![]() The article concludes by considering the recent suggestion that the Seal series may have acquired its privileged status because its symbols reflect “shape archetypes” that are hard-wired into the human nervous system. The review also explores the possibility that at least some of the symbols originated in numerological ciphers or religious emblems, canvassing sources as diverse as Indian Hinduism and Byzantine Christendom. It then considers the possibility that the Seals’ origins lie in other cuneiform symbols from ancient Mesopotamia in Egyptian hieroglyphs or scripts in paleo-Hebrew characters or the letters of ancient South Arabian scripts in Libyco-Berber or Tifinagh letters from North Africa or in the symbol repertoire of Late Antique magic, including the highly potent seven Greek vowels. It first examines the possibility that a precedent for the Seal series exists in an undecipherable “seven signs repeated seven times” inscribed on a Late Babylonian amulet. The present survey focuses on potential sources for the symbols rather than on their exegesis. Hans Winkler in 1930, a wider-ranging and more modern review is long overdue. As this topic was first – and last – examined systematically by Dr. While many Seal symbols make sporadic appearances in early Islamic amulets bearing Kufic script, the source of the symbols and their eventual ordering remains a matter of legend. The Seven Seals of medieval Islamic magic, which are believed to constitute the Greatest Name of God, also feature in Jewish Kabbalah from the same period. Fittingly, exegesis of the Seals in both Judaism and Islam contains general themes of hands/fingers and sight/blindness. Intriguing overlaps of the Jewish Seal Names with Egyptian mythology and Vedic Sanskrit are explored, but ultimately it is thought more likely that the seven Names derive from the Names of God’s fingers and eyes (five plus two, respectively) in the Shīʿūr Qōmah of the Hekhalot literature. In Islamic magic, the Seven Seals are associated with the seven Ṭahaṭīl Names, which exhibit possible similarities to the Names of the Seals in Kabbalah. Kabbalistic amulets are more likely to employ the Names of the Seals than their symbols, and when present the latter are often much degraded in contrast, Islamic talismans make frequent use of the symbol series. In contrast to the Islamic Seals, individual correspondences are rarely given for the Jewish Seals and are inconsistent across sources. Collectively, the Seals have been linked via word- and letter-counting to key affirmations of each religion: the Islamic ones to the Shahāda, the Jewish ones to Psalm 46:7,11. Conversely, the attributes of the third Islamic and seventh Jewish Seals have a surprising amount in common. Nevertheless, points of convergence – such as the interpretation of the fourth Seal as a ladder and an ascent to/of goodness – do exist. ![]() In Islamic mysticism and theurgy, the Seven Seals represent in graphic form the Greatest Name of God in Jewish Kabbalah, the Seals bear individual Divine Names which collectively form a “Great Name.” We review and compare the primary interpretations and secondary associations for each Seal in Islam and Judaism, from which it is clear that the two traditions have developed largely independent understandings of the individual symbols.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |