Swan - symbolism, and myth
Lyra
^^^^^^
Gliding on the waters of the river or lake, the swan is poetry in
motion. An important symbol in Buddhist and Hindu thought, it
represents purity, freedom and spiritual attainment. The vehicle of
Saraswati, (who in the Rig Veda represents a river) the swan is
credited with the quality of discrimination.
http://www.hinduonnet.com/folio/fo0107/01070420.htm
^^^^^^
Swan Symbolism and Mythology
Because of its pure white colour, the swan is a symbol of light in
many parts of the world. Though in some regions it was considered a
feminine symbol of the moon, in most it was a masculine symbol of the
sun. In ancient Greece, for example, the swan was linked to Apollo,
the god of the Sun.
And in Celtic myth, a pair of swans steered the Sunboat across
heaven. As a feminine symbol, the swan represents intuition and
gracefulness, and goddesses such as Aphrodite and Artemis were
sometimes accompanied by swans.
As a symbol in alchemy, the swan was neither masculine nor feminine,
but rather symbolised hermaphroditism or 'the marriage of the
opposites', fire and water. It was an emblem of mercury, as it was
white and very mobile, because of its wings.
In Germanic myth the Valkyries had the power to transform into swans.
They were warrior goddesses, bringing victory to one side and defeat
to the other, and deciding which warriors could enter Walhalla after
death. They would sometimes take off their swan-plumage and appear in
human form, but if a man then stole their plumage, they were forced to
obey him. However, the Valkyries could also be united with a man
through love instead of force. The Valkyrie Kara accompanied her lover
Helgi in war, flying over the battlefield in her swan's plumage. She
sang a song so soothing that the enemy lost the will to fight. Also in
Celtic and Siberian culture stories existed of swans taking off their
plumage and turning into maidens.
As a dream symbol, the swan can signify self transformation,
intuition, sensitivity, and even the soul, the 'higher Self' within
each person.
http://www.dierinbeeld.nl/animal_files/birds/mute_swan/index.html
http://www.swansongs.org/swanmyths.htm
^^^^^^
Swan: Grace
Swan symbolizes grace and beauty on many levels. It is associated with
love, music, and poetry. In Roman mythology Swan was sacred to Venus,
the goddess of love. In Greek tradition, this bird was often pictured
singing to a lyre.
The cloaks of the Irish bards, who were both poets and musicians, were
made of swan feathers, and in the Irish saga, the Children of Lir,
when turned into swans, sang so sweetly that all who heard them, were
calmed and slept peacefully.
This and other Celtic legends of the transformation of humans into
swans illustrate the deepest meaning of Swan medicine. Grace is not
simply the ability to live harmoniously on the physical plane. It is
the gift of being at home in many planes of reality, to recognize that
we are more than we appear to be, that we are simultaneously physical
and spiritual beings.
In the Celtic tradition Swan symbolizes Soul, that aspect of all
beings which is eternal.
From: http://www.rainbowcrystal.com/power/poweranimals/swan.html
^^^^^^
Symbolisms of Heraldry
Swan - A lover of poetry and harmony.
http://www.digiserve.com/heraldry/symbols.htm
^^^^^^
Eagle, crow and swan...emblems of royalty, chastity, holiness and
poetry
http://phoenixandturtle.net/excerptmill/Ellrodt3.htm
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Lyra
^^^^^^
Brahma rides on a sky-car pulled by seven swans, while the swan-goose
is also the avatar of his wife Saraswati, the goddess of music,
writing and divine inspiration. She is the personification of what was
once India's most sacred river, the Saraswati, which rose in the
foothills of the Himalayas in southwest Tibet. Just like the Ganges
today, it was seen as a terrestrial representation of the Milky Way,
linking Saraswati with Egypt's sky-goddess, Nut.
Saraswati was goddess also of the Rig Veda, the oldest body of
literature in the Orient, which can be traced to a mysterious
civilization that inhabited the Saraswati Valley in West India c.
3300-1900 BC. They are known to have been a shamanic based society,
which almost certainly used trance states, and Soma, the drug of
enlightenment, to obtain otherworldly information. This might have
included the writing of the Vedas, as well as knowledge of Kalahamsa,
the Swan-Goose of Eternity, the form of Brahma who brought the
universe into manifestation.
