Searchable Theosophical Texts
Theosophy House
The Theosophical Glossary
By
H P Blavatsky
Return to Searchable Text Index
The Secret Doctrine by H P Blavatsky
AUTHOR OF "
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
“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.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
“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 (
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
Ahan (
Ahankâra (
“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 (
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
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 (
Aindriya (
Indra.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
supreme god ( Îsvara ), instead of seeing in the name that of a
principle, an
abstract philosophical symbol.
Aitareya (
Veda. Some of its portions are purely Vedântic.
Aith-ur (Chald.). Solar fire, divine Æther.
Aja (
gods, but especially to the first Logos—a radiation of the Absolute
on the plane
of illusion.
Ajitas (
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
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”. (
Akbar. The great Mogul Emperor of
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
Akiba (Heb.). The only one of the four Tanaim (initiated prophets)
who entering
the
initiated while all the others failed. (See the Kabbalistic
Rabbis).
Akshara (
Akta (
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 (
rest.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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 (
The name belongs to the Tibetan system of the contemplative
Identical with Âkâsa in its mystic sense, and with Mulâprâkriti, in
its essence,
as it is the basis or root of all things.
Alba
mentioned in
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
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
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. (
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
oldest-extant alchemic treatise known in
it was written by Zosimus
the Panopolite about 400 A.D.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
(
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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
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 (
Hindu gods.
Amara-Kosha (
world and the most perfect vocabulary of classical Sanskrit ; by
Amara Sinha, a
sage of the second century.
Ambâ (
married each to a Rishi belonging to the Saptariksha or the seven
Rishis of the
constellation known as the Great Bear.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
Ambhâmsi (
“waters”. This epithet will become more comprehensible when we
remember that the
later type of Sanat-Sujâta was Michael, 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
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
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,
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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 (
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
Mysteries.
Amûlam Mûlam (
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 (
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 (
commentators.
Anâhata Shabda (
incipient stage of his meditation, The third of the four states
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
of Gautama, the Lord Buddha.
Ânanda-Lahari (
Sankarâchârya, a hymn to Pârvati, very mystical and occult.
Ânandamaya-Kosha (
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 (
Ananta-Sesha (
(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
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”.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
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 (
Augiras. One of the Prajâpatis. A son of Daksha ; a lawyer, etc.,
etc.
Angirasas (
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,
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
Prajâpatis.
Anjana (
Annamaya Kosha (
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 (
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
Ank, life. (See “Anuki.”)
Ansumat (
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
(
Anthropomorphism (Gr.). From “anthropos” meaning man. The act of
endowing god or
gods with a human form and human attributes or qualities.
Anu (
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
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
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
name. He is a psychopompic deity, “the Lord of 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
Mariette Bey having found the image of this deity in tombs of the
Third Dynasty.
Anugîtâ (
Books of the East.)
Anugraha (
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 (
Anumitis (
Anunnaki (Chald.). Angels or Spirits of the Earth; terrestrial
Elementals also.
Anunit (Chald.) The goddess of
evening star
was Ishtar of Erech.
Anupâdaka (
“self-existing”, born without any parents or progenitors. A term
applied to
certain self-created gods, and the Dhyâni Buddhas.
Anuttara (
unrivalled intelligence”, Anuttara Dharma, unrivalled law or
religion, &c.
Anyâmsam Aniyasâm (
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 (
“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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
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 (
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
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
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
beginning of the first century; an ardent Pythagorean, who studied
the Phœnician
sciences under Euthydemus; and Pythagorean philosophy and other
studies under
Euxenus of
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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
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
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
earthquakes, deaths of kings and other events, which he prophesied
duly
happened. At
initiate him into their peculiar mysteries, though they did so
several years
later. He preached to the people of
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
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
aged almost one hundred years.
Aporrheta (Gr.). Secret instructions upon esoteric subjects given
during the
Egyptian and Grecian Mysteries.
Apsaras (
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
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 (
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 (
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 (
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 (
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.]
“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.
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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 (
male and half female, a type of male and female energies combined.
(See occult
diagram in Isis Unveiled, Vol. II.)
Ardhanârîswara (
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 (
Arian. A follower of Arius, a presbyter of the Church in
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
who visited him and married Su-bhadrâ, his
---------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
sister, besides many other wives, according to the allegory. During
the
fratricidal war between the Kauravas and the Pândavas,
the highest philosophy, while serving as his charioteer. (See
Bhaguvad Gîtâ.)
month of Athyr, the boat of
Collyrian cakes or buns, marked with the sign of the cross (Tat),
were eaten.
This was in commemoration of the weeping of
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
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
“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).
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 ”.)
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.)
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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”.)
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.”
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.)
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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;
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
(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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.”
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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”
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
“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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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”.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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).
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
“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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.]
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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..
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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).
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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”).
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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”.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.)
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 ”.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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;
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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—
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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”
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
—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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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-
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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 ”.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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”,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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
---------
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
mystics. They are monks “militant” and warriors, if needed, as are
certain Yogis
in Rajputana and the Lamas in
Kioto, and are renowned for their
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
action of an elemental (bhût), who, drawn into the sensitive and
passive body of
a medium, takes possession of it. In other
---------
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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,
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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.]
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales-------
206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24-1DL
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
---------
http://www.theosophywales.org.uk
http://www.theosophycardiff.org
http://www.theosophywales.co.uk
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
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.)
The Secret Doctrine by H P Blavatsky
Searchable Theosophical Texts
Theosophy House
Quick Explanations with Links to More Detailed Info
What is Theosophy ? Theosophy Defined (More Detail)
Three Fundamental Propositions Key Concepts of Theosophy
Cosmogenesis Anthropogenesis Root Races
Ascended Masters After Death States
The Seven Principles of Man Karma
Reincarnation Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott William Quan Judge
The Start of the Theosophical
Society
History of the Theosophical
Society
Theosophical Society Presidents
History of the Theosophical
Society in Wales
The Three Objectives of the
Theosophical Society
Explanation of the Theosophical
Society Emblem
The Theosophical Order of
Service (TOS)
Glossaries of Theosophical Terms