CADUCEUS

The Caduceus from Pieces of the Puzzle by Manitu Okahas

Transformation and transmutation
Primal forces of life and health
Magic of the Staff of Hermes
Aligning self with the source

One of the symbols that is recognized world wide is the caduceus.  This symbol has been adopted and accepted by most people as the symbol of the medical sciences and healing.  One of its first clear uses in this context was in a 16th century materia medica.  The Caduceus is most often depicted as a staff with two serpents entwined around it.  The top of the staff is usually shown with a pair of hawk's wings.  Other versions have a single serpent wrapped around the staff or a "sun" or on the top of the staff.  In my artistic version, I used a pair of stylized dragons to represent learning and wisdom.

While this symbol is most often associated with Hermes and Mercury, it can actually be traced to cultures that predate both the Greeks and the Romans.  At least elements of the symbol can be traced to ancient Lagash, Babylonia, and Mesopotamia.  It  seems to have migrated to Egypt where it was associated with Thoth, then to the Greeks and Romans.  Some schools of thought believe the symbol is a marrying of the cult of the serpent and the cult of the Sun.  The serpent was a symbol of the cycle of life, health, and healing.  The sun was a symbol of enlightenment and learning.

This symbol can actually be broken down into its three symbolic elements in order to get a clearer idea of the scope of the symbol.  The first is the staff representing purpose, integrity, and values.  The second is the serpents representing flexibility, growth, transmutation, and mysticism, The third is the wings representing understanding and wisdom.

When the three elements are combined into one symbol, it evokes the primal and the divine source of life, health, and healing.  This healing is rooted in the alignment withing yourself of the body, mind, emotion, and spirit.  This alignment then extends to the earth and the divine source of life and health.  This alignment was the transformation and the transmutation that the ancients were seeking in this symbol and in themselves.

In its essence, the caduceus captures both the complexity and the simplicity of health, healing, and wisdom.  It captures the apparent complexity of the many moving and changing parts in our lives.  Yet, there is a simplicity of patterns and cycles underlying it all.  It is the strength and simplicity of staying firmly rooted in your purpose, values, and integrity.  It is the alignment of this core with the earth and universal patterns.  The Caduceus speaks of the flexibility to learn, adapt, grow, and change with the many ways that the patterns and cycles can present themselves.  It speaks to our ability to increase in wisdom and understanding of how our health is related to our environment and our experiences in life.  Above all, it represents the balancing of the forces that seem to be opposites so that the rhythms and movements of life can flow with health, healing, and wisdom.

There are a number of ways that this and related symbols resonate through various cultures.  In India, it is a symbol of the four elements.  In yoga, it is the primal forces of life and the balance of the masculine and feminine.  To me, it is the evolution and growth of the sacred spiral and the wisdom of living within that spiral.  All of these speak to healing in some way, and to the connection of body, mind, emotion, and spirit to healing.

Some of the sources I used for this article are
ncbi.nih.gov
innerdialog.org
occult-world.com
yourtango.com

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Artwork by Manitu Okahas

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Digital artwork by Manitu Okahas