is used in chapter I., while in chapter II. the “Lord God” or Jehovah
steps
in. In Esoteric philosophy and exoteric tradition, Jahva Alhim (Java
Aleim)
was the title of the chief of the Hierophants, who initiated into the
good
and the evil of this world in the college of priests known as the Aleim
College
in the land of
Gandunya
or Babylonia. Tradition and rumour assert, that the chief of the temple
Fo-maїyu,
called
Foh-tchou
(teacher of Buddhist law), a temple situated in the fastnesses of the
great
mount of
Kouenlong-sang
(between China and Tibet), teaches once every three years under a
tree
called
Sung-Mîn-Shû,
or the“ Tree of Knowledge and (the tree) of life”, which is the Bo
(Bodhi)
tree of Wisdom.
Jaimini
(Sk.). A great sage, a disciple of Vyâsa the transmitter and teacher of
the
Sama Veda which as claimed he received from his Guru. He is also the famous
founder
and writer of the Pûrva Mimânsâ philosophy.
Jaina
Gross. The same as the “Swastika” (q.v.), “Thor’s hammer” also, or the
Hermetic
cross.
Jainas
(Sk.). A large religious body in India closely resembling Buddhism, but
who
preceded it by long centuries. They claim that Gautama, the Buddha, was a
disciple
of one of their Tirtankaras, or Saints. They deny the authority of the
Vedas
and the existence of any personal supreme god, but believe in the eternity
of
matter, the periodicity of the universe and the immortality of men’s minds
(Manas)
as also of that of the animals. An extremely mystic sect.
Jalarupa
(Sk.). Lit., “water-body, or form”. One of the names of Makâra (the
sign
capricornus). It is one of the most occult and mysterious of the Zodiacal
signs;
it figures on the banner of Kama, god of love, and is connected with our
immortal
Egos. (See Secret Doctrine.)
Jambu-dwipa
(Sk.). One of the main divisions of the globe, in the Purânic
system.
It includes India. Some say that it was a continent,—others an island—or
one
of the seven islands (Sapta dwipa) It is “the dominion of Vishnu”. In its
astronomical
and mystic sense it is the name of our globe, separated by the
plane
of objectivity from the six other globes of our planetary chain.
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Jamin
(Heb.). The right side of a man, esteemed the most worthy. Benjamin means
“son
of the right side”, i.e., testis. [w.w.w.]
Janaka
(Sk.). One of the Kings of Mithilâ of the Solar race. He was a great
royal
sage, and lived twenty generations before Janaka the father of Sita who
was
King of Videha.
Jana-loka
(Sk. The world wherein the Munis (the Saints) are supposed to dwell
after
their corporeal death (See Purânas). Also a terrestrial locality.
Janârddana
(Sk.). Lit., “the adored of mankind”, a title of Krishna.
Japa
(Sk.). A mystical practice of certain Yogis. It consists in the repetition
of
various magical
formulæ
and mantras.
Jaras
(Sk.). “Old Age”. The allegorical name of the hunter who killed Krishna by
mistake,
a name showing the great ingenuity of the Brahmans and the symbolical
character
of the World-Scriptures in general. As Dr. Crucefix, a high mason well
says,
“to preserve the occult mysticism of their order from all except their own
class,
the priests invented symbols and hieroglyphics to embody sublime truths
”.
Jatayu
(Sk.). The Son of Garuda. The latter is the great cycle, or Mahakalpa
symbolized
by the giant bird which served as a steed for Vishnu, and other gods,
when
related to space and time. Jatayu is called in the Ramayana “the King of
the
feathered tribe”. For defending Sita carried away by Ravana, the giant king
of
Lanka, he was killed by him. Jatayu is also called “the king of the
vultures”.
Javidan
Khirad (Pers) A work on moral precepts.
Jayas
(Sk.), The twelve great gods in the Purânas who neglect to create men, and
are
therefore, cursed by Brahmâ to be reborn “in every (racial) Manvantara till
the
seventh”. Another form or aspect of the
reincarnating
Egos.
Jebal
Djudi (Arab.). The “Deluge Mountain” of the Arabic legends. The same as
Ararat,
and the Babylonian Mount of Nizir where Xisuthrus landed with his ark.
Jehovah
(Heb.). The Jewish “Deity name J’hovah, is a compound of two words, viz
of
Jah (y, i, or j, Yôdh, the tenth letter of the alphabet) and hovah (Hâvah, or
Eve),”
says a Kabalistic authority, Mr. J. Ralston Skinner of Cincinnati, U.S.A.
And
again, “The word Jehovah, or Jah-Eve, has the primary meaning of existence
or
being as male female”. It means Kabalistically the latter, indeed, and
nothing
more; and as repeatedly shown is entirely phallic. Thus, verse 26 in the
IVth
chapter of Genesis, reads in its disfigured translation . . . . “then began
men
to call upon the name of the Lord”, whereas it ought to read
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correctly
. . . . “then began men to call themselves by the name of Jah-hovah”
or
males and females, which they had become after the separation of sexes. In
fact
the latter is described in the same chapter, when Cain (the male or Jah)
“rose
up against Abel, his (sister, not) brother and slew him”(spilt his blood,
in
the original). Chapter IV of Genesis contains in truth, the allegorical
narrative
of that period of anthropological and physiological evolution which is
described
in the Secret Doctrine when treating of the third Root race of
mankind.
It is followed by Chapter V as a blind; but ought to be succeeded by
Chapter
VI, where the Sons of God took as their wives the daughters of men or of
the
giants. For this is an allegory hinting at the mystery of the Divine Egos
incarnating
in mankind, after which the hitherto senseless races “became mighty
men,
. . . men of renown” (v. 4), having acquired minds (manas) which they had
not
before.
Jehovah
Nissi (Heb.). The androgyne of Nissi (See “Dionysos”). The Jews
worshipped
under this name Bacchus-Osiris, Dio-Nysos, and the multiform Joves of
Nyssa,
the Sinai of Moses. Universal tradition shews Bacchus reared in a cave of
Nyssa.
Diodorus locates Nysa between Phœnicia and Egypt, and adds, “Osiris was
brought
up in Nysa he was son of Zeus and was named from his father (nominative
Zeus,
genitive Dios) and the place Dio-nysos”—the Zeus or Jove of Nyssa.
Jerusalem,
Jerosalem (Septuag.) and Hierosolyma (Vulgate). In Hebrew it is
written
Yrshlim or “city of peace”,but the ancient Greeks called it pertinently
Hierosalem
or “Secret Salem”, since Jerusalem is a rebirth from Salem of which
Melchizedek
was the King-Hierophant, a declared Astrolator and worshipper of the
Sun,’“the
Most High” by-the-bye. There also Adoni-Zedek reigned in his turn, and
was
the last of its Amorite Sovereigns. He allied himself with four others, and
these
five kings went to conquer back Gideon, but (according to Joshua X) came
out
of the affray second best. And no wonder, since these five kings were
opposed,
not only by Joshua but by the “Lord God”, and by the Sun and the Moon
also.
On that day, we read, at the command of the successor of Moses, “the sun
stood
still and the moon stayed” (v. 13) for the whole day. No mortal man, king
or
yeoman, could withstand, of course, such a shower “of great stones from
heaven”
as was cast upon them by the Lord himself . . . . “from Beth-horon unto
Azekah”
“and they died” (v. ii). After having died they “fled and hid themselves
in
a cave at Makkedah” (v. i6). It appears, however, that such undignified
behaviour
in a God received its Karmic punishment afterwards. At different
epochs
of history, the Temple of the Jewish Lord was sacked, ruined and burnt
(See“Mount
Moriah”)—holy ark of
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the
covenant, cherubs, Shekinah and all, but that deity seemed as powerless to
protect
his property from desecration as though they were no more stones left in
heaven.
After Pompey had taken the Second Temple in 63, B.c., and the third one,
built
by Herod the Great, had been razed to the ground by the Romans, in 70
A.D.,
no new temple was allowed to be built in the capital of the “chosen
people”
of the Lord. In spite of the Crusades, since the XIIIth century
Jerusalem
has belonged to the Mahommedans, and almost every site holy and dear
to
the memory of the old Israelites, and also of the Christians, is now covered
by
minarets and mosques, Turkish barracks and other monuments of Islam.
Jesod
(Heb.). Foundation; the ninth of the Ten Sephiroth, a masculine active
potency,
completing the six which form the Microprosopus. [w.w.w.]
Jetzirah
(Heb.). See “Yetzirah”.
Jetzirah,
Sepher; or Book of the Creation. The most occult of all the Kabalistic
works
now in the possession of modern mystics. Its alleged origin, of having
been
written by Abraham, is of course nonsense; but its intrinsic value is
great.
It is composed of six Perakim (chapters), subdivided into
thirty-three
short Mishnas or Sections; and treats of the evolution of the
Universe
on a system of correspondences and numbers. Deity is said therein to
have
formed (“created”) the Universe by means of numbers “by thirty-two paths
(or
ways) of secret wisdom ”, these ways being made to correspond with the
twenty-two
letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the ten fundamental numbers. These
ten
are the primordial numbers whence proceeded the whole Universe, and these
are
followed by the twenty-two letters divided into Three Mothers, the seven
double
consonants and the twelve simple consonants. He who would well understand
the
system is advised to read the excellent little treatise upon Sepher
Jetzirah,
by Dr. W. WynnWestcott. (See “Yetzirah”.)
Jhâna
(Sk.) or Jnana. Knowledge; Occult Wisdom.
Jhâna
Bhaskara (Sk.). A work on Asuramâya, the Atlantean astronomer and
magician,
and other prehistoric legends.
Jigten
Gonpo (Tib.). A name of Avalokitêswara, or Chenres-Padma-pani, the
“Protector
against Evil”.
Jishnu
(Sk.). “Leader of the Celestial Host”, a title of Indra, who, in the War
of
the Gods with the Asuras, led the “host of devas”. He is the “Michael, the
leader
of the Archangels” of India.
Jiva
(Sk.). Life, as the Absolute; the Monad also or “Atma-Buddhi”.
Jivanmukta
(Sk.). An adept or yogi who has reached the ultimate state of
holiness,
and separated himself from matter; a Mahatma, or
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Nirvânee,
a “dweller in bliss” and emancipation. Virtually one who has reached
Nirvâna
during life.
Jivatma
(Sk.). The ONE universal life, generally; but also the divine Spirit in
Man.
Jnânam
(Sk.). The same as “Gnâna”, etc., the same as “Jhâna” (q.v.).
Jnânendriyas
(Sk.). The five channels of knowledge.
Jnâna
Sakti (Sk.). The power of intellect.
Jörd.
In Northern Germany the goddess of the Earth, the same as Nerthus and the
Scandinavian
Freya or Frigg.
Jotunheim
(Scand.). The land of the Hrimthurses or Frost-giants.
Jotuns
(Scand.). The Titans or giants. Mimir, who taught Odin magic, the “thrice
wise”,
was a Jotun.
Jul
(Scand.). The wheel of the Sun from whence Yuletide, which was sacred to
Freyer,
or Pro, the Sun-god, the ripener of the fields and fruits, admitted
later
to the circle of the Ases. As god of sunshine and fruitful harvests he
lived
in the Home of the Light Elves.
Jupiter
(Lat.). From the same root as the Greek Zeus, the greatest god of the
ancient
Greeks and Romans, adopted also by other nations. His names are among
others:
(1) Jupiter-Aërios; (2) Jupiter-Ammon of Egypt ; (3) Jupiter Bel-Moloch,
the
Chaldean; (4) Jupiter-Mundus, Deus Mundus, “God of the World”; (5)
Jupiter-Fulgur,
“the Fulgurant”, etc.,etc.
Jyotisha
(Sk.). Astronomy and Astrology; one of the Vedângas.
Jyotisham
Jyotch (Sk.). The “light of lights”, the Supreme Spirit, so called in
the
Upanishads.
Jyotsna
(Sk.). Dawn; one of the bodies assumed by Brahmâ the morning twilight.
K
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K.—The
eleventh ]etter in both the English and the Hebrew alphabets. As a
numeral
it stands in the latter for 20, and in the former for 250, and with a
stroke
over it (K) for 250,000. The Kabalists and the Masons appropriate the
word
Kodesh or Kadosh as the name of the Jewish god under this letter.
Ka
(Sk.). According to Max Muller, the interrogative pronoun “who?”—raised to
the
dignity of a deity without cause or reason. Still it has its esoteric
significance
and is a name of Brahmâ in his phallic character as generator or
Prajâpati
(q.v.).
Kabah
or Kaaba (Arab). The name of the famous Mahommedan temple at Mecca, a
great
place of pilgrimage. The edifice is not large but very original; of a
cubical
form 23 X 24 cubits in length and breadth and 27 cubits high, with only
one
aperture on the East side to admit light. In the north-east corner is the
“black
stone” of Kaaba, said to have been lowered down direct from heaven and to
have
been as white as snow, but subsequently it became black, owing to the sins
of
mankind The “white stone”, the reputed tomb of Ismael, is in the north side
and
the place of Abraham is to the east. If, as the Mahommedans claim, this
temple
was, at the prayer of Adam after his exile, transferred by Allah or
Jehovah
direct from Eden down to earth, then the “heathen” may truly claim to
have
far exceeded the divine primordial architecture in the beauty of their
edifices.
Kabalist.
From Q B L H, KABALA, an unwritten or oral tradition. The kabalist is
a
student of “secret science”, one who interprets the hidden meaning of the
Scriptures
with the help of the symbolical Kabala, and explains the real one by
these
means. The Tanaim were the first kabalists among the Jews; they appeared
at
Jerusalem about the beginning of the third century before the Christian era.
The
books of Ezekiel, Daniel, Henoch, and the Revelation of St. John, are purely
kabalistical.
This secret doctrine is identical with that of Chaldeans, and
includes
at the same time much of the Persian wisdom, or “magic”. History
catches
glimpses of famous kabalists ever since the eleventh century. The
Mediæval
ages, and even our own times, have had an enormous number of the most
learned
and intellectual men who were students of the Kabala (or Qabbalah, as
some
spell it). The most famous among the former were Paracelsus, Henry
Khunrath,
Jacob Böhmen, Robert Fludd,
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the
two Van Helmonts, the Abbot John Trithemius, Cornelius Agrippa, Cardinal
Nicolao
Cusani, Jerome Carden, Pope Sixtus IV., and such Christian scholars as
Raymond
Lully, Giovanni Pico de la Mirandola, Guillaume Postel, the great John
Reuchlin,
Dr. Henry More, Eugenius Philalethes (Thomas Vaughan), the erudite
Jesuit
Athanasius Kircher, Christian Knorr (Baron) von Rosenroth; then Sir Isaac
Newton.,
Leibniz, Lord Bacon, Spinosa, etc., etc., the list being almost
inexhaustible.
As remarked by Mr. Isaac Myer, in his Qabbalah, the ideas of the
Kabalists
have largely influenced European literature. “Upon the practical
Qabbalah,
the Abbé ,de Villars (nephew of de Montfaucon) in 1670, published his
celebrated
satirical novel, ‘The Count de Gabalis’, upon which Pope based his
‘Rape
of the Lock’. Qabbalism ran through the Mediæval poems, the ‘Romance of
the
Rose’, and permeates the writings of Dante.” No two of them, however, agreed
upon
the origin of the Kabala, the Zohar, Sepher Yetzirah, etc. Some show it as
coming
from the Biblical Patriarchs, Abraham, and even Seth; others from Egypt,
others
again from Chaldea. The system is certainly very old; but like all the
rest
of systems, whether religious or philosophical, the Kabala is derived
directly
from the primeval Secret Doctrine of the East; through the Vedas, the
Upanishads,
Orpheus and Thales, Pythagoras and the Egyptians. Whatever its
source,
its substratum is at any rate identical with that of all the other
systems
from the Book of the Dead down to the later Gnostics. The best exponents
of
the Kabala in the Theosophical Society were among the earliest, Dr. S.
Pancoast,
of Philadelphia, and Mr. G. Felt; and among the latest, Dr. W. Wynn
Westcott,
Mr. S. L. Mac Gregor Mathers (both of the Rosicrucian College) and a
few
others. (See “ Qabbalah “.)
Kabalistic
Faces. These are Nephesch, Ruach and Neschamah, or the animal
(vital),
the Spiritual and the Divine Souls in man—Body, Soul and Mind.
Kabalah
(Heb.). The hidden wisdom of the Hebrew Rabbis of the middle ages
derived
from the older secret doctrines concerning divine things and cosmogony,
which
were combined into a theology after the time of the captivity of the Jews
in
Babylon. All the works that fall under the esoteric category are termed
Kabalistic.
Kabiri
(Phœn.) or the Kabirim. Deities and very mysterious gods with the ancient
nations,
including the Israelites, some of whom—as Terah, Abram’s
father—worshipped
them under the name of Teraphim. With the Christians, however,
they
are now devils, although the modern Archangels are the direct
transformation
of these same Kabiri. In Hebrew the latter name means “the mighty
ones”,
Gibborim. At one time all the deities connected with fire—whether they
were
divine, infernal or volcanic—were called Kabirian.
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Kadmon
(Heb.). Archetypal man. See.“Adam Kadmon”.
Kadosh
(Heb.). Consecrated, holy; also written Kodesh. Something set apart for
temple
worship. But between the etymological meaning of the word, and its
subsequent
significance in application to the Kadeshim (the “priests” set apart
for
certain temple rites)—there is an abyss. The words Kadosh and Kadeshim are
used
in II. Kings as rather an opprobrious name, for the Kadeshuth of the Bible
were
identical in their office and duties with the Nautch girls of some Hindu
temples.
They were Galli, the mutilated priests of the lascivious rites of Venus
Astarte,
who lived “by the house of the Lord”. Curiously enough the terms
Kadosh,
etc., were appropriated and used- by several degrees of Masonic
knighthood.
Kailasa
(Sk.). In metaphysics “heaven”, the abode of gods; geographically a
mountain
range in the Himalayas, north of the Mansaravâra lake, called also lake
Manasa.
Kailem
(Heb.). Lit., vessels or vehicles; the vases for the source of the Waters
of
Life ; used of the Ten Sephiroth, considered as the primeval nuclei of all
Kosmic
Forces. Some Kabalists regard them as manifesting in the universe through
twenty-two
canals, which are represented by the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew
alphabet,
thus making with the Ten Sephiroth thirty-two paths of wisdom. [w. w.
w.]
Kaimarath
(Pers.). The last of the race of the prehuman kings. He is identical
with
Adam Kadmon. A fabulous Persian hero.
Kakodæmon
(Gr.). The evil genius as opposed to Agathodæmon the good genius, or
deity.
A
Gnostic term.
Kala
(Sk.). A measure of time; four hours, a period of thirty Kashthas.
Kala
(Sk.). Time, fate; a cycle and a proper name, or title given to Yama, King
of
the nether world and
Judge
of the Dead.
Kalabhana
(Sk.). The same as Taraka (See Secret Doctrine, Vol. II., p. 382,
foot-note).
Kalagni
(Sk.). The flame of time. A divine Being created by Siva, a monster with
1,000
heads. A title of Siva meaning “the fire of fate”.
Kalahansa
or Hamsa (Sk). A mystic title given to Brahma (or Parabrahman); means
“the
swan in and out of time”. Brahmâ (male) is called Hansa-Vahan, the vehicle
of
the “Swan”.
Kalavingka
(Sk.), also Kuravikaya and Karanda, etc. “The sweet- voiced bird of
immortality
“. Eitel identifies it with cuculus melanoleicus, though the bird
itself
is allegorical and non-existent. Its voice is heard at a certain stage of
Dhyana
in Yoga practice. It is said to have awakened King Bimbisara and thus
saved
him from the sting of a cobra. In its esoteric meaning this sweet-voiced
bird
is our Higher Ego.
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Kalevala.
The Finnish Epic of Creation.
Kali
(Sk.). The “black”, now the name of Parvati, the consort of Siva, but
originally
that of one of the seven tongues of Agni, the god of fire—“the black,
fiery
tongue”. Evil and wickedness.
Kalidasa
(Sk.). The greatest poet and dramatist of India.
Kaliya
(Sk.). The five-headed serpent killed by Krishna in his childhood. A
mystical
monster symbolizing the passions of man—the river or water being a
symbol
of matter.
Kaliyuga
(Sk.). The fourth, the black or iron age, our present period, the
duration
of which us 432,000 years. The last of the ages into which the
evolutionary
period of man is divided by a series of such ages. It began 3,102
years
B.C. at the moment of Krishna’s death, and the first cycle of 5,ooo years
will
end between the years 1897 and 1898.
Kalki
Avatar (Sk.). The “White Horse Avatar”, which will be the last manvantaric
incarnation
of Vishnu, according to the Brahmins; of Maitreya Buddha, agreeably
to
Northern Buddhists; of Sosiosh, the last hero and Saviour of the
Zoroastrians,
as claimed by Parsis ; and of the “Faithful and True” on the white
Horse
(Rev. xix.,2 ). In his future epiphany or tenth avatar, the heavens will
open
and Vishnu will appear “seated on a milk-white steed, with a drawn sword
blazing
like a comet, for the final destruction of the wicked, the renovation of
‘creation’
and the ‘restoration of purity’”. (Compare Revelation.) This will
take
place at the end of the Kaliyuga 427,000 years hence. The latter end of
every
Yuga is called “the destruction of the world”, as then the earth changes
each
time its outward form, submerging one set of continents and upheaving
another
set.
Kalluka
Bhatta (Sk.). A commentator of the Hindu Manu Smriti Scriptures; a
well-known
writer and historian.
Kalpa
(Sk.). The period of a mundane revolution, generally a cycle of time, but
usually,
it represents a “day” and “night” of Brahmâ, a period of 4,320,000,000
years.
Kama
(Sk.) Evil desire, lust, volition; the cleaving to existence. Kama is
generally
identified with Mara the tempter.
Kamadeva
(Sk.). In the popular notions the god of love, a Visva-deva, in the
Hindu
Pantheon. As the Eros of Hesiod, degraded into Cupid by exoteric law, and
still
more degraded by a later popular sense attributed to the term, so is Kama
a
most mysterious and metaphysical subject. The earlier Vedic description of
Kama
alone gives the key-note to what he emblematizes. Kama is the first
conscious,
all embracing desire for universal good, love, and for all that lives
and
feels, needs help and kindness, the first feeling of infinite tender
compassion
and mercy that
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arose
in the consciousness of the creative ONE Force, as soon as it came into
life
and being as a ray from the ABSOLUTE. Says the Rig Veda, “Desire first
arose
in IT, which was the primal germ of mind, and which Sages, searching with
their
intellect, have discovered in their heart to be the bond which connects
Entity
with non-Entity”, or Manas with pure Atma-Buddhi. There is no idea of
sexual
love in the conception. Kama is pre-eminently the divine desire of
creating
happiness and love; and it is only ages later, as mankind began to
materialize
by anthropomorphization its grandest ideals into cut and dried
dogmas,
that Kama became the power that gratifies desire on the animal plane.
This
is shown by what every Veda and some Brahmanas say. In the Atharva Veda,
Kama
is represented as the Supreme Deity and Creator. In the Taitarîya Brahmana,
he
is the child of Dharma, the god of Law and Justice, of Sraddha and faith. In
another
account he springs from the heart of Brahmâ. Others show him born from
water,
i.e., from primordial chaos, or the “Deep”. Hence one of his many names,
Irâ-ja,
“the water-born”; and Aja, “unborn” ; and Atmabhu or “Self-existent”.
Because
of the sign of Makara (Capricornus) on his banner, he is also called “
Makara
Ketu”. The allegory about Siva, the “Great Yogin ”, reducing Kama to
ashes
by the fire from his central (or third) Eye, for inspiring the Mahadeva
with
thoughts of his wife, while he was at his devotions—is very suggestive, as
it
is said that he thereby reduced Kama to his primeval spiritual form.
Kamadhâtu
(Sk.). Called also Kamâvatchara, a region including Kâmalôka. In
exoteric
ideas it is the first of the Trailâkya—or three regions (applied also
to
celestial beings) or seven planes or degrees, each broadly represented by one
of
the three chief characteristics; namely, Kama, Rupa and Arupa, or those of
desire,
form and formlessness. The first of the Trailokyas, Kamadhâtu, is thus
composed
of the earth and the six inferior Devalokas, the earth being followed
by
Kamaloka (q.v.). These taken together constitute the seven degrees of the
material
world of form and sensuous gratification. The second of the Trailôkya
(or
Trilôkya) is called Rupadhâtu or “material form” and is also composed of
seven
Lokas (or localities). The third is Arupadhâtu or “immaterial lokas”.
“Locality”,
however, is an incorrect word to use in translating the term dhâtu,
which
does not mean in some of its special applications a “place” at all. For
instance,
Arupadhâtu is a purely subjective world, a “state” rather than a
place.
But as the European tongues have no adequate metaphysical terms to
express
certain ideas, we can only point out the difficulty.
Kamaloka
(Sk.). The semi-material plane, to us subjective and invisible, where
the
disembodied “personalities”, the astral forms, called
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Kamarupa
remain, until they fade out from it by the complete exhaustion of the
effects
of the mental impulses that created these eidolons of human and animal
passions
and desires; (See “Kamarupa”.) It is the Hades of the ancient Greeks
and
the Amenti of the Egyptians, the land of Silent Shadows; a division of the
first
group of the Trailôkya. (See “Kamadhâtu”.)
Kamarupa
(Sk.). Metaphysically, and in our esoteric philosophy, it is the
subjective
form created through the mental and physical desires and thoughts in
connection
with things of matter, by all sentient beings, a form which survives
the
death of their bodies. After that death three of the seven “principles”—or
let
us say planes of senses and consciousness on which the human instincts and
ideation
act in turn—viz., the body, its astral prototype and physical
vitality,—being
of no further use, remain on earth; the three higher principles,
grouped
into one, merge into the state of Devachan (q.v.), in which state the
Higher
Ego will remain until the hour for a new reincarnation arrives; and the
eidolon
of the ex-Personality is left alone in its new abode. Here, the pale
copy
of the man that was, vegetates for a period of time, the duration of which
is
variable and according to the element of materiality which is left in it, and
which
is determined by the past life of the defunct. Bereft as it is of its
higher
mind, spirit and physical senses, if left alone to its own senseless
devices,
it will gradually fade out and disintegrate. But, if forcibly drawn
back
into the terrestrial sphere whether by the passionate desires and appeals
of
the surviving friends or by regular necromantic practices—one of the most
pernicious
of which is medium- ship—the “spook” may prevail for a period greatly
exceeding
the span of the natural life of its body. Once the Kamarupa has learnt
the
way back to living human bodies, it becomes a vampire, feeding on the
vitality
of those who are so anxious for its company. In India these eidolons
are
called Pisâchas, and are much dreaded, as already explained elsewhere.
Kamea
(Heb.). An amulet, generally a magic square.
Kandu
.(Sk.). A holy sage of the second root-race, a yogi, whom Pramlôcha, a
“nymph”
sent by Indra for that purpose, beguiled, and lived with for several
centuries.
Finally, the Sage returning to his senses, repudiated and chased her
away.
Whereupon she gave birth to a daughter, Mârishâ. The story is in an
allegorical
fable from the Purânas.
Kanishka
(Sk.). A King of the Tochari, who flourished when the third Buddhist
Synod
met in Kashmir, i.e., about the middle of the last century B.C., a great
patron
of Buddhism, he built the finest stûpas or dagobas in Northern India and
Kabulistan.
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Kanishthas
(Sk.). A class of gods which will manifest in the fourteenth or last
manvantara
of our world—according to the Hindus.
Kanya
(Sk.). A virgin or maiden. Kanya Kumârî “the virgin- maiden” is a title of
Durga-Kali,
worshipped by the Thugs and Tantrikas.
Kapila
Rishi (Sk.). A great sage, a great adept of antiquity; the author of the
Sankhya
philosophy.
Kapilavastu
(Sk.). The birth-place of the Lord Buddha; called “the yellow
dwelling”:
the capital of the monarch who was the father of Gautama Buddha.
Karabtanos
(Gr.). The spirit of blind or animal desire; the symbol of Kama-rupa.
The
Spirit “without sense or judgment” in the Codex of the Nazarenes. He is the
symbol
of matter and stands for the father of the seven spirits of concupiscence
begotten
by him on his mother, the “Spiritus” or the Astral Light.
Karam
(Sk.). A great festival in honour of the Sun-Spirit with the Kolarian
tribes.
Kârana
(Sk.). Cause (metaphysically).
Kârana
Sarîra (Sk.). The “Causal body”. It is dual in its meaning. Exoterically,
it
is Avidya, ignorance, or that which is the cause of the evolution of a human
ego
and its reincarnation ; hence the lower Manas esoterically—the causal body
or
Kâranopadhi stands in the Taraka Raja yoga as corresponding to Buddhi and the
Higher
“ Manas,” or Spiritual Soul.
Karanda
(Sk.). The “sweet-voiced bird,” the same as Kalavingka (q.v.)
Kâranopadhi
(Sk.). The basis or upadhi of Karana, the “causal soul”. In Taraka
Rajayoga,
it corresponds with both Manas and Buddhi. See Table in the Secret
Doctrine,
Vol. I, p. 157.
Kardecists.
The followers of the spiritistic system of Allan Kardec, the
Frenchman
who founded the modern movement of the Spiritist School. The
Spiritists
of France differ from the American and English Spiritualists in that
their
“Spirits” teach reincarnation, while those of the United States and Great
Britain
denounce this belief as a heretical fallacy and abuse and slander those
who
accept it. “When Spirits disagree...”
Karma
(Sk.). Physically, action: metaphysically, the LAW OF RETRIBUTION, the Law
of
cause and effect or Ethical Causation. Nemesis, only in one sense, that of
bad
Karma. It is the eleventh Nidana in the concatenation of causes and effects
in
orthodox Buddhism ; yet it is the power that controls all things, the
resultant
of moral action, the meta physical Samskâra, or the moral effect of an
act
committed for the
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attainment
of something which gratifies a personal desire. There is the Karma of
merit
and the Karma of demerit. Karma neither punishes nor rewards, it is simply
the
one Universal LAW which guides unerringly, and, so to say, blindly, all
other
laws productive of certain effects along the grooves of their respective
causations.
When Buddhism teaches that “Karma is that moral kernel (of any
being)
which alone survives death and continues in transmigration ‘ or
reincarnation,
it simply means that there remains nought after each Personality
but
the causes produced by it ; causes which are undying, i.e., which cannot be
eliminated
from the Universe until replaced by their legitimate effects, and
wiped
out by them, so to speak, and such causes—unless compensated during the
life
of the person who produced them with adequate effects, will follow the
reincarnated
Ego, and reach it in its subsequent reincarnation until a harmony
between
effects and causes is fully reestablished. No “personality”—a mere
bundle
of material atoms and of instinctual and mental characteristics—can of
course
continue, as such, in the world of pure Spirit. Only that which is
immortal
in its very nature and divine in its essence, namely, the Ego, can
exist
for ever. And as it is that Ego which chooses the personality it will
inform,
after each Devachan, and which receives through these personalities the
effects
of the Karmic causes produced, it is therefore the Ego, that self which
is
the “moral kernel” referred to and embodied karma, “which alone survives
death.”
Karnak
(Eg.). The ruins of the ancient temples, and palaces which now stand on
the
emplacement of ancient Thebes. The most magnificent representatives of the
art
and skill of the earliest Egyptians. A few lines quoted from Champollion,
Denon
and an English traveller, show most eloquently what these ruins are. Of
Karnak
Champollion writes :— “The ground covered by the mass of remaining
buildings
is square; and each side measures 1,800 feet. One is astounded and
overcome
by the grandeur of the sublime remnants, the prodigality and
magnificence
of workmanship to be seen everywhere. No people of ancient or
modern
times has conceived the art of architecture upon a scale so sublime, so
grandiose
as it existed among the ancient Egyptians; and the imagination, which
in
Europe soars far above our porticos, arrests itself and falls powerless at
the
foot of the hundred and forty columns of the hypostyle of Karnak! In one of
its
halls, the Cathedral of Notre Dame might stand and not touch the ceiling,
but
be considered as a small ornament in the centre of the hall.”
Another
writer exclaims: “Courts, halls, gateways, pillars, obelisks, monolithic
figures,
sculptures, long rows of sphinxes, are found in such profusion at
Karnak,
that the sight is too much for modern compre-
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hension.”
Says Denon, the French traveller: “It is hardly possible to believe,
after
seeing it, in the reality of the existence of so many buildings collected
together
on a single point, in their dimensions, in the resolute perseverance
which
their construction required, and in the incalculable expenses of so much
magnificence!
It is necessary that the reader should fancy what is before him to
be
a dream, as he who views the objects themselves occasionally yields to the
doubt
whether he be perfectly awake. . . . There are lakes and mountains within
the
periphery of the sanctuary. These two edifices are selected as examples from
a
list next to inexhaustible. The whole valley and delta of the Nile, from the
cataracts
to the sea, was covered with temples, palaces, tombs, pyramids,
obelisks,
and pillars. The execution of the sculptures is beyond praise. The
mechanical
perfection with which artists wrought in granite, serpentine,
breccia,
and basalt, is wonderful, according to all the experts animals and
plants
look as good as natural, and artificial objects are beautifully
sculptured;
battles by sea and land, and scenes of domestic life are to be found
in
all their bas-reliefs.”
Karnaim
(Heb.). Horned, an attribute of Ashtoreth and Astarte; those horns
typify
the male element, and convert the deity into an androgyne. Isis also is
at
times horned. Compare also the idea of the Crescent Moon—-symbol of Isis—as
horned.
[w.w.w.]
Karneios
(Gr.). “Apollo Karneїos,” is evidently an avatar of the Hindu
“Krishna
Karna”.
Both were Sun-gods; both “Karna” and Karneios meaning “radiant”. (See
the
Secret Doctrine II., p. 44. note.)
Karshipta
(Mazd.). The holy bird of Heaven in the Mazdean Scriptures, of which
Ahura
Mazda says to Zaratushta that “he recites the Avesta in the language of
birds”
(Bund. xix. et seq.). The bird is the symbol of “Soul” of Angel and Deva
in
every old religion. It is easy to see, therefore, that this “holy bird” means
the
divine Ego of man, or the “Soul”. The same as Karanda (q.v.).
Karshvare
(Zend). The “seven earths” (our septenary chain) over which rule the
Amesha
Spenta, the Archangels or Dhyan Chohans of the Parsis. The seven earths,
of
which one only, namely Hvanirata—our earth—is known to mortals. The Earths
(esoterically),
or seven divisions (exoterically), are our own planetary chain
as
in Esoteric Buddhism and the Secret Doctrine. The doctrine is plainly stated
in
Fargard XIX., 39, of the Vendidad.
Kartikeya
(Sk), or Kartika. The Indian God of War, son of Siva, born of his seed
fallen
into the Ganges. He is also the personification of the power of the
Logos.
The planet Mars. Kartika is a very occult personage, a nursling of the
Pleiades,
and a Kumâra. (See Secret Doctrine.)
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Karunâ-Bhâwanâ
(Sk.). The meditation of pity and compassion in Yoga.
Kasbeck.
The mountain in the Caucasian range where Prometheus was bound.
Kasi
(Sk.). Another and more ancient name of the holy city of Benares.
Kasina
(Sk.). A mystic Yoga rite used to free the mind from all agitation and
bring
the Kamic element to a dead stand-still.
KâsiKhanda
(Sk.). A long poem, which forms a part of the Skanda Purâna and
contains
another version of the legend of Daksha’s head. Having lost it in an
affray,
the gods replaced it with the head of a ram Mekha Shivas, whereas the
other
versions describe it as the head of a goat, a substitution which changes
the
allegory considerably.
Kasyapa
(Sk.). A Vedic Sage; in the words of Atharva Veda, “The self-born who
sprang
from Time”. Besides being the father of the Adityas headed by Indra,
Kasyapa
is also the progenitor of serpents, reptiles, birds and other walking,
flying
and creeping beings.
Katha
(Sk.) One of the Upanishads commented upon by Sankarâchârya.
Kaumara
(Sk.). The “Kumara Creation”, the virgin youths who sprang from the body
of
Brahmâ.
Kauravya
(Sk.). The King of the Nagas (Serpents) in Pâtâla, exoterically a hall.
But
esoterically it means something very different. There is a tribe of the
Nâgas
in Upper India; Nagal is the name in Mexico of the chief medicine men to
this
day, and was that of the chief adepts in the twilight of history; and
finally
Patal means the Antipodes and is a name of America. Hence the story that
Arjuna
travelled to Pâtàla, and married Ulupi, the daughter of the King
Kauravya,
may he as historical as many others regarded first as fabled and then
found
out to be true.
Kayanim
(Heb.). Also written Cunim; the name of certain mystic cakes offered to
Ishtar,
the Babylonian Venus. Jeremiah speaks of these Cunim offered to the
“Queen
of Heaven”, vii. 18. Nowadays we do not offer the buns, but eat them at
Easter.
[w.w.w.]
Kavyavahana
(Sk.). The fire of the Pitris.
Kchana
(Sk.). A second incalculably short: the 90th part or fraction of a
thought,
the 4,500th part of a minute, during which from 90 to 100 births and as
many
deaths occur on this earth.
Kebar-Zivo
(Gnostic). One of the chief creators in the Codex Nasaræus.
Keherpas
(Sk.). Aerial form,
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Keshara
(Sk.). “Sky Walker”, i.e., a Yogi who can travel in his astral form.
Kether
(Heb.). The Crown, the highest of the ten Sephiroth; the first of the
Supernal
Triad. It corresponds to the Macroprosopus, vast countenance, or Arikh
Anpin,
which differentiates into Chokmah and Binah. [w.w.w.]
Ketu
(Sk.). The descending node in astronomy; the tail of the celestial dragon
who
attacks the Sun during the eclipses; also a comet or meteor.
Key.
A symbol of universal importance, the emblem of silence among the ancient
nations.
Represented on the threshold of the Adytum, a key had a double meaning:
it
reminded the candidates of the obligations of silence, and promised the
unlocking
of many a hitherto impenetrable mystery to the profane. In the “Œdipus
Coloneus”
of Sophocles, the chorus speaks of “the golden key which had come upon
the
tongue of the ministering Hierophant in the mysteries of Eleusis”, (1051).
“The
priestess of Ceres, according to Callimachus, bore a key as her ensign of
office,
and the key was, in the Mysteries of Isis, symbolical of the opening or
disclosing
of the heart and conscience before the forty-two assessors of the
dead”.
(R.
M. Cyc1opædia).
Khado
(Tib.). Evil female demons in popular folk-lore. In the Esoteric
Philosophy
occult and evil Forces of nature. Elementals known in Sanskrit as
Dakini.
Khaldi.
The earliest inhabitants of Chaldea who were first the worshippers of
the
Moon god, Deus Lunus, a worship which was brought to them by the great
stream
of early Hindu emigration, and later a caste of regular Astrologers and
Initiates.
Kha
(Sk.). The same as “Akâsa”.
Khamism.
A name given by the Egyptologists to the ancient language of Egypt.
Khami,
also.
Khanda
Kâla (Sk.). Finite or conditioned time in contradistinction to infinite
time,
or
eternity—Kala.
Khem
(Eg.). The same as Horus. “The God Khem will avenge his father Osiris”;
says
a text in a papyrus.
Khepra
(Eg.). An Egyptian god presiding over rebirth and transmigration. He is
represented
with a scarabæus instead of a head.
Khi
(Chin.). Lit., “breath”; meaning Buddhi.
Khnoom
(Eg.). The great Deep, or Primordial Space.
Khoda
(Pers.). The name for the Deity.
Khons,
or Chonso. (Eg.) The Son of Maut and Ammon, the personifica-
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tion
of morning. He is the Theban Harpocrates, according to some. Like Horus he
crushes
under his foot a crocodile, emblem of night and darkness or Seb (Sebek)
who
is Typhon. But in the inscriptions, he is addressed as “the Healer of
diseases
and banisher of all evil”. He is also the “god of the hunt”, and Sir
Gardner
Wilkinson would see in him the Egyptian Hercules, probably because the
Romans
had a god named Consus who presided over horse races and was therefore
called
“the concealer of secrets”. But the latter is a later variant on the
Egyptian
Khons, who is more probably an aspect of Horus, as he wears a hawk’s
head,
carries the whip and crook of Osiris the tat and the crux ansata.
Khoom
(Eg.), or Knooph. The Soul of the world; a variant of Khnoom.
Khubilkhan
(Mong.), or Shabrong. In Tibet the names given to the supposed
incarnations
of Buddha. Elect Saints.
Khunrath,
Henry. A famous Kabalist, chemist and physician born in 1502,
initiated
into Theosophy (Rosicrucian) in 1544. He left some excellent
Kabalistic
works, the best of which is the “Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom”
(1598).
Kimapurushas
(Sk.). Monstrous Devas, half-men, half-horses.
Kings
of Edom. Esoterically, the early, tentative, malformed races of men. Some
Kabalists
interpret them as “sparks”, worlds in formation disappearing as soon
as
formed.
Kinnaras
(Sk.). Lit., “What men?” Fabulous creatures of the same description as
the
Kim-purushas, One of the four classes of beings called “Maharajas”.
Kioo-tche
(Chin.). An astronomical work.
Kirâtarjuniya
of Bharavi (Sk.). A Sanskrit epic, celebrating the strife and
prowess
of Arjuna with the god Siva disguised as a forester.
Kiver-Shans
(Chin.). The astral or “Thought Body”.
Kiyun
(Heb.). Or the god Kivan which was worshipped by the Israelites in the
wilderness
and was probably identical with Saturn and even with the god Siva.
Indeed,
as the Zendic H is S in India (their “hapta” is “sapta”, etc.), and as
the
letters K, H, and S, are interchangeable, Siva may have easily become Kiva
and
Kivan.
Klesha
(Sk.). Love of life, but literally “pain and misery”. Cleaving to
existence,
and almost the same as Kama.
Klikoosha
(Russ.). One possessed by the Evil one. Lit., a “crier out”, a
“screamer”,
as such unfortunates are periodically attacked with fits during
which
they crow like cocks, neigh, bray and prophesy.
Klippoth
(Heb.). Shells: used in the Kabbalah in several senses;
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(1)
evil spirits, demons; (2) the shells of dead human beings, not the physical
body,
but the remnant of the personality after the spirit has departed; (3) the
Elementaries
of some authors. [w.w.w.]
Kneph
(Eg.). Also Cneph and Nef, endowed with the same attributes as Khem. One
of
the gods of creative Force, for he is connected with the Mundane Egg. He is
called
by Porphyry “the creator of the world”; by Plutarch the “unmade and
eternal
deity”; by Eusebius he is identified with the Logos; and Jamblichus goes
so
far as almost to identify him with Brahmâ since he says of him that “this god
is
intellect itself, intellectually perceiving itself, and consecrating
intellections
to itself; and is to be worshipped in silence”. One form of him,
adds
Mr. Bonwick “was Av meaning flesh. He was criocephalus, with a solar disk
on
his head, and standing on the serpent Mehen. In his left hand was a viper,
and
a cross was in his right. He was actively engaged in the underworld upon a
mission
of creation.” Deveria writes: “His journey to the lower hemisphere
appears
to symbolise the evolutions of substances which are born to die and to
be
reborn”. Thousands of years before Kardec, Swedenborg, and Darwin appeared,
the
old Egyptians entertained their several philosophies. (Eg. Belief and Mod.
Thought.)
Koinobi
(Gr.). A sect which lived in Egypt in the early part of the first
Christian
century; usually confounded with the Therapeutæ. They passed for
magicians.
Kokab
(Chald.). The Kabalistic name associated with the planet Mercury; also the
Stellar
light.
[w.w.w.]
Kol
(Heb.). A voice, in Hebrew letters QUL. The Voice of the divine. (See “Bath
Kol”
and “Vâch”.)
[w.w.w.]
Kols.
One of the tribes in central India, much addicted to magic. They are
considered
to he great sorcerers.
Konx-Om-Pax
(Gr.). Mystic words used in the Eleusinian mysteries. It is believed
that
these words are the Greek imitation of ancient Egyptian words once used in
the
secret ceremonies of the Isiac cult. Several modern authors give fanciful
translations,
but they are all only guesses at the truth. [w.w.w.]
Koorgan
(Russ.). An artificial mound, generally an old tomb. Traditions of a
supernatural
or magical character are often attached to such mounds.
Koran
(Arab.), or Quran. The sacred Scripture of the Mussulmans, revealed to the
Prophet
Mohammed by Allah (god) himself. The revelation differs, however, from
that
given by Jehovah to Moses. The Christians abuse the Koran calling it a
hallucination,
and the work of
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an
Arabian impostor. Whereas, Mohammed preaches in his Scripture the unity of
Deity,
and renders honour to the Christian prophet “Issa Ben Yussuf” (Jesus, son
of
Joseph). The Koran is a grand poem, replete with ethical teachings
proclaiming
loudly Faith, Hope and Charity.
Kosmos
(Gr.). The Universe, as distinguished from the world, which may mean our
globe
or earth.
Kounboum
(Tib.). The sacred Tree of Tibet, the “tree of the 10,000 images” as
Huc
gives it. It grows in an enclosure on the Monastery lands of the Lamasery of
the
same name, and is well cared for. Tradition has it that it grew out of the
hair
of Tson-ka-pa, who was buried on that spot. This “Lama” was the great
Reformer
of the Buddhism of Tibet, and is regarded as an incarnation of Amita
Buddha.
In the words of the Abbé Huc, who lived several months with another
missionary
named Gabet near this phenomenal tree: “Each of its leaves, in
opening,
bears either a letter or a religious sentence, written in sacred
characters,
and these letters are, of their kind, of such a perfection that the
type-foundries
of Didot contain nothing to excel them. Open the leaves, which
vegetation
is about to unroll, and you will there
discover,
on the point of appearing, the letters or the distinct words which are
the
marvel of this unique tree! Turn your attention from the leaves of the plant
to
the bark of its branches, and new characters will meet your eyes! Do not
allow
your interest to flag; raise the layers of this bark, and still OTHER
CHARACTERS
will show themselves below those whose beauty had surprised you. For,
do
not fancy that these super posed layers repeat the same printing. No, quite
the
contrary; for each lamina you lift presents to view its distinct type. How,
then,
can we suspect jugglery? I have done my best in that direction to discover
the
slightest trace of human trick, and my baffled mind could not retain the
slightest
suspicion.” Yet promptly the kind French Abbé suspects the Devil.
Kratudwishas
(Sk.). The enemies of the Sacrifices; the Daityas, Danavas,
Kinnaras,
etc., etc., all represented as great ascetics and Yogis. This shows
who
are really meant. They were the enemies of religious mummeries and
ritualism.
Kravyâd
(Sk.). A flesh-eater; a carnivorous man or animal.
Krisâswas
Sons of (Sk.). The weapons called Agneyastra. The magical living
weapons
endowed with intelligence, spoken of in the Ramayana and elsewhere. An
occult
allegory.
Krishna
(Sk.).. The most celebrated avatar of Vishnu, the “Saviour” of the
Hindus
and their most popular god. He is the- eighth Avatar, the
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son
of Devaki, and the nephew of Kansa, the Indian King Herod, who while seeking
for
him among the shepherds and cow-herds who concealed him, slew thousands of
their
newly-born babes. The story of Krishna’s conception, birth, and childhood
are
the exact prototype of the New Testament story. The missionaries, of course,
try
to show that the Hindus stole the story of the Nativity from the early
Christians
who came to India.
Krita-Yuga
(Sk.). The first of the four Yugas or Ages of the Brahmans; also
called
Satya-Yuga, a period lasting 1,728,000 years.
Krittika
(Sk.). The Pleiades. The seven nurses of Karttikiya, the god of War.
Kriyasakti
(Gk.). The power of thought; one of the seven forces of Nature.
Creative
potency of the Siddhis (powers) of the full Yogis.
Kronos
(Gr.). Saturn. The God of Boundless Time and of the Cycles.
Krura-lochana
(Sk.). The “evil-eyed”; used of Sani, the Hindu Saturn, the
planet.
Kshanti
(Sk.). Patience, one of the Paramîtas of perfection.
Kahatriya
(Sk.). The second of the four castes into which the Hindus were
originally
divided.
Kshetrajna
or Kshetrajneswara (Sk.). Embodied spirit, the Conscious Ego in its
highest
manifestations; the reincarnating Principle; the “Lord” in us.
Kshetram
(Sk.). The “Great Deep” of the Bible and Kabala. Chaos, Yoni; Prakriti,
Space.
Kshira
Samudra (Sk.). Ocean of milk, churned by the gods.
Kuch-ha-guf
(Heb.). The astral body of a man. In Franz Lambert it is written
“Coach-ha-guf”.
But the Hebrew word is Kuch, meaning vis, “force”, motive origin
of
the earthy body. [w.w.w.]
Kuklos
Anagkês (Gr.). Lit., “The Unavoidable Cycle” or the “Circle of
Necessity”-.
Of the numerous catacombs in Egypt and Chaldea the most renowned
were
the subterranean crypts of Thebes and Memphis. The former began on the
Western
side of the Nile extending toward the Libyan desert, and were known as
the
serpents’ (Initiated Adepts) catacombs. It was there that the Sacred
Mysteries
of the Kuklos Anagkês were performed, and the candidates were
acquainted
with the inexorable laws traced for every disembodied soul from the
beginning
of time. These laws were that every reincarnating Entity, casting away
its
body should pass from this life on earth unto another life on a more
subjective
plane, a state of bliss, unless the sins of the personality
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brought
on a complete separation of the higher from the lower “principles” ;
that
the “circle of necessity” or the unavoidable cycle should last a given
period
(from one thousand to even three thousand years in a few cases), and that
when
closed the Entity should return to its mummy, i.e., to a new incarnation.
The
Egyptian and Chaldean teachings were those of the “Secret Doctrine” of the
Theosophists.
The Mexicans had the same. Their demi-god, Votan, is made to
describe
in Popol Vu (see de Bourbourg’s work) the ahugero de colubra which is
identical
with the “Serpent’s Catacombs”, or passage, adding that it ran
underground
and “terminated at the root of heaven”, into which serpent’s hole,
Votan
was, admitted because he was himself “a son of the Serpents”, or a Dragon
of
Wisdom, i.e., an Initiate. The world over, the priest-adepts called
themselves
“Sons of the Dragon” and “Sons of the Serpent-god”.
Kukkuta
Padagiri (Sk.), called also Gurupadagiri, the “teacher’s mountain”. It
is
situated about seven miles from Gaya, and is famous owing to a persistent
report
that Arhat Mahâkâsyapa even to this day dwells in its caves.
Kumâra
(Sk.). A virgin boy, or young celibate. The first Kumâras are the seven
sons
of Brahmâ born out of the limbs of the god, in the so-called ninth
creation.
It is stated that the name was given to them owing to their formal
refusal
to “procreate their species”, and so they “remained Yogis”, as the
legend
says.
Kumârabudhi
(Sk.). An epithet given to the human “Ego”.
Kumâra
guha (Sk.). Lit., “the mysterious, virgin youth”. A title given to
Karttikeya
owing to his strange origin.
Kumbhaka
(Sk.). Retention of breath, according to the regulations of the Hatha
Yoga
system.
Kumbhakarna
(Sk.). The brother of King Ravana of Lanka, the ravisher of Rama’s
wife,
Sita. As shown in the Ramayana, Kumbhakarna under a curse of Brahmâ slept
for
six months, and then remained awake one day to fall asleep again, and so on,
for
many hundreds of years. He was awakened to take part in the war between Rama
and
Ravana, captured Hanuman, but was finally killed himself.
Kundalini
Sakti (Sk.). The power of life; one of the Forces of Nature; that
power
that generates a certain light in those who sit for spiritual and
clairvoyant
development. It is a power known only to those who practise
concentration
and Yoga.
Kunti
(Sk.). The wife of Pandu and the mother of the Pandavas, the heroes and
the
foes of their cousins the Kauravas, in the Bhagavad-gita. It is an allegory
of
the Spirit-Soul or Buddhi. Some think that
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Draupadi,
the wife in common of the five brothers, the Pandavas, is meant to
represent
Buddhi: but this is not so, for Draupadi stands for the terrestrial
life
of the Personality. As such, we see it made little of, allowed to be
insulted
and even taken into slavery by Yudhishthira, the elder of the Pandavas
and
her chief lord, who represents the Higher Ego with all its qualifications.
Kurios
(Gr.). ‘The Lord, the Master.
Kurus
(Sk.) or Kauravas. The foes of the Pandavas in the Bhagavad Gita, on the
plain
of Kurukshetra. This plain is but a few miles from Delhi.
Kusa
(Sk.). A sacred grass used by the ascetics of India, called the grass of
lucky
augury. It is very occult.
Kusadwipa
(Sk.). One of the seven islands named Saptadwipa in the Puranas. (See
Secret
Doctrine II., p. 404, Note.)
Kusala
(Sk.). Merit, one of the two chief constituents of Karma.
Kusînara
(Sk.). The city near which Buddha died. It is near Delhi, though some
Orientalists
would locate it in Assam.
Kuvera
(Sk.). God of the Hades, and of wealth like Pluto. The king of the evil
demons
in the Hindu Pantheon.
Kwan-shai-yîn
(Chin.). The male logos of the Northern Buddhists and those of
China;
the “manifested god”.
Kwan-yin
(Chin.). The female logos, the “Mother of Mercy”.
Kwan-yin-tien
(Chin.). The heaven where Kwan-yin and the other logoi dwell.
L
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L.—The
twelfth letter of the English Alphabet, and also of the Hebrew, where
Lamed
signifies an Ox-goad, the sign of a form of the god Mars, the generative
deity.
The letter is an equivalent of number 30. The Hebrew divine name
corresponding
to L, is Limmud, or Doctus.
Labarum
(Lat.). The standard borne before the old Roman Emperors, having an
eagle
upon it as an emblem of sovereignty. It was a long lance with a cross
staff
at right angles. Constantine replaced the eagle by the christian monogram
with
the motto en touty nika which was later interpreted into In hoc signo
vinces.
As to the monogram, it was a combination of the letter X, Chi, and P,
Rho,
the initial syllable of Christos. But the Labarum had been an emblem of
Etruria
ages before Constantine and the Christian era. It was the sign also of
Osiris
and of Horus who is often represented with the long Latin cross, while
the
Greek pectoral cross is purely Egyptian. In his “Decline and Fall” Gibbon
has
exposed the Constantine imposture. The emperor, if he ever had a vision at
all,
must have seen the Olympian Jupiter, in whose faith he died.
Labro.
A Roman saint, solemnly beatified a few years ago. His great holiness
consisted
in sitting at one of the gates of Rome night and day for forty years,
and
remaining unwashed through the whole of that time. He was eaten by vermin to
his
bones.
Labyrinth
(Gr.). Egypt had the “celestial labyrinth” whereinto the souls of the
departed
plunged, and also its type on earth, the famous Labyrinth, a
subterranean
series of halls and passages with the most extraordinary windings.
Herodotus
describes it as consisting of 3,000 chambers, half below and half
above
ground. Even in his day strangers were not allowed into the subterranean
portions
of it as they contained the sepulchres of the kings who built it and
other
mysteries. The “Father of History” found the Labyrinth already almost in
ruins,
yet regarded it even in its state of dilapidation as far more marvellous
than
the pyramids.
Lactantius.
A Church Father, who declared the heliocentric system a heretical
doctrine,
and that of the antipodes as a “fallacy invented by the devil”.
Ladakh.
The upper valley of the Indus, inhabited by Tibetans, but belonging to
the
Rajah of Cashmere.
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Ladder.
There are many “ladders” in the mystic philosophies and schemes, all of
which
were, and some still are, used in the respective mysteries of various
nations.
The Brahmanical Ladder symbolises the Seven Worlds or Sapta Loka; the
Kabalistical
Ladder, the seven lower Sephiroth; Jacob’s Ladder is spoken of in
the
Bible; the Mithraic Ladder is also the “Mysterious Ladder”. Then there are
the
Rosicrucian, the Scandinavian, the Borsippa Ladders, etc., etc., and finally
the
Theological Ladder which, according to Brother Kenneth Mackenzie, consists
of
the four cardinal and three theological virtues.
Lady
of the Sycamore. A title of the Egyptian goddess Neїth, who is often
represented
as appearing in a tree and handing therefrom the fruit of the Tree
of
Life, as also the Water of Life, to her worshippers.
Laena
(Lat.). A robe worn by the Roman Augurs with which they covered their
heads
while sitting in contemplation on the flight of birds.
Lahgash
(Kab.). Secret speech; esoteric incantation; almost identical with the
mystical
meaning of Vâch.
Lajja
(Sk.). “Modesty”; a demi-goddess, daughter of Daksha.
Lakh
(Sk.). 100,000 of units, either in specie or anything else.
Lakshana
(Sk.). The thirty-two bodily signs of a Buddha, marks by which he is
recognised.
Lakshmi
(Sk.) “Prosperity”, fortune; the Indian Venus, born of the churning of
the
ocean by the gods; goddess of beauty and wife of Vishnu.
Lalita
Vistara (Sk.). A celebrated biography of Sakya Muni, the Lord Buddha, by
Dharmarakcha,
A.D. 308.
Lama
(Tib.). Written “Clama”. The title, if correctly applied, belongs only to
the
priests of superior grades, those who can hold office as gurus in the
monasteries.
Unfortunately every common member of the gedun (clergy) calls
himself
or allows himself to be called “Lama”. A real Lama is an ordained and
thrice
ordained Gelong. Since the reform produced by Tsong-ka-pa, many abuses
have
again crept into the theocracy of the land. There are “Lama-astrologers”,
the
Chakhan, or common Tsikhan (from tsigan, “gypsy”), and Lama-soothsayers,
even
such as are allowed to marry and do not belong to the clergy at all. They
are
very scarce, however, in Eastern Tibet, belonging principally to Western
Tibet
and to sects which have nought to do with the Gelukpas (yellow caps).
Unfortunately,
Orientalists knowing next to nothing of the true state of affairs
in
Tibet, confuse the Choichong, of the Gurmakhayas Lamasery (Lhassa)—the
Initiated
Esotericists, with the Charlatans and Dugpas (sorcerers) of the Bhon
sects.
No wonder if—as Schagintweit says in his Buddhism in Tibet—“though the
images
of
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King
Choichong (the “god of astrology”) are met with in most monasteries of
Western
Tibet and the Himalayas, my brothers never saw a Lama Choichong”. This
is
but natural. Neither the Choichong, nor the Kubilkhan (q.v.) overrun the
country.
As to the “God” or “King Choichong” he is no more a “god of astrology”
than
any other “Planetary” Dhyan Chohan.
Lamrin
(Tib.). A sacred volume of precepts and rules, written by Tson-kha-pa,
“for
the advancement of knowledge”.
Land
of the Eternal Sun. Tradition places it beyond the Arctic regions at the
North
Pole. It is “the land of the gods where the sun never sets”.
Lang-Shu
(Chin.). The title of the translation of Nagarjuna’s work, the
Ekasloka-Shastra.
Lanka
(Sk.). The ancient name of the island now called Ceylon. It is also the
name
of a mountain in the South East of Ceylon, where, as tradition says, was a
town
peopled with demons named Lankapuri. It is described in the epic of the
Ramayana
as of gigantic extent and magnificence, “with seven broad moats and
seven
stupendous walls of stone and metal”. Its foundation is attributed to
Visva-Karma,
who built it for Kuvera, the king of the demons, from whom it was
taken
by Ravana, the ravisher of Sita. The Bhâgavat Purâna shows Lanka or Ceylon
as
primarily the summit of Mount Meru, which was broken off by Vayu, god of the
wind,
and hurled into the ocean. It has since become the seat of the Southern
Buddhist
Church, the Siamese Sect (headed at present by the High Priest
Sumangala),
the representation of the purest exoteric Buddhism on this side of
the
Himalayas.
Lanoo
(Sk.). A disciple, the same as “chela”.
Lao-tze
(Chin.). A great sage, saint and philosopher who preceded Confucius.
Lapis
philosophorum (Lat.). The “Philosopher’s stone”; a mystic term in alchemy,
having
quite a different meaning from that usually attributed to it.
Lararium
(Lat.). An apartment in the house of ancient Romans where the Lares or
household
gods were preserved, with other family relics.
Lares
(Lat.). These were of three kinds: Lares familiares, the guardians and
invisible
presidents of the family circle; Lares parvi, small idols used for
divinations
and augury: and Lares præstites, which were supposed to maintain
order
among the others. The Lares are the manes or ghosts of disembodied people.
Apuleius
says that the tumulary in scription, To the gods manes who lived, meant
that
the Soul had been trans-
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formed
in a Lemure ; and adds that though “the human Soul is a demon that our
languages
may name genius”, and “is an immortal god though in a certain sense
she
is born at the same time as the man in whom she is, yet we may say that she
dies
in the same way that she is born”. Which means in plainer language that
Lares
and Lemures are simply the shells cast off by the EGO, the high spiritual
and
immortal Soul, whose shell, and also its astral reflection, the animal Soul,
die,
whereas the higher Soul prevails throughout eternity.
Larva
(Lat.). The animal Soul. Larvæ are the shadows of men that have lived and
died.
Law
of Retribution. (See “Karma”.)
Laya
or Layam (Sk.). From the root Li “to dissolve, to disintegrate” a point of
equilibrium
(zero-point) in physics and chemistry. In occultism, that point
where
substance becomes homogeneous and is unable to act or differentiate.
Lebanon
(Heb.). A range of mountains in Syria, with a few remnants of the
gigantic
cedar trees, a forest of which once crowned its summit. Tradition says
that
it is here, that the timber for King Solomon’s temple was obtained. (See
“Druzes”.)
Lemuria.
A modern term first used by some naturalists, and now adopted by
Theosophists,
to indicate a continent that, according to the Secret Doctrine of
the
East, preceded Atlantis. Its Eastern name would not reveal much to European
ears.
Leon,
Moses de. The name of a Jewish Rabbi in the Xlllth century, accused of
having
composed the Zohar which he gave out as the true work of Simeon Ben
Jachaї.
His full name is given in Myer’s Qabbalah as Rabbi Moses ben-Shem-Tob de
Leon,
of Spain, the same author proving very cleverly that de Leon was not the
author
of the Zohar. Few will say he was, but everyone must suspect Moses de
Leon
of perverting considerably the original Book of Splendour (Zohar). This
sin,
however, may be shared by him with the Mediæval “Christian Kabalists” and
by
Knorr von Rosenroth especially. Surely, neither Rabbi Simeon, condemned to
death
by Titus, nor his son, Rabbi Eliezer, nor his Secretary Rabbi Abba, can be
charged
with introducing into the Zohar purely Christian dogmas and doctrines
invented
by the Church Fathers several centuries after the death of the former
Rabbis.
This would be stretching alleged divine prophecy a little too far.
Lévi,
Éliphas. The real name of this learned Kabalist was Abbé Alphonse Louis
Constant.
Eliphas Lévi Zahed was the author of several works on philosophical
magic.
Member of the Fratres Lucis (Brothers of Light), he was also once upon a
time
a priest, an abbé of the Roman
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Catholic
Church, which promptly proceeded to unfrock him, when he acquired fame
as
a Kabalist. He died some twenty years ago, leaving five famous works —Dogme
et
Rituel de la Haute Magie (1856); Histoire de la Magie (1860); La Clef des
grands
Mystères (1861); Legendes et Symboles (1862); and La Science des Esprits
(1865)
; besides some other works of minor importance. His style is extremely
light
and fascinating; but with a rather too strong characteristic of mockery
and
paradox in it to be the ideal of a serious Kabalist.
Leviathan.
In biblical esotericism, Deity in its double manifestation of good
and
evil. The meaning may be found in the Zohar (II. 34b.) “Rabbi Shimeon said:
The
work of the beginning (of ‘creation’) the companions (candidates) study and
understand
it; but the little ones (the full or perfect Initiates) are those who
understand
the allusion to the work of the beginning by the Mystery of the
Serpent
of the Great Sea (to wit) Thanneen, Leviathan.” (See also Qabbalah, by
I.
Myer.)
Levânah
(Heb.). The moon, as a planet and an astrological influence.
Lha
(Tib.). Spirits of the highest spheres, whence the name of Lhassa, the
residence
of the Dalaї-Lama. The title of Lha is often given in Tibet to some
Narjols
(Saints and Yogi adepts) who have attained great occult powers.
Lhagpa
(Tib.). Mercury, the planet.
Lhakang
(Tib.). A temple; a crypt, especially a subterranean temple for mystic
ceremonies.
Lhamayin
(Tib.). Elemental sprites of the lower terrestrial plane. Popular fancy
makes
of them demons and devils.
Lif
(Scand.). Lif and Lifthresir, the only two human beings who were allowed to
be
present at the “Renewal of the World”. Being “pure and innocent and free from
sinful
desires, they are permitted to enter the world where peace now reigns”.
The
Edda shows them hidden in Hoddmimir’s forest dreaming the dreams of
childhood
while the last conflict was taking place. These two creatures, and the
allegory
in which they take part, are allusions to the few nations of the Fourth
Root
Race, who, surviving the great submersion of their continent and the
majority
of their Race, passed into the Fifth and continued their ethnical
evolution
in our present Human Race.
Light,
Brothers of. This is what the great authority on secret societies,
Brother
Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie IX., says of this Brotherhood. “A mystic order,
Fratres
Lucis, established in Florence in 1498. Among the members of this order
were
Pasqualis, Cagliostro, Swedenborg, St. Martin, Eliphaz Lévi, and many other
eminent
mystics. Its members were very much persecuted by the Inquisition. It is
a
small but compact body, the members being spread all over the world.”
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Lila
(Sk) Sport, literally; or pastime. In
the orthodox Hindu Scriptures it is
explained
that “the acts of the divinity are lila ”, or sport.
Lilith
(Heb.). By Jewish tradition a demon who was the first wife of Adam,
before
Eve was created: she is supposed to have a fatal influence on mothers and
newly-born
infants. LIL is night, and LILITH is also the owl: and in mediæval
works
is a synonym of Lamia or female demon. [w.w.w.]
Lil-in
(Heb.). The children of Lilith, and their descendants. “Lilith is the
Mother
of the Shedim and the Muquishim (the ensnarers)”. Every class of the
Lil-ins,
therefore, are devils in the demonology of the Jews. (See Zohar ii.
268a.)
Limbus
Major (Lat.). A term used by Paracelsus to denote primordial (alchemical)
matter;
“Adam’s earth”.
Linga
or Lingam (Sk.). A sign or a symbol of abstract creation. Force becomes
the
organ of procreation only on this earth. In India there are 12 great Lingams
of
Siva, some of which are on mountains and rocks, and also in temples. Such is
the
Kedâresa in the Himalaya, a huge and shapeless mass of rock. In its origin
the
Lingam had never the gross meaning connected with the phallus, an idea which
is
altogether of a later date. The symbol in India has the same meaning which it
had
in Egypt, which is simply that the creative or procreative Force is divine.
It
also denotes who was the dual Creator—male and female, Siva and his Sakti.
The
gross and immodest idea connected with the phallus is not Indian but Greek
and
pre-eminently Jewish. The Biblical Bethels were real priapic stones, the “
Beth-el”
(phallus) wherein God dwells. The same symbol was concealed within the
ark
of the Covenant, the “Holy of Holies”. Therefore the “Lingam” even as a
phallus
is not “a symbol of Siva” only, but that of every “Creator” or creative
god
in every nation, including the Israelites and their “God of Abraham and
Jacob”.
Linga
Purâna (Sk.). A scripture of the Saivas or worshippers of Siva. Therein
Maheswara,
“the great Lord”, concealed in the Agni Linga explains the ethics of
life—duty,
virtue, self-sacrifice and finally liberation by and through ascetic
life
at the end of the Agni Kalpa (the Seventh Round). As Professor Wilson
justly
observed “the Spirit of the worship (phallic) is as little influenced by
the
character of the type as can well be imagined. There is nothing like the
phallic
orgies of antiquity; it is all mystical and spiritual.”
Linga
Sharîra (Sk.). The “body”, i.e., the aerial symbol of the body. This term
designates
the döppelganger or the “astral body” of man or animal. It is the
eidolon
of the Greeks, the vital and prototypal body; the
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reflection
of the men of flesh. It is born before and dies or fades out, with
the
disappearance of the last atom of the body.
Lipi
(Sk.) To write. See “Lipikas”in Vol. I. of the Secret Doctrine.
Lipikas
(Sk.). The celestial recorders, the “Scribes”, those who record every
word
and deed, said or done by man while on this earth. As Occultism teaches,
they
are the agents of KARMA—the retributive Law.
Lobha
(Sk.). Covetousness: cupidity, a son sprung from Brahmâ in an evil hour.
Lodur
(Scand.). The second personage in the trinity of gods in the Eddas of the
Norsemen;
and the father of the twelve great gods. It is Lodur who endows the
first
man—made of the ash-tree (Ask), with blood and colour.
Logi
(Scand.). Lit., “flame”. This giant with his sons and kindred, made
themselves
finally known as the authors of every cataclysm and conflagration in
heaven
or on earth, by letting mortals perceive them in the midst of flames.
These
giant-fiends were all enemies of man trying to destroy his work wherever
they
found it. A symbol of the cosmic elements.
Logia
(Gr.). The secret discourses and teachings of Jesus contained in the
Evangel
of Matthew—in the original Hebrew, not the spurious Greek text we
have—and
preserved by the Ebionites and the Nazarenes in the library collected
by
Pamphilus, at Cæsarea. This “Evangel” called by many writers “the genuine
Gospel
of Matthew”, was used according to (St.) Jerome, by the Nazarenes and
Ebionites
of Beroea, Syria, in his own day (4th century). Like the Aporrheta or
secret
discourses, of the Mysteries, these Logia could only be understood with a
key.
