The etymology
of the words used to represent the elements of the caduceus
integrity -
flexibility - reflectiveness - surrender
by Erzsebet Best-Pitlu
It has been over a year since I
first read the book Being Human and right after finishing
it, decided to translate it into my native language
Hungarian. I also attended numerous seminars, the themes
of which were based on that book, namely the life
forces. Gradually after attending each seminar my
understanding and perception of the root of the matter
began growing, but that was only superficial and based
on rationale. Using reasoning solely as a tool is not
enough. I tended to interpret symbols haphazardly as the
inner, intrinsic meaning of the words and the
significance of ancient imagery was often lost or not
taught to me, and I saw that this was so with many
others. Our knowledge is usually based on dry and rather
lifeless facts, rigid doctrines and dogma.
Only on the
Myths and Archetypes
workshop did I
become aware that those life forces, and the bridges
between their levels as the elements of the Caduceus are
alive and exist in us. Beyond the pale of palpability
they inform us of their existence in the form of
signals. We simply have difficulty to elucidate the
meanings of old symbols, signs and signals. Symbols are
often considered ornaments or accessories but they
indeed suggest profound meaning. They are
quintessential, multilayered conveyers of figurative
meanings and truths.
And so is the language a symbol, therefore it is the
outcome of a universal idea. The essence is not to be
sought in the text or letters but in a sublime image. In
this respect the Hungarian language is a good example of
root words containing symbolic relationships to other words
and hidden meanings. The Hungarian language is purported to
be connected to the pre-Babylonian universal language and
so it contains a fascinating system of root-words of that
same ancient language.
If we examine the word integrity
which is symbolized
by the Staff of Aesculapius in the Caduceus, we can see
what is hidden in its roots:
IN-TE-eG-eR-ITAS
In Hungarian can be broken down as follows:
IN: tendon, connection, liaison, also contains direction
like a vector;
TE: you as a person;
ÉG: the world above, celestial sphere, heaven, and light;
EGY means one, wholeness;
ER: source, vein, and stream.
If we put it together it means the connection between man
and the source of light. It is also worth noting that
disease, sick, and ill in Hungarian all translate to
bet-egy
or
vet-eg
respectively, which
literally means to condemn or ignore (VET) the world above,
heaven, or the One (EG). In doing so we come to the
word bű-ön,
literally apostolating exuberance (BÜ) of the self (ŐN).
Bűn means sin.
The other element
of the Caduceus is the resource or element which we
term Flexibility
and is symbolised
by the snake around the staff. Snake in Hungarian is
kigyo
and in old
Hungarian it is kegyo
which can be broken
down in the following manner:
kegyo
KEGY means grace. If the word
is broken down further into EG(Y) as described above, and K
in Hungarian rune has the same meaning as KI in ancient
Sumerian and means Mother Earth.
In Sumerian hieroglyphics the symbol of grain is the
vertically coiling spiral. The grain is known from the
traditions of both Zoroastrianism and the New Testament as
the symbol of rebirth, the rejuvenation and movement of
life, such as the snake shedding its skin and growing a new
one.
ETYMOLOGY