ON
THE CADUCEUS
In regard to my statement - that the Caduceus it is to be seen held by Thoth, in ancient Egypt - I must admit that I have seen the image - but do not have a copy of it - mainly because living in Turin over 30 years, on and off, I have had access to the rare material connected to the Egyptian Museum there - so the source may be an Italian Egyptologist. Possibly Lanzone. The loss of this image has caused me untold grief - but I recall that Thoth was standing with a staff around which were entwined two serpents. Whether this was Hellenic, or Alexandrine or not I cannot say. It certainly appears during the Roman occupation of Egypt - and as you say, usually in association with Isis. The only solution is to go onto one of the Egyptology mailing lists and ask there - or try a web search using Google Images. This Results in 42,900 images using caduceus, Thoth, and Egypt as key-words. Clicking through the multitude of websites on Hermes - Thoth – the Caduceus – there are many statements that the Caduceus originated in Egypt. But when it comes to the iconographic evidence there is nothing that shows Thoth with the Caduceus, in Dynastic Egypt, as we know it. This illustrates the way in which we partake in collective delusions. There is one example thought, small and in colour at:
Thoth and Caduceus
http://www.aelives.com/gods.htm
Thoth and Seti at Abydos at:
http://www.egyptology.com/reeder/egyptart/portfolio/pharaonic/thoth-seti-abydos.jpg
Of course there is a great deal of serpent imagery in Egyptian art and religion. I have an illustrations of a form of Ptah – Sokar, holding two crossed serpents. There are many confronted, winged serpents, which could be prototypes, and much rich serpent material besides. What is also of note, is the staff that Moses turned into a snake, and the serpent crucified on a pole – narratives that to me suggest an initiatory order that can be identified beneath the veneer of serpent symbolism. Imhotep, whom the Greeks identified with Asclepius, leads us to a staff and snake healing lineage. The subject is vast, and I see no reason why it cannot amplify and enrichen the Tarot tradition.
Yours sincerely
Samten de Wet. 25th December 2005.
Rachel
Pollack wrote: 22 Dec 2005:
Where in ancient Egyptian imagery do we see Thoth holding a caduceus? The caduceus is a symbol that interests me a great deal, and I would like to know where exactly it appears outside of its connection to Hermes. I've read of associations with Isis but have never seen that either and wonder where it might be found. Of course, by ancient Egypt I mean Egypt before the hellenistic conquest that led to a cosmopolitan synthesis of imagery. While very valuable in its own ways Hellenism does not tell us much about the sources of images, or their diffusion across different, independent cultures.
The caduceus is the legendary herald's wand of the Greek God Hermes (Roman, Mercury). This symbol, a winged staff entwined by twin serpents, is nearly universal, found in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India, where it is always a symbol of harmony and balance. The symbol may have originally been a symbol of the sovereignity of the Goddess Tanit.
Egypt as the Home of Serpent Worship---Thoth said to be the founder of Ophiolatreia---Cneph, the Architect of the Universe---Mysteries of Isis---The Isaic Table---Frequency of the Serpent Symbol---Scrapis---In the Temples of Luxore, etc.---Discovery at Malta---The Egyptian Basilisk---Mummies---Bracelets---The Caduceus---Temple of Cneph at Elaphantina---Thebes---Story of a Priest---Painting in a Tomb at Biban at Malook---Pococke at Raigny.