In ancient Vedic astronomy Hamsa, the swan-goose, was associated with
the stars of Cygnus, demonstrating once more that shamanic based
cultures throughout the world saw this constellation, located on the
Milky Way, as the point of creation in the universe. Yet exactly how
old was this belief? To help answer this question, we move now to
China where we discover an ancient astronomy 17,000 years old.
http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/thecygnusmystery_swangoose.htm
http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/thecygnusmystery_swangoose.htm
Saraswati on Swan Statue
Saraswati on Swan Statue
Saraswati is the presiding goddess of music and the arts. She is a
special favorite of artists and musicians in India.
"Sarasvati like a great ocean appears with her ray, she rules all
inspirations."
As a manifestation of the Divine Mother, Sarasvati is regarded as the
embodiment of all intelligence. She is "divine knowledge" personified.
Sarasvati symbolizes the "constant flow of wisdom" and is known as the
"Goddess of Learning" and as the "Patroness of the Arts and Music."
She is the source not only of all creativity and inspiration but also
of all speech, language and wisdom. She is said to be the "eloquence"
in speech. Some regard her as the "Goddess Supreme" because of her
Office in Hierarchy.
the name Sarasvati to mean "the one who gives the essence of our own
Self". As the Goddess of Knowledge and Learning she is the
internalization and externalization of the sacred texts. Sarasvati is
"Knowledge itself personified as a feminine deity."1 Another
translation for Sarasvati is "the flowing one."
Sarasvati is the shakti ("power", "energy", "force") of Brahma. Brahma
is the creator of the universe and is part of the Hindu Trinity which
is parallel to the Western Trinity, Brahma (Father/Creator), Vishnu
(Son/Preserver) and Shiva (Holy Spirit/Regenerator).
Sarasvati represents "eloquence and articulates the wisdom of the
Law." She is also identified with the Word Vac, ("speech, voice,
word")4 and is sometimes called the "Flowing One, the source of
creation by the Word" and the "Goddess of the Word." As Vac, she is
"both speech itself and the goddess of speech"5 and is said to contain
all worlds within herself.
Sarasvati is the Goddess who is said to have "revealed language and
writing to man."6 She is called the Mother of the Vedas, ancient
spiritual texts, and is said to have given birth to them "in the sense
that she personifies wisdom."
Sarasvati is one of the more sacred manifestations of the Divine
Mother. She is the foundation that all great civilizations have been
built upon.
Sarasvati represents that aspect of the Divine Mother who is the
source of all learning, inspiring the creation of new ideas and
bestowing wisdom and knowledge. As the "Patroness of the Arts and
Music," she is often invoked by those in the creative arts.
Because of her close association with speech and poetry, she is
considered the "mother of poetry." Musicians believe Sarasvati
permeates all sound and rhythm and is the source for all spiritual
aspiration and creativity. It is quite common to find "garland images"
of her present in their homes. As the Rig Veda says:
"Sarasvati like a great ocean appears with her ray, she rules all
inspirations." 12
In springtime, Hindus celebrate Sarasvati Puja
Students will place their books, pens and paper or musical instruments
before the Goddess to receive her blessings.
Sarasvati is depicted in art as being very graceful and beautiful.
Sometimes, she is shown with a halo of light around her head, richly
ornamented with earrings and necklaces, wearing chains and a girdle,
and foot and arm decorations. She is almost always wearing white,
having two or four arms (sometimes eight),and sitting on a lotus. She
is often painted holding a veena (Indian lute), rosary, and the sacred
scriptures (Vedas) in the form of a book. Some images show her forming
mudras and bestowing blessings. There are some depictions of her
having a crescent on her brow, holding an arrow, mace, spear and
discus, conch shell, water pot or bell.
"The predominant themes in Sarasvati's appearance are purity and
transcendence. She is almost always said to be pure white like snow,
the moon, or to shine brilliantly and whitely like innumerable moons. ...
Sarasvati is rarely described as having fearsome aspects and is
usually portrayed as calm and peaceful. These qualities are conveyed
in the serene, white images of her in Hindu art."
