Cicero - Self Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition_Part 01

294 SELF-INITlATION INTO 1HE GOLDEN DAWN TRADffiON
TheCaduceus ofHermes is the Admission Badge which grants the candidate
entry into the temple of Yesod.
Legend has it that Hermes-Thoth, the god of Wisdom intervened in a fight
between two serpents who then curled themselves around his wand. In ancient
Mesopotamia, the intertwined serpents were a symbol of the god who cured all
illnesses. The association of the Caduceus with the powers of healing was carried
over into Greek culture and is still preserved today in medical emblems.
The Caduceus is an explicit representation of the of the same energies concealed
within the wand and lamen of the Keryx. One form of the Caduceus is that
of the Three Mother Letters placed one above the other in descending order thus:
Shin, Aleph, Mem.
The Caduceus has another meaning on the Tree of Life. The upper point of
the wand rests upon Kether, and the wings stretch out to Chokmah and Binah,
thus completing the three Supernals. The lower seven Sephiroth are touched by
the serpents whose heads rest upon Chesed and Geburah. The Wings and the top
of the wand form the Hebrew letter Shin, the symbol of Fire. The upper parts of
the serpent form the letter Aleph (Air), while the tails form the letter Mem.
The animals are the twin serpents of Egypt and the currents of the astral
Light. The serpent on the left is Nekhebet, while that on the right is Uatchet. As a
whole the Caduceus represents the balanced forces of Eternal Light working invisibly
in the darkness.
The Flaming Sword with the Kerubim. This diagram was previously
explained in the Zelator grade. (Refer to Chapter Two and Plate 1.)
TheSerpent ofWisdom shows the Ten Sephiroth with all the connecting paths
numbered and lettered, and the Serpent winding over every path. Around each
Sephirah are written the names of the deity, Archangel and Angelic group attributed
to it. The twenty-two paths are bound together by the Serpent of Wisdom. It
THE CADUCEUS BADGE
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