Since ancient times, many philosophers, mathematicians, and theologians have said that the monad or number one represents a secret principle of a sacred central fire that unites all things forming our realities.
This concept has a profound significance in both philosophy and cosmogony for well over 2,000 years.
The Greeks called it the “monad or monas,” meaning “unity” or “oneness,” which represents the fundamental building block of existence. It was associated with the belief in the “prime mover” or the first cause that set the universe in motion.
This concept can be traced back to the teachings of ancient philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato, who believed in the existence of a fundamental substance that underlies the diversity of the material world.
According to Pythagoras, who some consider the Father of Math and his followers, the Pythagoreans, the monad is the ultimate source of all existence.
In this philosophy, the number one or monad is considered the origin of numbers, as numbers are seen as the building blocks of reality. It stood at the pinnacle of this numerical hierarchy.
For the Pythagoreans, the Monad represented the source from which all other numbers and mathematical relationships were derived.
It symbolized unity, indivisibility, and the essence of all beings.
ORDO AB CHAO
The monad is seen as the creative force, fire or energenetic force that brings order out of chaos, giving rise to the intricate web of interconnectedness that defines our reality. It is the principle that brings about the principles of symmetry, proportion, and harmony that permeate the natural world.
In Pythagorean cosmogony, it serves as the guiding force that organizes or more appropriately, magnetizes the chaotic elements of the universe into a harmonious order. According to their teachings, each number possessed its own unique essence and vibrational frequency, and these vibrations were considered to be the very fabric of reality.
They believed that it gave rise to the dyad, which then generated all other numbers and the material world. It is the indivisible and immutable essence that underlies the entire cosmos.
This embodies the idea that everything in the universe can be reduced to a singular, fundamental unit. In its essence, it is the ultimate unity, the indivisible entity from which all things originate. Hence, the monad represents the primary building block of reality, the seed of creation, and the spark that ignites the cosmic order.
For Plato, this force or fire was called ether and was the substance by which the Craftsmam had created the universe and world. The Freemasons represent this with their motto, ORDO AB CHAO and the concept of the Great Architect of the Universe (T.G.A.O.T.U.).
This concept of the monad is often depicted as a circle, symbolizing its perfect and infinite nature.
THE MONAD IN ESOTERIC PHILOSOPHY
In the realm of ancient and esoteric philosophies, the concept of the Monad holds a significant place in Gnosticism, Hermeticism and Alchemy. These mystical traditions, intertwined with deep spiritual wisdom, have long sought to understand the nature of existence and the interconnectedness of all things.
In Gnosticism, the monad is at the root of the pleroma, the infinite fount of matter and energy in the universe.
In Hermeticism, the Monad is seen as the ultimate source of all creation, the divine spark from which everything springs forth. It represents the timeless and indescribable essence that permeates all levels of reality. This concept aligns with the idea of the One in Neoplatonism, emphasizing the unity and oneness of the universe.
Alchemy, on the other hand, views the Monad as the primordial substance or the original matter from which the alchemical transmutation takes place. It is the raw material that undergoes various stages of refinement and purification, ultimately leading to the attainment of perfection or the Philosopher’s Stone.
It symbolizes the potential for transformation and the inherent unity of all elements.
33rd Degree Freemason and author, Manly P. Hall wrote;
“The number one was the point within the circle , and denoted the central fire , or God , because it is the beginning and ending ; the first and the last . It signified also love , concord , piety , and friendship , because it is so …”
Hall said, “The sun is a great dot, a monad of life, and each of its rays a line – its own active principle in manifestation.
The key thought is: The line is the motion of the dot. The dot, or Sacred Island, is the beginning of existence, whether that of a universe or a man.”
It is seen as the unity that precedes duality, representing the transition from the formless to the formed.
Just as the concept is a single entity, it is also considered the harmonious union of opposites. It represents the synthesis of opposites such as light and darkness, male and female, unity and multiplicity, and harmony, balance or order.
As Plato wrote, “Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together; it tries to make one out of two and heal the wound of human nature.” (Plato, The Symposium)
From Plato, Neoplatonism, placed great emphasis on the concept of the Monad, particularly through the teachings of one of its prominent figures, Plotinus.
According to Plotinus, the One is beyond all categories and distinctions. It is ineffable and transcendent, beyond the grasp of human comprehension. It is the origin and cause of all things, the pure essence from which everything else derives its being.
Plotinus taught that through contemplation and philosophical inquiry, individuals can come to realize their connection to the One and experience a sense of oneness with the ultimate reality.
In Neoplatonic philosophy, the journey towards understanding the One, or the Monad, is seen as a spiritual ascent. This journey involves transcending the limitations of the material world and ascending through the various levels of existence, ultimately reaching a state of unity with the One.
This realization brings about a transformative spiritual awakening, leading to a higher understanding of the self and the universe.
