Dream Dictionary Circle

A circular boundary drawn in visionary blue flames or white
light that protects the Witch from outside forces while
conducting ritual magick.

(See also: magick circle , Magic, Shamanism, Pagan Dictionary)

Magic Circle

Ring drawn by occultists to protect them from the spirits and demons they call up by incantations and rituals.

(See also: Magic Circle , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Ayurveda is the oldest surviving complete medical system in the world. Derived from its ancient Sanskrit roots - ‘ayus' (life) and ‘ved' (knowledge) – and offering a rich, comprehensive outlook to a healthy life, its origins go back nearly 5000 years. To when it was expounded and practiced by the same spiritual rishis, who laid the foundations of the Vedic civilisation in India, by organising the fundamentals of life into proper systems.

The main source of knowledge in this field therefore remain the Vedas, the divine books of knowledge they propounded, and more specifically the fourth of the series, namely Atharvaveda that dates back to around 1000 BC. Of the few other treatises on Ayurveda that have survived from around the same time, the most famous are Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita which concentrate on internal medicine and surgery respectively. The Astanga Hridayam is a more concise compilation of earlier texts that was created about a thousand years ago. These between them forming a greater part of the knowledge base on Ayurveda as it is practiced today.

The art of Ayurveda had spread around in the 6th century BC to Tibet, China, Mongolia, Korea and Sri Lanka, carried over by the Buddhist monks travelling to those lands. Although not much of it survives in original form, its effects can be seen in the various new age concepts that have originated from there.

No philosophy has had greater influence on Ayurveda than Sankhaya’s philosophy of creation and manifestation. Which professes that behind all creation there is a state of pure existence or awareness, which is beyond time and space, has no beginning or end, and no qualities. Within pure existence, there arises a desire to experience itself, which results in disequilibrium and causes the manifestation of the primordial physical energy. And the two unite to make the "dance of creation" come alive.

Imponderable, indescribable and extremely subtle, this primordial energy – which and all that flows from it existing only in pure existence – is the creative force of all action, a source of form that has qualities. Matter and energy are so closely related that when energy takes form, we tend to think of it in terms of matter only. And much modified, it ultimately leads to the manifestation of our familiar mental and physical worlds.

It also gives rise to cosmic consciousness, which is the universal order that prevades all life. Individual intelligence, as distinct from the everyday intellectual mind, is derived from and is part of this consciousness. It is the inner wisdom, the part of individuality that remains unswayed by the demands of daily life, or by Ahamkara, the sense of `I-ness’.

A Sanskrit word with no exact translation, Ahamkara, is a concept not quite understood by everyone as it is often misleadingly equated to `ego’. Embracing much more than just that, it is in essence that part of ‘me’ which knows which parts of the universal creation are ‘me’. Since ‘I’ am not separate from the universal consciousness, but ‘I’ has an identity that differentiates and defines the boundaries of `me’. All creations therefore have Ahamkara, not just human beings.

There arises from Ahamkara a two-fold creation. The first is Satwa, the subjective world, which is able to perceive and manipulate matter. It comprises the subtle body (the mind), the capacity of the five sense organs to hear, feel, see, taste and smell, and for the five organs of action to speak, grasp, move, procreate and excrete. The mind and the subtle organs providing the bridge between the body, the Ahamkara and the inner wisdom, which three together is considered the essential nature of humans.

The second is Tamas, the objective world of the five elements of sound, touch, vision, taste and smell – the five subtle elements that give rise to the dense elements of ether or space, air, fire, water and the earth – from which all matter of the physical world is derived. And it is Rajas, the force or the energy of movement, which brings together parts of these two worlds.

It is worth noting that even at the stage of the dense elements the philosophy of creation –which according to Sankaya is now and in the present, without any past and any future – is still dealing with aspects of existence beyond our simple physical realms. The point of contention being that we are the first and foremost spirit experiencing existence. To use Ayurveda in daily life, one has neither to accept nor even understand this philosophy. But it does provide a deeper insight into how Ayurveda works towards betterment of your health.

Ayurveda therefore is not simply a health care system but a form of lifestyle adopted to maintain perfect balance and harmony within the human existence, from the most abstract transcendental values to the most concrete physiological expressions. Based on the premise that life represents an intelligent co-ordination of the Atma (Soul), Mana (Mind), Indriya (Senses) and Sharira (Body). That revolves around the five dense elements that go into the making of the constitution of each individual, called Prakriti. Which in turn is determined by the vital balance of the three physical energies - Vata, Pitta, Kapha and the three mental energies - Satwa, Rajas,

Ayurveda thus offers a unique blend of science and philosophy that balances the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components necessary for holistic health.

