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The Life and Philosophy of Pythagoras
WHILE Mnesarchus, the father of Pythagoras, was in the city of Delphi on matters pertaining to his business as a merchant, he and his wife, Parthenis, decided to consult the oracle of Delphi as to whether the Fates were favorable for their return voyage to Syria. When the Pythoness (prophetess of Apollo) seated herself on the golden tripod over the yawning vent of the oracle, she did not answer the question they had asked, but told Mnesarchus that his wife was then with child and would give birth to a son who was destined to surpass all men in beauty and wisdom, and who throughout the course of his life would contribute much to the benefit of mankind. Mnesarchus was so deeply impressed by the prophecy that he changed his wife’s name to Pythasis, in honor of the Pythian priestess. When the child was born at Sidon in Phœnicia, it was–as the oracle had said–a son. Mnesarchus and Pythasis named the child Pythagoras, for they believed that he had been predestined by the oracle.
Many strange legends have been preserved concerning the birth of Pythagoras. Some maintained that he was no mortal man: that he was one of the gods who had taken a human body to enable him to come into the world and instruct the human race. Pythagoras was one of the many sages and saviors of antiquity for whom an immaculate conception is asserted. In his Anacalypsis, Godfrey Higgins writes: “The first striking circumstance in which the history of Pythagoras agrees with the history of Jesus is, that they were natives of nearly the same country; the former being born at Sidon, the latter at Bethlehem, both in Syria. The father of Pythagoras, as well as the father of Jesus, was prophetically informed that his wife should bring forth a son, who should be a benefactor to mankind. They were both born when their mothers were from home on journeys, Joseph and his wife having gone up to Bethlehem to be taxed, and the father of Pythagoras having travelled from Samos, his residence, to Sidon, about his mercantile concerns. Pythais [Pythasis], the mother of Pythagoras, had a connexion with an Apolloniacal spectre, or ghost, of the God Apollo, or God Sol, (of course this must have been a holy ghost, and here we have the Holy Ghost) which afterward appeared to her husband, and told him that he must have no connexion with his wife during her pregnancy–a story evidently the same as that relating to Joseph and Mary. From these peculiar circumstances, Pythagoras was known by the same title as Jesus, namely, the son of God; and was supposed by the multitude to be under the influence of Divine inspiration.”
This most famous philosopher was born sometime between 600 and 590 B.C., and the length of his life has been estimated at nearly one hundred years.
The teachings of Pythagoras indicate that he was thoroughly conversant with the precepts of Oriental and Occidental esotericism. He traveled among the Jews and was instructed by the Rabbins concerning the secret traditions of Moses, the lawgiver of Israel. Later the School of the Essenes was conducted chiefly for the purpose of interpreting the Pythagorean symbols. Pythagoras was initiated into the Egyptian, Babylonian, and Chaldean Mysteries. Although it is believed by some that he was a disciple of Zoroaster, it is doubtful whether his instructor of that name was the God-man now revered by the Parsees. While accounts of his travels differ, historians agree that he visited many countries and studied at the feet of many masters.
“After having acquired all which it was possible for him to learn of the Greek philosophers and, presumably, become an initiate in the Eleusinian mysteries, he went to Egypt, and after many rebuffs and refusals, finally succeeded in securing initiation in the Mysteries of Isis, at the hands of the priests of Thebes. Then this intrepid ‘joiner’ wended his way into Phoenicia and Syria where the Mysteries of Adonis were conferred upon him, and crossing to the valley of the Euphrates he tarried long enough to become versed in, the secret lore of the Chaldeans, who still dwelt in the vicinity of Babylon. Finally, he made his greatest and most historic venture through Media and Persia into Hindustan where he remained several years as a pupil and initiate of the learned Brahmins of Elephanta and Ellora.” (See Ancient Freemasonry, by Frank C. Higgins, 32°.) The same author adds that the name of Pythagoras is still preserved in the records of the Brahmins as Yavancharya, the Ionian Teacher.
Pythagoras was said to have been the first man to call himself a philosopher; in fact, the world is indebted to him for the word philosopher. Before that time the wise men had called themselves sages, which was interpreted to mean those who know. Pythagoras was more modest. He coined the word philosopher, which he defined as one who is attempting to find out.
After returning from his wanderings, Pythagoras established a school, or as it has been sometimes called, a university, at Crotona, a Dorian colony in Southern Italy. Upon his arrival at Crotona he was regarded askance, but after a short time those holding important positions in the surrounding colonies sought his counsel in matters of great moment. He gathered around him a small group of sincere disciples whom he instructed in the secret wisdom which had been revealed to him, and also in the fundamentals of occult mathematics, music, and astronomy, which he considered to be the triangular foundation of all the arts and sciences.
When he was about sixty years old, Pythagoras married one of his disciples, and seven children resulted from the union. His wife was a remarkably able woman, who not only inspired him during the years of his life but after his assassination continued to promulgate his doctrines.
As is so often the case with genius, Pythagoras by his outspokenness incurred both political and personal enmity. Among those who came for initiation was one who, because Pythagoras refused to admit him, determined to destroy both the man and his philosophy. By means of false propaganda, this disgruntled one turned the minds of the common people against the philosopher. Without warning, a band of murderers descended upon the little group of buildings where the great teacher and his disciples dwelt, burned the structures and killed Pythagoras.
Accounts of the philosopher’s death do not agree. Some say that he was murdered with his disciples; others that, on escaping from Crotona with a small band of followers, he was trapped and burned alive by his enemies in a little house where the band had decided to rest for the night. Another account states that, finding themselves trapped in the burning structure, the disciples threw themselves into the flames, making of their own bodies a bridge over which Pythagoras escaped, only to die of a broken heart a short time afterwards as the result of grieving over the apparent fruitlessness of his efforts to serve and illuminate mankind.
His surviving disciples attempted to perpetuate his doctrines, but they were persecuted on every hand and very little remains today as a testimonial to the greatness of this philosopher. It is said that the disciples of Pythagoras never addressed him or referred to him by his own name, but always as The Master or That Man. This may have been because of the fact that the name Pythagoras was believed to consist of a certain number of specially arranged letters with great sacred significance. The Word magazine has printed an article by T. R. Prater, showing that Pythagoras initiated his candidates by means of a certain formula concealed within
PYTHAGORAS, THE FIRST PHILOSOPHER.
From Historia Deorum Fatidicorum.
During his youth, Pythagoras was a disciple of Pherecydes and Hermodamas, and while in his teens became renowned for the clarity of his philosophic concepts. In height he exceeded six feet; his body was as perfectly formed as that of Apollo. Pythagoras was the personification of majesty and power, and in his presence a felt humble and afraid. As he grew older, his physical power increased rather than waned, so that as he approached the century mark he was actually in the prime of life. The influence of this great soul over those about him was such that a word of praise from Pythagoras filled his disciples with ecstasy, while one committed suicide because the Master became momentarily irritate over something he had dome. Pythagoras was so impressed by this tragedy that he never again spoke unkindly to or about anyone.
the letters of his own name. This may explain why the word Pythagoras was so highly revered.
After the death of Pythagoras his school gradually disintegrated, but those who had benefited by its teachings revered the memory of the great philosopher, as during his life they had reverenced the man himself. As time went on, Pythagoras came to be regarded as a god rather than a man, and his scattered disciples were bound together by their common admiration for the transcendent genius of their teacher. Edouard Schure, in his Pythagoras and the Delphic Mysteries, relates the following incident as illustrative of the bond of fellowship uniting the members of the Pythagorean School:
“One of them who had fallen upon sickness and poverty was kindly taken in by an innkeeper. Before dying he traced a few mysterious signs (the pentagram, no doubt) on the door of the inn and said to the host, ‘Do not be uneasy, one of my brothers will pay my debts.’ A year afterwards, as a stranger was passing by this inn he saw the signs and said to the host, ‘I am a Pythagorean; one of my brothers died here; tell me what I owe you on his account.'”
Frank C. Higgins, 32°, gives an excellent compendium of the Pythagorean tenets in the following outline:
“Pythagoras’ teachings are of the most transcendental importance to Masons, inasmuch as they are the necessary fruit of his contact with the leading philosophers of the whole civilized world of his own day, and must represent that in which all were agreed, shorn of all weeds of controversy. Thus, the determined stand made by Pythagoras, in defense of pure monotheism, is sufficient evidence that the tradition to the effect that the unity of God was the supreme secret of all the ancient initiations is substantially correct. The philosophical school of Pythagoras was, in a measure, also a series of initiations, for he caused his pupils to pass through a series of degrees and never permitted them personal contact with himself until they had reached the higher grades. According to his biographers, his degrees were three in number. The first, that of ‘Mathematicus,’ assuring his pupils proficiency in mathematics and geometry, which was then, as it would be now if Masonry were properly inculcated, the basis upon which all other knowledge was erected. Secondly, the degree of ‘Theoreticus,’ which dealt with superficial applications of the exact sciences, and, lastly, the degree of ‘Electus,’ which entitled the candidate to pass forward into the light of the fullest illumination which he was capable of absorbing. The pupils of the Pythagorean school were divided into ‘exoterici,’ or pupils in the outer grades, and ‘esoterici,’ after they had passed the third degree of initiation and were entitled to the secret wisdom. Silence, secrecy and unconditional obedience were cardinal principles of this great order.” (See Ancient Freemasonry.)
PYTHAGORIC FUNDAMENTALS
The study of geometry, music, and astronomy was considered essential to a rational understanding of God, man, or Nature, and no one could accompany Pythagoras as a disciple who was not thoroughly familiar with these sciences. Many came seeking admission to his school. Each applicant was tested on these three subjects, and if found ignorant, was summarily dismissed.
Pythagoras was not an extremist. He taught moderation in all things rather than excess in anything, for he believed that an excess of virtue was in itself a vice. One of his favorite statements was: “We must avoid with our utmost endeavor, and amputate with fire and sword, and by all other means, from the body, sickness; from the soul, ignorance; from the belly, luxury; from a city, sedition; from a family, discord; and from all things, excess.” Pythagoras also believed that there was no crime equal to that of anarchy.
All men know what they want, but few know what they need. Pythagoras warned his disciples that when they prayed they should not pray for themselves; that when they asked things of the gods they should not ask things for themselves, because no man knows what is good for him and it is for this reason undesirable to ask for things which, if obtained, would only prove to be injurious.
The God of Pythagoras was the Monad, or the One that is Everything. He described God as the Supreme Mind distributed throughout all parts of the universe–the Cause of all things, the Intelligence of all things, and the Power within all things. He further declared the motion of God to be circular, the body of God to be composed of the substance of light, and the nature of God to be composed of the substance of truth.
Pythagoras declared that the eating of meat clouded the reasoning faculties. While he did not condemn its use or totally abstain therefrom himself, he declared that judges should refrain from eating meat before a trial, in order that those who appeared before them might receive the most honest and astute decisions. When Pythagoras decided (as he often did) to retire into the temple of God for an extended period of time to meditate and pray, he took with his supply of specially prepared food and drink. The food consisted of equal parts of the seeds of poppy and sesame, the skin of the sea onion from which the juice had been thoroughly extracted, the flower of daffodil, the leaves of mallows, and a paste of barley and peas. These he compounded together with the addition of wild honey. For a beverage he took the seeds of cucumbers, dried raisins (with seeds removed), the flowers of coriander, the seeds of mallows and purslane, scraped cheese, meal, and cream, mixed together and sweetened with wild honey. Pythagoras claimed that this was the diet of Hercules while wandering in the Libyan desert and was according to the formula given to that hero by the goddess Ceres herself.
The favorite method of healing among the Pythagoreans was by the aid of poultices. These people also knew the magic properties of vast numbers of plants. Pythagoras highly esteemed the medicinal properties of the sea onion, and he is said to have written an entire volume on the subject. Such a work, however, is not known at the present time. Pythagoras discovered that music had great therapeutic power and he prepared special harmonies for various diseases. He apparently experimented also with color, attaining considerable success. One of his unique curative processes resulted from his discovery of the healing value of certain verses from the Odyssey and the Iliad of Homer. These he caused to be read to persons suffering from certain ailments. He was opposed to surgery in all its forms and also objected to cauterizing. He would not permit the disfigurement of the human body, for such, in his estimation, was a sacrilege against the dwelling place of the gods.
Pythagoras taught that friendship was the truest and nearest perfect of all relationships. He declared that in Nature there was a friendship of all for all; of gods for men; of doctrines one for another; of the soul for the body; of the rational part for the irrational part; of philosophy for its theory; of men for one another; of countrymen for one another; that friendship also existed between strangers, between a man and his wife, his children, and his servants. All bonds without friendship were shackles, and there was no virtue in their maintenance. Pythagoras believed that relationships were essentially mental rather than physical, and that a stranger of sympathetic intellect was closer to him than a blood relation whose viewpoint was at variance with his own. Pythagoras defined knowledge as the fruitage of mental accumulation. He believed that it would be obtained in many ways, but principally through observation. Wisdom was the understanding of the source or cause of all things, and this could be secured only by raising the intellect to a point where it intuitively cognized the invisible manifesting outwardly through the visible, and thus became capable of bringing itself en rapport with the spirit of things rather than with their forms. The ultimate source that wisdom could cognize was the Monad, the mysterious permanent atom of the Pythagoreans.
Pythagoras taught that both man and the universe were made in the image of God; that both being made in the same image, the understanding of one predicated the knowledge of the other. He further taught that there was a constant interplay between the Grand Man (the universe) and man (the little universe).
Pythagoras believed that all the sidereal bodies were alive and that the forms of the planets and stars were merely bodies encasing souls, minds, and spirits in the same manner that the visible human form is but the encasing vehicle for an invisible spiritual organism which is, in reality, the conscious individual. Pythagoras regarded the planets as magnificent deities, worthy of the adoration and respect of man. All these deities, however, he considered subservient to the One First Cause within whom they all existed temporarily, as mortality exists in the midst of immortality.
The famous Pythagorean Υ signified the power of choice and was used in the Mysteries as emblematic of the Forking of the Ways. The central stem separated into two parts, one branching to
THE SYMMETRICAL GEOMETRIC SOLIDS.
To the five symmetrical solids of the ancients is added the sphere (1), the most perfect of all created forms. The five Pythagorean solids are: the tetrahedron (2) with four equilateral triangles as faces; the cube (3) with six squares as faces; the octahedron (4) with eight equilateral triangles as faces; the icosahedron (5) with twenty equilateral triangles as faces; and the dodecahedron (6) with twelve regular pentagons as faces.
the right and the other to the left. The branch to the right was called Divine Wisdom and the one to the left Earthly Wisdom. Youth, personified by the candidate, walking the Path of Life, symbolized by the central stem of the Υ, reaches the point where the Path divides. The neophyte must then choose whether he will take the left-hand path and, following the dictates of his lower nature, enter upon a span of folly and thoughtlessness which will inevitably result in his undoing, or whether he will take the right-hand road and through integrity, industry, and sincerity ultimately regain union with the immortals in the superior spheres.
It is probable that Pythagoras obtained his concept of the Υ from the Egyptians, who included in certain of their initiatory rituals a scene in which the candidate was confronted by two female figures. One of them, veiled with the white robes of the temple, urged the neophyte to enter into the halls of learning; the other, bedecked with jewels, symbolizing earthly treasures, and bearing in her hands a tray loaded with grapes (emblematic of false light), sought to lure him into the chambers of dissipation. This symbol is still preserved among the Tarot cards, where it is called The Forking of the Ways. The forked stick has been the symbol of life among many nations, and it was placed in the desert to indicate the presence of water.
Concerning the theory of transmigration as disseminated by Pythagoras, there are differences of opinion. According to one view, he taught that mortals who during their earthly existence had by their actions become like certain animals, returned to earth again in the form of the beasts which they had grown to resemble. Thus, a timid person would return in the form of a rabbit or a deer; a cruel person in the form of a wolf or other ferocious animal; and a cunning person in the guise of a fox. This concept, however, does not fit into the general Pythagorean scheme, and it is far more likely that it was given in an allegorical rather than a literal sense. It was intended to convey the idea that human beings become bestial when they allow themselves to be dominated by their own lower desires and destructive tendencies. It is probable that the term transmigration is to be understood as what is more commonly called reincarnation, a doctrine which Pythagoras must have contacted directly or indirectly in India and Egypt.
The fact that Pythagoras accepted the theory of successive reappearances of the spiritual nature in human form is found in a footnote to Levi’s History of Magic: “He was an important champion of what used to be called the doctrine of metempsychosis, understood as the soul’s transmigration into successive bodies. He himself had been (a) Aethalides, a son of Mercury; (b) Euphorbus, son of Panthus, who perished at the hands of Menelaus in the Trojan war; (c) Hermotimus, a prophet of Clazomenae, a city of Ionia; (d) a humble fisherman; and finally (e) the philosopher of Samos.”
Pythagoras also taught that each species of creatures had what he termed a seal, given to it by God, and that the physical form of each was the impression of this seal upon the wax of physical substance. Thus each body was stamped with the dignity of its divinely given pattern. Pythagoras believed that ultimately man would reach a state where he would cast off his gross nature and function in a body of spiritualized ether which would be in juxtaposition to his physical form at all times and which might be the eighth sphere, or Antichthon. From this he would ascend into the realm of the immortals, where by divine birthright he belonged.
Pythagoras taught that everything in nature was divisible into three parts and that no one could become truly wise who did not view every problem as being diagrammatically triangular. He said, “Establish the triangle and the problem is two-thirds solved”; further, “All things consist of three.” In conformity with this viewpoint, Pythagoras divided the universe into three parts, which he called the Supreme World, the Superior World, and the Inferior World. The highest, or Supreme World, was a subtle, interpenetrative spiritual essence pervading all things and therefore the true plane of the Supreme Deity itself, the Deity being in every sense omnipresent, omniactive, omnipotent, and omniscient. Both of the lower worlds existed within the nature of this supreme sphere.
The Superior World was the home of the immortals. It was also the dwelling place of the archetypes, or the seals; their natures in no manner partook of the material of earthiness, but they, casting their shadows upon the deep (the Inferior World), were cognizable only through their shadows. The third, or Inferior World, was the home of those creatures who partook of material substance or were engaged in labor with or upon material substance. Hence, this sphere was the home of the mortal gods, the Demiurgi, the angels who labor with men; also the dæmons who partake of the nature of the earth; and finally mankind and the lower kingdoms, those temporarily of the earth but capable of rising above that sphere by reason and philosophy.
The digits 1 and 2 are not considered numbers by the Pythagoreans, because they typify the two supermundane spheres. The Pythagorean numbers, therefore, begin with 3, the triangle, and 4, the square. These added to the 1 and the 2, produce the 10, the great number of all things, the archetype of the universe. The three worlds were called receptacles. The first was the receptacle of principles, the second was the receptacle of intelligences, and the third, or lowest, was the receptacle of quantities.
“The symmetrical solids were regarded by Pythagoras, and by the Greek thinkers after him, as of the greatest importance. To be perfectly symmetrical or regular, a solid must have an equal number of faces meeting at each of its angles, and these faces must be equal regular polygons, i. e., figures whose sides and angles are all equal. Pythagoras, perhaps, may be credited with the great discovery that there are only five such solids.* * *
‘Now, the Greeks believed the world [material universe] to be composed of four elements–earth, air, fire, water–and to the Greek mind the conclusion was inevitable that the shapes of the particles of the elements were those of the regular solids. Earth-particles were cubical, the cube being the regular solid possessed of greatest stability; fire-particles were tetrahedral, the tetrahedron being the simplest and, hence, lightest solid. Water-particles were icosahedral for exactly the reverse reason, whilst air-particles, as intermediate between the two latter, were octahedral. The dodecahedron was, to these ancient mathematicians, the most mysterious of the solids; it was by far the most difficult to construct, the accurate drawing of the regular pentagon necessitating a rather elaborate application of Pythagoras’ great theorem. Hence the conclusion, as Plato put it, that ‘this (the regular dodecahedron) the Deity employed in tracing the plan of the Universe.’ (H. Stanley Redgrove, in Bygone Beliefs.)
Mr. Redgrove has not mentioned the fifth element of the ancient Mysteries, that which would make the analogy between the symmetrical solids and the elements complete. This fifth element, or ether, was called by the Hindus akasa. It was closely correlated with the hypothetical ether of modern science, and was the interpenetrative substance permeating all of the other elements and acting as a common solvent and common denominator of them. The twelve-faced solid also subtly referred to the Twelve Immortals who surfaced the universe, and also to the twelve convolutions of the human brain–the vehicles of those Immortals in the nature of man.
While Pythagoras, in accordance with others of his day, practiced divination (possibly arithmomancy), there is no accurate information concerning the methods which he used. He is believed to have had a remarkable wheel by means of which he could predict future events, and to have learned hydromancy from the Egyptians. He believed that brass had oracular powers, because even when everything was perfectly still there was always a rumbling sound in brass bowls. He once addressed a prayer to the spirit of a river and out of the water arose a voice, “Pythagoras, I greet thee.” It is claimed for him that he was able to cause dæmons to enter into water and disturb its surface, and by means of the agitations certain things were predicted.
After having drunk from a certain spring one day, one of the Masters of Pythagoras announced that the spirit of the water had just predicted that a great earthquake would occur the next day–a prophecy which was fulfilled. It is highly probable that Pythagoras possessed hypnotic power, not only over man but also over animals. He caused a bird to change the course of its flight, a bear to cease its ravages upon a community, and a bull to change its diet, by the exercise of mental influence. He was also gifted with second sight, being able to see things at a distance and accurately describe incidents that had not yet come to pass.
THE SYMBOLIC APHORISMS OF PYTHAGORAS
Iamblichus gathered thirty-nine of the symbolic sayings of Pythagoras and interpreted them. These have been translated from the Greek by Thomas Taylor. Aphorismic statement was one of the favorite methods of instruction used in the Pythagorean university of Crotona. Ten of the most representative of these aphorisms are reproduced below with a brief elucidation of their concealed meanings.
- Declining from the public ways, walk in unfrequented paths. By this it is to be understood that those who desire wisdom must seek it in solitude.
NUMBER RELATED TO FORM.
Pythagoras taught that the dot symbolized the power of the number 1, the line the power of the number 2, the surface the power of the number 3, and the solid the power of the number 4.
- Govern your tongue before all other things, following the gods. This aphorism warns man that his words, instead of representing him, misrepresent him, and that when in doubt as to what he should say, he should always be silent.
III. The wind blowing, adore the sound. Pythagoras here reminds his disciples that the fiat of God is heard in the voice of the elements, and that all things in Nature manifest through harmony, rhythm, order, or procedure the attributes of the Deity.
- Assist a man in raising a burden; but do not assist him in laying it down. The student is instructed to aid the diligent but never to assist those who seek to evade their responsibilities, for it is a great sin to encourage indolence.
- Speak not about Pythagoric concerns without light. The world is herein warned that it should not attempt to interpret the mysteries of God and the secrets of the sciences without spiritual and intellectual illumination.
- Having departed from your house, turn not back, for the furies will be your attendants. Pythagoras here warns his followers that any who begin the search for truth and, after having learned part of the mystery, become discouraged and attempt to return again to their former ways of vice and ignorance, will suffer exceedingly; for it is better to know nothing about Divinity than to learn a little and then stop without learning all.
VII. Nourish a cock, but sacrifice it not; for it is sacred to the sun and moon. Two great lessons are concealed in this aphorism. The first is a warning against the sacrifice of living things to the gods, because life is sacred and man should not destroy it even as an offering to the Deity. The second warns man that the human body here referred to as a cock is sacred to the sun (God) and the moon (Nature), and should be guarded and preserved as man’s most precious medium of expression. Pythagoras also warned his disciples against suicide.
VIII. Receive not a swallow into your house. This warns the seeker after truth not to allow drifting thoughts to come into his mind nor shiftless persons to enter into his life. He must ever surround himself with rationally inspired thinkers and with conscientious workers.
- Offer not your right hand easily to anyone. This warns the disciple to keep his own counsel and not offer wisdom and knowledge (his right hand) to such as are incapable of appreciating them. The hand here represents Truth, which raises those who have fallen because of ignorance; but as many of the unregenerate do not desire wisdom they will cut off the hand that is extended in kindness to them. Time alone can effect the redemption of the ignorant masses
- When rising from the bedclothes, roll them together, and obliterate the impression of the body. Pythagoras directed his disciples who had awakened from the sleep of ignorance into the waking state of intelligence to eliminate from their recollection all memory of their former spiritual darkness; for a wise man in passing leaves no form behind him which others less intelligent, seeing, shall use as a mold for the casting of idols.
The most famous of the Pythagorean fragments are the Golden Verses, ascribed to Pythagoras himself, but concerning whose authorship there is an element of doubt. The Golden Verses contain a brief summary of the entire system of philosophy forming the basis of the educational doctrines of Crotona, or, as it is more commonly known, the Italic School. These verses open by counseling the reader to love God, venerate the great heroes, and respect the dæmons and elemental inhabitants. They then urge man to think carefully and industriously concerning his daily life, and to prefer the treasures of the mind and soul to accumulations of earthly goods. The verses also promise man that if he will rise above his lower material nature and cultivate self-control, he will ultimately be acceptable in the sight of the gods, be reunited with them, and partake of their immortality. (It is rather significant to note that Plato paid a great price for some of the manuscripts of Pythagoras which had been saved from the destruction of Crotona. See Historia Deorum Fatidicorum, Geneva, 1675.)
PYTHAGOREAN ASTRONOMY
According to Pythagoras, the position of each body in the universe was determined by the essential dignity of that body. The popular concept of his day was that the earth occupied the center of the solar system; that the planets, including the sun and moon, moved about the earth; and that the earth itself was flat and square. Contrary to this concept, and regardless of criticism, Pythagoras declared that fire was the most important of all the elements; that the center was the most important part of every body; and that, just as Vesta’s fire was in the midst of every home, so in the midst of the universe was a flaming sphere of celestial radiance. This central globe he called the Tower of Jupiter, the Globe of Unity, the Grand Monad, and the Altar of Vesta. As the sacred number 10 symbolized the sum of all parts and the completeness of all things, it was only natural for Pythagoras to divide the universe into ten spheres, symbolized by ten concentric circles. These circles began at the center with the globe of Divine Fire; then came the seven planers, the earth, and another mysterious planet, called Antichthon, which was never visible.
Opinions differ as to the nature of Antichthon. Clement of Alexandria believed that it represented the mass of the heavens; others held the opinion that it was the moon. More probably it was the mysterious eighth sphere of the ancients, the dark planet which moved in the same orbit as the earth but which was always concealed from the earth by the body of the sun, being in exact opposition to the earth at all times. Is this the mysterious Lilith concerning which astrologers have speculated so long?
Isaac Myer has stated:
“The Pythagoreans held that each star was a world having its own atmosphere, with an immense extent surrounding it, of aether.” (See The Qabbalah.)
The disciples of Pythagoras also highly revered the planet Venus, because it was the only planet bright enough to cast a shadow. As the morning star, Venus is visible before sunrise, and as the evening star it shines forth immediately after sunset. Because of these qualities, a number of names have been given to it by the ancients. Being visible in the sky at sunset, it was called vesper, and as it arose before the sun, it was called the false light, the star of the morning, or Lucifer, which means the light-bearer. Because of this relation to the sun, the planet was also referred to as Venus, Astarte, Aphrodite, Isis, and The Mother of the Gods. It is possible that: at some seasons of the year in certain latitudes the fact that Venus was a crescent could be detected without the aid of a telescope. This would account for the crescent which is often seen in connection with the goddesses of antiquity, the stories of which do not agree with the phases of the moon. The accurate knowledge which Pythagoras possessed concerning astronomy he undoubtedly secured in the Egyptian temples, for their priests understood the true relationship of the heavenly bodies many thousands of years before that knowledge was revealed to the uninitiated world. The fact that the knowledge he acquired in the temples enabled him to make assertions requiring two thousand years to check proves why Plato and Aristotle so highly esteemed the profundity of the ancient Mysteries. In the midst of comparative scientific ignorance, and without the aid of any modern instruments, the priest-philosophers had discovered the true fundamentals of universal dynamics.
An interesting application of the Pythagorean doctrine of geometric solids as expounded by Plato is found in The Canon.
“Nearly all the old philosophers,” says its anonymous author, “devised an harmonic theory with respect to the universe, and the practice continued till the old mode of philosophizing died out. Kepler (1596), in order to demonstrate the Platonic doctrine, that the universe was formed of the five regular solids, proposed the following rule. ‘The earth is a circle, the measurer of all. Round it describe a dodecahedron; the circle inclosing this will be Mars. Round Mars describe a tetrahedron; the sphere inclosing this will be Jupiter. Describe a cube round Jupiter; the sphere containing this will be Saturn. Now inscribe in the earth an icosahedron; the circle inscribed in it will be Venus. Inscribe an octahedron in Venus; the circle inscribed in it will be Mercury’ (Mysterium Cosmographicum, 1596). This rule cannot be taken seriously as a real statement of the proportions of the cosmos, fox it bears no real resemblance to the ratios published by Copernicus in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Yet Kepler was very proud of his formula, and said he valued it more than the Electorate of Saxony. It was also approved by those two eminent authorities, Tycho and Galileo, who evidently understood it. Kepler himself never gives the least hint of how his precious rule is to be interpreted.”
Platonic astronomy was not concerned with the material constitution or arrangement of the heavenly bodies, but considered the stars and planers primarily as focal points of Divine intelligence. Physical astronomy was regarded as the science of “shadows,” philosophical astronomy the science of “realities.”
THE TETRACTYS.
Theon of Smyrna declares that the ten dots, or tetractys of Pythagoras, was a symbol of the greatest importance, for to the discerning mind it revealed the mystery of universal nature. The Pythagoreans bound themselves by the following oath: “By Him who gave to our soul the tetractys, which hath the fountain and root of ever-springing nature.”
THE CUBE AND THE STAR.
By connecting the ten dots of the tetractys, nine triangles are formed. Six of these are involved in the forming of the cube. The same triangles, when lines are properly drawn between them, also reveal the six-pointed star with a dot in the center. Only seven dots are used in forming the cube and the star. Qabbalistically, the three unused corner dots represent the threefold, invisible causal nature of the universe, while the seven dots involved in the cube and the star are the Elohim–the Spirits of the seven creative periods. The Sabbath, or seventh day, is the central dot.
Pythagorean Mathematics
CONCERNING the secret significance of numbers there has been much speculation. Though many interesting discoveries have been made, it may be safely said that with the death of Pythagoras the great key to this science was lost. For nearly 2500 years philosophers of all nations have attempted to unravel the Pythagorean skein, but apparently none has been successful. Notwithstanding attempts made to obliterate all records of the teachings of Pythagoras, fragments have survived which give clues to some of the simpler parts of his philosophy. The major secrets were never committed to writing, but were communicated orally to a few chosen disciples. These apparently dated not divulge their secrets to the profane, the result being that when death sealed their lips the arcana died with diem.
Certain of the secret schools in the world today are perpetuations of the ancient Mysteries, and although it is quite possible that they may possess some of the original numerical formulæ, there is no evidence of it in the voluminous writings which have issued from these groups during the last five hundred years. These writings, while frequently discussing Pythagoras, show no indication of a more complete knowledge of his intricate doctrines than the post-Pythagorean Greek speculators had, who talked much, wrote little, knew less, and concealed their ignorance under a series of mysterious hints and promises. Here and there among the literary products of early writers are found enigmatic statements which they made no effort: to interpret. The following example is quoted from Plutarch:
“The Pythagoreans indeed go farther than this, and honour even numbers and geometrical diagrams with the names and titles of the gods. Thus they call the equilateral triangle head-born Minerva and Tritogenia, because it may be equally divided by three perpendiculars drawn from each of the angles. So the unit they term Apollo, as to the number two they have affixed the name of strife and audaciousness, and to that of three, justice. For, as doing an injury is an extreme on the one side, and suffering one is an extreme on the on the one side, and suffering in the middle between them. In like manner the number thirty-six, their Tetractys, or sacred Quaternion, being composed of the first four odd numbers added to the first four even ones, as is commonly reported, is looked upon by them as the most solemn oath they can take, and called Kosmos.” (Isis and Osiris.)
Earlier in the same work, Plutarch also notes:
“For as the power of the triangle is expressive of the nature of Pluto, Bacchus, and Mars; and the properties of the square of Rhea, Venus, Ceres, Vesta, and Juno; of the Dodecahedron of Jupiter; so, as we are informed by Eudoxus, is the figure of fifty-six angles expressive of the nature of Typhon.” Plutarch did not pretend to explain the inner significance of the symbols, but believed that the relationship which Pythagoras established between the geometrical solids and the gods was the result of images the great sage had seen in the Egyptian temples.
Albert Pike, the great Masonic symbolist, admitted that there were many points concerning which he could secure no reliable information. In hisSymbolism, for the 32° and 33°, he wrote: “I do not understand why the 7 should be called Minerva, or the cube, Neptune.” Further on he added: “Undoubtedly the names given by the Pythagoreans to the different numbers were themselves enigmatical and symbolic-and there is little doubt that in the time of Plutarch the meanings these names concealed were lost. Pythagoras had succeeded too well in concealing his symbols with a veil that was from the first impenetrable, without his oral explanation * * *.”
This uncertainty shared by all true students of the subject proves conclusively that it is unwise to make definite statements founded on the indefinite and fragmentary information available concerning the Pythagorean system of mathematical philosophy. The material which follows represents an effort to collect a few salient points from the scattered records preserved by disciples of Pythagoras and others who have since contacted his philosophy.
METHOD OF SECURING THE NUMERICAL POWER OF WORDS
The first step in obtaining the numerical value of a word is to resolve it back into its original tongue. Only words of Greek or Hebrew derivation can be successfully analyzed by this method, and all words must be spelled in their most ancient and complete forms. Old Testament words and names, therefore, must be translated back into the early Hebrew characters and New Testament words into the Greek. Two examples will help to clarify this principle.
The Demiurgus of the Jews is called in English Jehovah, but when seeking the numerical value of the name Jehovah it is necessary to resolve the name into its Hebrew letters. It becomes יהוה, and is read from right to left. The Hebrew letters are: ה, He; ו, Vau; ה, He; י, Yod; and when reversed into the English order from left to right read: Yod-He-Vau-He. By consulting the foregoing table of letter values, it is found that the four characters of this sacred name have the following numerical significance: Yod equals 10. He equals 5, Vau equals 6, and the second He equals 5. Therefore, 10+5+6+5=26, a synonym of Jehovah. If the English letters were used, the answer obviously would not be correct.
The second example is the mysterious Gnostic pantheos Abraxas. For this name the Greek table is used. Abraxas in Greek is Ἀβραξας. Α = 1, β = 2, ρ = 100, α = 1, ξ =60, α = 1, ς = 200, the sum being 365, the number of days in the year. This number furnishes the key to the mystery of Abraxas, who is symbolic of the 365 Æons, or Spirits of the Days, gathered together in one composite personality. Abraxas is symbolic of five creatures, and as the circle of the year actually consists of 360 degrees, each of the emanating deities is one-fifth of this power, or 72, one of the most sacred numbers in the Old Testament of the Jews and in their Qabbalistic system. This same method is used in finding the numerical value of the names of the gods and goddesses of the Greeks and Jews.
All higher numbers can be reduced to one of the original ten numerals, and the 10 itself to 1. Therefore, all groups of numbers resulting from the translation of names of deities into their numerical equivalents have a basis in one of the first ten numbers. By this system, in which the digits are added together, 666 becomes 6+6+6 or 18, and this, in turn, becomes 1+8 or 9. According to Revelation, 144,000 are to be saved. This number becomes 1+4+4+0+0+0, which equals 9, thus proving that both the Beast of Babylon and the number of the saved refer to man himself, whose symbol is the number 9. This system can be used successfully with both Greek and Hebrew letter values.
The original Pythagorean system of numerical philosophy contains nothing to justify the practice now in vogue of changing the given name or surname in the hope of improving the temperament or financial condition by altering the name vibrations.
There is also a system of calculation in vogue for the English language, but its accuracy is a matter of legitimate dispute. It is comparatively modern and has no relationship either to the Hebrew Qabbalistic system or to the Greek procedure. The claim made by some that it is Pythagorean is not supported by any tangible evidence, and there are many reasons why such a contention is untenable. The fact that Pythagoras used 10 as the basis of calculation, while this system uses 9–an imperfect number–is in itself almost conclusive. Furthermore, the arrangement of the Greek and Hebrew letters does not agree closely enough with the English to permit the application of the number sequences of one language to the number sequences of the others.
THE NUMERICAL VALUES OF THE HEBREW, GREEK, AND SAMARITAN ALPHABETS.
From Higgins’ Celtic Druids.
Column | |
1 | Names of the Hebrew letters. |
2 | Samaritan Letters. |
3 | Hebrew and Chaldean letters. |
4 | Numerical equivalents of the letters. |
5 | Capital and small Greek letters. |
6 | The letters marked with asterisks are those brought to Greece from Phœnicia by Cadmus. |
7 | Name of the Greek letters. |
8 | Nearest English equivalents to the Hebrew, Greek, and Samaritan Letters. |
NOTE. When used at the end of a word, the Hebrew Tau has the numerical value 440, Caph 500, Mem 600, Nun 700, Pe 800, Tzadi 900. A dotted Alpha and a dashed Aleph have the value of 1,000.
Further experimentation with the system may prove profitable, but it is without basis in antiquity. The arrangement of the letters and numbers is as follows:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R |
S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
The letters under each of the numbers have the value of the figure at: the top of the column. Thus, in the word man, M = 4, A = 1, N = 5: a total of 10. The values of the numbers are practically the same as those given by the Pythagorean system.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PYTHAGOREAN THEORY OF NUMBERS
(The following outline of Pythagorean mathematics is a paraphrase of the opening chapters of Thomas Taylor’s Theoretic Arithmetic, the rarest and most important compilation of Pythagorean mathematical fragments extant.)
The Pythagoreans declared arithmetic to be the mother of the mathematical sciences. This is proved by the fact that geometry, music, and astronomy are dependent upon it but it is not dependent upon them. Thus, geometry may be removed but arithmetic will remain; but if arithmetic be removed, geometry is eliminated. In the same manner music depends upon arithmetic, but the elimination of music affects arithmetic only by limiting one of its expressions. The Pythagoreans also demonstrated arithmetic to be prior to astronomy, for the latter is dependent upon both geometry and music. The size, form, and motion of the celestial bodies is determined by the use of geometry; their harmony and rhythm by the use of music. If astronomy be removed, neither geometry nor music is injured; but if geometry and music be eliminated, astronomy is destroyed. The priority of both geometry and music to astronomy is therefore established. Arithmetic, however, is prior to all; it is primary and fundamental.
Pythagoras instructed his disciples that the science of mathematics is divided into two major parts. The first is concerned with the multitude, or the constituent parts of a thing, and the second with the magnitude, or the relative size or density of a thing.
Magnitude is divided into two parts–magnitude which is stationary and magnitude which is movable, the stationary pare having priority. Multitude is also divided into two parts, for it is related both to itself and to other things, the first relationship having priority. Pythagoras assigned the science of arithmetic to multitude related to itself, and the art of music to multitude related to other things. Geometry likewise was assigned to stationary magnitude, and spherics (used partly in the sense of astronomy) to movable magnitude. Both multitude and magnitude were circumscribed by the circumference of mind. The atomic theory has proved size to be the result of number, for a mass is made up of minute units though mistaken by the uninformed for a single simple substance.
Owing to the fragmentary condition of existing Pythagorean records, it is difficult to arrive at exact definitions of terms. Before it is possible, however, to unfold the subject further some light must he cast upon the meanings of the words number, monad, and one.
The monad signifies (a) the all-including ONE. The Pythagoreans called the monad the “noble number, Sire of Gods and men.” The monad also signifies (b) the sum of any combination of numbers considered as a whole. Thus, the universe is considered as a monad, but the individual parts of the universe (such as the planets and elements) are monads in relation to the parts of which they themselves are composed, though they, in turn, are parts of the greater monad formed of their sum. The monad may also be likened (c) to the seed of a tree which, when it has grown, has many branches (the numbers). In other words, the numbers are to the monad what the branches of the tree are to the seed of the tree. From the study of the mysterious Pythagorean monad, Leibnitz evolved his magnificent theory of the world atoms–a theory in perfect accord with the ancient teachings of the Mysteries, for Leibnitz himself was an initiate of a secret school. By some Pythagoreans the monad is also considered (d) synonymous with the one.
Number is the term applied to all numerals and their combinations. (A strict interpretation of the term number by certain of the Pythagoreans excludes 1 and 2.) Pythagoras defines number to be the extension and energy of the spermatic reasons contained in the monad. The followers of Hippasus declared number to be the first pattern used by the Demiurgus in the formation of the universe.
The one was defined by the Platonists as “the summit of the many.” The one differs from the monad in that the term monad is used to designate the sum of the parts considered as a unit, whereas the one is the term applied to each of its integral parts.
There are two orders of number: odd and even. Because unity, or 1, always remains indivisible, the odd number cannot be divided equally. Thus, 9 is 4+1+4, the unity in the center being indivisible. Furthermore, if any odd number be divided into two parts, one part will always be odd and the other even. Thus, 9 may be 5+4, 3+6, 7+2, or 8+1. The Pythagoreans considered the odd number–of which the monad was the prototype–to be definite and masculine. They were not all agreed, however, as to the nature of unity, or 1. Some declared it to be positive, because if added to an even (negative) number, it produces an odd (positive) number. Others demonstrated that if unity be added to an odd number, the latter becomes even, thereby making the masculine to be feminine. Unity, or 1, therefore, was considered an androgynous number, partaking of both the masculine and the feminine attributes; consequently both odd and even. For this reason the Pythagoreans called it evenly-odd. It was customary for the Pythagoreans to offer sacrifices of an uneven number of objects to the superior gods, while to the goddesses and subterranean spirits an even number was offered.
Any even number may be divided into two equal parts, which are always either both odd or both even. Thus, 10 by equal division gives 5+5, both odd numbers. The same principle holds true if the 10 be unequally divided. For example, in 6+4, both parts are even; in 7+3, both parts are odd; in 8+2, both parts are again even; and in 9+1, both parts are again odd. Thus, in the even number, however it may be divided, the parts will always be both odd or both even. The Pythagoreans considered the even number-of which the duad was the prototype–to be indefinite and feminine.
The odd numbers are divided by a mathematical contrivance–called “the Sieve of Eratosthenes”–into three general classes: incomposite, composite, andincomposite-composite.
The incomposite numbers are those which have no divisor other than themselves and unity, such as 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, and so forth. For example, 7 is divisible only by 7, which goes into itself once, and unity, which goes into 7 seven times.
The composite numbers are those which are divisible not only by themselves and unity but also by some other number, such as 9, 15, 21, 25, 27, 33, 39, 45, 51, 57, and so forth. For example, 21 is divisible not only by itself and by unity, but also by 3 and by 7.