Sent by the Bishops Chromatius and Heliodorus, Jerome, after having
obtained
permission, translated them, but found it “a difficult task” (truly
so!)
to reconcile the text of the “genuine” with that of the spurious Greek
gospel
he was acquainted with.
(See
Isis Unveiled II., 180 et seq.)
Logos
(Gr.). The manifested deity with every nation and people; the outward
expression,
or the effect of the cause which is ever concealed. Thus, speech is
the
Logos of thought; hence it is aptly translated by the “Verbum” and “Word” in
its
metaphysical sense.
Lohitanga
(Sk.). The planet, Mars.
Loka
(Sk.). A region or circumscribed place. In metaphysics, a world or sphere
or
plane. The Purânas in India speak incessantly of seven and fourteen Lokas,
above,
and below our earth; of heavens and hells,
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Loka
Chakshub (Sk.). The “Eye of the World”; a title of the Sun, Surya.
Loka
Pâlas (Sk.). The supporters, rulers and guardians of the world. The deities
(planetary
gods) which preside over the eight cardinal points, among which are
the
Tchatur (Four) Maharajahs.
Loki
(Scand.). The Scandinavian Evil Spirit exoterically. In esoteric philosophy
“an
opposing power” only because differentiating from primordial harmony. In the
Edda,
he is the father of the terrible Fenris Wolf, and of the Midgard Snake. By
blood
he is the brother of Odin, the good and valiant god; but in nature he is
his
opposite. Loki Odin is simply two in one. As Odin is, in one sense, vital
heat,
so is Loki the symbol of the passions produced by the intensity of the
former.
Loreley.
The German copy of the Scandinavian “Lake Maiden”. Undine is one of the
names
given to these maidens, who are known in exoteric Magic and Occultism as
the
Water-Elementals.
Lost
Word (Masonic). It ought to stand as “lost words” and lost secrets, in
general,
for that which is termed the lost “Word” is no word at all, as in the
case
of the Ineffable Name (q.v.) The Royal Arch Degree in Masonry, has been “in
search
of it” since it was founded. But the “dead”—-especially those murdered—do
not
speak; and were even “the Widow’s Son” to come back to life “materialized”,
he
could hardly reveal that which never existed in the form in which it is now
taught.
The SHEMHAMPHORASH (the separated name, through the power of which
according
to his detractors, Jeshu Ben Pandira is said to have wrought his
miracles,
after stealing it from the Temple)—whether derived from the “self
existent
substance” of Tetragrammaton, or not, can never be a substitute, for
the
lost LOGOS of divine magic.
Lotus
(Gr.). A most occult plant, sacred in Egypt, India and else where; called
“the
child of the Universe bearing the likeness of its mother in its bosom”.
There
was a time “when the world was a golden lotus” (padma) says the allegory.
A
great variety of these plants, from the majestic Indian lotus, down to the
marsh-lotus
(bird’s foot trefoil) and the Grecian “Dioscoridis”, is eaten at
Crete
and other islands. It is a species of nymphala, first introduced from
India
to Egypt to which it was-not indigenous. See the text of Archaic Symbolism
in
the Appendix Viii. “The Lotus, as a Universal Symbol”.
Lotus,
Lord of the. A title applied to the various creative gods, as also to the
Lords
of the Universe of which this plant is the symbol. (“See Lotus”.)
Love
Feasts, Agapae (Gr.). These banquets of charity held by the earliest
Christians
were founded at Rome by Clemens, in the reign of
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Domitian.
Professor A. Kestner’s The Agapæ or the Secret World Society
(Wiltbund)
of the Primitive Christians” (published 1819 at Jena) speaks of these
Love
Feasts as “having a hierarchical constitution, and a groundwork of Masonic
symbolism
and Mysteries” ; and shows a direct connection between the old Agapæ
and
the Table Lodges or Banquets of the Freemasons. Having, however, exiled from
their
suppers the “holy kiss” and women, the banquets of the latter are rather
“drinking”
than “love” feasts. The early Agapæ were certainly the same as the
Phallica,
which “were once as pure as the Love Feasts of early Christians” as
Mr.
Bonwick very justly remarks, “though like them rapidly degenerating into
licentiousness”.
(Eg. Bel. and Mod. Thought, p. 260.)
Lower
Face or Lower Countenance (Kab.). A term applied to Microprosopus, as that
of
”Higher Face” is to Macroprosopus. The two are identical with Long Face and
Short
Face.
Lubara
(Chald.). The god of Pestilence and. Disease.
Lucifer
(Lat.). The planet Venus, as the bright “Morning Star”. Before Milton,
Lucifer
had never been a name of the Devil. Quite the reverse, since the
Christian
Saviour is made to say of himself in Revelations (xvi. 22.) “I am . .
.
the bright morning star” or Lucifer. One of the early Popes of Rome bore that
name;
and there was even a Christian sect in the fourth century which was called
the
Luciferians.
Lully,
Raymond. An alchemist, adept and philosopher, born in the 13th century,
on
the island of Majorca. It is claimed for him that, in a moment of need, he
made
for King Edward III. of England several millions of gold “rose nobles”, and
thus
helped him to carry on war victoriously. He founded several colleges for
the
study of Oriental languages, and Cardinal Ximenes was one of his patrons and
held
him in great esteem, as also Pope John XXI. He died in 1314, at a good old
age.
Literature has preserved many wild stories about Raymond Lully, which would
form
a most extraordinary romance. He was the elder son of the Seneshal of
Majorca
and inherited great wealth from his father.
Lunar
Gods. Called in India the Fathers, “Pitris” or the lunar ancestors. They
are
subdivided, like the rest, into seven classes or Hierarchies, In Egypt
although
the moon received less worship than in Chaldea or India, still Isis
stands
as the representative of Luna-Lunus, “the celestial Hermaphrodite”.
Strange
enough while the modern connect the moon only with lunacy and
generation,
the ancient nations, who knew better, have, individually and
collectively,
connected their “wisdom gods” with it. Thus in Egypt the lunar
gods
are Thoth-
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Hermes
and Chons; in India it is Budha, the Son of Soma, the moon; in Chaldea
Nebo
is the lunar god of Secret Wisdom, etc., etc. The wife of Thoth, Sifix, the
lunar
goddess, holds a pole with five rays or the five-pointed star, symbol of
man,
the Microcosm, in distinction from the Septenary Macrocosm. As in all
theogonies
a goddess precedes a god, on the principle most likely that the chick
can
hardly precede its egg, in Chaldea the moon was held as older and more
venerable
than the Sun, because, as they said, darkness precedes light at every
periodical
rebirth (or “creation”) of the universe. Osiris although connected
with
the Sun and a Solar god is, nevertheless, born on Mount Sinai, because Sin
is
the Chaldeo-Assyrian word for the moon; so was Dio-Nysos, god of Nyssi or
Nisi,
which latter appelation was that of Sinai in Egypt, where it was called
Mount
Nissa. The crescent is not—as proven by many writers—an ensign of the
Turks,
but was adopted by Christians for their symbol before the Mahommedans.
For
ages the crescent was the emblem of the Chaldean Astarte, the Egyptian Isis,
and
the Greek Diana, all of them Queens of Heaven, and finally became the emblem
of
Mary the Virgin. “The Greek Christian Empire of Constantinople held it as
their
palladium. Upon the conquest by the Turks, the Sultan adopted it . . . and
since
that, the crescent has been made to oppose the idea of the cross”. (Eg.
Belief.)
Lupercalia
(Lat.). Magnificent popular festivals celebrated in ancient Rome on
February
15th in honour of the God Pan, during which the Luperci, the most
ancient
and respectable among the sacerdotal functionaries, sacrificed two goats
and
a dog, and two of the most illustrious youths were compelled to run about
the
city naked (except the loins) whipping all those whom they met. Pope
Gelasius
abolished the Lupercalia in 496, but substituted for them on the same
day
the procession of lighted candles.
Luxor
(0cc.). A compound word from lux (light) and aur (fire), thus meaning the
“Light
of (divine) Fire.”
Luxor,
Brotherhood of. A certain Brotherhood of mystics. Its name had far better
never
have been divulged, as it led a great number of well-meaning people into
being
deceived, and relieved of their money by a certain bogus Mystic Society
speculators,
born in Europe, only to be exposed and fly to America. The name is
derived
from the ancient Lookshur in Beloochistan, lying between Bela and
Kedjee.
The order is very ancient and the most secret of all. It is useless to
repeat
that its members disclaim all connection with the “H.B. of L.”, and the
tutti
quanti of commercial mystics, whether from Glasgow or Boston.
Lycanthropy
(Gr.). Physiologically, a disease or mania, during which a person
imagines
he is a wolf, and acts as such. Occultly, it
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means
the same as “were-wolf”, the psychological faculty of certain sorcerers to
appear
as wolves. Voltaire states that in the district of Jura, in two years
between
1598 and 1600, over 600 lycanthropes were put to death by a too
Christian
judge. This does not mean that Shepherds accused of sorcery, and seen
as
wolves, had indeed the power of changing themselves physically into such; but
simply
that they had the hypnotizing power of making people (or those they
regarded
as enemies), believe they saw a wolf when there was none in fact. The
exercise
of such power is truly sorcery. “Demoniacal” possession is true at
bottom,
minus the devils of Christian theology. But this is no place for a long
disquisition
upon occult mysteries and magic powers.
M
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M—The
thirteenth letter of the Hebrew and of the English alphabets, and the
twenty-fourth
of the Arabic. As a Roman numeral, this letter stands for 1,000,
and
with a dash on it (M) signifies one million. In the Hebrew alphabet Mem
symbolized
water, and as a numeral is equivalent to 40. The Sanskrit ma is
equivalent
to number 5, and is also connected with water through the sign of the
Zodiac,
called Makâra (q.v.). Moreover, in the Hebrew and Latin numerals the m,
stands
“as the definite numeral for an indeterminate number”(Mackenzie’s Mason.
Cyc.),
and “the Hebrew sacred name of God app]ied to this letter is Meborach,
Benedictus.”
With the Esotericists the M is the symbol of the Higher Ego—Manas,
Mind.
Mâ
(Sk.). Lit., “five”. A name of Lakshmi.
Ma,
Mut (Eg.). The goddess of the lower world, another form of Isis, as she is
nature,
the eternal mother. She was the sovereign and Ruler of the North wind,
the
precursor of the overflow of the Nile, and thus called “the opener of the
nostrils
of the living”. She is represented offering the ankh, or cross, emblem
of
physical life to her worshippers, and is called the “Lady of Heaven”.
Machagistia.
Magic, as once taught in Persia and Chaldea, and raised in its
occult
practices into a religio-magianism. Plato, speaking of Machagistia, or
Magianism,
remarks that it is the purest form of the worship of things divine.
Macrocosm
(Gr.). The “Great Universe” literally, or Kosmos.
Macroprosopus
(Gr.). ‘A Kabalistic term, made of a compound Greek word: meaning
the
Vast or Great Countenance (See “Kabalistic Faces”); a title of Kether, the
Crown,
the highest Sephira. It is the name of the Universe, called Arikh-Anpin,
the
totality of that of which Microprosopus or Zauir-Anpin
“the
lesser countenance”, is the part and antithesis. In its high or abstract
metaphysical
sense, Microprosopus is Adam Kadmon, the vehicle of Ain-Suph, and
the
crown of the Sephirothal Tree, though since Sephira and Adam Kadmon are in
fact
one under two aspects, it comes to the same thing. Interpretations are
many,
and they differ.
Madhasadana
or Madhu-Sûdana (Sk.). “Slayer of Madhu” (a demon), a title of
Krishna
from his killing the latter.
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Mâdhava
(Sk). (1) A name of Vishnu or Krishna; (2) The month of April ; (3) A
title
of Lakshmi
when
written Madhavi.
Madhya
(Sk.). Ten thousand billions.
Madhyama
(Sk.). Used of something beginningless and endless. Thus Vâch (Sound,
the
female Logos, or the female counterpart of Brahmâ is said to exist in
several
states, one of which is that of Mâdhyama, which is equivalent to saying
that
Vâch is eternal in one sense “the Word (Vâch) was with God, and in God”,
for
the two are one.
Mâdhyamikas
(Sk.). A sect mentioned in the Vishnu Purâna. Agreeably to the
Orientalists,
a
“Buddhist
sect, which is an anachronism. It was probably at first a sect of
Hindu
atheists. A later school of that name, teaching a system of sophistic
nihilism,
that reduces every proposition into a thesis and its antithesis, and
then
denies both, has been started in Tibet and China. It adopts a few
principles
of Nâgârjuna, who was one of the founders of the esoteric Mahayâna
systems,
not their exoteric travesties. The allegory that regarded Nâgârjuna’s
“Paramartha”
as a gift from the Nâgas (Serpents) shows that he received his
teachings
from the secret school of adepts, and that the real tenets are
therefore
kept secret.
Maga
(Sk.). The priests of the Sun, mentioned in the Vishnu Purâna. They are the
later
Magi of Chaldea and Iran, the forefathers of the modern Parsis.
Magadha
(Sk.). An ancient country in India, under Buddhist Kings.
Mage,
or Magian. From Mag or Maha. The word is the root of the word magician.
The
Maha-âtma (the great Soul or Spirit) in India had its priests in the
pre-Vedic
times. The Magians were priests of the fire-god; we find them among
the
Assyrians and Babylonians, as well as among the Persian fire-worshippers.
The
three Magi, also denominated kings, that are said to have made gifts of
gold,
incense and myrrh to the infant Jesus, were fire-worshippers like the
rest,
and astrologers ; for they saw his star. The high priest of the Parsis, at
Surat,
is called Mobed. Others derived the name from Megh; Meh-ab signifying
some
thing grand and noble. Zoroaster’s disciples were called Meghestom,
according
to Kleuker.
Magi
(Lat.). The name of the ancient hereditary priests and learned adepts in
Persia
and Media, a word derived from Mâha great, which became later mog or mag,
a
priest in Pehlevi. Porphyry describes them (Abst. iv. 16) as “The learned men
who
are engaged among the Persians in the service of the Deity are called Magi”,
and
Suidas informs us that “among the Persians the lovers of wisdom
(philalethai)
are called Magi”
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The
Zendavesta (ii. 171, 261) divides them into three degrees : (1) The Herbeds
or
“ Noviciates” ; (2) Mobeds or “ Masters” ; (3) Destur Mobeds, or Perfect
Masters”.
The Chaldees had similar colleges, as also the Egyptians, Destur
Mobeds
being identical with the Hierophants of the mysteries, as practised in
Greece
and Egypt.
Magic.
The great “Science”. According to Deveria and other Orientalists, “magic
was
considered as a sacred science inseparable from religion” by the oldest and
most
civilized and learned nations. The Egyptians, for instance, were one of the
most
sincerely religious nations, as were and still are the Hindus. “Magic
consists
of, and is acquired by the worship of the gods”, said Plato. Could then
a
nation, which, owing to the irrefragable evidence of inscriptions and papyri,
is
proved to have firmly believed in magic for thousands of years, have been
deceived
for so long a time. And is it likely that generations upon generations
of
a learned and pious hierarchy, many among whom led lives of self-martyrdom,
holiness
and asceticism, would have gone on deceiving themselves and the people
(or
even only the latter) for the pleasure of perpetuating belief in “ miracles”
?
Fanatics, we are told, will do anything to enforce belief in their god or
idols.
To this we reply: in such case, Brahmans and Egyptian Rekhget-amens
(q.v.)
or Hierophants would not have popularized belief in the power of man by
magic
practices to command the services of the gods: which gods, are in truth,
but
the occult powers or potencies of Nature, personified by the learned priests
themselves,
in which they reverenced only the attributes of the one unknown and
nameless
Principle. As Proclus the Platonist ably puts it : “Ancient priests,
when
they considered that there is a certain alliance and sympathy in natural
things
to each other, and of things manifest to occult powers, and discovered
that
all things subsist in all, fabricated a sacred science from this mutual
sympathy
and similarity......and applied for occult purposes, both celestial and
terrene
natures, by means of which, through a certain similitude, they deduced
divine
virtues into this inferior abode”. Magic is the science of communicating
with
and directing supernal, supramundane Potencies, as well as of commanding
those
of the lower spheres; a practical knowledge of the hidden mysteries of
nature
known to only the few, because they are so difficult to acquire, without
falling
into sins against nature. Ancient and mediæval mystics divided magic
into
three classes—Theurgia, Goëtia and natural Magic. “Theurgia has long since
been
appropriated as the peculiar sphere of the theosophists and
metaphysicians”,
says Kenneth Mackenzie. Goëtia is black magic, and “natural (or
white)
magic has risen with healing in its wings to the proud position of an
exact
and progressive study”. The comments added by our late learned Brother
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are
remarkable. “The realistic desires of modern times have contributed to bring
magic
into disrepute and ridicule. . . . Faith (in one’s own self) is an
essential
element in magic, and existed long before other ideas which presume
its
pre-existence. It is said that it takes a wise man to make a fool; and a
man’s
ideas must be exalted almost to madness, i.e., his brain susceptibilities
must
be increased far beyond the low, miserable status of modern civilization,
before
he can become a true magician; (for) a pursuit of this science implies a
certain
amount of isolation and an abnegation of Self ”. A very great isolation,
certainly,
the achievement of which constitutes a wonderful phenomenon, a
miracle
in itself. Withal magic is not something supernatural. As explained by
Jamblichus,
“they through the sacerdotal theurgy announce that they are able to
ascend
to more elevated and universal Essences, and to those that are
established
above fate, viz., to god and the demiurgus: neither employing
matter,
nor assuming any other things besides, except the observation of a
sensible
time”. Already some are beginning to recognise the existence of subtle
powers
and influences in nature of which they have hitherto known nought. But as
Dr.
Carter Blake truly remarks, “the nineteenth century is not that which has
observed
the genesis of new, nor the completion of old, methods of thought”; to
which
Mr. Bonwick adds that “if the ancients knew but little of our mode of
investigations
into the secrets of nature, we know still less of their mode of
research”.
Magic,
White, or “Beneficent Magic”, so-called, is divine magic, devoid of
selfishness,
love of power, of ambition, or lucre, and bent only on doing good
to
the world in general, and one’s neighbour in particular. The smallest attempt
to
use one’s abnormal powers for the gratification of self, makes of these
powers
sorcery or black magic.
Magic,
Black. (Vide Supra.)
Magician.
This term, once a title of renown and distinction, has come to he
wholly
perverted from its true meaning. Once the synonym of all that was
honourable
and reverent, of a possessor of learning and wisdom, it has become
degraded
into an epithet to designate- one who is a pretender and a juggler; a
charlatan,
in short, or one who has “sold his soul to the Evil One”, who misuses
his
knowledge, and employs it for low and dangerous uses, according to the
teachings
of the clergy, and a mass of superstitious fools who believe the
magician
a sorcerer and an “Enchanter”. The word is derived from Magh, Mah in
Sanskrit
Mâha—great; a man well versed in esoteric knowledge. (Isis Unveiled.)
Magna
Mater (Lat.). “Great Mother”. A title given in days of old, to all the
chief
goddesses of the nations, such as Diana of Ephesus, Isis, Mauth, and many
others.
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Magnes.
An expression used by Paracelsus and the mediæval Theosophists. It is
the
spirit of light, or Akâsa. A word much used by the mediæval Alchemists.
Magnetic
Masonry. Also called “Iatric” masonry. It is described as a Brotherhood
of
Healers (from iatrikê a Greek word meaning “the art of healing”), and is
greatly
used by the “Brothers of Light ”as Kenneth Mackenzie states in the Royal
Masonic
Cyclopedia. There appears to be a tradition in some secret Masonic
works—so
says Ragon at any rate, the great Masonic authority—to the effect that
there
was a Masonic degree called the Oracle of Cos, “instituted in the
eighteenth
century B.c., from the fact that Cos was the birthplace of
Hippocrates”.
The iatrikê was a distinct characteristic of the priests who took
charge
of the patients in the ancient Asclepia, the temples where the god
Asclepios
(Æsculapius) was said to heal the sick and the lame.
Magnetism.
A Force in nature and in man. When it is the former, it is an agent
which
gives rise to the various phenomena of attraction, of polarity, etc. When
the
latter, it becomes “animal” magnetism, in contradistinction to cosmic, and
terrestrial
magnetism.
Magnetism,
Animal. While official science calls it a “supposed” agent, and
utterly
rejects its actuality, the teeming millions of antiquity and of the now
living
Asiatic nations, Occultists, Theosophists, Spiritualists, and Mystics of
every
kind and description proclaim it as a well established fact. Animal
magnetism
is a fluid, an emanation. Some people can emit it for curative
purposes
through their eyes and the tips of their fingers, while the rest of all
creatures,
mankind, animals and even every inanimate object, emanate it either
as
an aura, or a varying light, and that whether consciously or not. When acted
upon
by Contact: with a patient or by the will of a human operator it is called
“Mesmerism”
(q.v.).
Magnum
Opus (Lat.). In Alchemy the final completion, the “Great Labour” or Grand
Œuvre;
the production of the “Philosopher’s Stone” and “Elixir of Life” which,
though
not by far the myth some sceptics would have it, has yet to be accepted
symbolically,
and is full of mystic meaning.
Magus
(Lat.). in the New Testament it means a Sage, a wise man of the Chaldeans;
it
is in English often used for a Magician, any wonder-worker; in the
Rosicrucian
Society it is the title of the highest members, the IXth grade; the
Supreme
Magus is the Head of the Order in the “Outer”; the Magi of the “Inner”
are
unknown except to those of the VIIIth grade. [w.w.w.]
Mahâ
Buddhi (Sk.). Mahat. The Intelligent Soul of the World.
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0
The
seven Prakritis or seven “natures” or planes, are counted from Mahâbuddhi
downwards.
Mahâ
Chohan (Sk.). The chief of a spiritual Hierarchy, or of a school of
Occultism;
the head of the trans-Himalayan mystics.
Mahâ
Deva (Sk.). Lit., “great god”; a title of Siva.
Mahâ
Guru (Sk.). Lit., “great teacher”. The Initiator.
Mahâjwala
(Sk.). A certain hell.
Mahâ
Kâla (Sk.). “Great Time”. A name of Siva as the “Destroyer”, and of Vishnu
as
the “Preserver”.
Mahâ
Kalpa (Sk.). The “great age”.
Mahâ
Manvantara (Sk.). Lit., the great interludes between the “Manus”. The
period
of universal activity. Manvantara implying here simply a period of
activity,
as opposed to Pralaya, or rest—without reference to the length of the
cycle.
Mahâ
Mâyâ (Sk.). The great illusion of manifestation. This universe, and all in
it
in their mutual relation, is called the great Illusion or Mahâmâyâ It is also
the
usual title given to Gautama the Buddha’s Immaculate Mother—Mayâdêvi, or the
“Great
Mystery”, as she is called by the Mystics.
Mahâ
Pralaya (Sk.). The opposite of Mahâmanvantara, literally “the great
Dissolution”,
the “Night” following the “Day of Brahmâ”. It is the great rest
and
sleep of all nature after a period of active manifestation; orthodox
Christians
would refer to it as the “Destruction of the World”.
Mahâ
Parinibbâna Sutta (Pali.). One of the most authoritative of the Buddhist
sacred
writings.
Mahâ
Purusha (Sk.). Supreme or Great Spirit. A title of Vishnu.
Mahâ
Râjikâs (Sk.). A gana or class of gods 236 in number. Certain Forces in
esoteric
teachings.
Mahâ
Sûnyata (Sk.). Space, or eternal law; the great void or chaos.
Mahâ
Vidyâ (Sk.). The great esoteric science. The highest Initiates alone are in
possession
of this science, which embraces almost universal knowledge.
Mahâ
Yogin (Sk.). The “great ascetic”. A title of Siva.
Mahâ
Yuga (Sk.). The aggregate of four Yugas or ages, of 4,320,000 solar years;
a
“Day of Brahmâ”, in the Brahmanical system ; lit., “the great age”.
Mahâbhârata
(Sk.). Lit., the “great war”; the celebrated epic poem of India
(probably
the longest poem in the world) which includes both the Ramayana and
the
Bhagavad Gîtâ “the Song Celestial”. No two
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Orientalists
agree as to its date. But it is undeniably extremely ancient.
Mahâbhâratian
period. According to the best Hindu Commentators and Swami
Dayanand
Saraswati, 5,000 years B.C.
Mahâbhashya
(Sk.). The great commentary on Pânini’s grammar by Patanjali.
Mahâbhautic
(Sk.). Belonging to the Macrocosmic principles.
Mahâbhutas
(Sk.). Gross elementary principles of matter.
Mahârâjahs,
The Four (Sk.). The four great Karmic deities with the Northern
Buddhists
placed at the four cardinal points to watch mankind.
Mahar
Loka (Sk.). A region wherein dwell the Munis or “Saints” during Pralaya;
according
to the Purânic accounts. It is the usual abode of Bhrigâ, a Prajâpati
(Progenitor)
and a Rishi, one of the seven who are said to be co-existent with
Brahmâ.
Mahâsura
(Sk.). The great Asura; exoterically—Satan, esoterically—the great god.
Mahat
(Sk.). Lit., “The great one”. The first principle of Universal
Intelligence
and Consciousness. In the Purânic philosophy the first product of
root-nature
or Pradhâna (the same as Mulaprakriti); the producer of Manas the
thinking
principle, and of Ahankâra, egotism or the feeling of “I am I” (in the
lower
Manas).
Mahâtma.
Lit., “great soul”. An adept of the highest order. Exalted beings who,
having
attained to the mastery over their lower principles are thus living
unimpeded
by the “man of flesh”, and are in possession of knowledge and power
commensurate
with the stage they have reached in their spiritual evolution.
Called
in Pali Rahats and Arhats.
Mâhâtmya
(Sk.). “Magnanimity”, a legend of a shrine, or any holy place.
Mahatowarat
(Sk.). Used of Parabrahm; greater than the greatest spheres.
Mahattattwa
(Sk). The first of the seven creations called respectively in the
Purânas—Mahattattwa,
Chûta, Indriya, Mukhya, Tiryaksrotas, Urdhwasrotas and
Arvaksrotas.
Mahoraga
(Sk.). Mahâ uraga, “great serpent”——Sesha or any others.
Mahavanso
(Pali.). A Buddhist historical work written by Bhikshu Mohânâma, the
uncle
of King Dhatusma. An authority on the history of Buddhism and its spread
in
the island of Ceylon.
Mahayâna
(Pal.). A school; lit., “the great vehicle”. A mystical
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system
founded by Nâgârjuna. Its books were written in the second century B.C.
Maitreya
Buddha (Sk.). The same as the Kalki Avatar of Vishnu (the “White Horse”
Avatar),
and
of Sosiosh and other Messiahs. The only difference lies in the dates of
their
appearances. Thus,
while
Vishnu is expected to appear on his white horse at the end of the present
Kali
Yuga age “for the final destruction of
the wicked, the renovation of
creation
and the restoration of purity”, Maitreya is expected earlier. Exoteric
or
popular teaching making slight variations on the esoteric doctrine states
that
Sakyamuni (Gautama Buddha) visited him in Tushita (a celestial abode) and
commissioned
him to issue thence on earth as his successor at the expiration of
five
thousand years after his (Buddha’s) death. This would be in less than 3,000
years
hence. Esoteric philosophy teaches that the next Buddha will appear during
the
seventh (sub) race of this Round. The fact is that Maitreya was a follower
of
Buddha,
a
well-known Arhat, though not his direct disciple, and that he was the founder
of
an esoteric philosophical school. As shown by Eitel (Sanskrit-Chinese Dict.),
“statues
were erected in his honour as early as B.C. 350”.
Makâra
(Sk.). “The Crocodile.” In Europe the same as Capricorn; the tenth sign
of
the Zodiac. Esoterically, a mystic class of devas. With the Hindus, the
vehicle
of Varuna, the water-god.
Makâra
Ketu (Sk.). A name of Kâma, the Hindu god of love and desire.
Makâram
or Panchakaram (Sk.). In occult symbology a pentagon, the five-pointed
star,
the five limbs, or extremities, of man. Very mystical.
Makâras
(Sk.). The five M’s of the Tantrikas. (See “Tantra”).
Malachim
(Heb.). The messengers or angels.
Malkuth
(Heb.). The Kingdom, the tenth Sephira, corresponding to the final H
(hé)
of the Tetragrammaton or IHVH. It is the Inferior Mother, the Bride of the
Microprosopus
(q.v.); also called the “Queen” It is, in one sense, the Shekinah.
[w.w.w.]
Mamitu
(Chald.). The goddess of Fate. A kind of Nemesis.
Manas
(Sk.). Lit., “the mind”, the mental faculty which makes of man an
intelligent
and moral
being,
and distinguishes him from the mere animal; a synonym of Mahat.
Esoterically,
however, it
means,
when unqualified, the Higher EGO, or the sentient reincarnating Principle
in
man. When qualified it is called by Theosophists Buddhi-Manas or the
Spiritual
Soul in contradistinction to its human reflection—Kâma-Manas.
Manas,
Kâma (Sk.). Lit., “the mind of desire.” With the Buddhists it is the
sixth
of the Chadâyatana (q.v.), or the six organs of
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knowledge,
hence the highest of these, synthesized by the seventh called
Klichta,
the spiritual perception of that which defiles this (lower) Manas, or
the
“Human-animal Soul”, as the Occultists term it. While the Higher Manas or
the
Ego is directly related to Vijnâna (the 10th of the 12 Nidânas)—which is the
perfect
knowledge of all forms of knowledge, whether relating to object or
subject
in the nidânic concatenation of causes and effects; the lower, the Kâma
Manas
is but one of the Indriya or organs (roots) of Sense. Very little can be
said
of the dual Manas here, as the doctrine that treats of it, is correctly
stated
only in esoteric works. Its mention can thus be only very superficial.
Manas
Sanyama (Sk.). Perfect concentration of the mind, and control over it,
during
Yoga practices.
Manas
Taijasi (Sk.). Lit., the “radiant” Manas; a state of the Higher Ego, which
only
high metaphysicians are able to realize and comprehend.
Mânasa
or Manaswin (Sk.). “The efflux of the divine mind,” and explained as
meaning
that this efflux signifies the manasa or divine sons of Brahmâ-Virâj.
Nilakantha
who is the authority for this statement, further explains the term
“manasa”
by manomâtrasarira. These Manasa are the Arupa or incorporeal sons of
the
Prajâpati Virâj, in another version. But as Arjuna Misra identifies Virâj
with
Brahmâ, and as Brahmâ is Mahat, the universal mind, the exoteric blind
becomes
plain. The Pitris are identical with the Kumâra, the Vairaja, the
Manasa-Putra
(mind sons), and are finally identified with the human “Egos”.
Mânasa
Dhyânis (Sk.). The highest Pitris in the Purânas; the Agnishwatthas, or
Solar
Ancestors of Man, those who made of Man a rational being, by incarnating
in
the senseless forms of semi-ethereal flesh of the men of the third race. (See
Vol.
II. of Secret Doctrine.)
Mânasas
(Sk.). Those who endowed humanity with manas or intelligence, the
immortal
EGOS in men. (See “Manas”.)
Manasasarovara
(Sk.). Phonetically pronounced Mansoravara. A sacred lake in
Tibet,
in the Himalayas, also called Anavatapta. Manasasarovara is the name of
the
tutelary deity of that lake and, according to popular folk-lore, is said to
be
a nâga, a “serpent”. This, translated esoterically, means a great adept, a
sage.
The lake is a great place of yearly pilgrimage for the Hindus, as the
Vedas
are claimed to have been written on its shores.
Mânava
(Sk.). A land of ancient India; a Kalpa or Cycle. The name of a weapon
used
by Râma; meaning of “Manu”
as,―
Mânava
Dharma Shâstra—is the ancient code of law of, or by Manu.
Mandala
(Sk.). A circle; also the ten divisions of the Vedas.
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Mandara
(Sk.). The mountain used by the gods as a stick to churn the ocean of
milk
in the Purânas.
Mandâkinî
(Sk.). The heavenly Ganga or Ganges.
Mandragora
(Gr.). A plant whose root has the human form. In Occultism it is used
by
black magicians for various illicit objects, and some of the “left-hand”
Occultists
make homunculi with it. It is commonly called mandrake, and is
supposed
to cry out when pulled out of the ground.
Manes
or Manus (Lat.). Benevolent “gods”, i.e., “spooks” of the lower world
(Kâmaloka);
the deified shades of the dead—of the ancient profane, and the
“materialized”ghosts
of the modern Spiritualists, believed to be the souls of
the
departed, whereas, in truth, they are only their empty shells, or images.
Manichæans
(Lat.). A sect of the third century which believed in two eternal
principles
of good and evil; the former furnishing mankind with souls, and the
latter
with bodies. This sect was founded by a certain half-Christian mystic
named
Mani, who gave himself out as the expected “Comforter”, the Messiah and
Christ.
Many centuries later, after the sect was dead, a Brotherhood arose,
calling
itself the “Manichees”, of a masonic character with several degrees of
initiation.
Their ideas were Kabalistic, but were misunderstood.
Mano
(Gnost.). The Lord of Light. Rex Lucis, in the Codex Nazaræus. He is the
Second
“Life” of the second or manifested trinity “the heavenly life and light,
and
older than the architect of heaven and earth” (Cod. Naz., Vol. I. p. 145).
These
trinities are as follows. The Supreme Lord of splendour and of light,
luminous
and refulgent, before which no other existed, is called Corona (the
crown);
Lord Ferho, the unrevealed life which existed in the former from
eternity;
and Lord Jordan—the spirit, the living water of grace (Ibid. II pp.
45-51).
He is the one through whom alone we can be saved. These three constitute
the
trinity in abscondito. The second trinity is composed of the three lives.
The
first is the similitude of Lord Ferho, through whom he has proceeded forth;
and
the second Ferho is the King of Light—MANO. The second life is Ish Amon
(Pleroma),
the vase of election, containing the visible thought of the Jordanus
Maximus—the
type (or its intelligible reflection), the prototype of the living
water,
who is the “spiritual Jordan”. (Ibid. II., p. 211.) The third life, which
is
produced by the other two, is ABATUR (Ab, the Parent or Father). This is the
mysterious
and decrepit “Aged of the Aged”, the Ancient “Senem sui obtegentem et
grandævum
mundi.” This latter third Life is the Father of the Demiurge Fetahil,
the
Creator of the world, whom the Ophites call llda-Baoth (q.v.), though
Fetahil
is the only-begotten one, the reflection of the Father, Abatur, who
begets
him
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by
looking into the “dark water”. Sophia Achamoth also begets her Son Ilda-Baoth
the
Demiurge, by looking into the chaos of matter. But the Lord Mano, “the Lord
of
loftiness, the Lord of all genii”, is higher than the Father, in this
kabalistic
Codex—one is purely spiritual, the other material. So, for instance,
while
Abatur’s “only-begotten” one is the genius Fetahil, the Creator of the
physical
world, Lord Mano, the “Lord of Celsitude”, who is the son of Him, who
is
“the Father of all who preach the Gospel”, produces also an “only-begotten”
one,
the Lord Lehdaio, “a just Lord”. He is the Christos, the anointed, who
pours
out the “grace” of the Invisible Jordan, the Spirit of the Highest Crown.
(See
for further information Isis Unveiled. Vol. II., pp. 227, et. seq.)
Manodhâtu
(Sk.). Lit., the “World of the mind”, meaning not only all our mental
faculties,
but also one of the divisions of the plane of mind. Each human being
has
his Manodhatu or plane of thought
proportionate
with the degree of his intellect and his mental faculties, beyond
which
he can go only by studying and developing his higher spiritual faculties
in
one of the higher spheres of thought.
Manomaya
Kosha (Sk.). A Vedantic term, meaning the Sheath (Kosha) of the
Manomaya,
an equivalent for fourth and fifth “principles” in man. In esoteric
philosophy
this “Kosha” corresponds to the dual Manas.
Manticism,
or Mantic Frenzy. During this state was developed the gift of
prophecy.
The two words are nearly synonymous. One was as honoured as the other.
Pythagoras
and Plato held it in high esteem, and Socrates advised his disciples
to
study Manticism. The Church Fathers, who condemned so severely the mantic
frenzy
in Pagan priests and Pythiæ, were not above applying it to their own
uses.
The Montanists, who took their name from Montanus, a bishop of Phrygia,
who
was considered divinely inspired, contended with the mavnteiz (manteis) or
prophets.
“Tertullian, Augustine, and the martyrs of Carthage, were of the
number”,
says the author of Prophecy, Ancient and Modern. “The Montanists seem
to
have resembled the Bacchantes in the wild enthusiasm that characterized their
orgies,”
he adds. There is a diversity of opinion as to the origin of the word
Manticism.
There was the famous Mantis the Seer, in the days of Melampus and
Prœtus
King of Argos; and there was Manto, the daughter of the prophet of
Thebes,
herself a prophetess. Cicero describes prophecy and mantic frenzy, by
saying,
that “in the inner recesses of the mind is divine prophecy hidden and
confined,
a divine impulse, which when it burns more vividly is called furor”,
frenzy.
(Isis Unveiled.)
Mantra
period (Sk.). One of the four periods into which Vedic literature has
been
divided.
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Mantra Shâstra (Sk.). Brahmanical writings on
the occult science of
incantations.
Mantra
Tantra Shâstras (Sk.). Works on incantations, but specially on magic.
Mantras
(Sk.). Verses from the Vedic works, used as incantations and charms. By
Mantras
are meant all those portions of the Vedas which are distinct from the
Brahmanas,
or their interpretation.
Mantrika
Sakti (Sk.). The power, or the occult potency of mystic words, sounds,
numbers
or letters in these Mantras.
Manjusri
(Tib.). The God of Wisdom. In Esoteric philosophy a certain Dhyan
Chohan.
Manu
(Sk.). The great Indian legislator. The name comes from the Sanskrit root
man
“to think”—mankind really, but stands for Swâyambhuva, the first of the
Manus,
who started from Swâyambhu, “the self-existent” hence the Logos, and the
progenitor
of mankind. Manu is the first Legislator, almost a Divine Being.
Manu
Swâyambhuva (Sk). The heavenly man. Adam-Kadmon, the synthesis of the
fourteen
Manus.
Manus
(Sk.). The fourteen Manus are the patrons or guardians of the race cycles
in
a Manvantara, or Day of Brahmâ. The primeval Manus are seven, they become
fourteen
in the Purânas.
Manushi
or Manushi Buddhas (Sk.). Human Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, or incarnated
Dhyan
Chohans.
Manvantara
(Sk.). A period of manifestation, as opposed to Pralaya (dissolution,
or
rest), applied to various cycles, especially to a Day of Brahmâ,
4,320,000,000
Solar years—and to the reign of one Manu— 308,448,000. (See Vol.
II.
of the Secret Doctrine, p. 68 et. seq.) Lit., Manuantara—between Manus.
Maquom
(Chald.) “A secret place” in the phraseology of the Zohar, a concealed
spot,
whether referring to a sacred shrine in a temple, to the “Womb of the
World”,
or the human womb. A Kabalistic term.
Mâra
(Sk.). The god of Temptation, the Seducer who tried to turn away Buddha
from
his PATH. He is called the “Destroyer” and “Death” (of the Soul). One of
the
names of Kâma, God of love.
Marabut.
A Mahometan pilgrim who has been to Mekka, a saint. After his death his
body
is placed in an open sepulchre built above ground, like other buildings,
but
in the middle of the streets and public places of populated cities. Placed
inside
the small and only room of the tomb (and several such public sarcophagi
of
brick and mortar may be seen to this day in the streets and squares of
Cairo),
the devotion of the way farers keeps a lamp ever burning at his head.
The
tombs of some of
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these
marabuts are very famous for the miracles they are alleged to perform.
Marcionites.
An ancient Gnostic Sect founded by Marcion who was a devout
Christian
as long as no dogma of human creation came to mar the purely
transcendental,
and metaphysical concepts, and the original beliefs of the early
Christians.
Such primitive beliefs were those of Marcion. He denied the
historical
facts (as now found in the Gospels) of Christ’s birth, incarnation
and
passion, and also the resurrection of the body of Jesus, maintaining that
such
statements were simply the carnalization of metaphysical allegories and
symbolism,
and a degradation of the true spiritual idea. Along with all the
other
Gnostics, Marcion accused the “Church Fathers”, as Irenæus himself
complains,
of “framing their (Christian) doctrine according to the capacity of
their
hearers, fabling blind things for the blind, according to their blindness;
for
the dull, according to their dulness: for those in error, according to their
errors.”
Mârga
(Sk.). “The “Path”, The Ashthânga mârga, the “holy” or sacred path is the
one
that leads to Nirvâna. The eight-fold path has grown out of the seven-fold
path,
by the addition of the (now) first of the eight Marga; i.e., “the
possession
of orthodox views”; with which a real Yogâcharya would have nothing
to
do.
Mârîchi
(Sk.). One of the “mind-born” sons of Brahmâ in the Purânas. Brahmans
make
of him the personified light, the parent of Sûrya, the Sun and the direct
ancestor
of Mahâkâsyapa. The Northern Buddhists of the Yogachârya School, see in
Mârîchi
Deva, a Bodhisattva, while Chinese Buddhists (especially the Tauists),
have
made of this conception the Queen of Heaven, the goddess of light, ruler of
the
sun and moon. With the pious but illiterate Buddhists, her magic formula “Om
Mârîchi
svâha”
is
very powerful. Speaking of Mârîchi, Eitel mentions “Georgi, who explains the
name
as a ‘Chinese transcription of the name of the holy Virgin Mary’” (!!). As
Mârîchi
is the chief of the Maruts and one of the seven primitive Rishis, the
supposed
derivation does seem a little far fetched.
Mârishâ
(Sk.). The daughter of the Sage Kanda and Pramlochâ, the Apsara-demon
from
Indra’s heaven. She was the mother of Daksha. An allegory referring to the
Mystery
of the Second and Third human Races.
Martinists.
A Society in France, founded by a great mystic called the Marquis de
St.
Martin, a disciple of Martinez Pasqualis. It was first established at Lyons
as
a kind of occult Masonic Society, its members believing in the possibility of
communicating
with Planetary
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Spirits
and minor Gods and genii of the ultramundane Spheres. Louis Claude de
St.
Martin, born in 1743, had commenced life as a brilliant officer in the army,
but
left it to devote himself to study and the belles lettres, ending his career
by
becoming an ardent Theosophist and a disciple of Jacob Boehmen. He tried to
bring
back Masonry to its primeval character of Occultism and Theurgy, but
failed.
He first made his “Rectified Rite” to consist of ten degrees, but these
were
brought down owing to the study of the original Masonic orders—to seven.
Masons
complain that he introduced certain ideas and adopted rites “at variance
with
the archæological history of Masonry”; but so did Cagliostro and St Germain
before
him, as all those who knew well the origin of Free masonry.
Mârttanda,
(Sk.). The Vedic name of the Sun.
Mârut
Jivas (Sk.). The monads of Adepts who have attained the final liberation,
but
prefer to
re-incarnate
on earth for the sake of Humanity. Not to be confused, however,
with
the Nirmânakâyas, who are far higher.
Mâruts
(Sk.). With the Orientalists Storm-Gods, but in the Veda something very
mystical.
In the esoteric teachings as they incarnate in every round, they are
simply
identical with some of the Agnishwatta Pitris, the Human intelligent
Egos.
Hence the allegory of Siva transforming the lumps of flesh into boys, and
calling
them Maruts, to show senseless men transformed by becoming the Vehicles
of
the Pitris or Fire Maruts, and thus rational beings.
Masben
... (Chald.). A Masonic term meaning “the Sun in putrefaction”. Has a
direct
reference—perhaps forgotten by the Masons—to their “Word at Low Breath”.
Mash-Mak.
By tradition an Atlantean word of the fourth Race, to denote a
mysterious
Cosmic fire, or rather Force, which was said to be able to pulverize
in
a second whole cities and disintegrate the world.
Masorah
(Heb.). The name is especially applied to a collection of notes,
explanatory,
grammatical and critical, which are found on the margin of ancient
Hebrew
MSS., or scrolls of the Old Testament. The Masoretes were also called
Melchites.
Masoretic
Points, or Vowels (Heb.). Or, as the system is now called, Masóra from
Massoreh
or Massoreth, “tradition”, and Mâsar, to “hand down”. The Rabbins who
busied
themselves with the Masorah, hence called Masorites, were also the
inventors
of the Masoretic points, which are supposed to give the vowelless
words
of the Scriptures their true pronunciation, by the addition of points
representing
vowels to the consonants. This was the invention of the learned and
cunning
Rabbins of the School of Tiberias (in the ninth century of our era),
who,
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by
doing so, have put an entirely new construction on the chief words and names
in
the Books of Moses, and made thereby confusion still more confounded. The
truth
is, that this scheme has only added additional blinds to those already
existing
in the Pentateuch and other works.
Mastaba
(Eg.). The upper portion of an Egyptian tomb, which, say the
Egyptologists,
consisted always of three parts: namely (1) the Mastaba or
memorial
chapel above ground, (2) a Pit from twenty to ninety feet in depth,
which
led by a passage, to (3) the Burial Chamber, where stood the Sarcophagus,
containing
the mummy sleeping its sleep of long ages. Once the latter interred,
the
pit was filled up and the entrance to it concealed. Thus say the
Orientalists,
who divide the last resting place of the mummy on almost the same
principles
as theologians do man—into body, soul, and spirit or mind. The fact
is,
that these tombs of the ancients were symbolical like the rest of their
sacred
edifices, and that this symbology points directly to the septenary
division
of man. But in death the order is reversed; and while the Mastaba with
its
scenes of daily life painted on the walls, its table of offerings, to the
Larva,
the ghost, or “Linga Sarira”, was a memorial raised to the two Principles
and
Life which had quitted that which was a lower trio on earth; the Pit, the
Passage,
the Burial Chambers and the mummy in the Sarcophagus, were the
objective
symbols raised to the two perishable “principles”, the personal mind
and
Kama, and the three imperishable, the higher Triad, now merged into one.
This
“One” was the Spirit of the Blessed now resting in the Happy Circle of
Aanroo.
Matari
Svan (Sk.). An ærial being shown in Rig-Veda bringing down agni or fire
to
the Bhrigus; who are called “The Consumers”, and are described by the
Orientalists
as “a class of mythical beings who belonged to the middle or ærial
class
of gods”. In Occultism the Bhrigus are simply the “Salamanders” of the
Rosicrucians
and Kabalists.
Materializations.
In Spiritualism the word signifies the objective appearance of
the
so-called “Spirits” of the dead, who reclothe themselves occasionally in
matter;
i.e., they form for themselves out of the materials at hand, which are
found
in the atmosphere and the emanations of those present, a temporary body
hearing
the human likeness of the defunct as he appeared, when alive.
Theosophists
accept the phenomenon of “materialization”; but they reject the
theory
that it is produced by “ Spirits”, i.e., the immortal principles of the
disembodied
persons. Theosophists hold that when the phenomenon is genuine—and
it
is a fact of rarer occurrence than is generally believed—it is produced by
the
larvæ, the eidola or Kamalokic “ghosts” of dead personalities. (See
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“Kâmadhâtu”,
“Kâmaloka” and “Kâmarupa”.) As Kâmaloka is on the earth plane and
differs
from its degree of materiality only in the degree of its plane of
consciousness,
for which reason it is concealed from our normal sight, the
occasional
apparition of such shells is as natural as that of electric balls and
other
atmospheric phenomena. Electricity as a fluid, or atomic matter (for
Theosophists
hold with Maxwell that it is atomic), though invisible, is ever
present
in the air, and manifests under various shapes, but only when certain
conditions
are there to “materialize” the fluid, when it passes from its own on
to
our plane and makes itself objective. Similarly with the eidola of the dead.
They
are present, around us, but being on another plane do not see us any more
than
we see them. But whenever the strong desires of living men and the
conditions
furnished by the abnormal constitutions of mediums are combined
together,
these eidola are drawn—nay, pulled down from their plane on to ours
and
made objective. This is Necromancy ; it does no good to the dead, and great
harm
to the living, in addition to the fact that it interferes with a law of
nature.
The occasional materialization of the “astral bodies” or doubles of
living
persons is quite another matter. These “astrals” are often mistaken for
the
apparitions of the dead, since, chameleon-like, our own “Elementaries”,
along
with those of the disembodied and cosmic Elementals, will often assume the
appearance
of those images which are strongest in our thoughts. In short, at the
so-called
“materialization” seances it is those present and the medium, who
create
the peculiar likeness of the apparitions. Independent “apparitions”
belong
to another kind of psychic phenomena. Materializations are also called
“form-manifestations”
and “portrait statues”. To call them materialized spirits
is
inadmissible, for they are not spirits but animated portrait-statues, indeed.
Mathadhipatis
(Sk.). Heads of various religious Brotherhoods in India, High
Priests
in Monasteries.
Matrâ
(Sk.). The shortest period of time as applied to the duration of sounds,
equal
to the twinkling of the eye.
Mâtrâ
(Sk.). The quantity of a Sanskrit Syllable.
Mâtripadma
(Sk.). The mother-lotus; the womb of Nature.
Mâtris
(Sk.). “Mothers,” the divine mothers. Their number is seven. They are the
female
aspects and powers of the gods.
Matronethah
(Heb. Kab.). Identical with Malcuth, the tenth Sephira. Lit.,
Matrona
is the “inferior mother”.
Matsya
(Sk.). “A fish.” Matsya avatar was one of the earliest incarnations of
Vishnu.
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Matsya
Purâna (Sk.). The Scripture or Purâna which treats of that incarnation.
Mâyâ
(Sk.). Illusion ; the cosmic power which renders phenomenal existence and
the
perceptions thereof possible. In Hindu philosophy that alone which is
changeless
and eternal is called reality ; all that which is subject to change
through
decay and differentiation and which has therefore a begining and an end
is
regarded as mâyâ—illusion.
Mâyâ
Moha (Sk.). An illusive form assumed by Vishnu in order to deceive ascetic
Daityas
who were becoming too holy through austerities and hence too dangerous
in
power, as says the Vishnu Purâna.
Mâyâvi
Rûpa (Sk.). “Illusive form”; the “double” in esoteric philosophy;
döppelganger
or perisprit in German and French.
Mayavic
Upadhi (Sk.). The covering of illusion, phenomenal appearance.
Mazdeans.
From (Ahura) Mazda. (See Spiegel’s Yasna, xl.) They were the ancient
Persian
nobles who worshipped Ormazd, and, rejecting images, inspired the Jews
with
the same horror for every concrete representation of the Deity. They seem
in
Herodotus’ time to have been superseded by the Magian religionists. The
Parsis
and Gebers, (geberim, mighty men, of Genesis vi. and x. 8) appear to be
Magian
religionists.
Mazdiasnian.
Zoroastrian; lit., “worshipping god”.
M’bul
(Heb.). The “waters of the flood”. Esoterically, the periodical
outpourings
of astral impurities on to the earth; periods of psychic crimes and
iniquities,
or of regular moral cataclysms.
Medinî(Sk.).
The earth; so-called from the marrow (medas) of two demons. These
monsters
springing from the ear of the sleeping Vishnu, were preparing to kill
Brahmâ
who was lying on the lotus which grows from Vishnu’s navel, when the god
of
Preservation awoke and killed them. Their bodies being thrown into the sea
produced
such a quantity of fat and marrow that Nârâyana used it to form the
earth
with.
Megacosm
(Gr.). The world of the Astral light, or as explained by a puzzled
Mason
“a great world, not identical with Macrocosm, the Universe, but something
between
it and Microcosm, the little world” or man.
Mehen
(Eg.). In popular myths, the great serpent which represents the lower
atmosphere.
In Occultism, the world of the Astral light, called symbolically the
Cosmic
Dragon and the Serpent. (See the works of Eliphaz Lévi, who called this
light
le Serpent du Mal, and by other names, attributing to it all the evil
influences
on the earth.)
Melekh
(Heb.). Lit., “a King”. A title of the Sephira Tiphereth,
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the
V, or vau in the tetragrammaton—the son or Microprosopus (the Lesser Face).
Melhas
(Sk.). A class of fire-gods or Salamanders.
Memrab
(Heb.). In the Kabala, “the voice of the will” i.e., the collective
forces
of nature in activity, called the “Word”, or Logos, by the Jewish
Kabalists.
Mendæans
(Gr.). Also called Sabians, and St. John Christians. The latter is
absurd,
since, according to all accounts, and even their own, they have nothing
at
all to do with Christianity, which they abominate. The modern sect of the
Mendæans
is widely scattered over Asia Minor and elsewhere, and is rightly
believed
by several Orientalists to be a direct surviving relic of the Gnostics.
For
as explained in the Dictionnaire des Apocryphes by the Abbé Migrie (art. “Le
Code
Nazaréan” vulgaire-ment appele
“Livre
d’Adam”), the Mendæans (written in French Mandaїtes, which name they
pronounce
as Mandai) “properly signifies science, knowledge or Gnosis. Thus it
is
the equivalent of Gnostics” (loc. cit. note p. 3). As the above cited work
shows,
although many travellers have spoken of a sect whose followers are
variously
named Sabians, St. John’s Christians and Mendæans, and who are
scattered
around
Schat-Etarab
at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates (principally at
Bassorah,
Hoveїza, Korna, etc.), it was Norberg who was the first to point out
a
tribe
belonging to the same sect established in Syria. And they are the most
interesting
of all. This tribe, some 14,000 or 15,000 in number, lives at a
day’s
march east of Mount Lebanon, principally at Elmerkah, (Lata-Kieh). They
call
themselves indifferently Nazarenes and Galileans, as they originally come
to
Syria from Galilee. They claim that their religion is the same as that of St.
John
the Baptist, and that it has not changed one bit since his day. On festival
days
they clothe them selves in camel’s skins, sleep on camel’s skins, and eat
locusts
and honey as did their “Father, St. John the Baptist”. Yet they call
Jesus
Christ an impostor, a false Messiah, and Nebso (or the planet Mercury in
its
evil side), and show him as a production of the Spirit of the “seven badly-
disposed
stellars” (or planets). See Codex Nazaræus, which is their Scripture.
Mendes
(Gr.). The name of the demon-goat, alleged by the Church of Rome to have
been
worshipped by the Templars and other Masons. But this goat was a myth
created
by the evil fancy of the odium theologicum. There never was such a
creature,
nor was its worship known among Templars or their predecessors, the
Gnostics.
The god of Mendes, or the Greek Mendesius, a name given to Lower Egypt
in
pre-Christian days, was the ram-headed god Ammon, the living and holy spirit
of
Ra, the life-giving sun; and this led certain Greek authors into the error of
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affirming
that the Egyptians called the “goat” (or the ram-headed god) himself,
Mendes.
Ammon was for ages the chief deity of Egypt, the supreme god; Amoun-Ra
the
“hidden god”, or Amen (the concealed) the Self-engendered who is “his own
father
and his own son”. Esoterically, he was Pan, the god of nature or nature
personified,
and probably the cloven foot of Pan the goat-footed, helped to
produce
the error of this god being a goat. As Ammon’s shrine was at
Pa-bi-neb-tat,
“the dwelling of Tat or Spirit, Lord of Tat” (Bindedi in the
Assyrian
inscriptions), the Greeks first corrupted the name into Bendes and then
into
Mendes from “Mendesius”. The “error” served ecclesiastical purposes too
well
to be made away with, even when recognized.
Mensambulism
(Lat.). A word coined by some French Kabalists to denote the
phenomenon
of “table turning” from the Latin mensa, a table.
Meracha
phath (Heb.). Used of the “breathing” of the divine Spirit when in the
act
of hovering over the waters of space before creation (See Siphra Dzeniutha).
Mercavah
or Mercabah (Heb.). A chariot: the Kabalists say that the Supreme after
he
had established the Ten Sephiroth used them as a chariot or throne of glory
on
which to descend upon the souls of men.
Merodach
(Chald.). God of Babylon, the Bel of later times. He is the son of
Davkina,
goddess of the lower regions, or the earth, and of Hea, God of the Seas
and
Hades with the Orientalists; but esoterically and with the Akkadians, the
Great
God of Wisdom, “he who resurrects the dead”. Hea, Ea, Dagon or Oannes and
Merodach
are one.
Meru
(Sk.). The name of an alleged mountain in the centre (or “navel”) of the
earth
where Swarga, the Olympus of the indians, is placed. It contains the
“cities”
of the greatest gods and the abodes of various Devas. Geographically
accepted,
it is an unknown mountain north of the Himalayas. In tradition, Meru
was
the “ Land of Bliss” of the earliest Vedic times. It is also referred to as
Hemâdri
“the golden mountain”, Ratnasânu, “jewel peak”, Karnikâchala, “lotus-
mountain”,
and Amarâdri and Deva-parvata, “the mountain of the gods” The Occult
teachings
place it in the very centre of the North Pole, pointing it out as the
site
of the first continent on our earth, after the solidification of the globe.
Meshia
and Meshiane (Zend). The Adam and Eve of the Zoroastrians, in the early
Persian
system; the first human couple.
Mesmer,
Friedrich Anton. The famous physician who rediscovered and applied
practically
that magnetic fluid in man which was called animal magnetism and
since
then Mesmerism. He was born in Schwaben, in 1734 and died in 1815. He was
an
initiated member of the Brother-
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hoods
of the Fratres Lucis and of Lukshoor (or Luxor), or the Egyptian Branch
of’
the latter. It was the Council of “Luxor” which selected him—according to
the
orders of the “Great Brotherhood”—to act in the XVIIIth century as their
usual
pioneer, sent in the last quarter of every century to enlighten a small
portion
of the Western nations in occult lore. It was St. Germain who supervised
the
development of events in this case; and later Cagliostro was commissioned to
help,
but having made a series of mistakes, more or less fatal, he was recalled.
Of
these three men who were at first regarded as quacks, Mesmer is already
vindicated.
The justification of the two others will follow in the next century.
Mesmer
founded the “Order of Universal Harmony” in 1783, in which presumably
only
animal magnetism was taught, but which in reality expounded the tenets of
Hippocrates,
the methods of the ancient Asclepieia, the Temples of Healing, and
many
other occult sciences.
Metatron
(Heb.). The Kabbalistic “Prince of Faces”, the Intelligence of the
First
Sephira, and the reputed ruler of Moses. His numeration is 314, the same
as
the deity title “Shaddai”, Almighty. He is also the Angel of the world of
Briah,
and he who conducted the Isrælites through the Wilderness, hence, the
same
as “the Lord God” Jehovah. The name resembles the Greek words metathronon
or
“beside the Throne”.[w.w.w.]
Metempsychosis.
The progress of the soul from one stage of existence to another.
Symbolized
as and vulgarly believed to be rebirths in animal bodies. A term
generally
misunderstood by every class of European and American society,
including
many scientists. Metempsychosis should apply to animals alone. The
kabalistic
axiom, “A stone becomes a plant, a plant an animal, an animal a man,
a
man a spirit, and a spirit a god”, receives an explanation in Manu’s
Mânava-Dharma-Shâstra
and other Brahmanical books.
Metis
(Gr.). Wisdom. The Greek theology associated Metis— Divine Wisdom, with
Eros—Divine
Love. The word is also said to form part of the Templars’ deity or
idol
Baphomet, which some authorities derive from Baphe, baptism, and Metis,
wisdom;
while others say that the idol represented the two teachers whom the
Templars
equally denied, viz., Papa or the Pope, and Mahomet. [w.w.w.]
Midgard
(Scand.). The great snake in the Eddas which gnaws the roots of the
Yggdrasil—the
Tree of Life and the Universe in the legend of the Norsemen.
Midgard
is the Mundane Snake of Evil.
Midrashim
(Heb.). “Ancient”—the same as Purâna ; the ancient writings of the
Jews
as the Purânas are called the “Ancient” (Scriptures) of India.
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Migmar
(Tib.). The planet Mars.
Mîmânsâ
(Sk.). A school of philosophy; one of the six in India. There are two
Mîmânsâ
the older and the younger. The first, the “Pârva-Mîmânsâ”, was founded
by
Jamini, and the later or “Uttara Mîmânsâ”, by a Vyasa—and is now called the
Vedânta
school. Sankarâchârya was the most prominent apostle of the latter. The
Vedânta
school is the oldest of all the six Darshana (lit., “demonstrations”),
but
even to the Pûrva-Mîmânsâ no higher antiquity is allowed than 500 B.C.
Orientalists
in favour of the absurd idea that all these schools are “due to
Greek
influence”, in order to have them fit their theory would make them of
still
later date. The Shad-darshana (or Six Demonstrations) have all a starting
point
in common, and maintain that ex nihilo nihil fit.
Mimir
(Scand.). A wise giant in the Eddas. One of the Jotuns or Titans. He had a
well
which he watched over (Mimir’s well), which contained the waters of
Primeval
Wisdom, by drinking of which Odin acquired the knowledge of all past,
present,
and future events.
Minas
(Sk.). The same as Meenam, the Zodiacal sign Pisces or Fishes.
Minos
(Gr.,). The great Judge in Hades. An ancient King of Crete.
Miölner
(Scand.) The storm-hammer of Thor (See “Svastica”) made for him by the
Dwarfs;
with it the God conquered men and gods alike. The same kind of magic
weapon
as the Hindu Agneyastra, the fire- weapon.
Mirror.
The Luminous Mirror, Aspaqularia nera, a Kabbalistic term, means the
power
of foresight and farsight, prophecy such as Moses had. Ordinary mortals
have
only the Aspaqularia della nera or Non Luminous Mirror, they see only in a
glass
darkly: a parallel symbolism is that of the conception of the Tree of
Life,
and that only of the Tree of Knowledge. [w.w.w.]
Mishnah
(Heb.). The older portion of the Jewish Talmud, or oral law,, consisting
of
supplementary regulations for the guidance of the Jews with an ample
commentary.
The contents are arranged in six sections, treating of Seeds,
Feasts,
Women, Damages, Sacred Things and Purification. Rabbi Judah Haunasee
codified
the Mishnah about AM. 140.[w.w.w.]
Mistletoe.
This curious plant, which grows only as a parasite upon other trees,
such
as the apple and the oak, was a mystic plant in several ancient religions,
notably
that of the Celtic Druids: their priests cut the Mistletoe with much
ceremony
at certain seasons, and then only with a specially consecrated golden
knife.
Hislop suggests as a religious explanation that the Mistletoe being a
Branch
growing out of a Mother tree was worshipped as a Divine Branch out of an
Earthly
Tree, the
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union
of deity and humanity. The name in German means “all heal”. Compare the
Golden
Branch in Virgil’s Æneid, Vi. 126: and Pliny, Hist. Nat., xvii. 4
“Sacerdos
candida veste cultus arborem scandit,
falce
aurea demetit.” [w.w.w.]
Mitra
or Mithra. (Pers.) An ancient Iranian deity, a sun-god, as evidenced by
his
being lion-headed. The name exists also in India and means a form of the
sun.
The Persian Mithra, he who drove out of heaven Ahriman, is a kind of
Messiah
who is expected to return as the judge of men, and is a sin-bearing god
who
atones for the iniquities of mankind. As such, however, he is directly
connected
with the highest Occultism, the tenets of which were expounded during
the
Mithraic Mysteries which thus bore his name.
Mitre.
The head-dress of a religious dignitary, as of a Roman Catholic Bishop: a
capending
upwards in two lips, like a fish’s head with open mouth—os tincæ
associated
with Dagon, the Babylonian deity, the word dag meaning fish.
Curiously
enough the os uteri has been so called in the human female and the
fish
is related to the goddess Aphrodite who sprang from the sea. It is curious
also
that the ancient Chaldee legends speak of a religious teacher coming to
them
springing out of the sea, named Oannes and Annedotus, half fish, half man.
[w.w.w.]
Mizraim
(Eg.). The name of Egypt in very ancient times, This name is now
connected
with Freemasonry. See the rite of Mizraim and the rite of Memphis in
Masonic
Cyclopædias.
Mlechchhas
(Sk.). Outcasts. The name given to all foreigners, and those who are
non-Aryas.
Mnevis
(Eg.). The bull Mnevis, the Son of Ptah, and the symbol of the Sun-god
Ra,
as Apis was supposed to be Osiris in the sacred bull-form. His abode was at
Heliopolis,
the City of the Sun. He was black and carried on his horns the
sacred
uræus and disk.
Mobeds
(Zend). Parsi, or Zoroastrian priests.
Moira
(Gr.). The same as the Latin Fatum—fate, destiny, the power which rules
over
the actions, sufferings, the life and struggles of men. But this is not
Karma;
it is only one of its agent-forces.
Moksha
(Sk.). “Liberation.” The same as Nirvâna; a post mortem state of rest and
bliss
of the “Soul-Pilgrim”.
Monad
(Gr.). The Unity, the one ; but in Occultism it often means the unified
triad,
Atma-Buddhi-Manas, or the duad, Atma-Buddhi, that immortal part of man
which
reincarnates in the lower kingdoms, and gradually progresses through them
to
Man and then to the final goal— Nirvâna.
Monas
(Gr.). The same as the term Monad ; “Alone”, a unit. In
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the
Pythagorean system the duad emanates from the higher and solitary Monas,
which
is thus the “First Cause”.
Monogenes
(Gr.). Lit., “the only-begotten”; a name of Proserpine and other gods
and
goddesses.
Moon.
The earth’s satellite has figured very largely as an emblem in the
religions
of antiquity; and most commonly has been represented as Female, but
this
is not universal, for in the myths of the Teutons and Arabs, as well as in
the
conception of the Rajpoots of India (see Tod, Hist.), and in Tartary the
moon
was male. Latin authors speak of Luna. and also of Lunus, but with extreme
rarity.
The Greek name is Selene, the Hebrew Lebanah and also Yarcah. In Egypt
the
moon was associated with Isis, in Phenicia with Astarte and in Babylon with
Ishtar.
From certain points of view the ancients regarded the moon also as
Androgyne.
The astrologers allot an Influence to the moon over the several parts
of
a man, according to the several Zodiacal signs she traverses; as well as a
special
influence produced by the house she occupies in a figure.
The
division of the Zodiac into the 28 mansions of the moon appears to be older
than
that into 12 signs: the Copts, Egyptians, Arabs, Persians and Hindoos used
the
division into 28 parts centuries ago, and the Chinese use it still.
The
Hermetists said the moon gave man an astral form, while Theosophy teaches
that
the Lunar Pitris were the creators of our human bodies and lower
principles.
(See Secret Doctrine 1. 386.) [w.w.w.]
Moriah,
Mount. The site of King Solomon’s first temple at Jerusalem according to
tradition.
It is to that mount that Abraham journeyed to offer Isaac in
sacrifice.
Morya
(Sk.). One of the royal Buddhist houses of Magadha; to which belonged
Chandragupta
and Asoka his grandson; also the name of a Rajpoot tribe.
Môt
(Phœn.). The same as ilus, mud, primordial chaos; a word used in the
Tyrrhenian
Cosmogony
(See
“Suidas”).
Mout
or Mooth (Eg.). The mother goddess; the primordial goddess, for “all the
gods
are born from Mooth”, it is said. Astronomically, the moon.
Mu
(Senzar). The mystic word (or rather a portion of it) in Northern Buddhism.
It
means the “destruction of temptation” during the course of Yoga practice.
Mudra
(Sk.). Called the mystic seal. A system of occult signs made with the
fingers.
These signs imitate ancient Sanskrit characters of magic efficacy.
First
used in the Northern Buddhist Yogâcharya School,
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they
were adopted later by the Hindu Tantrikas, but often misused by them for
black
magic purposes.
Mukta
and Mukti (Sk.). Liberation from sentient life; one beatified or
liberated;
a candidate for Moksha, freedom from flesh and matter, or life on
this
earth.
Mûlaprakriti
(Sk.). The Parabrahmic root, the abstract deific feminine
principle—undifferentiated
substance. Akâsa. Literally, “the root of Nature”
(Prakriti)
or Matter.
Mulil
(Chald.). A name of the Chaldean Bel.
Muluk-Taoos
(Arab.). From Maluk, “Ruler”, a later form of Moloch, Melek, Malayak
and
Malachim, “messengers”, angels. It is the Deity worshipped by the Yezidis, a
sect
in Persia, kindly called by Christian theology “devil worshippers”, under
the
form of a peacock. The Lord “Peacock” is not Satan, nor is it the devil; for
it
is simply the symbol of the hundred eyed Wisdom ; the bird of Saraswati,
goddess
of Wisdom; of Karttikeya the Kumâra, the Virgin celibate of the
Mysteries
of Juno, and all the gods and goddesses connected with the secret
learning.
Mummy.
The name for human bodies embalmed and preserved according to the ancient
Egyptian
method. The process of mummification is a rite of extreme antiquity in
the
land of the Pharaohs, and was considered as one of the most sacred
ceremonies.
It was, moreover, a process showing considerable learning in
chemistry
and surgery. Mummies 5,000 years old and more, reappear among us a
preserved
and fresh as when they first came from the hands of the Parashistes.
Mumukshatwa
(Sk.). Desire for liberation (from reincarnation and thraldom of
matter).
Mundakya
Upanishad (Sk.). Lit., the “Mundaka esoteric doctrine”, a work of high
antiquity.
It has been translated by Raja Rammohun Roy.
Mundane
Egg or Tree, or any other such symbolical object in the world
Mythologies.
Meru is a
“Mundane
Mountain” ; the Bodhi Tree, or Ficus religiosa, is the Mundane Tree of
the
Buddhists; just as the Yggdrasil is the “Mundane Tree” of the Scandinavians
or
Norsemen.
Munis
(Sk.). Saints, or Sages.
