Symbols, Sex, and the Stars in Popular Beliefs: An Outline of the Origins of Moon and Sun Worship, Astrology, Sex Symbolism, Mystic Meaning of Numbers, the Cabala, and Many Popular Customs, Myth

418 Pages·1997·12.56 MB·English

by  Ernest Busenbark

SYMBOLSS,E X,
AND THES .TARS
InP opularB «;!liefs
An Outlionfet he
Orignsi ofM oona ndS unW 'orshAispt,r ol­
ogy,S ex SymbolisMmy,s ticM eaningo f
Numberst,h eC abalaa,n d l\1anyP opular
CustomMsy,t hsS,u perstiatnidoR nesl igious
Beliefs.
by
ERNEST BUSENBARK
88P latCeosn,t aiOnvien3rg0 0
IllustraatnidDo iangsn; rms
CJhe 9300CJrke e
SanD iegCoa,l ifornia
Copyrig1h9t4 9
TrutShe ekeCro,. I,n c.
AllR ightRses erved
ISBN1 -885395-19-1
Prefa©c e1 9972,0 03
byJ ordaMna xwell
CoveArrt © 1997
byB radW einman
Layou&t D esign© 1997
TheB ookT ree
Thibso okw asm adeav ailabblyes peciaarlr angemweintth
theT rutShe ekeCro .a ndw ith helpa gr fraonmt b yt hJea mes
Hervey JohnsoCnh aritaEbdluec atiTornus t.
Publisbhye d
The Book Tree
POBox 16476
San Diego,CA 92176
'WWW".dtebookttee.COID
We provifdasec inatanidn egd uc<ttipornoadlu cttohs e lapw aketnh ep ubltiocn ewi deaasn d
infonnatthiwatoo nul dno tbe availoatbhleerw ise.
Cal1l( 8007)0 0-873f3o ro urF REEB OOKT REE CATALOG.
PREFACE
ByJ ordManax well
The WorlCdo ndition
Int oday's wwoer alrdeb esebty un certaintiTehso.s eo f
mostc oncerni nvolve the poofst uedndtieavnli olence obna sed
religiboeulsi eafnsdf anaticiTshmi.s w orlsd pends moufci ht s
timef ightionvge r Goadn,dh asd ones of orc entusr.Wi heile we
fighovte Gro d,w ea lssoe eHki m.
After centoufpri uerss uiGnogd we appeanro closer to
reaching tHhianwm h enw efi rsstt artienda ,n cient tIinfm aecst.,
thec omplexictrieeast edn ubmye ruosr eligiaonndths e irf actions
seemt or emovues f urthferro mG odt hanw henw e were living
closewliyt hn aturien opurri mtiivpea stAs. soona sm ankind
creataec do nceptioofnG od,c ertairnu leosfo bservafnoclel owed.
And asv ariougsr oupasn dc oncpetionasp pearerdu,l eosf
observacnlcaes hWeadr.s b egan. Of cwoeu frisgeho tv etre rritory
asm ucha st heolobguyt,r eligsioomne hoswe emtso c reamtoer e
viscoaunsdf anatificgahlt ers.
Itw asb elievtehdaG to d woulpdr otectth ose who observed
theisra crerdu lemso rer igorousSloy t.h er ulebse camem ore
demanidng-ttoh ep oinotfm urdreinogt heirnst hev ernya meo f
God.B ut iismt y belitehfa atn a llo-vlinGgo dw oulnde vepri uts
againesatc oht heart,e achot hert'hsr otsaI.fw ec ouludn drestand
wherree ligrieoanl claym ef romm,a ybet hewne coulcdh angoer,
statrotc hangoeu,r c onceopntsia ndr uleosfo bservanMcaey.b e
thewni lwle succeeodr,s tatrots ucceedi,nfi ndinogu tw hoa nd
whatt het ruGeo di s.
Thep hiloopsheGre orgSea ntayoan ces aid",T hosweh o
cannorte memberth e pasatr e condetmnore edp eaitt .T"h ish as
alwaybse ent hec aseb,u tw hyi si ts od iffictuoll eta rnf romo ur
pastW?h y mustw e keep maktihnesg a mem istakoevse arn do ver
again?T hea nsweirss imple-humiagnn orabnacsee odn l aziness
andp ridteo,g ethwiethr ane vre-presDeEnNtI ALI.g noranacned
itdse niwaill sla,d t os ayl,e auds d ownt hes amer oaads i td idi n
alpla shti stoIrfye .n ougphe oplaer et or eaad b ookl ikteh iosn e
andt rulgyl eaint isn fonmatitohne,wn e atl eashta vea chancaet
overcomingi gtnhoirsa nce.
