Masonic & Occult Symbols Illustrate

original] “There is a certain parallel between the symbolism of the lotus and that of the rose in Western culture. In Egypt, the lotus symbolizes nascent life, or first appearance. Saunier regards it as a natural symbol for all forms of evolution ....As an artistic creation it is related to the mandala, its significance varying according to the number of its petals: the eight-petalled lotus is considered in India as the Centre where Brahma dwells and as the visible manifestation of his occult activity....The ‘thousand-petalled’ lotus symbolizes the final revelation....From the remotest days of antiquity, the lotus was unanimous choice of the Chinese, the Japanese, the Hindus, the Egyptians and the Aryans. The lotus flower growing out of the navel of Vishnu, symbolizes the universe growing out of the central sun— the central point or the ‘unmoved mover’. It is the attribute of many deities.” The mandala, mentioned in the previous paragraph, is: “a Hindu term for a circle. It is a kind of yantra (instrument, means or emblem), in the form of a ritual geometric diagram, sometimes corresponding to a specific, divine attribute or to some form of enchantment (mantra) which is thus given visual expression....They are to be found all over the Orient, and always as a means towards contemplation and concentration—as an aid in inducing certain mental states and in encouraging the spirit to move forward along its path of evolution from the biological to the geometric, from the realm of corporeal forms to the spiritual.” [Italics in the original; Boldface added]