THE PHOENIX:The phoenix is known in various forms, and by various names, around the world, as a symbol of resurrection. It was said to live most of its life in a secret, sacred garden and fed on air. When it reached a thousand yeard old, legend says the phoenix flew to a special place and built a funeral nest of sweet-smelling woods and resins in a tall palm tree. In fact, the Greek word for phoenix and palmtree are the same. When the nest was set ablaze by the force of the Sun, the phoenix stayed in the nest and was destroyed. After nine days, a new phoenix rose from the ashes. The Egyptian phoenix was often identified with the bennu bird, a heron sacred to Osiris and Ra, and a symbol of the Sun and resurrection. In Mesopotamian art, the phoenix may have originally been the horned and winged solar disk. The Greek word Kerkes (falcon) was applied to the phoenix and connects it with the goddess Circe. Traditions from Turkey call this creature the Kerkes; the Persians knew it as the Simurgh. The Simurgh, written about in the Shah-Nameh, had lion claws, peacock plumes, snake tails, and a griffin head. Greek and Roman writers as Tacitus, Ovid, Pliny, Herodotus, and Hesoid all referred to the phoenix either as the Arabian Bird or the Egyptian Bird. An extremely gentle creature, it was said to weep tears of incense, while its blood was balsam. It was the emperor of birds in China and a lunar-solar-symbol. The phoenix represented the empress, while the dragon represented the emperor. Alchemists used the phoenix to symbolize the color red and the successful completion of a process. Magickal AttributesRebirth, renewal, spiritual growth.Call upon the phoenix for strength and renewed energy when facing or undergoing trials of life. ChantOut of ashes, new beginnings,Out of fire comes new power, Out of darkness, new day dawning, Phoenix, help me in this trying hour. |