The incomposite-composite numbers are those which have no common divisor, although each of itself is capable of division, such as 9 and 25. For example, 9 is divisible by 3 and 25 by 5, but neither is divisible by the divisor of the other; thus they have no common divisor. Because they have individual divisors, they are called composite; and because they have no common divisor, they are called in, composite. Accordingly, the term incomposite-composite was created to describe their properties.
Even numbers are divided into three classes: evenly-even, evenly-odd, and oddly-odd.
The evenly-even numbers are all in duple ratio from unity; thus: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, and 1,024. The proof of the perfect evenly-even number is that it can be halved and the halves again halved back to unity, as 1/2 of 64 = 32; 1/2 of 32 = 16; 1/2 of 16 = 8; 1/2 of 8 = 4; 1/2 of 4 = 2; 1/2 of 2 = 1; beyond unity it is impossible to go.
The evenly-even numbers possess certain unique properties. The sum of any number of terms but the last term is always equal to the last term minus one. For example: the sum of the first and second terms (1+2) equals the third term (4) minus one; or, the sum of the first, second, third, and fourth terms (1+2+4+8) equals the fifth term (16) minus one.
In a series of evenly-even numbers, the first multiplied by the last equals the last, the second multiplied by the second from the last equals the last, and so on until in an odd series one number remains, which multiplied by itself equals the last number of the series; or, in an even series two numbers remain, which multiplied by each other give the last number of the series. For example: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 is an odd series. The first number (1) multiplied by the last number (16) equals the last number (16). The second number (2) multiplied by the second from the last number (8) equals the last number (16). Being an odd series, the 4 is left in the center, and this multiplied by itself also equals the last number (16).
The evenly-odd numbers are those which, when halved, are incapable of further division by halving. They are formed by taking the odd numbers in sequential order and multiplying them by 2. By this process the odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 produce the evenly-odd numbers, 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22. Thus, every fourth number is evenly-odd. Each of the even-odd numbers may be divided once, as 2, which becomes two 1’s and cannot be divided further; or 6, which becomes two 3’s and cannot be divided further.
Another peculiarity of the evenly-odd numbers is that if the divisor be odd the quotient is always even, and if the divisor be even the quotient is always odd. For example: if 18 be divided by 2 (an even divisor) the quotient is 9 (an odd number); if 18 be divided by 3 (an odd divisor) the quotient is 6 (an even number).
The evenly-odd numbers are also remarkable in that each term is one-half of the sum of the terms on either side of it. For example:
THE SIEVE OF ERATOSTHENES.
Redrawn from Taylor’s Theoretic Arithmetic.
This sieve is a mathematical device originated by Eratosthenes about 230 B.C. far the purpose of segregating the composite and incomposite odd numbers. Its use is extremely simple after the theory has once been mastered. All the odd numbers are first arranged in their natural order as shown in the second panel from the bottom, designated Odd Numbers. It will then be seen that every third number (beginning with 3) is divisible by 3, every fifth number (beginning with 5;) is divisible by 5, every seventh number (beginning with 7) is divisible by 7, every ninth number (beginning with 9) is divisible by 9, every eleventh number (beginning with 11) is divisible by 11, and so on to infinity. This system finally sifts out what the Pythagoreans called the “incomposite” numbers, or those having no divisor other than themselves and unity. These will be found in the lowest panel, designated Primary and Incomposite Numbers. In his History of Mathematics, David Eugene Smith states that Eratosthenes was one of the greatest scholars of Alexandria and was called by his admirers “the second Plato.” Eratosthenes was educated at Athens, and is renowned not only for his sieve but for having computed, by a very ingenious method, the circumference and diameter of the earth. His estimate of the earth’s diameter was only 50 miles less than the polar diameter accepted by modern scientists. This and other mathematical achievements of Eratosthenes, are indisputable evidence that in the third century before Christ the Greeks not only knew the earth to be spherical in farm but could also approximate, with amazing accuracy, its actual size and distance from both the sun and the moon. Aristarchus of Samos, another great Greek astronomer and mathematician, who lived about 250 B.C., established by philosophical deduction and a few simple scientific instruments that the earth revolved around the sun. While Copernicus actually believed himself to be the discoverer of this fact, he but restated the findings advanced by Aristarchus seventeen hundred years earlier.
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10 is one-half of the sum of 6 and 14; 18 is one-half the sum of 14 and 22; and 6 is one-half the sum of 2 and 10.
The oddly-odd, or unevenly-even, numbers are a compromise between the evenly-even and the evenly-odd numbers. Unlike the evenly-even, they cannot be halved back to unity; and unlike the evenly-odd, they are capable of more than one division by halving. The oddly-odd numbers are formed by multiplying the evenly-even numbers above 2 by the odd numbers above one. The odd numbers above one are 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and so forth. The evenly-even numbers above 2 are 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and soon. The first odd number of the series (3) multiplied by 4 (the first evenly-even number of the series) gives 12, the first oddly-odd number. By multiplying 5, 7, 9, 11, and so forth, by 4, oddly-odd numbers are found. The other oddly-odd numbers are produced by multiplying 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and so forth, in turn, by the other evenly-even numbers (8, 16, 32, 64, and so forth). An example of the halving of the oddly-odd number is as follows: 1/2 of 12 = 6; 1/2 of 6 = 3, which cannot be halved further because the Pythagoreans did not divide unity.
Even numbers are also divided into three other classes: superperfect, deficient, and perfect.
Superperfect or superabundant numbers are such as have the sum of their fractional parts greater than themselves. For example: 1/2 of 24 = 12; 1/4 = 6; 1/3 = 8; 1/6 = 4; 1/12 = 2; and 1/24 = 1. The sum of these parts (12+6+8+4+2+1) is 33, which is in excess of 24, the original number.
Deficient numbers are such as have the sum of their fractional parts less than themselves. For example: 1/2 of 14 = 7; 1/7 = 2; and 1/14 = 1. The sum of these parts (7+2+1) is 10, which is less than 14, the original number.
Perfect numbers are such as have the sum of their fractional parts equal to themselves. For example: 1/2 of 28 = 14; 1/4 = 7; 1/7 = 4; 1/14 = 2; and 1/28 = 1. The sum of these parts (14+7+4+2+1) is equal to 28.
The perfect numbers are extremely rare. There is only one between 1 and 10, namely, 6; one between 10 and 100, namely, 28; one between 100 and 1,000, namely, 496; and one between 1,000 and 10,000, namely, 8,128. The perfect numbers are found by the following rule: The first number of the evenly-even series of numbers (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, and so forth) is added to the second number of the series, and if an incomposite number results it is multiplied by the last number of the series of evenly-even numbers whose sum produced it. The product is the first perfect number. For example: the first and second evenly-even numbers are 1 and 2. Their sum is 3, an incomposite number. If 3 be multiplied by 2, the last number of the series of evenly-even numbers used to produce it, the product is 6, the first perfect number. If the addition of the evenly-even numbers does not result in an incomposite number, the next evenly-even number of the series must be added until an incomposite number results. The second perfect number is found in the following manner: The sum of the evenly-even numbers 1, 2, and 4 is 7, an incomposite number. If 7 be multiplied by 4 (the last of the series of evenly-even numbers used to produce it) the product is 28, the second perfect number. This method of calculation may be continued to infinity.
Perfect numbers when multiplied by 2 produce superabundant numbers, and when divided by 2 produce deficient numbers.
The Pythagoreans evolved their philosophy from the science of numbers. The following quotation from Theoretic Arithmetic is an excellent example of this practice:
“Perfect numbers, therefore, are beautiful images of the virtues which are certain media between excess and defect, and are not summits, as by some of the ancients they were supposed to be. And evil indeed is opposed to evil, but both are opposed to one good. Good, however, is never opposed to good, but to two evils at one and the same time. Thus timidity is opposed to audacity, to both [of] which the want of true courage is common; but both timidity and audacity are opposed to fortitude. Craft also is opposed to fatuity, to both [of] which the want of intellect is common; and both these are opposed to prudence. Thus, too, profusion is opposed to avarice, to both [of] which illiberality is common; and both these are opposed to liberality. And in a similar manner in the other virtues; by all [of] which it is evident that perfect numbers have a great similitude to the virtues. But they also resemble the virtues on another account; for they are rarely found, as being few, and they are generated in a very constant order. On the contrary, an infinite multitude of superabundant and diminished numbers may be found, nor are they disposed in any orderly series, nor generated from any certain end; and hence they have a great similitude to the vices, which are numerous, inordinate, and indefinite.”
THE TABLE OF THE TEN NUMBERS
(The following outline of the Pythagorean numbers is a paraphrase of the writings of Nicomachus, Theon of Smyrna, Proclus, Porphyry, Plutarch, Clement of Alexandria, Aristotle, and other early authorities.)
Monad–1–is so called because it remains always in the same condition–that is, separate from multitude. Its attributes are as follows: It is called mind, because the mind is stable and has preeminence; hermaphrodism, because it is both male and female; odd and even, for being added to the even it makes odd, and to the odd, even; God, because it is the beginning and end of all, but itself has neither beginning nor end; good, for such is the nature of God; the receptacle of matter, because it produces the duad, which is essentially material.
By the Pythagoreans monad was called chaos, obscurity, chasm, Tartarus, Styx, abyss, Lethe, Atlas, Axis, Morpho (a name for Venus), and Tower or Throne of Jupiter, because of the great power which abides in the center of the universe and controls the circular motion of the planers about itself. Monad is also called germinal reason, because it is the origin of all the thoughts in the universe. Other names given to it were: Apollo, because of its relation to the sun; Prometheus, because he brought man light; Pyralios, one who exists in fire; geniture, because without it no number can exist; substance, because substance is primary; cause of truth; and constitution of symphony: all these because it is the primordial one.
Between greater and lesser the monad is equal; between intention and remission it is middle; in multitude it is mean; and in time it is now, because eternity knows neither past nor future. It is called Jupiter, because he is Father and head of the gods; Vesta, the fire of the home, because it is located in the midst of the universe and remains there inclining to no side as a dot in a circle; form, because it circumscribes, comprehends, and terminates; love, concord, and piety, because it is indivisible. Other symbolic names for the monad are ship, chariot, Proteus (a god capable of changing his form), Mnemosyne, and Polyonymous (having many names).
The following symbolic names were given to the duad–2–because it has been divided, and is two rather than one; and when there are two, each is opposed to the other: genius, evil, darkness, inequality, instability, movability, boldness, fortitude, contention, matter, dissimilarity, partition between multitude and monad, defect, shapelessness, indefiniteness, indeterminate ness, harmony, tolerance, root, feet of fountain-abounding idea, top, Phanes, opinion, fallacy, alterity, diffidence, impulse, death, motion, generation, mutation, division, longitude, augmentation, composition, communion, misfortune, sustentation, imposition, marriage, soul, and science.
In his book, Numbers, W. Wynn Westcott says of the duad: “it was called ‘Audacity,’ from its being the earliest number to separate itself from the Divine One; from the ‘Adytum of God-nourished Silence,’ as the Chaldean oracles say.”
As the monad is the father, so the duad is the mother; therefore, the duad has certain points in common with the goddesses Isis, Rhea (Jove’s mother), Phrygia, Lydia, Dindymene (Cybele), and Ceres; Erato (one of the Muses); Diana, because the moon is forked; Dictynna, Venus, Dione, Cytherea; Juno, because she is both wife and sister of Jupiter; and Maia, the mother of Mercury.
While the monad is the symbol of wisdom, the duad is the symbol of ignorance, for in it exists the sense of separateness–which sense is the beginning of ignorance. The duad, however, is also the mother of wisdom, for ignorance–out of the nature of itself–invariably gives birth to wisdom.
The Pythagoreans revered the monad but despised the duad, because it was the symbol of polarity. By the power of the duad the deep was created in contradistinction to the heavens. The deep mirrored the heavens and became the symbol of illusion, for the below was merely a reflection of the above. The below was called maya, the illusion, the sea, the Great Void, and to symbolize it the Magi of Persia carried mirrors. From the duad arose disputes and contentions, until by bringing the monad between the duad, equilibrium was reestablished by the Savior-God, who took upon Himself the form of a number and was crucified between two thieves for the sins of men.
The triad–3–is the first number actually odd (monad not always being considered a number). It is the first equilibrium of unities; therefore, Pythagoras said that Apollo gave oracles from a tripod, and advised offer of libation three times. The keywords to the qualities of the triad are friendship, peace, justice, prudence, piety, temperance, and virtue. The following deities partake of the principles of the triad: Saturn (ruler of time), Latona, Cornucopiæ, Ophion (the great serpent), Thetis, Hecate, Polyhymnia (a Muse), Pluto, Triton, President of the Sea, Tritogenia, Achelous, and the Faces, Furies, and Graces. This number is called wisdom, because men organize the present, foresee the future, and benefit by the experiences of the fast. It is cause of wisdom and understanding. The triad is the number of knowledge–music, geometry, and astronomy, and the science of the celestials and terrestrials. Pythagoras taught that the cube of this number had the power of the lunar circle.
The sacredness of the triad and its symbol–the triangle–is derived from the fact that it is made up of the monad and the duad. The monad is the symbol of the Divine Father and the duad of the Great Mother. The triad being made of these two is therefore androgynous and is symbolic of the fact that God gave birth to His worlds out of Himself, who in His creative aspect is always symbolized by the triangle. The monad passing into the duad was thus capable of becoming the parent of progeny, for the duad was the womb of Meru, within which the world was incubated and within which it still exists in embryo.
The tetrad–4–was esteemed by the Pythagoreans as the primogenial number, the root of all things, the fountain of Nature and the most perfect number. All tetrads are intellectual; they have an emergent order and encircle the world as the Empyreum passes through it. Why the Pythagoreans expressed God as a tetrad is explained in a sacred discourse ascribed to Pythagoras, wherein God is called the Number of Numbers. This is because the decad, or 10, is composed of 1, 2, 3, and 4. The number 4 is symbolic of God because it is symbolic of the first four numbers. Moreover, the tetrad is the center of the week, being halfway between 1 and 7. The tetrad is also the first geometric solid.
Pythagoras maintained that the soul of man consists of a tetrad, the four powers of the soul being mind, science, opinion, and sense. The tetrad connects all beings, elements, numbers, and seasons; nor can anything be named which does not depend upon the tetractys. It is the Cause and Maker of all things, the intelligible God, Author of celestial and sensible good, Plutarch interprets this tetractys, which he said was also called the world, to be 36, consisting of the first four odd numbers added to the first four even numbers, thus:
1 + 3 +5 +7 | = 16 |
2 + 4 + 6 + 8 | = 20 |
36 |
Keywords given to the tetrad are impetuosity, strength, virility, two-mothered, and the key keeper of Nature, because the universal constitution cannot be without it. It is also called harmony and the first profundity. The following deities partook of the nature of the tetrad: Hercules, Mercury, Vulcan, Bacchus, and Urania (one of the Muses).
The triad represents the primary colors and the major planets, while the tetrad represents the secondary colors and the minor planets. From the first triangle come forth the seven spirits, symbolized by a triangle and a square. These together form the Masonic apron.
The pentad–5–is the union of an odd and an even number (3 and 2). Among the Greeks, the pentagram was a sacred symbol of light, health, and vitality. It also symbolized the fifth element–ether–because it is free from the disturbances of the four lower elements. It is called equilibrium, because it divides the perfect number 10 into two equal parts.
The pentad is symbolic of Nature, for, when multiplied by itself it returns into itself, just as grains of wheat, starting in the form of seed, pass through Nature’s processes and reproduce the seed of the wheat as the ultimate form of their own growth. Other numbers multiplied by themselves produce other numbers, but only 5 and 6 multiplied by themselves represent and retain their original number as the last figure in their products.
The pentad represents all the superior and inferior beings. It is sometimes referred to as the hierophant, or the priest of the Mysteries, because of its connection with the spiritual ethers, by means of which mystic development is attained. Keywords of the pentad are reconciliation, alternation, marriage, immortality, cordiality, Providence, and sound. Among the deities who partook of the nature of the pentad were Pallas, Nemesis, Bubastia (Bast), Venus, Androgynia, Cytherea, and the messengers of Jupiter.
The tetrad (the elements) plus the monad equals the pentad. The Pythagoreans taught that the elements of earth, fire, air, and water were permeated by a substance called ether–the basis of vitality and life. Therefore, they chose the five-pointed star, or pentagram, as the symbol of vitality, health, and interpenetration.
It was customary for the philosophers to conceal the element of earth under the symbol of a dragon, and many of the heroes of antiquity were told to go forth and slay the dragon. Hence, they drove their sword (the monad) into the body of the dragon (the tetrad). This resulted in the formation of the pentad, a symbol of the victory of the spiritual nature over the material nature. The four elements are symbolized in the early Biblical writings as the four rivers that poured out of Garden of Eden. The elements themselves are under the control of the composite Cherubim of Ezekiel.
The Pythagoreans held the hexad–6–to represent, as Clement of Alexandria conceived, the creation of the world according to both the prophets and the ancient Mysteries. It was called by the Pythagoreans the perfection of all the parts. This number was particularly sacred to Orpheus, and also to the Fate, Lachesis, and the Muse, Thalia. It was called the form of forms, the articulation of the universe, and the maker of the soul.
Among the Greeks, harmony and the soul were considered to be similar in nature, because all souls are harmonic. The hexad is also the symbol of marriage, because it is formed by the union of two triangles, one masculine and the other feminine. Among the keywords given to the hexad are: time, for it is the measure of duration; panacea, because health is equilibrium, and the hexad is a balance number; the world, because the world, like the hexad, is often seen to consist of contraries by harmony; omnisufficient, because its parts are sufficient for totality (3 +2 + 1 = 6); unwearied, because it contains the elements of immortality.
By the Pythagoreans the heptad–7–was called “worthy of veneration.” It was held to be the number of religion, because man is controlled by seven celestial spirits to whom it is proper for him to make offerings. It was called the number of life, because it was believed that human creatures born in the seventh month of embryonic life usually lived, but those born in the eighth month often died. One author called it the Motherless Virgin, Minerva, because it was nor born of a mother but out of the crown, or the head of the Father, the monad. Keywords of the heptad are fortune, occasion, custody, control, government, judgment, dreams, voices, sounds, and that which leads all things to their end. Deities whose attributes were expressed by the heptad were Ægis, Osiris, Mars, and Cleo (one of the Muses).
Among many ancient nations the heptad is a sacred number. The Elohim of the Jews were supposedly seven in number. They were the Spirits of the Dawn, more commonly known as the Archangels controlling the planets. The seven Archangels, with the three spirits controlling the sun in its threefold aspect, constitute the 10, the sacred Pythagorean decad. The mysterious Pythagorean tetractys, or four rows of dots, increasing from 1 to 4, was symbolic of the stages of creation. The great Pythagorean truth that all things in Nature are regenerated through the decad, or 10, is subtly preserved in Freemasonry through these grips being effected by the uniting of 10 fingers, five on the hand of each person.
The 3 (spirit, mind, and soul) descend into the 4 (the world), the sum being the 7, or the mystic nature of man, consisting of a threefold spiritual body and a fourfold material form. These are symbolized by the cube, which has six surfaces and a mysterious seventh point within. The six surfaces are the directions: north, east, south, west, up, and down; or, front, back, right, left, above, and below; or again, earth, fire, air, water, spirit, and matter. In the midst of these stands the 1, which is the upright figure of man, from whose center in the cube radiate six pyramids. From this comes the great occult axiom: “The center is the father of the directions, the dimensions, and the distances.”
The heptad is the number of the law, because it is the number of the Makers of Cosmic law, the Seven Spirits before the Throne.
The ogdoad–8–was sacred because it was the number of the first cube, which form had eight corners, and was the only evenly-even number under 10 (1-2-4-8-4-2-1). Thus, the 8 is divided into two 4’s, each 4 is divided into two 2’s, and each 2 is divided into two 1’s, thereby reestablishing the monad. Among the keywords of the ogdoad are love, counsel, prudence, law, and convenience. Among the divinities partaking of its nature were Panarmonia, Rhea, Cibele, Cadmæa, Dindymene, Orcia, Neptune, Themis, and Euterpe (a Muse).
The ogdoad was a mysterious number associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries of Greece and the Cabiri. It was called the little holy number. It derived its form partly from the twisted snakes on the Caduceus of Hermes and partly from the serpentine motion of the celestial bodies; possibly also from the moon’s nodes.
The ennead–9–was the first square of an odd number (3×3). It was associated with failure and shortcoming because it fell short of the perfect number 10 by one. It was called the called the number of man, because of the nine months of his embryonic life. Among its keywords are ocean and horizon, because to the ancients these were boundless. The ennead is the limitless number because there is nothing beyond it but the infinite 10. It was called boundary and limitation, because it gathered all numbers within itself. It was called the sphere of the air, because it surrounded the numbers as air surrounds the earth, Among the gods and goddesses who partook in greater or less degree of its nature were Prometheus, Vulcan, Juno, the sister and wife of Jupiter, Pæan, and Aglaia, Tritogenia, Curetes, Proserpine, Hyperion, and Terpsichore (a Muse).
The 9 was looked upon as evil, because it was an inverted 6. According to the Eleusinian Mysteries, it was the number of the spheres through which the consciousness passed on its way to birth. Because of its close resemblance to the spermatozoon, the 9 has been associated with germinal life.
The decad–10–according to the Pythagoreans, is the greatest of numbers, not only because it is the tetractys (the 10 dots) but because it comprehends all arithmetic and harmonic proportions. Pythagoras said that 10 is the nature of number, because all nations reckon to it and when they arrive at it they return to the monad. The decad was called both heaven and the world, because the former includes the latter. Being a perfect number, the decad was applied by the Pythagoreans to those things relating to age, power, faith, necessity, and the power of memory. It was also called unwearied, because, like God, it was tireless. The Pythagoreans divided the heavenly bodies into ten orders. They also stated that the decad perfected all numbers and comprehended within itself the nature of odd and even, moved and unmoved, good and ill. They associated its power with the following deities: Atlas (for it carried the numbers on its shoulders), Urania, Mnemosyne, the Sun, Phanes, and the One God.
The decimal system can probably be traced back to the time when it was customary to reckon on the fingers, these being among the most primitive of calculating devices and still in use among many aboriginal peoples.
The Human Body in Symbolism
THE oldest, the most profound, the most universal of all symbols is the human body. The Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, and Hindus considered a philosophical analysis of man’s triune nature to be an indispensable part of ethical and religious training. The Mysteries of every nation taught that the laws, elements, and powers of the universe were epitomized in the human constitution; that everything which existed outside of man had its analogue within man. The universe, being immeasurable in its immensity and inconceivable in its profundity, was beyond mortal estimation. Even the gods themselves could comprehend but a part of the inaccessible glory which was their source. When temporarily permeated with divine enthusiasm, man may transcend for a brief moment the limitations of his own personality and behold in part that celestial effulgence in which all creation is bathed. But even in his periods of greatest illumination man is incapable of imprinting upon the substance of his rational soul a perfect image of the multiform expression of celestial activity.
Recognizing the futility of attempting to cope intellectually with that which transcends the comprehension of the rational faculties, the early philosophers turned their attention from the inconceivable Divinity to man himself, with in the narrow confines of whose nature they found manifested all the mysteries of the external spheres. As the natural outgrowth of this practice there was fabricated a secret theological system in which God was considered as the Grand Man and, conversely, man as the little god. Continuing this analogy, the universe was regarded as a man and, conversely, man as a miniature universe. The greater universe was termed the Macrocosm–the Great World or Body–and the Divine Life or spiritual entity controlling its functions was called the Macroprosophus. Man’s body, or the individual human universe, was termed the Microcosm, and the Divine Life or spiritual entity controlling its functions was called the Microprosophus. The pagan Mysteries were primarily concerned with instructing neophytes in the true relationship existing between the Macrocosm and the Microcosm–in other words, between God and man. Accordingly, the key to these analogies between the organs and functions of the Microcosmic man and those of the Macrocosmic Man constituted the most prized possession of the early initiates.
In Isis Unveiled, H. P. Blavatsky summarizes the pagan concept of man as follows:
“Man is a little world–a microcosm inside the great universe. Like a fetus, he is suspended, by all his three spirits, in the matrix of the macrocosmos; and while his terrestrial body is in constant sympathy with its parent earth, his astral soul lives in unison with the sidereal anima mundi. He is in it, as it is in him, for the world-pervading element fills all space, and is space itself, only shoreless and infinite. As to his third spirit, the divine, what is it but an infinitesimal ray, one of the countless radiations proceeding directly from the Highest Cause–the Spiritual Light of the World? This is the trinity of organic and inorganic nature–the spiritual and the physical, which are three in one, and of which Proclus says that ‘The first monad is the Eternal God; the second, eternity; the third, the paradigm, or pattern of the universe;’ the three constituting the Intelligible Triad.”
Long before the introduction of idolatry into religion, the early priests caused the statue of a man to be placed in the sanctuary of the temple. This human figure symbolized the Divine Power in all its intricate manifestations. Thus the priests of antiquity accepted man as their textbook, and through the study of him learned to understand the greater and more abstruse mysteries of the celestial scheme of which they were a part. It is not improbable that this mysterious figure standing over the primitive altars was made in the nature of a manikin and, like certain emblematic hands in the Mystery schools, was covered with either carved or painted hieroglyphs. The statue may have opened, thus showing the relative positions of the organs, bones, muscles, nerves, and other parts. After ages of research, the manikin became a mass of intricate hieroglyphs and symbolic figures. Every part had its secret meaning. The measurements formed a basic standard by means of which it was possible to measure all parts of cosmos. It was a glorious composite emblem of all the knowledge possessed by the sages and hierophants.
Then came the age of idolatry. The Mysteries decayed from within. The secrets were lost and none knew the identity of the mysterious man who stood over the altar. It was remembered only that the figure was a sacred and glorious symbol of the Universal Power, and it: finally came to be looked upon as a god–the One in whose image man was made. Having lost the knowledge of the purpose for which the manikin was originally constructed, the priests worshiped this effigy until at last their lack of spiritual understanding brought the temple down in ruins about their heads and the statue crumbled with the civilization that had forgotten its meaning.
Proceeding from this assumption of the first theologians that man is actually fashioned in the image of God, the initiated minds of past ages erected the stupendous structure of theology upon the foundation of the human body. The religious world of today is almost totally ignorant of the fact that the science of biology is the fountainhead of its doctrines and tenets. Many of the codes and laws believed by modern divines to have been direct revelations from Divinity are in reality the fruitage of ages of patient delving into the intricacies of the human constitution and the infinite wonders revealed by such a study.
In nearly all the sacred books of the world can be traced an anatomical analogy. This is most evident in their creation myths. Anyone familiar with embryology and obstetrics will have no difficulty in recognizing the basis of the allegory concerning Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, the nine degrees of the Eleusinian Mysteries, and the Brahmanic legend of Vishnu’s incarnations. The story of the Universal Egg, the Scandinavian myth of Ginnungagap (the dark cleft in space in which the seed of the world is sown), and the use of the fish as the emblem of the paternal generative power–all show the true origin of theological speculation. The philosophers of antiquity realized that man himself was the key to the riddle of life, for he was the living image of the Divine Plan, and in future ages humanity also will come to realize more fully the solemn import of those ancient words: “The proper study of mankind is man.”
Both God and man have a twofold constitution, of which the superior part is invisible and the inferior visible. In both there is also an intermediary sphere, marking the point where these visible and invisible natures meet. As the spiritual nature of God controls His objective universal form-which is actually a crystallized idea–so the spiritual nature of man is the invisible cause and controlling power of his visible material personality. Thus it is evident that the spirit of man bears the same relationship to his material body that God bears to the objective universe. The Mysteries taught that spirit, or life, was anterior to form and that what is anterior includes all that is posterior to itself. Spirit being anterior to form, form is therefore included within the realm of spirit. It is also a popular statement or belief that man’s spirit is within his body. According to the conclusions of philosophy and theology, however, this belief is erroneous, for spirit first circumscribes an area and then manifests within it. Philosophically speaking, form, being a part of spirit, is within spirit; but: spirit is more than the sum of form, As the material nature of man is therefore within the sum of spirit, so the Universal Nature, including the entire sidereal system, is within the all-pervading essence of God–the Universal Spirit.
According to another concept of the ancient wisdom, all bodies–whether spiritual or material–have three centers, called by the Greeks the upper center, the middlecenter, and the lower center. An apparent ambiguity will here be noted. To diagram or symbolize adequately abstract mental verities is impossible, for the diagrammatic representation of one aspect of metaphysical relationships may be an actual contradiction of some other aspect. While that which
THE TETRAGRAMMATON IN THE HUMAN HEART.
From Böhme’s Libri Apologetici.
The Tetragrammaton, or four-lettered Name of God, is here arranged as a tetractys within the inverted human heart. Beneath, the name Jehovah is shown transformed into Jehoshua by the interpolation of the radiant Hebrew letter סה, Shin. The drawing as a whole represents the throne of God and His hierarchies within the heart of man. In the first book of his Libri Apologetici, Jakob Böhme thus describes the meaning of the symbol: “For we men have one book in common which points to God. Each has it within himself, which is the priceless Name of God. Its letters are the flames of His love, which He out of His heart in the priceless Name of Jesus has revealed in us. Read these letters in your hearts and spirits and you have books enough. All the writings of the children of God direct you unto that one book, for therein lie all the treasures of wisdom. * * * This book is Christ in you.”
is above is generally considered superior in dignity and power, in reality that which is in the center is superior and anterior to both that which is said to be above and that which is said to be below. Therefore, it must be said that the first–which is considered as being above–is actually in the center, while both of the others (which are said to be either above or below) are actually beneath. This point can be further simplified if the reader will consider above as indicating degree of proximity to source and below as indicating degree of distance from source, source being posited in the actual center and relative distance being the various points along the radii from the center toward the circumference. In matters pertaining to philosophy and theology, up may be considered as toward the center and down as toward the circumference. Center is spirit; circumference is matter. Therefore, up is toward spirit along an ascending scale of spirituality; down is toward matter along an ascending scale of materiality. The latter concept is partly expressed by the apex of a cone which, when viewed from above, is seen as a point in the exact center of the circumference formed by the base of the cone.
These three universal centers–the one above, the one below, and the link uniting them-represent three suns or three aspects of one sun–centers of effulgence. These also have their analogues in the three grand centers of the human body, which, like the physical universe, is a Demiurgic fabrication.
“The first of these [suns],” says Thomas Taylor, “is analogous to light when viewed subsisting in its fountain the sun; the second to the light immediately proceeding from the sun; and the third to the splendour communicated to other natures by this light.”
Since the superior (or spiritual) center is in the midst of the other two, its analogue in the physical body is the heart–the most spiritual and mysterious organ in the human body. The second center (or the link between the superior and inferior worlds) is elevated to the position of greatest physical dignity–the brain. The third (or lower) center is relegated to the position of least physical dignity but greatest physical importance–the generative system. Thus the heart is symbolically the source of life; the brain the link by which, through rational intelligence, life and form are united; and the generative system–or infernal creator–the source of that power by which physical organisms are produced. The ideals and aspirations of the individual depend largely upon which of these three centers of power predominates in scope and activity of expression. In the materialist the lower center is the strongest, in the intellectualist the higher center; but in the initiate the middle center–by bathing the two extremes in a flood of spiritual effulgence–controls wholesomely both the mind and the body.
As light bears witness of life-which is its source-so the mind bears witness of the spirit, and activity in a still lower plane bears witness of intelligence. Thus the mind bears witness of the heart, while the generative system, in turn, bears witness of the mind. Accordingly, the spiritual nature is most commonly symbolized by a heart; the intellectual power by an opened eye, symbolizing the pineal gland or Cyclopean eye, which is the two-faced Janus of the pagan Mysteries; and the generative system by a flower, a staff, a cup, or a hand.
While all the Mysteries recognized the heart as the center of spiritual consciousness, they often purposely ignored this concept and used the heart in its exoteric sense as the symbol of the emotional nature, In this arrangement the generative center represented the physical body, the heart the emotional body, and the brain the mental body. The brain represented the superior sphere, but after the initiates had passed through the lower degrees they were instructed that the brain was the proxy of the spiritual flame dwelling in the innermost recesses of the heart. The student of esotericism discovers ere long that the ancients often resorted to various blinds to conceal the true interpretations of their Mysteries. The substitution of the brain for the heart was one of these blinds.
The three degrees of the ancient Mysteries were, with few exceptions, given in chambers which represented the three great centers of the human and Universal bodies. If possible, the temple itself was constructed in the form of the human body. The candidate entered between the feet and received the highest degree in the point corresponding to the brain. Thus the first degree was the material mystery and its symbol was the generative system; it raised the candidate through the various degrees of concrete thought. The second degree was given in the chamber corresponding to the heart, but represented the middle power which was the mental link. Here the candidate was initiated into the mysteries of abstract thought and lifted as high as the mind was capable of penetrating. He then passed into the third chamber, which, analogous to the brain, occupied the highest position in the temple but, analogous to the heart, was of the greatest dignity. In the brain chamber the heart mystery was given. Here the initiate for the first time truly comprehended the meaning of those immortal words: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” As there are seven hearts in the brain so there are seven brains in the heart, but this is a matter of superphysics of which little can be said at the present time.
Proclus writes on this subject in the first book of On the Theology of Plato:
“Indeed, Socrates in the (First) Alcibiades rightly observes, that the soul entering into herself will behold all other things, and deity itself. For verging to her own union, and to the centre of all life, laying aside multitude, and the variety of the all manifold powers which she contains, she ascends to the highest watch-tower offerings. And as in the most holy of the mysteries, they say, that the mystics at first meet with the multi form, and many-shaped genera, which are hurled forth before the gods, but on entering the temple, unmoved, and guarded by the mystic rites, they genuinely receive in their bosom [heart] divine illumination, and divested of their garments, as they would say, participate of a divine nature; the same mode, as it appears to me, takes place in the speculation of wholes. For the soul when looking at things posterior to herself, beholds the shadows and images of beings, but when she converts herself to herself she evolves her own essence, and the reasons which she contains. And at first indeed, she only as it were beholds herself; but, when she penetrates more profoundly into the knowledge of herself, she finds in herself both intellect, and the orders of beings. When however, she proceeds into her interior recesses, and into the adytum as it were of the soul, she perceives with her eye closed [without the aid of the lower mind], the genus of the gods, and the unities of beings. For all things are in us psychically, and through this we are naturally capable of knowing all things, by exciting the powers and the images of wholes which we contain.”
The initiates of old warned their disciples that an image is not a reality but merely the objectification of a subjective idea. The image, of the gods were nor designed to be objects of worship but were to be regarded merely as emblems or reminders of invisible powers and principles. Similarly, the body of man must not be considered as the individual but only as the house of the individual, in the same manner that the temple was the House of God. In a state of grossness and perversion man’s body is the tomb or prison of a divine principle; in a state of unfoldment and regeneration it is the House or Sanctuary of the Deity by whose creative powers it was fashioned. “Personality is suspended upon a thread from the nature of Being,” declares the secret work. Man is essentially a permanent and immortal principle; only his bodies pass through the cycle of birth and death. The immortal is the reality; the mortal is the unreality. During each period of earth life, reality thus dwells in unreality, to be liberated from it temporarily by death and permanently by illumination.
HAND DECORATED WITH EFFIGIES OF JESUS CHRIST, THE VIRGIN MARY, AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES.
From an old print, courtesy of Carl Oscar Borg.
Upon the twelve phalanges of the fingers, appear the likenesses of the Apostles, each bearing its own appropriate symbol. In the case of those who suffered martyrdom the symbol signifies the instrument of death. Thus, the symbol of St. Andrew is a cross; of St. Thomas, a javelin or a builder’s square; of St. James the Less, a club; of St Philip, a cross; of St. Bartholomew, a large knife or scimitar; of St. Matthew, a sword or spear (sometimes a purse); of St. Simon, a club or saw; of St. Matthias, an axe; and of St. Judas, a halbert. The Apostles whose symbols do not elate to their martyrdom are St. Peter, who carries two crossed keys, one gold and one silver; St. James the Great, who bears a pilgrim’s staff and an escalop shell; and St. John, who holds a cup from which the poison miraculously departed in the form of a serpent. (See Handbook of Christian Symbolism.) The figure of Christ upon the second phalange of the thumb does not follow the pagan system of assigning the first Person of the Creative Triad to this Position. God the Father should occupy the second Phalange, God the Son the first phalange, while to God the Holy Spirit is assigned the base of the thumb.–Also, according to the Philosophic arrangement, the Virgin should occupy the base of the thumb, which is sacred to the moon.
While generally regarded as polytheists, the pagans gained this reputation not because they worshiped more than one God but rather because they personified the attributes of this God, thereby creating a pantheon of posterior deities each manifesting a part of what the One God manifested as a whole. The various pantheons of ancient religions therefore actually represent the catalogued and personified attributes of Deity. In this respect they correspond to the hierarchies of the Hebrew Qabbalists. All the gods and goddesses of antiquity consequently have their analogies in the human body, as have also the elements, planets, and constellations which were assigned as proper vehicles for these celestials. Four body centers are assigned to the elements, the seven vital organs to the planets, the twelve principal parts and members to the zodiac, the invisible parts of man’s divine nature to various supermundane deities, while the hidden God was declared to manifest through the marrow in the bones.
It is difficult for many to realize that they are actual universes; that their physical bodies are a visible nature through the structure of which countless waves of evolving life are unfolding their latent potentialities. Yet through man’s physical body not only are a mineral, a plant, and an animal kingdom evolving, but also unknown classifications and divisions of invisible spiritual life. just as cells are infinitesimal units in the structure of man, so man is an infinitesimal unit in the structure of the universe. A theology based upon the knowledge and appreciation of these relationships is as profoundly just as it is profoundly true.
As man’s physical body has five distinct and important extremities–two legs, two arms, and a head, of which the last governs the first four–the number 5 has been accepted as the symbol of man. By its four corners the pyramid symbolizes the arms and legs, and by its apex the head, thus indicating that one rational power controls four irrational corners. The hands and feet are used to represent the four elements, of which the two feet are earth and water, and the two hands fire and air. The brain then symbolizes the sacred fifth element–æther–which controls and unites the other four. If the feet are placed together and the arms outspread, man then symbolizes the cross with the rational intellect as the head or upper limb.
The fingers and toes also have special significance. The toes represent the Ten Commandments of the physical law and the fingers the Ten Commandments of the spiritual law. The four fingers of each hand represent the four elements and the three phalanges of each finger represent the divisions of the element, so that in each hand there are twelve parts to the fingers, which are analogous to the signs of the zodiac, whereas the two phalanges and base of each thumb signify the threefold Deity. The first phalange corresponds to the creative aspect, the second to the preservative aspect, and the base to the generative and destructive aspect. When the hands are brought together, the result is the twenty-four Elders and the six Days of Creation.
In symbolism the body is divided vertically into halves, the right half being considered as light and the left half as darkness. By those unacquainted with the true meanings of light and darkness the light half was denominated spiritual and the left half material. Light is the symbol of objectivity; darkness of subjectivity. Light is a manifestation of life and is therefore posterior to life. That which is anterior to light is darkness, in which light exists temporarily but darkness permanently. As life precedes light, its only symbol is darkness, and darkness is considered as the veil which must eternally conceal the true nature of abstract and undifferentiated Being.
In ancient times men fought with their right arms and defended the vital centers with their left arms, on which was carried the protecting shield. The right half of the body was regarded therefore as offensive and the left half defensive. For this reason also the right side of the body was considered masculine and the left side feminine. Several authorities are of the opinion that the present prevalent right-handedness of the race is the outgrowth of the custom of holding the left hand in restraint for defensive purposes. Furthermore, as the source of Being is in the primal darkness which preceded light, so the spiritual nature of man is in the dark part of his being, for the heart is on the left side.
Among the curious misconceptions arising from the false practice of associating darkness with evil is one by which several early nations used the right hand for all constructive labors and the left hand for only those purposes termed unclean and unfit for the sight of the gods. For the same reason black magic was often referred to as the left-hand path, and heaven was said to be upon the right and hell upon the left. Some philosophers further declared that there were two methods of writing: one from left to right, which was considered the exoteric method; the other from right to left, which was considered esoteric. The exoteric writing was that which was done out or away from the heart, while the esoteric writing was that which–like the ancient Hebrew–was written toward the heart.
The secret doctrine declares that every part and member of the body is epitomized in the brain and, in turn, that all that is in the brain is epitomized in the heart. In symbolism the human head is frequently used to represent intelligence and self-knowledge. As the human body in its entirety is the most perfect known product of the earth’s evolution, it was employed to represent Divinity–the highest appreciable state or condition. Artists, attempting to portray Divinity, often show only a hand emerging from an impenetrable cloud. The cloud signifies the Unknowable Divinity concealed from man by human limitation. The hand signifies the Divine activity, the only part of God which is cognizable to the lower senses.
The face consists of a natural trinity: the eyes representing the spiritual power which comprehends; the nostrils representing the preservative and vivifying power; and the mouth and ears representing the material Demiurgic power of the lower world. The first sphere is eternally existent and is creative; the second sphere pertains to the mystery of the creative breach; and the third sphere
THE THREEFOLD LIFE OF THE INNER MAN.
Redrawn from Gichtel’s Theosophia Practica.
Johann Georg Gichtel, a profound Philosopher and mystic, the most illumined of the disciples of Jakob Böhme, secretly circulated the above diagrams among a small group of devoted friends and students. Gichtel republished the writings of Böhme, illustrating them with numerous remarkable figures. According to Gichtel, the diagrams above, represent the anatomy of the divine (or inner) man, and graphically set forth its condition during its human, infernal, and divine states. The plates in the William Law edition of Böhme’s works are based apparently upon Gichtel’s diagrams, which they follow in all essentials. Gichtel gives no detailed description of his figures, and the lettering on the original diagrams here translated out of the German is the only clue to the interpretation of the charts.
The two end figures represent the obverse and reverse of the same diagram and are termed Table Three. They are “designed to show the Condition of the whole Man, as to all his three essential Parts, Spirit, Soul, and Body, in his Regenerated State.” The third figure from the left is called the Second Table, and sets forth “the Condition of Man in his old, lapsed, and corrupted State; without any respect to, or consideration of his renewing by regeneration.” The third figure, however, does not correspond with the First Table of William Law. The First Table presumably represents the condition of humanity before the Fall, but the Gichtel plate pertains to the third, or regenerated, state of mankind. William Law thus describes the purpose of the diagrams, and the symbols upon them: “These three tables are designed to represent Man in his different Threefold State: the First before his Fall, in Purity, Dominion, and Glory: the Second after his Fall, in Pollution and Perdition: and the Third in his rising from the Fall, or on the Way of regeneration, in Sanctification and Tendency to his last Perfection.” The student of Orientalism will immediately recognize in the symbols upon the figures the Hindu chakras, or centers of spiritual force, the various motions and aspects of which reveal the condition of the disciple’s internal divine nature.
to the creative word. By the Word of God the material universe was fabricated, and the seven creative powers, or vowel sounds–which had been brought into existence by the speaking of the Word–became the seven Elohim or Deities by whose power and ministration the lower world was organized. Occasionally the Deity is symbolized by an eye, an ear, a nose, or a mouth. By the first, Divine awareness is signified; by the second, Divine interest; by the third, Divine vitality; and by the fourth, Divine command.
