Lightning in the symbolism of various cultures. Lightning tattoo meaning Three lightning bolts symbol
In all ancient cultures, lightning serves as an expressive sign of strength, speed, movement and is an attribute of the god of thunder, the king of the gods. Lightning, connecting heaven and earth, personifies the divine will, the creative impulse that is transmitted to the earth and becomes the driving force of people and events. In lightning they saw signs sent by the gods; places struck by lightning were considered sacred, and people struck by lightning were marked by a deity.
Being an expression of divine anger and an image of the destructive "heavenly fire", lightning is at the same time beneficent, personifying the awakening of inner vitality. Psychologically, lightning can be viewed as a crisis and at the same time as the ability to see new horizons in the darkness, to find a way out. Cognition of the Truth in its suddenness, strength and shock is like a flash of lightning. “The instant of spiritual insight has been compared to lightning in many religions. Moreover: a sudden flash of lightning that breaks the darkness was regarded as mysterium tremendum (lat. “terrible secret”), which, transforming the world, fills the soul with sacred awe”(Mircea Eliade).
IN ancient india it was believed that lightning serves as a symbol of the power and greatness of Brahman - the impersonal Absolute underlying all things. Brahman is known instantly, with lightning speed, and in the Vedic and Upanishad texts, the moment of illumination is compared with lightning - "truth in lightning."
The Vedas mention Trita, a very ancient deity, believed to be the personification of lightning. It is associated with water, fire and sky. Lightning as heavenly fire is one of the incarnations of Agni; it is also associated with the destructive fire of the "third eye" of Shiva (Vedic Rudra). One of the feats of Shiva was the destruction of Tripura, the capital of the asuras, with one arrow: “Then the three-eyed Shiva quickly fired a destructive arrow. The firmament was painted red, as if molten gold mixed with purple, and the sparkle of the arrow merged with the rays of the sun. The arrow burned three fortresses like a stack of straw. The symbol of lightning is closely related to the vajra, the mythical weapon of the thunder god Indra. Vajra (Skt. “diamond”, “lightning”) is called the “thrower of lightning” and is considered a force that destroys enemies and all kinds of ignorance.
Vajra is also one of the most important symbols Buddhism and denotes the spiritual power of the Buddha, splitting the illusory realities of the world. Tibetan Buddhists call the vajra "dorje". It symbolizes the strength, clarity and all-conquering power of the teachings of the Buddha.
IN ancient Chinese mythology the origin of natural phenomena is associated with Pan-gu, the first man on earth: with his breath, wind and rain are born, with his exhalation, thunder and lightning. According to legend, there was a heavenly council of thunder. It included the god of thunder, the god of wind, the god of rain and the goddess of lightning. Leizu, the head of the heavenly council of thunder, was depicted with a third eye on his forehead, from which a stream of light poured. Dian-mu (“lightning mother”) held two mirrors in her hands raised above her head. Standing on a cloud, she either brought the mirrors closer together, or spread them apart, as a result of which lightning appeared. It was believed that Dian-mu illuminates the hearts of sinners with lightning, who should be punished by the god of thunder.
In the symbolism of the ancient Chinese treatise "I Ching", lightning is the image of the hexagram zhen, "excitation". It marks the moment when life begins anew, it is impossible to go back, it is necessary to go forward. In this situation, a person may feel fear and lose confidence in their own abilities. But if you do not change the principle of steady action and striving forward, such a movement will lead to the highest success.
At ancient greeks lightning was owned by the head of the Olympic pantheon of the gods Zeus. During the fight against the Titans, the Cyclopes forged lightning for Zeus - a magical weapon with which he struck Kronos. Having won these battles, Zeus gained power over the earth and sky, and thunder, lightning and thunderbolts became his integral attribute. The lightning strike of Zeus is credited by myths with the first of two births of the "twice-born" Dionysus.
According to Pliny the Elder, the great god Etruscans Tin commanded "three sparkling red beams of lightning." There were sixteen deities under his command, but only eight had the right to throw lightning, and these lightnings differed in color. All these features were taken into account by the haruspices, soothsayers, who interpreted heavenly signs.
IN ancient rome Jupiter, like many other ancient gods, originally did not have a human appearance, but was depicted as a stone arrow, in which they saw a symbol of lightning. Subsequently, the thunder arrows that he holds in his hand became a symbol of the power and invincible strength of the king of the gods. The three lightning bolts of Jupiter symbolize chance, fate and foresight - the three forces that shape the future.
According to Aztec myths, The universe has gone through four stages (or eras) of development. In the third era, which was called "Four. Rain", the supreme deity, the bearer of the sun, was Tlaloc, the god of rain and thunder, who was depicted with a lightning staff. The element of this era, which ended in a worldwide conflagration, is fire, and its sign is lightning.
IN Christian era lightning is associated with the revelation of God, as, for example, in the book of Exodus, where thunder and lightning foretell the appearance of God to Moses on Mount Sinai. In addition, lightning is a symbolic expression of God's judgment (on the day of the Last Judgment).
