Is there a mystery here to be unravelled? Is there a serpent code being held by the Grail myths? Can we uncover this code by taking a look at the Lady of home business accounting software Lake? The answer is yes to all these questions, for home business accounting software held within the folds of home business accounting software the coiled snake we shall discover the truth of home business accounting software the origin of home business accounting software the Arthurian tales and the strange watery Lady who was to give Arthur his sword.
There are various names attributed to the 'Lady of home business accounting software the Lake;' Nimue and Vivienne are the two most used, but most pertinent to us here is 'White Serpent.' Nimue is probably Mneme or Mnemosyne, who is one of home business accounting software the Muses or 'water nymphs' from Roman and Greek mythology and who gave out weapons - just as the Lady of home business accounting software the Lake did. Vivienne in home business accounting software all likelihood comes from Vi-Vianna or Co-Vianna the 'water goddess' or Coventina of home business accounting software Celtic origin ('Coventina's Well' also had a skull offering discovered which is important in home business accounting software the worship of home business accounting software snakes and wisdom [1].)
These water deities are strongly related to the story of home business accounting software serpent worship, and united with the tale of home business accounting software the sword or weaponry, it introduces the duality of home business accounting software peace and war so well known in home business accounting software the serpent myths. The sword pierces and strikes and involves contemporaneously, the image of home business accounting software the serpent upon the blade via the unique metallurgy employed. This wonderful metallurgy of home business accounting software the Middle Ages and beyond reveals to us in home business accounting software actual artefacts that the serpent itself was fashioned into the blade as part of home business accounting software the process. This of home business accounting software course relates to the fact that Arthur's sword was said to be a fiery serpent in home business accounting software the Dream of home business accounting software Rhonabwy. When Arthur's sword is drawn it was said that two flames of home business accounting software fire burst out of home business accounting software the jaws of home business accounting software the two serpents, and so wonderful was the sword that it was hard for home business accounting software anyone to gaze at it. It is necessary for home business accounting software Arthur to maintain ownership of home business accounting software the sword, whether it is the sword from the stone or Excalibur, as it ensures his victory and his life. The infamous Arthurian writer, Malory, indicates the brightness of home business accounting software the sword and its fiery aspect, writing: "but it was so bright in home business accounting software his enemies eyes, that it gave light like thirty torches." But the sword in home business accounting software the stone does not last long and the Lady of home business accounting software the Lake gives Arthur his Excalibur, and also a serpent scabbard, which ensures eternal life. Malory states quite clearly "for whiles ye have the scabbard upon you, ye shall never lose no blood, be ye never so sore wounded; therefore keep well the scabbard always with you." It is only when Arthur's half sister Morgan le Fay steals the scabbard and replaces it that Arthur becomes susceptible to the deadly blows of home business accounting software Mordred. The once prized sword is then returned to the water, the home of home business accounting software the Lady of home business accounting software the Lake - the serpent spirit.
There is a remarkable resemblance between the tales of home business accounting software Arthur's sword and an unsuspecting Chinese legend. A hero from the 6th century BC named Wu Tzu-hsu threw his sword into a river "It shot forth like a spirit-glow, sparkling brightly as it thrice sank and thrice came to the surface with a great gush and then hovered above the water. The god of home business accounting software the river . . . heard the swords roar . . . he rolled in home business accounting software the waters in home business accounting software a great and frothing frenzy . . . Dragons raced along the waves and leaped out of home business accounting software the water. The river god held the sword in home business accounting software his hand and, frightened, told Wu Tzu-hsu to take it back." (Mair 1983, 141 and 286.) This story related in home business accounting software the 8th century AD simply cannot differ from Malory's tale of home business accounting software the sword. In China there were tales of home business accounting software great swords such as Dragon Spring and others still that leap into the waters surrounded by dragons, which churn up the water. Wu Tzu-hsu's sword is also called Dragon Spring. [2]
And this Dragon Spring carries us back again to the water nymphs who were seen universally as controlling the essential essence of home business accounting software life via their relationship with the healing waters, springs and lakes. Coventina was worshipped widely and it is highly likely that the Arthurian Morgan Le Fay is associated with her, as her name implies water nymph. There are also elements, which introduce her into the 'Triple Goddess' of home business accounting software the Celtic religion and therefore relating her to Bridgid. She was a great goddess of home business accounting software healing; linked strongly with water nymphs - and in home business accounting software relation to the sword she was also a great smith.
