Spiritual concepts
Hero and the symbolic badges
Used by heroes in myths and legends, swords, axes and maces or similar weapons are symbols of authority - the badge of the hero - rather than ‘weapons’, although they can be symbolically used against demons. Most fighting in the spiritual world, even by heroes is more in the nature of hand to hand combat.
The weapons in visions are made of all sorts of ‘impractical’ and thus entirely symbolic materials - porcellanite, quartz, bluestone, flint all sorts of stone that basically sparkled and shone.
Heroes in general tend to be given a number of symbolic things to help them with the quest, not just weapons
- The sword – is not only a badge of honour a symbol of the fact the person is a hero, but is also a weapon to help in the struggle. It also has other symbolism
- The shield – used to protect
- The stone – the stone of destiny, is also an indicator that the person has been chosen – it is his/her destiny to be a hero
- The cup - which has the same symbolism as the Holy Grail
- The dish – in some myths contains a head – a decapitated person’s head, which may sound gruesome but is symbolic of the idea of rebirth and purification
- The Horse – or similar fast means of transport around the spiritual world
- The key – this can take the form of an ankh or similar key. It is the symbolic key to the spiritual world – the key that allows a hero to go round the spiritual world without guides.
Colonel Lovelace – To Lucasta
Tell me not, Sweet, I am unkind
That from the nunnery
Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind
To war and arms I fly.
True, a new mistress now I chase,
The first foe in the field;
And with a stronger faith embrace
A sword, a horse, a shield.
Yet this inconstancy is such
As you too shall adore;
I could not love thee, Dear, so much
Loved I not Honour more.
Observations
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- Al-Ghazzali - The Alchemy of Happiness - 20 Death, the soul and immortal soul
- Auden, W H - Sext
- Bayard Taylor - Poems of the Orient – The Arab Warrior
- C P Cavafy - Ithaca
- Chichen Itza - Mayan - The Great Ball Court
- Codex Azcatitlan - Aztecs and Mexica - Dismemberment
- Cus D’Amato - from Mike Tyson, Undisputed Truth – The importance of converting fear to become a hero
- Delos - 06 Ivory plaque
- Enûma Eliš - Fourth Tablet
- Flamel, Nicolas - Uraltes chymisches Werk A Eleazar 1760 4th illustr.
- Judee Sill - Soldier of the Heart
- Led Zeppelin - Battle of Evermore
- Millais, John Everett - The Black Brunswicker
- Nizami – Makhzanol Asrar (The Treasury of Mysteries) – from On the honour and dignity of this book 02
- Novalis – Heinrich von Ofterdingen
- Novalis – Heinrich von Ofterdingen
- Organisation of Pictish society – Roles - Knight - The Whitham Shield
- Parrish, Maxfield - The Reluctant Dragon
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - The shield
- Rops, Felicien - The Social Revolution
- Rubens - The drunken Hercules
- Schuré - The Great Initiates – 01 Reconstruction of an Initiation ceremony
- Tarot - 10 Minor Arcana - 00 The Court Cards introduction
- Tarot - 10 Minor Arcana - 03 The Knights
- The Ancestors - Somerset - Cadbury Castle
- The Monument of Sir Humfrey de Littlebury at All Saints, Holbeach
- Through the Looking Glass - Ch 08 - 1 It's my own invention
- Von Stuck, Franz - 1904 Wounded Amazon
- War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness – 05 Disposition and weapons of the front formations
- War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness – 12 Addresses and prayers of the battle liturgy
- Ynglinga saga - 08 Chapter Eight