In the famous Muslim story revelations to Mohammed in a cave on Mount Hira, lightning precedes the appearance of a divine messenger - the Angel Jibril.
To receive a lightning strike, according to shamans, means immediate initiation. “The people who were killed by lightning are thought to have been stolen from Heaven by the gods of thunder, and their remains are revered as relics. The one who remains alive after the experience with lightning is completely changed; in fact, he starts new life becomes a new person(Mircea Eliade).
Today is Friday again, and again the guests are in the studio, spinning the drum and guessing the letters. The next issue of the capital show Field of Miracles is on the air and here is one of the questions in the game:
What in Rus' served as a symbol smashing lightning? 7 letters
Correct answer - POKER
POKER AND POMELO
The order of the division of the family among the Slavs, if we speak with a certain degree of generalization, is somewhat similar to the life of social insects. For example, in bees, the family invariably exists up to a certain point; but during swarming it is divided into two parts.
Among the Slavs, the magic of the family was closely connected with the magic of fire. The Slavs believed that from the fire kindled in the hearth, the fire of love and adoration was kindled, which spread to all family members living under one roof. In this regard, many ancient rituals find their explanation. So, the Slavs, during the matchmaking of the bride, turned to the family hearth, as to a tribal deity, and from him they received permission to withdraw the chosen bride from the family. According to Bulgarian custom, the matchmaker, having entered the bride's house, rakes coals from the furnace. And by this gesture they learn about the purpose of his visit. In Rus', the matchmaker, having come to the house of the bride's parents, first of all, regardless of when it happens - in winter or summer, begins to warm her hands by the stove, and only then begins her matchmaking. Obviously, this is where the expression "warm hands" came from.
In Little Russia, when negotiations are underway for matchmaking, the bride sits by the stove and begins to pick out clay from it. By this she expresses her desire to get married. In the Chernihiv province, when the matchmakers appear, the bride climbs onto the stove, and they beg her to come down. If she gets off the stove, then thereby expresses her readiness to leave her home.
In the Kursk province, before the start of the matchmaking, the groom's father and the matchmaker chosen by him tie the poker with a broomstick. This magical gesture should ensure the success of the campaign. It is easy to see that the poker personifies the male sexual organ, and the pomelo is female. This is a kind of Linga - the male sexual organ of Shiva, resting on the female sexual organ of Parvati - yoni. A.N. Afanasiev interprets this differently. He believes that the poker is a symbol of the lightning club of the god Agni, and the pomelo is a symbol of the wind fanning the thunderstorm flame. This magical procedure should kindle the fire of love. In the Tver province, the day after the wedding, mummers drive around the village with a broomstick and with a stove damper. Obviously, the symbolism of this is still the same.
428 0
It personifies spiritual illumination, enlightenment, revelation, the descent of power, the unexpected embodiment of truth, breaking through time and space, the eternal now, the destruction of ignorance, fertilization, sustenance, male power. Like the rays of the sun, lightning is considered both beneficial and destructive. The same was the spear of Achilles, capable of inflicting wounds and healing. Lightning associated with all gods of storm and thunder. Its symbols are the zigzag, the trident, the ax (heavenly axe), the hammer, the thunderbolt, the vajra, the dorje, the zhu-yi, the arrow, and the bird of prey. Death by lightning is death received from Heaven. To receive a lightning strike, according to shamans, means immediate initiation. In Hinduism, it is believed that the truth is in the brilliance of lightning - Agni lived in the waters of heaven in the form of lightning. For the Indians of North America, lightning is the Great Spirit, revelation. The Manicheans have lightning as a symbol of the Virgin of Light.
Meanings in other dictionaries
Lightning
I Lightning is a giant electrical spark discharge in the atmosphere, usually manifested by a bright flash of light and accompanying Thunder. The electrical nature of magnetism was revealed in the studies of the American physicist B. Franklin, on the basis of which an experiment was carried out to extract electricity from a thundercloud. Most often M. occurs in cumulonimbus clouds, then they are called thunderclouds; ...
Lightning
LIGHTNING - a giant electric spark discharge between clouds or between clouds and the earth's surface, several kilometers long, tens of centimeters in diameter and tenths of a second long. Lightning is accompanied by thunder. In addition to such (linear) lightning, ball lightning is occasionally observed. ...
Lightning
this is the name of an electric discharge between two clouds, or between parts of the same cloud, or between a cloud and the earth. There are three types of M.: linear, vague, or flat, and spherical. 1) Linear M. has the appearance of a dazzlingly bright winding line with many branches, which can be clearly seen in photographs (for the first time in 1883; Ganzel and Krov). The reason is tortuous...
Lightning
natural discharge of large accumulations of electric charge in the lower layers of the atmosphere. One of the first to establish this was the American statesman and scientist B. Franklin. In 1752, he experimented with a kite, to the cord of which a metal key was attached, and received sparks from the key during a thunderstorm. Since then, lightning has been intensively studied as an interesting natural phenomenon, and also because of serious problems.
