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N

Nabatheans +

A sect almost identical in their beliefs with the Nazarenes and Sabeans, who had more reverence for John the Baptist than for Jesus. Maimonides identifies them with the astrolaters. “Respecting the beliefs of the Sabeans”, he says, “the most famous is the book, ''The agriculture of the Nabatheans''”. And we know that the Ebionites, the first of whom were the friends and relatives of Jesus, according to tradition, in other words, the earliest and first Christians, “were the direct followers and disciples of the Nazarene sect”, according to Epiphanius and Theodoret (See the ''Contra Ebionites ''of Epiphanius, and also “Galileans” and “Nazarenes”) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

M

Madhyamikas +

A sect mentioned in the ''Vishnu Purâna''. Agreeably to the Orientalists, a “Buddhist sect, which is an anachronism. It was probably at first a sect of Hindu atheists. A later school of that name, teaching a system of sophistic nihilism, that reduces every proposition into a thesis and its antithesis, and then denies both, has been started in Tibet and China. It adopts a few principles of Nâgârjuna, who was one of the founders of the esoteric Mahayâna systems, not their ''exoteric ''travesties. The allegory that regarded Nâgârjuna’s “Paramartha” as a gift from the ''Nâgas ''(Serpents) shows that he received his teachings from the secret school of adepts, and that the real tenets are therefore kept secret [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

C

Collyridians +

A sect of Gnostics who, in the ear]y centuries of Christianity, transferred their worship and reverence from Astoreth to Mary, as Queen of Heaven and Virgin. Regarding the two as identical, they offered to the latter as they had done to the former, buns and cakes on certain days, with sexual symbols represented on them [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

M

Manichaeans +

A sect of the third century which believed in ''two ''eternal principles of good and evil; the former furnishing mankind with souls, and the latter with bodies. This sect was founded by a certain half‐Christian mystic named Mani, who gave himself out as the expected “Comforter”, the Messiah and Christ. Many centuries later, after the sect was dead, a Brotherhood arose, calling itself the “Manichees”, of a masonic character with several degrees of initiation. Their ideas were Kabalistic, but were misunderstood [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

K

Koinobi +

A sect which lived in Egypt in the early part of the first Christian century; usually confounded with the ''Therapeutæ''. They passed for magicians [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

F

Fargard +

A section or chapter of verses in the ''Vendidad ''of the Parsis [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Anjana +

A serpent, a son of Kasyapa Rishi [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Ahi +

A serpent. A name of Vritra, the Vedic demon of drought. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

L

Linga +

A sign or a symbol of abstract creation. Force becomes the organ of procreation only on this earth. In India there are 12 great Lingams of Siva, some of which are on mountains and rocks, and also in temples. Such is the ''Kedâresa ''in the Himalaya, a huge and shapeless mass of rock. In its origin the Lingam had never the gross meaning connected with the phallus, an idea which is altogether of a later date. The symbol in India has the same meaning which it had in Egypt, which is simply that the creative or procreative Force is divine. It also denotes who was the dual Creator—male and female, Siva and his Sakti. The gross and immodest idea connected with the phallus is not Indian but Greek and pre‐eminently Jewish. The Biblical ''Bethels ''were real priapic stones, the “ Beth‐el” (phallus) wherein God dwells. The same symbol was concealed within the ark of the Covenant, the “Holy of Holies”. Therefore the “Lingam” even as a phallus is not “a symbol of Siva” only, but that of every “Creator” or creative god in every nation, including the Israelites and their “God of Abraham and Jacob” [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Abhimanyu +

A son of Arjuna. He killed Lakshmana,in the great battle of the Mahâbhârata on its second day, but was himself killed on the thirteenth. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Abhaya +

A son of Dharma; and also a religious life of duty. As an adjective, “Fearless,” Abhaya is an epithet given to every [[Buddha]]. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

B

Ben +

A son; a common prefix in proper names to denote the son of so‐and‐so, e.g., Ben Solomon, Ben Ishmael, etc. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Brahmarandhra +

A spot on the crown of the head connected by ''Sushumna, ''a cord in the spinal column, with the heart. A mystic term having its significance only in mysticism [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

