"Throughout all the world, the first object of idolatry seems to have
been a plain unwrought stone, placed in the ground as an emblem of the
generative or procreative powers of Nature."(157)
157) Celtic Druids, ch. vi., p. 209.
In the language of symbolism the upright stone prefigures either a man,
reproductive energy, or a god, all of which at a certain stage in
the human career had come to mean one and the same thing; namely, the
Creator.
In the earlier ages of male worship, upright stones as emblems of the
Deity were plain unwrought shafts, but in process of time they began
to be carved into the form of a man--a man who usually represented the
ruler or chief of the people, and who, as he was the source of all power
and wisdom, was supposed by the ignorant masses to be an incarnation
of the sun. Thus arose the spiritual power of monarchs, or the "divine
right of kings."
Wherever obelisks, columns, pillars, attenuated spires, upright stones
or crosses at the intersection of roads are found, they always appear as
sacred monuments, or as symbols of the Lingham god.
The Chaldean Tower of which there are extant traditions in Mexico and in
the South Sea Islands; the Round Towers of Ireland; the remarkable group
of stones known as Stonehenge, in England; the wonderful circle at Abury
through which the figure of a huge serpent was passed; the monuments
which throughout the nations of the East were set up at the intersection
of roads in the center of market-places, and the bowing stones
employed as oracles in various portions of the world, have all the same
signification, and proclaim the peculiar religion of the people who
worshipped them.
Whether as among the Jews in Egypt, a pillar is set up as a "sign" and a
"witness" to the Lord, or whether as with the Mohammedans these figures
appear as minarets with egg shaped summits, or as among the Irish they
stand forth as stately towers defying time and the elements, or as among
the Christians they appear as the steeple which points towards heaven,
the symbol remains, and the original significance is the same.
The Lord of the Israelites who was wont to manifest himself to his
chosen people in a "pillar of smoke by day" and a "pillar of fire by
night" is said to be none other than a reproductive emblem, as was also
the "Lord" which "reposed in the ark of the covenant." Monuments set up
to symbolize the religion of the Parsees or fire-worshippers after they
had succumbed to the pressure brought to bear upon them by the adorers
of the male principle were each and all of them, like their great
prototype the tower of Babel, typical of the universal creative power
which was worshipped as male.
Notwithstanding the fact that the male energy had come to be recognized
as the principal factor in reproduction, it is observed that wherever
these monuments or other symbols of fertility appear, there is always to
be found in close connection with them certain emblems symbolical of the
female power; thus showing that although the people by whom they were
erected had become worshippers of the masculine principle, and although
they had persuaded themselves that it was the more important element in
the deity, they had not become so regardless of the truths of Nature as
to attempt to construct a Creator independently of its most essential
factor.
Protestant Christianity, probably the most intensely masculine of all
religious schemes which have claimed the attention of man, has not
wittingly retained any of the detested female emblems, yet so deeply
has the older symbolism taken root, that even in the architecture of the
modern Protestant church with its ark-shaped nave and its window toward
the rising sun, may be detected the remnants of that early worship which
the devotees of this more recently developed form of religious faith so
piously ignore.
The large number of upright columns, circles of stone, cromlechs
and cairns still extant in the British Isles, bears testimony to the
peculiar character of the religious worship which once prevailed in
them. Of these shrines perhaps none is more remarkable than that of
Stonehenge, in England. Although during the numberless ages which have
passed since this temple was erected many of the stones have fallen from
their original places, still by the light of more recently established
facts concerning religious symbolism, it has been possible, even under
its present condition of decay, for scholars to unravel the hitherto
mysterious significance of this remarkable structure. Stonehenge is
composed of four circles of mammoth upright shafts twenty feet high, the
one circle within the other, with immense stones placed across them like
architraves.
In ancient symbolism the circle was the emblem of eternity, or of the
eternal female principle. Mountains were also sacred to the gods. It has
been said that a ring of mountains gave rise to these circular temples.
Faber assures us that a circular stone temple was called the circle
of the world or the circle of the ark, that it represented at once the
inclosure of the Noetic Ship; the egg from which creation was produced;
the earth, and the zodiacal circle of the universe in which the sun
performs its annual revolutions through the signs. Stonehenge is said
to be the temple of the water god Noah, who, as we have seen, was first
worshipped as half woman and half fish or serpent, but who finally came
to be regarded as a man serpent (or fish) Deity.
On approaching Stonehenge from the Northeast, the first object which
engages the attention is a rude boulder, sixteen feet high, in a leaning
posture. This stone has been named the Friar's Heel, but until recently
its signification has been wholly unknown.
Regarding the upright shaft which stands sentinel over the mysterious
circles of mammoth stones called Stonehenge, Forlong says that it is
no Friar's Heel, but an emblem of fertility dedicated to the Friday
divinity. It is represented as the "Genius of Fire," not the genius of
ordinary fire, "but of the super-sensual Divinity, celestial fire."