"Sarasvati's transcendent nature, which removes her from the
impurities of the natural world and its rhythms of growth and
fertility, is also suggested in her vehicle, the swan. The swan is a
symbol of spiritual transcendence and perfection in Hinduism.
Spiritual masters and heroes are sometimes called supreme swans
(paramahamsa ) in that they have completely transcended the
limitations and imperfections of the phenomenal world.
The importance of speech in Hinduism goes back to ancient times. In
the Rig Veda, Sarasvati is called Vagdevi (goddess of speech) and is
described as the "impeller of true and sweet speech" and as the
"awakener of happy and noble thoughts." (6.61.9)
Some of the other titles ascribed to her are Kavijihvagravasini (she
who dwells on the tongues of poets), and Mahavani (possessing great
speech).
http://www.sacredwind.com/Mothers/Sarasvati.htm
Art Neuendorffer
> ^^^^^^
>
> Gliding on the waters of the river or lake, the swan is poetry in
> motion. An important symbol in Buddhist and Hindu thought, it
> represents purity, freedom and spiritual attainment. The vehicle of
> Saraswati, (who in the Rig Veda represents a river) the swan is
> credited with the quality of discrimination.
The Al Pacino movie was set in 16th century Venice
(except for the black swans) & partially filmed in Venice
.
<<When Basanio and his entourage are walking with Portia to inspect
the chests they pass a pond with a black swan. Black swans are from
Australia and weren't known to Europe until after their discovery in
western Australia by Dutch explorers in 1697.>>
-------------------------------------
Terry Ross wrote:
.
<<Jonson also called Hugh Holland a "swan" (a "black swan" at that),
and referred to those who contributed commendatory verses
to Holland's *Pancharis* as "other swans.">>
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Australian black swan ({Chenopis atrata})
is dull black with white on the wings, and has the bill carmine,
crossed with a white band. It is a very graceful
species and is often domesticated.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
A black swan. A curiosity, a rara avis. The expression is
. borrowed from the well known verse-
.
. "Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cycno."
.
" `What! is it my rara avis, my black swan?' "
. - Sir Walter Scott: The Antiquary.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
On 23 July 1943, ERN Malley dies in Sydney 'Grave's Disease.'
..........................................................................
_The Ern Malley Poetry Hoax_ - by David Lehman
http://jacketmagazine.com/17/ern-dl.html
.
<<The greatest literary hoax of the twentieth century was concocted by
a
couple of Australian soldiers at their desks in the offices of the
Victoria Barracks in Melbourne, land headquarters of the Australian
army, on a quiet Saturday in October 1943. The uniformed
noncombatants,
Lieutenant James McAuley and Corporal Harold Stewart, were a pair of
Sydney poets with a shared animus toward modern poetry in general and
a particular hatred of the surrealist stuff championed by Adelaide
wunderkind Max Harris, the twenty-two-year-old editor of Angry
Penguins,
a well-heeled journal devoted to the spread of modernism down under.
.
In a single rollicking afternoon McAuley and Stewart cooked up the
collected works of Ernest Lalor Malley. Imitating the modern poets
they
most despised ('not Max Harris in particular, but the whole literary
fashion as we knew it from the works of Dylan Thomas, Henry Treece,
and
others'), they rapidly wrote the sixteen poems that constitute Ern
Malley's 'tragic lifework.' They lifted lines at random from the books
and papers on their desks (Shakespeare, a dictionary of quotations, an
American report on the breeding grounds of mosquitoes, etc.). They
mixed
in false allusions and misquotations, dropped 'confused and
inconsistent
hints at a meaning' in place of a coherent theme, and deliberately
produced what they thought was bad verse. They called their creation
Malley because mal in French means bad.
He was Ernest because they were not.
.
Here is the second stanza of 'Sweet William':
.
One moment of daylight let me have
Like a white arm thrust
Out of a dark and self-denying wave
And in the one moment
I Shall irremediably attest
How (though with sobs, and torn cries bleeding)
My white swan of quietness lies
Sanctified on my black swan's breast.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
. 'Kala-HANSa' (Black swan) 'I am he'
http://theosophy.org/tlodocs/Manasadharma.htm
.
