Post by giovanni on Jan 24, 2006 18:40:30 GMT
SOME ASPECTS OF THE SYMBOLISM OF JANUS
Bro. René Guénon
In our writings we have often alluded to the symbolism of Janus. It would need a whole volume to treat this subject fully with all its complex and multiple significations, and to point out all its links to a great number of analogous figures encountered in other traditions. But meanwhile, it seemed of interest to bring together a few facts concerning the symbolism in question, and especially to take up more thoroughly than we have yet been able consideration of the parallels sometimes drawn between Janus and Christ, in a way that may at first sight seem strange but which is nonetheless perfectly justified. Indeed, a curious document expressly representing Christ with the features of Janus was published several years ago by Charbonneau-Lassay in Regnabit,[1] and we ourselves then commented upon it in the same review.[2] It is a cartouche painted on a detached page of a church manuscript book dating from the fifteenth century, found at Luchon, and completes the leaf for the month of January in the prefatory calender of the book. At the summit of the inner medallion is the monogram IHS surmounted by a heart (see figure);
the rest of the medallion is taken up by a bust of Janus Bifrons, with a masculine face and a feminine face, as is frequently seen; he wears a crown upon his head and holds a scepter in one hand and a key in the other.
Charbonneau-Lassay writes that
on Roman monuments Janus is shown as in the cartouche of Luchon, with a crown on his head and the scepter in his right hand, because he is king; in the other hand he holds a key which opens and closes the ages; that is why, by extension of this idea, the Romans consecrated to him the doorways of houses and the gates to cities... Like the ancient Janus, Christ also holds the royal. scepter to which he has a right by his Father in Heaven as well as by his ancestors here below; and his other hand holds the key of eternal secrets, the key stained with his blood which opens to lost humanity the door of life. That is why, in the fourth of the great antiphons before Christmas, the sacred liturgy acclaims him thus: 'O Clavis David et Sceptrum domus Israel! ... Thou art, O Christ, long awaited, the Key of David and the Scepter of the house of Israel. Who openest, and no man shutteth, who shuttest and no man openeth.'[3]
According to the most common interpretation, the two faces of Janus represent respectively the past and the future. This interpretation, although very incomplete, is nonetheless exact from a certain point of view, which is why in a fairly large number of figurations the two faces are those of an old man and of a young man. Such, however, was not the case with the emblem of Luchon, a close examination of which leaves no doubt that it is a portrayal of the androgynous Janus or Janus-Jana;[4] and we hardly need point out the close relation of this form of Janus with certain Hermetic symbols such as the Rebis.[5]
When considering the symbolism of Janus from the point of view of time, it is worth noting something very important: between the past, which is no longer, and the future, which is not yet, the face that looks at the present is neither of those we can see. This third face is indeed invisible, because in its temporal manifestation the present is but an ungraspable instant;[6] but when one rises above the conditions of this transitory and contingent manifestation, the present on the contrary contains all reality. In the symbolism of the Hindu tradition, the third face of Janus corresponds to the frontal eye of Shiva, which also is invisible since it is not represented by any corporeal organ, and which represents the 'sense of eternity'. It is said that a glance from this third eye reduces everything to ashes, that is, destroys all manifestation; but when succession is transmuted into simultaneity, all things remain in the 'eternal present', so that the apparent destruction is really only a ‘transformation' in the most rigorously etymological sense of the word.
From these few reflections it is already easy to understand that Janus truly represents the One who is not only ‘Master of the triple time' (a designation also applied to Shiva in the Hindu doctrine),[7] but also, and before all else, the ‘Lord of Eternity'. As Charbonneau-Lassay wrote further in this regard,
Christ dominates the past and the future; co-eternal with his Father, he is like his Father, the Ancient of Days': ‘in the beginning was the Word; says St John, He is also the Father and the Master of the ages to come: Jesu pater futuri saeculi, the Roman Church repeats each day,[8] and He Himself proclaimed Himself the beginning and the end of all: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.' He is ‘Lord of Eternity’.