The ancients did not believe that spirituality made men either righteous or rational, but rather that righteousness and rationality made men spiritual. The Mysteries taught that spiritual illumination was attained only by bringing the lower nature up to a certain standard of efficiency and purity. The Mysteries were therefore established for the purpose of unfolding the nature of man according to certain fixed rules which, when faithfully followed, elevated the human consciousness to a point where it was capable of cognizing its own constitution and the true purpose of existence. This knowledge of how man’s manifold constitution could be most quickly and most completely regenerated to the point of spiritual illumination constituted the secret, or esoteric, doctrine of antiquity. Certain apparently physical organs and centers are in reality the veils or sheaths of spiritual centers. What these were and how they could be unfolded was never revealed to the unregenerate, for the philosophers realized that once he understands the complete working of any system, a man may accomplish a prescribed end without being qualified to manipulate and control the effects which he has produced. For this reason long periods of probation were imposed, so that the knowledge of how to become as the gods might remain the sole possession of the worthy.
Lest that knowledge be lost, however, it was concealed in allegories and myths which were meaningless to the profane but self-evident to those acquainted with that theory of personal redemption which was the foundation of philosophical theology. Christianity itself may be cited as an example. The entire New Testament is in fact an ingeniously concealed exposition of the secret processes of human regeneration. The characters so long considered as historical men and women are really the personification of certain processes which take place in the human body when man begins the task of consciously liberating himself from the bondage of ignorance and death.
The garments and ornamentations supposedly worn by the gods are also keys, for in the Mysteries clothing was considered as synonymous with form. The degree of spirituality or materiality of the organisms was signified by the quality, beauty, and value of the garments worn. Man’s physical body was looked upon as the robe of his spiritual nature; consequently, the more developed were his super-substantial powers the more glorious his apparel. Of course, clothing was originally worn for ornamentation rather than protection, and such practice still prevails among many primitive peoples. The Mysteries caught that man’s only lasting adornments were his virtues and worthy characteristics; that he was clothed in his own accomplishments and adorned by his attainments. Thus the white robe was symbolic of purity, the red robe of sacrifice and love, and the blue robe of altruism and integrity. Since the body was said to be the robe of the spirit, mental or moral deformities were depicted as deformities of the body.
Considering man’s body as the measuring rule of the universe, the philosophers declared that all things resemble in constitution–if not in form–the human body. The Greeks, for example, declared Delphi to be the navel of the earth, for the physical planet was looked upon as a gigantic human being twisted into the form of a ball. In contradistinction to the belief of Christendom that the earth is an inanimate thing, the pagans considered not only the earth but also all the sidereal bodies as individual creatures possessing individual intelligences. They even went so far as to view the various kingdoms of Nature as individual entities. The animal kingdom, for example, was looked upon as one being–a composite of all the creatures composing that kingdom. This prototypic beast was a mosaic embodiment of all animal propensities and within its nature the entire animal world existed as the human species exists within the constitution of the prototypic Adam.
In the same manner, races, nations, tribes, religions, states, communities, and cities were viewed as composite entities, each made up of varying numbers of individual units. Every community has an individuality which is the sum of the individual attitudes of its inhabitants. Every religion is an individual whose body is made up of a hierarchy and vast host of individual worshipers. The organization of any religion represents its physical body, and its individual members the cell life making up this organism. Accordingly, religions, races, and communities–like individuals–pass through Shakespeare’s Seven Ages, for the life of man is a standard by which the perpetuity of all things is estimated.
According to the secret doctrine, man, through the gradual refinement of his vehicles and the ever-increasing sensitiveness resulting from that refinement, is gradually overcoming the limitations of matter and is disentangling himself from his mortal coil. When humanity has completed its physical evolution, the empty shell of materiality left behind will be used by other life waves as steppingstones to their own liberation. The trend of man’s evolutionary growth is ever toward his own essential Selfhood. At the point of deepest materialism, therefore, man is at the greatest distance from Himself. According to the Mystery teachings, not all the spiritual nature of man incarnates in matter. The spirit of man is diagrammatically shown as an equilateral triangle with one point downward. This lower point, which is one-third of the spiritual nature but in comparison to the dignity of the other two is much less than a third, descends into the illusion of material existence for a brief space of time. That which never clothes itself in the sheath of matter is the Hermetic Anthropos–the Overman– analogous to the Cyclops or guardiandæmon of the Greeks, the angel of Jakob Böhme, and the Oversoul of Emerson, “that Unity, that Oversoul, within which every man’s particular being is contained and made one with all other.”
At birth only a third part of the Divine Nature of man temporarily dissociates itself from its own immortality and takes upon itself the dream of physical birth and existence, animating with its own celestial enthusiasm a vehicle composed of material elements, part of and bound to the material sphere. At death this incarnated part awakens from the dream of physical existence and reunites itself once more with its eternal condition. This periodical descent of spirit into matter is termed the wheel of life and death, and the principles involved are treated at length by the philosophers under the subject of metempsychosis. By initiation into the Mysteries and a certain process known as operative theology, this law of birth and death is transcended, and during the course of physical existence that part of the spirit which is asleep in form is awakened without the intervention of death–the inevitable Initiator–and is consciously reunited with the Anthropos, or the overshadowing substance of itself. This is at once the primary purpose and the consummate achievement of the Mysteries: that man shall become aware of and consciously be reunited with the divine source of himself without tasting of physical dissolution.
THE DIVINE TREE IN MAN
(reverse)
From Law’s Figures of Jakob Böhme.
Just as the diagram representing the front view of man illustrates his divine principles in their regenerated state, so the back view of the same figure sets forth the inferior, or “night,” condition of the sun. From the Sphere of the Astral Mind a line ascends through the Sphere of reason into that of the Senses. The Sphere of the Astral Mind and of the Senses are filled with stars to signify the nocturnal condition of their natures. In the sphere of reason, the superior and the inferior are reconciled, Reason in the mortal man corresponding to Illumined Understanding in the spiritual man.
THE DIVINE TREE IN MAN
(obverse)
From Law’s Figures of Jakob Böhme.
A tree with its roots in the heart rises from the Mirror of the Deity through the Sphere of the Understanding to branch forth in the Sphere of the Senses. The roots and trunk of this tree represent the divine nature of man and may be called his spirituality; the branches of the tree are the separate parts of the divine constitution and may be likened to the individuality; and the leaves–because of their ephemeral nature–correspond to the personality, which partakes of none of the permanence of its divine source.
The Hiramic Legend
WHEN Solomon–the beloved of God, builder of the Everlasting House, and Grand Master of the Lodge of Jerusalem–ascended the throne of his father David he consecrated his life to the erection of a temple to God and a palace for the kings of Israel. David’s faithful friend, Hiram, King of Tyre, hearing that a son of David sat upon the throne of Israel, sent messages of congratulation and offers of assistance to the new ruler. In his History of the Jews, Josephus mentions that copies of the letters passing between the two kings were then to be seen both at Jerusalem and at Tyre. Despite Hiram’s lack of appreciation for the twenty cities of Galilee which Solomon presented to him upon the completion of the temple, the two monarchs remained the best of friends. Both were famous for their wit and wisdom, and when they exchanged letters each devised puzzling questions to test the mental ingenuity of the other. Solomon made an agreement with Hiram of Tyre promising vast amounts of barley, wheat, corn, wine, and oil as wages for the masons and carpenters from Tyre who were to assist the Jews in the erection of the temple. Hiram also supplied cedars and other fine trees, which were made into rafts and floated down the sea to Joppa, whence they were taken inland by Solomon’s workmen to the temple site.
Because of his great love for Solomon, Hiram of Tyre sent also the Grand Master of the Dionysiac Architects, CHiram Abiff, a Widow’s Son, who had no equal among the craftsmen of the earth. CHiram is described as being “a Tyrian by birch, but of Israelitish descent,” and “a second Bezaleel, honored by his king with the title of Father.” The Freemason’s Pocket Companion (published in 1771) describes CHiram as “the most cunning, skilful and curious workman that ever lived, whose abilities were not confined to building alone, but extended to all kinds of work, whether in gold, silver, brass or iron; whether in linen, tapestry, or embroidery; whether considered as an architect, statuary [sic]; founder or designer, separately or together, he equally excelled. From his designs, and under his direction, all the rich and splendid furniture of the Temple and its several appendages were begun, carried on, and finished. Solomon appointed him, in his absence, to fill the chair, as Deputy Grand-Master; and in his presence, Senior Grand-Warden, Master of work, and general overseer of all artists, as well those whom David had formerly procured from Tyre and Sidon, as those Hiram should now send.” (Modem Masonic writers differ as to the accuracy of the last sentence.)
Although an immense amount of labor was involved in its construction, Solomon’s Temple–in the words of George Oliver–“was only a small building and very inferior in point of size to some of our churches.” The number of buildings contiguous to it and the vast treasure of gold and precious stones used in its construction concentrated a great amount of wealth within the temple area. In the midst of the temple stood the Holy of Holies, sometimes called the Oracle. It was an exact cube, each dimension being twenty cubits, and exemplified the influence of Egyptian symbolism. The buildings of the temple group were ornamented with 1,453 columns of Parian marble, magnificently sculptured, and 2,906 pilasters decorated with capitals. There was a broad porch facing the east, and the sanctum sanctorum was upon the west. According to tradition, the various buildings and courtyards could hold in all 300,000 persons. Both the Sanctuary and the Holy of Holies were entirely lined with solid gold plates encrusted with jewels.
King Solomon began the building of the temple in the fourth year of his reign on what would be, according to modern calculation, the 21st day of April, and finished it in the eleventh year of his reign on the 23rd day of October. The temple was begun in the 480th year after the children of Israel had passed the Red Sea. Part of the labor of construction included the building of an artificial foundation on the brow of Mount Moriah. The stones for the temple were hoisted from quarries directly beneath Mount Moriah and were trued before being brought to the surface. The brass and golden ornaments for the temple were cast in molds in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredatha, and the wooden parts were all finished before they reached the temple site. The building was put together, consequently, without sound and without instruments, all its parts fitting exactly “without the hammer of contention, the axe of division, or any tool of mischief.”
Anderson’s much-discussed Constitutions of the Free-Masons, published in London in 1723, and reprinted by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1734, thus describes the division of the laborers engaged in the building of the Everlasting House:
“But Dagon’s Temple, and the finest structures of Tyre and Sidon, could not be compared with the Eternal God’s Temple at Jerusalem, * * * there were employed about it no less than 3,600 Princes, or Master-Masons, to conduct the work according to Solomon’s directions, with 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountain, or Fellow Craftsmen, and 70,000 labourers, in all 153,600 besides the levy under Adoniram to work in the mountains of Lebanon by turns with the Sidonians, viz., 30,000, being in all 183,600.”
Daniel Sickels gives 3,300 overseers, instead of 3,600, and lists the three Grand Masters separately. The same author estimates the cost of the temple at nearly four thousand millions of dollars.
The Masonic legend of the building of Solomon’s Temple does not in every particular parallel the Scriptural version, especially in those portions relating to CHiram Abiff. According to the Biblical account, this Master workman returned to his own country; in the Masonic allegory he is foully murdered. On this point A. E. Waite, in his New Encyclopædia of Freemasonry, makes the following explanatory comment:
“The legend of the Master-Builder is the great allegory of Masonry. It happens that his figurative story is grounded on the fact of a personality mentioned in Holy Scripture, but this historical background is of the accidents and not the essence; the significance is in the allegory and not in any point of history which may lie behind it.”
CHiram, as Master of the Builders, divided his workmen into three groups, which were termed Entered Apprentices, Fellow-Craftsmen, and Master Masons. To each division he gave certain
A MASONIC APRON WITH SYMBOLIC FIGURES.
From an early hand-painted Masonic apron.
While the mystic symbolism of Freemasonry decrees that the apron shall be a simple square of white lambskin with appropriate flap, Masonic aprons are frequently decorated with curious and impressive figures. “When silk cotton, or linen is worn,” writes Albert Pike, “the symbolism is lost. Nor is one clothed who blots, defaces, and desecrates the white surface with ornamentation, figuring, or colors of any kind.” (See Symbolism.)
To Mars, the ancient plane of cosmic energy, the Atlantean and Chaldean “star gazers” assigned Aries as a diurnal throne and Scorpio as a nocturnal throne. Those not raised to spiritual life by initiation are described as “dead from the sting of a scorpion,” for they wander in the night side of divine power. Through the mystery of the Paschal Lamb, or the attainment of the Golden Fleece, these soul are raised into the constructive day Power of Mars in Aries–the symbol of the Creator.
When worn over the area related to the animal passions, the pure lambskin signifies the regeneration of the procreative forces and their consecration to the service of the Deity. The size of the apron, exclusive of the flap, makes it the symbol of salvation, for the Mysteries declare that it must consist of 144 square inches.
The apron shown above contains a wealth of symbolism: the beehive, emblematic of the Masonic lodge itself, the trowel, the mallet, and the trestleboad; the rough and trued ashlars; the pyramids and hills of Lebanon; the pillars, the Temple, and checkerboard floor; and the blazing star and tools of the Craft. The center of the apron is occupied by the compass and square, representative of the Macrocosm an the microcosm, and the alternately black and white serpent of astral light. Below is an acacia branch with seven sprigs, signifying the life Centers of the superior and the inferior man. The skull and cross bones are a continual reminder that the spiritual nature attains liberation only after the philosophical death of man’s sensuous personality.
passwords and signs by which their respective excellence could be quickly determined. While all were classified according to their merits some were dissatisfied, for they desired a more exalted position than they were capable of filling. At last three Fellow-Craftsmen, more daring than their companions, determined to force CHiram to reveal to them the password of the Master’s degree. Knowing that CHiram always went into the unfinished sanctum sanctorum at high noon to pray, these ruffians–whose names were Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum–lay in wait for him, one at each of the main gates of the temple. CHiram, about to leave the temple by the south gate, was suddenly confronted by Jubela armed with a twenty-four-inch gauge. Upon CHiram’s refusal to reveal the Master’s Word, the ruffian struck him on the throat with the rule, and the wounded Master then hastened to the west gate, where Jubelo, armed with a square, awaited him and made a similar demand. Again CHiram was silent, and the second assassin struck him on the breast with the square. CHiram thereupon staggered to the east gate, only to be met there by Jubelum armed with a maul. When CHiram, refused him the Master’s Word, Jubelum struck the Master between the eyes with the mallet and CHiram fell dead.
The body of CHiram was buried by the murderers over the brow of Mount Moriah and a sprig of acacia placed upon the grave. The murderers then sought to escape punishment for their crime by embarking for Ethiopia, but the port was closed. All three were finally captured, and after admitting their guilt were duly executed. Parties of three were then sent out by King Solomon, and one of these groups discovered the newly made grave marked by the evergreen sprig. After the Entered Apprentices and the Fellow-Craftsmen had failed to resurrect their Master from the dead he was finally raised by the Master Mason with the “strong grip of a Lion’s Paw.”
To the initiated Builder the name CHiram Abiff signifies “My Father, the Universal Spirit, one in essence, three in aspect.” Thus the murdered Master is a type of the Cosmic Martyr–the crucified Spirit of Good, the dying god–whose Mystery is celebrated throughout the world. Among the manuscripts of Dr. Sigismund Bastrom, the initiated Rosicrucian, appears the following extract from von Welling concerning the true philosophic nature of the Masonic CHiram:
“The original word חירם, CHiram, is a radical word consisting of three consonants ח ר and ם i. e. Cheth, Resh and Mem. (1) ח, Cheth, signifiesChamah, the Sun’s light, i. e. the Universal, invisible, cold fire of Nature attracted by the Sun, manifested into light and sent down to us and to every planetary body belonging to the solar system. (2) ר, Resh, signifies ריח Ruach, i. e. Spirit, air, wind, as being the Vehicle which conveys and collects the light into numberless Foci, wherein the solar rays of light are agitated by a circular motion and manifested in Heat and burning Fire. (3) ם, or מMem, signifies majim, water, humidity, but rather the mother of water, i. e. Radical Humidity or a particular kind of condensed air. These three constitute the Universal Agent or fire of Nature in one word, חירם, CHiram, not Hiram.”
Albert Pike mentions several forms of the name CHiram: Khirm, Khurm, and Khur-Om, the latter ending in the sacred Hindu monosyllable OM, which may also be extracted from the names of the three murderers. Pike further relates the three ruffians to a triad of stars in the constellation of Libra and also calls attention to the fact that the Chaldean god Bal–metamorphosed into a demon by the Jews–appears in the name of each of the murderers, Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum. To interpret the Hiramic legend requires familiarity with both the Pythagorean and Qabbalistic systems of numbers and letters, and also the philosophic and astronomic cycles of the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Brahmins. For example, consider the number 33. The first temple of Solomon stood for thirty-three years in its pristine splendor. At the end of that time it was pillaged by the Egyptian King Shishak, and finally (588 B.C.) it was completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the people of Jerusalem were led into captivity to Babylon. (See General History of Freemasonry, by Robert Macoy.) Also King David ruled for thirty-three years in Jerusalem; the Masonic Order is divided into thirty-three symbolic degrees; there are thirty-three segments in the human spinal column; and Jesus was crucified in the thirty-third year of His life.
The efforts made to discover the origin of the Hiramic legend show that, while the legend in its present form is comparatively modem, its underlying principles run back to remotest antiquity. It is generally admitted by modem Masonic scholars that the story of the martyred CHiram is based upon the Egyptian rites of Osiris, whose death and resurrection figuratively portrayed the spiritual death of man and his regeneration through initiation into the Mysteries. CHiram is also identified with Hermes through the inscription on the Emerald Table. From these associations it is evident that CHiram is to be considered as a prototype of humanity; in fact he is Plato’s Idea (archetype) of man. As Adam after the Fall symbolizes the Idea of human degeneration, so CHiram through his resurrection symbolizes the Idea of human regeneration.
On the 19th day of March, 1314, Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templars, was burned on a pyre erected upon that point of the islet of the Seine, at Paris, where afterwards was erected the statue of King Henry IV. (See The Indian Religions, by Hargrave Jennings.)
“It is mentioned as a tradition in some of the accounts of the burning,” writes Jennings, “that Molay, ere he expired, summoned Clement, the Pope who had pronounced the bull of abolition against the Order and had condemned the Grand Master to the flames, to appear, within forty days, before the Supreme Eternal judge, and Philip [the king] to the same awful tribunal within the space of a year. Both predictions were fulfilled.”
The close relationship between Freemasonry and the original Knights Templars has caused the story of CHiram to be linked with the martyrdom of Jacques de Molay. According to this interpretation, the three ruffians who cruelly slew their Master at the gates of the temple because he refused to reveal the secrets of his Order represent the Pope, the king, and the executioners. De Molay died maintaining his innocence and refusing to disclose the philosophical and magical arcana of the Templars.
Those who have sought to identify CHiram with the murdered King Charles the First conceive the Hiramic legend to have been invented for that purpose by Elias Ashmole, a mystical philosopher, who was probably a member of the Rosicrucian Fraternity. Charles was dethroned in 1647 and died on the block in 1649, leaving the Royalist party leaderless. An attempt has been made to relate the term “the Sons of the Widow” (an appellation frequently applied to members of the Masonic Order) to this incident in English history, for by the murder of her king England became a Widow and all Englishmen Widow’s Sons.
To the mystic Christian Mason, CHiram. represents the Christ who in three days (degrees) raised the temple of His body from its earthly sepulcher. His three murderers were Cæsar’s agent (the state), the Sanhedrin (the church), and the incited populace (the mob). Thus considered, CHiram becomes the higher nature of man and the murderers are ignorance, superstition, and fear. The indwelling Christ can give expression to Himself in this world only through man’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Right thinking, right feeling, and right action–these are three gates through which the Christ power passes into the material world, there to labor in the erection of the Temple of Universal Brotherhood. Ignorance, superstition, and fear are three ruffians through whose agencies the Spirit of Good is murdered and a false kingdom, controlled by wrong thinking, wrong feeling, and wrong action, established in its stead. In the material universe evil appears ever victorious.
“In this sense,” writes Daniel Sickels, “the myth of the Tyrian is perpetually repeated in the history of human affairs. Orpheus was murdered, and his body thrown into the Hebrus; Socrates was made to drink the hemlock; and, in all ages, we have seen Evil temporarily triumphant, and Virtue and Truth calumniated, persecuted, crucified, and slain. But Eternal justice marches surely and swiftly through the world: the Typhons, the children of darkness, the plotters of crime, all the infinitely varied forms of evil, are swept into oblivion; and Truth and Virtue–for a time laid low–come forth, clothed with diviner majesty, and crowned with everlasting glory!” (See General Ahiman Rezon.)
If, as there is ample reason to suspect, the modern Freemasonic Order was profoundly influenced by, if it is not an actual outgrowth of, Francis Bacon’s secret society, its symbolism is undoubtedly permeated with Bacon’s two great ideals: universal education and universal democracy. The deadly enemies of universal education are ignorance, superstition, and fear, by which the human soul is held in bondage to the lowest part of its own constitution. The arrant enemies of universal democracy have ever been the crown, the tiara, and the torch. Thus CHiram symbolizes that ideal state of spiritual, intellectual, and physical emancipation which has ever been sacrificed upon the altar of human selfishness. CHiram is the Beautifier of the Eternal House. Modern utilitarianism, however, sacrifices the beautiful for the practical, in the same breath declaring the obvious lie that selfishness, hatred, and discord are practical.
Dr. Orville Ward Owen found a considerable part of the first
THE EMBLEMATIC HAND OF THE MYSTERIES.
From Montfaucon’s Antiquities.
A hand covered with numerous symbols was extended to the neophytes when they entered into the Temple of Wisdom. An understanding of the embossed upon the surface of the hand brought with it Divine power and regeneration Therefore, by means of these symbolic hands the candidate was said to be raised from the dead.
thirty-two degrees of Freemasonic ritualism hidden in the text of the First Shakespeare Folio. Masonic emblems are to be observed also upon the title pages of nearly every book published by Bacon. Sir Francis Bacon considered himself as a living sacrifice upon the altar of human need; he was obviously cut down in the midst of his labors, and no student of his New Atlantis can fail to recognize the Masonic symbolism contained therein. According to the observations of Joseph Fort Newton, the Temple of Solomon described by Bacon in that utopian romance was not a house at all but the name of an ideal state. Is it not true that the Temple of Freemasonry is also emblematic of a condition of society? While, as before stated, the principles of the Hiramic legend are of the greatest antiquity, it is not impossible that its present form may be based upon incidents in the life of Lord Bacon, who passed through the philosophic death and was raised in Germany.
In an old manuscript appears the statement that the Freemasonic Order was formed by alchemists and Hermetic philosophers who had banded themselves together to protect their secrets against the infamous methods used by avaricious persons to wring from them the secret of gold-making. The fact that the Hiramic legend contains an alchemical formula gives credence to this story. Thus the building of Solomon’s Temple represents the consummation of the magnum opus, which cannot be realized without the assistance of CHiram, the Universal Agent. The Masonic Mysteries teach the initiate how to prepare within his own soul a miraculous powder of projection by which it is possible for him to transmute the base lump of human ignorance, perversion, and discord into an ingot of spiritual and philosophic gold.
Sufficient similarity exists between the Masonic CHiram and the Kundalini of Hindu mysticism to warrant the assumption that CHiram may be considered a symbol also of the Spirit Fire moving through the sixth ventricle of the spinal column. The exact science of human regeneration is the Lost Key of Masonry, for when the Spirit Fire is lifted up through the thirty-three degrees, or segments of the spinal column, and enters into the domed chamber of the human skull, it finally passes into the pituitary body (Isis), where it invokes Ra (the pineal gland) and demands the Sacred Name. Operative Masonry, in the fullest meaning of that term, signifies the process by which the Eye of Horus is opened. E. A. Wallis Budge has noted that in some of the papyri illustrating the entrance of the souls of the dead into the judgment hall of Osiris the deceased person has a pine cone attached to the crown of his head. The Greek mystics also carried a symbolic staff, the upper end being in the form of a pine cone, which was called the thyrsus of Bacchus. In the human brain there is a tiny gland called the pineal body, which is the sacred eye of the ancients, and corresponds to the third eye of the Cyclops. Little is known concerning the function of the pineal body, which Descartes suggested (more wisely than he knew) might be the abode of the spirit of man. As its name signifies, the pineal gland is the sacred pine cone in man–the eye single, which cannot be opened until CHiram (the Spirit Fire) is raised through the sacred seals which are called the Seven Churches in Asia.
There is an Oriental painting which shows three sun bursts. One sunburst covers the head, in the midst of which sits Brahma with four heads, his body a mysterious dark color. The second sunburst–which covers the heart, solar plexus, and upper abdominal region–shows Vishnu sitting in the blossom of the lotus on a couch formed of the coils of the serpent of cosmic motion, its seven-hooded head forming a canopy over the god. The third sunburst is over the generative system, in the midst of which sits Shiva, his body a grayish white and the Ganges River flowing out of the crown of his head. This painting was the work of a Hindu mystic who spent many years subtly concealing great philosophical principles within these figures. The Christian legends could be related also to the human body by the same method as the Oriental, for the arcane meanings hidden in the teachings of both schools are identical.
As applied to Masonry, the three sunbursts represent the gates of the temple at which CHiram was struck, there being no gate in the north because the sun never shines from the northern angle of the heavens. The north is the symbol of the physical because of its relation to ice (crystallized water) and to the body (crystallized spirit). In man the light shines toward the north but never from it, because the body has no light of its own but shines with the reflected glory of the divine life-particles concealed within physical substance. For this reason the moon is accepted as the symbol of man’s physical nature. CHiram is the mysterious fiery, airy water which must be raised through the three grand centers symbolized by the ladder with three rungs and the sunburst flowers mentioned in the description of the Hindu painting. It must also pass upward by means of the ladder of seven rungs-the seven plexuses proximate to the spine. The nine segments of the sacrum and coccyx are pierced by ten foramina, through which pass the roots of the Tree of Life. Nine is the sacred number of man, and in the symbolism of the sacrum and coccyx a great mystery is concealed. That part of the body from the kidneys downward was termed by the early Qabbalists the Land of Egypt into which the children of Israel were taken during the captivity. Out of Egypt, Moses (the illuminated mind, as his name implies) led the tribes of Israel (the twelve faculties) by raising the brazen serpent in the wilderness upon the symbol of the Tau cross. Not only CHiram but the god-men of nearly every pagan Mystery ritual are personifications of the Spirit Fire in the human spinal cord.
The astronomical aspect of the Hiramic legend must not be overlooked. The tragedy of CHiram is enacted annually by the sun during its passage through the signs of the zodiac.
“From the journey of the Sun through the twelve signs,” writes Albert Pike, “come the legend of the twelve labors of Hercules, and the incarnations of Vishnu and Buddha. Hence came the legend of the murder of Khurum, representative of the Sun, by the three Fellow-Crafts, symbols of the Winter signs, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces, who assailed him at the three gates of Heaven and slew him at the Winter Solstice. Hence the search for him by the nine Fellow-Crafts, the other nine signs, his finding, burial, and resurrection.” (See Morals and Dogma.)
Other authors consider Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius as the three murderers of the sun, inasmuch as Osiris was murdered by Typhon, to whom were assigned the thirty degrees of the constellation of Scorpio. In the Christian Mysteries also Judas signifies the Scorpion, and the thirty pieces of silver for which he betrayed His Lord represent the number of degrees in that sign. Having been struck by Libra (the state), Scorpio (the church), and Sagittarius (the mob), the sun (CHiram) is secretly home through the darkness by the signs of Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces and buried over the brow of a hill (the vernal equinox). Capricorn has for its symbol an old man with a scythe in his hand. This is Father Time–a wayfarer–who is symbolized in Masonry as straightening out the ringlets of a young girl’s hair. If the Weeping Virgin be considered a symbol of Virgo, and Father Time with his scythe a symbol of Capricorn, then the interval of ninety degrees between these two signs will be found to correspond to that occupied by the three murderers. Esoterically, the urn containing the ashes of CHiram represents the human heart. Saturn, the old man who lives at the north pole, and brings with him to the children of men a sprig of evergreen (the Christmas tree), is familiar to the little folks under the name of Santa Claus, for he brings each winter the gift of a new year.
The martyred sun is discovered by Aries, a Fellow-Craftsman, and at the vernal equinox the process of raising him begins. This is finally accomplished by the Lion of Judah, who in ancient times occupied the position of the keystone of the Royal Arch of Heaven. The precession of the equinoxes causes various signs to play the rôle of the murderers of the sun during the different ages of the world, but the principle involved remains unchanged. Such is the cosmic story of CHiram, the Universal Benefactor, the Fiery Architect: of the Divine House, who carries with him to the grave that Lost Word which, when spoken, raises all life to power and glory. According to Christian mysticism, when the Lost Word is found it is discovered in a stable, surrounded by beasts and marked by a star. “After the sun leaves Leo,” writes Robert Hewitt Brown, “the days begin to grow unequivocally shorter as the sun declines toward the autumnal equinox, to be again slain by thethree autumnal months, lie dead through the three winter ones, and be raised again by the three vernal ones. Each year the great tragedy is repeated, and the glorious resurrection takes place.” (See Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy.)
CHiram is termed dead because in the average individual the cosmic creative forces are limited in their manifestation to purely physical–and correspondingly materialistic–expression. Obsessed by his belief in the reality and permanence of physical existence, man does not correlate the material universe with the blank north wall of the temple. As the solar light symbolically is said to die as it approaches the winter solstice, so the physical world may be termed
DIANA OF EPHESUS.
From Montfaucon’s Antiquities.
Crowned with a triple tower-like tiara and her form adorned with symbolic creatures representative of her spiritual powers, Diana stood for the source of that imperishable doctrine which, flowing from the bosom of the Great Multimammia, is the spiritual food of those aspiring men and women who have consecrated their lives to the contemplation of reality. As the physical body of man receives its nutriment from the Great Earth Mother, so the spiritual nature of man is fed from the never failing fountains of Truth pouring outward from the invisible worlds.
the winter solstice of the spirit. Reaching the winter solstice, the sun apparently stands still for three days and then, rolling away the stone of winter, begins its triumphal march north towards the summer solstice. The condition of ignorance may be likened to the winter solstice of philosophy; spiritual understanding to the summer solstice. From this point of view, initiation into the Mysteries becomes the vernal equinox of the spirit, at which time the CHiram in man crosses from the realm of mortality into that of eternal life. The autumnal equinox is analogous to the mythological fall of man, at which time the human spirit descended into the realms of Hades by being immersed in the illusion of terrestrial existence.
In An Essay on the Beautiful, Plotinus describes the refining effect of beauty upon the unfolding consciousness of man. Commissioned to decorate the Everlasting House, CHiram Abiff is the embodiment of the beautifying principle. Beauty is essential to the natural unfoldment of the human soul. The Mysteries held that man, in part at least, was the product of his environment. Therefore they considered it imperative that every person be surrounded by objects which would evoke the highest and noblest sentiments. They proved that it was possible to produce beauty in life by surrounding life with beauty. They discovered that symmetrical bodies were built by souls continuously in the presence of symmetrical bodies; that noble thoughts were produced by minds surrounded by examples of mental nobility. Conversely, if a man were forced to look upon an ignoble or asymmetrical structure it would arouse within him a sense of ignobility which would provoke him to commit ignoble deeds. If an ill-proportioned building were erected in the midst of a city there would be ill-proportioned children born in that community; and men and women, gazing upon the asymmetrical structure, would live inharmonious lives. Thoughtful men of antiquity realized that their great philosophers were the natural products of the æsthetic ideals of architecture, music, and art established as the standards of the cultural systems of the time.
The substitution of the discord of the fantastic for the harmony of the beautiful constitutes one of the great tragedies of every civilization. Not only were the Savior-Gods of the ancient world beautiful, but each performed a ministry of beauty, seeking to effect man’s regeneration by arousing within him the love of the beautiful. A renaissance of the golden age of fable can be made possible only by the elevation of beauty to its rightful dignity as the all-pervading, idealizing quality in the religious, ethical, sociological, scientific, and political departments of life. The Dionysiac Architects were consecrated to the raising of their Master Spirit–Cosmic Beauty–from the sepulcher of material ignorance and selfishness by erecting buildings which were such perfect exemplars of symmetry and majesty that they were actually magical formulæ by which was evoked the spirit of the martyred Beautifier entombed within a materialistic world.
In the Masonic Mysteries the triune spirit of man (the light Delta) is symbolized by the three Grand Masters of the Lodge of Jerusalem. As God is the pervading principle of three worlds, in each of which He manifests as an active principle, so the spirit of man, partaking of the nature of Divinity, dwells upon three planes of being: the Supreme, the Superior, and the Inferior spheres of the Pythagoreans. At the gate of the Inferior sphere (the underworld, or dwelling place of mortal creatures) stands the guardian of Hades–the three–headed dog Cerberus, who is analogous to the three murderers of the Hiramic legend. According to this symbolic interpretation of the triune spirit, CHiram is the third, or incarnating, part–the Master Builder who through all ages erects living temples of flesh and blood as shrines of the Most High. CHiram comes forth as a flower and is cut down; he dies at the gates of matter; he is buried in the elements of creation, but–like Thor–he swings his mighty hammer in the fields of space, sets the primordial atoms in motion, and establishes order out of Chaos. As the potentiality of cosmic power within each human soul, CHiram lies waiting for man by the elaborate ritualism of life to transmute potentiality into divine potency. As the sense perceptions of the individual increase, however, man gains ever greater control over his various parts, and the spirit of life within gradually attains freedom. The three murderers represent the laws of the Inferior world–birth, growth, and decay–which ever frustrate the plan of the Builder. To the average individual, physical birch actually signifies the death of CHiram, and physical death the resurrection of CHiram. To the initiate, however, the resurrection of the spiritual nature is accomplished without the intervention of physical death.
The curious symbols found in the base of Cleopatra’s Needle now standing in Central Park, New York, were interpreted as being of first Masonic significance by S. A. Zola, 33° Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Egypt. Masons’ marks and symbols are to be found on the stones of numerous public buildings not only in England and on the Continent but also in Asia. In his Indian Masons’ Marks of the Moghul Dynasty, A. Gorham describes scores of markings appearing on the walls of buildings such as the Taj Mahal, the Jama Masjid, and that: famous Masonic structure, the Kutab Minar. According to those who regard Masonry as an outgrowth of the secret society of architects and builders which for thousands of years formed a caste of master craftsmen, CHiram Abiff was the Tyrian Grand Master of a world-wide organization of artisans, with headquarters in Tyre. Their philosophy consisted of incorporating into the measurements and ornamentation of temples, palaces, mausoleums, fortresses, and other public buildings their knowledge of the laws controlling the universe. Every initiated workman was given a hieroglyphic with which he marked the stones he trued to show to all posterity that he thus dedicated to the Supreme Architect of the Universe each perfected product of his labor. Concerning Masons’ marks, Robert Freke Gould writes:
“It is very remarkable that these marks are to be found in all countries–in the chambers of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh, on the underground walls of Jerusalem, in Herculaneum and Pompeii, on Roman walls and Grecian temples, in Hindustan, Mexico, Peru, Asia Minor–as well as on the great ruins of England, France, Germany, Scotland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.” (See A Concise History of Freemasonry.)
From this viewpoint the story of CHiram may well represent the incorporation of the divine secrets of architecture into the actual parts and dimensions of earthly buildings. The three degrees of the Craft bury the Grand Master (the Great Arcanum) in the actual structure they erect, after first having killed him with the builders’ tools, by reducing the dimensionless Spirit of Cosmic Beauty to the limitations of concrete form. These abstract ideals of architecture can be resurrected, however, by the Master Mason who, by meditating upon the structure, releases therefrom the divine principles of architectonic philosophy incorporated or buried within it. Thus the physical building is actually the tomb or embodiment of the Creative Ideal of which its material dimensions are but the shadow.
Moreover, the Hiramic legend may be considered to embody the vicissitudes of philosophy itself. As institutions for the dissemination of ethical culture, the pagan Mysteries were the architects of civilization. Their power and dignity were personified in CHiram Abiff–the Master Builder–but they eventually fell a victim to the onslaughts of that recurrent trio of state, church, and mob. They were desecrated by the state, jealous of their wealth and power; by the early church, fearful of their wisdom; and by the rabble or soldiery incited by both state and church. As CHiram when raised from his grave whispers the Master Mason’s Word which was lost through his untimely death, so according to the tenets of philosophy the reestablishment or resurrection of the ancient Mysteries will result in the rediscovery of that secret teaching without which civilization must continue in a state of spiritual confusion and uncertainty.
When the mob governs, man is ruled by ignorance; when the church governs, he is ruled by superstition; and when the state governs, he is ruled by fear. Before men can live together in harmony and understanding, ignorance must be transmuted into wisdom, superstition into an illumined faith, and fear into love. Despite statements to the contrary, Masonry is a religion seeking to unite God and man by elevating its initiates to that level of consciousness whereon they can behold with clarified vision the workings of the Great Architect of the Universe. From age to age the vision of a perfect civilization is preserved as the ideal for mankind. In the midst of that civilization shall stand a mighty university wherein both the sacred and secular sciences concerning the mysteries of life will be freely taught to all who will assume the philosophic life. Here creed and dogma will have no place; the superficial will be removed and only the essential be preserved. The world will be ruled by its most illumined minds, and each will occupy the position for which he is most admirably fitted.
The great university will be divided into grades, admission to which will be through preliminary tests or initiations. Here mankind will be instructed in the most sacred, the most secret, and the most enduring of all Mysteries–Symbolism. Here the initiate will be taught that every visible object, every abstract thought, every emotional reaction is but the symbol of an eternal principle. Here mankind will learn that CHiram (Truth) lies buried in every atom of Kosmos; that every form is a symbol and every symbol the tomb of an eternal verity. Through education–spiritual, mental, moral, and physical–man will learn to release living truths from their lifeless coverings. The perfect government of the earth must be patterned eventually after that divine government by which the universe is ordered. In that day when perfect order is reestablished, with peace universal and good triumphant, men will no longer seek for happiness, for they shall find it welling up within themselves. Dead hopes, dead aspirations, dead virtues shall rise from their graves, and the Spirit of Beauty and Goodness repeatedly slain by ignorant men shall again be the Master of Work. Then shall sages sit upon the seats of the mighty and the gods walk with men.
The Pythagorean Theory of Music and Color
HARMONY is a state recognized by great philosophers as the immediate prerequisite of beauty. A compound is termed beautiful only when its parts are inharmonious combination. The world is called beautiful and its Creator is designated the Good because good perforce must act in conformity with its own nature; and good acting according to its own nature is harmony, because the good which it accomplishes is harmonious with the good which it is. Beauty, therefore, is harmony manifesting its own intrinsic nature in the world of form.
The universe is made up of successive gradations of good, these gradations ascending from matter (which is the least degree of good) to spirit (which is the greatest degree of good). In man, his superior nature is the summum bonum. It therefore follows that his highest nature most readily cognizes good because the good external to him in the world is in harmonic ratio with the good present in his soul. What man terms evil is therefore, in common with matter, merely the least degree of its own opposite. The least degree of good presupposes likewise the least degree of harmony and beauty. Thus deformity (evil) is really the least harmonious combination of elements naturally harmonic as individual units. Deformity is unnatural, for, the sum of all things being the Good, it is natural that all things should partake of the Good and be arranged in combinations that are harmonious. Harmony is the manifesting expression of the Will of the eternal Good.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF MUSIC
It is highly probable that the Greek initiates gained their knowledge of the philosophic and therapeutic aspects of music from the Egyptians, who, in turn, considered Hermes the founder of the art. According to one legend, this god constructed the first lyre by stretching strings across the concavity of a turtle shell. Both Isis and Osiris were patrons of music and poetry. Plato, in describing the antiquity of these arts among the Egyptians, declared that songs and poetry had existed in Egypt for at least ten thousand years, and that these were of such an exalted and inspiring nature that only gods or godlike men could have composed them. In the Mysteries the lyre was regarded as the secret symbol of the human constitution, the body of the instrument representing the physical form, the strings the nerves, and the musician the spirit. Playing upon the nerves, the spirit thus created the harmonies of normal functioning, which, however, became discords if the nature of man were defiled.
While the early Chinese, Hindus, Persians, Egyptians, Israelites, and Greeks employed both vocal and instrumental music in their religious ceremonials, also to complement their poetry and drama, it remained for Pythagoras to raise the art to its true dignity by demonstrating its mathematical foundation. Although it is said that he himself was not a musician, Pythagoras is now generally credited with the discovery of the diatonic scale. Having first learned the divine theory of music from the priests of the various Mysteries into which he had been accepted, Pythagoras pondered for several years upon the laws governing consonance and dissonance. How he actually solved the problem is unknown, but the following explanation has been invented.
One day while meditating upon the problem of harmony, Pythagoras chanced to pass a brazier’s shop where workmen were pounding out a piece of metal upon an anvil. By noting the variances in pitch between the sounds made by large hammers and those made by smaller implements, and carefully estimating the harmonies and discords resulting from combinations of these sounds, he gained his first clue to the musical intervals of the diatonic scale. He entered the shop, and after carefully examining the tools and making mental note of their weights, returned to his own house and constructed an arm of wood so that it: extended out from the wall of his room. At regular intervals along this arm he attached four cords, all of like composition, size, and weight. To the first of these he attached a twelve-pound weight, to the second a nine-pound weight, to the third an eight-pound weight, and to the fourth a six-pound weight. These different weights corresponded to the sizes of the braziers’ hammers.
Pythagoras thereupon discovered that the first and fourth strings when sounded together produced the harmonic interval of the octave, for doubling the weight had the same effect as halving the string. The tension of the first string being twice that of the fourth string, their ratio was said to be 2:1, or duple. By similar experimentation he ascertained that the first and third string produced the harmony of the diapente, or the interval of the fifth. The tension of the first string being half again as much as that of the third string, their ratio was said to be 3:2, or sesquialter. Likewise the second and fourth strings, having the same ratio as the first and third strings, yielded a diapente harmony. Continuing his investigation, Pythagoras discovered that the first and second strings produced the harmony of the diatessaron, or the interval of the third; and the tension of the first string being a third greater than that of the second string, their ratio was said to be 4:3, or sesquitercian. The third and fourth strings, having the same ratio as the first and second strings, produced another harmony of the diatessaron. According to Iamblichus, the second and third strings had the ratio of 8:9, or epogdoan.