THE MONAD IN EASTERN PHILOSOPHY
In Chinese philosophy, the concept of the monad is reflected in the teachings of Taoism, where it represents the ultimate source of all things. Taoism, rooted in the profound wisdom of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, delves into the fundamental principles of existence and the interconnectedness of all things.
At the heart of Taoist philosophy lies the concept of the Tao, often described as the “Way” or the “Ultimate Reality.”
It is the underlying force that governs the universe, encompassing both the seen and unseen aspects of existence representing the unifying essence that flows through all things, connecting them in a harmonious and ever-evolving dance.
According to Taoist teachings, it is the eternal and unchanging essence that transcends the duality of existence, encompassing both yin and yang, darkness and light, movement and stillness.
The Taoist sages emphasize the importance of aligning oneself with the flow of the monad, harmonizing with its rhythms and embracing the natural order of the universe.
It was also explored in Indian philosophy, particularly in the school of Hindu philosophy known as Advaita Vedanta. Here, the monad, referred to as “Atman,” is considered the eternal, unchanging essence of the self, which is indistinguishable from the ultimate reality, known as “Brahman.”
This idea of the monad was incorporated within monotheism, and the monotheistic religions symbolized as God or the universe.
It served as a metaphorical representation of the divine spark present within every individual. The Monad was seen as the innermost essence of the human soul, connecting each individual to the universal cosmic order.
It embodied the idea that each person possessed a unique and irreplaceable role within the grand tapestry of existence.
Hence, One God. One Lord. One Faith and One Baptism by Holy Fire (monad) – Not water.
To reunite with the One of God was to be Born Again.
The Prodigal son who was lost is now found.
THE MONAD IN MODERN SCIENCE
In the field of science, the notion of a unified theory that explains the fundamental workings of the universe has been a longstanding pursuit.
From the Ancient Pythagoreans and Plato to Leibniz’s monadology and modern science and philosophy, the concept of the monad has provided the unifying framework for the theory of relativity to quantum mechanics, understanding consciousness, free will, and the nature of reality itself.
In the 17th century, German philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz revived the concept of the monad. His magnum opus, “Monadology,” provides profound insights into the nature of reality, metaphysics, and the interconnectedness of all things.
In “Monadology,” Leibniz presents a metaphysical framework that explains the nature of existence and how monads relate to one another. He argues that they do not directly interact but rather harmoniously coexist in a pre-established harmony, orchestrated by a divine entity.
Leibniz’s modern concept of monadology challenges the traditional understanding of causality and suggests a synchronized universe where every monad’s actions align with the actions of other monads, creating a grand cosmic dance.
Influenced by his studies in mathematics and metaphysics, Leibniz proposed that monads were the basic units of reality, each possessing its own unique properties and experiences. He said they were indivisible and could not be influenced by external forces, but rather, they interacted with one another through a pre-established harmony.
According to Leibniz, they are indivisible, immaterial substances that are the fundamental building blocks of the universe.
Each is unique, representing a distinct perspective on reality.
These monads are not passive entities but rather possess inherent qualities and capacities that allow them to perceive, act, and interact with other monads.
He suggests that each one possesses a unique perception of the universe, which he calls “apperception.”
This individualistic perspective shapes the experiences and consciousness of each monad, making them active participants in the construction of reality. Hence, each individual substance is seen as a unique monad with its own perception and consciousness that are co-creators or builders of the world in which we live.
Epistemologically, Leibniz’s monads provide a unique perspective on the nature of knowledge or Gnosis.
Since each monad is a separate and distinct microcosm of the universe, it possesses its own unique perspective and experiences. This notion of “pre-established harmony” suggests that each monad has access to a specific set of truths, forming the basis of its individual knowledge.
Hence, no two humans are exactly the same.
Furthermore, Leibniz proposes that they are not confined to the physical realm but also exist in the realm of immaterial substances. This duality allows for a deeper exploration of the connection between mind and matter, challenging the Cartesian mind-body dualism prevalent during his time.
In the realm of physics, the concept of the Monad resonates with the fundamental building blocks of the universe. In particle physics, for instance, the notion of elementary particles can be seen as analogous to monads.
These indivisible units, such as quarks or electrons, possess unique properties and interact with one another to form the complexity we observe in the physical world.
In biology, the concept can be related to the idea of the cell as the fundamental unit of life. Just as monads are self-contained entities, cells possess their own internal structures and functions, while simultaneously interacting with other cells to compose the complex organisms we observe.
Moreover, the concept of the Monad has also sparked intriguing discussions in fields such as psychology and consciousness studies. Some theorists propose that the monad can be associated with the individual consciousness, representing a unique and self-contained center of experience within each person.
Additionally, the concept of monads has found resonance in cosmogony, the study of the origin and evolution of the universe. They are seen as the primordial entities that give rise to the diversity and complexity of the cosmos.