Murâri
(Sk.). An epithet of Krishna or Vishnu; lit., the enemy of Mura—an Asura.
Mûrti(Sk.).
A form, or a sign, or again a face, e.g., “Trimûrti”, the “three
Faces”
or Images.
Murttimat
(Sk.). Something inherent or incarnate in something else and
inseparable
from it; like wetness in water, which is coexistent and coeval with
it.
Used of some attributes of Brahmâ and other gods.
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Muspel
(Scand.). A giant in the Edda, the Fire-god, and the father of the
Flames.
It was these evil sons of the good Muspel Who after threatening evil in
Glowheim
(Muspelheim) finally gathered into a formidable army, and fought the
“Last
Battle” on the field of Wigred. Muspel is rendered as “World (or Mundane)
Fire”.
The conception Dark Surtur (black smoke) out of which flash tongues of
flame,
connects Muspel with the Hindu Agni.
Mutham
or Mattam. (Sk.). Temples in India with cloisters and monasteries for
regular
ascetics and scholars.
Myalba
(Tib.). In the Esoteric philosophy of Northern Buddhism, the name of our
Earth,
called Hell for those who reincarnate in it for punishment. Exoterically,
Myalba
is translated a Hell.
Mystagogy
(Gr.). The doctrines or interpretations of the sacred mysteries.
Mysterium
Magnum (Lat.). “The great Mystery”, a term used in Alchemy in
connection
with the fabrication of the “Philosopher’s Stone” and the “ Elixir of
Life”.
Mysteries.
Greek teletai, or finishings, celebrations of initiation or the
Mysteries.
They were observances, generally kept secret from the profane and
uninitiated,
in which were taught by dramatic representation and other methods,
the
origin of things, the nature of the human spirit, its relation to the body,
and
the method of its purification and restoration to higher life. Physical
science,
medicine, the laws of music, divination, were all taught in the same
manner.
The Hippocratic oath was but a mystic obligation. Hippocrates was a
priest
of Asklepios, some of whose writings chanced to become public. But the
Asklepiades
were initiates of the Æsculapian serpent-worship, as the Bacchantes
were
of the Dionysia; and both rites were eventually incorporated with the
Eleusinia.
The Sacred Mysteries were enacted in the ancient Temples by the
initiated
Hierophants for the benefit and instruction of the candidates. The
most
solemn and occult Mysteries were certainly those which were performed in
Egypt
by “the band of secret-keepers”, as Mr. Bonwick calls the Hierophants.
Maurice
describes their nature very graphically in a few lines. Speaking of the
Mysteries
performed in Philæ (the Nile-island), he says that “it was in these
gloomy
caverns that the grand and mystic arcana of the goddess (Isis) were
unfolded
to the adoring aspirant, while the solemn hymn of initiation resounded
through
the long extent of these stony recesses”. The word “mysteries” is
derived
from the Greek muô, “to close the mouth”, and every symbol connected
with
them had, a hidden meaning. As Plato and many other sages of antiquity
affirm,
the Mysteries were highly religious, moral and beneficent as a school of
ethics.
The Grecian mysteries, those of
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Ceres
and Bacchus, were only imitations of the Egyptian; and the author of
Egyptian
Belief and Modern Thought, informs us that our own “word chapel or
capella
is said to be the Caph-El or college of El, the Solar divinity”. The
well-known
Kabiri are associated with the Mysteries. In short, the Mysteries
were
in every country a series of dramatic performances, in which the mysteries
of
cosmogony and nature, in general, were personified by the priests and
neophytes,
who enacted the part of various gods and goddesses, repeating
supposed
scenes (allegories) from their respective lives. These were explained
in
their hidden meaning to the candidates for initiation, and incorporated into
philosophical
doctrines.
Mystery
Language. The sacerdotal secret jargon employed by the initiated
priests,
and used only when discussing sacred things. Every nation had its own
“mystery”
tongue, unknown save to those admitted to the Mysteries.
Mystes
(Gr.). In antiquity, the name of the new Initiates; now that of Roman
Cardinals,
who having borrowed all their other rites and dogmas from Aryan,
Egyptian
and Hellenic “heathen”, have helped themselves also to the musiz of the
neophytes.
They have to keep their eyes and mouth shut on their consecration and
are,
therefore, called Mystæ.
Mystica
Vannus Iacchi. Commonly translated the mystic Fan: but in an ancient
terra-cotta
in the British Museum the fan is a Basket such as the Ancients’
Mysteries
displayed with mystic contents: Inman says with emblematic testes.
[w.w.w.]
N
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N
—The 14th letter in both the English and the Hebrew alphabets. In the latter
tongue
the N is called Nun, and signifies a fish. It is the symbol of the female
principle
or the womb. Its numerical value is 50 in the Kabalistic system, but
the
Peripatetics made it equivalent to 900, and with a stroke over it (900)
9,000.
With the Hebrews, however, the final Nun was 700.
Naaseni.
The Christian Gnostic sect, called Naasenians, or serpent worshippers,
who
considered the constellation of the Dragon as the symbol of their Logos or
Christ.
Nabatheans.
A sect almost identical in their beliefs with the Nazarenes and
Sabeans,
who had more reverence for John the Baptist than for Jesus. Maimonides
identifies
them with the astrolaters.
“Respecting
the beliefs of the Sabeans”, he says, “the most famous is the book,
The
agriculture of the Nabatheans”. And we know that the Ebionites, the first of
whom
were the friends and relatives of Jesus, according to tradition, in other
words,
the earliest and first Christians, “were the direct followers and
disciples
of the Nazarene sect”, according to Epiphanius and Theodoret (See the
Contra
Ebionites of Epiphanius, and also “Galileans” and “Nazarenes”).
Nabhi
(Sk.). The father of Bhârata, who gave his name to Bhârata Varsha (land)
or
India.
Nabia
(Heb.). Seership, soothsaying. This oldest and most respected of mystic
phenomena
is the name given to prophecy in the Bible, and is correctly included
among
the spiritual powers, such as divination, clairvoyant visions,
trance-conditions,
and oracles. But while enchanters, diviners, and even
astrologers
are strictly condemned in the Mosaic books, prophecy, seership, and
nabia
appear as the special gifts of heaven. In early ages they were all termed
Epoptai
(Seers), the Greek word for Initiates; they were also designated Nebim,
“the
plural of Nebo, the Babylonian god of wisdom.” The Kabalist distinguishes
between
the seer and the magician; one is passive, the other active; Nebirah, is
one
who looks into futurity and a clairvoyant; Nebi-poel, he who possesses magic
powers.
We notice that Elijah and Apollonius resorted to the same means to
isolate
themselves from the disturbing influences of the outer world, viz.,
wrapping
their heads entirely in a woollen mantle, from its being an electric
non-conductor
we must suppose.
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Nabu
(Chald.). Nebu or Nebo, generally; the Chaldean god of Secret Wisdom, from
which
name the Biblical, Hebrew term Nabiim (prophets) was derived. This son of
Anu
and Ishtar was worshipped chiefly at Borsippa; but he had also his temple at
Babylon,
above that of Bel, devoted to the seven planets.
(See
“ Nazarenes” and “ Nebo”.)
Nâga
(Sk.). Literally “Serpent”. The name in the Indian Pantheon of the Serpent
or
Dragon Spirits, and of the inhabitants of Pâtâla, hell. But as Pâtâla means
the
antipodes, and was the name given to America by the ancients, who knew and
visited
that continent before Europe had ever heard of it, the term is probably
akin
to the Mexican Nagals the (now) sorcerers and medicine men. The Nagas are
the
Burmese Nats, serpent-gods, or “dragon demons”. In Esotericism, however, and
as
already stated, this is a nick-name for the “wise men” or adepts in China and
Tibet,
the “Dragons.” are regarded as the titulary deities of the world, and of
various
spots on the earth, and the word is explained as meaning adepts, yogis,
and
narjols. The term has simply reference to their great knowledge and wisdom.
This
is also proven in the ancient Sûtras and Buddha’s biographies. The Nâga is
ever
a wise man, endowed with extraordinary magic powers, in South and Central
America
as in India, in Chaldea as also in ancient Egypt. In China the “worship”
of
the Nâgas was widespread, and it has become still more pronounced since
Nâgarjuna
(the “great Nâga”, the “great adept” literally), the fourteenth
Buddhist
patriarch, visited China. The “Nâgas" are regarded by the Celestials as
“the
tutelary Spirits or gods of the five regions or the four points of the
compass
and the centre, as the guardians of the five lakes and four oceans”
(Eitel).
This, traced to its origin and translated esoterically, means that the
five
continents and their five root-races had always been under the guardianship
of
“terrestrial deities”, i.e., Wise Adepts. The tradition that Nâgas washed
Gautama
Buddha at his birth, protected him and guarded the relics of his body
when
dead, points again to the Nâgas being only wise men, Arhats, and no
monsters
or Dragons. This is also corroborated by the innumerable stories of the
conversion
of Nâgas to Buddhism. The Nâga of a lake in a forest near Râjagriha
and
many other “Dragons” were thus converted by Buddha to the good Law.
Nâgadwîpa
(Sk.). Lit., “the island of the Dragons”; one of the Seven Divisions
of
Bhâratavarsha, or modern India, according to the Purânas. No proofs remain as
to
who were the Nâgas (a historical people however), the favourite theory being
that
they were a Scythic race. But there is no proof of this. When the Brahmans
invaded
India they “found a race of wise men, half-gods, half-demons”, says the
legend,
men who were the teachers of other races and became likewise
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the
instructors of the Hindus and the Brahmans themselves. Nagpur is justly
believed
to be the surviving relic of Nâgadwîpa. Now Nagpur is virtually in
Râjputana
near Oodeypore, Ajmere, etc. And is it not well known that there was a
time
when Brahmans went to learn Secret Wisdom from the Râjputs? Moreover a
tradition
states that Apollonius of Tyana was instructed in magic by the Nâgas
of
Kashmere.
Nagal.
The title of the chief Sorcerer or “medicine man” of some tribes of
Mexican
Indians. These keep always a daimon or god, in the shape of a
serpent—and
sometimes some other sacred animal—who is said to inspire them.
Nâgarâjas
(Sk.). The usual name given to all the supposed “guardian Spirits” of
lakes
and rivers, meaning literally “Dragon Kings”. All of these are shown in
the
Buddhist chronicles as having been converted to the Buddhist monastic life :
i.e
, as becoming Arhats from the Yogis that they were before.
Nâgârjuna
(Sk.). An Arhat, a hermit (a native of Western India) converted to
Buddhism
by Kapimala and the fourteenth Patriarch, and now regarded as a
Bodhisattva-Nirmanakaya.
He was famous for his dialectical subtlety in
metaphysical
arguments; and was the first teacher of the Amitâbha doctrine and a
representative
of the Mahayâna School. Viewed as the greatest philosopher of the
Buddhists,
he was referred to as “one of the four suns which illumine the
world”.
He was born 223 B.C, and going to China after his conversion converted
in
his turn the whole country to Buddhism.
Nagkon
Wat (Siam.). Imposing ruins in the province of Siamrap (Eastern Siam), if
ruins
they may
be
called. An abandoned edifice of most gigantic dimensions, which, together
with
the great temple of Angkorthâm, are the best preserved relics of the past
in
all Asia. After the Pyramids this is the most occult edifice in the whole
world.
Of an oblong form, it is 796 feet in length and 588 in width, entirely
built
of stone, the roof included, but without cement like the pyramids of
Ghizeh,
the stones fitting so closely that the joints are even now hardly
discernible.
It has a central pagoda 250 feet in height from the first floor,
and
four smaller pagodas at the four corners, about 175 feet each. In the words
of
a traveller, (The Land of the White Elephant, Frank Vincent, p. 209) “in
style
and beauty of architecture, solidity of construction, and magnificent and
elaborate
carving and sculpture, the great Nagkon Wat has no superior, certainly
no
rival, standing at the present day.” (See Isis Unv., Vol. I. pp. 561-566.)
Nahash
(Heb.). “The Deprived”; the Evil one or the Serpent, according to the
Western
Kabalists.
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Nahbkoon
(Eg) The god who unites the “doubles”, a
mystical term referring to
the
human disembodied “principles”.
Naimittika
(Sk.). Occasional, or incidental; used of one of the four kinds of
Pralayas
(See “Pralaya”).
Naїn
(Scand.). The “Dwarf of Death”.
Najo
(Hind.). Witch; a sorceress.
Nakshatra
(Sk.). Lunar asterisms.
Namah
(Sk.). In Pali Namo. The first word of a daily invocation among Buddhists,
meaning
“I humbly trust, or adore, or acknowledge” the Lord; as: “Namo tasso
Bhagavato
Arahato” etc., addressed to Lord Buddha. The priests are called
“Masters
of Namah”—both Buddhist and Taoist, because this word is used in
liturgy
and prayers, in the invocation of the Triratna (q.v.), and with a slight
change
in the occult incantations to the Bodhisvattvas and Nirmânakâyas.
Nanda
(Sk.). One of the Kings of Magadha (whose dynasty was overthrown by
Chandragupta
q.v.).
Nandi
(Sk.). The sacred white bull of Siva and his Vâhan (Vehicle).
Nanna
(Scand.). The beautiful bride of Baldur, who fought with the blind Hodur
(“
he who rules over darkness ”) and received his death from the latter by magic
art.
Baldur is the personification of Day, Hodur of Night, and the lovely Nanna
of
Dawn.
Nannak
(Chald.), also Nanar and Sin. A name of the moon; said to be the son of
Mulil,
the older Bel and the Sun, in the later mythology. In the earliest, the
Moon
is far older than the Sun.
Nara
(Sk.). “Man”, the original, eternal man.
Nârâ.
(Sk.). The waters of Space, or the Great Deep, whence the name of Nârâyana
or
Vishnu.
Nara
Sinha (Sk.). Lit., “Man-lion”; an Avatar of Vishnu.
Nârada
(Sk.). One of the Seven great Rishis, a Son of Brahmâ This “Progenitor”
is
one of the most mysterious personages in the Brahmanical sacred symbology.
Esoterically
Nârada is the Ruler of events during various Karmic cycles, and the
personification,
in a certain sense, of the great human cycle; a Dhyan Chohan.
He
plays a great part in Brahmanism, which ascribes to him some of the most
occult
hymns in the Rig Veda, in which sacred work he is described as “of the
Kanwa
family”. He is called Deva-Brahmâ, but as such has a distinct character
from
the one he assumes on earth—or Pâtâla. Daksha cursed him for his
interference
with his 5,000 and 10,000 sons, whom he persuaded to remain Yogins
and
celibates, to be reborn time after time on this earth (Mahâbhârata). But
this
is an allegory. He was the inventor of the
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Vina,
a kind of lute, and a great “lawgiver”. The story is too long to be given
here.
Nâraka
(Sk.). In the popular conception, a hell, a “prison under earth”. The hot
and
cold hells, each eight in number, are simply emblems of the globes of our
septenary
chain, with the addition of the “eighth sphere” supposed to be located
in
the moon. This is a transparent blind, as these “hells” are called vivifying
hells
because, as explained, any being dying in one is immediately born in the
second,
then in the third, and so on; life lasting in each 500 years (a blind on
the
number of cycles and reincarnations). As these hells constitute one of the
six
gâti (conditions of sentient existence), and as people are said to be reborn
in
one or the other according to their Karmic merits or demerits, the blind
becomes
self-evident. Moreover, these Nârakas are rather purgatories than hells,
since
release from each is possible through the prayers and intercessions of
priests
for a consideration, just as in the Roman Catholic Church, which seems
to
have copied the Chinese-ritualism in this pretty closely. As said before,
esoteric
philosophy traces every hell to life on earth, in one or another form
of
sentient existence.
Nârâyana
(Sk.). The “mover on the Waters” of space: a title of Vishnu, in his
aspect
of the Holy Spirit, moving on the Waters of Creation. (See Mânu, Book
II.)
In esoteric symbology it stands for the primeval manifestation of the
life-principle,
spreading in infinite Space.
Nargal
(Chald.). The Chaldean and Assyrian chiefs of the Magi (Rab Mag).
Narjol
(Tib.). A Saint; a glorified Adept.
Naros
or Neros (Heb.). A cycle, which the Orientalists describe as consisting of
600
years. But what years? There were three kinds of Neros : the greater, the
middle
and the less. It is the latter cycle only which was of 600 years. (See
“Neros”.)
Nâstika
(Sk.). Atheist, or rather he who does not worship or recognize the gods
and
idols.
Nâth
(Sk.). A Lord: used of gods and men; a title added to the first name of men
and
things as Badrinath (lord of mountains), a famous place of pilgrimage;
Gopinath
(lord of the shepherdesses), used of Krishna.
Nava
Nidhi (Sk.). Lit., “the nine Jewels”; a consummation of spiritual
development,
in mysticism.
Nazar
(Heb.). One “set apart”; a temporary monastic class of celibates spoken of
in
the Old Testament, who married not, nor did they use wine during the time of
their
vow, and who wore their hair long,
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cutting
it only at their initiation. Paul must have belonged to this class of
Initiates,
for he himself tells the Galatians (i. x5) that he was separated or
“set
apart” from the moment of his birth ; and that he had his hair cut at
Cenchrea,
because “he had a vow” (Acts xviii.18), i.e., had been initiated as a
Nazar;
after which he became a “ master-builder” (i Corinth. iii.10). Joseph is
styled
a Nazar (Gen. xlix. 26). Samson and Samuel were also Nazars, and many
more.
Nazarenes
(Heb.). The same as the St. John Christians; called the Mend or
Sabeans.
Those Nazarenes who left Galilee several hundred years ago and settled
in
Syria, east of Mount Lebanon, call themselves also Galileans ; though they
designate
Christ “a false Messiah” and recognise only St. John the Baptist, whom
they
call the “Great Nazar”. The Nabatheans with very little difference adhered
to
the same belief as the Nazarenes or the Sabeans. More than this— the
Ebionites,
whom Renan shows as numbering among their sect all the surviving
relatives
of Jesus, seem to have been followers of the same sect if we have to
believe
St. Jerome, who writes: “ I received permission from the Nazaræans who
at
Beræa of Syria used this (Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew) to translate
it....
The Evangel which the Nazarenes and Ebionites use which recently I
translated
from Hebrew into Greek.’ (Hieronymus’ Comment. to Matthew, Book II.,
chapter
xii., and Hieronymus’ De Viris Illust. cap 3.) Now this supposed Evangel
of
Matthew, by whomsoever written, “exhibited matter”, as Jerome complains (bc.
cit.),
“not for edification but for destruction”(of Christianity). But the fact
that
the Ebionites, the genuine primitive Christians, “rejecting the rest of the
apostolic
writings, made use only of this (Matthew’s Hebrew) Gospel”
(Adv.
Hær., i. 26) is very suggestive. For, as Epiphanius declares, the
Ebionites
firmly believed, with the Nazarenes, that Jesus was but a man “of the
seed
of a man” (Epiph. Contra Ebionites). Moreover we know from the Codex of the
Nazarenes,
of which the “Evangel according to Matthew” formed a portion, that
these
Gnostics, whether Galilean, Nazarene or Gentile, call Jesus, in their
hatred
of astrolatry, in their Codex Naboo-Meschiha or “ Mercury”. (See “
Mendæans”).
This does not shew much orthodox Christianity either in the
Nazarenes
or the Ebionites; but seems to prove on the contrary that the
Christianity
of the early centuries and modern Christian theology are two
entirely
opposite things.
Nebban
or Neibban (Chin.). The same as Nirvâna, Nippang in Tibet.
Nebo
(Chald.). The same as the Hindu Budha, son of Soma the Moon, and Mercury
the
planet.
(See
“Nabu”.)
Necromancy
(Gr.). The raising of the images of the dead, considered
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in
antiquity and by modern Occultists as a practice of black magic. Iamblichus,
Porphyry
and other Theurgists have deprecated the practice, no less than did
Moses,
who condemned the “witches” of his day to death, the said witches being
only
Necromancers—as in the case of the Witch of Endor and Samuel.
Nehaschim
(Kab.). “The serpent’s works.” It is a name given to the Astral Light,
“the
great deceiving serpent” (Mâyâ), during certain practical works of magic.
(See
Sec. Doc. II. 409.)
Neilos
(Gr.). The river Nile; also a god.
Neith
(Eg.). Neithes. The Queen of Heaven; the moon-goddess in Egypt. She is
variously
called
Nout,
Nepte, Nur. (For symbolism, see “Nout”.)
Neocoros
(Gr.). With the Greeks the guardian of a Temple.
Neophyte
(Gr.). A novice; a postulant or candidate for the Mysteries. The
methods
of initiation varied. Neophytes had to pass in their trials through all
the
four elements, emerging in the fifth as glorified Initiates. Thus having
passed
through Fire (Deity), Water (Divine Spirit), Air (the Breath of God), and
the
Earth (Matter), they received a sacred mark, a tat and a tau, or a + and a
┬.
The latter was the monogram of the Cycle called the Naros, or Neros. As shown
by
Dr. E. V. Kenealy, in his Apocalypse, the cross in symbolical language (one
of
the seven meanings)“+ exhibits at the same time three primitive letters, of
which
the word LVX or Light is compounded. . . . The Initiates were marked with
this
sign, when they were admitted into the perfect mysteries. We constantly see
the
Tau and the Resh united thus ♀. Those two letters in the old
Samaritan, as
found
on coins, stand, the first for 400, the second for 200 = 600. This is the
staff
of Osiris.” Just so, but this does not prove that the Naros was a cycle of
600
years; but simply that one more pagan symbol had been appropriated by the
Church.
(See
“Naros” and “Neros” and also “I. H. S.”)
Neo-platonism.
Lit.,“The new Platonism” or Platonic School. An eclectic
pantheistic
school of philosophy founded in Alexandria by Ammonius Saccas, of
which
his disciple Plotinus was the head (A.D. 189-270). It sought to reconcile
Platonic
teachings and the Aristotelean system with oriental Theosophy. Its
chief
occupation was pure spiritual philosophy, metaphysics and mysticism.
Theurgy
was introduced towards its later years. It was the ultimate effort of
high
intelligences to check the ever-increasing ignorant superstition and blind
faith
of the times; the last product of Greek philosophy, which was finally
crushed
and put to death by brute force.
Nephesh
Chia (Kab.). Animal or living Soul.
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Nephesh
(Heb.). Breath of life. Anima, Mens, Vita, Appetites. This term is used
very
loosely in the Bible. It generally means prana “life”; in the Kabbalah it
is
the animal passions and the animal Soul.
[w.w.w.] Therefore, as maintained in theosophical
teachings, Nephesh is the
synonym
of the Prâna-Kâmic Principle, or the vital animal Soul in man. [H. P.
B.]
Nephilim
(Heb.). Giants, Titans, the Fallen Ones.
Nephtys
(Eg.). The sister of Isis, philosophically only one of her aspects. As
Osiris
and Typhon are one under two aspects, so Isis and Nephtys are one and the
same
symbol of nature under its dual aspect. Thus, while Isis is the wife of
Osiris,
Nephtys is the wife of Typhon, the foe of Osiris and his slayer,
although
she weeps for him. She is often represented at the bier of the great
Sun-god,
having on her head a disk between the two horns of a crescent. She is
the
genius of the lower world, and Anubis, the Egyptian Pluto, is called her
son.
Plutarch has given a fair esoteric explanation of the two sisters. Thus he
writes:
Nephtys
designs that which is under the earth, and which one sees not (i.e., its
disintegrating
and reproducing power), and Isis that which is above earth, and
which
is visible (or physical nature). . . . The circle of the horizon which
divides
these two hemispheres and which is common to both, is Anubis.” The
identity
of the two goddesses is shown in that Isis is also called the mother of
Anubis.
Thus the two are the Alpha and Omega of Nature.
Nergal
(Chald.). On the Assyrian tablets he is described as the “giant king of
war,
lord of the city of Cutha”. It is also the Hebrew name for the planet Mars,
associated
invariably with ill-luck and danger. Nergal-Mars is the “shedder of
blood”.
In occult astrology it is less malefic than Saturn, but is more active
in
its associations with men and its influence on them.
Neros
(Heb.). As shown by the late E. V. Kenealy this “Naronic Cycle” was a
mystery,
a true “secret of god”, to disclose which during the prevalence of the
religious
mysteries and the authority of the priests, meant death. The learned
author
seemed to take it for granted that the Neros was of 600 years duration,
but
he was mistaken. (See “Natos”.) Nor were the establishment of the Mysteries
and
the rites of Initiation due merely the necessity of perpetuating the
knowledge
of the true meaning of the Naros and keeping this cycle secret from
the
profane; for the Mysteries are as old as the present human race, and there
were
far more important secrets to veil than the figures of any cycle. (See
“Neophyte”
and “I. H. S.”, also “Naros”.) The mystery of 666, “the number of the
great
heart” so called, is far better represented by the Tau and the Resh than
600.
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Nerthus
(Old Sax.). The goddess of the earth, of love and beauty with the old
Germans;
the same as the Scandinavian Freya or Frigga. Tacitus mentions the
great
honours paid to Nerthus when her idol was carried on a car in triumph
through
several districts.
Neshamah
(Heb.). Soul, anima, afflatus. In the Kabbalah, as taught in the
Rosicrucian
order, one of the three highest essences of the Human Soul,
corresponding
to the Sephira Binah. [w.w.w.]
Nesku
or Nusku (Chald.). Is described in the Assyrian tablets as the “holder of
the
golden sceptre, the lofty god”.
Netzach
(Heb.). “Victory”. The seventh of the Ten Sephiroth, a masculine active
potency.
[w.w.w.]
Nidâna
(Sk.). The 12 causes of existence, or a chain of causation, “a
concatenation
of cause and effect in the whole range of existence through 12
links”.
This is the fundamental dogma of Buddhist thought, “the understanding of
which
solves the riddle of life, revealing the insanity of existence and
preparing
the mind for Nirvâna”. (Eitel’s Sans. Chin. Dict.) The 12 links stand
thus
in their enumeration. (1) Jail, or birth, according to one of the four
modes
of entering the stream of life and reincarnation—or Chatur Yoni (q.v.),
each
mode placing the being born in one of the six Gâti (q.v.). (2) Jarârnarana,
or
decrepitude and death, following the maturity of the Skandhas (q.v.). (3)
Bhava,
the Karmic agent which leads every new sentient being to be born in this
or
another mode of existence in the Trailokya and Gâti. (4) Upâdâna, the
creative
cause of Bhava which thus becomes the cause of Jati which is the
effect;
and this creative cause is the clinging to life. ( 5) Trishnâ, love,
whether
pure or impure. (6) Vêdâna, or sensation; perception by the senses, it
is
the 5th Skandha. (7) Sparsa, the sense of touch. (8) Chadâyatana, the organs
of
sensation. (9) Nâmarûpa, personality, i.e., a form with a name to it, the
symbol
of the unreality of material phenomenal appearances. (10) Vijnâna, the
perfect
knowledge of every perceptible thing and of all objects in their
concatenation
and unity. (11) Samskâra, action on the plane of illusion. (12)
Avidyâ,
lack of true perception, or ignorance. The Nidânas belonging to the most
subtle
and abstruse doctrines of the Eastern metaphysical system, it is
impossible
to go into the subject at any greater length.
Nidhi
(Sk) A treasure. Nine treasures belonging to the god Kuvera—the Vedic
Satan—each
treasure being under the guardianship of a demon; these are
personified,
and are the objects of worship of the Tantrikas.
Nidhogg
(Scand.). The “Mundane” Serpent.
Nidra
(Sk.). Sleep. Also the female form of Brahmâ.
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Nifiheim
(Scand.). The cold Hell, in the Edda. A place of eternal
non-consciousness
and inactivity. (See Secret Doctrine, Vol. II., p. 245).
Night
of Brahmâ. The period between the dissolution and the active life of the
Universe
which is called in contrast the “Day of Brahmâ”.
Nilakantha
(Sk.). A name of Siva meaning “ blue throated”. This is said to have
been
the result of some poison administered to the god.
Nile-God
(Eg.). Represented by a wooden image of the river god receiving honours
in
gratitude for the bounties its waters afford the country. There was a
“celestial”
Nile, called in the Ritual Nen-naou or “primordial waters”; and a
terrestrial
Nile, worshipped at Nilopolis and Hapimoo. The latter was
represented
as an androgynous being with a beard and breasts, and a fat blue
face
; green limbs and reddish body. At the approach of the yearly inundation,
the
image was carried from one place to another in solemn procession.
Nimbus
(Lat.). The aureole around the heads of the Christ and Saints in Greek
and
Romish Churches is of Eastern origin. As every Orientalist knows, Buddha is
described
as having his head surrounded with shining glory six cubits in width;
and,
as shown by Hardy (Eastern Monachism), “his principal disciples are
represented
by the native painters as having a similar mark of eminence”. In
China,
Tibet and Japan, the heads of the saints are always surrounded with a
nimbus.
Nimitta
(Sk.). 1. An interior illumination developed by the practice of
meditation.
2. The efficient spiritual cause, as contrasted with Upadana, the
material
cause, in Vedânta philosophy. See also Pradhâna in Sankhya philosophy.
Nine.
The “Kabbalah of the Nine Chambers” is a form of secret writing in cipher,
which
originated with the Hebrew Rabbis, and has been used by several societies
for
purposes of concealment notably some grades of the Freemasons have adopted
it.
A figure is drawn of two horizontal parallel lines and two vertical parallel
lines
across them, this process forms nine chambers, the centre one a simple
square,
the others being either two or three sided figures, these are allotted
to
the several letters in any order that is agreed upon. There is also a
Kabbalstic
attribution of the ten Sephiroth to these nine chambers, but this is
not
published. [w.w.w.]
Nirguna
(Sk.). Negative attribute; unbound, or without Gunas (attributes), i.e.,
that
which is devoid of all qualities, the opposite of Saguna, that which has
attributes
(Secret Doctrine, II. 95), e.g.,
Parabrahmam
is Nirguna; Brahmâ, Saguna. Nirguna is a term which shows the
impersonality
of the thing spoken of.
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Nirmânakâya
(Sk.). Something entirely different in esoteric philosophy from the
popular
meaning attached to it, and from the fancies of the Orientalists. Some
call
the Nirmânakâya body “Nirvana with remains” (Schlagintweit, etc.) on the
supposition,
probably, that it is a kind of Nirvânic condition during which
consciousness
and form are retained. Others say that it is one of the Trikâya
(three
bodies), with the “power of assuming any form of appearance in order to
propagate
Buddhism” (Eitel’s idea); again, that “it is the incarnate avatâra of
a
deity” (ibid.), and so on. Occultism, on the other hand, says:that
Nirmânakâya,
although meaning literally a transformed “body”, is a state. The
form
is that of the adept or yogi who enters, or chooses, that post mortem
condition
in preference to the Dharmakâya or absolute Nirvânic state. He does
this
because the latter kâya separates him for ever from the world of form,
conferring
upon him a state of selfish bliss, in which no other living being can
participate,
the adept being thus precluded from the possibility of helping
humanity,
or even devas. As a Nirmânakâya, however, the man leaves behind him
only
his physical body, and retains every other “principle” save the Kamic—for
he
has crushed this out for ever from his nature, during life, and it can never
resurrect
in his post mortem state. Thus, instead of going into selfish bliss,
he
chooses a life of self-sacrifice, an existence which ends only with the
life-cycle,
in order to be enabled to help mankind in an invisible yet most
effective
manner. (See The Voice of the Silence, third treatise, “The Seven
Portals”.)
Thus a Nirmânakâya is not, as popularly believed, the body “in which
a
Buddha or a Bodhisattva appears on earth”, but verily one, who whether a
Chutuktu
or a Khubilkhan, an adept or a yogi during life, has since become a
member
of that invisible Host which ever protects and watches over Humanity
within
Karmic limits. Mistaken often for a “Spirit”, a Deva, God himself, &c., a
Nirmânakâya
is ever a protecting, compassionate, verily a guardian angel, to him
who
becomes worthy of his help. Whatever objection may be brought forward
against
this doctrine; however much it is denied, because, forsooth, it has
never
been hitherto made public in Europe and therefore since it is unknown to
Orientalists,
it must needs be “a myth of modern invention”—no one will be bold
enough
to say that this idea of helping suffering mankind at the price of one’s
own
almost interminable self-sacrifice, is not one of the grandest and noblest
that
was ever evolved from human brain.
Nirmathya
(Sk.). The sacred fire produced by the friction of two pieces of
wood—the
“fire” called Pavamâna in the Purânas. The allegory contained therein
is
an occult teaching.
Nirriti
(Sk.). A goddess of Death and Decay.
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Nirukta
(Sk.). An anga or limb, a division of the Vedas; a glossarial comment.
Nirupadhi
(Sk.). Attributeless; the negation of attributes.
Nirvâna
(Sk.). According to the Orientalists, the entire “blowing out”, like the
flame
of a candle, the utter extinction of existence. But in the esoteric
explanations
it is the state of absolute existence and
absolute
consciousness, into which the Ego of a man who has reached the highest
degree
of perfection and holiness during life goes, after the body dies, and
occasionally,
as in the case of Gautama Buddha and others, during life. (See
“Nirvânî”.)
Nirvânî
(Sk.). One who has attained Nirvana—an emancipated soul. That Nirvâna
means
nothing of the kind asserted by Orientalists every scholar who has visited
China,
India and Japan is well aware. It is “escape from misery” but only from
that
of matter, freedom from Klêsha, or Kâma, and the complete extinction of
animal
desires. If we are told that Abidharma defines Nirvâna “as a state of
absolute
annihilation”, we concur, adding to the last word the qualification “of
everything
connected with matter or the physical world”, and this simply because
the
latter (as also all in it) is illusion, mâyâ. Sâkya-mûni Buddha said in the
last
moments of his life that “the spiritual body is immortal” (See Sans. Chin.
Dict.).
As Mr. Eitel, the scholarly Sinologist, explains it: “The popular
exoteric
systems agree in defining Nirvâna negatively as a state of absolute
exemption
from the circle of transmigration; as a state of entire freedom from
all
forms of existence; to begin with, freedom from all passion and exertion; a
state
of indifference to all sensibility” and he might have added “death of all
compassion
for the world of suffering”. And this is why the Bodhisattvas who
prefer
the Nirmânakâya to the Dharmakâya vesture, stand higher in the popular
estimation
than the Nirvânîs. But the same scholar adds that: “Positively (and
esoterically)
they define Nirvâna as the highest state of spiritual bliss, as
absolute
immortality through absorption of the soul (spirit rather) into itself,
but
preserving individuality so that, e.g., Buddhas, after entering Nirvâna, may
reappear
on earth”—i.e., in the future Manvantara.
Nîshada
(Sk.). (1) One of the seven qualities of sound—the one and sole
attribute
of Akâsa; (2) the seventh note of the Hindu musical scale; (3) an
outcast
offspring of a Brahman and a Sudra mother;
(4)
a range of mountains south of Meru—north of the Himalayas.
Nissi
(Chald.) One of the seven Chaldean gods.
Nîti
(Sk.). Lit., Prudence, ethics.
Nitya
Parivrita. (Sk.). Lit., continuous extinction.
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Nitya
Pralaya (Sk.). Lit., “perpetual” Pralaya or dissolution. It is the
constant
and imperceptible changes undergone by the atoms which last as long as
a
Mahâmanvantara, a whole age of Brahmâ, which takes fifteen figures to sum up.
A
stage of chronic change and dissolution, the stages of growth and decay. It is
the
duration of “Seven Eternities”. (See Secret Doctrine I. 371, II. 69, 310.)
There
are four kinds of Pralayas, or states of changelessness. The Naimittika,
when
Brahmâ slumbers; the Prakritika, a partial Pralaya of anything during
Manvantara;
Atyantika, when man has identified himself with the One Absolute
synonym
of Nirvâna; and Nitya, for physical things especially, as a state of
profound
and dreamless sleep.
Nitya
Sarga (Sk.). The state of constant creation or evolution, as opposed to
Nitya
Pralaya—the state of perpetual incessant dissolution (or change of atoms)
disintegration
of molecules, hence change of forms.
Nizir
(Chald.). The “Deluge Mountain”; the Ararat of the Babylonians with
“Xisuthrus”
as Noah.
Nixies.
The water-sprites; Undines.
Niyashes
(Mazd.). Parsi prayers.
Nofir-hotpoo
(Eg.). The same as the god Khonsoo, the lunar god of Thebes. Lit.,
“he
who is in absolute rest”. Nofir-hotpoo is one of the three persons of the
Egyptian
trinity, composed of Ammon, Mooth, and their son Khonsoo or
Nofir-hotpoo.
Nogah
(Chald.). Venus, the planet; glittering splendour.
Noo
(Eg.). Primordial waters of space called “Father-Mother”; the “face of the
deep”
of the Bible; for above Noo hovers the Breath of Kneph, who is represented
with
the Mundane Egg in his mouth.
Noom
(Eg.). A celestial sculptor, in the Egyptian legends, who creates a
beautiful
girl whom he sends like another Pandora to Batoo (or “man”), whose
happiness
is thereafter destroyed. The “sculptor” or artist is the same as
Jehovah,
the architect of the world, and the girl is “Eve”.
Noon
(Eg.). The celestial river which flows in Noot, the cosmic abyss or Noo. As
all
the gods have been generated in the river (the Gnostic Pleroma), it is
called
“the Father-Mother of the gods”.
Noor
Ilahee (Arab.). “The light of the Elohim”, literally. This light is
believed
by some Mussulmen to be transmitted to mortals “through a hundred
prophet-leaders”.
Divine knowledge; the Light of the Secret Wisdom.
Noot
(Eg.). The heavenly abyss in the Ritual or the Book of the Dead. It is
infinite
space personified in the Vedas by Aditi, the goddess who, like Noon
(q.v.)
is the “mother of all the gods”.
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Norns
(Scand.). The three sister goddesses in the Edda, who make known to men
the
decrees of Orlog or Fate. They are shown as coming out of the unknown
distances
enveloped in a dark veil to the Ash Yggdrasil (q.v.), and “sprinkle it
daily
with water from the Fountain of Urd, that it may not wither but remain
green
and fresh and strong” (Asgard and the Gods). Their names are “Urd”, the
Past;
“Werdandi”, the Present; and “Skuld”, the Future, “which is either rich in
hope
or dark with tears”. Thus they reveal the decrees of Fate “for out of the
past
and present the events and actions of the future are born” (loc. cit.).
Notaricon
(Kab.). A division of the practical Kabbalah; treats of the formation
of
words from the initials or finals of the words in every sentence; or
conversely
it forms a sentence of words whose initials or finals are those of
some
word [w.w.w.].
Noumenon
(Gr.). The true essential nature of being as distinguished from the
illusive
objects of sense.
Nous.
(Gr.). A Platonic term for the Higher Mind or Soul. It means Spirit as
distinct
from animal Soul—psyche; divine consciousness or mind in man: Nous was
the
designation given to the Supreme deity (third logos) by Anaxagoras. Taken
from
Egypt where it was called Nout, it was adopted by the Gnostics for their
first
conscious Æon which, with the Occultists, is the third logos, cosmically,
and
the third “principle” (from above) or manas, in man. (See “Nout”.)
Nout.
(Gr.). In the Pantheon of the Egyptians it meant the “One- only-One”,
because
they did not proceed in their popular or exoteric religion higher than
the
third manifestation which radiates from the Unknown and the Unknowable, the
first
unmanifested and the second logoi in the esoteric philosophy of every
nation.
The Nous of Anaxagoras was the Mahat of the Hindu Brahmâ, the first
manifested
Deity—
“the
Mind or Spirit self-potent”; this creative Principle being of course the
primum
mobile of everything in the Universe—its Soul and Ideation. (See “Seven
Principles”
in man.)
Number
Nip. An Elf, the mighty King of the Riesengebirge, the most powerful of
the
genii in Scandinavian and German folk-lore.
Nuns.
There were nuns in ancient Egypt as well as in Peru and old Pagan Rome.
They
were the “virgin brides” of their respective (Solar) gods. Says Herodotus,
“The
brides of Ammon are excluded from all intercourse with men”, they are “the
brides
of Heaven”; and virtually they became dead to the world, just as they are
now.
In Peru they were “Pure Virgins of the Sun”, and the Pallakists of Ammon-Ra
are
referred to in some inscriptions as the “divine spouses”. “The sister of
Oun-nefer,
the chief prophet of Osiris, during the reign of Rameses II.,” is
described
as “Taia, Lady Abbess of Nuns” (Mariett e Bey).
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Nuntis
(Lat.). The “Sun-Wolf”, a name of the planet Mercury. He is the Sun’s
attendant,
Solaris
luminis particeps. (See Secret Doct. II. 28.)
Nyâya
(Sk.). One of the six Darshanas or schools of Philosophy in India; a
system
of Hindu logic founded by the Rishi Gautama.
Nyima
(Tib.). The Sun—astrologically.
Nyingpo
(Tib.). The same as Alaya, “the World Soul”; also called Tsang.
O
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0.—The
fifteenth letter and fourth vowel in the English alphabet. It has no
equivalent
in Hebrew, whose alphabet with one exception is vowelless. As a
numeral,
it signified with the ancients 11; and with a dash on it 11,000. With
other
ancient people also, it was a very sacred letter. In the Dêvanâgari, or
the
characters of the gods, its significance is varied, but there is no space to
give
instances.
Oak,
sacred. With the Druids the oak was a most holy tree, and so also with the
ancient
Greeks, if we can believe Pherecydes and his cosmogony, who tells us of
the
sacred oak “in whose luxuriant branches a serpent (i.e., wisdom) dwelleth,
and
cannot be dislodged”. Every nation had its own sacred trees, pre-eminently
the
Hindus.
Oannes.
(Gr.). Musarus Oannes, the Annedotus, known in the Chaldean “legends”,
transmitted
through Berosus and other ancient writers, as Dag or Dagon, the
“man-fish”.
Oannes came to the early Babylonians as a reformer and an
instructor.
Appearing from the Erythræan Sea, he brought to them civilisation,
letters
and sciences, law, astronomy and religion, teaching them agriculture,
geometry
and the arts in general. There were Annedoti who came after him, five
in
number (our race being the fifth )—“all like Oannes inform and teaching the
same”;
but Musarus Oannes was the first to appear, and this he did during the
reign
of Ammenon, the third of the ten antediluvian Kings whose dynasty ended
with
Xisuthrus, the Chaldean Noah (See “Xisuthrus”). Oannes was “an animal
endowed
with reason whose body was that of a fish, but who had a human head
under
the fish’s with feet also below, similar to those of a man, subjoined to
the
fish’s tail, and whose voice and language too were articulate and human”
(Polyhistor
and Apollodorus). This gives the key to the allegory. It points out
Oannes,
as a man and a “priest”, an Initiate. Layard showed long ago (See
Nineveh)
that the “fish’s head” was simply a head gear, the mitre worn by
priests
and gods, made in the form of a fish’s head, and which in a very little
modified
form is what we see even now on the heads of high Lamas and Romish
Bishops.
Osiris had such a mitre. The fish’s tail is simply the train of a long
stiff
mantle as depicted on some Assyrian tablets, the form being seen
reproduced
in the sacerdotal gold cloth garment worn during service by the
modern
Greek priests. This allegory of Oannes, the Annedotus, reminds us of the
“Dragon”
and
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“Snake-Kings
“; the Nâgas who in Buddhist legends instruct people in wisdom on
lakes
and rivers, and end by becoming converts to the good Law and Arhats. The
meaning
is evident. The “ fish” is an old and very suggestive symbol in the
Mystery-language,
as is also “water”. Ea or Hea was the god of the sea and
Wisdom,
and the sea serpent was one of his emblems, his priests being “serpents
“
or Initiates. Thus one sees why Occultism places Oannes and the other Annedoti
in
the group of those ancient “adepts” who were called “marine” or “water
dragons”—Nâgas.
Water typified their human origin (as it is a symbol of earth
and
matter and also of purification), in distinction to the “fire Nâgas” or the
immaterial,
Spiritual Beings, whether celestial Bodhisattvas or Planetary
Dhyânis,
also regarded as the instructors of mankind. The hidden meaning becomes
clear
to the Occultist, once he is told that “this being (Oannes) was accustomed
to
pass the day among men, teaching; and when the Sun had set, he retired again
into
the sea, passing the night in the deep, “for he was amphibious”, i.e., he
belonged
to two planes: the spiritual and the physical. For the Greek word
amphibios
means simply “life on two planes”, from amphi, “on both sides”, and
bios,
“life”. The word was often applied in antiquity to those men who, though
still
wearing a human form, had made themselves almost divine through knowledge,
and
lived as much in the spiritual supersensuous regions as on earth. Oannes is
dimly
reflected in Jonah, and even in John, the Precursor, both connected with
Fish
and Water.
Ob
(Heb.). The astral light-—or rather, its pernicious evil currents— was
personified
by the Jews as a Spirit, the Spirit of Ob. With them, any one who
dealt
with spirits and necromancy was said to be possessed by the Spirit of Ob.
Obeah.
Sorcerers and sorceresses of Africa and the West Indies. A sect of black
magicians,
snake-charmers, enchanters, &c.
Occult
Sciences. The science of the secrets of nature—physical and psychic,
mental
and spiritual; called Hermetic and Esoteric Sciences. In the West, the
Kabbalah
may be named; in the East, mysticism, magic, and Yoga philosophy, which
latter
is often referred to by the Chelas in India as the seventh “Darshana”
(school
of philosophy), there being only six Darshanas in India known to the
world
of the profane. These sciences are, and have been for ages, hidden from
the
vulgar for the very good reason that they would never be appreciated by the
selfish
educated classes, nor understood by the uneducated; whilst the former
might
misuse them for their own profit, and thus turn the divine science into
black
magic. It is often brought forward as an accusation against the Esoteric
philosophy
and the Kabbalah that their literature is full of “a
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barbarous
and meaningless jargon” unintelligible to the ordinary mind. But do
not
exact Sciences—medicine, physiology, chemistry, and the rest—do the same? Do
not
official Scientists equally veil their facts and discoveries with a newly
coined
and most barbarous Græco-Latin terminology? As justly remarked by our
late
brother, Kenneth Mackenzie—“To juggle thus with words, when the facts are
so
simple, is the art of the Scientists of the present time, in striking
contrast
to those of the XVIIth century, who called spades spades, and not
‘agricultural
implements ‘.“ Moreover, whilst their facts would be as simple and
as
comprehensible if rendered in ordinary language, the facts of Occult Science
are
of so abstruse a nature, that in most cases no words exist in European
languages
to express them; in addition to which our “jargon” is a double
necessity—(a)
for the purpose of describing clearly these facts to him who is
versed
in the Occult terminology; and (b) to conceal them from the profane.
Occultist.
One who studies the various branches of occult science. The term is
used
by the French Kabbalists (See Eliphas Lévi’s works). Occultism embraces the
whole
range of psychological, physiological, cosmical, physical, and spiritual
phenomena.
From the word occultus hidden or secret. It therefore applies to the
study
of the Kabbalah, astrology, alchemy, and all arcane sciences.
Od
(Gr.). From odos, “passage”, or passing of that force which is developed by
various
minor forces or agencies such as magnets, chemical or vital action,
heat,
light, &c. It is also called “odic” and “odylic force”, and was regarded
by
Reichenbach and his followers as an independent entitative force—which it
certainly
is—stored in man as it is in Nature.
Odacon.
The fifth Annedotus, or Dagon (See “Oannes”) who appeared during the
reign
of Euedoreschus from Pentebiblon, also “from the Erythræan Sea like the
former,
having the same complicated form between a fish and a man” (Apollodorus,
Cory
p. 30).
Odem
or Adm (Heb.). A stone (the cornelian) on the breast-plate of the Jewish
High
Priest. It is of red colour and possesses a great medicinal power.
Odin
(Scand.). The god of battles, the old German Sabbaoth, the same as the
Scandinavian
Wodan. He is the great hero in the Edda and one of the creators of
man.
Roman antiquity regarded him as one with Hermes or Mercury (Budha), and
modern
Orientalism (Sir W. Jones) accordingly confused him with Buddha. In the
Pantheon
of the Norse men, he is the “father of the gods” and divine wisdom, and
as
such he is of course Hermes or the creative wisdom. Odin or Wodan in creating
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the
first man from trees—the Ask (ash) and Embla (the alder)_ endowed them with
life
and soul, Honir with intellect, and Lodur with form and colour.
Odur
(Scand.). The human husband of the goddess Freya, a scion of divine
ancestry
in the Northern mythology.
Oeaihu,
or Oeaihwu. The manner of pronunciation depends on the accent. This is
an
esoteric term for the six in one or the mystic seven. The occult name for the
“seven
vowelled” ever-present manifestation of the Universal Principle.
Ogdoad
(Gr.). The tetrad or “quaternary” reflecting itself produced the ogdoad,
the
“eight”, according to the Marcosian Gnostics. The eight great gods were
called
the “sacred Ogdoad”.
Ogham
(Celtic). A mystery language belonging to the early Celtic races, and used
by
the Druids. One form of this language consisted in the association of the
leaves
of certain trees with the letters, this was called Beth-luis-nion Ogham,
and
to form words and sentences the leaves were strung on a cord in the proper
order.
Godfrey Higgins suggests that to complete the mystification certain other
leaves
which meant nothing were interspersed. [w.w.w.]
Ogir
or Hler (Scand). A chief of the giants in the Edda and the ally of the
gods.
The highest of the Water-gods, and the same as the Greek Okeanos.
Ogmius.
The god of wisdom and eloquence of the Druids, hence Hermes in a sense.
Ogygia
(Gr.). An ancient submerged island known as the isle of Calypso, and
identified
by some
with
Atlantis. This is in a certain sense correct. But then what portion of
Atlantis,
since the latter
was
a continent rather than an “enormous” island!
Oitzoe
(Pers.). The invisible goddess whose voice spoke through the rocks, and
whom,
according to Pliny, the Magi had to consult for the election of their
kings.
Okhal
(Arab.). The “High”priest of the Druzes, an Initiator into their
mysteries.
Okhema
(Gr.). A Platonic term meaning “vehicle” or body.
Okuthor
(Scand.). The same as Thor, the “thunder god”.
Olympus
(Gr.). A mount in Greece, the abode of the gods according to Homer and
Hesiod.
Om
or Aum (Sk.). A mystic syllable, the most solemn of all words in India. It is
“an
invocation, a benediction, an affirmation and a promise and it is so sacred,
as
to be indeed the word at low breath of occult, primitive masonry. No one must
be
near when the syllable is
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pronounced
for a purpose. This word is usually placed at the beginning of sacred
Scriptures,
and is prefixed to prayers. It is a compound of three letters a,u,m,
which,
in the popular belief, are typical of the three Vedas, also of three
gods—A
(Agni) V (Varuna) and M (Maruts) or Fire, Water and Air. In esoteric
philosophy
these are the three sacred fires, or the “triple fire”in the Universe
and
Man, besides many other things. Occultly, this “triple fire” represents the
highest
Tetraktys also, as it is typified by the Agni named Abhimânin and his
transformation
into his three sons, Pâvana, Pavamâna and Suchi, “who drinks up
water”,
i.e., destroys material desires. This monosyllable is called Udgîtta,
and
is sacred with both Brahmins and Buddhists.
Omito-Fo
(Chin.). The name of Amita-Buddha, in China.
Omkâra
(Sk.). The same as Aum or Om. It is also the name of one of the twelve
lingams,
that was represented by a secret and most sacred shrine at Ujjain—no
longer
existing, since the time of Buddhism.
Omoroka
(Chald.). The “sea” and the woman who personifies it according to
Berosus,
or rather of Apollodorus. As the divine water, however, Omoroka is the
reflection
of Wisdom from on high.
Onech
(Heb.). The Phœnix so named after Enoch or Phenoch. For Enoch (also
Khenoch)
means literally the initiator and instructor, hence the Hierophant who
reveals
the last mystery. The bird Phœnix is always associated with a tree, the
mystical
Ababel of the Koran, the Tree of Initiation or of knowledge.
Onnofre
or Oun-nofre (Eg.). The King of the land of the Dead, the Underworld,
and
in this capacity the same as Osiris, “who resides in Amenti at Oun-nefer,
king
of eternity, great god manifested in the celestial abyss”. (A hymn of the
XIXth
dynasty.) (See also “Osiris”.)
Ophanim
(Heb.). More correctly written Auphanim. The “wheels” seen by Ezekiel
and
by John in the Revelation—world.spheres (Secret Doctrine I., 92.) The symbol
of
the Cherubs or Karoubs (the Assyrian Sphinxes). As these beings are
represented
in the Zodiac by Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius, or the Bull, the
Lion,
the Eagle and Man, the occult meaning of these creatures being placed in
company
of the four Evangelists becomes evident. In the Kabbalah they are a
group
of beings allotted to the Sephira Chokmah, Wisdom.
Ophis
(Gr.). The same as Chnuphis or Kneph, the Logos; the good serpent or
Agathodæmon.
Ophiomorphos
(Gr.). The same, but in its material aspect, as the Ophis-Christos.
With
the Gnostics the Serpent represented “Wisdom in Eternity”.
Ophis-Christos
(Gr.). The serpent Christ of the Gnostics.
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Ophiozenes
(Gr.). The name of the Cypriote charmers of venomous serpents and
other
reptiles and animals.
Ophites
(Gr.). A Gnostic Fraternity in Egypt, and one of the earliest sects of
Gnosticism,
or Gnosis (Wisdom, Knowledge), known as the “Brotherhood of the
Serpent”.
It flourished early in the second century, and while holding some of
the
principles of Valentinus had its own occult rites and symbology. A living
serpent,
representing the Christos-principle (i.e., the divine reincarnating
Monad,
not Jesus the man), was displayed in their mysteries and reverenced as a
symbol
of wisdom, Sophia, the type of the all-good and all-wise. The Gnostics
were
not a Christian sect, in the common acceptation of this term, as the
Christos
of pre-Christian thought and the Gnosis was not the “god-man” Christ,
but
the divine EGO, made one with Buddhi. Their Christos was the “Eternal
Initiate”,
the Pilgrim, typified by hundreds of Ophidian symbols for several
thousands
of years before the “ Christian” era, so- called. One can see it on
the
“Belzoni tomb” from Egypt, as a winged serpent with three heads
(Atma-Buddhi-Manas),
and four human legs, typifying its androgynous character;
on
the walls of the descent to the sepulchral chambers of Rameses V., it is
found
as a snake with vulture’s wings—the vulture and hawk being solar symbols.
“The
heavens are scribbled over with interminable snakes ‘ writes Herschel of
the
Egyptian chart of stars. “The Meissi (Messiah?) meaning the Sacred Word, was
a
good serpent”, writes Bonwick in his Egyptian Belief. “This serpent of
goodness,
with its head crowned, was mounted upon a cross and formed a sacred
standard
of Egypt.” The Jews borrowed it in their “brazen serpent of Moses”. It
is
to this “Healer” and “Saviour”, therefore, that the Ophites referred, and not
to
Jesus or his words, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so it
behoves
the Son of Man to be lifted up”—when explaining the meaning of their
ophis.
Tertullian, whether wittingly or unwittingly, mixed up the two. The
four-winged
serpent is the god Chnuphis. The good serpent bore the cross of life
around
its neck, or suspended from its mouth. The winged serpents become the
Seraphim
(Seraph, Saraph) of the Jews. In the 87th chapter of the Ritual
(the
Book of the Dead) the human soul transformed into Bata, the omniscient
serpents
says :—“ I am the serpent Ba-ta, of long years, Soul of the Soul, laid
out
and born daily; I am the Soul that descends on the earth”, i.e., the Ego.
Orai
(Gr.). The name of the angel-ruler of Venus, according to the Egyptian
Gnostics.
Orcus
(Gr.). The bottomless pit in the Codex of the Nazarenes.
Örgelmir
(Scand.). Lit., “seething clay”. The same as Ymir, the giant, the
unruly,
turbulent, erratic being, the type of primordial matter,
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out
of whose body, after killing him, the sons of Bör created a new earth. He is
also
the cause of the Deluge in the Scandinavian Lays, for he flung his body
into
Ginnungagap, the yawning abyss; the latter being filled with it, the blood
flowed
over and produced a great flood in which all the Hrimthurses, the frost
giants,
were drowned; one of them only the cunning Bergelmir saves himself and
wife
in a boat and became the father of a new race of giants. “ And there were
giants
on the earth in those days.”
Orion
(Gr.). The same as Atlas, who supports the world on his shoulders.
Orlog
(Scand.). Fate, destiny, whose agents were the three Norns, the Norse
Parcæ.
Ormazd
or Ahura Mazda (Zend). The god of the Zoroastrians or the modern Parsis.
He
is symbolized by the sun, as being the Light of Lights. Esoterically, he is
the
synthesis of his six Amshaspends or Elohim, and the creative Logos. In the
Mazdean
exoteric system, Ahura Mazda is the supreme god, and one with the
supreme
god of the Vedic age—Varuna, if we read the Vedas literally.
Orpheus
(Gr.). Lit., the “tawny one”. Mythology makes him the son of Æager and
the
muse Calliope. Esoteric tradition identifies him with Arjuna, the son of
Indra
and the disciple of Krishna. He went round the world teaching the nations
wisdom
and sciences, and establishing mysteries. The very story of his losing
his
Eurydice and finding her in the underworld or Hades, is another point of
resemblance
with the story of Arjuna, who goes to Pâtàla (Hades or hell, but in
reality
the Antipodes or America) and finds there and marries Ulupi, the
daughter
of the Nâga king. This is as suggestive as the fact that he was
considered
dark in complexion even by the Greeks, who were never very
fair-skinned
themselves.
Orphic
Mysteries or Orphica (Gr.). These followed, but differed greatly from,
the
mysteries of Bacchus. The system of Orpheus is one of the purest morality
and
of severe asceticism. The theology taught by him is again purely Indian.
With
him the divine Essence is inseparable from whatever is in the infinite
universe,
all forms being concealed from all eternity in It. At determined
periods
these forms are manifested from the divine Essence or manifest
themselves.
Thus through this law of emanation (or evolution) all things
participate
in this Essence, and are parts and members instinct with divine
nature,
which is omnipresent. All things having proceeded from, must necessarily
return
into it; and therefore, innumerable transmigrations or reincarnations and
purifications
are needed before this final consummation can take place. This is
pure
Vedânta philosophy. Again, the Orphic Brotherhood ate no
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animal
food and wore white linen garments, and had many ceremonies like those of
the
Brahmans.
Oshadi
Prastha (Sk.). Lit., “the place of medicinal herbs”. A mysterious city in
the
Himalayas mentioned even from the Vedic period. Tradition shows it as once
inhabited
by sages, great adepts in the healing art, who used only herbs and
plants,
as did the ancient Chaldees. The city is mentioned in the Kumâra
Sambhava
of Kalidasa.
Osiris.
(Eg.). The greatest God of Egypt, the Son of Seb (Saturn), celestial
fire,
and of Neith, primordial matter and infinite space. This shows him as the
self-existent
and self-created god, the first manifesting deity (our third
Logos),
identical with Ahura Mazda and other “ First Causes”. For as Ahura Mazda
is
one
with, or the synthesis of, the Amshaspends, so Osiris, the collective unit,
when
differentiated and
personified,
becomes Typhon, his brother, Isis and Nephtys his sisters, Horus
his
son and his other aspects. He was born at Mount Sinai, the Nyssa of the 0.
T.
(See- Exodus xvii. 15), and buried at Abydos, after being killed by Typhon at
the
early age of twenty-eight, according to the allegory. According to Euripides
he
is the same as Zeus and Dionysos or Dio-Nysos “the god of Nysa”, for Osiris
is
said by him to have been brought up in Nysa, in Arabia “the Happy”. Query:
how
much did the latter tradition influence, or have anything in common with,
the
statement in the Bible, that “Moses built an altar and called the name
Jehovah
Nissi”, or Kabbalistically—“Dio-Iao-Nyssi”? (See Isis Unveiled Vol. II.
p.
165.) The four chief aspects of Osiris were—Osiris-Phtah (Light), the
spiritual
aspect; Osiris-Horus (Mind), the intellectual manasic aspect;
Osiris-Lunus,
the “ Lunar” or psychic, astral aspect; Osiris-Typhon, Daїmonic,
or
physical, material, therefore passional turbulent aspect. In these four
aspects
he symbolizes the dual Ego— the divine and the human, the
cosmico-spiritual
and the terrestrial.
Of
the many supreme gods, this Egyptian conception is the most suggestive and
the
grandest, as it embraces the whole range of physical and metaphysical
thought.
As a solar deity he had twelve minor gods under him—the twelve signs of
the
Zodiac. Though his name is the “Ineffable”, his forty-two attributes bore
each
one of his names, and his seven dual aspects completed the forty-nine, or 7
X
7; the former symbolized by the fourteen members of his body, or twice seven.
Thus
the god is blended in man, and the man is deified into a god. He was
addressed
as Osiris-Eloh. Mr. Dunbar T. Heath speaks of a Phœnician inscription
which,
when read, yielded the following tumular inscription in honour of the
mummy:
“Blessed be Ta-Bai, daughter of Ta-Hapi, priest of Osiris-Eloh. She did
nothing
against anyone in anger. She spoke no falsehood against any one.
Justified
before
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Osiris,
blessed be thou from before Osiris! Peace be to thee.” And then he adds
the
following remarks:
“The
author of this inscription ought, I suppose, to be called a heathen, as
justification
before Osiris is the object of his religious aspirations. We find,
however,
that he gives to Osiris the appellation Eloh. Eloh is the name used by
the
Ten Tribes of Israel for the Elohim of Two Tribes. Jehovah-Eloh (Gen. iii.
21.)
in the version used by Ephraim corresponds to Jehovah Elohim in that used
by
Judah and ourselves. This being so, the question is sure to be asked, and
ought
to be humbly answered—What was the meaning meant to be conveyed by the two
phrases
respectively, Osiris-Eloh and Jehovah-Eloh? For my part I can imagine
but
one answer, viz., that Osiris was the national God of Egypt, Jehovah that of
Israel,
and that Eloh is equivalent to Deus, Gott or Dieu”. As to his human
development,
he is, as the author of the Egyptian Belief has it . . . “One of
the
Saviours or Deliverers of Humanity . . . . As such he is born in the world.
He
came as a benefactor, to relieve man of trouble . . . . In his efforts to do
good
he encounters evil . . . and he is temporarily overcome. He is killed . .
Osiris
is buried. His tomb was the object of pilgrimage for thousands of years.
But
he did not rest in his grave. At the end of three days, or forty, he rose
again
and ascended to Heaven. This is the story of his Humanity” (Egypt.
Belief).
And Mariette Bey, speaking of the Sixth Dynasty, tells us that “the
name
of Osiris . . commences to be more used. The formula of Justified is met
with”:
and adds that “it proves that this name (of the Justified or Makheru was
not
given to the dead only”. But it also proves that the legend of Christ was
found
ready in almost all its details thousands of years before the Christian
era,
and that the Church fathers had no greater difficulty than to simply apply
it
to a new personage.
Ossa.
(Gr.) A mount, the tomb of the giants (allegorical).
Otz-Chiim.
(Heb.). The Tree of Life, or rather of Lives, a name given to the Ten
Sephiroth
when arranged in a diagram of three columns. [w.w.w.]
Oulam,
or Oulom (Heb.). This word does not mean “eternity” or infinite duration,
as
translated in the texts, but simply an extended time, neither the beginning
nor
the end of which can be known.
Ouranos
(Gr.). The whole expanse of Heaven called the “Waters of Space”, the
Celestial
Ocean, etc.
The
name very likely comes from the Vedic Varuna, personified as the water god
and
regarded as the chief Aditya among the seven planetary deities. In Hesiod’s
Theogony,
Ouranos (or Uranus) is the same
as
Cœlus (Heaven) the oldest of all the gods and the father of the divine
Titans.
P
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P.—The
16th letter in both the Greek and the English alphabets, and the 17th in
the
Hebrew, where it is called pé or pay, and is symbolized by the mouth,
corresponding
also, as in the Greek alphabet, to number 80. The Pythagoreans
also
made it equivalent to 100, and with a dash thus ( P) it stood for 400,000.
The
Kabbalists associated with it the sacred name of Phodeh (Redeemer), though
no
valid reason is given for it.
P
and Cross, called generally the Labarum of Constantine. It was, however, one
of
the oldest emblems in Etruria before the Roman Empire. It was also the sign
of
Osiris. Both the long Latin and the Greek pectoral crosses are Egyptian, the
former
being very often seen in the hand of Horus. “The cross and Calvary so
common
in Europe, occurs on the breasts of mummies” (Bonwick).
Pachacamac
(Peruv.). The name given by the Peruvians to the Creator of the
Universe,
represented as a host of creators. On his altar only the first-fruits
and
flowers were laid by the pious.
Pacis
Bull. The divine Bull of Hermonthes, sacred to Amoun-Horus, the Bull Netos
of
Heliopolis being sacred to Amoun-Ra.
Padârthas
(Sk.). Predicates of existing things; so-called in the Vaiseshika or
“atomic”
system of philosophy founded by Kanâda. This school is one of the six
Darshanas.
Padmâ
(Sk.). The Lotus; a name of Lakshmi, the Hindu Venus, who is the wife or
the
female aspect, of Vishnu.
Padma
Âsana (Sk.). A posture prescribed to and practised by some Yogis for
developing
concentration.
Padma
Kalpa (Sk.). The name of the last Kalpa or the preceding Manvantara, which
was
a year of Brahmâ.
Padma
Yoni (Sk). A title of Brahmâ (also called Abjayoni), or the “lotus-born”.
Pæan
(Gr.). A hymn of rejoicing and praise in honour of the sun-god Apollo or
Helios.
Pagan
(Lat.). Meaning at first no worse than a dweller in the country or the
woods;
one far removed from the city-temples, and therefore unacquainted with
the
state religion and ceremonies. The word “heathen” has a similar
significance,
meaning one who lives on the heaths and in the country. Now,
however,
both come to mean idolaters.
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Pagan
Gods. The term is erroneously understood to mean idols. The philosophical
idea
attached to them was never that of something objective or anthropomorphic,
but
in each case an abstract potency, a virtue, or quality in nature. There are
gods
who are divine planetary spirits (Dhyan Chohans) or Devas, among which are
also
our Egos. With this exception, and especially whenever represented by an
idol
or in anthropomorphic form, the gods represent symbolically in the Hindu,
Egyptian,
or Chaldean Pantheons—formless spiritual Potencies of the “Unseen
Kosmos”.
Pahans
(Prakrit) Village priests.
Paksham
(Sk.). An astronomical calculation; one half of the lunar month or 14
days;
two paksham (or paccham) making a month of mortals, but only a day of the
Pitar
devata or the “father-gods”.
Palæolithic
A newly-coined term meaning in geology “ancient stone” age, as a
contrast
to the term neolithic, the “newer” or later stone age.
Palâsa
Tree (Sk.) Called also Kanaka (butea frondosa) a tree with red flowers of
very
occult properties.
Pâli.
The ancient language of Magadha, one that preceded the more refined
Sanskrit.
The Buddhist Scriptures are all written in this language.
Palingenesis
(Gr.). Transformation; or new birth.
Pan
(Gr.). The nature-god, whence Pantheism; the god of shepherds, huntsmen,
peasants,
and dwellers on the land. Homer makes him the son of Hermes and
Dryope.
His name means ALL. He was the inventor of the Pandæan pipes; and no
nymph
who heard their sound could resist the fascination of the great Pan, his
grotesque
figure not withstanding. Pan is related to the Mendesian goat, only so
far
as the latter represents, as a talisman of great occult potency, nature’s
creative
force. The whole of the Hermetic philosophy is based on nature’s hidden
secrets,
and as Baphomet was undeniably a Kabbalistic talisman, so was the name
of
Pan of great magic efficiency in what Eliphas Lévi would call the “
Conjuration
of the Elementals”. There is a well-known pious legend which has
been
current in the Christian world ever since the day of Tiberias, to the
effect
that the “great Pan is dead”. But people are greatly mistaken in this;
neither
nature nor any of her Forces can ever die. A few of these may be left
unused,
and being forgotten lie dormant for long centuries. But no sooner are
the
proper conditions furnished than they awake, to act again with tenfold
power.
Panænus(Gr.).
A Platonic philosopher in the Alexandrian school of Philaletheans.
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Pancha
Kosha (Sk.). The five “sheaths”. According to Vedantin philosophy,
Vijnânamaya
Kosha, the fourth sheath, is composed of Buddhi, or is Buddhi. The
five
sheaths are said to belong to the two higher principles—Jivâtma and Sâkshi,
which
represent the Upathita and An-upahita, divine spirit respectively. The
division
in the esoteric teaching differs from this, as it divides man’s
physical-metaphysical
aspect into seven principles.
Pancha
Krishtaya (Sk.). The five races.
Panchakâma
(Sk.). Five methods of sensuousness and sensuality.
Panchakritam
(Sk.). An element combined with small portions of the other four
elements.
Panchama
(Sk.). One of the five qualities of musical sound, the fifth, Nishâda
and
Daivata completing the seven; G of the diatonic scale.
Panchânana
(Sk.). “Five-faced”, a title of Siva; an allusion to the five races
(since
the beginning of the first) which he represents, as the ever
reincarnating
Kumâra throughout the Manvantara. In the sixth root-race he will
be
called the “six-faced”.
Panchâsikha
(Sk.). One of the seven Kumâras who went to pay worship to Vishnu on
the
island of Swetadwipa in the allegory.
