Solomon's Seal

The term "Solomon's Seal" is a European appellation, likely arising from later interpretations of the hexagram's association with King Solomon's legendary magical authority. Its roots are ancient, appearing in Indian traditions as the "Vishnu Yantra" or "Anahata Chakra" symbol, predating its Western naming by millennia.

The symbolical double triangle, adopted by the T. S. and by many Theosophists. Why it should be called "Solomon's Seal" 2g2 THKOSOPIIKM. is a mystery, unless it eaine to Europe from Iran, when many stories are told about that mythieal personafr' and the maf;io seal used by him to eateh the djins and imprison them in old bottles. Rut this seal or doubhtrian<ile is also called in India tht- "Sifjn of Vislinu", and may be seen on the houses in every villaj,'e as a talisman apainst evil. The trianple was saered and used as a relijrious sifjn in the far East afres before Pythaproras proclaimed it to be the first of the p-ometrieal fifrures. as well as the most mysterious. It is found on i)yramid and obelisk, and is prepriuint with occult meaning, as are, in fact, all triangles. Thus the pcntaprram is the triple triaufrle — the six-pointed beinpr the h< xalp ha. (See "Pentacle" and "Pentafrram".'! The way a trianjrlc points determines its meaning?. If ui)w;irds. it means the male element and (iivitif fire: downwards, the female and the watrrs of matter; upripht. but with a bar across the top, air and astral lijrht : downwards, with a bar — the earth or prross matter, etc., etc. When a Greek Christian priest in blessinfr holds his two finjrers and thumb together, he simi)ly makes the mapic siprn — by the power of the triangle or "trinity". Soma fSk.). The moon, and also the juice of the plant of that name used in the temples for trance purposes; a sacred beverafr'-. f^oma. the moon, is the symbol of the Sercet Wisdom. In the Upanishnds the word is used to denote frross matter (with an association of moistunO capable of producing: life under the action of heat. (See "Soma-drink".) Soma-drink. ^Made from a rare mountain plant by initiated Brahmaiis. This Hindu sacred beverapre answers to the Greek ambrosia or nectar, (piaffed by the Gods of Olyminis. A cup of Kykeon was also quaffed by the i\Iystes at the Elensinian initiation. He who drinks it easily reaches Bradhna, or the place of splendour (Heaven i. The Somadrink known to Europeans is not the genuine beverajre, but its substitute ; for the initiated priests alone can taste of the real Soma ; and even kinjrs and Rajas, when sacrificinfr, receive the substitute. Haupr. by his own confession, shows in his Aitarcj/a Brnhmana, that it was not the Soma that he tasted and found nasty, but the juice from the roots of the Nyaprradha, a i)lant or bush whieii prrows on the hills of

The hexagram, often referred to as Solomon's Seal, is a geometric archetype that speaks a language older than alphabets, a language of pure form and relational dynamics. Blavatsky notes its presence in India as the "Sign of Vishnu," a talismanic marker against malevolence, underscoring its function as a protective sigil, a visual ward. This echoes Mircea Eliade's observations on the sacredness of geometric forms in shamanic and archaic societies, where diagrams and symbols served as conduits to cosmic order and a means to establish boundaries between the profane and the sacred. The interlocking triangles, one pointing heavenward and the other earthward, are a profound expression of the Hermetic axiom, "As Above, So Below," a concept central to the wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus. This duality is not one of conflict but of inherent complementarity, mirroring the yin and yang of Taoist philosophy or the divine masculine and feminine principles in Hindu cosmology, where the upward triangle represents Shiva, the cosmic consciousness, and the downward, Shakti, the creative energy of matter.

Carl Jung, in his exploration of archetypes, would likely see the hexagram as a manifestation of the Self, the totality of the psyche, encompassing the integration of conscious and unconscious, spirit and matter, masculine and feminine aspects within the human being. It is a symbol of wholeness, a visual representation of the alchemical coniunctio, the sacred union that leads to spiritual transformation. The ancient Egyptians also employed similar stellar forms in their funerary rites, imbuing them with power for the soul's journey through the afterlife. In its simplest, most potent form, the hexagram invites contemplation on the fundamental nature of reality as a dynamic interplay of seemingly disparate forces, a cosmic dance that is both external and deeply internal. To gaze upon it is to witness a silent, geometric sermon on unity emerging from duality, a principle that continues to resonate with seekers across the ages.