H

Hallucination +

A state produced sometimes by the Astral Light; but while the drunkard, the madman, and the untrained medium, or one suffering from brain‐ fever, see, because they cannot help it, and evoke the jumbled visions unconsciously to themselves, the Adept and the trained Seer have the choice and the control of such visions. They know where to fix their gaze, how to steady the scenes they want to observe, and how to see beyond the upper outward layers of the Astral Light. With the former such glimpses into the waves are hallucinations: with the latter they become the faithful reproduction of what actually has been, is, or will be, taking place. The glimpses at random caught by the medium, and his flickering visions in the deceptive light, are transformed under the guiding will of the Adept and Seer into steady pictures, the truthful representations of that which he wills to come within the focus of his perception [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Avitchi +

A state: not necessarily after death only or between two births, for it can take place on earth as well. '''Lit.''', “uninterrupted hell”. The last of the eight hells, we are told, “where the culprits ''die and are reborn without interruption''—yet not without hope of final redemption. This is because Avitchi is another name for Myalba (our earth) and also a state to which some soulless men are condemned on this physical plane [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

I

Idol +

A statue or a picture of a heathen god; or a statue or picture of a Romish Saint, or a fetish of uncivilized tribes [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

O

Odem +

A stone (the cornelian) on the breast‐plate of the Jewish High Priest. It is of red colour and possesses a great medicinal power [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Aura +

A subtle invisible essence or fluid that emanates from human and animal bodies and even things. It is a psychic effluvium, partaking of both the mind and the body, as it is the electro‐vital, and at the same time an electro‐mental aura; called in Theosophy the âkâsic or magnetic aura [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

G

Guardian Wall +

A suggestive name given to the host of translated adepts (Narjols) or the Saints collectively, who are supposed to watch over, help and protect Humanity. This is the so‐called “Nirmanâkâya” doctrine in Northern mystic Buddhism. (See ''Voice of the Silence'', Part III.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

K

Key +

A symbol of universal importance, the emblem of silence among the ancient nations. Represented on the threshold of the Adytum, a key had a double meaning: it reminded the candidates of the obligations of silence, and promised the unlocking of many a hitherto impenetrable mystery to the profane. In the “Œdipus Coloneus” of Sophocles, the chorus speaks of “the golden key which had come upon the tongue of the ministering Hierophant in the mysteries of Eleusis”, (1051). “The priestess of Ceres, according to Callimachus, bore a key as her ensign of office, and the key was, in the Mysteries of Isis, symbolical of the opening or disclosing of the heart and conscience before the forty‐two assessors of the dead”. (''R.''''M. Cyc1opædia'') [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

H

Hotris +

A symbolical name for the ''seven ''senses called, in the ''Anugita ''“the Seven Priests”. “The senses supply the fire of mind (i.e., desire) with the oblations of external pleasures.” An occult term used metaphysically [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

I

Iacchos +

A synonym of Bacchus. Mythology mentions three persons so named: they were Greek ideals adopted later by the Romans. The word Iacchos is stated to be of Phœnician origin, and to mean “an infant at the breast ”. Many ancient monuments represent Ceres or Demeter with Bacchus in her arms. One Iacchos was called Theban and Conqueror, son of Jupiter and Semele; his mother died before his birth and he was preserved for some time in the thigh of his father; he was killed by the Titans. Another was son of Jupiter, as a Dragon, and Persephone ; this one was named Zagræmus. A third was Iacchos of Eleusis, son of Ceres: he is of importance because he appeared on the sixth day of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Some see an analogy between Bacchus and Noah, both cultivators of the Vine, and patrons of alcoholic excess. [w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Doppelganger +

A synonym of the “Double” and of the “Astral body” in occult parlance [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

G

Gonpa +

A temple or monastery; a ''Lamasery.'' [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

L

Lhakang +

A temple; a crypt, especially a subterranean temple for mystic ceremonies [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Lower Face +

A term applied to Microprosopus, as that of ”Higher Face” is to Macroprosopus. The two are identical with ''Long Face ''and ''Short Face'' [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