LiesL,i esL,i es
Ther easowne arei nt hec urreenvti sli tuatiisbo enc ause
weh avebe etno lLdI ESb yo urs urrogaptaer entthsel, e adeorfts h e
worldT.h eya ret heo nes we ltoowo hke nevearn ythignoge s
wrong(" Somebooduyg htt od os omethianbgo u[t. .]".) .T hey tell
usw hat theyu swt aonh te aWr.h att hewya ntus t oh ear, what they
teluls a,r e LIES.
Todaya nde verdya yw ea ref acewdi tmho untilnige hsa,l f­
trutahnsd c orruptiionne veryf ielodfe ndeavtohre w orldo ver.
Mankinhda sp retmtuyc :lho sitt wsa y.T het hreger eapto werosf
humanc orruptiisto hne samteo daays i th asa lwaybse enn,a mely
POLITICS-MONEY- -RELIGIONt, het riuGnoed !I nt hew orld
ofp olitaincdsb ankign"w e cana cceptth eo bviouwsi tha little
research-thasto -ocluaerldl eadearrse i,n p oinotf f actM,I S­
LEADERS.O ft hitsh eriesam plep roof.
The Church
Theries e vena biggesrt oryye tto b et olwdh enw e tumt o
thet hirpda rotf th ist riatdh,ec hurcNho.w heries a storoyf l ies,
half-trumtihssu,n derstanadnidnc gosv er-umposr eb lataanntd
dangerousmliys laedinMg.i llioonfsl i vehsa ve been waansdt ed
squanderebde causoef a basimci sunderstandainncgei notf
theologanide mso demr eligiOountsr.a geoupseloyp,l e hbaeveen
ledt o devtoitmeem ,o ney, enanedr,gf yo rs omet,h eiwrh ollei ves
int hep ursuoifat r eligiioduestha la t isf,a cintno, t himnogr et han
am isunderstand(iaMn YgT HOLOGY).
Tot hivse rdya y" the balriesn dtil llleaditnhgeb lindH.o"w
manyp eoplteo dakyn ow,f ori nstantchea,tt h eE ngliswho rd
"CHURCH" comdeisr ectflroym t heS cottiwsohr d" KIRK."
"Kirkc"o mest ou sf rom" Circ"e t,hea nciefnetm alGer eek
goddessC.i rcwea sa ne nchantrwehsots r ickaenddd eceivmeedn
whenth eyc amei nt oh er-ancdh angetdhe mi ntsow ine!
FemalGeo ddes(sC IRCE= )M othe(rC HURCH)
The Mechanism ofL ies
Symbolhsa vet heierx oteroirco penm eaningfso rt he
massebsu,tt heayl shoa vet heeisro teorric cl osmeeda ninfgosr t he
"electth,e"" c hosetnh,e"" c ognosceonrtit ,h"e" Illumi"n ati.
Thes ymbolosf t heC HURCH also have esttoheeriir c
meaninagssw ellT.h es ymbolosf tchheu rcahr e" opesne crets."
Them eaninogft hes ymbolissn oth iddebnu,ta reo nluyn derstood
ify ouh avet heK EYS.T hek eyasr es ecrOetn.eo ft he keytsh ei s
symbolisomf t hes tarAsn.o thekre yi ss exuals ymbolisBmo.t h
keysn eedetdou nloctkh es ymbolasr ep resenitnet dh iism portnat
volume.
Frome arlcyh ildhodoady st,ot hee arnestb eginnoifnm gy
studiiens1 959a,n du p tot hep resednaty ,I nevecre asteo b e
amazetdo w hate xtepneto plfea itlou nderstthaen sdy mbols and
storioefsa nciernetl ingsi.Vo eryf ewu nderstanhdo w vitally
importtahntii ss I.h aveb eens addenbeydh owt haitg onranchea s
harmeuds a sa r ace.
Thereforiesw, i tightr eaptl easutrheaI th ighrleyc ommend
thiBso okT reer eissoufeE rnestB usenbka'rsl andmark book. Its
full tiisetl xep lanatSoyrmyb:o lSse,x a ndt heS tarisnP opular
BelieAfns :O utlionfet heO rigionfsM oon and SunW orship,
AstroloSgeyx,S ymbolisMmy,s tiMce aninogf N umbers, the
Cabalaa,n dM anyP opulaCru stoms, MyStuhpse,r stiatnido ns
ReligioBuesl ieWfhsi.l es:u btlpeo inotfsd ifferenfcreo mc urrent
knowledgmea y be debatewdi tha uthoBru senbartkh,e y are
differenocfoe psi niaosnt oc ausatinoont,d iffenrceeso ff act.
Whereh eg iveesv identcheee, v idenicsce o mpelling.
I haveb eens oi mpressweidt ht hibso okt hats,i nciet s
earliperri ntiinn1g 9 97I, d idt hresee paravtied eobsa seodn i ts
teachinFgrso.ma lmly yearosf s tudIy',v ef ound no better book
onec anu set ou nravmeilll 'St ruree loiguisp ast
Thisb ook niostf ore veryonBeu.ti ti sa m ust readf or
thosweh oa ret ireodfb eing plfaoyrfe odo lasn dl edt ob elietvhee
lies. Thiiss v walourakb loen ltyo t hosweh om thes pirit tcoa lls
freedoImti. s f ort hosweh oa ren ota fratiodf achea rfda ctasb out
lifaen dw how antt okn ow thet rutahb ourte liganido nit osr igins.
JordaMna xwell
INTRODUCTION ·1
By JACKB ENJAMIN·
Membero fH istooryfS cienScoec iety
The useo fs ymboltso c onvekyn owledtgoet hei nitiated
andt oc onceiatlf romt heu nitiatiesad s o lda sc ivilization.
A cleaurn derasntdinogf t hes ymboliwca y oft hinkinigs
necessaryif we wouldu nveialn dc omprehetnhde " esoteric"
(hidedn ors ecremte)a ningo ft hes ymbolosf a ncienatn d
modernf aiths.
Every objeicsct o nnectweidt hi tos rigitnhsr ougphr o­
gressicvhea ngeT.h e complewxa se volvefdr omt hes imple.
In ther ealmof p opulabre liehfosw,e vere,s peciaolflt yh e
theologitcyaplet ,h et endenchya sb eent oc onceaflr omt he
common peoplteh es ourceasn dn aturoef a rchaiscy mbols
andp ractisc.e
So longa sm en exprestsh oughb.yt theu seo fs ym,.
b()Ist,h e explanoaftt ihoeno rigiann dn aturoef t heiurs e
isw orthyo ft heb este ffortosf s cholarGse.n uinceu lture
cannotb e basedu pon theu ndecipherpeadl eograpohfy
primitiavgee s.
The ancienfta ithhsa d their" mysteri,e fso"rm s of
iniitatiosne,c resti gnosf r ecognitainodn a. ,b odyo f sym­
bolilco reg eneralkleyp tf romt hep ublicS.u pernatural
belieefv olvetdh rougmha ny stagesT.h e initisatla gearse
ofc hieifn etrestto t hes cholaarn ds eriosutsu denItn. t he
earlyf ormo fs uchb eliewfe find thec oref romw hich
presenitd eaasn dp racticheasv ee volvedA.s a belieifsa
compsoitoef p rveiouisd eaasn de xperienctehsep, r imitive
inentalitrye vealiedn earlys ymbolisamp pearasl soin
modern embelmatirce prseentations.
In his" AncienPta gana nd Modern.C hristiSaymn­
l:>olism"I,n manp ertinenotblsye rves:
"When thereeXist · two distine(xp:lta nationosr,
statemenatbso,u.t t hes ignificanlcoaefn emblemth, e
.o.n e' esotetruriec,'an ,d known onlyto .thef ewth,e
other' eXoteriicn;c,o rrecatn,d .kn ownto them any,it
isc letarh aat t imem ay comew hent hefi rstm ay be
losatn,d th e lasatl oner emain"(.P .x ii)
,
-Inmani lulstrattehset houghbty showingt hatt hec or­
rectp ronunctiiaono f "Jehovahw"a .ss upposed originally
tob e knowno nlyt o·a selecfte w,a ndl atewra sl ostw,h �le
thea dmittedliyn correpcrto nunciatsiuornv-ived.
ii INTRODUCTION
Everys tatoef sociectoy ntinuferso mt hep oint of
developmeanttw hichi tsp redescseolre fotff .E very state­
mento fb elietfask eosn i nt hec oursoeft imed ifferent values
or interpretatTihoen gso.d o f thea ncienHte brewso r
Chrisatnisi sc ertainnoltyt heg odo fm odernb elievearnsd,
presendta yr eligiwoourss hiepm bodiemsa ny departures
fromt hatw hicht hea ncienatcsc epteads theu ltimate
standarTdo. u nderstatnhden aturoef t hicsu lturcahla nge
requirsetsu dyo ft hed evelopmeanntd m igratioofngyrn ­
boIasn dt heiurt ilizattoie oxnp resssu pernatucroanlc epts.
