The Rod of Asclepius
A painting of healing, by Allegra Willow
Acrylic on canvas, 18×24"
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The Rod of Asclepius is an ancient symbol of medicine and healing. Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, medicine, and physicians, is associated with snakes. He is often depicted holding a rod or staff with a single snake coiled around it.
In this painting, the seven chakras of the subtle body are placed at at different points on the Rod. The snake is coiled around them in a healing and protective way. Radiating from the chakras are the Flower of Life (overlapping circles symbolizing interconnection) and the Star of Life (a white six-pointed star used as symbol of healers and physicians).
Beneath the Rod, there is lavender and yarrow as well as two quartz crystal clusters, all of which are associated with healing.
I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “everything happens for a reason”. I used to hate this saying because I thought it was a cheap answer to complicated questions. Now I see that there are no accidents, no coincidences and nothing happens by chance – everything is in alignment with the journey we are on.
The word synchronicity is derived from the Greek language. “Syn” meaning with and “chronos” meaning time – so something that happens synchronistically is happening “with time”. I interpret this to mean that whatever is happening is doing so in time with where I am in my journey.
A synchronistic experience could be – you’ve been thinking about a particular person you haven’t seen in a long time and they manifest in your life. Meeting that person at that specific time and not a minute sooner happens this way for both of you because you are embodying a similar vibration at that time.
When your vibrational frequency aligns with that of another person – you will see them more often in your life. The world outside of us reflects the world inside of us – whatever you are feeling and thinking on the inside will be reflected in your external environment.
You can consciously manifest synchronistic experiences in your life if you are proficient in use of the law of attraction and meditation. If you focus your intention during meditations on a specific outcome – you will see it manifest. If you match your vibration to that of a specific person, place or thing – you will attract them.
Many of us are unconsciously creating the reality we live in, thus we see synchronistic experiences as coincidences. When you acknowledge what you are creating – you can start consciously deciding what you want to attract into your life.
There are no accidents – everything happens for a reason.
The Ouroboros is a Greek word meaning “tail devourer,” and is one of the oldest mystical symbols in the world. It can be perceived as enveloping itself, where the past (the tail) appears to disappear but really moves into an inner domain or reality, vanishing from view but still existing.
The ouroboros has several meanings interwoven into it. Foremost is the symbolism of the serpent biting, devouring, or eating its own tail. This symbolizes the cyclic Nature of the Universe: creation out of destruction, Life out of Death. The ouroboros eats its own tail to sustain its life, in an eternal cycle of renewal. It is sometimes depicted in a lemniscate shape (figure eight) as well.
The Serpent biting its own tail is first seen as early as 1600 years BC in Egypt as a symbol of the sun, and represented the travels of the sun disk. From there it moved to the Phonecians and then to the Greeks, who gave it its name, Ouroboros, which means devouring its tail.
In mythology, the Oroborus is a symbol representing the Milky Way galaxy. Myth refers to a serpent of light residing in the heavens. The Milky Way is this serpent, and viewed at galactic central point near Sagittarius, this serpent eats its own tail. Many ancients used the galaxy to calculate cosmic and earth cycles.
It is found in Gnosticism and alchemy representing cyclical natural life and the fusion of opposites. It also symbolizes the transcendence of duality and was related to the solar God Abraxas, and signified eternity and the soul of the world.
In alchemy, it represents the spirit of Mercury (the substance that permeates all matter), and symbolizes continuous renewal (a snake is often a symbol of resurrection, as it appears to be continually reborn as it sheds its skin.), the cycle of life and death, and harmony of opposites. As a symbol of the eternal unity of all things, the cycle of birth and death from which the alchemist sought release and liberation. It unites opposites: the conscious and unconscious mind. Alchemically, the ouroboros is also used as a purifying glyph.
The alchemical textbook, Chrysopoeia (gold making) of Kleopatra contains a drawing of the ouroboros representing the serpent as half light and half dark, echoing symbols such as the Yin Yang, which illustrates the dual nature of all things, but more importantly, that these opposites are not in conflict. The book is mainly centered around the idea of “one is all,” a concept that is related to hermetic wisdom.
History
The Ouroboros appears in many other cultures and settings as well…the Serpent Jormungand of Norse legend, one of the three children of Loki and Angrboda, grew so large that it could encircle the world and grasp its tail in its teeth. It guarded the Tree of Life, and is often depicted as an ouroboros.
The Aztec serpent God Queztacoatl was depicted similarly, and Chinese alchemical dragons have both similar shapes and meaning.
In Hindu, you have the dragon circling the tortoise which supports the four elephants that carry the world.
The Trans-Saturnian 3 (Part 3) ■ The two symbols presented here represent the planet Pluto which was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh. □ The planet is named after a Greek god named Pluto, who was the ruler of the underworld. ■ Again, notice the three ingredients for a planetary symbol: the elemental cross: the lunar crescent: and the solar circle. □ The second symbol for Pluto is simply the first two letters of Pluto (PL) merged into one. ■ Again, the trans-Saturnian 3 are new discoveries that don’t fit perfectly into astrology, alchemy or Kabbalah. Though some attribute pluto to Kether, the highest sphere on the tree of life synonymous with god and the beginning of the universe. □ It’s interesting that Pluto, a god of the underworld, was the name given to the last “planet” in our solar system as it sits on the edge between the light of the sun and the black abyss of space. ■ I was tempted to delve into the mythologies of the trans-Saturnian gods, however that is out of the scope of decoding symbols and would require an entire book! □ Thanks for reading. Obliterate that ♡ Eviscerate that Follow and Annihilate that Share ■ Sources Wikipedia Book 4 □
The Trans-Saturnian 3 (Part 1) ■ The symbol above symbolizes Uranus, the 7th planet from the sun, which was officially discovered and designated as a planet in 1781 by William Herschel. □ The planet is named after the Greek god Uranus (a name which means “sky” or “heaven”) who is married to Gaia (a name meaning “Earth”). ■ The first 3 variations of this symbol contain the 3 ingredients for a planetary symbol: a cross: a circle: a crescent. □ The H that is formed from the combination of these 3 ingredients is also said to symbolize the H from William Herschel’s last name. ■ The 4th variation of this symbol is a combination of the sun and mars symbols. This symbol was chosen by J. G. Köhler and refined by Johann Bode. □ Within the field of symbolism that relates to qabalah, astrology and alchemy, it is widely debated on the practicality of incorporating the trans-Saturnian planets. ■ However it should be noted that Uranus can be associated with the “11th” sphereless sphere on the tree of life named Da’ath, according to Crowleys Book 4 □ Like this post if you learned something new or knew it already ■ Follow and Share to keep this project going! □ Sources Wikipedia Book 4 ■
Occult Aspects 