David M. Grossman – USA
A Robin Red breast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage
William Blake
In the world of esoteric ornithology that beautiful bird we call the swan is rather unique and has captivated the human imagination for literally thousands of years. The fact is we seem to have a fascination for birds in general, partly because they can do what we can’t ….FLY.
Birds also possess other qualities of note which we pay tribute to; some sing beautiful songs, or exhibit grace in flight, show strength and courage, while others are amazing pilots, navigating great distances in disciplined formations as we see with geese. Birds have impressive engineering abilities in building nests, along with their agility and beauty.
We, on the other hand, are able to spread our proverbial wings, those of the imagination, and travel far and wide, creating many things, individually and collectively, from forms of religion, to societies and forms of government, creatively expressing ourselves in the arts, applied science and technology, including designing and building flying machines. Still to some degree psychologically and physically we are earthbound creatures.
Birds are both of the earth and the air. And some birds embrace a third element, that of water, like the Swan. It has been said somewhere that the “Magician” is one who stands at the shore with one foot on the earth the other in the water and his head in the air.
We find magical birds in mythology and literature like the Phoenix for example, symbolizing immortality, resurrection and life after death. The Phoenix is a symbol of renewal, rebirth and reincarnation. It’s said that all that remains of the burnt phoenix is a shining ember representing the immortal soul, the Higher Self, the source of transformation and continuance.
The phoenix myth is found in various cultures around the world In ancient Greek and Egyptian myths the Phoenix is associated with the sun god.
There were times, other cycles when we were more in touch with nature generally, more pantheistic in the positive sense as we see with indigenous peoples in America and elsewhere like the Hopi people for example expressing a deep reverence for life.
HPB points out another bird in The Secret Doctrine She says there in SD 1, pg 262:
…that the ibis religiosa had and has "magical" properties in common with many other birds, the albatross pre-eminently, and the mythical white swan, the swan of Eternity or Time, the KALAHANSA. Were it otherwise, indeed, why should all the ancient peoples, who were no more fools than we are, have had such a superstitious dread of killing certain birds? In Egypt, he who killed an ibis, or the golden hawk—the symbol of the Sun and Osiris—risked and could hardly escape death. The veneration of some nations for birds was such that Zoroaster, in his precepts, forbids their slaughter as a heinous crime.
A far cry from these gun-happy times when birds are shot and killed for mere sport.
For thousands of years the Ibis has been associated with the spiritual side of life. The African Ibis is associated with the Egyptian (primal God) Thoth, the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom we’re told, and the scribe. The ibis headed Thoth’s beak even looks like a writing instrument. He is said to be the most ancient and distinctive of the Egyptian Gods.
Then of course we should not overlook the peacock with which one can hardly believe one’s eyes, its radiant color, its fan of feathers, and mystical eyes on everyone. It seems to be more mythic than real when one is actually seen. The peacock has been used symbolically relating to spiritual ideas in various cultures. In 1963 India for example, made the Peacock its official bird much like the Bald Eagle is for the United States.
Now let us focus on the Swan, that beautiful, elegant and graceful bird, that has inspired the human imagination, the image of which we find throughout history in the most ancient of the Vedas, in Greek mythology, in Norse and Irish legends, in art and poetry from the distant past into the present:
Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air –
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music – like the rain pelting the trees – like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds –
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?
The Swan, Mary Oliver
The swan has not only been an inspiration to artists and poets throughout time like we read here from the late Mary Oliver but we see it as a grand metaphysical symbolism as HPB points out in the most ancient Vedic teachings representing the most metaphysical concepts.
Without getting too embroiled in the complexity of the mysteries of the pre-cosmic, the cosmic, the causeless cause and what is referred to as the first cause or Logos and then the subsequent manifestations, let us take a look what HPB first reveals from pgs. 78 thru 80 of bk. 1 of the SD and maybe a few other comments further on.
HPB unpacks in this part of the SD the symbolism of the swan Kala Hansa and its various manifestations and possible misrepresentations which she clears up through a few explanations.
In the midst of these pages dealing with Stanza III on pg. 77, #8 it says:
Where was the germ, and where was now darkness? Where is the spirit of the flame that burns in thy lamp, oh Lanoo? The germ is that, and that is light; the white brilliant son of the dark hidden father.
The answer to the first question, suggested by the second, which is the reply of the teacher to the pupil, contains in a single phrase one of the most essential truths of occult philosophy. It indicates the existence of things imperceptible to our physical senses which are of far greater importance, more real and more permanent, than those that appeal to these senses themselves.
Before the Lanoo can hope to understand the transcendentally metaphysical problem contained in the first question he must be able to answer the second, while the very answer he gives to the second will furnish him with the clue to the correct reply to the first.
(Then down a few lines:)
Among such appellations, given, of course, only in esoteric philosophy, as the “Unfathomable Darkness,” the “Whirlwind,” etc. — it is also called the “It of the Kalahansa, the Kala-ham-sa,” and even the “Kali Hamsa,” (Black swan).