It is indeed quite evident that the ‘Master of the times' cannot himself be subject to time, which has its principle in him: just as, according to the teaching of Aristotle, the prime mover of all things, or the principle of universal movement, is necessarily immobile. It is certainly the eternal Word that the Biblical texts often designate as the ‘Ancient of Days; the Father of ages or cycles of existence (this being the correct and original meaning of the Latin word saeculum, as well as of the Greek aion and of the Hebrew olam which it serves to translate); and it is fitting to note that the Hindu tradition also gives to the Word the title Purāna-Purusha, the meaning of which is strictly equivalent.
To return to the figure we took as starting-point for these remarks, we said that in it the sceptre and the key are to be seen in the hands of Janus. Like the crown, which can also be considered as symbol of power and of elevation in the most general sense, in the spiritual as well as in the temporal order, and in this figure seems to have this twofold significance, the sceptre is an emblem of royal power, the key for its part being then more particularly the emblem of sacerdotal power. It must be noted that the sceptre is at the left of the figure, on the side of the masculine face, and the key-on the right, on the side of the feminine face; now, according to the symbolism used by the Hebrew Kabbalah, the right and left correspond respectively to two divine attributes: Mercy (Hesed) and Justice (Din),[9] which are manifestly appropriate for Christ, especially when he is envisaged in his role, as Judge of the living and the dead. The Arabs, making an analogous distinction in the divine attributes and in the names that correspond to them, speak of 'Beauty' (Jamal) and ‘Majesty (Jalal); and these last two designations make it even more understandable that these two aspects should have been represented by a feminine and a masculine face. [10] In sum, the key and the sceptre, substituting here for the two keys which are perhaps the more common emblem of Janus, serve to make even clearer one of the meanings of this emblem, which is that of a double power proceeding from a single principle: sacerdotal power and royal power united, according to the Judeo-Christian tradition, in the person of Melchizedek, who, as St. Paul said, is ‘made like unto the Son of God.'[11]
We have just said that Janus commonly carries two keys; these are the keys of the two solstitial doors, Janua Coeli and Janua Inferni, corresponding respectively to the winter solstice and the summer solstice, that is, to the two extreme points in the annual cycle of the sun, for as Vaster of the times' Janus is the Janitor who opens and closes this cycle. On the other hand, he is also the god of initiation into the mysteries. Initiatio is derived from in-ire, ‘to enter' (which is also related to the symbolism of the 'door'), and according to Cicero the name Janus has the same root as the verb ire, ‘to go'; moreover, the root i is found in Sanskrit with the same meaning as in Latin, and in Sanskrit it has among its derivatives the word yana, ‘way; the form of which is singularly dose to the very name Janus. ‘l am the way; said Christ;[12] ought we to see here the possibility of yet another parallel between the two? What we are about to say would seem to justify it; and where symbolism is concerned it would be quite wrong not to take into account certain verbal similarities, the reasons for which are often very profound even though they unfortunately escape modern philologists, who are ignorant of all that can legitimately bear the name ‘sacred science’.
