Caduceus - Rod of Hermes - DNA

Life is about maintaining a healthy balance.

Caduceus is a winged staff with two snakes wrapped around it. It was an ancient astrological symbol of commerce and is associated with the Greek god Hermes, the messenger for the gods, conductor of the dead and protector of merchants and thieves. It was originally a herald's staff, sometimes with wings, with two white ribbons attached. The ribbons eventually evolved into snakes in the figure-eight shape.

The number eight is important to the practitioners of judicial astrology.In some cases, depictions of the Greek kerykeion can be radically different from that of the traditional caduceus. These representations will feature the two snakes atop the wand (rod), crossed to create a circle with the heads of the snakes resembling "horns." In this form, it looks remarkably similar to the symbol for the planet Mercury - while Mercury the god is the Roman name for Hermes, who carries the kerykeion, or caduceus.

In some cases, depictions of the Greek kerykeion can be radically different from that of the traditional caduceus (as in the picture at right). These representations will feature the two snakes atop the wand (rod), crossed to create a circle with the heads of the snakes resembling "horns." In this form, it looks remarkably similar to the symbol for the planet Mercury - while Mercury the god is the Roman name for Hermes, who carries the kerykeion, or caduceus.

In the seventh century, the caduceus came to be associated with a precursor of medicine, based on the Hermetic astrological principles of using the planets and stars to heal the sick.

As a symbol for medicine, the caduceus is often used interchangeably with the Rod of Asclepius (single snake, no wings), although learned opinion prefers the Rod of Asclepius, reserving the caduceus for representing commerce.

Historically, the two astrological symbols had distinct meanings in alchemical and astrological principles. Some medical organizations join the serpents of the caduceus with rungs to suggest a DNA double-helix.

The symbol's origins are thought to date to as early as 2600 BC in Mesopotamia, and there are several references to a caduceus-like symbol in the Bible, namely in Numbers 21:49, and 2 Kings 18:4. During the Exodus, Moses was instructed by God to fashion a pole upon which he was to position a serpent made of bronze; when looked upon, this Nehushtan, as it was called in Hebrew, would spare the lives of the Israelites stricken by venomous snake bites.

The intent was that people would look upward and be reminded to pray to God, but eventually the meaning was forgotten and this symbol was apparently worshiped by the Hebrew people until the reign of Hezekiah as described in 2 Kings 18:4.Walter Burkert has two figures in his book which show a rod with two intertwined snakes winding around a central axis from Mesopotamia in 2200 BC, and a similar image from Crete in 700 BC.

It was used by the astrologer priests in the Eleusinian Mysteries of ancient Greece, and has been associated with the Gnostic Corpus Hermeticum and Kundalini Yoga, where it is thought to be a symbolic representation of the "subtle" nerve channels the "ida", "pingala", and "sushumna" described in yogic kundalini physiology.

Caduceus - Wikipedia

A Magic Wand Called Caduceus

The caduceus (or magic wand) that Mercury carries consists of three elements: a rod, a pair of wings and two intertwined serpents. The rod is emblematic of power and authority. In the hands of primitive man, the largest club and the power to wield it were mighty persuaders as to just who was the leader of the tribe. The caduceus was reported to have the power of producing sleep.

According to the traditions of the Phoenician legends Misor, from whom, the Egyptians were descended, was the child of the Phoenician gods Amynus and Magus. Misor gave birth to Taaut, the god of letters, the inventor of the alphabet, and Taaut became Thoth, the god of history of the Egyptians. Sanchoniathon tells us that "Chronos (king of Atlantis) visited the South, and gave all Egypt to the god Taaut, that it might be his kingdom." "Misor" is probably the king "Mestor" named by Plato.

For the Romans, the caduceus served as a symbol of moral equilibrium and of good conduct. The wand represents power; the two snakes wisdom; the wings diligence; and the helmet is the emblem of lofty thoughts. According to esoteric Buddhism, the wand of the caduceus corresponds to the axis of the world and the serpents refer to the force called Kundalini, which, in Tantrist teaching, sleeps coiled up at the base of the backbone - a symbol of the evolutive power of pure energy.

