(51) The great rapidity of motion manifested by lizards has caused them to be associated with Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods, whose winged feet traveled infinite distances almost instantaneously. A point which must not be overlooked in connection with reptiles in symbolism is clearly brought out by the eminent scholar, Dr. H. E. Santee, in his Anatomy of the Brain and Spinal Cord: "In reptiles there are two pineal bodies, an anterior and a posterior, of which the posterior remains undeveloped but the anterior forms a rudimentary, cyclopean eye. In the Hatteria, a New Zealand lizard, it projects through the parietal foramen and presents an imperfect lens and retina and, in its long stalk, nerve fibers."

(1) Then they made the small wild animals, the guardians of the woods, the spirits of the mountains, the deer, the birds, pumas, jaguars, serpents, snakes. vipers, guardians of the thickets. And the Forefathers asked: 'Shall there be only silence and calm under the trees, under the vines? It is well that hereafter there be someone to guard them."

(2) The evil spirit has formed therein, among those which enter as opponents, a lizard as an opponent in that deep water, so that it may injure the Hôm.

(56) Both Mithras, the Persian Redeemer, and Serapis, the Egyptian God of the Earth, are symbolized by serpents coiled about their bodies. This remarkable drawing shows the good and evil principles of Persia--Ahura-Mazda and Ahriman--contending for the Egg of the Earth, which each trying to wrench from the teeth of the other.

(3) And for keeping away that lizard, Aûharmazd has created there ten Kar fish which, at all times, continually circle around the Hôm, so that the head of one of those fish is continually towards the lizard.

(2) Every existing creature manifests some aspect of the intelligence or power of the Eternal One, who can never be known save through a study and appreciation of His numbered but inconceivable parts. When a creature is chosen, therefore, to symbolize to the concrete human mind some concealed abstract principle it is because its characteristics demonstrate this invisible principle in visible action. Fishes, insects, animals, reptiles, and birds appear in the religious symbolism of nearly all nations, because the forms and habits of these creatures and the media in which they exist closely relate them to the various generative and germinative powers of Nature, which were considered as prima-facie evidence of divine omnipresence.

(393) 689 To say: Thy protective -sycamore is thy corn; thy corn is thy protective-sycamore. 689 Thy tail shall be in thy mouth, combat-serpent. Turn thyself . around thy turning, great bull. 669 ----- his (?) --- the Great escaped from him whom he had charmed. 689 S-t-serpent, protect thyself against the earth; s-t-serpent, protect thyself against Geb

(2) There are, then, [certain] Gods who are the principals of all the species. Of Heaven,—or of whatsoe’er it be that is embraced within the term,—the essence-chief is Zeus; for ’tis through Heaven that Zeus gives life to all. Sun’s essence-chief is light; for the good gift of light is poured on us through the Sun’s disk.

(28) In this figure the pagan naturalists represent all the vital powers of the three kingdoms and families of sublunary nature-mineral, plant, and animal (man considered as an animal). At one of her ears was the moon and at the other the sun, to indicate that these two were the agent and patient, or father and mother principles of all natural objects; and that Isis, or Nature, makes use of these two luminaries to communicate her powers to the whole empire of animals, vegetables, and minerals. On the back of her neck were the characters of the planets and the signs of the zodiac which assisted the planets in their functions. This signified that the heavenly influences directed the destinies of the principles and sperms of all things, because they were the governors of all sublunary bodies, which they transformed into little worlds made in the image of the greater universe.

(286) 427 To say: O ye, who gurgle like the young of a "water-pest" (crocodile), tmti, thn.w, 427 kbnw, those who glide away! The red crowns (i.e. water-flowers) praise 427 the tiw-sii; the tiw-sii belong to him who has elevated the red crowns. 427 Hail, we two!

(39) One of the most remarkable of the crucified World Saviors is the Central American god of the winds, or the Sun, Quetzalcoatl, concerning whose activities great secrecy was maintained by the Indian priests of Mexico and Central America. This strange immortal, whose name means feathered snake, appears to have come out of the sea, bringing with him a mysterious cross. On his garments were embellished clouds and red crosses. In his honor, great serpents carved from stone were placed in different parts of Mexico.

(5) Both the peacock and the ibis were objects of veneration because they destroyed the poisonous reptiles which were popularly regarded as the emissaries of the infernal gods. Because of the myriad of eyes in its tail feathers the peacock was accepted as the symbol of wisdom, and on account of its general appearance it was often confused with the fabled phœnix of the Mysteries. There is a curious belief that the flesh of the peacock will not putrefy even though kept for a considerable time. As an outgrowth of this belief the peacock became the emblem of immortality, because the spiritual nature of man--like the flesh of this bird--is incorruptible.

