Summary: Lecture quote: "The image for this Arcanum shows us a woman who stands with great serenity before a lion. The lion has its mouth open. She reaches forward and closes its mouth with her bare hands. The Arcanum 11 at first glance appears to contain a rather straightforward symbolism. But for the Gnostic student, who investigates mythology or the religious symbolism contained in all the world's religions, we find that this Arcanum refers to a vast, extensive, and deeply interconnected symbolism. The lion is an ancient and ubiquitous religious symbol. We find the symbol of the lion in all the ancient mythologies and religions. It may be nearly as omnipresent as the serpent. In all the American traditions, the Mayas, the Aztecs, the lion or the great cat plays a central role. Also in the ancient mysteries of Egypt we find the lion as one of the oldest symbols. The ancient god of Amun-Ra, the solar father of the Egyptian mysteries is often displayed as a lion. Amun-Ra, the solar father in the Egyptian mysteries, is the progenitor of the family of gods. The Gnostic student does not make the mistake of attributing to these symbolic figures the kind of literal and superficial meanings that are often ascribed to these gods by archaeologists and school children. The Gods of ancient Egypt are symbols of Kabbalah. That is: they represent a profound scientific and mathematical mystery. Amun-Ra as the ancient solar divinity, the father of the gods, is the Sun God, or in other words, the Cosmic Christ. From himself he emanates or manifests a pair of twin gods. These twins gods are Shu and Tefnut. Shu is a masculine solar divinity. The word Shu from the ancient Egyptian refers to "dryness, emptiness, space." Shu is often represented as a lion, in the same manner as his father. We see in this a close similarity to the Greek mysteries, which we discussed in previous lectures. Shu bears a striking similarity to Apollo, who is also a twin God. Shu's sister and consort is named Tefnut. Tefnut in the ancient Egyptian refers to "moisture." So we see in Shu and Tefnut twin lion gods, because Tefnut is also represented as a lion, a lioness. And in many of her images, she has the body of a human and the head of a lion. Tefnut is related to the moon. Shu is related to the sun. These twin lion gods, the children of Amun-Ra represent an essential duality, whichin Kabbalah we find represented in the hidden sphere of Daath, known in India as Shiva-Shakti.
