HERMETICISM DESCRIPTION AND BELIEFS
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The Shorter Answer Hermeticism is an ancient spiritual, philosophical, and magical tradition. It is a path of spiritual growth. Hermeticism takes its name from the God Hermźs Trismegistos (Greek, "Thrice-Greatest Hermes"), a Gręco-Egyptian form of the great Egyptian God of Wisdom and Magic, Thōth. What the Hermetic Fellowship defines as Hermeticism has also been called the Western Esoteric Tradition, and embraces the Perennial Philosophy or the Ageless Wisdom. Generally, the following can be said to be characteristic of the positive form of Hermeticism advocated by the Hermetic Fellowship.Hermeticism: Considers humanity to be on a spiritual journey to return to a state of unity with the Divine; this is the Great Work of humankind. Holds that if we would attain to the Divine, we must aspire to the Divine; spiritual growth cannot be achieved without human effort Is eclectic and draws material from sources spanning the entire Western Esoteric Tradition Is polytheistic, yet ultimately monotheisitic (i.e., posits a multiplicity of Manifestations of the Divine Which emanate from an ultimate Divine Unity) Holds that the Divine is both immanent and transcendent Holds that the Universe is Divine and basically good Teaches that when we seek the Divine, we may best begin with the Mysteries of Nature Encourages spiritual curiosity Understands that human beings can access the Subtle Realms through technique and aspiration; to this end, it embraces theurgy, meditation, ritual, and other spiritual and magical practices Urges those who seek the Divine to also seek balance in embracing all things Is a poetic rather than an ascetic worldview The Longer Answer The Historical Background of Hermeticism The Corpus Hermeticum and other Hermetica The Beliefs and Values of Hermeticism The Historical Background of HermeticismHermes & ThothHermeticism takes its name from the God Hermes Trismegistos or Thrice-Greatest Hermes. Trismegistos, in turn, was so-called because of His identification with the great Egyptian God of Wisdom and Magic, Thoth. Thōth is a Greek attempt to phonetically render Tehuti, the late antique form of the very ancient Egyptian name Djehuti. In an effort to express Tehuti's majesty, when writing His name Egyptian scribes would often append the epithet Ao, Ao, Ao (literally "Great, Great, Great," meaning "Greatest"). Greeks and Greek-speaking Egyptians translated the Egyptian epithet as Trismegistos, also using it for 'their' Thoth --- Hermes. Just as Thoth was considered the all-wise font of sacred knowledge and author of all sacred books in Egypt, so in the Gręco-Roman world, and later, in Renaissance Europe, Hermes Trismegistos was considered to be an unimpeachable authority on things sacred and author of the influential body of literature known as the Hermetica. Hermetic SyncretismHermetism (the original Hermetic source from which the broader tradition of Hermeticism derives) was one of the many products of the meeting of the ancient Hellenic and Egyptian cultures in the centuries surrounding the beginning of the Common Era. Hermetism, described most simply, combined Egyptian and Greek theology, philosophy, and spiritual practice. But of course, it was not that simple. Perhaps the principle reason the origin of Hermetism is complex is that it found its most fertile home in the great syncretic Gręco-Egyptian metropolis of Alexandria, when that city was the cultural capital of the Mediterranean under the Pax Romana. Religious and philosophical wisdom flowed from many cultures into the city, the great spiritual Krater or Mixing Bowl which gave birth to the new synthesis of religion, philosophy, and practice which was Hermetism. Nominally Egyptian, and attributed to the Egyptian God Thoth in the guise of an enlightened ancient master, the Hermetic elixir was composed of ingredients from all the great Traditions active in Alexandria. To the millennia-rich stock of Egyptian religion, philosophy, and magic were added many elements from Greek Paganism (itself influenced throughout its development by Egypt, Anatolia, Phoenicia, and Syria), particularly the Mysteries and the philosophical schools of Platonism, Neo-Platonism, Stoicism, and Neo-Pythagorism; Alexandrian Judaism, with its Angelology, Magic, and deep reverence for the sacred Book; the many forms of Christianity (Gnostic and otherwise); Persian Zoroastrianism, with its deep concern with good and evil; as well as the new developments springing up alongside Hermetism and cross-fertilizing with it, such as Alchemy and Iamblichan Theurgy.Modern Hermeticism maintains this spiritual eclecticism, exploring and assimilating what is compatible and valuable from the Traditions with which it comes into contact, and sharing its own insights with other Traditions.Hermetic PhilosophiesThere was almost certainly not a single late antique Hermetic School; the conspicuous philosophical diversity in the surviving Hermetic treatises seems to preclude this. Instead the writings of the early Hermetists display the same independent spirit we recognize among members of the alternative spirituality community today. Probably they studied together in small groups, often with a single teacher and a group of students, on the model of the Hellenic philosophical schools. Some Hermetists, inspired by the Divine, inevitably added their own new insights and revelations to the Hermetic teachings. As do modern Hermeticists, the ancient Hermetists considered their Tradition a living, evolving Path, changing to reflect the results of their search for Divine Truth --- not merely as an abstract philosophical concept, but as a very real, very personal part of their spiritual lives.Hermeticism Banished --- and ReturnedWhen Christianity was adopted as the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Hermetism