The key to harmonic ratios is hidden in the famous Pythagorean tetractys, or pyramid of dots. The tetractys is made up of the first four numbers–1, 2, 3, and 4–which in their proportions reveal the intervals of the octave, the diapente, and the diatessaron. While the law of harmonic intervals as set forth above is true, it has been subsequently proved that hammers striking metal in the manner
THE INTERVALS AND HARMONIES OF THE SPHERES.
From Stanley’s The History of Philosophy.
In the Pythagorean concept of the music of the spheres, the interval between the earth and the sphere of the fixed stars was considered to be a diapason–the most perfect harmonic interval. The allowing arrangement is most generally accepted for the musical intervals of the planets between the earth and the sphere of the fixed stars: From the sphere of the earth to the sphere of the moon; one tone; from the sphere of the moon to that of Mercury, one half-tone; from Mercury to Venus, one-half; from Venus to the sun, one and one-half tones; from the sun to Mars, one tone; from Mars to Jupiter, one-half tone; from Jupiter to Saturn, one-half tone; from Saturn to the fixed stars, one-half tone. The sum of these intervals equals the six whole tones of the octave.
THE CONSONANCES OF THE MUNDANE MONOCHORD.
From Fludd’s De Musica Mundana.
This diagrammatic sector represents the major gradations of energy and substance between elemental earth and absolute unconditioned force. Beginning with the superior, the fifteen graduated spheres descend in the following order: Limitless and Eternal Life; the superior, the middle, and the inferior Empyrean; the seven planets; and the four elements. Energy is symbolized by Fludd as a pyramid with its base upon the concave surface of the superior Empyrean, and substance as another Pyramid with its base upon the convex surface of the sphere (not planet) of earth. These pyramids demonstrate the relative proportions of energy and substance entering into the composition of the fifteen planes of being. It will be noted that the ascending pyramid of substance touches but does not pierce the fifteenth sphere–that of Limitless and Eternal Life. Likewise, the descending pyramid of energy touches but does not pierce the first sphere–the grossest condition of substance. The plane of the sun is denominated the sphere of equality, for here neither energy nor substance predominate. The mundane monochord consists of a hypothetical string stretched from the base of the pyramid of energy to the base of the pyramid of substance.
described will not produce the various tones ascribed to them. In all probability, therefore, Pythagoras actually worked out his theory of harmony from the monochord–a contrivance consisting of a single string stretched between two pegs and supplied with movable frets.
To Pythagoras music was one of the dependencies of the divine science of mathematics, and its harmonies were inflexibly controlled by mathematical proportions. The Pythagoreans averred that mathematics demonstrated the exact method by which the good established and maintained its universe. Number therefore preceded harmony, since it was the immutable law that governs all harmonic proportions. After discovering these harmonic ratios, Pythagoras gradually initiated his disciples into this, the supreme arcanum of his Mysteries. He divided the multitudinous parts of creation into a vast number of planes or spheres, to each of which he assigned a tone, a harmonic interval, a number, a name, a color, and a form. He then proceeded to prove the accuracy of his deductions by demonstrating them upon the different planes of intelligence and substance ranging from the most abstract logical premise to the most concrete geometrical solid. From the common agreement of these diversified methods of proof he established the indisputable existence of certain natural laws.
Having once established music as an exact science, Pythagoras applied his newly found law of harmonic intervals to all the phenomena of Nature, even going so far as to demonstrate the harmonic relationship of the planets, constellations, and elements to each other. A notable example of modern corroboration of ancient philosophical reaching is that of the progression of the elements according to harmonic ratios. While making a list of the elements in the ascending order of their atomic weights, John A. Newlands discovered at every eighth element a distinct repetition of properties. This discovery is known as the law of octaves in modern chemistry.
Since they held that harmony must be determined not by the sense perceptions but by reason and mathematics, the Pythagoreans called themselves Canonics, as distinguished from musicians of the Harmonic School, who asserted taste and instinct to be the true normative principles of harmony. Recognizing, however, the profound effect: of music upon the senses and emotions, Pythagoras did not hesitate to influence the mind and body with what he termed “musical medicine.”
Pythagoras evinced such a marked preference for stringed instruments that he even went so far as to warn his disciples against allowing their ears to be defiled by the sounds of flutes or cymbals. He further declared that the soul could be purified from its irrational influences by solemn songs sung to the accompaniment of the lyre. In his investigation of the therapeutic value of harmonics, Pythagoras discovered that the seven modes–or keys–of the Greek system of music had the power to incite or allay the various emotions. It is related that while observing the stars one night he encountered a young man befuddled with strong drink and mad with jealousy who was piling faggots about his mistress’ door with the intention of burning the house. The frenzy of the youth was accentuated by a flutist a short distance away who was playing a tune in the stirring Phrygian mode. Pythagoras induced the musician to change his air to the slow, and rhythmic Spondaic mode, whereupon the intoxicated youth immediately became composed and, gathering up his bundles of wood, returned quietly to his own home.
There is also an account of how Empedocles, a disciple of Pythagoras, by quickly changing the mode of a musical composition he was playing, saved the life of his host, Anchitus, when the latter was threatened with death by the sword of one whose father he had condemned to public execution. It is also known that Esculapius, the Greek physician, cured sciatica and other diseases of the nerves by blowing a loud trumpet in the presence of the patient.
Pythagoras cured many ailments of the spirit, soul, and body by having certain specially prepared musical compositions played in the presence of the sufferer or by personally reciting short selections from such early poets as Hesiod and Homer. In his university at Crotona it was customary for the Pythagoreans to open and to close each day with songs–those in the morning calculated to clear the mind from sleep and inspire it to the activities of the coming day; those in the evening of a mode soothing, relaxing, and conducive to rest. At the vernal equinox, Pythagoras caused his disciples to gather in a circle around one of their number who led them in song and played their accompaniment upon a lyre.
The therapeutic music of Pythagoras is described by Iamblichus thus: “And there are certain melodies devised as remedies against the passions of the soul, and also against despondency and lamentation, which Pythagoras invented as things that afford the greatest assistance in these maladies. And again, he employed other melodies against rage and anger, and against every aberration of the soul. There is also another kind of modulation invented as a remedy against desires.” (See The Life of Pythagoras.)
It is probable that the Pythagoreans recognized a connection between the seven Greek modes and the planets. As an example, Pliny declares that Saturn moves in the Dorian mode and Jupiter in the Phrygian mode. It is also apparent that the temperaments are keyed to the various modes, and the passions likewise. Thus, anger–which is a fiery passion–may be accentuated by a fiery mode or its power neutralized by a watery mode.
The far-reaching effect exercised by music upon the culture of the Greeks is thus summed up by Emil Nauman: “Plato depreciated the notion that music was intended solely to create cheerful and agreeable emotions, maintaining rather that it should inculcate a love of all that is noble, and hatred of all that is mean, and that nothing could more strongly influence man’s innermost feelings than melody and rhythm. Firmly convinced of this, he agreed with Damon of Athens, the musical instructor of Socrates, that the introduction of a new and presumably enervating scale would endanger the future of a whole nation, and that it was not possible to alter a key without shaking the very foundations of the State. Plato affirmed that music which ennobled the mind was of a far higher kind than that which merely appealed to the senses, and he strongly insisted that it was the paramount duty of the Legislature to suppress all music of an effeminate and lascivious character, and to encourage only s that which was pure and dignified; that bold and stirring melodies were for men, gentle and soothing ones for women. From this it is evident that music played a considerable part in the education of the Greek youth. The greatest care was also to be taken in the selection of instrumental music, because the absence of words rendered its signification doubtful, and it was difficult to foresee whether it would exercise upon the people a benign or baneful influence. Popular taste, being always tickled by sensuous and meretricious effects, was to be treated with deserved contempt. (See The History of Music.)
Even today martial music is used with telling effect in times of war, and religious music, while no longer developed in accordance with the ancient theory, still profoundly influences the emotions of the laity.
THE MUSIC OF THE SPHERES
The most sublime but least known of all the Pythagorean speculations was that of sidereal harmonics. It was said that of all men only Pythagoras heard the music of the spheres. Apparently the Chaldeans were the first people to conceive of the heavenly bodies joining in a cosmic chant as they moved in stately manner across the sky. Job describes a time “when the stars of the morning sang together,” and in The Merchant of Venice the author of the Shakesperian plays
THE MUNDANE MONOCHORD WITH ITS PROPORTIONS AND INTERVALS.
From Fludd’s De Musica Mundana.
In this chart is set forth a summary of Fludd’s theory of universal music. The interval between the element of earth and the highest heaven is considered as a double octave, thus showing the two extremes of existence to be in disdiapason harmony. It is signifies that the highest heaven, the sun, and the earth have the same time, the difference being in pitch. The sun is the lower octave of the highest heaven and the earth the lower octave of the sun. The lower octave (Γ to G) comprises that part of the universe in which substance predominate over energy. Its harmonies, therefore, are more gross than those of the higher octave (G to g) wherein energy predominates over substance. “If struck in the more spiritual part,” writes Fludd, “the monochord will give eternal life; if in the more material part, transitory life.” It will be noted that certain elements, planets, and celestial spheres sustain a harmonic ratio to each other, Fludd advanced this as a key to the sympathies and antipathies existing between the various departments of Nature.
writes: “There’s not the smallest orb which thou behold’st but in his motion like an angel sings.” So little remains, however, of the Pythagorean system of celestial music that it is only possible to approximate his actual theory.
Pythagoras conceived the universe to be an immense monochord, with its single string connected at its upper end to absolute spirit and at its lower end to absolute matter–in other words, a cord stretched between heaven and earth. Counting inward from the circumference of the heavens, Pythagoras, according to some authorities, divided the universe into nine parts; according to others, into twelve parts. The twelvefold system was as follows: The first division was called theempyrean, or the sphere of the fixed stars, and was the dwelling place of the immortals. The second to twelfth divisions were (in order) the spheres of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury, and the moon, and fire, air, water, and earth. This arrangement of the seven planets (the sun and moon being regarded as planets in the old astronomy) is identical with the candlestick symbolism of the Jews–the sun in the center as the main stem with three planets on either side of it.
The names given by the Pythagoreans to the various notes of the diatonic scale were, according to Macrobius, derived from an estimation of the velocity and magnitude of the planetary bodies. Each of these gigantic spheres as it rushed endlessly through space was believed to sound a certain tone caused by its continuous displacement of the æthereal diffusion. As these tones were a manifestation of divine order and motion, it must necessarily follow that they partook of the harmony of their own source. “The assertion that the planets in their revolutions round the earth uttered certain sounds differing according to their respective ‘magnitude, celerity and local distance,’ was commonly made by the Greeks. Thus Saturn, the farthest planet, was said to give the gravest note, while the Moon, which is the nearest, gave the sharpest. ‘These sounds of the seven planets, and the sphere of the fixed stars, together with that above us [Antichthon], are the nine Muses, and their joint symphony is called Mnemosyne.'” (See The Canon.)This quotation contains an obscure reference to the ninefold division of the universe previously mentioned.
The Greek initiates also recognized a fundamental relationship between the individual heavens or spheres of the seven planets, and the seven sacred vowels. The first heaven uttered the sound of the sacred vowel Α (Alpha); the second heaven, the sacred vowel Ε (Epsilon); the third, Η (Eta); the fourth, Ι (Iota); the fifth, Ο (Omicron); the sixth, Υ (Upsilon); and the seventh heaven, the sacred vowel Ω (Omega). When these seven heavens sing together they produce a perfect harmony which ascends as an everlasting praise to the throne of the Creator. (See Irenæus’ Against Heresies.) Although not so stated, it is probable that the planetary heavens are to be considered as ascending in the Pythagorean order, beginning with the sphere of the moon, which would be the first heaven.
Many early instruments had seven Strings, and it is generally conceded that Pythagoras was the one who added the eighth string to the lyre of Terpander. The seven strings were always related both to their correspondences in the human body and to the planets. The names of God were also conceived to be formed from combinations of the seven planetary harmonies. The Egyptians confined their sacred songs to the seven primary sounds, forbidding any others to be uttered in their temples. One of their hymns contained the following invocation: “The seven sounding tones praise Thee, the Great God, the ceaseless working Father of the whole universe.” In another the Deity describes Himself thus: “I am the great indestructible lyre of the whole world, attuning the songs of the heavens. (See Nauman’sHistory of Music.)
The Pythagoreans believed that everything which existed had a voice and that all creatures were eternally singing the praise of the Creator. Man fails to hear these divine melodies because his soul is enmeshed in the illusion of material existence. When he liberates himself from the bondage of the lower world with its sense limitations, the music of the spheres will again be audible as it was in the Golden Age. Harmony recognizes harmony, and when the human soul regains its true estate it will not only hear the celestial choir but also join with it in an everlasting anthem of praise to that Eternal Good controlling the infinite number of parts and conditions of Being.
The Greek Mysteries included in their doctrines a magnificent concept of the relationship existing between music and form. The elements of architecture, for example, were considered as comparable to musical modes and notes, or as having a musical counterpart. Consequently when a building was erected in which a number of these elements were combined, the structure was then likened to a musical chord, which was harmonic only when it fully satisfied the mathematical requirements of harmonic intervals. The realization of this analogy between sound and form led Goethe to declare that “architecture is crystallized music.”
In constructing their temples of initiation, the early priests frequently demonstrated their superior knowledge of the principles underlying the phenomena known as vibration. A considerable part of the Mystery rituals consisted of invocations and intonements, for which purpose special sound chambers were constructed. A word whispered in one of these apartments was so intensified that the reverberations made the entire building sway and be filled with a deafening roar. The very wood and stone used in the erection of these sacred buildings eventually became so thoroughly permeated with the sound vibrations of the religious ceremonies that when struck they would reproduce the same tones thus repeatedly impressed into their substances by the rituals.
Every element in Nature has its individual keynote. If these elements are combined in a composite structure the result is a chord that, if sounded, will disintegrate the compound into its integral parts. Likewise each individual has a keynote that, if sounded, will destroy him. The allegory of the walls of Jericho falling when the trumpets of Israel were sounded is undoubtedly intended to set forth the arcane significance of individual keynote or vibration.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF COLOR
“Light,” writes Edwin D. Babbitt, “reveals the glories of the external world and yet is the most glorious of them all. It gives beauty, reveals beauty and is itself most beautiful. It is the analyzer, the truth-teller and the exposer of shams, for it shows things as they are. Its infinite streams measure off the universe and flow into our telescopes from stars which are quintillions of miles distant. On the other hand it descends to objects inconceivably small, and reveals through the microscope objects fifty millions of times less than can be seen by the naked eye. Like all other fine forces, its movement is wonderfully soft, yet penetrating and powerful. Without its vivifying influence, vegetable, animal, and human life must immediately perish from the earth, and general ruin take place. We shall do well, then, to consider this potential and beautiful principle of light and its component colors, for the more deeply we penetrate into its inner laws, the more will it present itself as a marvelous storehouse of power to vitalize, heal, refine, and delight mankind.” (See The Principles of Light and Color.)
Since light is the basic physical manifestation of life, bathing all creation in its radiance, it is highly important to realize, in part at least, the subtle nature of this divine substance. That which is called light is actually a rate of vibration causing certain reactions upon the optic nerve. Few realize how they are walled in by the limitations
THE THEORY OF ELEMENTAL MUSIC.
From Fludd’s De Musica Mundana.
In this diagram two interpenetrating pyramids are again employed, one of which represents fire and the other earth. It is demonstrated according to the law of elemental harmony that fire does not enter into the composition of earth nor earth into the composition of fire. The figures on the chart disclose the harmonic relationships existing between the four primary elements according to both Fludd and the Pythagoreans. Earth consists of four parts of its own nature; water of three parts of earth and one part of fire. The sphere of equality is a hypothetical point where there is an equilibrium of two parts of earth and two parts of fire. Air is composed of three parts of fire and one part of earth; fire, of four parts of its own nature. Thus earth and water bear to each other the ratio of 4 to 3, or the diatessaron harmony, and water and the sphere of equality the ratio of 3 to 2, or the diapente harmony. Fire and air also bear to each other the ratio of 4 to 3, or the diatessaron harmony, and air and the sphere of equality the ratio of 3 to 2, or the diapente harmony. As the sum of a diatessaron and a diapente equals a diapason, or octave, it is evident that both the sphere of fire and the sphere of earth are in diapason harmony with the sphere of equality, and also that fire and earth are in disdiapason harmony with each other.
of the sense perceptions. Not only is there a great deal more to light than anyone has ever seen but there are also unknown forms of light which no optical equipment will ever register. There are unnumbered colors which cannot be seen, as well as sounds which cannot be heard, odors which cannot be smelt, flavors which cannot be tasted, and substances which cannot be felt. Man is thus surrounded by a supersensible universe of which he knows nothing because the centers of sense perception within himself have not been developed sufficiently to respond to the subtler rates of vibration of which that universe is composed.
Among both civilized and savage peoples color has been accepted as a natural language in which to couch their religious and philosophical doctrines. The ancient city of Ecbatana as described by Herodotus, its seven walls colored according to the seven planets, revealed the knowledge of this subject possessed by the Persian Magi. The famous zikkurat or astronomical tower of the god Nebo at Borsippa ascended in seven great steps or stages, each step being painted in the key color of one of the planetary bodies. (See Lenormant’s Chaldean Magic.) It is thus evident that the Babylonians were familiar with the concept of the spectrum in its relation to the seven Creative Gods or Powers. In India, one of the Mogul emperors caused a fountain to be made with seven levels. The water pouring down the sides through specially arranged channels changed color as it descended, passing sequentially through all shades of the spectrum. In Tibet, color is employed by the native artists to express various moods. L. Austine Waddell, writing of Northern Buddhist art, notes that in Tibetan mythology,
“White and yellow complexions usually typify mild moods, while the red, blue, and black belong to fierce forms, though sometimes light blue, as indicating the sky, means merely celestial. Generally the gods are pictured white, goblins red, and devils black, like their European relative.” (SeeThe Buddhism of Tibet.)
In Meno, Plato, speaking through Socrates, describes color as “an effluence of form, commensurate with sight, and sensible.” In Theætetus he discourses more at length on the subject thus:
“Let us carry out the principle which has just been affirmed, that nothing is self-existent, and then we shall see that every color, white, black, and every other color, arises out of the eye meeting the appropriate motion, and that what we term the substance of each color is neither the active nor the passive element, but something which passes between them, and is peculiar to each percipient; are you certain that the several colors appear to every animal–say a dog–as they appear to you?”
In the Pythagorean tetractys–the supreme symbol of universal forces and processes–are set forth the theories of the Greeks concerning color and music. The first three dots represent the threefold White Light, which is the Godhead containing potentially all sound and color. The remaining seven dots are the colors of the spectrum and the notes of the musical scale. The colors and tones are the active creative powers which, emanating from the First Cause, establish the universe. The seven are divided into two groups, one containing three powers and the other four a relationship also shown in the tetractys. The higher group–that of three–becomes the spiritual nature of the created universe; the lower group–that of four–manifests as the irrational sphere, or inferior world.
In the Mysteries the seven Logi, or Creative Lords, are shown as streams of force issuing from the mouth of the Eternal One. This signifies the spectrum being extracted from the white light of the Supreme Deity. The seven Creators, or Fabricators, of the inferior spheres were called by the Jews the Elohim. By the Egyptians they were referred to as the Builders (sometimes as the Governors) and are depicted with great knives in their hands with which they carved the universe from its primordial substance. Worship of the planets is based upon their acceptation as the cosmic embodiments of the seven creative attributes of God. The Lords of the planets were described as dwelling within the body of the sun, for the true nature of the sun, being analogous to the white light, contains the seeds of all the tone and color potencies which it manifests.
There are numerous arbitrary arrangements setting forth the mutual relationships of the planets, the colors, and the musical notes. The most satisfactory system is that based upon the law of the octave. The sense of hearing has a much wider scope than that of sight, for whereas the ear can register from nine to eleven octaves of sound the eye is restricted to the cognition of but seven fundamental color tones, or one tone short of the octave. Red, when posited as the lowest color tone in the scale of chromatics, thus corresponds to do, the first note of the musical scale. Continuing the analogy, orange corresponds to re, yellow to mi, green to fa, blue to sol, indigo to la, and violet to si (ti). The eighth color tone necessary to complete the scale should be the higher octave of red, the first color tone. The accuracy of the above arrangement is attested by two striking facts: (1) the three fundamental notes of the musical scale–the first, the third, and the fifth–correspond with the three primary colors–red, yellow, and blue; (2) the seventh, and least perfect, note of the musical scale corresponds with purple, the least perfect tone of the color scale.
In The Principles of Light and Color, Edwin D. Babbitt confirms the correspondence of the color and musical scales: “As C is at the bottom of the musical scale and made with the coarsest waves of air, so is red at the bottom of the chromatic scale and made with the coarsest waves of luminous ether. As the musical note B [the seventh note of the scale] requires 45 vibrations of air every time the note C at the lower end of the scale requires 24, or but little over half as many, so does extreme violet require about 300 trillions of vibrations of ether in a second, while extreme red requires only about 450 trillions, which also are but little more than half as many. When one musical octave is finished another one commences and progresses with just twice as many vibrations as were used in the first octave, and so the same notes are repeated on a finer scale. In the same way when the scale of colors visible to the ordinary eye is completed in the violet, another octave of finer invisible colors, with just twice as many vibrations, will commence and progress on precisely the same law.”
When the colors are related to the twelve signs of the zodiac, they are arranged as the spokes of a wheel. To Aries is assigned pure red; to Taurus, red-orange; to Gemini, pure orange; to Cancer, orange-yellow; to Leo, pure yellow; to Virgo, yellow-green; to Libra, pure green; to Scorpio, green-blue; to Sagittarius, pure blue; to Capricorn, blue-violet; to Aquarius, pure violet; and to Pisces, violet-red.
In expounding the Eastern system of esoteric philosophy, H. P, Blavatsky relates the colors to the septenary constitution of man and the seven states of matter as follows:
COLOR | PRINCIPLES OF MAN | STATES OF MATTER |
Violet | Chaya, or Etheric Double | Ether |
Indigo | Higher Manas, or Spiritual Intelligence | Critical State called Air |
Blue | Auric Envelope | Steam or Vapor |
Green | Lower Manas, or Animal Soul | Critical State |
Yellow | Buddhi, or Spiritual Soul | Water |
Orange | Prana, or Life Principle | Critical State |
Red | Kama Rupa, or Seat of Animal Life | Ice |
This arrangement of the colors of the spectrum and the musical notes of the octave necessitates a different grouping of the planets in order to preserve their proper tone and color analogies. Thus do becomes Mars; re, the sun; mi, Mercury; fa, Saturn; sol, Jupiter; la, Venus; si (ti) the moon. (See The E. S. Instructions.)
THE FOUR ELEMENTS AND THEIR CONSONANTAL INTERVALS.
From Fludd’s De Musica Mundana.
In this diagram Fludd has divided each of the four Primary elements into three subdivisions. The first division of each element is the grossest, partaking somewhat of the substance directly inferior to itself (except in the case of the earth, which has no state inferior to itself). The second division consists of the element in its relatively pure state, while the third division is that condition wherein the element partakes somewhat of the substance immediately superior to itself. For example the lowest division of the element of water is sedimentary, as it contains earth substance in solution; the second division represents water in its most common state–salty–as in the case of the ocean; and the third division is water in its purest state–free from salt. The harmonic interval assigned to the lowest division of each element is one tone, to the central division also a tone, but to the higher division a half-tone because it partakes of the division immediately above it. Fludd emphasizes the fact that as the elements ascend in series of two and a half tones, the diatessaron is the dominating harmonic interval of the elements.
The Air Nation Kingdon
8,000 metres
There are 14 mountains over 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) and are often referred to as the Eight-thousanders. All are located in the two highest mountain ranges in the world, the Himalayas and the Karakoram.
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Range | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mount Everest | 8,848 | 29,029 | Himalayas | Nepal/China (Tibet) |
K2 | 8,611 | 28,251 | Karakoram | China/Pakistan (Gilgit–Baltistan) – The “Savage Mountain”. |
Kangchenjunga | 8,586 | 28,169 | Himalayas | Nepal/India (Sikkim) – Considered to be highest until 1849. Highest peak in India. |
Lhotse | 8,516 | 27,940 | Himalayas | Nepal/China (Tibet) – Climbers ascend Lhotse Face in climbing Everest |
Makalu | 8,462 | 27,762 | Himalayas | Nepal/China (Tibet) |
Cho Oyu | 8,201 | 26,906 | Himalayas | Nepal/China (Tibet) – Considered “easiest” eight-thousander |
Dhaulagiri | 8,167 | 26,795 | Himalayas | Nepal – Presumed world’s highest from 1808-1838 |
Manaslu | 8,156 | 26,759 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Nanga Parbat | 8,125 | 26,657 | Himalayas | Pakistan |
Annapurna | 8,091 | 26,545 | Himalayas | Nepal – First eight-thousander to be climbed (1950) |
Gasherbrum I | 8,068 | 26,470 | Karakoram | China/Pakistan – Originally named K5 |
Broad Peak | 8,047 | 26,401 | Karakoram | China/Pakistan – Originally named K3 |
Gasherbrum II | 8,035 | 26,362 | Karakoram | China/Pakistan – Originally named K4 |
Shishapangma | 8,012 | 26,286 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
7,000 metres[edit]
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Range | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gyachung Kang | 7,952 | 26,089 | Himalayas | Nepal (Khumbu)/China (Tibet) |
Gasherbrum III | 7,946 | 26,070 | Karakoram | China/Pakistan |
Annapurna II | 7,937 | 26,040 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Gasherbrum IV | 7,932 | 26,024 | Karakoram | China/Pakistan |
Himalchuli | 7,893 | 25,896 | Himalayas | Manaslu, Nepal |
Distaghil Sar | 7,885 | 25,869 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Ngadi Chuli | 7,871 | 25,823 | Himalayas | Manaslu, Nepal |
Nuptse | 7,861 | 25,791 | Himalayas | Everest Massif, Nepal |
Khunyang Chhish | 7,852 | 25,761 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Masherbrum | 7,821 | 25,659 | Karakoram | Pakistan – Originally named K1 |
Nanda Devi | 7,816 | 25,643 | Himalayas | India (Uttarakhand) – #2 in India |
Chomo Lonzo | 7,804 | 25,604 | Himalayas | Makalu Massiff, Nepal/China (Tibet) |
Batura Sar | 7,795 | 25,574 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Kanjut Sar | 7,790 | 25,558 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Rakaposhi | 7,788 | 25,551 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Namcha Barwa | 7,782 | 25,531 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
Batura II | 7,762 | 25,466 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Kamet | 7,756 | 25,446 | Himalayas | India (Uttarakhand) |
Saltoro Kangri | 7,742 | 25,400 | Karakoram | India (Jammu and Kashmir)/Pakistan |
Batura III | 7,729 | 25,358 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Kongur Tagh | 7,719 | 25,325 | Kunlun Mountains | China – Possibly 7649? metres |
Jannu | 7,710 | 25,295 | Himalayas | Kangchenjunga, Nepal |
Molamenqing | 7,710 | 25,295 | Himalayas | Shishapangma group, China (Tibet) |
Gurla Mandhata | 7,694 | 25,243 | Himalayas (Nalakankar) | China (Tibet) |
Tirich Mir | 7,690 | 25,230 | Hindu Kush | Pakistan – #1 in Hindu Kush |
Saser Kangri | 7,672 | 25,171 | Karakoram | India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Chogolisa | 7,665 | 25,148 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Shispare | 7,611 | 24,970 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Changtse | 7,583 | 24,879 | Himalayas | Everest Massif, China (Tibet) |
Trivor | 7,577 | 24,859 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Gangkhar Puensum | 7,570 | 24,836 | Himalayas | Bhutan/China (Tibet) |
Gongga Shan | 7,556 | 24,790 | Daxue Shan | Sichuan, China |
Annapurna III | 7,555 | 24,787 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Kula Kangri | 7,554 | 24,783 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) (possibly also Bhutan) |
Chogolisa II | 7,554 | 24,783 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Muztagh Ata | 7,546 | 24,757 | Kongur Tagh | China (Xinjiang) |
Skyang Kangri | 7,545 | 24,754 | Karakoram | Pakistan/China |
Yukshin Gardan Sar | 7,530 | 24,705 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Annapurna IV | 7,525 | 24,688 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Mamostong Kangri | 7,516 | 24,659 | Karakoram | India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Ismoil Somoni Peak | 7,495 | 24,590 | Pamir Mountains | Tajikistan |
Noshaq | 7,492 | 24,580 | Hindu Kush | Afghanistan– #1 in Afghanistan |
Pumari Chhish | 7,492 | 24,580 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Passu Sar | 7,476 | 24,528 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Malubiting | 7,458 | 24,469 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Gangapurna | 7,455 | 24,459 | Annapurna Himalaya | Nepal |
Jengish Chokusu | 7,439 | 24,406 | Tian Shan | China/Kyrgyzstan– #1 in Tian Shan |
K12 | 7,428 | 24,370 | Karakoram | India (Jammu and Kashmir)/Pakistan |
Istor-o-Nal | 7,403 | 24,288 | Hindu Kush | Pakistan |
Ghent Kangri | 7,401 | 24,281 | Karakoram | India (Jammu and Kashmir)/Pakistan |
Haramosh Peak | 7,397 | 24,268 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Kabru | 7,394 | 24,259 | Himalayas | Kanchenjunga, India (Sikkim)/Nepal |
Ultar | 7,388 | 24,239 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Rimo I | 7,385 | 24,229 | Karakoram | India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Sherpi Kangri | 7,380 | 24,213 | Karakoram | Pakistan) |
Labuche Kang | 7,367 | 24,170 | Himalayas | near Cho Oyu, Nepal/China (Tibet) |
Kirat Chuli | 7,365 | 24,163 | Himalayas | Nepal/India (Sikkim) border |
Skil Brum | 7,360 | 24,147 | Karakoram | Pakistan – May also be given as 7,410 m |
Gimmigela Chuli | 7,350 | 24,114 | Himalayas | Nepal/India (Sikkim) border |
Bojohagur Duanasir | 7,329 | 24,045 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Chamlang | 7,319 | 24,012 | Himalayas | Khumbu, Nepal |
Jomolhari / Chomolhari | 7,314 | 23,996 | Himalayas | Bhutan/China (Tibet) |
Baltoro Kangri | 7,312 | 23,990 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Siguang Ri | 7,308 | 23,976 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
The Crown | 7,295 | 23,934 | Karakoram | China (Xinjiang) |
Gyala Peri | 7,294 | 23,930 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
Porong Ri | 7,292 | 23,924 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
Baintha Brakk | 7,285 | 23,901 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Yutmaru Sar | 7,283 | 23,894 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
K6 | 7,282 | 23,891 | Karakoram | Pakistan – Also known as Baltistan Peak |
Kangpenqing | 7,281 | 23,888 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
Mana Peak | 7,272 | 23,858 | Himalayas | India (Uttarakhand) – SSE of Kamet |
Muztagh Tower | 7,273 | 23,862 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Diran | 7,257 | 23,809 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Apsarasas Kangri | 7,245 | 23,770 | Karakoram | China/India |
Langtang Lirung | 7,227 | 23,711 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Khartaphu | 7,213 | 23,665 | Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
Tongshanjiabu | 7,207 | 23,645 | Himalayas | Bhutan/China |
Langtang Ri | 7,205 | 23,638 | Himalayas | Nepal/China (Tibet) |
Kangphu Kang | 7,204 | 23,635 | Himalayas | Bhutan/China |
Annapurna South | 7,219 | 23,684 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Melungtse | 7,181 | 23,560 | Rolwaling Himalayas | China (Tibet) |
Liushi Shan | 7,167 | 23,514 | Kunlun | China – #1 in Kunlun |
Baruntse | 7,162 | 23,497 | Himalayas | Khumbu, Nepal |
Pumori | 7,161 | 23,494 | Himalayas | Khumbu, Nepal |
Nemjung | 7,140 | 23,425 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Udren Zom | 7,140 | 23,425 | Hindu Kush | Pakistan |
Nun Kun | 7,135 | 23,409 | Karakoram | India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Tilicho Peak | 7,134 | 23,406 | Himalayas | Annapurna Himal, Nepal |
Gauri Sankar | 7,134 | 23,406 | Rolwaling Himalayas | Nepal/China (Tibet) |
Lenin Peak | 7,134 | 23,406 | Pamir Mountains | Tajikistan–Kyrgyzstan– #2 in Pamirs |
Api | 7,132 | 23,399 | Himalayas | Nepal |
Pauhunri | 7,128 | 23,386 | Himalayas | India (Sikkim)/China (Tibet) |
Korzhenevskaya | 7,105 | 23,310 | Pamir Mountains | Tajikistan – #3 in Pamirs |
Lunpo Gangri | 7,095 | 23,278 | Himalayas (Gangdise) | China (Tibet) |
Tirsuli | 7,074 | 23,209 | Himalayas | India (Uttarakhand) |
Dunagiri | 7,066 | 23,182 | Himalayas | India (Uttarakhand) |
Kangto | 7,060 | 23,163 | Himalayas | India (Arunachal Pradesh)/China (Tibet) |
Nyegyi Kansang | 7,047 | 23,120 | Himalayas | India (Arunachal Pradesh)/China (Tibet) |
Kezhen Peak | 7,038 | 23,091 | Karakoram | China (Xinjiang) |
Shah Dhar | 7,038 | 23,091 | Hindu Kush | Afghanistan/Pakistan |
Spantik | 7,027 | 23,054 | Karakoram | Pakistan |
Khan Tengri | 7,010 | 22,999 | Tian Shan | Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan – #2 in Tian Shan |
6,000 metres[edit]
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Machapuchare | 6,993 | 22,943 | Annapurna Himalaya, Nepal– Officially unclimbed (attempts not allowed) |
Kang Guru | 6,981 | 22,904 | Manaslu Himalaya, Nepal – 2005 avalanche kills 18 |
Karun Kuh | 6,977 | 22,890 | Karakoram, Pakistan |
Avicenna Peak | 6,974 | 22,881 | Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan– #3 in Pamirs |
Ulugh Muztagh | 6,973 | 22,877 | Kunlun Mountains, Tibet– Often misquoted as 7,723 m |
Aconcagua | 6,962 | 22,841 | Andes, Argentina – Highest in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres |
Lunkho e Dosare | 6,901 | 22,641 | Hindu Kush, Afghanistan-Pakistan |
Ojos del Salado | 6,891 | 22,608 | Andes, Argentina-Chile – Highest volcano on Earth |
Siniolchu | 6,888 | 22,598 | Kangchenjunga Himalaya, India (Sikkim) |
Kanjiroba | 6,883 | 22,582 | Himalayas, Nepal |
Nanda Kot | 6,861 | 22,510 | KumaonHimalayas, India (Utarakhand) |
Kubi Gangri | 6,859 | 22,503 | Himalayas, Nepal/China (Tibet) |
Angel Sar | 6,858 | 22,500 | Karakoram, Pakistan |
Jethi Bahurani | 6,850 | 22,474 | Himalayas, Nepal |
Chongra Peak | 6,830 | 22,408 | Nanga Parbat Himalaya, Pakistan |
Ama Dablam | 6,812 | 22,349 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Monte Pissis | 6,795 | 22,293 | Andes, Argentina – Third highest in Western Hemisphere |