Schneider maintains that the two S-shapes of the serpents correspond to illness and convalescence. In reality, what defines the essence of the caduceus is the nature and meaning not so much of its individual elements as of the composite whole. The precisely symmetrical and bilateral arrangement, as in the balance of Libra, or in the tri-unity of heraldry (a shield between two supporters), is always expressive of the same idea of active equilibrium, of opposing forces balancing one another in such a way as to create a higher, static form. In the caduceus, this balanced duality is twice stated: in the serpents and in the wings, thereby emphasising that supreme state of strength and self-control (and consequently of health) which can be achieved both on the lower plane of the instincts (symbolised by the serpents) and on the higher level of the spirit (represented by the wings).

According to Pike, the Caduceus It was originally a simple Cross, symbolising the equator and equincoctial Colure, and the four elements proceeding from a common centre. This Cross, surmounted by a circle, and that by a crescent, became an emblem of the Supreme Deity - or of the active power of generation and the passive power of production conjoined - and was appropriated to Thoth or Mercury. It then assumed an improved form, the arms of the Cross being changed into wings, and the circle and crescent being formed by two snakes, springing from the wand, forming a circle by crossing each other, and their heads making the horns of the crescent; in which form it is seen in the hands of Anubis. The caduceus additionally symbolises the four elements.

The caduceus "became an emblem of the Supreme Deity" and that it represented "the active power of generation and the passive power of production conjoined"? In other words, this emblem is a veiled symbol for the sex act and it is this symbol that represents the Supreme Deity of the Masons and, by extension, the Eastern Stars as well.

Eliphas Levi, the occultist whom Albert Pike plagiarised in Morals and Dogma (which we are told by Masonic author Lucien V. Rule "is the greatest single work on Masonic philosophy ever given to the world"), also mentions that the god Mercury was assigned to the parts of generation.

Blavatsky stated that the Serpents were ever the emblems of wisdom and prudence is again shown by the caduceus of Mercury. The two serpents, entwined around the rod, are phallic symbols of Jupiter and other gods who transformed themselves into snakes for purposes of seducing goddesses. The serpent has ever been the symbol of the adept, and of his powers of immortality and divine knowledge. It shows the dual power of the Secret Wisdom: the black and the white magic.

Caduceus of Thoth

Morphogenetic fields connect all living being through a constant exchange of knowledge in the Language of Light. There is also a deeper symbology to the Caduceus, and that is the Christed Consciousness of the mind, once it is fully illumined through the heart which is the true Seat of the Soul. The actual "Thoth Staff" or "Paradma" contained only the heads of the serpents. This allowed the staff itself to be handled more easily and to have sent within it more specifically placed, certain stones and power symbols. The "wings" on the original staff acted somewhat like a satellite dish, as receptors for the energies of the body that the Paradma was engaging.

Caduceus

Caduceus was used by the main priest of Eleusinian mysteries, the hidden meaning of which was dedicated to the ascension of soul into the world of Light and Truth, tells us that this power was spiritual. Eagle's wings signify the flight of the soul into celestial sphere, and the serpent in ancient times was the symbol of the spirit's descent in matter, the symbol of vital energy (here we may consider kundalini-serpent in Indian mythology, Zarathustra's staff and the eagle and serpent following him according to ancient Persians.

Caduseus

Origins of Alchemy - Alchemy's Transmission to Christendom - Levels of Alchemy - The Seed - The Dragon

Alchemy, according to esoteric writers, is said to be the invention of an ancient Egyptian sage called Hermes Trismegistus.

The "Father of Alchemy" lived in an unknown age of Egyptian history, though he is thought by some Rosicrucian schools to have lived during the time of Moses and the Exodus of the Israelites. If true, being an Initiate of the mysteries of Isis and Osiris, Moses must have been tutored by Hermes himself, which later enabled him to carry out his mission and to realize his I AM Presence symbolised by the burning bush.

The various precepts and the Ten Commandments of the Lord of Hosts revealed to the Israelites by Moses are the first alchemical steps of purification and putrefaction. Further steps were later added to the Mosaic revelation by the Nazarene Master. Indeed, the Christ declared that he came not to abolish the previous revelation, but to fulfill it.

