Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism Part 8

[Ill.u.s.tration: 154]

Figures 107, 108, 109, are copied from Moor's _Hindu Pantheon_, plate lx.x.xiii. They represent the lingam and thenyoni, which amongst the Indians are regarded as holy emblems, much in the same way as a crucifix is esteemed by certain modern Christians.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 155]

In worship, _ghee_, or oil, or water, is poured over the pillar, and allowed to ran off by the spout. Sometimes the pillar is adorned by a necklace, and is a.s.sociated with the serpent emblem. In Lucian's account of Alexander, the false prophet, which we have condensed in _Ancient Faiths_, second edition, there is a reference to one of his dupes, who was a distinguished Roman officer, but so very superst.i.tious, or, as he would say of himself, so deeply imbued with religion, that at the sight of a stone he would fall prostrate and adore it for a considerable time, offering prayers and vows thereto. This may by some be thought quite as reasonable as the practice once enforced in Christian Rome, which obliged all persons in the street to kneel in reverence when an ugly black doll, called "the bambino," or a bit of bread, over which some cabalistic words had been muttered, was being carried in procession past them. Arn.o.bins, _Op, Cit_., p. 81, says, "I worshipped images produced from the furnace, G.o.ds made on anvils and by hammers, the bones of elephants, paintings, wreaths on aged trees; whenever I espied an anointed stone, and one bedaubed with olive oil, as if some person resided in it, I worshipped it, I addressed myself to it, and begged blessings from a senseless stock." Compare Gen. xxviii. 18, wherein we find that Jacob set up a stone and anointed it with oil, and called the place Bethel, and Is. xxvii. 19, xl. 20, xliv. 10-20.

I copy the following remarks from a paper by Mr. Sellon, in _Memoirs of the London Anthropological Society_, for 1868-4. Speaking of Hindostan, he remarks, "As every village has its temple so every temple has its Lingam, and these parochial Lingams are usually from two to three feet in height, and rather broad at the base. Here the village girls, who are anxious for lovers or husbands, repair early in the morning. They make a l.u.s.tration by sprinkling the G.o.d with water brought from the Ganges; they deck the Linga with garlands of the sweet-smelling bilwa flower; they perform the _mudra_, or gesticulation with the fingers, and, reciting the prescribed _mantras_, or incantations, they rub themselves against the emblem, and entreat the deity to make them fruitful mothers of _pulee-pullum_ (i.e., child fruit).

"This is the celebrated Linga puja, during the performance of which the _panchaty_, or five lamps, must be lighted, and the _gantha_, or bell, be frequently rung to scare away the evil demons. The _mala_, or rosary of a hundred and eight round beads, is also used in this puja."

See also Moor's _Hindu Pantheon_, plate xxii, pp. 68, 69, 70. Again, in the _Dabistan_, a work written in the Persian language, by a travelled Mahometan, about a. d. 1660, and translated by David Shea, for the Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland (8 vols., 8vo., Allen and Co., Leadenhall Street, London), we read, vol. ii., pp.

148-160, "The belief of the Saktian is that Siva, that is, Mahadeva, who with little exception is the highest of deities and the greatest of the spirits, has a spouse whom they call _Maya_ Sakti.....With them the power of Mahadeva's wife, who is Bhavani, surpa.s.ses that of the husband.

The zealous of this sect worship the _Siva Linga_, although other Hindoos also venerate it. _Linga_ is called the virile organ, and they say, on behalf of this worship, that as men and all living beings derive their existence from it, adoration is duly bestowed upon it. As the linga of Mahadeva, so do they venerate the _bhaga_, that is, the female organ. A man very familiar with them gave the information that, according to their belief, the high altar, or princ.i.p.al place in a mosque of the Mussulmans, is an emblem of the _bhaga_. Another man among them said that as the just-named place emblems the bhaga, the minar or turret of the mosque represents the linga." The author then goes on to describe the practices of the sect, which may be summed up in the words--the most absolute freedom of love.

_Apropos_ of the Mahometan minaret and Christian church towers and spires, I may mention that Lucian describes the magnificent temple of the Syrian G.o.ddess as having two vast phalli before its main entrance, and how at certain seasons men ascended to their summit, and remained there some days, so as to utter from thence the prayers of the faithful.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 158]

Figures 110, 111, both from Moor, plate lx.x.xvi., are forms of the _argha_, or sacred sacrificial cup, bowl, or basin, which represent the yoni, and some other things besides. See Moor, _Hindu Pantheon_, pp.

898, 894.

Figure 112. Copied from Rawlinson's _Ancient Monarchies_, vol. i., p.