Biarchedi | 6,781 | 22,247 | Karakoram, Pakistan |
Huascarán Sur | 6,768 | 22,205 | Andes, Peru– Highest |
Cerro Bonete | 6,759 | 22,175 | Andes, Argentina |
Nevado Tres Cruces | 6,749 | 22,142 | Andes, Argentina/Chile |
Kawagarbo | 6,740 | 22,113 | Himalayas, China (Yunnan/Tibet) |
Llullaillaco | 6,739 | 22,110 | Andes, Argentina/Chile |
Cho Polu | 6,735 | 22,096 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Kangju Kangri | 6,725 | 22,064 | Karakoram, India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Changla | 6,721 | 22,051 | Himalayas, Nepal/China (Tibet) |
Mount Pandim | 6,691 | 21,952 | Himalayas, India (Sikkim) |
Num Ri | 6,677 | 21,906 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Gul Lasht Zom | 6,657 | 21,841 | Hindu Kush, Pakistan |
Huascarán Norte | 6,655 | 21,834 | Andes, Peru |
Khumbutse | 6,640 | 21,785 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu)/China (Tibet) – First peak west of Everest |
Mount Kailash | 6,638 | 21,778 | Transhimalaya, western Tibet – Officially unclimbed (attempts not allowed) |
Yerupajá | 6,635 | 21,768 | Andes, Peru |
Thamserku | 6,623 | 21,729 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Incahuasi | 6,621 | 21,722 | Andes, Argentina/Chile |
Pangpoche | 6,620 | 21,719 | Himalayas, Nepal |
Manirang | 6,597 | 21,644 | Himalayas, India (Himachal Pradesh) |
Nilkantha | 6,596 | 21,640 | Himalayas, India (Uttarakhand) |
Phuparash Peak | 6,574 | 21,568 | Karakoram, Pakistan |
Sickle Moon Peak | 6,574 | 21,568 | Himalayas, India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Buni Zom | 6,551 | 21,493 | Hindu Kush, Pakistan |
Nevado Sajama | 6,542 | 21,463 | Andes, Bolivia– Highest |
Ghamubar Zom | 6,518 | 21,385 | Hindu Kush, Pakistan |
Singu Chuli | 6,501 | 21,329 | Annapurna Himalayas, Nepal |
Taboche | 6,501 | 21,329 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Cerro El Muerto | 6,488 | 21,286 | Andes, Argentina/Chile |
Mera Peak | 6,476 | 21,247 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Illimani | 6,462 | 21,201 | Andes, Bolivia |
Hiunchuli | 6,441 | 21,132 | Annapurna Himalaya, Nepal |
Cholatse | 6,440 | 21,129 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Ancohuma | 6,427 | 21,086 | Andes, Bolivia |
Coropuna | 6,425 | 21,079 | Andes, Peru |
Antofalla | 6,409 | 21,027 | Andes, Argentina |
Huandoy | 6,395 | 20,981 | Andes, Peru |
Ausangate | 6,384 | 20,945 | Andes, Peru |
Illampu | 6,368 | 20,892 | Andes, Bolivia |
Kusum Kangguru | 6,367 | 20,889 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Kinnaur Kailash | 6,349 | 20,830 | Himalayas, Kinnaur, India (Himachal Pradesh) |
Parinaquta | 6,348 | 20,827 | Andes, Bolivia/Chile |
Siula Grande | 6,344 | 20,814 | Andes, Peru |
Bamba Dhura | 6,334 | 20,781 | Uttarakhand Himalayas, India (Uttarakhand) |
Ampato | 6,288 | 20,630 | Andes, Peru |
Amne Machin | 6,282 | 20,610 | Kunlun Mountains, China (Qinghai) |
Pomerape | 6,282 | 20,610 | Andes, Bolivia/Chile |
Salcantay | 6,271 | 20,574 | Andes, Peru |
Chimborazo | 6,267 | 20,561 | Ecuador – Furthest point from Earth’s center |
Kongde Ri | 6,187 | 20,299 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Aucanquilcha | 6,176 | 20,262 | Andes, Chile |
Denali | 6,168 | 20,236 | Alaska Range, United States (Alaska) – Highest in North America |
Imja Tse | 6,160 | 20,210 | Himalayas, Nepal (Khumbu) |
Stok Kangri | 6,137 | 20,135 | Stok Range, Himalayas, India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Pisang Peak | 6,091 | 19,984 | Annapurna Himalaya, Nepal |
Huayna Potosí | 6,088 | 19,974 | Andes, Bolivia |
Aracar | 6,082 | 19,954 | Andes, Argentina |
Chachakumani | 6,074 | 19,928 | Andes, Bolivia |
Chachani | 6,057 | 19,872 | Andes, Peru |
Acotango | 6,052 | 19,856 | Andes, Bolivia/Chile |
Socompa | 6,051 | 19,852 | Andes, Argentina/Chile |
Acamarachi | 6,046 | 19,836 | Andes, Chile |
Shayaz | 6,026 | 19,770 | Hindu Kush, Pakistan |
Wallqa Wallqa | 6,025 | 19,767 | Andes, Peru |
Uturunku | 6,020 | 19,751 | Andes, Bolivia |
Mitre Peak | 6,010 | 19,718 | Karakoram, Pakistan |
5,000 metres[edit]
4,000 metres[edit]
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Mount Blackburn | 4,996 | 16,391 | Wrangell Mtns., Alaska, USA (also given 5036 m) |
Pico Bolívar | 4,981 | 16,342 | Sierra Nevada de Mérida, Andes, Venezuela– Highest in Venezuela |
Pik Talgar | 4,979 | 16,335 | Tian Shan, Kazakhstan– Highest in northern Tian Shan |
Mount Sanford | 4,949 | 16,237 | Wrangell Mtns., Alaska, USA |
Pico Humboldt | 4,940 | 16,207 | Sierra Nevada de Mérida, Andes, Venezuela |
Vinson Massif | 4,892 | 16,050 | Sentinel Range, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica– Highest in Antarctica |
Pico Bonpland | 4,890 | 16,043 | Sierra Nevada de Mérida, Andes, Venezuela |
Puncak Jaya | 4,884 | 16,024 | Sudirman Range, Papua, Indonesia– Highest in Indonesia |
Pico La Concha | 4,870 | 15,978 | Sierra Nevada de Mérida, Andes, Venezuela |
Gistola | 4,860 | 15,945 | Caucasus Mountains, Svaneti, Georgia |
Shota Rustaveli Peak | 4,860 | 15,945 | Caucasus Mountains, Svaneti, Georgia/North Caucasus, Russia |
Tetnuldi | 4,858 | 15,938 | Caucasus Mountains, Svaneti, Georgia |
Mount Tyree | 4,852 | 15,919 | Sentinel Range, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica– Second Highest in Antarctica |
Huaynaputina | 4,850 | 15,912 | Andes, Peru |
Alam Kuh | 4,850 | 15,912 | Alborz, Iran– Second highest in Iran |
Mount Wood | 4,842 | 15,886 | Saint Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada |
Mount Vancouver | 4,812 | 15,787 | Saint Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada |
Sabalan | 4,811 | 15,784 | Iran |
Mont Blanc | 4,810 | 15,781 | Mont Blanc massif, France/Italy– Highest in Alps |
AMK | 4,822 | 15,820 | Sahyadri, Maharashtra Sahyadri, India (Maharashtra) |
Corazón | 4,790 | 15,715 | Andes, Ecuador |
Pichincha | 4,784 | 15,696 | Andes, Ecuador |
Jimara | 4,780 | 15,682 | Khokh Range, Caucasus Mountains, Georgia |
Mount Churchill | 4,766 | 15,636 | Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska, USA |
Puncak Mandala | 4,760 | 15,617 | Papua, Indonesia |
Klyuchevskaya Sopka | 4,750 | 15,584 | Kamchatka, Russia |
Puncak Trikora | 4,750 | 15,584 | Papua, Indonesia |
Mont Blanc de Courmayeur | 4,748 | 15,577 | Mont Blanc massif, France/Italy |
Sunset Peak | 4,745 | 15,568 | Himalaya, Kashmir Valley, India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Mount Slaggard | 4,742 | 15,558 | Saint Elias Mountains, Canada |
Pico Piedras Blancas | 4,740 | 15,551 | Sierra de la Culata, Andes, Venezuela |
Pico El Toro | 4,730 | 15,518 | Andes, Venezuela |
Tatakooti Peak | 4,725 | 15,502 | Himalaya, Kashmir Valley, India (Jammu and Kashmir) |
Rumiñahui | 4,721 | 15,489 | Andes, Ecuador |
Pico El Leon | 4,720 | 15,486 | Andes, Venezuela |
Ushba | 4,710 | 15,453 | Caucasus Mountains, Svaneti, Georgia |
Volcán Domuyo | 4,709 | 15,449 | Andes, Argentina |
Pico Los Nevados | 4,700 | 15,420 | Andes, Venezuela |
Pico Pan de Azucar | 4,680 | 15,354 | Sierra de la Culata, Andes, Venezuela |
Naltar Peak | 4,678 | 15,348 | Pakistan |
Mount Fairweather | 4,663 | 15,299 | Fairweather Range, Alaska, USA |
Pico Mucuñuque | 4,660 | 15,289 | Andes, Venezuela |
Pico El Buitre | 4,650 | 15,256 | Andes, Venezuela |
Khazret Sultan | 4,643 | 15,233 | Gissar, Uzbekistan |
Sierra Negra | 4,640 | 15,223 | Mexico |
Monte Rosa | 4,634 | 15,203 | Switzerland– Highest point in Switzerland |
Nordend | 4,609 | 15,121 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland–Italy |
Mount Hubbard | 4,577 | 15,016 | Saint Elias Mountains |
Nevado de Toluca | 4,577 | 15,016 | Mexico |
Mount Meru | 4,566 | 14,980 | Tanzania |
Zumsteinspitze | 4,563 | 14,970 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland–Italy |
Dom | 4,545 | 14,911 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Ras Dashen | 4,533 | 14,872 | Ethiopia– Highest point in Ethiopia |
Signalkuppe | 4,527 | 14,852 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland–Italy |
Lyskamm | 4,527 | 14,852 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland–Italy |
Mount Bear | 4,521 | 14,833 | Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska, USA |
Mount Wilhelm | 4,509 | 14,793 | Papua New Guinea |
Mount Karisimbi | 4,507 | 14,787 | Virunga Mountains, Rwanda/DRC |
Mount Walsh | 4,507 | 14,787 | Saint Elias Mountains, Canada |
Belukha Mountain | 4,506 | 14,783 | Altay Mountains, Russia |
Weisshorn | 4,506 | 14,783 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Tebulosmta | 4,493 | 14,741 | Caucasus Mountains, Georgia/Chechnya, Russia |
Täschhorn | 4,491 | 14,734 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Bazarduzu Dagi | 4,485 | 14,715 | Azerbaijan |
Matterhorn | 4,478 | 14,692 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland/Italy |
Mount Rutford | 4,477 | 14,688 | Sentinel Range, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica |
Mont Maudit | 4,465 | 14,649 | Mont Blanc massif, France/Italy |
Babis Mta | 4,454 | 14,613 | Caucasus Mountains, Georgia/Russia |
Mount Shani | 4,451 | 14,603 | Caucasus Mountains, Georgia/Russia |
Dena | 4,448 | 14,593 | Zagros MountainsIran |
Vladimir Putin Peak | 4,446 | 14,587 | Kyrgyz Alatau, Kyrgyzstan |
Mount Hunter | 4,442 | 14,573 | Alaska Range, Alaska, USA |
Mount Whitney | 4,421 | 14,505 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Alverstone | 4,420 | 14,501 | Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska, USA/Yukon, Canada |
University Peak | 4,411 | 14,472 | Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska, USA |
Aello Peak | 4,403 | 14,446 | Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska, USA |
Mount Elbert | 4,402 | 14,442 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Massive | 4,395 | 14,419 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Harvard | 4,395 | 14,419 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Rainier | 4,392 | 14,409 | Cascades, Washington, USA |
Kholeno | 4,387 | 14,393 | Alborz, Iran |
Mount Williamson | 4,382 | 14,377 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Tavan Bogd Uul | 4,374 | 14,350 | Bayan-Ölgii Province, Mongolia |
Blanca Peak | 4,374 | 14,350 | Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA |
La Plata Peak | 4,372 | 14,344 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Giluwe | 4,368 | 14,331 | Papua New Guinea |
Burchula | 4,364 | 14,318 | Caucasus Mountains, Georgia |
Uncompahgre Peak | 4,361 | 14,308 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Dent Blanche | 4,357 | 14,295 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Crestone Peak | 4,357 | 14,295 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Lincoln | 4,354 | 14,285 | Mosquito Range, Colorado, USA |
Azad Kuh | 4,355 | 14,288 | Alborz, Iran |
Grays Peak | 4,350 | 14,272 | Front Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Evans | 4,350 | 14,272 | Front Range, Colorado, USA |
Quandary Peak | 4,350 | 14,272 | Tenmile Range, Colorado, USA |
Lalveri | 4,350 | 14,272 | Caucasus Mountains, Svaneti, Georgia |
Mount Antero | 4,349 | 14,268 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Torreys Peak | 4,349 | 14,268 | Front Range, Colorado, USA |
Castle Peak | 4,348 | 14,265 | Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Longs Peak | 4,345 | 14,255 | Front Range, Colorado, USA |
McArthur Peak | 4,344 | 14,252 | Saint Elias Mountains, Yukon |
Mount Wilsion | 4,342 | 14,245 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
White Mountain Peak | 4,342 | 14,245 | White Mountains, California, USA |
North Palisade | 4,341 | 14,242 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Shavano | 4,337 | 14,229 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Colima | 4,330 | 14,206 | Mexico |
Crestone Needle | 4,327 | 14,196 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Belford | 4,327 | 14,196 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Princeton | 4,327 | 14,196 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Shasta | 4,322 | 14,180 | California, USA |
Mount Elgon | 4,321 | 14,177 | Uganda-Kenya |
Mount Bross | 4,320 | 14,173 | Mosquito Range, Colorado, USA |
Kit Carson Mountain | 4,318 | 14,167 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Wrangell | 4,317 | 14,163 | Alaska, USA |
Maroon Peak | 4,315 | 14,157 | Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Tabeguache Peak | 4,315 | 14,157 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
El Diente Peak | 4,315 | 14,157 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Mount Sill | 4,314 | 14,154 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Grand Combin | 4,313 | 14,150 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Oxford (Colorado) | 4,313 | 14,150 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Sneffels | 4,312 | 14,147 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Mount Democrat | 4,312 | 14,147 | Mosquito Range, Colorado, USA |
Capitol Peak | 4,307 | 14,131 | Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Pikes Peak | 4,302 | 14,114 | Colorado, USA |
Snowmass Mountain | 4,295 | 14,091 | Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Lenzspitze | 4,294 | 14,088 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Russell | 4,296 | 14,094 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Eolus | 4,292 | 14,081 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Windom Peak | 4,292 | 14,081 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Challenger Point | 4,292 | 14,081 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Columbia | 4,291 | 14,078 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Adishi | 4,290 | 14,075 | Caucasus Mountains, Svaneti, Georgia |
Mount Augusta | 4,290 | 14,075 | Saint Elias Mountains, Alaska, USA |
Humboldt Peak (Colorado) | 4,287 | 14,065 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Split Mountain | 4,287 | 14,065 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Bierstadt | 4,286 | 14,062 | Front Range, Colorado, USA |
Diklosmta | 4,285 | 14,058 | Caucasus Mountains, Tusheti, Georgia |
Sunlight Peak | 4,285 | 14,058 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Missouri Mountain | 4,282 | 14,049 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Culebra Peak | 4,282 | 14,049 | Colorado, USA |
Handies Peak | 4,281 | 14,045 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Ellingwood Point | 4,280 | 14,042 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Lindsey | 4,280 | 14,042 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Little Bear Peak | 4,279 | 14,039 | Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount Sherman | 4,278 | 14,035 | Mosquito Range, Colorado, USA |
Redcloud Peak | 4,277 | 14,032 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Galeras | 4,276 | 14,029 | Andes, Columbia |
Mount Langley | 4,275 | 14,026 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Finsteraarhorn | 4,274 | 14,022 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Pyramid Peak | 4,273 | 14,019 | Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Mount Tyndall | 4,273 | 14,019 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Wilson Peak | 4,272 | 14,016 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Mount Muir | 4,272 | 14,016 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
San Luis Peak | 4,271 | 14,012 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Wetterhorn Peak | 4,271 | 14,012 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Middle Palisade | 4,271 | 14,012 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Huron Peak | 4,269 | 14,006 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Mount of the Holy Cross | 4,269 | 14,006 | Sawatch Range, Colorado, USA |
Thunderbolt Peak | 4,268 | 14,003 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Sunshine Peak | 4,268 | 14,003 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Mount Strickland | 4,260 | 13,976 | Saint Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada |
Pigeon Peak | 4,259 | 13,973 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Mount Kennedy | 4,250 | 13,944 | Saint Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada |
Pointe Bayeux | 4,258 | 13,970 | Graian Alps, Mont Blanc massif, France |
Mont Blanc du Tacul | 4,248 | 13,937 | Graian Alps, Mont Blanc massif, France |
Stecknadelhorn | 4,241 | 13,914 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Avalanche Peak | 4,228 | 13,871 | Saint Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada |
Zinalrothorn | 4,221 | 13,848 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Volcán Tajumulco | 4,220 | 13,845 | Guatemala |
Hohberghorn | 4,219 | 13,842 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Turret Peak | 4,217 | 13,835 | Needle Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Mount Darwin | 4,216 | 13,832 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Hayes | 4,216 | 13,832 | Alaska, USA |
Sacabaya | 4,215 | 13,829 | Bolivia |
Grandes Jorasses | 4,208 | 13,806 | Mont Blanc massif, France/Italy |
Gannett Peak | 4,208 | 13,806 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mauna Kea | 4,207 | 13,802 | Hawaii, USA |
Alphubel | 4,206 | 13,799 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mauna Kea | 4,205 | 13,796 | Hawaii, USA (highest mountain base to summit) |
Cofre de Perote | 4,201 | 13,783 | Mexico |
Zard-Kuh | 4,200 | 13,780 | Zagros MountainsIran |
Shah Alborz | 4,200 | 13,780 | Alborz, Iran |
Rimpfischhorn | 4,199 | 13,776 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Grand Teton | 4,199 | 13,776 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Cook | 4,196 | 13,766 | Saint Elias Mountains, Canada/USA |
Aletschhorn | 4,192 | 13,753 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Strahlhorn | 4,190 | 13,747 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Fremont Peak | 4,189 | 13,743 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Warren | 4,182 | 13,720 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Sidley | 4,181 | 13,717 | Antarctica |
Dent d’Hérens | 4,171 | 13,684 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mauna Loa | 4,171 | 13,684 | Hawaii, USA |
Jbel Toubkal | 4,167 | 13,671 | Atlas Mountains, Morocco |
Mount Minto | 4,165 | 13,665 | Antarctica |
Breithorn | 4,165 | 13,665 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland/Italy |
Jungfrau | 4,158 | 13,642 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Bishorn | 4,153 | 13,625 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Helen | 4,151 | 13,619 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
El Mela | 4,150 | 13,615 | Andes, Argentina |
Mount Quincy Adams | 4,150 | 13,615 | Fairweather Range, Canada/USA |
Doublet Peak | 4,145 | 13,599 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Turret Peak | 4,145 | 13,599 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Parnassus (Colorado) | 4,137 | 13,573 | Front Range, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Uludoruk (Reşko / Gelyaşin) | 4,137 | 13,573 | Cilo Daglari Hakkari, Turkey |
Mount Sacagawea | 4,136 | 13,570 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Dubois | 4,135 | 13,566 | White Mountains, California, USA |
Mount Muhabura (Albertine Rift) | 4,127 | 13,540 | Virunga Mountains, Musanze, Rwanda |
Kings Peak | 4,125 | 13,533 | Uinta Range, Utah, USA |
Aiguille Verte | 4,122 | 13,524 | Mont Blanc massif, France |
Mount Bangeta | 4,121 | 13,520 | Papua New Guinea |
Mount Dickerson | 4,120 | 13,517 | Queen Alexandra Range, Antarctica |
Jackson Peak | 4,120 | 13,517 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Woodrow Wilson | 4,115 | 13,501 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Aiguilles du Diable | 4,014 | 13,169 | Graian Alps, Mont Blanc massif, France |
Bastion Peak | 4,113 | 13,494 | Wind River Range, Wyoming |
Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey | 4,112 | 13,491 | Mont Blanc massif, Italy |
Mönch | 4,107 | 13,474 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Febbas | 4,105 | 13,468 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Barre des Écrins | 4,102 | 13,458 | Dauphiné Alps, France |
Mount Aragats | 4,095 | 13,435 | Armenia |
Mount Cameroon | 4,095 | 13,435 | Cameroon |
Mount Kinabalu | 4,095 | 13,435 | Sabah, Malaysia– Highest in Malaysia |
Grizzly Peak D | 4,093 | 13,428 | Front Range, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Pollux | 4,092 | 13,425 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Kīlauea | 4,091 | 13,422 | Hawaii, USA |
Mount Wade | 4,085 | 13,402 | Prince Olav Mountains, Antarctica |
Mount Victoria | 4,072 | 13,360 | Papua New Guinea |
Centennial Peak | 4,070 | 13,353 | Prince Olav Mountains, Antarctica |
Gran Paradiso | 4,061 | 13,323 | Graian Alps, Italy |
Ober Gabelhorn | 4,053 | 13,297 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Piz Bernina | 4,049 | 13,284 | Bernina Alps, Switzerland |
Fiescherhorn | 4,049 | 13,284 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Grünhorn | 4,043 | 13,264 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Lauteraarhorn | 4,042 | 13,261 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Aiguille du Géant | 4,035 | 13,238 | Graian Alps, Mont Blanc massif, France |
Mount Sniktau | 4,034 | 13,235 | Front Range, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Allalinhorn | 4,027 | 13,212 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Wind River Peak | 4,021 | 13,192 | Wind River Range, Wyoming, USA |
Latsga | 4,019 | 13,186 | Caucasus Mountains, Svaneti, Georgia |
Weissmies | 4,017 | 13,179 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Waddington | 4,016 | 13,176 | British Columbia, Canada |
Mount Marcus Baker | 4,016 | 13,176 | Chugach Range, Alaska, USA |
Dôme de neige des Écrins | 4,015 | 13,173 | Dauphiné Alps, France |
Conejos Peak | 4,015 | 13,173 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Dent du Géant | 4,013 | 13,166 | Mont Blanc massif, France/Italy |
Red Slate Mountain | 4,013 | 13,166 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Cloud Peak | 4,013 | 13,166 | Big Horn Mountains, Wyoming, USA |
Wheeler Peak | 4,012 | 13,163 | Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico, USA |
Lagginhorn | 4,010 | 13,156 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Twilight Peak | 4,010 | 13,156 | San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Francs Peak | 4,009 | 13,153 | Absaroka Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Walter | 4,005 | 13,140 | New Mexico, USA |
Les Droites | 4,000 | 13,123 | Mont Blanc massif, France |
3,000 metres[edit]
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Piz Zupò | 3,995 | 13,107 | Bernina Range, Switzerland |
Truchas Peak | 3,994 | 13,104 | Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico |
Fletschhorn | 3,993 | 13,100 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Albert Edward | 3,990 | 13,091 | Papua New Guinea |
La Meije | 3,987 | 13,081 | Dauphiné Alps, France |
Wheeler Peak | 3,982 | 13,064 | Snake Range, Nevada |
Mount Dana | 3,981 | 13,061 | California |
Acatenango | 3,976 | 13,045 | Guatemala |
Piz Roseg | 3,973 | 13,035 | Bernina Range, Switzerland |
Piz Scerscen | 3,971 | 13,028 | Bernina Range, Switzerland |
Eiger | 3,970 | 13,025 | Bernese Oberland, Switzerland |
Mount Tochal | 3,964 | 13,005 | Alborz, Iran |
Black Tooth Mountain | 3,964 | 13,005 | Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming |
Grand Cornier | 3,962 | 12,999 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Owen | 3,957 | 12,982 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Ailefroide | 3,954 | 12,972 | Dauphiné Alps, France |
Mount Robson | 3,954 | 12,972 | Highest point in the Canadian Rockies |
Descabezado Grande | 3,953 | 12,969 | Chile |
Yu Shan (Mount Jade) | 3,952 | 12,966 | Highest point in Taiwan |
Mont Pelvoux | 3,946 | 12,946 | Dauphiné Alps, France |
Mount Julian | 3,940 | 12,927 | Colorado, USA |
Mount Erciyes | 3,916 | 12,848 | Central Anatolia, Turkey |
Bomber Mountain | 3,914 | 12,841 | Bighorn Range, Wyoming, USA |
Pic Sans Nom | 3,919 | 12,858 | Dauphiné Alps, France |
Jicarita Peak | 3,912 | 12,835 | Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico |
Ortler | 3,905 | 12,812 | Italy South Tyrol |
Piz Palü | 3,905 | 12,812 | Bernina Range, Switzerland |
Middle Teton | 3,903 | 12,805 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Aiguille d’Argentière | 3,902 | 12,802 | Mont Blanc massif, France/Switzerland |
Granite Peak | 3,901 | 12,799 | Montana, USA – Highest point |
Mount Gibbs | 3,893 | 12,772 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Crillon | 3,879 | 12,726 | Fairweather Range, Alaska, USA |
Mont Blanc de Cheilon | 3,870 | 12,697 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Aiguille du Goûter | 3,863 | 12,674 | Graian Alps, Mont Blanc massif, France |
Borah Peak | 3,861 | 12,667 | Idaho, USA – Highest point |
Grande Casse | 3,855 | 12,648 | Vanoise Massif, France |
Humphreys Peak | 3,852 | 12,638 | Arizona, USA – Highest point |
Santa Fe Baldy | 3,847 | 12,621 | Sangre de Cristo Mountains, New Mexico |
Mount Baldwin | 3,845 | 12,615 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Aiguille du Midi | 3,842 | 12,605 | Graian Alps, Mont Blanc Massif, France |
Mount Moran | 3,842 | 12,605 | Wyoming, USA |
Monte Viso | 3,841 | 12,602 | Italian Alps |
Mount Saramati | 3,826 | 12,552 | Patkai Range, Nagaland, India<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Saramati> |
Nesthorn | 3,822 | 12,539 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Cerro Chirripó | 3,820 | 12,533 | Highest in Costa Rica |
Aiguille des Glaciers | 3,816 | 12,520 | Mont Blanc massif, France/Italy |
South Teton | 3,814 | 12,513 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
La Râteau | 3,809 | 12,497 | Dauphiné Alps, France |
Mount Kerinci | 3,800 | 12,467 | Highest volcano in Indonesia |
Großglockner | 3,798 | 12,461 | Austria – Highest point |
Pigne d’Arolla | 3,796 | 12,454 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Erebus | 3,794 | 12,448 | Antarctica – Southernmost active volcano |
Mont Pourri | 3,779 | 12,398 | Vanoise Massif, France |
Mount Fuji | 3,776 | 12,388 | Japan– Highest in Japan |
Wildspitze | 3,774 | 12,382 | Austria |
Greenhorn Mountain | 3,763 | 12,346 | Wet Mountains, Colorado, USA |
Volcán de Fuego | 3,763 | 12,346 | Guatemala |
Teewinot Mountain | 3,757 | 12,326 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Aiguille du Dru | 3,754 | 12,316 | Graian Alps, France |
Aoraki/Mount Cook | 3,754 | 12,316 | New Zealand – Highest point |
Pointe de Charbonnel | 3,752 | 12,310 | Graian Alps, France |
Piz Morteratsch | 3,751 | 12,306 | Bernina Range, Switzerland |
Mount Davis | 3,750 | 12,303 | California, USA |
Mount Morrison | 3,750 | 12,303 | California, USA |
Aiguille de la Grande Sassière | 3,747 | 12,293 | Graian Alps, France |
Lanín | 3,747 | 12,293 | Chile/Argentina |
Mount Columbia | 3,747 | 12,293 | Canadian Rockies – Highest in Alberta |
Mount Adams | 3,743 | 12,280 | Washington, USA |
Teepe Pillar | 3,739 | 12,267 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Weißkugel | 3,739 | 12,267 | Alps, Austria/Italy |
Minarets | 3,735 | 12,254 | Sierra Nevada, California |
Mount Huntington | 3,731 | 12,241 | Alaska Range, Alaska, USA |
Mount Rinjani | 3,726 | 12,224 | Indonesia |
Cerro del Potosí | 3,721 | 12,208 | Mexico |
Teide | 3,718 | 12,198 | Canary Islands – Highest in Spain |
Asperity Mountain | 3,716 | 12,192 | Waddington Range |
Sahand | 3,707 | 12,162 | East Azerbaijan, Iran |
Monte San Lorenzo | 3,706 | 12,159 | Patagonia, Argentina-Chile |
Wetterhorn | 3,701 | 12,142 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Dent Parrachée | 3,697 | 12,129 | Vanoise massif, France |
Gunnbjørn | 3,694 | 12,119 | highest in Greenland |
North Twin Peak | 3,684 | 12,087 | Canadian Rockies |
Monte Disgrazia | 3,678 | 12,067 | Bregaglia, Switzerland |
Semeru | 3,676 | 12,060 | Java, Indonesia |
Les Bans | 3,669 | 12,037 | Ecrins, France |
Cloudveil Dome | 3,666 | 12,028 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Thor Peak | 3,666 | 12,028 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Medicine Bow Peak | 3,661 | 12,011 | Wyoming, USA |
Hyndman Peak | 3,660 | 12,008 | Idaho, USA |
Mount Clemenceau | 3,658 | 12,001 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Frakes | 3,654 | 11,988 | Crary Mountains, Antarctica |
Grande Motte | 3,853 | 12,641 | Vanoise Massif, France |
Sierra Blanca | 3,652 | 11,982 | Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico |
Pointe de la Fournache | 3,642 | 11,949 | Vanoise massif, France |
Buck Mountain | 3,639 | 11,939 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Mount Nebo | 3,636 | 11,929 | Utah, USA |
Mount Charleston | 3,632 | 11,916 | Nevada, USA |
Hintere Schwärze | 3,628 | 11,903 | Ötztal Alps, Austria/Italy |
Nez Perce Peak | 3,627 | 11,900 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Alberta | 3,619 | 11,873 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Assiniboine | 3,618 | 11,870 | Canadian Rockies |
Tödi | 3,614 | 11,857 | Swiss Alps |
Mount Forbes | 3,612 | 11,850 | Canadian Rockies |
Lautaro | 3,607 | 11,834 | Patagonia, Chile |
Dôme de la Sache | 3,601 | 11,814 | Vanoise massif, France |
Castle Peak | 3,601 | 11,814 | Idaho, USA |
Dôme de l’Arpont | 3,601 | 11,814 | Vanoise massif, France |
Dôme de Chasseforêt | 3,586 | 11,765 | Vanoise massif, France |
Makra Peak | 3,586 | 11,765 | Pakistan |
Sierra Velluda | 3,585 | 11,762 | Chile |
Grand Roc Noir | 3,582 | 11,752 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Timpanogos | 3,582 | 11,752 | Utah, USA |
Dôme des Nants | 3,570 | 11,713 | Vanoise massif, France |
Ryan Peak | 3,570 | 11,713 | Idaho, USA |
South Twin Peak | 3,566 | 11,699 | Canadian Rockies |
Olan | 3,564 | 11,693 | Ecrins, France |
Aiguille de Péclet | 3,561 | 11,683 | Vanoise massif, France |
Presanella | 3,558 | 11,673 | Adamello-Presanella, Italy |
Mount Steere | 3,558 | 11,673 | Antarctica |
Monarch Mountain | 3,555 | 11,663 | Pacific Ranges, British Columbia, Canada |
Monte Leone | 3,552 | 11,654 | Lepontine Alps, Switzerland |
Mont Turia | 3,550 | 11,647 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Temple | 3,543 | 11,624 | Canadian Rockies |
Disappointment Peak | 3,541 | 11,617 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Mount Woodring | 3,533 | 11,591 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Aiguille de Polset | 3,531 | 11,585 | Vanoise Massif, France |
Snow Dome | 3,520 | 11,549 | Canadian Rockies |
Aiguilles d’Arves | 3,515 | 11,532 | Arve Massif, France |
Mont de Gébroulaz | 3,511 | 11,519 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount San Gorgonio | 3,505 | 11,499 | California, USA |
Mount Kitchener | 3,505 | 11,499 | Canadian Rockies |
Zuckerhütl | 3,505 | 11,499 | Stubai Alps, Austria |
Mount Wister | 3,502 | 11,490 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Mount Saskatchewan | 3,500 | 11,483 | Yukon, Canada |
Mount Tasman | 3,497 | 11,473 | Southern Alps, New Zealand |
Mount Hungabee | 3,492 | 11,457 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Athabasca | 3,491 | 11,453 | Canadian Rockies |
Tronador | 3,491 | 11,453 | Chile/Argentina |
Mount Saint John | 3,484 | 11,430 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Thabana Ntlenyana | 3,482 | 11,424 | Drakensberg, Africa |
Pointes du Châtelard | 3,479 | 11,414 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mulhacén | 3,479 | 11,414 | Spain – Highest in continental Spain |
Mount Berlin | 3,478 | 11,411 | Flood Range, Antarctica |
Volcán Barú | 3,475 | 11,401 | Chiriquí, Panama |
Koh-i-Takatu Sraghurgai | 3,472 | 11,391 | Quetta Sraghurgai, Suleman Range, Pakistan– 2nd Highest Peak in Balochistan Province[1] |
Roc des Saints Pères | 3,470 | 11,385 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Brazeau | 3,470 | 11,385 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Nyiragongo | 3,470 | 11,385 | Virunga Mountains, DRC |
Ruby Dome | 3,470 | 11,385 | Ruby Mountains, Nevada |
Roche de la Muzelle | 3,465 | 11,368 | Dauphine Alps, France |
Mount Victoria | 3,464 | 11,365 | Canadian Rockies |
Abajo Peak | 3,463 | 11,362 | Abajo Mountains, Utah |
Eagle Peak | 3,462 | 11,358 | Absaroka Range, Wyoming, USA |
Doane Peak | 3,461 | 11,355 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Ranger Peak | 3,461 | 11,355 | Teton range, Wyoming, USA |
Cerro de la Muerte | 3,451 | 11,322 | Second highest in Costa Rica |
Furgghorn | 3,451 | 11,322 | Pennine Alps, Switzerland |
Mafadi | 3,450 | 11,319 | Drakensberg, South Africa |
Mount Andromeda | 3,450 | 11,319 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Joffre | 3,449 | 11,316 | Canadian Rockies |
Hilgard Peak | 3,449 | 11,316 | Madison Range, Montana, USA |
Static Peak | 3,445 | 11,302 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Pointe de la Sana | 3,436 | 11,273 | Vanoise massif, France |
Eagles Rest Peak | 3,431 | 11,257 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Irazú Volcano | 3,431 | 11,257 | Costa Rica |
Mount Hood | 3,429 | 11,250 | Cascade Range, Oregon, USA |
Deltaform Mountain | 3,424 | 11,234 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Lefroy | 3,423 | 11,230 | Canadian Rockies |
Pointe de l’Échelle | 3,422 | 11,227 | Vanoise massif, France |
Pointe du Bouchet | 3,420 | 11,220 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Fitzgerald | 3,418 | 11,214 | Ruby Mountains, Nevada, USA |
Bellecôte | 3,417 | 11,211 | Vanoise massif, France |
Crazy Peak | 3,417 | 11,211 | Montana, USA |
Emi Koussi | 3,415 | 11,204 | Tibesti Mountains, Chad |
Piz Linard | 3,410 | 11,188 | Switzerland |
Mount Woolley | 3,405 | 11,171 | Canadian Rockies |
Aneto | 3,404 | 11,168 | Pyrenees, Spain – Highest in Pyrenees |
Fluchthorn | 3,399 | 11,152 | Silvretta, Austria-Switzerland |
Grand Bec | 3,398 | 11,148 | Vanoise massif, France |
Rockchuck Peak | 3,397 | 11,145 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Pico Veleta | 3,396 | 11,142 | Sierra Nevada, Spain – Location of the highest road in Europe |
Mount Hector | 3,394 | 11,135 | Canadian Rockies |
Piz Platta | 3,392 | 11,129 | Swiss Alps |
Telescope Peak | 3,392 | 11,129 | Death Valley |
Champagne Castle | 3,377 | 11,079 | Drakensberg, South Africa |
Pic Uzu | 3,376 | 11,076 | Tibesti, Libya-Chad |
Cerro Chaltén | 3,375 | 11,073 | Patagonia, Argentina-Chile |
Mount Spurr | 3,374 | 11,070 | Alaska |
Pointe du Vallonnet | 3,372 | 11,063 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mammoth Mountain | 3,371 | 11,060 | California |
Fründenhorn | 3,369 | 11,053 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Pointe Renod | 3,368 | 11,050 | Vanoise massif, France |
Traverse Peak | 3,368 | 11,050 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Mount Edith Cavell | 3,363 | 11,033 | Canadian Rockies |
Dôme des Sonnailles | 3,361 | 11,027 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Agepsta | 3,357 | 11,014 | Gagra Range, Abkhazia, Georgia |
Mount Munday | 3,356 | 11,010 | Pacific Ranges, B.C., Canada |
Pointe de Claret | 3,355 | 11,007 | Vanoise massif, France |
Monte Perdido | 3,355 | 11,007 | Pyrenees |
Parasnath | 3,347 | 10,981 | India |
Electric Peak | 3,343 | 10,968 | Gallatin Range, Montana |
Mount Saskatchewan | 3,342 | 10,965 | Canadian Rockies |
Cerro Fábrega | 3,335 | 10,942 | Bocas Del Toro, Panama |
Ward Mountain | 3,333 | 10,935 | Nevada, USA |
Pointe de Méan Martin | 3,330 | 10,925 | Vanoise massif, France |
Dôme de Polset | 3,326 | 10,912 | Vanoise massif, France |
Cathedral Peak | 3,326 | 10,912 | California, USA |
Raynolds Peak | 3,325 | 10,909 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Rolling Thunder Mountain | 3,324 | 10,906 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Mount Hampton | 3,323 | 10,902 | Antarctica |
Dôme des Pichères | 3,319 | 10,889 | Vanoise massif, France |
Grand Roc | 3,316 | 10,879 | Vanoise massif, France |
Giant’s Castle | 3,315 | 10,876 | Drakensberg, South Africa |
Sunwapta Peak | 3,315 | 10,876 | Canadian Rockies |
Piz Buin | 3,312 | 10,866 | Silvretta, Austria-Switzerland |
Mount Ball | 3,311 | 10,863 | Canadian Rockies |
Piz Badile | 3,308 | 10,853 | Bregaglia, Switzerland |
Mount Chephren | 3,307 | 10,850 | Canadian Rockies |
Ağ Dağ | 3,306 | 10,846 | Bozgush mountain range, East Azerbaijan, Iran |
Mount Silberhorn | 3,303 | 10,837 | Southern Alps, New Zealand |
San Jacinto Peak | 3,302 | 10,833 | California, USA |
Didi Abuli | 3,301 | 10,830 | Georgia |
Bivouac Peak | 3,299 | 10,823 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Mount Wilbur | 3,298 | 10,820 | Fairweather Range, Alaska, USA |
Monte Argentera | 3,297 | 10,817 | Maritime Alps, Italy |
Mount Samsari | 3,285 | 10,778 | Abul-Samsari Range, Georgia |
Roche Chevrière | 3,281 | 10,764 | Vanoise massif, France |
Habicht | 3,277 | 10,751 | Stubai Alps, Austria |
Thompson Peak | 3,277 | 10,751 | Idaho, USA |
Pointe de Thorens | 3,266 | 10,715 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Cramer | 3,266 | 10,715 | Idaho, USA |
Toussidé | 3,265 | 10,712 | Tibesti Mountains, Chad-Libya |
Antelao | 3,264 | 10,709 | Dolomites, Italy |
Mont Pelve | 3,261 | 10,699 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Stanley Baldwin | 3,256 | 10,682 | Columbia Mountains, B.C., Canada |
Sandia Crest | 3,255 | 10,679 | New Mexico, USA |
Épaule du Bouchet | 3,250 | 10,663 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Smythe | 3,246 | 10,650 | Canadian Rockies |
Wildstrubel | 3,243 | 10,640 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Williams Peak | 3,242 | 10,636 | Idaho, USA |
Titlis | 3,238 | 10,623 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Owl Peak | 3,235 | 10,614 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Mount Mackenzie King | 3,234 | 10,610 | Cariboo Mountains, B.C., Canada |
Pointe des Buffettes | 3,233 | 10,607 | Vanoise massif, France |
Lisenser Spitze | 3,230 | 10,597 | Stubai Alps, Austria |
Mount Terror | 3,230 | 10,597 | Antarctica |
Aiguille Rouge | 3,227 | 10,587 | Vanoise massif, France |
Monte Civetta | 3,220 | 10,564 | Dolomites, Italy |
Symmetry Spire | 3,219 | 10,561 | Teton Range, Wyoming |
Glacier Peak | 3,213 | 10,541 | Washington, USA |
Pointe du Dard | 3,212 | 10,538 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Binalud | 3,211 | 10,535 | Alborz, Iran |
Pointe de la Réchasse | 3,206 | 10,518 | Vanoise massif, France |
Mount Jefferson | 3,204 | 10,512 | Montana, USA |
Mount Jefferson | 3,199 | 10,495 | Cascade Range, Oregon, USA |
Dreiländerspitze | 3,197 | 10,489 | Silvretta, Austria-Switzerland |
Mount Kita | 3,193 | 10,476 | Akaishi Mountains, Japan |
Mount Hotaka | 3,190 | 10,466 | Hida Mountains, Japan |
Mount Cleveland | 3,190 | 10,466 | Montana, USA |
Ainodake | 3,189 | 10,463 | Akaishi Mountains, Japan |
Lassen Peak | 3,189 | 10,463 | California, USA |
Mount Galatea | 3,185 | 10,449 | Kananaskis Range, Alberta, Canada |
Rendezvous Mountain | 3,185 | 10,449 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Jackson | 3,184 | 10,446 | Highest British mountain, British Antarctic Territory |
Saviers Peak | 3,182 | 10,440 | Idaho, USA |
Mount Yari | 3,180 | 10,433 | Hida Mountains, Japan |
Parícutin | 3,170 | 10,400 | Mexico |
Mount Aylmer | 3,162 | 10,374 | Canadian Rockies |
South Sister | 3,157 | 10,358 | Cascade Range, Oregon, USA |
Stanley Peak | 3,155 | 10,351 | Ball Range, Canadian Rockies |
Jøkulkyrkja | 3,148 | 10,328 | Antarctica |
Pica d’Estats | 3,143 | 10,312 | Spanish–French border, Pyrenees |
Mount Arakawa | 3,141 | 10,305 | Akaishi Mountains, Japan |
Gray Peak | 3,140 | 10,302 | Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Heyburn | 3,139 | 10,299 | Idaho, USA |
Mount Washburn | 3,122 | 10,243 | Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Collie | 3,116 | 10,223 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Siple | 3,110 | 10,203 | Antarctica |
Pirchinassi | 3,110 | 10,203 | Muzaffarabad Azad Kashmir |
Mount Redoubt | 3,108 | 10,197 | Alaska, USA |
Mount Babel | 3,101 | 10,174 | Bow Range, Alberta, Canada |
Mount Emei | 3,099 | 10,167 | China |
Pico Duarte | 3,098 | 10,164 | Dominican Republic |
Trapper Peak | 3,096 | 10,157 | Montana, USA |
Storm Mountain | 3,095 | 10,154 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Blackmore | 3,094 | 10,151 | Montana, USA |
Mount Stimson | 3,091 | 10,141 | Montana, USA |
Mol Len | 3,088 | 10,131 | Patkai Range, Nagaland-India/Burma<http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/burma.html> |
Qurnat as Sawdā’ | 3,088 | 10,131 | Lebanon |
Mount Richardson | 3,086 | 10,125 | Canadian Rockies |
Kintla Peak | 3,079 | 10,102 | Livingston Range, Montana, USA |
Mount Moulton | 3,078 | 10,098 | Antarctica |
Smoky Dome | 3,077 | 10,095 | Idaho, USA |
North Sister | 3,074 | 10,085 | Cascade Range, Oregon, USA |
Piton des Neiges | 3,069 | 10,069 | Réunion, France |