However that maybe, insofar as Janus was considered the god of initiation, his two keys, one of gold and the other of silver, were those of the ‘greater mysteries' and of the ‘lesser mysteries'; to use other equivalent terms, the silver key is that of the ‘Terrestrial Paradise; and the gold key that of the ‘Celestial Paradise'. These same keys were one of the attributes of the sovereign pontificate, to which the function of 'hierophant' was essentially attached. Like the barque, which was also a symbol of Janus,[13] they have. remained among the chief emblems of the papacy; and the Gospel words concerning the ‘power of the keys' are in perfect accord with the ancient traditions, all issuing from the great primordial tradition. In addition, there is a fairly direct connection between the meaning just indicated and the meaning of the gold key as spiritual power and the silver key as temporal power (the latter key being replaced at times by the sceptre, as we have seen);[14] Dante, in fact, assigns to the emperor and to the pope the functions of leading humanity respectively to the ‘Terrestrial Paradise' and to the ‘Celestial Paradise'.[15]
Moreover, in virtue of a certain astronomical symbolism that seems to have been common to all ancient peoples, there are also very close links between the two meanings of the keys of Janus as those of the solstitial doors or those of the ‘greater mysteries' and the ‘lesser mysteries. [16] The symbolism we are alluding to is that of the zodiacal cycle, and it is not without reason that the latter, with its two ascending and descending halves which have their starting points respectively at the two solstices of winter and summer, should be figured on. the chief portal of so many medieval churches.[17] Here yet another meaning of the two faces of Janus appears: he is the ‘Master of the two ways' to which the two solstitial doors give access, the two ways of the right and of the left (for here we find again that other symbolism indicated above) which the Pythagoreans represented by the letter 'Y' [18] and which in an exoteric form was also figured by the myth of Hercules between virtue and vice. These are the same two ways which for its part the Hindu tradition designated as the ‘way of the gods' (deva-yana) and the ‘way of the ancestors' (pitri-yana); and Ganesha, whose symbolism coincides at numerous points with that of Janus> is likewise the ‘Master of the two ways' by ail immediate consequence of his character as ‘Lord of Knowledge; which brings us hack to the idea of initiation into the mysteries. Finally, like the doorways by which one has access to them, these two ways are, in a sense, those of the heavens and of the hells;[19] and it will he noted that the two sides to which they correspond, the right and the left, are those into which the elect and the damned are parted in the representations of the Last Judgment; and the latter too, by a most significant coincidence, are also frequently found on the chief portals of churches, and not in some other part of the edifice. [20] These representations, like those of the zodiac, express, we think, something altogether fundamental in the conception of the cathedral builders, who were intent on giving to their works a 'pantacular' character in the true sense of the word,[21] that is, on making of each a sort of synthetic summary of the Universe. [22]
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[1] ‘Un ancien emblème du mois de janvier', Regnabit, May 1925.
[2] A propos de quelques symboles hermetico-religieux, Regnabit, Dec. 1925.
[3] Roman Breviary, office of December 20. [This antiphon is taken from the Breviary as it existed before Vatican II. ED.]
[4] The name of Diana, the lunar goddess, is but another form of Jana, the feminine aspect of Janus.
[5] The only difference is that these symbols are generally Sol-Luna in various forms, while it seems that Janus-Jana may be rather Lunus-Luna, the head often being surmounted by the crescent.
[6] This is also why certain Languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic, have no verbal form corresponding to the present.
[7] The trident (trishula), attribute of Shiva, is the symbol of the triple time (trikala). [Cf. The Great Triad, chap, 22. ED.]
[8] This also has been omitted in the wake of Vatican II. ED.
[9] In the symbolism of the Sephirothic tree, which represents the totality of the divine attributes, the two lateral ‘columns' are respectively those of Mercy and of Justice; at the summit of the ‘middle column' and dominating the two lateral 'columns' is the ‘Crown' (Kether); its position, analogous to the crown of Janus (see figure) in relation to the key and the sceptre, would seem to invite a comparison justifying what we have just said about its meaning; this would be the principial power, unique and total, from which proceed the two aspects designated by the two other emblems.
[10] In The King of the World we have explained more completely the symbolism of the right and the left, of the ‘hand of justice' and the ‘hand of blessing', which is also pointed out by several Fathers of the Church, and especially by St Augustine.
[11] Heb. 7:3
[12] In the Far-Eastern tradition, the word Tao, the literal sense of which is also ‘Way’, serves as the designation of the supreme Principle; and the ideographic character which represents it is formed from the signs for the head and the feet, being thus equivalent to the alpha and the omega.
[13] This barque of Janus could move in both directions, forward and backward, which corresponds to the two faces of Janus himself.