176, symbolises Ishtar, the a.s.syrian representative of Devi, Parvati, Isis, Astarte, Venus, and Mary. The virgin and child are to be found everywhere, even in ancient Mexico.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 159]

Figure 118 is copied from Lajard, _Sur le Culte de Venus_, plate xix., fig. 6, and represents the male and female as the sun and moon, thus identifying the symbolic s.e.x of those luminaries. The legend in the Pehlevi characters has not been interpreted.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 159]

Figure 114 is taken from a mediaeval woodcut, lent to me by my friend, Mr. John Newton, to whom I am indebted for the sight of, and the privilege to copy, many other figures. In it the virgin Mary is seen as the Queen of Heaven, nursing her infant, and identified with the crescent moon, the emblem of virginity. Being before the sun, she almost eclipses its light. Than this, nothing could more completely identify the Christian mother and child with Isis and Horns, Ishtar, Venus, Juno, and a host of other pagan G.o.ddesses, who have been called 'Queen of Heaven,' 'Queen of the Universe' 'Mother of G.o.d,' 'Spouse of G.o.d,' the 'Celestial Virgin,' the 'Heavenly Peace Maker,' etc.

Figures 115, 116, are common devices in papal churches and pagan symbolism. They are intended to indicate the sun and moon in conjunction, the union of the triad with the unit. I may notice, in pa.s.sing, that Mr. Newton has showed to me some mediaeval woodcuts, in which the young unmarried women in a mixed a.s.semblage were indicated by wearing upon their foreheads a crescent moon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 160]

Figure 117 is a Buddhist symbol, or rather a copy of Maityna Bodhisatwa, from the monastery of Gopach, in the valley of Nepaul.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 161]

It is taken from Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, vol. xviii., p. 894.

The horse-shoe, like the _vesica piscis_ of the Roman church, indicates the yoni; the last, taken from some cow, mare, or donkey, being used in eastern parts where we now use their shoes, to keep off the evil eye.

It is remarkable that some nations should use the female organ, or an effigy thereof, as a charm against ill luck, whilst others adopt the male symbol. In Ireland, as we have previously remarked, a female shamelessly exhibiting herself, and called Shelah-na-gig, was to be seen in stone over the door of certain churches, within the last century.

From the resemblance in the shape of the horse-shoe to the "grove" of the a.s.syrian worshippers, and from the man standing within it as the symbolic pine tree stands in the Mesopotamian, "Asherah," I think we may fairly conclude that the Indian, like the Shemitic emblem, typifies the union of the s.e.xes--the androgyne creator.

That some Buddhists have mingled s.e.xuality with their ideas of religion, may be seen in plate ii. of Emil Schlagintweit's _Atlas of Buddhism in Tibet_, wherein Vajarsattva, "The G.o.d above all," is represented as a male and female conjoined. Rays, as of the sun, pa.s.s from the group; and all are enclosed in an ornate oval, or horse-shoe, like that in this figure. Few, however, but the initiated would recognise the nature of the group at first sight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 162]

I may also notice, in pa.s.sing, that the G.o.ddess Doljang (a.d. 617-98) has the stigmata in her hands and feet, like those a.s.signed to Jesus of Nazareth and Francis of a.s.sisi.

Figure 118 is a copy of the medal issued to pilgrims at the shrine of the virgin at Loretto. It was lent to me by Mr. Newton, but the engraver has omitted to make the face of the mother and child black, as the most ancient and renowned ones usually are.

Instead of the explanation given in _Ancient Faiths_, Vol. ii., p. 262, of the adoption of a black skin for Mary and her son, D'Harcanville suggests that it represents night, the period during which the feminine creator is most propitious or attentive to her duties. It is unnecessary to contest the point, for almost every symbol has more interpretations given to it than one. I have sought in vain for even a plausible reason for the blackness of sacred virgins and children, in certain papal shrines, which is compatible with decency and Christianity. It is clear that the matter will not bear the light.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 163]

Figure 119 is from Lajard, Op. Cit., plate iii., fig. 8. It represents the sun, moon, and a star, probably Venus.

The legend is in Phoenician, and may be read LNBRB. Levy, in Siegel und Gemmen, Breslau, 1869, reads the legend [------], LKBRBO, but does not attempt to explain it.

Figure 120 is also from Lajard, plate i., fig. 8. It represents an act of worship before the symbols of the male and female creators, arranged in three pairs. Above are the heavenly symbols of the sun and moon.

Below are the male palm tree, and the barred [------], identical in meaning with the sistrum, i. e., _virgo intacta_. Next come the male emblem, the cone, and the female symbol, the lozenge or yoni.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 164]

Figure 121 represents also a worshipper before the barred female symbol, surmounted by the seven-rayed star, emblem of the male potency, and of the sun or the heavens. It will be noticed--and the matter is significant--that the hand which is raised in adoration is exactly opposite the conjunction of the two. Compare this with Fig. 95, where the female alone is the object of reverence.

