Symbol
Dictionary B
Baptism
and Bathing: Baptism is the practice by the Catholic Church to submerge
babies or converts in holy water so that they may be cleansed of their
sinful creation (sex) (Walker, 1983). In this practice, as well as many
others, water represents cleansing, purification, and rebirth. The Celts
also used a type of baptism in a sacred pool or well as part of their
naming ceremony. Bathing is prevalent in Indian traditions, where washing
takes place before prayer, fasting, or any important venture. According
to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols: What Shapes
Mean In Art And Myth (2002), “Bathing is often associated with ritual
purification…Worshippers at Shinto shrines in Japan wash their hands
and mouths as they enter, while Muslims must complete a strictly prescribed
series of ritual ablutions prior to prayer.” Many cultures practice
bathing in holy waters, such as the Ganges river, Jewish Mikveh, and Japanese
Buddhists bathing under waterfalls. In Celtic mythology, their Goddess
bathes in a well once a year to retain her youth. See Water.
Bat: See Animals.
Bear: See Animals.
Bee: See Animals.
Bells: Another symbol of masculine and feminine union, “Bells have
been used for social, ritual and magical purposes from time immemorial.
In the pagan temples of antiquity the bell’s outer shell was regarded
as female and the clapper, a later substitution for the hammer with which
the bell was originally struck, as male,” according to Man, Myth
And Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia Of Mythology, Religion And The
Unknown (1995), edited by Richard Cavendish. Chinese rung bells to summon
rain, the Tyrolese used them to protect the harvest, Domestic animals
wore bells in Italy to ward off evil spirits and the Evil Eye, High Priests
in the Old Testament wore golden bells. Bells are significant to the religions
of Assyrians, Babylonians, Hindus and Egyptians. The Liberty Bell, Church
Bells, wedding bells still hold meaning today.
Bible: The Bible originated from the Greek word byblos which means holy
book. This term originally was used for the library of texts collected
by the priestesses of Byblos, the City of the Great Mother and the oldest
continuously occupied temple in the world, (Walker, 1983). The Bible has
taken on many forms, from sacred text, to Old and New Testament but consistently
remains a symbol for learning, religious and spiritual teachings, and
writings. The Christian Bible today is a compilation of several books
by different authors, John, Mathew, Mark, and Luke, but has, at different
times included dozens of different books, many of which were denounced
at the Council of Carthage in 397 C.E. (Gardner, 1997). The Bible, Old
Testament and New, has been translated through a variety of languages
and used by the powers in charge to meet their needs. Constantine was
a Pagan leader who whittled the Gospels down to the four remaining authors
(among the text discarded are the Gnostic Gospels, the Gospel of Mary,
The Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary Magdalen, and the Gospel of Phillip,
some of which were smuggled to Egypt and later recovered). King James
was a protestant who ordered the Bible translated into English. There
are many other examples of re-writing the Bible and each time, changes
were made to suit the needs of the authorities at the time.
Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And
Secrets (1983), states, “The greatest mistake of religious authorities
in the western world was their view of the Bible as intrinsically different
from other ancient scriptures, in that it was dictated word for word by
God, not collected slowly, rewritten and mis-written, revised and worked
over by human beings for a long time. The notion that the Bible did not
evolve haphazardly, like most other holy writing of the same period, persisted
almost up to the present day, even among people who should have known
better.”
One of the saddest alterations to the Christian Bible is the exclusion
of women from places of power. Barbara Walker elaborates, “In several
books the word translated ‘God’ is really a feminine plural,
‘Goddess,’ especially in reference to the matriarchal functions
of lawgiving, avenging crime, and bestowing the imperium of leadership.”
Among these is the destruction of the significance of Mary Magdalene from
beloved companion of Jesus and leader of the Apostles, to repentant harlot.
This is thanks to a Roman sermon by Pope St. Gregory I in 591 C.E. (Starbird,
1999). Once one looks beyond the literal translations (or mistranslations)
or the Biblical stories, the universal symbolism begins to shine through
for the Bible contains the same mythic stories of all people. Walker (1983)
exclaims, “All peoples, nearly everywhere in the world, shared the
same fables of the creation, the flood, the magic garden with its tree
of life and its primal couple, the wise serpent, the heaven-piercing tower,
the divided waters, the chosen people, the virgin mothers, the saviors,
and all the rest.” See Mary Magdalene and Jesus. See UMS Mystical
Beginnings of Christianity course.
Blood: According to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols:
What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002), “Blood is associated with
life force in many cultures and in the Hebrew Bible it is acquainted with
life itself.” Blood is equated with the soul in China and used in
voodoo in West Africa. Blood sacrifices were used in cultures including
Mayan, Judaism, Roman Mithraic and others. Shepherd explains,”bloodletting
was a way to express pity, a firm rulership and to call to cots into attendance.”
Often water symbolizes blood. See Water.
Blood, Blue: See Quintessence.
