Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Origins of the Magi Part II



32) Second, wu could be cognate with wǔ 舞 "to dance". Based on analysis of ancient characters, Hopkins (1920, 1945) proposed that wū 巫 "shaman", wú 無 "not have; without", and wǔ 舞 "dance", "can all be traced back to one primitive figure of a man displaying by the gestures of
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35) his arms and legs the thaumaturgic powers of his inspired personality" (1945:5). Many Western Han Dynasty tombs contained jade plaques or pottery images showing "long-sleeved dancers" performing at funerals, who Erickson (1994:52-54) identifies as shamans...
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37) Thirdly, he cites a possible link with the word "Mu," for "mother." Fourth, he cites the aforementioned association with the Iranian bronze age.
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38) Most convincing of these explanations for the origins of Chinese "wu"are the associations with the Tibetan words, which sound more like Magi than "wu" does.
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39) In ancient china, wu and xian priests were responsible for astrology, divination, communicating with heaven, sacrifices, and funeral rites. During the earliest dynasties, they were the officials who presided over the placing of tombs and other religious buildings.
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40) This may give us some hint as to the meaning of the carpenter's square. Can you think of another secret society which uses the carpenter's square, along with a compass, as their symbol? One that is also associated in myth with the building of ancient megaliths and tombs?
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Joe Lyon Layden
@LyonLayden
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42) Like the Freemasons and other "occult" societies, the early Magi were symbolized with the carpenter's square and the four directions (compass). Could the Freemasons be remnants of this ancient tradition?

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