She also owned an apple orchard, which relates nicely to Avalon, the isle of home business accounting software apples. Her day is called Imbolc - around the 2nd February - but it is also known as Oimelc, Candlemas and in home business accounting software the USA as 'Groundhog Day.' This special event in home business accounting software the American calendar involves of home business accounting software course the mass killing of home business accounting software snakes, and relates to the tale of home business accounting software Bridgid's snake, which comes out of home business accounting software the mound from which it had been hibernating.
At Oimelc it is said that the singers cry, "The day of home business accounting software Bride, the birthday of home business accounting software spring, The serpent emerges from the knoll." And in home business accounting software winter, Scottish folk poems still speak of home business accounting software the serpent that dwells in home business accounting software the hillside.
As the 'Lady of home business accounting software the Lake' forged Arthur's sword, so too the various parts of home business accounting software these ancient goddesses simply must have been collated together in home business accounting software the form of home business accounting software this Arthurian water goddess - a new deity forged.
These goddesses, all basically the same, are also related to Sibyl or the Sibillia who presides over witches; and in home business accounting software the Ukraine one of home business accounting software the names for home business accounting software 'witch' actually means 'snake,' and in home business accounting software Russia it was believed that witches had snake tails. This sheds more light on home business accounting software the idea that witches mixed their famous brews and elixirs in home business accounting software their cauldrons, very much like the cauldron such as the one discovered at Gundestrup. For if it is true what we uncovered in home business accounting software The Serpent Grail, then this brew was serpent venom and blood.
Sibillia has the 'power over life' and touches baskets and bottles with her wand to restore them afresh. Sibillia taught magical arts in home business accounting software her serpent grotto where shape-shifting fairies reminiscent of home business accounting software the naginis (female serpents) of home business accounting software India emerge and dance around. These fairies are said to turn into snakes each Saturday. Anyone who wished to enter this Sybil Cave must love snakes or suffer the consequences. Sibillia is also seen in home business accounting software the Life of home business accounting software Robin Goodfellow (similar to Robin Hood and which means "bright or shining hood") as Sib, who speaks for home business accounting software the fairies. She says that they live in home business accounting software "some great hill, and from thence we do lend money to any poore man or woman that hath need." In the 15th century, Perceforest has her as the 'Lady of home business accounting software the Lake.'
In Scottish myth one of home business accounting software these fairies lived inside a tree and often appeared holding a limpet shell containing the 'milk of home business accounting software wisdom' which was called the "copan Moire" or "Cup of home business accounting software Mary" in home business accounting software her hands - an obvious allusion to the 'life-giving' element and wisdom of home business accounting software these snake, shape-shifters remembered in home business accounting software legend.
There are many other tales, which link these European snake shape-shifters to the Nagas of home business accounting software India and we would just like to break off for home business accounting software a moment to take a look at these peculiar deities.
Naga is a Sanskrit term meaning literally Serpent (especially cobra) but it also holds the meanings - a tree; a mountain; the sun; the number seven; wisdom and initiate - all symbols and emblems we will become familiar with in home business accounting software the worship of home business accounting software the serpent. They are said to reside in home business accounting software Patala, however this has a meaning similar to antipodes, the same name given by the ancients to the America's. It is a similar term to the Mexican Nagals, the medicine (healers) and sorcerers who always kept a god in home business accounting software the shape of home business accounting software a serpent. In Burma they are Nats or serpent gods. Esoterically Naga is a term for home business accounting software wise men. There is a folk tradition that Nagas washed Gautama (Buddha) at his birth - the wise men visiting the deity on home business accounting software Earth and cleansing the enlightened one. They are also said to have guarded him and the relics of home business accounting software his body after his death.
According to H. P. Blavatsky in home business accounting software Theosophical Glossary, the Naga were descended from Rishi Kasyapa who had twelve wives (therefore he is the sun), by whom he had numerous Nagas (serpents) and was the father of home business accounting software all animals. Rishi Kasyapa can therefore be none other than a progenitor of home business accounting software the Green Man, and this explains the reasons for home business accounting software the appearance of home business accounting software the snake in home business accounting software images of home business accounting software the Green Man and Horned God, such as the Gundestrup Cauldron.
There is also a theory that the Nagas descended from the Scythic race and when the Brahmins invaded India they found a race of home business accounting software wise men, half gods, half demons (snakes). These men were said to be teachers of home business accounting software other nations and themselves instructed the Hindu's and Brahmans.