[14] The sceptre and the key are moreover both related symbolically to the World Axis
[15] De Monarchia, III, 16. We give the explanation of this passage from Dante in our ‘Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power’.
[16] We should mention in passing - although we have pointed it out on several occasions - that Janus had yet another function: he was the god of the corporations of artisans, or Collegia Fabrorum, which celebrated the solstitial festivals of winter and summer in his honor. This custom was continued among the corporations of builders, but within the world of Christendom the solstitial festivals came to be associated with the two Saint Johns (whence the expression 'Lodge of Saint John', which has come down to modern Masonry). This is an instance of the adaptation . of pre-Christian symbols, something all too often misunderstood or misinterpreted by moderns.
[17] This obviously relates to what was said in the preceding note concerning traditions preserved by the corporations of builders.
[18] This ancient symbol was maintained until quite recent times; we have found it, notably, in the trademark of the printer Nicholas du Chemin, designed by Jean Cousin, in Le Champ fleuri of Geoffrey Tory (Paris, 1529), where it is named 'Pythagoric letter', and also at the Louvre, on various pieces of Renaissance furniture.
[19] In the symbols of the Renaissance just mentioned, the two ways are, in this regard, designated as via arcta and via lata, 'strait way' and 'broad way'.
[20] It sometimes seems that what is related to the right in certain cases is related to the left in others, and inversely, it happens, moreover, that this contradiction is only apparent, for one must always ascertain in what connection the right or left is determined. When the contradiction is real, it is explained by certain rather complex 'cyclical' conceptions which influence the correspondences under consideration. We point this out only to avoid covering up a difficulty which should be taken into account in order to correctly interpret a large number of symbols.
[21] One should write 'pantacle' (pantaculum, literally ‘little all'), and not 'pentacle', as is too often done; this orthographic error has led some to think that the word is related to the number 5 in some way and that it should be taken as a synonym of ‘pentagram’.
[22] Moreover, this conception is in a way implied in the very plan of the cathedral; but for the moment at least, we cannot undertake to justify this statement, as it would lead us much too far afield.
Bro. René Guénon
In our writings we have often alluded to the symbolism of Janus. It would need a whole volume to treat this subject fully with all its complex and multiple significations, and to point out all its links to a great number of analogous figures encountered in other traditions. But meanwhile, it seemed of interest to bring together a few facts concerning the symbolism in question, and especially to take up more thoroughly than we have yet been able consideration of the parallels sometimes drawn between Janus and Christ, in a way that may at first sight seem strange but which is nonetheless perfectly justified. Indeed, a curious document expressly representing Christ with the features of Janus was published several years ago by Charbonneau-Lassay in Regnabit,[1] and we ourselves then commented upon it in the same review.[2] It is a cartouche painted on a detached page of a church manuscript book dating from the fifteenth century, found at Luchon, and completes the leaf for the month of January in the prefatory calender of the book. At the summit of the inner medallion is the monogram IHS surmounted by a heart (see figure);
the rest of the medallion is taken up by a bust of Janus Bifrons, with a masculine face and a feminine face, as is frequently seen; he wears a crown upon his head and holds a scepter in one hand and a key in the other.