(See also: Ayurveda , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Seven The fundamental number of manifestation, frequently found in the different cosmogonies as well as in many religious dogmas and observances of the different ancient peoples.

Although ten was called one of the perfect numbers by the Pythagoreans, seven was unique in their series of numbers because it has all the "perfection of the Unit -- the number of numbers. For as absolute unity is uncreated, and impartite (hence number-less) and no number can produce it, so is the seven: no digit contained within the decade can beget or produce it" (SD 2:582). Seven is the number of the manifested universe, while ten or twelve is the number of the unmanifested universe.

Pythagoras taught that seven was composed of the numbers three and four, explaining that "on the plane of the noumenal world, the triangle was, as the first conception of the manifested Deity, its image: 'Father-Mother-Son'; and the Quaternary, the perfect number, was the noumenal, ideal root of all numbers and things on the physical plane" (ibid.). Further, seven was called by the Pythogoreans the vehicle of life for it consisted of body and spirit: the body was held to consist of four principal elements, while the spirit was in manifestation triple, comprising the monad, intellect or essential reason, and mind.

There are innumerable instances of sevening -- the seven days of the week, the seven colors of the spectrum, the seven notes of the musical scale -- while special emphasis is placed upon the seven human and cosmic principles; the seven senses (five senses now in manifestation and two more to be attained in the future through evolutionary unfolding); the seven cosmic elements; the seven root-races and seven subraces; the seven kingdoms, human and below; the seven rounds; the seven lokas and talas; the seven manifested globes of the planetary chain; the seven sacred planets; the seven racial buddhas; the seven dhyani-bodhisattvas and -buddhas; the seven Logoi; etc.

Man as well as nature is called saptaparna (seven-leaved plant), symbolized by the triangle above the square {illust}. While the senary was applied to man in all ranges from the physical to the spiritual, when completed by the atman, thus making the septenary, the latter signified the entire range of the constitution, whether of man or nature, crowned by the immortal spirit.

In Hindu literature the number seven continually appears: the saptarshis (the seven sages), the seven superior and inferior worlds, the seven hosts of deities, the seven holy cities, the seven holy islands, seas, or mountains, the seven deserts, the seven sacred trees, etc. In Greece seven was often connected with the gods and goddesses: Mars had seven attendants, seven was sacred to Pallas Athene and to Phoebus Apollo -- the latter with his seven-stringed lyre playing hymns to septenary nature as well as to the seven-rayed sun; Niobe's seven sons and seven daughters, etc.

Apart from mythological considerations, in physical life manifestations of the number seven occur continuously: "if the mysterious Septenary Cycle is a law in nature, and it is one, as proven; if it is found controlling the evolution and involution (or death) in the realms of entomology, ichthyology and ornithology, as in the Kingdoms of the Animal, mammalia and man -- why cannot it be present and acting in Kosmos, in general, in its natural (though occult) divisions of time, races, and mental development?" (SD 2:623n).

Seven is indeed the sacred number of life, and with the circle and the cross it forms a triad of primordial symbols of the ancient wisdom.

(See also: Seven , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Lamp: The spiritual focus of the circle is the flame of the lamp, which is always lit during rituals, and which resides in the middle of the altar top. The absolute magical center of the circle is the invisible point where the flame of the lamp tapers up and vanishes into infinity. Usually a ceramic or metal oil lamp is used, but a candle is acceptable. Some groups maintain a perpetual flame on their altars. This is beyond the reach of small circles or individuals, but the flame should be maintained without failing in the astral temple in the mind of each ritualist. This is the true occult perpetual lamp.

The flame is the focus of the awareness of those working the ritual. They direct their prayers to it and meditate upon it. The point at which it disappears into infinity marks the doorway in the Veil of Unknowing, which the ritual is designed to open. The flame should be conceived by the Magus as burning in the center of his or her being, throwing its light across the circle of self. When the circle is filled with light, the self is purified and exalted.

(See also: Lamp , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

aura: The luminous colorful field of subtle energy radiating within and around the human body, extending out from three to seven feet. The colors of the aura change constantly according to the ebb and flow of one's state of consciousness, thoughts, moods and emotions. Higher, benevolent feelings create bright pastels; base, negative feelings are darker in color. Thus, auras can be seen and "read" by clairvoyants.

The general nature of auras varies according to individual unfoldment. Great mystics have very bright auras, while instinctive persons are shrouded in dull shades. The aura consists of two aspects, the outer aura and the inner aura. The outer aura extends beyond the physical body and changes continuously, reflecting the individual's moment-to-moment panorama of thought and emotion. The inner aura is much more constant, as it reflects deep-seated subconscious patterns, desires, repressions and tendencies held in the sub-subconscious mind. Those colors which are regularly and habitually reflected in the outer aura are eventually recorded more permanently in the inner aura. The colors of the inner aura permeate out through the outer aura and either shade with sadness or brighten with happiness the normal experiences of daily life.

