Blood of the Pure - Chapter Fourteen - The Hexagram

The Hexagram

- Solomon's Seal, Star of David -

The Hexagram is a six pointed star composed of two overlapping triangles. It’s a symbol used by a number of faiths and cultures. Apart from the cross and the swastika, the hexagram is one of the oldest and most Universal Spiritual Symbols.

It is also known as 'Solomon's Seal' and 'Star of David'.

It has been an important and universal mystical sign over the ages, representing the union of Fire and Water, of Male and Female. It is the Star of the Macrocosm (the Universe).

In India it’s called the Sri-Yantra and symbolises the complete interpenetration of the sexes, while in Tantric belief the triangles represent the Shiva (male) and Shakti (female) energies combining with form and matter.

Basically, the hexagram is connected with the mystery surrounding the Creation.

In Ritual Magick, the hexagram is called 'Seal of Solomon', and represents 'Divine Union'.

The inverted triangle symbolises the feminine aspect – Water – while the upright triangle is representative of the male aspect – Fire. The traditional elemental triangles of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire are derived from this Seal.

Additionally, the Hexagram is the symbol of the resurrected God, representing the number six (the Sephirah Tiphareth) on the Kabbalistic 'Tree of Life

Blood of the Pure - Chapter Thirteen - The Scythe

The Scythe

Medieval and Renaissance art made use of a number of emblems to symbolize death and mortality. Although a central theme of Christianity for hundreds of years was the triumph of life over death, the onset of the black plague altered public perception, and the emphasis was placed on the triumph of death over life and the necessity of repentance. Symbols of resurrection common in Christian art became less popular, as reminders of the impermanence of life and the punishments of hell became ubiquitous.

One of the most common symbols of mortality was the Grim Reaper and his Scythe, an icon appropriated from Greek and Roman Paganism. Slogans such as "remember death" and "all is vanity" were omnipresent - death was around the corner, and one had better repent if one was to avoid an eternity of damnation. The source of this symbol was, ironically, the paganism that Christianity had supposedly replaced.

In ancient times, the Scythe was an emblem of the God Saturn (Chronos to the Greeks), which represented the nature of the Cycles of Time. The Scythe symbolized not only impermanence (all things living will be cut down), but also the Nature of the Life Cycle- plants must die to feed animals, and the tool of the harvest depicts the necessity of death for the renewal of life. Death was then depicted as a natural part of the passage of time. 

Blood of the Pure - Chapter Twelve - Yin & Yang

Yin & Yang 

 - Yab Yam, Taiji -

The Yin Yang is the easily recognized Taoist symbol of the interplay of Forces in the Universe. In Chinese philosophy, this symbol represents 'how everything works', and depicts two great opposite forces unable to exist without each other, and upon whose continual interaction everything depends. Yin (black, the moon) is the female aspect. Being dark and negative, she represents the moon, water and the earth, while Yang (white, the sun) is male. He is the opposite, being light and positive, and represents the sun, fire and the heavens.

The outer circle represents everything (the Universe and everything within it) while the black and white shapes within the circle symbolize the interaction of the two energies, 'Yin' and 'Yang', which cause all things to happen in the Universe. While 'Yin' (female) is dark and passive, downward and cold, contracting and weak, 'Yang' (male) is bright and active, upward and hot, expanding and strong.

From the shape of the two sections of the symbol, continually revolving like a wheel spinning on its axle, one can gain a sense of the perpetual movement of these two energies. Yin changes to Yang while Yang changes to Yin, then back again, causing everything to happen during the process, such as waters freezing and melting, plants growing to produce their seeds before dying, metals expanding and contracting, night turning to day, Winter turning to Spring, then Summer, then Autumn and eventually back to Winter.

The Yin Yang symbol represent the idealized harmony of these forces; equilibrium in the Universe. In ancient Taoist texts, white and black represent enlightenment and ignorance, respectively.