The sociaeln vironmeunstu allmya kess uchs tudys eem
inadvisable.
As alclu ltuirsei nter-reltahteae cdc,u mulatoifosym n­
bolst hroughotuhte a ges hraess ultienda kindo fc on­
densevde rsiownh,i chi so fferetdo t hew orshipeorfst he
varioufsa ithTsh.e se,C!roeft t heo rigionf thes ymbols,
howeverh,a s beenz ealousgluya rdefdr omt hep ublic.
Doubtleistsi sf earetdh ats uchk nowledgmea y weaken
confidenicnet heologidcoaglm asB.e thata si tm ay,t he
facrte maintsh ata tt heh earotf r eligiboeulsi ewfe find
thee ver-presseynmtb olO.n lya fewp ersongso beyond
itse xotermieca ninign o rder atsoc ertaiitnse soteric sig­
nificancWeh.i lem anyi .ndividauraeil nst eresitnet dr acing
backt heifra mil"yt reef"e,w haves ufficienctu riosittoy
makea n effortto l eartnh eo rigionf t heirre ligifoauist h.
Thes tudoyf c omparatrievlei gihoansp rovetdh ec ommon
backgrouonrds ourcoef a lls upernuartala ndk indred be­
liefTsh.e hiddeknn owledgweh ichi nf aro ff timesw as
conveyebdy s ymboliss almost untkonm oowsntb elievers.
Itis retainbeyd a mereh andfuolf o bjectsicvheo laarnsd,
theh eadosf t hev ariofuasi tahrse n ote ncouragiitnssgt udy.
Oft hef ewb ravaen di ndefatigsacbhloel awrhso have
writteonn thes ubjectth,em oreo utstandairnegF orlong,
Inman, MasseyH,i gginDsu,p uisO,' NeilFla,b erO,m an,
FergusoHna,n naya,n da .ha ndfuolfo therTsh.e ibro okares
now scarcaen de xpensiTvhee.s em en didt hes padework.
Theyh aves hownt hati tw as nota lonine sext hatt he
symbolb ecamed ominantth;a ti tt ooko n importaninc e
astrallu,n ara,n imapll,a natn,d o thewro rshi.p.Ss y mbolism
thus becamte hel anguaogfe supernabteulireaafln dp rac­
ticeJ.o hnN ewtoni,nh isa:b laep pendtixo I nman'"sA ncient
Pagana ndM odern ChristiSaymnb olism"c,o mments:
INTRODUCTION
III
"Asc ivilizaadtviaocnne dt,h eg rosssy mbolosfc reative
powewre rec ast asainddpe r,i es:tilgnye nuiwtays t axed
tot heu tmositn inventian cgr owdo fl esosb vious
emblemwsh,i chs houlrde prestehneta ncieindte aisn a
decoromuasn ner".
Lifei sb asedu ponr eproductfiovrec easn d despite
whatevperru deroyrr efinemeonfte motiowne havea ttnaeid
we cannoitg norteh eiirn fluencMea.n y invsetgiatorosf
thes ubjehcatv en oledt her elatiboentw eesne xa ndr eliiogn.
Thed istinguished sIewxaonlB olgoihc,sw tr,o et:
"Anthropolosgciiceanlc e hhiatsh erbtoe eonc ­
cupied more wiftahct th tahne withe xtphlea nation
oft her emarkabrleel atiboent weerne ligiaonnd sex­
ualitTyh.e rec an,h oweverb,e ll<:) doubtth att hese
relatiaornisso eu to ft hev ery natoufmr aen knid.T he
variouasnt hropoloagnidsp thsy sic:wihaon hsa veo c­
cupietdh emselvweist ht hesper olbemsa rei na gree­
mentu pont hisp ointt:h att het �onnectbieotnw een
religiaonndt hes exualli fcea nb e explainoendl yo n
anthroomporphic-animgirosutnil-dctE hati s,b y the
samek indo f ideawsh ichT ylorh ad provedt o be
thfeo undatioofthn e primitiveme ntalilf e"(.S exual
Lifoef O UT Timep,.8 9.)