Mount San Antonio | 3,068 | 10,066 | San Gabriel Mountains, California, USA |
Mount Ontake | 3,067 | 10,062 | Japan |
Mount Jackson | 3,064 | 10,052 | Lewis Range, Montana, USA |
Middle Sister | 3,062 | 10,046 | Cascade Range, Oregon, USA |
Mount Nyamuragira | 3,058 | 10,033 | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Crowfoot Mountain | 3,055 | 10,023 | Canadian Rockies |
Haleakala | 3,055 | 10,023 | Hawaii, USA |
Mount Chester | 3,054 | 10,020 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Siyeh | 3,052 | 10,013 | Montana, USA |
Mount Merritt | 3,049 | 10,003 | Montana, USA |
Cerro de Coxóm | 3,045 | 9,990 | Guatemala |
Parseierspitze | 3,036 | 9,961 | Austria |
Mount Senjō | 3,033 | 9,951 | Akaishi Mountains, Japan |
Mount Aspiring/Tititea | 3,033 | 9,951 | New Zealand |
Kinnerly Peak | 3,031 | 9,944 | Montana, USA |
Mount Agung | 3,031 | 9,944 | Bali, Indonesia |
Mount McArthur | 3,021 | 9,911 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Norikura | 3,026 | 9,928 | Hida Mountains, Japan |
Tsiteli Khati | 3,026 | 9,928 | Kharuli Range, Georgia |
Mount Tate | 3,015 | 9,892 | Hida Mountains, Japan |
Mount Japvo | 3,014 | 9,888 | Barail Range, Nagaland, India<http://www.peaklist.org/WWlists/ultras/burma.html> |
Mount Tahat | 3,003 | 9,852 | Algeria – Highest |
Sapitwa | 3,002 | 9,849 | Mulanje Massif, Malawi |
The Fortress | 3,000 | 9,843 | Canadian Rockies |
2,000 metres[edit]
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Sacajawea Peak | 2,999 | 9,839 | Wallowa Mountains, Oregon, USA |
Cascade Mountain | 2,998 | 9,836 | Vermillion Range, Canadian Rockies |
Copahue | 2,997 | 9,833 | Andes, Argentina/Chile |
Mount Girouard | 2,985 | 9,793 | Fairholme Range, Canadian Rockies |
Pico da Neblina | 2,994 | 9,823 | Brazil – Highest |
Mount Whyte | 2,983 | 9,787 | Bow Range, Canadian Rockies |
Miranjani | 2,980 | 9,777 | Pakistan |
Forellen Peak | 2,979 | 9,774 | Teton Range, Wyoming, USA |
Mount Andrus | 2,978 | 9,770 | Ames Range, Antarctica |
Mount Niblock | 2,976 | 9,764 | Bow Range, Canadian Rockies |
Keele Peak | 2,972 | 9,751 | Mackenzie Mountains, Yukon, Canada |
Mount Odin | 2,970 | 9,744 | Monashee Mountains, B.C. Canada |
Schilthorn | 2,970 | 9,744 | Bernese Alps, Switzerland |
Mount Tallac | 2,968 | 9,738 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Inglismaldie | 2,964 | 9,724 | Fairholme Range, Canadian Rockies |
Mount Ramelau | 2,963 | 9,721 | Highest in East Timor |
Zugspitze | 2,962 | 9,718 | Germany – Highest |
Little Alberta | 2,956 | 9,698 | Sir Winston Churchill Range, Canadian Rockies |
Pegunungan Arfak | 2,955 | 9,695 | Arfak Mountains, West Papua, Indonesia |
Iron Mountain | 2,955 | 9,695 | Soldier Mountains, Idaho, USA |
Apo | 2,954 | 9,692 | Philippines – Highest |
Fossil Mountain | 2,946 | 9,665 | Banff NP, Canada |
Coma Pedrosa | 2,942 | 9,652 | Pyrenees, Andorra – Highest |
Going to the Sun Mountain | 2,939 | 9,642 | Lewis Range, Montana, USA |
Fishers Peak | 2,936 | 9,633 | Raton Mesas, Colorado-New Mexico, USA |
Pilot Mountain | 2,935 | 9,629 | Massive Range, Canadian Rockies |
Urirotstock | 2,928 | 9,606 | Switzerland |
Musala | 2,925 | 9,596 | Bulgaria – Highest |
Mount Pulag | 2,922 | 9,587 | Philippines |
Mount Olympus | 2,917 | 9,570 | Thessaly/Macedonia, Greece – Highest |
Mount Gould | 2,912 | 9,554 | Montana, USA |
Mount Blakiston | 2,910 | 9,547 | Flathead Range, Canadian Rockies |
Mount Sas dla Crusc | 2,907 | 9,537 | Dolomites, Italy |
Chutine Peak | 2,903 | 9,524 | Coast Range, British Columbia |
Rising Wolf Mountain | 2,900 | 9,514 | Lewis Range, Montana, USA |
Bonanza Peak | 2,899 | 9,511 | Cascade Range, Washington, USA |
Pic de Sanfonts | 2,894 | 9,495 | Pyrenees, Andorra |
Collarada | 2,886 | 9,469 | Pyrenees, Spain |
Boardman Peak | 2,882 | 9,455 | Soldier Mountains, Idaho, USA |
Lembert Dome | 2,880 | 9,449 | California, USA |
Mount Stuart | 2,869 | 9,413 | Cascades, Washington, USA |
Mount Silverthrone | 2,865 | 9,400 | British Columbia, Canada |
Triglav | 2,864 | 9,396 | Slovenia – Highest |
Mount Saint Nicholas | 2,858 | 9,377 | Montana, USA |
Mount Wilbur | 2,841 | 9,321 | Montana, USA |
Mount Fernow | 2,819 | 9,249 | Washington, USA |
Mount Hermon | 2,814 | 9,232 | Syria, Lebanon – a subpeak on its southern slopes is the high point of Golan Heights |
Mount Cory | 2,802 | 9,193 | Alberta, Canada |
Mount Thielsen | 2,799 | 9,183 | Cascades, USA |
Copper Mountain | 2,795 | 9,170 | Alberta, Canada |
Hayes Volcano | 2,788 | 9,147 | Alaska, USA |
Mount Edziza | 2,787 | 9,144 | British Columbia, Canada |
Canigou | 2,784 | 9,134 | Pyrenees, France |
Mount Longonot | 2,780 | 9,121 | RIftvalley, Kenya |
Buckner Mountain | 2,778 | 9,114 | Washington, USA |
Mount Longonot | 2,776 | 9,108 | Great Rift Valley, Kenya |
Seven Fingered Jack | 2,774 | 9,101 | Washington, USA |
Mount Nirvana | 2,773 | 9,098 | Northwest Territories, Canada |
Chief Mountain | 2,768 | 9,081 | Montana, USA |
Lincoln Peak | 2,768 | 9,081 | Washington, USA |
Castle Mountain | 2,766 | 9,075 | Canadian Rockies |
Pyramid Mountain | 2,766 | 9,075 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Korab | 2,764 | 9,068 | Republic of Macedonia & Albania – Highest |
Mount Sir James MacBrien | 2,759 | 9,052 | Canada |
Mount Olympus | 2,751 | 9,026 | Utah, USA |
Mawson Peak | 2,745 | 9,006 | Highest in Australia |
Mount Baekdu | 2,744 | 9,003 | North Korea/China Highest in North Korea |
Fairview Mountain | 2,744 | 9,003 | Bow Range, Canadian Rockies |
Škrlatica | 2,740 | 8,990 | Julian Alps, Slovenia |
Heavens Peak | 2,739 | 8,986 | Montana, USA |
Mount Spickard | 2,737 | 8,980 | North Cascades |
Mount Melbourne | 2,732 | 8,963 | Antarctica |
Cerro El Pital | 2,730 | 8,957 | El Salvador – Highest |
Mount Redoubt | 2,730 | 8,957 | Washington, USA |
Mount Morning | 2,723 | 8,934 | Antarctica |
Serles | 2,718 | 8,917 | Stubai Alps, Austria |
Watzmann | 2,713 | 8,901 | Bavarian Alps, Germany |
Boston Peak | 2,711 | 8,894 | Washington, USA |
Grotto Mountain | 2,706 | 8,878 | Canadian Rockies |
Mount Haku | 2,702 | 8,865 | Ryōhaku Mountains, Japan |
Eldorado Peak | 2,701 | 8,862 | Washington, USA |
Anaimudi | 2,695 | 8,842 | Kerala, India – #1 in Western Ghats, India |
Maja Jezerce | 2,694 | 8,839 | #1 in Dinaric Alps, Albania |
Half Dome | 2,693 | 8,835 | Sierra Nevada, California, USA |
Mount Louis | 2,682 | 8,799 | Alberta, Canada |
Mount Discovery | 2,681 | 8,796 | Antarctica |
Pic de la Selle | 2,680 | 8,793 | Haiti |
Mount Garibaldi | 2,678 | 8,786 | British Columbia, Canada |
Guadalupe Peak | 2,667.3 | 8,751 | Guadalupe Mountains, Texas – Highest in Texas |
Großer Krottenkopf | 2,656 | 8,714 | Allgäu Alps, Tyrol, Austria |
Pic del Port Vell | 2,655 | 8,711 | Pyrenees, Andorra |
Gerlachov Peak | 2,655 | 8,711 | High Tatras, Slovakia |
Mount Michelson | 2,652 | 8,701 | Chugach Mountains, Alaska, USA |
Mount St. Piran | 2,649 | 8,691 | Bow Range, Alberta, Canada |
Mount Meager | 2,645 | 8,678 | British Columbia, Canada |
Mount Trus Madi | 2,642 | 8,668 | Trus Madi Range, Sabah, Malaysia – #2 in Malaysia |
Doddabetta | 2,637 | 8,652 | Tamil Nadu, India |
Piton de la Fournaise | 2,631 | 8,632 | Réunion |
Mount Crean | 2,630 | 8,629 | Victoria Land |
Cardinal Peak | 2,618 | 8,589 | Washington, USA |
Barbeau Peak | 2,616 | 8,583 | Nunavut, Canada – Highest in Nunavut |
Pelister Peak | 2,601 | 8,533 | Republic of Macedonia |
Pico Almanzor | 2,592 | 8,504 | Spain |
Mount Tavkvetili | 2,583 | 8,474 | Georgia |
Argonaut Peak | 2,576 | 8,451 | Washington, USA |
Doi Inthanon | 2,565 | 8,415 | Thailand– Highest in Thailand |
Cooke’s Peak/Cook’s Peak | 2,563 | 8,409 | New Mexico,USA |
Pic dels Aspres | 2,562 | 8,406 | Pyrenees, Andorra |
Aguja Saint Exupery | 2,558 | 8,392 | Argentina |
Mount St. Helens | 2,550 | 8,366 | Washington, USA |
Big Hatchet Peak | 2,547 | 8,356 | New Mexico, USA |
Moldoveanu Peak | 2,544 | 8,346 | Romania |
Negoiu Peak | 2,535 | 8,317 | Romania |
Vistea Mare | 2,527 | 8,291 | Romania |
Pidurutalagala | 2,524 | 8,281 | Sri Lanka |
Mount Norquay | 2,522 | 8,274 | Canadian Rockies |
Hualalai | 2,521 | 8,271 | Hawaii, USA |
Parangu Mare | 2,519 | 8,264 | Romania |
Mount Taranaki/Egmont | 2,518 | 8,261 | New Zealand |
Garfield Peak | 2,512 | 8,241 | Wyoming, USA |
Mount Veniaminof | 2,507 | 8,225 | Alaska, USA |
Omu Peak | 2,505 | 8,219 | Romania |
Rysy | 2,503 | 8,212 | Poland/Slovakia |
Mount Tymfi | 2,497 | 8,192 | Pindus, Greece |
Špik | 2,472 | 8,110 | Julian Alps, Slovenia |
Luna Peak | 2,470 | 8,104 | British Columbia, Canada |
Galdhøpiggen | 2,469 | 8,100 | Norway – Highest |
Glittertind | 2,464 | 8,084 | Norway |
El Capitan | 2,464 | 8,084 | Texas, USA |
Shimbiris | 2,464 | 8,084 | Somalia |
Sulphur Mountain | 2,451 | 8,041 | Canadian Rockies |
Sunset Crater | 2,451 | 8,041 | Arizona, USA |
Faraya Mzaar | 2,444 | 8,018 | Keserwan, Lebanon |
Triple Divide Peak | 2,444 | 8,018 | Montana, USA |
Monte Binga | 2,436 | 7,992 | Manica, Mozambique |
Mount Olympus | 2,432 | 7,979 | Washington, USA |
Peñalara | 2,430 | 7,972 | Spain |
Mount Daniel | 2,426 | 7,959 | Washington, USA |
Mount Murud | 2,423 | 7,949 | Kelabit Highlands, Sarawak, Malaysia – Highest mountain in Sarawak |
Mocho | 2,422 | 7,946 | Los Ríos Region, Chile |
Choshuenco | 2,415 | 7,923 | Los Ríos Region, Chile |
Ha Ling Peak | 2,408 | 7,900 | Canadian Rockies, Alberta |
Store Skagastølstind | 2,405 | 7,890 | Norway |
Hajla | 2,403 | 7,884 | Kosovo |
Le Tabor | 2,389 | 7,838 | Dauphine Alps, France |
Kirigalpottha | 2,388 | 7,835 | Sri Lanka |
Maglić | 2,386 | 7,828 | Bosnia and Herzegovina – Highest in Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Mount Cayley | 2,385 | 7,825 | British Columbia, Canada |
Mount Galwey | 2,377 | 7,799 | Canadian Rockies |
Botev Peak | 2,376 | 7,795 | Bulgaria |
Mount Mulu | 2,376 | 7,795 | Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia |
Mount Deception | 2,374 | 7,789 | Washington, USA |
Mount Karthala | 2,361 | 7,746 | Comoros, Indian Ocean |
Totapala Kanda | 2,357 | 7,733 | Sri Lanka |
Signal Mountain | 2,353 | 7,720 | Wyoming, USA |
Mount Pico | 2,351 | 7,713 | Azores, Portugal |
Mount Blum | 2,340 | 7,677 | North Cascades |
Mount Popomanaseu | 2,335 | 7,661 | Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands – Highest in Solomon Islands |
Mount Prophet | 2,330 | 7,644 | North Cascades |
Mount Griggs | 2,317 | 7,602 | Alaska, USA |
Mount Makarakomburu | 2,310 | 7,579 | Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands |
Lalla Khedidja | 2,308 | 7,572 | Djurdjura Mountains, Algeria |
Lavender Peak | 2,306 | 7,566 | British Columbia, Canada |
Pietrosul Rodnei Peak | 2,303 | 7,556 | Rodnei Mountains, Romanian Carpathian Mountains, Romania |
Mount Sir Allan MacNab | 2,297 | 7,536 | Premier Range, British Columbia, Canada |
Murree | 2,291 | 7,516 | Rawalpindi, Pakistan |
Druesberg | 2,282 | 7,487 | Alps, Switzerland |
Ineu Peak | 2,279 | 7,477 | Rodnei Mountains, Romanian Carpathian Mountains, Romania |
Bikku Bitti | 2,267 | 7,438 | Libya – Second Highest in country |
Sri Pada Mountain | 2,243 | 7,359 | Sri Lanka |
Mount John Laurie | 2,240 | 7,349 | Canadian Rockies, Alberta |
Red Butte | 2,232 | 7,323 | Arizona, USA |
Čvrsnica | 2,228 | 7,310 | Herzegovina, BiH |
Mount Kosciuszko | 2,228 | 7,310 | Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia – Highest on mainland |
Mount Chiginagak | 2,221 | 7,287 | Alaska, USA |
Mount Townsend | 2,209 | 7,247 | Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia – Second-highest on mainland |
Harney Peak | 2,207 | 7,241 | South Dakota, USA – Highest in state |
Golden Hinde | 2,198 | 7,211 | #1 on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Mount Twynam | 2,196 | 7,205 | Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia – Third-highest on mainland |
Elkhorn Mountain | 2,195 | 7,201 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Mount Baldy | 2,192 | 7,192 | Alberta, Canada |
Shiprock | 2,188 | 7,178 | New Mexico, USA |
Mount Tahan | 2,187 | 7,175 | Tahan Range, Pahang, Malaysia – Highest in Peninsular Malaysia |
Mount Korbu | 2,183 | 7,162 | Titiwangsa Mountains, Perak, Malaysia |
Mount Yong Belar | 2,180 | 7,152 | Perak, Malaysia |
Doi Chiang Dao | 2,175 | 7,136 | Thailand |
Galunggung | 2,168 | 7,113 | Java |
Carruthers Peak | 2,145 | 7,037 | Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia |
Crna Glava | 2,139 | 7,018 | Bjelasica, Crna Gora |
Mount Colonel Foster | 2,135 | 7,005 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Roche à Perdrix | 2,135 | 7,005 | Fiddle Range, Canadian Rockies |
Kodaikanal | 2,133 | 6,998 | Tamilnadu, India |
Mount Pilatus | 2,132 | 6,995 | Switzerland |
Strmenica | 2,122 | 6,962 | Bjelasica, Crna Gora |
Phu Soi Dao | 2,120 | 6,955 | Thailand/Laos |
Eagle Peak | 2,119 | 6,952 | Alaska, USA |
Zekova Glava | 2,117 | 6,946 | Bjelasica, Crna Gora |
Öræfajökull | 2,110 | 6,923 | Iceland |
Mount Benum | 2,107 | 6,913 | Malaysia |
Mogotón | 2,107 | 6,913 | Nicaragua – Highest in Nicaragua |
Kebnekaise | 2,106 | 6,909 | Sweden |
Rambler Peak | 2,092 | 6,864 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Mount McBride | 2,083 | 6,834 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Pico do Selado | 2,082 | 6,831 | Monte Verde, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
Phou Khe | 2,079 | 6,821 | Thailand/Laos |
Schneeberg | 2,076 | 6,811 | Northern Limestone Alps, Austria |
Mount Tate | 2,068 | 6,785 | Snowy Mountains, New South Wales, Australia |
Bjelašnica | 2,067 | 6,781 | Sarajevo Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Kings Peak | 2,065 | 6,775 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Hoverla | 2,061 | 6,762 | Ukraine – Highest |
Mount Katmai | 2,047 | 6,716 | Alaska, USA |
Mount Celeste | 2,041 | 6,696 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Mount Mitchell | 2,037 | 6,683 | Yancey County, North Carolina, USA |
Namunukula | 2,035 | 6,677 | Sri Lanka |
Mount Batu Brinchang | 2,032 | 6,667 | Cameron Highlands, Pahang/Perak, Malaysia |
Doi Mae Tho | 2,031 | 6,663 | Thailand |
Clingmans Dome | 2,025 | 6,644 | Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, USA |
Polar Bear Peak | 2,016 | 6,614 | Chugach Mountains, Alaska, USA |
Mount Asgard | 2,015 | 6,611 | Baffin Mountains, Nunavut, Canada |
1,000 metres[edit]
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Serra da Estrela | 1,993 | 6,539 | Portugal |
Mount Bogong | 1,986 | 6,516 | Australia – Highest in Victoria |
Mount Ishizuchi | 1,982 | 6,503 | Japan – Tallest in Western Japan |
Doi Phu Kha | 1,980 | 6,496 | Luang Prabang Range, Thailand |
Mount Tongariro | 1,978 | 6,490 | New Zealand |
Iceberg Peak | 1,977 | 6,486 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Pico Turquino | 1,975 | 6,480 | Cuba – Highest point |
El Piveto Mountain | 1,969 | 6,460 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Qiajivik Mountain | 1,963 | 6,440 | Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada |
Farcau Peak | 1,956 | 6,417 | Romania |
Ciucas Peak | 1,954 | 6,411 | Romania |
Chionistra | 1,952 | 6,404 | Cyprus |
Hallasan | 1,950 | 6,398 | CheJudo, South Korea/ Highest Mountain in South Korea |
Jabal Bil Ays | 1,934 | 6,345 | Oman |
Mullayanagiri | 1,930 | 6,332 | Chikmagalur, Karnataka, India |
Mount Kirigamine | 1,925 | 6,316 | Japan |
Mount Washington | 1,917 | 6,289 | Presidential Range, White Mtns., Appalachian Mountains, USA– Highest in American Northeast |
Mount Jiri | 1,915 | 6,283 | South Korea |
Mont Ventoux | 1,909 | 6,263 | France |
Ocolasu Mare | 1,907 | 6,257 | Romania |
Mount Toaca | 1,900 | 6,234 | Romania |
Vesper Peak | 1,896 | 6,220 | Washington, USA |
Baba Budangiri | 1,895 | 6,217 | Chikmagalur, Karnataka, India |
Kudremukh | 1,894 | 6,214 | Chikmagalur, Karnataka, India |
Orjen | 1,894 | 6,214 | Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Mount George V | 1,883 | 6,178 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Rugged Mountain | 1,875 | 6,152 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Straja | 1,868 | 6,129 | Romania |
Trident Volcano | 1,864 | 6,115 | Alaska, USA |
Mount Martin | 1,863 | 6,112 | Alaska, USA |
Knuckles | 1,862 | 6,109 | Sri Lanka |
Budacu | 1,859 | 6,099 | Romania |
Giumalau | 1,856 | 6,089 | Romania |
Cucurbata Mare | 1,849 | 6,066 | Romania |
Crown Mountain | 1,846 | 6,056 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Tibles | 1,839 | 6,033 | Romania |
Loser | 1,838 | 6,030 | Austria |
Vladeasa | 1,836 | 6,024 | Romania |
Cerro La Campana | 1,828 | 5,997 | Olmue, Chile |
Muntele Mare | 1,826 | 5,991 | Romania |
Cerro de la Silla | 1,820 | 5,971 | Mexico |
Biligiriranga Hills | 1,800 | 5,906 | Chamarajanagar, Karnataka, India |
Rigi | 1,797 | 5,896 | Swiss Alps |
Hășmașu Mare | 1,792 | 5,879 | Romania |
Pietrosu Peak | 1,791 | 5,876 | Romania |
Goru | 1,784 | 5,853 | Romania |
Lacaut | 1,777 | 5,830 | Romania |
Saca Peak | 1,776 | 5,827 | Romania |
Penteleu | 1,772 | 5,814 | Romania |
Mount Veve | 1,768 | 5,801 | Kolombangara, Solomon Islands |
Mount Api | 1,750 | 5,741 | Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia |
Tadiandamol | 1,748 | 5,735 | Kodagu, Karnataka, India |
Mount Rogers | 1,746 | 5,728 | Virginia, USA – Highest point in state |
Doi Phi Pan Nam | 1,745 | 5,725 | Luang Prabang Range, Thailand |
Mount Wilson | 1,742 | 5,715 | California, USA |
Daisen | 1,729 | 5,673 | Japan |
The Horn (Mount Buffalo) | 1,723 | 5,653 | Victoria, Australia |
Mount Batur | 1,717 | 5,633 | Bali, Indonesia |
Kumara Parvata | 1,712 | 5,617 | Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India |
Pushpagiri | 1,712 | 5,617 | Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, India |
Mount Lowe | 1,707 | 5,600 | San Gabriel Mountains, California, USA |
Boulder Peak | 1,707 | 5,600 | Olympic Mountains, Washington, USA |
Doi Luang | 1,694 | 5,558 | Phi Pan Nam Range, Thailand |
Mitre Peak | 1,692 | 5,551 | New Zealand |
Mount Caubvik | 1,652 | 5,420 | Torngat Mountains, Canada |
Rarau | 1,650 | 5,413 | Romania |
Peak 5390 | 1,643 | 5,390 | Alaska, USA |
Mount Marcy | 1,629 | 5,344 | New York, USA |
Brahmagiri | 1,608 | 5,276 | Kodagu, Karnataka, India |
Mount Katahdin | 1,606 | 5,269 | Maine, USA |
Sněžka | 1,602 | 5,256 | Krkonoše, Czech Republic – #1 in Czech republic |
Sirumalai | 1,600 | 5,249 | Tamilnadu India |
Mount Washington (British Columbia) | 1,590 | 5,217 | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada |
Mount Benarat | 1,585 | 5,200 | Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia |
Wai’ale’ale | 1,569 | 5,148 | Kauai, Hawaii, USA |
Mount Baw Baw | 1,567 | 5,141 | Australia |
Cirque Mountain | 1,567 | 5,141 | Labrador, Canada |
Superstition Mountain | 1,542 | 5,059 | Arizona, USA |
Jabel Yibir | 1,527 | 5,010 | United Arab Emirates |
Madikeri | 1,525 | 5,003 | Kodagu, Karnataka, India |
Mount Popa | 1,518 | 4,980 | Myanmar |
Askja | 1,516 | 4,974 | Iceland |
Kamakau | 1,512 | 4,961 | Molokai, Hawaii, USA |
Javaleon | 1,494 | 4,902 | Spain |
Mount Nuang | 1,491 | 4,892 | Titiwangsa Mountains, Malaysia |
Hekla | 1,491 | 4,892 | Iceland |
Mount Pinatubo | 1,486 | 4,875 | Luzon, Philippines |
Spruce Knob | 1,482 | 4,862 | West Virginia, USA |
Agriolefkes | 1,471 | 4,826 | Pelion, Greece |
Mount Seymour | 1,455 | 4,774 | British Columbia, Canada |
Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta | 1,450 | 4,757 | Chamarajanagar, Karnataka, India |
Snæfellsjökull | 1,446 | 4,744 | Iceland |
Gutai Peak | 1,443 | 4,734 | Romania |
Mount Kalourat | 1,435 | 4,708 | Malaita, Solomon Islands |
Cypress Mountain | 1,432 | 4,698 | British Columbia, Canada |
Yelagiri | 1,410 | 4,626 | Tamilnadu, India |
Ben Nevis | 1,344 | 4,409 | Scotland – Highest in the United Kingdom |
Kodachadri | 1,343 | 4,406 | Shimoga, Karnataka, India |
Mount Aniakchak | 1,341 | 4,400 | Alaska, USA |
Cerro de Punta | 1,338 | 4,390 | Jayuya, Puerto Rico – Highest in Puerto Rico |
Mount Bassie | 1,311 | 4,301 | Alaska, USA |
Ben Macdhui | 1,309 | 4,295 | Scotland |
Mount Kanaga | 1,307 | 4,288 | Alaska, USA |
Sinhagad | 1,303 | 4,275 | Maharashtra, India |
Rajabasa | 1,281 | 4,203 | Sumatra, Indonesia |
Mount Vesuvius | 1,281 | 4,203 | Italy |
Mount Ophir | 1,276 | 4,186 | Titiwangsa Mountains, Johor, Malaysia |
Mount Wellington | 1,271 | 4,170 | Tasmania/Australia |
Mount Si | 1,270 | 4,167 | Washington\, USA |
Detunata | 1,258 | 4,127 | Romania |
Mount Donna Buang | 1,250 | 4,101 | Victoria, Australia |
Camel’s Hump | 1,244 | 4,081 | Vermont, USA |
Cannon Mountain | 1,240 | 4,068 | New Hampshire, USA |
Grouse Mountain | 1,231 | 4,039 | British Columbia, Canada |
Kaʻala | 1,220 | 4,003 | Oahu, Hawaii, USA |
Mount Jerai | 1,217 | 3,993 | Titiwangsa Mountains, Kedah, Malaysia |
Mount Meron | 1,208 | 3,963 | Galilee, Israel – Highest in Israel (inside the ’67 borders) |
Doi Lan | 1,174 | 3,852 | Phi Pan Nam Range, Thailand |
Mount Diablo | 1,173 | 3,848 | California, USA |
Bidean nam Bian | 1,150 | 3,773 | Scotland |
Monte Musinè | 1,150 | 3,773 | Piedmont, Italy |
Brocken | 1,141 | 3,743 | Saxony-Anhalt, Germany – Highest mountain in the Harz; highest in Saxony-Anhalt |
Victoria Peak | 1,120 | 3,675 | Belize – 2nd highest mountain in Belize |
Snowdon | 1,085 | 3,560 | Gwynedd, Wales – Highest |
Tafelberg | 1,085 | 3,560 | South Africa |
Flattop Mountain | 1,070 | 3,510 | Alaska, USA |
Uummannaq | 1,070 | 3,510 | Greenland |
White Butte | 1,069 | 3,507 | North Dakota, USA – Highest in state |
Liathach | 1,055 | 3,461 | Torridon, Scotland |
Corrán Tuathail | 1,038 | 3,406 | County Kerry, Ireland – Highest mountain in Ireland |
Mount Ramon | 1,037 | 3,402 | Negev, Israel |
Buachaille Etive Mor | 1,022 | 3,353 | Glen Etive, Scotland |
Munboksan | 1,015 | 3,330 | South Korea |
Kékes | 1,014 | 3,327 | Hungary – Highest mountain in Hungary |
Mount Belumut | 1,010 | 3,314 | Johor, Malaysia |
Old Rag Mountain | 1,001 | 3,284 | Virginia, USA |
Under 1,000 metres[edit]
Mountain | Metres | Feet | Range | Location and Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Magura Priei | 996 | 3,268 | Romania | |
Sgurr Dearg | 986 | 3,235 | Cuillin | Scotland |
Mount Sizer | 980 | 3,215 | Diablo Range | USA (California) |
Mount Valin | 980 | 3,215 | Saguenay Lac St-Jean | Canada (Québec) |
Hyangnosan | 979 | 3,212 | Gyeongnam Province, South Korea | |
Scafell Pike | 978 | 3,209 | Southern Fells | England (Cumbria) – Highest in England |
Mount Edgecumbe | 976 | 3,202 | USA (Alaska) | |
North Mountain (Catskills) | 969 | 3,179 | Catskill Escarpment | USA (New York) |
Tai Mo Shan | 957 | 3,140 | Hong Kong – Highest in Hong Kong | |
Helvellyn | 950 | 3,117 | Eastern Fells | England (Cumbria) |
El Cerro del Aripo | 940 | 3,084 | Northern Range | Trinidad and Tobago – Highest point |
El Tucuche | 936 | 3,071 | Northern Range | Trinidad and Tobago |
Lantau Peak | 934 | 3,064 | Hong Kong | |
Kaimondake volcano | 924 | 3,031 | Kagoshima, Japan | |
Pantokrator | 906 | 2,972 | Greece (Corfu) | |
Baekunsan | 885 | 2,904 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Mount Gerizim | 881 | 2,890 | West Bank | |
Sunset Peak | 869 | 2,851 | Hong Kong | |
Slaíbh Domhnaírt | 856 | 2,808 | Mourne mountains | County Down, Northern Ireland |
Tinakula | 851 | 2,792 | Tinakula | Solomon Islands |
Muntele Cetatuia | 850 | 2,789 | Romania | |
Mount Magazine | 839 | 2,753 | Ozark Mountains | Arkansas, USA |
Hoemunsan | 837 | 2,746 | North Jeolla Province, South Korea | |
Drocea | 836 | 2,743 | Romania | |
Mount Carleton | 817 | 2,680 | Appalachian Mountains | Canada (New Brunswick) |
Mount Santubong | 810 | 2,657 | Malaysia (Sarawak) | |
Gros Morne | 807 | 2,648 | Canada (Newfoundland) | |
Clisham | 799 | 2,621 | Harris,Western Isles,Scotland | |
Mount Tamalpais | 792 | 2,598 | California Coast Ranges | USA (California) |
Gyemyeongsan | 774 | 2,539 | North Chungcheong Province, South Korea | |
Mount Boucherie | 758 | 2,487 | Canada (British Columbia) | |
Gaseopsan | 710 | 2,329 | North Chungcheong Province, South Korea | |
Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō | 698 | 2,290 | USA (Hawaii) | |
Signal de Botrange | 694 | 2,277 | High Fens | Belgium (Liège) – Highest in Belgium |
Ishpatina Ridge | 690 | 2,264 | Canada (Ontario) | |
Galgisan | 685 | 2,247 | Gyeonggi Province, and Gangwon Province, South Korea | |
Delphi | 681 | 2,234 | Greece (Skopelos) | |
Qalorujoorneq | 676 | 2,218 | Greenland | |
Maple Mountain | 642 | 2,106 | Canada (Ontario) | |
Masaya | 635 | 2,083 | Nicaragua | |
High Willhays | 621 | 2,037 | England (Dartmoor) | |
Munsusan (Ulsan) | 600 | 1,969 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Mount Takao | 599 | 1,965 | Tokyo, Japan | |
Sikjangsan | 596 | 1,955 | Daejeon, South Korea | |
Gwanggyosan | 582 | 1,909 | Gyeonggi Province, South Korea | |
Mount Pond | 576 | 1,890 | South Shetland Islands | |
Mount Tabor | 575 | 1,886 | Galilee, Israel | |
Monte Conero | 572 | 1,877 | Italy (Ancona) | |
Gyeryongsan | 566 | 1,857 | South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea | |
Namamsan | 543 | 1,781 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Great Mell Fell | 537 | 1,762 | Eastern Fells | England (Cumbria) |
Geomdansan (Seongnam) | 534.7 | 1,754 | Gyeonggi Province, South Korea | |
Yeonhwasan | 532 | 1,745 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Heukseongsan | 519 | 1,703 | North Chungcheong Province, South Korea | |
Little Si | 480 | 1,575 | Cascade Range | Washington, USA |
Tutuiatu Peak | 467 | 1,532 | Romania | |
Pu’u Moaulanui | 452 | 1,483 | Kahoolawe, Hawaii | |
Blue Mountain | 452 | 1,483 | Ontario, Canada | |
Muryongsan (Ulsan) | 452 | 1,483 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Dongdaesan (Ulsan) | 447 | 1,467 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Diamond Hill | 442 | 1,450 | Connemara National Park | Ireland |
Storm King Mountain | 408 | 1,339 | Hudson Highlands | USA (New York) |
Gyeyangsan | 395 | 1,296 | Incheon, South Korea | |
Loughrigg Fell | 335 | 1,099 | Central Fells | England (Cumbria) |
Mount Kinka (Gifu) | 329 | 1,079 | Gifu, Japan | |
Vaalserberg | 321 | 1,053 | Netherlands (Limburg) | |
Suur Munamägi | 318 | 1,043 | Haanja, Estonia | |
Aukštojas | 293.84 | 964 | Medininkai, Lithuania | |
Kruopinė | 293.65 | 963 | Vilnius, Lithuania | |
Juozapinė | 292.7 | 960 | Vilnius, Lithuania | |
Hwajangsan | 285 | 935 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Jerimoth Hill | 247 | 810 | Rhode Island, USA | |
Diamond Head | 232 | 761 | USA (Hawaii) | |
Yeomposan | 203 | 666 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Hamwolsan | 200 | 656 | Ulsan, South Korea | |
Britton Hill | 105 | 344 | Florida, USA – The lowest high point of any US state | |
Mount Tenpō | 005 | 16 | Osaka, Japan |
See also
10 Amazing Fire Tricks!
10 Amazing Science Tricks Using Liquid!
[11][outer zod]
The Elements
.
The universe…everything…is made up of four or five elements or more, depending on which philosophical system you follow. All plants, animals, stones, inanimate objects, emotions, forms of energy, and us, are a fusion of these elements.
Classical Elemental Correspondences
The classical system of elements was developed by the eary Greeks and at first contained only four elements, spirit was later added over time.
Fire | Air | Water | Earth | Spirit | |
Greek Name | έιλή, heile | άήρ, aer | ύδωρ, hydor | Γαια, gaia | ίδέα, idea or ίερόν, hieron “a divine thing” |
Alchemical Metal | iron, gold | mercury | silver | lead | |
Animals | dragon, lion, horse, fox, ram, snakes, bee, shark, centaur, praying mantis | eagle, hawk, dragonfly, owl, birds, bat, gryphon, winged angel, insects | sea serpent, dolphin, whale, fish, seal, frog, turtle, sea birds, swan | cow, bull, ox, buffalo, ant, bear, stag, wolf, gopher | unicorn, sphinx, dragon, gargoyle, mythical creatures |
Archangel | Micheal | Raphael | Gabriel | Uriel | Cassiel, Metatron |
Astrological Signs | Aries, Leo, Sagittarius | Libra, Aquarius, Gemini | Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces | Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo | |
Body Parts | head, liver | chest, throat, lungs | heart, kidneys, stomach | bones, sex organs | |
Buddhist Mantra | Pam | Tam | Mum | Mam | Om |
Colors | red, orange,gold, pink, purple, crimson, white | yellow, white, ice blue, sky blue, violey, silver ,gray, pastels | blue, aqua, turquoise, silver, sea-green, pinkish blue, indigo, gray, black | black, green, brown, olive, tan, orange | clear, brilliant white, black |
Consciousness | will | inteliigence | wisdom | memory | enlightenment |
Creative Process | idea | development | reception | form | completion |
Direction (Northern Hemisphere) | South | East | West | North | Center |
Direction (Southern Hemisphere) | North | West | East | South | complettion |
Elementals | Salamanders, Djunn, Genies | Sylphs, Faeries | Undines, Nymphs, Merfolk, Sirens | Gnomes, Dwarves, Elves, Hobgoblins, Leprachauns | Angels |
Elementals Attracted By | candles, lamps, incense, fire | oils, incense | water, solutions | salts, powders, earth | |
Evangelists | Mark | Matthew | John | Luke | |
Goddesses | Brigit, Vesta, Hestia, Bast, Pele | Aradia, Arianhod,Nuit, Urania,Iris, Aditi | Aphrodite, Tiamat, Mari, Yemaya | Gaia, Ceres, Demeter, Rhea, Persephone, Rhiannon | Isis, Shekinah, Cerridwen, Ahura |
Gods | Hephaestus, Hours, Vulcan, Logi, Ra, Prometheus | Mercury, Thoth, Vayu, Zeus, Enlil | Poseidon, Neptune, Osiris, Ea | Dionysus, Pan, Tammuz, Cernunnons | Akasha, Buddha, JHVH, Iao |
Hand | small finger | index finger | ringer finger | middle finger | thumb |
Hebrew Letter | Yod | Vau | He | He (final) | |
Human Age | youth | birth | middle age | old age, death | transcendence |
Human Aspect | life force | mental, mind | emotional body | physical body | spiritual body, soul |
Levels of Understanding | spiritual, mystical | logical | psychological | literal | |
Life Cycle | sexual maturity | youth | conception | old age | beyond birth and death |
Magical Action | to will or do | to dare | to know | to keep silent | |
Metals | gold, brass | mercury, tin | silver, copper | lead, iron | meteorite metal |
Mode of Perception | feeling | thinking | intuition | sensation | |
Mode of Thinking | will | intellect | emotion | belief | |
Musical Instrument | guitar, all stringed instruments | flute, organ, all wind instruments | harp | drums, all percussion instruments | |
Natural Form | animal | plant | metal | stone | |
Places | fires, deserts, ovens, fireplaces, volcanoes, hot springs, bedroom (for sex) | plains, mountain peaks, towers, sky, bluffs, treerops, windy beaches, schools, libraries, airplanes | rivers, oceans, streams, waterfalls, ponds, beaches, springs, wells, bedroom (for sleep), bathtubs, swimming pool, fountains | caves, mountains, forests, parks, mines, meadows,groves, gardens, kitchens, basements, valleys | |
Planes of Existence | spiritual plane | mental plane | astral plane | physical plane | |
Planets | Sun, Mars | Mercury, Jupiter | Moon, Venus | Earth, Saturn, fixed stars | |
Plant Part | seed | flower | leaf | root | |
Plants | peppers, garlic, mustard, onion, heliotrope, buttercup, sunflower, cedar, beech, red poppy, nettle,cactus, lime, basil, juniper, orange, thistle | yarrow, violet, pansy, anise, lemongrass, pine, aspen, lavender, yarrow,clover, dill | lotus, fern, moss, water lily, cattails, seaweed, melons, cucumber, night flowers, water plants, aloe, lemon, lettuce, thyme, chamomile, willow, passion flower | grains, grasses, ivy, apple, comfrey, cedar, magnolia, oak, sage, nuts, cypress | mistletoe, nightshade, fir, coltsfoot, hemlock |
Polyhedron | Icosahedron (20 faces) | Octahedron (8 faces) | Dodecahedron (12 faces) | Cube (6 faces) | Tetrahedron (4 faces) |
Principles of Change | disintergration, acceleration | movement | metamorphosis | slowing, solidifying | changeless, constant |
Professions | peasant, working class, explorer, inventor, administrator | politician, lawyer, scientist, military, nobility | clergy, artist, healer, psychologist | farmer, tradesman, industrial worker, crafts person | |
Qualities | hot & dry | hot & moist | cold & moist | cold & dry | |
Ritual Forms | burning herb, images, candles, and incense | divination, meditation, singing, writing, chanting, numerology, finding lost or stolen objects | using teas, bathing, washing | planting, burying, carving runes, visualising | |
Season | Summer | Spring/Winter | Fall | Winter/Spring | Turning of the Whell |
Sense | sight | smell | taste | touch | hearing |
Sephirah | Netzach, Chokmah | Yesod, Tiphareth | Hod, Binah | Malkuth | Kether |
Sounds | crickets, bees | flute | waterafll, ocean, | bell, cymbals, gong | drums, thunder |
State | energy | gas | liquid | solid | |
Stones | fire opal, ruby, amber, obsidian, carnelian | sapphire, topaz, lapis lazuli, citrine, amethyst | pearl, aquamarine, river stone, fluorite, moonstone, geode | salt, granite, emerald, jade, malachite | quartz crystal, diamond, black onyx, jet |
Syllable of Creation | Ra | Ya | Va | La | |
Symbols | Sun, stars, lightening, fire, double-headed axe, volcano | sly, clouds, wind, incense, bell, flute, birds | all bodies of water, rain, fog, shells, ship’swheel, anchor, boat, bath | cave, mountain, rocks, scythe, cornucopia, gardens | spiral, the cosmos |
Tarot Court Cards | Kings | Knights | Queens | Pages | |
Tarot Suit | Sword | Wnads | Cups | Pentacles | |
Tarot Trump Card | Judgement | Fool | Hanged Man | World | Hermit |
Tattva Sanskrit Name | Tejas | Vayu | Apas | Prithivi | |
Tattva Shape | red triangle | blue circle | silver crescent | yellow square | |
Temperaments (active) | enthusiasm, activity, eagerness,courage, energy, resolution, faithfulness | optimism, independence, kindness, joy, capacity to penetrate, ability to communicate, clarity | compassion, devotion, commitment, modesty, gentleness, forgiveness, meditative, friendship | endurance, stability, determination, balance, thoughtfulness, confidence, responsibility | |
Temperaments (passive) | jealousy, gluttony, stubbornness, ander, aggression, egotism, possessive | gossiping, dishonesty, selfishness, lack of endurance | indifference, laziness, depression, timidity | boredom, dullness, mistrust of others, tardiness, slow | |
Tetramorph | Lion | Man | Eagle | Ox | Sphinx |
Tibetan Directions | West | North | East | South | Center |
Time of Day | noon | dawn | sunset, twilight | midnight | now, all time |
Tools | athame, sword, candle, match, axe, wand | staff, wand, censor, flag, spear, bow, dagger | cauldron, mirror, cup, net, trident, bowl | pentacle, cords, scourge, horn, shield, trowel, pick, mace, stones | bell, lamp, cauldron |
Tree | flowering almond | aspen | willow | oak | ash |
Types of Magic | Tantra, candle magic, healing, color magic, fire scying | magic of the four winds, finding lost or stolen object, invocation, divination, shamanism | love magic, purification, healing, divination, mirror magic, dream magic | tree magic, fertility magic, herb lore, rune magic, cord magic, feng shui | |
Viewpoint | future | outward | inward | past | completion |
Wind | Notus | Eurus | Zephyrus | Boreas, Ophion | storms |
Yin/Yang (Duality) | Yang | Yang | Yin | Yin | Yin/Yang |
The Chinese believe that we are surrounded by five energy fields: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water…representations of different types of chi…life and creative energy. They believe the elements are not static; that they are constantly moving and changing. Once the five elements were identified, the Chinese began to categorize all phenomena within the five elements. Rivers, mountains, trees, music, sounds, our bodies…physical, emotional, and spiritual, the forces of nature, ect. were all classified.
In traditional Chinese philosophy the five elements are known Wu Xing also translated as the five phases, five movements or five steps. “Wu Xing” is actually the short form of “Wu zhong liu xing zhi chi” or “the five types of chi dominating at different times. These are the five basic forms of energy, constantly being transformed from one into another throughout the natural world. In people the elements determine our whole physical, psychological and emotional balance. The five types of chi and their properties are:
Water | runs downwards, liberal |
Wood | grows upwards, enduring |
Fire | spreads in all directions, radiant and hot |
Metal | pierce in one direction, sharp and pointing |
Earth | attracts and concentrates, stable |
The doctrine of five phases describes two cycles of balance between the elements. The first is a cycle of generation or creation, 生 shēng. The second cycle is one of overcoming or destruction, 克, kè.
Generating
- Wood feeds fire;
- Fire creates earth (ash);
- Earth bears metal;
- Metal collects water;
- Water nourishes wood.
Overcoming
- Wood parts earth;
- Earth absorbs water;
- Water quenches fire;
- Fire melts metal;
- Metal chops wood.
There are also two cycles of imbalance…the overacting cycle, cheng, and the insulting cycle, wu.
Wood | Fire | Earth | Metal | Water | |
qualities | leadership, assertiveness, creativity, planning, decision-making, competitiveness, conflict, anger, frustration | self-expression, emotional extremes, empathy, extrovert, attention-seeking, sociable, talkative | caring, supportive, nourishing, family-oriented, stability, grounding, “mother hen”, worrier | precise, meticulous, logical, analytical, moderation, self-control, morality, tendency to pessimism | solitude, privacy, introspection, philosophy, mystery, truth, honesty, anxiety, nervousness, insecurity |
color | green, blue | red, orange, purple, pink | yellow, brown | white, golden, silver | dark blue, black |
number | 8 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 6 |
shape | straight line, rod like | triangle | cube | sphere | wavy |
direction | east | south | zenith | west | north |
planet | Jupiter | Mars | Saturn | Venus | Mercury |
heavenly creature | Azure Dragon | Vermillion Bird | Yellow Dragon | White Tiger | Black Tortoise |
climate | windy, rain | heat | windy, damp | clear, dry | cold |
season | spring | summer | change of seasons (every third month) | autumn | winter |
months | 1-2 | 4-5 | 3,6,8,12 | 7-8 | 10-11 |
period of growth | germination, sprouting | growth, blooming | transformation, ripening | harvest, collection | storage, withering, dormant |
animals | scaled | winged | naked | furred | shelled |
livestock | dog | sheep and goat | cattle | chicken | pig |
fruit | plum | apricot | dates | peach | chestnut |
grain | barley and wheat | rice | millet | corn | beans |
meat | poultry | lamb | beef | horse | pork |
vegetable | onions, chives, mallow | endive and grain | cabbage, potatoes, carrots, and scallions | watercress and onions | coarse greens and leeks |
day | Thursday | Tuesday | Saturday | Friday | Wednesday |
Yin-Yang | lesser yang | utmost yang | center | lesser yin | utmost yin |
energy | generative | expansive | stabilizing | contracting | conserving |
movement | grows upward, enduring | spreads in all directions, radiant and hot | attracts and concentrates, stable | pierce in one direction, sharp and pointing | runs downwards, liberal |
produces | wood produces fire | fire produces earth | earth produces metal | metal produces water | water produces wood |
overcomes | wood overcomes earth | fire overcomes metal | earth overcomes water | metal overcomes wood | water overcomes fire |
sound | calling | laughing | singing | crying and lamenting | moaning |
music note | chiao – kaku – E | chih – chi – G | kung – kyû – C | shang – shô – D | yü – u – A |
phase of life | birth | youth | adulthood | old age | death |
virtue | benevolence | propriety | good faith | righteousness | knowledge |
mental quality | sensitivity | creativity | clarity | intuition | spontaneity |
positive emotion | patience | joy | love and empathy | courage | calmness |
negative emotion | anger and frustration | over excitation | worry and anxiety | grief and sadness | fear |
taste | sour | bitter | sweet | pungent | salty |
finger | index | middle | thumb | ring | little |
body part | tendons | pulse | muscle | skin | bones |
zang organs (yin) | liver | heart | spleen | lungs | kidneys |
fu organs (yang) | gall bladder | small intestine | stomach | large intestine | bladder |
sense | sight | speech | taste | smell | hearing |
sense organ | eyes | tongue | mouth | nose | ears |
The Hindu Elements…
The Chândogya Upanishad contains a desciption that is most likely the earliest Hindu viewpoint of the elements.
Element | Tattwa Name | Color | Foods | Color | BodyAssociation |
Fire | agni | red | oil, butter, and fat | red | bone, marrow, and speech |
Water | ap | white | water | white | urine, blood, and prân.a (breath) |
Air | prithivi | black | other foods | black | flesh, mind, and feces |
According to the Bhagavad-Gita and the Sankhya school of thought the three elements relate to the the three gunas, forces of nature…the causes of everything, and the order of the elements is changed.