was suppressed along with the whole vast range of non-Christian religions, cults, sects, and schools that had flourished in the Empire, as well as the many forms of Christianity now perceived as competitors with the wealthy and powerful Church of Rome. Yet, against all odds, some few of the Hermetic books dealing with philosophy, mysticism, and particularly those dealing with Alchemy, were preserved through the long Middle Ages by scholars and collectors in Greek Byzantium. The group of texts now known as the Corpus Hermeticum finally returned to the Latin West during the Italian Renaissance when the Florentine philosopher prince Cosimo de Medici obtained a set of manuscripts from one of his agents in the Greek East and commissioned the scholar, priest, magician, and philosopher Marsilio Ficino to translate the Corpus into Latin.Yet these were, after all, Pagan texts. How was it that these Pagan scriptures could be even passably acceptable in the very Christian world of Renascimento Italy? The solution was in the form of a fortuitous mistake. Two centuries before the advent of European textual criticism, Ficino and the other Renaissance philosophers, magicians, and artists who studied the Hermetic texts accepted the largely legendary pseudo-historical milieu claimed for themselves by the Hermetica (much as Biblical scholars for centuries uncritically accepted late pseudepigraphic texts as ancient history) and believed that the Hermetic texts were far more ancient than they actually were. Ficino therefore believed that Hermetic philosophy was an ancient forerunner of Christianity rather than its contemporary. So when the Hermetic texts showed influence from Jewish or Christian myth, this was understood not as the syncretism of a late age, but as the prophetic prefiguring of an earlier one. As such, the Hermetica could be viewed as predicting the supposed triumph of Christianity and their obvious Paganism forgiven, just as the Hebrew "Old Testament" could justifiably, in spite of its Judaism, be studied by Christians for its Messianic prophecies, all of course applied to Jesus by the Church. Because of this mistaken assumption of prophetic antiquity, conjoined with the self-proclaimed Orphic Ficino's simultaneous re-interpretation of Magic in a much brighter and less controversial form than that of the Medięval period (which itself contained many clandestinely preserved elements of Hermetism), the new figure of the Hermetic Renaissance Magus entered the cultural consciousness of the era. Ficino's 'Natural Magic' moved out of the shadows of the grimoires and once more into the light of general philosophical and theological consideration. A student at Ficino's Florentine Platonic Academy, the brilliant and daring enfant terrible Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, added the crucial catalytic element of the Jewish Qabalah to the new Pagan-Christian Hermetic amalgam, and transformed Hermetism forever. It is here that Hermeticism was born of ancient Hermetism, once more entering into a syncretic union, this time with Christianity, Renaissance Neo-Classicism and Humanism, Natural Magic, and Qabalah. The resulting vigorous Hermetic influence spreading out from the court of the Medicis and the Academy of Ficino clearly served as one of the most potent inspirations for the spiritual, artistic, and scientific renewal of the Renaissance.Hermeticism as Western Esoteric TraditionIn addition to the religious and philosophical traditions already mentioned, Hermeticism has of course included the beauty of Rosicrucianism since the 17th century, and has illuminated the symbolic ritual of Freemasonry since the 18th. It was the motivating force behind the foundation of the most influential esoteric schools of the fin de siecle --- Theosophy, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and the Martinism of Papus --- and the great Occult Revival to which they gave birth, and has strongly influenced the 20th-century Pagan Renaissance.The profoundly influential work of psychologist C.G. Jung may also reasonably be considered a Hermetic legacy with its Alchemical symbolism, god-like archetypes, and concern with the subtle realms of the psyche. Letters survive in which a correspondent reported to Jung that she had come across the concepts of Animus and Anima in the 18th-century British novel Tristram Shandy, and asked Jung if he had been inspired by the book. He replied that he had been unaware of the occurrence of the ideas in the book and could only assume that Sterne, the author, had been privy to the teachings of the esoteric --- probably Rosicrucian --- circles of his day, clearly indicating Jung's acknowledgement of his own indebtedness to the Hermetic Tradition.Today, as we draw near the dawn of a new millennium, many groups --- such as the Hermetic Fellowship --- are the inheritors of the still vibrant Hermetic Current.The Corpus Hermeticum and other HermeticaTopics Addressed by the HermeticaHermeticism has always valued not only oral teaching, but spiritual knowledge passed on by teachers through the medium of books. The original Hermetic books, those attributed to Hermes Trismegistos, are called the Hermetika (usually Latinized as Hermetica). They address a wide range of topics, including discussions of the cosmic principles, the nature and orders of Being and beings, the human yearning to know the Divine, mysticism, magic, astrology, alchemy, and medicine. Scholars generally place the individual texts of the Hermetica, somewhat arbitrarily, in one of two camps: the 'philosophical' and religious Hermetica, or the 'technical' --- that is, magical or theurgic --- Hermetica. Dating of the HermeticaThe main philosophical Hermetic texts which have come down to us are contained in the Corpus Hermeticum, a collection of approximately 17 treatises