A golden wand entwined with snakes with wings and a tip in the form of a ball is a symbol that came from ancient times. He is an unchanging reality of mythology and religion of the most diverse peoples of the world, whether they are Romans, Indians or Egyptians. The mysterious wand is called the caduceus. What is it and why did the ancient gods need it? How was it used in the Middle Ages and how does a person apply it in modern reality? We will answer these and many other questions by taking a short journey into the history of this ancient symbol.
Ancient symbol in Mesopotamia
Caduceus appeared several thousand years ago, and for modern science even the approximate date of its occurrence remains a mystery. This symbol existed in Mesopotamia. Caduceus was an integral part of the image of the god Ninurta. With this wand, its owner was able to heal and even resurrect people.
What did the caduceus symbolize in Ancient Egypt?
And in the AncientEgypt, according to some researchers, there was a special kind of caduceus. It was a wand crowned with the sun bordered by the moon.
It is quite possible that the caduceus, like the uraeus, symbolized the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt. At the same time, his wand embodied the world axis supporting the daytime luminary and its satellite. The snakes entwined around him personified the moon gods, who are closer to the earth, and the wings - the heavenly ones, who lived near the sun.
However, after the great war between them, the situation has changed somewhat. The lunar gods moved underground, and the heavenly (solar) ones moved to its surface. In this regard, the caduceus received a different interpretation. Its meaning now came down to the unity of the underworld and the terrestrial world, illuminated by moonlight and sunlight.
Caduceus usually held in the hands of Anubis, a god with the head of a jackal and the body of a man. He once accompanied the dead to the afterlife. Perhaps it was from him that the ancient Greeks borrowed this amazing symbol.
Caduceus in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome
In ancient mythology, the caduceus was called the "rod of Hermes" and had the ability to reconcile enemies. The ancient Greek god of trade, dexterity and eloquence, according to one version, received it from the patron of the arts Apollo in exchange for a flute, according to another, from the skilled blacksmith Hephaestus. And the god of the underworld Hades gave the rod to the ancient Roman prototype of Hermes Mercury.
Initially, it looked like an olive branch with two shoots, entwined with garlands. Subsequently, theywere transformed into snakes, and the rod acquired wings. Ancient legends say that Hermes (Mercury) once saw snakes fighting under the spreading branches of an oak tree. To reconcile them, God threw a caduceus between them. A miracle happened, and the snakes immediately stopped fighting. But two of them, in a fit of rage, wrapped around the caduceus of Hermes and froze forever, meeting each other's gaze.
Later, the ancient Greek god gave the wand to his son Nerik. It was from him that the clan of heralds came. As a sign of their immunity, they took the caduceus with them when they went to distant lands. At the same time, the rod of Hermes became a symbol of trade, prosperity, prosperity, as well as mutual understanding and reconciliation. However, these are not all hypostases that the caduceus embodied. A photo of the image of the ancient Greek deity with the famous rod in his hand is presented below.
Dionysus thyrsus and caduceus
The caduceus bears some resemblance to the thyrsus of Dionysus, the ancient Greek god of wine, inspiration and religious ecstasy. His wand was made from a fennel stalk and crowned with a pine cone. The thyrsus of Dionysus twined around ivy, which sometimes turned into snakes. Plutarch also mentioned this transformation. Perhaps that is why some researchers consider thyrsus a kind of caduceus.
In ancient Greek myths, a fennel rod was an obligatory attribute of the mysteries of Dionysus and a sign of a great creative principle. Moreover, not only the god himself, but also his entire retinue possessed the thyrsus: the dissolute demons of fertility satyr and his worshiper maenad.
Caduceus and Kundalini Awakening
In India alsoan ancient symbol resembling a caduceus was discovered. What it is, you can truly feel only by immersing yourself in the religion of this country. In Buddhism, this symbol is closely associated with yoga and meditation and has a special meaning. The snake is identified with the energy concentrated at the base of the human spine. There she lies, curled up in a spiral three and a half turns. Otherwise Buddhists call it kundalini.
The caduceus rod is like the sushumna, the hollow channel in the spine. Awakening, the energy is divided into streams. Like snakes, they wind around the sushumna, passing through the ida and pingala channels, forming intersecting spirals and connecting at seven points. The scheme of energy flows visually resembles the symbol "caduceus".