Element | Guna (force of nature) | Color | Caste |
Water | sattva(goodness) – pure, elevating, enlightening | white | Brahmins—teachers, scholars and priests |
Fire | rajas(passion) – motivates us to create, acquire and enjoy | red | Kshatriyas—kings and warriors |
Earth | tamas(ignorance) – dirty, degrading, deluding, and destructive | black or brown | Vaishyas—traders, Shudras—agriculturists, service providers, and some artisan groups, and Parjanya or Antyaja(now called Dalits)— “untouchables” |
The Hindus believe that God created the four elements with akasha, and and that the knowledge of all human experience is contained in the akashic records.
The roots of Tattvic philosophy go back to at least 2000 BC. Tattva or tattwa(from tat, meaning “that” and tvam, meaning “thou”) means “thatness”…the real state of being of everything. The five elements – Akasha, Vayu, Tejas, Apas, Prithivi – exist in ALL matter.
Each tattva contains within itself a combination of the other four and themselves, and therefore are fivefold in nature. The sub-Tattvas are symbolized by placing a smaller Tattvic symbol within the larger main Tattvic symbol. Therefore there are a total of 25 Tattvas: Spirit of Spirit, Air of Spirit, Fire of Spirit, Water of Spirit, Earth of Spirit; Air of Air, Fire of Air, Water of Air, Earth of Air, Spirit of Air; Fire of Fire, Water of Fire, Earth of Fire, Spirit of Fire, Air of Fire; Water of Water, Earth of Water, Spirit of Water, Air of Water, Fire of Water; & Earth of Earth, Spirit of Earth, Air of Earth, Fire of Earth, Water of Earth.
Apas | Tejas | Prithivi | Vayu | Akasha | |
qualities | weightless, mobile, cool, dry, porous and subtleanything dry and airy, or that creates gas
motion or movement, evaporation, dryness |
hot, sharp, dry, subtle, weightless and roughanything combustible and spicy
radiation of heat and light |
heavy, rough, solid, stable, slowanything solid and heavy
resistance, density |
oily (unctuous), moist, cool, soft, and stickyanything liquid, fluid or watery
cohesion, lubrication |
soft, light, subtle and abundantanything that is light, profuse, and ethereal
provides room, looseness, openness |
facilitator of | touch and vibration | form, color and temperature | fragrance, odor and shape | fluidity and taste (via saliva) | sound and non-resistance |
element | water | air | earth | air | ether |
symbol | silver crescent | red triangle | yellow square | blue circle | black or indigo oval (vesica piscis) |
direction | west | south | north | east | center |
mantra | Ram | Pam | Lam | Vam | Ham |
food | toast, cookies, cabbage, beans | chilies, ginger, pepper, clove, cumin | fried foods, cheese, cakes, banana | drinks, soups, melons, cucumber | hollow and light foods – popcorn, wafers |
human body | taste, genitals, procreation, tongue, taste | form, legs, walking, eyes, vision | smell-odor, excretory organs, excretion, nose | touch, hands, giving and receiving, skin, tactile perception | sound, vocal cords, speech, ears, hearing |
physical effect | increases coolness, dryness, movement and circulation | increases digestion, metabolism (fire and heat), glow and color of skin | increases heaviness, stability, obesity and solidity in the body | increases smoothness, coolness, softness and flow of fluids | increases softness and lightness in the body |
taste | astringent | hot, spicy | sweet | acid | bitter |
The Gogyo and Godai…Japanese Systems of Five Elements
Everything in the universe is said to be a manifestation of these five elemental ‘building blocks’. Nothing is solely composed of one element, but is a complex combination of all five.
“The Five Goings or Journeys” or “The Five Transformations“…The Gogyosystem uses the elements of water(sui), wood(mokyu), fire(ka), earth(do), and metal(kin) to represent the elements and how they interact in organic creation, as in our bodies. These is the parts and pieces, examples…the outward appearances we use to categorize and identify objects. These elements show the life and/or death cycle of all things. This system was influenced by the Chinese elemental system.
“The Five Great Elements”or “The Five Manifestations“…The Godai system uses the elements of earth(chi), water(sui), fire(ka), wind(fu), void(ku) to represent how the “ten thousand things” come forth from the void. The five elements are known as manifestations or appearances. The elements are a system of cataloging all the individual parts or objects of that are part of the universe and created in the universe. These elements are the life, breath, and pulse that gives something substance…makes it real. It is used to understand creation throughout the universe of which all creation is a part of. It is believed to understand the working of the godai will help a person achieve knowledge and enlightenment. This system was imported from Tibet.
The five elements can been seen represented in Japanese architecture and art. Each story of the five-story pagoda corresponds to one of five elements. The bottom story is square and corresponds to the earth. The second story is spherical and corresponds to water. The third story is triangular and corresponds to fire. The fourth story is a reclining half-moon shape and corresponds to wind. The uppermost part of the structure is gem or teardrop shaped and corresponds with space. Japanese lanterns also have a similar structure.
The Gogyo
Sui | Mokyu | Ka | Do | Kin | |
element | water | wood | fire | earth | metal |
stages of human life | the joining off egg and sperm | birth as a beginning of new life | growth through childhood | adult years, settling down with a companion and starting the cycle again | the planning stage, the intention to become a parent |
energy states | energy in a pooling, collecting, or sinking state | upward reaching, new growth | expanding or evaporating energy | condensing energy | compacting energy |
natural life stages | the coming together of all things necessary to allow growth to take placethe seed, soil, moisture, warmth, ect. | a separate and distinct creation or “life” which is different from its base partsa shoot, root, or leaf | maturityflowers, fruits, nuts, and roots | life endingwithering and drying out | decompositionthe plant returning to the soil it came from |
The Godai
Chi or Tsuchi | Sui or Mizu | Ka or Hi | Fū or Kaze | Kū or Sora | |
element | Earth | Water | Fire | Wind or Air | Void, Space, Sky, or Heaven |
natural objects and forces | the hard, solid objects of the worldstones | the fluid, flowing, formless things in the worldplants, rivers, the changing seasons | the energetic, moving, forceful things in the worldanimals, lightning | things that grow and expand, and enjoy freedom of movementair, smoke | things beyond our everyday experiencespirit, thought, creative energy |
body | bones, muscles, tissues | blood, bodily fluids | the metabolism and body heat, the emotions of drive and passion | breathing, the mind | the ability to think and communicate, creativity |
associations | stubbornness, stability, physicality, gravity | emotion, defensiveness, adaptability, flexibility, magnetism | motivation, desire, intention, an outgoing spirit | will, elusiveness, benevolence, compassion, wisdom | power, creativity, spontaneity, inventiveness |
Shinto God | ChijinGod of Earth | SuijinGod of Water | KajinGod of Fire | FuujinGod of Wind | |
finger | little finger | ring finger | middle finger | index finger | thumb |
direction | north | west | south | east | center |
color | red | orange | yellow | green | blue |
The “Great Elements” in Buddhism
Mahābhūta is Pali for the “Great Elements” used among Buddhists as well as some Hindus, Jains and Sikhs. The four Great Elements are earth, water, fire and air, and later a fifth, space, was added. In early Buddhism, the Four Elements were known the basis for understanding and for liberating oneself from suffering. The Pali canon describes the Great Elements as both external and internal…of the body, such as bone and blood, and outside the body, as a river or tree.
Element | Earth | Water or Liquid | Fire | Air or Wind |
Pali name | paţhavī-dhātu | āpo-dhātu | tejo-dhātu | vāyo-dhātu |
Character | solidity | cohesion | heat | movement |
Internal attributes | head hair, body hair, nails, teeth, skin, flesh, sinews, bone, organs, intestinal material, ect. | bile, phlegm, pus, blood, sweat, fat, tears, nasal mucus, urine, ect. | those bodily functions that produce physical warmth, aging, digestion, ect. | associated with the pulmonary system, as in breathing, the intestinal system, for example the bowels, etc. |
There are also two other elements occasionally referred to in the Pali canon:
Element | Void or Space | Consciousness |
Pali name | ākāsa-dhātu | viññāņa-dhātu |
Internal Attributes | bodily orifices such as the ears, nostrils, mouth, anus, sex organs, ect. | used by the body to be aware of the three feelings of pleasure, pain and neither-pleasure-nor-pain |
Void | Water | Earth | Fire | Air | |
Buddhas | Vairocana The Buddha Supreme and Eternal; The Radiant One |
Akshobhya The Immovable or Unshakable Buddha |
Ratnasambhava The Source of Precious Things or Jewel-Born One |
Amitâbha The Buddha of Infinite Light |
Amoghasiddhi The Almighty Conquerer or Lord of Karma |
jewels | sapphire | diamond | gold | ruby | emerald |
direction | center | east | south | west | north |
shape | almond | dome & sphere | square | triangle | crescent |
mantra | om | hûm | tram | hrîh | âh |
body | crown | navel | knee | chest | brow |
sense organ | mind | ears | eyes | nose | body |
sensory objects | sounds | sights | smells | tastes & textures | |
realms | gods | hells | human | hungry ghosts | demons |
The Five Elements of Bön
Bön is the oldest spiritual tradition in Tibet. The five elements are the energies that all that happens, all that exists…our bodies, our emotions, and the physical world—are composed of. Historians have discovered that Tibetan prayer flags also originate from the Bön culture. The flags symbolize the balance and union of the elements. Tibetan prayer flags come in sets of five, one corresponding to each color of one of the five elements. The flags are arranged from right to left in the following sequence of colors: blue, symbolizing space; white, symbolizing air; red, symbolizing fire; green, symbolizing water; and yellow, symbolizing earth. Vertically placed the yellow flag goes at the bottom, the blue flag on top.
Earth | Water | Fire | Air | Space | |
physical property | solidity | cohesion | temperature | motion | the dimension that contains the other four elements |
organ | spleen | kidneys | liver | lungs | |
sense | smell | taste | sight | touch | hearing |
Khandro (goddess — pure aspect of the element) | yellow khandrogrounded | blue khandrocalm and comfort | red khandrojoy and creativity | green khandroflexibility | white khandrothe great mother from whom the other elements come |
qualities | strength, steadiness, security, focus, connection | calm, comfortable, sensuous, relaxed, peaceful, flowing | energy, warmth, strong will, inspiration, creativity, bliss | flexibility, liveliness, freshness, quickness | ease, clarity, expansiveness, vastness |
meditation image | powerful, solid mountains | vast, calm lake | fiery volcano | fresh wind through the valley and across the mountains | vast open sky over the desert or plains |
The Six Tastes are represented by a combination of the elements:
- Sweet – earth and water
- Sour – fire and earth
- Salty – water and fire
- Astringent/Pungent – wind and water
- Bitter – wind and earth
- Hot/Spicy – fire and wind
The Early Moon
In Babylon, the Moon god Sin was referred to as the Lord of Wisdom and He Who Would Open the Gate to Heaven. At first glance this is a valuable statement. How is heaven defined? Is it “a condition or place happiness?” Or is the term heaven, just a reference to the sky? Why does that wisdom apply to the Babylonian Moon? Could it be that an astrological view, wisdom and thus happiness, resulted from acquiring invaluable knowledge gained, not by following the Sun or planets, but primarily observing the Moon’s nocturnal position as it moved across the sky?
In Egypt the Moon was associated with an eye because of its association with the retina and its appearance to blink over a period of time, opening after the new Moon and closing after the full Moon. The Moon was known as Khons, the Eye of Horus, Osiris, Ptah and was sometimes associated with Min. The Egyptian Moon’s energy symbolized the goddess power and believed to be transmitted to only those on Earth who understood its magic. of supreme
The ancient Egyptian preceptors believed that there were two minds within the human being the solar and lunar. The solar mind represented the autonomic system regulating the heart and blood, intestines and glands that comprise the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The lunar mind regulated the hypothalamic and cranial glands and functioned in terms of reflected light through the retina (Lawler).
Historically, the Chinese, Hindu, Arabic and Babylonian societies all relied heavily on the Moon for their predictive work and omina. Today, when Hindu or Chinese astrologers may ask about the time of birth, they are much more interested in the Moon’s position than any other planet. What is really amazing is that early literature about the Moon is very rare and nearly impossible to find even though the concept of the daily lunar mansion, the Moon’s motion was used extensively in ancient astrology.
With all this, there had to be more than just watching the Moon at night. Through the millennia the Babylonian/Chaldean culture and, to a small extent, the Egyptians continued to adjust their entire way of life to the whimsical lunar calendar. The Babylonians followed the Moon’s irregular course for over 40 centuries and yet the Moon remained their Lord of Wisdom. Why the so long? What magic and what wisdom does it have to offer? The lack of available information, either contemporary or ancient, is surprising because lunar progressions are a powerful predictive tool. Any astrologer who is unaware of the power of the Moon is missing a very important facet in his predictive work.
All the above ideas relate to the ancient belief that the Moon was the Earth’s offspring. For this reason the ever-changing Moon came to symbolize the child. If we look at the Moon’s location in the Egyptian cosmology chart, we notice the Moon is located near the “out of control” angle of the fourth house cusp. This position of the Moon symbolizes the idea o
The Early Moon
In Babylon, the Moon god Sin was referred to as the Lord of Wisdom and He Who Would Open the Gate to Heaven. At first glance this is a valuable statement. How is heaven defined? Is it “a condition or place happiness?” Or is the term heaven, just a reference to the sky? Why does that wisdom apply to the Babylonian Moon? Could it be that an astrological view, wisdom and thus happiness, resulted from acquiring invaluable knowledge gained, not by following the Sun or planets, but primarily observing the Moon’s nocturnal position as it moved across the sky? In Egypt the Moon was associated with an eye because of its association with the retina and its appearance to blink over a period of time, opening after the new Moon and closing after the full Moon. The Moon was known as Khons, the Eye of Horus, Osiris, Ptah and was sometimes associated with Min. The Egyptian Moon’s energy symbolized the goddess power and believed to be transmitted to only those on Earth who understood its magic. of supreme The ancient Egyptian preceptors believed that there were two minds within the human being the solar and lunar. The solar mind represented the autonomic system regulating the heart and blood, intestines and glands that comprise the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. The lunar mind regulated the hypothalamic and cranial glands and functioned in terms of reflected light through the retina (Lawler). Historically, the Chinese, Hindu, Arabic and Babylonian societies all relied heavily on the Moon for their predictive work and omina. Today, when Hindu or Chinese astrologers may ask about the time of birth, they are much more interested in the Moon’s position than any other planet. What is really amazing is that early literature about the Moon is very rare and nearly impossible to find even though the concept of the daily lunar mansion, the Moon’s motion was used extensively in ancient astrology. With all this, there had to be more than just watching the Moon at night. Through the millennia the Babylonian/Chaldean culture and, to a small extent, the Egyptians continued to adjust their entire way of life to the whimsical lunar calendar. The Babylonians followed the Moon’s irregular course for over 40 centuries and yet the Moon remained their Lord of Wisdom. Why the so long? What magic and what wisdom does it have to offer? The lack of available information, either contemporary or ancient, is surprising because lunar progressions are a powerful predictive tool. Any astrologer who is unaware of the power of the Moon is missing a very important facet in his predictive work. All the above ideas relate to the ancient belief that the Moon was the Earth’s offspring. For this reason the ever-changing Moon came to symbolize the child. If we look at the Moon’s location in the Egyptian cosmology chart, we notice the Moon is located near the “out of control” angle of the fourth house cusp. This position of the Moon symbolizes the idea of seeking guidance and/or being a guide. Of course, the nature of the Moon is such that in order to be seen it needs the Sun’s light to do so. In this fashion we see the Moon’s position in the birth chart as that of an addiction in seeking nurture and protection to preserve its own nature. This is readily seen in the case of the performing arts. Its position in the chart indicates a basic need and inclination to please people, wanting to be liked and accepted by them. On the other hand, in both the birth and sunset charts, an afflicted Moon by association to harsher planets, such as Mars, Saturn and sometimes even the Sun or Jupiter, manifests as a marked propensity toward an antagonistic or even a shy attitude toward people. In either case we voluntarily give up some form of our sovereignty and go out of our way to please or displease others, because at the moment it seems the right thing to do. The degree of one’s sensitivity is registered by the Moon’s position by decanate. The Moon’s influence changes by virtue of its degree of longitude. The Moon located in the first ten-degree decanate indicates the development of understanding “emotional buttons.” The child learns early to assimilate knowledge concerning emotive reactions. In the second or “teen-degree” decanate, the decanate of change, the native feels that that his emotional needs may never be fulfilled, this Moon placement is its most risky position. The Moon in the second decanate is “constantly inconstant,” or desiring change for the sake of change. This restlessness is reflected in all parts of the lifestyle as a constant search for an ephemeral “something.” The native often avoids close personal relationships because he feels if someone really got to know him they may find that, emotionally, “no one is home.” In the third decanate of goal seeking, the Moon higher than twenty-degrees reflects as “seeking guidance” to find answers to satisfy emotional objectives. Often an individual with a third decanate Moon placement will rarely reveal any weak position in a given situation. At times, when involved in conversation, the native may not be “up to par” on a given subject. And with this Moon placement he will probably wait to see if, further in the conversation, the speaker will reveal more information without the native having to ask for it. In this way, he feels that he is in control and maintains his idea of self-esteem. The Moon in this decanate usually reflects as the “perfect student” who synthesizes his mentor’s doctrine and infuses it with his own ideas. Later the student in return challenges his teacher’s original ideas intellectually. As with other planets, we should scrutinize the Moon’s arena very carefully. The Moon is our main source of information through recognizing emotional responses. Review your own past circumstances or that of a client to indicate behavior patterns that may reveal future tendencies. Examine the first and last aspect the Moon makes. Later on this page, we will find that it is most importantto note the initial aspect the Moon makes by rogression and as well as all the Moon’s aspects throughout the rogression. Pay close attention to the Moon there will always be some lunar aspect in connection with events that are important to you. The numbers eighteen and twenty-eight have long been associated with the Moon. Additionally, during a Saros cycle of eighteen years and eleven days, there are no less than twenty-eight eclipses during that period somewhere on the planet. The daily motion of the Moon is found by observing the Moon’s motion measured by longitude from the beginning to the end of each 24-hour period. It is very important to remember that the Moon travels about one degree of longitude every two hours, or approximately 12 degrees in 24 hours, this known as its rate of motion usually abbreviated as ROM. However, for a more accurate measurement, it is better to calculate the actual rate of motion of the Moon’s ROM than just using 12* as an average motion. This is accomplished by the usual procedure of deducting the Moon’s longitude from the previous day of birth using the exact time of day on both occasions. You will find the rate of motion by subtracting the longitude of the previous day from the longitude of the birthday. The distance the Moon travels by degree during that 24-hour period is called the lunar arc, its ROM or, in this work, the lunar mansion. Today, there are three systems correlating to the twenty-eight lunar mansions. They are called Nakshastras in the Hindu/Vedic astrology system, Sieu in the Chinese system and Manzils (mansions) in the Arabic system. Each mansion begins with a fiduciary or reference star as its starting point. The reason the number 28 is assigned or fixed as lunar “stations” or mansions in contemporary analysis (not this work however), is derived by dividing the average ROM of 12° 51′ into 360. To list these fiducial points would be meaningless and would require too much space. Additionally, and I think most importantly, the idea of positioning the lunar mansion as fixed points of reference reduces the Moon’s emotional influence into a static and boxed state without any personal consideration of the client. That is definitely something the Moon is not. The origin of fixed lunar mansions is probably derived from the term “Manzils,” the Arabic term for mansions by al Biruni, the tenth-century Arabian astrologer. The rate of daily lunar motion can vary from as little as 11° 36″ to as much as 15° 06″. One’s personal lunar mansion is described by the longitudinal motion the Moon travels during the complete 24-hour period of the day of birth. This format could be the probable Chaldean lunar mansion, which was not fixed, but measured by the Moon’s variable distance by its daily motion as it traveled through the zodiac between sunset to sunset. In this work we, too, measure the lunar mansion by the variable daily motion and distance the Moon travels through the zodiac during the sunset to sunset period. Astrologically, we can relate celestial mechanics with the Moon’s motion and the motion of the Sun. The Sun requires approximately two hours of real time to travel the distance of 30° in longitude or one house. The Moon also requires approximately two hours of real time to travel one degree of longitude. Based on the “aging” process known as “rogression.”, the Sun will move one house every six years and the Moon will generally advance but only by one degree or preferably, by its calculated hourly rate. The advancement by the Moon of one degree for each house the Sun travels is important to remember when the chart is rogressed. The personal rate of motion of the lunar mansion describes the emotional demeanor of the person as noted in the chart by the first and last aspects the Moon makes. It is also a very important indicator of the person’s emotional journey because its placement clearly indicates life’s state of affairs. The emotional “urge” is directed and best described as an inner recognition of the basic need that has been imprinted on the child during the formative years.This imprint is indicated by the Moon’s first, exact aspect to a planet or angle. Thecharacteristic manifestation is reflected by the Moon’s last exact aspect to a planet or angle. The last aspect made by the Moon indicates the individual’s attitude in acquiring the Moon’s first aspect’s basic need. Those with Jupiter as the first or last aspect just expect good things to happen, regardless of their situations. Those with Mercury feel that they can think or talk things through to resolution. Saturn, as the first or last aspect, promotes a reluctance to see things positively or the need to control them. With Mars, the native thinks with his fist or has a “might makes right” macho attitude. Emotional “urges,” as seen by the lunar mansion, coupled with the lunar progressions, clearly dictates the direction of the native and the native’s changing circumstances. This is easy to follow because the Moon will continue to aspect the other planets as it advances one degree every six years. Very often, transitswill trigger a situation based only on the position of the rogressed Moon. The lunar mansion then, is defined as the Moon’s first and last aspect to the planets or angles made during the 24 hours of the native’s birth. And those aspects indicate the emotional needs for fulfillment and quality of the native’s emotional life. During the life, other aspects made by the rogressed Moon represent the conditions and circumstances to which the native feels drawn. Remember I mentioned that the Moon advances one degree every six years. While working with the lunar mansion, we are primarily interested in watching for two items.
As a recap, the last planet the Moon aspects indicate how the native expects his hopes, wishes and dreams to manifest. The Sun, Venus or Jupiter represents more of a sense of ebullience than that of Mars or Saturn. The last aspect also indicates the overall emotional state and the inner sense regarding the conditions at the end of life and death. The Sun, Venus or Jupiter shows a willing or peaceful transition, Saturn or Neptune may indicate chronic illness, Uranus, Pluto or Mars a quick death. Remember: The Moon’s first aspect identifies the most basic emotional urge for satisfying one’s self-expression and is designated by the planet and aspect by the Moon. Planets placed between the first and last aspects represent important changes in the lifestyle or crossroads experiences during the life. But alwayskeep in mind that the Moon’s first aspect is the native’s imprint, a deep-seated desire for emotional fulfillment. The nature of the planet and its type of aspect delineate this point. The last aspect represents the characteristic manifestationthe expected end result of his desires as signified by the planet and it’s aspect. For example, say a client’s Moon makes its first aspect to Mercury. His emotional nature would be Mercurial and changeable with the need for self-expression, either verbally or in writing. Should Saturn be the last planet aspect made by the Moon, this would be toned down by intellectualism or perhaps even labored. With Jupiter as its last aspect there is more vitality and fervor. To determine the individual’s emotional state when viewing the age of an incident by year, advance the sunset chart to the house that represents the age of the event. By counting the number of houses the Sun has rogressed by age, add the number of houses to the degree of longitude of the Moon, then look for any planet that has the same degree, either by rogression or transit. Note the planet’s enclitic influence as the Moon assimilates those energies as if it were its own process. This can be likened to an earlier astrological custom of the translation and collection of light where the Moon picks up the energy pattern from the last planet it was in contact with and transfers that pattern of energy to the next planet it aspects. We call this function enclitic. For example, should the Moon aspect Venus by conjunction and later sextile Jupiter, the now enclitic Moon will act as if it were Venus-oriented when it aspects Jupiter. This circumstance, taken alone, would describe someone either with an abundance of charm, a loving, charitable person or possibly someone with an artistic nature wishing to express it in a global way. If Venus the first and Jupiter was the last aspect respectively made by the Moon, with a harmonious Sun and/or planet placement(s), we would notice a distinctively warm and friendly individual. With a negative Sun or inharmonious planet placement, we might notice an inclination to laziness, conceit and perhaps negligence. In either case the individual would have “film star mannerisms” with a tendency to gain in popularity in spite of himself. Origins of the Lunar Mansion To begin, there are three Zodiacs. The Solar zodiac where the Sun travels in its apparent orbit through the tropical signs (and sidereal constellations). The Lunar zodiac where the Moon has a much wider path of 5.5 degrees above and below the Solar ecliptic (Latitude) giving a total of 10+ degrees in width. And a planetary zodiac where the planets travel, yet again, in a different path around the Sun, this is because the planets pass through many more signs than the Sun does seen from the viewpoint of Earth! Sidereally, the Sun passes through 13 signs counting Ophiuchus. The Moon currently passes through 20 signs (constellations); however in Babylonian times, there were only 18 accounted for. The planetary zodiac is contained within 17 degrees North and South of the Sun’s ecliptic giving a wider band of 34 degrees over which the planets pass (counting Pluto). The reason for the existence of these three zodiacs is simply that the Moon’s and the planets’ orbits appear a little tilted in comparison of each other due to the Earth’s 23+ degree axis compared to the Sun’s ecliptic. As mathematical calculations were understood by less than .04 percent of the population, the ancients devised ways to substitute the degrees of longitude and latitude with associated names of either circumstances of the year or with attributes of animals. With this idea in mind, we can recognize this process becoming the animated Zodiac many centuries later by different cultures. To wit, the word for Sun in Accadian was used in two different ways; one for astronomy and the second for astrological purposes. This process was the same for all the monthly and planetary names. Thus, if we examine the associated, numberless monthly names for the Babylonian year plus the planet’s various names, we find a distinct association between Babylonian Epochal writings and poems with the planetary passages through the signs. As a matter of fact, we can find these same associations of astronomical reasons in the Siege of Troy or the wanderings of Ulysses in the Odyssey! In Fact many stories in legendary times correspond to a sign of the Zodiac and consequently to a month within a year which agrees to the character of each particular myth. From this idea, we can conclude that the different names for the planets were used to associate a planet’s location with an asterism; a source of major confusion for archeologist in the past as there were many different names for the same planet found in Babylonian texts. If we take that step up one rung of the ladder we can easily recognize how the Lunar Mansions may have begun. Calling the Moon’s position “resting places” would be the one concept that, considering the time that this concept arose, the Lunar Mansion idea would have been an easy way to simply identify the Moons position without any mathematical calculations. Much the same as the earlier Babylonians had done. With this, we find considerable evidence that the Lunar Draconic system then developed into 28 “houses” with the associated monthly or animal nomenclature while the Solar Zodiac remained with only twelve. Egypt, on the other hand, developed some 300 years after the Babylonians and had a similar process, called “working stars,” possibly derived from the Babylonians. These ‘working stars’ were based on their Heliacal rising at10 day intervals. The Chaldean lunar calendar considered the first quarter, full moon, last quarter and new Moon as evil days. The Egyptians carried this idea to an extreme by assigning their deities to a yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly and even in some cases smaller segments of time we would consider as minutes today. As Egyptian deities were considered favorable and unfavorable, there would be variable times when these deities would come into conflict thereby creating a inauspicious time to accomplish any endeavor considered worthwhile. Enter the Chinese. Traditionally, their “Tzu Wei Tou Shu” system is supposed to date back four and a half millennia, to the reign of Emperor Huáng Dì. “Oracle bones” have survived from the Shang dynasty from about 1200-1045 BC. Some Astrological texts on predictions exist in the Chinese historical records ca. 206 BC – AD 220. The Chinese Zodiac simply related to the yearly sojourn of the Sun and not the monthly Solar zodiac found in the West. > Interestingly, the earliest reference to the Lunar mansions is with China dating back to 3117 BC ! This information comes to us VIA the Great Chinese wall thought to be a megalith similar to Stonehenge. The wall begins with the constellation of beta-Hydra, the Great Dragon, the 28th Xiu marking the Solstice of 3117 BC. The Grecian occupation of both Persian and Egyptian soil eventually conflated all the different cultural “star programs” and converted both systems into a singular, noetic set of interrelated principles. The intellectual mental climate of Greece organized the different ‘star principles’ into a method of orderly interaction in connection with the seasonal changes. Most likely, the Lunar mansions started much later than the Hellenistic period (323 BC to 146 BC) as there are no records indicating that the Lunar mansions, as we know them here in the West, were used before or during, that period. The Babylonian Spring Equinox began with the Sun in Taurus. As such, the moon stations were adopted into India later, perhaps everywhere, from the Mesopotamian literature we find in the Mul Apin. The Mul.Apin lists the names of 66 stars and constellations and further gives a number of indications, such as rising, setting and culmination dates, that help to map out the basic structure of the Babylonian star map. Scholars mostly agree that the Arabic “Al Manazil al Kamr” or ‘The resting place of the Moon’ is more than likely the origin of the Lunar mansions of today. The Lunar mansion beginning with Al Nath and Al Butain begin in Aries suggesting that The Lunar Mansions were developed at a much later date than Mesopotamian astronomy would indicate.• Arthyr Chadbourne |
“Courteous Reader, Astrology is one of the most ancient Sciences, held in high esteem of old, by the Wise and the Great. Formerly, no Prince would make War or Peace, nor any General fight in Battle, in short, no important affair was undertaken without first consulting an Astrologer.” -BENJAMIN FRANKLIN |
f seeking guidance and/or being a guide.
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Moon Mansions: The 28 Mansions of the Moon
“And in these twenty eight Mansions do lie hid many secrets of the wisdom of the antients, by the which they wrought wonders on all things which are under the circle of the Moon; and they attributed to every Mansion his resemblances, images, and seals, and his president intelligences, and worked by the virtue of them after different manners.” (“The MAGUS or CELESTIAL INTELLIGENCER” by Francis Barrett)
The ancient astrologers knew and used in their work aside from the 12 zodiacal signs of the Sun, also 28 mansions of the Moon or lunar mansions.
They represent an ancient wisdom, now very little spread among the astrologers, yet they are of great use both in natal and electional astrology as well as in magical purposes.
These mansions are subdivisions of the zodiac, equal in size, which start at 0º Aries and last 12º51´26´´ each.
The monthly transit of the Moon through each of these mansions generates a different influence as follows:
Influence of the Moon Mansions
Texts from “The MAGUS or CELESTIAL INTELLIGENCER” by Francis Barrett, London, 1801
- The Moon in the 1st mansion – it causes discords, and journies; (0 Aries to 12 Aries 51)
- The Moon in the 2nd mansion – it conduces to the finding of treasures, and to the retaining [of] captives; (12 Aries 51 to 25 Aries 42)
- The Moon in the 3rd mansion – it is profitable to sailors, huntsmen, and alchymists; (25 Aries 42 to 8 Taurus 34)
- The Moon in the 4th mansion – it causes the destruction and hindrances of buildings, fountains, wells, gold mines, the flight of creeping things, and begets discord. (8 Taurus 34 to 21 Taurus 25)
- The Moon in the 5th mansion – it confirms edifices, it gives health and good-will; (21 Taurus 25 to 4 Gemini 17)
- The Moon in the 6th mansion – it conduces to hunting, and besieging of towns, and revenge of princes, it destroys harvests and fruits and hinders the operation of the physician; (4 Gemini 17 to 17 Gemini 8)
- The Moon in the 7th mansion – it confers gain and friendship, its profitable to lovers, it scares flies, destroys magistracies; (17 Gemini 8 to 0 Cancer)
- The Moon in the 8th mansion – it causes love, friendship, and society of fellow travellers, it drives away mice ands afflicts captives, confirming their imprisonment; (0 Cancer to 12 Cancer 51)
- The Moon in the 9th mansion – it hinders harvests and travelers, and puts discord between men; (12 Cancer 51 to 25 Cancer 42)
- The Moon in the 10th mansion – it strengthens buildings, yields love, benevolence and help against enemies; (25 Cancer 42 to 8 Leo 34)
- The Moon in the 11th mansion – it is good for voyages, and gain by merchandise, and for redemption of captives; (8 Leo 34 to 21 Leo 25)
- The Moon in the 12th mansion – it gives prosperity to harvests, and plantations, but hinders seamen, and is good for the bettering of servants, captives and companions; (21 Leo 25 to 4 Virgo 17)
- The Moon in the 13th mansion – it is prevalent for benevolence, gain, voyages, harvests, and freedom of captives; (17 to 17 Virgo 8)
- The Moon in the 14th mansion – it causes the love of married folks, it cures the sick, is profitable to sailors, but hinders journies by land; and in these the second quarter of Heaven is completed; (17 Virgo 8 to 0 Libra)
- The Moon in the 15th mansion – its profitable for the extracting of treasures, for digging of pits, it assists divorce, discord, and the destruction of houses and enemies, and hinders travelers; (0 Libra to 12 Libra 5)
- The Moon in the 16th mansion – it hinders journies and wedlock, harvests and merchandise, it prevails for redemption of captives; (12 Libra 51 to 25 Libra 42)
- The Moon in the 17th mansion – it betters a bad fortune, makes love durable, strengthens buildings, and helps seamen; (25 Libra 42 to 8 Scorpio 34)
- The Moon in the 18th mansion – it causes discord, sedition, conspiracy against princes and mighty ones, and revenge from enemies, but it frees captives and helps edifices; (8 Scorpio 34 to 21 Scorpio 25)
- The Moon in the 19th mansion – it helps in the besieging of cities and taking of towns, and in the driving of men from their places, and for the destruction of seamen, and perdition of captives; (21 Scorpio 25 to 4 Sagittarius 17)
- The Moon in the 20th mansion – it helps for the taming of wild beasts, for the strengthening of prisons, it destroys the wealth of societies, it compels a man to come to a certain place; (4 Sagittarius 17 to 17 Sagittarius 8)
- The Moon in the 21st mansion – it is good for harvests, gain, buildings and travellers, and causes divorce; and in this is the third quarter of Heaven is completed; (17 Sagittarius 8 to 0 Capricorn)
- The Moon in the 22nd mansion – it promotes the flight of servants and captives, that they may escape, and helps the curing of diseases; (0 Capricorn to 12 Capricorn 51)
- The Moon in the 23rd mansion – it is for divorce, liberty of captives and the health of the sick; (12 Capricorn 51 to 25 Capricorn 42)
- The Moon in the 24th mansion – it is prevalent for the benevolence of married people, for the victory of soldiers, it hurts the execution of government, and prevents it being exercised; (25 Capricorn 42 to 8 Aquarius 34)
- The Moon in the 25th mansion – it favors besieging and revenge, it destroys enemies, causes divorce, confirms prisons and buildings, hastens messengers, it conduces to spells against copulation, and so binds every member of man, that it cannot perform its duty; (8 Aquarius 34 to 21 Aquarius 25)
- The Moon in the 26th mansion – it causes union, health of captives, destroys buildings and prisons; (21 Aquarius 25 to 4 Pisces 17)
- The Moon in the 27th mansion – it increases harvests, revenues, gain, and heals infirmities, but hinders buildings, prolongs prisons, causes danger to seamen, and helps to infer mischiefs on whom you shall please; (4 Pisces 17 to 17 Pisces 8)
- The Moon in the 28th mansion – it increases harvests and merchandise, it secures travellers through dangerous places; it makes for the joy of married couples, but it strengths prisons, and causes loss of treasures; (17 Pisces 8 to 0 Aries)
The angels and the Moon mansions
There are twenty-eight angels, who rule in the twenty-eight mansions of the moon, whose names are these; Geniel, Enediel, Anixiel, Azariel, Gabriel, Dirachiel, Scheliel, Amnediel, Barbiel, Ardefiel, Neciel, Abdizuel, Jazeriel, Ergediel, Atliel, Azeruel, Adriel, Egibiel, Amutiel, Kyriel, Bethnael, Geliel, Requiel, Abrinael, Agiel, Tagriel, Atheniel, Amnixiel.
Symbolic images for the Moon’s influence in each mansion
- In the first, for the destruction of some one, they made, in an iron ring, the image of a black man, in a garment of hair, and girdled round, casting a small lance with his right hand: they sealed this in black wax, and perfumed it with liquid storax, and wished some evil to come.
- In the second, against the wrath of the prince, and for reconciliation with him, they sealed, in white wax and mastich, the image of a king crowned, and perfumed it with lignum aloes.
- In the third, they made an image in a silver ring, whose table was square; the figure of which was a woman, well clothed, sitting in a chair, her right hand being lifted up on her head; they sealed it, and perfumed it with musk, camphire, and calamus aromaticus. They affirmed that this gives happy fortune, and every good thing.
- In the fourth, for revenge, separation, enmity, and ill-will, they sealed, in red wax, the image of a soldier sitting on a horse, holding a serpent in his right hand: they perfumed it with red myrrh and storax.
- In the fifth, for the favour of kings and officers, and good entertainment, they sealed, in silver, the head of a man, and perfumed it with red sanders.
- In the sixth, to procure love between two, they sealed, in white wax, two images, embracing one another, and perfumed them with lignum aloes and amber.
- In the seventh, to obtain every good thing, they scaled, in silver, the image of a man, well clothed, holding up his hands to Heaven, as it were, praying and supplicating, and perfumed it with good odours.
- In the eighth, for victory in war, they made a seal in tin, being an image of an eagle, having the face of a man, and perfumed it with brimstone.
- In the ninth, to cause infirmities, they made a seal of lead, being the image of a man wanting his privy parts, covering his eyes with his hands; and they perfumed it with rosin of the pine.
- In the tenth, to facilitate child bearing, and to cure the sick, they made a seal of gold, being the head of a lion, and perfumed it with amber.
- In the eleventh, for fear, reverence, and worship, they made a seal of a plate of gold, being the image of a man riding on a lion, holding the ear thereof in his left hand, and in his right holding forth a bracelet of gold; and they perfumed it with good odours and saffron.
- In the twelfth, for the separation of lovers, they made a seal of black lead, being the image of a dragon fighting with a man; and they perfumed it with the hairs of a lion, and assafœtida.
- In the thirteenth, for the agreement of married people, and for dissolving of all the charms against copulation, they made a seal of the images of both (of the man in red wax, and the woman in white), and caused them to embrace one another; perfuming it with lignum aloes and amber.
- In the fourteenth, for divorce and separation of the man from the woman, they made a seal of red copper, being the image of a dog. biting his tail; and they perfumed it with the hair of a black dog and a black cat.
- In the fifteenth, to obtain friendship and good will, they made the image of a man sitting, and inditing letters, and perfumed it with frankincense and nutmegs.
- In the sixteenth, for gaining much merchandising, they made a seal of silver, being the image of a man, sitting on a chair, holding a balance in his hand; and they perfumed it with well smelling spices.
- In the seventeenth, against thieves and robbers, they sealed with an iron seal the image of an ape, and perfumed it with the air of an ape.
- In the eighteenth, against fevers and pains of the belly, they made a seal of copper, being the image of a snake with his tail above his head; and they perfumed it with hartshorn; and said this same seal put to flight serpents, and all venomous creatures, from the place where it is buried.
- In the nineteenth, for facilitating birth, and provoking the menstrues, they made a seal of copper, being the image of a woman holding her hands upon her face; and they perfumed it with liquid storax.
- In the twentieth, for hunting, they made a seal of tin, being the image of Sagittary, half a man and half a horse; and they perfumed it with the head of a wolf.
- In the twenty-first, for the destruction of some body, they made the image of a man, with a double countenance before and behind; and they perfumed it with brimstone and jet, and put it in a box of brass, and with it brimstone and jet, and the hair of him whom they would hurt.
- In the twenty-second, for the security of runaways, they made a seal of iron, being the image of a man, with wings on his feet, bearing a helmet on his head; and they perfumed it with argent vive.
- In the twenty-third, for destruction and wasting, they made a seal of iron, being the image of a cat, having a dog’s head; and they perfumed it with dog’s hair taken from the head, and buried it in the place where they intended the hurt.
- In the twenty-fourth, for multiplying herds of cattle, they took the horn of a ram, bull, or goat, or of that sort of cattle they would increase, and sealed in it, burning, with an iron seal, the image of a woman giving suck to her son; and they
- hanged it on the neck of that cattle who was the leader of the flock, or they sealed it in his horn.
- In the twenty-fifth, for the preservation of trees and harvest, they sealed, in the wood of a fig tree, the image of a man planting and they perfumed it with the flowers of the fig tree, and hung it on the tree.
- In the twenty-sixth, for love and favour, they sealed, in white wax and mastich, the figure of a woman washing and combing her hair; and they perfumed it with good odours.
- In the twenty-seventh, to destroy fountains, pits, medicinal waters, and baths, they made, of red earth, the image of a man winged, holding in his hand an empty vessel, and perforated; and the image being burnt, they put in the vessel assafœtida and liquid storax, and they buried it in the pond or fountain which they would destroy.
- In the twenty-eighth, for getting fish together, they made a seal of copper, being the image of a fish; and they perfumed it with the skin of a sea fish, and cast it into the water where they would
- have the fish gathered
- .
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The nakshatras are one of the oldest references we have to astrology from the Rig Veda, dating back about 5,000 years ago. The Vedas are the religious scriptures of the great seers and sages of India. The nakshatras are like the zodiacal signs but more specific. Their meanings are derived from the constellations, fixed stars and the mythology behind these portions in the sky. They are rich in meaning and have ruling deities that reveal the stories or myths that bring to life the symbology referred to in our own lives.The nakshatras are divisions of 13 degrees 20 minutes starting from zero Aries and ending at 30 degrees of Pisces, 13.20 divided into the 12 signs is 27. The nakshatras are referred to as the lunar mansions because the Moon moves approximately 13.20 per day, therefore, resides in one nakshatra per day. The personal planet in which the nakshatra resides will reveal deep information about the individual in relation to the meanings of the houses (area of life), and what houses the planet rules.
For example, the planet that rules the 7th house (indicating a person’s spouse), will reveal detailed information about the spouse by the description of that nakshatra. If Aries is the sign of the 7th house, then Mars, the ruler of Aries (the nakshatra where Mars resides) will describe the spouse. If Mars is in the nakshatra Magha, the spouse would have all the kingly qualities of Magha.
Days of the Week Monday’s child is fair of face. The seven day week is thought to have originated among the ancient Babylonians. The week was developed by dividing each lunar month into four sections of approximately seven days each. Each day was then associated with a planet and god. Some historians believe associating the days of the week with the planets originated with the ancient Egyptians. Christianity and Islam adopted the seven day week from Judaism. Both chose worship days, the day of rest, separate from the Jews…the Christians chose Sunday and the Muslims chose Friday…both days touched the original Sabbath day of Saturday. Later the Greeks and Romans and other European and Asian countries adopted the seven day week system and named the days after the Sun and Moon, planets, and various gods.
