INTELLIGENCE. ASTOR, LENOX ANO TILDEN FOUNDATIONS. VOL. VII. DECEMBER, 1897. No. 1. THE ORIGIN OF SYMBOLISM.* Symbolism originated in the efforts of intuitively intelligent human beings to convey ideas and information by the use of certain Mystic Symbol of Life. Chinese "Yang and Yin."-White, feminine; black, masculine. signs. The earliest rational system is found embodied in the Egyptian hieroglyphics now credited with an authentic history of more than eight thousand years. The key to the profoundest knowledge and faith of the ancients is even at this late day hidden in a mysterious system of symbolism difficult to interpret. The traditions of all countries, however, present to us impressive expressions of reverence for a mythical ancestry as having been at a remote period in possession of superhuman powers with which to conquer perverse influences, and of divine wisdom to take advantage *Illustrated by the author. Copyright, 1897, by Rufus E. Moore. of opportunities. The ancestor, having attained freedom of overcoming, was never less than a God. Men of the periods of the distant past, endowed with lofty genius and the magical attributes, became tribal leaders and foremost objects of worship. The king stood in the place of God. Wisdom and power revered as being at the root of things would naturally incite the thoughtful to investigate these subjects, and it is the results of this early investigation of the sages that have been handed down from century to century, by means of a system of symbols unique and persistent, always cherished and venerated as an enduring possession. The development of this early symbolism was both emotional and mental, for the reason that scientific, or practical, methods had not yet dawned upon the races, and the meaning was held a secret inviolable, transmitted orally from father to son as a sacred heritage. It is supposable that wisely chosen emblems would be approved by the men of wisdom throughout the intellectual circuit of the globe, which should sufficiently account for the extensive migration of symbols, and also for the similarity of myth and allegory in different races and widely separated countries. Ancient symbolism though apparently complex is in reality based on a few simple forms surprisingly direct in purpose and frank in presentation. We marvel to learn that our facile nomenclature of to-day, with its dictionaries of more than 300,000 words, owes its inception and development to the wise selection of a duodenary of symbolical figures associated with the zodiac, coupled with ten numeral signs, the latter being extended by duplication to represent the manifestation. of the Infinite in substantial forms together with the hidden relationship of the influences that govern creation. From this source is the naming of things and the terms expressive of the varying ideas of relation, all founded upon the theory of creation by vibration or "voice." Nature's own symbolic language. These first numeral signs, from the earliest hieratic ordinals, i.e., first, second, third, etc., counting on the fingers, were, in the land of their nativity, placed in a "magic square" of nine chambers, and designated the figure of Fate, being associated with the planet Saturn. (h) because of its heaven-embracing cycle of least variability, which became the key to ancient chronology. Magic Square of Saturn. Archetype of the Sacred Wheel. The common summation of this square is fifteen in every direction; or, in another way, and leaving out the central figure-No. 5, the "mystic mediator "-each number added to its opposite makes ten, the symbol of Deity. For be it known that One (1), i.e., the Infinite, is hidden and impossible of vocalization, therefore zero (0) was adjoined, forming ten (10), the visible sign of the Infinite in manifestation, and the starting-point of all ancient cosmologies. The earliest concise theory of the universe is given symbolically in the Bible, where the reader will find, in the first chapter of Ezekiel, the Prophet, the most probable source of Oriental symbolism. The prophetical vision of God by the River Chebar is, "A great cloud, and a fire infolding itself;" i.e., darkness and light, negation and power; the monad of the philosophers-the dual divine order of proceeding of the Logos (word) to manifestation, for every monad possesses dual potency in "becoming," that is, "Spirit" and "Voice " or vibration. |