Monads represent the underlying fabric from which everything emerges and are seen as the driving force behind the dynamic unfolding of the universe.
In the realm of mathematics and computer science, the concept of the Monad has found its home in the paradigm of functional programming. Functional programming is an approach to software development that emphasizes the use of pure functions and immutable data.
In functional programming, a monad represents a computational context or a sequence of computations. In functional programming, it provides a clear separation between pure computations and impure actions, promoting code that is easier to reason about and test.
It allows developers to encapsulate side effects, such as reading from or writing to a database, handling exceptions, or dealing with I/O operations, within a controlled and composable structure. This enforces an explicit and disciplined mathematical approach to handling effects, ensuring that their impact is predictable and managed within the confines of the Monad.
At the core of the Monad in functional programming lies the bind operation, often represented by the symbol “>>=”, which allows sequential composition of computations within the Monad. This enables developers to chain together a series of operations, each dependent on the result of the previous one, without explicitly dealing with the underlying data transformations or side effects.
Hence, ALL IS MATH.
By leveraging the Monad, functional programmers can write code that is concise, modular, and reusable, which simplifies complex operations and promotes a declarative style of programming. It enables them to leverage the principles of functional programming to write elegant and efficient code, while also appreciating the historical and philosophical roots of this powerful concept.
Today we can see this in real time with social media platforms like X, Facebook and Instagram that are monotheistic hosts to billions of people, each living in their own multipolar worlds.
Worlds that are not defined by biological traits, genetics, and common characteristics, but by various degrees and categories of knowledge, ideas and wisdom or a lack thereof.
Let me remind you that in modern monadology, monads are individualistically magnetic and like attracts like.
This is why in the monotheistic religion of Christianity, the great teacher Jesus said;
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” – Hosea 4:6
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the significance of monads in modern philosophy lies in their role as fundamental entities that shape our understanding of existence, consciousness, and the interconnected nature of reality.
It invites us to question the nature of the world as we contemplate the interplay between unity and multiplicity, and delve into the depths of our own existence.
As we embark on this monadic journey, we open ourselves to new insights and perspectives that can enrich our understanding of the profound mysteries within the cosmic tapestry (filamental web) that surrounds us.
Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.
There are many holidays we celebrate across the world, and especially here in America that very few people truly understand.
Today, January 1st is one of those holidays many people think is just about partying and bringing in the New Year with some new resolutions that they never keep.
But in reality, this day has a deeper meaning you are probably unaware of…
The name of the month January, is derived from the two-faced god with the Latin name of Janus.
The reason he has two faces, is because one face looks back into the past, and the other face forward to the future.
This is essentially what happens on New Years Eve when you countdown to midnight which is the ending of one year, and the beginning of a brand new year filled with new hopes and dreams.
A time to put an end to the past year which is now old, and begin fresh with a new year.
To the ancient pagans and Greeks, he was their custodian of the key to the Temple of Wisdom.
Plutarch had written; “For this Janus, in the most remote antiquity, whether a demi-god or a king, being remarkable for his political abilities, and his cultivation of society, reclaimed men from their rude and savage manners; he is therefore represented with two faces, as having altered the former state of the world, and given quite a new turn to life.”
The Greek historian and geographer, Strabo, had said that the original worship of Janus had come from the priesthood of the Curetes of Crete who were accustomed to celebrate annually the rites of Juno and Latona, on Solmissus. (1)
The Roman advocate, rhetorician, and Christian apologist, Minucius Felix had said Saturn fled from Crete to Italy and was received hospitably by Janus. Out of gratitude, since he was a Greek of culture, he taught the rude and uncivilized Italians many things, among them, to write, to coin money, and to make tools.(2)
The ancient Romans had adopted him as their god of time, doorways, new beginnings, coinage, war and peace. The double face of Janus was often placed on Roman coins.
During the time of war, the Gates of Janus would be left open, and when a war was about to commence, lavish wartime ceremonies were performed throughout the Roman Empire.
It was during the time of Pax Romona (Peace of Rome), when Augustus Caesar had officially “closed the gates of Janus,” instituting a time of peace which ended 200 years of constant war.
The Pax Romana started after Octavian (Augustus) beat Marc Anthony in the Battle of Actium. He became princeps, or “first citizen”.
Lacking a good precedent of successful one-man rule, Augustus created a junta of the greatest military magnates and stood as the front man. By binding together these leading magnates in a coalition, he eliminated the prospect of civil war.
The Pax Romana was not immediate despite the end of the civil wars, because fighting continued in Spain and in the Alps. Nevertheless, Augustus closed the Gates of Janus (the Roman ceremony to mark world Peace) three times,[2] first in 29 BC and again in 25 BC.
The third closure is undocumented, but Inez Scott Ryberg (1949) and Gaius Stern (2006) have persuasively dated the third closure to 13 BC with the Ara Pacis ceremony.