Kundalini awakening is achieved by Buddhists with the help of specific exercises and a special frame of mind. It is characterized by "inner fire", clairvoyance, telepathy, heightened intuition, changes in sexual temperament, mood swings and visions.
What did the caduceus mean in alchemy and medicine?
In the Renaissance, the healing properties that the caduceus possessed thousands of years ago became relevant again. The medical symbol created by its inhabitants was now used by alchemists. They, as a rule, put a seal with the image of Hermes and a caduceus on vessels with medicines. The wand of the ancient Greek deity, who became the patron saint of alchemy, often crowned a crow.
Wings of the caduceus symbolized the ability to cross any borders, snakes - unityopposites: illness and healing, and the rod is the axis of the world. Alchemists struggled to find the perfect medicine and chose such an emblem for a reason. After all, according to the occult sciences, it was the caduceus that could reveal the secret of life and death. Medicine, however, soon received a different emblem - a bowl with a snake.
The staff of Asclepius is also considered to be her symbol. It is sometimes associated with the caduceus. The staff of Asclepius is a wooden rod entwined with a single snake. Its history is also rooted in ancient Greek mythology, but it has nothing to do with the caduceus.
Aaron's Rod
The staff of Aaron, which belonged to the founders of the Jewish high priests and had the same shape as the caduceus, is also of some interest. What is it and what is its history?
According to European occult sciences, the sacred fire was enclosed in Aaron's staff. It is generally accepted that he could turn into a snake and devour his relatives. With his help, Aaron, the brother of Moses, was able to carry out the three plagues of Egypt: the punishment of blood, the execution of frogs and the invasion of midges.
Another amazing story is connected with the rod, which happened during the wanderings of the Jews in the desert. Wandering among the high dunes, representatives of different tribes entered into a fierce dispute. His reason was the election of the Levites to the service of God. Representatives of other tribes, however, also had their claims to this privilege. To resolve the dispute, they resorted to God's judgment and laid their rods in the Tabernacle for the night. In the morning, the Almighty gave a fateful sign: Aaron's rod was covered with leaves, flowers and almonds. This isthe miracle was the final proof of God's chosenness of the Levites.
Ancient symbol in Christianity
In Christianity, the caduceus has become an attribute of Our Lady Sophia. Her image with him can be seen in Orthodox iconography. Sitting on a golden throne, Sophia holds a caduceus in her right hand. Only it is crowned not with a rounded tip, but with a point.
It can be assumed that it is a symbol of power, but it is much more likely that the rod carries some spiritual meaning. It is similar to a copy, which in Orthodoxy is customary to cut out particles from prosphora as a symbol of the perforation of the body of the Lamb. And this action is a reference to the events of antiquity, when the Roman warrior Longinus pierced the side of the crucified Christ with a spear on Golgotha.
What else could a caduceus mean?
There are many other theories about what the caduceus might mean. In psychoanalysis, it is a phallic symbol, and in hermetic semiotics, it is the key to the afterlife. It is generally accepted that it was the caduceus that Hermes opened the door to the underworld.
The wand traditionally means power over the forces of nature, and snakes symbolize the warring parties striving for unity: light and darkness, fire and water, masculine and feminine. Their symmetrical arrangement speaks of the harmonious development of the spiritual and material.
The central part is usually identified with the world axis, along which intermediary gods move between heaven and earth. From the point of view of some researchers, this was Hermes, which is why he got the caduceus. What is it, wetaken apart, but how is it used now?
Caduceus in modern heraldry
In the modern world, the caduceus is used in the symbols of chambers of commerce and industry in many countries of the world. It is included in the emblems of arbitration courts and the Federal Customs Service of Russia, as well as the medical service of the US Army. The caduceus is also depicted on the coat of arms of the Finnish city of Jyväskylä.
As you can see, the ancient symbol is still considered to be in demand and relevant. Once it was held in the hands of the Egyptian, Roman and Greek gods. They did things with them that plunged people into awe, and now the caduceus has become a symbol depicted on the emblems of federal bodies and government departments. However, he still retained the mysterious spirit of ancient times.
