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.

(See also: Theli, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Charaka caraka (Sanskrit) (from the verbal root char to wander, roam about)

Wanderer; a branch or school following the practices enjoined in the Yajur-Veda; in the plural, the teachings as well as the followers of the doctrine taught in a branch of the black Yajur-Veda.

Also the name of a legendary muni and physician, born in Panchanada, Kashmir, said to have been the physician of Indo-Scythian King Kanishka (1st or 2nd century). Once Sesha, the King of the Serpents, visiting the earth, found only sickness and suffering everywhere. Being the recipient from a divine source of the Ayur-Veda and having knowledge of all cures, he became filled with pity and determined to incarnate as the son of a muni in order to alleviate the ills of mankind.

Named Charaka, as he had come to the earth as a wanderer, he then composed a new work on medicine based on the older works of Agnivesa. He is commonly accepted as an avatara of the Serpent Sesha, "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" (TG 78).

(See also: Charaka caraka, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Several ancient peoples all over the world have described reptilian beings, and some have described reptilian humanoids. Common in numerous mythologies are tales of reptilian creatures (usually not humanoid) who are hostile to human beings. Also rather common are the myths of "Serpents of Wisdom" who enlightened humanity before the dawn of civilization; but it has been noted by mythologists that here "serpent" may only have been used to symbolize strangeness. Reptilian humanoid - The Americas. The Mayan god Gucumatz was described as a "ser ...

See also:

Reptilian humanoid, Reptilian humanoid - Mythological references to reptilian humanoids, Reptilian humanoid - The Americas, Reptilian humanoid - Europe, Reptilian humanoid - Indian, Reptilian humanoid - Asia, Reptilian humanoid - Mid-east, Reptilian humanoid - Africa, Reptilian humanoid - Australia, Reptilian humanoid - Alleged modern encounters, Reptilian humanoid - Modern claims, Reptilian humanoid - Claims about the Anunnaki, Reptilian humanoid - Popular writings about reptilian humanoids, Reptilian humanoid - Conspiracy theories, Reptilian humanoid - The Reptilian Brain, Reptilian humanoid - Political references to reptilians

Read more here: » Reptilian humanoid: Encyclopedia II - Reptilian humanoid - Mythological references to reptilian humanoids

Winged Globe, A very ancient Egyptian design of a globe borne on wings, with two uraei or mystic serpents on either side of the globe, incubating it with their breath.

The symbol signifies regeneration; also the passage from the illusory past through the present and into the illusory future, which all things of material type must undergo. It signifies the rebirth of the world from pralaya into manvantara, sinking again into pralaya, and again winging its way out of the vast womb and deeps of cosmic spatial consciousness into individualized existence.

It signifies the passing of entities from one imbodiment to another. The globe itself is symbolic of the center of consciousness; the wings signify the passage through time and space: the passage from planet to planet and from planet to sun; from sun to stars; and the return. The two serpents signify the mystic powers of consciousness and will; of life and death.

(See also: Winged Globe, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

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 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 Kamaloka and its uncouth monsters, the cast-off shells of mortals.

(See also: Cerberus, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Detractors have accused Death In June of being neo-Nazi, fascist, and racist. Protests have been staged and occasional performances cancelled due to these accusations. [16]. Justification for the cancellations stem from strong aversions to the symbolism of Death In June coupled with an interpretation of select lyrics as containing deliberate Third Reich-era imagery and tropes. When questioned about his interest in the Third Reich, Pearce has responded: "I've an interest in all aspects of the Third Reich. It has had such a huge influence on the world, who could fail to be intrigued by it? However, I've still read more pages of See also:

Death In June, Death In June - Crisis, Death In June - Early Death In June 1981-1985, Death In June - Live debut, Death In June - Introduction of folk music, Death In June - Tony Wakeford departs, Death In June - Nada! flirtation with dance music, Death In June - Patrick Leagas departs, Death In June - Mid-period Death In June 1985-1996, Death In June - Creation of World Serpent Distribution, Death In June - Collaboration with David Tibet, Death In June - Collaboration with Boyd Rice begins, Death In June - Collaboration with Erik Konofal, Death In June - Collaboration with John Murphy begins, Death In June - Contemporary Death In June 1996-present, Death In June - Collaboration With Albin Julius, Death In June - Demise of World Serpent Distribution, Death In June - Collaboration With Andreas Ritter, Death In June - Collaboration With Boyd Rice ends, Death In June - Neofolk music, Death In June - Influences, Death In June - Literary, Death In June - Musical, Death In June - Film, Death In June - Symbolism and aesthetics, Death In June - Masks, Death In June - Camouflage, Death In June - Totenkopf-6, Death In June - Whip-Hand, Death In June - Three Bars, Death In June - Runes, Death In June - The origins of the name, Death In June - Controversy, Death In June - Censored in Lausanne Switzerland, Death In June - Censored in Chicago Illinois, Death In June - Discography, Death In June - Albums And EPs, Death In June - Compilations, Death In June - Reference

Read more here: » Death In June: Encyclopedia II - Death In June - Controversy

Regeneration [from Latin re again + generare to beget]

Renewal, regrowth, spiritual rebirth; as rebirth follows upon death, regeneration follows upon destruction, hence it implies immortality. It is one meaning of the serpent or dragon symbol. The Holy of Holies of the Hebrews, and the King's Chamber in the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops, were symbols of regeneration with the ancients, but in certain materializing interpretations became transformed into symbols of generation. Siva in the Hindu Trimurti, sometimes described as representing destruction, is better called the regenerator. The end of one cycle is the birth of another, as typified in the rebirth of the year, the festival of Easter, etc.

Regeneration is also often used in those cases where the lower through inner regeneration becomes transformed into the higher.

(See also: Regeneration, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Zohak (Pahlavi) The Pahlavi translation of the Avesta personifies the serpent Azhi Dahaka into the Evil One, dwelling in Bawru (Babylonia). Zohak is represented as a man with two snakes' heads growing from his shoulders where he was kissed by Ahriman; "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" (TG 333). He usurps the throne of King Jemshid (Yima), and after ruling a thousand years he is vanquished by Prince Feridun (Thraetaona). But Zohak could not be slain; he was bound to Mount Davand, there to lie in bonds till the end of the world, when he shall be let loose and then be slain by Keresaspa.

In the Shah-namah of Firdusi, the figures in this myth become historical characters: "It is apparent, therefore, that by Zohak is meant the Assyrian dynasty, whose symbol was the purpureum signum draconis -- the purple sign of the dragon. From a very remote antiquity (Genesis 14) this dynasty ruled Asia, Armenia, Syria, Arabia, Babylonia, Media, Persia, Bactria, and Afghanistan. It was finally overthrown by Cyrus and Darius Hystaspes, after '1,000 years' rule. . . . Zohak probably imposed the Assyrian or Magian worship of fire upon the Persians" (IU 2:486).

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

Apap (Egypt, Egyptian), 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 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.

(See also: Apap, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Vahana (Sanskrit). A vehicle, the carrier of something immaterial and formless.

All the gods and goddesses are, therefore, represented as using vahanas to manifest themselves, which vehicles are ever symbolical. So, for instance, Vishnu has during Pralayas, Ananta 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 Brahma, descending into the planes of manifestations on Kalahamsa, the "swan in time or finite eternity"; Siva (phonet, Shiva) appears as the bull Nandi; Osiris as the sacred bull Apis; Indra travels on an elephant; Karttikeya, on a peacock; Kamadeva on Makara, 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, Aja, "the unborn"; Varuna, as a fish; etc., etc., while the vehicle of MAN is his body.

(See also: Vahana, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Main article: Serpent (symbolism) In Egyptian history, the snake occupies a primary role with the Nile cobra adorning the crown of the pharaoh in ancient times. It was worshipped as one of the Gods and was also used for sinister purposes including killing an opponent or for suicide as Cleopatra did. India is often called the land of snakes and is steeped in tradition regarding snakes. Snakes are worshipped as gods even today with many women pouring milk on snake pits (despite snakes' aversion for milk). The cobra is seen ...