At the time of the Ludi Saeculares in 17 BC the concept of Peace was publicized, and in 13 BC was proclaimed when Augustus and Agrippa jointly returned from pacifying the provinces.
The Ara Pacis ceremony was no doubt part of this announcement. Augustus faced a problem making peace an acceptable mode of life for the Romans, who had been at war with one power or another continuously for 200 years. Romans regarded peace not as an absence of war, but the rare situation that existed when all opponents had been beaten down and lost the ability to resist.
Augustus’ challenge was to persuade Romans that the prosperity they could achieve in the absence of warfare was better for the Empire than the potential wealth and honor acquired when fighting a risky war.
Augustus succeeded by means of skillful propaganda. Subsequent emperors followed his lead, sometimes producing lavish ceremonies to close the Gates of Janus, issuing coins with Pax on the reverse, and patronizing literature extolling the benefits of the Pax Romana.(Wikipedia)
For these changes, he would be deemed by the priesthood of the Curetes as the successor to his father Julius Caesar who was known as “Divus Iulius” (Latin for “Julius is God”) ,and he would be given the title of Divi Filius (Latin for the “Son of a God”).
He would be known as the Savior to the Romans, and over time, savior to much of the world.
This was after he had conquered Egypt and thus “began the rule” of the Romans.
It was in 8 B.C. when Augustus had instituted a “new Roman calendar” adding “two new months.”
One for the month of July which is the birthday of his father Julius, and another month called August which would be honored as the birth month of Augustus. In addition to these changes with new times, dates and the end of the old age, came the beginning of a New Age called the 6th Age in which we are currently in the year 2014 of this same age.
Saint Bede, the Father of English History and Doctor of the Church had written in his Biographical Writings and Letters;
“In the forty-second year of Augustus Caesar, in the twenty-seventh from the death of Antony and Cleopatra, when Egypt became a Roman Province, in the third year of the 193rd Olympiad, and in the 752nd from the building of the city, in the year when all the commotions of nations were stilled throughout the whole world, and by the appointment of God, Caesar had established real and durable tranquility, Jesus Christ consecrated by his advent of the 6th age of the world.”
33rd Degree Freemason, Manly P. Hall had said Janus would later become Saint Peter who is often depicted holding keys, which symbolize the keys to heaven.
To mark the beginning of this age, we know St Peter was crucified upside down.
Concealed within the teachings of Freemasonry are some of the most important ancient symbols known to mankind. A hidden science that Masons around the globe have preserved for many centuries until the modern era.
As Albert G. Mackey once wrote, “To study the symbolism of Masonry is the only way to investigate its philosophy. This is the portal of its temple, through which alone we can gain access to the sacellum where its aporrheta are concealed.
Its philosophy is engaged in the consideration of propositions relating to God and man, to the present and the future life. Its science is the symbolism by which these propositions are presented to the mind.”
One of these symbols in Masonry is called the T Square that we also know of today in many religions as the Tau cross.
For thousands of years, it was one of the most esteemed and important symbols in all of the world.
To the Ancient Egyptians, we find it in the holy life-giving Ankh, as the symbol of life.
The Ancient Egyptian Ankh, or Tau Cross is a symbol of divinity (Harding). To Freemasons, it symbolizes the Man’s triumph of his spiritual nature (human, angelic, godlike) over his physical (animal, beast, demonic) nature.
The Tau Cross is a symbol for the power of life and consciousness often associated with the Old Testament and the ancient Phoenician Hebrews, Egyptian Israelites, and the Greeks who propagated the Tau around the world.
According to Manly Hall 33°, the Tau is the oldest form of the cross and may have originated with the Egyptians.
From ancient times, the act of inscribing the mark of the Tau upon one’s forehead has been observed in many places around the world. The Tau was a sign on the foreheads of people accused of crimes, the Tau meant they been acquitted of those charges. Hence, we see the Tau employed as a symbol of liberation (Hall 569).
For example, the Druids who I have connected to the Phoenicians, AKA Hebrews used the Tau cross as a representation of the planet Jupiter, their chief deity (Mackey).
The Kabalists also use the Tau cross to represent what they call the perfect number, the number “10,” which is in reference to the Pythagorean Tetractys and the ineffable name of the deity (Pike).
In Phoenician cosmogony, the Ankh becomes the Hebrew תָּו tav, tau, or taw, the last letter of the alphabet. The tau is one of the most ancient symbols in Judaism and Christianity.
It is the cross that The Prophet Ezekiel speaks of as the mark distinguishing those who were to be saved from the damned in Jerusalem.
The tau is much different than the modern Christian or Latin cross, which is the ensign of warfare and symbol of death modeled after the Greek theta representing the New Testament.
According to Manly P. Hall, the Tau cross was a symbol of Light and Grand Emblem of Royal Masonry. Hall wrote;
“The TAU cross is preserved to modern Masonry under the symbol of the T square.
