The emblem or seal of the Theosophical Society is made up of seven elements that form a unified whole of meaning. It brings together symbols drawn from various religious traditions around the world to express the order of the universe and the spiritual unity of all life.
Om
At the very top of the emblem is the Sanskrit word Om. This word, regarded as most sacred in India, is used by Hindus, Buddhists and others. It cannot be translated, because it carries a symbolic rather than an ordinary meaning. It is pronounced as a single syllable, "om," but in Sanskrit it is written with three letters: A, U and M. In Sanskrit the sound "o" is written as AU. These three letters represent the trinity that we meet not only in Christianity but in Hinduism, in Buddhism and, indeed, in many religions all over the world.
As a sacred Word, Om is akin to the Greek term Logos, adopted to symbolize the divine order manifesting in the universe: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Om is the word that creates, sustains and transforms the whole cosmos; the word God speaks eternally. Even the shape of the Sanskrit letters is symbolically interesting. The part that looks like a "3" attached to a shape resembling the Greek letter Pi is the Sanskrit "A"; it is written in two dimensions. The small curved line above the Pi-like part of the "A" is the letter "U," which is one-dimensional. The small dot is the letter "M," which has no dimension at all. As the letters of Om pass from one to the next, their dimensions diminish, ending finally in the primal point, the singularity from which the whole universe expanded in the Big Bang.
Om stands at the top of the seal because it symbolizes the Absolute expressing itself as threefold divine intelligence, the Logos, from which the universe comes forth and to which it will return at the end of time. The great work the Bhagavad Gita says that every undertaking should begin with Om, because it symbolizes the divine origin of all things.
The Revolving Cross (Swastika)
Below the Om, within a circle, is a revolving cross. This is a very ancient symbol, found all over the world: in India, among Native Americans and in many other cultures. The Sanskrit svastika means "auspicious, good." It derives from the word svasti, meaning "well-being," which in turn is made up of su, "good," and asti, "to be, to exist." In its widespread use in India it is regarded as a sign of good fortune. In medieval Europe Christians used it as well. It was called the gammadion because it is made up of four Greek gamma letters, and in England the fylfot, because it was a pattern used to "fill" the lower part, or "foot," of stained-glass windows.
The Nazis adopted this ancient sacred symbol (under the name Hakenkreuz, "hooked cross") and perverted its meaning, just as in the United States the Ku Klux Klan adopted the cross and turned it into a sign of hatred and intimidation. But the swastika is still used today as a sacred symbol all over the world; for example, by the Jains of India, whose religion is dedicated to harmlessness (ahimsa).
All crosses symbolize some aspect of manifestation. The swastika is a revolving cross; its clockwise motion (to the right, in the direction of the sun, in the old phrase deasil) points to the dynamic forces of creation. The swastika therefore represents the great process of becoming that brings forth the world we live in; it symbolizes what astrophysicists call the expansion of the universe. When the swastika is shown turning in the opposite direction (as in the Nazi Hakenkreuz), it symbolizes the forces of contraction or dissolution that bring to an end a world that has completed its evolution. The swastika turning in reverse is not evil; it is simply a symbol of the ending of creative energies and of that process of ending.
The circle enclosing the swastika is what is called the ring-pass-not: the boundary that encloses our universe, within which the creative forces ceaselessly revolve and evolve life. Yet the center of the revolving swastika is motionless. There, as T. S. Eliot says in Burnt Norton, we are "at the still point of the turning world." This is the point of stillness and peace at the center of the ever-changing world around us.
The swastika within the circle, symbolizing the world in its dynamic aspect of becoming, lies directly beneath the Om, which represents the eternal and absolute from which the world is born. This arrangement is significant: this changing world depends on the unchanging absolute; it hangs from it, so to speak. Moreover, the rest of the seal, which represents particular aspects of this evolving world, expands outward from the swastika within the circle. The remainder of the seal allows us to look more closely at the process symbolized by the revolving cross, that is, at the events going on within it.
Ouroboros
Directly attached to the revolving cross we see a serpent swallowing its own tail. The ancient Greek Gnostics and the alchemists called this symbol the Ouroboros. The circle formed by the serpent is another expression of the circle around the swastika that represents the boundary of the universe. The serpent's passing through the swastika within the circle shows that it, and everything it encloses, is part of the creative energy of the revolving cross.
The serpent swallowing its tail also represents the cycles of nature, the bounded infinity of the world and the never-ending order of life. One of the ideas it brings to mind is the one T. S. Eliot expresses in his poem East Coker: "In my beginning is my end." That is, law and regularity are found everywhere in the universe and in human life; so the end of everything is hidden in its beginning.
In the West the serpent or dragon is sometimes interpreted as a symbol of evil or temptation; in the East, however, it is usually a symbol of wisdom, long life and happiness. In China the dragon or winged serpent is a highly positive figure. In the Hindu tradition the nagas, or serpents, are guardians of the good, and holy persons are also called "naga." Even in the West the serpent is associated with wisdom; Jesus counseled his followers to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."
The serpent is also a symbol of healing, that is, of wholeness. In the wilderness Moses healed the sick among the Israelites by having them look upon a fiery serpent set upon a pole. The Christian Church Fathers interpreted this serpent as a foreshadowing of Christ on the cross. One or two serpents twined around a staff are still the symbol of the medical professions today. The serpent's annual shedding of its skin makes it a symbol of the cyclic process of the world and of the renewal of life, that is, of resurrection. In this respect the serpent is also an analogue of the process of transformation that Christ, and all of us, will pass through.