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Snake, Snake - Evolution, Snake - Feeding, Snake - Skin, Snake - Perception, Snake - Internal organs, Snake - Locomotion, Snake - Reproduction, Snake - Snake bites, Snake - Snakes as pets, Snake - Venomous Snakes, Snake - Snake charmers, Snake - Snake trapping, Snake - Human consumption of snakes, Snake - Symbolism, Snake - Films, Snake - Classification

Read more here: » Snake: Encyclopedia II - Snake - Symbolism

DRAGON (lung, Chinese, rong, Vietnamese, ryu, Japanese, naga, Sanskrit) -

1. great beneficent being in Far East mythology which guards hidden treasures and heavenly mansions, presides over the weather and bestows rewards on deserving persons; traditionally represented with the horns of a deer, the head of a camel or horse, the eyes of a prawn or devil, the neck of a snake, the belly of a giant clam, the scales of a fish, the claws of an eagle, the feet of a tiger and the ears of a cow; symbol of Heaven, yang, energy, fortune, the Tao, virtue.

2. symbol of the defender of the Dharma in Buddhism.

3. one of an superhuman race of serpents in Hinduism.

4. dreadful beastie in Western mythology, which is forever carrying off maidens or laying waste the countryside, as in the tales of St. George, Perseus, Jason, Siegfried.

5. symbol of wisdom in the hermetic tradition and alchemy.

6. symbol of that which encloses and turns the psyche in on itself. (Joseph Campbell) (NAD)

(See also: DRAGON, Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Sun God, Sun Gods Sometimes applied to the cosmic logoi, which collectively are not only symbolized, but actually are represented by and through the septenary sun. Deities of masculine character are often called sun gods. Like the sun, a sun god may be on various planes, from that of a Logos to that of the absolute in various subordinate hierarchies.

Sun gods in mythology usually slay dragons, as Apollo slays Python, and often have serpents for their emblems, the serpent being dual in aspect -- high and low, inner and outer, active and passive, positive and negative, spiritual and material.

As in Egyptian mythology, Osiris the sun god manifests as Horus, his own son, who is also a sun god, in similar fashion sun gods are manifested in man and on the lower planes of nature; similar to the Egyptian Osiris we have Adonis, Bacchus, Krishna, Christ, etc., as the sun god or spiritual monad in man; and cosmically we find sun gods on various planes.

(See also: Sun God, Sun Gods, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)

Whatever the culture or continent, our species' earliest rainbow is the rainbow of the imagination. Whether as bridge, messenger, archer’s bow, or serpent, the rainbow has been pressed into symbolic service for millennia. The myriad rainbow bridges and myths built by the world’s peoples clearly tell us more about human hopes and fears than they do about nature’s rainbow. In Constantino Brumidi’s oil on canvas Apotheosis of George Washington, 1866 "America’s founding father wears a [calm] expression… as he is propelled heav ...

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Rainbows in mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Ancient beliefs, Rainbows in mythology - Sumerian mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Nordic mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Greek mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Australian aboriginal mythology, Rainbows in mythology - Biblical rainbows, Rainbows in mythology - Other mythologies

Read more here: » Rainbows in mythology: Encyclopedia II - Rainbows in mythology - Ancient beliefs

There was a single Sphinx in Greek mythology, a unique demon of destruction and bad luck, according to Hesiod a daughter of the Chimaera and Orthrus, or, according to others, of Typhon and Echidna— all of these chthonic figures. She was represented in vase-painting and bas-reliefs most often seated upright rather than recumbent, as a winged lion with a woman's head; or she was a woman with the paws, claws and breasts of a lion, a serpent's tail and birdlike wings. Hera or Ares sent the Sphinx from her Ethiopian homeland (for the Gre ...

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Sphinx, Sphinx - Egyptian sphinx, Sphinx - Greek Sphinx, Sphinx - Similar creatures, Sphinx - Mannerist Sphinx, Sphinx - 19th century and symbolism

Read more here: » Sphinx: Encyclopedia II - Sphinx - Greek Sphinx

The badge worn upon the College blazers is a red apple surrounded by a green serpent. It recalls the Reverend Jonathan Edward's preoccupation with the doctrine of original sin. It is borne aloud and not upon a shield. It was devised by the first Master and Fellows, and designed by H. Dillington Palmer B.A. 1924. It forms the silver head of the ebony mace of the College, hanging in the Master's Office as the symbol of authority. When a more formal device is desired for use on a decorative shield, banner, a ...