This appears to be the oldest form of the cross extant. To the Rosicrucians, Alchemists, and Illuminati, the cross was the symbol of light, because each of the three letters L V X is derived from some part of the cross.”
The Knight of the Brazen Serpent, which is the 25th Degree of the Scottish Rite (Council of Kadosh) preserves some of the secrets of the Egyptian Crux Ansata of the Phoenician and Greek Tau Cross.
Freemasonic author, Rex R. Hutchens, 33° discusses the meaning of the symbols and words contained in this degree.
“The jewel is a Tau cross, of gold, surmounted by a circle – the Crux Ansata of Egypt – round which a serpent is entwined. On the upright part of the cross is engraved the Hebrew word meaning ‘he has suffered’ or ‘been wounded’, and on the arms the Hebrew word given in the Bible for the brazen serpent, ‘Nakhustan’.”
Manly Hall further stated that it was used in the Royal Arch Degree as the true name of God. Hall said;
“In Freemasonry, the triple tau is used in the Royal Arch Degree as a mark designating and separating those who know and worship the true name of God from those who are ignorant.
It is placed in the center of a Triangle and Circle and is so highly esteemed as to be called the “emblem of all emblems,” and “the grand emblem of Royal Arch Masonry.”
According to Albert Pike 33°, the Masonic symbolism of the triple tau in the center of a circle and a triangle signifies the great lights of Masonry. Pike wrote;
“The triple Tau, in the center of a circle and a triangle, typifies the Sacred Name; and represents the Sacred Triad, the Creating, Preserving, and Destroying Powers; as well as the three great lights of Masonry.
If to the Masonic point within a Circle, and the two parallel lines, we add the single Tau Cross, we have the Ancient Egyptian Triple Tau.”
Pike further stated:
“This Tau was in the form of the cross of this degree, and it was the emblem of life and salvation. The Samaritan Tau and the Ethiopic Tavvi are the evident prototype of the Greek r; and we learn from Tertullian, Origen, and St. Jerome, that the Hebrew Tau was anciently written in the form of a Cross.
In ancient times the mark Tau was set on those who had been acquitted by their judges, as a symbol of innocence. The military commanders placed it on soldiers who escaped unhurt from the field of battle, as a sign of their safety under the Divine Protection.
It was a sacred symbol among the Druids. Divesting a tree of part of its branches, they left it in the shape of a Tau Cross, preserved it carefully, and consecrated it with solemn ceremonies.
On the tree they cut deeply the word Thau, by which they meant God. On the right arm of the Cross, they inscribed the word Hesuls, on the left Belen or Belenus, and on the middle of the trunk Tharamis. This represented the sacred Triad.”
SOURCES:
Albert Gallatin Mackey – An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences
Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.
Thoth (Taut, Taautus, Theuth) is the Egyptian creation god of thought, knowledge, writing, math, the sciences, magic, messenger, and exclusive patron of scribes.
His stories detail a pearl of hidden scientific wisdom about human behavior and the biology and neurobiology that the Ancient Egyptians had mastered thousands of years ago.
A science that I contend we carry on as their inheritors until this very day.
The veneration and the importance of Thoth are among the longest of any god(s) in Egypt or any deity from any civilization lasting approximately 6,000 plus years. The kings of Egypt would style their royal names after this god such as the many Pharaohs called Tuthmoses – “Born of Thoth”, as well as their scribes, and priests.
In religious art, Thoth is often depicted as a man with the head of a baboon or ibis, which lays the cosmic egg that holds all of creation representing an equilibrium between order and chaos. In some stories, he is closely associated with being born “from the lips of Ra” at the beginning of creation as the embodiment of divine order and justice.
According to Egyptian myth, Thoth was self-created and was known as the “god without a mother” or “born of the seed of Horus or from the forehead of Set.” Another tells us that Set brought forth a gold disk from his forehead, which Thoth seized and placed on his own head as an ornament.
These descriptions interest me as it relates to my research on the human neurological system, the brain, and hidden biological aspects of human behavior.
These ancient stories appear to be exoteric representations of a secret science that the Egyptians mastered with the tools they had at the time that we know today as neurobiology – the study of the nervous system and the brain.
For example, the story of how Thoth was birthed from Set’s forehead and his attributes involve the brain such as critical thinking and putting in the work of writing and inventing.
In other versions, he acts as a mediator in the struggle between the gods like the battle between Horus and Set, which allude to the different functions of the left vs right brain.
As the record keeper of the gods and a judge of human affairs, Thoth seemed to be involved in the memory process as he kept account of the days of human beings. He is regularly depicted in a number of images keeping track of the days as a scribe at the side of Osiris and Anubis in the Hall of Truth as he records the outcome of the weighing of the heart against the feather of truth.
In every story, Thoth seeks equilibrium. He always stands in the middle ground to make sure the contest of the Gods will be fair.