The Two Triangles
The space within the serpent's circle represents the whole universe and everything in it. In colored versions of the seal this space is usually blue, deepening from a light sky blue at the top to a dark, almost navy shade at the bottom. This blue represents the cosmic sky: not only the physical sky we see, but the whole range of matter in the universe, from the rarefied and subtle matter at the "top" of the universe to the coarse and dense matter at its "bottom." The colored background is not actually part of the seal; but, like the other colors used in some versions, it adds its own meaning to the symbol as a whole.
Against this background of the universe stands another symbol known throughout the world: two interlaced triangles. The hexagram they form, the six-pointed star, is universal and has many meanings. In Judaism it is known as the Seal of Solomon or the Shield of David (Magen David); but it is also found in India, among the Gnostics and alchemists, and elsewhere in the world.
The light-colored triangle pointing upward symbolizes spirit or consciousness. The dark-colored triangle pointing downward symbolizes matter or substance. The interlacing of the two triangles expresses the interdependence of spirit and matter. It is a basic Theosophical concept that there is consciousness in every particle of matter and that every spark of consciousness works through a material form. Matter and spirit depend on each other; neither can exist without the other.
The idea that matter and spirit are two sides of the same coin also finds an echo in traditional Christian theology. According to this theology, at the end of time there will be a "general resurrection," when all dead bodies will be brought back to life and reunited with the souls from which they were separated at the moment of death. That is, in eternity our souls and bodies will be together again, just as they are now. The inner meaning of the Christian doctrine of the general resurrection is the same as the Theosophical teaching that matter and spirit exist together. Reality is a whole: a unity that expresses itself as both spirit and matter, yet is essentially One. The interlaced triangles express this truth; though they are two, they form a single interconnected whole, just like spirit and matter, or consciousness and substance.
It is significant that the triangle, rather than some other geometric figure, is used to symbolize spirit and matter, because both spirit and matter are by nature threefold. Spirit or consciousness has three aspects: the reality of being, awareness of others, and joyous activity. In Hinduism these are called sat (being), chit (consciousness, awareness) and ananda (bliss); they are often used together, as sat-chit-ananda, to express the unity of these three aspects. In Platonic philosophy they are the Good, the Beautiful and the True. In Masonry they are Wisdom, Strength and Beauty. In Christianity they correspond to the three divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also to the three theological virtues, faith, hope and love.
Matter likewise has three aspects: inertia, mobility and harmony. In Hinduism these are spoken of as the three "strands" (the gunas) of which matter is woven: tamas or inertia, rajas or activity, and sattva or harmony. They correspond to the three principles of alchemy, salt, mercury and sulfur, and are represented by black, red and white (or dark, bright and light), which are seen as the basic colors all over the world.
It is therefore no accident that the triangle is used to represent both spirit and matter. The sides and points of the two triangles add up to twelve. This is the number of the signs of the Zodiac, the tribes of Israel, the apostles of Jesus, the labors of Herakles, and many other mythological and symbolic twelves. All of them refer to the experiences we undergo in this world.
Ankh
At the center of the six-pointed star of spirit and matter is the Egyptian cross, the ankh, the symbol of life. The six points of the triangles, together with the ankh at the center, represent the seven principles of the universe. Or, if we consider that the hexagram has twelve sides or twelve points (six pointing outward and six inward), the center is the thirteenth element and corresponds to Jesus among the apostles and to Herakles in the midst of his labors. The ankh also represents the idea that life is born of the interaction between spirit or consciousness (the upward-pointing triangle) and matter or substance (the downward-pointing triangle).
The ankh is also called the "ansate" cross, that is, the cross "with a handle." In Egyptian art, human or divine figures are often depicted holding the ankh by its loop, its "handle." When we function as whole human beings, with spirit and matter in balance, we have, so to speak, "got a handle" on life.
Because the ankh is made up of a tau (T) cross with a loop at its top, it combines the meanings of the T-square and the circle. The T-square is a tool that draftsmen and architects use for drawing parallel lines (symbolically, for seeing parallels and correspondences) and as a support for set squares when drawing angles (symbolically, because it provides the foundation for all the triads of spirit and matter). Like all angular forms, it represents matter. The circle, on the other hand, represents spirit. The T-square and the circle are thus another expression of the interaction of spirit and matter and of their producing life through that interaction.
So the ankh repeats on a smaller scale the symbolism expressed by the interlaced triangles, the serpent and the swastika within the circle. All these elements speak of the mutual bonds between spirit and matter as expressions of the divine source symbolized by the Om at the very top. The repetition of the same symbolic meanings in different elements, with varying details, is an expression of the correspondences that exist everywhere in the universe. The world is ultimately one and whole; it is coherent and meaningful in all its parts. And this is what the seal as a whole says.
The Motto
At the bottom of the serpent is a motto: "There is no religion higher than truth." This is the translation of a Sanskrit motto, and one of its words carries special meanings that throw light on the whole motto. The Sanskrit original is "Satyan nasti paro dharmah", which may also be translated "Nothing is higher than truth." The first three words may be translated literally as follows: satyan "than truth," nasti "there is not," paro "further, greater, higher." Dharmah, however, is difficult to translate, because it has many meanings. Its root meaning is "that which is established or firm." From this basic meaning branch out other meanings such as "law," "custom," "duty," "morality," "justice," "religion," "teaching," "good works" and "essential nature."
This motto is not specifically about what we think of as religion or belief. Rather, it says that none of our loyalties, social conventions or ideas can measure up to what really is. Reality is greater than all its parts and lies beyond all our concepts of it. In saying this, the motto at the bottom of the seal turns our attention back to the Om at the top; for that word is the symbol of what really is, that is, of Truth. Thus the whole seal, like the serpent, ends where it began and affirms the supreme Truth that unites all things.