B

Be‐ness +

A term coined by Theosophists to render more accurately the essential meaning of the untranslatable word Sat. The latter word does not mean “Being” for it presupposes a sentient feeling or some consciousness of existence. But, as the term Sat is applied solely to the absolute Principle, the universal, unknown, and ever unknowable Presence, which philosophical Pantheism postulates in Kosmos, calling it the basic root of Kosmos. and Kosmos itself— “Being” was no fit word to express it. Indeed, the latter is not even, as translated by some Orientalists, “the incomprehensible Entity”; for it is no more an Entity than a non‐Entity, but both. It is, as said, absolute ''Be‐ness'', not ''Being, ''the one secondless, undivided, and indivisible All—the root of all Nature visible and invisible, objective and subjective, to be sensed by the highest spiritual intuition, but’ never to be fully comprehended [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Dwellers +

A term invented by Bulwer Lytton in ''Zanoni''; but in Occultism the word “Dweller” is an occult term used by students for long ages past, and refers to certain maleficent astral Doubles of defunct persons [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Ablanathanalba +

A term similar to “Abracadabra”. It is said by C. W. King to have meant “thou art a father to us”; it reads the same from either end and was used as a charm in Egypt. (See “[[Abracadabra]]”.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

L

Limbus Major +

A term used by Paracelsus to denote primordial (alchemical) matter; “Adam’s earth” [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

F

Fohat +

A term used to represent the active (male) potency of the Sakti (female reproductive power) in nature. The essence of cosmic electricity. An occult Tibetan term for ''Daiviprakriti ''primordial light: and in the universe of manifestation the ever‐present electrical energy and ceaseless destructive and formative power. Esoterically, it is the same, Fohat being the universal propelling Vital Force, at once the propeller and the resultant [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

H

Hell +

A term with the Anglo‐Saxons, evidently derived from the name of the goddess '''''Hela '''''(''q.v''.), and by the Sclavonians from the Greek Hades: hell being in Russian and other Sclavonian tongues—''ad, ''the only difference between the Scandinavian cold hell and the hot hell of the Christians, being found in their respective temperatures. But even the idea of those overheated regions is not original with the Europeans, many peoples having entertained the conception of an underworld climate; as well may we if we localise our Hell in the centre of the earth. All exoteric religions—the creeds of the Brahmans, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Mahommedans, Jews, and the rest, make their hells hot and dark, though many are more attractive than frightful. The idea of a hot hell is an afterthought, the distortion of an astronomical allegory. With the Egyptians, Hell became a place of punishment by fire not earlier than the seventeenth or eighteenth dynasty, when Typhon was transformed from a god into a devil. But at whatever time this dread superstition was implanted in the minds of the poor ignorant masses, the scheme of a burning hell and souls tormented therein is purely Egyptian. Ra (the Sun) became the Lord of the Furnace in Karr, the hell of the Pharaohs, and the sinner was threatened with misery “in the heat of infernal fires”. “A lion was there” says Dr. Birch “and was called the roaring monster”. Another describes the place as “the bottomless pit and lake of fire, into which the victims are thrown” (compare ''Revelation''). The Hebrew word ''gaї‐ hinnom ''(Gehenna) never really had the significance given to it in Christian orthodoxy [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Aisvarikas +

A theistic school of Nepaul, which sets up Âdi Buddha as a supreme god ( Îsvara ), instead of seeing in the name that of a principle, an abstract philosophical symbol. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

L

Lotus, Lord of the +

A title applied to the various creative gods, as also to the Lords of the Universe of which this plant is the symbol. (“See Lotus”.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

P

Padma Yoni +

A title of Brahmâ (also called ''Abjayoni''), or the “lotus‐born” [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Dorjeshang +

A title of Buddha in his highest aspect; a name of the supreme Buddha; also ''Dorje'' [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

G

Gharma +

A title of Karttikeya, the Indian god of war and the Kumâra born of Siva’s drop of sweat that fell into the Ganges [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

H

Hari +

A title of Vishnu, but used also for other gods [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

B

Bhagavat +

A title of the Buddha and of Krishna. “The Lord” literally [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

L

Lady of the Sycamore +

A title of the Egyptian goddess Neїth, who is often represented as appearing in a tree and handing therefrom the fruit of the Tree of Life, as also the Water of Life, to her worshippers [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