originally composed in Egypt and written in the Greek language. The exact date for the composition of the texts is unknown, but most scholars place at least the main texts of the Corpus in the second or third centuries CE. Technical Hermetica range more broadly, and are tentatively dated to a period spanning the first century BCE to the fourth century CE. It is quite possible, however, that at least some of the texts were based on significantly earlier models. Inscriptions prove that Hermes Trismegistos was already a name for Thoth at Saqqara as early as the second century BCE.Other HermeticaIn addition to the texts contained in the Corpus there are many other writings ascribed to Hermes Trismegistos, and as such, are by definition, Hermetica. Among these are the famous Asclepius (originally entitled The Perfect Discourse), which is both philosophical and magical, and texts such as The Ogdoad Reveals the Ennead, which is a philosophical and mystical Hermetic text not in the original Byzantine anthology translated by Ficino, but added to the Hermetic collection after being discovered in the Gnostic library at Nag Hammadi. There are also a significant number of the Gręco-Egyptian Magical Papyri said to be the work of Hermes Trismegistos. It may even be, given Thoth's position as Great Divine Magician, that the first Hermetica were not the philosophical texts such as those in the Corpus Hermeticum and the Nag Hammadi find, but were technical, that is, magical texts. The structure of the Hermetic texts, whether philosophical or technical, are often in the form of dialogues between a teacher and one or more students. The Hermetica as Sacred TextsThe Hermetica form one of the bases for the philosophy, beliefs, and values of modern Hermeticism, along with many other texts of the Western Tradition. While the Hermetica are considered sacred texts in that they provide important information on matters of a sacred nature and can be extremely profound and valuable guides on the spiritual path, neither they nor any other text are considered infallible or without contradiction.The Beliefs of HermeticismThe Perennial PhilosophyThe Hermeticism of the Hermetic Fellowship is also called the Western Esoteric Tradition, and embraces that essential outpouring of the Light known as the Philosophis Perennis, the Prisca Theologia, the Wisdom Tradition, and the Ageless Wisdom. Esoteric legend holds that this is a body of spiritual teachings that have been passed down through the millennia from generation to generation, teacher to student. The Tradition is said to have been the inner impetus for the blossoming of arts and sciences in many ages and the common inspiration of that which is truest in the world's religions. As we've seen even in the extremely brief history above, in the case of Hermeticism, the legend is at least partly true. While Hermeticism came into its own in the first millennium CE, it drew on yet more ancient Egyptian, Greek, and other traditions as its sources. In turn, it passed that knowledge on to most of the major Western esoteric movements of the past two thousand years. Furthermore, Hermeticism truly has inspired both artists and scientists throughout that period, from Botticelli to Dee to Newton to Cezanne. Characteristics of HermeticismThe Hermetic Tradition is not a single dogmatic school of thought or one particular spiritual system. Rather, it is a living body of knowledge and practice that springs from a common root while bearing a variety of blossoms. As in the original Hermetic schools, a stimulating diversity of views and experiences may be found in contemporary Hermeticism, although there are some broad characterizations that can be made.The following particularly apply to the Hermeticism of the Hermetic Fellowship. Each of these characteristics has legitimate historical precedent and would be shared by many, but certainly not all, Hermetic groups operating today.EclecticismJust as Alexandrian Hermeticism drew on a wide variety of religious and philosophical traditions, so modern Hermeticism explores a broad range of spiritual paths within the Hermetic, or Western Esoteric, Tradition. For the Hermetic Fellowship, these paths include --- but are not limited to --- the Ancient Mystery Religions, Qabalah, Alchemy, Rosicrucianism, Gnosticism and other types of esoteric Christianity, Theurgy, Wicca and Neo-Paganism, and the Grail Quest. As a guiding metaphor, the Hermetic Fellowship has adopted the Pharos, the Lighthouse of Alexandria which shone its Light upon all the many different spiritual, magical, and religious paths which came together in that city, cross-fertilizing each other and producing an illuminating spiritual flowering. Accepting this multiplicity means that Hermetics must be able to entertain the paradoxical idea of multiple realities. Spiritual paradox is considered a Mystery to be understood, not necessarily a contradiction to be ruled out.Although by definition we limit ourselves to exploring the Western Traditions, we honor all spiritual Paths, in so far as each contains a ray of that Divine Light which we seek.Spiritual CuriosityHermetics are Seekers --- Seekers of Divine Truth, Seekers of Wisdom, Seekers of Understanding, Seekers of Gnosis. Hermetic spiritual curiosity encourages openness and tolerance of the ways and spiritual paths of others. This curiosity may be partially satisfied through books. As a literate and literary tradition, Hermeticism holds that as seekers we can benefit through the recorded experiences and insights of others --- as well as through the mediation of a living teacher and/or a group of fellow seekers. But it is not enough to simply read about the spiritual. We will gain little without genuine, personal experience. Therefore, while we highly recommend personal study and teaching, we also stress the irreplacable value of participation