Hyperborea: Beyond the Northern Winds(Mysticism and Mythology)

Now, their mother had told them,
"It's dangerous around here, boys,
and you can go to the east,
to the south, to the west,
but don't go north."
So they go north.
"Transformations of Myth Through Time",
page 37, by Joseph Campbell

The earliest myths tell of a legendary place, and race, which
ushered in the age of mankind on this planet. This legendary
place is called Hyperborea, and its dwellers the Hyperboreans.

The Hyperboreans were the gods and goddesses of myth and
legend who brought the Wisdom and secrets of the universe to the
earliest inhabitants of this planet. They were responsible for the
Golden Age of mankind referred to in ancient texts. A Golden Age
which has since Devolved from sublime spirituality to gross
materialism.

But who were the Hyperboreans, and where is this Hyperborea
which is spoken of in the most ancient of legends?

Before we can understand what and where Hyperborea is, we
must first study the etymology, or root meaning, of this Word.

Hyper means above, beyond, or over. Boreas means "the north"
or "the north winds". Therefore Hyperborea translates as a
place that is "above and beyond the Northern winds". It is the
polar origin, or polar center, which connects the realm of matter
below with the domain of spirit above.

And as this northern polar center is also called the arctic, let
us now look into the etymology of the word "arctic". Arctic comes
from the Greek arktos meaning "bear; Ursa Major; the region of
the north", the Bear being a northerly constellation (from: Online
Etymology Dictionary).

Therefore "arctic" refers to the Arctic Bear or Polar Bear  which,
along with all the other stars in the heavens, rotates around
the cosmic or heavenly center as viewed from our planet. This
cosmic center is currently occupied by the north star we call
Polaris.

It is the rotation of the stars around this cosmic center which
creates the "branches" of the World (or Cosmic) Tree. And, it is
this fixed cosmic center, which is invisibly attached to the
northern-most point of our planet, that creates the axis, or "trunk",
of the World (Cosmic) Tree.

This northern celestial mid-point around which the heavens appear
to rotate is that sacred center which is also represented,
Symbolically, by the Dot Within The Circle.

The far northern lands of our planet are barren and inhospitable
to humans. And because of this these far northern lands, along
with high mountain peaks, have always been considered to be
the domains of gods, spirits, and the Wise Holy Men who occupy
the Borders Between Realms.

Even in the folklore of today we commemorate these far
northern and inhospitable lands every December as we await the
arrival of Santa Claus, and his gift-bearing sled, in his annual
journey from his home in the North Pole.

And how many children relish the gift of a stuffed polar bear under
their Christmas tree?

Yet, as mystical, magical, and intriguing as the legends, myths,
and folklore of these far-northern lands are to us, Hyperborea
refers to a spiritual and metaphysical (beyond the physical) realm
which exists well above and beyond these cold and frigid northern
realms of our planet. For Hyperborea is "above and beyond the
Northern winds".

However, for the Hyperboreans to have contact with us, there
must be a point of entry for them in our realm. This entry point is
the northern pole of our planet. This northern pole, or northern axis
point of our planet, is where the base, or "trunk", of the World
(Cosmic) Tree attaches itself to our world and takes "root".

This northern-most focal point of our planet is where the spiritual
realm of the heavens meets, and interacts with, the physical realm
of earth.

As this northern-most point is where the four major compass
points meet, these four compass points Symbolize the four
rivers which feed the four major roots of the World Tree.

This northern-most point is also the focal point where all of the
lines of longitude merge together and are united as one. Therefore
it is also the point from which all of the sub-roots of the World Tree
begin their branching-out.

And because all of the longitudinal lines and compass points
meet at this one focal point this is also the Omphalos, or navel,
of our planet. In other words, it is the central point where the
umbilical cord of our planet is connected to the heavens,
metaphorically, by way of the "trunk" of the Cosmic (World)
Tree.

It is by way of this umbilical cord, or "trunk" of the World Tree
which connects heaven and earth, that the heavenly spirits
(Hyperboreans) are able to descend upon humanity and bestow
their blessed gifts upon us.

It is also by way of this umbilical cord, or "trunk", that those of us
who have achieved enlightenment are able to ascend back to that
heavenly realm from whence we departed a long, long time ago
and become as one again with our spiritual brothers and sisters in
that mystical land of Hyperborea which exists "above and beyond
the northern winds".

See also: "The World Tree" and "Egyptian Pyramid: Part 2"

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2011

The Egyptian Pyramid - Part 2(Symbolism and Metaphor)

"Where the telescope ends the microscope begins,
and who can say which has the wider vision."
-Victor Hugo

In "The Egyptian Pyramid - Part 1" we examined the Symbolism
and metaphor associated with the Triangular-shape of the Pyramid.
In this article, we will explore additional Esoteric aspects of that
wondrous and mystical structure we call the Pyramid.