As Egyptian Scholar Richard H. Wilkinson comments:
“In vignettes of the Book of the Dead, Thoth stands before the scales which weigh the heart of the deceased and record the verdict. This role gave Thoth a reputation for truth and integrity and is seen in the common assertion that a person had conducted his life in a manner “straight and true like Thoth”.
As if Thoth represents thought, logic, and reason to make sure that when you do think, all knowledge attained is assessed equally for true comprehension so that none will gain an advantage over the other.
His wife was Ma’at, also spelled Maat and Mayet who was the personification of truth, justice, and the cosmic order. The female Goddess of Justice and the Lower World, the Land of Ghosts, was called Maat (Mot, Mout, or Mut).
She was often depicted with a vulture headdress and sometimes a Lion’s head. In legends, she is “The opener of the nostrils of the living.”
Maat was one of the gods created when the sun god Ra emerged from the chaotic and primordial waters of Nun at the beginning of time filling the entire universe with Maat. However, with the fall of mankind, disorder, evil, and chaos entered the universe in the form of Isfet.
Ma’at gave the gods the ability to breathe air and the bringer of a good afterlife to peaceful and law-abiding people, but death to violent and evil people.
Thoth is also known as the “Lord of Ma’at”, “Lord of Divine Words”, and “Scribe of Ma’at in the Company of the Gods”.
As if Thoth was the mind or thinking apparatus for humans, while Ma’at acted as the guard or executing angel issuing neurological judgments and biological justice in the form of our brain and body health or lack thereof.
We find Thoth in the Phoenician Cadmus, the inventor of the alphabet, writing, and letters who gave these skills to the Greeks. He is the purported founder and the first king of Boeotian Thebes and Ancient Greece’s first hero.
Taautus is also the name of a god from Byblos, who invented the alphabet, and became synonymous with the Greek Hermes or Hermes Trismegistus, also spelled Hermes Trismegistos.
Interestingly, we can also find that Thoth is intimately connected to the life-giving Ankh, the symbol of life, and the holiest symbol in Egyptian religion.
In the Phoenician cosmogony, Thoth also becomes Taautus and the Ankh later from Middle English tau, taue, from Latin tau, from Ancient Greek ταῦ (taû) and Hebrew תָּו (tav, tau or taw).
The tau just so happens to be one of the most important and holiest symbols of Judaism and Christianity and one of the most ancient symbols known to the Church.
It is the cross that The Prophet Ezekiel speaks of as the mark distinguishing those who were to be saved from the damned in Jerusalem.
We also are told that Jesus, a 33-year-old wise man from the land of Judea (Idumea, Crete) was brought to Golgatha, also known as the “Place of a Skull” and crucified upon a Tau cross with two others, one on each side, with Jesus in the middle.
Miraculously, after the crucifixion upon the tau, Jesus is resurrected.
The original Phoenician (Hebrew) meaning of resurrect or resurrection is ‘raising up, rising up’ or ‘to cause to stand or rise up; to raise from sleep or the dead.
I contend that this act of raising up as told in the story of Jesus is akin to a person becoming awakened or enlightened.
As if they had been woken from a sleep-like state where they were in medical terms, mentally dead. Meaning, they were not really using their full brain faculties to acquire knowledge (gnosis).
In other words, by the power of the Egyptian God Thoth and his Tau cross, the Greek Hermes, the Christian Jesus at the Place of the Skull, or just plain good thoughts in your head that lead to good actions and lives – people can be saved and find salvation.
It doesn’t matter if you are an Egyptian, Phoenician, Greek, Jew, Christian or Muslim – Salvation can be had by anyone, but not everyone can attain it.
The God Thoth represents the ancient Egyptian concept of the power of thought and secrets of wisdom in which the tau is an ancient symbol of the mysteries of consciousness and life.
A mystery that I hope to someday prove is associated with the science of thought, knowledge, wisdom, mental health, and memory.
Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.
“The most primitive and fundamental of all symbols is the dot.” — Manly P. Hall; Lectures on Ancient Philosophy
The ancient symbol known as the dot in the circle, circled dot, circle with a point, or a circumpunct, is one of the oldest symbols known to humans.
According to Gnostics, it is the most primal aspect of God. To Greek philosophers and the Pythagoreans, the circumpunct represents God, or the Monad – the point of the beginning of creation, and eternity.
It is the sun of astrologers and astronomers; the alchemical gold of the alchemist, and the Keter of the Kabbalah.
33rd Freemason, and one of Masonry’s foremost scholars, Manly P. Hall had written about the circumpunct in the Lectures on Ancient Philosophy view;
“The keys to all knowledge are contained in the dot, the line, and the circle. The dot is universal consciousness, the line is universal intelligence, and the circle is universal force – the threefold, unknowable Cause of all knowable existence (the three hypostases of Atma).