The inner aura hovers deep within the astral body in the chest and torso and looks much like certain "modern-art" paintings, with heavy strokes of solid colors here and there. In Sanskrit, the aura is called prabhamandala, "luminous circle," or diptachakra, "wheel of light."

See: mind (five states of mind), papa, punya.

(See also: Aura , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Cherub, Cherubim kerub, kerubim (Hebrew) A celestial, sacred, occult being in Hebrew mythology; in the Old Testament various descriptions are given of the Cherubim, the prevailing one being that of winged entities with four faces, those respectively of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. In Genesis, they are the guardians of Paradise; in Exodus (25:18-22) their images are to be placed in the mercy-seat and also in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 6:23-35), but their most frequent association is with the throne or chariot of Yahweh (Jehovah).

 In Ezekiel and the Qabbalah the Cherubim are represented as the four holy living creatures. "These four animals are, in reality, the symbols of the four elements, and of the four lower principles in man. Nevertheless, they correspond physically and materially to the four constellations that form, so to speak, the suite or cortege of the Solar God, and occupy during the winter solstice the four cardinal points of the zodiacal circle" (SD 1:363).

In the ancient Syrian system of enumerating the hierarchies, the Cherubim were equivalent to the sphere of the Stars. In the Jewish Qabbalah a close association is made with them and the four letters of the Tetragrammaton, YHVH; and further with the world of `Asiyyah. In the system of hierarchies propounded by Dionysius the pseudo-Areopagite, the Cherubim rank second in the first trinity: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones. But the Cherubim have a still more mystical connection: "the four celestial beings are . . . the protectors of mankind and also the Agents of Karma on Earth" (SD 1:126).

In the Hebrew Qabbalah the Kerubim are the class of angels or quasi-spiritual beings corresponding with the lower Shechinah or Malchuth, the lowest or tenth of the Sephiroth. Again, "the word cherub also meant serpent, in one sense, though its direct meaning is different; because the Cherubim and the Persian winged (gryphes)

'griffins' -- the guardians of the golden mountain -- are the same, and their compound name shows their character, as it is formed of (kr) circle, and 'aub,' or ob -- serpent -- therefore, a 'serpent in a circle' " (SD 1:364). The color blue is associated with the Cherubim, as the color red is with the Seraphim.

(See also: Cherub, Cherubim, kerub, kerubim , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Chakra:

This word has a number of meanings. Amongst them, a spinning circle, a diagram formed more or less in the shape of a circle, a center of energy radiating from a central point within the body and also a cycle or procession of events that recurs in a circular fashion. This is also the word used to describe a chart such as in the two-word combination of rasi chakra, which means the chart, or circular formation of the signs of the zodiac. The best single word for defining chakra is circle.

(See also: Chakra , Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Six-pointed Star The double triangle or Solomon's Seal; in India called the sign of Vishnu, where it "is the emblem of the Trimurti three in one. The triangle with its apex upward indicates the male principle, downward the female; the two typifying, at the same time, spirit and matter."

(IU 2:270; cf also diagrams in IU 2:264-5, 452-3) The six-pointed star is found in symbolical representations of the earliest cosmogonies. When the six-pointed star is formed of two interlaced equilateral triangles -- one light with the apex pointing upward, the other dark with the apex pointing downward, both triangles being symmetrically placed with regard to one central point -- and the double figure is surrounded by a circle, the sign represents the universe, spirit and matter, the alpha and omega in the cosmos, and involution and evolution. In the Qabbalistic presentation of the figure, instead of a circle surrounding the star a serpent is portrayed as swallowing its tail, as in the seal of the Theosophical Society:

This is the Egyptian symbol of time and eternity, and of ever-recurring cycles: of birth and death, manvantara and pralaya, to which the universe and every entity within it are subject. In theosophy it symbolizes further the six forces or powers of nature, the six cosmic planes, principles, etc., all synthesized by the seventh, or central point within the star.

The apex of the light triangle symbolizes the spiritual-divine monad, having its habitat in the spiritual-divine realms; the apex of the dark triangle, the human monad, having its habitat in the middle realm of conflict between spirit and matter, the apex itself being in the worlds of manifestation, the two sides extending from it reaching upwards towards the spiritual realm and representing evolution through aspiration and efforts towards a spiritual life. On the other hand, the two sides extending downwards from the apex of the light triangle represent the rays streaming from the spiritual-divine monad to enlighten, inspire, and uplift all beings in the manifested worlds. In the case of man, the human monad represented by the apex of the dark triangle is the reflection or child of the spiritual-divine monad or inner god.

