Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1860-1814 BC. Basalt. From Dahshur. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 35133
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Emmanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish scientist and mystic, held that the soul of a man was a 'spiritual fluid' diffused throughout the body, and that the medium for its diffusion was the blood, which was thus imbued with power from the divine source. On the other hand the French occultist Eliphas Levi spoke of blood as 'the astral light made manifest in matter', the astral light in this context being the vital principle of the etheric world.
Blood was regarded by all peoples throughout history as a magic substance of tremendous psychic potency and was therefore universally hedged in by taboos. It was the sign of supreme sacrifice; it sealed covenants; it betokened both maidenly virtue and the magic power of virgins. If split on the earth blood cried aloud for vengeance...'There is scarcely any natural object with so profoundly emotional an effect as blood'.
Benjamin Walker, Beyond the Body: The Human Double and the Astral Planes
Bronze hand used in the worship of Sabazios. Hands decorated with religious symbols were designed to stand in sanctuaries or, like this one, were attached to poles for processional use.
Date: Roman 1st–2nd century AD. Collection: British Museum.
Figure of hand from Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae sistematisatae per celeberrimos Artis hujus Magistros ~1775
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