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The world of symbols

Dr Erick GBODOSSOU


Homage To THe WISe oF aFRICa aND THe WoRLD!

A sage, on the evening of his life, began to sing Unfortunate human who cannot be A tree or a stone

My God, my God If I die and if I am reborn I want to be a tree in a virgin forest

My God, my God If I die and if I am reborn I want to be a pipe in the mouth of a sage

Erick Vidjin’Agnih GBODOSSOU


Ladies and Gentlemen,

Allow me to accompany you and incite you to dream about the world of symbols and then invite you to dwell on that dream. This will allow each and every one of us the opportunity to possess a unique body of knowledge in the realm of the imagination.


INTRODUCTION 6THE CYCLE OF LIFE IN AFRICAN THOUGHT 7TCHE-TOUN-TOUN 11THE REINCARNATION OR JO ‘ TOH 15HEGBE-DOTOH 17MAWU 20HEGBE-TOH OR HUMAN 22SIGNATURE OF GOD 25SEGBO LISSA 29EKPLIN OU AGOUMAGA 32 TABLE OF THE SPIRITS OR KPOLI, THE FA MAJOR 16 35DAN : GUARDIAN 39LE CERCLE INSTRUMENT 42SAKPATA 44SAN-HO-FA 47TATTOOING 51THE EAGLE 55COWRIES 58TALISMAN PLANETARY 61 RINGS PENTACULAIRES 65SYMBOL TO EXORCISE EVIL SPIRITS 70LOBSTER, THE SYMBOL OF AMBIVALENCE 72BEE 74CROCODILE 78THE SNAKE 83WATER 89FIRE 96CONCLUSION 100 BIBLIOGRAPHY 102

SOMMAIRE

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We live in a world of symbols and a world of symbols lives in us. In recent decades there has been a reemergence and renewed interest in symbols. These symbols have been rehabilitated as sources of inspiration for new discoveries, innovation, progressive and sustainable human development. One explanation is that this increasing interest in symbols is due in part to the limitations found within the Cartesian scientific system and the devolution of modern human sciences. In order to birth tomorrow’s science, symbols must be subjected to a more profound and fluid exploration in order to reveal the secrets of the subconscious and unknown, thus unveiling the most hidden motives of our actions. Through engaging this process, a new scientific system will be born that serves and develops a more humane and enlightened world.

These symbols are interpreted, embodied and expressed through language, gesture, dream, behavior, and attitude by way of an ancient practice that assists in resolving various challenges we encounter on our planet. Their educational system, organization, understanding and interpretation call upon numerous disciplines such as the history of civilization and religion, linguistics, cultural and religious anthropology, art, psychology, parapsychology and even meta-psychology.

It is possible to expand this list to include the symbols of marketing, sales, propaganda and political practices.

Humanity cannot afford to continue to underestimate the importance of symbols, the enigma that they represent, and the energies they embody. Instinctually, humans are conditioned to reject systems that would lead to their demise. The question remains, can logic, common sense and collective determination bring the present generation towards more tolerance, justice, and brotherhood, for the sake of confronting the various challenges that jeopardize the survival of our planet?

INTRoDUCTIoN

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LE cycLE dE LA vIE dAnS

LA pEnSéE AfRIcAInE

THe CYCLe oF LIFe IN aFRICaN THoUgHT

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The world of symbolsTHe CYCLe oF LIFe IN aFRICaN THoUgHT

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Whether one is an atheist, a believer, a polytheist, or a monotheist, somewhere in the human instinct, deep within the subconscious mind of all creatures, exists the grand architect of the universe that some call God, YAHWE, MAWU, GBEDOTOH, AKLUNON etc. Let us call this architect God. In the beginning, there was nothing, and then God had a divine thought. This divine thought gave birth to a divine consciousness, this divine consciousness gave birth to a primal breath, the primal breath gave in its turn the essential breath and the essential breath gave birth to the 4 essential spirits:

• The first essential spirit created fire • The second essential spirit created air • The third essential spirit created water • The fourth essential spirit created earth .

So at this point, there is God, the essential spirits, and the four essential elements, which they engendered. Next, God needed a womb in which to insufflate life. This creation was a unique spirit apart from the four essential spirits. It is when the four essential spirits are joined with this one, that we have the living. This is represented mathematically as: 4 + 1 =5; or four, one (41). The 4+1 corresponds to the living. In this creation of the living, life is one of chaos, contradictions, and ambivalence. In this world that will disappear, God is always expressed in mathematical form through his signature, √5, the square root of 5.

It is obvious that this world will disappear leaving in its place: 3+2=5, a world of equilibrium, love, and sharing which will lead humanity towards a better and more enlightened civilization. However, God’s Signature, √5, will remain unchanged.

There are 41 Voodoo (four and one); they do not represent a religion but rather a spiritual system, or better yet a womb in which life is formed. Therefore, from this womb of life combined with the four elements fire, air, water, and earth, God has all that it takes to create the living.

As soon as the womb, Voodoo and the essential spirits were formed, God sequentially created the celestial lives, the aerial lives, the aquatic lives and then

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the terrestrial lives. Within the framework of terrestrial creation mineral life, plant life and then animal life was formed. In the creation of this animal kingdom, the human being was God’s last creation.