In this article we will examine the following:
1. The numerology of the Pyramid;
2. The unfinished (truncated) top;
3. The invisible capstone;
4. The "All-Seeing Eye" (which appears on the U.S. Dollar bill);
5. The invisible descending Pyramid.

Numerology:

The structure of the Pyramid contains the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

The number 1 is represented by the top, or peak, of the Pyramid.
1 is the number of Unity, the Source, and Genesis; it is the
number of the unmanifested aspects of Divinity.

The number 2 is represented by the two points of the axis that
exist at the peak of the Pyramid and its base. In addition to
representing duality the number 2, in this instance, represents
the World Axis, or World Tree. It is by way of this axis, or Tree,
that energy is exchanged between the Spiritual Realm above and
the world of matter below .

The number 3, represented by the Triangular shape of the Pyramid,
is the number of Creation which is explained in Vedic texts by way
of The Three Gunas.

The number 4, which is represented by the four sides of the
Pyramid, is the number which represents both matter and the
The Four Elements of matter: Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.

The number 5, which by looking downward at the Pyramid from
above and seeing the four sides and the mid-point of its peak,
represents the quintessential (fifth-essential) Fifth Element.
When viewed in this manner, the Symbol of the Dot-Within-The-
Square is similar to that of The Dot Within The Circle.

Additionally, the number 5, which was the sacred number of
Pythagoras and his followers, and was Symbolized by them by
way of the pentagram, represents the Fifth Element referred to
as ki, qi, chi, prana, Aether, akasha, the Hebrew yod, and the
akh of Ancient Egypt.

This Fifth Element is the unmanifested and ever-flowing energy of
Divinity which rains down upon, and provides all aspects of Divine
Energy to, all things which exist in the seen, and unseen, realms
of the cosmos.

The Unfinished Top:

The top of the Great Pyramid is flat, unfinished, truncated. We
see this Symbolism represented of the back of the U.S. one-dollar
bill. This unfinished top represents unfinished work.

This Symbolism is a Lesson that teaches us that our inner-work,
while we still occupy the realm of matter and duality, is never
complete until we reach the state of being which enables us to
ascend to the sublime realms of the eternal heavens above.

The Invisible Capstone:

Pyramids are used as Capstones. Capstones represent a finished
work of great importance. We find Capstones mounted at the top
of obelisks. An obelisk is a vertical rectangular structure with a
Pyramid at its top.

Obelisks are erected at the geographical center, mid-point, or heart
of a city, nation, or civilization. The place where an obelisk is
located is the most important and central point, or heart, of a
culture; a central point which must must be defended at all costs.
The Washington Monument is the obelisk which represents the
heart of the United States.

Obelisks contain the numbers 3 and 4. The number 4 being the
four sides of the rectangle forming the obelisk (numerologically,
the square and rectangle are similar) while the number 3 being
the Triangle of the Capstone (Pyramid) at its top.

The obelisk bonds together the spiritual number 3 with the number
4 of matter; forming a union of our spiritual and material selfs both
as individuals and as a civilization.

The Invisible Capstone appears above the unfinished Great Pyramid
on the back of the U.S. one-dollar bill. In this depiction, the
Invisible Capstone Symbolizes the highest point of ascension and
Awareness we can achieve while still occupying the realm of duality
and matter. The next higher point above this invisible Capstone is the
realm of Ascension where re-incarnation is no longer required of our
spiritual self.

The All-Seeing Eye:

The All-Seeing Eye, also called the "Eye of Horus", represents the
Path of Direct Ascension (whereas Osiris represents the Path of
ultimate Ascension through numerous re-Incarnations).

The All-Seeing Eye appears on the back of the U.S. one-dollar bill.
It is located within a Triangle atop of, but not touching, the
unfinished Pyramid.

As the All-Seeing-Eye appears in a Triangle, or Pyramid, this tells
us that it is a Spiritual essence. Also, because the Pyramid which
houses it is above, and not touching, the unfinished Pyramid below,
it reminds us that the All-Seeing Eye, while still being associated
with the world of duality and matter, is no longer a part of that realm.

This location of the All-Seeing-Eye represents the point where the
world of matter comes into contact with the realm of the abstract
and unknown.

The All-Seeing Eye, being atop the highest point of the Pyramid,
Symbolizes the Vision which "sees" clearly in not only all directions
but below and above as well.

However, "seeing" does not merely mean "looking at". This kind of
seeing means total and full Awareness: the ability to both observe
and understand what is occurring in all directions, on all levels, and
in all realms.