In man the spirit is represented by the dot and conscious activity or intelligence by the line. Conscious activity is the key to intelligence, because consciousness belongs to the sphere of the dot and activity to the sphere of the circle.
The center and the circumference are thus blended in the connecting line – conscious activity or intelligence. The circle is the symbol of body and body is the limit of the radius of the activity of mind power pouring out of the substance of consciousness.”
The circle around the dot is the universe or world in which we live.
A blank canvas to draw from the circle that we wish to create.
A place to also retreat back from the world when things in life get too chaotic. Erase our problems in ‘order’ to have a clean slate.
In a sense, to redeem our souls.
As you can see, the circumpunct is a symbol that can help evolve our souls to become truly illuminated. An enlightened soul who is “I AM.”
In order to know the meaning of this symbol, you first must understand how the world in which we live operates.
The modern man-made world is ruled by chaos which confuses people and often leads their souls astray.
Man-u-fact-ured chaos.
This is why the motto of the 33rd degree of Freemasonry is ORDO AB CHAO.
A Latin term meaning “Order from (out of) Chaos.”
To find order, we must first look within our own selves. You do not find true order within by searching without in books or buying the latest online course from some self-proclaimed enlightened guru who claims they have all the answers.
The whole goal of going within is to find your true soul. To find your true self. To “KNOW THYSELF.”
To KNOW THYSELF, we must go WITHIN THYSELF.
To accomplish this, we must silence the outside world and any chaotic thinking by going within and finding the center of space that is within each one of us.
In a sense, meditate.
We must often leave the web of the man-made reality of confusion in order to move into the circumpunct where we find clarity and retain our true selves.
The knowing of who you are, who you were, and where you are heading.
The symbol to your own individual Gnosis, knowledge, the past, and our mission as an evolving soul in life is contained in the dot within the circle. Our mission is to go there.
To be one with the one. To be you.
The symbol of the circumpunct is the ancient symbol that helps us realize this truth. If you concentrate on the circumpunct, you can visualize your soul as the dot within the world of which we live.
Think and meditate on the symbol of the circumpunct. This is how knowing the meaning of symbols can help you learn, grow and evolve.
Today you will find the symbol of the circumpunct all over the world. It is featured in the best-selling book by Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol. It’s also the symbol for the consumer shopping giant, Target.
Below are many more quotes by Manly P. Hall that I believe are perfect, and I think you might agree. They are taken from his book, Lectures on Ancient Philosophy.
“The dot, being most proximate to perfection, is the simplest, and therefore the least imperfect of all symbols.
The dot, moving away from self, projects the line; the line becomes the radius of an imaginary circle, and this circle is the circumference of the powers of the central dot.
Hypothetically, every sun has a periphery where its rays end, every human life a periphery where its influence ceases, every human mind a periphery beyond which it cannot function, and every human heart a periphery beyond which it cannot feel. Somewhere there is a limit to the scope of awareness. The circle is the symbol of this limit. It is the symbol of the vanishing point of central energy. The dot symbolizes the cause; the line, the means; and the circle, the end.
Motion away from self brings a decrease in consciousness and power; motion toward self brings a corresponding increase in consciousness and power. The farther the light ray travels from its source the weaker the ray.
The dot, the line, and the circle are the supreme and primary symbols. The dot is spirit and its symbol in the Chaldaic Hebrew – the Yod – is actually a seed or spermatozoon, a little comma with a twisting tail representing the germ of the not-self. In its first manifestation the dot elongates to form the line.
The line is a string of dots made up of germ lives – the monadic lives of Leibnitz. From the seed growing in the earth comes the sprig – the line. The line, therefore, is the symbol of the dot in growth or motion.
The sun is a great dot, a monad of life, and each of its rays a line – its own active principle in manifestation.
The key thought is: The line is the motion of the dot.
The dot, or Sacred Island, is the beginning of existence, whether that of a universe or a man.
The dot is the germ raised upon the surface of infinite duration. The potentialities signified by the blank paper are manifested as active potencies through the dot. Thus the limitless Absolute is manifested in a limited way.
After the dot is placed on the paper it can be rubbed out and the white paper restored to its virgin state.
Thus the white paper represents eternity, and the dot, time; and when the dot is erased time is dissolved back into eternity, for time is dependent upon eternity.
Therefore in ancient philosophy there are two symbols: the NOTHING and the ONE – the white paper and the dot. Creation traces its origin from the dot – the Primitive Sea, the Egg laid by the White Swan in the field of SPACE.
The dot is the first illusion of the Self, the first limitation of SPACE, even as Spirit is the first limitation of Self. The dot is life localized as a center of power; the blank paper is life unlimited.
According to philosophy, the dot must sometime be erased, because nothing but the blank paper is eternal.”
Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.
Throughout the symbology of Freemasonry, you will find the most prominent of all numbers is 3 (three), and one of the most esteemed symbols is the triangle △, which is also represented by the structure of a pyramid.