Theq uestioofno rigiinso fp rimiem portcaeni nu nder­
standienigt hear s pecioers a belieWfh.a teverc hanges
thei nterpretoafts iyomnb olhsa su nd.erghoanseb eenq uan­
ttiati-,rea thetrh anq ualitatWihvye .m usta preistw ear
certaviens tmenattsr eligisoeursv iceWsh?y ist herae c ross
ona churchW?h y doesa synagoghuaev ea MogeDnu vid
(staorf D avid)? All faiths csoenrdvuicctine sat ch­eir
cordanwciet ha strircitt uaIlt.t akebsu tl iltetp owero f
ohservatitoonn o tet hats upernaturawlo rshipi sr eplete
witha varieotfys ymboltsh,e n aturaen do rigionf which
aren otm adek nownt ot hel ai.t y
Many persontso dayf ollopwh allriict easn d rituals
ofa ntiquintoyt, knowing thtehyda ot s o.T o thes tudent
oft hes ubjetchti is s sai gnificfaanctt a,s l ikweiseis the
perSisteonfct eh es ymbolt hrouoguhtm any thousanodsf
years.
Thes tudoyf s ymbologsye,x r itfa�nsd,t hew orshiopf
vario�unsi malosb,j ecatnsd a strbaold ies bheaesn l imited
toa few.T hefi ndingosf t hesmee n haveb eenk nownt o
onlyt hosweh o delveidn too ut-of-thes-owuaryc beo oks.
As therhea s nboete nh itherat loa rgbeu yingp ublifco r
suchw orksa ndas t hew ritinofgt hemr equeisrm osto fa
iv INTRODUCTION
lifetiimtie s'; n odti fficutlotu nderstwahnyd t heg'e neral
publihca sr emained unawtahrees ouorfco ef c .u rrent
beliaenfdsp ractices.
Thes cholwahrosi nt hep·a shta vter.e attehdis sub.j ect
chosae s pecisaelc tifoonri nvteisgtiaonI.t r emainfeodr
someonteoc ompo'saew orkc omprisniontag l onteh ec on-:
clusioanrsr ivaetdb y formesrt uedntsb utt oa ddt he
resulotfms o derne xploraitni ont whiidsefi eldT.h ed ebt
we owet ot hosweh o wrotte hep ioneerisntgu dies· is
obviouMso.s to fo ur current bwerciatuesorfess ,o cial
pressuarnedsf oro therre asons,a wasyhf yr omt hifise ld.
In "SymboliSsemx,,a ndt heS tars"M,r .E rnesBtu sen­
barkb rinfgosr tthh e resoufml atnsy y earosf s tudy.
Thist reatmiasyet rulbye c alleedn cyclopaTehdei c.
authohra sn oto nlcya refuclovleyr etdh eg rounedx plored
byp asrte searchheehr ass;c ollatetdh eifirn dinagnsd e n­
richtehdew holset udwyi th muncehwm ateriTahli.ws o'r k
goesb ackt ot he" origionfsm "u chm odernt hinkiinng
a thoroughgwoaiyn.g
Iti st ob er egretttheadpt a sstt udiients hicso mpre­
hensifiveel adr en otr eadialvyal iablteot hep ubliMco.s t
oft hema,s w eh aveob servheadv,el o nbge eno uto fp rint;
otheresx,p ensbievcea ursaer ea,r ef arb eyontdh ep urse
ofm osto ft hosweh oG lrien teresitnte hdeb ackgrooufn d
religiboeulsi eTfhse.s set udtesnm ayn owp rofiftr omt his
workt,h ef ruiotfm anyy earosf p ainsitnagks cholarship
anda d ominatiinntge rienhs itts oriaccaclrua cy.
Thet renodft het imeisst os eeke xplanaatniodmn esa ns
ofu nderstanpdheinnogm enMar.. B usnebarkl'asb orins
thidsi recthiaovneb eent rulhye rucleanH.i sb ooki sa n
outlionfe t hep rincirpeallii ogusb elieafnsd c ustoms.
Throughhi su nwearied teoffd oirstcso avnedrm akek nown
thet rutwhe, n owh avea vailaibnlo en ev olumae " key"
tot hep opulbaerl ieafnsdo cculwtr itintgrse asurbeyd
mankinTdh.i sw orke nabltehse s tudeonftr eligihoiuss­
tortyof olltohwes tagtehsr ouwghhic hr eilgiohna se volved.
Itmsa nyi llustraptrieosnetsno t tehyees omethionf.tg h e
wealtohf, symb-ou.ls se di np opulbaerl ietfhsr oughtohuet
agesw,i t_hi nterpretciaftt ihoenissre certm eaninagn"d
thuisn cregarseea ttlhyec ompreenhsivenaensdvs .a llioef
t.hev olu.m e
. -·:: '-$:ym.b oliSsemx,,a nd the ...
Qompa�.on thev asst, a� ofs ym bocl_ im yt1!-o��gy;_ .. Star"s ie;.a.: �:l�:�e!";�
. ... : :�:;:,