Middle Way or Stairway to Heaven

[LorrB]

Perhaps the richest allegory in all of Mysticism is the Mystic's Path also known as the Middle Way or Stairway to Heaven. Yet much confusion exists around the basic symbol for this pathway — the caduceus.
Asclepius

The caduceus is commonly used as a medical symbol in place of the Asclepius wand — the true symbol of physical medicine. Asclepius was the Greek god of medicine and healing. The son of Apollo and Coronis, Asclepius was often depicted holding a physician's staff with a single snake wrapped around it — a reference to the ritual of leaving non-poisonous snakes overnight with sick people to promote healing.

Hermes (Mercury)

The caduceus, however, is associated with the Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus, the son of Zeus, the highest of Gods, and Maia, the earth goddess of plants and spring. In the Roman pantheon, Hermes is known as Mercury and is often depicted with the winged cadeusus as well as wings on his cap and feet. The two snakes wrapped around the cadeusus is a more esoteric symbol of the energies in the Yoga system of snakes as the Ida (feminine) and Pingala (masculine) — the polarities of the spiritual energy the Hindus call Prana or Kudalini.

Essentially, the wand of Asclepius represents surgery and the healing properties of the physical world in the form of various pills, powders, and potents. The caduceus carried by Hermes is a symbol of spiritual healing and alchemical magic — the ability of a refined consciousness of spiritual Love to transmute illness to health as water into wine, lead into gold, or sin to redemption.

Of equal interest is the rod itself. In yoga it is called the sushumna. It represents both the spine and the mystical path of refinement or redemption between the incarnated human and his overshadowing soul. It is usually depicted as having seven steps known as chakras in yoga, the seven grades of advancement or initiation in Rosicrucian philosophy, and the seven steps of refinement in alchemy.

Besides being called the Mystic's Path or Stairway to Heaven, it is also called the Hidden Way, the Unitive or Middle Way, the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life, the Ladder of Lights, Jacob's Ladder, the Path of Liberation, the Scale of Perfection, the Tao, the Dharma, and "the Way and the Light."

In ritual and ceremony, the Redemptive Path of Spiritual Love is represented by the scepter, crosier, rod of power, wizard's staff, magic wand, as well as the Hermetic cadeusus (spine). In fable and myth, the path (teachings or laws) is represented by Christ turning water into wine, the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone for turning lead into gold (or Rumplestiltskin spinning straw into gold), the Ark of the Covenant, the Arthurian Quest for the Holy Grail and Jason's Quest for the Golden Fleece, the Yellow Brick Road in Oz, and the heartfelt wishes of Pinocchio, the Velveteen Rabbit, and Data (Star Trek) to become "real."

See little way down link page for illustrations

www.theagelesswisdom.com/Fun/Fun.html

[LorrB]

A little aside about a middle staircase...

Just after Christmas I dreamed of a dearly loved cousin who passed away about 4 years ago at age 57. In the dream I was in a two story house with a central staircase. My cousin was in the upper part of the left hand side of the house. Across the staircase on the right hand side ground floor of the house was here husband (who is still alive).

My cousin was holding a very young baby and bought them right up to my eyes, making very sure that I saw what she was holding.

It turns out that there was a new baby coming into her family.. the first child of her favourite son.

Relevance to the thread? When dead people visit me they always do so from the upper left hand side, or from the upper centre and depart via the LH side.

So in this house the straight stair could be viewed as a stairway to heaven (I can't imagine she would be anywhere but a good place )

This peculiarity with my dreams makes me wonder about the stepping of the the LF.

[paul]

I wonder if the direction is related to eye movements in NLP

www.nlpu.com/Articles/artic14.htm

It does not seem related to stepping off with the left foot which may well be the Egyptian practice of treading underfoot the evil serpent Apopis

Here is a modern form

[LorrB]

NLP .. will read what you have posted later. I know nothing about it. Interesting that Egypt raises its head again. Just posted on the possible links of Freemasonry-Sufism-Egypt link on another thread.

So - is there a middle path or stairway to heaven in Egypt? The Grand Gallery in the Great Pyramid pops to mind, but that was anything but Grand ... to me it looked more like a ramp used for elevating heavy materials. No ornamentation or anything like that.

[paul]

"Hail to thee, O Ladder of God, hail to thee, O Ladder of Set. Stand up, O Ladder of God, stand up, O Ladder of Set, stand up, O Ladder of Horus, whereon Osiris went forth into heaven . . . . . . This Pepi is thy son, this Pepi is Horus, thou hast given birth unto this Pepi even as thou hast given birth unto the god who is the lord of the Ladder. Thou hast given him the Ladder of God, and thou hast given him the Ladder of Set, whereon this Pepi hath gone forth into heaven . . . . . . Every khu and every god stretcheth out his hand unto this Pepi when he cometh forth into heaven by the Ladder of God . . . . that which he seeth and that which he heareth make him wise, and serve as food for him when he cometh forth into heaven by the Ladder of God. Pepi riseth up like the uræus which is on the brow of Set, and every khu and every god stretcheth out his hand unto Pepi on the Ladder. Pepi hath gathered together his bones, he hath collected his flesh, and Pepi hath gone straightway into heaven by means of the two fingers of the god who is the Lord of the Ladder." Book of the Dead

Here it seems that the ladder to the heavens is a physical object that can be given to someone and needs to be erected before it can function.