Lightning
Electric discharge. About the form; about the sound of thunder; range, duration of lightning. Silent, silent, fleeting (old poet.), distant, long, zigzag, serpentine, jagged, curved, short, oblique, flying, broken, hinged, straight, lancet, dry. About the color, the nature of the brilliance. Crimson, crimson, white, pale, yellow, gold, golden, dazzling, blue, purple...
Lightning
a giant electric spark discharge between clouds or between clouds and the earth's surface several kilometers long, tens of centimeters in diameter and tenths of a second long. Lightning is accompanied by thunder. In addition to such (linear) lightning, ball lightning is occasionally observed. ...
Lightning
and. lightning; lightning cf. kaz. perm. lightning thief. molashka, young app. fiery manifestation of a thunderstorm, with thunder; instant illumination of the clouds, the sky with a fiery stream. Distant lightning, where you can not see a jagged breakthrough: lightning, south. bliskavitsa. Lightning in winter, to the storm. Lightning, lightning, pertaining to lightning. Lightning, lightning-like, prominent, lightning-like, lightning-like, church. Lightning or lightning, ...
grave
The womb of the earth and Mother Earth herself; the body holding the soul. The symbol of the Mother Goddess as related to death, but at the same time giving shelter. Dying for worldly life. In alchemy, a grave with a skull and a raven symbolizes the obscuration and necrosis of the first stage of Lesser Experience, it is earth to earth, dying to the world. On the graves, ritual meals were often held to commemorate the dead on the anniversary ...
Various ancient cultures often treated lightning as a kind of powerful and expressive force, therefore its meaning in their symbolism was appropriate. Lightning has always been associated with speed and movement, as well as with the attributes of various thunder gods, as well as god kings.
In addition, many cultures attributed lightning to a certain phenomenon that connected heaven and earth, personifying the divine will, as well as the creative impulse that drives people and events. Lightning was often associated with a sign, it was considered sacred, and those people whom it struck were said to have been marked by the deity himself.
However, lightning in various cultures was not only an expression of divine fury and a destructive principle. It also had a beneficial meaning, personifying the awakening of all kinds of vitality. On a psychological level, lightning was viewed as a crisis, as well as the ability to see new perspectives and horizons in the darkness, to find a long-awaited way out of any situation. In the symbolism of various esoteric societies, lightning was interpreted as an opportunity to know the Truth suddenly and unexpectedly, so powerful in strength and shock that it instantly changes the idea of some things.
The inhabitants of ancient India treated such a phenomenon as lightning as a manifestation of the power and greatness of Brahman - the impersonal Absolute, which underlies all things. Brahman is known instantly and with lightning speed. This was achieved through the Vedic texts, as well as through the texts of the Upanishads. The moment of a person's insight in India was compared to lightning - "the truth is in the lightning." In the Indian Vedas there is a mention of Trita - a deity who personified lightning in all its senses. The deity was associated with water, fire and the sky. Lightning was also one of the faces of Agni. Also, lightning in India was associated with the "third eye" of Shiva. In addition, the symbol of lightning was associated with the mythical weapon of the thunder god Indra - the vajra. This device was called "lightning thrower".
Ancient China associated lightning with the creature Pan-gu, the first man on earth. It is believed that with his breath, wind and rain were born, and with his exhalation, lightning and thunder. The legends of China say that there was a heavenly kingdom of thunder, in which there were gods of thunder, wind, rain and lightning. The head of the council - Lei-zu, was depicted with a third luminous eye. And Dian-mu, his other half, was the "lightning mother", she held two mirrors above her head. By manipulating mirrors, standing in the clouds, she gave birth to lightning that fell to the ground. It is also interesting that the well-known ancient Chinese treatise "I Ching" indicates that lightning represents the image of zhen - excitement. Also, lightning was associated with the moment of the beginning of a new life, with moving forward.
The ancient Greeks revered the supreme deity Zeus, who was in charge of all lightning and headed the Olympic pantheon. Lightning was forged by the Cyclopes specifically so that Zeus could successfully fight the Titans. The second birth of Dionysus occurred at the moment when Zeus himself struck him with lightning.
Lightning is also in the symbolism of the Etruscans, who had in their pantheon such a deity as Tin, who commanded "three sparkling beams of lightning." Under the leadership of Tin there were several deities and some of them could throw lightning of different colors. Interpreting heavenly signs, local shamans took into account the peculiarities of such an interpretation and gave out interesting prophecies.
IN Ancient Rome the god Jupiter was revered, who initially did not have a human appearance at all and was depicted in the form of a stone arrow, a symbol of lightning. Subsequently, this deity began to be depicted with three lightning bolts, which he holds in his hand. They symbolize chance, fate and foresight - the forces that are responsible for shaping the future.
Aztec myths also included lightning. They had the god Tlaloc, who was depicted with a lightning staff.
The Christian era associated lightning with the revelation of God, which is detailed in the book of Exodus. Also, lightning is also a symbolic expression of God's Judgment.
Muslims also had lightning in their symbolism - according to their legends, it precedes the appearance of divine messengers. Lightning was also often mentioned in references to the shamans of certain nations, who believed that after receiving a lightning strike, they would undergo instant initiation.