H

Hara +

A title of the god Siva [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

N

Nidhi +

A treasure. Nine treasures belonging to the god Kuvera—the Vedic Satan—each treasure being under the guardianship of a demon; these are personified, and are the objects of worship of the Tantrikas [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

I

Isiac table +

A true monument of Egyptian art. It represents the goddess Isis under many of her aspects. The Jesuit Kircher describes it as a table of copper overlaid with black enamel and silver incrustations. It was in the possession of Cardinal Bembo, and therefore called ''“Tabula Bembina sive Mensa Isiaca ''”. Under this title it is described by W. Wynn Westcott, M.B., who gives its “History and Occult Significance” in an extremely interesting and learned volume (with photographs and illustrations). The tablet was believed to have been a votive offering to Isis in one of her numerous temples. At the sack of Rome in 1525, it came into the possession of a soldier who sold it to Cardinal Bembo. Then it passed to the Duke of Mantua in 1630, when it was lost [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Desatir +

A very ancient Persian work called the ''Book of Shet''. It speaks of the ''thirteen ''Zoroasters, and is very mystical [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Agruerus +

A very ancient Phœnician god. The same as Saturn. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Devasarman +

A very ancient author who died about a century after Gautama Buddha. He wrote two famous works, in which he denied the existence of both Ego and non‐Ego, the one as successfully as the other [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

C

Carnac +

A very ancient site in Brittany (France) of a temple of cyclopean structure, sacred to the Sun and the Dragon; and of the same kind as Karnac, in ancient Egypt, and Stonehenge in England. (See the “Origin of the Satanic Myth” in ''Archaic Symbolism''.) It was built by the prehistoric hierophant‐priests of the Solar Dragon, or symbolized Wisdom (the Solar ''Kumâras ''who incarnated being the highest). Each of the stones was personally placed there by the successive priest‐adepts in power, and commemorated in symbolic language the degree of power, status, and knowledge of each. (See further ''Secret Doctrine ''II. 381, ''et seq''., and also “ Karnac”.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Araritha +

A very famous seven‐lettered Kabbalistic wonder‐word ; its numeration is 813 ; its letters are collected by Notaricon from the sentence “one principle of his unity, one beginning of his individuality, his change is unity”. [w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Dharmasmriti Upasthana +

A very long compound word containing a very mystical warning. “Remember, the constituents (of human nature) originate ''according to the Nidânas, and are‐not ''originally the Self”, which means—that, which the Esoteric Schools teach, and not the ecclesiastical interpretation [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

C

Cock +

A very occult bird, much appreciated in ancient augury and symbolism. According to the ''Zohar, ''the cock crows three times before the death of a person; and in Russia and all Slavonian countries whenever a person is ill on the premises where a cock is kept, its crowing is held to be a sign of inevitable death, unless the bird crows at the hour of midnight, or immediately afterwards, when its crowing is considered natural. As the cock was sacred to Æsculapius, and a the latter was called the ''Soter ''(Saviour) who raised the dead to life, the Socratic exclamation “We owe a cock to Æculapius”, just before the Sage’s death, is very suggestive. As the cock Was always connected in symbology with the Sun (or solar gods), Death and Resurrection, it has found its appropriate place in the four Gospels in the prophecy about Peter repudiating his Master before the cock crowed thrice. The cock is the most magnetic and sensitive of all birds, hence its Greek name ''alectruon'' [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Dalada +

A very precious relic of Gautama the Buddha; viz., his supposed left canine tooth preserved at the great temple at Kandy, Ceylon. Unfortunately, the relic shown is not genuine. The latter has been securely secreted for several hundred years, ever since the shameful and bigoted attempt by the Portuguese (the then ruling power in Ceylon) to steal and make away with the real relic. That which is shown in the place of the real thing is the monstrous tooth of some animal [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

E

Eye of Horus +

A very sacred symbol in ancient Egypt. It was called the ''outa ''the right eye represented the sun, the left, the moon. Says Macrobius : “ The ''outo ''(or ''uta'') is it not the emblem of the sun, king of the world, who from his elevated throne sees all the Universe below him”? [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

