The Ouroboros: That Which Devours Itself

The Ouro (tail) boros (eating) (He who eats the tail) goes back to the Egyptians and possibly further back to Babylon or Sumer. Greece, China, India, Japan, the Middle East, Romans, and Native Americans have all had some form of art that represented this symbol. Freemasons, and Theosophical societies often reference it as well. The double Ouroboros or symbol for infinity, when flipped vertically, represents the As Above, So Below concept as well.

The first record of the Ouroboros in Egypt

The Ouroboros represents Eternity, The Zodiac (Precession of the Equinoxes), Winter/Summer Solstices, Reincarnation, Immortality, and the Cycles of the Universe and of Life itself. This Ouroboros is notably a double, with a Dragon and a Serpent. This also incorporates the concepts of Heaven and Earth, of Mind and Body into the greater idea. This symbol has also been associated with alchemy as a purifying glyph. The Ouroboros slays himself and brings himself to life again, fertilizes himself and gives birth to himself. This is much like the cycle of the Phoenix, the feminine archetype.

Within the Ouroboros is a double tetrahedron or six sided star. There are many meanings behind this. The double tetrahedron can be referred to as the interdimensional vehicle for travel, the Merkaba. It also incorporates the Duality, Male and Female, the Blade (upward pointing triangle) and Chalice. The blade represents the Physical, and the Chalice represents the Spiritual realm. The Star of Solomon can also represent Jerusalem.

If one marks the shadows of the sunrise at the Summer and Winter Solstices at the latitude of Jerusalem one creates an angle of exactly 60º. The Masonic compass is opened to an angle of 60º. The Square, with its angle of 90º, represents the northern British Isles, and Scotland.

The Square and Compass is the Blade and Chalice, God and Goddess in the act of Creation, and within the Star we find the Heavenly Luminaries or the Eyes or Spirits of God (the Planets).

The symbols on the star represent the astrological portion of the symbol, Jupiter, Venus, the Moon, Mercury, Mars and Saturn, with the Sun being at the center. Zoroaster’ teachings mentioned earlier in the thread as Thoth or Hermes, would be responsible for the seven petal flower depicted at the center.

The Caduceus

The Spiraling Snakes

More commonly seen as the medical symbol, this is known as the Caduceus of Hermes. The spiral effect indicates an expansion of knowledge, and the undulating dance of cosmic forces. The double snakes of the caduceus also represent duality and the unification of polar opposites, as well as displaying balance and integration polarities in order to strike harmony. Such dualities include:

Asleep/Awake
Illness/Health
Separation/Unity
Male/Female
Left/Right
Binding/Loosing
Wax/Wane
Water/Fire
Sun/Moon
Yin/Yang
Light/Dark
Good/Evil
Upper/Lower

If you take it a step further, you notice the dual intertwined snakes form a double helix DNA strand; Serpent DNA specifically. If the serpent is a biological anthropomorphism of DNA, then we can attribute the Ouroboros to cycles of DNA change.

The Staff

Vertical rods/constructs are considered archetypal symbols of the phallus. As the dual serpents address the concept of gender, the staff serves as an emissary of transference between body and mind, physically and spiritually. The rod could also be viewed as a conduit between the mundane and ethereal.

The Wings

The wings are symbolic of ascension, awareness from a higher self, messages from the divine. They may also be interpreted as a means of travel and serve as a protective icon for all wayfarer’s.

In alchemy, the caduceus represents the conjugation of sulphur (male) and quicksilver (female). This symbol also infers the synthesis of opposites with the goal of unification and transformation.

Caduceus means “herald’s staff of office” in Greek, and the center rod was a symbol of Hermes who was the messenger of the Elohiym.

A more primitive version of the Caduceus or its origins, could have possibly been based on Quetzalcoatl, the winged serpent.

The Double Lion

Guardians of knowledge
Guardians of a gate

Heavily associated with freemasonry, Leo, the Lion, the Double Lion, Routi, refers directly to the Sun as being a source of knowledge. Leo, is one of the constellations of the Zodiac. The Zodiac, is a direct reference to the Sun. The Sun’s position at midday during the time of the Egyptians coincided with the midsummer solstice. Leo was a constellation of the summer.

The theme of Illumination, Knowledge, or Secrets being kept “under the Lion’s Paw” is a recurring motif.

Qing “Guardian Lions” holding some objects with their right paws. One is holding a baby lion, the other a Flower of Life sphere.

Note the double lion guarding the start of the Alchemical process shown in this picture.

The Kabbala (Tree of Life)

Just as the symbolic rod of Caduceus, the Tree of Life connects the expanse between Earth to Heaven. In Hebrew, the word Kabbalah means “reception.”

The Biblical story of Jacob’s ladder describes a pathway through these dimensions, and the name Jacob itself tells us many things.

