The ark of the covenant was a most sacred symbol in the worship of the
Jews, and like the sacred boat, or ark of Osiris, contained the symbol
of the principle of life, or creative power. The symbol was preserved
with great veneration in a miniature tabernacle, which was considered
the special and sanctified abode of the god. In size and manner of
construction the ark of the Jews and the sacred chest of Osiris of the
Egyptians were exactly alike, and were carried in processions in a
similar manner.
The ark or chest of Osiris was attended by the priests, and was borne on
the shoulders of men by means of staves. The ark when taken from the
temple was placed upon a table, or stand, made expressly for the
purpose, and was attended by a procession similar to that which followed
the Jewish ark. According to Faber, the ark was a symbol of the earth or
female principle, containing the germ of all animated nature, and
regarded as the great mother whence all things sprung. Thus the ark,
earth, and goddess, were represented by common symbols, and spoken of in
the old Testament as the “ashera.”
The sacred emblems carried in the ark of the Egyptians were the Phallus,
the Egg, and the Serpent; the first representing the sun, fire, and male
or generative principle—the Creator; the second, the passive or female,
the germ of all animated things—the Preserver; and the last the
Destroyer: the Three of the sacred Trinity. The Hindu women, according
to Payne Knight, still carry the lingam, or consecrated symbol of the
generative attribute of the deity, in solemn procession between two
serpents; and in a sacred casket, which held the Egg and the Phallus in
the mystic processions of the Greeks, was also a Serpent.
“The ark,” says Faber, “was reverenced in all the ancient religions.” It
was often represented in the form of a boat, or ship, as well as an
oblong chest. The rites of the Druids, with those of Phœnicia and
Hindostan, show that an ark, chest, cell, boat, or cavern, held an
important place in their mysteries. In the story of Osiris, like that of
the Siva, will be found the reason for the emblem being carried in the
sacred chest, and the explanation of one of the mysteries of the
Egyptian priests. It is said that Osiris was torn to pieces by the
wicked Typhon, who after cutting up the body, distributed the parts over
the earth. Isis recovered the scattered limbs, and brought them back to
Egypt; but, being unable to find the part which distinguished his sex,
she had an image made of wood, which was enshrined in an ark, and
ordered to be solemnly carried about in the festivals she had instituted
in his honour, and celebrated with certain secret rites.
The Egg, which accompanied the Phallus in the ark was a very common
symbol of the ancient faiths, which was considered as containing the
generation of life. The image of that which generated all things in
itself. Jacob Bryant says:—“The Egg, as it contained the principles of
life was thought no improper emblem of the ark, in which were preserved
the future world. Hence in the Dionysian and in other mysteries, one
part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg.”
This egg was called the Mundane Egg.
The ark was likewise the symbol of salvation, the place of safety, the
secret receptacle of the divine wisdom. Hence we find the ark of the
Jews containing the tables of the law; we find too that the Jews were
ordered to place in the ark Aaron’s rod, which budded, conveying the
idea of symbolised fertility: showing that the ark was considered as the
receptacle of the life principle—as an emblem of the Creator.
With the Egyptians Osiris was supposed to be buried in the ark, which
represented the disappearance of the deity. His loss, or death,
constituted the first part of the mysteries, which consisted of
lamentations for his decease. After the third day from his death, a
procession went down to the seaside in the night, carrying the ark with
them. During the passage they poured drink offerings from the river, and
when the ceremony had been duly performed, they raised a shout that
Osiris had again risen—that the dead had been restored to life. After
this followed the second or joyful part of the mysteries. The similarity
of this custom with the Good Friday celebrations of the death of Jesus,
and the rejoicings on account of his resurrection on Easter Sunday, will
be at once observed. It is further said that the missing part of Osiris
was eaten by a fish, which made the fish a sacred symbol. Thus we have
the Ark, Fish, and Good Friday brought together, also the Egg, for the
origin of the Easter eggs is very ancient. A bull is represented as
breaking an egg with his horn, which signified the liberating of
imprisoned life at the opening or spring of the year, which had been
destroyed by Typhon. The opening of the year at that time commenced in
the spring, not according to our present reckoning; thus, the Egg was a
symbol of the resurrection of life at the spring, or our Easter time.
The author of the “Worship of the Generative Powers,” describes the
origin of the hot cross-bun at Easter, which is a further parallelism of
the Christian and Pagan festivals. The author also draws a further
conclusion—that the cakes or buns have in reality a Phallic origin, for
in France and other parts, the Easter cakes were called after the
_membrum virile_. The writer says:—“In the primitive Teutonic mythology,
there was a female deity named in old German, Ostara, and in
Anglo-Saxon, Eastre or Eostre; but all we know of her is the simple
statement of our father of history, Bede, that her festival was
celebrated by the ancient Saxons in the month of April, from which
circumstance that month was named by the Anglo-Saxons, Easter-mona or
Eoster-mona, and that the name of the goddess had been frequently given
to the Paschal time, with which it was identical. The name of this
goddess was given to the same month by the old Germans and by the
Franks, so that she must have been one of the most highly honoured of
the Teutonic deities, and her festival must have been a very important
one and deeply implanted in the popular feelings, or the Church would
not have sought to identify it with one of the greatest Christian
festivals of the year. It is understood that the Romans considered this
month as dedicated to Venus, no doubt because it was that in which the
productive powers of nature began to be visibly developed. When the
Pagan festival was adopted by the Church, it became a moveable feast,
instead of being fixed to the month of April. Among other objects
offered to the goddess at this time were cakes, made no doubt of fine
flour, but of their form we are ignorant. The Christians when they
seized upon the Easter festival, gave them the form of a bun, which
indeed was at that time the ordinary form of bread; and to protect
themselves and those who ate them from any enchantment—or other evil
influences which might arise from their former heathen character—they
marked them with the Christian symbol—the cross. Hence we derived the
cakes we still eat at Easter under the name of hot cross-buns, and the
superstitious feelings attached to them; for multitudes of people still
believe that if they failed to eat a hot cross-bun on Good Friday, they
would be unlucky all the rest of the year.”