HALLOWED BY THY NAME…
… is the first line of the Lord’s Prayer after the invocation ‘Our Father’, etc. This ‘hallowed name’ could also be referred toas hallowed ‘Word’ of ‘Logos’. The very same that is spoken of in the first lines of the Gospel of St. John – In the beginning was the Word…
In this broader spiritual context, ‘name’ can also mean the Cosmic Word or Speech. Divine ‘sounding’ is regarded as the ultimate creative principle.
Spirit Self is the fully-transformed Astral Body of Man – a spiritual ‘organism’; precursory stirrings of which are occurring in our era. This is why artistic speech training and expression is regarded so highly in Spiritual Science circles – or should that be spirals?!
The Ultimate mission of Spirit Self, manifesting as it does through all aspects of the Word (note capital), both oral and written, is for the speech ‘sounding’ of Man to become a creative process in the highest sense – even capable, in the future, of performing the generative function!
Perhaps that is why there is such a physical similarity between various genital organs, like the vagina and the larynx. Perhaps this is why the gonads are called ‘testicles’ – in Latin ‘to speak’ (as in ‘testament’). Perhaps this is why there is synchronicity of function in the two areas of throat and genitalia – when the boy reaches sexual maturity, the voice breaks!
Another task of Spirit Self is to redeem the ‘temptation’ of its progenitor, the Astral Body. The line in The Lord’s Prayer referring to this Astral, or Sentient, Body, is ‘Lead us not into temptation’ – below the belt in many cases! There is no room for unruly passions, especially of a sexual nature, in the rarified heights of Spirit Self – but no doubt there are compensations – I hope!
The further one delves into sacred history the more we find that all names are hallowed, whether they be gods, heroes or demons. Not only are they hallowed, the names have deep significance. In Hindu culture, each devotee is whispered his/her hallowed, or Spirit Name – an appellation known only to the guru, the owner, and the owner’s god/s. This name is silent, even though the Word itself resounds in the consciousness of the person for life. The Word does not have to be vocalized to have valency in the soul.
American Indians give their initiated a Spirit Name also, as do many other cultures with esoteric practices and rituals. When the brutes in the German concentration camps stripped the hapless Jews of their clothing, hair and dignity, their leaders would cry out again and again through the barbed wire “Remember your Name!” This of course is one possession which could not be taken from them – the only one, but perhaps the most important, especially to a Jew. Their sacred name was a possession which helped sustain courage and spiritual hope for many as they filed into the ‘de-lousing’ showers.
It is well known that Jewish children are often named after Old Testament figures, how often do we scan down the credits at the end of a film and see a plethora of Isaacs, Ruths, Joshuas and Mirians? – from executive producer to gaffer boy! These are hallowed names, names which were not given arbitrarily by ancient or modern mothers in post-natal whimsey, but by the wisdom of the Kabbala.
The sounds in the word ‘Joseph’ are an expression of his visionary or pictorial talents. Joseph was a ‘Dream Speaker’, his Coat of Many colors was not just hi-fashion traveling apparel on his journey to Egypt, it was a psychic cloak being taken to a country bankrupt of this particular kaleidoscopic faculty. That is why only Joseph could interpret the dreams of the pharaoh in the Temple. Both the coast and the name express this rare gift.
Take Noah, a most sacred name meaning – in the deeper sense of Eurythmic movement ‘cultivation of knowledge and wisdom in the spirit of love’. Spelt backwards, Noah is ‘Haon’ – which evolved to that great Arabic name, Haroun. This was bequeathed to the man who became the bridge from the ancient Noah earth wisdom, to Islam – and hence Europe. This was the seed of the Age of Science, a seed which germinated in the court of Haroun al Rashid.
Often in ancient lore, when an individual changes task, there is a name change also. Hosarif, the Egyptian Temple hierophant, became Moses. He rejected the cult-of-the-dead Hermetic Mysteries of the past ‘No thanks, the Temple doesn’t dance’ for the peripatetic but more creative life of the Exodus!
And what about Daniel the Lion Tamer? This Jewish hero may have tranquilized the voracious appetites of the threatening felines, but more important is the spiritual achievement – the calming or ordering of the rampant and uncontrolled primal life-forces of humanity, legacies of the past which threatened the stability of an incipient civilization. The lion is the perennial symbol of these robust life-forces, and the name of Daniel is forever linked to this major spiritual event – he did it for us all – and perhaps his name-sakes still do. I know a few Daniels with this calming, civilizing disposition.
So it behooves us to be a little circumspect when naming our children. Of course we can look in the women’s magazine baby list to pick a name we like – it just might work – just. Or we can name the newly-arrived after some drunken uncle. My father was (mis)named Clarence Letchfield Cecil somewhat in this manner; but the name was too much of a mouthful for his little sister, who reduced the lumbering handle to ‘Tan’ – and he’s been Tan ever since – a lovely name, and one that suits him perfectly. Sometimes reality forces its way through in spite of our most heroic efforts!
One of the best ways to find the ‘right’ name for a child is to ask for it. Ask who? Ask the child that’s who.
A genuine but silent entreaty (often made before going to sleep) may result in one of the parents-to-be sitting bolt upright in the middle of the night and exclaiming “It’s going to be a girl – and her name is Aanya!”