It is thought by some that "Hermes Trismegistus" constituted a title assumed by distinguished hierophants of the Mystery Schools, in a somewhat similar manner that Zoroaster, the founder of the "Fire Religion" is regarded by certain scholars. Alchemy may also be considered a Fire Religion, or at least a philosophy, because of its symbology of fire related to the alchemical principles, its prerequisite in the art of transmutation, and to the respect and honor paid to it by alchemists.

Jewish mystics identify Hermes as the antediluvian prophet Enoch, or Idris, as the Muslims call him; while ancient Egyptians see Hermes as Thoth the god of Wisdom, Learning, and Writing.

He was given this apotheosis along with Imhotep, the great architect under the reign of King Zoser of the Fourth Dynasty. It would appear that both men were overshadowed by the archetypal figure of Thoth, and were acknowledged as such by both the inner and outer circles of initiates of the Mystery Schools. Thoth, or his Greek counterpart, Mercury, was a messenger of the gods; and as an archetypal incarnation of this god, Hermes lived up to his name by his literary productiveness.

Ancient writers declared that the "Trice Greatest" wrote thousands of books on what later became known as Hermeticism and Alchemy. It is unfortunate that very little of Hermes' works survived the conflagration and destruction of libraries and books by Roman and Christian zeal in the early dawn of the Piscean Age.

The Caduceus

Mystic gurus, when instructing disciples, sometimes adopt teaching devices to train their chelas. The Caduceus is one such device. It represents the major nadis, or subtle nervous system to be found in man's occult anatomy.

The Caduceus, or staff of Mercury, is composed of a rod with two snakes intertwined around the rod. The rod represents sushumna, an etheric counterpart of the spinal cord. Within the sushumna there are other subtle nerves, channels of refine energy; they are called by yogis "Vajrini," "Chitrini," and "Brahman."

The sushumna extends upwards and outwards into the Overself as the "Sutratma." Pingala and Ida are the two nadis depicted by the snakes. The junctions where the snakes and rod meet are symbolic of the major chakras. Vagabond yogis sometimes carry bamboo staffs with seven knots on it to represent sushumna and the chakras.

Atop of the caduceus rod is a knob; a vine creeper is sometimes attached to this knot ending somewhere midway at the staff. The protuberance represents the medulla oblongata with the vagus nerve, the creeper, connected to it. The vagus nerve ends in the thoracic region. Each of these components plays an important role in man's mystic development. They serve various spiritual functions.

Occasionally, a pair of wings are to be found appended to each side of the knob or rod. This indicates that the kundalini energy at the base of the sushumna had been raised and resurrected.

Angelic wings symbolize a superior degree of consciousness and mind. As a whole, the caduceus symbolizes regeneration and enlightenment. It further depicts the attunement of the mind of man with the Cosmic Mind.

In the ancient mystery schools, only the adepts and those of a higher standing were worthy enough to hold such a symbolic staff in their hands. Sometimes the caduceus, or versions of it, were magnetized with odic energy and atmic force.

The Thyrsus held in the hands of hierophants of the Eleusian Mystery School was one rod with such a divinequality impregnated into it. It was primarily designed to stimulate the kundalini fire of the disciples and initiates when their gurus deemed it necessary and appropriate at certain stages of their spiritual growth. The act of impregnating a mystical or religious object with divine influences is called "consecration," or "magnetization."

Some occultists interpret the caduceus as representing the Universal Magickal Agent. This magickal force is used abundantly in theurgic and thaumaturgic operations. Egyptian hierophants were adepts in the application of this force. The laws and principles involved in controlling the agent were transmitted under oath of secrecy to seekers of Light. Appolonius, Pythagoras, and Moses are names that come to mind when considering the display of so-called miracles. These eminent individuals were all initiates of the Mystery schools in the Land of Khem.

Nowadays, the Caduceus is an emblem employed by the medical profession. Only in recent years is this branch of science discovering the subtle energies with which this emblem is silently pointing.