The central geometrical point, having neither length, breadth, nor thickness, represents the invisible spiritual sun, the light of the unmanifested deity. Sometimes instead of a geometrical point, a crux ansata with a circle as its zenith appears -- symbol of limitless, uncreated space, as is a cross within a circle.

Again, the pentagram or five-pointed star may take the place of the central point, in which case the pentagram symbolizes the microcosm or man, within the macrocosm or universe. "The double triangle representing symbolically, the Macrocosm, or great universe, contains in itself besides the idea of the duality (as shown in the two colours, and two triangles -- the universe of Spirit and that of Matter) -- those of the Unity, of the Trinity, of the Pythagorean Tetractys -- the perfect Square -- and up to the Dodecagon and the Dodecahedron" (BCW 3:313).

See also SENARY; SEAL OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY

(See also: Six-pointed Star , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Zero [from Arabic sifrom an empty thing cf cipher]

As a mathematical idea, the absolute zero obtained by the subtraction of equal quantities (expressed by a - a), or the ideal zero denoting the imaginary limit of an infinite diminution (expressed by the quotient a/b, where a is indefinitely smaller than b). In physical measurement, a lower limit or point of origin, as in the zero of a scale or the absolute zero of temperature.

As a symbol, the absence of all number or quantity, necessary in our system of notation in order to preserve the principle of positional value by occupying positions which would otherwise be filled by one of the nine digits. In scales of notation where the radix is other than 10, the value of the zero sign would be altered correspondingly. Though in one sense no number, yet in ordinal reckoning it has to be counted as a member of the series.

Its symbol, the circle, represents at once nothing and everything; it is the symbol of boundless infinity; and a circle may be defined either as a single undivided and unterminated line, or as an infinite number of infinitely short lines. Ends meet; there is no essential difference between the infinitely great and infinitesimal. The zero point is the vanishing point, the laya or neutral state. In mathematics it is the neutral position between the series of positive and negative numbers. It is also the neutral state of matter between two planes; when physical matter is reduced to the zero or laya-state, it is ready to become manifest on the next higher plane, or vice versa. The same applies to consciousness and its planes.

Absolute nihility is a term which has no meaning in reality; and we find in algebra that a to the 0 power = 1, which is a formulation of the fact that an entity in the zero state is not abolished but is still a monad. The symbol , or unity within zero, symbolizes manifest divinity, the hierarchical universe, and complete man -- in other words, full manifestation, all contained within the monad having emanated from it and established the unfolded entity; and a symbol which also is sometimes numerically figurated as 10. These two symbols, the circle denoting immaculate mother nature, and the line denoting the fructifying spirit, make up the number ten in the denary scale of notation.

The use of the zero to secure position value in a scale of decimal nation came to us, through the Arabs, from India. Modern scholarship seeks among the records of antiquity for some date which it may assign as the origin of decimal notation; but the fact that other systems were in use does not prove that it was unknown, as it may have been kept secret; and indeed we have other systems, besides the decimal, in use of the earth today. In discussing the matter we must distinguish between the decimal notation with the zero, and a mere method of counting in groups of ten and using special signs for ten, a hundred, etc. Blavatsky points to the symbolical character of the upright stroke and the circle, as denoting the number ten and also the masculine and feminine principles; the inference being that the antiquity and universality of this symbol implies a knowledge of decimal notation.

(See also: Zero , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Cycles (from Greek kyklos circle, wheel)

The law of cycles arises out of the ever-unceasing alternations of the Great Breath of spirit in the universe. Abstract absolute motion, as the worlds evolve, assumes an ever-growing tendency to circular movement.

Hence arise the wheels and globes of cosmic evolution and the rounds of the evolutionary life-waves. Motion is repetitive, ever returning to similar, but not identical, points. The geometrical symbol is the helix, which combines the cyclic with the progressive motion; if the axis of the helix is itself a circle, a vortex results, and thus wheels within wheels as the process advances to further degrees of complexity.

"The ancients divided time into endless cycles, wheels within wheels, all such periods being of various durations, and each marking the beginning or 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 that of Cassandrus of 136,000, which brought about a complete change in planetary influences and their correlations between men and gods . . ." (Key 327).

See also BRAHMA'S DAY; HESIOD, AGES OF; ROOT-RACE; ROUND; YUGA; etc.

(See also: Cycles , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Seal of the Theosophical Society

Composed of a serpent in the form of a circle (Ananta-sesha) biting its tail -- standing for eternity and boundless wisdom.

Its scales signify the illimitable diversity of wisdom or truth, and likewise the innumerable smaller cycles within boundless duration. The circumscribed swastika at the meeting point of the head and tail is a practically universal ancient emblem portraying evolution, the endless movement of spirit in and through matter.