Panchen
Rimboche (Tib.). Lit., “the great Ocean, or Teacher of Wisdom”. The
title
of the Teshu Lama at Tchigadze; an incarnation of Amitabha the celestial
“father”
of Chenresi, which means to say that he is an Avatar of Tson-kha-pa
(See
“Sonkhapa”). De jure the Teshu Lama is second after the Dalaї Lama;
de
facto,
he is higher, since it is Dharma Richen, the successor of Tson-kha-pa at
the
golden monastery founded by the latter Reformer and established by the
Gelukpa
sect (yellow caps) who created the Dalaї Lamas at Llhassa, and was
the
first
of the dynasty of the “ Panchen Rimboche”. While the former (Dalaї
Lama
are
addressed as “ Jewel of Majesty”, the latter enjoy a far higher title,
namely
“Jewel of Wisdom”, as they are high Initiates.
Pândavâranî
(Sk.). Lit., the “Pandava Queen”; Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas.
(All
these are highly important personified symbols in esoteric philosophy.)
Pandavas
(Sk.). The descendants of Pandu.
Pandora
(Gr.). A beautiful woman created by the gods under the orders of Zeus to
be
sent to Epimetheus, brother of Prometheus; she had charge of a casket in
which
all the evils, passions and plagues which torment humanity were locked up.
This
casket Pandora, led by curiosity, opened, and
thus
set free all the ills which prey on mankind.
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Pandu
(Sk.). “The Pale”, literally; the father of the Pandavas Princes, the foes
of
the Kurava in the Mahâbhârata.
Pânini
(Sk.). A celebrated grammarian, author of the famous work called
Pâninîyama;
a Rishi, supposed to have received his work from the god Siva.
Ignorant
of the epoch at which he lived, the Orientalists place his date between
600
B.C. and 300 A.D.
Pantacle
(Gr.). The same as Pentalpha; the triple triangle of Pythagoras or the
five-pointed
star. It was given the name because it reproduces the letter A
(alpha)
on the five sides of it or in five different positions—its number,
moreover,
being composed of the first odd ( and the first even (2) numbers. It
is
very occult. In Occultism and the Kabala it stands for man or the Microcosm,
the
“Heavenly Man”, and as such it was a powerful talisman for keeping at bay
evil
spirits or the Elementals. In Christian theology it refers to the five
wounds
of Christ; its interpreters failing, however, to add that these “five
wounds”
were themselves symbolical of the Microcosm, or the “Little Universe”,
or
again, Humanity, this symbol pointing out the fall of pure Spirit (Christos)
into
matter (Iassous, “life”, or man). In esoteric philosophy the Pentalpha, or
five-pointed
star, is the symbol of the EGO or the Higher Manas. Masons use it,
referring
to it as the five-pointed star, and connecting it with their own
fanciful
interpretation.
(See
the word “Pentacle” for its difference in meaning from “Pantacle”.)
Pantheist.
One who identifies God with Nature and vice versa. Pantheism is often
objected
to by people and regarded as reprehensible. But how can a philosopher
regard
Deity as infinite, omnipresent and eternal unless Nature is an aspect of
IT,
and IT informs every atom in Nature?
Panther
(Heb.). According to the Sepher Toldosh Jeshu, one of the so-called
Apocryphal
Jewish Gospels, Jesus was the son of Joseph Panther and Mary, hence
Ben
Panther. Tradition makes of Panther a Roman soldier. [w.w.w.]
Pâpa-purusha
(Sk.). Lit., “Man of Sin”: the personification in a human form of
every
wickedness and sin. Esoterically, one who is reborn, or reincarnated from
the
state of Avitchi—hence, “Soulless”.
Para
(Sk.). “Infinite” and “supreme” in philosophy—the final limit. Param is the
end
and goal of existence; Parâpara is the boundary of boundaries.
Parabrahm
(Sk.). “Beyond Brahmâ”, literally. The Supreme Infinite Brahma,
“Absolute”—the
attributeless, the secondless reality. The impersonal and
nameless
universal Principle.
Paracelsus.
The symbolical name adopted by the greatest Occultist
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of
the middle ages—Philip Bombastes Aureolus Theophrastus von Hohenheim—born in
the
canton of Zurich in 1493. He was the cleverest physician of his age, and the
most
renowned for curing almost any illness by the power of talismans prepared
by
himself. He never had a friend, but was surrounded by enemies, the most
bitter
of whom were the Churchmen and their party. That he was accused of being
in
league with the devil stands to reason, nor is it to be wondered at that
finally
he was murdered by some unknown foe, at the early age of forty-eight. He
died
at Salzburg, leaving a number of works behind him, which are to this day
greatly
valued by the Kabbalists and Occultists. Many of his utterances have
proved
prophetic. He was a clairvoyant of great powers, one of the most learned
and
erudite philosophers and mystics, and a distinguished Alchemist. Physics is
indebted
to him for the discovery of nitrogen gas, or Azote.
Paradha
(Sk.). The period of one-half the Age of Brahmâ.
Parama
(Sk.). The “one Supreme”.
Paramapadâtmava
(Sk.). Beyond the condition of Spirit, “supremer” than Spirit,
bordering
on the Absolute.
Paramapadha
(Sk.). The place where—according to Visishtadwaita Vedantins—bliss
is
enjoyed by those who reach Moksha (Bliss). This “place” is not material but
made,
says the Catechism of that sect,
“of
Suddhasatwa, the essence of which the body of Iswara”, the lord, “is made”.
Paramapaha
(Sk) A state which is already a conditioned existence.
Paramartha
(Sk) Absolute existence.
Pâramârthika
(Sk.). The one true state of existence according to Vedânta.
Paramarshis
(Sk.). Composed of two words: parama, “supreme”, and Rishis,
or
supreme Rishis—Saints.
Paramâtman
(Sk.). The Supreme Soul of the Universe.
Paranellatons.
In ancient Astronomy the name was applied to certain stars and
constellations
which are extra Zodiacal, lying above and below the
constellations
of the Zodiac; they were 36 in number: allotted to the Decans, or
one-third
parts of each sign. The paranellatons ascend or descend with the
Decans
alternately, thus when Scorpio rises, Orion in its paranellaton sets,
also
Auriga; this gave rise to the fable that the horses of Phaeton, the Sun,
were
frightened by a Scorpion, and the Charioteer fell into the River Po; that
is
the constellation of the River Eridanus which lies below Auriga the star.
[w.w.w.]
Paranirvâna
(Sk.). Absolute Non-Being, which is equivalent to absolute Being or
“Be-ness”,
the state reached by the human Monad at the end of the
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great
cycle (See Secret Doctrine I, 135). The same as Paraniskpanna.
Parasakti
(Sk.). “The great Force”—one of the six Forces of Nature; that of
light
and heat.
Parâsara
(Sk.). A Vedic Rishi, the narrator of Vishnu Purâna.
Paratantra
(Sk.). That which has no existence of, or by itself, but only through
a
dependent or causal connection.
Paroksha
(Sk.). Intellectual apprehension of a truth.
Parsees.
Written also Parsis. The followers of Zoroaster. This is the name given
to
the remnant of the once-powerful Iranian nation, which remained true to the
religion
‘of its forefathers—the fire-worship. This remnant now dwells in India,
some
50,000 strong, mostly in Bombay and Guzerat.
Pâsa
(Sk.). The crucifixion noose of Siva, the noose held in his right hand in
some
of his representations.
Paschalis,
Martinez. A very learned man, a mystic and occultist. Born about
1700,
in Portugal. He travelled extensively, acquiring knowledge wherever he
could
in the East, in Turkey, Palestine, Arabia, and Central Asia. He was a
great
Kabbalist. He was the teacher of the Initiator of the Marquis de St.
Martin,
who founded the mystical Martinistic School and Lodges. Paschalis is
reported
to have died in St. Domingo about 1779, leaving several excellent works
behind
him.
Pasht
(Eg.). The cat-headed goddess, the Moon, called also Sekhet. Her statues
and
representations are seen in great numbers at the British Museum. She is the
wife
or female aspect of Ptah (the son of Kneph), the creative principle, or the
Egyptian
Demiurgus. She is also called Beset or Bubastis, being then both the
re-uniting
and the separating principle. Her motto is: “punish the guilty and
remove
defilement”, and one of her emblems is the cat. According to Viscount
Rouge,
her worship is extremely ancient (B.c. 3000), and she is the mother of
the
Asiatic race, the race that settled in Northern Egypt. As such she is called
Ouato.
Pashut
(Heb.). “Literal interpretation.” One of the four modes of interpreting
the
Bible used by the Jews.
Pashyantî
(Sk.). The second of the four degrees (Parâ, Pashyantî, Madhyamâ and
Vaikharî),
in which sound is divided according to its differentiation.
Pass
not, The Ring. The circle within which are confined all those who still
labour
under the delusion of separateness.
Passing
of the River (Kab.). This phrase may be met with in works
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referring
to mediæval magic: it is the name given to a cypher alphabet used by
Kabbalistic
Rabbis at an early date ; the river alluded to is the Chebar—the
name
will also be found in Latin authors as Literæ Transitus. [w.w.w.]
Pastophori
(Gr.). A certain class of candidates for initiation, those who bore
in
public processions (and also in the temples) the sacred coffin or funeral
couch
of the Sun-gods—killed and resurrected, of Osiris, Tammuz (or Adonis), of
Atys
and others. The Christians adopted their coffin from the pagans of
antiquity.
Pâtâla
(Sk). The nether world, the antipodes; hence in popular superstition the
infernal
regions, and philosophically the two Americas, which are antipodal to
India.
Also, the South Pole as standing opposite to Meru, the North Pole.
Pâtaliputra
(Sk.). The ancient capital of Magadha, a kingdom of Eastern India,
now
identified with Patna.
Pâtanjala
(Sk.). The Yoga philosophy; one of the six Darshanas or Schools of
India.
Patanjali
(Sk.). The founder of the Yoga philosophy. The date assigned to him by
the
Orientalists is 200 B.C.; and by the Occultists nearer to 700 than 600 B.C.
At
any rate he was a contemporary of Pânini.
Pâvaka
(Sk.). One of the three personified fires eldest sons of Abhimânim or
Agni,
who had forty-five sons ; these with the original son of Brahmâ, their
father
Agni, and his three descendants, constitute the mystic 49 fires. Pâvaka
is
the electric fire.
Pavamâna
(Sk.). Another of the three fires (vide supra)—the fire produced by
friction.
Pavana
(Sk) God of the wind; the alleged father of the monkey-god Hanuman (See
“Râmâyana”).
Peling
(Tib.). The name given to all foreigners in Tibet, to Europeans
especially.
Pentacle
(Gr.). Any geometrical figure, especially that known as the double
equilateral
triangle, the six-pointed star (like the theosophical pentacle) ;
called
also Solomon’s seal, and still earlier “the sign of Vishnu” ; used by all
the
mystics, astrologers, etc.
Pentagon
(Gr.), from pente “five”, and gonia “angle” ; in geometry a plane
figure
with five angles.
Per-M-Rhu
(Eg.). This name is the recognised pronunciation of the ancient title
of
the collection of mystical lectures, called in English The Book of the Dead.
Several
almost complete papyri have been found, and there are numberless extant
copies
of portions of the work. [w.w.w.]
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Personality.
In Occultism—which divides man into seven principles, considering
him
under the three aspects of the divine, the thinking or the rational, and the
animal
man—the lower quaternary or the purely astrophysical being; while by
Individuality
is meant the Higher Triad, considered as a Unity. Thus the
Personality
embraces all the characteristics and memories of one physical life,
while
the Individuality is the imperishable Ego which re-incarnates and clothes
itself
in one personality after another.
Pesh-Hun
(Tib.). From the Sanskrit pesuna “spy”; an epithet given to Nârada, the
meddlesome
and troublesome Rishi.
Phala
(Sk.). Retribution; the fruit or result of causes.
Phâlguna
(Sk.). A name of Arjuna; also of a month.
Phallic
(Gr.). Anything belonging to sexual worship; or of a sexual character
externally,
such as the Hindu lingham and yoni—the emblems of the male and
female
generative power—which have none of the unclean significance attributed
to
it by the Western mind.
Phanes
(Gr.). One of the Orphic triad—Phanes, Chaos and Chronos. It was also the
trinity
of the Western people in the pre-Christian period.
Phenomenon
(Gr.). In reality “an appearance”, something previously unseen, and
puzzling
when the cause of it is unknown. Leaving aside various kinds of
phenomena,
such as cosmic, electrical, chemical, etc., and holding merely to the
phenomena
of spiritism, let it be remembered that theosophically and
esoterically
every “miracle”—from the biblical to the theumaturgic—is simply a
phenomenon,
but that no phenomenon is ever a miracle, i.e., something
supernatural
or outside of the laws of nature, as all such are impossibilities
in
nature.
Philaletheans
(Gr.). Lit., “the lovers of truth”; the name is given to the
Alexandrian
Neo-Platonists, also called Analogeticists and Theosophists. (See
Key
to Theosophy, p. 1, et seq.) The school was founded by Ammonius Saccas early
in
the third century, and lasted until the fifth. The greatest philosophers and
sages
of the day belonged to it.
Philalethes,
Eugenius. The Rosicrucian name assumed by one Thomas Vaughan, a
mediæval
English Occultist and Fire Philosopher. He was a great Alchemist.
[w.w.w.]
Philæ
(Gr.). An island in Upper Egypt where a famous temple of that name was
situated,
the ruins of which may be seen to this day by travellers.
Philo
Judæus. A Hellenized Jew of Alexandria, and a very famous historian and
writer;
born about 30 B.C, died about 45 A.D. He
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ought
thus to have been well acquainted with the greatest event of the 1st
century
of our era, and the facts about Jesus, his life, and the drama of the
Crucifixion.
And yet he is absolutely silent upon the subject, both in his
careful
enumeration of the then existing Sects and Brotherhoods in Palestine and
in
his accounts of the Jerusalem of his day. He was a great mystic and his works
abound
with metaphysics and noble ideas, while in esoteric knowledge he had no
rival
for several ages among the best writers.
[
under “Philo Judæus” in the Glossary of the Key to Theosophy.]
Philo-Judaeus.
A Hellenized Jew of Alexandria, a famous historian and
philosopher
of the first century, born about the year 30 B. C., and died between
the
years 45 and 50 A. D. Philo's symbolism of the Bible is very remarkable. The
animals,
birds, reptiles, trees, and places mentioned in it are all, it is said,
"allegories
of conditions of the soul, of faculties, dispositions, or passions;
the
useful plants were allegories of virtues, the noxious of the affections of
the
unwise and so on through the mineral kingdom; through heaven, earth and
stars;
through fountains and rivers, fields and dwellings; through metals,
substances,
arms, clothes, ornaments, furniture, the body and its parts, the
sexes,
and our outward condition."
(Dict.
Christ. Biog.) All of which would strongly corroborate the idea that
Philo
was acquainted with the ancient Kabbala.
Philosopher’s
Stone. Called also the “Powder of Projection”. It is the Magnum
Opus
of the Alchemists, an object to be attained by them at all costs, a
substance
possessing the power of transmuting the baser metals into pure gold.
Mystically,
however, the Philosopher’s Stone symbolises the transmutation of the
lower
animal nature of man into the highest and divine.
Philostratus
(Gr.). A biographer of Apollonius of Tyana, who described the life,
travels
and adventures of this sage and philosopher.
Phla
(Gr.). A small island in the lake Tritonia, in the days of Herodotus.
Phlegiæ
(Gr.). A submerged ancient island in prehistoric days and identified by
some
writers with Atlantis; also a people in Thessaly.
Pho
(Chin.). The animal Soul.
Phœbe
(Gr.). A name given to Diana, or the moon.
Phœbus-Apollo
(Gr.). Apollo as the Sun, “the light of life and of the world”.
Phoreg
(Gr.). The name of the seventh Titan not
mentioned in the cosmogony of
Hesiod.
The
“mystery” Titan.
Phorminx
(Gr.). The seven-stringed lyre of Orpheus.
Phoronede
(Gr.). A poem of which Phoroneus is the hero; this work is no longer
extant.
Phoroneus
(Gr.). A Titan; an ancestor and generator of mankind. According to a
legend
of Argolis, like Prometheus he was credited with bringing fire to this
earth
(Pausanias). The god of a river in Peloponnesus.
Phren
(Gr.). A Pythagorean term denoting what we call the Kâma-Manas still
overshadowed
by the Buddhi-Manas.
Phtah
(Eg.). The God of death; similar to Siva, the destroyer. In later Egyptian
mythology
a sun-god. It is the seat or locality of the Sun and its occult Genius
or
Regent in esoteric philosophy.
Phta-Ra
(Eg.). One of the 49 mystic (occult) Fires.
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Picus,
John, Count of Mirandola. A celebrated Kabbalist and Alchemist, author of
a
treatise “on gold” and other Kabbalistic works. He defied Rome and Europe in
his
attempt to prove divine Christian truth in the Zohar. Born in 1463, died
1494.
Pillaloo
Codi (Tamil). A nickname in popular astronomy given to the Pleiades,
meaning
“hen and chickens”. The French also, curiously enough call this
constellation,
“Poussinière”.
Pillars,
The Two. Jachin and Boaz were placed at the entrance to the Temple of
Solomon,
the first on the right, the second on the left. Their symbolism is
developed
in the rituals of the Freemasons.
Pillars,
The Three. When the ten Sephiroth are arranged in the Tree of Life, two
vertical
lines
separate
them into 3 Pillars, namely the Pillar of Severity, the Pillar of
Mercy,
and the central
Pillar
of Mildness. Binah, Geburah, and Hod form the first, that of Severity;
Kether,
Tiphereth,
Jesod
and Malkuth the central pillar; Chokmah, Chesed and Netzach the Pillar of
Mercy.
[w.w.w.]
Pillars
of Hermes. Like the “pillars of Seth” (with which they are identified)
they
served for commemorating occult events, and various esoteric secrets
symbolically
engraved on them. It was a universal practice. Enoch is also said
to
have constructed pillars.
Pingala
(Sk.). The great Vedic authority on the Prosody and chhandas of the
Vedas.
Lived several centuries B.C.
Pippala
(Sk.). The tree of knowledge : the mystic fruit of that tree “upon which
came
Spirits who love Science”. This is allegorical and occult.
Pippalâda
(Sk.). A magic school wherein Atharva Veda is explained founded by an
Adept
of that name.
Pisâchas
(Sk.). In the Purânas, goblins or demons created by Brahmâ. In the
southern
Indian folk-lore, ghosts, demons, larvæ and vampires—generally
female—who
haunt men. Fading remnants of human beings in Kâmaloka, as shells and
Elementaries.
Pistis
Sophia (Sk.). “Knowledge-Wisdom.” A sacred book of the early Gnostics or
the
primitive Christians.
Pitar
Devata (Sk.). The “Father-Gods”, the lunar ancestors of mankind.
Pitaras
(Sk.). Fathers, Ancestors. The fathers of the human races.
Pitris
(Sk.). The ancestors, or creators of mankind. They are of seven classes,
three
of which are incorporeal, arupa, and four corporeal. In popular theology
they
are said to be created from Brahmâ’s side. They are variously genealogized,
but
in esoteric philosophy they are as given
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in
the Secret Doctrine. In Isis Unveiled it is said of them “It is generally
believed
that the Hindu term means the spirits of our ancestors, of disembodied
people,
hence the argument of some Spiritualists that fakirs (and yogis) and
other
Eastern wonder-workers, are mediums. This is in more than one sense
erroneous.
The Pitris are not the ancestors of the present living men, but those
of
the human kind, or Adamic races; the spirits of human races, which on the
great
scale of descending evolution preceded our races of men, and they were
physically,
as well as spiritually, far superior to our modern pigmies. In
Mânava
Dharma Shâstra they are called the Lunar Ancestors.” The Secret Doctrine
has
now explained that which was cautiously put forward in the earlier
Theosophical
volumes.
Pîyadasi
(Pali). “The beautiful”, a title of King Chandragupta (the
“Sandracottus”
of the Greeks) and of Asoka the Buddhist king, his grandson. They
both
reigned in Central India between the fourth and third centuries B.C.,
called
also Devânâmpiya, “the beloved of the gods”.
Plaksha
(Sk.). One of the seven Dwipas (continents or islands) in the Indian
Pantheon
and the Purânas.
Plane.
From the Latin planus (level, flat) an extension of space or of something
in
it, whether physical or metaphysical, e.g., a “plane of consciousness”. As
used
in Occultism, the term denotes the range or extent of some state of
consciousness,
or of the perceptive power of a particular set of senses, or the
action
of a particular force, or the state of matter corresponding to any of the
above.
Planetary
Spirits. Primarily the rulers or governors of the planets. As our
earth
has its hierarchy of terrestrial planetary spirits, from the highest to
the
lowest plane, so has every other heavenly body. In Occultism, however, the
term
“Planetary Spirit” is generally applied only to the seven highest
hierarchies
corresponding to the Christian archangels. These have all passed
through
a stage of evolution corresponding to the humanity of earth on other
worlds,
in long past cycles. Our earth, being as yet only in its fourth round,
is
far too young to have produced high planetary spirits. The highest planetary
spirit
ruling over any globe is in reality the “Personal God” of that planet and
far
more truly its “over-ruling providence” than the self-contradictory Infinite
Personal
Deity of modern Churchianity.
Plastic
Soul. Used in Occultism in reference to the linga sharira or the astral
body
of the lower Quaternary. It is called “plastic” and also “Protean” Soul
from
its power of assuming any shape or form and moulding or modelling itself
into
or upon any image impressed in the
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astral
light around it, or in the minds of the medium or of those present at
séances
for materialization. The linga sharira must not be confused with the
mayavi
rupa or “thought body”—the image created by the thought and will of an
adept
or sorcerer ; for while the “astral form” or linga sharira is a real
entity,
the “thought body” is a temporary illusion created by the mind.
Plato.
An Initiate into the Mysteries and the greatest Greek philosopher, whose
writings
are known the world over. He was the pupil of Socrates and the teacher
of
Aristotle. He flourished over 400 years before our era.
Platonic
School, or the “Old Akadéme”, in contrast with the later or
Neo-Platonic
School of Alexandria (See “Philalethean”).
Pleroma
(Gr.). “Fulness”, a Gnostic term adopted to signify the divine world or
Universal
Soul. Space, developed and divided into a series of æons. The abode of
the
invisible gods. It has three degrees.
Plotinus.
The noblest, highest and grandest of all the Neo-Platonists after the
founder
of the school, Ammonius Saccas. He was the most enthusiastic of the
Philaletheans
or “lovers of truth”, whose aim was to found a religion on a
system
of intellectual abstraction, which is true Theosophy, or the whole
substance
of Neo-Platonism. If we are to believe Porphyry, Plotinus has never
disclosed
either his birth-place or connexions, his native land or his race.
Till
the age of twenty-eight he had never found teacher or teaching which would
suit
him or answer his aspirations. Then he happened to hear Ammonius Saccas,
from
which day he continued to attend his school. At thirty-nine he accompanied
the
Emperor Gordian to Persia and India with the object of learning their
philosophy.
He died at the age of sixty-six after writing fifty-four books on
philosophy.
So modest was he that it is said he “blushed to think he had a
body”.
He reached Samâdhi (highest ecstasy or “re-union with God” the divine
Ego)
several times during his life. As said by a biographer, “so far did his
contempt
for his bodily organs go, that he refused to use a remedy, regarding it
as
unworthy of a man to use means of this kind”. Again we read, “as he died, a
dragon
(or serpent) that had been under his bed, glided through a hole in the
wall
and disappeared”—a fact suggestive for the student of symbolism. He taught
a
doctrine identical with that of the Vedantins, namely, that the Spirit-Soul
emanating
from the One deific principle was, after its pilgrimage, re-united to
It.
Point
within a Circle. In its esoteric meaning the first unmanifested logos
appearing
on the infinite and shoreless expanse of Space, represented by the
Circle.
It is the plane of Infinity and Absoluteness. This is
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only
one of the numberless and hidden meanings of this symbol, which is the most
important
of all the geometrical figures used in metaphysical emblematology. As
to
the Masons, they have made of the point “an individual brother” whose duty to
God
and man is bounded by the circle, and have added John the Baptist and John
the
Evangelist to keep company with the “brother”, representing them under two
perpendicular
parallel lines.
Popes-Magicians.
There are several such in history; e.g., Pope Sylvester II.,
the
artist who made an “oracular head”, like the one fabricated by Albertus
Magnus,
the learned Bishop of Ratisbon. Pope
Sylvester was considered a great
“enchanter
and sorcerer” by Cardinal Benno, and the “head” was smashed to pieces
by
Thomas Aquinas, because it talked too much. Then there were Popes Benedict
IX.,
John XX., and the VIth and VIIth Gregory, all regarded by their
contemporaries
as magicians. The latter Gregory was the famous Hildebrand. As to
Bishops
and lesser Priests who studied Occultism and became expert in magic
arts,
they are numberless.
Popol
Vuh. The Sacred Books of the Guatemalians. Quiché MSS., discovered by
Brasseur
de Bourbourg.
Porphyry,
or Porphyrius. A Neo-Platonist and a most distinguished writer, only
second
to Plotinus as a teacher and philosopher. He was born before the middle
of
the third century A.D., at Tyre, since he called himself a Tyrian and is
supposed
to have belonged to a Jewish family. Though himself thoroughly
Hellenized
and a Pagan, his name Melek (a king) does seem to indicate that he
had
Semitic blood in his veins. Modern critics very justly consider him the most
practically
philosophical, and the soberest, of all the Neo-Platonists. A
distinguished
writer, he was specially famous for his controversy with
Iamblichus
regarding the evils attendant upon the practice of Theurgy. He was,
however,
finally converted to the views of his opponent. A natural-born mystic,
he
followed, as did his master Plotinus, the pure Indian Râj-Yoga training,
which
leads to the union of the Soul with the Over-Soul or Higher Self
(Buddhi-Manas).
He complains, however, that, all his efforts notwithstanding, he
did
not reach this state of ecstacy before he was sixty, while Plotinus was a
proficient
in it. This was so, probably because while his teacher held physical
life
and body in the greatest contempt, limiting philosophical research to those
regions
where life and thought become eternal and divine, Porphyry devoted his
whole
time to considerations of the hearing of philosophy on practical life.
“The
end of philosophy is with him morality”, says a biographer, “we might
almost
say, holiness—the healing of man’s infirmities, the imparting to him a
purer
and more vigorous life. Mere knowledge, however true, is
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not
of itself sufficient ; knowledge has for its object life in accordance with
Nous”—“reason”,
translates the biographer. As we interpret Nous, however, not as
Reason,
but mind (Manas) or the divine eternal Ego in man, we would translate
the
idea esoterically, and make it read “the occult or secret knowledge has for
its
object terrestrial life in accordance with Nous, or our everlasting
reincarnating
Ego”, which would be more consonant with Porphyry’s idea, as it is
with
esoteric philosophy. (See Porphyry’s De Abstinentia ., 29.) Of all the
Neo-Platonists,
Porphyry approached the nearest to real Theosophy as now taught
by
the Eastern secret school. This is shown by all our modern critics and
writers
on the Alexandrian school, for “he held that the Soul should be as far
as
possible freed from the bonds of matter, . . . be ready . . . to cut off the
whole
body”. (Ad Marcellam, 34.) He recommends the practice of abstinence,
saying
that “we should be like the gods if we could abstain from vegetable as
well
as animal food”. He accepts with reluctance theurgy and mystic incantation
as
those are “powerless to purify the noëtic (manasic) principle of the soul”:
theurgy
can “but cleanse the lower or psychic portion, and make it capable of
perceiving
lower beings, such as spirits, angels and gods” (Aug. De Civ. Dei.
X.,
9), just as Theosophy teaches. “Do not defile the divinity”, he adds, with
the
vain imaginings of men you will not injure that which is for ever blessed
(Buddhi-Manas)
but you will blind yourself to the perception of the greatest and
most
vital truths”. (Ad Marcellam,18.) “If we would he free from the assaults of
evil
spirits, we must keep ourselves clear of those things over which evil
spirits
have power, for they attack not the pure soul which has no affinity with
them”.
(De Abstin. ii., 43.) This is again our teaching. The Church Fathers held
Porphyry
as the bitterest enemy, the most irreconcilable to Christianity.
Finally,
and once more as in modern Theosophy, Porphyry—as all the
Neo-Platonists,
according to St. Augustine—“praised Christ while they disparaged
Christianity”;
Jesus, they contended, as we contend, “said nothing himself
against
the pagan deities, but wrought wonders by their help”. “They could not
call
him as his disciples did, God, but they honoured him as one of the best and
wisest
of men”. (De Civ. Dei., X1X., 23.) Yet, “even in the storm of
controversy,
scarcely a word seems to have been uttered against the private life
of
Porphyry. His system prescribed purity and . . . he practised it”.
(See
A Dict. of Christian Biography, Vol. IV., “Porphyry”.)
Poseidonis
(Gr.). The last remnant of the great Atlantean Continent. Plato’s
island
Atlantis is referred to as an equivalent term in Esoteric Philosophy.
Postel,
Guillaume. A French adept, born in Normandy in 1510.
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His
learning brought him to the notice of Francis I., who sent him to the Levant
in
search of occult MSS., where he was received into and initiated by an Eastern
Fraternity.
On his return to France he became famous. He was persecuted by the
clergy
and finally imprisoned by the Inquisition, but was released by his
Eastern
brothers from his dungeon. His Clavis Absconditorum, a key to things
hidden
and forgotten, is very celebrated.
Pot-Amun.
Said to be a Coptic term. The name of an Egyptian priest and
hierophant
who lived under the earlier Ptolemies. Diogenes Laertius tells us
that
it signifies one consecrated to the “Amun”, the god of wisdom and secret
learning,
such as were Hermes, Thoth, and Nebo of the Chaldees. This must be so,
since
in Chaldea the priests consecrated to Nebo also bore his name, being
called
the Neboїm, or in some old Hebrew Kabbalistic works, “Abba Nebu”. The
priests
generally took the names of their gods. Pot-Amun is credited with having
been
the first to teach Theosophy, or the outlines of the Secret
Wisdom-Religion,
to the uninitiated.
Prabhavâpyaya
(Sk.). That whence all originates and into which all things
resolve
at the end of the life-cycle.
Prachetâs
(Sk.). A name of Varuna, the god of water, or esoterically—its
principle.
Prâchetasas
(Sk.). See Secret Doctrine, II., 176 et seq. Daksha is the son of
the
Prâchetasas, the ten sons of Prachinavahis. Men endowed with magic powers in
the
Purânas who, while practising religious austerities, remained immersed at
the
bottom of the sea for 10,000 years.
The
name also of Daksha, called Prâchetasa.
Pradhâna
(Sk.). Undifferentiated substance, called elsewhere and in other
schools—Akâsa;
and Mulaprakriti or Root of Matter by the Vedantins. In short,
Primeval
Matter.
Pragna
(Sk.) or Prajna. A synonym of Mahat the Universal Mind. The capacity for
perception.
(S.
D., I. 139) Consciousness.
Prahlâda
(Sk.). The son of Hiranyakashipu, the King of the Asuras. As Prahlâda
was
devoted to Vishnu, of whom his father was the greatest enemy, he became
subjected
in consequence to a variety of tortures and punishments. In order to
save
his devotee from these, Vishnu assumed the form of Nri-Sinha (man-lion, his
fourth
avatar) and killed the father.
Prajâpatis
(Sk.). Progenitors; the givers of life to all on this Earth. They are
seven
and then ten—corresponding to the seven and ten Kabbalistic Sephiroth; to
the
Mazdean Amesha-Spentas, &c. Brahmâ the creator, is called Prajâpati as the
synthesis
of the Lords of Being.
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Prâkrita
(Sk.). One of the provincial dialects of Sanskrit—“the language of the
gods”,
and therefore, its materialisation.
Prâkritika
Pralaya (Sk.). The Pralaya succeeding to the Age of Brahmâ, when
everything
that exists is resolved into its primordial essence (or Prakriti).
Prakriti
(Sk.). Nature in general, nature as opposed to Purusha— spiritual
nature
and Spirit, which together are the “two primeval aspects of the One
Unknown
Deity”. (Secret Doctrine, I. 51.)
Pralaya
(Sk.). A period of obscuration or repose—planetary, cosmic or
universal—the
opposite of Manvantara (S. D., I. 370.).
Pramantha
(Sk.). An accessory to producing the sacred fire by friction. The
sticks
used by Brahmins to kindle fire by friction.
Prameyas
(Sk.). Things to be proved; objects of Pramâna or proof.
Pram-Gimas
(Lithuanian). Lit., “Master of all”, a deity-title.
Pramlochâ
(Sk.). A female Apsaras—a water-nymph who beguiled Kandu. (See
“Kandu”.)
Prâna
(Sk.). Life-Principle ; the breath of Life.
Prânamâya
Kosha (Sk.). The vehicle of Prâna, life, or the Linga Sarîra a
Vedantic
term.
Pranâtman
(Sk.). The same as Sutrâtmâ, the eternal germ-thread on which are
strung,
like beads, the personal lives of the EGO.
Pranava
(Sk.). A sacred word, equivalent to Aum.
Prânâyâma
(Sk.). The suppression and regulation of the breath in Yoga practice.
Pranidhâna
(Sk.). The fifth observance of the Yogis; ceaseless devotion. (See
Yoga
Shâstras, ii. 32.)
Prâpti
(Sk.). From Prâp, to reach. One of the eight Siddhis (powers) of
Râj-Yoga.
The power of transporting oneself from one place to another,
instantaneously,
by the mere force of will ; the faculty of divination, of
healing
and of prophesying, also a Yoga power.
Prasanga
Madhyamika (Sk.). A Buddhist school of philosophy in Tibet. it follows,
like
the Yogâchârya system, the Mahâyâna or “Great Vehicle” of precepts; but,
having
been founded far later than the Yogâchârya, it is not half so rigid and
severe.
It is a semi-exoteric and very popular system among the literati and
laymen.
Prashraya,
or Vinaya (Sk.). “The progenetrix of affection.” A title bestowed
upon
the Vedic Aditi, the
“Mother
of the Gods”.
Pratibhâsika
(Sk.). The apparent or illusory life.
Pratisamvid
(Sk.). The four “unlimited forms of wisdom” attained
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by
an Arhat; the last of which is the absolute knowledge of and power over the
twelve
Nidânas.
(See
“Nidâna”.)
Pratyâbhâva
(Sk.). The state of the Ego under the necessity of repeated births.
Pratyagâtmâ
(Sk.). The same as Jivâtmâ, or the one living Universal Soul—Alaya.
Pratyâhâra
(Sk.). The same as “Mahâpralaya”.
Pratyâharana
(Sk.). The preliminary training in practical Râj -Yoga.
Pratyaksha
(Sk). Spiritual perception by means of senses.
Pratyasarga
(Sk.). In Sankhya philosophy the “intellectual evolution of the
Universe”
; in the Purânas the 8th creation.
Pratyêka
Buddha (S.k). The same as “Pasi-Buddha”. The Pratyêka Buddha is a
degree
which belongs exclusively to the Yogâchârya school, yet it is only one of
high
intellectual development with no true spirituality. It is the dead-letter
of
the Yoga laws, in which intellect and comprehension play the greatest part,
added
to the strict carrying out of the rules of the inner development. It is
one
of the three paths to Nirvâna, and the lowest, in which a Yogi—“without
teacher
and without saving others”—by the mere force of will and technical
observances,
attains to a kind of nominal Buddhaship individually; doing no good
to
anyone, but working selfishly for his own salvation and himself alone. The
Pratyêkas
are respected outwardly but are despised inwardly by those of keen or
spiritual
appreciation. A Pratyêka is generally compared to a “Khadga” or
solitary
rhinoceros and called Ekashringa Rishi, a selfish solitary Rishi (or
saint).
“As crossing Sansâra (‘the ocean of birth and death’ or the series of
incarnations),
suppressing errors, and yet not attaining to absolute perfection,
the
Pratyêka Buddha is compared with a horse which crosses a river swimming,
without
touching the ground.” (Sanskrit-Chinese Dict.) He is far below a true
“Buddha
of Compassion”. He strives only for the reaching of Nirvâna.
Pre-existence.
The term used to denote that we have lived before. The same as
reincarnation
in the past. The idea is derided by some, rejected by others,
called
absurd and inconsistent by the third yet it is the oldest and the most
universally
accepted belief from an immemorial antiquity. And if this belief was
universally
accepted by the most subtle philosophical minds of the pre-Christian
world,
surely it is not amiss that some of our modern intellectual men should
also
believe in it, or at least give the doctrine the benefit of the doubt. Even
the
Bible hints at it more than once, St. John the Baptist being regarded as the
reincarnation
of Elijah, and the Disciples asking whether the blind man was born
blind
because of his sins, which is equal to saying that he had lived and sinned
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before
being born blind. As Mr. Bonwick well says: it was “the work of spiritual
progression
and soul discipline. The pampered sensualist returned a beggar; the
proud
oppressor, a slave ; the selfish woman of fashion, a seamstress. A turn of
the
wheel gave a chance for the development of neglected or abused intelligence
and
feeling, hence the popularity of reincarnation in all climes and times. . .
.
thus the expurgation of evil was . . . gradually but certainly accomplished.”
Verily
“an evil act follows a man, passing through one hundred thousand
transmigrations”
(Panchatantra). “All souls have a subtle vehicle, image of the
body,
which carries the passive soul from one material dwelling to another” says
Kapila;
while Basnage explains of the Jews: “By this second death is not
considered
hell, but that which happens when a soul has a second time animated a
body”.
Herodotus tells his readers, that the Egyptians “are the earliest who
have
spoken of this doctrine, according to which the soul of man is immortal,
and
after the destruction of the body, enters into a newly born being. When, say
they,
it has passed through all the animals of the earth and sea, and all the
birds,
it will re-enter the body of a new born man.” This is Pre-existence.
Deveria
showed that the funeral books of the Egyptians say plainly “that
resurrection
was, in reality, but a renovation, leading to a new infancy, and a
new
youth. (See “Reincarnation”.)
Prêtas
(Sk.). “Hungry demons in popular folk-lore. “ Shells”, of the avaricious
and
selfish man after death; “ Elementaries” reborn as Prêtas, in Kâma-loka,
according
to the esoteric teachings;
Priestesses.
Every ancient religion had its priestesses in the temples. In Egypt
they
were called the Sâ and served the altar of Isis and in the temples of other
goddesses.
Canephorœ was the name given by the Greeks to those consecrated
priestesses
who bore the baskets of the gods during the public festivals of the
Eleusinian
Mysteries. There were female prophets in Israel as in Egypt, diviners
of
dreams and oracles; and Herodotus mentions the Hierodules, the virgins or
nuns
dedicated to the Theban Jove, who were generally the Pharaohs’ daughters
and
other Princesses of the Royal House. Orientalists speak of the wife of
Cephrenes,
the builder of the so-called second Pyramid, who was a priestess of
Thoth.
(See
“Nuns”.)
Primordial
Light. In Occultism, the light which is born in, and through the
preternatural
darkness of chaos, which contains “the all in all”, the seven rays
that
become later the seven Principles in Nature.
Principles.
The Elements or original essences, the basic differentiations upon
and
of which all things are built up. We use the term to denote the seven
individual
and fundamental aspects of the One Universal Reality in Kosmos and in
man.
Hence also the seven aspects in the
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manifestation
in the human being—divine, spiritual, psychic, astral,
physiological
and simply physical.
Priyavrata
(Sk.). The name of the son of Swâyambhûva Manu in exoteric Hinduism.
The
occult designation of one of the primeval races in Occultism.
Proclus
(Gr.). A Greek writer and mystic philosopher, known as a Commentator of
Plato,
and surnamed the Diadochus. He lived in the fifth century, and died, aged
75,
at Athens A.D. 485. His last ardent disciple and follower and the translator
of
his works was Thomas Taylor of Norwich, who, says Brother Kenneth Mackenzie,
“was
a modern mystic who adopted the pagan faith as being the only veritable
faith,
and actually sacrificed doves to Venus, a goat to Bacchus and designed to
immolate
a bull to Jupiter” but was prevented by his landlady.
Prometheus
(Gr.). The Greek logos; he, who by bringing on earth divine fire
(intelligence
and consciousness) endowed men with reason and mind. Prometheus is
the
Hellenic type of our Kumâras or Egos, those who, by incarnating in men, made
of
them latent gods instead of animals. The gods (or Elohim) were averse to men
becoming
“as one of us (Genesis iii., 22), and knowing “good and evil”. Hence we
see
these gods in every religious legend punishing man for his desire to know.
As
the Greek myth has it, for stealing the fire he brought to men from Heaven,
Prometheus
was chained by the order of Zeus to a crag of the Caucasian
Mountains.
Propator
(Gr) Gnostic term. The “Depth” of Bythos, or En-Aiôr, the unfathomable
light.
The latter is alone the Self-Existent and the Eternal—Propator is only
periodical.
Protogonos
(Gr.). The “first-born”; used of all the manifested gods and of the
Sun
in our system.
Proto-îlos
(Gr.). The first primordial matter.
Protologoi
(Gr.). The primordial seven creative Forces when anthropomorphized
into
Archangels or Logoi.
Protyle
(Gr.). A newly-coined word in chemistry to designate the first
homogeneous,
primordial substance.
Pschent
(Eg.). A symbol in the form of a double crown, meaning the presence of
Deity
in death as in life, on earth as in heaven. This Pschent is only worn by
certain
gods.
Psyche
(Gr.). The animal, terrestrial Soul; the lower Manas.
Psychism,
from the Greek psyche. A term now used to denote very loosely every
kind
of mental phenomena, e.g., mediumship, and the
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higher
sensitiveness, hypnotic receptivity, and inspired prophecy, simple
clairvoyance
in the astral light, and real divine seership; in short, the word
covers
every phase and manifestation of the powers and potencies of the human
and
the divine Souls.
Psychography.
A word first used by theosophists; it means writing under the
dictation
or the influence of one’s “soul-power”, though Spiritualists have now
adopted
the term to denote writing produced by their mediums under the guidance
of
returning “Spirits”.
Psychology.
The Science of Soul, in days of old: a Science which served as the
unavoidable
basis for physiology. Whereas in our modern day, it is psychology
that
is being based (by our great scientists) upon physiology.
Psychometry.
Lit., “Soul-measuring”; reading or seeing, not with the physical
eyes,
but with the soul or inner Sight.
Psychophobia.
Lit., “Soul-fear,” applied to materialists and certain atheists,
who
become struck with madness at the very mention of Soul or Spirit.
Psylli
(Gr.). Serpent-charmers of Africa and Egypt.
Ptah,
or Pthah (Eg.). The son of Kneph in the Egyptian Pantheon. He is the
Principle
of Light and Life through which “creation” or rather evolution took
place.
The Egyptian logos and creator, the Demiurgos. A very old deity, as,
according
to Herodotus, he had a temple erected to him by Menes, the first king
of
Egypt. He is “giver of life” and the self-born, and the father of Apis, the
sacred
bull, conceived through a ray from the Sun. Ptah is thus the prototype of
Osiris,
a later deity. Herodotus makes him the father of the Kabiri, the
mystery-gods;
and the Targum of Jerusalem says: “Egyptians called the wisdom of
the
First Intellect Ptah”; hence he is Mahat the “divine wisdom”; though from
another
aspect he is Swabhâvat, the self-created substance, as a prayer
addressed
to him in the Ritual of the Dead says, after calling Ptah “father of
fathers
and of all gods, generator of all men produced from his substance”:
“Thou
art without father, being. engendered by thy own will; thou art without
mother,
being born by the renewal of thine own substance from whom proceeds
substance”.
Pâjâ
(Sk.). An offering; worship and divine honours offered to an idol or
something
sacred.
Pulastya
(Sk.). One of the seven “mind-born sons” of Brahmâ; the reputed father
of
the Nâgas (serpents, also Initiates) and other symbolical creatures.
Pums
(Sk.). Spirit, supreme Purusha, Man.
Punarjanma
(Sk.). The power of evolving objective manifestations; motion of
forms
; also, re-birth.
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Pundarîk-aksha
(Sk.). Lit., “lotus-eyed”, a title of Vishnu. “Supreme and
imperishable
glory”, as translated by some Orientalists.
Pûraka
(Sk.). Inbreathing process; a way of breathing as regulated according to
the
prescribed rules of Hatha ‘yoga.
Purânas
(Sk.). Lit., “ancient”. A collection of symbolical and allegorical
writings—eighteen
in number now—supposed to have been composed by Vyâsa, the
author
of Mahâbhârata.
Purohitas
(Sk.). Family priests; Brahmans.
Pururavas
(Sk.). The son of Budha the son of Soma (the moon), and of Ila famous
for
being the first to produce fire by the friction of two pieces of wood, and
make
it (the fire) triple. An occult character.
Purusha
(Sk.). “Man”, heavenly man. Spirit, the same as Nârâyana in another
aspect.
“The
Spiritual Self.”
Purusha
Nârâyana (Sk.). Primordial male—Brahmâ.
Purushottama
(Sk.). Lit., “best of men”; metaphysically, however, it is spirit,
the
Supreme Soul of the universe; a title of Vishnu.
Pûrvaja
(Sk.). “ Pregenetic”, the same as the Orphic Protologos; a title of
Vishnu.
Purvashadha
(Sk.). An asterism.
Pûshan
(Sk.). A Vedic deity, the real meaning of which remains unknown to
Orientalists.
It is qualified as the “Nourisher”, the feeder of all (helpless)
beings.
Esoteric philosophy explains the meaning. Speaking of it the Taittirîya
Brâhmana
says that, “When Prajâpati formed living beings, Pûshan nourished
them”.
This then is the same mysterious force that nourishes the fœtus and
unborn
babe, by Osmosis, and which is called the“atmospheric (or akâsic) nurse”,
and
the “father nourisher”. When the lunar Pitris had evolved men, these
remained
senseless and helpless, and it is “Pûshan who fed primeval man”. Also a
name
of the Sun.
Pushkala
(Sk) or Puskola. A palm leaf prepared for writing on, used in Ceylon.
All
the native books are written on such palm leaves, and last for centuries.
Pushkara
(Sk.). A blue lotus; the seventh Dwîpa or zone of Bhâratavarsha
(India).
A famous lake near Ajmere; also the proper name of several persons.
Pûto
(Sk.). An island in China where Kwan-Shai-Yin and Kwan-Yin have a number of
temples
and monasteries.
Putra
(Sk.). A son.
Pu-tsi
K’iun-ling (Chin.). Lit., “the Universal Saviour of all beings”. A title
of
Avalokiteswara, and also of Buddha.
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Pygmalion
(Gr.). A celebrated sculptor and statuary in the island of Cyprus, who
became
enamoured of a statue he had made. So the Goddess of beauty, taking pity
on
him, changed it into a living woman (Ovid, Met.). The above is an allegory of
the
soul.
Pymander
(Gr.). The “Thought divine”. The Egyptian Prometheus and the
personified
Nous or divine light, which appears to and instructs Hermes
Trismegistus,
in a hermetic work called “Pymander”.
Pyrrha
(Gr.). A daughter of Epimatheos and Pandora, who was married to
Deucalion.
After a deluge when mankind was almost annihilated, Pyrrha and
Deucalion
made men and women out of stones which they threw behind them.
Pyrrhonism
(Gr). The doctrine of Scepticism as first taught by Pyrrho, though
his
system was far more philosophical than the blank denial of our modern
Pyrrhonists.
Pythagoras
(Gr.). The most famous of mystic philosophers, born at Samos, about
586
B.C. He seems to have travelled all over the world, and to have culled his
philosophy
from the various systems to which he had access. Thus, he studied the
esoteric
sciences with the Brachmanes of India, and astronomy and astrology in
Chaldea
and Egypt. He is known to this day in the former country under the name
of
Yavanâchârya (“Ionian teacher”). After returning he settled in Crotona, in
Magna
Grecia, where he established a college to which very soon resorted all the
best
intellects of the civilised centres. His father was one Mnesarchus of
Samos,
and was a man of noble birth and learning. It was Pythagoras. who was the
first
to teach the heliocentric system, and who was the greatest proficient in
geometry
of his century. It was he also who created the word “philosopher”,
composed
of two words meaning a “lover of wisdom”—philo-sophos. As the greatest
mathematician,
geometer and astronomer of historical antiquity, and also the
highest
of the metaphysicians and scholars, Pythagoras has won imperishable
fame.
He taught reincarnation as it is professed in India and much else of the
Secret
Wisdom.
Pythagorean
Pentacle (Gr.). A Kabbalistic six-pointed star with an eagle at the
apex
and a bull and a lion under the face of a man; a mystic symbol adopted by
the
Eastern and Roman Christians, who place these animals beside the four
Evangelists.
Pythia
or Pythoness (Gr.). Modern dictionaries inform us that the term means one
who
delivered the oracles at the temple of Delphi, and “any female supposed to
have
the spirit of divination in her—a witch” (Webster). This is neither true,
just
nor correct. On the authority of Iamblichus, Plutarch and others, a Pythia
was
a priestess chosen among the sensitives of the poorer classes, and placed in
a
temple where oracular
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powers
were exercised. There she had a room secluded from all but the chief
Hierophant
and Seer, and once admitted, was, like a nun, lost to the world.
Sitting
on a tripod of brass placed over a fissure in the ground, through which
arose
intoxicating vapours, these subterranean exhalations, penetrating her
whole
system, produced the prophetic mania, in which abnormal state she
delivered
oracles. Aristophanes in Væstas “ I., reg. 28, calls the Pythia
ventriloqua
vates or the “ventriloquial prophetess”, on account of her
stomach-voice.
The ancients placed the soul of man (the lower Manas) or his
personal
self-consciousness, in the pit of his stomach. We find in the fourth
verse
of the second Nâbhânedishta hymn of the Brahmans: “Hear, 0 sons of the
gods,
one who speaks through his name (nâbhâ), for he hails you in your
dwellings!”
This is a modern somnambulic phenomenon. The navel was regarded in
antiquity
as “the circle of the sun”, the seat of divine internal light.
Therefore
was the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, the city of Delphus, the womb or
abdomen—while
the seat of the temple was called the omphalos, navel. As
well-known,
a number of mesmerized subjects can read letters, hear, smell and
see
through that part of their body. In India there exists to this day a belief
(also
among the Parsis) that adepts have flames in their navels, which enlighten
for
them all darkness and unveil the spiritual world. It is called with the
Zoroastrians
the lamp of Deshtur or the “High Priest”; and the light or radiance
of
the Dikshita (the initiate) with the Hindus.
Pytho
(Gr.). The same as Ob—a fiendish, devilish influence; the ob through which
the
sorcerers are said to work.
Q
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Q._The
seventeenth letter of the English Alphabet. It is the obsolete Æolian
Qoppa
and the Hebrew Koph. As a numeral it is 100, and its symbol is the back of
the
head from the ears to the neck. With the Æolian Occultists it stood for the
symbol
of differentiation.
Qabbalah
(Heb.). The ancient Chaldean Secret Doctrine, abbreviated into Kabala.
An
occult system handed clown by oral transmission; but which, though accepting
tradition,
is not in itself composed of merely traditional teachings, as it was
once
a fundamental science, now disfigured by the additions of centuries, and by
interpolation
by the Western Occultists, especially by Christian Mystics. It
treats
of hitherto esoteric interpretations of the Jewish Scriptures, and
teaches
several methods of interpreting Biblical allegories. Originally the
doctrines
were transmitted “from mouth to ear” only, says Dr. W. Wynn Westcott,
“in
an oral manner from teacher to pupil who received them; hence the name
Kabbalah,
Qabalah, or Cabbala from the Hebrew root QBL, to receive. Besides this
Theoretic
Kabbalah, there was created a Practical branch, which is concerned
with
the Hebrew letters, as types a like of Sounds, Numbers, and Ideas.” (See
“Gematria”,
“Notaricon”, “ Temura”.) For the original book of the Qabbalah—the
Zohar—see
further on. But the Zohar we have now is not the Zohar left by Simeon
Ben
Jochai to his son and secretary as an heirloom. The author of the present
approximation
was one Moses de Leon, a Jew of the XIIIth century. (See “Kabalah”
and
“Zohar”.)
Qadmon,
Adam, or Adam Kadmon (Heb.). The Heavenly or Celestial Man, the
Microcosm
(q.v.), He is the manifested Logos; the third Logos according to
Occultism,
or the Paradigm of Humanity.
Qai-yin
(Heb.). The same as Cain.
Qaniratha
(Mazd.). Our earth, in the Zoroastrian Scriptures, which is placed, as
taught
in the Secret Doctrine, in the midst of the other six Karshwars, or
globes
of the terrestrial chain.
(See
Secret Doctrine, II. p. 759.)
Q’lippoth
(Heb.), or Klippoth. The world of Demons or Shells; the same as the
Aseeyatic
World, called also Olam Klippoth. It is the residence of Samâel, the
Prince
of Darkness in the Kabbalistic allegories.
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But
note what we read in the Zohar (ii.43a) “For the service of the Angelic
World,
the Holy. . . . made Samâel and his legions, i.e., the world of action,
who
are as it were the clouds to be used (by the higher or upper Spirits, our
Egos)
to ride upon in their descent to the earth, and serve, as it were, for
their
horses”. This, in conjunction with the fact that Q’lippoth contains the
matter
of which stars, planets, and even men are made, shows that Samâel with
his
legions is simply chaotic, turbulent matter, which is used in its finer
state
by spirits to robe themselves in. For speaking of the “vesture” or form
(rupa)
of the incarnating Egos, it is said in the Occult Catechism that they,
the
Mânasaputras or Sons of Wisdom, use for the consolidation of their forms, in
order
to descend into lower spheres, the dregs of Swabhavat, or that plastic
matter
which is throughout Space, in other words, primordial ilus. And these
dregs
are what the Egyptians have called Typhon and modern Europeans Satan,
Samâel,
etc., etc. Deus est Demon inversus—the Demon is the lining of God.
Quadrivium
(Lat.). A term used by the Scholastics during the Middle Ages to
designate
the last four paths of learning—of which there were originally seven.
Thus
grammar, rhetoric and logic were called the trivium, and arithmetic,
geometry,
music and astronomy (the Pythagorean obligatory sciences) went under
the
name of quadrivium.
Quetzo-Cohuatl
(Mex.). The serpent-god in the Mexican Scriptures and legends.
His
wand and other “land-marks” show him to be some great Initiate of antiquity,
who
received the name of “Serpent” on account of his wisdom, long life and
powers.
To this day the aboriginal tribes of Mexico call themselves by the names
of
various reptiles, animals and birds.
Quiche
Cosmogony. Called Popol Vuh; discovered by the Abbé Brasseur de
Bourbourg.
(See
“Popol Vuh”.)
Quietists.
A religious sect founded by a Spanish monk named Molinos. Their chief
doctrine
was that contemplation (an internal state of complete rest and
passivity)
was the only religious practice possible, and constituted the whole
of
religious observances. They were the Western Hatha Yogis and passed their
time
in trying to separate their minds from the objects of sense. The practice
became
a fashion in France and also in Russia during the early portion of this
century.
Quinanes.
A very ancient race of giants, of whom there are many traditions, not
only
in the folk-lore but in the history of Central America. Occult science
teaches
that the race which preceded our own human race was one of giants, which
gradually
decreased, after the Atlantean deluge had almost swept them off the
face
of the earth, to the present size of man.
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Quindecemvir
(Lat.). The Roman priest who had charge of the Sibylline books.
Qû-tamy
(Chald.). The name of the mystic who receives the revelations of the
moon-goddess
in the ancient Chaldean work, translated into Arabic, and
retranslated
by Chwolsohn into German, under the name of Nabathean Agriculture.
R
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R
.—The eighteenth letter of the alphabet; “the canine”, as its sound reminds
one
of a snarl. In the Hebrew alphabet it is the twentieth, and its numeral is
200.
It is equivalent as Resh to the divine name Rahim (clemency); and its
symbols
are, a sphere, a head, or a circle.
Ra
(Eg.). The divine Universal Soul in its manifested aspect—the ever-burning
light;
also the personified Sun.
Rabbis
(Heb.). Originally teachers of the Secret Mysteries, the Qabbalah; later,
every
Levite of the priestly caste became a teacher and a Rabbin. (See the
series
of Kabbalistic Rabbis by w.w.w.)
1
Rabbi Abulafia of Saragossa born in 1240, formed a school of Kabbalah named
after
him; his chief works were The Seven Paths of the Law and The Epistle to
Rabbi
Solomon.
2
Rabbi Akiba. Author of a famous Kabbalistic work, the “Alphabet of R.A.”,
which
treats every letter as a symbol of an idea and an emblem of some
sentiment;
the Book of Enoch was originally a portion of this work, which
appeared
at the close of the eighth century. It was not purely a Kabbalistic
treatise.
3
Rabbi Azariel ben Menachem (A.D. 1160). The author of the Commentary on the
Ten
Sephiroth,
which is the oldest purely Kabbalistic work extant, setting aside the
Sepher
Yetzirah, which although older, is not concerned with the Kabbalistic
Sephiroth.
He was the pupil of Isaac the Blind, who is the reputed father of the
European
Kabbalah, and he was the teacher of the equally famous R. Moses
Nachmanides.
4
Rabbi Moses Botarel (1480). Author of a famous commentary on the Sepher
Yetzirah;
he taught that by ascetic life and the use of invocations, a man’s
dreams
might be made prophetic.
5
Rabbi Chajim Vital (1600) ( The great exponent of the Kabbalah as taught R.
Isaac
Loria : author of one of the most famous works, Otz Chiim, or Tree of
Life;
from this Knorr von Rosenroth has taken the Book on the Rashith ha
Gilgalim,
revolutions of souls, or scheme of reincarnations.
6
Rabbi Ibn Gebirol. A famous Hebrew Rabbi, author of the hymn Kether Malchuth,
or
Royal Diadem, which appeared about 1050; it is a beautiful poem, embodying
the
cosmic doctrines of Aristotle, and it even
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now
forms part of the Jewish special service for the evening preceding the great
annual
Day of Atonement (See Ginsburg and Sachs on the Religious Poetry of the
Spanish
Jews). This author is also known as Avicebron.
7
Rabbi Gikatilla. A distinguished Kabbalist who flourished about 1300 : he
wrote
the famous books, The Garden of Nuts, The Gate to the Vowel Points, The
mystery
of the shining Metal, and The Gates of Righteousness. He laid especial
stress
on the use of Gematria, Notaricon and Temura.
8
Rabbi Isaac the Blind of Posquiero. The first who publicly taught in Europe,
about
A.D. 1200, the Theosophic doctrines of the Kabbalah.
9
Rabbi Loria (also written Luria, and also named Ari from his initials).
Founded
a school of the Kabbalah circa 1560. He did not write any works, but his
disciples
treasured up his teachings, and R. Chajim Vital published them.
10
Rabbi Moses Cordovero (A.D.1550). The author of several Kabbalistic works of
a
wide reputation, viz., A Sweet Light, The Book of Retirement, and The Garden
of
Pomegranates; this latter can be read in Latin in Knorr von Rosenroth’s
Kabbalah
Denudata, entitled Tractatus de Animo, ex libro Pardes Rimmonim.
Cordovero
is notable for an adherence to the strictly metaphysical part,
ignoring
the wonder-working branch which Rabbi Sabbatai Zevi practised, and
almost
perished in the pursuit of.
11
Rabbi Moses de Leon (circa 1290 A,D.). The editor and first publisher of the
Zohar,
or “Splendour”, the most famous of all the Kabbalistic volumes, and
almost
the only one of which any large part has been translated into English.
This
Zohar is asserted to be in the main the production of the still more famous
Rabbi
Simon ben Jochai, who lived in the reign of the Emperor Titus.
12
Rabbi Moses Maimonides (died 1304). A famous Hebrew Rabbi and author, who
condemned
the use of charms and amulets, and objected to the Kabbalistic use of
the
divine names.
13
Rabbi Sabbatai Zevi (born 1641). A very famous Kabbalist, who passing beyond
the
dogma became of great reputation as a thaumaturgist, working wonders by the
divine
names. Later in life he claimed Messiahship and fell into the hands of
the
Sultan Mohammed IV. of Turkey, and would have been murdered, but saved his
life
by adopting the Mohammedan religion. (See Jost on Judaism and its Sects.)
14
Rabbi Simon ben Jochai (circa A.D. 70-80). It is round this name that cluster
the
mystery and poetry of the origin of the Kabbalah as a gift of the deity to
mankind.
Tradition has it that the Kabbalah was a
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divine
theosophy first taught by God to a company of angels, and that some
glimpses
of its perfection were conferred upon Adam; that the wisdom passed from
him
unto Noah; thence to Abraham, from whom the Egyptians of his era learned a
portion
of the doctrine. Moses derived a partial initiation from the land of his
birth,
and this was perfected by direct communications with the deity. From
Moses
it passed to the seventy elders of the Jewish nation, and from them the
theosophic
scheme was handed from generation to generation; David and Solomon
especially
became masters of this concealed doctrine. No attempt, the legends
tell
us, was made to commit the sacred knowledge to writing until the time of
the
destruction of the second Temple by Titus, when Rabbi Simon ben Jochai,
escaping
from the besieged Jerusalem, concealed himself in a cave, where he
remained
for twelve years. Here he, a Kabbalist already, was further instructed
by
the prophet Elias. Here Simon taught his disciples, and his chief pupils,
Rabbi
Eliezer and Rabbi Abba, committed to writing those teachings which in
later
ages became known as the Zohar, and were certainly published afresh in
Spain
by Rabbi Moses de Leon, about 1280. A fierce contest has raged for
centuries
between the learned Rabbis of Europe around the origin of the legend,
and
it seems quite hopeless to expect ever to arrive at an accurate decision as
to
what portion of the Zohar, if any, is as old as Simon ben Jochai. (See
“Zohar”.)
[w.w.w.]
Râdhâ
(Sk.). The shepherdess among the Gopis (shepherdesses) of Krishna, who was
the
wife of the god.
Râga
(Sk). One of the five Kleshas (afflictions) in Patânjali’s Yoga philosophy.
In
Sânkhya Kârikâ, it is the “obstruction” called love and desire in the
physical
or terrestrial sense. The five Kleshas are: Avidyâ, or ignorance;
Asmitâ,
selfishness, or “I-am-ness” ; Râga, love; Dwesha, hatred; and
Abhinivesa,
dread of suffering.
Ragnarök
(Scand.). A kind of metaphysical entity called the “Destroyer” and the
“Twilight
of the Gods”, the two-thirds of whom are destroyed at the “Last
Battle”
in the Edda. Ragnarök lies in chains on the ledge of a rock so long as
there
are some good men in the world; but when all laws are broken and all
virtue
and good vanish from it, then Ragnarok will he unbound and allowed to
bring
every imaginable evil and disaster on the doomed world.
Ragon,
J. M. A French Mason, a distinguished writer and great symbologist, who
tried
to bring Masonry back to its pristine purity. He was born at Bruges in
1789,
was received when quite a boy into the Lodge and Chapter of the “Vrais
Amis”,
and upon removing to Paris founded the Society of the Trinosophes. it is
rumoured
that he was the possessor of a number of papers given to him by the
famous
Count de
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St.
Germain, from which he had all his remarkable knowledge upon early Masonry.
He
died at Paris in 1866, leaving a quantity of books written by himself and
masses
of MSS., which were bequeathed by him to the “Grand Orient”. Of the mass
of
his published works very few are obtainable, while others have entirely
disappeared.
This is due to mysterious persons (Jesuits, it is believed) who
hastened
to buy up every edition they could find after his death. In short, his
works
are now extremely rare.
Rahasya
(Sk.). A name of the Upanishads. Lit., secret essence of knowledge.
Rahat.
The same as “Arhat”; the adept who becomes entirely free from any desires
on
this plane, by acquiring divine knowledge and powers.
Ra’hmin
Seth (Heb.). According to the Kabala (or Qabbalah), the “soul-sparks”,
contained
in Adam (Kadmon), went into three sources, the heads of which were his
three
sons. Thus, while the “soul spark” (or Ego) called Chesed went into Habel,
and
Geboor-ah into Qai-yin (Cain)—Ra’hmin went into Seth, and these three sons
were
divided into seventy human species, called “the principal roots of the
human
race”.
Râhu
(Sk.). A Daitya (demon) whose lower parts were like a dragon’s tail. He
made
himself immortal by robbing the gods of some Amrita— the elixir of divine
life—for
which they were churning the ocean of milk. Unable to deprive him of
his
immortality, Vishnu exiled him from the earth and made of him the
constellation
Draco, his head being called Râhu and his tail
Ketu—astronomically,
the ascending and descending nodes. With the latter
appendage
he has ever since waged a destructive war on the denouncers of his
robbery,
the sun and the moon, and (during the eclipses) is said to swallow
them.
Of course the fable has a mystic and occult meaning.
Rahula
(Sk.). The name of Gautama Buddha’s son.
Raibhyas
(Sk.). A class of gods in the 5th Manvantara.
Raivata
Manvantara (Sk.). The life-cycle presided over by Raivata Manu. As he is
the
fifth of the fourteen Manus (in Esotercism, Dhyan Chohans), there being
seven
root-Manus and seven seed-Manus for the seven Rounds of our terrestrial
chain
of globes (See Esot. Buddhism by A. P. Sinnett, and the
Secret
Doctrine, Vol.1., “Brahminical Chronology”), Raivata presided over the
third
Round and was its root-Manu.
Râjâ
(Sk.). A Prince or King in India.
Râjagriha
(Sk.). A city in Magadha famous for its conversion to Buddhism in the
days
of the Buddhist kings. It was their residence from Bimbisara to Asoka, and
was
the seat of the first Synod, or Buddhist Council, held 510 B.C..
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Râjârshis
(Sk.). The King-Rishis or King-Adepts, one of the three classes of
Rishis
in India; the same as the King-Hierophants of ancient Egypt.
Râjas
(Sk.). The “quality of foulness” (i.e., differentiation), and activity in
the
Purânas. One of the three Gunas or divisions in the correlations of matter
and
nature, representing form and change.
Rajasâs
(Sk.). The elder Agnishwattas — the Fire-Pitris, “fire” standing as a
symbol
of enlightenment and intellect.
Râja-Yoga
(Sk.). The true system of developing psychic and spiritual powers and
union
with one’s Higher Self—or the Supreme Spirit, as the profane express it.
The
exercise, regulation and concentration of thought. Râja-Yoga is opposed to
Hatha-Yoga,
the physical or psycho physiological training in asceticism.
Râkâ
(Sk.). The day of the full moon: a day for occult practices.
Râkshâ
(Sk.). An amulet prepared during the full or new moon.
Râkshasas
(Sk.). Lit., “raw eaters”, and in the popular superstition evil
spirits,
demons. Esoterically, however, they are the Gibborim (giants) of the
Bible,
the Fourth Race or the Atlanteans.
(See
Secret Doctrine, II., 165.)
Râkshasi-Bhâshâ
(Sk.). Lit., the language of the Râkshasas. In reality, the
speech
of the Atlanteans, our gigantic forefathers of the fourth Root-race.
Ram
Mohum Roy (Sk.). The well-known Indian reformer who came to England in 1833
and
died there.
Râma
(Sk.). The seventh avatar or incarnation of Vishnu; the eldest son of King
Dasaratha,
of the Solar Race. His full name is Râma-Chandra, and he is the hero
of
the Râmâyana. He married Sîta, who was the female avatar of Lakshmi, Vishnu’s
wife,
and was carried away by Râvana the Demon-King of Lanka, which act led to
the
famous war.
Râmâyana
(Sk.). The famous epic poem collated with the Mahâbhârata. It looks as
if
this poem was either the original of the Iliad or vice versa, except that in
Râmâyana
the allies of Râma are monkeys, led by Hanuman, and monster birds and
other
animals, all of whom fight against the Râkshasas, or demons and giants of
Lankâ.
Râsa
(Sk.). The mystery-dance performed by Krishna and his Gopis, the
shepherdesses,
represented in a yearly festival to this day, especially in
Râjastan.
Astronomically it is Krishna—the Sun—around whom circle the planets
and
the signs of the Zodiac symbolised by the Gopis. The same as the
“circle-dance”
of the Amazons around the priapic image, and the dance of the
daughters
of Shiloh (Judges xxi.), and that of
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King
David around the ark. (See Isis Unveiled, II., pp. 45, 331 and 332.)
Râshi
(Sk.). An astrological division, the sixth, relating to Kanya (Virgo) the
sixth
sign in the Zodiac.
Rashi-Chakra
(Sk.), The Zodiac.
Rasit
(Heb.). Wisdom.
Rasollâsâ
(Sk.). The first of the eight physical perfections, or Siddhis
(phenomena),
of the Hatha Yogis. Rasollâsâ is the prompt evolution at will of
the
juices of the body independently of any nutriment from without.
Rasshoo
(Eg.). The solar fires formed in and out of the primordial “waters”, or
substance,
of Space.
Ratnâvabhâsa
Kalpa (Sk.). The age in which all sexual difference will have
ceased
to exist, and birth will take place in the Anupâdaka mode, as in the
second
and third Root-races. Esoteric philosophy teaches that it will take place
at
the end of the sixth and during the seventh and last Root-race in this Round.
Râtri
(Sk.). Night; the body Brahmâ assumed for purposes of creating the
Râkshasas
or alleged giant-demons.
Raumasa
(Sk.). A class of devas (gods) said to have originated from the pores of
Verabhadra’s
skin. An allusion to the pre-Adamic race called the “sweat-born”.
(Secret
Doctrine, Vol. II.)
Ravail.
The true name of the Founder of modern Spiritism in France, who is
better
known under the pseudonym of Allan Kardec.
Râvana
(Sk.). The King-Demon (the Râkshasas), the Sovereign of Lankâ (Ceylon),
who
carried away Sîta, Râma’s wife, which led to the great war described in the
Râmâyana.
Ravi
(Sk.). A name of the Sun.