Blood, Menstrual: In ancient times, before the discovery of men’s
participation in conception, menstrual blood was revered as the substance
life is made of. It was believed that it was sometimes retained within
the body to thicken into the infant that would emerge and in this was
the secret of reincarnation. It’s apparent connection to the moon,
and un-harmful bleeding process was astounding and astonishing to ancient
peoples (particularly men who were completely ignorant of the process),
who called it things like incomprehensible, sacred, supernatural, deity,
and spirit. The Hindu creation theory is that the Great Mother formed
the universe and all of creation with her clotted, or curded substance,
and women do this same thing on a smaller scale. South American Indians
called this substance “moon blood;” the Mesopotamian Great
Goddess Ninhursag made people out of her “blood of life” and
clay. Similar stories appear through religions and cultures. Taoist China
associated the color red with women, blood, sexual potency, sacred, creativity;
and white with semen, passivity, and death. Traditions and superstitions
arose around menstruation, including the drinking of menstrual blood (sometimes
literally such as Egyptian Pharaohs “blood of Isis” for immortality,
sometimes only in myth, like the Celts “red mead” of divinity
from the Fairy Queen Mab).
Beliefs that it is unclean, stemming from fear, were also evident as Barbara
Walker, in her book The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets
(1983) explains, “Because menstrual blood occupied a central position
in matriarchal theologies, and was already sacer—Holy-dreadful—patriarchal-ascetic
thinkers showed almost hysterical fear of it.” This fear has led
to a variety of practices segregating women, at least during their menses
from men. It was believed that men would loose their wisdom, strength,
vitality, and sight if touched by a menstruating woman in Manu. Orthodox
Jews will not shake hands with a woman or wash in the same water for fear
of touching her menstrual blood. American Indians do not allow menstruating
women into sweat lodges and various other rituals and ceremonies. Menstruating
Christian women were not allowed inside a church up until the 1600’s.
The un-cleanliness of menstrual blood was the excuse for why women were
not allowed to become clergy of the Catholic Church, although post-menopausal
women are not allowed either. Unfortunately this fear and ignorance around
menstrual blood has also influenced the medical profession, and as late
as the 20th century, Scottish medical text quoted an old rhyme: “Oh!
Menstruating woman, thou’rt a fiend, From Which all nature should
be closely screened” (Walker, 1983). These biases have had impact
on women’s health care insofar as what studies are conducted and
the care and attention given to women’s health concerns, which continues
to be understudied.
Blade: The corresponding masculine symbol to the feminine chalice is the
blade. At its most basic level the blade is an upside down V shape or
a triangle and corresponds to the male reproductive organs of the penis.
In its more complex form, the Blade can appear in the form of a knife,
sword, dagger, sickle, reaping hook, etc. The blade was one of the earliest
tools of human-kind and during the Bronze Age became a valuable tool.
Many great mythic tales include a sword, such as the Bright Sword of the
Tuatha de Danann, Excaliber of Arthur/Merlin legends, or Draoi’s
“Sword of Light.” With all mythic tales, these references
to a sword have a deeper meaning than the sword’s use as a weapon
or tool. The Blade as a symbol has more to do with its use as a tool for
cutting and digging. In his article, The Sacred Sword (2000), Michael
Ragan explores the symbol of the sword and concludes, “It held the
magical qualities of not only protection, but also was a symbol of illumination,
wisdom, skill, creativity, speech and honor…the symbol of Illumination
and Truth.” See Chalice. Moon-Sickle is pictured here.
Boar: See Animals.
Bones/Skeleton: According to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book
1000 Symbols: What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002), “skeletons
have been a symbol of death in Europe since the late Middle Ages: a prime
example is the common medieval allegory called the dance macabre, in which
skeletons and all ranks of humanity are shown dancing around each other,
indicating that death was no respecter of position, age or gender.”
The Mexican Day of the Dead or Dia de los Muertos, marks the day at the
souls of the dead may be joined to living. Similar Western festivals include
Halloween, all Saints, and all Souls Day. On these days, skeletons are
dressed up to seem alive and food in the shape of bones is feasted on.
Breath: According to Rowena and Rupert Shepherd in their book 1000 Symbols:
What Shapes Mean In Art And Myth (2002), “breath is linked with
power and the animating spirits, whose breath set the winds and planets
in motion.” Indigenous peoples believed that power passed through
people in their breath and Celts held similar beliefs.
Bronze: See Metal.
Broomstick: This image has been associated with witches because it is
used in pagan rituals of marriage and birth, but is significant beyond
the simplistic imagery of a Halloween witch with her broom. The Broom
was the symbol for the Triple Goddess (representing maiden, mother, and
crone) Hecate’s priestess-midwife in Rome, because they used it
to sweep the house of any evil spirits after the birth of a child and
also a symbol for marriage and sex. Old wedding customs of jumping over
the broomstick that Gypsies, Pagans, black slaves in nineteenth-century
America, and others performed may originate from this. Later, the broomstick
became associated as a sort of “horse” for Witches to ride,
which is an allusion to women being on top during sex and the Church’s
clear disapproval of any type of female pleasure or power during sex or
masturbation. Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia
Of Myths And Secrets (1983) explains, “at times a witch’s
broomstick seems to have been nothing more than a dildo, anointed with
the famous ‘flying ointment’ and used for genital stimulation.”
The Broomstick has been used to symbolize female sexuality, including
marriage and birth.
Buffalo: See Animals.
Bull: See Animals.
Burning Times: See Inquisition.
Butterfly: See Animals.