in the spiritual through ritual, meditation, and other spiritual practices. The religious devotion of one's choice will prove extremely valuable in one's growth as well.Polytheism & Ultimate MonotheismSince it has its roots in the ancient Pagan traditions, we see Hermeticism as a generally polytheistic approach to spirituality. The Divine makes Itself known by many names and wears many faces. Many Goddesses and Gods --- particularly those honored by the cultures that gathered at Alexandria under the Light of the Pharos --- are important to Hermeticism. Yet underlying and uniting this polytheism, we posit an ultimate Divine Unity, an ultimate monotheism.This concept extends to the Hermetic understanding of the Universe. The Universe is multiform and diverse, yet ultimately united in the One. Thus we can seek and discover the hidden connections leading to the revelation of the Unity behind the apparent diversity of the world. Hermetic Qabalah is one model for this: while each of the Sephiroth is an expression of the diversity of the Divine, all emanate from and are united in Kether, which Unity Itself is ultimately an Emanation from the Unmanifest En Soph.As Above, So BelowHermetics consider the Divine to be both immanent and transcendent. The Divine is within all things in the manifested Universe (notably including ourselves), and beyond them as well. Because of the interconnection between 'above' and 'below,' what happens on a spiritual level has consequences in the material. Conversely, what happens in the material can have consequences in the spiritual.Creating equilibrium between all these things --- matter and spirit, body and soul, within and without, night and day, in fact, all polarities --- is pivotal to the spiritual Work of the Hermetic. Balance is the key to growth.All is DivineSince the Divine is in all things, all is Divine. Through contemplation and understanding of the Universe, including ourselves, through prayer, aspiration, and gnosis (or sacred 'knowing'), human beings can become more 'god-like' and eventually come to reunite with the Divine. Many Hermetics do not believe this goal can be achieved during a single lifetime, and some hold that this ideal is not fully attainable while in the physical body. Attitudes toward reincarnation vary.In the ancient Hermetica, you will find two different attitudes toward the Universe, which may be distinguished (as by Frances Yates) as optimistic and pessimistic. The optimistic attitude posits a Divine and basically good Universe --- although it recognizes the many trials we and all things undergo. The pessimistic attitude sees matter as a distraction from spirit and because of this, qualitatively evil. The Hermeticism of the modern Fellowship is decidedly of the optimistic school.Nature Reveals the DivineTo the modern Hermetic, Nature is the Divine teacher, the Revealer of the Mysteries. A Rosicrucian motto puts it this way, "Art is the Priestess of Nature." Thus, in order to accomplish his or her spiritual Art, the Hermetic must also serve Nature as a Priest or Priestess. The physical world is the manifestation or vessel of Divine Power and Love, and we are uniquely entrusted with caring for that vessel. There is an esoteric tradition that when Adam (i.e.,Humanity) fell, in one sense Nature fell with him. By redeeming Adam through our own spiritual growth and development, we also redeem Nature. The converse is also true: by redeeming Nature, we redeem ourselves. This idea provides one basis for Hermetic environmentalism.In return for our honor and our care, Nature reveals Her Divine Self as an infinitely profound symbol for the spiritual journey. In the rhythms of the Earth and the cycles of the Sun, the Moon, and the Planets, the awesome structure of the Universe, the complementary miracles of birth and death, the Hermetic finds the Divine unveiled --- and celebrates. The Will to the LightHuman beings have a unique place in the Divine pattern because of our Will. We have the ability to aspire to the Divine, and this we must do in order to attain to the Divine. A seeker must want to find. A philosopher must desire to know. And furthermore, she or he must use the power of Will to accomplish this. Hermeticism takes an optimistic view of the individual human being as well. Encouraged by Divine Love and through the use of the considerable human power of desire and Will, everyone has the ability to achieve union with her or his Higher Self, and eventually to reunite with the Divine.Access to the Subtle RealmsHuman beings have the ability to access the non-physical realms --- the psychic, the mental, the spiritual. Furthermore, this is a natural, innate ability that can be more fully developed through a variety of spiritual techniques. One way to access the non-physical is through the practice of Theurgy, or working with the Divine through ritual. Ritual can be a particularly powerful practice in the Quest, as it can combine a variety of individual psychospiritual techniques into a powerful whole to put us in touch with the non-physical realms. As stated above, working in Theurgic harmony with the Divine, and through the law of As Above, So Below, works in the non-physical affect the physical --- and vice versa. The Great WorkThe idea that humankind has fallen away from a previous state in which we were more blessed and more unified with the Divine is common to many religions and philosophies. Versions of the concept are to be found in the Egyptian, Greek, Gnostic, and Hebrew mythologies that are components of the Hermetic Current. Hermetics do not see the fall from unity as evil or as a punishment. Instead, it was necessary for spiritual growth. Just as a young person must leave home and truly experience life in order to grow and mature, so humanity as a whole had to 'fall' into experience. But our journey is not complete until