Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Bowl of Hygeia and the serpent of Wisdom.



The “Bowl of Hygeia” symbol is the most widely recognized international symbol of pharmacy. In Greek mythology, Hygeia was the daughter and assistant of Aesculapius (sometimes spelled Asklepios), the God of Medicine and Healing. Hygeia's classical symbol was a bowl containing a medicinal potion with the serpent of Wisdom (or guardianship) partaking it. This is the same serpent of Wisdom, which appears on the caduceus, the staff of Aesculapius, which is the symbol of medicine.

Tet and Tov, the hidden Good.


The Hebrew Letter Tet = 9 and represents Introversion - the Concealed Good

The tet is the initial letter of the word tov, "good." The form of the tet is "inverted," thus symbolizing hidden, inverted good--as expressed in the Zohar: "its good is hidden within it." The secret of the tet (numerically equivalent to nine, the nine months of pregnancy) is the power of the mother to carry her inner, concealed good. New Life within.

As the ninth letter and the number nine, Tet holds the rhythm of the nine months of pregnancy. This letter of goodness contains the power of gestation and the potential of life.

Tet is a symbol of the primal energy of the feminine. The letter takes the form of a snake coiled in on itself. For centuries before the serpent became associated with evil, it was a representation of the divine feminine. Tet’s shape suggests a vase or a cup, symbols for the womb.

At the beginning of Creation, the appearance of light is termed "good" in God's eyes: "And God saw the light was good." Our Sages interpret this to mean "good to be hidden for the tzadikim in the Time to Come." "And where did He hide it? In the Torah, for 'there is no good other than Torah.'"

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Nachash Nahash and the Sanscrit word Naga

Nahash

(Hebrew - serpent) In Hebrew this word is associated with magic and enchantment. It is related to and pronounced almost the same as the Sanskrit word naga. Most authorities agree that, as it is used in the first of Genesis, this word cannot mean simply a snake. It is the ego which indeed winds about the heart of a man and envelops it in its coils, having nothing to do with a serpent except as a metaphor. In various usages one may read it as ego or as kundalini or as something not quite one nor the other.