(1) [Asclepius] And of what nature, O Thrice-greatest one, may be the quality of those who are considered terrene Gods?

[Trismegistus] It doth consist, Asclepius, of plants, and stones, and spices, which contain the nature of [their own] divinity. And for this cause they are delighted with repeated sacrifice, with hymns, and lauds, and sweetest sounds, tuned to the key of Heaven’s harmonious song.

(12) Slay it in sacred war and combat, When that man cherished that snake, That stubborn brute was happy in the luxury of warmth; And of necessity worked destruction, O friend; Yea, many more mischiefs than I have told. If you wish to keep that snake tied up Without trouble, be faithful, be faithful! But how can base men attain this wish? It requires a Moses to slay serpents; And a hundred thousand men were slain by his serpent, In dire confusion, according to his purpose.

(8) I swear by him who the tetractys found ,

Whence all our wisdom springs, and which contains

Perennial Nature’s fountain, cause, and root.

(385) 673 To say: R` dawns against thee; 673 Horus bends his Nine Bows against this spirit which comes out of the earth, 673 with severed head and clipped tail. 673 Dr-serpent, Ddi, son of r.t-tw, 674 turn around, turn over, that one may forgive (?) thee in respect of him (the dead). 674 fn.w-serpent, fnn.t-serpent, 675 pay attention to him, pay attention to the earth, pay attention to thy father Geb. 675 If thou payest not attention to him, his. branding-iron which is on (over) thy head will pay attention to thee. 675 ri.w-serpent, lie down. 676 Spring up, kr (earth), seize him; Hole-in-the-earth, straighten thy tail. 676 If N. moves his arm against thee thou shalt die; 676 if the arm of N. lets thee go thou shalt not live. 677 The (my) watercourse is thy watercourse, says Shu. 677 Shu stands on thy fetters. 677 Turn around, turn over. 677 The fingers of N. which are upon thee are the fingers of the mfd.t-lynx, who lives in the "house of life," 678 that thou mayest spit out. Fall, flee, turn over. 678 Horus would have struck thee down, and thou wouldst not be alive; 678 Set would have cut thee to pieces, and thou wouldst not rise (again).

(10) (And since these champions thus join in that reward), then therefore will I place as well in Thy protection (Thy) Good Mind (in the living) and the spirits (of the dead. Yea, I confide our very) self-humbling praises, (which we offer, unto Thee), by which (Thine) Âramaiti (who is our Piety, exists), and likewise sacrificing zeal. And this would we do to further Thy great Sovereign Power (among Thy folk), and with undying (?) strength.

(226) 225 To say: One serpent is encircled by another serpent, 225 when a toothless (?) calf born on pasture-land is encircled. 225 Earth, devour that which has come forth from thee. Monster (beast), lie down, glide away. 226 A servant (holy person) who belongs to the Ennead (pelican) is fallen in water. 226 Serpent, turn over that R` may see thee.

(18) O nobly-born on the Fourteenth Day, the Four Female Door-Keepers, also issuing from within thine own brain, will come to shine upon thee. Again recognize. From the east [quarter] of thy brain will come to shine the White Tiger-Headed Goad-Holding Goddess, bearing a blood-filled skull-bowl in her left [hand]; from the south, the Yellow Sow-Headed Noose-Holding Goddess; from the west, the Red Lion-Headed Iron-Chain-Holding Goddess; and from the north, the Green Serpent-Headed Bell- Holding Goddess. Thus, issue the Four Female Door-Keepers also from within thine own brain and come to shine upon thee; as tutelary deities, recognize them.

(53) The most famous sculpturings and reliefs of this prototokos show Mithras kneeling upon the recumbent form of a great bull, into whose throat he is driving a sword. The slaying of the bull signifies that the rays of the sun, symbolized by the sword, release at the vernal equinox the vital essences of the earth--the blood of the bull--which, pouring from the wound made by the Sun God, fertilize the seeds of living things. Dogs were held sacred to the cult of Mithras, being symbolic of sincerity and trustworthiness. The Mithraics used the serpent a an emblem of Ahriman, the Spirit of Evil, and water rats were held sacred to him. The bull is esoterically the Constellation of Taurus; the serpent, its opposite in the zodiac, Scorpio; the sun, Mithras, entering into the side of the bull, slays the celestial creature and nourishes the universe with its blood.