we eventually return home and unite with the Divine once more for healing and regeneration. The work that each Hermetic is called to undertake, though it is sometimes called the Tiqqun,, the Restoration, is not simply regaining our blessed, pre-fall state of Unity; it is the attainment of something new, for we -- and all of reality -- have been metamorphosized by our entry into the great cocoon of incarnation. When we return to Eden, it will not be simply the Garden we once left, but in the midst of the Garden will stand the Holy City, the highest attainment of the human spirit in creative Union with the Divine. This return to a new and transformed Unity with the Divine is the ultimate goal of the Hermetic work. This process is called both the Great Work and the Royal Art. It is the finding of the Stone of the Philosophers, True Wisdom, Perfect Happiness, the Summun Bonum.This journey home may be understood as a process of renewing our links with the Divine through a system whose keys are the patterns of Nature. Each link is represented by an initiation. Different schools follow different natural patterns. For example, some might use a series of initiations based on the steps of an Alchemical operation; another might base their initiations on the development of the psyche and spirit; yet another on the cycles of the Moon. Furthermore, instead of a spiritual journey that rejects all things material in order to re-attain the spiritual, the goal of the Hermetic is to embrace and balance all things. Hermeticism may be described as a poetic rather than an ascetic mode of Attainment. Hermes Trismegistos, quoting the Divine Mind, tells us: Make yourself grow to immeasurable immensity, outleap all body, outstrip all time, become eternity, and you will understand God. Having conceived that nothing is impossible to you, consider yourself immortal and able to understand everything, all art, all learning, the temper of every living thing. Go higher than every height and lower than every depth. Collect in yourself the sensations of all that has been made, of fire and water, dry and wet; be everything at once, on land, in the sea, in heaven; be not yet born, be in the womb, be young, old, dead, beyond death. And when you have understood all these things at once --- times, places, things, qualities, quantities --- then you can understand God.
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The Rose Cross LamenI'm sure many people have seen this beautiful graphic before. It is a featured piece of art on several different web sites. Unfortunately, these same web sites, which often cite copyright protection for all of their work on the Internet, rarely mention that they have picked up this particular piece of artwork from another web site, whose work is also protected under copyright laws. We seek to remedy this oversight by stating that this graphic is the original creative work of the Hermetic Fellowship web site. You can visit the page where this graphic is posted by clicking here The Rose Cross Lamen is a key symbol of the Golden Dawn's Second Order. It is based on the Rosicrucian symbolism of the Red Rose and the Cross of Gold. This lamen is a complete synthesis of the masculine, positive, or rainbow scale of color attributions, which is also called "the Scale of the King." The four arms of the cross belong to the four elements and are colored accordingly. The white portion belongs to the Holy Spirit and the planets. The twenty-two petals of the rose refer to the twenty-two paths on the Tree of Life and the Twenty-two letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is the cross in Tiphareth, the receptacle and the center of the forces of the Sephiroth and the paths. The extreme center of the rose is white, the reflected spiritual brightness of Kether, bearing upon it the Red Rose of Five Petals and the Golden Cross of Six Squares; four green rays issue from around the angles of the cross. Upon the white portion of the lamen, below the rose, is placed the hexagram, with the planets.Around the pentagrams, which are placed one upon each elemental colored arm, are drawn the symbols of the spirit and the four elements. Upon each of the floriated ends (the arms) of the cross are arranged the three alchemical principles of sulfur, salt, and mercury. The white rays issuing from behind the rose at the inner angles between the arms of the cross are the rays of the divine light issuing and coruscating from the reflected light of Kether in its center; and the letters and symbols on them refer to the analysis of the Key WordI.N.R.I. --excerpt from the Cicero's book Secrets of a Golden Dawn Temple
Symbols in Teutonic Mythology
Teutonic Mythology Created By Jessica K. McShan
Apple
The apple symbolizes eternal youth. Without consuming the golden apples of the goddess Idun, the gods would grow old and wither because their bodies are physically human (Crossley-Holland, 38).
Blindness
Teutonic mythology portrayed blindness as simpleness and gullibility, though a trait of the good-willed. In the myths, the blind god Hod, having been tricked by Loki, accidentally slays his brother Balder, an event that was said to be the first signal of the approach of Ragnarok, the end of the world (Crossley-Holland, 150-161).
Blood
Blood is a symbol of truth and loyalty, as well as life in Teutonic mythology. Blood oaths were sacred to the Teutons, and represented the key role of the bond between men. Also, during times of famine, it was believed royal and sacred blood had to flow to appease the gods. Like Christian holy water, blood was shed in sacrifices; it was sprinkled on temple walls and on people; and hunters often even drank warm blood--all to avert bad luck and to ensure the fruitfulness of the coming year (Chantepie de la Saussaye, p.372; Davidson, Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, p.58).