K

Kumara +

A virgin boy, or young celibate. The first Kumâras are the seven sons of Brahmâ born out of the limbs of the god, in the so‐called ninth creation. It is stated that the name was given to them owing to their formal refusal to “procreate their species”, and so they “remained Yogis”, as the legend says [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Kanya +

A virgin or maiden. ''Kanya Kumârî ''“the virgin‐ maiden” is a title of Durga‐Kali, worshipped by the Thugs and Tantrikas [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Kol +

A voice, in Hebrew letters QUL. The Voice of the divine. (See “Bath Kol” and “Vâch”.) [w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

F

Fylfot +

A weapon of Thor, like the Swastika, or the Jaina, the four‐footed cross ; generally called “Thor’s Hammer” [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

S

Spiritual Scientist +

A weekly journal devoted to the science, history, philosophy and teachings of spiritualism, edited by E. Gerry Brown. H.P. Blavatsky and H.S. Olcott for a time took the journal under their protection (lending E.G. Brown money, contributing as authors and looking for other authors) and used it to announce the revolution effected in spiritualism by occultism. The journal was the first devoted to occultism. (IAPSOP). +

C

Chakra +

A wheel, a disk, or the circle of Vishnu generally. Used also of a cycle of time, and with other meanings [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

M

Mimir +

A wise giant in the ''Eddas''. One of the Jotuns or Titans. He had a well which he watched over (Mimir’s well), which contained the waters of Primeval Wisdom, by drinking of which Odin acquired the knowledge of all past, present, and future events [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Apollonius of Tyana +

A wonderful philosopher born in Cappadocia about the beginning of the first century; an ardent Pythagorean, who studied the Phœnician sciences under Euthydemus; and Pythagorean philosophy and other studies under Euxenus of Heraclea. According to the tenets of this school he remained a vegetarian the whole of his long life, fed only on fruit and herbs, drank no wine, wore vestments made only of plant‐fibres, walked barefooted, and let his hair grow to its full length, as all the Initiates before and after him. He was initiated by the priests of the temple of Æsculapius (Asciepios) at Ægae, and learnt many of the “miracles” for healing the sick wrought by the god of medicine. Having prepared himself for a higher initiation by a silence of five years, and by travel, visiting Antioch, Ephesus, Pamphylia and other parts, he journeyed via Babylon to India, all his intimate disciples having abandoned him, as they feared to go to the “land of enchantments”. A casual disciple, Damis, however, whom he met on his way, accompanied him in his travels. At Babylon he was initiated by the Chaldees and Magi, according to Damis, whose narrative was copied by one named Philostratus a hundred years later. After his return from India, he showed himself a true Initiate, in that the pestilences and earthquakes, deaths of kings and other events, which he prophesied duly happened. At Lesbos, the priests of Orpheus, being jealous of him, refused to initiate him into their peculiar mysteries, though they did so several years later. He preached to the people of Athens and other cities the purest and noblest ethics, and the phenomena he produced were as wonderful as they were numerous and well attested. “How is it”, enquires Justin Martyr in dismay—” how is it that the talismans (''telesmata'') of Apollonius have power, for they prevent, as we see, the fury of the waves and the violence of the winds, and the attacks of the wild beasts; and ''whilst our Lord’s miracles are preserved by tradition alone, ''those of Apollonius ''are most numerous and actually manifested in present facts?''”. (Quaest, XXIV.). But an answer is easily found to this in the fact that after crossing the Hindu Kush, Apollonius had been directed by a king to the ''abode of the Sages'', whose abode it may be to this day, by whom he was taught unsurpassed knowledge. His dialogues with the Corinthian Menippus indeed give us the esoteric catechism and disclose (when understood) many an important mystery of nature. Apollonius was the friend, correspondent and guest of kings and queens, and no marvellous or “magic” powers are better attested than his. At the end of his long and wonderful life he opened an esoteric school at Ephesus, and died aged almost one hundred years [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG).