Ja: Jachim the white pillar
Ob: Boaz the black pillar

The ‘C’ in the middle of the name JaCob is Cheth, which means ‘container’, ‘house’ or ‘vehicle’.

An entire formula is described in a simple name. Jacob is the vehicle which ascends through the white and black pillars of the Tree of Life.

The Tree of life represents the seven dimensions.

The Old Testament tells us that the Garden of Eden contained two trees. One, the Tree of Life which represents the science of life and being. It is the World Tree of the Mayans and the Tree of Life of the Aztecs. This is the same tree called Buddhi under which the Buddha found enlightenment. To the mystic jewish people the study of this Tree of Life is called Kabbalah.

The ‘fall’ from Eden was the fall from the astral plane to the physical plane of Malkuth. The fall only occurred when Eve was separated from Adam and the androgynous nature ceased to exist. The separation created a craving that is the hunger for unity which is manifested in sexual desire; The most powerful and basic of all human and non-human forces, in the universe.

Ancient Kabbalah tells us that this is Yesod on the Tree of Life. Yesod means ‘Foundation’ and it exists on the astral plane, signifying the androgynous ancestor of humanity existed on a more subtle level.

The Tree of Life is also a map of man and a map of man’s soul. Now of the Tree of Life, Adam and Eve were free to eat, but of the Tree of Knowledge they were forbidden.

Knowledge in Hebrew is Daath and it is a hidden sphere situated in the above picture where the mans head is. This invisible sphere is traditionally never spoken of or revealed. Daath is the science of the Great Mystery.

The Tree of Knowledge is a sexual mystery. The concept of “Knowledge” in the Bible relates to sexuality. To ‘know’ is sexual.

Genesis 4:1
“And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived…”

“And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived.” – Genesis 4:17

Genesis 19:18
“Behold now I have two daughters which have not known man.”

Genesis 24:16
“The maiden was very beautiful, a virgin whom no man had known.”

Luke 1:34
“Then said Mary unto the angel; How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”

What has this sexuality to do with the fall of Adam and Eve?

The ancient symbol of the Caduceus of Hermes explains the mystery…

The Caduceus represents the androgynous nature found in every person. This is rectified in every tradition:

Taoist – Male/Yang Female/Ying
Biblical – Male/Adam Female/Eve
Hindu – Male/Pingala Female/Ida
Kabbalah – Male/Od Female/Ob

The root of these entwined serpents is Yesod, the Foundation, the sexual organs.

On the Caduceus you will see that the two serpents are entwined upon the staff. The staff is the spinal cord. The spine has 33 vertebrae symbolized by the 33 years of life of Yeshua and the 33 degrees of Masonry.

When the serpents rise up the spinal staff, (Kundalini) the mind is awakened and men become like Elohiym. The serpent speaks of this:

Genesis 3:4-5
“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
“For YHWH knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like HIM, knowing good and evil.”

Eating of the Tree of Knowledge led to the discovery of the orgasm also known as “the forbidden fruit”. By tasting of the forbidden fruit Adam knew desire. With desire comes an entanglement which brings about other feelings, and results in suffering. Once you know desire, the concepts of good and evil become subjective to feeling pleasure and avoiding suffering.

The ancient Skanda Purana tells us:

“Desire caused all the Elohiym to fall from their places…And it is desire which leads all creatures to hell.” – Skanda Purana 1.1.21

Desire always leads to suffering. Desire is the fall from Eden and has seven symptoms:

Laziness
Envy
Lust
Greed
Pride
Gluttony
Anger

These are the seven heads of the seven-headed beast of Revelations and desire is…

Revelations 17:5
“The mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”

If you know the crucifixion well, you will know that above Yeshua’s head was placed the inscription I.N.R.I.

This is commonly thought to say Iesus Nazareth Rex Iudorum or Yeshua the King of the jewish people. However these initials have two much deeper meanings: Isis Naturae Regina Ineffabilis (Isis, Ineffable Queen of Nature) and Igni Natura Renovatur Integra (All of Nature is Renewed by Fire).

There is a deeper meaning:

Roman:
I.
N.
R.
I.

Hebrew:
Yod.
Nun.
Resh.
Yod.

Egyptian:
Virgo, Isis, Mother.
Scorpio, Aphopis, Destroyer
Sol, Osiris, Slain and Risen.
Isis, Aphopis, Osiris..

Greek:
I.A.O.

The mystery formula called I.A.O. conatins the greatest mystery of the Western Mystery Tradition. The basic formula of IAO is of life, death, and rebirth.

In Magick (1997, Ch. 5), Aleister Crowley states that IAO is

“the principal and most characteristic formula of Osiris, of the Redemption of Mankind. ‘I’ is Isis, Nature, ruined by ‘A’, Apophis the Destroyer, and restored to life by the Redeemer Osiris.”