Bridge
Bifrost, a "flaming three-strand rainbow bridge" is guarded by the god Heimdall and (Crossley-Holland, 240).
Cave
Caves and clefts in the earth were seen as a means of communicating with the underworld. For example, in the myth that is the source for Wagner's Ring, the dwarf Andvari lived in a cave where he kept his treasure. However, to pay a ransom for the death of a giant named Otter, the god Loki managed to extract the treasure from Andvari by fooling him into thinking the cave spoke to him, though the voice was only Loki's echo. In retaliation against the god's theft, Andvari placed a curse upon the stolen treasure, which included the ring, and said that it would destroy whomever owned it (Davidson, Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, 26; Crossley-Holland, 239).
Dog
Garm is the Hound of the Underworld, a giant-dog, who at the end of the world in Ragnarok will kill the god Tyr. According to the epic Gylfaginning, Garm guards the island Lyngvi, where Loki the trickster god and his son the wolf Fenrir are chained. The "foremost of all dogs," Garm "is to bark with all its might when the chains of Loke and Fenrer threaten to burst asunder" (Rydberg, p.384-5).
Dragon
Teutonic myths say that in Niflheim, near the Spring of Hvergelmir, Nidhogg the dragon and his accomplices gnaw at the roots of Yggdrasill, the World Ash Tree, trying to loosen its foundation and thereby put an end to all eternally (Crossley-Holland, 15).
Eagle
Teutonic mythology tells of an eagle who lives in the top branches of Yggdrasill, the World Ash Tree, and who watches the goings-on of the worlds below. One myth says that when this eagle first flapped its wings, the winds of the nine worlds were born. Since this bird sits in the highest position of observation in the Teutonic universe, the eagle symbolically came to represent the sky and the sovereignty, and were both associated with the omnipotent power of the all-father god, Odin (Davidson, Myths and Symbols, 91, 175).
Eyes
Odin gave up an eye at the Spring of Mimir in order to gain wisdom. The eye of Wotan was called "the star of the skull" because in the Teutonic myth of creation the skull of the giant Ymir became the world of man. Also, Teutonic culture said that the hero's courage and glory were exposed through the glory in his eyes (Cord, III:1, 122; Crossley-Holland, 15).
Fire
Fire symbolizes both fear and renewal. A land of fire, Muspellheim, is one of the nine worlds within the Teutonic universe. According to these myths, at Ragnarok, the end of the world, Black Surt, the guardian of Muspellheim, and his companions, the sons of Muspell, will savage the gods and cause all nine worlds to be engulfed in flames (Davidson, Gods and Myths of N. Europe, 37-8).
Fog
Fog symbolizes the vagueness that exists where the worlds of humans and gods come together, especially in sacred and mysterious places, like the forest and the cave. Also, fog, as that which covers the light or good, can represent darkness or evil. In the original myth of Siegfried and the Nibelungen, which is essentially a creation myth, Siegfried is first victorious and rises in splendor as a light hero, but falls into fog and darkness after he meets the Nibelungen or "children of the mist or fog" (Chantepie de la Saussaye, 144).
Forest
To the ancient Teutons, the forests were magical places inhabited by gods. Certain sacred groves were linked with communication with other worlds. Some woods were seen as especially close to the divine; so it was believed prayers would be heard more readily there. Forests, like the symbol of the tree, were fundamental to Teutonic cosmology in connection to the World Ash Tree, Yggdrasill. Forests were like temples: there people held ceremonies and offered sacrifices to the gods. The mysterious silence of the forests was feared and revered--for, though forests were composed of earthly material, they were links, even portals, to the supernatural worlds (Davidson, Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, 16-17, 24-5, 104, 156).
Garden
The etymology of the word "garden" is of Teutonic origin, though the English usage of it probably derived from old French. The idea of a garden is linked directly to the Teutonic imagination through the endings "-yard" or "-jard" or "-gard" that name the mythological places of Asgard, Utgard and Midgard, the worlds of gods, giants and humans respectively.
Giant
In the Teutonic story of creation, the first being in existence was the frost giant Ymir. He was the father of the race of giants, and the nine worlds were constructed from his body. Ancient Teutons believed that though the gods created women and men, the giants preceded even the gods. In early myths, giants were seen as having great wisdom. However, in later myths, after falling out with the gods, giants were seen as stupid and slow. The giants in Teutonic myths were like the gods and dwarves in their human forms, but were bigger and stronger. Their only skill was as builders. Also, giants were believed to travel in pairs, to be easily angered and to be very dangerous, inclined to a wildness and fierceness which later would associate them with the violence of nature (Davidson, Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe, 173).
Gold
Much of the treasure of the Teutonic gods was made of gold and was envied by the giants, dwarves and gods. Idun's apples of gold gave the gods immortal youth; and the goddess Sif, after being the victim of one of Loki's tricks, was given HAIR of gold. Teutonic traditional beliefs held that hoards of gold were hidden in the Rhine, in the mountains, and in waterfalls (Davidson, 175).