B

Benoo +

A word applied to two symbols, both taken The only English work on the Isiac Tablet is by Dr. W. Wynn Westcott, who gives a photogravure in addition to its history, description, and occult significance [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Agnostic +

A word claimed by Mr. Huxley to have been coined by him to indicate one who believes nothing which can not be demonstrated by the senses. The later schools of Agnosticism give more philosophical definitions of the term. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

M

Mensambulism +

A word coined by some French Kabalists to denote the phenomenon of “table turning” from the Latin ''mensa, ''a table [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Asherah +

A word, which occurs in the Old Testament, and is commonly translated “groves” referring to idolatrous worship, but it is probable that it really referred to ceremonies of sexual depravity; it is a feminine noun. [w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

F

Fons Yitae +

A work of Ibn Gehirol, the Arabian Jewish philosopher of the Xlth century, who called it ''Me‐ gôr Hayyûn ''or the “Fountain of Life” (''De Materia Universali and Fons Vitæ''). The Western Kabbalists have proclaimed it a really Kabbalistic work. Several MSS.,Latin and Hebrew, of this wonderful production have been discovered by scholars in public libraries; among others one by Munk, in 1802. The Latin name of Ibn Gebirol was Avicebron, a name well‐known to all Oriental scholars [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

J

Jhana Bhaskara +

A work on Asuramâya, the Atlantean astronomer and magician, and other prehistoric legends [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

E

Ekasloka Shastra +

A work on the ''Shastras ''(Scriptures) by Nagarjuna; a mystic work translated into Chinese [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

C

Chaldean Book of Numbers +

A work which contains all that is found in the ''Zohar ''of Simeon Ben‐Jochai, and much more. It must be the older by many centuries, and in one sense its original, as it contains all the fundamental principles taught in the Jewish Kabbalistic works, but none of their blinds. It is very rare indeed, there being perhaps only two or three copies extant, and these in private hands [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Charaka +

A writer on Medicine who lived in Vedic times. He is believed to have been an incarnation (''Avatara) ''of the Serpent ''Sesha'', i.e., an embodiment of divine Wisdom, since Sesha‐Naga, the King of the “Serpent” race, is synonymous with Ananta, the seven‐ headed Serpent, on which Vishnu sleeps during the ''pralayas. Ananta ''is the “endless” and the symbol of eternity, and as such, one with Space, while Sesha is only periodical in his manifestations. Hence while Vishnu is identified with ''Ananta, ''Charaka is only the Avatar of Sesha. (See “Ananta” and “Sesha”.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Agni‐ratha +

A “Fiery Vehicle” literally. A kind of flying machine. Spoken of in ancient works of magic in India and in the epic poems. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

I

Ikhir Bonga +

A “Spirit of the Deep” of the Kolarian tribes [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Achit +

Absolute non‐intelligence; as ''Chit ''is—in contrast— absolute intelligence. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

F

Fravasham +

Absolute spirit [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

C

Chit +

Abstract Consciousness [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

H

Horchia +

According to Berosus, the same as Vesta, goddess of the Hearth [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

K

Ka +

According to Max Muller, the interrogative pronoun “who?”—raised to the dignity of a deity without cause or reason. Still it has its esoteric significance and is a name of Brahmâ in his phallic character as generator or Prajâpati (''q.v.'') [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Dodecahedron +

According to Plato, the Universe is built by “the first begotten” on the geometrical figure of the Dodecahedron. (See ''Timaeus'') [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

G

Gabriel +

According to the Gnostics, the “Spirit” or Christos, the “messenger of life”, and Gabriel are one. The former “is called some‐times the Angel Gabriel Hebrew ‘the mighty one of God’,” and took with the Gnostics the place of the Logos, while the Holy Spirit was considered Every student of Occultism will understand this, and also that Gabriel—or “the mighty one of God”—is one with the Higher Ego. (See ''Isis Unveiled''.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

H

Habal de Garmin +

According to the Kabbalah this is the Resurrection Body: a ''tzelem ''image or ''demooth ''similitude to the deceased man; an inner fundamental spiritual type remaining after death. It is the “Spirit of the Bones ” mentioned in Daniel and Isaiah and the Psalms, and is referred to in the Vision of Ezekiel about the clothing of the dry bones with life: consult C, de Leiningen on the Kabbalah, T.P.S. Pamphlet, Vol. II., No. 18. [ w. w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Demons +

According to the Kabbalah, the demons dwell in the world of Assiah, the world of matter and of the “shells”’ of the dead. They are the Klippoth. There are Seven Hells, whose demon dwellers represent the vices personified. Their prince is Samael, his female companion is Isheth Zenunim—the woman of prostitution: united in aspect, they are named “The Beast”, Chiva. [w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Death, Kiss of +