<<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. As to the strange
symbol chosen, it is equally suggestive; the true mystic significance
being the idea of a universal matrix, figured by the primordial waters
of the 'deep', or the opening for the reception, and subsequently
for the issue, of that one ray (the Logos), which contains in itself
the other seven procreative rays or powers (the logoi or builders).>>
------------------------------------------------------------
Dennis
<aneuendorffer114...@comcast.net> wrote:
> Lyra <mountain_qu...@RockAthens.com> wrote:
> > ^^^^^^
>
> > Gliding on the waters of the river or lake, the swan is poetry in
> > motion. An important symbol in Buddhist and Hindu thought, it
> > represents purity, freedom and spiritual attainment. The vehicle of
> > Saraswati, (who in the Rig Veda represents a river) the swan is
> > credited with the quality of discrimination.
>
> -------------------------------
> The Al Pacino movie was set in 16th century Venice
> (except for the black swans) & partially filmed in Venice
> .
> <<When Basanio and his entourage are walking with Portia to inspect
> the chests they pass a pond with a black swan. Black swans are from
> Australia and weren't known to Europe until after their discovery in
> western Australia by Dutch explorers in 1697.>>
>
> .
> <<Jonson also called Hugh Holland a "swan" (a "black swan" at that),
> and referred to those who contributed commendatory verses
> to Holland's *Pancharis* as "other swans.">>
In some countries, the swan is the image of deceit and hypocrisy
because under its white feathers hides black flesh. Early Roman
Christians noticed that the wealthy used swan's grease to hide
wrinkles and associated the swan with those vain hypocrites who are
like "whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but
inside are full of dead man's bones and all uncleanness" (Mt 23:27).
http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/swan.htm
*****************************
Chapman, Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois
Clermont:
They are the breathing sepulchres of noblesse:
No trulier noble men, then lions pictures
Hung up for signs are lions. (2.1. l.154-156)
(snip)
A man may well
compare them to those foolish great-spleened camels
That, to their high heads, begged of Jove horns higher;
Whose most uncomely and ridiculous pride
When he had satisfied, they could not use,
But where they went upright before, they stooped,
And bore their heads much lower for their horns;
As these high men do, low in all true grace,
Their height being privilege to all things base.
And as the foolish poet that still writ
All his most self-loved verse in paper royal
Or parchment ruled with lead, smoothed with the pumice,
Bound richly up, and strung with crimson strings;
Never so blest as when he writ and read
The ape-loved issue of his brain, and never
But joying in himself, ADMIRING EVER,
Yet in his works behold him, and he showed
Like to a ditcher: so these painted men
All set on outside, look upon within
And not a peasants entrails you shall find
More foul and measled, nor more starved of mind.
*****************************
A DISPLAY OF HERALDRIE: by John Guillim (c1551 - 1621)
-'the swans purity is too Puritanicall, in that his feathers and
outward appearance he is all white, but inwardly his body and flesh is
very black.'
http://www.btinternet.com/~paul.j.grant/guillim/s0/gu_epigram.htm
*****************************
Dennis
Lyra
^^^^^^
Goddess Saraswati
Saraswati is the Goddess of leaming, knowledge, and wisdom. The
Sanskrit word sara means "essence" and swa means "self." Thus
Saraswati means "the essence of the self." Saraswati is represented in
Hindu mythology as the divine consort of Lord Brahma, the Creator of
the universe. Since knowledge is necessary for creation, Saraswati
symbolizes the creative power of Brahma. Goddess Saraswati is
worshipped by all persons interested in knowledge, especially
students, teachers, scholars, and scientists.
She uses a swan as Her vehicle. There is a peacock by Her side gazing
at Her. This symbolism illustrates the following spiritual ideas:
* The lotus is a symbol of the Supreme Reality, and a white lotus
also denotes supreme knowledge. By sitting on a lotus, Saraswati
signifies that She is Herself rooted in the Supreme Reality, and
symbolizes supreme knowledge. The white color symbolizes purity and
knowledge. The white sari that the Goddess is wearing denotes that She
is the embodiment of pure knowledge.