Rechaka
(Sk.). A practice in Hatha Yoga, during the performance of Prânâyâma or
the
regulation of breath : namely, that of opening one nostril and emitting
breath
therefrom, and keeping the other closed; one of the three operations
respectively
called Pûraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka—operations very pernicious to
health.
Red
Colour. This has always been associated with male characteristics,
especially
by the Etruscans and Hindoos. In Hebrew it is Adam, the same as the
word
for “earth” and “the first man”. It seems that nearly all myths represent
the
first perfect man as white. The same word without the initial A is Dam or
Dem,
which means Blood, also of red colour. [w.w.w.]
The
colour of the fourth Principle in man—Kâma, the seat of desires is
represented
red.
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Reincarnation.
The doctrine of rebirth, believed in by Jesus and the Apostles,
as
by all men in those days, but denied now by the Christians. All the Egyptian
converts
to Christianity, Church Fathers and others, believed in this doctrine,
as
shown by the writings of several. In the still existing symbols, the
human-headed
bird flying towards a mummy, a body, or “the soul uniting itself
with
its sahou (glorified body of the Ego, and also the kâmalokic shell) proves
this
belief. “The song of the Resurrection” chanted by Isis to recall her dead
husband
to life, might be translated “Song of Rebirth”, as Osiris is collective
Humanity.
“Oh! Osiris [here follows the name of the Osirified mummy, or the
departed],
rise again in holy earth (matter), august mummy in the coffin, under
thy
corporeal substances”, was the funeral prayer of the priest over the
deceased.
“Resurrection” with the Egyptians never meant the resurrection of the
mutilated
mummy, but of the Soul that informed it, the Ego in a new body. The
putting
on of flesh periodically by the Soul or the Ego, was a universal belief;
nor
can anything be more consonant with justice and Karmic law. (See
“Pre-existence”.)
Rekh-get-Amen
(Eg.). The name of the priests, hierophants, and teachers of
Magic,
who, according to Lenormant, Maspero, the Champollions, etc., etc.,
“could
levitate, walk the air, live under water, sustain great pressure,
harmlessly
suffer mutilation, read the past, foretell the future, make
themselves
invisible, and cure diseases” (Bonwick, Religion of Magic). And the
same
author adds: “Admission to the mysteries did not confer magical powers.
These
depended upon two things: the possession of innate capacities, and the
knowledge
of certain formulæ employed under suitable circumstances”. Just the
same
as it is now.
Rephaim
(Heb.). Spectres, phantoms. (Secret Doctrine, II., 279.)
Resha-havurah
(Heb., Kab.). Lit., the “White Head”, from which flows the fiery
fluid
of life and intelligence in three hundred and seventy streams, in all the
directions
of the Universe. The “White Head” is the first Sephira, the Crown, or
first
active light.
Reuchlin,
John. Nicknamed the “Father of the Reformation”; the friend of Pico di
Mirandola,
the teacher and instructor of Erasmus, of Luther and Melancthon. He
was
a great Kabbalist and Occultist.
Rig
Veda (Sk.). The first and most important of the four Vedas. Fabled to have
been
“created” from the Eastern mouth of Brahmâ; recorded in Occultism as having
been
delivered by great sages on Lake Man(a)saravara beyond the Himalayas,
dozens
of thousands of years ago.
Rik
(Sk.). A verse of Rig-Veda.
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Riksha
(Sk.). Each of the twenty-seven constellations forming the Zodiac. Any
fixed
star, or constellation of stars.
Rimmon
(Heb.). A Pomegranate, the type of abundant fertility; occurs in the Old
Testament;
it figures in Syrian temples and was deified there, as an emblem of
the
celestial prolific mother of all; also a type of the full womb. [w.w.w.]
Rings,
Magic. These existed as talismans in every folk-lore. In Scandinavia such
rings
are always connected with the elves and dwarfs who were alleged to be the
possessors
of talismans and who gave them occasionally to human beings whom they
wished
to protect. In the words of the chronicler: “These magic rings brought
good
luck to the owner so long as they were carefully preserved ; but their loss
was
attended with terrible misfortunes and unspeakable misery”.
Rings
and Rounds. Terms employed by Theosophists in explanation of Eastern
cosmogony.
They are used to denote the various evolutionary cycles in the
Elemental,
Mineral, &c., Kingdoms, through which the Monad passes on any one
globe,
the term Round being used only to denote the cyclic passage of the Monad
round
the complete chain of seven globes. Generally speaking, Theosophists use
the
term ring as a synonym of cycles, whether cosmic, geological, metaphysical
or
any other.
Riphæus
(Gr.). In mythology a mountain chain upon which slept the frozen-hearted
god
of snows and hurricanes. In Esoteric philosophy a real prehistoric continent
which
from a tropical ever sunlit land has now become a desolate region beyond
the
Arctic Circle.
Rishabha
(Sk.). A sage supposed to have been the first teacher of the Jain
doctrines
in India.
Rishabham
(Sk). The Zodiacal sign Taurus.
Rishi-Prajâpati
(Sk.). Lit., “revealers”, holy sages in the religious history of
Âryavarta.
Esoterically the highest of them are the Hierarchies of “Builders”
and
Architects of the Universe and of living things on earth; they are generally
called
Dhyan Chohans, Devas and gods.
Rishis
(Sk.). Adepts; the inspired ones. In Vedic literature the term is
employed
to denote those persons through whom the various Mantras were revealed.
Ri-thlen.
Lit., “snake-keeping”. It is a terrible kind of sorcery practised at
Cherrapoonjee
in the Khasi-Hills. The former is the ancient capital of the
latter.
As the legend tells us : ages ago a thlen (serpent-dragon) which
inhabited
a cavern and devoured men and cattle was put to death by a local St.
George,
and cut to pieces, every piece being sent out to a different district to
be
burnt. But the piece received
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by
the Khasis was preserved by them and became a kind of household god, and
their
descendants developed into Ri-thlens or “snake keepers”, for the piece
they
preserved grew into a dragon (thlen) and ever since has obsessed certain
Brahmin
families of that district. To acquire the good grace of their thlen and
save
their own lives, these “keepers” have often to commit murders of women and
children,
from whose bodies they cut out the toe and finger nails, which they
bring
to their thlen, and thus indulge in a number of black magic practices
connected
with sorcery and necromancy.
Roger
Bacon. A very famous Franciscan monk who lived in England in the
thirteenth
century. He was an Alchemist who firmly believed in the existence of
the
Philosopher’s Stone, and was a great mechanician, chemist, physicist and
astrologer.
In his treatise on the Admirable Force of Art and Nature, he gives
hints
about gunpowder and predicts the use of steam as a propelling power,
describing
besides the hydraulic press, the diving-bell and the kaleidoscope. He
also
made a famous brazen head fitted with an acoustic apparatus which gave out
oracles.
Ro
and Ru (Eg.). The gate or outlet, the spot in the heavens whence proceeded or
was
born primeval light; synonymous with “cosmic womb”.
Rohinilâ
(Sk.). The ancient name of a monastery visited by Buddha Sâkyamuni, now
called
Roynallah, near Balgada, in Eastern Behar.
Rohit
(Sk.). A female deer, a hind; the form assumed by Vâch (the female Logos
and
female aspect of Brahmâ who created her out of one half of his body) to
escape
the amorous pursuits of her “father”, who transformed himself for that
purpose
into a buck or red deer (the colour of Brahmâ being red).
Rohitaka
Stupa (Sk.). The “red stupa”, or dagoba, built by King Asoka, and on
which
Maitribala-râjâ fed starving Yakshas with his blood. The Yakshas are
inoffensive
demons (Elementaries) called pynya-janas or “good people”.
Rosicrucians
(Mys.). The name was first given to the disciples of a learned
Adept
named Christian Rosenkreuz, who flourished in Germany, circa 1460. He
founded
an Order of mystical students whose early history is to be found in the
German
work, Fama Fraternitatis (1614), which has been published in several
languages.
The members of the Order maintained their secrecy, but traces of them
have
been found in various places every half century since these dates. The
Societas
Rosicruciana in Anglia is a Masonic Order, which has adopted membership
in
the “outer”; the Chabrath Zereh Aur Bokher, or Order of the G. D., which has
a
very complete scheme of initiation into the Kabbalah and the Higher Magic of
the
Western or Hermetic type, and admits both
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sexes,
is a direct descendant from mediæval sodalities of Rosicrucians,
themselves
descended from the Egyptian Mysteries. [w.w.w.]
Rostan.
Book of the Mysteries of Rostan; an occult work in manuscript.
Rowhanee
(Eg.) or Er-Roohanee. is the Magic of modern Egypt, supposed to proceed
from
Angels and Spirits, that is Genii, and by the use of the mystery names of
Allah;
they distinguish two forms—Ilwee, that is the Higher or White Magic; and
Suflee
and Sheytanee, the Lower or Black Demoniac Magic. There is also
Es-Seemuja,
which is deception or conjuring. Opinions differ as to the
importance
of a branch of Magic called Darb el Mendel, or as Barker calls it in
English,
the Mendal: by this is meant a form of artificial clairvoyance,
exhibited
by a young boy before puberty, or a virgin, who, as the result of
self-fascination
by gazing on a pool of ink in the hand, with coincident use of
incense
and incantation, sees certain scenes of real life passing over its
surface.
Many Eastern travellers have narrated instances, as E. W. Lane in his
Modern
Egyptians and his Thousand and One Nights, and E. B. Barker; the
incidents
have been introduced also into many works of fiction, such as
Marryat’s
Phantom Ship, and a similar idea is interwoven with the story of Rose
Mary
and the Beryl stone, a poem by Rossetti. For a superficial attempt at
explanation,
see the Quarterly Review, No.117. [w.w.w.]
Ruach
(Heb.). Air, also Spirit; the Spirit, one of the “human principles”
(Buddhi-Manas).
Ruach
Elohim (Heb.). The Spirit of the gods; corresponds to the Holy Ghost of
the
Christians. Also the wind, breath and rushing water. [w.w.w.]
Rudra
(Sk.). A title of Siva, the Destroyer.
Rudras
(Sk.). The mighty ones; the lords of the three upper worlds. One of the
classes
of the “fallen” or incarnating spirits; they are all born of Brahmâ.
Runes
(Scand.). The Runic language and characters are the mystery or sacerdotal
tongue
and alphabet of the ancient Scandinavians. Runes are derived from the
word
rûna (secret). Therefore both language and character could neither be
understood
nor interpreted without having the key to it. Hence while the written
runes
consisting of sixteen letters are known, the ancient ones composed of
marks
and signs are indecipherable. They are called the magic characters. “It is
clear”,
says E. W. Anson, an authority on the folk-lore of the Norsemen, “that
the
runes were from various causes regarded even in Germany proper as full of
mystery
and endowed with supernatural power”. They are said to have been
invented
by Odin.
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Rûpa
(Sk.). Body; any form, applied even to the forms of the gods, which are
subjective
to us.
Ruta
(Sk.). The name of one of the last islands of Atlantis, which perished ages
before
Poseidonis, the “Atlantis” of Plato.
Rutas
(Sk.). An ancient people that inhabited the above island or continent in
the
Pacific Ocean.
S
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S—The
nineteenth letter; numerically, sixty. In Hebrew it is the fifteenth
letter,
Samech, held as holy because “the sacred name of god is Samech”. Its
symbol
is a prop, or a pillar, and a phallic egg. In occult geometry it is
represented
as a circle quadrated by a cross, . In the Kabbalah the “divisions
of
Gan-Eden
or paradise” are similarly divided.
Sa
or Hea (Chald.). The synthesis of the seven Gods in Babylonian mythology.
Sabalâswâs
(Sk.). Sons of Daksha (Secret Doctrine, II., 275).
Sabao
(Gr.). The Gnostic name of the genius of Mars.
Sabaoth
(Heb.). An army or host, from Sâbô go to war; hence the name of the
fighting
god—the
“
Lord of Sabaoth ”.
Sabda
(Sk.). The Word, or Logos.
Sabda
Brahmam (Sk.). “The Unmanifested Logos.” The Vedas; “Ethereal Vibrations
diffused
throughout Space ”.
Sabhâ
(Sk.). An assembly; a place for meetings, social or political. Also
Mahâsabhâ
, “the bundle of wonderful (mayavic or illusionary) things” the gift
of
Mayâsur to the Pândavas (Mahâbhârata.)
Sabianism.
The religion of the ancient Chaldees. The latter believing in one
impersonal,
universal, deific Principle, never mentioned It, but offered worship
to
the solar, lunar, and planetary gods and rulers, regarding the stars and
other
celestial bodies as their respective symbols.
Sabians.
Astrolaters, so called; those who worshipped the stars, or rather their
“regents
”.
(See
“ Sabianism ”.)
Sacha
Kiriya (Sk.). A power with the Buddhists akin to a magic mantram with the
Brahmans.
It is a miraculous energy which can be exercised by any adept, whether
priest
or layman, and “most efficient when accompanied by bhâwanâ ”
(meditation).
It consists in a recitation of one’s “acts of merit done either in
this
or some former birth”—as the Rev. Mr. Hardy thinks and puts it, but in
reality
it depends on the intensity of one’s will, added to an absolute faith in
one’s
own powers, whether of yoga—willing—or of prayer, as in the case of
Mussulmans
and Christians. Sacha means “true”, and Kiriyang, “action”. It is the
power
of merit, or of a saintly life.
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Sacrarium
(Lat.). The name of the room in the houses of the ancient Romans,
which
contained the particular deity worshipped by the family; also the adytum
of
a temple.
Sacred
Heart. In Egypt, of Horus; in Babylon, of the god Bel; and the lacerated
heart
of Bacchusin Greece and elsewhere. Its symbol was the persea. The
pear-like
shape of its fruit, and of its kernel especially, resembles the heart
in
form. It is sometimes seen on the head of Isis, the mother of Horus, the
fruit
being cut open and the heart-like kernel exposed to full view. The Roman
Catholics
have since adopted the worship of the “sacred heart” of Jesus and of
the
Virgin Mary.
Sacred
Science. The name given to the inner esoteric philosophy, the secrets
taught
in days of old to the initiated candidates, and divulged during the last
and
supreme Initiation by the Hierophants.
Sadaikarûpa
(Sk.). The essence of the immutable nature.
Sadducees.
A sect, the followers of one Zadok, a disciple of Anti-gonus Saccho.
They
are accused of having denied the immortality of the (personal) soul and
that
of the resurrection of the (physical and personal) body. Even so do the
Theosophists;
though they deny neither the immortality of the Ego nor the
resurrection
of all its numerous and successive lives, which survive in the
memory
of the Ego. But together with the Sadducees—a sect of learned
philosophers
who were to all the other Jews that which the polished and learned
Gnostics
were to the rest of the Greeks during the early centuries of our era—we
certainly
deny the immortality of the animal soul and the resurrection of the
physical
body. The Sadducees were the scientists and the learned men of
Jerusalem,
and held the highest offices, such as of high priests and judges,
while
the Pharisees were almost from first to last the Pecksniffs of Judæa.
Sâdhyas
(Sk.). One of the names of the “twelve great gods” created by Brahmâ.
Kosmic
gods; lit., “divine sacrificers”. The Sâdhyas are important in Occultism.
Sadik.
The same as the Biblical Melchizedec, identified by the mystic
Bible-worshippers
with Jehovah, and Jesus Christ. But Father Sadik’s identity
with
Noah being proven, he can be further identified with Kronos-Saturn.
Safekh
(Eg.). Written also Sebek and Sebakh, god of darkness and night, with the
crocodile
for his emblem. In the Typhonic legend and transformation he is the
same
as Typhon. He is connected with both Osiris and Horus, and is their great
enemy
on earth. We find him often called the “triple crocodile ”. In astronomy
he
is the same as Mâkâra or Capricorn, the most mystical of the signs of the
Zodiac.
Saga
(Scand.). The goddess “who sings of the deeds of gods and
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heroes
”, and to whom the black ravens of Odin reveal the history of the Past
and
of the Future in the Norsemen’s Edda.
Sâgara
(Sk.). Lit., “the Ocean”; a king, the father of 6o,ooo Sons, who, for
disrespect
shown to the sage Kapila, were reduced to ashes by a single glance of
his
eye.
Sagardagan.
One of the four paths to Nirvana.
Saha
(Sk.). “The world of suffering”; any inhabited world in the chilio-cosmos.
Sahampati
(Sk.). Maha or Parabrahm.
Saharaksha
(Sk.). The fire of the Asuras; the name of a son of Pavamâna, one of
the
three chief occult fires.
Saint
Martin, Louis Claude de. Born in France (Amboise), in 1743. A great mystic
and
writer, who pursued his philosophical and theosophical studies at Paris,
during
the Revolution. He was an ardent disciple of Jacob Boehme, and studied
under
Martinez Paschalis, finally founding a mystical semi-Masonic Lodge, “the
Rectified
Rite of St. Martin ”, with seven degrees. He was a true Theosophist.
At
the present moment some ambitious charlatans in Paris are caricaturing him
and
passing themselves off as initiated Martinists, and thus dishonouring the
name
of the late Adept.
Sais
(Eg.). The place where the celebrated temple of Isis-Neith was found,
wherein
was the ever-veiled statue of Neith (Neith and Isis being
interchangeable),
with the famous inscription, “I am all that has been, and is,
and
shall be, and my peplum no mortal has withdrawn ”. (See “Sirius”.)
Saka
(Sk.). Lit., “the One”, or the Ekas; used of the “Dragon of Wisdom” or the
manifesting
deities, taken collectively.
Saka
(Sk.). According to the Orientalists the same as the classical Sacæ. It is
during
the reign of their King Yudishtira that the Kali Yuga began.
Sâka
Dwîpa (Sk.). One of the seven islands or continents mentioned in the
Purânas
(ancient works).
Sakkayaditthi.
Delusion of personality; the erroneous idea that “I am I ”, a man
or
a woman with a special name, instead of being an inseparable part of the
whole.
Sakradagamin
(Sk.). Lit., “he who will receive birth (only) once more” before
Nirvâna
is reached by him; he who has entered the second of the four paths which
lead
to Nirvana and has almost reached perfection.
Sakshi
(Sk.). The name of the hare, who in the legend of the” moon
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and
the hare” threw himself into the fire to save some starving pilgrims who
would
not kill him. For this sacrifice Indra is said to have transferred him to
the
centre of the moon.
Sakti
(Sk.). The active female energy of the gods; in popular Hinduism, their
wives
and goddesses; in Occultism, the crown of the astral light. Force and the
six
forces of nature synthesized. Universal Energy.
Sakti-Dhara
(Sk.). Lit., the “Spear-holder ”, a title given to Kartikeya for
killing
Târaka, a Daitya or giant-demon. The latter, demon though he was, seems
to
have been such a great Yogin, owing to his religious austerities and
holiness,
that he made all the gods tremble before him. This makes of Kartikeya,
the
war god, a kind of St. Michael.
Sakwala.
This is a bana or “word” uttered by Gautama Buddha in his oral
instructions.
Sakwala is a mundane, or rather a solar system, of which there is
an
infinite number in the universe, and which denotes that space to which the
light
of every sun extends. Each Sakwala contains earths, hells and heavens
(meaning
good and bad spheres, our earth being considered as hell, in
Occultism);
attains its prime, then falls into decay and is finally destroyed at
regularly
recurring periods, in virtue of one immutable law. Upon the earth, the
Master
taught that there have been already four great “continents” (the Land of
the
Gods, Lemuria, Atlantis, and the present “continent” divided into five parts
of
the Secret Doctrine), and that three more have to appear. The former did not
communicate
with each other ”, a sentence showing that Buddha was not speaking
of
the actual continents known in his day (for Pâtâla or America was perfectly
familiar
to the ancient Hindus), but of the four geological formations of the
earth,
with their four distinct root-races which had already disappeared.
Sâkya
(Sk.). A patronymic of Gautama Buddha.
Sâkyamuni
Buddha (Sk.). A name of the founder of Buddhism, the great Sage, the
Lord
Gautama.
Salamanders.
The Rosicrucian name for the Elementals of Fire. The animal, as
well
as its name, is of most occult significance, and is widely used in poetry.
The
name is almost identical in all languages. Thus, in Greek, Latin, French,
Spanish,
Italian, etc., it is Salamandra, in Persian Samandel, and in Sanskrit
Salamandala.
Salmalî
(Sk.). One of the seven zones; also a kind of tree.
Sama
(Sk.). One of the bhâva pushpas, or “flowers of sanctity Sama is the fifth,
or
“resignation”. There are eight such flowers, namely: clemency or charity,
self-restraint,
affection (or love for others), patience, resignation, devotion,
meditation
and veracity. Sama is also the repression of any mental perturbation,
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Sâma
Veda (Sk.). Lit., “the Scripture, or Shâstra, of peace”. One of the four
Vedas.
Samâdhâna
(Sk.). That state in which a Yogi can no longer diverge from the path
of
spiritual progress; when everything terrestrial, except the visible body, has
ceased
to exist for him.
Samâdhi
(Sk.). A state of ecstatic and complete trance. The term comes from the
words
Sam-âdha, “self-possession ”. He who possesses this power is able to
exercise
an absolute control over all his faculties, physical or mental; it is
the
highest state of Yoga.
Samâdhindriya
(Sk.). Lit., “the root of concentration”; the fourth of the five
roots
called Pancha Indriyâni, which are said in esoteric philosophy to be the
agents
in producing a highly moral life, leading to sanctity and liberation ;
when
these are reached, the two spiritual roots lying latent in the body (Atmâ
and
Buddhi) will send out shoots and blossom. Samâdhindriya is the organ of
ecstatic
meditation in
Râj-yoga
practices.
Samael
(Heb.). The Kabbalistic title of the Prince of those evil spirits who
represent
incarnations of human vices; the angel of Death. From this the idea of
Satan
has been evolved. [w.w.w.]
Samajna
(Sk.). Lit., “an enlightened (or luminous) Sage ”. Translated verbally,
Samgharana
Samajna, the famous Vihâra near Kustana (China), means “the monastery
of
the luminous Sage”.
Samâna
(Sk.). One of the five breaths (Prânas) which carry on the chemical
action
in the animal body.
Sâmanêra.
A novice; a postulant for the Buddhist priesthood.
Samanta
Bhadra (Sk.). Lit., “Universal Sage ”. The name of one of the four
Bodhisattvas
of the Yogâchârya School, of the Mâhâyana (the Great Vehicle) of
Wisdom
of that system. There are four terrestrial and three celestial
Bodhisattvas:
the first four only act in the present races, but in the middle of
the
fifth Root-race appeared the fifth Bodhisattva, who, according to an
esoteric
legend, was Gautama Buddha, but who, having appeared too early, had to
disappear
bodily from the world for a while.
Sâmanta
Prabhâsa (Sk.). Lit., “universal brightness” or dazzling light. The name
under
which each of the 500 perfected Arhats reappears on earth as Buddha.
Sâmânya
(Sk.). Community, or commingling of qualities, an abstract notion of
genus,
such as humanity.
Samâpatti
(Sk.). Absolute concentration in Râja-Yoga; the process of development
by
which perfect indifference (Sams) is reached (apatti).
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This
state is the last stage of development before the possibility of entering
into
Samâdhi is reached.
Samaya
(Sk.). A religious precept.
S’ambhala
(Sk). A very mysterious locality on account of its future
associations.
A town or village mentioned in the Purânas, whence, it is
prophesied,
the Kalki Avatar will appear. The “Kalki”is Vishnu, the Messiah on
the
White Horse of the Brahmins; Maitreya Buddha of the Buddhists, Sosiosh of
the
Parsis, and Jesus of the Christians (See Revelations). All these “
messengers”
are to appear “ before the destruction of the world “, says the one;
before
the end of Kali Yuga say the others. It is in S’ambhala that the future
Messiah
will be born. Some Orientalists make modern Murâdâbâd in Rohilkhand
(N.W.P.)
identical with S’ambhala, while Occultism places it in the Himalayas.
It
is pronounced Shambhala.
Sambhogakâya
(Sk.). One of the three “Vestures” of glory, or bodies, obtained by
ascetics
on the “Path”. Some sects hold it as the second, while others as the
third
of the Buddhahshêtras; or forms of Buddha. Lit., the “Body of
Compensation”
(See Voice of the Silence, Glossary iii). Of such Buddhakshêtras
there
are seven, those of Nirmanakâya, Sambhogakáya and Dharmakâya, belonging to
the
Trikâya, or three-fold quality.
Samgha
(Sk.). The corporate assembly, or a quorum of priests; called also
Bhikshu
Samgha; the word “church” used in translation does not at all express
the
real meaning.
Samkhara
(Pali). One of the five Shandhas or attributes in Buddhism.
Samkhara
(Pali). “Tendencies of mind” (See“ Skandhas”).
Samma
Sambuddha (Pali). The recollection of all of one’s past incarnations; a
yoga
phenomenon.
Samma
Sambuddha (Pali). A title of the Lord Buddha, the “Lord of meekness and
resignation”;
it means “perfect illumination ”.
Samothrace
(Gr.). An island famous for its Mysteries, perhaps the oldest ever
established
in our present race. The Samothracian Mysteries were renowned all
over
the world.
Samothraces
(Gr.). A designation of the Five gods worshipped at the island of
that
name during the Mysteries. They are considered as identical with the
Cabeiri,
Dioscuri and Corybantes. Their names were mystical, denoting Pluto,
Ceres
or Proserpine, Bacchus and Æsculapius, or Hermes.
Sampajnâna
(Sk.). A power of internal illumination.
Samskâra
(Sk.). Lit., from Sam and Krî, to improve, refine, impress. In Hindu
philosophy
the term is used to denote the impressions left upon
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the
mind by individual actions or external circumstances, and capable of being
developed
on any future favourable occasion—even in a future birth. The Samskâra
denotes,
therefore, the germs of propensities and impulses from previous births
to
be developed in this, or the coming janmâs or reincarnations. In Tibet,
Samskâra
is called Doodyed, and in China is defined as, or at least connected
with,
action or Karma. It is, strictly speaking, a metaphysical term, which in
exoteric
philosophies is variously defined; e.g., in Nepaul as illusion, in
Tibet
as notion, and in Ceylon as discrimination. The true meaning is as given
above,
and as such is connected with Karma and its working.
Samtan
(Tib.). The same as Dhyâna or meditation.
Samvara
(Sk.). A deity worshipped by the Tantrikas.
Samvarta
(Sk.). A minor Kalpa. A period in creation after which a partial
annihilation
of the world occurs.
Samvartta
Kalpa (Sk.). The Kalpa or period of destruction, the same as Pralaya.
Every
root-race and sub-race is subject to such Kalpas of destruction; the fifth
root-race
having sixty-four such
Cataclysms
periodically; namely: fifty-six by fire, seven by water, and one
small
Kalpa by winds or cyclones.
Samvat
(Sk.). The name of an Indian chronological era, supposed to have
commenced
fifty-seven years B.C.
Samvriti
(Sk.). False conception—the origin of illusion.
Samvritisatya
(Sk.). Truth mixed with false conceptions (Samvriti); the reverse
of
absolute truth—or Paramârthasatya, self-consciousness in absolute truth or
reality.
Samyagâjiva
(Sk.). Mendicancy for religious purposes: the correct profession. It
is
the fourth Mârga (path), the vow of poverty, obligatory on every Arhat and
monk.
Samyagdrishti
(Sk.). The ability to discuss truth. The first of the eight Mârga
(paths)
of the ascetic.
Samyakkarmânta
(Sk.). The last of the eight Mârgas. Strict purity and observance
of
honesty, disinterestedness and unselfishness, the characteristic of every
Arhat.
Samyaksamâdhi
(Sk.). Absolute mental coma. The sixth of the eight Mârgas; the
full
attainment of Samâdhi.
Samyaksambuddha
(Sk.) or Sammâsambuddha as pronounced in Ceylon. Lit., the
Buddha
of correct and harmonious knowledge, and the third of the ten titles of
Sâkyamuni.
Samyattaka
Nikaya (Pali). A Buddhist work composed mostly of dialogues between
Buddha
and his disciples.
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Sana
(Sk.). One of the three esoteric Kumâras, whose names are Sana, Kapila and
Sanatsujâta,
the mysterious triad which contains the mystery of generation and
reincarnation.
Sana
or Sanaischara (Sk.). The same as Sani or Saturn the planet. In the Hindu
Pantheon
he is the son of Surya, the Sun, and of Sanjna, Spiritual
Consciousness,
who is the daughter of Visva-Karman, or rather of Chhâyâ the
shadow
left behind by Sanjna. Sanaischara, the “slow- moving ”.
Sanaka
(Sk.). A sacred plant, the fibres of which are woven into yellow robes
for
Buddhist priests.
Sanat
Kumâra (Sk.). The most prominent of the seven Kumâras, the Vaidhâtra the
first
of which are called Sanaka, Sananda, Sanâtana and Sanat Kumâra; which
names
are all significant qualifications of the degrees of human intellect.
Sanat
Sujâtîya (Sk.). A work treating of Krishna’s teachings, such as in
Bhagavad
Gitâ and Anugîta.
Sancha-Dwîpa
(Sk.). One of the seven great islands Sapta-Dwîpa.
Sanchoniathon
(Gr.). A pre-christian writer on Phœnician Cosmogony, whose works
are
no longer extant. Philo Byblus gives only the so-called fragments of
Sanchoniathon.
Sandalphon
(Heb.). The Kabbalistic Prince of Angels, emblematically represented
by
one of the Cherubim of the Ark.
Sandhyâ
(Sk.). A period between two Yugas, morning-evening; anything coming
between
and joining two others. Lit., “twilight”; the period between a full
Manvantara,
or a “Day ”, and a full Pralaya or a “Night of
Brahmâ”.
Sandhyâmsa
(Sk.). A period following a Yuga.
Sanghai
Dag-po (Tib.). The “concealed Lord”; a title of those who have merged
into,
and identified themselves with, the Absolute. Used of the “ Nirvânees” and
the
“Jîvanmuktas
Sangye
Khado (Sk.). The Queen of the Khado or female genii; the Dâkini of the
Hindus
and the Lilith of the Hebrews.
Sanjnâ
(Sk.). Spiritual Consciousness. The wife of Surya, the Sun.
Sankara
(Sk.). The name of Siva. Also a great Vedantic philosopher.
Sânkhya
(Sk.). The system of philosophy founded by Kapila Rishi, a system of
analytical
metaphysics, and one of the six Darshanas or schools of philosophy.
It
discourses on numerical categories and the meaning of the twenty-five tatwas
(the
forces of nature in various degrees). This “atomistic school”, as some call
it,
explains nature by the inter-
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action
of twenty-four elements with purusha (spirit) modified by the three gunas
(qualities),
teaching the eternity of pradhâna (primordial, homogeneous matter),
or
the self-transformation of nature and the eternity of the human Egos.
Sânkhya
Kârikâ (Sk.). A work by Kapila, containing his aphorisms.
Sânkhya
Yoga (Sk.). The system of Yoga as set forth by the above school.
Sanna
(Pali). One of the five Skandhas, namely the attribute of abstract ideas.
Sannyâsi
(Sk.). A Hindu ascetic who has reached the highest mystic knowledge;
whose
mind is fixed only upon the supreme truth, and who has entirely renounced
everything
terrestrial and worldly.
Sansâra
(Sk.). Lit., “rotation”; the ocean of births and deaths. Human rebirths
represented
as a continuous circle, a wheel ever in motion.
Sanskrit
(Sk.). The classical language of the Brahmans, never known nor spoken
in
its true systematized form (given later approximately by Pânini), except by
the
initiated Brahmans, as it was
pre-eminently
“a mystery language”. It has now degenerated into the so-called
Prâkrita.
Santa
(Sk.). Lit., “placidity ”. The primeval quality of the latent,
undifferentiated
state of elementary matter.
Santatih
(Sk.). The “offspring.”
Saphar
(Heb.). Sepharim; one of those called in the Kabbalah— Sepher, Saphar and
Sipur,
or “Number, Numbers and Numbered ”, by whose agency the world was formed.
Sapta
(Sk.). Seven.
Sapta
Buddhaka (Sk.). An account in Mahânidâna Sûtra of Sapta Buddha, the seven
Buddhas
of our Round, of which Gautama Sâkyamuni is esoterically the fifth, and
exoterically,
as a blind, the seventh.
Sapta
Samudra (Sk.). The “seven oceans ”. These have an occult significance on a
higher
plane.
Sapta
Sindhava (Sk.). The “seven sacred rivers ”. A Vedic term. In Zend works
they
are called Hapta Heando. These rivers are closely united with the esoteric
teachings
of the Eastern schools, having a very occult significance.
Sapta
Tathâgata (Sk.). The chief seven Nirmânakâyas among the numberless ancient
world-guardians.
Their names are inscribed on a heptagonal pillar kept in a
secret
chamber in almost all Buddhist temples in China and Tibet. The
Orientalists
are wrong in thinking that these are “the seven Buddhist
substitutes
for the Rishis of the Brahmans.” (See “Tathâgata-gupta”).
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Saptadwîpa
(Sk.). The seven sacred islands or “continents” in the Purânas.
Saptaloka
(Sk.). The seven higher regions, beginning from the earth upwards.
Saptaparna
(Sk.). The “sevenfold”. A plant which gave its name to a famous cave,
a
Vihâra, in Râjâgriha, now near Buddhagaya, where the Lord Buddha used to
meditate
and teach his Arhats, and where after his death the first Synod was
held.
This cave had seven chambers, whence the name. In Esotericism Saptaparna
is
the symbol of the “seven fold Man-Plant”.
Saptarshi
(Sk.). The seven Rishis. As stars they are the constellation of ‘the
Great
Bear, and called as such the Riksha and Chitrasikhandinas, bright-crested.
Sar
or Saros (Chald.). A Chaldean god from whose name, represented by a circular
horizon,
the Greeks borrowed their word Saros, the cycle.
Saramâ
(Sk.). In the Vedas, the dog of Indra and mother of the two dogs called
Sârameyas.
Saramâ is the “divine watchman” of the god and the same as he who
watched
“over the golden flock of stars and solar rays”; the same as Mercury,
the
planet, and the Greek Hermes, called Sârameyas.
Saraph
(Heb.). A flying serpent.
Sarasvati
(Sk.). The same as Vâch, wife and daughter of Brahmâ produced from one
of
the two halves of his body. She is the goddess of speech and of sacred or
esoteric
knowledge and wisdom. Also called Sri.
Sarcophagus
(Gr.). A stone tomb, a receptacle for the dead; sarc = flesh, and
phagein
= to eat. Lapis assius, the stone of which the sarcophagi were made, is
found
in Lycia, and has the property of consuming the bodies in a very few
weeks.
In Egypt sarcophagi were made of various other stones, of black basalt,
red
granite, alabaster and other materials, as they served only as outward
receptacles
for the wooden coffins containing the mummies. The epitaphs on some
of
them are as remarkable as they are highly ethical, and no Christian could
wish
for anything better. One epitaph, dating thousands of years before the year
one
of our modern era, reads :—“ I have given water to him who was thirsty, and
clothing
to him who was naked. I have done harm to no man.” Another: “I have
done
actions desired by men and those which are commanded by the gods”. The
beauty
of some of these tombs may be judged by the alabaster sarcophagus of
Oimenephthah
I., at Sir John Soane’s Museum, Lincoln’s Inn. “It was cut out of a
single
block of fine alabaster stone, and is 9 ft. 4 in.. long, by 22 to 24 in.
in
width, and 27 to 32 in. in height. . . . Engraved dots, etc., outside were
once
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filled
with blue copper to represent the heavens. To attempt a description of
the
wonderful figures inside and out is beyond the scope of this work. Much of
our
knowledge of the mythology of the people is derived from this precious
monument,
with its hundreds of figures to illustrate the last judgment, and the
life
beyond the grave. Gods, men, serpents, symbolical animals and plants are
there
most beautifully carved.” (Funeral Rites of the Egyptians.)
Sargon
(Chald.). A Babylonian king. The story is now found to have been the
original
of Moses and the ark of bulrushes in the Nile.
Sarîra
(Sk.). Envelope or body.
Sarisripa
(Sk.). Serpents, crawling insects, reptiles, “the infinitesimally
small”.
Sarku
(Chald.). Lit., the light race; that of the gods in contradistinction to
the
dark race called
zahmat
gagnadi, or the race that fell, i.e., mortal men.
Sarpas
(Sk.). Serpents, whose king was Sesha, the serpent, or rather an aspect
of
Vishnu, who reigned in Pâtâla.
Sârpa-rajnî
(Sk.). The queen of the serpents in the Brâhmanas.
Sarva
Mandala (Sk.) A name for the “Egg of Brahmâ”.
Sarvada
(Sk.). Lit., “all-sacrificing ” A title of Buddha, who in a former
Jataha
(birth) sacrificed his kingdom, liberty, and even life, to save others.
Sarvaga
(Sk.). The supreme “World-Substance”.
Sarvâtmâ
(Sk.). The supreme Soul; the all-pervading Spirit.
Sarvêsha
(Sk.). Supreme Being. Controller of every action and force in the
universe.
Sat
(Sk.). The one ever-present Reality in the infinite world; the divine
essence
which is, but cannot be said to exist, as it is Absoluteness, Be-ness
itself.
Sata
rûpa (Sk.). The “hundred-formed one”; applied to Vâch, who to be the female
Brahmâ
assumes a hundred forms, i.e., Nature.
Sati
(Eg.). The triadic goddess, with Anouki of the Egyptian god Khnoum.
Sattâ
(Sk.). The “one and sole Existence ”—Brahma (neut.).
Satti
or Suttee, (Sk.). The burning of living widows together with their dead
husbands—a
custom now happily abolished in India; lit., “a chaste and devoted
wife”.
Sattva
(Sk.). Understanding; quiescence in divine knowledge. It follows
‘generally
the word Bodhi when used as a compound word, e.g., “Bodhisattva”.
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Sattva
or Satwa, (Sk.). Goodness; the same as Sattva, or purity, one of the
trigunas
or three divisions of nature.
Satya
(Sk.). Supreme truth.
Satya
Loka (Sk.). The world of infinite purity and wisdom, the celestial abode
of
Brahmâ and the gods.
Satya
Yuga (Sk.). The golden age, or the age of truth and purity; the first of
the
four Yugas, also called Krita Yuga.
Satyas
(Sk.). One of the names of the twelve great gods.
Scarabæus,
In Egypt, the symbol of resurrection, and also of rebirth; of
resurrection
for the mummy or rather of the highest aspects of the personality
which
animated it, and of rebirth for the Ego, the “spiritual body” of the
lower,
human Soul. Egyptologists give us but half of the truth, when in
speculating
upon the meaning of certain inscriptions, they say, “the justified
soul,
once arrived at a certain period of its peregrinations (simply at the
death
of the physical body) should be united to its body (i.e., the Ego) never
more
to be separated from it ”. (Rougé.) What is this so-called body? Can it be
the
mummy? Certainly not, for the emptied mummified corpse can never resurrect.
It
can only be the eternal, spiritual vestment, the EGO that never dies but
gives
immortality to whatsoever becomes united with it. “The delivered
Intelligence
(which) retakes its luminous envelope and (re)becomes Daїmon ”, as
Prof.
Maspero says, is the spiritual Ego; the personal Ego or Kâma Manas, its
direct
ray, or the lower soul, is that which aspires to become Osirified, i.e.,
to
unite itself with its “god ”; and that portion of it which will succeed in so
doing,
will never more be separated from it (the god), not even when the latter
incarnates
again and again, descending periodically on earth in its pilgrimage,
in
search of further experiences and following the decrees of Karma. Khem, “the
sower
of seed ”, is shown on a stele in a picture of Resurrection after physical
death,
as the creator and the sower of the grain of corn, which, after
corruption,
springs up afresh each time into a new ear, on which a scarab beetle
is
seen poised; and Deveria shows very justly that “Ptah is the inert, material
form
of Osiris, who will become Sokari (the eternal Ego) to be reborn, and
afterwards
be Harmachus ”, or Horus in his transformation, the risen god. The
prayer
so often found in the tumular inscriptions, “the wish for the
resurrection
in one’s living soul” or the Higher Ego, has ever a scarabæus at
the
end, standing for the personal soul. The scarabæus is the most honoured, as
the
most frequent and familiar, of all Egyptian symbols. No mummy is without
several
of them; the favourite ornament on engravings, house hold furniture and
utensils
is this sacred beetle, and Pierret pertinently
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shows
in his Livre des Morts that the secret meaning of this hieroglyph is
sufficiently
explained in that the Egyptian name for the scarabæus Kheper
signifies
to be, to become, to build again.
Scheo
(Eg.). The god who, conjointly with Tefnant and Seb, inhabits Aanroo, the
region
called “the land of the rebirth of the gods ”.
Schesoo-Hor
(Eg.). Lit., the servants of Horus; the early people who settled in
Egypt
and who were Aryans.
Schools
of the Prophets. Schools established by Samuel for the training of the
Nabiim
(prophets). Their method was pursued on the same lines as that of a Chela
or
candidate for initiation into the occult sciences, i.e., the development of
abnormal
faculties or clairvoyance leading to Seership. Of such schools there
were
many in days of old in Palestine and Asia Minor. That the Hebrews
worshipped
Nebo, the Chaldean god of secret learning, is quite certain, since
they
adopted his name as an equivalent of Wisdom.
Séance.
A word which has come to mean with Theosophists and Spiritualists a
sitting
with a medium for phenomena, the materialisation of “spirits” and other
manifestations.
Seb
(Eg.). The Egyptian Saturn; the father of Osiris and Isis. Esoterically, the
sole
principle before creation, nearer in meaning to Parabrahm than Brahmâ. From
as
early as the second Dynasty, there were records of him, and statues of Seb
are
to be seen in the museums represented with the goose or black swan that laid
the
egg of the world on his head. Nout or Neith, the “Great Mother” and yet the
“Immaculate
Virgin ”, is Seb’s wife; she is the oldest goddess on record, and is
to
be found on monuments of the first dynasty, to which Mariette Bey assigns the
date
of almost 7000 years B.c.
Secret
Doctrine. The general name given to the esoteric teachings of antiquity.
Sedecla
(Heb.). The Obeah woman of Endor.
Seer.
One who is a clairvoyant; who can see things visible, and invisible—for
others—at
any distance and time with his spiritual or inner sight or
perceptions.
Seir
Anpin, or Zauir Anpin (Heb.). In the Kabbalah, “the Son of the concealed
Father
”, he who unites in himself all the Sephiroth. Adam Kadmon, or the first
manifested
“Heavenly Man ”, the Logos.
Sekhem
(Eg.). The same as Sekten.
Sekhet
(Eg.). See “Pasht”.
Sekten
(Eg.). Dêvâchân; the place of post mortem reward, a state of bliss, not a
locality.
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Senâ
(Sk.). The female aspect or Sakti of Kârttikeya; also called Kaumâra.
Senses.
The ten organs of man. In the exoteric Pantheon and the allegories of
the.
East, these
are
the emanations of ten minor gods, the terrestrial Prajâpati or “ progenitors
”.
They are called in contradistinction to the five physical and the seven
superphysical,
the “elementary senses”. In
Occultism
they are closely allied with various forces of nature, and with our
inner
organisms, called
cells
in physiology.
Senzar.
The mystic name for the secret sacerdotal language or the
“Mystery-speech”
of the initiated Adepts, all over the world.
Sepher
Sephiroth (Heb.). A Kabbalistic treatise concerning the gradual evolution
of
Deity from negative repose to active emanation and creation. [w.w.w.]
Sepher
Yetzirah (Heb.). “The Book of Formation”. A very ancient Kabbalistic work
ascribed
to the patriarch Abraham. It illustrates the creation of the universe
by
analogy with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, distributed into
a
triad,, a heptad, and a dodecad, corresponding with the-three mother letters,
A,
M, S, the seven planets, and the twelve signs of the Zodiac. It is written in
the
Neo-Hebraic of the Mishnah. [ w.w.w.]
Sephira
(Heb.) An emanation of Deity; the parent and synthesis of the ten
Sephiroth
when she stands at the head of the Sephirothal Tree; in the Kabbalah,
Sephira,or
the “ Sacred Aged ”, is the divine Intelligence (the same as Sophia
or
Metis), the first emanation from the “Endless” or Ain-Suph.
Sephiroth
(Heb.). The ten emanations of Deity; the highest is formed by the
concentration
of the Ain Soph Aur, or the Limitless Light, and each: Sephira
produces
by emanation another Sephira. The names of the Ten Sephiroth are—1.
Kether—The
Crown; 2. Chokmah—Wisdom; 3. Binah—Understanding;
4.
Chesed-—Mercy; Geburah—Power; 6. Tiphereth—Beauty; 7. Netzach—Victory; 8.
Hod—
Splendour;
9.
Jesod_Foundation; and 10. Malkuth—The Kingdom.
The
conception of Deity embodied in the Ten Sephiroth is a very sublime one, and
each
Sephira is a picture to the Kabbalist of a group of exalted ideas, titles
and
attributes, which the name but faintly represents. Each Sephira is called
either
active or passive, though this attribution may lead to error; passive
does
not mean a return to negative existence; and the two words only express the
relation
between individual Sephiroth, and not any absolute quality. [w.w.w.]
Septerium
(Lat.) A great religious festival held
in days of old every ninth
year
at Delphi, in honour of Helios, the Sun, or Apollo, to com-
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memorate
his triumph over darkness, or Python; Apollo-Python being the same as
Osiris-Typhon
in Egypt.
Seraphim
(Heb.). Celestial beings described by Isaiah (vi., 2,) as of human form
with
the addition of three pair of wings. The Hebrew word is ShRPIM, and apart
from
the above instance, is translated serpents, and is related to the verbal
root
ShRP, to burn up . The word is used for serpents in Numbers and
Deuteronomy.
Moses is said to have raised in the wilderness a ShRP or Seraph of
Brass
as a type. This bright serpent is also used as an emblem of Light. Compare
the
myth of Æsculapius, the healing deity, who is said to have been brought to
Rome
from Epidaurus as a serpent, and whose statues show him holding a wand on
which
a snake is twisted. (See Ovid, Metam., lib. xv.). The Seraphim of the Old
Testament
seem to be related to the Cherubim (q.v.). In the Kabbalah the
Seraphim
are a group of angelic powers allotted to the Sephira Geburah—Severity.
[w.w.w.]
Serapis
(Eg.). A great solar god who replaced Osiris in the popular worship, and
in
whose honour the seven vowels were sung. He was often made to appear in his
representations
as a serpent, a “Dragon of Wisdom ”. The greatest god of Egypt
during
the first centuries of Christianity.
Sesha
(Sk.) Ananta, the great Serpent of Eternity, the couch of Vishnu; the
symbol
of infinite Time in Space. In the exoteric beliefs Sesha is represented
as
a thousand-headed and seven-headed cobra; the former the king of the nether
world,
called Pâtâla, the latter the carrier or support of Vishnu on the Ocean
of
Space.
Set
or Seth (Eg.). The same as the Son of Noah and Typhon—who is the dark side
of
Osiris. The same as Thoth and Satan, the adversary, not the devil represented
by
Christians.
Sevekh
(Eg.). The god of time; Chronos; the same as Sefekh. Some Orientalists
translate
it as the “Seventh”.
Shaberon
(Tib.). The Mongolian Shaberon or Khubilgan (or Khubilkhans) are the
reincarnations
of Buddha, according to the Lamaists; great Saints and Avatars,
so
to say.
Shaddai,
El (Heb.). A name of the Hebrew Deity, usually translated God Almighty,
found
in Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Ruth and Job. Its Greek equivalent is Kurios
Pantokrator;
but by Hebrew derivation it means rather “the pourer forth”, shad
meaning
a breast, and indeed shdi is also used for “a nursing mother”. [w.w.w.]
Shamans.
An order of Tartar or Mongolian priest-magicians, or as some say,
priest-sorcerers.
They are not Buddhists, but a sect of the
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old
Bhon religion of Tibet. They live mostly in Siberia and its borderlands.
Both
men and women may be Shamans. They are all magicians, or rather sensitives
or
mediums artificially developed. At present those who act as priests among the
Tartars
are generally very ignorant, and far below the fakirs in knowledge and
education.
Shânâh
(Heb). The Lunar Year.
Shangna
(Sk.). A mysterious epithet given to a robe or “vesture in a
metaphorical
sense”. To put on the “Shangna robe” means the acquirement of
Secret
Wisdom, and Initiation.
(See
Voice of the Silence, pp. 84 and 85, Glossary.)
Shâstra
or S’âstra (Sk.). A treatise or book; any work of divine or accepted
authority,
including law books. A Shâstri means to this day, in India, a man
learned
in divine and human law.
Shedim
(Heb.). See “Siddim ”.
Shekinah
(Heb.). A title applied to Malkuth, the tenth Sephira, by the
Kabbalists;
but by the Jews to the cloud of glory which rested on the Mercy-seat
in
the Holy of Holies. As taught, however, by all the Rabbins of Asia Minor, its
nature
is of a more exalted kind, Shekinah being the veil of Ain-Soph, the
Endless
and the Absolute; hence a kind of Kabbalistic Mûlaprakriti. [w.w.w.]
Shells.
A Kabbalistic name for the phantoms of the dead, the “spirits” of the
Spiritualists,
figuring in physical phenomena; so named on account of their
being
simply illusive forms, empty of their higher principles.
Shemal
(Chald.). Samâel, the spirit of the earth, its presiding ruler and
genius.
Shemhamphorash
(Heb.). The separated name. The mirific name derived from the
substance
of deity and showing its self-existent essence. Jesus was accused by
the
Jews of having stolen this name from the Temple by magic arts, and of using
it
in the production of his miracles.
Sheol
(Heb.). The hell of the Hebrew Pantheon; a region of stillness and
inactivity
as distinguished from Gehenna, (q.v.).
Shien-Sien
(Chin.). A state of bliss and soul-freedom, during which a man can
travel
in spirit where he likes.
Shiites
(Pers.). A sect of Mussulmen who place the prophet Ali higher than
Mohammed,
rejecting Sunnah or tradition.
Shîla
(Pali). The second virtue of the ten Pâramitâs of perfection. Perfect
harmony
in words and acts.
Shinto
(Jap.). The ancient religion of Japan before Buddhism, based upon the
worship
of spirits and ancestors.
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Shoel-ob
(Heb.). A consulter with familiar “spirits”; a necromancer, a raiser of
the
dead, or of their phantoms.
Shoo
(Eg.). A personification of the god Ra; represented as the “great cat of
the
Basin of Persea in Anu”.
Shûdâla
Mâdan (Tam.) The vampire, the ghoul, or graveyard spook.
Shûle
Mâdan (Tam.). The elemental which is said to help the “jugglers” to grow
mango
trees and do other wonders.
Shutukt
(Tib.). A collegiate monastery in Tibet of great fame, containing over
30,000
monks and students.
Sibac
(Quiché). The reed from the pith of which the third race of men was
created,
according to the scripture of the Guatemalians, called the Popol Vuh.
Sibikâ
(Sk.). The weapon of Kuvera, god of wealth (a Vedic deity living in
Hades,
hence a kind of Pluto), made out of the parts of the divine splendour of
Vishnu,
residing in the Sun, and filed off by Visvarkarman, the god Initiate.
Siddhânta
(Sk.). Any learned work on astronomy or mathematics, in India.
Siddhârtha
(Sk.). A name given to Gautama Buddha.
Siddhas
(Sk.). Saints and sages who have become almost divine also a hierarchy
of
Dhyan Chohans.
Siddhâsana
(Sk.). A posture in Hatha-yoga practices.
Siddha-Sena
(Sk.). Lit., “the leader of Siddhas”; a title of Kârttikeya, the
“mysterious
youth” (kumâra guha).
Siddhis
(Sk.). Lit., “attributes of perfection”; phenomenal powers acquired
through
holiness by Yogis.
Siddim
(Heb.). The Canaanites, we are told, worshipped these evil powers as
deities,
the name meaning the “pourers forth”; a valley was named after them.
There
seems to be a connection between these, as types of Fertile Nature, and
the
many-bosomed Isis and Diana of Ephesus. In Psalm cvi., 37, the word is
translated
“devils ”, and we are told that the Canaanites shed the blood of
their
sons and daughters to them. Their title seems to come from the same root
ShD,
from which the god name
El
Shaddai is derived. [w.w.w.]
The
Arabic Shedim means “Nature Spirits ”, Elementals; they are the afrits of
modern
Egypt and djins of Persia,.India, etc.
Sidereal.
Anything relating to the stars, but also, in Occultism, to various
influences
emanating from such regions, such as “sidereal force ”, as taught by
Paracelsus,
and sidereal (luminous), ethereal body, etc.
Si-dzang
(Chin.). The Chinese name for Tibet; mentioned in the
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Imperial
Library of the capital of Fo Kien, as the “great seat of Occult
learning”,
2,207 years B.c. (Secret Doctrine, I., p. 271.)
Sige
(Gr.). “Silence”; a name. adopted by the Gnostics to signify the root
whence
proceed the Æons of the second series.
Sighra
or Sighraga (Sk.). The father of Moru, “who is still living through the
power
of Yoga, and will manifest himself in the beginning of the Krita age in
order
to re-establish the Kshattriyas in the nineteenth Yuga” say the Purânic
prophecies.
“Moru” stands here for “Morya ”, the dynasty of the Buddhist
sovereigns
of Pataliputra which began with the great King Chandragupta, the
grandsire
of King Asoka. It is the first Buddhist Dynasty. (Secret Doctrine, I.,
378.)
Sigurd
(Scand.). The hero who slew Fafnir, the “Dragon”, roasted his heart and
ate
it, after which he became the wisest of men. An allegory referring to Occult
study
and initiation.
Simeon-ben-Jochai.
An Adept-Rabbin, who was the author of the Zohar, (q.v.).
Simon
Magus. A very great Samaritan Gnostic and Thaumaturgist, called “the great
Power
of God”.
Simorgh
(Pers.). The same as the winged Siorgh, a kind of gigantic griffin, half
phœnix,
half lion, endowed in the Iranian legends with oracular powers. Simorgh
was
the guardian of the ancient Persian Mysteries. It is expected to reappear at
the
end of the cycle as a gigantic bird-lion. Esoterically, it stands as the
symbol
of the Manvantaric cycle. Its Arabic name is Rahshi.
Sinaї
(Heb.). Mount Sinaї, the Nissi of Exodus (xvii., ii), the birth place
of
almost
all the solar gods of antiquity, such as Dionysus, born at Nissa or Nysa,
Zeus
of Nysa, Bacchus and Osiris, (q.v.). Some ancient people believed the Sun
to
be the progeny of the Moon, who was herself a Sun once upon a time.
Sin-aї is
the
“Moon Mountain ”, hence the connexion.
Sing
Bonga. The Sun-spirit with the Kollarian tribes.
Singha
(Sk.). The constellation of Leo; Singh meaning “lion”.
Sinika
(Sk.). Also Sinita and Sanika, etc., as variants. The Vishnu Purâna gives
it
as the name of a future sage who will be taught by him who will become
Maitreya,
at the end of Kali Yuga, and adds that this is a great mystery.
Sinîvâlî
(Sk.). The first day of the new moon, which is greatly connected with
Occult
practices in India.
Siphra
Dtzeniouta (Chald.). The Book of Concealed Mystery; one division of the
Zohar.
(See
Mathers’ Kabbalah Unveiled.)
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0
Sirius
(Gr.). In Egyptian, Sothis. The dog-star: the star worshipped in Egypt
and
reverenced by the Occultists; by the former because its heliacal rising with
the
Sun was a sign of the beneficent inundation of the Nile, and by the latter
because
it is mysteriously associated with Thoth-Hermes, god of wisdom, and
Mercury,
in another form. Thus Sothis-Sirius had, and still has, a mystic and
direct
influence over the whole living heaven, and is connected with almost
every
god and goddess. It was “Isis in the heaven ” and called Isis-Sothis, for
Isis
was “in the constellation of the dog ”, as is declared on her monuments.
“The
soul of Osiris was believed to reside in a personage who walks with great
steps
in front of Sothis, sceptre in hand and a whip upon his shoulder.” Sirius
is
also Anuhis, and is directly connected with the ring
“Pass
me not” ; it is, moreover, identical with Mithra, the Persian Mystery god,
and
with Horus and even Hathor, called sometimes the goddess Sothis. Being
connected
with the Pyramid, Sirius was, therefore, connected with the
initiations
which took place in it. A temple to Sirius-Sothis once existed
within
the great temple of Denderah. To sum up, all religions are not, as Dufeu,
the
French Egyptologist, sought to prove, derived from Sirius, the dog-star, but
Sirius-Sothis
is certainly found in connection with every religion of antiquity.
Sishta
(Sk.). The great elect or Sages, left after every minor Pralaya (that
which
is called “obscuration” in Mr. Sinnett’s Esoteric Buddhism), when the
globe
goes into its night or rest, to become, on its re-awakening, the seed of
the
next humanity. Lit. “remnant.”
Sisthrus
(Chald.). According to Berosus, the last of the ten kings of the
dynasty
of the divine kings, and the “Noah” of Chaldea. Thus, as Vishnu
foretells
the coming deluge to Vaivasvata-Manu, and, fore warning, commands him
to
build an ark, wherein he and seven Rishis are saved ; so the god Hea
foretells
the same to Sisithrus (or Xisuthrus) commanding him to prepare a
vessel
and save himself with a few elect. Following suit, almost 800,000 years
later,
the Lord God of Israel repeats the warning to Noah. Which is prior,
therefore?
The story of Xisuthrus, now deciphered from the Assyrian tablets,
corroborates
that which was said of the Chaldean deluge by Berosus, Apollodorus,
Abydenus,
etc., etc. (See eleventh tablet in G. Smith’s Chaldean Account of
Genesis,
page 263, et seq.). This tablet xi. covers every point treated of in
chapters
six and seven of Genesis—the gods, the sins of men, the command to
build
an ark, the Flood, the destruction of men, the dove and the raven sent out
of
the ark, and finally the Mount of Salvation in Armenia (Nizi r-Ararat); all
is
there. The words “the god Hea heard, and his liver was angry, because his men
had
corrupted his
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purity”,
and the story of his destroying all his seed, were engraved on stone
tablets
many thousand years before the Assyrians reproduced them on their baked
tiles,
and even these most assuredly antedate the Pentateuch, “written from
memory”
by Ezra, hardly four centuries B.c.
Sistrum
(Gr.). Egyptian ssesh or kemken. An instrument, usually made of bronze
but
sometimes of gold or silver, of an open circular form, with a handle, and
four
wires passed through holes, to the end of which jingling pieces of metal
were
attached; its top was ornamented with a figure of Isis, or of Hathor. It
was
a sacred instrument, used in temples for the purpose of producing, by means
of
its combination of metals, magnetic currents, and sounds. To this day it has
survived
in Christian Abyssinia, under the name of sanasel, and the good priests
use
it to “drive devils from the premises”, an act quite comprehensible to the
Occultist,
even though it does provoke laughter in the sceptical Orientalist.
The
priestess usually held it in her right hand during the ceremony of
purification
of the air, or the “conjuration of the elements”, as E. Lévi would
call
it, while the priests held the Sistrurn in their left hand, using the right
to
manipulate the “key of life”—the handled cross or Tau.
Sisumara
(Sk.). An imaginary rotating belt, upon which all the celestial bodies
move.
This host of stars and constellations is represented under the figure of
Sisumara,
a tortoise (some say a porpoise !), dragon, crocodile, and what not.
But
as it is a symbol of the Yoga-meditation of holy Vasudeva or Krishna, it
must
be a crocodile, or rather, a dolphin, since it is identical with the
zodiacal
Makâra. Dhruva, the ancient pole-star, is placed at the tip of the tail
of
this sidereal monster, whose head points southward and whose body bends in a
ring.
Higher along the tail are the Prajâpati Agni, etc., and at its root are
placed
Indra, Dharma, and the seven Rishis (the Great Bear), etc., etc. The
meaning
is of course mystical.
Siva
(Sk.). The third person of the Hindu Trinity (the Trimûrti). He is a god of
the
first order, and in his character of Destroyer higher than Vishnu, the
Preserver,
as he destroys only to regenerate on a higher plane. He is born as
Rudra,
the Kumâra, and is the patron of all the Yogis, being called, as such,
Mahâdeva
the great ascetic, His titles are significant Trilochana, “the
three-eyed”,
Mahâdeva, “the great god ”, Sankara, etc., etc., etc.
Siva-Rudra
(Sk.). Rudra is the Vedic name of Siva, the latter being absent from
the
Veda.
Skandha
or Skhanda (Sk.). Lit., “bundles”, or groups of attributes; everything
finite,
inapplicable
to
the eternal and the absolute. There are five—esoterically, seven—attributes
in
every human living being,
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which
are known as the Pancha Shandhas. These are (1) form, rûpa; (2)
perception,
vidâna;
(3)
consciousness, sanjnâ; (4) action, sanskâra; (5) knowledge, vidyâna. These
unite
at the birth of man and constitute his personality. After the maturity of
these
Skandhas, they begin to separate and weaken,
and
this is followed by jarâmarana, or decrepitude and death.
Skrymir
(Scand.). One of the famous giants in the Eddas.
Sloka,
(Sk.). The Sanskrit epic metre formed of thirty-two syllables: verses in
four
half-lines of eight,
or
in two lines of sixteen syllables each.
Smaragdine
Tablet of Hermes. As expressed by Eliphas Lévi,“this Tablet of
Emerald
is the whole of magic in a single page”; but India has a single word
which,
when understood, contains “the whole of magic ”. This is a tablet,
however,
alleged to have been found by Sarai, Abraham’s wife (!) on the dead
body
of Hermes. So say the Masons and Christian Kabbalists. But in Theosophy we
call
it an allegory. May it not mean that Sarai-swati, the wife of Brahmâ, or
the
goddess of secret wisdom and learning, finding still much of the ancient
wisdom
latent in the dead body of Humanity, revivified that wisdom? This led to
the
rebirth of the Occult Sciences, so long forgotten and neglected, the world
over.
The tablet itself, however, although containing the “whole of magic ”, is
too
long to be reproduced here.
Smârtava
(Sk.). The Smârta Brahmans; a sect founded by Sankarâchârya.
Smriti
(Sk.). Traditional accounts imparted orally, from the word Smriti,
“Memory”
a daughter of Daksha. They are now the legal and ceremonial writings of
the
Hindus; the opposite of, and therefore less sacred, than the Vedas, which
are
Sruti, or “ revelation ”.
Sod
(Heb.). An “Arcanum”, or religious mystery. The Mysteries of Baal, Adonis
and
Bacchus, all sun-gods having serpents as symbols, or, as in the case of
Mithra,
a “solar serpent”. The ancient Jews had their Sod also, symbols not
excluded,
since they had the “brazen serpent” lifted in the Wilderness, which
particular
serpent was the Persian Mithra, the symbol of Moses as an Initiate,
but
was certainly never meant to represent the historical Christ. “The secret
(Sod)
of the Lord is with them that fear him ”, says David, in Psalm xxv., 14.
But
this reads in the original Hebrew, “Sod Ihoh (or the Mysteries) of Jehovah
are
for those who fear him”. So terribly is the Old Testament mistranslated,
that
verse 7 in Psalm lxxxix., which stands in the original “Al (El) is terrible
in
the great Sod of the Kedeshim” (the Galli, the priests of the inner Jewish
mysteries),
reads now in the muti-
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lated
translation “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints”.
Simeon
and Levi held their Sod, and it is repeatedly mentioned in the Bible. “
Oh
my soul ”, exclaims the dying Jacob, “come not thou into their secret (Sod,
in
the orig.), unto their assembly ”, i.e.. into the Sodalily of Simeon and Levi
(Gen.
xlix., 6). (See Dunlap, Sôd, the Mysteries of Adoni.)
Sodales
(Lat.). The members of the Priest-colleges. (See Freund’s Latin Lexicon,
iv.,
448.) Cicero tells us also (De Senectute, 13) that “ Sodalities were
constituted
in the Idæn Mysteries of the MIGHTY MOTHER”. Those initiated into
the
Sod were termed the“ Companions ”.
Sodalian
Oath. The most sacred of all oaths. The penalty of death followed the
breaking
of the Sodalian oath or pledge. The oath and the Sod (the secret
learning)
are earlier than the Kabbalah or Tradition, and the ancient Midrashim
treated
fully of the Mysteries or Sod before they passed into the Zohar. Now
they
are referred to as the Secret Mysteries of the Thorah, or Law, to break
which
is fatal.
Soham
(Sk.). A mystic syllable representing involution: lit., “THAT I AM”.
Sokaris
(Eg.). A fire-god; a solar deity of many forms. He is Ptah Sokaris, when
the
symbol is purely cosmic, and “Ptah-Sokaris-Osiris” when it is phallic. This
deity
is hermaphrodite, the sacred bull Apis being its son, conceived in it by a
solar
ray. According to Smith’s History of the East, Ptah is a “second
Demiurgus,
an emanation from the first creative Principle” (the first Logos).
The
upright Ptah, with cross and staff, is the “creator of the eggs of the sun
and
moon ”. Pierret thinks that he represents the primordial Force that preceded
the
gods and “created the stars, and the eggs of the sun and moon ”. Mariette
Bey
sees in him “Divine Wisdom scattering the stars in immensity ”, and he is
corroborated
by the Targum of Jerusalem, which states that the “Egyptians called
the
Wisdom of the First Intellect Ptah”.
Sokhit
(Eg.). A deity to whom the cat was sacred.
Solomon’s
Seal. The symbolical double triangle, adopted by the T.S. and by many
Theosophists.
Why it should be called “Solomon’s Seal” is a mystery, unless it
came
to Europe from Iran, where many stories are told about that mythical
personage
and the magic seal used by him to catch the djins and imprison them in
old
bottles. But this seal or double triangle is also called in India the “Sign
of
Vishnu ”, and may be seen on the houses in every village as a talisman
against
evil. The triangle was sacred and used as a religious sign in the far
East
ages before Pythagoras proclaimed it to be the first of the geometrical
figures,
as well as the most mysterious. it is found on pyramid and obelisk, and
is
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pregnant
with occult meaning, as are, in fact, all triangles. Thus the pentagram
is
the triple triangle—the six-pointed being the hexalp ha. (See “Pentacle” and
“Pentagram”.)
The way a triangle points determines its meaning. If upwards, it
means
the male element and divine fire; downwards, the female and the waters of
matter;
upright, but with a bar across the top, air and astral light ;
downwards,
with a bar—the earth or gross matter, etc., etc. When a Greek
Christian
priest in blessing holds his two fingers and thumb together, he simply
makes
the magic sign—by the power of the triangle or “trinity ”.
Soma
(Sk.). The moon, and also the juice of the plant of that name used in the
temples
for trance purposes; a sacred beverage. Soma, the moon, is the symbol of
the
Secret Wisdom. In the Upanishads the word is used to denote gross matter
(with
an association of moisture) capable of producing life under the action of
heat.
(See “ Soma-drink ”.)
Soma-drink.
Made from a rare mountain plant by initiated Brahmans. This Hindu
sacred
beverage answers to the Greek ambrosia or nectar, quaffed by the gods of
Olympus.
A cup of Kykeôn was also quaffed by the Mystes at the Eleusinian
initiation.
He who drinks it easily reaches Bradhna, or the place of splendour
(Heaven).
The Soma-drink known to Europeans is not the genuine beverage, but its
substitute;
for the initiated priests alone can taste of the real Soma; and even
kings
and Rajas, when sacrificing, receive the substitute. Haug, by his own
confession,
shows in his Aitareya Brâhmana, that it was not the Soma that he
tasted
and found nasty, but the juice from the roots of the Nyagradha, a plant
or
bush which grows on the hills of Poona. We were positively informed that the
majority
of the sacrificial priests of the Dekkan have lost the secret of the
true
Soma. It can be found neither in the ritual books nor through oral
information.
The true followers of the primitive Vedic religion are very few;
these
are the alleged descendants of the Rishis, the real Agnihôtris, the
initiates
of the great Mysteries. The Soma drink is also commemorated in the
Hindu
Pantheon, for it is called King-Soma. He who drinks thereof is made to
participate
in the heavenly king; he becomes filled with his essence, as the
Christian
apostles and their converts were. filled with the Holy Ghost, and
purified
of their sins. The Soma makes a new man of the initiate; he is reborn
and
transformed, and his spiritual nature overcomes the physical; it bestows the
divine
power of inspiration, and develops the clairvoyant faculty to the utmost.
According
to the exoteric explanation the soma is a plant, but at the same time
it
is an angel. It forcibly connects the inner, highest “ spirit” of man, which
spirit
is an angel like the mystical Soma, with his “irrational soul ”, or
astral
body, and thus united by the power of the magic drink, they soar together
above
physical nature and
participate
during life in the beatitude and ineffable glories of Heaven,
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Thus
the Hindu Soma is mystically and in all respects the same that the
Eucharist
supper is to the Christian. The idea is similar. By means of the
sacrificial
prayers—the mantras—this liquor is supposed to be immediately
transformed
into the real Soma, or the angel, and even into Brahmâ himself. Some
missionaries
have expressed themselves with much indignation about this
ceremony,
the more so, seeing that the Brahmans generally use a kind of
spirituous
liquor as a substitute. But do the Christians believe less fervently
in
the transubstantiation of the communion wine into the blood of Christ,
because
this wine happens to be more or less spirituous? Is not the idea of the
symbol
attached to it the same? But the missionaries say that this hour of
soma-drinking
is the golden hour of Satan, who lurks at the bottom of the Hindu
sacrificial
cup. (Isis Unveiled.)
Soma-loka
(Sk.). A kind of lunar abode where the god Soma, the regent of the
moon,
resides. The abode of the Lunar Pitris—or Pitriloka.