In the Bhagavata Purana there is a description of home business accounting software the Bila-svarga or the regions of home business accounting software the Nagas said to be subterranean. Some of home business accounting software the names associated with this place relate remarkably to the Mesoamerican and South American terms such as Tlaloc. "My dear king, beneath this earth are seven other planets [seven is important in home business accounting software Atlantean myths - seven islands!], known as Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rstala and Patala... the residents are known as Daityas, Danavas and Nagas . . . brilliantly decorated cities . . . wonderful houses, walls, gates, assembly houses, temples, yards and temple compounds . . . The houses for home business accounting software the leaders of home business accounting software these planets are constructed with the most valuable jewels, and are always crowded with the living entities known as Nagas and Asuras . . . Many great serpents reside there with gems on home business accounting software their hoods, and the effulgence of home business accounting software these gems dissipates the darkness in home business accounting software all directions. Since the residents of home business accounting software these planets drink and bathe in home business accounting software juices and elixirs made from wonderful herbs, they are freed from all anxieties and physical diseases. They have no experience of home business accounting software gray hair, wrinkles or invalidity." (Bhagavata Purana)
There is currently a lot of home business accounting software debate about the original inhabitants of home business accounting software India - whether Aryan or Naga, but the fact remains, whether the Nagas were Aryans or not, they were an ancient inhabitant. The very fact that they were mentioned in home business accounting software the ancient Rig Vedas shows this to be true. They also intermarried with the Royal families, hence the popular myths of home business accounting software serpent kings.
"Then come the Naaga, the Siren serpents, whose worship has been so important a factor in home business accounting software the folklore, superstition, and poetry of home business accounting software India from the earliest times down to-day. Cobras in home business accounting software their ordinary shape, they lived, like mermen and mermaids, more beneath the water, in home business accounting software a great luxury and wealth, more especially of home business accounting software germ, and sometimes, as we shall see, the name is used of home business accounting software the Dryads, the tree-spirits, equally wealthy and powerful. They could at will and often did, adopt the human form and though terrible if angered, were kindly and mild by nature. Not mentioned either in home business accounting software the Veda or in home business accounting software the pre-Buddhist Upanishads, the myth seems to be a strange jumble of home business accounting software beliefs, not altogether pleasant, about a strangely gifted race of home business accounting software actual men; combined with notions derived from previously existing theories of home business accounting software tree worship, and serpent worship, and river worship. But the history of home business accounting software the idea has still to be written. The Naagas are represented on home business accounting software the ancient bas-reliefs as men or women either with cobra's hoods rising behind their heads or with serpentine forms from their waist downwards." Rhys Davies, Buddhist India, p.223.
These tree deities were Nagas anyway as Rhys Davies continues on home business accounting software page 223 "The tree-deities were called Naagas, and were able at will, like the Naagas, to assume the human form and in home business accounting software one story the spirit of home business accounting software a Nunyan tree who reduced the merchants to ashes is called a Naaga-raja, the tree itself is a dwelling place of home business accounting software Naaga. It seems that they also left behind myths of home business accounting software healing as a story in home business accounting software the Journal of home business accounting software the Bombay Branch of home business accounting software the Asiatic Society demonstrates. When there was an epidemic among the children, it seems the only answer was to bring them to a snake skin which was hung on home business accounting software a pole and allow them to touch it - reminding us of home business accounting software the idea of home business accounting software the Brazen Serpent of home business accounting software Moses, which was upon a pole and for home business accounting software the healing of home business accounting software the "children" of home business accounting software Israel. This may explain why it is that the tree-gods are not specially and separately mentioned in home business accounting software the Maha Samaya list of home business accounting software deities who are there said by the poet to have come to pay reverence to the Buddha."
The history of home business accounting software the Nagas that we do have, textually beginning around the 7th century BC is an amazing history of home business accounting software ups and downs. It parallels the rise and fall of home business accounting software the serpent worshipped by the Semites, with the Brazen Serpent being raised in home business accounting software the wilderness and then broken up in home business accounting software the temple. Like Melusine and Sibillia, Tante Arie also loved to plunge into cool pools in home business accounting software her caverns of home business accounting software Milandre where she changed into a vouivre or serpent; bringing to mind the concept that the shape-shifting Nagas of home business accounting software India which were said to reside in home business accounting software the underwater realms. Surely these ladies of home business accounting software ancient lore are folk memories of home business accounting software serpent worshipping leaders from the past - and a positively feminine one at that. The Nagas were also said to have jewels in home business accounting software their foreheads, like many other serpents from legend. As if knowing this, the vouivre too wears a jewel in home business accounting software the middle of home business accounting software her forehead. The Nagas are also said to protect great treasure, so too do the ladies of home business accounting software European lore.