Sunday metal: gold energy: masculine planet: Sun astrological sign: Leo angel: Michael colors: gold, yellow, orange, white plants: marigold, heliotrope, sunflower, buttercup, cedar, beech, oak stones: carnelian, citrine, tiger’s eye, amber, clear quartz, red agate oil: cedar, frankincense, neroli, rosemary incense: lemon, frankincense
Monday metal: silver energy: feminine planet: Moon astrological sign: Cancer angel: Gabriel colors: white, silver, gray plants: night flowers, willow root, orris root, Birch, motherwort, vervain, white rose stones: carnelian, moonstone, aquamarine, pearl, clear quartz, fluorite, geodes oil: jasmine, lemon, sandalwood incense: african violet, honeysuckle, myrtle, willow, wormwood
Tuesday metal: iron energy: masculine planet: Mars astrological sign: Aries and Scorpio angel: Samuel colors: red and orange plants: pepper, red rose, cock’s comb, pine, daisy, thyme stones: carnelian, bloodstone, ruby, garnet, pink tourmaline oil: basil, coriander, ginger incense: dragon’s blood, patchouli
Wednesday metal: mercury energy: masculine planet: Mercury and Chiron (a moon of Pluto) astrological sign: Virgo angel: Raphael colors: orange, light blue, grey, yellow, violet plants: fern, lavender, hazel, cherry, periwinkle stones: aventurine, bloodstone, hematite, moss agate, sodalite oil: benzoin, clary sage, eucalyptus, lavender incense: jasmine, lavender, sweet pea
Thursday metal: tin energy: masculine planet: Jupiter astrological sign: Sagittarius and Pisces angel: Sachiel colors: purple, royal blue, indigo plants: cinnamon, beech, buttercup, coltsfoot, oak stones: sugilite, amethyst, turquoise, lapis lazuli, sapphire oil: clove, lemon balm, oak moss, star anise incense: cinnamon, musk, nutmeg, sage
Friday metal: copper energy: feminine planet: Venus astrological sign: Libra and Taurus angel: Ariel colors: green, pink, aqua plants: ivy, birch, heather, clematis, sage, violet, water lily stones: rose quartz, moonstone, pink tourmaline, peridot, emerald, jade oil: cardamom, palmrosa, rose, yarrow incense: strawberry, sandalwood, rose, saffron, vanilla
Saturday metal: lead energy: feminine planet: Saturn astrological sign: Capricorn and Aquarius angel: Cassiel colors: black, grey, indigo plants: moss, hemlock, wolfsbane, coltsfoot, nightshade, fir stones: jet, smokey quartz, amethyst, black onyx, snowflake obsidian, lava, pumice oil: cypress, mimosa, myrrh, patchouli incense: black poppy seed. myrrh
Esoteric astrology Esoteric astrology is based on Alice Bailey’s “Ageless Wisdom” teachings, which she said were relayed by her Tibetan Ascended Master, Djwhal Khul.[76][77] “The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, has provided a significant foundation for a more Soul-oriented approach to astrology and to the Life it seeks to symbolize and interpret.”[78] Esoteric astrologers typically base their work on Bailey’s five-volume series, Treatise on the Seven Rays. The third book in the series, Esoteric Astrology,[79] is considered to be the foundation for esoteric astrologers world wide.”[80] Esoteric astrology’s system of planetary rulerships differs from that of conventional astrology, involves planets not conventionally used, and replaces the house system with a system of crosses with highly individualized meanings and multiple levels of interpretation. Esoteric astrology incorporates elements of esotericism related to astrology and theory of Seven Rays.[81] According to Bailey, the following are the houses and their planetary rulers:[82]
The constitution of man[edit source | editbeta] In line with previous Theosophical teachings,[83] Bailey taught that man consists of a soul of abstract mental material, working through a personality—a technical term for the physical, emotional, and less-abstract mental bodies considered holistically.[84][85] She uses traditional terms for these lower three “vehicles” or “sheaths”: physical body, astral body and mental body. There is also the etheric body which directly corresponds to the physical but is the vital energizing agent for the whole of a man in all his forms of expression. These auric aspects of the human being are defined as partial emanations or expressions of the soul, which is itself synonymous with the evolving human consciousness. The mind is not conceived to be simply an ephemeral brain effect, but as the motivating energy responsible for the inner constitution of individuals, and which also manifest as the aura.[86] In Bailey’s writings, evolution is defined as the process of bringing the “lower nature” his physical, emotional, and mental selves into integration and alignment with the will of the soul—the “at-one-ment” of the personality.[87] It is this transformation that leads to “right human relations” and spiritual revelation or awakening. Discrete steps on the spiritual path are called initiations, which is to say that the evolving consciousness is entering into new and wider fields of awareness, relationships, responsibilities, and power.[88][89] In terms of her ray concept, the note of the soul is imposed (or superimposed) on the note of the personality.[84][90] The Spiritual Hierarchy, Shamballa, Venus, and Sirius[edit source | editbeta] Bailey wrote that behind all human evolution stands a brotherhood of enlightened souls who have guided and aided humanity throughout history.[91] For Bailey, the evolution of humanity was intimately bound up with its relationship to this Spiritual Hierarchy. She believed that the stimulating and uplifting influences of religions, philosophies, sciences, educational movements, and human culture in general are the result of this relationship,[92] and though in time humanity debases all these developments, they are all in their original impetus conceived as the result of the Spiritual Hierarchy working in concert with evolving human potentials.[93][94][95] Bailey associated the spiritual hierarchy and its branches with the system of Sirius, the planet Venus, and the mythical land of Shambhala (which she spelled “Shamballa”), the residence ofSanat Kumara, “Lord of the World”. Bailey wrote, “The energy of Sirius by-passes (to use a modern word) Shamballa and is focused in the Hierarchy. […] The entire work of the Great White Lodge is controlled from Sirius….”[96] Monica Sjoo, in an essay about the New Age movement, explained her interpretation that “Bailey taught that the Hierarchy of Masters exists in Shambhala and that Venusians founded this fabled city some 18 million years ago on the sacred Gobi island, which is now in the Mongolian desert.”[97] It may be noted here that, in Bailey’s concept, “city” is figurative since she states that Shamballa is not physical in the common usage of that word but is rather located in “higher ethers.”[98] Teachings regarding Maitreya[edit source | editbeta] In the Alice A. Bailey material, she asserts that World War II was a cosmic conflict between good and evil. The Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, representing the Forces of Light, were on the side of the Allies; the Dark Forces were on the side of the Axis. According to Bailey, Adolf Hitler was possessed by the Dark Forces.[99] With the defeat of the axis by the allies in 1945, the stage was set for the appearance of the being traditional Theosophists call Maitreya, but whom Alice A. Bailey refers to simply as Christ, to inaugurate the New Age. In January 1946, Bailey prophesied that since, according to her view, Christ (the name she used in her writings to refer to Maitreya) would return himself by manifesting a physical body of his own on the physical plane,[100] Bailey in her books wrote that this would be the New Age equivalent of the Christian concept of the Second Coming of Christ.[101] She further stated that St. Germain (referred to as the Master Rakoczi or the Master R. in her books) is the manager of the executive council of Christ.[102] This executive council is a specific group of Ascended master charged with preparing the way for the Christ and the consequent inauguration of the Age of Aquarius. According to Bailey, when Christ returns, he will stay the entire approximately 2,150 year period of the Age of Aquarius, and thus the New Age equivalent of the Millennial Age will not be just a single millennium but will be the Aquarian bimillennium. During this era, said Bailey, Christ (Maitreya) will reign as the spiritual leader of Earth, the Messiah who will bring World Peace.[101] In August 1946, DK through Bailey stated that Christ would return in an airplane, and thus fulfill the Christian prophesy of coming out of the clouds from “the place on Earth where He has been for many generations” and that after doing so, he would appear on worldwide television.[103] The Great Invocation[edit source | editbeta] The Great Invocation is a mantra given in 1937 to Bailey by Djwhal Khul. The mantra begins with “From the point of Light within the Mind of God, let light stream forth into the minds of men.” with the rest of the passage reinforcing this idea of men acting in accordance with the plan of God. It is well known by some followers of the New Age movement, where it is used as part of meditation, particularly in groups.[104] The invocation has been used in the Findhorn Foundation community since the 1970s. In response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Great Invocation was used as a central element of a new daily program at Findhorn known as the “Network of Light meditations for peace”.[105] Findhorn’s use of the Great Invocation later spun off to various other groups they had influenced, including groups interested in new age UFO philosophies.[106][107] Rosemary Keller described the Great Invocation as a call for “the Christ to return to Earth” and wrote that Bailey-related groups purchased radio and television time to broadcast the invocation as part of their mission, and that often the invocation was recited in what Keller called “light groups”, to accomplish what Bailey’s disciples considered to be attracting and focusing “spiritual energies to benefit the planet”.[11] Researcher Hannah Newman described what she found to be an antisemitic element in the Great Invocation. According to Newman, “the Plan” named in the invocation refers to the plan authored by “the Hierarchy”, that Newman states places “high priority on removing all Jewish presence and influence from human consciousness, a goal to be achieved by eliminating Judaism.”[6] Discipleship and service[edit source | editbeta] Bailey elaborated the relation of humanity to the Hierarchy in her teaching on Discipleship in the New Age. A disciple is an accepted student, or chela, in the spiritual ashram of a Master. In this scheme, all awakening souls stand in some relationship—for a long time unconsciously, but eventually in full conscious awareness—to some particular Master.[108][109] The integrated personality, coming under the influence of the soul, is simultaneously coming under the influence of this Master.[110] This relationship is determined by karma, by evolutionary status, and (most importantly) by the aspirant’s capacity for work to be done on behalf of humanity.[111] This service aspect is strongly emphasized throughout Bailey’s writings.[112] In her concept, the greatly increased (“stepped-up”) evolution of consciousness that results from this Master–pupil relationship is made possible only in and through service to humanity. Bailey’s writing downplayed the traditional devotional and aspirational aspects of the spiritual life, in favor of serving “the Plan of the Hierarchy” by serving humanity.[113] According to her, this is primary, and everything hinges upon it.[114] For Bailey, discipleship means work—service—and the evolution of those sensitivities and powers that enhance that labor. Disciples will never gain such powers or awareness unless and until they will be used solely for unselfish service. (Bailey, p. 38) Unity and divinity of nations and groups[edit source | editbeta] Underlying Alice Bailey’s writing is the central concepts of unity and divinity.[115][116][117][118] Although she often identified groups of people by their race, nationality, or religion, she said the key matter was not race or religion per se, but the evolution of consciousness that transcends these labels.[119] In her writings about the races, she focused on the humanitarian concept of unity and stated that the source of human problems is the spirit of separation that causes individuals and groups to set themselves apart from the rest of humanity. (Bailey, p. 375) Ross describes Bailey’s teachings as emphasizing the “underlying unity of all forms of life”, and the “essential oneness of all religions, of all departments of science, and of all the philosophies.”[120] Campbell notes that the New Group of World Servers was established for “… promotion of international understanding, economic sharing, and religious unity.”[50] On fanaticism and intolerance[edit source | editbeta] Alice Bailey wrote strongly against all forms of fanaticism and intolerance.[121] She saw this fanaticism in churches, in nationalism, and in competing esoteric schools. (Bailey pp. 15 & 453)[122]She associated this fanaticism with unintelligent devotion and holding on to old ways and ancient theologies. Bailey indicated that these problems were found mostly in the older generations, that their fanaticism would limit their personal growth and that they would mostly find a solution for that limitation through devotion, and the forward movement of spiritual evolution.[123] Racial theories[edit source | editbeta] Bailey upheld theories of racial differentiation that posited a division of humanity into races that are on different levels in a “ladder of evolution”. These ‘races’ do not represent a national or physical type, but a state of evolution. For example, she states that the Aryan root race (or ‘5th race’), as an “emerging new race”, are the most recently evolved people on Earth, although the term ‘Aryan’ as used by her has a quite distinct meaning from the separative and racist use of the word. It refers not only to Caucasian peoples, but to origins in Indo-Persia, and indicates a culture where thought and intellect is dominant. In her book Education in the New Age, Bailey made predictions about the use of occult racial theories in the schools of the future, which she said would be based on the idea of ‘root races’ (originally vast prehistoric spans of time covering thousands of years when a particular human facet was being developed) such as Lemurians(physically adept), Atlanteans (emotionally adept), Aryans (mentally adept), and the New Race with “group qualities and consciousness and idealistic vision.”[124] However, she holds that the forthcoming ‘sixth sub-race’ (evolving from facets of current ‘fifth race’ intellectual culture) cannot reach its peak until the ‘sixth race’ proper (due many thousands of years hence), and may therefore not be the advance some of her New Age followers wish for. In her The Destiny of the Nations, Bailey described a process by which this “new race” will evolve, after which “low grade human bodies will disappear, causing a general shift in the racial types toward a higher standard.”[125] Her writings were criticized by Victor Shnirelman, a cultural anthropologist and ethnographer, who in a survey of modern Neopaganism in Russia, drew particular attention to “… groups [that] take an extremely negative view of multi-culturalism, object to the ‘mixture’ of kinds, [and] support isolationism and the prohibition of immigration.” He noted that a number of Bailey’s books, as well as those of her contemporary Julius Evola, had been recently translated into Russian, and said that “… racist and antisemitic trends are explicit, for example, in the occult teachings of Alice Bailey and her followers, who wish to cleanse Christianity of its ‘Jewish inheritance’ and reject the ‘Jewish Bible’ as a prerequisite for entering the Age of Aquarius.”.[126] Monica Sjöö, a Swedish-born British artist, writer, and supporter of the Goddess movement, wrote that Bailey, through her published teachings, had a “reactionary and racist influence on the whole New Age movement.”[127] She also noted what she called Bailey’s (and Theosophy’s) “pro-fascist religious views”, such as the belief in a secret elite of “Masters” who control world events and human minds through occult means and attempt to bring about the evolution of an Aryan super race (although this is an understandably modern misunderstanding of her teaching – ‘Aryan’ as used by Bailey is easily confused with the modern terminology, and the “Masters” are not an elite, but instead are ‘enlightened’ individuals originally introduced in theosophy as having evolved beyond the human or “4th kingdom” into the fifth or “Kingdom of souls”, and who – in her view – guide the human race as a whole).[128] On the Negro race[edit source | editbeta] Bailey stated that the Negro race contains a large number of “child souls”, leading lives of “physical activity motivated by the desire for satisfaction of some kind, and by a shallow “wish-life” or desire nature, and almost entirely oriented towards the physical life.”[129] She also wrote of the need for the white races to train the Negroes of Africa so that they will be fitted for true self-government.[130] She described Negro people as “creative, artistic and capable of the highest mental development when taught and trained – as capable as is the white man;” and she emphasized the need for the white races to accord the Negro “the respect and the opportunity which is due him”, stating that “The future peace of the world depends today upon enlightened, farseeing statesmanship and an appreciation of the fact that God has made all men free.”[131] She wrote that what she described as “the Negro Problem” is divided into two areas: “the problem of the future of the African Negro and the problem of the future of the Negro in the western hemisphere.”[132] On “the Negro problem” in Africa[edit source | editbeta] Bailey considered the indigenous people of Africa to be in the “embryonic stage” of evolutionary development, and wrote that, “Behind the many separative religious cults of that dark land, there emerges a fundamental and pure mysticism, ranging all the way from nature worship and a primitive animism to a deep occult knowledge and an esoteric understanding which may some day make Africa the seat of the purest form of occult teaching and living.”[132] She said that “Right human relations must be firmly established between the emerging Negro empire and the rest of the world; the new ideals and the new world trends must be fostered in the receptive Negro consciousness and in this way darkest Africa will become a radiant center of light, ready for self-government and expressing true freedom.” On “the Negro problem” in the Americas[edit source | editbeta] Regarding the relations between the Negro race and other races in the Western Hemisphere, Bailey wrote that it “constitutes a very ugly story, seriously implicates the white man and provides an outstanding disgrace”, and that “The white people face a grave responsibility and it lies in their hands to change conditions.”[133] She was a vocal advocate of humane treatment and equal rights for the Negro race, acknowledged that they had been subject to much cruelty and exploitation by the white race, but also said that good had come of this for Negroes and described reason for optimism regarding their future prospects.[132] She advocated improvement in the situation of the Negro in the United States, calling for the people of America to end discrimination, to accept the Negro population as brothers and friends and thereby bring about positive change.[133] She wrote that in the black peoples’ attempt to resolve their problem of separation in society, “the spiritual forces of the world are on the side of the Negro.”[134] On the Jewish people[edit source | editbeta] Bailey wrote much about the Jewish people, referring to them collectively as a race, with group karma, characteristics, and behaviors. Specifically, she was of the opinion that Jews embody the characteristics of “materialism, cruelty and a spiritual conservatism” and the “separative, selfish, lower concrete mind.”[135][136] On the social characteristics of the Jews[edit source | editbeta] Bailey described Jews as “the most reactionary and conservative race in the world”, explaining this as a result of their need to preserve their cultural identity as a wandering people under persecution. She wrote that, “People complain (and it is frequently true) the Jews lower the atmosphere of any district in which they reside. They hang their bedding and their clothing out of the windows. They live on the streets, sitting in groups on the sidewalks.”[16] She wrote that Jews “take what they want, to see to it that their children get the best of everything available, no matter what the cost to others”; they “blame the non-Jewish nations for their miseries”; and, “The Jew needs to recognize his share in bringing about the dislike which hounds him everywhere.”[137] She stated that even though the Jews are “possessed of great wealth and influence”, they create “dissension among the nations” and “almost abusive, demands for the Gentile to shoulder the entire blame and end the difficulty.”[137] On “the Jewish problem”[edit source | editbeta] Bailey said that what she called the “Jewish problem”[138][139] was the result of negative karma accumulated by the Jews due to “acts and deeds there claimed by him as his racial acts and deeds (conquest, terrorism and cruelty)…” and wrote that the solution to this “problem” will come “…when the races regard the Jewish problem as a humanitarian problem but also when the Jew does his share of understanding, love and right action. This he [the Jew] does not yet do, speaking racially.”[135] Before World War II, she wrote: “The major racial problem has, for many centuries, been the Jewish, which has been brought to a critical point by Germany…”;[140] that the Jews “constitute an international minority of great aggressiveness, exceedingly vocal”;[141] and that while they are an ancient, civilized and cultured people, their problems as a “struggling minority” are the result of “certain inherent characteristics”, and the “untidy effect they have on any community”.[142] In 1939, as World War II began, Bailey wrote that “the Jewish problem, is definitely producing cleavage as a part of the divine plan… to bring humanity to certain realizations and decisions.”[143] In 1948, after the war and the Holocaust, she wrote that “there are eighty percent of other people in the concentration camps, only twenty percent Jews”, and that Jews have not only repudiated the Messiah, but they have forgotten their unique relation to humanity.[125][144] Bailey wrote critically about hatred of the Jews and predicted a future in which Jews would “fuse and blend with the rest of mankind.”[145] In her autobiography, she stated that she had been on Hitler’s “blacklist”, and she believed this had been because of her defense of the Jews during her lectures throughout Europe.[146] She criticized the cruelty of “the Gentile” (non-Jewish people) for their treatment of the Jews, stating “great is his responsibility for wrong doing and cruel action.”[147] Bailey further stated that the Jews were themselves responsible for the bad treatment they received, “Changed inner attitudes are needed on both sides, but very largely on the side of the Jews.” She was aware of and accepted the controversial nature of her comments in this regard.[137] On interracial marriage[edit source | editbeta] Bailey wrote regarding interracial marriage that “the best and soundest thinkers in both the white and black races at this time deplore mixed marriages. They mean no happiness for either party.” She advised against intermarriage between Caucasians and Asians but said that children of interracial unions would be unavoidable following World War II due to the actions of what she called the “inevitable promiscuity” of the armies. She wrote that “children of mixed race, as well as the half-castes and the Eurasians may be the answer to a large part of the problem. There will be hundreds of thousands of these children of mixed parentage, forming part of the world population in the next generation and immediate cycle and they are a group with which we will have to reckon.”[148] While she believed that intermarriage would not solve what she called “the Negro problem”,[149] she implied this might change and on this issue, “I make no prophecy about the future.”[150] Her comments on the topic of interracial marriage are conflicting: On the one hand she suggested that mixed marriages have unhappy effects, on the other hand she seemed to view them as positive and contributing to the solution of racial tensions.[151] Elsewhere she wrote that marriages are rooted in soul relationships,[152] and that intermarriage in general is not a solution to racial problems but that the solution lies in appreciation of the good qualities found in groups other than one’s own.[153] Her contrary statements thus reflect the mixed and emerging views of the time in which she was writing. On nationalism and nations[edit source | editbeta] Bailey criticized national groups, based on what she believed were their violations of the spirit of unity and brotherhood. She believed that an individual’s primary allegiance is to humanity and not to any subgroup within it: “I call you to no organizational loyalties, but only to love your fellowmen, be they German, American, Jewish, British, French, Negro or Asiatic.”[154] On the United States and France[edit source | editbeta] While praising the United States and France in some respects, Bailey saw in them political corruption.[155][156] She regarded the talk about a free press as largely an illusory ideal and stated, “… particularly is it absent in the United States, where parties and publishers dictate newspaper policies.”[157] On Israel, Zionism, and the U.S.S.R.[edit source | editbeta] Regarding the foundation of the modern nation of Israel after World War II, Bailey said that “The Jews, by their illegal and terrorist activities, have laid a foundation of great difficulty for those who are seeking to promote world peace.”[158] Bailey criticized Zionism, comparing it with the Stalinist regime: “Zionism today stands for aggression and for the use of force, and the keynote is permission to take what you want irrespective of other people or of their inalienable rights. These points of view are against the position of the spiritual leaders of humanity, and therefore the leaders of the Zionist movement, and the group of men who direct and control the policies of Russia, are against the policies of the spiritual Hierarchy and are contrary to the lasting good of mankind. … The menace to world freedom today lies in the known policies of the rulers of the U.S.S.R. and in the devious and lying machinations of the Zionists.”[159] On the “present world crisis”[edit source | editbeta] Bailey said, “We could take the nations, one by one, and observe how this nationalistic, separative or isolationist spirit, emerging out of an historical past, out of racial complexes, out of territorial position, out of revolt and out of possession of material resources, has brought about the present world crisis and cleavage and this global clash of interests and ideals.”[160] In 1947, in listing the causes of world conflict, she cited the fight for oil, and the fight over Palestine, “[…] a fight which has greed and not any love of Palestine behind it, and which is governed by financial interests and not by the humanitarian spirit which the Zionists claim […]”.[161] On organized religions[edit source | editbeta] Bailey taught a form of universal spirituality that transcended denominational identification, believing that, “Every class of human beings is a group of brothers. Catholics, Jews, Gentiles, occidentals and orientals are all the sons of God.” She stated that all religions originate from the same spiritual source, and that humanity will eventually come to realize this, and as they do so, the result will be the emergence of a universal world religion and a “new world order.”[162][163] Bailey described a world where there would be no separate religions but rather “one great body of believers.” She predicted that these believers would accept unified truths based on brotherhood and “divine sonship”, and would “cooperate with the divine Plan, revealed to them by the spiritual leaders of the race.” She wrote that this was not a distant dream but a change that was actually occurring during the time of her writing. (Bailey, p 140) Despite her focus on unity of religion, Bromley and Hammond point out that Bailey and other “occultists” “…hammered home the central idea, ‘The East is the true home of spiritual knowledge and occult wisdom.'”[164] Author Steven Sutcliffe wrote that Bailey’s “World Goodwill” organization was promoting groups of “world servers” to, as he quotes Bailey, “serve the Plan, Humanity, the Hierarchy and the Christ.”[165] On Judaism[edit source | editbeta] Bailey was highly critical of Judaism. She wrote: “The word ‘love’ as it concerns relation to other people is lacking in their religious presentation, though love of Jehovah is taught with due threats; the concept of a future life, dependent upon conduct and behavior to others and on right action in the world of men, is almost entirely lacking in The Old Testament and teaching on immortality is nowhere emphasized; salvation is apparently dependent upon the keeping of numerous physical laws and rules related to physical cleanliness; they go so far as to establish retail shops where these rules are kept – in a modern world where scientific methods are applied to purity in food. All these and other factors of less importance set the Jew apart, and these he enforces no matter how obsolete they are or inconvenient to others.”[166] Because of writings like these, the American Chassidic author Rabbi Yonassan Gershom wrote that Bailey’s plan for a New World Order and her call for “the gradual dissolution—again if in any way possible—of the Orthodox Jewish faith” revealed that “her goal is nothing less than the destruction of Judaism itself.” Gershom also wrote that “This stereotyped portrayal of Jews is followed by a hackneyed diatribe against the Biblical Hebrews, based upon the “angry Jehovah” theology of nineteenth-century Protestantism. Jews do not, and never have, worshipped an angry vengeful god, and we Jews never, ever call God “Jehovah.”[167] On Christianity[edit source | editbeta] Bailey wrote of “the return of the Christ”, but her concept had little in common with that of mainstream Christian churches. Bailey almost always used the phrase “the Christ” when not referring specifically to the Christian idea. For her, the leadership of the Hierarchy is an “office” (so to speak), to be occupied by Masters in the course of Their unfolding evolution. She saw the Christ as a great “Person”, embodying the energy of love, and His return as the awakening of that energy in human consciousness.[168] She also introduced the ideas that the new Christ might be “of no particular faith at all”, that he may be from any nation, race, or religion, and wrote that his purpose of returning will be to “restore man’s faith in the Father’s love” in a close personal relationship with “all men everywhere”.[169] She stated that no one particular group can claim Him—that the New Age Christ belongs to whole world, and not to Christians alone, or to any nation or group. (Bailey, p 109) Bailey was highly critical of mainstream Christianity; she wrote that much of the Church’s teaching about Christ’s return is directly opposed to His own intentions and that “The history of the Christian nations and of the Christian church has been one of an aggressive militancy” (Bailey, p 110) Influence[edit source | editbeta] Alice Bailey’s influence can be seen on the groups she founded, on a variety of religious and spiritual authors, and on groups that have utilized her writings in their own teachings. Groups founded by Bailey or her followers[edit source | editbeta] The Arcane School, founded by Alice and Foster Bailey to disseminate spiritual teachings, organizes a worldwide “Triangles” program to bring people together in groups of three, for daily meditation and study. Their belief is that they receive divine energy through meditation; this energy is transmitted to humanity, so raising spiritual awareness.[170] John Michael Greer’s New Encyclopedia of the Occult states that the school “seeks to develop a New Group of World Servers to accomplish the work of the Hierarchy of Masters, under the guidance of its head, the Christ.”[171] Influence on the New Age Movement[edit source | editbeta] Bailey made extensive use of the term “New Age” in her books and some writers have described her as the founder of the New Age movement.[4][126][172] However The New Age was used as the title of a Journal of Christian liberalism and Socialism, published as early as 1894, predating Bailey’s use of the term.[173][174] James R. Lewis and J. Gordon Melton, in Perspectives on the New Age wrote, “The most important—though certainly not the only—source of this transformative metaphor, as well as the term “New Age”, was Theosophy, particularly as the Theosophical perspective was mediated to the movement by the works of Alice Bailey.”[175] Sir John Sinclair, in his book The Alice Bailey Inheritance, commented on the seminal influence of Alice Bailey, which, he said, underlies the consciousness growth movement in the 20th century.[176] Influence on neopaganism[edit source | editbeta] Several writers have mentioned the affinity of some of Bailey’s concepts with modern expressions of paganism.[177][178] During the 1960s and 1970s, the neopagan author and ceremonial magic ritualist Caroll Poke Runyon published a magazine called The Seventh Ray, its name taken from the writings of Alice Bailey. In the 1990s, two volumes of collected articles from the magazine were published as The Seventh Ray Book I, The Blue Ray and The Seventh Ray Book II, the Red Ray. Influence on women in religion[edit source | editbeta] Author Catherine Wessinger wrote that Bailey was a liberated woman “… sixty years before it became popular”; that Bailey’s books expressed a similar “millennial view” to the works of Annie Besant; and that they were “an important source of the contemporary New Age movement.”[179] According to the Encyclopedia of Women And Religion in North America, several leaders of New Age philosophy have further developed Bailey’s teachings, including the well-known personalitiesJZ Knight (who channels the entity known by the name Ramtha), Helen Schucman (author of A Course in Miracles through the process of telepathic dictation she called “scribing”),and Elizabeth Clare Prophet (who published what she referred to as “dictations from Ascended Masters”). The “Tibetan” teacher, Djwhal Khul, whom Bailey claimed was the co-author of many of her books, has also been claimed as co-author by two new female channelers, Violet Starre and Moriah Marston. Starre claims to have channeled Bailey’s old teacher twice: the title of her first book, Diamond Light, Cosmic Psychology of Being, 4th Dimension, 7 Rays & More, owes an obvious debt to Bailey’s writings, and is sometimes listed in book catalogues under the full title “Diamond Light, Cosmic Psychology of Being, 4th Dimension, 7 Rays & More (Teachings Similar to Those Given to Alice A. Bailey) by Djwhal (channeled Through Violet Starre) Khul.”.[180] The same influence can also be seen in Starre’s The Amethyst Light: Djwhal Khul Through Violet Starre, published in 2004. Marston’s Soul Searching with Djwahl Khul, the Tibetan, was published in 2006, and according to her publisher, Airleaf Books, “She has been a conscious channel for Ascended Master Djwhal Khul since 1986.” Influence on psychotherapy and healing[edit source | editbeta] In 1930, with the patronage of English-Dutch spiritualist, theosophist and scholar Olga Froebe-Kapteyn, Bailey established the short-lived “School of Spiritual Research” located on Froebe-Kapteyn’s estate, Casa Gabriella, in Switzerland. (In 1932 the school was closed due to personal conflict between Bailey and Froebe-Kapteyn, at which time Froebe-Kapteyn replaced it with theEranos group.) Roberto Assagioli, founder of Psychosynthesis, was a lecturer at School of Spiritual Research.[181] He continued a close association with Bailey during the 1930s; some of his writings were published in Bailey’s magazine The Beacon; and he was a trustee of Bailey’s organization, the Lucis Trust.[182] He had developed his approach to psychology, called Psychosynthesis, beginning in 1910; his methods were later influenced by some elements of Bailey’s work.[183][184][185][186][187] However, authors John Firman and Ann Gila write that Assagioli kept what he referred to as a “wall of silence” between the areas of psychosynthesis and religion or metaphysics, insisting that they not be confused with each other.[188] Roger J. Woolger said, in a paper presented to the “Beyond the Brain” Conference held at Cambridge University in 1999, “In Tansley as in Brennan you will find descriptions of a hierarchy of subtle bodies called the etheric, emotional, mental and spiritual that surround the physical body. (Interestingly Tansley attributed the source of his model to Alice Bailey’s theosophical commentary on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the locus classicus of Hindu teaching.)”[189] Bailey’s influence can be found in therapeutic communities with which she was never directly involved, such as the Human Potential Movement.[11] Influence on UFO groups[edit source | editbeta] Christopher Partridge wrote that the works of Bailey, Rudolf Steiner, and Theosophy in general all influenced what he called the “UFO religions“.[190] He explained that “…Theosophy has several prominent branches, and, strictly speaking, the branch which has had the most important influence on the UFO religion is that developed by Alice Bailey.”.[191] Partridge also quoted Gordon Melton, who suggested that the first UFO religion was Guy Ballard‘s “I Am” Activity,[190] which Bailey described as a “cheap comedy.”[192] Professor Robert S. Ellwood of the University of Southern California investigated a wide range of religious and spiritual groups in the United States during the 1970s, including a nationwide group of UFO believers called Understanding, Inc., which had been founded by a contactee named Daniel Fry. He reported that, “There is no particular religious practice connected with the meeting, although interestingly the New Age Prayer derived from the Alice Bailey writings is used as an invocation.”[193] George D. Chryssides of the University of Wolverhampton, cited Bailey’s influence on the ideas of the Order of the Solar Temple and related UFO organisations.[194] Benjamin Creme, formerly a member of the UFO religion the Aetherius Society, became a follower of Alice A. Bailey and then proclaimed in 1975 that he had been contacted by Maitreya to prepare for the return of Maitreya to Earth that had been prophesied by Alice A. Bailey in 1946. Alice A. Bailey prophesied in January 1946 that (since Jiddu Krishnamurti had repudiated the“World Teacher Project”) Christ (in her books she refers to Maitreya as The Christ or The World Teacher, not as Maitreya) would return himself by manifesting a physical body of his own on thephysical plane “sometime after AD 2025”[195] and that this would be the New Age equivalent of the Christian concept of the Second Coming of Christ[196] (See Maitreya (Benjamin Creme)). Esoteric astrology[edit source | editbeta] Whereas most astrology focuses on the personality, the esoteric astrology of Alice Bailey seeks to explain the soul and its desire for spiritual evolution.[197][198] Esoteric astrology is grounded in Bailey’s (Djwhal’s) Ageless Wisdom teachings.[199][200] According to one writer, “The Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul, has provided a significant foundation for a more Soul-oriented approach to astrology and to the Life it seeks to symbolize and interpret.”[78] The esoteric astrologers who follow the teachings of Bailey typically base their work on her five-volume Treatise on the Seven Rays, particularly volume three which focuses on astrology.[80] In esoteric astrology the seven rays are applied to the astrological signs and planets, with a corresponding “soul urge”, in the following manner (taken from Oken[80]). Soul Urge: “The use of spiritual will for the benefit of the collective; power utilized for the purpose of enhancing unity and beauty; the expression of will for the purposes and being of the group.” (p. 105) Soul Urge: “The urge to bring about a sustaining, loving wholeness to any group or life situation; the ability, through magnetic attraction, to bring about healing; the focus for the stimulation of consciousness, and hence for greater love/wisdom; the ability to see beyond differences into unifying principles.” (p. 110) Soul Urge: “The birthing of ideas to benefit humanity; the structuring of time and activities to allow for group energies to flourish; inherent, objective intelligence ready to be used in service to humanity in all ways.” (p. 114)
Soul Urge: “The ‘Divine Artist’ – one who seeks to raise humanity’s consciousness through the realization of the beauty and harmony existing in nature and in the world of forms; the mediator between heaven and earth, God and man; the Priest.” (p. 122)
Soul Urge: “Those who work to be connecting links of intelligence between the abstract world of pure ideation and the concrete world of practical application; precision and exactitude in creating those forms and inventions which allow for the outpouring of Higher-Mind Intelligence.” (p. 127)
Soul Urge: “The urge to transform selfish and personal motivation into selfless, impersonal devotion for the good of all; the bringing about of circumstances which reorient the exclusive to the inclusive for the greater expression of Love/Wisdom.” (p. 133) Soul Urge: “The urge to gather, formulate, and harmonize various aspects of a given set of life circumstances into an ordered expression for the Will of God; the urge to make ‘heaven on earth.'” (p. 139) The planetary and house rulers differ in esoteric astrology as compared to exoteric astrology. The esoteric planetary and house rulers are to be used when a person is analyzing the soul’s purpose or journey through life. According to Djwhal Khul (Alice Bailey), here are the rulers.[82]
Alice Bailey wrote in Esoteric Astrology, “The human being in his eventual recognized group relationships is of more importance than appears in his individual life, which the orthodox horoscope seeks to elucidate. It only determines his little destiny and unimportant fate. Esoteric astrology indicates his group usefulness and the scope of his potential consciousness.” Esoteric Healing[edit source | editbeta] Esoteric healing is a major subject in the philosophical writings of Alice Bailey. It is contained in the fourth volume of “The Treatise on the Seven Rays”.[201] The primary emphasis of esoteric healing is not on the physical body or any of the three personality bodies of the human being (physical, emotional, mental), but on the soul. It is the soul that heals. This is stated in the “Law One of Esoteric Healing”: “All disease is the result of inhibited soul life. This is true of all forms in all kingdoms. The art of the healer consists in releasing the soul so that its life can flow through the aggregate of organisms which constitute any particular form.” The primary healing ray is ray two. More advanced esoteric healing allows the practitioner to work with their own soul ray and the soul ray of the patient. Volume IV (Esoteric Healing) was first published in 1953. It took until the 1970s for a group to adequately assimilate the teachings and begin to put it into practice. Brenda Johnston founded the International Health Research Network in 1971. In 1984 the group became a registered charity in UK, with its name changed to the International Network of Esoteric Healing (INEH). The international group remains small but it has spread to about 20 countries with training of students by trained teachers of esoteric healing, esoteric healing clinics, national and international conferences annually. They also have a biannual Journal. Although INEH requires membership of its organization, esoteric healing remains open to anyone wishing to practice the art. Zodiac flower signs are based on the astrological zodiac signs. These are provided here as another method of self-discovery. Flowers offer us a blossoming perspective into our personalities. When we see ourselves as ever expanding and growing flowers, we know that we are infused with infinite potential. Associating our personality with our zodiac flower signs also allows us to accept various phases in our lives. Even though our personalities can be trying at times, our flower signs remind us that every season has its peaks and valleys. Our flower signs are born, grow, and wither only to re-germinate and start the business of growth and expansion once again. As you read through your zodiac flower sign, remember these cycles. Remember that just like the flowers of the field we all grow at our own pace. We cannot force the flower to blossom, and so we must accept our own soul-growth at its own pace too. Also, when we are first learning about astrology and the signs of the zodiac, it sometimes help to assign the traditional signs with corresponding symbols like these flowers. For example, some people will remember Below I have provided zodiac flower signs according to date of birth. I also give a catch phrase that your flower sign might use as a motto. A brief personality summary follows each sign. Keep in mind, this is just a reference. Your zodiac flower sign personality may differ according to the conditions of your soil, water, sunlight, and weather conditions. 🙂 Oh, and if you love flowers, don’t miss my pages on Flower Meanings (general), and Flower Color Meanings. Celtic tree astrology is based on the ancient idea that the time of our births is pivotal to the formation of our personality and behavior. The spiritually savvy Celts, particularly the druids were expert observers. Over time, they recognized that a child born within a certain season would develop certain qualities. Further, the druids observed patterns in the color and shape of a person’s life according to the motions of the moon (their calendar being based on a lunar year) and the season in which we are born. The system of Celtic tree astrology was developed out of a natural connection with the druid’s knowledge of earth cycles and their reverence for the sacred knowledge held by trees. As mentioned on my Celtic Meaning of Trees Page, the druids had a profound connection with trees and believed they were vessels of infinite wisdom. Carrying this concept a step forward, we can associate the likeness and personality of trees to our own human nature. By doing so, we gather inspired insight and clarity into who we are. Below I have provided my interpretation of the Celtic tree astrology signs. I hope you enjoy these perspectives as much as I did while writing them. Oh, and don’t miss my page on Celtic Animal Zodiac Signs here. Click on the pictures or links for each sign to learn more about the tree within the Celtic Ogham context
. Elder – The Seeker
Days of the Week Monday’s child is fair of face. The seven day week is thought to have originated among the ancient Babylonians. The week was developed by dividing each lunar month into four sections of approximately seven days each. Each day was then associated with a planet and god. Some historians believe associating the days of the week with the planets originated with the ancient Egyptians. Christianity and Islam adopted the seven day week from Judaism. Both chose worship days, the day of rest, separate from the Jews…the Christians chose Sunday and the Muslims chose Friday…both days touched the original Sabbath day of Saturday. Later the Greeks and Romans and other European and Asian countries adopted the seven day week system and named the days after the Sun and Moon, planets, and various gods.
Sunday metal: gold energy: masculine planet: Sun astrological sign: Leo angel: Michael colors: gold, yellow, orange, white plants: marigold, heliotrope, sunflower, buttercup, cedar, beech, oak stones: carnelian, citrine, tiger’s eye, amber, clear quartz, red agate oil: cedar, frankincense, neroli, rosemary incense: lemon, frankincense
Monday metal: silver energy: feminine planet: Moon astrological sign: Cancer angel: Gabriel colors: white, silver, gray plants: night flowers, willow root, orris root, Birch, motherwort, vervain, white rose stones: carnelian, moonstone, aquamarine, pearl, clear quartz, fluorite, geodes oil: jasmine, lemon, sandalwood incense: african violet, honeysuckle, myrtle, willow, wormwood
Tuesday metal: iron energy: masculine planet: Mars astrological sign: Aries and Scorpio angel: Samuel colors: red and orange plants: pepper, red rose, cock’s comb, pine, daisy, thyme stones: carnelian, bloodstone, ruby, garnet, pink tourmaline oil: basil, coriander, ginger incense: dragon’s blood, patchouli
Wednesday metal: mercury energy: masculine planet: Mercury and Chiron (a moon of Pluto) astrological sign: Virgo angel: Raphael colors: orange, light blue, grey, yellow, violet plants: fern, lavender, hazel, cherry, periwinkle stones: aventurine, bloodstone, hematite, moss agate, sodalite oil: benzoin, clary sage, eucalyptus, lavender incense: jasmine, lavender, sweet pea
Thursday metal: tin energy: masculine planet: Jupiter astrological sign: Sagittarius and Pisces angel: Sachiel colors: purple, royal blue, indigo plants: cinnamon, beech, buttercup, coltsfoot, oak stones: sugilite, amethyst, turquoise, lapis lazuli, sapphire oil: clove, lemon balm, oak moss, star anise incense: cinnamon, musk, nutmeg, sage
Friday metal: copper energy: feminine planet: Venus astrological sign: Libra and Taurus angel: Ariel colors: green, pink, aqua plants: ivy, birch, heather, clematis, sage, violet, water lily stones: rose quartz, moonstone, pink tourmaline, peridot, emerald, jade oil: cardamom, palmrosa, rose, yarrow incense: strawberry, sandalwood, rose, saffron, vanilla
Saturday metal: lead energy: feminine planet: Saturn astrological sign: Capricorn and Aquarius angel: Cassiel colors: black, grey, indigo plants: moss, hemlock, wolfsbane, coltsfoot, nightshade, fir stones: jet, smokey quartz, amethyst, black onyx, snowflake obsidian, lava, pumice oil: cypress, mimosa, myrrh, patchouli incense: black poppy seed. myrrh
The zodic of MarkMark.1 ariese[1] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; Mark.2[1] And again he entered into Capernaum, after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. Mark.3[1] And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. Mark.4 tarus[1] And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. gemini Mark.5[1] And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Mark.6[1] And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. cancer Mark.7[1] Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. Mark.8[1] In those days the multitude being very great, and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him, and saith unto them, [28] And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. Mark.9[1] And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. virgo Mark.10 libra[1] And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again. scorpion Mark.11 sagittarus[1] And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, capricorn Mark.12[1] And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. Mark.13 aquarius[1] And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! Mark.14[1] After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. pisces Mark.15[1] And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate. Mark.16[1] And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. |