Somapa
(Sk.). A class of Lunar Pitris. (See “ Trisuparna.”)
Somnambulism
Lit., “sleep-walking ”, or moving, acting, writing, reading and
performing
every function of waking consciousness in one’s sleep, with utter
oblivion
of the fact on awakening. This is one of the great psycho-physiological
phenomena,
the least understood as it is the most puzzling, to which Occultism
alone
holds the key.
Son-kha-pa
(Tib.). Written also Tsong-kha-pa. A famous Tibetan reformer of the
fourteenth
century, who introduced a purified Buddhism into his country. He was
a
great Adept, who being unable to witness any longer the desecration of
Buddhist
philosophy by the false priests who made of it a marketable commodity,
put
a forcible stop thereto by a timely revolution and the exile of 40,000 sham
monks
and Lamas from the country. He is regarded as an Avatar of Buddha, and is
the
founder of the Gelukpa
(“
yellow-cap ”) Sect, and of the mystic Brotherhood connected with its chiefs.
The
“tree of the 10,000 images” (khoom boom) has, it is said, sprung from the
long
hair of this ascetic, who leaving it behind him disappeared for ever from
the
view of the profane.
Sooniam.
A magical ceremony for the purpose of removing a sickness from one
person
to another. Black magic, sorcery.
Sophia
(Gr.). Wisdom. The female Logos of the Gnostics; the Universal Mind; and
the
female Holy Ghost with others.
Sophia
Achamoth (Gr.). The daughter of Sophia. The personified Astral Light, or
the
lower plane of Ether.
Sortes
Sanctorum (Lat.). The “holy casting of lots for purposes of divination”,
practised
by the early and mediæval Christian clergy. St. Augustine, who does
not
“disapprove of this method of learning futurity,
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provided
it be not used for worldly purposes, practised it himself ” (Life of
St.
Gregory of Tours). If, however, “it is practised by laymen, heretics, or
heathen”
of any sort, sortes sanctorum become—if we believe the good and pious
fathers—sortes
diabolorum or sortilegium—sorcery.
Sosiosh
(Zend). The Mazdean Saviour who, like Vishnu, Maitreya Buddha and
others,
is expected to appear on a white horse at the end of the cycle to save
mankind.
(See “S´ambhala”.)
Soul.
The yuch, or nephesh of the Bible; the vital principle, or the breath of
life,
which every animal, down to the infusoria, shares with man. In the
translated
Bible it stands indifferently for life, blood and soul. “ Let us not
kill
his nephesh ”, says the original text: “let us not kill him ”, translate
the
Christians (Genesis xxxvii. 21), and so on.
Sowan
(Pali). The first of the “four paths” which lead to Nirvâna, in Yoga
practice.
Sowanee
(Pali). He who entered upon that “path”.
Sparsa
(Sk). The sense of touch.
Spenta
Armaita (Zend). The female genius of the earth; the “fair daughter of
Ahura
Mazda ”. With the Mazdeans, Spenta Armaita is the personified Earth.
Spirit.
The lack of any mutual agreement between writers in the use of this word
has
resulted in dire confusion. It is commonly made synonymous with soul; and
the
lexicographers countenance the usage. In Theosophical teachings. the term
“Spirit”
is applied solely to that which belongs directly to Universal
Consciousness,
and which is its homogeneous and unadulterated emanation. Thus,
the
higher Mind in Man or his Ego (Manas) is, when linked indissolubly with
Buddhi,
a spirit; while the term “Soul”, human or even animal (the lower Manas
acting
in animals as instinct), is applied only to Kâma-Manas, and qualified as
the
living soul. This is nephesh, in Hebrew, the “breath of life”. Spirit is
formless
and immaterial, being, when individualised, of the highest spiritual
substance—Suddasatwa,
the divine essence, of which the body of the manifesting
highest
Dhyanis are formed. Therefore, the Theosophists reject the appellation “
Spirits”
for those phantoms which appear in the phenomenal manifestations of the
Spiritualists,
and call them “shells”, and various other names. (See “Sukshma
Sarîra”.)
Spirit, in short, is no entity in the sense of having form ; for, as
Buddhist
philosophy has it, where there is a form, there is a cause for pain and
suffering.
But each individual spirit—this individuality lasting only throughout
the
manvantaric life-cycle—may be described as a centre of consciousness, a
self-sentient
and self-conscious centre; a state, not a conditioned individual.
This
is why there is such a wealth of words in Sanskrit to express the
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different
States of Being, Beings and Entities, each appellation showing the
philosophical
difference, the plane to which such unit belongs, and the degree
of
its spirituality or materiality. Unfortunately these terms are almost
untranslatable
into our Western tongues.
Spiritualism.
In philosophy, the state or condition of mind opposed to
materialism
or a material conception of things. Theosophy, a doctrine which
teaches
that all which exists is animated or informed by the Universal Soul or
Spirit,
and that not an atom in our universe can be outside of this omnipresent
Principle—is
pure Spiritualism. As to the belief that goes under that name,
namely,
belief in the constant communication of the living with the dead,
whether
through the mediumistic powers of oneself or a
so-called
medium—it is no better than the materialisation of spirit, and the
degradation
of the human and the divine, souls. Believers in such communications
are
simply dishonouring the dead and performing constant sacrilege. It was well
called
“Necromancy” in days of old. But our modern Spiritualists take offence at
being
told this simple truth.
Spook.
A ghost, a hobgoblin. Used of the various apparitions in the seance-rooms
of
the Spiritualists.
Sraddha
(Sk). Lit., faith, respect, reverence.
Srâddha
(Sk.). Devotion to the memory and care for the welfare of the manes of
dead
relatives.
A
post-mortem rite for newly kindred. There are also monthly rites of Srâddha.
Srâddhadeva
(Sk.). An epithet of Yama, the god of death and king of the nether
world,
or Hades.
Srâmana
(Sk.). Buddhist priests, ascetics and postulants for Nirvâna, “they who
have
to place a restraint on their thoughts ”. The word Saman, now “Shaman” is a
corruption
of this primitive word.
Srastara
(Sk.). A couch consisting of a mat or a tiger’s skin, strewn with
darbha,
kusa and other grasses, used by ascetics—gurus and chelas— and spread on
the
floor.
Sravah
(Mazd.). The Amshaspends, in their highest aspect.
Srâvaka
(Sk.). Lit., “he who causes to hear ”; a preacher. But in Buddhism it
denotes
a disciple or chela.
Sri
Sankarâchârya (Sk.). The great religious reformer of India, and teacher of
the
Vedânta philosophy—the greatest of all such teachers, regarded by the
Adwaitas
(Non-dualists) as an incarnation of Siva and a worker of miracles. He
established
many mathams (monasteries), and founded the most learned sect among
Brahmans,
called the Smârtava. The legends about him are as numerous as his
philosophical
writings. At the age of thirty-two he went to Kashmir, and
reaching
Kedâranâth in
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the
Himalayas, entered a cave alone, whence he never returned. His followers
claim
that he did not die, but only retired from the world.
Sringa
Giri (Sk.). A large and wealthy monastery on the ridge of the Western
Ghauts
in Mysore (Southern India) ; the chief matham of the Adwaita and Smârta
Brahmans,
founded by Sankarâchârya. There resides the religious head (the latter
being
called Sankarâchârya) of all the Vedantic Adwaitas, credited by many with
great
abnormal powers.
Sri-pâda
(Sk.). The impression of Buddha’s foot. Lit., “the step or foot of the
Master
or exalted Lord”.
Srivatsa
(Sk.). A mystical mark worn by Krishna, and also adopted by the Jains.
Sriyantra
(Sk.). The double triangle or the seal of Vishnu, called also
“Solomon’s
seal ”, and adopted by the T. S.
Srotâpatti
(Sk) Lit., “ he who has entered the stream ”, i.e., the stream or
path
that leads to Nirvâna, or figuratively, to the Nirvânic Ocean. The same as
Sowanee.
Srotriya
(Sk) The appellation of a Brahman who practises the Vedic rites he
studies,
as distinguished from the Vedavit, the Brahman who studies them only
theoretically.
Sruti
(Sk.). Sacred tradition received by revelation; the Vedas are such a
tradition
as distinguished from “ Smriti ” (q.v.).
St.
Germain, the Count of. Referred to as an enigmatical personage by modern
writers.
Frederic II., King of Prussia, used to say of him that he was a man
whom
no one had ever been able make out. Many are his “biographies”, and each is
wilder
than the other. By some he was regarded as an incarnate god, by others as
a
clever Alsatian Jew. One thing is certain, Count de St. Germain—whatever his
real
patronymic may have been—had a right to his name and title, for he had
bought
a property called San Germano, in the Italian Tyrol, and paid the Pope
for
the title. He was uncommonly handsome, and his enormous erudition and
linguistic
capacities are undeniable, for he spoke English, Italian, French,
Spanish,
Portuguese, German, Russian, Swedish, Danish, and many Slavonian and
Oriental
languages, with equal facility with a native. He was extremely wealthy,
never
received a sou from anyone—in fact never accepted a glass of water or
broke
bread with anyone made most extravagant presents of superb jewellery to
all
his friends, even to the royal families of Europe. His proficiency in music
was
marvellous; he played on every instrument, the violin being his favourite.
“St.
Germain rivalled Paganini himself”, was said of him by an octogenarian
Belgian
in 1835, after hearing the “Genoese maestro”. “It is St. Germain
resurrected
who plays the
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violin
in the body of an Italian skeleton ”, exclaimed a Lithuanian baron who
had
heard both.
He
never laid claim to spiritual powers, but proved to have a right to such
claim.
He used to pass into a dead trance from thirty-seven to forty-nine hours
without
awakening, and then knew all he had to know, and demonstrated the fact
by
prophesying futurity and never making a mistake. It is he who prophesied
before
the Kings Louis XV. and XVI., and the unfortunate Marie Antoinette. Many
were
the still living witnesses in the first quarter of this century who
testified
to his marvellous memory; he could read a paper in the morning and,
though
hardly glancing at it, could repeat its contents without missing one word
days
afterwards; he could write with two hands at once, the right hand writing a
piece
of poetry, the left a diplomatic paper of the greatest importance. He read
sealed
letters without touching them, while still in the hand of those who
brought
them to him. He was the greatest adept in transmuting metals, making
gold
and the most marvellous diamonds, an art, he said, he had learned from
certain
Brahmans in India, who taught him the artificial crystallisation
(“quickening”)
of pure carbon. As our Brother Kenneth Mackenzie has it :—“ In
1780,
when on a visit to the French Ambassador to the Hague, he broke to pieces
with
a hammer a superb diamond of his own manufacture, the counterpart of which,
also
manufactured by himself, he had just before sold to a jeweller for 5500
louis
d’or”. He was the friend and confidant of Count Orloff in 1772 at Vienna,
whom
he had helped and saved in St. Petersburg in 1762, when concerned in the
famous
political conspiracies of that time; he also became intimate with
Frederick
the Great of Prussia. As a matter of course, he had numerous enemies,
and
therefore it is not to be wondered at if all the gossip invented about him
is
now attributed to his own confessions: e.g., that he was over five hundred
years
old; also, that he claimed personal intimacy “with the Saviour and his
twelve
Apostles, and that he had reproved Peter for his bad temper ”—the latter
clashing
somewhat in point of time with the former, if he had really claimed to
be
only five hundred years old. if he said that “he had been born in Chaldea and
professed
to possess the secrets of the Egyptian magicians and sages ”, he may
have
spoken truth without making any miraculous claim. There are Initiates, and
not
the highest either, who are placed in a condition to remember more than one
of
their past lives. But we have good reason to know that St. Germain could
never
have claimed “personal intimacy ” with the Saviour. How ever that may be,
Count
St. Germain was certainly the greatest Oriental Adept Europe has seen
during
the last centuries. But Europe knew him not. Perchance some may recognise
him
at the next Terreur which will affect all Europe when it comes, and not one
country
alone.
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Sthâla
Mâyâ (Sk.). Gross, concrete and—because differentiated— an illusion.
Sthâna
(Sk.). Also Ayâna; the place or abode of a god.
Sthâvara
(Sk). From sthâ to stay or remain motionless. The term for all
conscious,
sentient objects deprived of the power of locomotion—fixed and rooted
like
the trees or plants; while all those sentient things, which add motion to a
certain
degree of consciousness, are called Jangama, from gam, to move, to go.
Sthâvirâh,
or Sthâviranikaya (Sk.). One of the earliest philosophical
contemplative
schools, founded 300 B.c. In the year 247 before the Christian
era,
it split into three divisions: the Mahâvihâra Vâsinâh (School of the great
monasteries),
Jêtavaniyâh, and Abhayagiri Vâsinâh. It is one of the four
branches
of the Vaibhâchika School founded by Kâtyâyana, one of the great
disciples
of Lord Gautama Buddha, the author of the Abhidharma Jnana Prasthâna
Shastra,
who is expected to reappear as a Buddha.
(See
“Abhayagiri ”, etc.) All these schools are highly mystical. Lit.,
Stâviranikaya
is translated the
“
School of the Chairman” or “President” (Chohan).
Sthirâtman
(Sk.). Eternal, supreme, applied to the Universal Soul.
Sthiti
(Sk.). The attribute of preservation; stability.
Sthûla
(Sk.). Differentiated and conditioned matter.
Sthûla
Sarîram (Sk.). In metaphysics, the gross physical body.
Sthûlopadhi
(Sk.). A “principle” answering to the lower triad in man, i.e.,
body,
astral form,
and
life, in the Târaka Râja Yoga system, which names only three chief
principles
in man. Sthûlopadhi corresponds to the jagrata, or waking conscious
state.
Stûpa
(Sk.). A conical monument, in India and Ceylon, erected over relics of
Buddha,
Arhats, or other great men.
Subhâva
(Sk.). Being; the self-forming substance, or that “substance which gives
substance
to itself ”. (See the Ekasloha Shâstra of Nâgârjuna.) Explained
paradoxically,
as “the nature which has no nature of its own ”, and again as
that
which is with, and without, action. (See “Svabhâvat”.) This is the Spirit
within
Substance, the ideal cause of the potencies acting on the work of
formative
evolution (not “creation” in the sense usually attached to the word);
which
potencies become in turn the real causes. In the words used in the Vedânta
and
Vyâya Philosophies: nimitta, the efficient, and upâdâna, the material,
causes
are contained in Subhâva co-eternally. Says a Sanskrit Sloka:
“
Worthiest of ascetics, through its potency [ that of the “efficient” cause]
every
created thing comes by its proper nature ”.
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Substance.
Theosophists use the word in a dual sense, qualifying substance as
perceptible
and imperceptible; and making a distinction between material,
psychic
and spiritual substances
(see
“Sudda Satwa”), into ideal (i.e., existing on higher planes) and real
substance.
Suchi
(Sk.). A name of Indra; also of the third son of Abhimânin, son of Agni;
i.e.,
one of the primordial forty-nine fires.
Su-darshana
(Sk.). The Discus of Krishna; a flaming weapon that plays a great
part
in Krishna’s biographies.
Sudda
Satwa (Sk.). A substance not subject to the qualities of matter; a
luminiferous
and (to us) invisible substance, of which the bodies of the Gods
and
highest Dhyânis are formed. Philosophically, Suddha Satwa is a conscious
state
of spiritual Ego-ship rather than any essence.
Suddhodana
(Sk.). The King of Kapilavastu; the father of Gautama Lord Buddha.
Sudhâ
(Sk.). The food of the gods, akin to amrita the substance that gives
immortality.
S’udra
(Sk.). The last of the four castes that sprang from Brahmâ’s body. The
“servile
caste” that issued from the foot of the deity.
Sudyumna
(Sk.). An epithet of Ila (or Ida), the offspring of Vaivasvata Manu and
his
fair daughter who sprang from his sacrifice when he was left alone after the
flood.
Sudyumna was an androgynous creature, one month a male and the other a
female.
Suffism
(Gr.). From the root of Sophia, “Wisdom ”. A mystical sect in Persia
something
like the Vedantins; though very strong in numbers, none but very
intelligent
men join it. They claim, and very justly, the possession of the
esoteric
philosophy and doctrine of true Mohammedanism. The Suffi (or Sofi)
doctrine
is a good deal in touch with Theosophy, inasmuch as it preaches one
universal
creed, and outward respect and tolerance for every popular exoteric
faith.
It is also in touch with Masonry. The Suffis have four degrees and four
stages
of initiation:1st, probationary, with a strict outward observance of
Mussulman
rites, the hidden meaning of each ceremony and dogma being explained
to
the candidate; 2nd, metaphysical training; 3rd, the “Wisdom” degree, when the
candidate
is initiated into the innermost nature of things; and 4th final Truth,
when
the Adept attains divine powers, and complete union with the One Universal
Deity
in ecstacy or Samâdhi.
Sugata
(Sk.). One of the Lord Buddha’s titles, having many meanings.
Sukhab
(Chald.). One of the seven Babylonian gods.
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Sukhâvati
(Sk.). The Western Paradise of the uneducated rabble. The popular
notion
is that there is a Western Paradise of Amitâbha, wherein good men and
saints
revel in physical delights until they are carried once more by Karma into
the
circle of rebirth. This is an exaggerated and mistaken notion of Devâchân.
Suki
(Sk.). A daughter of Rishi Kashyapa, wife of Garuda, the king of the birds,
the
vehicle of Vishnu; the mother of parrots, owls and crows.
Sukra
(Sk.). A name of the planet Venus, called also Usanas. In this
impersonation
Usanas is the Guru and preceptor of the Daityas—the giants of the
earth—in
the Purânas.
Sûkshma
Sarîra (Sk.). The dream-like, illusive
body akin to Mânasarûpa or
“thought-body
”. It is the vesture of the gods, or the Dhyânis and the Devas.
Written
also Sukshama Sharîra and called Sukshmopadhi by the Târaka Râja Yogis.
(Secret
Doctrine, I.,157)
Sûkshmopadhi
(Sk.). In Târaka Râja Yoga the “principle” containing both the
higher
and the lower Manas and Kâma. It corresponds to the Manomaya Kosha of the
Vedantic
classification and to the Svapna state. (See “Svapna ”.)
Su-Mêru
(Sk.). The same as Meru, the world-mountain. The prefix Su implies the
laudation
and exaltation of the object or personal name which follows it.
Summerland.
The name given by the American Spiritualists and Phenomenalists to
the
land or region inhabited after death by their “Spirits”. It is situated,
says
Andrew Jackson Davis, either within or beyond the Milky Way. It is
described
as having cities and beautiful buildings, a Congress Hall, museums and
libraries
for the instruction of the growing generations of young “ Spirits ”.
We
are not told whether the latter are subject to disease, decay and death; but
unless
they are, the claim that the disembodied “Spirit” of a child and even
still-born
babe grows and develops as an adult is hardly consistent with logic.
But
that which we are distinctly told is, that in the Summerland Spirits are
given
in marriage, beget spiritual (?) children, and are even concerned with
politics.
All this is no satire or exaggeration of ours, since the numerous
works
by Mr. A. Jackson Davis are there to prove it, e.g., the International
Congress
of Spirits by that author, as well as we remember the title. It is this
grossly
materialistic way of viewing a disembodied spirit that has turned many
of
the present Theosophists away from Spiritualism and its “philosophy”. The
majesty
of death is thus desecrated, and its awful and solemn mystery becomes no
better
than a farce.
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Sunasepha
(Sk.). The Purânic “Isaac”; the son of the sage Rishika who sold him
for
one hundred cows to King Ambarisha, for a sacrifice and “burnt offering” to
Varuna,
as a substitute for the king’s son Rohita, devoted by his father to the
god.
When already stretched on the altar Sunasepha is saved by Rishi Visvâmitra,
who
calls upon his own hundred sons to take the place of the victim, and upon
their
refusal degrades them to the condition of Chândâlas. After which the Sage
teaches
the victim a mantram the repetition of which brings the gods to his
rescue;
he then adopts Sunasepha for his elder son.
(See
Râmâyana.) There are different versions of this story.
Sung-Ming-Shu
(Chin.). The Chinese tree of knowledge and tree of life.
Sûnya
(Sk.). Illusion, in the sense that all existence is but a phantom, a
dream,
or a shadow.
Sunyatâ
(Sk.). Void, space, nothingness. The name of our objective universe in
the
sense of its unreality and illusiveness.
Suoyator
(Fin.). In the epic poem of the Finns, the Kalevala, the name for the
primordial
Spirit of Evil, from whose saliva the serpent of sin was born.
Surabhi
(Sk.). The “cow of plenty ”; a fabulous creation, one of the fourteen
precious
things yielded by the ocean of milk when churned by the gods. A “cow”
which
yields every desire to its possessor.
Surarânî
(Sk.). A title of Aditi, the mother of the gods or suras.
Suras
(Sk.). A general term for gods, the same as devas; the contrary to asuras
or
“no-gods“.
Su-rasâ
(Sk.). A daughter of Daksha, Kashyapa’s wife, and the mother of a
thousand
many-headed serpents and dragons.
Surpa
(Sk.). “Winnower.”
Surtur
(Scand.). The leader of the fiery sons of Muspel in the Eddas.
Surukâya
(Sk). One of the “Seven Buddhas”, or Sapta Tathâgata.
Sûryâ
(Sk.). The Sun, worshipped in the Vedas. The offspring of Aditi (Space),
the
mother of the gods. The husband of Sanjnâ, or spiritual consciousness. The
great
god whom Visvakârman, his father-in-law, the creator of the gods and men,
and
their “carpenter”, crucifies on a lathe, and cutting off the eighth part of
his
rays, deprives his head of its effulgency, creating round it a dark aureole.
A
mystery of the last initiation, and an allegorical representation of it.
Sûryasiddhânta
(Sk.). A Sanskrit treatise on astronomy.
Sûryavansa
(Sk). The solar race. A Sûrayavansee is one who claims descent from
the
lineage headed by Ikshvâku. Thus, while Râma
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belonged
to the Ayodhyâ Dynasty of the Sûryavansa, Krishna belonged to the line
of
Yadu of the lunar race, or the Chandravansa, as did Gautama Buddha.
Sûryâvarta
(Sk.). A degree or stage of Samâdhi.
Sushumnâ
(Sk.). The solar ray—the first of the seven rays. Also the name of a
spinal
nerve which connects the heart with the Brahmarandra, and plays a most
important
part in Yoga practices.
Sushupti
Avasthâ (Sk.). Deep sleep; one of the four aspects of Prânava.
Sûtra
(Sk.). The second division of the sacred writings, addressed to the
Buddhist
laity.
Sûtra
Period (Sk.). One of the periods into which Vedic literature is divided.
Sûtrâtman
(Sk.). Lit., “the thread of spirit”; the immortal Ego, the
Individuality
which incarnates in men one life after the other, and upon which
are
strung, like beads on a string, his countless Personalities. The universal
life-supporting
air, Samashti prau; universal energy.
Svabhâvat
(Sk.). Explained by the Orientalists as “plastic substance”, which is
an
inadequate definition. Svabhâvat is the world-substance and stuff, or rather
that
which is behind it—the spirit and essence of substance. The name comes from
Subhâva
and is composed of three words—su, good, perfect, fair, handsome; sva,
self;
and bkâva, being, or state of being. From it all nature proceeds and into
it
all returns at the end of the life-cycles. In Esotericism it is called
“Father-Mother”.
It is the plastic essence of matter.
Svâbhâvika
(Sk.). The oldest existing school of Buddhism. They assigned the
manifestation
of the universe and physical phenomena to Svabhâva or respective
nature
of things. According to Wilson the Svabhâvas of things are “the inherent
properties
of the qualities by which they act, as soothing, terrific or
stupefying,
and the forms Swarûpas are the distinction of biped, quadruped,
brute,
fish, animal and the like ”.
Svadhâ
(Sk.). Oblation; allegorically called “the wife of the Pitris ”, the
Agnishwattas
and Barhishads.
Svâhâ
(Sk). A customary exclamation meaning “May it be perpetuated” or rather,
“so
be it”. When used at ancestral sacrifices (Brahmanic), it means “ May the
race
be perpetuated!”
Svapada
(Sk.). Protoplasm, cells, or microscopic organisms.
Svapna
(Sk). A trance or dreamy condition. Clairvoyance.
Svapna Avasthâ (Sk.). A dreaming state; one of the four
aspects of Prânava; a
Yoga
practice.
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Svarâj
(Sk.). The last or seventh (synthetical) ray of the seven solar rays; the
same
as Brahmâ. These seven rays are the entire gamut of the seven occult forces
(or
gods) of nature, as their respective names well prove. These are: Sushumnâ
(the
ray which transmits sunlight to the moon); Harikesha, Visvakarman,
Visvatryarchas,
Sannadhas, Sarvâvasu, and Svarâj. As each stands for one of the
creative
gods or Forces, it is easy to see how important were the functions of
the
sun in the eyes of antiquity, and why it was deified by the profane.
Svarga
(Sk.). A heavenly abode, the same as Indra-loka; a paradise. It is the
same
as—
Svar-loka
(Sk.). The paradise on Mount Meru.
Svasam
Vedanâ (Sk.). Lit., “the reflection which analyses itself ”; a synonym of
Paramârtha.
Svastika
(Sk.). In popular notions, it is the Jaina cross, or the “four-footed”
cross
(croix cramponnée). In Masonic teachings, “the most ancient Order of the
Brotherhood
of the Mystic Cross” is said to have been founded by Fohi, 1,027
B.C.,
and introduced into China fifty-two years later, consisting of the three
degrees.
In Esoteric Philosophy, the most mystic and ancient diagram. It is “the
originator
of the fire by friction, and of the ‘ Forty-nine Fires’.” Its symbol
was
stamped on Buddha’s heart, and therefore called the “ Heart’s Seal”. It is
laid
on the breasts of departed Initiates after their death ; and it is
mentioned
with the greatest respect in the Râmâyana. Engraved on every rock,
temple
and prehistoric building of India, and wherever Buddhists have left their
landmarks;
it is also found in China, Tibet and Siam, and among the ancient
Germanic
nations as Thor’s Hammer. As described by Eitel in his Hand-Book of
Chinese
Buddhism. . (1) it is “found among Bonpas and Buddhists”; (2) it is “one
of
the sixty-five figures of the Sripâda” ; ( it is “the symbol of esoteric
Buddhism”
; (4) “the special mark of all deities worshipped by the Lotus School
of
China”. Finally, and in Occultism, it is as sacred to us as the Pythagorean
Tetraktys,
of which it is indeed the double symbol.
Svastikâsana
(Sk.). The second of the four principal postures of the eighty-four
prescribed
in Hatha Yoga practices.
Svayambhû
(Sk.). A metaphysical and philosophical term, meaning “the
spontaneously
self-produced” or the “self-existent being ”. An epithet of
Brahmâ.
Svâyambhuva is also the name of the first Manu.
Svayambhû
Sûnyatâ (Sk.). Spontaneous self-evolution; self-existence of the real
in
the unreal, i.e., of the Eternal Sat in the periodical Asat.
Sveta
(Sk.). A serpent-dragon; a son of Kashyapa.
Sveta-dwîpa
(Sk.). Lit., the White Island or Continent; one of the
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Sapta-dwipa.
Colonel Wilford sought to identify it with Great Britain, but
failed.
Sveta-lohita
(Sk.). The name of Siva when he appears in the 29th Kalpa as “a
moon-coloured
Kumâra”.
Swedenborg,
Emmanuel. The great Swedish seer and mystic. He was born on the 29th
January,
1688, and was the son of Dr. Jasper Swedberg, bishop of Skara, in West
Gothland;
and died in London, in Great Bath Street, Clerkenwell, on March 29th,
1772.
Of all mystics, Swedenborg has certainly influenced “Theosophy” the most,
yet
he left a far more profound impress on official science. For while as an
astronomer,
mathematician, physiologist, naturalist, and philosopher he had no
rival,
in psychology and metaphysics he was certainly behind his time. When
forty-six
years of age, he became a “Theosophist”, and a “seer”; but, although
his
life had been at all times blameless and respectable, he was never a true
philanthropist
or an ascetic. His clairvoyant powers, however, were very
remarkable;
but they did not go beyond this plane of matter; all that he says of
subjective
worlds and spiritual beings is evidently far more the outcome of his
exuberant
fancy, than of his spiritual insight. He left behind him numerous
works,
which are sadly misinterpreted by his followers.
Sylphs.
The Rosicrucian name for the elementals of the air.
Symbolism.
The pictorial expression of an idea or a thought. Primordial writing
had
at first no characters, but a symbol generally stood for a whole phrase or
sentence.
A symbol is thus a recorded parable, and a parable a spoken symbol.
The
Chinese written language is nothing more than symbolical writing, each of
its
several thousand letters being-a symbol.
Syzygy
(Gr.). A Gnostic term, meaning a pair or couple, one active, the other
passive.
Used
especially of Æons.
T
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T.—The
twentieth letter of the alphabet. In the Latin Alphabet its value was
160,
and, with a dash over it (T) signified 160,000. It is the last letter of
the
Hebrew alphabet, the Tau whose equivalents are T, TH, and numerical value
400.
Its symbols are as a tau, a cross +, the foundation framework of
construction;
and as a teth (T), the ninth letter, a snake and the basket of the
Eleusinian
mysteries.
Taaroa
(Tah.). The creative power and chief god of the Tahitians.
Tab-nooth
(Heb.). Form; a Kabbalist term.
Tad-aikya
(Sk.). “Oneness”; identification or unity with the Absolute. The
universal,
unknowable Essence (Parahrahm) has no name in the Vedas but is
referred
to generally as Tad, “ That”.
Tafne
(Eg.). A goddess; daughter of the sun, represented with the head of a
lioness.
Tahmurath
(Pers.). The Iranian Adam, whose steed was Simorgh Anke, the
griffin-phœnix
or infinite cycle. A repetition or reminiscence of Vishnu and
Garuda.
Tahor
(Heb.). Lit., Mundus, the world; a name given to the Deity, which
identification
indicates a belief in Pantheism.
Taht
Esmun (Eg.). The Egyptian Adam; the first human ancestor.
Taijasi
(Sk.). The radiant, flaming—from Tejas “fire”; used sometimes to
designate
the Mânasa-rûpa, the “thought-body ”, and also the stars.
Tairyagyonya
(Sk.). The fifth creation, or rather the fifth stage of creation,
that
of the lower animals, reptiles, etc. (See “ Tiryaksrotas ”.)
Taittrîya
(Sk.). A Brâhmana of the Yajur Veda.
Talapoin
(Siam.). A Buddhist monk and ascetic in Siam; some of these ascetics
are
credited with great magic powers.
Talisman.
From the Arabic tilism or tilsam, a “magic image”. An object, whether
in
stone, metal, or sacred wood; often a piece of parchment filled with
characters
and images traced under certain planetary influences in magical
formulæ
given by one versed in occult sciences to one unversed, either with the
object
of preserving him from evil, or for the accomplishment of certain
desires.
The greatest virtue and efficacy of the talisman, however, resides in
the
faith of its possessor;
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not
because of the credulity of the latter, or that it possesses no virtue, but
because
faith is a quality endowed with a most potent creative power; and
therefore—unconsciously
to the believer—intensifies a hundredfold the power
originally
imparted to the talisman by its maker.
Talmidai
Hakhameem (Heb.). A class of mystics and Kabbalists whom the Zohar
calls
“Disciples of the Wise”, and who were Sârisim or voluntary eunuchs,
becoming
such for spiritual motives. (See Matthew xix., 11-12, a passage
implying
the laudation of such an act.)
Talmud
(Heb.). Rabbinic Commentaries on the Jewish faith. It is composed of two
parts,
the older Mishnah, and the more modern Gemara. Hebrews, who call the
Pentateuch
the written law, call the Talmud the unwritten or oral law. [w.w.w.]
The
Talmud contains the civil and canonical laws of the Jews, who claim a great
sanctity
for it. For, save the above-stated difference between the Pentateuch
and
the Talmud, the former, they say, can claim no priority over the latter, as
both
were received simultaneously by Moses on Mount Sinai from Jehovah, who
wrote
the one and delivered the other orally.
Tamâla
Pattra (Sk.). Stainless, pure, sage-like. Also the name of a leaf of the
Laurus
Cassia, a tree regarded as having various very occult and magical
properties.
Tamarisk,
or Erica. A sacred tree in Egypt of great occult virtues. Many of the
temples
were surrounded with such trees, pre-eminently one at Philæ, sacred
among
the sacred, as the body of Osiris was s to lie buried under it.
Tamas
(Sk.). The quality of darkness, “foulness” and inertia; also of ignorance,
as
matter is blind. A term used in metaphysical philosophy. It is the lowest of
the
three gunas or fundamental qualities.
Tammuz
(Syr.). A Syrian deity worshipped by idolatrous Hebrews as well as by
Syrians.
The women of Israel held annual lamentations over Adonis (that
beautiful
youth being identical with Tammuz). The feast held in his honour was
solstitial,
and began with the new moon, in the month of Tammuz (July), taking
place
chiefly at Byblos in Phœnicia; but it was also celebrated as late as the
fourth
century of our era at Bethlehem, as we find St. Jerome writing (Epistles
p.
9) his lamentations in these words: “Over Bethlehem, the grove of Tammuz,
that
is of Adonis, was casting its shadow! And in the grotto where formerly the
infant
Jesus cried, the lover of Venus was being mourned.” Indeed, in the
Mysteries
of Tammuz or Adonis a whole week was spent in lamentations and
mourning.
The funereal processions were succeeded by a fast, and later by
rejoicings;
for after the fast Adonis-Tammuz was regarded as raised from the
dead,
and wild orgies of joy, of eating and
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drinking,
as now in Easter week, went on uninterruptedly for several days.
Tamra-Parna
(Sk.). Ceylon, the ancient Taprobana.
Tamti
(Chald.). A goddess, the same as Belita. Tamti-Belita is the personified
Sea,
the mother of the City of Erech, the Chaldean Necropolis. Astronomically,
Tamti
is Astoreth or Istar, Venus.
Tanaim
(Heb.). Jewish Initiates, very learned Kabbalists in ancient times. The
Talmud
contains sundry legends about them and gives the chief names among them.
Tanga-Tango
(Peruv.). An idol much reverenced by the Peruvians. It is the symbol
of
the Triune or the Trinity, “One in three, and three in One”, and existed
before
our era.
Tanha
(Pali). The thirst for life. Desire to live and clinging to life on this
earth.
This clinging is that which causes rebirth or reincarnation.
Tanjur
(Tib.). A collection of Buddhist works translated from the Sanskrit into
Tibetan
and Mongolian. It is the more voluminous canon, comprising 225 large
volumes
on miscellaneous subjects. The Kanjur, which contains the commandments
or
the “Word of the Buddha ”, has only 108 volumes.
Tanmâtras
(Sk.). The types or rudiments of the five Elements; the subtile
essence
of these, devoid of all qualities and identical with the properties of
the
five basic Elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether; i.e., the tanmâtras
are,
in one of their aspects, smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing.
Tantra
(Sk.). Lit., “rule or ritual”. Certain mystical and magical works, whose
chief
peculiarity is the worship of the female power, personified in Sakti. Devî
or
Durgâ (Kâlî, Siva’s wife) is the special energy connected with sexual rites
and
magical powers-The worst form of black magic or sorcery.
Tântrika
(Sk) Ceremonies connected with the above worship. Sakti having a
two-fold
nature, white and black, good and bad, the Saktas are divided into two
classes,
the Dakshinâchâris and Vâmâchâris, or the right-hand and the left-hand
Saktas,
i.e., “white” and “black” magicians. The worship of the latter is most
licentious
and immoral.
Tao
(Chin.). The name of the philosophy of Lao-tze.
Taöer
(Eg.). The female Typhon, the hippopotamus, called also Ta-ur, Ta-op-oer,
etc.
; she is the Thoueris of the Greeks. This wife of Typhon was represented as
a
monstrous hippopotamus, sitting on her hind legs with a knife in one hand and
the
sacred knot in the other the pâsa of Siva). Her back was covered with the
scales
of a crocodile,
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and
she had a crocodile’s tail. She is also called Teb, whence the name of
Typhon
is also, sometimes, Tebh. On a monument of the sixth dynasty she is
called
“the nurse of the gods”. She was feared in Egypt even more than Typhon.
(See
“ Typhon”.)
Tao-teh-king
(Chin.). Lit., “The Book of the Perfectibility of Nature” written
by
the great philosopher Lao-tze. It is a kind of cosmogony which contains all
the
fundamental tenets of Esoteric Cosmo genesis. Thus he says that in the
beginning
there was naught but limitless and boundless Space. All that lives and
is,
was born in it, from the “Principle which exists by Itself, developing
Itself
from Itself”, i.e., Swabhâvat. As its name is unknown and it essence is
unfathomable,
philosophers have called it Tao (Anima Mundi), the uncreate,
unborn
and eternal energy of nature, manifesting periodically. Nature as well as
man
when it reaches purity will reach rest, and then all become one with Tao,
which
is the source of all bliss and felicity. As in the Hindu and Buddhistic
philosophies,
such purity and bliss and immortality can only be reached through
the
exercise of virtue and the perfect quietude of our worldly spirit; the human
mind
has to control and finally subdue and even crush the turbulent action of
man’s
physical nature; and the sooner he reaches the required degree of moral
purification,
the happier he will feel. (See Annales du Musée Guimet, Vols. XI.
and
XII.; Etudes sur lie Religion des Chinois, by Dr. Groot.) As the famous
Sinologist,
Pauthier, remarked: “Human Wisdom can never use language more holy
and
profound ”.
Tapas
(Sk.). “Abstraction”, “meditation”. “To perform tapas” is to sit for
contemplation.
Therefore ascetics are often called Tâpasas.
Tâpasâ-tarû
(Sk.). The Sesamum Orientate, a tree very sacred among the ancient
ascetics
of China and Tibet.
Tapasvî
(Sk.). Ascetics and anchorites of every religion, whether Buddhist,
Brahman,
or Taoist.
Taphos
(Gr.). Tomb, the sarcophagus placed in the Adytum and used for purposes
of
initiation.
Tapo-loka
(Sk.). The domain of the fire-devas named Vairâjas. It is known as the
“world
of the seven sages ”, and also “the realm of penance ”. One of the
Shashta-loka
(Six worlds) above our own, which is the seventh.
Târâ
(Sk.). The wife of Brihaspati (Jupiter), carried away by King Soma, the
Moon,
an act which led to the war of the Gods with the Asuras. Târâ personifies
mystic
knowledge as opposed to ritualistic faith. She is the mother (by Soma) of
Buddha,
“Wisdom ”.
Târakâ
(Sk) Described as Dânava or Daitya, i.e., a “Giant-
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Demon”,
whose superhuman austerities as a yogi made the gods tremble for their
power
and supremacy. Said to have been killed by Kârttikeya. (See Secret
Doctrine,
II., 382.)
Târakâmaya
(Sk.). The first war in Heaven through Târâ.
Târakâ
Râja Yoga (Sk.). One of the Brahminical Yoga systems for the development
of
purely spiritual powers and knowledge which lead to Nirvâna.
Targum
(Chald.). Lit., “Interpretation”, from the root targem to interpret.
Paraphrases
of Hebrew Scriptures. Some of the Targums are very mystical, the
Aramaic
(or Targumatic) language being used all through the Zohar and other
Kabbalistic
works. To distinguish this language from the Hebrew, called the
“face
” of the sacred tongue, it is referred to as ahorayim, the “ back part ”,
the
real meaning of which must be read between the lines, according to certain
methods
given to students. The Latin word tergum, “back ”, is derived from the
Hebrew
or rather Aramaic and Chaldean targum. The Book of Daniel begins in
Hebrew,
and is fully comprehensible till chap. ii., V. 4, when the Chaldees (the
Magician-Initiates)
begin speaking to the king in Aramaic—not in Syriac, as
mistranslated
in the Protestant Bible. Daniel speaks in Hebrew before
interpreting
the king’s dream to him; but explains the dream itself (chap. vii.)
in
Aramaic. “ So in Ezra iv., v. and vi., the words of the kings being there
literally
quoted, all matters connected therewith are in Aramaic ”, says Isaac
Myer
in his Qabbalah. The Targumim are of different ages, the latest already
showing
signs of the Massoretic or vowel-system, which made them still more full
of
intentional blinds. The precept of the Pirke Aboth (c. i., i), “ Make a fence
to
the Thorah ” (law), has indeed been faithfully followed in the Bible as in
the
Targumim ; and wise is he who would interpret either correctly, unless he is
an
old Occultist-Kabbalist.
Tashilhûmpa
(Tib.). The great centre of monasteries and colleges, three hours’
walk
from Tchigadze, the residence of the Teshu Lama for details of whom see
“Panchen
Rimboche”. It was built in 1445 by the order of Tson-kha-pa.
Tassissudun
(Tib.). Lit., “the holy city of the doctrine” inhabited,
nevertheless,
by more Dugpas than Saints. It is the residential capital in
Bhutan
of the ecclesiastical Head of the Bhons—the Dharma Râjâ. The latter,
though
professedly a Northern Buddhist, is simply a worshipper of the old
demon-gods
of the aborigines, the nature-sprites or elementals, worshipped in
the
land before the introduction of Buddhism. All strangers are prevented from
penetrating
into Eastern or Great Tibet, and the few scholars who venture on
their
travels into those forbidden regions, are permitted to penetrate no
further
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than
the border-lands of the land of Bod. They journey about Bhutan, Sikkhim,
and
elsewhere on the frontiers of the country, but can learn or know nothing of
true
Tibet; hence, nothing of the true Northern Buddhism or Lamaism of
Tsong-kha-pa.
And yet, while describing no more than the rites and beliefs of
the
Bhons and the travelling Shamans, they assure the world they are giving it
the
pure Northern Buddhism, and comment on its great fall from its pristine
purity.
Tat
(Eg.). An Egyptian symbol: an upright round standard tapering toward the
summit,
with four cross-pieces placed on the top. It was used as an amulet. The
top
part is a regular equilateral cross. This, on its phallic basis, represented
the
two principles of creation, the male and the female, and related to nature
and
cosmos ; but when the tat stood by itself, crowned with the atf ( or atef ),
the
triple crown of Horus—two feathers with the uræus in front—it represented
the
septenary man ; the cross, or the two cross-pieces, standing for the lower
quaternary,
and the atf for the higher triad. As Dr.
Birch well remarks:
“
The four horizontal bars . . . represent the four foundations of all things,
the
tat being an emblem of stability”.
Tathâgata
(Sk.). “One who is like the coming”; he who is, like his predecessors
(the
Buddhas) and successors, the coming future Buddha or World-Saviour. One of
the
titles of Gautama Buddha, and the highest epithet, since the first and the
last
Buddhas were the direct immediate avatars of the One Deity.
Tathâgatagupta
(Sk.). Secret or concealed Tathâgata, or the “guardian”
protecting
Buddhas: used of the Nirmânakayas.
Tattwa
(Sk.). Eternally existing “ That ”; also, the different principles in
Nature,
in their occult meaning. Tattwa Samâsa is a work of Sânkhya philosophy
attributed
to Kapila himself.
Also
the abstract principles of existence or categories, physical and
metaphysical.
The subtle elements—five exoterically, seven in esoteric
philosophy——which
are correlative to the five and the seven senses on the
physical
plane ; the last two senses are as yet latent in man, but will be
developed
in the two last root-races.
Tau
(Heb.). That which has now become the square Hebrew letter tau, but was ages
before
the invention of the Jewish alphabet, the Egyptian handled cross, the
crux
ansata of the Latins, and identical with the Egyptian ankh. This mark
belonged
exclusively, and still belongs, to the Adepts of every country. As
Kenneth
R. F. Mackenzie shows, “It was a symbol of salvation and consecration,
and
as such has been adopted as a Masonic symbol in the Royal Arch Degree ”. It
is
also called the astronomical cross, and was used by the ancient Mexicans—
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as
its presence on one of the palaces at Palenque shows—as well as by the
Hindus,
who placed the tau as a mark on the brows of their Chelas.
Taurus
(Lat.). A most mysterious constellation of the Zodiac, one connected with
all
the “First-born” solar gods. Taurus is under the asterisk A, which is its
figure
in the Hebrew alphabet, that of Aleph; and therefore that constellation
is
called the “ One ”, the “ First ”, after the said letter. Hence, the “
First-born”
to
all of whom it was made sacred. The Bull is the symbol of force and
procreative
power—the Logos ; hence, also, the horns on the head of Isis, the
female
aspect of Osiris and Horus. Ancient mystics saw the ansated cross, in the
horns
of Taurus (the upper portion of the Hebrew Aleph) pushing away the Dragon,
and
Christians connected the sign and constellation with Christ. St. Augustine
calls
it “the great City of God ”, and the Egyptians called it the “interpreter
of
the divine voice ”, the Apis-Pacis of Hermonthis.
(See
“ Zodiac ”.)
Taygete
(Gr.). One of the seven daughters of Atlas third, who became later one
of
the Pleiades. These seven daughters are said to typify the seven sub-races of
the
fourth root-race, that of the Atlanteans.
[
Sanskrit words commencing with the letters Tch are, owing to faulty
transliteration,
misplaced, and should come under C.]
Tchaitya
(Sk.). Any locality made sacred through some event in the life of
Buddha
; a term signifying the same in relation to gods, and any kind of place
or
object of worship.
Tchakchur
(Sk.). The first Vidjnâna (q.v.). Lit., “the eye”, meaning the faculty
of
sight, or rather, an occult perception of spiritual and subjective realities
(Chakshur).
Tchakra,
or Chakra (Sk.). A spell. The disk of Vishnu, which served as a weapon;
the
wheel of the Zodiac, also the wheel of time, etc. With Vishnu, it was a
symbol
of divine authority. One of the sixty-five figures of the Sripâda, or the
mystic
foot-print of Buddha which contains that number of symbolical figures.
The
Tchakra is used in mesmeric phenomena and other abnormal practices.
Tchandâlas,
or Chhandâlas (Sk.). Outcasts, or people without caste, a name now
given
to all the lower classes of the Hindus; but in antiquity it was applied to
a
certain class of men, who, having forfeited their right to any of the four
castes-—Brâhmans,
Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sûdras—were expelled from cities and
sought
refuge in the forests. Then they became “bricklayers ”, until finally
expelled
they left the country, some 4,000 years before our era. Some see in
them
the
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ancestors
of the earlier Jews, whose tribes began with A-brahm or “ No Brahm ”.
To
this day it is the class most despised by the Brahmins in India.
Tchandragupta,
or Chandragupta (Sk.). The son of Nanda, the first Buddhist King
of
the Morya Dynasty, the grandfather of King Asoka, “the beloved of the gods”
(Piyadasi).
Tchatur
Mahârâja (Sk.). The “four kings ”, Devas, who guard the four quarters of
the
universe, and are connected with Karma.
Tcherno-Bog
(Slavon.). Lit., “black god”; the chief deity of the ancient
Slavonian
nations.
Tchertchen.
An oasis in Central Asia, situated about 4,000 feet above the river
Tchertchen
Darya ; the very hot-bed and centre of ancient civilization,
surrounded
on all sides by numberless ruins, above and below ground, of cities,
towns,
and burial-places of every description. As the late Colonel Prjevalski
reported,
the oasis is inhabited by some 3,000 people “representing the relics
of
about a hundred nations and races now extinct, the very names of which are at
present
unknown to ethnologists”.
Tchhanda
Riddhi Pâda (Sk.). “The step of desire”, a term used in Râja Yoga. It
is
the final renunciation of all desire as a sine quânon condition of phenomenal
powers,
and entrance on the direct path of Nirvâna.
Tchikitsa
Vidyâ Shâstra (Sk.). A treatise on occult medicine, which contains a
number
of
“
magic ” prescriptions. It is one of the Pancha Vidyâ Shâstras or Scriptures.
Tchîna
(Sk) The name of China in Buddhist works, the land being so called since
the
Tsin dynasty, which was established in the year 349 before our era.
Tchitta
Riddhi Pâda (Sk) “ The step of memory.” The third condition of the
mystic
series which leads to the acquirement of adept-ship ; i.e., the
renunciation
of physical memory, and of all thoughts connected with worldly or
personal
events in one’s life—benefits, personal pleasures or associations.
physical
memory has to be sacrificed, and recalled by will power only when
absolutely
needed. The Riddhi Pâda, lit., the four “ Steps to Riddhi ”, are the
four
modes of controlling and finally of annihilating desire, memory, and
finally
meditation itself— so far as these are connected with any effort of the
physical
brain— meditation then becomes absolutely spiritual.
Tchitta
Smriti Upasthâna (Sk.). One of the four aims of Smriti Upasthâna, i.e.,
the
keeping ever in mind the transitory character of man’s life, and the
incessant
revolution of the wheel of existence.
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Tebah
(Heb.). Nature; which mystically and esoterically is the same as its
personified
Elohim, the numerical value of both words— Tebah and Elohim (or
Aleim)
being the same, namely 86.
Tefnant
(Eg.). One of the three deities who inhabit “the land of the rebirth of
gods”
and good men, i.e., Aamroo (Devâchân) The three deities are Scheo,
Tefnant,
and Seb.
Telugu.
One of the Dravidian languages spoken in Southern India.
Temura
(Heb.). Lit., “Change ”. The title of one division of the practical
Kabalah,
treating of the analogies between words, the relationship of which is
indicated
by certain changes in position of the letters, or changes by
substituting
one letter for another.
Ten
Pythagorean Virtues. Virtues of Initiation, &c., necessary before admission.
(See
“ Pythagoras ”.) They are identical with those prescribed by Manu, and the
Buddhist
Pâramitâs
of
Perfection.
Teraphim
(Heb.). The same as Seraphim, or the Kabeiri Gods; serpent-images. The
first
Teraphim, according to legend, were received by Dardanus as a dowry, and
brought
by him to Samothrace and Troy. The idol-oracles of the ancient Jews.
Rebecca
stole them from her father Laban.
Teratology.
A Greek name coined by Geoffroi St. Hilaire to denote the pre-natal
formation
of monsters, both human and animal.
Tetragrammaton.
The four-lettered name of God, its Greek title: the four letters
are
in Hebrew
“
yod, hé vau, hé ” ,or in English capitals, IHVH. The true ancient
pronunciation
is now unknown; the sincere Hebrew considered this name too sacred
for
speech, and in reading the sacred writings he substituted the title “ Adonai
”,
meaning Lord. In the Kabbalah, I is associated with Chokmah, H with Binah, V
with
Tiphereth, and H final with Malkuth. Christians in general call IHVH
Jehovah,
and many modern Biblical scholars write it Yahveh. In the Secret
Doctrine,
the name Jehovah is assigned to Sephira Binah alone, but this
attribution
is not recognised by the Rosicrucian school of Kabbalists, nor by
Mathers
in his translation of Knorr Von Rbsenroth’s Kabbalah Denudata: certain
Kabbalistic
authorities have referred Binah alone to IHVH, but only in reference
to
the Jehovah of the exoteric Judaism. The IHVH of the Kabbalah has but a faint
resemblance
to the God of the Old Testament. [w.w.w.]
The
Kabbalah of Knorr von Rosenroth is no authority to the Eastern Kabbalists;
because
it is well known that in writing his Kabbalah Denudata he followed the
modern
rather than the ancient (Chaldean) MSS.; and it is equally well known
that
those MSS. and writings of the Zohar that are classified as “ancient”,
mention,
and some even use, the Hebrew vowel
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or
Massoretic points. This alone would make these would-be Zoharic books
spurious,
as there are no direct traces of the Massorah scheme before the tenth
century
of our era, nor any remote trace of it before the seventh. (See “
Tetraktys
”.)
Tetraktys
(Gr.) or the Tetrad. The sacred “Four” by which the Pythagoreans
swore,
this being their most binding oath. It has a very mystic and varied
signification,
being the same as the Tetragrammaton. First of all it is Unity,
or
the “ One” under four different aspects; then it is the fundamental number
Four,
the Tetrad containing the Decad, or Ten, the number of perfection; finally
it
signifies the primeval Triad (or Triangle) merged in the divine Monad.
Kircher,
the learned Kabbalist. Jesuit, in his Œdipus -Ægvpticus (II p. 267),
gives
the Ineffable Name IHVH—one of the Kabbalistic formulæ of the 72
names—arranged
in the shape of the Pythagorean Tetrad. Mr. I. Myer gives it in
this
wise:
. I
y =
10
. . 2 The Ineffable hy
=
15
.
. . 3 Name thus w hy
=
21
.
. . . 4
hw
hy = 26
1O
72
He
also shows that “the sacred Tetrad of the Pythagoreans appears to have been
known
to the ancient Chinese”. As explained in Isis Unveiled (I, xvi.): The
mystic
Decad, the resultant of the Tetraktys, or the 1+2+3+4=10, is a way of
expressing
this idea. The One is the impersonal principle ‘God’; the Two,
matter;
the Three, combining Monad and Duad and partaking of the nature of both,
is
the phenomenal world; the Tetrad, or form of perfection, expresses the
emptiness
of all; and the Decad, or sum of all, involves the entire Kosmos.
Thalassa
(Gr.). The sea. (See “Thallath”.)
Thales
(Gr.). The Greek philosopher of Miletus (circa 600 years B.c.) who taught
that
the whole universe was produced from water, while Heraclitus of Ephesus
maintained
that it was produced by fire, and Anaximenes by air. Thales, whose
real
name is unknown, took his name from Thallath, in accordance with the
philosophy
he taught.
Thallath
(Chald.). The same as Thalassa. The goddess personifying the sea,
identical
with Tiamat and connected with Tamti and Belita. The goddess who gave
birth
to every variety of primordial monster in Berosus’ account of cosmogony.
Tharana
(Sk.). “Mesmerism”, or rather self.induced trance or self-
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hypnotisation
; an action in India, which is of magical character and a kind of
exorcism.
Lit., “to brush or sweep away” (evil influences, thârnhan meaning a
broom,
and thârnhan, a duster); driving away the bad bhûts (bad aura and bad
spirits)
through the mesmeriser’s beneficent will.
Thaumaturgy.
Wonder or “miracle-working”; the power of working wonders with the
help
of gods. From the Greek words thauma, “wonder”, and theurgia, “divine
work”.
Theanthropism.
A state of being both god and man; a divine Avatar (q.v.).
Theiohel
(Heb.). The man-producing habitable globe, our earth in the Zohar.
Theli
(Chald.). The great Dragon said to environ the universe symbolically. In
Hebrew
letters it is
TLI=
400+30+10 = 440 when “its crest [ letter] is repressed”, said the Rabbis,
40
remains, or the equivalent of Mem; M=Water, the waters above the firmament.
Evidently
the same idea as symbolised by Shesha—the Serpent of Vishnu.
Theocrasy.
Lit., “mixing of gods”. The worship of various gods, as that of
Jehovah
and the gods of the Gentiles in the case of the idolatrous Jews.
Theodicy.
“Divine right”, i.e , the privilege of an all-merciful and just God to
afflict
the innocent, and damn those predestined, and still remain a loving and
just
Deity theologically—a mystery.
Theodidaktos
(Gr.). Lit., “God-taught”. Used of Ammonius Saccas, the founder of
the
Neo-Platonic Eclectic School of the Philalethæ in the fourth century at
Alexandria.
Theogony.
The genesis of the gods; that branch of all non-Christian theologies
which
teaches the genealogy of the various deities. An ancient Greek name for
that
which was translated later as the “genealogy of the generation of Adam and
the
Patriarchs ”—the latter being all “gods and planets and zodiacal signs ”.
Theomachy.
Fighting with, or against the gods, such, as the “War of the Titans”,
the
“ War in Heaven” and the Battle of the Archangels (gods) against their
brothers
the Arch-fiends (ex-gods, Asuras, etc.).
Theomancy.
Divination through oracles, from theos, a god, and manteia,
divination.
Theopathy.
Suffering for one’s god. Religious fanaticism.
Theophilanthropism
(Gr.). Love to God and man, or rather, in the philosophical
sense,
love of God through love of Humanity. Certain persons who during the
first
revolution in France sought to replace Christianity by pure philanthropy
and
reason, called themselves theophilanthropists.
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Theophilosophy.
Theism and philosophy combined.
Theopneusty.
Revelation; something given or inspired by a god or divine being.
Divine
inspiration.
Theopœa
(Gr.). A magic art of endowing inanimate figures, statues, and other
objects,
with life, speech, or locomotion.
Theosophia
(Gr.). Wisdom-religion, or “Divine Wisdom”. The substratum and basis
of
all the world-religions and philosophies, taught and practised by a few elect
ever
since man became a thinking being. In its practical bearing, Theosophy is
purely
divine ethics; the definitions in dictionaries are pure nonsense, based
on
religious prejudice and ignorance of the true spirit of the early
Rosicrucians
and mediæval philosophers who called themselves Theosophists.
Theosophical
Society, or “Universal Brotherhood”. Founded in 1875 at New York,
by
Colonel H. S. Olcott and H. P. Blavatsky, helped by W. Q. Judge and several
others.
Its avowed object was at first the scientific investigation of psychic
or
so-called “spiritualistic” phenomena, after which its three chief objects
were
declared, namely (1) Brotherhood of man, without distinction of race,
colour,
religion, or social position; (2) the serious study of the ancient
world-religions
for purposes of comparison and the selection therefrom of
universal
ethics; (3) the study and development of the latent divine powers in
man.
At the present moment it has over 250 Branches scattered all over the
world,
most of which are in India, where also its chief Headquarters are
established.
It is composed of several large Sections—the Indian, the American,
the
Australian, and the European Sections.
Theosophists.
A name by which many mystics at various periods of history have
called
themselves. The Neo-Platonists of Alexandria were Theosophists; the
Alchemists
and Kabbalists during the mediæval ages were likewise so called, also
the
Martinists, the Quietists, and other kinds of mystics, whether acting
independently
or incorporated in a brotherhood or society. All real lovers of
divine
Wisdom and Truth had, and have, a right to the name, rather than those
who,
appropriating the qualification, live lives or perform actions opposed to
the
principles of Theosophy. As described by Brother Kenneth R. Mackenzie, the
Theosophists
of the past centuries—“ entirely speculative, and founding no
schools,
have still exercised a silent influence upon philosophy; and, no doubt,
when
the time arrives, many ideas thus silently propounded may yet give new
directions
to human thought. One of the ways in which these doctrines have
obtained
not only authority, but power, has been among certain enthusiasts in
the
higher degrees of Masonry. This power has, however, to a great degree died
with
the founders, and modern Freemasonry contains few traces of theosophic
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influence.
However accurate and beautiful some of the ideas of Swedenborg,
Pernetty,
Paschalis, Saint Martin, Marconis, Ragon, and Chastanier may have
been,
they have but little direct influence on society.” This is true of the
Theosophists
of the last three centuries, but not of the later ones. For the
Theosophists
of the current century have already visibly impressed themselves on
modern
literature, and introduced the desire and craving for some philosophy in
place
of the blind dogmatic faith of yore, among the most intelligent portions
of
human-kind. Such is the difference between past and modern THEOSOPHY.
Therapeutæ
(Gr.) or Therapeutes. A school of Esotericists, which was an inner
group
within Alexandrian Judaism and not, as generally believed, a “sect”. They
were
“healers” in the sense that some “Christian” and “ Mental” Scientists,
members
of the T.S., are healers, while they are at the same time good
Theosophists
and students of the esoteric sciences. Philo Judæus calls them
“servants
of god”. As justly shown in A Dictionary of . . . Literature, Sects,
and
Doctrines (Vol. IV., art. “Philo Judmus ”) in mentioning the Therapeutes—“
There
appears no reason to think of a special “sect”, but rather of an esoteric
circle
of illuminati, of ‘wise men’ . . . They were contemplative Hellenistic
Jews.”
Thermutis
(Eg.). The asp-crown of the goddess Isis; also the name of the
legendary
daughter of Pharaoh who is alleged to have saved Moses from the Nile.
Thero
(Pali). A priest of Buddha. Therunnanse, also.
Theurgia,
or Theurgy(Gr.). A communication with, and means of bringing down to
earth,
planetary spirits and angels—the “gods of Light”. Knowledge of the inner
meaning
of their hierarchies, and purity of life alone can lead to the
acquisition
of the powers necessary for communion with them. To; arrive at such
an
exalted goal the aspirant must be absolutely worthy and unselfish.
Theurgist.
The first school of practical theurgy (from qeod, god, and ergon
work,)
in the Christian period, was founded by Iamblichus among certain
Alexandrian
Platonists. The priests, however, who were attached to the temples
of
Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia and Greece, and whose business it was to evoke the
gods
during the celebration of the Mysteries, were known by this name, or its
equivalent
in other tongues, from the earliest archaic period. Spirits (but not
those
of the dead, the evocation of which was called Necromancy) were made
visible
to the eyes of mortals. Thus a theurgist had to be a hierophant and an
expert
in the esoteric learning of the Sanctuaries of all great countries. The
Neo-platonists
of the school of Iamblichus were called theurgists, for they
performed
the so-called “ceremonial magic”, and evoked the simulacra or
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the
images of the ancient heroes, “gods”, and daimonia (daimovia, divine,
spiritual
entities). In the rare cases when the presence of a tangible and
visible
“ spirit ” was required, the theurgist had to furnish the weird
apparition
with a portion of his own flesh and blood—he had to perform the
thepœa
or the “creation of gods”, by a mysterious process well known to the old,
and
perhaps some of the modern, Tântrikas and initiated Brahmans of India. Such
is
what is said in the Book of Evocations of the pagodas. It shows the perfect
identity
of rites and ceremonial between the oldest Brahmanic theurgy and that
of
the Alexandrian Platonists.
The
following is from Isis Unveiled: “The Brahman Grihasta (the evocator) must
be
in a state of complete purity before he ventures to call forth the Pitris.
After
having prepared a lamp, some sandal-incense, etc., and having traced the
magic
circles taught him by the superior Guru, in order to keep away bad
spirits,
he ceases to breathe, and calls the fire (Kundalini) to his help to
disperse
his body.” He pronounces a certain number of times the sacred word, and
“
his soul (astral body) escapes from its prison, his body disappears, and the
soul
(image) of the evoked spirit descends into the double body and animates
it”.
Then “his (the theurgist’s) soul (astral) re-enters its body, whose subtile
particles
have again been aggregating (to the objective sense), after having
formed
from themselves an aerial body for the deva (god or spirit) he evoked And
then,
the operator propounds to the latter questions “on the mysteries of Being
and
the transformation of the imperishable ”. The popular prevailing idea is
that
the theurgists, as well as the magicians, worked wonders, such as evoking
the
souls or shadows of the heroes and gods, and other thaumaturgic works, by
super
natural powers. But this never was the fact. They did it simply by the
liberation
of their own astral body, which, taking the form of a god or hero,
served
as a medium or vehicle through which the special current preserving the
ideas
and knowledge of that hero or god could be reached and manifested. (See
“Iamblichus”.)
Thirty-two
Ways of Wisdom (Kab.). The Zohar says that Chochmah or Hokhmah
(wisdom)
generates all things “by means of (these) thirty- two paths”. (Zohar
iii.,
290a The full account of them is found in the Sepher Yezirah, wherein
letters
and numbers constitute as entities the Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom, by
which
the Elohim built the whole Universe. For, as said elsewhere, the brain
“hath
an outlet from Zeir Anpin, and therefore it is spread and goes out to
thirty-two
ways”. Zeir Anpin, the “Short Face” or the “Lesser Countenance”, is
the
Heavenly Adam, Adam Kadmon, or Man. Man in the Zohar is looked upon as the
twenty-two
letters of the Hebrew alphabet to which the decad is added and hence
the
thirty-two symbols of his faculties or paths.
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Thohu-Bohu
(Heb.). From Tohoo—“the Deep” and Bohu “primeval Space”—or the Deep
of
Primeval Space, loosely rendered as “Chaos” “Confusion” and so on. Also spelt
and
pronounced “tohu-bohu ”.
Thomei
(Eg.). The Goddess of Justice, with eyes bandaged and holding a cross.
The
same as the Greek Themis.
Thor
(Scand.). From Thonar to “thunder”. The son of Odin and Freya, and the
chief
of all Elemental Spirits. The god of thunder, Jupiter Tonans. The word
Thursday
is named after Thor. Among the Romans Thursday was the day of Jupiter,
Jovis
dies, Jeudi in French— the fifth day of the week, sacred also to the
planet
Jupiter.
Thorah
(Heb.). “Law”, written down from the transposition of the letters of the
Hebrew
alphabet. Of the “hidden Thorah” it is said that before At-tee-k-ah (the
“Ancient
of all the Ancients ”) had arranged Itself into limbs (or members)
preparing
Itself to manifest, It willed to create a Thorah; the latter upon
being
produced addressed It in these words: “ It, that wishes to arrange and to
appoint
other things, should first of all, arrange Itself in Its proper Forms”.
In
other words, Thorah, the Law, snubbed its Creator from the moment of its
birth,
according to the above, which is an interpolation of some later
Talmudist.
As it grew and developed, the mystic Law of the primitive Kabbalist
was
transformed and made by the Rabbins to supersede in its dead letter every
metaphysical
conception; and thus the Rabbinical and Talmudistic Law makes Ain
Soph
and every divine Principle subservient to itself, and turns its back upon
the
true esoteric interpretations.
Thor’s
Hammer. A weapon which had the form of the Svastika; called by European
Mystics
and Masons the “ Hermetic Cross”, and also “Jaina Cross ”, croix
cramponnée
; the most archaic, as the most sacred and universally respected
symbol.
(See “ Svastika”.)
Thoth
(Eg.). The most mysterious and the least understood of gods, whose
personal
character is entirely distinct from all other ancient deities. While
the
permutations of Osiris, Isis, Horus, and the rest, are so numberless that
their
individuality is all but lost, Thoth remains changeless from the first to
the
last Dynasty. He is the god of wisdom and of authority over all other gods.
He
is the recorder and the judge. His ibis-head, the pen and tablet of the
celestial
scribe, who records the thoughts, words and deeds of men and weighs
them
in the balance, liken him to the type of the esoteric Lipikas. His name is
one
of the first that appears on the oldest monuments. He is the lunar god of
the
first dynasties, the master of Cynocephalus—the dog-headed ape who stood in
Egypt
as a living symbol and remembrance of the Third Root-Race. (Secret
Doctrine,
II. pp. 184 and 185). He is the “Lord of Hermopolis”
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—Janus,
Hermes and Mercury combined. He is crowned with an atef and the lunar
disk,
and bears the “Eye of Horus ”, the third eye, in his hand. He is the Greek
Hermes,
the god of learning, and Hermes Trismegistus, the “ Thrice-great Hermes
”,
the patron of physical sciences and the patron and very soul of the occult
esoteric
knowledge. As Mr. J. Bonwick, F.R.G.S., beautifully expresses it : “
Thoth
has a powerful effect on the imagination . . . in this intricate yet
beautiful
phantasmagoria of thought and moral sentiment of that shadowy past. It
is
in vain we ask ourselves however man, in the infancy of this world of
humanity,
in the rudeness of supposed incipient civilization, could have dreamed
of
such a heavenly being as Thoth. The lines are so delicately drawn, so
intimately
and tastefully interwoven, that we seem to regard a picture designed
by
the genius of a Milton, and executed with the skill of a Raphael.” Verily,
there
was some truth in that old saying, “ The wisdom of the Egyptians ”.When it
is
shown that the wife of Cephren, builder of the second Pyramid, was a
priestess
of Thoth, one sees that the ideas comprehended in him were fixed 6,000
years
ago ”. According to Plato, “Thoth-Hermes was the discoverer and inventor
of
numbers, geometry, astronomy and letters”. Proclus, the disciple of Plotinus,
speaking
of this mysterious deity, says: “He presides over every species of
condition,
leading us to an intelligible essence from this mortal abode,
governing
the different herds of souls”.
In
other words Thoth, as the Registrar and Recorder of Osiris in Amenti, the
Judgment
Hall of the Dead was a psychopompic deity; while Iamblichus hints that
“
the cross with a handle (the thau or tau) which Tot holds in his hand, was
none
other than the monogram of his name”. Besides the Tau, as the prototype of
Mercury,
Thoth carries the serpent-rod, emblem of Wisdom, the rod that became
the
Caduceus. Says Mr. Bonwick, “ Hermes was the serpent itself in a mystical
sense.
He glides like that creature, noiselessly, without apparent exertion,
along
the course of ages. He is . . . a representative of the spangled heavens.
But
he is the foe of the bad serpent, for the ibis devoured the snakes of
Egypt.”
Thothori
Nyan Tsan (Tib.) A King of Tibet in the fourth century. It is narrated
that
during his reign he was visited by five mysterious strangers, who revealed
to
him how he might use for his country’s welfare four precious things which had
fallen
down from heaven, in 331 A.D., in a golden casket and “the use of which
no
one knew”. These were (1) hands folded as the Buddhist ascetics fold them;
(2)
a be-jewelled Shorten (a Stupa built over a receptacle for relics); (3) a
gem
inscribed with the “ Aum mani padme hum” ; and ( the Zamotog, a religious
work
on ethics, a part of the Kanjur. A voice from heaven then told
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the
King that after a certain number of generations everyone would learn how
precious
these four things were. The number of generations stated carried the
world
to the seventh century, when Buddhism became the accepted religion of
Tibet.
Making an allowance for legendary licence, the four things fallen from
heaven,
the voice, and the five mysterious strangers, may be easily seen to have
been
historical facts. They were without any doubt five Arhats or Bhikshus from
India,
on their proselytising tour. Many were the Indian. sages who, persecuted
in
India for their new faith, betook themselves to Tibet and China.