Regarding these remarkable stones to which the Lingham god is a mere
introduction, Forlong says:
"No one who has studied phallic and solar worship in the East could make
any mistake as to the purport of the shrine at Stonehenge... yet the
indelicacy of the whole subject often so shocks the ordinary reader,
that, in spite of facts, he cannot grant what he thinks shows so much
debasement of the religious mind; facts are facts, however, and it only
remains for us to account for them. Perhaps indeed in these later times
an artificial and lower phase of sensuality has taken the place of the
more natural indulgence of the passions, for procreative purposes, which
principally engrossed the thoughts of early worshippers."(158)
158) Rivers of Life, vol. ii., p. 233.
Higgins is of the opinion that Stonehenge is the work of the same era
with the caves of India, the pyramids of Egypt, and the stupendous
monument at Carnac--a structure which, it is claimed, must have required
for its construction an amount of labor equal to that of the pyramids.
Undoubtedly there has never been a religious shrine which has excited
more curiosity than has Abury, of which, unfortunately, nothing now
remains, although in the early part of the eighteenth century enough
had been preserved to prove the identity of its signification with
other ancient religious monuments both in the British Isles and in the
countries of the East. Perhaps there is no way by which this shrine can
be better understood than by quoting the exact language of those who
have written upon the subject. Especially is this true concerning the
testimony of those who, after personal investigation, have given to the
public the results of their research.
In the History of Wiltshisre, published by Sir R. Colt Hoare, Bart.,
appears the following from Dr. Stukeley:
"The situation of Abury is finely chosen for the purpose it was destined
to, being the more elevated part of a plain, from whence there is almost
an imperceptible descent every way. But as the religious work in
Abury, though great in itself, is but a part of the whole (the avenues
stretching above a mile from it each way), the situation of the whole
design is projected with great judgment, in a kind of large, separate
plain, four or five miles in diameter. Into this you descend on all
sides from higher ground. The whole Temple of Abury may be considered as
a picture, and it really is so. Therefore the founders wisely contrived
that a spectator have an advantageous prospect of it as he appeared
within view. When I frequented this place, which I did for some years
together, to take an exact account of it, staying a fortnight at a time,
I found out the entire work by degrees. The second time I was here, an
avenue was a new amusement; the third year another. So that at length
I discovered the mystery of it, properly speaking, which was, that the
whole figure represented a snake transmitted through a circle. This is
an hieroglyphic or symbol of highest note and antiquity.
"In order to put this design in execution, the founders well studied
their ground; and to make their representation more natural, they
artfully carried it over a variety of elevations and depressions, which,
with the curvature of the avenues, produces sufficiently the desired
effect. To make it still more elegant and picture-like, the head of the
snake is carried up the southern promontory of Hackpen Hill, toward the
village of West Kennet; nay, the very name of the hill is derived from
the circumstance.... Thus our antiquity divides itself into three great
parts, which will be our rule in describing this work. The circle at
Abury, the forepart of the snake leading toward Kennet, which I call
Kennet Avenue; the hinder part of the snake leading toward Beckhampton,
which I call Beckhampton Avenue; for they may be well looked on as
avenues to the great temple at Abury, which part must be most eminently
called the Temple.
"The plan on which Abury was built, is that sacred hierogram of the
Egyptians and other ancient nations, the circle and snake. The whole
figure is the circle, snake, and wings. By this they meant to picture
out, as well as they could, the nature of the Divinity."
The temple which represents the body of the snake is formed by a
circular agger of earth having its ditch withinside. As this is contrary
to the mode adopted in works of defence, it is thought to prove the
religious character of Abury. In a description given of this shrine by
Higgins is the following:
"These ramparts inclose an area of 1400 feet in diameter, which on the
edge nearest the ditch was set round with a row of rough, unhewn stones,
and in the center was ornamented with two circular temples, composed of
the same native stones."(159)
159) Celtic Druids. Description of plates, p. xx.
The space of ground included within the vellum has been estimated at
twenty-two acres, and the outward circumvallation was computed at 4800
feet. The number of stones that formed this outer circle was originally
one hundred, of which, in the year 1722, there were eighteen standing,
and twenty-seven thrown down.
In the village of Rudstone in Yorkshire there stands a huge stone,
the significance of which, at the present time, is by scholars clearly
understood. Its depth below the surface of the ground is said to be
equal to its height above, which is twenty-four feet. It is five feet
ten inches broad, and two feet thick, its weight being upwards of forty
tons.(160)
160) See Rivers of Life.
The gigantic rocking stones found in nearly every quarter of the globe
are now known to be religious monuments of remote antiquity. Not long
ago I saw a description of one of these oracles in Buenos-Ayres, South
America, and a few months later there appeared the following account of
a similar stone found in Sullivan Co., N. Y.:
"At first sight it would scarcely attract attention, but a closer
observation reveals the remarkable position which it occupies. The total
weight of the immense boulder has been variously estimated at from forty
to fifty tons, and its bulk at from 500 to 700 cubic feet. It is almost
perfectly round, much resembling a huge orange, and so nicely balanced
on a table of stone as to be easily set in motion by a single man,
providing the operator exerts his strength on the north or south sides.