Within the large circle formed by the serpent are two interlaced triangles (called in India the seal of Vishnu, in the West the seal of Solomon). The white triangle pointing upwards denotes the spiritual fire of consciousness, concealed wisdom, or spirit. The downward-pointing black triangle, sometimes colored blue or red, refers to the manifested worlds of matter, or to wisdom revealed in the worlds of manifestation. The two triangles interlaced form a six-pointed star, which means the manifested Logos, or the third cosmic emanation of the ineffable One. Again, the six-pointed star refers to the six general forces or powers of nature, the six principles, the six planes -- which are represented as being all synthesized by their origin, the seventh, when a point or dot is placed within the star, for this point is what Pythagoras called the Monas monadum (the monad of monads).

"The double triangle -- the Satkiri Chakram of Vishnu -- or the six-pointed star, is the perfect seven. In all the old Sanskrit works -- Vedic and Tantrik -- you find the number 6 mentioned more often than the 7 -- this last figure, the central point being implied, for it is the germ of the six and their matrix. It is then thus . . . {drawing]

-- the central point standing for seventh, and the circle, the Mahakasha -- endless space -- for the seventh Universal Principle. In one sense, both are viewed as Avalokitesvara, for they are respectively the Macrocosm and the microcosm. The interlaced triangles -- the upper pointing one -- is Wisdom concealed, and the downward pointing one -- Wisdom revealed (in the phenomenal world). The circle indicates the bounding, circumscribing quality of the All, the Universal Principle which, from any given point expands so as to embrace all things, while embodying the potentiality of every action in the Cosmos. As the point then is the centre round which the circle is traced -- they are identical and one, and though from the standpoint of Maya and Avidya -- (illusion and ignorance) -- one is separated from the other by the manifested triangle, the 3 sides of which represent the three gunas -- finite attributes. In symbology the central point is Jivatma (the 7th principle), and hence Avalokitesvara, the Kwan-Shai-yin, the manifested 'Voice' (or Logos), the germ point of manifested activity; -- hence -- in the phraseology of the Christian Kabalists 'the Son of the Father and Mother,' and agreeably to ours -- 'the Self manifested in Self' -- Yih-sin, the 'one form of existence,' the child of Dharmakaya (the universally diffused Essence), both male and female. Parabrahm or 'Adi-Buddha' while acting through that germ point outwardly as an active force, reacts from the circumference inwardly as the Supreme but latent Potency. The double triangles symbolize the Great Passive and the Great Active; the male and female; Purusha and Prakriti. Each triangle is a Trinity because presenting a triple aspect. The white represents in its straight lines: Gnanam -- (Knowledge); Gnata -- (the Knower); and Gnayam -- (that which is known). The black -- form, colour, and substance, also the creative, preservative, and destructive forces and are mutually correlating . . ." (ML 345-6).

Within the star is placed the crux ansata, the handled cross or tau, one aspect of which is the particularized functions or activity of spirit in matter so far as our own world is concerned, and more especially insofar as intelligence is working upon cosmic matter. It is a symbol often associated with the adept or initiate as typifying his union with spiritual intelligence rather than with the powers and potencies of unspiritualized life in the material world.

When Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott went to India in 1879, the Sanskrit word Aum was placed above the seal, while below it was added the phrase: Satyan nasti paro dharmah (there is no religion [law]

higher than truth [reality]) which was adopted as the motto of the Theosophical Society.

In some respects the seal of the Theosophical Society is similar to the personal seal of Blavatsky: however, in place of the tau within the interlaced triangles, her seal had the initials E B (E standing for Elena, pronounced Yelena in Russian, and B for Blavatsky). Inside the circle are astrological and Qabbalistic signs stated by some to refer to Blavatsky herself, while above the seal is a countess' coronet belonging to her family.

The seal of the Theosophical Society can be said to refer to a universe expanding into manifestation from its origin in cosmic spirit, emanation picturated by the comprehending serpent of space and duration. Just as the serpent periodically sheds its old skin, a universe, after a period of rest or dormancy, is again emanated, the child of its former self, for another period of cosmic manifestation.

(See also: Seal of the Theosophical Society , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Great Rite

The ritual act, usually Wiccan, of sexual intercourse performed between the high-priestess and the high-priest, or between the high-priestess and a coven member.

Originally performed in the midst of the circle, then later performed apart from the circle. Now usually performed symbollicly by placing the sword in the cup.

(See also: Great Rite , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Egg One of the most comprehensive symbols, equally suggestive in a spiritual, physiological, and cosmological sense. Among other things, it stands for primordial chaos, the universal matrix, the great Deep, the Virgin Mother, and also for the kosmos or world egg produced from it. As chaos or space, it is the virgin egg, unproduced; this is fructified by the spiritual ray, and from it then issues the Third Logos.