Notice however the use of fingers connected with the gathering of flesh. This suggests an posthumous ladder allegorically linked to the ladder(s) of Osiris, Horus and Set.

The allegorical ladder (veiled by Jacob's Ladder) can be used in a moral sense to observe & measure the posthumous state of humans.

See also books.google.com.au/books?id=bI47YJQY_K8C&pg=PA191&lpg=PA191&dq=horus+ladder+stand+up&source=bl&ots=xje8rY9OSA&sig=jdtptO6bs7x3gzmhRzO3wGZrhro&hl=en&ei=Cm9GTPvFNYX-vQPpmf3CAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=horus%20ladder%20stand%20up&f=false
for an alternate translation.

Note: "will go on up it with his flesh having been put on his limbs and his bones having been tied to his head and his skull". This sounds rather like the emblems of mortality


I have found no sense of a middle path - but that can be expected if we are looking at an allegorical adaptation of a physical reality.

[LorrB]

Notice however the use of fingers connected with the gathering of flesh. This suggests an posthumous ladder allegorically linked to the ladder(s) of Osiris, Horus and Set.

Could the ladder(s) or Osiris, Horus and Set be related to Ida, Pingala and Sushumna? Ida and Pingala ascend in a winding manner, Sushumna is a straight and narrow path, and the force which ascends is called Kundalini, is considered feminine, divorced or widowed.

[paul]

>Could the ladder(s) or Osiris, Horus and Set be related to Ida, Pingala and Sushumna?

In the very broad sense that trinities underlie much of Creation.

The fingers and flesh may relate to the lion's grip

[LorrB]

..... re lion's grip, an representation of Shin (?) which when it is added to the tetragrammaton spells ... ?? a/the lion of Judah ??

I just realised, that insertion could be considered as a 'middle way'.

It could also be a demonstration on those words in the bible... "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.

Maybe we have to shin-ny up Jacob's ladder (or the djed)

[paul]

Jul 23, 2010 11:11:56 GMT 9.5 LorrB said:

..... re lion's grip, an representation of Shin (?) which when it is added to the tetragrammaton spells ... ?? a/the lion of Judah ??

The Lion of Judah seems an adaptation of Egyptian mythology.

Here is Sekhmet, one of the earliest Egyptian gods



She of course did not actually have the head of a lion but was leonine in appearance.

She represents the midday sun - and has a lion's grip.

[LorrB]

I have been perusing Pike's Book of Words... found this:

Invenies verbum in ore leonis
Thou shalt find the Word in the Lion's mouth.

en.calameo.com/read/0000949845f392c3a3cd4

see bottom right, page 126


Any thoughts?

[paul]

The Lion is the initiator - using the Lion's grip and imparting the word. See the post on Sekhmet.

[LorrB]

The Fool, victorious over his enemies, is feeling arrogant, powerful, even vengeful. There is a hot passion in him that he can barely control. It is in this state that he comes across a maiden struggling with a lion. Running to help, he arrives in time to see her gently but firmly shut the lion's mouth! In fact, the beast, which seemed so wild and fierce a moment ago, is now completely at her command.

Amazed, the Fool asks her, "How did you do that?" One hand on the lion's mane, she answers, "Will power. Any beast, no matter how wild, will back down before a superior will." At that moment, the Maiden meets the Fool's eyes; though saintly and young, her look is knowing and filled with great power. "Likewise," she says to him, "there are many unworthy impulses inside us. It is not wrong to have them. But it is wrong to let them control us. We are human, not beast, and we can command such energy, use them for higher purposes." His rage quieted, the Fool nods, enlightened, and walks away knowing that it wasn't only the lion that was tamed this day by a Maiden's pure and innocent strength.
www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/strength.shtml

Lion: is a symbol for the primal urges, the physical needs and cravings.. The lion is also a symbol of fire which burns within us.

Mountains: is a symbol for challenges, aspiration, achievement, courage, accomplishment.

Wreath: symbolize completion and infinity (circle). A wreath or crown around the maiden's head is a symbol of victory. Victory is [possible in the battle against primal urges that do not serve us.

We are the word. We must find the willpower to free our real selves. We are the beautiful work in progress.

??

[paul]

While taming the "lion" of primal urges is a necessary step for the would-be initiate, the "word" of power that the taming provides is only one component in a greater process.

[Ric Syd404]

Just for another angle.... Read the lyrics of the Lead Zepplin song, Stairway to Heaven... it's rich in symbolism

"Theres a feeling I get when I look to the west and my spirit is crying for leaving"....

Worth a look and listen...
HGW Ric

[LorrB]

More on .... 'Shin changes the Tetragrammaton into the Hebrew spelling for Jesus'

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton
www.psyche.com/psyche/lex/yhswh.html

[Deleted]

Aug 2, 2010 11:24:23 GMT 9.5 paul said:

While taming the "lion" of primal urges is a necessary step for the would-be initiate, the "word" of power that the taming provides is only one component in a greater process.