* The four amms denote Her omnipresence and omnipotence. The two
front amms indicate Her activity in the physical world and the two
back arms signify Her presence in the spiritual world. The four hands
represent the four elements of the inner personality. The mind (manas)
is represented by the front right hand, the intellect (buddhi) by the
front left hand, the conditioned consciousness (chitta) by the rear
left hand, and the ego (ahankara) by the rear right hand.
* The left side of the body symbolizes the qualities of the heart
and the right side symbolizes activities of the mind and intellect. A
book in the rear left hand signifies that knowledge acquired must be
used with love and kindness to promote prosperity of mankind.
* The rosary signifies concentration, meditation, and
contemplation, leading to samadhi, or union with God. A rosary in the
rear right hand representing ego conveys that true knowledge acquired
with love and devotion melts the ego and results in liberation
(moksha) of the seeker from the bondage to the physical world.
* The Goddess is shown playing a musical instrument that is held in
Her front hands, which denote mind and intellect. This symbol conveys
that the seeker must tune his mind and intellect in order to live in
perfect harmony with the world. Such harmonious living enables the
individual to utilize acquired knowledge for the welfare of all
mankind.
* Two swans are depicted on the left side of the Goddess.A swan,
symbolizes the power of discrimination, or the ability to discriminate
between right and wrong or good and bad. Saraswati uses the swan as
Her carrier. This indicates that one must acquire and apply knowledge
with discrimination for the good of mankind. Knowledge that is
dominated by ego can destroy the world.
* A peacock is sitting next to Saraswati and is anxiously waiting
to serve as Her vehicle. A peacock depicts unpredictable behavior as
its moods can be influenced by the changes in the weather. Saraswati
is using a swan as a vehicle and not the peacock. This signifies that
one should overcome fear, indecision, and fickleness in order to
acquire true knowledge.
http://www.koausa.org/Gods/God10.html
> ^^^^^^
>
> Brahma rides on a sky-car pulled by seven swans, while the swan-goose
> is also the avatar of his wife Saraswati, the goddess of music,
> writing and divine inspiration. She is the personification of what was
> once India's most sacred river, the Saraswati, which rose in the
> foothills of the Himalayas in southwest Tibet. Just like the Ganges
> today, it was seen as a terrestrial representation of the Milky Way,
> linking Saraswati with Egypt's sky-goddess, Nut.
>
> Saraswati was goddess also of the Rig Veda, the oldest body of
> literature in the Orient, which can be traced to a mysterious
> civilization that inhabited the Saraswati Valley in West India c.
> 3300-1900 BC. They are known to have been a shamanic based society,
> which almost certainly used trance states, and Soma, the drug of
> enlightenment, to obtain otherworldly information. This might have
> included the writing of the Vedas, as well as knowledge of Kalahamsa,
> the Swan-Goose of Eternity, the form of Brahma who brought the
> universe into manifestation.
>
> In ancient Vedic astronomy Hamsa, the swan-goose, was associated with
> the stars of Cygnus, demonstrating once more that shamanic based
> cultures throughout the world saw this constellation, located on the
> Milky Way, as the point of creation in the universe. Yet exactly how
> old was this belief? To help answer this question, we move now to
> China where we discover an ancient astronomy 17,000 years old.
>
> http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/thecygnusmystery_swangoose...
>
> http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/thecygnusmystery_swangoose...
> ...
>
> read more ยป
mylear
> Because of its pure white colour, the swan is a symbol of light in
> many parts of the world.
I just hate to throw a spanner in the works Lyra, but Australian swans
are black, not white.
JH
Lyra
> wrote:
> On Jun 17, 2:23 am, Lyra wrote:
>
> > Because of its pure white colour, the swan is a symbol of light in
> > many parts of the world.
>
> I just hate to throw a spanner in the works Lyra, but Australian swans
> are black, not white.
And there's a black and white one too...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-necked_Swan
picture...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Black_necked_swan.jpg
Lyra
they undoubtedly knew of Mary Sidney Herbert!
"Swan", Puritan...
white-wash...
mylear
You might also like to view swans that are black all over:
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/Swans/BRKBlackSwan.html
JH
Dennis
Or some other black-bodied bird beautified with white (or Greene)
feathers.
Dennis
Lyra
Very nice pictures, thanks for link.
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