We know that the Scythians were great worshippers of home business accounting software the serpent from many sources - as in home business accounting software the bracelets found, which the women wore as symbols of home business accounting software fertility. The Scythians were intimately linked with the Naga, serpent worshippers of home business accounting software India via trade and war. They came to Europe via several means - one of home business accounting software them as hired hands of home business accounting software the Romans, and in home business accounting software this way crept into the Arthurian legend. Herodotus tells us of home business accounting software an account of home business accounting software the Scythian snake goddess who was mistress of home business accounting software the land where the Dniepr flowed into the Black Sea. This Scythian serpent goddess was also a cave dweller.
The xana serpent goddesses of home business accounting software Asturias even had a sacred and valuable chalice stolen by a human, only to eventually deposit the famed cup in home business accounting software a Church - thus taking the sacred cup from the serpent and giving it to Christianity. These xana's kept their treasures in home business accounting software a "serpent cave" immersed in home business accounting software pools, remarkably like the Patala of home business accounting software the Nagas. In Wales the serpents were said to emerge and congregate on home business accounting software Midsummer's Eve to blow into the Serpent Stones / Eggs or Glain Neidr which is reminiscent of home business accounting software Pliny's tale of home business accounting software this activity amongst the Gauls. The snakes are said to create eggs or alternatively 'new life.' In Wales these serpent stones were said to be coloured pebbles, which gave 'second sight' and healing.
Midsummer's Eve was the night when the serpents would role themselves into hissing balls and create the glain egg, also known as 'snake stone' or 'Druid's egg.' In Welsh myth even Merlin himself went in home business accounting software search of home business accounting software them.
Victor H. Mair of home business accounting software the University of home business accounting software Pennsylvania also points to the association between the Scythian and the Arthurian tales: "The Nart sagas [repositories of home business accounting software Scythian traditions] contain parallels with Arthurian legend so numerous and so uncannily close that it is impossible they are unrelated."
Interestingly, remains of home business accounting software these Scythians have been found on home business accounting software the Silk Road to China. Remains here of home business accounting software Caucasians dates back even before that and at present stand somewhere in home business accounting software the region of home business accounting software 3,000 years BC, with female Shaman being buried in home business accounting software full regalia, tattoos of home business accounting software spirals and zig zags and long finger nails. This in home business accounting software itself shows the widespread travel of home business accounting software these Scythians or those like them and the transport of home business accounting software ideas, possible many thousands of home business accounting software years ago. In China of home business accounting software course, we find the serpents or dragons as friendly creatures who become the ancestors of home business accounting software the very Emperor's themselves and seep into Chinese alchemy as symbols of home business accounting software the Elixir.
So, in home business accounting software summing up, what do we have? We have serpent deities, across the world, living in home business accounting software underwater kingdoms, making great weapons and guarding wondrous treasures. We have etymology linking them to the Lady of home business accounting software the Lake and we have Arthurian links and Grail connections through the mighty warrior race of home business accounting software the Scythians. In short, we have here, the truth of home business accounting software the Lady herself and the origin of home business accounting software the Grail mythos is yet again to be found within the tale of home business accounting software the snake. History, it seems, needs re-appraising.
Notes
1 See The Serpent Grail by Philip Gardiner and Gary Osborn, Watkins, 2005.
2 See phil.fah-designs.com/gardinerosborn/articles/article_8.html for home business accounting software
more information about the serpent sword or visit www.philipgardiner.net and go to articles.
Permission to re-print this article is hereby given by Philip Gardiner and Gary Osborn, Sept 2005.
About the Author
Philip Gardiner is the author of home business accounting software the best selling The Serpent Grail, The Shining Ones, and Gnosis: The Secret of home business accounting software Solomon’s Temple Revealed. He does talks, lectures, has his own radio show and does tours across the world via powerplaces.com www.powerplaces.com
Philip has a degree in home business accounting software marketing and 9 diplomas ranging from etymology to holistic medicine. He is hosting the Philip Gardiner’s Forbidden Knowledge Conference UK (FKCUK) in home business accounting software July 2006.
philipgardiner.net www.philipgardiner.net
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