Charbonneau-Lassay writes that
on Roman monuments Janus is shown as in the cartouche of Luchon, with a crown on his head and the scepter in his right hand, because he is king; in the other hand he holds a key which opens and closes the ages; that is why, by extension of this idea, the Romans consecrated to him the doorways of houses and the gates to cities... Like the ancient Janus, Christ also holds the royal. scepter to which he has a right by his Father in Heaven as well as by his ancestors here below; and his other hand holds the key of eternal secrets, the key stained with his blood which opens to lost humanity the door of life. That is why, in the fourth of the great antiphons before Christmas, the sacred liturgy acclaims him thus: 'O Clavis David et Sceptrum domus Israel! ... Thou art, O Christ, long awaited, the Key of David and the Scepter of the house of Israel. Who openest, and no man shutteth, who shuttest and no man openeth.'[3]
According to the most common interpretation, the two faces of Janus represent respectively the past and the future. This interpretation, although very incomplete, is nonetheless exact from a certain point of view, which is why in a fairly large number of figurations the two faces are those of an old man and of a young man. Such, however, was not the case with the emblem of Luchon, a close examination of which leaves no doubt that it is a portrayal of the androgynous Janus or Janus-Jana;[4] and we hardly need point out the close relation of this form of Janus with certain Hermetic symbols such as the Rebis.[5]
When considering the symbolism of Janus from the point of view of time, it is worth noting something very important: between the past, which is no longer, and the future, which is not yet, the face that looks at the present is neither of those we can see. This third face is indeed invisible, because in its temporal manifestation the present is but an ungraspable instant;[6] but when one rises above the conditions of this transitory and contingent manifestation, the present on the contrary contains all reality. In the symbolism of the Hindu tradition, the third face of Janus corresponds to the frontal eye of Shiva, which also is invisible since it is not represented by any corporeal organ, and which represents the 'sense of eternity'. It is said that a glance from this third eye reduces everything to ashes, that is, destroys all manifestation; but when succession is transmuted into simultaneity, all things remain in the 'eternal present', so that the apparent destruction is really only a ‘transformation' in the most rigorously etymological sense of the word.
From these few reflections it is already easy to understand that Janus truly represents the One who is not only ‘Master of the triple time' (a designation also applied to Shiva in the Hindu doctrine),[7] but also, and before all else, the ‘Lord of Eternity'. As Charbonneau-Lassay wrote further in this regard,
Christ dominates the past and the future; co-eternal with his Father, he is like his Father, the Ancient of Days': ‘in the beginning was the Word; says St John, He is also the Father and the Master of the ages to come: Jesu pater futuri saeculi, the Roman Church repeats each day,[8] and He Himself proclaimed Himself the beginning and the end of all: ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.' He is ‘Lord of Eternity’.
It is indeed quite evident that the ‘Master of the times' cannot himself be subject to time, which has its principle in him: just as, according to the teaching of Aristotle, the prime mover of all things, or the principle of universal movement, is necessarily immobile. It is certainly the eternal Word that the Biblical texts often designate as the ‘Ancient of Days; the Father of ages or cycles of existence (this being the correct and original meaning of the Latin word saeculum, as well as of the Greek aion and of the Hebrew olam which it serves to translate); and it is fitting to note that the Hindu tradition also gives to the Word the title Purāna-Purusha, the meaning of which is strictly equivalent.
To return to the figure we took as starting-point for these remarks, we said that in it the sceptre and the key are to be seen in the hands of Janus. Like the crown, which can also be considered as symbol of power and of elevation in the most general sense, in the spiritual as well as in the temporal order, and in this figure seems to have this twofold significance, the sceptre is an emblem of royal power, the key for its part being then more particularly the emblem of sacerdotal power. It must be noted that the sceptre is at the left of the figure, on the side of the masculine face, and the key-on the right, on the side of the feminine face; now, according to the symbolism used by the Hebrew Kabbalah, the right and left correspond respectively to two divine attributes: Mercy (Hesed) and Justice (Din),[9] which are manifestly appropriate for Christ, especially when he is envisaged in his role, as Judge of the living and the dead. The Arabs, making an analogous distinction in the divine attributes and in the names that correspond to them, speak of 'Beauty' (Jamal) and ‘Majesty (Jalal); and these last two designations make it even more understandable that these two aspects should have been represented by a feminine and a masculine face. [10] In sum, the key and the sceptre, substituting here for the two keys which are perhaps the more common emblem of Janus, serve to make even clearer one of the meanings of this emblem, which is that of a double power proceeding from a single principle: sacerdotal power and royal power united, according to the Judeo-Christian tradition, in the person of Melchizedek, who, as St. Paul said, is ‘made like unto the Son of God.'[11]
We have just said that Janus commonly carries two keys; these are the keys of the two solstitial doors, Janua Coeli and Janua Inferni, corresponding respectively to the winter solstice and the summer solstice, that is, to the two extreme points in the annual cycle of the sun, for as Vaster of the times' Janus is the Janitor who opens and closes this cycle. On the other hand, he is also the god of initiation into the mysteries. Initiatio is derived from in-ire, ‘to enter' (which is also related to the symbolism of the 'door'), and according to Cicero the name Janus has the same root as the verb ire, ‘to go'; moreover, the root i is found in Sanskrit with the same meaning as in Latin, and in Sanskrit it has among its derivatives the word yana, ‘way; the form of which is singularly dose to the very name Janus. ‘l am the way; said Christ;[12] ought we to see here the possibility of yet another parallel between the two? What we are about to say would seem to justify it; and where symbolism is concerned it would be quite wrong not to take into account certain verbal similarities, the reasons for which are often very profound even though they unfortunately escape modern philologists, who are ignorant of all that can legitimately bear the name ‘sacred science’.