"The Virgin-egg being in one sense abstract Egg-ness, or the power of becoming developed through fecundation, is eternal and for ever the same. And just as the fecundation of an egg takes place before it is dropped; so the non-eternal periodical germ which becomes later in symbolism the mundane egg, contains in itself, when it emerges from the said symbol, 'the promise and potency' of all the Universe . . . The simile of an egg also expresses the fact . . . that the primordial form of everything manifested, from atom to globe, from man to angel, is spheroidal, the sphere having been with all nations the emblem of eternity and infinity" (SD 1:64-5).

As the symbol of generation, birth, and rebirth, it is "the most familiar form of that in which is deposited and developed the germ of every living being" (IU 1:157), used not only on account of the mystery of apparent self-generation, but from its spheroidal shape, the sphere and circle both being symbols of encompassing space.

The egg symbol appears in many cultures. In the Laws of Manu, for instance, it is stated that the Self-existent Lord, becoming manifest, created water alone; in that he cast seed which became a golden egg (hiranyagarbha); having dwelt in that egg for a divine year, Brahma splits it, forming heaven and earth. Brahma thus both fructifies the egg and is produced from it. Again, the female evolver or emanator is first a germ, a drop of heavenly dew, a pearl, and then an egg; the egg gives birth to the four elements with the fifth (akasa); it splits, the shell being heaven, the meat earth, and the white the waters of both space and earth. Vishnu, too, emerges from the egg. In Egypt, Osiris is born from an egg, like Brahma; the egg was sacred to Isis and therefore the priests never ate eggs.

The egg is used in Easter celebrations as the symbol of the renewal of life. The Easter egg derives from the pagan custom of exchanging eggs at the birth-time of the year. Originally it had a deep esoteric hint completely lost sight of today where the custom is still held in the Occident, although commonly candies in the shape of eggs are exchanged. Giving a fellow disciple an egg in the old Mystery schools suggested the rebirth of nature, so apparent in the springtime, or again the initiation ceremonies that prevailed at the spring equinox, thereby expressing the hope that he too might at some time be "reborn," able to free his spiritual nature from the enveloping shell as a chick frees itself from the egg.

Sometimes the word is used for the circle or zero, for the egg combines the senses of fertility and sphericity in one symbol. The egg with its central germ is the circle with the point. In company with the stroke for the masculine power in nature -- sometimes represented as a vertical line -- it makes the number 10, or the figure of relatively perfected or complete emanation. The egg was the symbol of life in immortality and eternity, and also the glyph of the generative matrix. The anatomy of a hen's egg shows a wonderful analogy with the stages in comic evolution and the human principles.

See also BRAHMANDA; WORLD EGG

(See also: Egg , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Kabbalah of China. 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 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.

(See also: Kabbalah of China , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

One By itself the One represents not pure unalloyed spirit, which is signified by the zero -- the all-containing womb of space and being -- but is the First Logos or Pythagorean Monas monadum (monad of monads). From this monad of monads flows forth through emanation the duad, then the triad, and then the entire manifested universe of interlocking hierarchies, emanated from the cosmic womb of being or the zero through the First Logos or the One of primordial manifested spirit.

"The sacredness of numbers begins with the great First -- the one, and ends only with the nought or zero -- symbol of the infinite and boundless circle which represents the universe. All the intervening figures, in whatever combination, or however multiplied, represent philosophical ideas, from vague outlines down to a definitely-established scientific axiom, relating either to a moral or a physical fact in nature. They are a key to the ancient views on cosmogony, in its broad sense, including man and beings, and the evolution of the human race, spiritually as well as physically" (IU 2:407).

The circle, zero, or nought is the symbol of the All, equivalent to Non-being, in contradistinction to being or the number One. With the Pythagoreans number One was equivalent to the cosmic monad, the Odd: odd numbers were considered by them to be perfect or celestial and the even numbers imperfect, manifested, or terrestrial. The cosmic One, the First Logos, alone was cosmic unity and therefore good and harmony, because no disharmony is to be found in the unitary One alone.

Yet "in all such numerical divisions the One universal Principle, -- although referred to as (the) one, because the Only One -- never enters into the calculations. It stands, in its character of the Absolute, the Infinite, and the universal abstraction, entirely by Itself and independent of every other Power whether noumenal or phenomenal" (SD 2:598). Here the cosmic One is intimately intertwined with the universal zero, the last being equivalent to the universal All. Analogies in different systems of thought are numerous; for instance, the cosmic zero corresponds to parabrahman-mulaprakriti, whereas the cosmic One or monad corresponds to Brahman.

