Rod of Asclepius |
I wonder how many of us realize that the secrets to our true nature have been interwoven into our everyday lifes in forms that would even surprise the most open minded of us all.
Cadeceus |
While some would say the Cadeceus is the symbol of trickery. I beg to defer. It's also a symbol of Alchemy. And Alchemy is a practice of protoscience that has contributed to the development of modern chemistry and medicine also. However, the truth about Alchemy is that it has to do with spirituality.
I would say it is no accident that modern medicine ended up with the Cadeceus as their symbol and not the Rod of Asclepius. The Rod of Asclepius represents only half of the Cadeceus, therefore it is incomplete. As you will see why later (I'll try to explain).
Ida Pingala & Sushumna |
Observe the Cadeceus, it is a double helix of serpents, spiralling from the bottom of the staff to the top. The number of times it entwines is between 5 to 6 (of course this is debatable).
Our bodies comprises many chakras of which there are 11 major chakras (depending on your esoteric school) and millions of minor chakras. These are special points where our chi connects the various energy flows in our spiritual body. The channels in which our chi flows are called nadis (channels for the flow of consciousness)
Cadeceus & DNA double helix |
So as you can see from the picture above, the Pingala is the one carrying prana. Prana is life force. Hence the Rod of Asclepius's "side" of the Cadeceus. No coincidence here. And it gets more intriguing (well, not for me but for some).
Our DNA is also a double helix. It was first discovered by the Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher in the late 1860s. Our DNA contains all our genetic information that make us who we are... physically. Is it an accident that the DNA is a double helix just like the way our inner life force (Chi, prana) flows?
I think not. Its the way we are made. In fact, in the Arhatic Dhyan meditation, practitioners who are sensitive to the flow of energies have reported that during their meditation they could feel the energy flowing from the base of their spine (Basic chakra) in a spiralling manner, up their spine (sushumna) to the top of their head(crown chakra).
To make it even more intriguing, it is even represented in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. However, unfortunately, having left the esoteric school for some time now (though I now have urges to return), I cannot recall for sure how this is intertwined. However, I have included here a picture I gathered from the internet to show this. Note that the actual representation is easier to understand. I'll try to obtain one (no promises though).
Cadeceus & The Tree of Life |
Well... anyway... it is forseen that one day, as Humanity's collective consciousness grow to the stage when we begin to realize what we can do as spiritual beings, the masses would begin to use energy in our own healing. Right now, today, already there are a growing awareness amongst people that complementary therapy aka eastern traditional healing modalities (which are non-intrusive and serves to address the root cause of dis-eases) serves as a viable alternative to western medicinal practices (which are surpressive and intrusive). Researchers are also unraveling the secrets of our body and the link with quantum physics. These I believe would collectively serve to elevate the healing arts (both eastern and western). And I certainly look forward to the day when hospitals as we know it become wholistic healing centers for all sorts of healing sciences.
And... back to the start of this article... this is just one of the secrets to our true nature that have been interwoven into our everyday lifes in forms that we have taken for granted and never gave much thought to.
I once read that the original meaning of the medical version of the staff and snake was from a rod which extracted worms from the body as practiced back in the days when people suffered from internal worms. This device apparently worked. I do find the relationship between these symbols interesting.It has been suggested that the Rod of Asclepius (the symbol which represents medical practice since ancient times) once represented a worm wrapped around a rod; parasitic worms such as the guinea worm (Dracunculus medinensis) were common in ancient times, and were extracted from beneath the skin by winding them slowly around a stick.
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