However that maybe, insofar as Janus was considered the god of initiation, his two keys, one of gold and the other of silver, were those of the ‘greater mysteries' and of the ‘lesser mysteries'; to use other equivalent terms, the silver key is that of the ‘Terrestrial Paradise; and the gold key that of the ‘Celestial Paradise'. These same keys were one of the attributes of the sovereign pontificate, to which the function of 'hierophant' was essentially attached. Like the barque, which was also a symbol of Janus,[13] they have. remained among the chief emblems of the papacy; and the Gospel words concerning the ‘power of the keys' are in perfect accord with the ancient traditions, all issuing from the great primordial tradition. In addition, there is a fairly direct connection between the meaning just indicated and the meaning of the gold key as spiritual power and the silver key as temporal power (the latter key being replaced at times by the sceptre, as we have seen);[14] Dante, in fact, assigns to the emperor and to the pope the functions of leading humanity respectively to the ‘Terrestrial Paradise' and to the ‘Celestial Paradise'.[15]
Moreover, in virtue of a certain astronomical symbolism that seems to have been common to all ancient peoples, there are also very close links between the two meanings of the keys of Janus as those of the solstitial doors or those of the ‘greater mysteries' and the ‘lesser mysteries. [16] The symbolism we are alluding to is that of the zodiacal cycle, and it is not without reason that the latter, with its two ascending and descending halves which have their starting points respectively at the two solstices of winter and summer, should be figured on. the chief portal of so many medieval churches.[17] Here yet another meaning of the two faces of Janus appears: he is the ‘Master of the two ways' to which the two solstitial doors give access, the two ways of the right and of the left (for here we find again that other symbolism indicated above) which the Pythagoreans represented by the letter 'Y' [18] and which in an exoteric form was also figured by the myth of Hercules between virtue and vice. These are the same two ways which for its part the Hindu tradition designated as the ‘way of the gods' (deva-yana) and the ‘way of the ancestors' (pitri-yana); and Ganesha, whose symbolism coincides at numerous points with that of Janus> is likewise the ‘Master of the two ways' by ail immediate consequence of his character as ‘Lord of Knowledge; which brings us hack to the idea of initiation into the mysteries. Finally, like the doorways by which one has access to them, these two ways are, in a sense, those of the heavens and of the hells;[19] and it will he noted that the two sides to which they correspond, the right and the left, are those into which the elect and the damned are parted in the representations of the Last Judgment; and the latter too, by a most significant coincidence, are also frequently found on the chief portals of churches, and not in some other part of the edifice. [20] These representations, like those of the zodiac, express, we think, something altogether fundamental in the conception of the cathedral builders, who were intent on giving to their works a 'pantacular' character in the true sense of the word,[21] that is, on making of each a sort of synthetic summary of the Universe. [22]
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[1] ‘Un ancien emblème du mois de janvier', Regnabit, May 1925.
