There is in Hindostan an emblem of great sanctity, which is known as the
“Linga-Yoni.” It consists of a simple pillar in the centre of a figure
resembling the outline of a conical ear-ring. It is expressive of the
female genital organ both in shape and idea. The Greek letter “Delta” is
also expressive of it, signifying the door of a house.
Yoni is of Sanskrit origin. Yanna, or Yoni, means (1) the vulva, (2) the
womb, (3) the place of birth, (4) origin, (5) water, (6) a mine, a hole,
or pit. As Asshur and Jupiter were the representatives of the male
potency, so Juno and Venus were representatives of the female attribute.
Moore, in his “Oriental Fragments,” says: “Oriental writers have
generally spelled the word, ‘Yoni,’ which I prefer to write ‘IOni.’ As
Lingam was the vocalised cognomen of the male organ, or deity, so IOni
was that of hers.” Says R. P. Knight: “The female organs of generation
were revered as symbols of the generative powers of nature or of matter,
as those of the male were of the generative powers of God. They are
usually represented emblematically by the shell _Concha Veneris_, which
was therefore worn by devout persons of antiquity, as it still continues
to be by the pilgrims of many of the common people of Italy” (“On the
worship of Priapus,” p. 28).
If Asshur, the conspicuous feature of the male Creator, is supplied with
types and representative figures of himself, so the female feature is
furnished with substitutes and typical imagery of herself.
One of these is technically known as the _sistrum_ of Isis. It is the
virgin’s symbol. The bars across the _fenestrum_, or opening, are bent
so that they cannot be taken out, and indicate that the door is closed.
It signifies that the mother is still _virgo intacta_—a truly immaculate
female—if the truth can be strained to so denominate a _mother_. The
pure virginity of the Celestial Mother was a tenet of faith for 2,000
years before the accepted Virgin Mary now adored was born. We might
infer that Solomon was acquainted with the figure of the _sistrum_, when
he said, “A garden enclosed is my spouse, a spring shut up, a _fountain
sealed_” (Song of Sol. iv. 12). The _sistrum_, we are told, was only
used in the worship of Isis, to drive away Typhon (evil).
The Argha is a contrite form, or boat-shaped dish or plate used as a
sacrificial cup in the worship of Astarte, Isis, and Venus. Its shape
portrays its own significance. The Argha and _crux ansata_ were often
seen on Egyptian monuments, and yet more frequently on bas-reliefs.
Equivalent to Iao, or the Lingam, we find Ab, the Father, the Trinity;
Asshur, Anu, Hea, Abraham, Adam, Esau, Edom, Ach, Sol, Helios (Greek for
Sun), Dionysius, Bacchus, Apollo, Hercules, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva,
Jupiter, Zeus, Aides, Adonis, Baal, Osiris, Thor, Oden; the cross,
tower, spire, pillar, minaret, tolmen, and a host of others; while the
Yoni was represented by IO, Isis, Astarte, Juno, Venus, Diana, Artemis,
Aphrodite, Hera, Rhea, Cybele, Ceres, Eve, Frea, Frigga; the queen of
Heaven, the oval, the trough, the delta, the door, the ark, the ship,
the chasm, a ring, a lozenge, cave, hole, pit, Celestial Virgin, and a
number of other names. Lucian, who was an Assyrian, and visited the
temple of Dea Syria, near the Euphrates, says there are two Phalli
standing in the porch with this inscription on them, “These Phalli I,
Bacchus, dedicate to my step-mother Juno.”
The Papal religion is essentially the feminine, and built on the ancient
Chaldean basis. It clings to the female element in the person of the
Virgin Mary. Naphtali (Gen. xxx. 8) was a descendant of such
worshippers, if there be any meaning in a concrete name. Bear in mind,
names and pictures perpetuate the faith of many peoples. Neptoah is
Hebrew for “the vulva,” and, Al or El being God, one of the unavoidable
renderings of Naphtali is “the Yoni is my God,” or “I worship the
Celestial Virgin.” The Philistine towns generally had names strongly
connected with sexual ideas. Ashdod, _aish_ or _esh_, means “fire,
heat,” and _dod_ means “love, to love,” “boiled up,” “be agitated,” the
whole signifying “the heat of love,” or “the fire which impels to
union.” Could not those people exclaim, Our “God is love”? (1 John iv.
8).
The amatory drift of Solomon’s song is undisguised, though the language
is dressed in the habiliments of seeming decency. The burden of thought
of most of it bears direct reference to the Linga-Yoni. He makes a woman
say, “He shall lie all night betwixt my breasts” (S. of S. i. 13).
Again, of the Phallus, or Linga, she says, “I will go up the palm-tree,
I will take hold of the boughs thereof” (vii. 8). Palm-tree and boughs
are euphemisms of the male genitals.