28 § Symbolic Weapons
In speaking of symbolic flowers, we called attention to the lance which, as symbol, figures in the Grail legend as a complement to the cup, and which is one of the many representations of the World Axis.[1] At the same time, we said that this lance is also a symbol of the 'celestial Ray', and in accordance
with what we have mentioned elsewhere [2] it is obvious that these two meanings basically coincide. But this also explains why the lance, as well as the sword and the arrow which are its near equivalents, are sometimes assimilated to the solar ray. It goes without saying that these two symbolisms, polar and solar, must never be confused and that, as we have often indicated, polar symbolism is more fundamental and in fact truly primordial; but it is none the less true that what can be called 'transfers' from one to the other frequently occur, for reasons which we may attempt to explain more clearly on some other occasions. [3]
In this connection, we shall for the moment confine ourselves specifically to the attribution of the arrow to Apollo. [4] It is known that with his arrows Apollo killed the serpent Python, just as in the Vedic tradition, Indra killed Ahi or Vritra, the counterpart of Python, with the vajra which represents the thunderbolt; and this comparison leaves no doubt whatsoever as to the original symbolical equivalence of the two weapons in question. We may also recall the 'golden arrow' of Abaris or of Zalmoxis, which figures in the history of Pythagoras; and here it can be seen still more clearly that this symbolism is expressly related to the Hyperborean Apollo, which proves the link between his solar and polar aspects. [5]
As to the various weapons that represent the World Axis, it should be noted that they are, not always, but very often, either double-edged or with two points, one at each end. This two-pointedness, as in the case of the vajra to which we shall have to return, must clearly be referred back to the duality of the poles, considered as two extremities of the axis, with all the correspondences which this implies and of which we have already spoken elsewhere. [6] In the case of two-edged weapons, the duality lies actually along the axis, so that we must see here a more direct allusion to the two currents that are represented in another way by the two serpents entwined around the staff or the caduceus. But since these two inverse currents are themselves respectively related to the two poles and the two hemispheres, it is immediately obvious that the two symbolisms come together as being in reality one. Fundamentally, then, it is always a question of a double force, single in essence but with apparently opposite effects in its manifestation, resulting from
the polarisation which conditions it, and which also conditions, at different levels, all the degrees and modalities of universal manifestation. [7]
The sword itself may be considered, in general, as a two-edged weapon; [8] but a still more striking example is the double axe, which pertains particularly, though not exclusively, to Aegean and Cretan symbolism, that is, to preHellenic symbolism. Now the axe, as explained in the previous chapter, is quite specifically a symbol of the thunderbolt and as such a strict equivalent of the vajra. The comparison of these two weapons thus clearly shows the fundamental identity of the two forms of symbolism we have mentioned, of double-edged weapons and of weapons with two points. [9]
The vajra is to be found in many different forms; Ananda Coomaraswamy has shown [10] that the usual form, with a triple point at each end, is thereby closely related to the trishula or trident, another very important symbolic weapon, the study of which however would lead us too far from our subject. [11] We will only say that while the median point is at the end of the axis itself, the two lateral points may be related to the above mentioned two currents of the right and of the left; and for this very reason a similar triplicity is to be found elsewhere in axial symbolism-for example, in certain representations of the World Tree. Coomaraswamy has also shown that the vajra is traditionally likened to other known symbols of the World Axis such as the axle of the chariot, the two wheels of which correspond to Heaven and Earth; and this explains certain representations of the vajra as 'supported' by a lotus on which it is vertically placed. As to the quadruple vajra, formed by joining two ordinary vajras in the form of a cross, when looked at on the horizontal as its designation Karma-vajra suggests, it is very close to such symbols as the swastika and the chakra. [12] We shall do no
more here than call attention to these different points, to which we may have occasion to return in other studies, for the subject is inexhaustible.
Besides the meaning of 'thunderbolt', vajra also means 'diamond', which immediately evokes the idea of indivisibility, inalterability and immutability. Immutability is indeed the essential characteristic of the axis around which all things revolve, and which does not itself participate in the revolution. There is yet another very remarkable parallel: Plato describes the World Axis as a luminous axis of diamond which is surrounded by several concentric sheaths of different dimensions and colours, corresponding to the different planetary spheres and moving around the axis. [13] Again, the Buddhist symbolism of the diamond throne at the foot of the 'Tree of Wisdom' and at the very centre of the 'wheel of the world', that is, at the one point that always remains immobile, is no less significant in this context.
The thunderbolt, as we have already said, is held to represent a twofold power of production and destruction-'power of life and death' might be thought preferable, though if this is understood only in the literal sense, it would be just another particular application of the power in question. [14] In fact, it is the force which produces all the 'condensations' and 'dissipations' which the Far Eastern tradition attributes to the two complementary principles yin and yang, corresponding to the two phases of the universal 'exhalation' and 'inhalation', [15] and which are known to Hermetic doctrine as 'coagulation' and 'solution'. [16] The double action of this force is symbolised by the two opposing extremities of the vajra considered as a lightning-like weapon, while the diamond clearly represents its single indivisible essence.
Let us note in passing, and as a curiosity-since it can hardly be more than that from our point of view-an application of a much lower order, but one which is nevertheless directly related to the question of symbolic weapons. The 'power of the points', well known in magic and even in secular physics, is actually related to the 'solution' or second aspect of the double power mentioned above. On the other hand, a correspondence with the first aspect or 'coagulation' is to be found in the magical use of knots or 'ligatures'. In this connection we may also remember the symbolism of the 'Gordian knot', severed, significantly, by Alexander with his sword. But here the question
arises of the 'vital knot' which, though related analogically to the previous one, goes far beyond the domain and reach of simple magic. [17]
Finally, mention must be made of another axial symbol which is not, strictly speaking, a weapon, but which is like one in virtue of its pointed end, namely the nail. With the Romans, the nail (clavus) and the key (clavis)-which their language brought strangely close to each other-are both related to the symbolism of Janus. [18] The key, which is itself an axial symbol, leads to other considerations into which we will not enter now. All that can be said here is that the 'power of the keys', or the double power to 'bind' and 'loosen' [19] is not really different from the power of which we have spoken. Fundamentally, what is involved is always a 'coagulation' and a 'solution', in the Hermetic sense of these two terms.