Jumping ahead a bit pg. 79…..
the symbol of Hansa (whether “I,” “He,” Goose or Swan) is an important symbol, representing, for instance, Divine Wisdom, Wisdom in darkness beyond the reach of men.
The “Swan or goose” (Hansa) is the symbol of that male or temporary deity, as he, the emanation of the primordial Ray, is made to serve as a Vahan or vehicle for that divine Ray, which otherwise could not manifest itself in the Universe, being, antiphrastically, itself an emanation of “Darkness” — for our human intellect, at any rate. It is Brahma, then, who is Kala-Hansa, and the Ray, the Hansa-Vahana.
And then In Transactions of the Blavatsky Lodge, HPB states:
Kala Hansa has a dual meaning. Exoterically it is Brahmā who is the Swan, the ‘Great Bird,’ the vehicle in which Darkness manifests itself to human comprehension as light, and this Universe. But esoterically, it is Darkness itself, the unknowable Absolute which is the Source, firstly of the radiation called the First Logos, then of its reflection, the Dawn, or the Second Logos, and finally of Brahmâ, the manifested Light, or the Third Logos. (Transactions, 119; CW X:352)
It is interesting how these metaphysical and spiritually symbolic ideas get passed down and are preserved in myths, stories, poetry and art right up to the present day. They also get embellished as stories, changed and sometimes distorted obscuring their original intent and imbedded truths. So we find various versions of myths and stories that need to be explored to reveal the pearls and veins of truth within them.
Hilma af Klint
A case in point can be seen in the art of Hilma af Klint, who although she lived from 1862 until 1944 has only really become widely known and gotten real recognition in more recent decades especially after the 1986 Los Angeles traveling exhibition titled “The spiritual In Art.” As a side note The Secret Doctrine was displayed as part of that exhibition.
While trained as a classical painter she became interested in all things occult, getting involved in spiritualism and then metaphysical subjects, studying The Secret Doctrine, conversing with Rudolph Steiner and shifting her artwork to reflect more abstract and esoteric subjects. She created a series of paintings in 1914 and 1915 called “The Swan.” These were influenced by her studies in The Secret Doctrine as well as other esoteric writings we are told.
At a recent exhibition of her Swan Art in Sweden an introduction begins with the following:
The majestic swan symbolized the ‘grandeur of the spirit’ to Helena Blavatsky, founder of The Theosophical Society, a spiritualist movement of great interest to Hilma af Klint; in alchemy, the swan represents the union of opposites necessary for the creation of the philosopher’s stone, a substance believed to turn base metals into gold.
In this series, af Klint blends such established symbolism with her own idiosyncratic interpretations.
As the series progresses the color range expands, and the swans are replaced with geometric forms suggestive of higher dimensions. The final painting shows the birds, once again, intertwined, and reunited. Overall one can explore and find very interesting symbolism in these paintings.
Hilma af Klint's Swans Nr. 24
Long before thinkers like Carl Young and then Joseph Campbell and others showed that myths were not merely to be looked at as overheated imaginative fairy tales, HPB in her writings was revealing that mythology was a means in times past through which truths; physical, psychological and spiritual were recorded and preserved as well as historical facts and events and often in a veiled fashion. She emphasizes this with various statements throughout her writings.
Here are just a few of the many comments from HPB worth noting:
Myth was the favorite and universal method of teaching in archaic times Isis 2, 493
(There are examples) “to support the ancient claim of the philosophers that there is a logos in every mythos, or a ground-work of truth in every fiction. Isis 1, 162
Who can forget that Troy was once upon a time proclaimed a myth, and Homer a non-existing personage, while the existence of such cities as Herculaneum and Pompeii was denied, and attributed to mere fairy legends? Yet Schliemann proved that Troy had really existed, and the two cities, though buried for long ages under the Vesuvian lava, have had their resurrection day, and live again on the surface of the earth. How many more cities and localities called “fabulous” are on the list of future discoveries, how many more personages regarded as mythical* will one day become historical, those alone can tell who read the decrees of Fate in the astral light. SD 2, 236
Applying the 2nd object of the Theosophical Movement, the comparison of ideas coming out of different cultures and traditions, we find two of these concerning the swan are that of Saraswati from ancient Indian mythology depicted as the wife or sometimes the consort of Brahma the creator, and the myth of Leda and the Swan, which Westerners are more familiar with, from Greek and Roman myth. Also there have been many works of art depicting, often in very sensuous ways, Leda and the swan by artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and many others.
In that story the God Zeus infatuated with Leda takes the form of a swan and seduces and rapes her from which unfold other stories and ideas rolled out in Greek and Roman mythology. Without getting into too many details of the story Leda eventually bares from two eggs, from which hatched Helen, (of Troy) and Clytemnestra who became the wife of Agamemnon and the twins Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins.
