René Guénon
Chapter 15

14 | The Mediator

‘It rises from Earth to Heaven and comes down again from Heaven to Earth, and so acquires the power of things above and the power of things below.’ This statement, from the Hermetic Emerald Tablet, can be applied word for word to Man as median term of the Great Triad: that is, it can be applied to Man in his role as ‘mediator’ responsible for maintaining communication between Heaven and Earth.[1]

This ‘rising from Earth to Heaven’ is symbolised in the rituals of many different traditions by the actual ascent of a tree or pole, representing the ‘World Axis’. This ascent, inevitably followed by a re-descent, gives rise to a dual movement or process which corresponds to the stages of ‘solution’ and ‘coagulation’; and whoever genuinely realises the full implications of this rite thereby succeeds in assimilating the influences of Heaven and bringing them down into this world, where he then unites them with the terrestrial influences. At first this merging of influences takes place inside him; later, by participation and by a sort of ‘radiation’, in the whole surrounding Cosmos.[2] The Far-Eastern tradition, along with many other traditions,[3] states that to begin with Heaven and Earth were not separate; in fact they are necessarily united and ‘undifferentiated’ in _T’ai Chi_, their common principle. But to allow for manifestation, a polarisation in Being has to occur. This polarisation gives rise to Essence on the one hand and Substance on the other, producing what can be called a ‘separation’ of these two complementary terms, the first of which is symbolised by Heaven, the second by Earth. The reason for this separation is to allow manifestation to take place in between the two, or (if such an expression is permissible) in the ‘interval’ between them.[4]

Once this separation has occurred, communication between Heaven and Earth can only be established along the axis connecting the centre of each state of existence to the centre of every other state of existence. In other words this axis—linking together the indefinite multitude of states of existence in a hierarchical whole to form universal manifestation—extends from one pole to the other, that is, from Heaven to Earth; and as we explained earlier, it can be viewed as a kind of measure of the distance between them in the vertical direction that marks the hierarchy of the states just mentioned.[5] The centre of each state can therefore be considered as the trace of this vertical axis on the horizontal plane which, in geometrical terms, represents that particular state. Each such centre is in fact the ‘Invariable Middle’ (_Chung Yung_), which means it is the one and only point in that particular state where celestial and terrestrial influences are united. It is at the same time the only point from which direct communication with other states of existence is possible, because communication between the different states can only take place along the vertical axis.

So far as our own state of existence is concerned, its centre is man’s normal ‘place’. This of course is just another way of saying that ‘true man’ and this centre are identical, so that the union of Heaven and Earth in our state will take place exclusively in and through him. Here we have the reason why everything which is manifested in this state proceeds entirely from him and depends entirely on him, and only exists as it were as an outward and partial projection of his own possibilities. It is he who, by his ‘action of presence’, maintains and preserves the existence of our world,[6] for he is its centre and without a centre nothing could actually exist. This basically is the reason for the existence in every tradition of rituals which affirm in a tangible and perceptible form man’s intervention for the purpose of maintaining the cosmic order. Ultimately, all these rites are just so many different expressions of the function of ‘mediation’ which is essentially his.[7]

There are many traditional symbols which depict Man located between Heaven and Earth, where, as the middle term of the Great Triad, he fulfils his role of ‘mediator’. We may as well mention at the outset that this is the broad significance of the trigrams in the I Ching. Each of the three lines of which they are composed corresponds to one of the three terms of the Great Triad, as we shall explain in greater detail later: the top line symbolises Heaven, the central line Man, and the bottom one Earth. As for the hexagrams, the upper and lower trigrams of which they are composed also correspond as units to Heaven and to Earth respectively. In this case the median term is no longer visibly depicted, but this is because the hexagram as a whole is an expression of the role of ‘mediator’ inasmuch as it unites the celestial and terrestrial influences. There is an obvious comparison to be drawn here with the ‘Seal of Solomon’, which is also made up of six lines (although arranged in a different fashion) and which, according to one of its meanings, consists of an upright triangle representing celestial nature and an inverted triangle representing terrestrial nature. The figure as a whole is therefore a symbol of ‘Universal Man’, who unites these two natures in himself and so is the perfect ‘mediator’.[8]

