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Associations of pearls with the moon, water, and femininity are ancient, and come from many parts of the world. In Greek myth, pearls were identified with Aphrodite, the goddess of love. As such they became a powerful symbol of the feminine. Pearls also represented the moon in ancient Greek astrology. Wearing a pearl was said to impart the lunar gifts of second sight and power over the opposite sex. It was the Greeks' further association of the moon with the water sign of Cancer which made pearls the modern-day birthstone for the month of June. Japanese and Chinese myth also make lunar associations with pearls. In these traditions it was said that the sky dragon released liquid drops from its mouth during a storm. When these rain drops fell inside the open mouths of oysters, they solidified and formed pearls. The pearls then grew and became radiant by the light of the moon. Similarly, in India Hindu myth told that pearls were born from dew drops falling into the sea under moonlight. Pearls were seen in this culture, like the Greeks', as the quintessence of love and femininity. The perceived magical qualities of the pearl have made it a real and symbolic treasure to a myriad of cultures.
Pearls form in mollusks, a group of shell-covered water animals that includes oysters, clams, and mussels. These mollusks line the inside of their shells with a substance called nacre. When a foreign body enters the mollusk, the animal protects itself by depositing layer after layer of smooth nacre around the irritant. This bead of nacre is called a pearl. Most mollusks are capable of producing pearls, but the common sources of commercial pearls are oysters, which produce saltwater pearls, and mussels, which produce freshwater pearls. If a diver is to secure pearls he must descend to the bottom of the sea, braving all dangers of jaggered coral & vicious sharks. So man must face the perils of worldly passions if he is to secure the precious pearl of Enlightenment. He must first be lost among the mountainous crags of egoism & selfishness, before there will awaken in him the desire to find a path that will lead him to Enlightenment. A TRICKLE OF PEARLS Sharon Holdsworth He thought about what the small, glowing man had said and replayed the events in cinemagraphic detail. What did his questions mean? And what were the answers locked within the hearts of these luscious white pearls? The man had told him he could unlock them, but he had forgotten to give him the key. Perhaps he could break into them to discover their inner gold, but then they would be broken. Was that the truth of all beautiful things? To really understand them they must be destroyed? Surely there must be a way to know and still preserve their purity. But how? Perhaps that was one of the questions. One of his lessons which was his gift to learn. ..... She looked down at the pearls as they shimmered and gleamed in the full moon, saturated with the glow from their own inner light. Vellayan could see Solé reflected in every one, another shock as she realised destiny. was discovered in December 1945, together with a number of other manuscripts. This work outlines the early Gnostic Christian idea of what happens after death, when the soul is judged. soul has to rise as best it can through a hierarchy of heavens and face the increasingly difficult challenges posed by the guardian angels of each heaven. The book focuses on Paul's ascent to the tenth and highest heaven. The Holy Spirit also mentions that they will pass "one that reveals bodies to a soul-seed", that is, the being that takes souls and plants them in new bodies for reincarnation. For the soul who wished to ascend to the highest heaven, reincarnation was to be avoided. Reincarnation was a part of Christian doctrine until AD 553, when it and other Gnostic doctrines were suppressed. Christian fathers edited out the practical spiritual knowledge which was once an integral part of Christianity, and was known and practiced by the Apostle Paul. For these fathers, it was far more convenient and gratifying for their egos to assert that spiritual grace could only be attained through them as Christ's representatives on Earth. To control the masses, the political organization of the Church declared that salvation was attained only through the Church rituals. Salvation through a personal mystical experience apart from the organized Church was cast away. In a move that is very likely to have met with the disapproval of Christ Himself, the worldly political aspirations of a few priests won out over the spiritual enlightenment of the many.
Blessed be the Prophet Pupflow. Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes; Nothing of him that doth fade But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell: like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl. Therefore not sealed, but with open eyes I fly to thee, and fully understand Both the main sale, and the commodities; And at what rate and price I have thy love; With all the circumstances that may move: Yet through these labyrinths, not my groveling wit, But thy silk twist let down from heaven to me, Did doth conduct & teach me, how be it To climb to thee. sitting in our rows, eyes down, we make her salivate morally. We are hers to define, we must suffer her adjectives. I think about pearls. Pearls are congealed oyster spit. The Power of Myth In the story of the incarnation of Jesus, the father of Jesus was the father in heaven, at least in terms of the symbology. When Jesus goes to the cross, he is on the way to the father, leaving the mother behind. And the cross, which is symbolic of the earth, is the mother symbol. So on the cross, Jesus leaves his body on the mother, from whom he has acquired his body, and he goes to the father, who is the ultimate transcendent mystery source. Woe to the flesh that is dependent upon the Soul, and woe to the soul that is dependent upon the flesh. Woe to the Pharisees. They resemble a dog in a manger, who neither eats, nor allows the oxen to eat. Know what is before you. That which is hidden will be revealed. If you fast, you will create sins for yourselves. If you pray you will be condemned. If you give alms, you will injure yourselves. If you go into a land and wander throughout its area, and are offered hospitality, Eat what is set before you. Heal the sick among them. It is not what goes into your mouth that defiles you But what comes out of your mouth that defiles you. Warn us how our end will be. Jesus replied: Have you already discovered the beginning, now that you are asking about the end? Wherever the beginning is, there shall be the end. Blessed is he who stands at the beginning, for he understands the end without tasting death. What are your disciples like? He said: They are like children settled in a field not theirs. When the owners of the field approach them, and order, Give us back our field! They will be naked before them, and will hand it over. So i say to you: If a householder is aware that a thief is coming, he will await his arrival, block his way into the house, The kingdom, and so protect his property. Be wary of the world. Gird your loins in strength So that no robbers enter, For the benefits you expect will be found: may there wise among you a man of understanding. When the fruit is ripening, he comes with his swift sickle, and reaps. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. They asked: Shall we enter the kingdom? We are small. Jesus said: When you make two into one and what is within like what is without, and what is without like what was within. And what is above like what is below, and when you unite male and female in one So that the male is no longer male, and the female is no longer female, When you make eyes in place of an eye and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot and an image in place of an image, Then you shall enter the Kingdom. and when shall we see you? Jesus answered: When you shed your shame,and take your cloths, Place them on the ground,and trample them underfoot like children, Then you shall see The Son of the Living One, and will not be afraid. received the keys of understanding,and hid them. They did not enter,nor allowed entrance to those who so wished. Be wise as serpents,and innocent as doves. Is circumcision of use? He said: if it were useful, your father would of begotten you circumcised out of your mother. But the real circumcision of the Spirit has always been useful and nothing but useful. The Kingdom of the Father is like a merchant, who found a pearl to add on to his possessions. Being a clever merchant, he sold his other possessions, and bought himself the pearl alone. Seek like him the treasure which does not fade, in the place where no moths enter to consume, and no worms to corrupt. Why do you wash the surface of the chalice? Do you not understand that the man who made the outside also created the inside? Do not give the sacred to dogs, lest it be cast on the dung-heap. Do not cast pearls before swine, lest they destroy them. He who does not hate his father and his mother as i do cannot be my disciple, and he who does not love his mother and father as i do, cannot be my disciple. for my mother killed me, but my true mother has given me life.
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