This happened to me. Full confirmation of the rightness of the name can take decades. Yes it was a girl, and yes the name does seem to suite the baby – and later – Yes the child does like its name and is protective of it at school. And yes, the name remains loved and unmodified through adolescence. And yes, the self-aware adult at last confirms to her aging, hand-wringing parents that they got it right!
The rightness of a name can sometimes be seen in the sediments of significance uncovered over the years. In this case the name Aanya (Aan-eea) was found to be a combination of two of the most primordial spiritual principles – the Sumerians ‘An’ (pronounced Aan), god of heaven – and ‘Ea’, goddess of the earth.
I was named after the obstetrician! But I was one of the lucky ones, I’ve always liked my name – the Name Spirit moves in mysterious ways!
Sometimes a child gets the ‘right’ name, but along the way it is corrupted – often with sad results. Take Vikki; a child by this name, in a school in which I taught, had severe identity problems, her self-esteem was marginally larger than the following full stop. The diminutive ‘I’ form repeated in the name re-enforced her deference.
The wise heads in the school proclaimed that henceforth Vikki was only to be called by her full name, Victoria!
What dignity and meaning there is in this word – what flourish! And what a change in the child! She held her head higher – and when it was described to her how she bore the name of the queen who presided over the mightiest empire the world had ever know, she positively swept into the classroom, deigning a benevolent smile here, a slight rebuke there, to her devoted subjects. But I exaggerate – it did work though.
And speaking of schools, I have taught in schools where surnames (or titles) were the order – Mister Whitehead or Sir, and I hated it. I’ve also had the privilege of introducing school policy in which the child and teacher address each other by their first names. There is a palpable difference in the learning environment, with greater respect being given to the teacher by the child in the latter – and teacher nicknames were almost non-existent!
If the subject of names comes up in a group of people, it soon becomes clear that many either do not like their names (Judas for instance); some do not like the name people choose the call them (Nick instead of Nicholas); some prefer a nickname to their own name (see ‘my father’ above); or others like a different pronunciation of their name (like Daahdra instead of Diedre – the former is the original Celtic).
So names are a lurking problem for a lot of people, surnames do not seem to be as important (unless they’re absolutely hideous – in which case they’re often sensibly changed by deed poll), because they are not the name of the Individual. They are names shared by a string of mostly unremarkable and unlike ancestors – names that were often given facetiously, and therefore have o deeper meaning. The individual first name is that which forms part of the mosaic of the person, and as such exerts a continuous subtle influence. One’s ‘good name’ is a metaphor for honor, reputation and character – an outer symbol of the Self.
A beautiful red-flowering shrub smiles at our admiration and awe – it is called a Flame Thrower. The flowers look just like condensed flames, leaping hither and thither in Eurythmic ‘f’ gestures. Some are even reflecting the powerful over-the-head movement for the color red.
Plant and Man are engaged in reciprocal support, based on artistry and love – not the least important factor being the image-filled name!
The scientists call this floral marvel Aeschynanthus Evrardii; in so doing, they kill it! This is barren and arbitrary naming, not based on artistic, realistic, or even spiritually-inspired, principles. (Who was this Evrard anyway?!) Such impossible-to-remember (or spell) names, impose a dead language form onto an innocent and living being – the plant.
Just as there is a right name/s for every living thing, Mankind has a collective name – or had at least. (No, not homo sapiens!) This was expressed in the Seven Secret Names of Solomon. This ancient Temple Wisdom actually named each of the 7 incarnational principles of Man. The Physical Body of Solomon (and us) is Agur; the Etheric Body, Ben Jake; the Astral Body, Lenwel. The Ego, that which envelopes the three higher soul principles of Sentient, Life and Spiritual Souls, was called Hiel – the ‘h’ is the Gemini consonant – that which expresses the Sense of Ego. Hiel literally (or spiritually at least) means ‘self of god’ – I AM.
The we have a variation of the name Solomon chose to be known to the world, that which expresses Spirit Self, Salomo (peace or hallowed). Life Spirit was Kohelot; and finally the 7th, and highest member of 7-fold Man, Spirit Man – Jediyah.
Solomon, with this Temple knowledge, was blessed with the epithet ‘The Wise’; the word ‘anthroposophy’ means ‘wisdom man’. Anthroposophy is the New Temple – and anthroposophist, the New Solomons (a qualified term as yet, but the Movement is still very young!). Salomo is Spirit Self, expressing in the world as the language arts; poetry is nominally the Art of Spirit Self. Anthroposophy is the forerunner in the development of these speech and writing arts – of Salomo – the next evolutionary phase in Man’s torturous ascent to re-unite with the Diving.
The Sanscrit for the ‘hallowed name; is Mané – the Anglo-Saxon word ‘name; is a simple juxtaposition of the letters. This mix-‘em-up technique is common in spiritual nomenclature. Tien and Neit are Chinese and Egyptian respectively for heaven; and the Indian and Greek names for the god of love are Dipuc and Cupid!
Terra Australis delEspirito Santo, South Land of the Holy Spirit as the Portuguese knew it; a fitting appellation for our own ‘fatal’, but oh-so-promising, shore. This hallowed land has a ‘hallowed name; indeed. I guess it’s not such a bad place to live – and grow – after all.
The odious Titivillus is the medieval Patron Demon of Calligraphers, or in today’s terms, of writers in general. His task is to place in a sack all the errors we poor pensmiths unwittingly make. These are subsequently used to condemn us in the afterlife, I dread the day!
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