Another well-known Far-Eastern symbol is the tortoise, placed between the upper and lower halves of its shell just like Man between Heaven and Earth. Not only the position but even the shapes of the two halves of the shell have their significance: the upper half, which ‘covers’ the animal, also corresponds to Heaven because of its rounded shape, while the lower half which ‘supports’ the animal corresponds to Earth by virtue of its flatness.[9] Viewed as a whole, the shell is therefore an image of the Universe,[10] while the tortoise itself, between its two parts, naturally represents the median term of the Great Triad, which is Man. Additionally, the withdrawal of the tortoise inside its shell symbolises concentration in the ‘primordial state’, which is the state of ‘true man’; also, this concentration itself denotes the realisation of human possibilities in all their fullness. For although it can appear that the centre is merely a point devoid of extension, in fact when viewed from the principal standpoint it actually contains all things.[11] This is why ‘true man’ contains within himself every- thing that is manifested in the state of existence with whose centre he is identical.

We find a symbolism comparable to that of the tortoise in the case of the clothing worn by the ancient princes of China. As we have mentioned elsewhere,[12] this clothing was traditionally rounded in shape at the top (that is, at the collar) and square in shape at the bottom—roundness denoting Heaven and squareness Earth. Here we can add that this symbol is very closely related to that other one (on which more shortly) which locates Man between the square and the compasses, for these are the instruments used to draw a square and a circle respectively.

From this disposition of the clothing we also see that prototypal man—represented by the prince—was depicted in his role of effecting the union of Heaven and Earth as touching Heaven with his head while his feet rested on the Earth. We will have more to say about this further on, and will merely add here that it was not only the clothing of the prince or ruler that was given a symbolic meaning, but every action that he performed in his daily life. Everything he did down to the very last detail was determined and governed by ritual, and this meant that, as we just mentioned, he was regarded as the representative of prototypal man in all possible circumstances. Originally, of course, he will actually have been a ‘true man’; subsequently, as a result of the conditions of growing spiritual degeneracy that later affected humanity, this ideal could no longer be lived up to, but even so the ruler in exercising his function always continued in a sense to ‘incarnate’ ‘true man’ and take his place ritually, quite independently of what he might be in himself. That he continued to do this was all the more necessary in view of the fact that (as we shall see more clearly in due course) his function was essentially that of ‘mediator’.[13]

If we were to give a typical example of ritual actions of this kind, we could do no better than cite the Emperor’s circumambulation of the _Ming T'ang_. As we will be dealing with this subject more fully later on, we will confine ourselves here to saying that the _Ming T'ang_ was a kind of image of the Universe,[14] concentrated as it were in a place that represented the ‘Invariable Middle’: the very fact that this central location was also the Emperor’s place of residence automatically made him a living representation of ‘true man’. Furthermore, the _Ming T'ang_ was an image of the Universe not only in a spatial but also in a temporal sense, because in it the spatial symbolism of the cardinal points was directly associated with the temporal symbolism of the seasons and the annual cycle. Now the roof of his building was circular in shape while its base was either square or rectangular, and between the roof and the base (like the tortoise between the upper and lower halves of its shell) lived the Emperor as representative of Man situated midway between Heaven and Earth. This type of architectural design is also to be found, and with the identical symbolic meaning, in many other traditional forms. One has only to think of the Buddhist _stupas_ or the Islamic _qubbah_, to name just two examples. Perhaps in future we will bring all these examples together in a separate study, and this certainly would be a project well worth undertaking, because it touches on a subject that is of the greatest relevance for an understanding of the initiatic meaning of building symbolism.

There is one other symbol that is interchangeable in terms of meaning with the symbols we have been discussing. This is the symbol of the commander in his chariot. With a circular canopy (representing Heaven) and a square-shaped floor (representing Earth), this chariot was in fact constructed on the same ‘cosmic model’ that was used for traditional buildings such as the _Ming T'ang_. Also, both canopy and floor were connected by a pole, which of course is an axial symbol;[15] and a small section of the pole projected above the canopy[16] as if to show that the ‘pinnacle of Heaven’ is really beyond Heaven itself. This pole was regarded as measuring symbolically the height of the prototypical man to whom the commander was assimilated—a height given by numerical proportions that varied according to the cyclic conditions of the period. In this way man himself was identified with the ‘World Axis’ so that he could effectively link Heaven and Earth. Strictly speaking we should add that this identification of man and axis will only have its full meaning and effectiveness in the case of ‘transcendent man’. By contrast, ‘true man’ only corresponds to one point on the axis—that is, to the point which is the centre of his own state of existence—and his identification with the axis itself is only virtual. But this question of the relationship between ‘true man’ and ‘transcendent man’ requires a more detailed analysis which will find its natural place later in this book.

