Symbol Dictionary Na-Nu
Nakedness: Nakedness was a prime attribute of the Goddess, for it was the mysteries of her body that produced creation and had power over a man’s body. Furthermore, the Tantric sages asserted that rituals should be performed “sky clad” as the Goddess saw all people as equal, without the rank and class that garments emphasized. Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), asserts, “It is widely recognized that the magic of the goddess dwelt more in the reality of her flesh than in her garments... By contrast to this earlier emphasis on nakedness, the magic of men and their gods usually dwelt in their garments.” Medals, badges, rank, and uniforms tended to be emphasized in patriarchal societies, as a way of asserting power.
Name: Many ancient people, up through the Middle Ages, believed that the name of a thing was the same as the thing’s soul. Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), explains, “For the purposes of magic and religion, the name of anything was considered identical with the thing itself, a spiritual ‘handle’ by which the thing or the supernatural being could be manipulated.” The Egyptians goddess Renenet was the keeper of soul-names. Egyptians and Indians believed that without their soul-name, a person and even a god, would wither away and die. The soul-name and food were often connected in that both were needed for an infant to survive, this is reflected in France, were children are given a “milk-name” by their mothers; in China, children were given secret “rice-names” when they began eating rice; and in the Indian Myth the god Existence cried after his birth, “Give me a name, for without a name I will not eat food” (as quoted in Walker, 1983). The importance of naming the ancestral line in different customs and the use of a family name originated from this emphasis on the power of names. The power of investing a child with a name was given to different people in different times, although it usually was the responsibility of religious leaders. Egyptians, Babylonians, Phoenician, Scythians, and northern European tribes including the Celtic and Germanic people, as well as other matriarchal peoples all used a maternal lineage for their heritage. With the increase of patriarchal power, this name-giving was passed to the fathers and family names were traced through the paternal lineage. Walker states, “Transitions from matriarchy to patriarchy were marked by fathers’ takeover of the name-giving function.” Egyptian tombs, Roman epitaphs, and Christian tombstones all have the deceased’s name carved into it, evolving from the belief that to write and speak the name of the deceased allowed their soul to continue to live. Ancient people also believed names had the ability to create and/or destroy when a thing’s name was verbalized (Sanscrit was believed to be one such language). Walker explains “Precedents older than civilization evolved the idea that forces of creation and destruction could be activated by pronouncing a divine name.” This applied even to the gods, who were created by the Great Mother with the speaking of their names.
Natron: Natron is the name of the salt-water fluid that Egyptians used for mummification. It was supposed to replicate the birth fluid and preserve the mummy until rebirth. Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), states, “Curing in salt water was a magical imitation of fetal existence. The mummy was supposed to be awaiting rebirth from the Goddess’s womb.”
Neptune: See Planets.
Nine: See Numbers.
Nirvana: In the Eastern tradition of karma, nirvana is the final escape from the continuous karmic wheel of life and rebirth. Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983), states, “[nirvana] was supposed to lie beyond all sense perceptions, memories, loves, hates, fears, joys, or will; it was like the Tantric idea of Dreamless Sleep, forever.” This is in contrast to the trendy idea of Nirvana as an otherworldly paradise. As the ultimate achievement of a human soul, according to the laws of karma, nirvana could only be achieved by holy men who conquered their desires through lifetimes of learning and practice. See Karma.
North: See Directions.
Nun: A nun or religious woman, evolved from pagan priestesses and derives its title from the word nurse because priestesses were also healers. However, nun has another religious meaning as the Egyptian primal ocean, which later evolved into the Hebrew word for “fish,” according to Barbara Walker, in her book, The Woman’s Encyclopedia Of Myths And Secrets (1983). See Convent. See UMS Mystical
Beginnings of Christianity course.