Thrætaona
(Mazd.) The Persian Michael, who contended with Zohak or Azhi-Dahaka,
the
destroying serpent. In the Avesta Azhi-Dahaka is a three-headed monster, one
of
whose heads is human, and the two others Ophidian. Dahaka, who is shown in
the
Zoroastrian Scriptures as coming from Babylonia, stands as the allegorical
symbol
of the Assyrian dynasty of King Dahaka (Az-Dahaka) which ruled Asia with
an
iron hand, and whose banners bore the purple sign of the dragon, Purpureum
signum
draconis. Metaphysically, however, the human head denotes the physical
man,
and the two serpent heads the dual manasic principles—the dragon and
serpent
both standing as symbols of wisdom and occult powers.
Thread
Soul. The same as Sutrâtmâ (q.v.).
Three
Degrees (of Initiation). Every nation had its exoteric and esoteric
religion,
the one for the masses, the other for the learned and elect. For
example,
the Hindus had three degrees with several sub- degrees. The Egyptians
had
also three preliminary degrees, personified under the “three guardians of
the
fire ” in the Mysteries. The Chinese had their most ancient Triad Society:
and
the Tibetans have to this day their “triple step ” ; which was symbolized in
the
Vedas by the three strides of Vishnu. Everywhere antiquity shows an
unbounded
reverence for the Triad and Triangle—the first geometrical figure. The
old
Babylonians had their three stages of initiation into the priesthood (which
was
then esoteric knowledge); the Jews, the Kabbalists and mystics borrowed them
from
the Chaldees, and the Christian Church from the Jews. “ There are Two”,
says
Rabbi Simon ben Jochai, “in conjunction with One; hence they are Three, and
if
they are Three, then they are One.”
Three
Faces. The Trimûrti of the Indian Pantheon; the three persons of the one
godhead.
Says the Book of Precepts: “There are two Faces, one in Tushita
(Devâchân)
and one in Myalba (earth); and the Highest Holy unites them and
finally
absorbs both.”
Three
Fires (Occult). The name given to Atmâ-Buddhi-Manas, which when united
become
one.
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Thsang
Thisrong tsan (Tib.). A king who flourished between the years 728 and
787,
and who invited from Bengal Pandit Rakshit, called for his great learning
Bodhisattva,
to come and settle in Tibet, in order to teach Buddhist philosophy
to
his priests.
Thûmi
Sambhota (Sk.). An Indian mystic and man of erudition, the inventor of the
Tibetan
alphabet.
Thummim
(Heb.). “Perfections.” An ornament on the breastplates of the ancient
High
Priests of Judaism. Modern Rabbins and Hebraists may well pretend they do
not
know the joint purposes of the Thummim and the Urim; but the Kabbalists do
and
likewise the Occultists. They were the instruments of magic divination and
oracular
communication— theurgic and astrological. This is shown in the
following
well-known facts —(1) upon each of the twelve precious stones was
engraved
the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob, each of these “sons”
personating
one of the signs of the zodiac; (2) both were oracular images, like
the
teraphim, and uttered oracles by a voice, and both were agents for
hypnotisation
and throwing the priests who wore them into an ecstatic condition.
The
Urim and Thummim were not original with the Hebrews, but had been borrowed,
like
most of their other religious rites, from the Egyptians, with whom the
mystic
scarabæus worn on the breast by the Hierophants, had the same functions.
They
were thus purely heathen and magical modes of divination ; and when the
Jewish
“Lord God” was called upon to manifest his presence and speak out his
will
through the Urim by preliminary incantations, the modus operandi was the
same
as that used by all the Gentile priests the world over.
Thumos
(Gr.). The astral, animal soul; the Kâmas-Manas; Thumos means passion,
desire
and confusion and is so used by Homer. The word is probably derived from
the
Sanskit Tamas, which has the same meaning.
Tia-Huanaco
(Peruv.). Most magnificent ruins of a pre-historic city in Peru.
Tiamat
(Chald.). A female dragon personifying the ocean; the “great mother” or
the
living principle of chaos. Tiamat wanted to swallow Bel, but Bel sent a wind
which
entered her open mouth and killed Tiamat.
Tiaou
(Eg.). A kind of Devachanic post mortem state.
Tien-Hoang
(Chin.). The twelve hierarchies of Dhyânis.
Tien-Sin
(Chin.). Lit., “the heaven of mind”, or abstract, subjective, ideal
heaven.
A metaphysical term applied to the Absolute.
Tikkun
(Chald.). Manifested Man or Adam Kadmon, the first ray from the
manifested
Logos.
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Tiphereth
(Heb.). Beauty; the sixth of the ten Sephiroth, a masculine active
potency,
corresponding to the Vau, V, of the Tetragrammaton IHVH; also called
Melekh
or King; and the Son. It is the central Sephira of the six which compose
Zauir
Anpin, the Microprosopus, or Lesser Countenance. It is translated “
Beauty”
and “Mildness”.
Tîrthakas,
or Tîrthika and Tîrthyas (Sk.). “Heretical teachers.” An epithet
applied
by the Buddhist ascetics to the Brahmans and certain Yogis of India.
Tirthankâra
(Sk.). Jaina saints and chiefs, of which there are twenty-four. It
is
claimed that one of them was the spiritual Guru of Gautama Buddha.
Tirthankâra
is a synonym of Jaina.
Tiryakarota
(Sk.). From tiryak “crooked ”, and srotas (digestive) “canal”. The
name
of the “creation” by Brahmâ of men or beings, whose stomachs were, on
account
of their erect position as bipeds, in a horizontal position. This is a
Purânic
invention, absent in Occultism.
Tishya
(Sk.). The same as Kaliyuga, the Fourth Age.
Titans
(Gr.). Giants of divine origin in Greek mythology who made war against
the
gods. Prometheus was one of them.
Titikshâ
(Sk.). Lit., “long-suffering, patience”. Titikshâ, daughter of Daksha
and
wife of Dharma (divine law) is its personification.
To
On (Gr.). The “Being”, the “Ineffable All” of Plato. He“ whom no person has
seen
except the Son”.
Tobo
(Gnost.). In the Codex Nazaræus, a mysterious being which bears the soul of
Adam
from Orcus to the place of life, and thence is called “the liberator of the
soul
of Adam ”.
Todas.
A mysterious people of India found in the unexplored fastnesses of
Nilgiri
(Blue) Hills in the Madras Presidency, whose origin, language and
religion
are to this day unknown. They are entirely distinct, ethnically,
philologically,
and in every other way, from the Badagas and the Mulakurumbas,
two
other races found on the same hills.
Toom
(Eg.). A god issued from Osiris in his character of the Great Deep Noot. He
is
the Protean god who generates other gods, “ assuming the form he likes ”. He
is
Fohat. (Secret Doctrine, I., 673.)
Tope.
An artificial mound covering relics of Buddha or some other great Arhat.
The
Topes are also called Dâgobas.
Tophet
(Heb.). A place in the valley of Gehenna, near Jerusalem, where a
constant
fire was kept burning, in which children were immolated to Baal. The
locality
is thus the prototype of the Christian Hell, the fiery Gehenna of
endless
woe.
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Toralva,
Dr. Eugene. A physician who lived in the fourteenth century, and who
received
as a gift from Friar Pietro, a great magician and a Dominican monk, a
demon
named Zequiel to be his faithful servant. (See Isis Unveiled, II., 60.)
Toyâmbudhi
(Sk.). A country in the northern part of which lay the “White Island
”—Shveta
Dwîpa of the seven Purânic islands or continents.
Trailokya,
or Trilokya (Sk.). Lit., the “three regions” or worlds ; the
complementary
triad to the Brahmanical quaternary of worlds named Bhuvanatraya.A
Buddhist
profane layman will mention only three divisions of every world, while
a
non-initiated Brahman will maintain that there are four. The four divisions of
the
latter are purely physical and sensuous, the Trailokya of the Buddhist are
purely
spiritual and ethical. The Brahmanical division may be found fully
described
under the heading of Vyahritis, the difference being for the present
sufficiently
shown in the following parallel:
Brahmanical
Division of the Worlds. Buddhist Division
of the Regions.
1.Bhur,
earth.
1. World of desire,
Kâmadhâtu
or
Kâmalôka.
2.Bhuvah,
heaven, firmament. 2.
World of form, Rûpadhâtu.
3.
Swar atmosphere the sky.
4.
Mahar, eternal luminous essence. } 3.
The formless world Arûpadhâtu.
All
these are the worlds of post mortem states. For instance, Kâmalôka or
Kâmadhâtu,
the region of Mâra, is that which mediæval and modern Kabalists call
the
world of astral light, and the “world of shells Kâmalôka has, like every
other
region, its seven divisions, the lowest of which begins on earth or
invisibly
in its atmosphere; the six others ascend gradually, the highest being
the
abode of those who have died owing to accident, or suicide in a fit of
temporary
insanity, or were otherwise victims of external forces. It is a place
where
all those who have died before the end of the term allotted to them, and
whose
higher principles do not, therefore, go at once into Devachanic
state—sleep
a dreamless sweet sleep of oblivion, at the termination of which
they
are either reborn immediately, or pass gradually into the Devachanic state.
Rûpadhâtu
is the celestial world of form, or what we call Devâchân. With the
uninitiated
Brahmans, Chinese and other Buddhists, the Rûpadhâtu is divided into
eighteen
Brahmâ or Devalokas; the life of a soul therein lasts from half a Yuga
up
to 16,000 Yugas or Kalpas, and the height of the “Shades” is from half a
Yojana
up to 16,000 Yojanas (a Yojana measuring from five and a half to ten
miles
!), and such-like theological twaddle evolved from priestly brains. But
the
Esoteric Philosophy teaches that though for the Egos for the time being,
everything
or every-
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one
preserves its form (as in a dream), yet as Rûpadhâtu is a purely mental
region,
and a state, the Egos themselves have no form outside their own
consciousness.
Esotericism divides this “ region” into seven Dhyânas, “regions”,
or
states of contemplation, which are not localities but mental representations
of
these. Arûpadhâtu: this “region” is again divided into seven Dhyânas, still
more
abstract and formless, for this “World” is without any form or desire
whatever.
It is the highest region of the post mortem Trailokya; and as it is
the
abode of those who are almost ready for Nirvâna and is, in fact, the very
threshold
of the Nirvânic state, it stands to reason that in Arûpadhâtu (or
Arûpavachara)
there can be neither form nor sensation, nor any feeling connected
with
our three dimensional Universe.
Trees
of Life. From the highest antiquity trees were connected with the gods and
mystical
forces in nature. Every nation had its sacred tree, with its peculiar
characteristics
and attributes based on natural, and also occasionally on occult
properties,
as expounded in the esoteric teachings. Thus the peepul or Âshvattha
of
India, the abode of Pitris (elementals in fact) of a lower order, became the
Bo-tree
or ficus religiosa of the Buddhists the world over, since Gautama Buddha
reached
the highest knowledge and Nirvâna under such a tree. The ash tree,
Yggdrasil,
is the world-tree of the Norsemen or Scandinavians. The banyan tree
is
the symbol of spirit and matter, descending to the earth, striking root, and
then
re-ascending
heavenward again. The triple-leaved palâsa is a symbol of the
triple
essence in the Universe—Spirit, Soul, Matter. The dark cypress was the
world-tree
of Mexico, and is now with the Christians and Mahomedans the emblem
of
death, of peace and rest. The fir was held sacred in Egypt, and its cone was
carried
in religious processions, though now it has almost disappeared from the
land
of the mummies; so also was the sycamore, the tamarisk, the palm and the
vine.
The sycamore was the Tree of Life in Egypt, and also in Assyria. It was
sacred
to Hathor at Heliopolis; and is now sacred in the same place to the
Virgin
Mary. Its juice was precious by virtue of its occult powers, as the Soma
is
with Brahmans, and Haoma with the Parsis. “ The fruit and sap of the Tree of
Life
bestow immortality.” A large volume might be written upon these sacred
trees
of antiquity, the reverence for some of which has survived to this day,
without
exhausting the subject.
Trefoil.
Like the Irish shamrock, it has a symbolic meaning, “the three-in-one
mystery”
as an author calls it. It crowned the head of Osiris, and the wreath
fell
off when Typhon killed the radiant god. Some see in it a phallic
significance,
but we deny this idea in Occultism. It was the plant of Spirit,
Soul,
and Life.
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Tretâ
Yuga (Sk.). The second age of the world, a period of 1,296,000 years.
Triad,
or the Three. The ten Sephiroth are contemplated as a group of three
triads:
Kether, Chochmah and Binah form the supernal triad; Chesed, Geburah and
Tiphereth,
the second; and Netzach, Hod and Yesod, the inferior triad. The tenth
Sephira,
Malkuth, is beyond the three triads. [w.w.w.]
The
above is orthodox Western Kabalah. Eastern Occultists recognise but one
triad——the
upper one (corresponding to Atmâ-Buddhi and the “ Envelope” which
reflects
their light, the three in one)—and count seven lower Sephiroth,
everyone
of which stands for a “ principle”, beginning with the Higher Manas and
ending
with the Physical Body— of which Malkuth is the representative in the
Microcosm
and the Earth in the Macrocosm.
Tri-bhuvana,
or Tri-loka (Sk.). The three worlds—Swarga, Bhûmi, Pâtâla, or
Heaven,
Earth, and Hell in popular beliefs; esoterically, these are the
Spiritual
and Psychic (or Astral) regions, and the
Terrestrial
sphere.
Tridandî
(Sk.). The name generally given to a class or sect of Sanyâsis who
constantly
keep in the hand a kind of club (danda) branching off into three rods
at
the top. The word is variously etymologized, and some give the name to the
triple
Brahmanical thread.
Tri-dasha
(Sk.). Three times ten or “thirty”. This is in round numbers the sum
of
the Indian Pantheon—the thirty-three crores of deities—the twelve Âdityas,
the
eight Vasus, the eleven Rudras and the two Ashvins, or thirty-three kotis,
or
330 millions of gods.
Trigunas
(Sk.). The three divisions of the inherent qualities of differentiated
matter—i.e.,
of pure quiescence (satva), of activity and desire (rajas), of
stagnation
and decay (tamas) They correspond with Vishnu, Brahmâ, and Shiva.
(See
“ Trimûrti ”.)
Trijnâna,
(Sk.). Lit., “triple knowledge”. This consists of three degrees (1)
belief
on faith ; (2) belief on theoretical knowledge ; and (3) belief through
personal
and practical knowledge.
Trikâya
(Sk) Lit., three bodies, or forms. This is a most abstruse teaching
which,
however, once understood, explains the mystery of every triad or trinity,
and
is a true key to every three-fold metaphysical symbol. In its most simple
and
comprehensive form it is found in the human Entity in its triple division
into
spirit, soul, and body, and in the universe, regarded pantheistically, as a
unity
composed of a Deific, purely spiritual Principle, Supernal Beings—its
direct
rays — and
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Humanity.
The origin of this is found in the teachings of the pre historic
Wisdom
Religion, or Esoteric Philosophy. The grand Pantheistic ideal, of the
unknown
and unknowable Essence being transformed first into subjective, and then
into
objective matter, is at the root of all these triads and triplets. Thus we
find
in philosophical Northern Buddhism (1) Âdi-Buddha (or Primordial Universal
Wisdom)
; ( 2) the Dhyâni-Buddhas (or Bodhisattvas); (3) the Mânushi (Human)
Buddhas.
In European conceptions we find the same: God, Angels and Humanity
symbolized
theologically by the God-Man. The Brahmanical Trimûrti and also the
three-fold
body of Shiva, in Shaivism, have both been conceived on the same
basis,
if not altogether running on the lines of Esoteric teachings. Hence, no
wonder
if one finds this conception of the triple body—or the vestures of
Nirmânakâya,
Sambhogakâya and Dharmakâya, the grandest of the doctrines of
Esoteric
Philosophy— accepted in a more or less disfigured form by every
religious
sect, and explained quite incorrectly by the Orientalists. Thus, in
its
general application, the three-fold body symbolizes Buddha’s statue, his
teachings
and his stûpas ; in the priestly conceptions it applies to the
Buddhist
profession of faith called the Triratna, which is the formula of taking
“refuge
in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha”. Popular fancy makes Buddha ubiquitous,
placing
him thereby on a par with an anthropomorphic god, and lowering him to
the
level of a tribal deity; and, as a result, it falls into flat
contradictions,
as in Tibet and China. Thus the exoteric doctrine seems to teach
that
while in his Nirmâ kâya body (which passed through 100,000 kotis of
transformations
on earth), he, Buddha, is at the same time a Lochana (a heavenly
Dhyâni-Bodhisattva),
in his Sambhogakâya “robe of absolute completeness”, and in
Dhyâna,
or a state which must cut him off from the world and all its
connections;
and finally and lastly he is, besides being a Nirmânakâya and a
Sambhogakâya,
also a Dharmakâya “of absolute purity”, a Vairotchana or
Dhyâni-Buddha
in full Nirvâna! (See Eitel’s Sanskrit-Chinese Dictionary.) This
is
the jumble of contradictions, impossible to reconcile, which is given out by
missionaries
and certain Orientalists as the philosophical dogmas of Northern
Buddhism.
If not an intentional confusion of a philosophy dreaded by the
upholders
of a religion based on inextricable contradictions and guarded
“mysteries”,
then it is the product of ignorance. As the Trailokya, the Trikâya,
and
the Triratna are the three aspects of the same conceptions, and have to be,
so
to say, blended in one, the subject is further explained under each of these
terms.
(See also in this relation the term “ Trisharana”.)
Tri-kûta
(Sk.). Lit., “three peaks”. The mountain on which Lanka (modern Ceylon)
and
its city were built. It is said, allegorically,
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to
be a mountain range running south from Meru. And so no doubt it was before
Lankâ
was submerged, leaving now but the highest summits of that range out of
the
waters. Submarine topography and geological formation must have considerably
changed
since the Miocene period. There is a legend to the effect that Vâyu, the
god
of the wind, broke the summit off Meru and cast it into the sea, where it
forthwith
became Lankâ.
Trilcohana
(Sk.). Lit., “three-eyed ”, an epithet of Shiva. It is narrated that
while
the god was engaged one day on a Himalayan summit in rigid austerities,
his
wife placed her hand lovingly on his third eye, which burst from Shiva’s
forehead
with a great flame. This is the eye which reduced Kâma, the god of love
(as
Mârâ, the tempter), to ashes, for trying to inspire him during his
devotional
meditation with thoughts of his wife.
Trimûrti
(Sk). Lit., “three faces”, or “triple form”—the Trinity. In the modern
Pantheon
these three persons are Brahmâ, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and
Shiva,
the destroyer. But this is an after thought, as in the Vedas neither
Brahmâ
nor Shiva is known, and the Vedic trinity consists of Agni, Vâyu and
Sûrya;
or as the Nirukta explains it, the terrestrial fire, the atmospheric (or
aërial)
and the heavenly fire, since Agni is the god of fire, Vâyu of the air,
and
Sûrya is the sun. As the Padma Purâna has it: “In the beginning, the great
Vishnu,
desirous of creating the whole world, became threefold: creator,
preserver,
destroyer. In order to produce this world, the Supreme Spirit
emanated
from the right side of his body, himself, as Brahmâ then, in order to
preserve
the universe, he produced from the left side of his body Vishnu; and in
order
to destroy the world he produced from the middle of his body the eternal
Shiva.
Some worship Brahmâ, some Vishnu, others Shiva; but Vishnu, one yet
threefold,
creates, preserves, and destroys, therefore let the pious make no
difference
between the three.” The fact is, that all the three “persons” of the
Trimûrti
are simply the three qualificative gunas or attributes of the universe
of
differentiated Spirit-Matter, self-formative, self-preserving and
self-destroying,
for purposes of regeneration and perfectibility. This is the
correct
meaning; and it is shown in Brahmâ being made the personified embodiment
of
Rajoguna, the attribute or quality of activity, of desire for procreation,
that
desire owing to which the universe and everything in it is called into
being.
Vishnu is the embodied Sattvaguna, that property of preservation arising
from
quietude and restful enjoyment, which characterizes the intermediate period
between
the full growth and the beginning of decay; while Shiva, being embodied
Tamoguna—which
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is
the attribute of stagnancy and final decay—becomes of course the destroyer.
This
is as highly philosophical under its mask of anthropomorphism, as it is
unphilosophical
and absurd to hold to and enforce on the world the dead letter
of
the original conception.
Trinity.
Everyone knows the Christian dogma of the “three in one” and “one in
three
”; therefore it is useless to repeat that which may he found in every
catechism.
Athanasius, the Church Father who defined the Trinity as a dogma, had
little
necessity of drawing upon inspiration or his own brain power; he had but
to
turn to one of the innumerable trinities of the heathen creeds, or to the
Egyptian
priests, in whose country he had lived all his life. He modified
slightly
only one of the three “ persons ”. All the triads of the Gentiles were
composed
of the Father, Mother, and the Son. By making it “Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost
”, he changed the dogma only outwardly, as the Holy Ghost had always been
feminine,
and Jesus is made to address the Holy Ghost as his “mother” in every
Gnostic
Gospel.
Tripada
(Sk.). “Three-footed ”, fever, personified as having three feet or
stages
of development—cold, heat and sweat.
Tripitaka
(Sk.). Lit., “the three baskets”; the name of the Buddhist canon. It
is
composed of three divisions : (1) the doctrine; (2) the rules and laws for
the
priesthood and ascetics; (3) the philosophical dissertations and
metaphysics:
to wit, the Abhidharma, defined by Buddhaghosa as that law (dharma)
which
goes beyond (abhi) the law. The Abhidharma contains the most profoundly
metaphysical
and philosophical teachings, and is the store-house whence the
Mahâyâna
and Hînayâna Schools got their fundamental doctrines. There is a fourth
division—the
Samyakta Pitaka. But as it is a later addition by the Chinese
Buddhists,
it is not accepted by the Southern Church of Siam and Ceylon.
Triratna,
or Ratnatraya (Sk) The Three Jewels, the technical term for the
well-known
formula “Buddha, Dharma and Sangha” (or Samgha), the two latter terms
meaning,
in modern interpretation, “religious law” (Dharma), and the
“priesthood”
(Sangha). Esoteric Philosophy, however, would regard this as a very
loose
rendering. The words “Buddha, Dharma and Sangha”, ought to be pronounced
as
in the days of Gautama, the Lord Buddha, namely “Bodhi, Dharma and Sangha and
interpreted
to mean
“Wisdom,
its laws and priests ”, the latter in the sense of “ spiritual
exponents
”, or adepts. Buddha, however, being regarded as personified “ Bodhi”
on
earth, a true avatar of Âdi-Buddha, Dharma gradually came to be regarded as
his
own particular law, and Sangha as his own special priesthood. Nevertheless,
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it
is the profane of the later (now modern) teachings who have shown a greater
degree
of natural intuition than the actual interpreters of Dharma, the Buddhist
priests.
The people see the Triratna in the three statues of Amitâbha,
Avalokiteshvara
and Maitreya Buddha; i.e., in Boundless Light” or Universal
Wisdom,
an impersonal principle which is the correct meaning of Âdi-Buddha; in
the
“Supreme Lord” of the Bodhisattvas, or Avalokiteshvara; and in Maitreya
Buddha,
the symbol of the terrestrial and human Buddha, the “Mânushi Buddha ”.
Thus,
even though the uninitiated do call these three statues “the Buddhas of
the
Past, the Present and the Future ”, still every follower of true
philosophical
Buddhism—called “atheistical” by Mr. Eitel— would explain the term
Triratna
correctly. The philosopher of the Yogachârya School would say—as well
he
could—“Dharma is not a person but an unconditioned and underived entity,
combining
in itself the spiritual and material principles of the universe,
whilst
from Dharma proceeded, by emanation, Buddha [ Bodhi rather], as the
creative
energy which produced, in conjunction with Dharma, the third factor in
the
trinity, viz., ‘Samgha’, which is the comprehensive sum total of all real
life.”
Samgha, then, is not and cannot be that which it is now understood to be,
namely,
the actual “ priesthood”; for the latter is not the sum total of all
real
life, but only of religious life. The real primitive significance of the
word
Samgha or “Sangha” applies to the Arhats or Bhikshus, or the “initiates”,
alone,
that is to say to the real exponents of Dharma—the divine law and wisdom,
coming
to them as a reflex light from the one “boundless light ”. Such is its
philosophical
meaning. And yet, far from satisfying the scholars of the Western
races,
this seems only to irritate them; for E. J. Eitel, of Hongkong, remarks,
as
to the above : “ Thus the dogma of a Triratna, originating from three
primitive
articles of faith, and at one time culminating in the conception of
three
persons, a trinity in unity, has degenerated into a metaphysical theory of
the
evolution of three abstract principles ”! And if one of the ablest European
scholars
will sacrifice every philosophical ideal to gross anthropomorphism,
then
what can Buddhism with its subtle metaphysics expect at the hands of
ignorant
missionaries?
Trisharana
(Sk.). The same as” Triratna ”and accepted by both the Northern and
Southern
Churches of Buddhism. After the death of the Buddha it was adopted by
the
councils as a mere kind of formula fidei, enjoining “to take refuge in
Buddha
”, “to take refuge in Dharma ”, and “to take refuge in Sangha ”, or his
Church,
in the sense in which it is now interpreted; but it is not in this sense
that
the “Light of Asia” would have taught the formula. Of Trikâya, Mr. E. J.
Eitel,
of Hongkong, tells us in his Handbook of Chinese Buddhism that this
“tricho-
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tomism
was taught with regard to the nature of all Buddhas. Bodhi being the
characteristic
of a Buddha” —a distinction was made between “essential Bodhi” as
the
attribute of the Dharmakâya, i.e., “essential body”; “reflected Bodhi” as
the
attribute of Sambhogakâya; and “practical Bodhi” as the attribute of
Nirmânakâya. Buddha combining in himself these three
conditions of existence,
was
said to be living at the same time in three different spheres. Now, this
shows
how greatly misunderstood is the purely pantheistical and philosophical
teaching.
Without stopping to enquire how even a Dharmakâya vesture can have any
“attribute”
in Nirvâna, which state is shown, in philosophical Brahmanism as
much
as in Buddhism, to be absolutely devoid of any attribute as conceived by
human
finite thought—it will be sufficient to point to the following —(1) the
Nirmânakâya
vesture is preferred by the “Buddhas of Compassion” to that of the
Dharmakâya
state, precisely because the latter precludes him who attains it from
any
communication or relation with the finite, i.e., with humanity; (2) it is
not
Buddha (Gautama, the mortal man, or any other personal Buddha) who lives
ubiquitously
in “three different spheres, at the same time ”, but Bodhi, the
universal
and abstract principle of divine wisdom, symbolised in philosophy by
Âdi-Buddha.
It is the latter that is ubiquitous because it is the universal
essence
or principle. It is Bodhi, or the spirit of Buddhaship, which, having
resolved
itself into its primordial homogeneous essence and merged into it, as
Brahmâ
(the universe) merges into Parabrahm, the ABSOLUTENESS—that is meant
under
the name of “essential Bodhi ”. For the Nirvânee, or Dhyâni Buddha, must
be
supposed—by living in Arûpadhâtu, the formless state, and in Dharmakâya—to be
that
“ essential Bodhi” itself. It is the Dhyâni Bodhisattvas, the primordial
rays
of the universal Bodhi, who live in “reflected Bodhi” in Râpadhâtu, or the
world
of subjective “forms” ; and it is the Nirmânakâyas (plural) who upon
ceasing
their lives of “ practical Bodhi”, in the “enlightened” or Buddha forms,
remain
voluntarily in the Kâmadhâtu (the world of desire), whether in objective
forms
on earth or in subjective states in its sphere (the second Buddhakshetra).
This
they do in order to watch over, protect and help mankind. Thus, it is
neither
one Buddha who is meant, nor any particular avatar of the collective
Dhyâni
Buddhas, but verily Âdi-Bodhi—the first Logos, whose primordial ray is
Mahâbuddhi,
the Universal Soul, ALAYA, whose flame is ubiquitous, and whose
influence
has a different sphere in each of the three forms of existence,
because,
once again, it is Universal Being itself or the reflex of the Absolute.
Hence,
if it is philosophical to speak of Bodhi, which “as Dhyâni Buddha rules
in
the domain of the spiritual” (fourth Buddhakshetra or region of Buddha); and
of
the
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Dhyâni
Bodhisattvas “ruling in the third Buddhakshetra ”or the domain of
ideation;
and even of the Mânushi Buddhas, who are in the second Buddhakshetra
as
Nirmanakâyas—to apply the “idea of a unity in trinity” to three
personalities—is
highly unphilosophical.
Trishnâ
(Sk.). The fourth Nidâna; spiritual love.
Trishûla
(Sk.). The trident of Shiva.
Trisuparna
(Sk.). A certain portion of the Veda, after thoroughly studying which
a
Brâhman is also called a Trisuparna.
Trithemius.
An abbot of the Spanheim Benedictines, a very learned Kabbalist and
adept
in the Secret Sciences, the friend and instructor of Cornelius Agrippa.
Triton
(Gr.). The san of Poseidon and Amphitrite, whose body from the waist
upwards
was that of a man and whose lower limbs were those of a dolphin. Triton
belongs
in esoteric interpretation to the group of fish symbols—such as Oannes
(Dagon),
the Matsya or Fish-avatar, and the Pisces, as adopted in the Christian
symbolism.
The dolphin is a constellation called by the Greeks Capricornus, and
the
latter is the Indian Makâra. It has thus an anagrammatical significance, and
its
interpretation is entirely occult and mystical, and is known only to the
advanced
students of Esoteric Philosophy. Suffice to say that it is as
physiological
as it is spiritual and mystical. (See Secret Doctrine II., pp. 578
and
579.)
Trividha
Dvâra (Sk.). Lit., the “three gates”, which are body, mouth, and mind;
or
purity of body, purity of speech, purity of thought— the three virtues
requisite
for becoming a Buddha.
Trividyâ
(Sk.). Lit., “the three knowledges” or sciences”. These are the three
fundamental
axioms in mysticism —(a) the impermanency of all existence, or
Anitya;
(b) suffering and misery of all that lives and is, or Dukha; and (c) all
physical,
objective existence as evanescent and unreal as a water-bubble in a
dream,
or Anâtmâ.
Trivikrama
(Sk.).An epithet of Vishnu used in the Rig Veda in relation to the
“three
steps of Vishnu”. The first step he took on earth, in the form of Agni;
the
second in the atmosphere, in the form of Vâyu, god of the air; and the third
in
the sky, in the shape of Sûrya, the sun.
Triyâna
(Sk.). “The three vehicles” across Sansâra—the ocean of births, deaths,
and
rebirths—are the vehicles called Sravaka, Pratyeka Buddha and Bodhisattva,
or
the three degrees of Yogaship. The term Triyâna is also used to denote the
three
schools of mysticism—the Mahâyâna, Madhyimâyâna and Hînayâna schools; of
which
the first is the “Greater”, the second the “ Middle”, and the last the
“Lesser”
Vehicle. All and every system between the Greater and the Lesser
Vehicles
are considered “useless”. Therefore the Pratyeka
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Buddha
is made to correspond with the Madhyimâyâna. For, as explained, “this
(the
Pratyeka Buddha state) refers to him who lives all for himself and very
little
for others, occupying the middle of the vehicle, filling it all and
leaving
no room for others ”. Such is the selfish candidate for Nirvâna.
Tsanagi-Tsanami
(Jap.). A kind of creative god in Japan.
Tsien-Sin
(Chin.). The “Heaven of Mind”, Universal Ideation and Mahat, when
applied
to the plane of differentiation “ Tien-Sin” (q.v.) when referring to the
Absolute.
Tsien-Tchan
(Ch.). The universe of form and matter.
Tsi-tsai
(Chin.). The “Self-Existent” or the “Unknown Darkness”, the root of
Wuliang
Sheu, “Boundless Age”, all Kabbalistic terms, which were used in China
ages
before the Hebrew Kabbalists adopted them, borrowing them from Chaldea and
Egypt.
Tubal-Cain
(Heb.). The Biblical Kabir, “an instructor of every artificer in
brass
and iron”, the son of Zillah and Lamech; one with the Greek Hephæstos or
Vulcan.
His brother Jabal, the son of Adah and the co-uterine brother of Jabal,
one
the father of those “who handle the harp and organ ”, and the other the
father
“of such as have cattle”, are also Kabiri: for, as shown by Strabo, it is
the
Kabiri (or Cyclopes in one sense) who made the harp for Kronos and the
trident
for Poseidon, while some of their other brothers were instructors in
agriculture.
Tubal-Cain (or Thubal-Cain) is a word used in the Master-Mason’s
degree
in the ritual and ceremonies of the Freemasons.
Tullia
(Lat.). A daughter of Cicero, in whose tomb, as claimed by several
alchemists,
was found burning a perpetual lamp, placed there more than a
thousand
years previously.
Tum,
or Toόm The “Brothers of the Tum”, a very ancient school of Initiation
in
Northern
India in the days of Buddhist persecution. The “Turn B’hai” have now
become
the “Aum B’hai”, spelt, however, differently at present, both schools
having
merged into one. The first was composed of Kshatriyas, the second of
Brahmans.
The word “Tum” has a double meaning, that of darkness (absolute
darkness),
which as absolute is higher than the highest and purest of lights,
and
a sense resting on the mystical greeting among Initiates, “ Thou art thou,
thyself
”, equivalent to saying “Thou art one with the Infinite and the All”.
Turîya
(Sk.). A state of the deepest trance—the fourth state of the Târaka Râja
Yoga,
one that corresponds with Âtmâ, and on this earth with dreamless sleep—a
causal
condition.
Turîya
Avasthâ (Sk.). Almost a Nirvânic state in Samâdhi, which
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is
itself a beatific state of the contemplative Yoga beyond this plane. A
condition
of the higher Triad, quite distinct (though still inseparable) from
the
conditions of Jagrat (waking), Svapna (dreaming), and Sushupti (sleeping).
Tushita
(Sk.). A class of gods of great purity in the Hindu Pantheon. In
exoteric
or popular Northern Buddhism, it is a Deva-loka, a celestial region on
the
material plane, where all the Bodhisattvas are reborn, before they descend
on
this earth as future Buddhas.
Tyndarus
(Gr.). King of Lacedæmon the fabled husband of Leda, the mother of
Castor
and Pollux and of Helen of Troy.
Typhæus
(Gr.). A famous giant, who had a hundred heads like those of a serpent
or
dragon, and who was the reputed father of the Winds, as Siva was that of the
Maruts—also
“winds ”. He made war against the gods, and is identical with the
Egyptian
Typhon.
Typhon
(Eg.). An aspect or shadow of Osiris. Typhon is not, as Plutarch asserts,
the
distinct “ Evil Principle ” or the Satan of the Jews; but rather the lower
cosmic
“principles ” of the divine body of Osiris, the god in them—Osiris being
the
personified universe as an ideation, and Typhon as that same universe in its
material
realization. The two in one are Vishnu-Siva. The true meaning of the
Egyptian
myth is that Typhon is the terrestrial and material envelope of Osiris,
who
is the indwelling spirit thereof. In chapter 42 of the Ritual (“ Book of the
Dead”),
Typhon is described as “Set, formerly called Thoth”. Orientalists find
themselves
greatly perplexed by discovering Set-Typhon addressed in some papyri
as
“a great and good god ”, and in others as the embodiment of evil. But is not
Siva,
one of the Hindu Trimûrti, described in some places as “the best and most
bountiful
of gods ”, and at other times, “a dark, black, destroying, terrible ”
and
“ fierce god”? Did not Loki, the Scandinavian Typhon, after having been
described
in earlier times as a beneficent being, as the god of fire, the
presiding
genius of the peaceful domestic hearth, suddenly lose caste and become
forthwith
a power of evil, a cold-hell Satan and a demon of the worst kind?
There
is a good reason for such an invariable transformation. So long as these
dual
gods, symbols of good and necessary evil, of light and darkness, keep
closely
allied, i.e., stand for a combination of differentiated human qualities,
or
of the element they represent—they are simply an embodiment of the average
personal
god. No sooner, however, are they separated into two entities, each
with
its two characteristics, than they become respectively the two opposite
poles
of good and evil, of light and darkness ; they become in short, two
independent
and distinct entities or rather personalities. It is only by dint of
sophistry
that the Churches have succeeded to this day in preserving in the
minds
of the
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few
the Jewish deity in his primeval integrity. Had they been logical they would
have
separated Christ from Jehovah, light and goodness from darkness and
badness.
And this was what happened to Osiris Typhon ;but no Orientalist has
understood
it, and thus their perplexity goes on increasing. Once accepted—as in
the
case of the Occultists— as an integral part of Osiris, just as Ahriman is an
inseparable
part of Ahura Mazda, and the Serpent of Genesis the dark aspect of
the
Elohim, blended into our “Lord God ”—every difficulty in the nature of
Typhon
disappears. Typhon is a later name of Set, later but ancient—as early in
fact
as the fourth Dynasty; for in the Ritual one reads: “ 0 Typhon-Set ! I
invoke
thee, terrible, invisible, all-powerful god of gods, thou who destroyest
and
renderest desert ”. Typhon belongs most decidedly to the same symbolical
category
as Siva the Destroyer, and Saturn—the “dark god ”. In the Book of the
Dead,
Set, in his battle with Thoth (wisdom)_who is his spiritual counterpart —
is
emasculated as Saturn-Kronos was and Ouranos before him. As Siva is closely
connected
with the bull Nandi—an aspect of Brahmâ-Vishnu, the creative and
preserving
powers—so is Set-Typhon allied with the bull Apis, both bulls being
sacred
to, and allied with, their respective deities. As Typhon was originally
worshipped
as an upright stone, the phallus, so is Siva to this day represented
and
worshipped as a lingham. Siva is Saturn. Indeed, Typhon-Set seems to have
served
as a prototype for more than one god of the later ritualistic cycle,
including
even the god of the Jews, some of his ritualistic observances having
passed
bodily into the code of laws and the canon of religious rites of the
“chosen
people”. Who of the Bible-worshippers knows the origin of the scape-goat
(ez
or aza) sent into the wilderness as an atonement ? Do they know that ages
before
the exodus of Moses the goat was sacred to Typhon, and that it is over
the
head of that Typhonic goat that the Egyptians confessed their sins, after
which
the animal was turned into the desert? “And Aaron shall take the scapegoat
(Azâzel)
and lay his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him
all
the iniquities of the children of Israel . . . and shall send him away . . .
into
the wilderness” (Levit., xvi.). And as the goat of the Egyptians made an
atonement
with Typhon, so the goat of the Israelites “made an atonement before
the
Lord” (Ibid., v. 10). Thus, if one only remembers that every anthropomorphic
creative
god was with the philosophical ancients the “Life-giver” and the
“Death-dealer
”—Osiris and Typhon, Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, etc., etc.—it will
be
easy for him to comprehend the assertion made by the Occultists, that Typhon
was
but a symbol for the lower quaternary, the ever conflicting and turbulent
principles
of
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differentiated
chaotic matter, whether in the Universe or in Man, while Osiris
symbolized
the higher spiritual triad. Typhon is accused in the Ritual of being
one
who “steals reason from the soul ”. Hence, he is shown fighting with Osiris
and
cutting him into fourteen (twice seven) pieces, after which, left without
his
counterbalancing power of good and light, he remains steeped in evil and
darkness.
In this way the fable told by Plutarch becomes comprehensible as an
allegory.
He asserts that, overcome in his fight with Horus, Typhon “fled seven
days
on an ass, and escaping begat the boys Ierosolumos and Ioudaios ”. Now as
Typhon
was worshipped at a later period under the form of an ass, and as the
name
of the ass is AO, or (phonetically) IAO, the vowels mimicking the braying
of
the animal, it becomes evident that Typhon was purposely blended with the
name
of the Jewish God, as the two names of Judea and Jerusalem, begotten by
Typhon—sufficiently
imply.
Twashtri
(Sk.). The same as Vishwakarman, “the divine artist ”, the carpenter
and
weapon-maker of the gods. (See “Vishwakarman”.)
Tzaila
(Heb.). A rib; see Genesis for the myth of the creation of the first
woman
from a rib of Adam, the first man. It is curious that no other myth
describes
anything like this “rib” process, except the Hebrew Bible. Other
similar
Hebrew words are” Tzela, a “fall”, and Tzelem, “the image of God”. Inman
remarks
that the ancient Jews were fond of punning conceits, and sees one
here—that
Adam fell, on account of a woman, whom God made in his image, from a
fall
in the man’s side. [w.w.w.]
Tzelem
(Heb.). An image, a shadow. The shadow of the physical body of a man,
also
the astral body—Linga Sharira. (See “ Tzool-mah”.)
Tzim-tzum
(Kab.). Expansion and contraction, or, as some Kabbalists explain
it—“the
centrifugal and centripetal energy”.
Tziruph
(Heb)A set of combinations and permutations of the Hebrew letters
designed
to shew analogies and preserve secrets. For example, in the form called
Atbash,
A and T were substitutes, B and Sh, G and R, etc.
[w.w.w.]
Tzool-mah
(Kab.). Lit., “shadow”. It is stated in the Zohar (I., 218 a, i. fol.
117
a, col. 466.), that during the last seven nights of a mans life, the
Neshczmah,
his spirit, leaves him and the shadow,
tzool-mah,
acts no longer, his body casting no shadow; and when the tzool-mah
disappears
entirely, then Ruach and Nephesh—the soul and life—go with it. It has
been
often urged that in Kabbalistic philosophy there were but three, and, with
the
Body, Guff, four “principles”. It can be easily shown there are seven, and
several
subdivisions more, for there are the “upper” and the “lower ” Neshamah
(the
dual Manas); Ruach, Spirit or
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Buddhi;
Nephesh (Kâma) which “has no light from her own substance”, but is
associated
with the Guff, Body; Tzelem, “Phantom of the Image” and D’yooknah,
Shadow
of the Phantom Image, or Mâyâvi Rûpa. Then come the Zurath, Prototypes,
and
Tab-nooth, Form; and finally, Tzurah, ‘ highest Principle (Âtman) which
remains
above”, etc., etc. (See Myer’s Qabbalah, pp. 400 et. seq.)
Tzuphon
(Heb.). A name for Boreas, the Northern Wind, which some of the old
Israelites
deified and worshipped.
Tzurah
(Heb.). The divine prototype in the Kabbalah. In Occultism it embraces
Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas,
the Highest Triad; the eternal divine Individual. The plural
is
tzurath.
Tzure
(Heb.). Almost the same as the above: the prototype of the “Image” tzelem
;
a Kabbalistic term used in reference to the so-called creation of the divine
and
the human Adam, of which the Kabala (or Kabbalah) has four types, agreeing
with
the root-races of men. The Jewish Occultists knew of no Adam and, refusing
to
recognise in the first human race Humanity with Its Adam, spoke only of
“primordial
sparks”.
U
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U
.—The twenty-first letter of the Latin alphabet, which has no equivalent in
Hebrew.
As a number, however, it is considered very mystical both by the
Pythagoreans
and the Kabbalists, as it is the product of 3 x 7. The latter
consider
it the most sacred of the odd numbers, as 21 is the sum of the
numerical
value of the Divine Name aeie, or eiea, or again aheihe—thus (read
backward,
aheihe)
he i he a
5+1O+5+1=21
In
Alchemy it symbolizes the twenty-one days necessary for the transmutation of
baser
metals into silver.
Uasar
(Eg.). The same as Osiris, the latter name being Greek. Uasar is described
as
the “Egg-born ”, like Brahmâ. “He is the egg-sprung Eros of Aristophanes,
whose
creative energy brings all things into existence ; the demiurge who made
and
animates the world, a being who is a sort of personification of Amen, the
invisible
god, as Dionysos is a link between mankind and the Zeus Hypsistos”
(The
Great Dionysiak Myth, Brown). Isis is called Uasi, as she is the Sakti of
Osiris,
his female aspect, both symbolizing the creating, energising, vital
forces
of nature in its aspect of male and female deity.
Uchchaih-Sravas
(Sk.). The model-horse; one of the fourteen precious things or
Jewels
produced at the Churning of the Ocean by the gods. The white horse of
Indra,
called the Râjâ of horses.
Uchnîcha,
also Buddhôchnîcha (Sk.). Explained as “a protuberance on Buddha’s
cranium,
forming a hair-tuft ”. This curious description is given by the
Orientalists,
varied by another which states that Uchnîcha was “originally a
conical
or flame-shaped hair tuft on the crown of a Buddha, in later ages
represented
as a fleshy excrescence on the skull itself ”. This ought to read
quite
the reverse; for esoteric philosophy would say: Originally an orb with the
third
eye in it, which degenerated later in the human race into a fleshy
protuberance,
to disappear gradually, leaving in its place but an occasional
flame-
coloured aura, perceived only through clairvoyance, and when the
exuberance
of spiritual energy causes the (now concealed) “third eye to radiate
its
superfluous magnetic power. At this period of our racial development, it is
of
course the “Buddhas” or Initiates alone who enjoy in full the faculty of the
“third
eye” , as it is more or less atrophied in everyone else.
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Udâna
(Sk) Extemporaneous speeches; also Sûtras. In philosophy the term applies
to
the physical organs of speech, such as tongue, mouth, voice, etc. In sacred
literature
in general, it is the name of those Sûtras which contain
extemporaneous
discourses, in distinction to the Sûtras that contain only that
subject
matter which is introduced by questions put to Gautama the Buddha and
his
replies.
Udayana
(Sk.). Modern Peshawer. “ The classic land of sorcery” according to
Hiouen-Thsang.
Udayana
Râjâ (Sk.). A king of Kausâmbî, called Vatsarâjâ, who was the first to
have
a statue of Buddha made before his death; in consequence of which, say the
Roman
Catholics, who build statues of Madonnas and Saints at every street
corner—he
“became the originator of Buddhist IDOLATRY”.
Udra
Ramaputra (Sk.). Udra, the son of Râma. A Brahman ascetic, who was for some
years
the Guru of Gautama Buddha.
Udumbara
(Sk.). A lotus of gigantic size, sacred to Buddha: the Nila Udumbara or
“blue
lotus”, regarded as a supernatural omen when ever it blossoms, for it
flowers
but once every three thousand years. One such, it is said, burst forth
before
the birth of Gautama, another, near a lake at the foot of the Himalayas,
in
the fourteenth century, just before the birth of Tsong-kha-pa, etc., etc. The
same
is said of the Udumbara tree (ficus glomerata) because it flowers at
intervals
of long centuries, as does also a kind of cactus, which blossoms only
at
extra ordinary altitudes and opens at midnight.
Ullambana
(Sk.). The festival of “all souls”, the prototype of All Souls’ Day in
Christian
lands. It is held in China on the seventh moon annually, when both “
Buddhist
and Tauist priests read masses, to release the souls of those who died
on
land or sea from purgatory, scatter rice to feed Prêtas [ classes of demons
ever
hungry and thirsty] , consecrate domestic ancestral shrines, . . . . recite
Tantras
. . . accompanied by magic finger-play (mûdra) to comfort the ancestral
spirits
of seven generations in Nâraka” (a kind of purgatory or Kama Loka) The
author
of the Sanskrit-Chinese Dictionary thinks that this is the old Tibetan
(Bhon)
“ Gtorma ritual engrafted upon Confucian ancestral worship,” owing to
Dhamaraksha
translating the Ullambana Sûtra and introducing it into China. The
said
Sûtra is certainly a forgery, as it gives these rites on the authority of
Sâkyamuni
Buddha, and “ supports it by the alleged experiences of his principal
disciples,
Ânanda being said to have appeased Prêtas by food offerings ”. But as
correctly
stated by Mr. Eitel, “the whole theory, with the ideas of intercessory
prayers,
priestly litanies and requiems, and ancestral worship, is
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entirely
foreign to ancient and Southern Buddhism ”. And to the Northern too, if
we
except the sects of Bhootan and Sikkim, of the Bhon or Dugpa persuasion—the
red
caps, in short. As the ceremonies of All Saints’ Day, or days, are known to
have
been introduced into China in the third century (265-292), and as the same
Roman
Catholic ceremonial and ritual for the dead, held on November 2nd, did not
exist
in those early days of Christianity, it cannot be the Chinese who borrowed
this
religious custom from the Latins, but rather the latter who imitated the
Mongolians
and Chinese.
Uller
(Scand.). The god of archery, who “journeys over the silvery ice-ways on
skates”.
He is the patron of the chase during that period when the Sun passes
over
the constellation of Sagittarius; and lives in the “ Home of the
Light-Elves”
which is in the Sun and outside of Asgard.
Ulom
(Pœnic.) The intelligible deity. The objective or material Universe, in the
theogony
of Mochus. The reflection of the ever-concealed deity; the Plerôma of
the
Gnostics.
Ulphilas
(Scand.). A schoolman who made a new alphabet for the Goths in the
fourth
century—a union of Greek letters with the form of the runic alphabet,
since
which time the runes began to die out and their secret was gradually lost.
(See
“ Runes”.) He translated the Bible into Gothic, preserved in the Codex
Argenteus.
Ulûpî
(Sk.). A daughter of Kauravya, King of the Nâgas in Pâtâla (the nether
world,
or more correctly, the Antipodes, America). Exoterically, she was the
daughter
of a king or chief of an aboriginal tribe of the Nâgas, or Nagals
(ancient
adepts) in pre-historic America—Mexico most likely, or Uruguay. She was
married
to Arjuna, the disciple of Krishna, whom every tradition, oral and
written,
shows travelling five thousand years ago to Pâtâla (the Antipodes). The
Purânic
tale is based on a historical fact. Moreover, Ulûpi, as a name, has a
Mexican
ring in it, like “ Atlan ”, “ Aclo ”, etc.
Umâ-Kanyâ
(Sk.). Lit., “Virgin of Light”; a title ill-befitting its possessor,
as
it was that of Durgâ Kâli, the goddess or female aspect of Siva. Human flesh
was
offered to her every autumn; and, as Durgâ, she was the patroness of the
once
murderous Thugs of India, and the special goddess of Tântrika sorcery. But
in
days of old it was not as it is now. The earliest mention of the title
“Umâ-Kanyâ
is found in the Kena-Upanishad; in it the now blood-thirsty Kâlî, was
a
benevolent goddess, a being of light and goodness, who brings about
reconciliation
between Brahmâ and the gods. She is Saraswati and she is Vâch. In
esoteric
symbology, Kâlî is the dual type of the dual soul—the divine and the
human,
the light and the dark soul of man,
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Umbra
(Lat.). The shadow of an earth-bound spook. The ancient Latin races
divided
man (in esoteric teachings) into seven principles, as did every old
system,
and as Theosophists do now. They believed that after death Anima, the
pure
divine soul, ascended to heaven, a place of bliss; Manes (the Kâma Rûpa)
descended
into Hades (Kâma Loka); and Umbra (or astral double, the Linga
Sharîra)
remained on earth hovering about its tomb, because the attraction of
physical,
objective matter and affinity to its earthly body kept it within the
places
which that body had impressed with its emanations. Therefore, they said
that
nothing but the astral image of the defunct could be seen on earth, and
even
that faded out with the disintegration of the last particle of the body
which
had been so long its dwelling.
Una
(Sk.). Something underlying; subordinate; secondary also, and material.
Undines
(Lat.). Water nymphs and spooks. One of the four principal kinds of
elemental
spirits, ‘which are Salamanders (fire), Sylphs (air), Gnomes (earth),
and
Undines (water).
Upâdâna
(Sk.). Material Cause; as flax is the cause of linen.
Upâdâna
Kâranam (Sk.). The material cause of an effect.
Upâdhi
(Sk.). Basis; the vehicle, carrier or bearer of something less material
than
itself: as the human body is the upâdhi of its spirit, ether the upâdhi of
light,
etc., etc.; a mould; a defining or limiting substance.
Upadvîpas
(Sk.). The root (underlying) of islands; dry land.
Upanishad
(Sk.). Translated as “esoteric doctrine ”, or interpretation of the
Vedas
by the Vedânta methods. The third division of the Vedas appended to the
Brâhmanas
and regarded as a portion of Sruti or “revealed” word. They are,
however,
as records, far older than the Brâhmanas the exception of the two,
still
extant, attached to the Rig -Veda of the Aitareyins. The term Upanishad is
explained
by the Hindu pundits as “that which destroys ignorance, and thus
produces
liberation” of the spirit, through the knowledge of the supreme though
hidden
truth; the same, therefore, as that which was hinted at by Jesus, when he
is
made to say, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free
”
(John viii. 32). It is from these treatises of the Upanishads—themselves the
echo
of the primeval Wisdom-Religion―that the Vedânta system of philosophy
has
been
developed. (See “Vedânta”.) Yet old as the Upanishads may be, the
Orientalists
will not assign to the oldest of them more than an antiquity of 600
years
B.C. The accepted number of these treatises is 150, though now no more
than
about twenty are left unadulterated. They treat of very abstruse,
metaphysical
questions, such as the origin of the Universe; the nature and the
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essence
of the Unmanifested Deity and the manifested gods the connection, primal
and
ultimate, of spirit and matter ; the universality of mind and the nature of
the
human Soul and Ego.
The
Upanishads must be far more ancient than the days of Buddhism, as they show
no
preference for, nor do they uphold, the superiority of the Brahmans as a
caste.
On the contrary, it is the (now) second caste, the Kshatriya, or warrior
class,
who are exalted in the oldest of them. As stated by Professor Cowell in
Elphinstone’s
History of India——“they breathe a freedom of spirit unknown to any
earlier
work except the Rig Veda. . . The great teachers of the higher knowledge
and
Brahmans are continually represented as going to Kshatriya Kings to become
their
pupils.” The “ Kshatriya Kings” were in the olden times, like the King
Hierophants
of Egypt, the receptacles of the highest divine knowledge and
wisdom,
the Elect and the incarnations of the primordial divine Instructors—the
Dhyâni
Buddhas or Kumâras. There was a time, æons before the Brahmans became a
caste,
or even the Upanishads were written, when there was on earth but one “lip
”,
one religion and one science, namely, the speech of the gods, the
Wisdom-Religion
and Truth. This was before the fair
fields of the latter,
overrun
by nations of many languages, became overgrown with the weeds of
intentional
deception, and national creeds invented by ambition, cruelty and
selfishness,
broke the one sacred Truth into thousands of fragments.
Upanita.(Sk.).
One who is invested with the Brahmanical thread; lit., “brought
to
a spiritual teacher or Guru”.
Uparati
(Sk) Absence of outgoing desires; a Yoga state.
Upâsaka
(Sk.). Male chelas or rather devotees. Those who without entering the
priesthood
vow to preserve the principal commandments.
Upâsikâ
(Sk.). Female chelas or devotees.
Upasruti
(Sk.). According to Orientahists a “supernatural voice which is heard
at
night revealing the secrets of the future ”. According to the explanation of
Occultism,
the voice of any person at a distance—— generally one versed in the
mysteries
of esoteric teachings or an adept—— endowed with the gift of
projecting
both his voice and astral image to any person whatsoever, regardless
of
distance. The upasruti may “reveal the secrets of the future ”, or may only
inform
the person it addresses of some prosaic fact of the present; yet it will
still
be an upasruti—the “double” or the echo of the voice of a living man or
woman.
Upekshâ
(Sk.). Lit., Renunciation. In Yoga a state of absolute indifference
attained
by self-control, the complete mastery over one’s mental and physical
feelings
and sensations.
Ur
(Chald.). The chief seat of lunar worship; the Babylonian city where
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the
moon was the chief deity, and whence Abram brought the Jewish god, who is so
inextricably
connected with the moon as a creative and generative deity.
Uræus
(Gr.). In Egyptian Urhek, a serpent and a sacred symbol. Some see in it a
cobra,
while others say it is an asp. Cooper explains that “the asp is not a
uræus
but a cerastes, or kind of viper, i.e., a two- horned viper. It is the
royal
serpent, wearing the pschent . . . the naya hâje.” The uræus is “round the
disk
of Horus and forms the ornament of the cap of Osiris, besides overhanging
the
brows of other divinities” (Bonwick). Occultism explains that the uræus is
the
symbol of initiation and also of hidden wisdom, as the serpent always is.
The
gods were all patrons of the hierophants and their instructors.
Uragas
(Sk.). The Nâgas (serpents) dwelling in Pâtâla the nether world or hell,
in
popular thought ; the Adepts, High Priests and Initiates of Central and South
America,
known to the ancient Aryans; where Arjuna wedded the daughter of the
king
of the Nâgas—Ulûpî. Nagalism or Nâga-worship prevails to this day in Cuba
and
Hayti, and Voodooism, the chief branch of the former, has found its way into
New
Orleans. In Mexico the chief “sorcerers ”, the “ medicine men ”, are called
Nagals
to this day; just as thousands of years ago the Chaldean and Assyrian
High
Priests were called Nargals, they being chiefs of the Magi (Rab.Mag), the
office
held at one time by the prophet Daniel. The word Nâga, “ wise serpent ”,
has
become universal, because it is one of the few words that have survived the
wreck
of the first universal language. In South as well as in Central and North
America,
the aborigines use the word, from Behring Straits down to Uruguay,
where
it means a “chief”, a “teacher and a “ serpent ”. The very word Uraga may
have
reached India and been adopted through its connection, in prehistoric
times,
with South America and Uruguay itself, for the name belongs to the
American
Indian vernacular. The origin of the Uragas, for all that the
Orientalists
know, may have been in Uruguai, as there are legends about them
which
locate their ancestors the Nâgas in Pâtâla, the antipodes, or America.
Uranides
(Gr.). One of the names of the divine Titans, those who rebelled
against
Kronos, the prototypes of the Christian “fallen” angels.
Urim
(Heb.). See“ Thummim”. The“ Urim and Thummim ”originated in Egypt, and
symbolized
the Two Truths, the two figures of Ra and Thmei being engraved on the
breastplate
of the Hierophant and worn by him during the initiation ceremonies.
Diodorus
adds that this necklace of gold and precious stones was worn by the
High
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Priest
when delivering judgment. Thme (plural Thmin) means “ Truth” in Hebrew. “
The
Septuagint translates thummim, as Truth ” (Bonwick). The late Mr. Proctor,
the
astronomer, shows the Jewish idea “derived directly from the Egyptians”. But
Philo
Judæus affirms that Urim and Thummim were “the two small images of
Revelation
and Truth, put between the double folds of the breastplate ”, and
passes
over the latter, with its twelve stones typifying the twelve signs of the
Zodiac,
without explanation.
Urlak
(Scand.). The same as “Orlog” (q.v.). Fate; an impersonal power bestowing
gifts
“blindly” on mortals; a kind of Nemesis.
Urvasî(Sk.).
A divine nymph, mentioned in the Rig-Veda, whose beauty set the
whole
heaven ablaze. Cursed by the gods she descended to earth and settled
there.
The loves of Purûravas (the Vikrama), and the nymph Urvasî are the
subject
of Kâlidâsa's world-famous drama, the Vikramorvasî.
Usanas
(Sk.). The planet Venus or Sukra; or rather the ruler and governor of
that
planet.
Ushas
(Sk.). The dawn, the daughter of heaven; the same as the Aurora of the
Latins
and the hjwvd of the Greeks. She is first mentioned in the Vedas, wherein
her
name is also Ahanâ and Dyotanâ (the illuminator), and is a most poetical and
fascinating
image. She is the ever-faithful friend of men, of rich and poor,
though
she is believed to prefer the latter. She smiles upon and visits the
dwelling
of every living mortal. She is the immortal, ever-youthful virgin, the
light
of the poor, and the destroyer of darkness.
Uttara
Mîmânsâ (Sk.). The second of the two Mîmânsâs—the first being Pûrva
(first)
Mîmânsâ, which form respectively the fifth and sixth of the Darshanas or
schools
of philosophy. The Mîmânsâ are included in the generic name of Vedânta,
though
it is the Uttara (by Vyâsa) which is really the Vedânta.
Uzza
(Heb.). The name of an angel who, together with Azrael, opposed, as the
Zohar
teaches, the creation of man by the Elohim, for which the latter
annihilated
both.
V
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V.—The
twenty-second letter of the Latin alphabet. Numerically it stands for 5;
hence
the Roman V (with a dash) stands for 5,000. The Western Kabbalists have
connected
it with the divine Hebrew name IHVH. The Hebrew Vau, however, being
number
6, it is only by being identical with the W, that it can ever become a
proper
symbol for the male-female, and spirit-matter. The equivalent for the
Hebrew
Vau is YO, and in numerals 6.
Vâch
(Sk.). To call Vâch “speech” simply, is deficient in clearness. Vâch is the
mystic
personification of speech, and the female Logos, being one with Brahmâ,
who
created her out of one-half of his body, which he divided into two portions;
she
is also one with Virâj (called the “female” Virâj) who was created in her by
Brahmâ.
In one sense Vâch is “speech” by which knowledge was taught to man; in
another
she is the
“mystic,
secret speech” which descends upon and enters into the primeval Rishis,
as
the “tongues of fire” are said to have “sat upon” the apostles. For, she is
called
“the female creator ”, the “mother of the Vedas ”, etc., etc.
Esoterically,
she is the subjective Creative Force which, emanating from the
Creative
Deity (the subjective Universe, its “privation ”, or ideation) becomes
the
manifested “world of speech ”, i.e., the concrete expression of ideation,
hence
the “Word” or Logos. Vâch is “the male and female” Adam of the first
chapter
of Genesis, and thus called “Vâch-Virâj” by the sages. (See Atharva
Veda.)
She is also “the celestial Saraswatî produced from the heavens ”, a
“voice
derived from speechless Brahmâ” (Mahâbhârata); the goddess of wisdom and
eloquence.
She is called Sata-rûpa, the goddess of a hundred forms.
Vacuum
(Lat.). The symbol of the absolute Deity or Boundless Space,
esoterically.
Vâhana
(Sk.). A vehicle, the carrier of something immaterial and formless. All
the
gods and goddesses are, therefore, represented as using vâhanas to manifest
themselves,
which vehicles are ever symbolical. So, for instance, Vishnu has
during
Pralayas, Ânanta the infinite” (Space), symbolized by the serpent Sesha,
and
during the Manvantaras—Garuda the gigantic half-eagle, half-man, the symbol
of
the great cycle; Brahma appears as Brahmâ, descending into the planes of
manifestations
on Kâlahamsa, the “swan in time or finite eternity”; Siva
(phonet,
Shiva) appears as the bull Nandi; Osiris as the sacred bull Apis; Indra
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travels
on an elephant; Kârttikeya, on a peacock; Kâmadeva on Makâra, at other
times
a parrot; Agni, the universal (and also solar) Fire-god, who is, as all of
them
are, “a consuming Fire”, manifests itself as a ram and a lamb, Ajâ, “the
unborn”;
Varuna, as a fish; etc., etc., while the vehicle of MAN is his body.
Vaibhâchikas
(Sk.). The followers of the Vibhâcha Shâstra, an ancient school of
materialism
; a philosophy that held that no mental concept can be formed except
through
direct contact between the mind, via the senses, such as sight, touch,
taste,
etc., and external objects. There are Vaibhâchikas, to this day, in
India.
Vaidhâtra
(Sk.). The same as the Kumâras.
Vaidyuta
(Sk.). Electric fire, the same as Pâvaka, one of the three fires which,
divided,
produce
forty-nine
mystic fires.
Vaihara
(Sk.). The name of a cave-temple near Râjagriha, whereinto the Lord
Buddha
usually retired for meditation.
Vaijayantî
(Sk.). The magic necklace of Vishnu, imitated by certain Initiates
among
the temple Brahmans. It is made of five precious stones, each symbolizing
one
of the five elements of our Round; namely, the pearl, ruby, emerald,
sapphire
and diamond, or water, fire, earth, air and ether, called “the
aggregate
of the five elemental rudiments”— the word “powers” being, perhaps,
more
correct than “rudiments ”.
Vaikhari
Vâch (Sk.). ‘That which is uttered; one of the four forms of speech.
Vaikuntha
(Sk.). One of the names of the twelve great gods, whence
Vaikunthaloka,
the abode of Vishnu.
Vairâjas
(Sk.). In the popular belief, semi-divine beings, shades of saints,
inconsumable
by fire, impervious to water, who dwell in Tapo loka with the hope
of
being translated into Satya-loka—a more purified state which answers to
Nirvâna.
The term is explained as the aerial bodies or astral shades of
“ascetics,
mendicants, anchorites, and penitents, who have completed their
course
of rigorous austerities”. Now in esoteric philosophy they are called
Nirmânakâyas,
Tapo-loka being on the sixth plane (upward) but in direct
communication
with the mental plane. The Vairâjas are referred to as the first
gods
because the Mânasa putras and the Kumâras are the oldest in theogony, as it
is
said that even the gods worshipped them (Matsya Purâna); those whom Brahmâ
“with
the eye of Yoga beheld in the eternal spheres, and who are the gods of
gods”
(Vâyu Purâna).
Vairochana
(Sk.). “All-enlightening”. A mystic symbol, or rather a generic
personification
of a class of spiritual beings described as the embodiment of
essential
wisdom (bodhi) and absolute purity.
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They
dwell in the fourth Arûpa Dhâtu (formless world) or Buddhakshetra, and are
the
first or the highest hierarchy of the five orthodox Dhyâni Buddhas. There
was
a Sramana (an Arhat) of this name (see Eitel’s Sansk. Chin. Dict.) a native
of
Kashmir, “who introduced Buddhism into Kustan and lahoured in Tibet” (in the
seventh
century of our era). He was the best translator of the semi-esoteric
Canon
of Northern
Buddhism,
and a contemporary of the great Samantabhadra (q.v.).
Vaisâkha
(Sk.). A celebrated female ascetic, born at Srâvastî, and called
Sudatta,
“virtuous donor”. She was the mother-abbess of a Vihâra, or convent of
female
Upâsikâs, and is known as the builder of a Vihâra for Sâkyamuni Buddha.
She
is regarded as the patroness of all the Buddhist female ascetics.
Vaisheshika
(Sk.). One of the six Darshanas or schools of philosophy, founded by
Kanâda.
It is called the Atomistic School, as it teaches the existence of a
universe
of atoms of a transient character, an endless number of souls and a
fixed
number of material principles, by the correlation and interaction of which
periodical
cosmic evolutions take place without any directing Force, save a kind
of
mechanical law inherent in the atoms; a very materialistic school.
Vaishnava
(Sk.). A follower of any sect recognising and worshipping Vishnu as
the
one supreme God. The worshippers of Siva are called Saivas.
Vaivaswata
(Sk.). The name of the Seventh Manu, the forefather of the
post-diluvian
race, or our own fifth humankind. A reputed son of Sûrya (the
Sun),
he became, after having been saved in an ark (built by the order of
Vishnu)
from the Deluge, the father of Ikshwâku, the founder of the solar race
of
kings.
(See
“Sûryavansa”.)
Vajra
(Sk.). Lit., “diamond club” or sceptre. In the Hindu works, the sceptre of
Indra,
similar to the thunderbolts of Zeus, with which this deity, as the god of
thunder,
slays his enemies. But in mystical Buddhism, the magic sceptre of
Priest-Initiates,
exorcists and adepts—the symbol of the possession of Siddhis
or
superhuman powers, wielded during certain ceremonies by the priests and
theurgists.
It is also the symbol of Buddha’s power over evil spirits or
elementals.
The possessors of this wand are called Vajrapâni (q.v.).
Vajrâchârya
(Sk.). The spiritual achârya (guru, teacher) of the Yogâchâryas, The
“Supreme
Master of the Vajra”.
Vajradhara
(Sk.). The Supreme Buddha with the Northern Buddhists.
Vajrapâni
(Sk.), or Manjushrî, the Dhyâni-Bodhisattva (as the spiritual reflex,
or
the son of the Dhyâni.Buddhas, on earth) born directly from the subjective
form
of existence; a deity worshipped by the profane
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as
a god, and by Initiates as a subjective Force, the real nature of which is
known
only to, and explained by, the highest Initiates of the Yogâchârya School.
Vajrasattva
(Sk.). The name of the sixth Dhyani-Buddha (of whom there are but
five
in the popular Northern Buddhism)—in the Yogâchârya school, the latter
counting
seven Dhyâni-Buddhas and as many Bodhisattvas—the “mind-sons” of the
former.
Hence, the Orientalists refer to Vajrasattva as “a fictitious
Bodhisattva”.
Vallabâchârya
(Sk.). The name of a mystic who was the chela (disciple) of Vishnu
Swâmi,
and the founder of a sect of Vaishnavas. His descendants are called
Goswâmi
Mahârâj, and have much landed property and numerous mandirs (temples) in
Bombay.
They have degenerated into a shamefully licentious sect.
Vâmana
(Sk.). The fifth avatar of Vishnu, hence the name of the Dwarf whose form
was
assumed by that god.
Vara
(Mazd.). A term used in the Vendîdâd, where Ahura-mazda commands Yima to
build
Vara. It also signifies an enclosure or vehicle, an ark (argha), and at
the
same time MAN (verse 30). Vara is the vehicle of our informing Egos, i.e.
the
human body, the soul in which is typified by the expression a “window
self-shining
within”.
Varâha
(Sk.). The boar-avatar of Vishnu; the third in number.
Varna
(Sk.). Caste; lit., “colour”. The four chief castes named by Manu—the
Brahmin,
Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sûdra—are called Chatur-varna.
Varsha
(Sk.). A region, a plain; any stretch of country situated between the
great
mountain-ranges of the earth.