Now, while this has been one bumpy *ss ride, one question has been coming to mind. 


Have you ever stopped and asked "Yourself" if the beast is pissed that you have almost total control over it? Or would you assume that the beast is the lucky one? What are the possibilities of this almost magical creation even knowing that we have almost 100% control over it? I only ask because today as my riding mower w/pull behind wagon and I was doing a routine sweep of the hollow in which I live (picking up a bunch of the time consuming trash that wanders in constantly) and it appeared to speak to me in an almost surprising manner and asked "Why I was doing it to him?" I immediately responded because it is what must be done rather "I" liked it or not!. 

Now hold the hell on! I'm taking all of this with stride on my own as best as I can and I feel that I'm doing a pretty damn good job at it but whoa! At what point do I start responding to the beast and can there be an expected repetition? I'm sure we have all see the people standing on the street corners speaking to themselves as everyone thinks them insane. I have all but been tempted to go and listen to there ramblings to see how incoherent that they may seem or if there would be sanity in their words. Just wanting to ensure that I don't wind up on the park bench with them or in a rubber room hahaha. I wonder also of the hesitation of the fight. Is it the beast's automatic nature to hinder progression of control and can I expect a constant fight as far as that goes or is there a grounding that he and I can meet at you know like a middle ground where we can see eye to eye so to speak or is it just that? Upon gaining light does the beast just naturally fall prey to my sweet sweet charm or can he constantly be an *ss?

[paul]

Good to see you are finding value in old threads

>if the beast is pissed that you have almost total control

The standard human is quite complex with some trillions of intelligences, mostly cellular but with more substantial entities as well.

Each chakra has elemental intelligence and mostly has a nature spirit as well to provide coordinated action. The various nature spirits of the chakras may or may not cooperate. For example I am usually reminded when leaving the house if there is anything I have forgotten to take. This is mostly the mental chakra nature spirit poking up from its usual subconscious (to the thinker) state. When it is upset it sometimes will not do the simplest tasks such as working out if I received the right change in the shop.

An easy way to check on your chakra spirits is to look at them. For example if you look inwardly at your pelvis, just in front of the sacral chakra, you may be able to see a small head poking half out of the abdomen. It seems to be looking down as I write, not particularly energized. Give it some light/love from the flame in the heart and see if it becomes more active.

The sacral spirit, if very withdrawn/traumatised is not good at coordinating the physical body and the human is "accident prone" - similarly for other chakras

Coordinating/driving the sacral, solar plexus and mental chakras (until the first stage of enlightenment) is an entity with various names including "personal will" and "dweller on the threshold"

There are many references to personal will on this forum but no thread. These threads are useful

a406.proboards.com/thread/973/21-steps-enlightenment
a406.proboards.com/thread/1538/black-magicians-illuminati

The PW proceeds by explaining to the human that it, the PW, is the true human and that the personality should do whatever the PW commands.

The primary asset of the PW is its self-esteem. It is threatened by situations in which it might have to admit that it is wrong. It prefers that the human dies physically or emotionally rather than admit error.

The PW has had 1000 incarnations to prepare for the time that the human tries to break through to genuine spirituality. It has many traps for the aspirant including faking spiritual experiences.

>speaking to themselves

I often appear to speak to myself but I am consciously addressing the local elementals
"Jung would go into the kitchen and greet all the pots and pans, knives and forks, and thank them for their good work in supporting his life. More to her consternation, Bailey discovered that Jung expected her to do likewise" jungiancenter.org/was-c-g-jung-into-ecology-jung-and-the-world-soul-or-anima-mundi/

>At what point do I start responding to the beast

This is fine but it is critical to nourish the various beasts with love - using the flame in the heart is probably the most efficient

a406.proboards.com/thread/1291/flame-heart

> does the beast just naturally fall prey to my sweet sweet charm

The PW eventually (3rd initiation) is tranformed from a defensive to a creative entity. Defence is critical to survival, but as enlightenment sets in, the Cosmos increasingly looks after the initiate and defence is less useful.

The first degree initiate knows rather than believes that Life has meaning.

The second degree initiate is careful to respond rather than react.

The third degree initiate can control its thoughts

[Deleted]

Gentlemen I thank you again for those prompt and guiding responses. In continuing on, I will do my best to work these responses into my situation. I know I am not a brother of the fraternity and by no means do I deserve your attention or your time(as it truly is precious), let alone your guiding knowledge and I do try my best to put these facts in front of my ignorant questions anymore before asking any questions that may take up your time. Please do try and have a wonderful day.

[paul]

Humility is a wonderful virtue but it too can be overdone.

[Deleted]

Oct 3, 2020 7:20:59 GMT 9.5 paul said:

Humility is a wonderful virtue but it too can be overdone.

If this was your nonchalant way of telling me not to kiss too much @ss, words well received.  I mean hell, I'm starting to dig the knowledge....somehow lol.