(continued from Long Motifs Part 1)
Ladder – Sacred ladders with seven rungs were climbed by Mithraic Mysteries initiates, each rung fashioned of different metals symbolizing the seven planetary spheres; Egyptian ladders of Horus or Set featured angels assisting pharaohs to heaven; celestial ladders are found in myths of Mohammed and Buddha, and myths of Central Asia, China, and the Black Sea region
Obelisk – from the Greek obelischos meaning pointed pillar; Egyptian obelisks were conceived as phalli; pairs of obelisks were placed in front of temples; represents the axis mundi, the connection between heaven and earth; thirty obelisks still exist today
Pillar – phallic emblems of gods and heroes; Shivas title Sthanu means The Pillar or Great Lingam; as symbol of the Saxon god Irmin, they were made of wood or stone; early pillars throughout the Roman empire were destroyed by Christians, the Juniper pillar in Maycene survived; in Japan, represents the pillar god Nu-boko
Rod – symbol of the scepter of rulers; represented the virility of the king; symbol of patriarchal descent or ancestry as rods or branches; miraculous budding rods of biblical stories evolved into the popular symbol in the Tarot as the suit called rods, wands, staves, or clubs, and then into the modern suit of clubs
Scepter – early scepters were made of reeds and broken at the king’s death; such reed scepters symbolized the phallic spirit and the breaking signified castration and the end of virility; Roman "reed-bearers" known as cannophori carried the reed scepter of Attis in solemn prosessions; later made of precious metals, scepters represented economic power
Spear – in Japanese creation myth, the spear of the first god stirred the womb of the deep; like the sword and lance, the spear carries phallic connotations
Sword – Alans and Quadi, in ancient Scythia, worshipped their swords as gods; swords belonged to the world of men and were buried with them when they died or were thrown into water; heroic swords came from trees, stone, or water and were forged in fairyland or under the earth by magical beings; in the Tarot, the suit of swords evolved into the modern suit of spades from the Spanish word "espada"
Thyrus – a fennel stock topped with a pinecone; the sacred rod of Dionysus; the touch of a thyrus could turn water to wine
Triple Arrow – similar to the trident-thunderbolt; the triple arrow symbolized the pagan god mating with the triple goddess; also a sign of unity
Wand – tool of transformation; similar to the magic rod; can be made of wood, bone, or ivory; witches and fairies carried wands
