T H E L O T U S A N D T H E R O S E
The lotus was of great significance to many ancient cultures, and in particular to the Eastern religions. From ancestral times,the lotus regularly appears as a symbol of purity, peace, transcendence, enlightenment, rebirth, beauty, and fertility. In India, the lotus flower is considered to be of divine origin and is viewed as sacred by both Hindus and Buddhists. Buddha was said to sleep on a lotus six months of the year, and Shambala (Buddhist heaven) is sometimes represented as a field of flowering sacred lotuses.
Buddha was said to sleep on a lotus six months of the year, and Shambala (Buddhist heaven) is sometimes represented as a field of flowering sacred lotuses. The idea of enlightenment is symbolised by the life cycle of the sacred lotus plant because it begins its life humbly in the mud of ponds but soon grows and sends stems and flowers well above the surface of the water (up to 50cm), thus showing the path of spiritual enfoldment.
It also has unusual flowering habits; its flowers ‘wake up’ (open) at dawn and go to sleep (close) at about 2pm. Some lotuses are even known to open up at night and close during the day, ignoring the normal sunlight hours favoured by the majority of flowering plants, and effectively transcending normal time cycles. In Indian mythology long ago, at the end of the aeons, the whole universe had been engulfed in an ocean, and Creation was all but lost.
The god Vishnu, preserver of life, whose abode is the primordial waters, was asleep in this timeless darkness, dreaming of worlds to come. As his dreams unfolded, a lotus flower emerged from his navel and revealed within its many folds the cosmic egg, in which Brahma the creator, was asleep. As Brahma stirred, Creation began to unfold again, and new worlds, new gods, and new life appeared. In India today, the lotus is still considered to be the cradle of the universe, and many Indian deities are portrayed sitting on a large lotus flower.
This account would not be complete without a mention of the Egyptian blue lotus, often found depicted on the walls of chambers or temples of ancient Egypt. The blue lotus of Egypt, Nymphaea caerulea, is a member of the Nymphaea family (i.e. waterlilies), which is a ‘cousin’ of Nelumbo nucifera. Certainly, the ancient Egyptians called it a ‘lotus’, and it does hold a similar divine status to the sacred lotus flower itself.
Ancient Egyptian mythology tells a story that shows many parallels with the Indian tradition; they speak of the end of days, before the beginning of days, when a giant blue lotus rose from the abyss of the primordial waters, and as its flower opened it revealed a new child god, born to restore the Light and banish Darkness. The blue lotus is said to have been used to invoke Isis, Osiris, and Thoth. One of the Sun gods, Nefertem, also god of the primeval lotus blossom, patron of healing, perfumes, and cosmetics, is usually depicted with a crown of blue lotuses around his head.
The Rose Cross is associated with a number of different schools of thought, including that of the Golden Dawn, Thelema, the OTO, and the Rosicrucians (also known as the Order of the Rose Cross). Each group offers somewhat different interpretations of the symbol. This should not be surprising as magical, occult and esoteric symbols are frequently used to communicate ideas more complex than is possible to express in speech.
Users of the Rose Cross today tend to downplay the Christian elements to it, even though the magical systems used by such people are generally Judeo-Christian in origin. The cross, therefore, has other meanings here besides being the instrument of Christ’s execution. Despite this, the presence of the letters INRI, which is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase Iesvs Nazarens Rex Ivdaeorym, meaning "Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews," cannot escape Christian interpretation. According to the Christian Bible, this phrase was inscribed on the cross where Jesus was executed.
The rose has three tiers of petals. The first tier, of three petals, represents the three basic alchemical elements: salt, mercury and sulfur. The tier of seven petals represents the seven Classical planets (The Sun and Moon are considered planets here, with the term 'planets' indicating the seven bodies that appear to circle the earth independently of the star field, which moves as a single unit). The tier of twelve represent the astrological zodiac. Each of the twenty-two petals bears one of the twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet and also represents the twenty-two paths on the Tree of Life.
It is at once a symbol of purity and a symbol of passion, heavenly perfection and earthly passion; virginity and fertility; death and life. The rose is the flower of the goddess Venus but also the blood of Adonis and of Christ. It is a symbol of transmutation - that of taking food from the earth and transmuting it into the beautiful fragrant rose.
The rose garden is a symbol of Paradise. It is the place of the mystic marriage. In ancient Rome, roses were grown in the funerary gardens to symbolize resurrection. The thorns have represented suffering and sacrifice as well as the sins of the Fall from Paradise.
Inside the large rose is a smaller cross bearing a another rose. This second rose is depicted with five petals. Five is the number of the physical senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell, and it is also the number of man’s extremities: two arms, two legs, and the head. Thus, the rose represents humanity and physical existence.
T H E R O S A R Y
The word rosary derives from Latin rosarium, meaning 'rose garden' or 'garland of roses'. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary. The prayers consist of repeated sequences of the Lord's Prayer followed by ten prayings of the Hail Mary and a single praying of 'Glory Be to the Father' and is sometimes accompanied by the Fatima Prayer; each of these sequences is known as a decade. The praying of each decade is accompanied by meditation on one of the Mysteries of the Rosary, which recall the life of Jesus Christ.
A Japa mala or mala from the Sanskrit mala, meaning 'garland' is a set of devotional is a set of beads commonly used by Hindus and Buddhists, usually made from 108 beads, though other numbers, usually divisible by 9, are also used. Malas are used for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or the name or names of a deity. This practice is known in Sanskrit as japa. Malas are typically made with 19, 21, 27, 54 or 108 beads.