Hair
The goddess Sif was renowned for her golden-yellow hair. However, the trickster god Loki mischeviously shaved off Sif's lovely locks. Once caught by the gods, Loki was forced to approach the dwarves and demand that they forge hair of real gold for Sif. So, clever and perhaps falsely repetant, Loki redeems himself in the eyes of the gods by presenting them with a gift of magical treasure, including Sif's new hair of magical gold and Mjollnir, Thor's short-handled hammer (Crossley-Holland, 48-9).
Hammer
The hammer is a symbol of power to ward off cold and chaos. The god Thor owned a short-handled hammer called Mjollnir which made thunder and lightening, could shatter rocks, could make dents in mountains and worked to keep all beings under the control of the gods' laws. Mjollnir is perhaps the most famous article in all of early Teutonic thought as an instrument of consecration and resurrection, especially since this hammer will be the only divine article to survive Ragnarok (Cord, III:1, 31-9; Davidson, 12, 25).
Hand
The hand symbolizes loyalty, highlighting the importance of the bond of the oath. According to one myth, to bind the wolf Fenrir who was ravaging Asgard and also posed a threat to Odin's life, the god Tyr kept the pledge of the gods by placing his hand in Fenrir's mouth as a sign of trust, though Tyr's hand subsequently was bitten off (Crossley-Holland, 192-3).
Hell
It was believed that after death everyone went to Hel, the realm of the dead, except for certain select warriors who would be raised up to Valhalla. Thus, Hel was inhabited by women, children and men who died ignobly. Hel is also the name of the giant-woman who guards the palace of the dead (Chantepie de la Saussaye, 280, 347).
Horns
One of the four harts who destructively eats the leaves of Yggdrasill is a goat named EIkdrynir ("the Oak-thorned"). From one of the horns of this goat comes a stream that falls into the spring Hvergelmir, out which all rivers flow (Cord, I, 16).
Drinking horns--To many societies, drinking horns are significant in festivals and sacred rites. In Teutonic cultures, wine and mead was drunk out of common large horns rather than smaller individual vessels, a practice which encouraged community and loyalty amongst family and neighbors. Also, the blood from animals was imbibed from horns after sacrifice as a silent closing to the ritual (Davidson, 43-4, 50-2).
Musical horns--Long associated with the hunt, horns are important for proclamations and festivals. However, the horn is also used as the signal of an omen, whether good or bad. In Teutonic mythology, the god Heimdall, the guardian of Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge, owns "Gjallarhorn ('Shrieking Horn'), whose sound could be heard around the world. This horn lay buried under the World Ash Tree and would be dug up and sounded by Heimdall to awaken the gods" before Ragnarok (Cord, I, 25-6).
Horse
The most important animal in early Teutonic culture was the horse, especially as a symbol of fertility and warrior virtue. The name of the World Ash Tree, "Yggdrasill," means "the horse of Yggr" (Yggr is another name for Odin). Horses were the gods' main means of support, since divinities had to ride across Bifrost in order to get to the lower worlds. In some cases, a sacred horse was held to understand the will of the gods more clearly than the priests. Odin owned an eight-legged steed, Sleipnir; Night had a horse, Hrimfaxi, who rode with her around the world every two and a half days; and Day's horse, Skinfaxi, lights up the sky and earth every day with his bright mane (Davidson, 53; Rydberg, 164)Ice
Ice symbolizes birth and creation. At the beginning of everything, life supposedly first quickened in frozen water droplets, and from them the frost giant Ymir, the first being of the nine worlds, came into existence. According to one myth, not long after Ymir's birth, the liquid of melting ice "took the form of a cow...called Audumla" who subsequently created a man by licking him out of the ice. This man became known as Buri; Buri's son was Bor; and Bor's sons were Odin, Vili and Ve, the fathers of all gods, humans and the builders of the worlds on which they live (Crossley-Holland, 3-4)..
Kiss
Ancient Teutons believed a kiss had great powers. At times it could place the recipient in a state of complete forgetfulness or could revive memories. A kiss could put one into a stupor, "intensify the emotional state" and "cause one to sense a personal satisfaction in all things, a state in which no evil would be perceived" (Cord, III:1, 260-2).
Leaf
Along with the image of the World Ash tree, Yggdrasill, in Teutonic mythology, leaves are closely linked to the cycles of death and renewal. Yggdrasill is tortured by goats and deer who tear off new shoots and eat the leaves. Yet, two humans, Lif and Lifthrasir, whose names mean "life" but also may be cognates with the word "leaf", hide within Yggdrasill and survive Ragnarok to re-begin the human race in the next cycle of worlds.
Lightning
Teutonic mythology attributes lightning to the god Thor. Though lightning is most often associated with Thor's hammer, Mjollnir, several myths describe the sparks of light that flash across the sky as originating from fragments of whetstone lodged in Thor's head. After the rise of a new world, natural phenomena like lightning and thunder were seen as a good omen by many in Teutonic cultures. They associated these happenings with the growth of crops and thus may have perceived lightning as a positive prophetic sign, especially if seen before planting or harvest (Cord, 35-9; Crossley-Holland, xxvii).