See also UNITY

(See also: One , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

World Serpent or Snake Ideas connected with the world snake are not those associated with the legend of a hero slaying a serpent but with a more profound concept. In the Hindu system, there is Ananta-Sesha, the serpent of infinity; in the ancient Scandinavian cosmogony, the world serpent Nidhogg, is represented as encircling the globe with its tail in its mouth. The same representation is found in the Egyptian teachings:

"In the oldest Egyptian imagery, as in the cosmogonic allegories of Kneph, the mundane snake, when typifying matter, is usually represented as contained within a circle; he lies straight across its equator, thus indicating that the universe of astral light, out of which the physical world evolved, while bounding the latter, is itself bound by Emepht, or the Supreme First Cause. . . . When the serpent represents eternity and immortality, it encircles the world, biting its tail, and thus offering no solution of continuity. It then becomes the astral light" (IU 157).

Another interpretation of the snake in the circle is that "The active is attracted by the passive principle and the Great Nag [Ananta-Sesha], the serpent emblem of the eternity, attracts its tail to its mouth forming thereby a circle (cycles in the eternity) in that incessant pursuit of the negative by the positive" (ML 71).

A sublime conception has also its human analog: the world serpent as the cosmic naga or grand universal 'Adam Qadmom, the sublime cosmic initiate, the cosmic wisdom which lives from manifesting universe to manifesting universe as its Purusha or spirit. It is the source of cosmic laws, wisdom, and life which infill the universe of which each such world serpent is the divine originating cause. The same thought in its human application refers to the great adept or master of wisdom and love.

(See also: World Serpent, Snake , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Sacred Four Used in the Stanzas of Dzyan in speaking of the primordial principles in cosmogenesis as numbers:

"I. The Adi-Sanat, the Number, for he is One.

II. The Voice of the Word, Svabhavat, the Numbers, for he is One and Nine.

III. The 'Formless Square.' (Arupa).

And these three enclosed within the O (boundless circle), are the sacred four" (SD 1:98).

The triad forms within the circle the tetraktys or sacred four, the square within the circle being the most potent of all magical figures.

The kumaras, though seven in number, are called the four, because the four chief of them sprang from the fourfold mystery. It is one of the several meanings of the swastika. This sacred four has to be distinguished from the manifested four or quaternary.

The most sacred oath of the Pythagoreans was "by the Sacred Four," or tetraktys.

See also ADI-NIDANA; ADI-SANAT; ARUPA; SVABHAVAT

(See also: Sacred Four , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Sat (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root as to be]

Being; the real, the enduring fundamental essence of the world, "for Sat is in itself neither the 'existent,' nor 'being.' Sat is the immutable, the ever present, changeless and eternal root, from and through which all proceeds. But it is far more than the potential force in the seed, which propels onward the process of development, or what is now called evolution. It is the ever becoming, though the never manifesting. Sat is born from Asat and ASAT is begotten by sat: the perpetual motion in a circle, truly; yet a circle that can be squared only at the supreme Initiation, at the threshold of Paranirvana" (SD 2:449-50).

Sat is not Being, but Be-ness, since whatever is manifested is something phenomenal, not ever-lasting. Sat (pure being), chit (pure thought), and ananda (bliss) together signify the state of the Absolute.

In the Vedanta, used as the self-existent or universal spirit.

(See also: Sat , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Physical Organs Natural history reveals that the organs of the body acquire a greater individual importance, and in some cases occupy a larger proportion of the organism, as we ascend from the lower to the higher animal forms. G. de Purucker points out that "Every one of the organs of the human physical body, both collectively and distributively, is the organic representative in man's physical sheath or body of one part or portion of his complex inner and invisible constitution. . . . every one of the monadic centers in man's being . . . has its own corresponding organ in the physical body, each such organ functioning in the body as much as it can according to the characteristic or type-activity of its inner and invisible cause. Thus the heart, the brain, the liver, the spleen, etc., is, each one, the expression on the physical plane and in the human physical body of a corresponding consciousness-center in the invisible constitution of the sevenfold man" (ET 961-2n).

There are manasic as well as kamic organs. The brain and heart are "the organs of a power higher than the Personality" (BCW 12:367; or St in Oc 89). The liver is called the kamic organ; the spleen is the vehicle of the linga-sarira. Of the rhythmic tides of vital air in the chest, it is said: "The primeval current of the life-wave is then the same which assumes in man the form of the inspiratory and expiratory motion of the lungs, and this is the source of the evolution and involution of the universe" (q from Nature's Finer Forces Rama Prasad, BCW 12:356 or Studies in Occultism 76). The uterus, within which a new manifestation of life appears, corresponds physically to the universal matrix -- cosmic space -- the fertilized cell being the point in the circle where differentiation begins. The eyes, from one standpoint at least, are the most occult of our senses. The fibers of the large optic nerves are interrelated with special organs of the senses and sensations -- optic thalami, pineal and pituitary glands, etc. -- which are grouped around the center of the brain.