At this point, the mortal intellect Becomes prepared to ascend into
the realm of Spiritual Awareness...alone! The mind and Spirit
transcend. Knowledge gives way to Wisdom. Seeing Becomes
total Spiritual Awareness.

At this level we are no longer entrapped within the physical realm
and are about to ascend into the upper, inverted, and invisible
Triangle above, which is the domain of Divinity and higher spiritual
beings.

The Invisible Descending Pyramid:

Picture this: an hour-glass with its bottom-half visible and its top-
half invisible. The middle of the hour-glass, where its two points
meet, is where all the action takes place. This mid-point where the
sand from the invisible upper realm descends into the visible lower
realm; this Symbolizes the point of manifestation, Incarnation, and
re-Incarnation.

When all of the sand finally flows into the lower realm, and the job
of the hour-glass (Time) is complete, we then turn the hour-glass
over and return the sand back into the invisible realm from whence
it originally came; this Symbolizes Ascension and Transcendence.

This is the Symbolism associated with the invisible and descending
upper Pyramid mounted atop the visible and ascending lower
Pyramid.

Creation occurs in two directions: downward and upward. The top,
invisible, and downward pointing Triangle (Pyramid) represents the
realm of Divinity and Unity as It creates, and manifests, downward
into the realm of matter. The bottom, visible, and upward pointing
Triangle (Pyramid)  represents the realm of matter where we work
on freeing ourselves of our material and physical burdens and
perform the inner-work necessary to Ascend ourselves back into
the Spiritual Realm from whence we originally came.

These two Pyramids also represent the visible World Tree and its
invisible, Spiritual counterpart. The invisible Spiritual Tree has its
roots in the heavens and its branches in the realm of matter.
The visible World Tree has its roots in the realm of matter and
its branches in the heavens above. This Symbolizes the ability
of all energies, essences, and beings to both ascend into the
upper realms and descend into the lower realms in a continuous
on-going process of creation and Ascension.

One final note: if we take the upper Triangle and superimpose it
within the lower Triangle we have the Symbol for the "Star of David"
which represents the bonding of spirit within matter, the masculine
with the feminine, the yin and yang, and the Union of Duality.

(See Also: "The Egyptian Pyramid - Part 1")

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2011

The Shooting Star - Symbol and Myth

The Shooting Star has been revered with awe and amazement
throughout history. To better understand why this has been so,
we must first imagine the night sky under which Ancient cultures
viewed the many heavenly wonders.

Unlike the night sky under which we live today, which is blotted out
by big city light pollution, Ancient cultures lived under a vast, dark
canopy which was wondrous, awe-inspiring and Eternal.

The night sky of the Ancients contained an infinite abundance of
Stars, planets (the Wanderers), constellations, comets, meteors
and Shooting Stars.

During certain times of the year, the Ancients would experience
meteor showers streaking across the sky. They envisioned these
streaking lights to be the Lightening bolts of eternal forces which
were at war with each other.

Occasionally, one of these streaking lights would fall from heaven
and tumble to earth as a ball of fire. Since fire is the Symbol for
light, illumination and enlightenment, the Ancients perceived that
these balls of fire which plummeted to earth contained the Breath,
Essence and Enlightenment of Divinity. In effect, these Ancient
cultures considered Shooting Stars to be "gifts of the gods".

Shooting Stars consist of iron. Therefore iron, which was bestowed
upon the Ancients in a fiery package from Heaven, was also
considered to be a Spiritual Gift which contained all of the Aspects
of Divinity. The Ancients used this "gift of the gods" to fashion
their tools, weapons and sacred implements.

Perhaps the most interesting implement fashioned by the Ancient
Egyptians was the one that was crafted for the Opening of the Mouth
funerary Ceremony.

During this Ritual an iron bar, in the shape of the Big Dipper,
was used to Ceremoniously "pry open" the mummified mouth of
the recently deceased. The iron in this Ceremonial instrument
symbolically represented the Essence and Breath of Divinity which
was reverentially pried into the mouth of the deceased so that the
Breath and Essence of Divinity could accompany the deceased
throughout his, or her, journey through the afterlife.

The Symbolism contained in designing this iron instrument in the
shape of the Big Dipper alluded to the fact that the front part of the
ladle of the Big Dipper points directly to, and appears to be attached
to, the pole star. This symbolically causes the Big Dipper to rotate
around the pole star, as do the handles of a clock, thereby forming a
Circular path around an unmoving center point. This rotation
creates the Sacred Symbol of a Dot Within A Circle.

Additionally, in other sections of Egyptian funerary scripts, Deity
would be invoked to "open up your iron gates" in order to allow
the recently deceased entrance into the realm of the Infinite.