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Jonathan Edwards College, Jonathan Edwards College - History, Jonathan Edwards College - Namesake, Jonathan Edwards College - Badge and Crest, Jonathan Edwards College - Mascot: The Spider, Jonathan Edwards College - Miscellaney, Jonathan Edwards College - Notable Alumni

Read more here: » Jonathan Edwards College: Encyclopedia II - Jonathan Edwards College - Badge and Crest

Pulastya (Sanskrit) An ancient rishi, regarded as one of the mind-born sons of Brahma and the medium through which some at least of the Puranas were given to mankind. It is stated that he received the Vishnu-Purana from Brahma and then communicated it through Maitreya. He is also said to be the father of all the serpents, initiates, and nagas, and of other symbolical beings.

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

Cerberus (Greek) In Greek mythology, the three-headed dog with a serpent's tail, son of Typhon and Echidna, who guards the gate to Hades or the underworld. He was brought to the earth and back by Hercules as his twelfth labor.

Cerberus "came to the Greeks and Romans from Egypt. It was the monster, half-dog and half-hippopotamus, that guarded the gates of Amenti. . . . Both the Egyptian and the Greek Cerberus are symbols of Kamaloka and its uncouth monsters, the cast-off shells of mortals" (TG 74-5).

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

Epaphos (Greek) Son of Zeus and Io, in this case the sun and moon; in the Dionysos-Sabazian Mysteries, the son of Zeus and Demeter, who is also a moon goddess.

The birth of Epaphos, like that of Prometheus, symbolizes the entry of humanity on the upward arc of evolution after its descent into materiality. For Epaphos in one sense is the Logos, Zeus in the form of a serpent, and stands for the power that will carry humanity up again towards the spirituality from which it descended or fell -- plus the experience garnered as intellectual beings.

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

Draco (from Greek drakon dragon)

The dragon; a northern circumpolar constellation, within which is the pole of the ecliptic. But the name seems to have had different applications at different times and places; we hear it spoken of as a vast constellation extending through seven signs of the zodiac; also as the seven-headed Draco, each of whose heads is a star of Uras Minor; and again as the pole star. Draco was a symbol of the good serpent, the Messiah of the Naaseni.

See also DRAGON

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

Kuklos Anagkes, Kuklos Anankes (Greek) The circle or wheel of necessity; may stand for the journey of the disimbodied entity to the state of devachan and back to earth, which was at times symbolized by the serpent-mounds, the serpent swallowing his tail, and other emblems of the dragon, all of which among other things denote cyclic time. In the subterranean crypts of Thebes and Memphis were celebrated the sacred Mysteries of kuklos anankes, in which the candidates for initiation were given actual instructions in the inexorable laws traced for every disimbodied soul.

In addition, the circle of necessity refers to the wheel of time in its many intricate cyclings or whirlings, and to the peregrination or rounding through both the visible and invisible spheres of the hosts of monads during a cosmic manvantara, these taking place not only upwards and downwards, so to speak, but likewise having a distinct reference to the growth through unfolding by the monads of what is latent within them.

(See also: Kuklos Anagkes, Kuklos Anankes, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Sesha sesa (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root sish to leave a remainder or residue]

Remainder; the karmic remainders of the preceding cosmic manvantara which become the basis for the manifestation of the present manvantara. Also the name of the seven-headed serpent of space on which Vishnu rests during pralaya, representing the seven principles of the cosmos in which the spiritual or unmanifested universe remains until the period for its new manifestation arrives, thereafter to become manifest by degrees. Sesha or Ananta, the couch of Vishnu, is an abstraction symbolizing ever-continuing cosmic life in space, which contains the remainders or germs of the future manvantara, and throws off periodically the efflorescence of these germs as the manifested universe. But during a solar pralaya, the cosmic spirit from which all flows forth, reposes sleeping upon Sesha, the serpent of eternity, in the midst of the kosmic Deep. Hence Sesha is considered Vishnu's first vahana (vehicle) in the primordial water of space, before manvantaric activity begins.

This serpent is often mythologically represented as also having a thousand heads, referring to the thousand main divisions of abstract time into which pralaya or manvantara can be divided; and as supporting, after giving birth to them by emanation, the seven lokas and seven talas out of which the manifested hierarchies of the universe are formed during cosmic manvantara.

See also ANANTA-SESHA

(See also: Sesha, sesa, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)