Further, "every human organ and each cell in the latter has a key-board of its own, like that of a piano, only that it registers and emits sensations instead of sounds. Every key contains the potentiality of good or bad, of producing harmony or disharmony" according as the impulse comes from the higher or lower nature (BCW 12:368-9 or St in Oc 91). Memory has no special organ of its own in the brain, but has seats in every organ of the body. The whole body is a vast sounding board in which each cell bears a long record of impressions connected with its parent organ, and also it has a memory and consciousness of its own kind. These impressions are, according to the nature of the organ, physical, psychic, mental, or again mixed, as they relate to this or another plane, there being states of instinctual, mental, and purely abstract or spiritual consciousness. The physiological functions and reciprocal workings of cells and organs are in the body automatically directed by a "universally diffused mind" throughout that body, which is beyond all material analysis. Because of this intelligence operating throughout the organism, physiology is destined someday "to become the hand-maiden of Occult truths" (BCW 12:139; or Studies in Occultism 105).

On a larger scale, each organ has its own rhythm or vibratory rate of response to cosmic eternal motion. The response is animated by a "vital principle without which no molecular combinations could ever have resulted in a living organism, least of all in the so-called 'inorganic' matter of our plane of consciousness" (SD 1:603). The breaking of the normal rhythm of one organ disturbs that of all the rest, which accounts for the many reflex symptoms that often appear.

The general principles of occult physiology underlie and coordinate the numerous details of chemical, microscopic, and biological research. The human organism illustrates the modern scientific view of the electronic nature of matter. In man, the positive and negative phases of the one Life unite to manifest in functional currents of vitality; all of which has a significant bearing on the prevailing medical recourse to organotherapy, the end results of which are not recognized, as such, since they operate on inner lines of force. Each animal body -- human or beast -- is a complex organism whose various parts are vibrating in consonance with the synthetic character of its own evolutionary status of vital matter and conscious force -- its selfhood. Hence, the injection of the physiologic essence of any one creature's organs into the life-currents of another, aiming to give a certain impetus to functional reaction, inevitably adds a subtly disturbing foreign element. The same physical matter composes all animal bodies, so that the human and beast life-atoms are interchangeable, but such interchange is governed or regulated by extremely occult causal relations which raise their action outside or above the plane of human interference. Organotherapy, as at present understood and practiced, is a divergence from nature's normal processes, having no analog in nature which, in turn, provides resources of wholesome remedial matter. These artificial mixtures of both physical and superphysical forces, involve vital issues beyond the ken of research laboratories. The end results of unbalanced forces might be sought among the increase in cases of malignant, degenerative, and mental and nervous disorders, with their unequilibrated operation of functioning vitality and of consciousness.

Pi The mathematical symbol for the incommensurable ratio of the circumference of a circle to the length of its diameter, and for corresponding ratios in plane and solid geometry. Its incommensurability is a particular instance of the impossibility of expressing geometrical magnitudes exactly in number. Bearing in mind that there is a geometrical key to interpretation of cosmic law and structure, and that the facts of geometry cannot possibly be arbitrary or meaningless but must be faithful representations of general laws; then we shall understand that the ratio {pi sym}, involving such radial and important elements as the straight line and the circle, must be of paramount importance. The figures, either for approximate decimal evaluations or approximate fractional ratios, play an important part in the symbology of the ancient mystery-language. These figures and the numbers which they make are found in the numerical values of letters and words in the Hebrew and Greek alphabets. The problem of squaring the circle by a purely geometrical construction does not involve the use of {pi sym} at all.

(See also: Physical Organs , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

In this article, the author share a simple and very powerful way of combining drumming with clearly expressed intentions together forming your own strong prayer. This technique can be used by anyone and adopted to suit your own personal need.

Read more here: » Spiritual Music: Song Alchemy - Drumming for spiritual awakening

Western writers tend to describe silence in negative terms. We grow up with images of "the eerie silence of the night", "the disturbing silence of the graveyard", "the hollow sounds of loneliness".

In the East, silence is synonymous with bliss. Whether one is visiting an isolated temple on a hilltop, or at the samadhi of a saint, one gets a feeling of peace and harmony. Silence is of two types. The external silence that can be easily created in a sound-proof room. It is the other, the internal silence, which is difficult to achieve.

(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)

Read more here: » Peace of Mind: The Circle of Positive Energy - Silence