Pegasus

“The winged Horse is the sun or the Cosmic Horse, as is also the white horse, and represents pure intellect, the unblemished, innocence, life and light, and is ridden by heroes. The white horse of the ocean is also related to the fiery and humid principles. Pegasus depicts the passage from one plane to another, he carries the thunderbolts of Zeus. White horses draw the chariot of Mithra as sun-god. [p.85 "An illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols", 1978, JC Cooper, Thames and Hudson].

“A similar being to Pegasus finds its way into mediaeval legends under the name of hippogriff. It symbolizes the heightening power of the natural forces - the innate capacity for spiritualization and for inverting evil into good. [A DICTIONARY OF SYMBOLS by J.E. Cirlot. English translation 1967 Routledge & Kegan Paul ISBN 0 7102 0017 X]

“Mythologists associate Pegasus with the sea originally following Poseidon or with the lightning that bolts across the sky. Symbolically speaking, he combines the vitality and strength of a horse with the weightlessness and freedom from terrestrial concerns of a bird; thus it was only natural that Pegasus should later come to symbolize the indomitable poetic spirit overcoming the impediments of this world. [Carl G. Liungman, 'Dictionary of Symbols']” (Source).

 

The Fairy

 

“Many people are willing and even longing to believe in the existence of fairies. The Little People are so bound up with happy memories of childhood that they are recalled with delight as part of a less materialistic world. But, to most of us, they stand as a lost illusion. Not so with everyone, fortunately. For I, amongst others, have seen all kinds of fairies for as long as I can remember, and I still see them daily. By seeing I mean that they are as much outside me as trees, and are seen just as objectively.

 

“In the following pages, I propose to make these delightful beings as much a reality for you as I can. It is best that I try at the outset to make it clear why I have some special advantages for this enterprise. For one thing, having been born in the East, I have never been discouraged in my observations of fairies, because there are many people there who do see -- and very many more who believe in -- fairies. For this and other reasons, the not uncommon power among children to see them has in me persisted.

“Then, I have had the good fortune to fall, in this life, among family and friends who included several who could also see; and travel has enlarged the list. Therefore, what I have here set down is not the imagination of an isolated child. It is information gathered from many contacts and conversations with fairies all over the world in circumstances perfectly natural, however unusual. One can communicate with these beings in just as definite a manner as we human beings talk to one another -- more so, for though the method (which I shall describe shortly) is slightly different, it is more rapid than speech, and, in some ways at least, it is a more accurate exchange.

“It is important to mention these things, for once we see the world from the fairy point of view, we get a glimpse of a new universe. So many things that matter very much to us do not seem to matter at all to them. Life and death, for instance, are things that they know all about; to them there is no uncertainty and no tragedy involved. Human beings so often shrink from life and fear death. Fairies actually see the flow of life through all things. We live in a world of form without understanding the life force beneath the forms. To us the loss of the form means the end of the life, but fairies are never deceived in this way. They have a penetrating and powerful lesson for us” (Source).

 

The Unicorn

“purity, divine connection.

“One of the earliest references to a unicorn is about 5000 years ago in ancient China when it was written that a unicorn appeared to the emperor Huang Di as a sign that his reign would be long and peaceful. Also in China it is recorded that a unicorn brought a piece of jade to the mother of the renowned prophet Confucius and laid its head on her lap. She took that as a good omen for what was to come.

“Around about the fourth and fifth centuries, merchants would come back from India with stories of a horse with a white body, a red head, bluish eyes and with a horn on its forehead about a cubit long. Sightings of unicorns have also been attributed to Julius Caesar and to Alexander the Great, and there are several clear references to them in the Old Testament of the Bible.

“Although there are countless references, there is no real proof that they existed or presently exist in the physical world. It is possible they were often confused with other animals such as the rhinoceros or Oryx. Even the unicorn horn that Queen Elizabeth the First owned was probably the horn of the narwhal, a large marine mammal.

“But in terms of the symbolic nature of the unicorn, whether it existed or not doesn’t really matter. The unicorn represents purity and a Christ-like connection to God and the divine. Although a gentle creature, its horn could be used to protect if needed. So as a symbol it represents your desire to be closer to God, to work towards greater clarity in yourself, and to be protected while doing this.

“And as to whether unicorns exist in the spirit world? That is for you to decide” (Source).

 

The Dragon

“It may very well be that dragon is one of a number of ways that Western cultures refer to the naga.  Some hold though, that the word dragon actually refers to two entirely distinct beasts -- that the Western and the Chinese mythological beasts do not even belong to the same class.

“The Chinese, when they encountered the term naga in Buddhist scripture, translated it as lu or lung which means 'dragon' and so in China the ancient dragon concept took on a broader significance. 