According to the Kabbalah, the earnest follower does not die by the power of the Evil Spirit, Yetzer ha Rah, but by a kiss from the mouth of Jehovah Tetragrammaton, meeting him in the Haikal Ahabah or Palace of Love. [w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

C

Cherubim +

According to the Kabbalists, a group of angels, which they specially associated with the Sephira Jesod. in Christian teaching, an order of angels who are “watchers”. ''Genesi''s places Cherubim to guard the lost Eden, and the O.T. frequently refers to them as guardians of the divine glory. Two winged representations in gold were placed over the Ark of the Covenant; colossal figures of the same were also placed in the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple of Solomon. Ezekiel describes them in poetic language. Each Cherub appears to have been a compound figure with four faces—of a man, eagle, lion, and ox, and was certainly winged. Parkhurst, ''in voc. Cherub, ''suggests that the derivation of the word is from '''K''', a particle of similitude, and RB or RUB, greatness, master, majesty, and so an image of godhead. Many other nations have displayed similar figures as symbols of deity; e.g., the Egyptians in their figures of Serapis. as Macrohius describes in his ''Saturnalia''; the Greeks had their triple‐headed Hecate, and the Latins had three‐faced images of Diana, as Ovid tells us, ''ecce procul ternis Hecate variata figuris''. Virgil also describes her in the fourth Book of the Æneid. Porphyry and Eusebius write the same of Proserpine. The Vandals had a many‐headed deity they called Triglaf. The ancient German races had an idol Rodigast with human body and heads of the ox, eagle, and man. The Persians have some figures of Mithras with a man’s body, lion’s head, and four wings. Add to these the Chimæra Sphinx of Egypt, Moloch, Astarte of the Syrians, and some figures of Isis with Bull’s horns and feathers of a bird on the head. [ w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

N

Nirvana +

According to the Orientalists, the entire “blowing out”, like the flame of a candle, the utter extinction of existence. But in the esoteric explanations it is the state of absolute existence and absolute consciousness, into which the Ego of a man who has reached the highest degree of perfection and holiness during life goes, after the body dies, and occasionally, as in the case of Gautama Buddha and others, during life. (See “Nirvânî”.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

M

Mahabharatian period +

According to the best Hindu Commentators and Swami Dayanand Saraswati, 5,000 years B.C. [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

B

Batria +

According to tradition, the wife of the Pharaoh and the teacher of Moses [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

I

Illa‐ah, Adam +

Adam Illa‐ah is the celestial, superior Adam, in the ''Zohar'' [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

K

Keherpas +

Aerial form [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

D

Danavas +

Almost the same as ''Daityas''; giants and demons, the opponents of the ritualistic gods [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Dana +

Almsgiving to mendicants, lit., “charity”, the first of the six Paramitas in Buddhism [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

K

Kneph +

Also ''Cneph ''and ''Nef'', endowed with the same attributes as Khem. One of the gods of creative Force, for he is connected with the Mundane Egg. He is called by Porphyry “the creator of the world”; by Plutarch the “unmade and eternal deity”; by Eusebius he is identified with the ''Logos; ''and Jamblichus goes so far as almost to identify him with Brahmâ since he says of him that “this god is intellect itself, intellectually perceiving itself, and consecrating intellections to itself; and ''is to be worshipped in silence''”. One form of him, adds Mr. Bonwick “was '''''Av '''''meaning ''flesh''. He was criocephalus, with a solar disk on his head, and standing on the serpent Mehen. In his left hand was a viper, and a cross was in his right. He was actively engaged in the underworld upon a mission of creation.” Deveria writes: “His journey to the lower hemisphere appears to symbolise the evolutions of substances which are born to die and to be reborn”. Thousands of years before Kardec, Swedenborg, and Darwin appeared, the old Egyptians entertained their several philosophies. (''Eg. Belief and Mod. Thought''.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

G

Gan‐Eden +

Also ''Ganduniyas. ''(See “Eden”.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