In Indian mythology The Hindu deity Brahma who represents the power of creation is referred to interestingly as ekahamsa, the "one swan." His feminine counterpart is Saraswati who is also associated with the swan. As with the story of Leda, Brahma also takes the form of a swan and expresses his infatuation with her. In some tellings, according to Hindu mythology, Brahma the creator god did marry Saraswati, said to be his daughter; other stories show her as a consort and associate. But overall Saraswati in her own right as a Goddess is of the highest order mainly known as the goddess of wisdom.
Saraswati is often depicted riding a swan, or hamsa in Indian art and her association with the swan is highlighted by the title "Hamsavāhini" which means "she who has a hamsa as her vehicle”
Black Swan
In the most philosophical expression of Brahma and Saraswati she represents Sophia the divine feminine, the receptive or that which receives the emanation or creative logos, the light from the ever unknowable darkness, sometimes referred to as the “Black Swan.”
Returning to the Greek myth of Leda And The Swan, it is thought to be at least as old as 400 BCE, when a Greek artist may have sculpted the earliest known representation of the myth. It seems to have been a well-known story closer to its own time of creation.
In a recent discovery (what goes around comes around, as Theosophy teaches)
archaeologists at Pompeii found a Roman fresco depicting Leda and the Swan in 2018.
Pompeii was buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in the 1st century AD. The latest find is believed to have decorated a bedroom in a wealthy home near the ancient city center. As mentioned earlier, Pompei is just one example of what were once considered fanciful myths that turned out to be true.
One parallel in both the Hindu and Greek myths is that both Brahma & Zeus, the creator gods, take the form of swans and are infatuated with Saraswati & Leda from which various stories emerge and like all myths over time they tend to be told and re-told and sometimes get twisted and degenerate as societies morally dip and become more materialistic. HPB addresses this fact:
One has to learn the reason of a symbol before one depreciates it. …….Pan, the great god of nature, was generally figured in connection with aquatic birds, geese especially, and so were other gods. If, later on, with the gradual degeneration of religion, the gods to whom geese were sacred, became Priapic deities, it does not stand to reason that water fowls were made sacred to Pan and other Phallic deities as some scoffers even of antiquity would have it (see Petronii Satyrica, cxxxvi.); but that the abstract and divine power of procreative nature had become grossly anthropomorphized. Nor does the Swan of Leda show “Priapic doings and her enjoyment thereof,” as Mr. Hargrave Jennings chastely expresses it; for the myth is but another version of the same philosophical idea of cosmogony. Swans are frequently found associated with Apollo, as they are the emblems of water and fire (sun-light also), before the separation of the Elements. SD, Vol. 1, Page 358.
The swan, along with ancient myths the bird appears in have been kept alive in more and or less meaningful forms down the ages through various philosophers, writers and artists. In most all these stories the swan is associated with the spiritual side of life.
Besides the Hindu Saraswati and Greek/Roman Leda there are other legends that revolve around swans. The legend of the Children of Lir, the Celtic swan myth has long been told in Ireland, and adapted into many forms of art and literature and this Irish myth forms the basis of the famous ballet; “Swan Lake” composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The roots of that myth can be traced back to around 700 AD, then passed down through the oral tradition; the first written edition which is the basis of the story today is from the 1500s.
We find the swan as a prominent symbol in Finnish folklore and mythology also. In archaeological excavations done in the Karelia region for example a child was found and its body was lying upon the wing of a swan. In Finnish mythology and folklore, the swan is the divine messenger between the living and the dead.
The Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden are referred to as the Five Swans which also figure into Norse folklore. The national bird of Finland is a swan, specifically the Whooper Swan, and the Mute Swan became the national bird of Denmark in 1984, usurping the Skylark.
Artists, writers, poets and more recently film makers have always kept alive symbolism and themes from ancient mythology.
The very popular “Star Wars” by George Lucas is an obvious case in point. And of course James Joyce's "Ulysses" considered a modernist classic is a retelling of "The Odyssey,”
The acclaimed 1988 novel “The Alchemist” by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho has classic mythological themes through the journey of its protagonist. Many similar ideas are delved into by Joseph Campbell in his “Hero with A Thousand Faces” and other writings.
Even a super successful sporting goods company is named after the Flying Greek Goddess of victory, “Nike.”
We mustn’t forget the classic Hans Christian Anderson Children’s story that has been passed down through generations since the mid-19th century, “The Ugly Duckling”, a story with a mythical theme. Misplaced and mis-identified at first, shunned, banished and after a lonely journey is transformed so to say through time and experience into its true beautiful identity, as Kala Hansa, the Swan. This too can be the future of our evolutionary journey.
Saith the Great Law: “In order to become the KNOWER of ALL SELF, thou hast first of SELF to be the knower”. To reach the knowledge of that SELF, thou hast to give up SELF to Non-Self, Being to Non-Being, and then thou canst repose between the wings of the GREAT BIRD. Aye, sweet is rest between the wings of that which is not born, nor dies, but is the AUM throughout eternal ages.
Bestride the Bird of Life if thou would’st know.”
The Voice Of The Silence,”fragment 1, pg. 5