“The Chinese dragon represents the vital potential of falling rain and flowing waters, unlike its western counterpart that sits brooding in a cavern guarding treasure. Joseph Campbell (The Power of Myth 150) describes the Asian dragon emerging from a swamp beating its belly and bellowing, "Haw ha ha haw!"   

“In Eastern mythology, nagas are a class of being whose primary role is as protector and benefactor.  Since their abode is the deep water, they are a source of knowledge and of fertility but they also guard the immense riches of the earth.  Thus the Eastern dragon has mainly benevolent and auspicious characteristics but in Western mythology, the role of the dragon has been strictly curtailed rendering it into an ugly, greedy and jealous opponent of the Hero.  It is the opinion of some that the reason for this has to do with the way people in the West view nature itself-- as something to be vanquished.

“The essence of life in the form of the dragon's celestial breath is called in Chinese sheng chi. It is the source of all energy that contributes to fertility and wealth such as the seasonal changes of the rain that allows crops to grow, the warmth of sunshine, balmy sea breezes and fertile soil.  In fact, the dragon is the eastern Mother Nature. 

“In Himalayan Buddhism, a banner of a turquoise dragon stands for ". . . the sound of compassion that awakens us from delusion and increases what we can know through hearing.  Dragons have the power of complete communication and protect one from slander." (Snow Lion Publications) (Source).

 

The Phoenix

“Phoenix, the French Phenix, the German Phonix, and the Italian Fenice, is one of Bayer's new figures, between Eridanus and Grus, south of Fornax and Sculptor, — its alpha, kappa, mu, beta, nu, and gamma in a line curving toward the south like that of a primitive Boat, by which figure, as Al Zaurak, the Arabs knew them. Al Sufi cited another name, — Al Ri’al, the Young Ostriches, — which Hyde wrongly read Al Zibal, perhaps a synonymous title; and Kazwini used Al Sufi's term in describing some stars of Al Nahr, the River, in which our Phoenix was then included by Arabian astronomers.

“{Page 336} Others changed the figure to that of a Griffin, or Eagle, so that the introduction of a Phoenix into modern astronomy was, in a measure, by adoption rather than by invention.

“But, whether Bayer knew it or not, his title is an appropriate one, for with various early nations — at all events, in China, Egypt, India, and Persia — this bird has been "an astronomical symbol of cyclic period," some versions of the well-known fable making its life coincident with the Great Year of the ancients beginning at noon of the day when the sun entered among the stars of Aries; and, in Egypt, with the Sothic Period when the sun and Sirius rose together on the 20th of July. Thompson further writes of this:

"A new Phoenix-period is said to have commenced A.D. 139, in the reign of Antoninus Pius; and a recrudescence of astronomical symbolism associated therewith is manifested on the coins of that Emperor."

“Coincidently, Ptolemy adopted as the epoch of his catalogue the year 138, the first of Antoninus. With the Egyptians, who knew this bird as Bennu and showed it on their coins, it was an emblem of immortality; indeed it generally has been such in pagan as well as in Christian times.

“In China the constellation was Ho Neaou, the Fire Bird, showing its derivation there from the Jesuits.

“Julius Schiller combined it with Grus in his Aaron the High Priest. Gould catalogues 139 naked-eye stars here, from 2.4 to 7. ["Starnames, Their Lore and Meaning" Richard Hinchley Allen, 1889. p.335].

“It is said to give a pioneering disposition, ambition and power, together with a long life and lasting fame.  ("The Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology", Vivian E. Robson 1923 )” (Source).

 

The Griffin

“The griffin is a mythical creature, with the head, wings and talons of an eagle and the body and hind legs of a lion. It is a principal device in heraldry, signifying valor, strength, vigilance, and perseverance. The symbolism of the griffin was described by Alexander Nisbet in his System of Heraldry (1722) translated from Latin as: "The griffin represents wisdom joined to fortitude, but wisdom should lead, and fortitude follow” (Source).

“Despite its large presence in art, though, griffins didn't usually show up in written literature. The griffins most people think of were the ones featured in ancient stories, guarding hoards of gold high in the mountains and defending it against all who desired it. Herodotus mentions this story as being in an epic poem The Arimaspeia by Aristeas of Proconnesus. Pliny and Aelian talk about gold-guarding griffins, too.

“During Medieval times the griffin was either evil or good, depending on who you asked. Griffins in heraldry were almost always snarling and ready to strike out with their talons. In art of the time they are shown devouring sinners and ripping animals apart. In contrast to this, Church people saw the griffin as "a symbol of the earthly and divine natures of Christ".

“The unique form and noble look of the griffin made it perfect for heraldry. Female heraldic griffins on shields and crests have wings, while the males sport fans of spines growing from their shoulders. They live on today at Renaissance festivals and in our imagination” (Source).

 

 

 

 

“Christ With Us.”