The World ~ Meaning and Symbolism




THE WORLD.


An unexpected vision appeared to me. A circle not
unlike a wreath woven from rainbow and lightnings,
whirled from heaven to earth with a stupendous, velocity,
blinding me by its brilliance. And amidst this light and fire
I heard music and soft singing, thunderclaps and the roar
of a tempest, the rumble of falling mountains and
earthquakes.

The circle whirled with a terrifying noise, touching the
sun and the earth, and, in the centre of it I saw the naked,
dancing figure of a beautiful young woman, enveloped by
a light, transparent scarf, in her hand she held a magic
wand.

Presently the four apocalyptical beasts began to appear
on the edges of the circle; one with the face of a lion,
another with the face of a man, the third, of an eagle and
the fourth, of a bull.

The vision disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. A
weird silence fell on me. "What does it mean?" I asked in
wonder.

"It is the image of the world," the voice said, "but it
can be understood only after the Temple has been
entered. This is a vision of the world in the circle of
Time, amidst the four principles. But thou seest
differently because thou seest the world outside thyself
Learn to see it in thyself and thou wilt understand the
infinite essence, hidden in all illusory forms.

Understand that the world which thou knowest is only
one of the aspects of the infinite world, and things and
phenomena are merely hieroglyphics of deeper ideas.