After his death Thoth was, in return for services rendered to the people, made a god of---the god of health, or of healing, and so became the prototype of Æsculapius. His learning appears to have been great, and he instructed the people in astronomy, morals, hieroglyphics and letters. He is generally represented leaning upon a knotted stick which has around it a serpent
http://www.sacred-texts.com/etc/oph/oph07.htm
The real 'Father of Medicine' was the African multi-genius Imhotep of ancient Egypt, not Hippocrates who lived 2000 years later. Imhotep brought the knowledge of medicine to Greece and Rome. He was a world famous physician, architect, high priest, diplomat, economist, poet, philosopher, sage, magician, astronomer, engineer, and designer of the Step Pyramid of Sakkara. He was so revered that he was deified while still living and worshipped as the Great God of Medicine. The Greeks renamed him Aesclepios, the God of Healing. The phrase "drink and be merry..." is traced to him. The symbol of the medical profession, the caduceus (a winged staff entwined by two serpents), was the insignia found on his temples. Imhotep temples in fact were the first hospitals known to man! Stolen from Africa, his many volumes are at Karl Marx University in Leipzig, Germany. "From Egypt we have the earliest medical books, the first observatory for anatomy -- human and comparative -- the first experiments in surgery and pharmacy, the first use of splints and bandages, compresses and other appliances, and the first anatomical and medical vocabulary, and an extensive one at that." (S. Glanvile: The Legacy of Egypt p.196) European medicine is founded on the works of Imhotep and Black Muslims, Avicenna and Rhazes. For rich details, see Llaila O. Afrika: African Holistic Health.
Blacked out Through Whitewash by S. E. Suzar.
The Step Pyramid was designed by the sage, Imhotep, who was also credited with setting down the pattern for many aspects of Egyptian culture. A legendary healer, Imhotep eventually came to be regarded as the son of Ptah and his consort Sekhmet. As such, the Egyptians believed that their culture itself came directly from the gods. The Greeks also came to worship Imhotep as Aesclepius -- and built many healing temples in his honor. At these sanctuaries, those in need of medical attention would sleep inside the shrine. There the god would appear to them in their dreams. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, received his training at such a sleep temple on the island of Kos.
June 10: This item was just posted at Earthfiles and is copyright by the Crop Circle Connector . Took only two days of focusing on the image of the caduceus for this one to show up. June 6, 2005 - New, 700-Foot-Long Crop Formation in Wiltshire, England.
Andrew Sinclair in his THE SWORD AND THE GRAIL (Crown Publishers, New York, NY, 1992) speaks of the Shamir. He describes it in terms of the 8 serpents at the base of the "Apprentice" Pillar (Tree of Life/Raa and Towb in the format I use) and says "...By Rabbinic and Arabic legend, King Solomon built his Temple by means of the Shamir, a worm or serpent of wisdom whose touch split and shaped stone." (Pgs 5-6)
Bird-Serpent Staff of Aesculpius - "Shamir Staff". A real fried-brain Solarian stew of material.
The caduceus is an Egyptian symbol that lives prominently in our western mainstream culture, primarily as a logo for many health care practitioners and companies, including the American Medical Association. Many chose this symbol because of the picture’s meaning and the effect it has on the people who look at it. Nicki Scully
The workmanship in the temples of Dâkké7, Dendoor, and Tayfa (Taphis), is very neat and minute; but the scale of them is inconsiderable; and they seem to have been left unfinished.
7 Dekke is Pselcis. There is a curious rock, not far from it in the desert, covered with votives. The temple was dedicated (as appears by the inscription) to the Egyptian Mercury, and the germ of the Greek caduceus may be seen in his hand.
from Narrative of the Life and Adventure of Giovanni Finati native of Ferrara, by Giovanni Finati, 1830
In Chapter 4, verse 2 of Exodus there is a reference to this: And the Lord
said unto him [Moses]. What IS that in thine hand? And he said a rod. Verse 3,
And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became
a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. Verse 4, And the Lord said unto Moses,
Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand and
caught it and it became a rod in his hand. I would say that the tail of the
serpent represents a metaphor for the end of the flood.
Caduceus. From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The magic Staff or Rod in Graeco-Roman Antiquity by F J M de
Waele.
E D Buren, Archiv fuer Orientforschung 10 (1935-36) 53-65.
"The Golden Wand of Medicine: A History of the Caduceus Symbol in
Medicine" by Walter J. Friedlander 1993