The Shooting Star has mesmerized individuals throughout the
course of history. Even today we have a ritual of making a wish
upon seeing a Shooting Star in the Hope that Divinity will grant
our request. Whenever we make a wish upon a Shooting Star we
are sharing the same awe and respect for Divinity as did our
Ancient ancestors many, many centuries ago.

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2009

The Dot Within A Circle - As A Symbol

As an astrological Symbol, the Dot within a Circle represents the Sun.
As an alchemy symbol, the Dot within a Circle represents Gold.
However, as an esoteric Symbol, The Dot within a Circle embodies
much deeper Lessons and Principles.

The Circle represents The Infinite; Eternity. It also represents the
flow of Time and the ever repeating Cycles of Eternity which have no
beginning and no end; Cycles which, when complete, flow back into
themselves and repeat anew. We find this cyclical Truth also
represented, Symbolically, by the Ouroboros: the serpent swallowing
its own tail.

Cycles can be Infinitely long or Infinitesimally short. There are
quantum cycles, daily cycles, monthly cycles, annual cycles,
generational cycles and cataclysmic cycles. Cataclysmic Cycles occur
when the earth, and the universe, destroy and re-cycle themselves
in order to be re-born into a new Cycle. But however long or short
a Cycle may be, a Cycle consists of the following: birth, life, death
(or transformation) followed by re-birth. And so it goes, on and on,
throughout Eternity; endless repeating Cycles followed by endless
repeating Cycles.

And because Cycles are endless and self-repeating it also means
that everything that ever will be created has already been created.
It re-enforces the proverb, "What has been will be again, what has
been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun"
(Esslesiastes 1:9).

Everything that is yet currently un-created in our physical realm
already exists, in its entirety, in the cosmic and Spiritual realm.
These un-manifested creations are simply waiting for our minds
and senses to reach the proper stage of development where we can
recognize them, understand them and re-manifest them in our
physical dimension.

History and past Cycles teach us that manifestation typically occurs
in one of three ways:

1. by way of the natural re-creative and re-generative cycles of
Nature.
2. by way of an increased ability of an individual's imagination,
insight or other senses.
3. by way of "an idea whose time has come": whereby a number of
people throughout the world experience the same idea at the same
time.

Such is the nature of Cycles, and the manifestations which occur
within these Cycles, as symbolized by the Circle.

The Dot represents the Seed, the Spark, the Focused Thought
which gives birth to creation in the physical and mental realms.

On a much deeper level, however, The Dot symbolizes the one
eternal and unmoving Source from which All of creation emanates.
It is the One Creative Principle which establishes and governs the
Cycles of Eternity. At this level The Dot symbolizes Deity, Divinity,
and the Divine Mind; It is the Hermetic Nous; it is the center point
around which the Wheel of Eternity revolves.

Without first having a Dot we could not draw a line, a circle or a
picture.  We would be unable to express a mathematical formula
or create our daily "to do" list which are all manifested by moving
a Dot from a pen, or pencil, along a piece of paper.  Therefore,
we could not physically or artistically express or create anything
without first beginning with a Dot.  The written word, or idea, already
exists within The Dot and simply awaits manifestation.

We see this Divine Principle in evidence throughout Nature.
The tallest oak grows from a single acorn; a stalk of corn towers
from a small Seed; historic ideas and inventions are the result of
a single, focused Thought; a human adult evolves from a lone and
imperceptible sperm.  Therefore, as the oak already exists within
the acorn, the cornstalk within the Seed, the invention within the
focused Thought, the adult within the sperm, so too does the
un-manifested concept already exist within The Dot.

As Divinity resides within us as our Atman, our God Within, we
too possess the Divine Seed: the Divine Spark of creation. All of
the latent skills, talents, concepts and ideas necessary for us to
create whatever it is that we Choose to create already exist within
us. They are merely waiting for us to awaken them.

And as this Divine Ability to create already exists within each one
of us, it simply depends upon whether or not we Choose to take
advantage of our Divine Gift.

We can Become anyone we Choose to become. We can accomplish
anything we Choose to accomplish. We can create anything we
Choose to create. We can experience anything we Choose to
experience. We are The Dot Within The Circle!

IMAGE VIA WIKIPEDIA

Comments and Emails: I welcome comments and emails from
people with similar thoughts and feelings. My email address is
located in the upper-left area of this page. Comments can be
posted by using the "Comment" link located below each article.
Also: If you found value in this article please feel free to forward
it to other like-minded individuals, organizations and sites.

Disclaimer: None of my articles should be considered to be
either advice or expertise. They are simply personal opinions
and no more. Everyone is encouraged to seek competent
advice from a licensed, registered, or certified professional
should such advice or service be required.

© copyright Joseph Panek 2009