I

Induvansa +

Also ''Somavansa ''or the lunar race (dynasty), from '''''Indu''''', the Moon. (“See “[[Suryavansa]]”.) [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

M

Mendaeans +

Also called ''Sabians, ''and St. John Christians. The latter is absurd, since, according to all accounts, and even their own, they have nothing at all to do with Christianity, ''which they abominate''. The modern sect of the Mendæans is widely scattered over Asia Minor and elsewhere, and is rightly believed by several Orientalists to be a direct surviving relic of the Gnostics. For as explained in the ''Dictionnaire des Apocryphes ''by the Abbé Migrie (art. “Le Code Nazaréan” vulgaire‐ment appele “''Livre d’Adam''”), the Mendæans (written in French ''Mandaїtes'', which name they pronounce as ''Mandai'') “properly signifies science, knowledge or Gnosis. Thus it is the equivalent of Gnostics” (''loc. cit''. note p. 3). As the above cited work shows, although many travellers have spoken of a sect whose followers are variously named Sabians, St. John’s Christians and Mendæans, and who are scattered around ''Schat‐Etarab ''at the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates (principally at Bassorah, Hoveїza, Korna, etc.), it was Norberg who was the first to point out a tribe belonging to the same sect established in Syria. And they are the most interesting of all. This tribe, some 14,000 or 15,000 in number, lives at a day’s march east of Mount Lebanon, principally at Elmerkah, (Lata‐Kieh). They call themselves indifferently Nazarenes and Galileans, as they originally come to Syria from Galilee. They claim that their religion is the same as that of St. John the Baptist, and that it has not changed one bit since his day. On festival days they clothe them selves in camel’s skins, sleep on camel’s skins, and eat locusts and honey as did their “Father, St. John the Baptist”. Yet they call Jesus Christ an ''impostor, a false Messiah, ''and Nebso (or the planet Mercury in its evil side), and show him as a production of the Spirit of the “seven badly‐ disposed stellars” (or planets). See ''Codex Nazaræus, ''which is their Scripture [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG).

B

Bhagats +

Also called ''Sokha ''and ''Sivnath ''by the Hindus; one who exorcises evil spirits [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

M

Magnetic Masonry +

Also called “Iatric” masonry. It is described as a Brotherhood of Healers (from ''iatrikê ''a Greek word meaning “the art of healing”), and is greatly used by the “Brothers of Light ”as Kenneth Mackenzie states in the ''Royal Masonic Cyclopedia''. There appears to be a tradition in some secret Masonic works—so says Ragon at any rate, the great Masonic authority—to the effect that there was a Masonic degree called the Oracle of Cos, “instituted in the eighteenth century B.c., from the fact that Cos was the birthplace of Hippocrates”. The ''iatrikê ''was a distinct characteristic of the priests who took charge of the patients in the ancient ''Asclepia'', the temples where the god Asclepios (Æsculapius) was said to heal the sick and the lame [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

A

Arahat +

Also pronounced and written Arhat, Arhan, Rahat, &c., “the worthy one”, lit., “deserving divine honours”. This was the name first given to the Jain and subsequently to the Buddhist holy men initiated into the esoteric mysteries. The Arhat is one who has entered the best and highest path, and is thus emancipated from rebirth [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

K

Kayanim +

Also written Cunim; the name of certain mystic cakes offered to ''Ishtar'', the Babylonian Venus. Jeremiah speaks of these Cunim offered to the “Queen of Heaven”, vii. 18. Nowadays we do not offer the buns, but eat them at Easter. [w.w.w.] [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

C

Church, Frederick Stuart +

American artist. +

A

Amesha Spentas +

Amshaspends. The six angels or divine Forces personified as gods who attend upon Ahura Mazda, of which he is the synthesis and the seventh. They are one of the prototypes of the Roman Catholic “Seven Spirits” or Angels with Michael as chief, or the “Celestial Host”; the “ Seven Angels of the Presence”. They are the Builders, Cosmocratores, of the Gnostics and identical with the Seven Prajâpatis, the Sephiroth, etc. (q.v.). [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

N

Nirukta +

An ''anga ''or limb, a division of the ''Vedas''; a glossarial comment [[Category: Theosophical Glossary (CTD terms)]] (TG). +

Property:CTD term description

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