On either of the other sides the combined strength of forty elephants
would not be sufficient to cause the least oscillation. Although it
is easily rocked, we are assured that as many men as could surround it
would be unable to dislodge it from the pivot on which it rests."(161)
161) The St. Louis (Mo.) Republican.
The writer of the above, who was evidently ignorant of the extent to
which these monuments are scattered over the earth, seemed to regard it
as a singular freak of Nature with no significance other than that of a
natural curiosity.
The round towers of Ireland, over the origin of which there has in the
past been so much controversy, are now pretty generally admitted to be
analogous in their use and design to Stonehenge, Abury, and other extant
monolithic structures.
Many writers have endeavored to prove that these towers were belfries
used in connection with Christian churches; others that they were
purgatorial columns or penitential heights, similar in design to the
pillar of St. Simeon Stylites. Others again have argued that they were
used as beacons and others that they were intended simply as receptacles
for the sacred fire known to have formerly been in use in the British
Isles. Although numberless arguments have been brought forward to refute
these theories, it is thought that the expensive architecture alone of
the elegant and stately columns known as Round Towers contradicts
all these "guesses," and that their grandeur and almost absolute
indestructibility proclaim for them a different origin from that of the
lowly and miserable huts which in a later age were erected beside them
for purposes of worship by the Romish Christians. The same objection is
made also against the theory that these monuments were erected in memory
of the several defeats of the Danes. As an answer to the argument that
they were erected by the Danes to celebrate their victories, it is
declared that such is the character of the hieroglyphics upon them as to
make this theory worthless. Besides, throughout the country of the Danes
and Ostmen, there is nowhere to be found an example of architectural
splendor such as is displayed in the construction of these columns.
In the north of Scotland was one of these monuments upon which were
depicted war-like scenes, horses and their riders, warriors brandishing
their weapons, and troops shouting for victory, while on the other side
was a sumptuous cross, beneath which were two figures, the one evidently
female, the other male.
In Cordiner's Antiquities of Scotland is a description of an elaborately
carved obelisk. On one side of this column appears a mammoth cross, and
underneath it are figures of uncouth animals. Among these carvings are
to be seen the Bulbul of Iran, the Boar of Vishnu, the elk, the fox,
the lamb, and a number of dancing human figures. In fact all the
configurations are not only in their nature and import essentially
Eastern, but are actually the symbols of the various animal forms
under which "the people of the East contemplated the properties of the
Godhead."
Carnac, in upper Egypt, is a monolith of the same symbolic character. It
is hewn from a solid block of black granite and is eighty feet high.
Henry O'Brien, a cultured Irishman, who when in London became, in his
own line of investigation, one of the chief contributors to Fraser's
Magazine while at its best, in response to a call by the Royal Irish
Academy for productions relating to the origin and use of the Round
Towers, declared that they were erected by a colony of Tuath-de-danaans,
or Lingham worshippers from Persia, who had left their native land
because of the victories gained over them by their rivals--the Pish
de-danaans--a sect of Yoni worshippers; in other words, the sect which
recognized the female element as the superior agency in reproduction,
and who, therefore, worshipped it as divine. In the devastating wars
which swept over Persia and the other countries of antiquity prior to
the age of the later Zoroaster, the Pish-de danaans were victorious,
and, driving from the country the Tuath-de danaans, or male worshippers,
succeeded in re-establishing, and for a time maintaining, the old form
of worship. O'Brien claims that the Tuath-de-danaans who were expelled
from Persia emigrated to Ireland, and there continued or preserved their
favorite form of worship, the Round Towers having been erected by them
in conformity to their peculiar religious views. This writer assures us
that the old Irish tongue bears unmistakable evidence of the relation
existing between these countries. In addition to the similarity of
language which is found to exist between ancient Ireland or Iren, and
Persia or Iran, the same writer observes that in all their customs,
religious observances, and emblems, the resemblance is preserved.
Much regret has been expressed by all the writers who have dealt with
this subject that at an earlier age when Stonehenge, Abury, and various
other of the ancient monumental shrines of the British Isles were in a
better state of preservation, and before bigotry and religious hatred
had been aroused against them, more minute observations of their
character and of all the details surrounding them could not have been
made; yet, notwithstanding the late date at which these investigations
were begun, it is believed that a fair amount of success has crowned the
efforts which have been put forth to unravel the mysteries bound up in
them.
When we remember that every detail connected with the sacred monuments
of the ancients was full of significance that their religious ideas
were all portrayed by means of symbols which appeared in connection with
their sacred edifices--the extent to which a thorough understanding of
these details would assist in revealing the mysteries involved in the
universal religious conceptions may in a measure be realized.
The identity of the symbols used to express religious ideas, and the
extent to which the conceptions of a creative force have been connected
in all portions of the globe, are set forth in the following from
Barlow:
"A complete history of religious symbolism should embrace all the
religions of antiquity no less than the Christian, and it would require
as thorough a knowledge of their tenets as of our own to explain
satisfactorily its influence in regulating the practice of art."(162)
162) Symbolism, p. 10.