Lajard and others state that homage, such as is here depicted, is actually paid in some parts of Palestine and India to the living symbol; the worshipper on bended knees offering to it, _la bouche inferieure_, with or without a silent prayer, his food before he eats it. A corresponding homage is paid by female devotees to the masculine emblem of any very peculiarly holy fakir, one of whose peculiarities is, that no amount of excitement stimulates the organ into what may be called creative energy. It has long been a problem how such a state of apathy is brought about, but modern observation has proved that it is by the habitual use of weights. Such homage is depicted in Picart's _Religious Ceremonies of all the People in the World_, original French edition, plate 71.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 165]

Figure 122 is copied from Bryant's _Ancient Mythology_, third edition, vol. iii., p. 193. That author states that he copied it from Spanheim, but gives no other reference. It is apparently from a Greek medal, and has the word CAMIN as an inscription. It is said to represent Juno, Sami, or Selenitis, with the sacred peplum. The figure is remarkable for showing the ident.i.ty of the moon, the lozenge, and the female. It is doubtful whether the att.i.tude of the G.o.ddess is intended to represent the cross.

As in religious Symbolism every detail has a signification, we naturally speculate upon the meaning of the beads which fringe the lower part of the diamond-shaped garment. We have noticed in a previous article that the Linga when worshipped was sometimes adorned with beads, which were the fruit of a tree sacred to Mahadeva; in the original of fig. 4, plate xi. _supra_, the four arms of the cross have a series of beads depending from them. On a very ancient coin of Citium, a rosary of beads, with a cross, has been found arranged round a horse-shoe form; and beads are common ornaments on Hindoo Divinities. They may only be used for decoration and without religious signification; if they have the last, I have not been able to discover it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 166]

Figure 128 is a composition taken from Bryant, vol. iv., p. 286. The rock, the water, the crescent moon as an ark, and the dove hovering over it, are all symbolical; but though the author of it is right in his grouping, it is clear that he is not aware of its full signification.

The reader will readily gather their true meaning from our articles upon the Abk and Water, and from our remarks upon the Dove in _Ancient Faiths_, second edition.

Figure 124 is copied from Maffei's _Gemme Antiche Figurate_, vol.

8, plate xl. In the original, the figure upon the pillar is very conspicuously phallic, and the whole composition indicates what was a.s.sociated with the worship of Priapus.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 167]

This so-called G.o.d was regarded much in the same light as 'St. Cosmo and St. Damian were at Iseraia, and St. Foutin in Christian France. And it is not at all surprising that a church, which has deified or made saints of a spear and cloak, under the names Longinus and Amphibolus, should also adopt the "G.o.d of the gardens," and consecrate him as an object for Christian worship, and give him an appropriate name and emblem. But the patron saint of Lampsacus was not really a deity, only a sort of saint, whose business it was to attend to certain parts. The idea of guardian angels was once common, see Matt, xviii. 10, where we read, that each child has a guardian in heaven, who looks after his infantile charge. As the pagan Hymen and Lucina attended upon weddings and parturitions, so the Christian Cosmo and Damian attended to spouses, and a.s.sisted in making them fruitful. To the last two were offered, by sterile wives, wax effigies of the part left out from the nude figure in our plate.

To the heathen saint, we see a female votary offer quince leaves, equivalent to _la feuille de sage_, egg-shaped bread, apparently a cake; also an a.s.s's head; whilst her attendant offers a pine cone. This amongst the Greeks was sacred to Cybele, as it was in a.s.syria to Astarte or Ishtar, the name given there to 'the mother of all saints.' The basket contains apples and phalli, which may have been made of pastry.

See Martial's _Epigrams_, b. xiv. 69. This gem is valuable, inasmuch as it a.s.sists us to understand the signification of the pine cone offered to the 'grove,' the equivalent of _le Verger de Cypris_. The pillar and its base are curiously significant, and demonstrate how completely an artist can appear innocent, whilst to the initiated he unveils a mystery.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 168]

Figures 125, 126, 127, are various contrivances for indicating decently that which it was generally thought religious to conceal, _la bequile, au les instrumens_.

Figure 128 represents the same subject; the cuts are grouped iso as to show how the k.n.o.bbed stick, _le baton_, becomes converted either into a bent rod, _la verge_, or a priestly crook, _le baton pastoral_. There is no doubt that the episcopal crozier is a presentable effigy of a very private and once highly venerated portion of the human frame, which was used in long by-gone days by Etruscan augurs, when they mapped out the sky, prior to noticing the flight of birds. Perhaps we ought to be grateful to Popery for having consecrated to Christ what was so long used in that which divines call the service of the devil.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 169]