[2] A propos de quelques symboles hermetico-religieux, Regnabit, Dec. 1925.
[3] Roman Breviary, office of December 20. [This antiphon is taken from the Breviary as it existed before Vatican II. ED.]
[4] The name of Diana, the lunar goddess, is but another form of Jana, the feminine aspect of Janus.
[5] The only difference is that these symbols are generally Sol-Luna in various forms, while it seems that Janus-Jana may be rather Lunus-Luna, the head often being surmounted by the crescent.
[6] This is also why certain Languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic, have no verbal form corresponding to the present.
[7] The trident (trishula), attribute of Shiva, is the symbol of the triple time (trikala). [Cf. The Great Triad, chap, 22. ED.]
[8] This also has been omitted in the wake of Vatican II. ED.
[9] In the symbolism of the Sephirothic tree, which represents the totality of the divine attributes, the two lateral ‘columns' are respectively those of Mercy and of Justice; at the summit of the ‘middle column' and dominating the two lateral 'columns' is the ‘Crown' (Kether); its position, analogous to the crown of Janus (see figure) in relation to the key and the sceptre, would seem to invite a comparison justifying what we have just said about its meaning; this would be the principial power, unique and total, from which proceed the two aspects designated by the two other emblems.
[10] In The King of the World we have explained more completely the symbolism of the right and the left, of the ‘hand of justice' and the ‘hand of blessing', which is also pointed out by several Fathers of the Church, and especially by St Augustine.
[11] Heb. 7:3
[12] In the Far-Eastern tradition, the word Tao, the literal sense of which is also ‘Way’, serves as the designation of the supreme Principle; and the ideographic character which represents it is formed from the signs for the head and the feet, being thus equivalent to the alpha and the omega.
[13] This barque of Janus could move in both directions, forward and backward, which corresponds to the two faces of Janus himself.
[14] The sceptre and the key are moreover both related symbolically to the World Axis
[15] De Monarchia, III, 16. We give the explanation of this passage from Dante in our ‘Spiritual Authority and Temporal Power’.
[16] We should mention in passing - although we have pointed it out on several occasions - that Janus had yet another function: he was the god of the corporations of artisans, or Collegia Fabrorum, which celebrated the solstitial festivals of winter and summer in his honor. This custom was continued among the corporations of builders, but within the world of Christendom the solstitial festivals came to be associated with the two Saint Johns (whence the expression 'Lodge of Saint John', which has come down to modern Masonry). This is an instance of the adaptation . of pre-Christian symbols, something all too often misunderstood or misinterpreted by moderns.
[17] This obviously relates to what was said in the preceding note concerning traditions preserved by the corporations of builders.
[18] This ancient symbol was maintained until quite recent times; we have found it, notably, in the trademark of the printer Nicholas du Chemin, designed by Jean Cousin, in Le Champ fleuri of Geoffrey Tory (Paris, 1529), where it is named 'Pythagoric letter', and also at the Louvre, on various pieces of Renaissance furniture.
[19] In the symbols of the Renaissance just mentioned, the two ways are, in this regard, designated as via arcta and via lata, 'strait way' and 'broad way'.
[20] It sometimes seems that what is related to the right in certain cases is related to the left in others, and inversely, it happens, moreover, that this contradiction is only apparent, for one must always ascertain in what connection the right or left is determined. When the contradiction is real, it is explained by certain rather complex 'cyclical' conceptions which influence the correspondences under consideration. We point this out only to avoid covering up a difficulty which should be taken into account in order to correctly interpret a large number of symbols.
[21] One should write 'pantacle' (pantaculum, literally ‘little all'), and not 'pentacle', as is too often done; this orthographic error has led some to think that the word is related to the number 5 in some way and that it should be taken as a synonym of ‘pentagram’.
[22] Moreover, this conception is in a way implied in the very plan of the cathedral; but for the moment at least, we cannot undertake to justify this statement, as it would lead us much too far afield.