Crowley defines, “IAO is the formula of magick. It is the way things reproduce and recreate themselves through extension and specialization.” (The Book of Wisdom and Folly) ‘I’ represents the monad or the phallus. Its actions do not produce change within, but only “out of itself.” ‘O’ represents the yoni or the female, which changes through addition, subtraction or multiplication. It represents matter that is capable of taking on form. The union of the ‘I’ and the ‘O’ would create the triad, or the world formed by the two creative principles out of matter. ‘A’ would then represent the conjunction between these two principles.

I.A.O. is the highest possible form of initiation. It is Yeshua crucified and resurrected on the cross, it is the Buddha enlightened beneath the tree, it is Mohammed returned from the desert with revelations. It is the key to the entire system of esoteric knowledge.

I – Isis, innocence, beginning.
A – Apophis, destroyer, ordeal
O – Osiris, rebirth, new understanding

This is the formula that defines the entire Western Mystery Tradition.

Iao is also the name of the unknown Elohiym.

Jewish historian Joseph Furst tells us:
“The very ancient name of God, Yâho, written in the Greek Iao, appears, apart from its derivation, to have been an old mystic name of the Supreme deity of the Shemites. (Hence it was told to Moses when initiated at HOR-EB — the cave, under the direction of Jethro, the Kenite or Cainite priest of Midian.) In an old religion of the Chaldeans, whose remains are to be found amongst the Neo-platonists, the highest divinity enthroned above the seven heavens, representing the Spiritual Light-Principle and also conceived as Demiurgus, was called Iao, who was, like the Hebrew Yâho, mysterious and unmentionable, and whose name was communicated to the initiated. The Phoenicians had a Supreme God whose name was trilateral and secret, and he was Iao.”

Psalm 68:4 tells us;

“Praise him by his name Iach
Who rides upon the heavens, as on a horse,”

Historian Philip Dunlap tells us:
“the Arabs represented Iauk (Iach) by a horse. The Horse of the Sun (Dionysus).”

IAO or Iach is the Gnostic sun-god, he is Abraxas, the mystery-god.

There is a greater mystery to IAO formula.

Eliphas Levi explains:

“The snake as a symbol of rebirth following death is an ancient, yet ever-present conception which can be traced through endless patterns of sculpture, painting, verse, and the myths of gods, demigods, or heroic mortals. This is so because during its yearly period of hibernation the snake sheds its skin and reappears as if renewed. The wisdom of the serpent, which is suggested by its watchful lidless eye, lies essentially in mankind’s having projected into this lowly creature his own secret wish to obtain from the earth a knowledge he cannot find in waking daylight consciousness alone. This is the knowledge of death and rebirth forever withheld except at those times when some transcendent principle, emerging from the depths, makes it available to consciousness.”

IAO is the nameless Elohiym, the secret serpent, the serpent which tempted Eve and brought initiation to mankind.

The yoni is a symbol of the female life-giving organ and is symbolic of regeneration and new life. Another name for the Yoni is the Vescica Piscis or “Vessel of the Fish”.

The female genital organ has always been associated with the sea and you see it in names like Mary (Mar = sea), the mother of the solar-phallic. Mary or Maria is the same personage as Maia (the sea-mother of the phallic Elohiym Mercury) with the solar ‘R’ in her womb.

Another name for the Yoni is the Mandorla. The Mandorla “Almond,” is used in Oriental art to signify the divine female genital. Almonds were holy symbols because of their female, yonic connotations. Almonds had the power of virgin motherhood, as shown by the myth of Nana, who conceived the Elohiym Attis with her own almond. The candlestick of the jewish people tabernacle of the Ark was decorated with almonds for their fertility magic (Exodus 25:33-34). Also, if you turn to Numbers 17:8 you will read that Aaron’s rod brought forth almonds.

The word Yoni itself is a Sanskrit word which means “the power of the middle passage”. Now when you interlock two you will see that a Yoni is created. The two circles are the male and female interlocked in sexual union from whose created yoni (middle passage) life comes forth.

The Hindus named the Great Mother, “a virgin named Fishy Smell, whose real name is Truth.” The symbolism of the vesica pisces (vessel of the fish) becomes more apparent. Goddesses have always had close relations with the sea, the old myths of mermaids, sea phantoms…

According to ancient traditions, existence began as a circular chaotic energy, formulating within its roundness the necessary elements of life. Symbols such as the Cosmic Egg and the Great Womb all stem from an observation of the cycle of life and death and the circular flow of nature and such symbolism even found its way to Christianity.