3 degrees of Masonry, the 3 pillar officers, and the 3 tenants of Freemasonry.
The 3 different levels of initiation or degrees represent a Mason’s journey toward enlightenment, with the number 3 being significant at various levels of advancement such as the 3rd, and 33rd degrees.
It’s not that you become perfect after reaching the higher levels of Freemasonry. But rather that you are closer to being balanced between your physical self and spiritual self while demonstrating mastery over the world in which the Mason lives.
At its essence, the triangle and number 3 represent the balance and stability between the three worlds of human existence – earth, heaven, and hell. As such, we can it symbolizes the union of body, mind, and spirit, or heaven, earth, and water, and its mastery over these elements.
In Freemasonry, and other mystery schools like Rosicrucianism, the triangle is also a representation of the metaphysical representation of joining together your physical self with your spiritual self to create harmony and balance within yourself and the world.
This is often represented by the square and compass and the number three or the upright triangle interlaced with an inverted triangle such as the Seal of Solomon or Star of David.
According to Manly P. Hall:
“Man’s threefold lower nature—consisting of his physical organism, his emotional nature, and his mental faculties—reflects the light of his threefold Divinity and bears witness of It in the physical world.
Man’s three bodies are symbolized by an upright triangle; his threefold spiritual nature by an inverted triangle.
These two triangles, when united in the form of a six-pointed star, were called by the Jews “the Star of David,” “the Signet of Solomon,” and are more commonly known today as “the Star of Zion.”
These triangles symbolize the spiritual and material universes linked together in the constitution of the human creature, who partakes of both Nature and Divinity.
Man’s animal nature partakes of the earth; his divine nature of the heavens; his human nature of the mediator.” (The Secret Teachings of All Ages)
Albert Pike said;
The ingenious and mystical idea which caused the Triangle to be venerated, was applied to the figure 4 (4). It was said that it expressed a living being, I, bearer of the Triangle △, the emblem of God; i.e., man bearing with himself a Divine principle (Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma, 1871, 632-633).
Freemason, Albert Mackey had written in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry that there is no symbol as significant as the triangle and was adopted by all nations in early antiquity as a symbol of deity. For Freemasons, he says it represents the Grand Architect of the Universe and the animated principle.
Mackey wrote;
“There is no symbol more important in its significance, more various in its application, or more generally diffused throughout the whole system of Freemasonry, than the triangle. An examination of it, therefore, cannot fail to be interesting to the Masonic student.
The equilateral triangle appears to have been adopted by nearly all the nations of antiquity as a symbol of the Deity, in some of his forms or emanations, and hence, probably, the prevailing influence of this symbol was carried into the Jewish system, where the Yod within the triangle was made to represent the Tetragrammaton, or sacred name of God.
The equilateral triangle, says Brother D. W. Nash (Freemasons Magazine iv, page 294), “viewed in the light of the doctrines of those who gave it currency as a divine symbol, represents the Great First Cause, the Creator and Container of all things, as one and indivisible, manifesting Himself in an infinity of forms and attributes in this visible universe.”
Among the Egyptians, the darkness through which the candidate for initiation was made to pass was symbolized by the trowel, an important Masonic implement, which, in their system of hieroglyphics, has the form of a triangle.
The equilateral triangle they considered the most perfect of figures, and a representative of the great principle of animated existence, each of its sides referring to one of the three departments of creation, the animal, vegetable, and mineral.
The equilateral triangle is to be found scattered throughout the Masonic system. It forms in the Royal Arch the figure within which the jewels of the officers are suspended.
It is in the Ineffable Degrees the sacred Delta, everywhere presenting itself as the symbol of the Grand Architect of the Universe.
In Ancient Craft Masonry, it is constantly exhibited as the element of important ceremonies.
The seats of the principal officers are arranged in a triangular form – the three Lesser Lights have the same situation, and the Square and Compasses form, by their union on the greater light, two triangles meeting at their bases. In short, the equilateral triangle may be considered as one of the most constant forms of Masonic symbolism.
The right-angled triangle is another form of this figure which is deserving of attention. Among the Egyptians, it was the symbol of universal nature; the base representing Osiris, or the male principle; the perpendicular, Isis, or the female principle; and the hypotenuse, Horus, their son, or the product of the male and female principle.
This symbol was received by Pythagoras from the Egyptians during his long sojourn in that country, and with it he also learned the peculiar property it possessed, namely, that the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides is equal to the square of the longest side-symbolically expressed by the formula, that the product of Osiris and Isis is Horus.
This figure has been adopted in the Third Degree of Freemasonry, and will be there recognized as the Forty-seventh Problem of Euclid (see Forty-seventh Problem).” (Source: Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry)
Moe is the founder of GnosticWarrior.com. He is a father, husband, author, martial arts black belt, and an expert in Gnosticism, the occult, and esotericism.