Footnotes

[1]The words can also be understood in a strictly initiatic context as an accurate delineation of the two aspects of realisation: one ‘ascending’, the other ‘descending’. But this is another point which it is impossible to elaborate on here.
[2]It is incidentally worth mentioning in this connection that the fundamental significance of rites apparently aimed at ‘rain-making’ emerges quite clearly when one remembers that rain is frequently used to symbolise this descent of celestial influences. Obviously that significance will be totally independent of the ‘magical’ application which people assume to be the only one it has; and while of course we have no intention of denying the validity of this application, we wish merely to reduce it to its true value at a very contingent level. It is interesting to observe that this rain symbolism has even been preserved—via the Hebrew tradition—in the Catholic liturgy itself: ‘Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness’ (Isaiah 45:8: ‘Rorate Coelidesuper, et nubes pluant Justum’). The ‘righteousness’ alluded to here can be thought of as being the ‘mediator’ who ‘comes down again from Heaven to Earth’; equally it can be equated with that being who, in full and conscious possession of his celestial identity, appears in this world as the Avatar.
[3]Basically, the agreement extends to all traditions without exception. However, the specific point we wish to make here is that even the mode of expression used by the Far-Eastern tradition in this instance is not exclusive to it alone.
[4]These comments can also be applied analogically at different levels, according to whether what is being considered is universal manifestation in its entirety, or only a particular state of manifestation (that is, one particular world) or even a more or less limited cycle in the existence of that world. In each case there will always be to begin with something that corresponds—in a more or less relative sense—to the ‘separation of Heaven and Earth’.
[5]For further comments on the meaning of this vertical axis see _The Symbolism of the Cross_, chapter 23.
[6]In Islamic esotericism such a being is described as ‘upholding the world just by breathing’.
[7]Our use of the word ‘expressions’ is justified to the extent that these rites represent symbolically the function in question. However, we must not forget that it is by actually performing these rites that man truly and consciously fulfils this function. This is a direct consequence of the efficacity inherent in the rites and rituals—a fact that we have sufficiently explained elsewhere (particularly in _Aperçus sur l’Initiation_) to make any further repetition here unnecessary.
[8]In specifically Christian terminology, this is the union of the divine and human natures in Christ, who in fact is a perfect embodiment of this ‘mediatory’ role: see _The Symbolism of the Cross_, chapter 28. In the concept of ‘Universal Man’ this role—played by ‘true man’ solely in relation to one particular state of existence—is applied by analogical transposition to manifestation as a whole.
[9]A plane surface as such is of course directly related to a straight line, which is an element of the square. In a purely negative way, plane surface and straight line can both be defined by the absence of any curvature.
[10]Which is why the chart called _Lo Chu_ was, according to tradition, presented to Yü the Great by a tortoise. Here we also have the origin of the use of the tortoise in some specialised applications (chiefly of a ‘divinatory’ nature) of the traditional sciences.
[11]On the relation between point and extension see _The Symbolism of the Cross_, chapters 16 and 29.
[12]The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, chapter 20.
[13]We have already emphasised on other occasions the fundamental importance of making a general distinction between a traditional function and the being fulfilling it. The effectiveness of the first is strictly independent of the intrinsic worth or the worth as an individual of the second. See especially Aperçus sur l'Initiation, chapter 45.
[14]In this it resembles the tortoise, with which it was in fact connected in the diagram of _Lo Chu_ giving the plan for the building. We will have more to say about this shortly.
[15]Although this axis is not always given visible form in the traditional buildings we have just mentioned, it always plays a fundamental role in their construction, which is regulated entirely with reference to it.
[16]This detail also recurs in a number of other examples (especially in the case of the _stupa_). It has a far greater significance than at first sight it might seem to possess, for from the initiatic point of view it has to do with the symbolic representation of the ‘departure from the Cosmos’.
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