The Halo for example, symbolic of divinity, was a circular crown placed above the head of YHWH, Yeshua, Mary, the Saints, etc. Halo originally comes from the Greek word halos meaning “threshing floor”. This is a term depicting an ancient round clearing where sacred circular harvest dances were performed. These fertility festivals were named “Haloa”.

In the East we find that the goddess Kali is said to have as one of her forms the circle. Kali is also known as the “keeper of the wheel of time”. The ancient Vedas describe God as, “An unbroken circle with no circumference, for it is nowhere and everywhere.” A later Western adaptation of the above was the saying; “God is a circle whose circumference is nowhere and whose center is everywhere.”

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The Mysteries of Masonry.

The symbol of Masonry is the square and compass. The square represents the earth and the compass represents the sky, and the square and compass when united represent the sky impregnating the earth with its showers. The symbol is the Yoni.

Another important symbol of Masonry is the trowel, which of course is a V shape;

If you look back at ancient history, and study the symbolic meaning of the V you will discover that it is frequent particularly in early fertility cults. If you study the wriitings of Sir James Frazer, you will find that this symbol is found everywhere throughout the world wherever a fertility cult was in existence. The V (like the chalice) represents the female pubic region and in the Masonic symbol of the trowel this is combined with the middle diamond which represents a woman’s open yoni.

In our world we assume that sex and religion don’t have anything to do with each other, because we have been taught, that sex is a sin. However, in the ancient past sex was seen as a very sacred act, because it creates life. This is true even in Hinduism today as whole temples are devoted to the sacredness of sex.

This is also true of the vagina because pre-historic people believed that the whole world was born from the womb of the Great Mother. For this reason they worshipped the vagina as the source of all life. Later on, religion made sex a sin and claimed that the vagina was, “unclean” as an attack on the earlier Goddess religions.

Another symbol for the phallus is the cross. The cross predates Christianity by many centuries. The cross was only adopted as a symbol of Christianity as late as the 9th Century. The early Christians did not use it, and in fact the original symbol of Christianity was of a shepherd bearing a sheep on his shoulders.

The cross is an ancient symbol and its original meaning is always phallic and representative of a solar-sexual nature. When the cross is combined with a circle it is no different to the Lingam Yoni of the orient. The cross being the phallus, and the circle the yoni.

Tarot Major ArcanaThe Major Arcana of the tarot consists of 22 cards, with records of the Tarot existing in Egyptian times. The tarot has 22 cards as does the number of paths in the Qabbalah/Kabbalah Tree of Life. There are also 22 chromosomes in the human DNA. There are also 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

The main focus for the As Above, So Below concept is The Magician or Magikan. Oddly enough The Magician is associated with Mercury, the same planet as Hermes. It displays:

Power
Action
Awareness
Application
Resourcefulness

The Magician Tarot card deals with the ability to utilize every resource available to us. When we think of the Magician, we must understand that there is no question of power. He at number 1 and he is 1 and at one with himself and all creation.

The Magician has absolute power over all circumstances. He is in control of his own thoughts, and therefore the ruler of reality. The Magician is the bridge between the world of the spirit and the world of humanity.

His right hand holds a staff raised toward the sky and his left hand points to the earth. He takes the power of the Universe and channels it through his own body and directs it to the physical plane. His magical table holds all four suits of the Tarot, each of which represents one of the four primordial elements of the alchemists – earth, air, fire and water. These symbolise the appropriate use of mind, heart, body and soul in the process of manifestation. The Magician’s robe is white, symbolising the purity and innocence found in the Fool but his cloak is red, representing worldly experience and knowledge. In the bed of flowers at his feet this duality is repeated in the mix of pure white lilies and thorny red roses.

The key focus areas which I discussed previously are now very clear.

Lemniscate or the Double Ouroboros

The Lemniscate symbolizes the endless, infinite nature of energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed. The infinity symbol above the Magician’s head illustrates that he understands the energy of his thoughts always lead to infinite consequence.

The Ouroboros

The Magician tarot card meaning is that energy is endless, and our ability to manipulate energy is key. The Ouroboros around his waist further signifies the concept of rebirth and regeneration. The Magician understands that rebirth occurs in each moment; Another source of his power. Most importantly, it is a symbol that stands for the maxim “one is all” which is the highest philosophy for the Magician.

The Elements: A wand, A cup, A pentacle, and A sword

The Magician is keenly aware that we are born prepared to live our lives. We each have the tools and resources within us to use at our whim. This is indicated by all the symbols of the suit shown within the Magicians grasp. The Magician realizes that he is the master of these tools, they are not his master. The Magician reminds us that everything we need to live our best life is available to us as long as we master the gifts of potential, and not become slaves to our circumstances.

This is separate of the Mason numerical system. It is just to show commonly used symbols.

I’m to lazy go back and fix it…”Known”

Note the Solar Cross