Necklace
The necklace is associated with fertility. According to one of these myths, the goddess Freyja lusted after the Necklace of the Brisings and slept with two dwarves in order to obtain it. Through this myth, the necklace also comes to symbolize desire, especially sexual passion and material avarice (Crossley-Holland, 65-9).
Oak
The oak was the most sacred tree to the ancient Teutons. Despite their mythology which elevated the ash tree to the World Tree, the Teutons revered oak for its healing and magical properties. The bark of the oak cured illness; its acorns were used in a drink of forgetfulness; and its twigs and brances were used in fertility ceremonies (Cord, I, 11; Davidson, 37).
Rainbow
For Rainbow in Teutonic mythology, see bridge.
Ring
The ring was treasure, a symbol of wealth, omnipotence and magic. Two rings feature prominently in Teutonic mythology: the ring of Odin, called Draupnir, from which eight rings of equal weight will drop every ninth night; and Andvari's ring, Andvaranaut, which was supposedly cursed by its creator, the dwarf Andvari, to bring doom upon whomever owns it (Chantepie de la Saussaye, 326; Crossley-Holland, 106).
River
All rivers flowed from the third root of Yggdrasill, the World Ash Tree. Throughout stories of this culture, rivers, especially the Rhine, are connected with magic, fertility and baptism. The water of some sacred rivers was believed to give warriors strength and luck in battle (Cord, III:2, 361-6).
Serpent
Serpents were prominent throughout Teutonic culture, especially as decoration on artwork and materials like swords, shields and the prows of ships. These signs were thought to frighten away enemies; but the serpent's shape was also seen as beautiful, though its bite was terrible. The serpents in Teutonic mythology commanded respect and reverence. Jormungand, the Midgard serpent, who is also the son of Loki by a giantess, was thrown into the ocean by the gods due to his enormous size. He is said to be so long that he encircles the world and thus bites his own tail. In another myth which explains why Odin is the god of poetry, this All-Father turned himself into a serpent to make his way through a small hole in a mountain to steal the Mead of Inspiration (Crossley-Holland, xxi; Cord, III:2, 393).
Sword
The sword was of great "cultural importance...in ancient Teutonic life. This single weapon became the means for physical survival...but it also became something more than a mere weapon. As the sword assumed its elevated, almost divine, position in the cultural mind, it also became the principal requisite by which the warrior could achieve a noble or heroic status." The sword was also "an instrument of truth. (It) became the witness...to the most hallowed and sacrosanct of all Germanic acts, the giving of an oath...." In Teutonic cultures, the sword was the only "item that was formed...by the people" that could "boast its own deity." This god of the sword was Tyr, the god of war (Cord, 83-4).
Three
Many elements in the Teutonic universe reflected the sacredness of the number three. The World Tree, Yggdrasill, had three roots one of which delved into each of the three levels of the world; the destiny of mortals was controlled by the three Norns, Fate, Being and Necessity. Moreover, multiples of the number three figure greatly into the mythology of the Teutons, especially the number nine, which thought to be the holiest and most magical number.
Thunder
Teutonic mythology associates thunder with the god Thor, whose name is the basis for the word. It was believed that the loud blasting roll of thunder was caused by Thor hitting the skies with his hammer, Mjollnir.
Tree
The backbone of the cosmos was believed to be an ash tree called Yggdrasill. This World Tree was the only living inanimate object associated with creation; it was believed that Yggdrasill will outlast both the gods and humans. As a forest culture, Teutonic society created stories that revolved around trees. A tree is permanent, eternal, and earthly but ethereal because it is both part of the Earth and of the heavens.
Water
"The worship of water occupied a prominent place in the Teutonic religion; it was regarded as a purifying, rejuvenating, as well as a soothsaying element, and was accordingly conceived of as inhabited by various beings. Sea and waterfall were usually thought to be the abode of giants, although...the dwarf Andvari (was also to be found) dwelling in a waterfall. Lakes and springs were regarded as the home of elves" (Chantepie de la Saussaye, 323).
Wolf
"The wolf is one of the more significant animals in the myths of the early Teutonic people. It was an animal that had certain modes and manners of life that made it both to be feared and to be honored, worshipped, perhaps, somewhat as an ominous specter, and always held in awe as well as respect. The wolf was also an animal that was mythically associated primarily with the gods, but one that had a special relationship with the King of the Gods, Odin" (Cord, III:2, 527). In the myths, the wolf Fenrir is said to be "bound with the fetter Gleipnir, made out of the sound caused by the footfall of cats, the beards of women, the roots of mountains, the sinews of bears, the breath of fish, and the spittle of birds. When this chain breaks, the wolf will be released and this is the sign of the end to come" at Ragnarok (Chantepie de la Saussaye, 246).
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