| “When the human race learns to read the language of symbolism, a great veil will fall from the eyes of men. They shall then know truth and, more than that, they shall realize that from the beginning truth has been in the world unrecognized, save by a small but gradually increasing number appointed by the Lords of the Dawn as ministers to the needs of human creatures struggling to regain their consciousness of divinity.”― Manly P. Hall, Melchizedek and the Mystery of Fire Chapter 2: The Secret Symbolism of Nature The Womb of Birth as Pot, Vessel & Cauldron Pots have always been an extension of the belly or womb, where a baby would start to evolve, or bread was baked, or a potion was concocted for healing of the body, mind or soul. This symbol became the cauldron in mythology, and it was also the vessel that would hold the sacrificial offering. In ancient Babylon, the potters craft was likened to the molding of life and a phrase they used for rebirth was, “We are as fresh-baked pots.” The ancient Egyptians similarly had their beliefs about human beings being fashioned on a potter’s wheel by the fertility god Khnum. (1) The womb has long been represented as a vessel, or a pot representing the woman, has long been considered the “body-vessel.” Many times, goddesses will be portrayed with vessels either in their hands or above their heads. The vessel of the goddess later became the cauldron of the witch, where the “magic potion” is brewed until ready for consumption, or, in the kitchen, for more practical matters, the food is prepared and cooked. The vessel can also be likened to the “chamber.” To enter the women’s vessel, is to access the sacred chamber. This is the shelter for the child as well. All life is ultimately discharged from this nourishing vessel. (2) The sacred body vessel of the female is represented in its many attributes as the dwelling, the tent or home, the storeroom for goods, and the temple. This is the main reason the home is always the place of the woman and it’s her prerogative to set it up, design it, and create the energy for it to be comfortable. Woman is the home-maker. According to Briffault, the home dwelling is “the exact counterpart of the ancient tombs and temples the ruins of which are found in that ancient land of matriarchy.” (3) The clay vessel became the tool for gathering water, fruit and berry picking, and wine and sacrificial offerings. In all, it was a feminine household symbol. (4) In Greece, these pots or vessels were called “kernophorai” and in Cyprus these were worshiped as goddesses. Neumann quotes Sir Grafton Elliot Smith from his book, The Evolution of the Dragon: “The ‘Mother Pot’ is really a fundamental conception in all religions and is almost worldwide in its distribution. The pot’s identity with the Great Mother is deeply rooted in ancient belief through the greater part of the world.” (5) In Southern India, seven goddesses being worshiped in the form of seven pots has been documented by Whitehead in The Village Gods of South India. (P. 36). (6) |
One more important element to the vessel/womb symbolism is the gate or entrance. In ancient times this was represented by two pillars with a stone cover. This is represented in mythology by Jachin and Boaz in the Bible, and recently made popular by Freemasonry. (7) Navel as Center of the World Bellies or navels have great symbolic significance since this is where we all come from, but the point I wanted to raise here is how the navel symbolically connects to the vessel. As the entrance to this miraculous world, we get all kinds of symbolic goodies to work with in the occult. Caves and the entrance to caves were symbolic of the navel and womb, an abyss, a valley or chasm, and became symbolic imagery for this one simple concept. The navel was considered the “center of the world” and temples and shrines were considered as navels of the world, like the sanctuary at Delphi in Greece which was represented in part by a sacred Omphalos stone at that site. (8) Neumann, in The Great Mother, makes an excellent analogy when he uses word strings to tie concepts together which would otherwise take several sentences. A form of poetic wordplay which we should attempt to bring back into popular use. “Milk-giving= thirst quenching = rain giving = water jar; cow = woman = earth = spring = stream bearing; and woman = heaven = rain bearing.” I think this is very useful for conveying concepts. We used to say pretty much everything in poetry alone, and now we waste more words than we use efficiently. (9) Understanding minute details like these help us to see how mythology is written and created. These are concepts we all know, but overlook daily, so I feel it’s best to bring attention to them for a moment. The reader and curious truth-seeker will find these themes recurring in mythology and understanding how they work, helps to discover what mythology actually is, and what true history actually is. This is the reason we have such significance in the ideas of simple things like mountains or rocks or volcanos and how they came to represent very important spiritual and religious ideas. No group of people in history ever worshiped a rock or a mountain or a stream, they worshiped the goddess or god represented by those earth elements. (1) The Great Cosmic Mother, p. 50 (2) The Great Mother, p. 42 (3) ibid, p. 282-83; Briffault, Vol. 1, p. 482 (4) ibid, p. 120; Hoernes, Urgeschichte der bildenden Kunst in Europa, p. 362 (5) G.E. Smith, pp. 182, 199 (6) The Great Mother, p. 132; (7) ibid, p. 158 (8) ibid, p. 44, 132 (9) ibid, p. 128 |