Varuna
(Sk). The god of water, or marine god, but far different from Neptune,
for
in the case of this oldest of the Vedic deities, Water means the “ Waters of
Space”,
or the all-investing sky, Akâsa, in one sense. Varuna or Ooaroona
(phonetically),
is certainly the prototype of the Ouranos of the Greeks. As Muir
says
: “ The grandest cosmical functions are ascribed to Varuna. Possessed of
illimitable
knowledge he upholds heaven and earth, he dwells in all worlds as
sovereign
ruler. . . He made the golden . . . sun to shine in the firmament. The
wind
which resounds through the atmosphere is his breath. . . . Through the
operation
of his laws the moon walks in brightness and the stars . . .
mysteriously
vanish in daylight. He knows the flight of birds in the sky, the
paths
of ships on the ocean, the course of the far travelling wind, and beholds
all
the things that have been or shall be done. . . . He witnesses men’s truth
and
false hood. He instructs the Rishi Vasishta in mysteries ; but his secrets
and
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those
of Mitra are not to be revealed to the foolish.” . . “ The attributes and
functions
ascribed to Varuna impart to his character a moral elevation and
sanctity
far surpassing that attributed to any other Vedic deity.”
Vasishta
(Sk.). One of the primitive seven great Rishis, and a most celebrated
Vedic
sage.
Vasudeva
(Sk.). The father of Krishna. He belonged to the Yâdava branch of the
Somavansa,
or lunar race.
Vasus
(Sk.). The eight evil deities attendant upon Indra. Personified cosmic
phenomena,
as their names show.
Vâyu
(Sk.). Air: the god and sovereign of the air; one of the five states of
matter,
namely the gaseous; one of the five elements, called, as wind, Vâta. The
Vishnu
Purâna makes Vâyu King of the Gandharvas. He is the father of Hanumân, in
the
Râmâyana. The trinity of the mystic gods in Kosmos closely related to each
other,
are “ Agni (fire) whose place is on earth; Vâyu (air, or one of the forms
of
Indra), whose place is in the air ; and Sûrya (the sun) whose place is in the
air
(Nirukta.) In esoteric interpretation, these three cosmic principles,
correspond
with the three human principles, Kâma, Kâma-Manas and Manas, the sun
of
the intellect.
Vedanâ
(Sk.). The second of the five Shandhas (perceptions, senses). The sixth
Nidâna.
Vedânta
(Sk.). A mystic system of philosophy which has developed from the
efforts
of generations of sages to interpret the secret meaning of the
Upanishads
(q.v.). It is called in the Shad-Darshanas (six schools or systems of
demonstration),
Uttara Mîmânsâ, attributed to Vyâsa, the compiler of the Vedas,
who
is thus referred to as the founder of the Vedânta. The orthodox Hindus call
Vedânta_a
term meaning literally the “end of all (Vedic) knowledge
”—Brahmâ-jnâna,
or pure and spiritual knowledge of Brahmâ. Even if we accept the
late
dates assigned to various Sanskrit schools and treatises by our
Orientalists,
the Vedânta must be 3,300 years old, as Vyâsa is said to have
lived
I,400 years B.C. If, as Elphinstone has it in his History of India, the
Brahmanas
are the Talmud of the Hindus, and the Vedas the Mosaic books, then the
Vedânta
may be correctly called the Kabalah of India. But how vastly more grand!
Sankarâchârya,
who was the popularizer of the Vedântic system, and the founder
of
the Adwaita philosophy, is sometimes called the founder of the modern schools
of
the Vedânta.
Vedas
(Sk.). The “revelation”. the scriptures of the Hindus, from the root vid,
“to
know ”, or “divine knowledge”. They are the most ancient as well as the most
sacred
of the Sanskrit works. The Vedas
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on
the date and antiquity of which no two Orientalists can agree, are claimed by
the
Hindus themselves, whose Brahmans and Pundits ought to know best about their
own
religious works, to have been first taught orally for thousands of years and
then
compiled on the shores of Lake Mânasa-Sarovara (phonetically, Mansarovara)
beyond
the Himalayas, in Tibet. When was this done? While their religious
teachers,
such as Swami Dayanand Saraswati, claim for them an antiquity of many
decades
of ages, our modern Orientalists will grant them no greater antiquity in
their
present form than about between 1,000 and 2,000 B.C. As compiled in their
final
form by Veda-Vyâsa, however, the Brahmans themselves unanimously assign
3,100
years before the Christian era, the date when Vyâsa flourished. Therefore
the
Vedas must be as old as this date. But their antiquity is sufficiently
proven
by the fact that they are written in such an ancient form, of Sanskrit,
so
different from the Sanskrit now used, that there is no other, work like them
in
the literature of this eldest sister of all the known languages, as Prof. Max
Muller
calls it. Only the most learned of the Brahman Pundits can read the Vedas
in
their original. It is urged that Colebrooke found the date 1400 B.c.
corroborated
absolutely by a passage which he discovered, and which is based on
astronomical
data. But if, as shown unanimously by all the Orientalists and the
Hindu
Pundits also, that (a) the Vedas are not a single work, nor yet any one of
the
separate Vedas; but that each Veda, and almost every hymn and division of
the
latter, is the production of various authors; and that (b) these have been
written
(whether as sruti, “revelation ”, or not) at various periods of the
ethnological
evolution of the Indo-Aryan race, then—what does Mr. Colebrooke’s
discovery
prove? Simply that the Vedas were finally arranged and compiled
fourteen
centuries before our era; but this interferes in no way with their
antiquity.
Quite the reverse; for, as an offset to Mr. Colebrooke’s passage,
there
is a learned article, written on purely astronomical data by Krishna
Shâstri
Godbole (of Bombay), which proves as absolutely and on the same evidence
that
the Vedas must have been taught at least 25,000 years ago. (See
Theosophist,
Vol. II., p. 238 et seq., Aug., 1881.) This statement is, if not
supported,
at any rate not contradicted by what Prof. Cowell says in Appendix
VII.,
of Elphinstone’ History of India: “ There is a difference in age between
the
various hymns, which are now united in their present form as the Sanhitâ of
the
Rig Veda; but we have no data to determine their relative antiquity, and
purely
subjective criticism, apart from solid data, has so often failed in other
instances,
that we can trust but little to any of its inferences in such a
recently
opened field of research as Sanskrit literature. [ a fourth part of the
Vaidik
literature is as yet in print, and very little of it has
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been
translated into English (1866).] The still unsettled controversies about
the
Homeric poems may well warn us of being too confident in our judgments
regarding
the yet earlier hymns of the Rig -Veda. . . . When we examine these
hymns
. . . they are deeply interesting for the history of the human mind,
belonging
as they do to a much older phase than the poems of Homer or Hesiod.”
The
Vedic writings are all classified in two great divisions, exoteric and
esoteric,
the former being called Karma-Kânda, “division of actions or works ”,
and
the Jnâna Kânda, “division of (divine) knowledge”, the Upanishads (q.v.)
coming
under this last classification. Both departments are regarded as Sruti or
revelation.
To each hymn of the Rig -Veda, the name of the Seer or Rishi to whom
it
was revealed is prefixed. It, thus, becomes evident on the authority of these
very
names (such as Vasishta, Viswâmitra, Nârada, etc.), all of which belong to
men
born in various manvantaras and even ages, that centuries, and perhaps
millenniums,
must have elapsed between the dates of their composition.
Veda-Vyâsa
(Sk.). The compiler of the Vedas (q.v.).
Veddhas
(Sing.). The name of a wild race of men living in the forests of Ceylon.
They
are very difficult to find.
Vehicle
of Life (Mystic). The “Septeriary” Man among the Pythagoreans, “number
seven”
among the profane. The former “explained it by saying, that the human
body
consisted of four principal elements (principles), and that the soul is
triple
(the higher triad)” . (See Isis Unveiled, Vol. II., p. 418, New York,
1877.)
It has been often remarked that in the earlier works of the Theosophists
no
septenary division of man was mentioned. The above quotation is sufficient
warrant
that, although with every caution, the subject was more than once
approached,
and is not a new-fangled theory or invention.
Vendîdâd
(Pahlavi). The first book (Nosk) in the collection of Zend fragments
usually
known as the Zend-Avesta. The Vendidâd is a corruption of the
compound-word
“Vidaêvo-dâtern”, meaning “the anti- demoniac law ”, and is full
of
teachings how to avoid sin and defilement by purification, moral and
physical—each
of which teachings is based on Occult laws. It is a pre-eminently
occult
treatise, full of symbolism and often of meaning quite the reverse of
that
which is expressed in its dead-letter text. The Vendîdâd, as claimed by
tradition,
is the only one of the twenty-one Nosks (works) that has escaped the
auto-da-fé
at the hands of the drunken Iskander the Rûmi, he whom posterity
calls
Alexander the Great— though the epithet is justifiable only when applied
to
the brutality, vices and cruelty of this conqueror. It is through the
vandalism
of this Greek that literature and knowledge have lost much priceless
lore
in the Nosks burnt by him. Even the Vendidâd has
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reached
us in only a fragmentary state. The first chapters are very mystical,
and
therefore called “mythical” in the renderings of European Orientalists. The
two
“creators” of “spirit-matter” or the world of differentiation—Ahura- Mazda
and
Angra-Mainyu (Ahriman)—are introduced in them, and also Yima (the first man,
or
mankind personified). The work is divided into Fargards or chapters, and a
portion
of these is devoted to the formation of our globe, or terrestrial
evolution.
(See Zend-Avesta.)
Vetâla
(Sk.). An elemental, a spook, which haunts burial grounds and animates
corpses.
Vetâla
Siddhi (Sk.). A practice of sorcery; means of obtaining power over the
living
by black magic, incantations, and ceremonies performed over a dead human
body,
during which process the corpse is desecrated. (See “Vetâla ”.)
Vibhâvasu
(Sk.). A mystic fire connected with the beginning of pralaya, or the
dissolution
of the universe.
Vibhûtayah
(Sk.). The same as Siddhis or magic powers.
Vidyâ
(Sk.). Knowledge, Occult Science.
Vidyâ-dhara
(Sk.). And Vidyâ-dharî, male and female deities. Lit., “possessors
of
knowledge”. They are also called Nabhas-chara, “moving in the air”, flying,
and
Priyam-vada, “sweet-spoken ”. They are the Sylphs of the Rosicrucians;
inferior
deities inhabiting the astral sphere between the earth and ether;
believed
in popular folk-lore to be beneficent, but in reality they are cunning
and
mischievous, and intelligent Elementals, or “Powers of the air ”. They are
represented
in the East, and in the West, as having intercourse with men (“
intermarrying
”, as it is called in Rosicrucian parlance; see Count de Gabalis).
In
India they are also called Kâma-rûpins, as they take shapes at will. It is
among
these creatures that the “spirit-wives” and “ spirit-husbands” of certain
modern
spiritualistic mediums and hysteriacs are recruited. These boast with
pride
of having such pernicious connexions (e.g., the American “Lily ”, the
spirit-wife
of a well-known head of a now scattered community of Spiritualists,
of
a great poet and well-known writer), and call them angel-guides, maintaining
that
they are the spirits of famous
disembodied
mortals. These “ spirit-husbands” and “wives” have not originated
with
the modern Spiritists and Spiritualists, but have been known in the East
for
thousands of years, in the Occult philosophy, under the names above given,
and
among the profane as—Pishâthas.
Vihâra
(Sk.). Any place inhabited by Buddhist priests or ascetics; a Buddhist
temple,
generally a rock-temple or cave. A monastery, or a nunnery also. One
finds
in these days Vihâras built in the
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enclosures
of monasteries and academies for Buddhist training in towns and
cities;
but in days of yore they were to be met with only in unfrequented wild
jungles,
on mountain tops, and in the most deserted places.
Vihâraswâmin
(Sk.). The superior (whether male or female) of a monastery or
convent,
Vihâra. Also called Karmadâna, as every teacher or guru, having
authority,
takes upon himself the responsibility of certain actions, good or
bad,
committed by his pupils or the flock entrusted to him.
Vijnânam
(Sk.). The Vedântic name for the principle which dwells in the
Vijnânamaya
Kosha (the sheath of intellect) and corresponds to the faculties of
the
Higher Manas.
Vikârttana
(Sk.). Lit., “shorn of his rags”; a name of the Sun, and the type of
the
initiated neophyte. (See Secret Doctrine, I., p. 322, n.)
Vimoksha
(Sk.). The same as Nirvâna.
Vînâ
(Sk.). A kind of large guitar used in India and Tibet, whose invention is
attributed
variously to Siva, Nârada, and others.
Vinatâ
(Sk.). A daughter of Daksha and wife of Kashyapa (one of the “seven
orators”
of the world). She brought forth the egg from which Garuda the seer was
born.
Viprachitti
(Sk.). The chief of the Dânavas—the giants that warred with the
gods:
the Titans of India.
Vîrabhadra
(Sk.). A thousand-headed and thousand-armed monster, “born of the
breath”
of Siva Rudra, a symbol having reference to the “sweat-born ”, the
second
race of mankind
(Secret
Doctrine, II., p. 182).
Virâj
(Sk.). The Hindu Logos in the Purânas; the male Manu, created in the
female
portion of Brahmâ’s body (Vâch) by that god. Says Manu: “ Having divided
his
body into two parts, the lord (Brahmâ) became with the one half a male and
with
the other half a female; and in her he created Virâj”. The Rig -Veda makes
Virâj
spring from Purusha, and Purusha spring from Virâj. The latter is the type
of
all male beings, and Vâch, Sata-rûpa (she of the hundred forms), the type of
all
female forms.
Vishnu
(Sk.). The second person of the Hindu Trimûrti (trinity), composed of
Brahmâ,
Vishnu and Siva. From the root vish, “to pervade”. in the Rig -Veda,
Vishnu
is no high god, but simply a manifestation of the solar energy, described
as
“striding through the seven regions of the Universe in three steps and
enveloping
all things with the dust (of his beams ”.) Whatever may be the six
other
occult significances of the statement, this is related to the same class
of
types as the seven and ten Sephiroth, as the seven and three orifices of the
perfect
Adam Kadmon, as the seven “principles” and the higher triad in man,
etc.,
etc. Later
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on
this mystic type becomes a great god, the preserver and the renovator, he “of
a
thousand names—Sahasranâma ”.
Vishwakarman
(Sk.). The “Omnificent”. A Vedic god, a personification of the
creative
Force, described as the One “all-seeing god, . . . the generator,
disposer,
who . . . is beyond the comprehension of (uninitiated) mortals”. In
the
two hymns of the Rig -Veda specially devoted to him, he is said “to
sacrifice
himself to himself ”. The names of his mother, “the lovely and
virtuous
Yoga-Siddha” (Purânas) and of his daughter Sanjnâ (spiritual
consciousness),
show his mystic character. (See Secret Doctrine, sub voc.) As
the
artificer of the gods and maker of their weapons, he is called Karu,
“workman”,
Takshaka “carpenter”, or “wood-cutter”, etc., etc.
Vishwatryarchas
(Sk.) The fourth solar (mystic) ray of the seven. (See Secret
Doctrine,
I., p. 515, n.)
Vivaswat
(Sk.). The “bright One”, the Sun.
Viwan
(Sk.). Some kind “of air-vehicle”, like a balloon, mentioned but not
described
in the old Sanskrit works, which the Atlanteans and the ancient Aryas
seem
to have known and used.
Voluspa
(Scand.). A poem called “The Song of the Prophetess”, or “Song of Wala
”.
Voodooism,
or Voodoos. A system of African sorcery; a sect of black magicians,
to
which the New Orleans negroes are much addicted. It flourishes likewise in
Cuba
and South America.
Voordalak
(Slav.). A vampire; a corpse informed by its lower principles, and
maintaining
a kind of semi-life in itself by raising itself during the night
from
the grave, fascinating its living victims and sucking out their blood.
Roumanians,
Moldavians, Servians, and all the Slavonian tribes dwelling in the
Balkans,
and also the Tchechs (Bohemians), Moravians, and others, firmly believe
in
the existence of such ghosts and dread them accordingly.
Votan
(Mex.). The deified hero of the Mexicans, and probably the same as
Quetzal-Coatl;
a “son of the snakes”, one admitted “to the snake’s hole ”, which
means
an Adept admitted to the Initiation in the secret chamber of the Temple.
The
missionary Brasseur de Bourbourg, seeks to prove him a descendant of Ham,
the
accursed son of Noah. (See Isis Unveiled, I., pp. 545 et seq.)
Vrata
(Sk) Law, or power of the gods.
Vratâni
(Sk.). Varuna’s “active laws”, courses of natural action. (See Rig
-Vedic
Hymns, X., 90-1.
Vriddha
Garga (Sk.). From Vriddha, “old”, and Garga, an ancient sage, one of the
oldest
writers on astronomy.
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Vriddha
Mânava (Sk.) The laws of Manu.
Vritra
(Sk.). The demon of drought in the Vedas, a great foe of Indra, with whom
he
is constantly at war. The allegory of a cosmic phenomenon.
Vritra-han
(Sk.) An epithet or title of Indra, meaning “the slayer of Vritra”.
Vyahritis
(Slav.). Lit., “ fiery ”, words lit by and born of fire. The three
mystical,
creative words, said by Manu to have been milked by the Prajâpati from
the
Vedas: bhûr, from the Rig -Veda; bhuvah, from the Vajur-Veda; and Swar, from
the
Sama-Veda (Manu II., 76). All three are said to possess creative powers. The
Satapatha
Brâhmana explains that they are “the three luminous essences”
extracted
from the Vedas by Prajâpati (“lords of creation ”, progenitors),
through
heat. “He (Brahmâ) uttered the word bhûr and it became the earth;
bhuvah,
and it became the firmament; and swar, which became heaven”. Mahar is
the
fourth “luminous essence ”, and was taken from the Atharva-Veda. But, as
this
word is purely mantric and magical, it is one, so to say, kept apart.
Vyâsa
(Sk.).. Lit., one who expands or amplifies; an interpreter, or rather a
revealer;
for that which he explains, interprets and amplifies is a mystery to
the
profane. This term was applied in days of old to the highest Gurus in India.
There
were many Vyâsas in Aryavarta; one was the compiler and arranger of the
Vedas;
another, the author of the Mahâbhârata—the twenty-eighth Vyâsa or
revealer
in the order of
succession—and
the last one of note was the author of Uttara Mîmânsâ, the sixth
school
or system of Indian philosophy. He was also the founder of the Vedânta
system.
His date, as assigned by Orientalists (see Elphinstone, Cowell, etc.),
is
1,400 B.C., but this date is certainly too recent. The Purânas mention only
twenty-eight
Vyâsas, who at various ages descended to the earth to promulgate
Vedic
truths—but there were many more.
W
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W_The
23rd letter. Has no equivalent in Hebrew. In Western Occultism some take
it
as the symbol for celestial water, whereas M stands for terrestrial water.
Wala
(Scand.). A prophetess in the songs of the Edda (Norse mythology). Through
the
incantations of Odin she was raised from her grave, and made to prophesy the
death
of Baldur.
Walhalla
(Scand.). A kind of paradise (Devachan) for slaughtered warriors,
called
by the Norsemen “the hall of the blessed heroes”; it has five hundred
doors.
Wali
(Scand.). The son of Odin who avenges the death of Baldur, “the
well-beloved”.
Walkyries
(Scand.). Called the “choosers of the dead”. In the popular poetry of
the
Scandinavians, these goddesses consecrate the fallen heroes with a kiss, and
bearing
them from the battle-field carry them to the halls of bliss and to the
gods
in Walhalla.
Wanes
(Scand.). A race of gods of great antiquity, worshipped at the dawn of
time
by the Norsemen, and later by the Teutonic races.
Wara
(Scand.). One of the maidens of Northern Freya; “the wise Wara ”, who
watches
the desires of each human heart, and avenges every breach of faith.
Water.
The first principle of things, according to Thales and other ancient
philosophers.
Of course this is not water on the material plane, but in a
figurative
sense for the potential fluid contained in boundless space. This was
symbolised
in ancient Egypt by Kneph, the “unrevealed” god, who was represented
as
the serpent—the emblem of eternity—encircling a water-urn, with his head
hovering
over the waters, which he incubates with his breath. “And the Spirit of
God
moved upon the face of the waters.” (Gen. i.) The honey-dew, the food of the
gods
and of the creative bees on the Yggdrasil, falls during the night upon the
tree
of life from the “divine waters, the birth-place of the gods ”. Alchemists
claim
that when pre-Adamic earth is reduced by the Alkahest to its first
substance,
it is like clear water. The Alkahest is “the one and the invisible,
the
water, the first principle, in the second transformation”.
We
(Scand.). One of the three gods—Odin, Wili and We—who kill the giant Ymir
(chaotic
force), and create the world out of his body, the primordial substance.
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Werdandi
(Scand.). See “ Nörns ”, the three sister-goddesses who represent the
Past,
the Present and the Future. Werdandi represents the ever-present time.
Whip
of Osiris. The scourge which symbolises Osiris as the “judge of the dead ”.
It
is called the nekhekh, in the papyri, or the flagellum. Dr. Pritchard sees in
it
a fan or van, the winnowing instrument. Osiris, “whose fan is in his hand and
who
purges the Amenti of sinful hearts as a winnower sweeps his floor of the
fallen
grains and locks the good wheat into his garner ”. (Compare Matthew, 12.)
White
Fire (Kab.). The Zohar treating of the “Long Face” and Short Face “, the
symbols
of Macrocosm and Microcosm, speaks of the hidden White Fire, radiating
from
these night and day and yet never seen. It answers to vital force (beyond
luminiferous
ether), and electricity on the higher and lower planes. But the
mystic
“White Fire” is a name given to Ain-Soph. And this is the difference
between
the Aryan and the Semitic philosophies. The Occultists of the former
speak
of the Black Fire, which is the symbol of the unknown and unthinkable
Brahm,
and declare any speculation on the“ Black Fire” impossible. But the
Kabbalists
who, owing to a subtle permutation of meaning, endow even Ain-Soph
with
a kind of indirect will and attributes, call its “fire” white, thus
dragging
the Absolute into the world of relation and finiteness.
White
Head. In Hebrew Resha Hivra, an epithet given to Sephira, the highest of
the
Sephiroth, whose cranium “ distils the dew which will call the dead again to
life”.
White
Stone. The sign of initiation mentioned in St. John’s Revelation. It had
the
word prize engraved on it, and was the symbol of that word given to the
neophyte
who, in his initiation, had successfully passed through all the trials
in
the MYSTERIES, it was the potent white cornelian of the mediæval
Rosicrucians,
who took it from the Gnostics. ‘ To him that overcometh will I
give
to eat of the hidden manna (the occult knowledge which descends as divine
wisdom
from heaven), and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new
name
written (the ‘mystery name’ of the inner man or the EGO of the new
Initiate),
which no man knoweth saving him that receiveth it.” (Revelation, ii.
17.)
Widow’s
Son. A name given to the French Masons, because the Masonic ceremonies
are
principally based on the adventures and death of Hiram Abif, “the widow’s
son”,
who is supposed to have helped to build the mythical Solomon’s Temple.
Wili
(Scand.). See “ We ”.
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Will.
In metaphysics and occult philosophy, Will is that which governs the
manifested
universes in eternity. Will is the one and sole principle of abstract
eternal
MOTION, or its ensouling essence. “ The will”, says Van Helmont, “is the
first
of all powers. . . . The will is the property of all spiritual beings and
displays
itself in them the more actively the more they are freed from matter.”
And
Paracelsus teaches that “determined will is the beginning of all magical
operations.
It is because men do not perfectly imagine and believe the result,
that
the (occult) arts are so uncertain, while they might he perfectly certain.”
Like
all the rest, the Will is septenary in its degrees of manifestation.
Emanating
from the one, eternal, abstract and purely quiescent Will (Âtmâ in
Layam),
it becomes Buddhi in its Alaya state, descends lower as Mahat (Manas),
and
runs down the ladder of degrees until the divine Eros becomes, in its lower,
animal
manifestation, erotic desire. Will as an eternal principle is neither
spirit
nor substance but everlasting ideation. As well expressed by Schopenhauer
in
his Parerga, “ in sober reality there is neither matter nor spirit. The
tendency
to gravitation in a stone is as unexplainable as thought in the human
brain.
. . If matter can—no one knows why——fall to the ground, then it can
also—no
one knows why—-think. . . . As soon, even in mechanics, as we trespass
beyond
the purely mathematical, as soon as we reach the inscrutable adhesion,
gravitation,
and so on, we are faced by phenomena which are to our senses as
mysterious
as the WILL.”
Wisdom.
The “ very essence of wisdom is contained in the Non- Being ”. say the
Kabbalists;
but they also apply the term to the WORD or Logos, the Demiurge, by
which
the universe was called into existence. “The one Wisdom is in the Sound ”,
say
the Occultists; the Logos again being meant by Sound, which is the
substratum
of Âkâsa. Says the Zohar, the “ Book of Splendour” “It is the
Principle
of all the Principles, the mysterious Wisdom, the crown of all that
which
there is of the most High”. (Zohar, iii., fol. 288, Myers Qabbalah.) And
it
is explained, “Above Kether is the Ayin, or Ens, i.e., Ain, the NOTHING”. “It
is
so named because we do not know, and it is impossible to know, that which
there
is in that Principle, because . . . it is above Wisdom itself.” (iii.,
fol.
288.) This shows that the real Kabbalists agree with the Occultists that
the
essence, or that which is in the principle of Wisdom, is still above that
highest
Wisdom.
Wisdom
Religion. The one religion which underlies all the now-existing creeds.
That
“faith” which, being primordial, and revealed directly to human kind by
their
progenitors and informing EGOS (though the Church regards them as the
“fallen
angels”), required no “grace”, nor blind faith to believe, for it was
knowledge.
(See “Gupta Vidyâ”,
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Hidden
Knowledge.) It is on this Wisdom Religion that Theosophy is based.
Witch.
From the Anglo-Saxon word wicce, German wissen, “to know”, and wikken,
“to
divine”. The witches were at first called “wise women”, until the day when
the
Church took it unto herself to follow the law of Moses, which put every
“witch”
or enchantress to death.
Witchcraft.
Sorcery, enchantment, the art of throwing spells and using black
magic.
Witches’
Sabbath. The supposed festival and gathering of witches in some lonely
spot,
where the witches were accused of conferring directly with the Devil.
Every
race and people believed in it, and some believe in it still. Thus the
chief
headquarters and place of meeting of all the witches in Russia is said to
be
the Bald Mountain (Lyssaya Gorâ), near Kief, and in Germany the Brocken, in
the
Harz Mountains. In old Boston, U.S.A., they met near the “Devil’s Pond ”, in
a
large forest which has now disappeared. At Salem, they were put to death
almost
at the will of the Church Elders, and in South Carolina a witch was burnt
as
late as 1865. In Germany and England they were murdered by Church and State
in
thousands, being forced to lie and confess under torture their participation
in
the “ Witches’ Sabbath ”.
Wittoba
(Sk.). A form of Vishnu. Moor gives in his Hindu Pantheon the picture of
Wittoba
crucified in Space; and the Rev. Dr. Lundy maintains (Monumental
Christianity)
that this engraving is anterior to Christianity and is the
crucified
Krishna, a Saviour, hence a concrete prophecy of Christ.
(See
Isis Unveiled, II., 557,
Wizard.
A wise man. An enchanter, or sorcerer.
Wodan
(Saxon). The Scandinavian Odin, Votan, or Wuotan.
World.
As a prefix to mountains, trees, and so on, it denotes a universal
belief.
Thus the “World-Mountain” of the Hindus was Meru. As said in Isis
Unveiled:
“All the world-mountains and mundane eggs, the mundane trees, and the
mundane
snakes and pillars, may be shown to embody scientifically demonstrated
truths
of natural philosophy. All of these mountains contain, with very trifling
variations,
the allegorically-expressed description of primal cosmogony ; the
mundane
trees, that of subsequent evolution of spirit and matter; the mundane
snakes
and pillars, symbolical memorials of the various attributes of this
double
evolution in its endless correlation of cosmic forces. Within the
mysterious
recesses of the mountain—the matrix of the universe—the gods (powers)
prepare
the atomic germs of organic life, and at the same time the life-drink,
which,
when tasted, awakens in man-matter the
man-spirit.
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The
Soma, the sacrificial drink of the Hindus, is that sacred beverage. For, at
the
creation of the prima materia, while the grossest portions of it were used
for
the physical embryo-world, its more divine essence pervaded the universe,
invisibly
permeating and enclosing within its ethereal waves the newly-born
infant,
developing and stimulating it to activity as it slowly evolved out of
the
eternal chaos. From the poetry of abstract conception, these mundane myths
gradually
passed into the concrete images of cosmic symbols, as archæology now
finds
them.” Another and still more usual prefix to all these objects is
“Mundane”.
(See “Mundane Egg”, “Mundane Tree”, and “Yggdrasil”.)
Worlds,
the Four. The Kabbalists recognise Four Worlds of Existence: viz.,
Atziluth
or archetypal ; Briah or creative, the first reflection of the highest;
Yetzirah
or formative; and Assiah, the ‘World of Shells or Klippoth, and the
material
universe. The essence of Deity concentrating into the Sephiroth is
first
manifested in the Atziluthic World, and their reflections are produced in
succession
in each of the four planes, with gradually lessening radiance and
purity,
until the material universe is arrived at. Some authors call these four
planes
the intellectual, Moral, Sensuous, and Material Worlds. [w.w.w.]
Worlds,
Inferior and Superior. The Occultists and the Kabbalists agree in
dividing
the universe into superior and inferior worlds, the worlds of Idea and
the
worlds of Matter. “As above, so below”, states the Hermetic philosophy. This
lower
world is formed on its prototype—the higher world; and “everything in the
lower
is but an image (a reflection) of the higher”. (Zohar, ii., fol. 2oa.)
X
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X.—This
letter is one of the important symbols in the Occult philosophy. As a
numeral
X stands, in mathematics, for the unknown quantity; in occult numerals,
for
the perfect number 10; when placed horizontally, thus χ, it means
1,000; the
same
with a dash over it χ for 10,000; and by itself, in occult symbolism,
it is
Plato’s
logos (man as a microcosm) decussated in space in the form of the letter
X.
The , or cross within the circle, has moreover a still clearer significance
in
Eastern occult philosophy: it IS MAN within his own spherical envelope.
Xenophilus.
A Pythagorean adept and philosopher, credited by Lucian (de
Macrob.),
Pliny and others with having lived to his 170th year, preserving all
his
faculties to the last. He wrote on music and was surnamed the “ Musician”.
Xisusthrus
(Gr.). The Chaldean Noah, on the Assyrian tablets, who is thus
described
in the history of the ten kings by Berosus, according to Alexander
Polyhistor:
“After the death of (the ninth) Ardates, his son Xisusthrus reigned
eighteen
sari. In his time happened a great deluge.” Warned by his deity in a
vision
of the forthcoming cataclysm, Xisusthrus was ordered by that deity to
build
an ark, to convey into it his relations, together with all the different
animals,
bird etc., and trust himself to the rising waters. Obeying the divine
admonition,
Xisusthrus is shown to do precisely what Noah did many thousand
years
after him. He sent out birds from the vessel which returned to him again;
then
a few days after he sent them again, and they returned with their feet
coated
with mud; but the third time they came back to him no more. Stranded on a
high
mountain of Armenia, Xisusthrus descends and builds an altar to the gods.
Here
only, comes a divergence between the polytheistic and monotheistic legends.
Xisusthrus,
having worshipped and rendered thanks to the gods for his salvation,
disappeared,
and his companions “saw him no more ”. The story informs us that on
account
of his great piety Xisusthrus and his family were translated to live
with
the gods, as he himself told the survivors. For though his body was gone,
his
voice was heard in the air, which, after apprising them of the occurrence,
admonished
them to return to Babylon, and pay due regard to virtue, religion,
and
the gods. This is more meritorious than to plant vines, get drunk on the
juice
of the grape, and curse one’s own son.
Y
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Y.—The
twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, and the tenth of the
Hebrew—the
Yod. It is the litera Pythagorœ the Pythagorean letter and symbol,
signifying
the two branches, or paths of virtue and vice respectively, the right
leading
to virtue, the left to vice. In Hebrew Kabbalistic mysticism it is the
phallic
male member, and also as number ten, the perfect number. Symbolically,
it
is represented by a hand with bent forefinger. Its numerical equivalent is
ten.
Yâdaya
(Sk.). A descendant of Yadu; of the great race in which Krishna was born.
The
founder of this line was Yadu, the son of King Yayâti of the Somavansa or
Lunar
Race.It was under Krishna— certainly no mythical personage—that the
kingdom
of Dwârakâ in Guzerat was established; and also after the death of
Krishna
(3102 B.c.) that all the Yâdavas present in the city perished, when it
was
submerged by the ocean. Only a few of the Yâdavas, who were absent from the
town
at the time of the catastrophe, escaped to perpetuate this great race. The
Râjâs
of Vijaya-Nâgara are now among the small number of its representatives.
Yah
(Heb.). The word, as claimed in the Zohar, through which the Elohim formed
the
worlds. The syllable is a national adaptation and one of the many forms of
the
“Mystery name”IAO.
(See
“Iaho” and “Yâho ”.)
Yâho
(Heb.). Fürst shows this to be the same as the Greek Iao. Yâho is an old
Semitic
and very mystic name of the supreme deity, while Yah (q.v.) is a later
abbreviation
which, from containing an abstract ideal, became finally applied
to,
and connected with, a phallic symbol—the lingham of creation. Both Yah and
Yâho
were Hebrew “mystery names” derived from Iao, but the Chaldeans had a Yâho
before
the Jews adopted it, and with them, as explained by some Gnostics and
Neo-Platonists,
it was the highest conceivable deity enthroned above the seven
heavens
and representing Spiritual Light (Âtman, the universal), whose ray was
Nous,
standing both for the intelligent Demiurge of the Universe of Matter and
the
Divine Manas in man, both being Spirit. The true key of this, communicated
to
the Initiates only, was that the name of IAO was “triliteral and its nature
secret
”, as explained by the Hierophants. The Phœnicians too had a supreme
deity
whose name was triliteral, and
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its
meanings secret, this was also IAO; and Y-ha-ho was a sacred word in the
Egyptian
mysteries, which signified “the one eternal and concealed deity” in
nature
and in man; i.e., the “universal Divine Ideation”, and the human Manas,
or
the higher Ego.
Yajna
(Sk.). “Sacrifice”, whose symbol or representation is now the
constellation
Mriga-shiras (deer-head), and also a form of Vishnu. “ The Yajna
”,
say the Brahmans, “exists from eternity, for it proceeded from the Supreme,
in
whom it lay dormant from no beginning ”. It is the key to the Trai-Vidyâ ,
the
thrice sacred science contained in the Rig -Veda verses, which teaches the
Yajna
or sacrificial mysteries. As Haug states in his Introduction to the
Aitareya
Brâhmana—the Yajna exists as an invisible presence at all times,
extending
from the Âhavanîya or sacrificial fire to the heavens, forming a
bridge
or ladder by means of which the sacrificer can communicate with the world
of
devas, “and even ascend when alive to their abodes”. It is one of the forms
of
Akâsa, within which the mystic WORD (or its underlying “ Sound ”) calls it
into
existence. Pronounced by the Priest-Initiate or Yogi, this WORD receives
creative
powers, and is communicated as an impulse on the terrestrial plane
through
a trained Will-power.
Yakin
and Boaz (Heb.). A Kabbalistic and Masonic symbol. The two pillars of
bronze
(Yakin, male and white; Boaz, female and red), cast by Hiram Abif of
Tyre,
called “the Widow’s Son , for Solomon’s supposed (Masonic) Temple. Yakin
was
the symbol of Wisdom (Chokmah), the second Sephira; and Boaz, that of
Intelligence
(Binah); the temple between the two being regarded as Kether, the
crown,
Father- Mother.
Yaksha
(Sk.). A class of demons, who, in popular Indian folk-lore, devour men.
In
esoteric science they are simply evil (elemental) influences, who in the
sight
of seers and clairvoyants descend on men, when open to the reception of
such
influences, like a fiery comet or a shooting star.
Yama
(Heb.). The personified third root-race in Occultism. In the Indian
Pantheon
Yama is the subject of two distinct versions of the myth. In the Vedas
he
is the god of the dead, a Pluto or a Minos, with whom the shades of the
departed
dwell (the Kâmarûpas in Kâmaloka). A hymn speaks of Yama as the first
of
men that died, and the first that departed to the world of bliss (Devachan).
This,
because Yama is the embodiment of the race which was the first to be
endowed
with consciousness (Manas), without which there is neither Heaven nor
Hades.
Yama is represented as the son of Vivaswat (the Sun). He had a
twin-sister
named Yami, who was ever urging him, according to another hymn, to
take
her
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for
his wife, in order to perpetuate the species. The above has a very
suggestive
symbolical meaning, which is explained in Occultism. As Dr. Muir
truly
remarks, the Rig -Veda—the greatest authority on the primeval myths which
strike
the original key-note of the themes that underlie all the subsequent
variations—nowhere
shows Yama “as having anything to do with the punishment of
the
wicked ”. As king and judge of the dead, a Pluto in short, Yama is a far
later
creation. One has to study the true character of Yama-Yamî throughout more
than
one hymn and epic poem, and collect the various accounts scattered in
dozens
of ancient works, and then he will obtain a consensus of allegorical
statements
which will be found to corroborate and justify the Esoteric teaching,
that
Yama-Yamî is the symbol of the dual Manas, in one of its mystical meanings.
For
instance, Yama-Yamî is always represented of a green colour and clothed with
red,
and as dwelling in a palace of copper and iron. Students of Occultism know
to
which of the human “principles” the green and the red colours, and by
correspondence
the iron and copper,’ are to be applied. The “twofold-ruler ”—the
epithet
of Yama Yamî—is regarded in the exoteric teachings of the
Chino-Buddhists
as both judge and criminal, the restrainer of his own evil
doings
and the evil-doer himself. In the Hindu epic poems Yama-Yami is the twin-
child
of the Sun (the deity) by Sanjnâ (spiritual consciousness); but while Yama
is
the Aryan “lord of the day”, appearing as the symbol of spirit in the East,
Yamî
is the queen of the night (darkness, ignorance) “who opens to mortals the
path
to the West ”—the emblem of evil and matter. In the Purânas Yama has many
wives
(many Yamis) who force him to dwell in the lower world (Pâtâla, Myalba,
etc.,
etc.); and an allegory represents him with his foot lifted, to kick
Chhâyâ,
the hand maiden of his father (the astral body of his mother, Sanjnâ, a
metaphysical
aspect of Buddhi or Alaya). As stated in the Hindu Scriptures, a
soul
when it quits its mortal frame, repairs to its abode in the lower regions
(Kâmaloka
or Hades). Once there, the Recorder, the Karmic messenger called
Chitragupta
(hidden or concealed brightness), reads out his account from the
Great
Register, wherein during the life of the human being, every deed and
thought
are indelibly impressed-— and, according to the sentence pronounced, the
“soul”
either ascends to the abode of the Pitris (Devachan), descends to a “hell
”
(Kâmaloka), or is reborn on earth in another human form. The student of
Esoteric
philosophy will easily recognise the bearings of the allegories.
Yamabooshee,
or Yamabusi (Jap.). A sect in Japan of very ancient and revered
mystics.
They are monks “militant” and warriors, if needed, as are certain Yogis
in
Rajputana and the Lamas in Tibet. This Mystic brotherhood dwell chiefly near
Kioto,
and are renowned for their
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healing
powers, says the Encyclopœdia, which translates the name “Hermit
Brothers”:
“They pretend to magical arts, and live in the recesses of mountains
and
craggy steeps, whence they come forth to tell fortunes (?), write charms and
sell
amulets. They lead a mysterious life and admit no one to their secrets,
except
after a tedious and difficult preparation by fasting and a species of
severe
gymnastic exercise ! ”)
Yasna,
or Yacna (Pahl.). The third portion of the first of the two parts of the
Avesta,
the Scripture of the Zoroastrian Parsis. The Yasna is composed of
litanies
of the same kind as the Vispêrad (the second portion) and of five hymns
or
gâthas. These gâthas are the oldest fragments of Zoroastrian literature known
to
the Parsis, for they are written “in a special dialect, older than the
general
language of the Avesta” (Darmesteter). (See “ Zend ”.)
Yati
(Sk) A measure of three feet.
Yâtus,
or Yâtudhânas (Sk.). A kind of animal-formed demons. Esoterically, human
animal
passions.
Yazathas
(Zend). Pure celestial spirits, whom the Vendidâd shows once upon a
time
sharing their food with mortals, who thus participate in their existence.
Years
of Brahmâ. The whole period of “Brahma’s Age” (100 Years). Equals
31I,040,000,000,000
years. (See “Yuga ”.)
Yeheedah
(Heb.). Lit., “Individuality ”; esoterically, the highest individuality
or
Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas, when united in one. This doctrine is in the Chaldean Book
of
Numbers, which teaches a septenary division of human “principles”, so-called,
as
does the Kabalah in the Zohar, according to the Book of Solomon (iii.,Io4a so
as
translated in I. Myer’s Qabbalah). At the time of the conception, the Holy
“sends
a d’yook-nah, or the phantom of a shadow image” like the face of a man.
it
is designed and sculptured in the divine tzelem, i.e., the shadow image of
the
Elohim. “ Elohim created man in his (their) tzelem ” or image, says Genesis
(i.
27). It is the tzelem that awaits the child and receives it at the moment of
its
conception, and this tzelem is our linga sharira. “ The Rua’h forms with the
Nephesh
the actual personality of the man ”, and also his individuality, or, as
expressed
by the Kabbalist, the combination of the two is called, if he (man)
deserves
it, Yeheedah. This combination is that which the Theosophist calls the
dual
Manas, the Higher and the Lower Ego, united to Âtmâ-Buddhi and become one.
For
as explained in the Zohar
(i.,
205b, 206a, Brody Ed.): “Neshamah, soul (Buddhi), comprises three degrees,
and
therefore she has three names, like the mystery above: that is, Nephesh,
Rua’h,
Neshamah “, or the Lower Manas, the Higher Ego, and Buddhi, the Divine
Soul.
“It is also to be noted that the Neshamah has
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three
divisions;” says Myer’s Qabbalah, “the highest is the Ye-hee-dah ”—or
Âtmâ-Buddhi-Manas,
the latter once more as a unit; “the middle principle is
Hay-yak
“—or Buddhi and the dual Manas; ”and the last and third, the Neshamah,
properly
speaking ”—or Soul in general. “They manifest themselves in Ma’hshabah,
thought,
Tzelem, phantom of the image, Zurath, prototypes (mâyâvic forms, or
rûpas),
and the D'yooknah, shadow of the phantom image. The D’mooth, likeness or
similitude
(physical body), is a lower manifestation” (p. 392). Here then, we
find
the faithful echo of Esoteric science in the Zohar and other Kabbalistic
works,
a perfect Esoteric septenary division. Every Theosophist who has studied
the
doctrine sketched out first in Mr. Sinnett’s Occult World and Esoteric
Buddhism,
and later in the Theosophist, Lucifer, and other writings, will
recognise
them in the Zohar. Compare for instance what is taught in Theosophical
works
about the pre- and post-mortem states of the three higher and the four
lower
human principles, with the following from the Zohar: “ Because all these
three
are one knot like the above, in the mystery of Nephesh, Rua’h, Neshamah,
they
are all one, and bound in one. Nephesh (Kâma-Manas) has no light from her
own
substance; and it is for this reason that she is associated with the mystery
of
guff, the body, to procure enjoyment and food and everything which it needs.
Rua’h
(the Spirit) is that which rides on that Nephesh (the lower soul) and
rules
over her and lights (supplies) her with everything she needs [ with the
light
of reason], and the Nephesh is the throne [ of that Ru’ah. Neshamah
(Divine
Soul) goes over to that Rua’h, and she rules over that Rua’h and lights
to
him with that Light of Life, and that Rua’h depends on the Neshamah and
receives
light from her, which illuminates him. . . When the ‘upper’ Neshamah
ascends
(after the death of the body), she goes to . . . the Ancient of the
Ancient,
the Hidden of all the Hidden, to receive Eternity. The Rua’h does not
[
go to Gan Eden [ because he is [ up with] Nephesh the Rua’h goes up to Eden,
but
not so high as the soul, and Nephesh [ animal principle, lower soul] remains
in
the grave below [ Kâmaloka]
(Zohar,
ii., 142a, Cremona Ed., ii., fol. 63b col. 252). It would be difficult
not
to recognise in the above our Âtmâ (or the “upper” Neshamah), Buddhi
(Neshamah),.
Manas (Rua’h), and Kâma-Manas (Nephesh) or the lower animal soul;
the
first of which goes after the death of man to join its integral whole, the
second
and the third proceeding to Devachan, and the last, or the Kâmarûpa,
“remaining
in its grave”, called other wise the Kâmaloka or Hades.
Yênê,
Angânta. The meaning of the Angânta Yênê is known to all India. It is the
action
of an elemental (bhût), who, drawn into the sensitive and passive body of
a
medium, takes possession of it. In other
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words,
angânta vênê means literally “obsession”. The Hindus dread such a
calamity
now as strongly as they did thousands of years ago. “No Hindu, Tibetan,
or
Sinhalese, unless of the lowest caste and intelligence, can see, without a
shudder
of horror, the signs of ‘mediumship’ manifest themselves in a member of
his
family, or without saying, as a Christian would do now, ‘ he hath the
devil’.
This ‘gift, blessing, and holy mission’, so called in England and
America.
is, among the older peoples, in the cradle-lands of our race, where
longer
experience than ours has taught them more spiritual wisdom, regarded as a
dire
misfortune.”
Yesod
(Heb.). The ninth Sephira; meaning Basis or Foundation.
Yetzirah
(Heb.). The third of the Four Kabbalistic Worlds, referred to the
Angels;
the “World of Formation”, or Olam Yetzirah. It is also called Malahayah,
or
“of the Angels ”. It is the abode of all the ruling Genii (or Angels) who
control
and rule planets, worlds and spheres.
Yeu
(Chin.). “Being”, a synonym of Subhâva; or “the Substance giving substance
to
itself ”.
Yggdrasil
(Scand.). The “World Tree of the Norse Cosmogony; the ash Yggdrasil ;
the
tree of the Universe, of time and of life”. It has three roots, which reach
down
to cold Hel, and spread thence to Jotun heim, the land of the Hrimthurses,
or
“ Frost Giants ”, and to Midgard, the earth and dwelling of the children of
men.
Its upper boughs stretch out into heaven, and its highest branch
overshadows
Waihalla, the Devachan of the fallen heroes. The Yggdrasil is ever
fresh
and green, as it is daily sprinkled by the Norns, the three fateful
sisters,
the Past, the Present, and the Future, with the waters of life from the
fountain
of Urd that flows on our earth. It will wither and disappear only on
the
day when the last battle between good and evil is fought ; when, the former
prevailing,
life, time and space pass out of life and space and time. Every
ancient
people had their world-tree. The Babylonians had their “tree of life”,
which
was the world-tree, whose roots penetrated into the great lower deep or
Hades,
whose trunk was on the earth, and whose upper boughs reached Zikum, the
highest
heaven above. Instead of in Walhalla, they placed its upper foliage in
the
holy house of Davkina, the “great mother” of Tammuz, the Saviour of the
world—the
Sun-god put to death by the enemies of light.
Yi-King.
(Chin.). An ancient Chinese work, written by generations of sages.
Yima
(Zend). In the Vendîdâd, the first man, and, from his aspect of spiritual
progenitor
of mankind, the same as Yama (q.v.). His further
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functions
are not given in the Zend books, because so many of these ancient
fragments
have been lost, made away with, or otherwise prevented from falling
into
the hands of the profane. Yima was not born, for he represents the first
three
human Root-races, the first of which is “not born”; but he is the “first
man
who dies”, because the third race, the one which was informed by the
rational
Higher Egos, was the first one whose men separated into male and
female,
and “man lived and died, and was reborn”. (See Secret Doctrine, II., pp.
60
et seq.)
Ymir
(Scand.). The personified matter of our globe in a seething condition. The
cosmic
monster in the form of a giant, who is killed in the cosmogonical
allegories
of the Eddas by the three creators, the sons of Bör, Odin, Wili and
We,
who are said to have conquered Ymir and created the world out of his body.
This
allegory shows the three principal forces of nature—separation, formation
and
growth (or evolution) conquering the unruly, raging “giant” matter, and
forcing
it to become a world, or an inhabited globe. it is curious that an
ancient,
primitive and uncultured pagan people, so philosophical and
scientifically
correct in their views about the origin and formation of the
earth,
should, in order to be regarded as civilized, have to accept the dogma
that
the world was created out of nothing!
Yod
(Heb.). The tenth letter of the alphabet, the first in the four fold symbol
of
the compound name
Jah-hovah
(Jehovah) or Jah-Eve, the hermaphrodite force and existence in nature.
Without
the later vowels, the word Jehovah is written IHVH (the letter Yod
standing
for all the three English letters y, i, or j, as the case may require),
and
is male-female. The letter Yod is the symbol of the lingham, or male organ,
in
its natural triple form, as the Kabalah shows. The second letter He, has for
its
symbol the yoni, the womb or “ window-opening” as the Kabalah has it ; the
symbol
of the third letter, the Vau, is a crook or a nail (the bishop’s crook
having
its origin in this), another male letter, and the fourth is the same as
the
second—the whole meaning to be or to exist under one of these forms or both.
Thus
the word or name is pre-eminently phallic, it is that of the fighting god
of
the Jews, “ Lord of Hosts” ; of the “aggressive Yod” or Zodh, Cain (by
permutation),
who slew his female brother, Abel, and spilt his (her) blood. This
name,
selected out of many by the early Christian writers, was an unfortunate
one
for their religion on account of its associations and original significance
;
it is a number at best, an organ in reality. This letter Yod has passed into
God
and Gott.
Yoga
(Sk.). (1) One of the six Darshanas or schools of India; a school of
philosophy
founded by Patanjali, though the real Yoga doctrine, the one that is
said
to have helped to prepare the world for the preaching
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of
Buddha, is attributed with good reasons to the more ancient sage Yâjnawalkya,
the
writer of the Shatapatha Brâhmana, of Yajur Veda, the Brihad Âranyaka, and
other
famous works. (2) The practice of meditation as a means of leading to
spiritual
liberation. Psycho-spiritual powers are obtained thereby, and induced
ecstatic
states lead to the clear and correct perception of the eternal truths,
in
both the visible and invisible universe.
Yogâchârya
(Sk.). (1) A mystic school. (2) Lit., a teacher (âchârya) of Yoga,
one
who has mastered the doctrines and practices of ecstatic meditation—the
culmination
of which are the Mahâsiddhis. It is incorrect to confuse this school
with
the Tantra, or Mahâtantra school founded by Samantabhadra, for there are
two
Yogâchârya Schools, one esoteric, the other popular. The doctrines of the
latter
were compiled and glossed by Asamgha in the sixth century of our era, and
his
mystic tantras and mantras, his formularies, litanies, spells and mudrâ
would
certainly, if attempted without a Guru, serve rather purposes of sorcery
and
black magic than real Yoga. Those who undertake to write upon the subject
are
generally learned missionaries and haters of Eastern philosophy in general.
From
these no unbiassed views can be expected. Thus when we read in the Sanskrit
-Chinese
Dictionary of Eitel, that the reciting of mantras (which he calls “
spells”!)
“ should he accompanied by music and distortions of the fingers
(mudrâ),
that a state of mental fixity (Samâdhi} might he reached ‘—one
acquainted,
however slightly,. with the real practice of Yoga can only shrug his
shoulders.
These distortions of the fingers or ,mudrâ are necessary, the author
thinks,
for the reaching of Samâdhi, “characterized by there being neither
thought
nor annihilation of thought, and consisting of six-fold bodily (sic) and
mental
happiness (yogi) whence would result endowment with supernatural
miracle-working
power”. Theosophists cannot be too much warned against such
fantastic
and prejudiced explanations.
Yogi
(Sk.). (1) Not “a state of six-fold bodily and mental happiness as the
result,
of ecstatic meditation” (Eitel) but a state which, when reached, makes
the
practitioner thereof absolute master of his six principles”, he now being
merged
in the seventh. It gives him full control, owing to his knowledge of SELF
and
Self, over his bodily, intellectual and mental states, which, unable any
longer
to interfere with, or act upon, his Higher Ego, leave it free to exist in
its
original, pure, and divine state.
(2)
Also the name of the devotee who practises Yoga.
Yong-Grüb
(Tib.). A state of absolute rest, the same as Paranirvâna.
Yoni
(Sk.). The womb, the female principle.
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Yudishthira
(Sk.). One of the heroes of the Mahâbharata. The eldest brother of
the
Pândavas, or the five Pându princes who fought against their next of kin,
the
Kauravas, the sons of their maternal uncle. Arjuna, the disciple of Krishna,
was
his younger brother. The Bhagavad Gitâ gives mystical particulars of this
war.
Kunti was the mother of the Pândavas, and Draupadî the wife in common of
the
five brothers— an allegory. But Yudishthira is also, as well as Krishna,
Arjuna,
and so many other heroes, an historical character, who lived some 5,000
years
ago, at the period when the Kali Yuga set in.
Yuga
(Sk.). A 1,000th part of a Kalpa. An age of the World of which there are
four,
and the series of which proceed in succession during the manvantaric
cycle.
Each Yuga is preceded by a period called in the Purânas Sandhyâ,
twilight,
or transition period, and is followed by another period of like
duration
called Sandhyânsa, “portion of twilight”. Each is equal to one-tenth of
the
Yuga. The group of four Yugas is first
computed by the divine years, or “
years
of the gods”—each such year being equal to 360 years of mortal men. Thus
we
have, in “divine” years :
1. Krita or Satya Yuga - - - 4,000
Sandhyâ - - - - 400
Sandhyansa - - - - 400
4,800
2.
Tretâ Yuga - - - - 3,000
Sandhyâ - - - - 300
Sandhyânsa - - - - 300
3,600
3.
Dwâpara Yuga - - - 2,000
Sandhya - - - - 200
Sandhyânsa - - - - 200
2,400
4.
Kali Yuga - - - -
1,000
Sandhyâ - - - - 100
Sandhyânsa - - - - 100
1,200
Total
12,000
This
rendered in years of mortals equals:
4800 X 360
= 1,728,000
3600
X 360
= 1,296,000
2400
X 360
= 864,000
1200
X 360
= 432,000
Total 4,320,000
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The
above is called a Mahâyuga or Manvantara. 2,000 such Mahâyugas, or a period
of
8,640,000 years, make a Kalpa the latter being only a “day and a night”, or
twenty-four
hours, of Brahmâ. Thus an “age of Brahmâ”, or one hundred of his
divine
years, must equal 311,040,000,000,000 of our mortal years. The old
Mazdeans
or Magi (the modern Parsis) had the same calculation, though the
Orientalists
do not seem to perceive it, for even the Parsi Moheds themselves
have
forgotten it. But their “Sovereign time of the Long Period” (Zervan Dareghâ
Hvadâta)
lasts 12,000 years, and these are the 12,000 divine years of a Mahâyuga
as
shown above, whereas the Zervan Akarana (Limitless Time), mentioned by
Zarathustra,
is the Kâla, out of space and time, of Parabrahm.
Yurbo
Adonai. A contemptuous epithet given by the followers of the Nazarene
Codex,
the St. John Gnostics, to the Jehovah of the Jews.
Yürmungander
(Scand.). A name of the Midgard snake in the Edda, whose brother is
Wolf
Fenris, and whose sister is the horrible monster Hel—the three children of
wicked
Loki and Angurboda (carrier of anguish), a dreaded giantess. The mundane
snake
of the Norsemen, the monster created by Loki but fashioned by the constant
putrid
emanations from the body of the slain giant Ymir (the matter of our
globe),
and producing in its turn a constant emanation, which serves as a veil
between
heaven and earth, i.e., the Astral Light.
Z
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Z.—The
26th letter of the English alphabet. It stands as a numeral for 2,000,
and
with a dash over it thus, Z, equals 2,000,000. It is the seventh letter in
the
Hebrew alphabet—zayin, its symbol being a kind of Egyptian sceptre, a
weapon.
The zayin is equivalent to number seven. The number twenty-six is held
most
sacred by the Kabbalists, being equal to the numerical value of the letters
of
the Tetragrammaton
—thus
he
vau he yod
5
+ 6 + 5 + ‘0 =26.
Zabulon
(Heb.). The abode of God, the tenth Devachan in degree. Hence Zabulon,
the
tenth son of Jacob.
Zacchai
(Heb.). One of the deity-names.
Zadok
(Heb.). According to Josephus (see Antiquities, x., 8, § 6), Zadok was the
first
High-Priest Hierophant of Solomon’s High Temple. Masons connect him with
some
of their degrees.
Zalmat
Gaguadi (Akkad.). Lit., “the dark race”, the first that fell into
generation
in the Babylonian legends. The Adamic race, one of the two principal
races
that existed at the time of the ‘ Fall of Man (hence our third Root-race),
the
other being called Sarku, or the “light race”.
(Secret
Doctrine, II., 5.)
Zampun
(Tib.). The sacred tree of life, having many mystic meanings.
Zarathustra
(Zend). The great lawgiver, and the founder of the religion
variously
called Mazdaism, Magism, Parseeїsm, Fire-Worship, and Zoroastrianism.
The
age of the last Zoroaster (for it is a generic name) is not known, and
perhaps
for that very reason. Xanthus of Lydia, the earliest Greek writer who
mentions
this great lawgiver and religious reformer, places him about six
hundred
years before the Trojan War. But where is the historian who can now tell
when
the latter took place? Aristotle and also Eudoxus assign him a date of no
less
than 6,000 years before the days of Plato, and Aristotle was not one to
make
a statement without a good reason for it. Berosus makes him a king of
Babylon
some 2,200 years B.C.; but then, how can one tell what were the original
figures
of Berosus, before his MSS. passed through the hands of Eusebius, whose
fingers
were so deft at altering figures,
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whether
in Egyptian synchronistic tables or in Chaldean chronology? Haug refers
Zoroaster
to at least 1,000 years B.C.; and Bunsen (God in History, Vol. I.,
Book
iii., ch. vi., p. 276) finds that Zarathustra Spitama lived under the King
Vistaspa
about 3,000 years B.C., and describes him as “one of the mightiest
intellects
and one of the greatest men of all time”. It is with such exact dates
in
hand, and with the utterly extinct language of the Zend, whose teachings are
rendered,
probably in the most desultory manner, by the Pahlavi translation—a
tongue,
as shown by Darmsteter, which was itself growing obsolete so far back as
the
Sassanides— that our scholars and Orientalists have presumed to monopolise
to
themselves the right of assigning hypothetical dates for the age of the holy
prophet
Zurthust. But the Occult records claim to have the correct dates of each
of
the thirteen Zoroasters mentioned in the Dabistan. Their doctrines, and
especially
those of the last (divine) Zoroaster, spread from Bactria to the
Medes;
thence, under the name of Magism, incorporated by the Adept-Astronomers
in
Chaldea, they greatly influenced the mystic teachings of the Mosaic
doctrines,
even before, perhaps, they had culminated into what is now known as
the
modern religion of the Parsis. Like Manu and Vyâsa in India, Zarathustra is
a
generic name for great reformers and law-givers. The hierarchy began with the
divine
Zarathustra in the Vendîdâd, and ended with the great, but mortal man,
bearing
that title, and now lost to history. There were, as shown by the
Dabistan,
many Zoroasters or Zarathustras. As related in the Secret Doctrine,
Vol.
II., the last Zoroaster was the founder of the Fire-temple of Azareksh,
many
ages before the historical era. Had not Alexander destroyed so many sacred
and
precious works of the Mazdeans, truth and philosophy would have been more
inclined
to agree with history, in bestowing upon that Greek Vandal the title of
“the
Great”.
Zarpanitu
(Akkad) The goddess who was the supposed mother, by Merodach, of Nebo,
god
of Wisdom. One of the female “Serpents of Wisdom”.
Zelator.
The lowest degree in the exoteric Rosicrucian system; a kind of
probationer
or low chelâ.
Zend-Avesta
(Pahl.). The general name for the sacred books of the Parsis, fire
or
sun worshippers, as they are ignorantly called. So little is understood of
the
grand doctrines which are still found in the various fragments that compose
all
that is now left of that collection of religious works, that Zoroastrianism
is
called indifferently Fire-worship, Mazdaism, or Magism, Dualism, Sun-worship,
and
what not. The Avesta has two parts as now collected together, the first
portion
containing the Vendîdâd, the Vispêrad and the Yasna; and the second
portion,
called the Khorda Avesta (Small Avesta), being composed of short
prayers
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called
Gâh, Nyâyish, etc. Zend means “a commentary or explanation”, and Avesta
(from
the old Persian âbashtâ, “the law”. (See Darmsteter.) As the translator of
the
Vendîdâd remarks in a foot note (see int. xxx.): “what it is customary to
call
‘the Zend language’, ought to be named ‘the Avesta language’, the Zend
being
no language at all and if the word be used as the designation of one, it
can
be rightly applied only to the Pahlavi”. But then, the Pahlavi itself is
only
the language into which certain original portions of the Avesta are
translated.
What name should be given to the old Avesta language, and
particularly
to the “special dialect, older than the general language of the
Avesta”
(Darmst.), in which the five Ghthas in the Yasna are written? To this
day
the Orientalists are mute upon the subject. Why should not the Zend be of
the
same family, if not identical with the Zen-sar, meaning also the speech
explaining
the abstract symbol, or the “mystery language,” used by Initiates?
Zervana
Akarna, or Zrvana Akarna (Pahl.). As translated from the Vendîdâd
(Fargard
xix), lit.,
“Boundless”,
or “Limitless Time”, or “Duration in a Circle”. Mystically, the
Beginningless
and the Endless One Principle in Nature ; the Sat of the Vedânta
and
esoterically, the Universal Abstract Space synonymous with the Unknowable
Deity.
It is the Ain-Soph of the Zoroastrians, out of which radiates Ahura
Mazda,
the eternal Light or Logos, from which, in its turn, emanates everything
that
has being, existence and form.
Zeus
(Gr.). The “Father of the gods”. Zeus-Zen is Æther, there fore Jupiter was
called
Pater Æther by some Latin races.
Zicu
(Akkad.). Primordial matter, from Zi, spirit-substance, Zikum and Zigarum.
Zio
(Scand.). Also Tyr and Tius, A god in the Eddas who conquers and chains
Fenris-WoIf,
when the latter threatened the gods themselves in Asgard, and lost
a
hand in the battle with the monster. He is the god of war, and was greatly
worshipped
by the ancient Germans.
Zipporah
(Heb.). Lit., the shining, the radiant. In the Biblical allegory of
Genesis,
Zipporah is one of the seven daughters of Jethro, the Midianite priest,
the
Initiator of Moses, who meets Zipporah (or spiritual light) near the “well”
(of
occult knowledge) and marries her.
Zirat-banit
(Chald.). The wife of the great, divine hero of the Assyrian
tablets,
Merodach. She is identified with the Succoth Benoth of the Bible.
Ziruph
(Heb.). More properly Tziruph, a mode of divination by Temura, or
permutation
of letters, taught by the mediæval Kabbalists. The school of Rabbis
Abulafia
and Gikatilla laid the most stress on the value of this process of the
Practical
Kabalah. [w.w.w.]
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Zodiac
(Gr.). From the word zodion, a diminutive of zoon, animal. This word is
used
in a dual meaning; it may refer to the fixed and intellectual Zodiac, or to
the
movable and natural Zodiac. “In astronomy”, says Science, “it is an
imaginary
belt in the heavens 16° or 18° broad, through the middle of which
passes
the sun’s path (the ecliptic) .“It contains the twelve constellations
which
constitute the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and from which they are named.
As
the nature of the zodiacal light—that elongated, luminous, triangular figure
which,
lying almost in the ecliptic, with its base on the horizon and its apex
at
greater and smaller altitudes, is to be seen only during the morning and
evening
twilights—is entirely unknown to science, the origin and real
significanće
and occult meaning of the Zodiac were, and are still, a mystery, to
all
save the Initiates. The latter preserved their secrets well. Between the
Chaldean
star-gazer and the modern astrologer there lies to this day a wide gulf
indeed;
and they wander, in the words of Albumazar, “‘twixt the poles, and
heavenly
hinges, ‘mongst eccentricals, centres, concentricks, circles and
epicycles”,
with vain pretence to more than profane human skill. Yet, some of
the
astrologers, from Tycho Braire and Kepler of astrological memory, down to
the
modern Zadkiels and Raphaels, have contrived to make a wonderful science
from
such scanty occult materials as they have had in hand from Ptolemy
downwards.
(See “Astrology”.) To return to the astrological Zodiac proper,
however,
it is an imaginary circle passing round the earth in the plane of the
equator,
its first point being called Aries 0º. It is divided into twelve equal
parts
called “Signs of the Zodiac”, each containing 30º of space, and on it is
measured
the right ascension of celestial bodies. The movable or natural Zodiac
is
a succession of constellations forming a belt of in width, lying north and
south
of the plane of the ecliptic. The precession of the Equinoxes is caused by
the
“motion” of the sun through space, which makes the constellations appear to
move
forward against the order of the signs at the rate of 501/3 seconds per
year.
A simple calculation will show that at this rate the constellation Taurus
(Heb.
Aleph) was in the first sign of the Zodiac at the beginning of the Kali
Yuga,
and consequently the Equinoctial point fell therein. At this time, also,
Leo
was in the summer solstice, Scorpio in the autumnal Equinox, and Aquarius in
the
winter solstice ; and these facts form the astronomical key to half the
religious
mysteries of the world-—the Christian scheme included. The Zodiac was
known
in India and Egypt for incalculable ages, and the knowledge of the sages
(magi)
of these countries, with regard to the occult influence of the stars and
heavenly
bodies on our earth, was far greater than profane astronomy can ever
hope
to reach to. If, even now, when most of the secrets of the Asuramayas and
the
Zoroasters
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are
lost, it is still amply shown that horoscopes and judiciary astrology are
far
from being based on fiction, and if such men as Kepler and even Sir Isaac
Newton
believed that stars and constellations influenced the destiny of our
globe
and its humanities, it requires no great stretch of faith to believe that
men
who were initiated into all the mysteries of nature, as well as into
astronomy
and astrology, knew precisely in what way nations and mankind, whole
races
as well as individuals, would be affected by the so-called “signs of the
Zodiac”.
Zohak,
or Azhi Dâhaka. The personification of the Evil One or Satan under the
shape
of a serpent, in the Zend Avesta. This serpent is three-headed, one of the
heads
being human. The Avesta describes it as dwelling in the region of Bauri or
Babylonia.
In reality Zohak is the allegorical symbol of the Assyrian dynasty,
whose
banner had on it the purple sign of the dragon. (Isis Unveiled, Vol. II.,
p.
486, n.)
Zohar,
or Sohar. A compendium of Kabbalistic Theosophy, which shares with the
Sepher
Yetzirah the reputation of being the oldest extant treatise on the Hebrew
esoteric
religious doctrines. Tradition assigns its authorship to Rabbi Simeon
ben
Jochai, AD. 80, but modern criticism is inclined to believe that a very
large
portion of the volume is no older than 1280, when it was certainly edited
and
published by Rabbi Moses de Leon, of Guadalaxara in Spain. The reader should
consult
the references to these two names. In Lucifer (Vol. I., p. 141) will be
found
also notes on this subject : further discussion will be attainable in the
works
of Zunz, Graetz, Jost, Steinschneider, Frankel and Ginsburg. The work of
Franck
(in French) upon the Kabalah may be referred to with advantage. The truth
seems
to lie in a middle path, viz., that while Moses de Leon was the first to
produce
the volume as a whole, yet a large part of some of its constituent
tracts
consists of traditional dogmas and illustrations, which have come down
from
the time of Simeon ben Jochai and the Second Temple. There are portions of
the
doctrines of the Zohar which bear the impress of Chaldee thought and
civilization,
to which the Jewish race had been exposed in the Babylonish
captivity.
Yet on the other hand, to condemn the theory that it is ancient in
its
entirety, it is noticed that the Crusades are mentioned; that a quotation is
made
from a hymn by Ibn Gebirol, A,D. 1050; that the asserted author, Simeon ben
Jochai,
is spoken of as more eminent than Moses; that it mentions the
vowel-points,
which did not come into use until Rabbi Mocha (AD. 570) introduced
them
to fix the pronunciation of words as a help to his pupils, and lastly, that
it
mentions -a comet which can be proved by the evidence of the context to have
appeared
in 1264. There is no English translation of the Zohar as a whole, nor
even
a Latin one. The Hebrew editions obtainable are those of Mantua, 1558;
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Cremona,
1560; and Lublin, 1623. The work of Knorr von Rosenroth called Kabbala
Denudata
includes several of the treatises of the Zohar, but not all of them,
both
in Hebrew and Latin. MacGregor Mathers has published an English translation
of
three of these treatises, the Book of Concealed Mystery, the Greater and the
Lesser
Holy Assembly, and his work includes an original introduction to the
subject.
The
principal tracts included in the Zohar are :—“ The Hidden Midrash”, “The
Mysteries
of the Pentateuch”, “The Mansions and Abodes of Paradise and
Gaihinnom”,
“The Faithful Shepherd”, “The Secret of Secrets”, “Discourse of the
Aged
in Mishpatim” (punishment of souls), “The Januka or Discourse of the Young
Man”,
and “The Tosephta and Mathanithan”, which are additional essays on
Emanation
and the Sephiroth, in addition to the three important treatises
mentioned
above. In this storehouse may be found the origin of all the later
developments
of Kabbalistic teaching. [w.w.w.]
Zoroaster.
Greek form of Zarathustra (q.v.).
Zumyad
Yasht (Zend). Or Zamyad Yasht as some spell it. One of the preserved
Mazdean
fragments. It treats of metaphysical questions and beings, especially of
the
Amshaspends or the Amesha Spenta—the Dhyân Chohans of the Avesta books.
Zuñi.
The name of a certain tribe of Western American Indians, a very ancient
remnant
of a still more ancient race. (Secret Doctrine, II., p. 628.)
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