This last creature has the specificity to be created in the image of God symbolized as the number 1. Of all God’s creatures, only man stands like an I which is represented numerically as the number 1, symbolizing the utmost uniqueness of God’s symbol. This is why some people believe that man is created in the image of God. We know that God’s symbolic appearances are represented in the form of five-pointed stars. When a man is standing with his legs apart and arms spread out, we also find God’s symbol of the five-poined star. In African thought, the terrestrial world is the first stage of seven worlds, because all that God created must evolve according to a specific cycle. All species evolve towards God. Everything starts from God, and returns to God. In a simplistic way, this terrestrial world engenders a multitude of lives, which after their terrestrial death shall become divine beings. Death is not an end, but rather a door that when shut is succeeded by another that is open. Therefore, after this terrestrial death, life enters into the intermediate world.

Lives, whenever they come to an end in this intermediate world, are prolonged towards the third world, the world of the ancestors that in Benin are called FE TOMIN.

FÊ =country; TOMIN=world, the world of the ancestors.

In this world of the ancestors, life continues. Once this life comes to an end, the spirits of the ancestral world continue towards what is called the NEXT WORLD.

In this NEXT WORLD, there are no constraints for life besides time and space. Life then continues into the fifth world, which is called the celestial world; following the celestial world is the spiritual world. Finally the seventh world is the divine world where the being returns to God, the original source. This is a broad and general outline of the cycle of life in African thought, more specifically in the thought of the Tado civilization.

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TcHE-TOUn-TOUn

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The world of symbols TCHe-ToUN-ToUN

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The symbol of the imperishability of God in the Tado civilization is called TCHE-TOUN-TOUN. In this TOUN-TOUN, is the symbol that represents the unknown aspects

of God, while the being would represent God the known. This is why God is not necessarily related to the existence of God. God is absolute. God is timeless. God is in all. God is everywhere. God is everything. Indeed, the concept of God in African thought is a mathematical equation. Which poses the question: Does God exist?

There are only two (2) choices of response.

• NO, GOD DOES NOT EXIST. • YES, GOD DOES EXIST.

If the answer is No: there are more potential issues. If the answer is Yes: there are three (3) possible options

• YES, GOD IS IN US • YES, GOD IS OUTSIDE OF US • YES, GOD IS IN US AND OUTSIDE OF US

In African thought, all these claims are fair. ie.: No, God does not exist. Yes, God exists. God is in us, God is outside of us; God is in us and outside of us.

Everything that exists relates to God, however, God is not a function of what already exists, God is itself the Existence. This is why God is not necessarily related to the existing. It is rather in the independence between God and the existing, that their detachment is resolved through their relationship. Divine independence is emerging as a real ontological field of study. Any valid statement about God presupposes that it penetrates to the core essence of all existence. This is the traditional way by which God touches the soft essence of each being extending beyond the limits of the special conditions of its own domain; yet still taking root in its absolute fullness absent of limitation. Human beings are like a seed that extend to infinity. TCHE-TOUN-TOUN translates to mean the imperishability

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of God. It symbolizes the one, towards which all events converge; or also articulated as the life that is performed throughout life. It is precisely at this juncture that thinkers and philosophers such as Descartes and Freud lose their meaning and their logic. God does not say: «I think therefore I am», which is a selfish and dehumanizing philosophical perspective, but rather says: «I am because you are. The «imperishable God is in us, outside us, is in us and outside of us! The individual, at the symbolic level, becomes meaningless and remains denatured, mechanical, and deserted. The «I» can fight neither oppression nor injustice. It can’t even search for truth and light. More simplistically an African proverb says «you cannot clap with one hand»... «could not chew with a tooth….»

The French psychoanalyst Jaques Lacan’s critique and contribution to the Freudian school of thought may be perceived by African symbolism as a desperate attempt to fill in the gaping holes in Freudian philosophy. His quest for understanding was more like a failed attempt to open a chest of which he did not possess the key. Therefore if the scientific approach of FREUD is in question, then the symbolic shortcomings expressed through the application of the philosophy to their environment is also in question. In their attempt to understand man’s relationship to creation, Freud speaks of «Me or him» and LACAN speaks of «Me or the small other.» However they both could have benefited from the sacred African forest lessons, such as “self forgetfulness, selflessness, and perfect availability to the other».

In African thought «the other» is not only a human, but also includes all living creatures in one’s environment. TCHE-TOUN-TOUN, the imperishable God, is also the link between the lives of the living. This approach is based in a traditional philosophy called REINCARNATION.

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The world of symbolsTHe ReINCaRNaTIoN oR Jo ‘ ToH

Reincarnation is the most apparent symbol of divine manifestation. The secret of life, according to Tado traditions, can only belong to God. The traditions further maintain that

God created death prior to creating life therefore creating a succession of lives, or existences.

In layman’s terms, death refers to the absolute end of something positive, negative or living: it can be a human being, an animal, a plant, a friendship, alliance, peace, or even a specific period of time.

In fact, it is implicit in our conversations when we speak of the death of a storm, a day or the Sun. Man, like the morning dew, may disappear for a while but does not die, he rather follows a cycle of life.

Fundamentally, humans are the only creatures capable of conceiving evil without reason. Therefore, humans must evolve into something more complete. Neither the duration of the morning dew, nor the period of a lifetime is sufficient to complete human evolution. An initiation process must happen through a phase of death before open access to a new life can occur. Death itself is like the daughter of night and the sister of sleep. It has the power to regenerate and reincarnate as his mother and his brother. While awaiting reincarnation, the human being is in a spiritual state. The right to life, death, and reincarnation all belong to God.

After the physical death, one’s spiritual life, which never dies, joins the intermediate world: a world of waiting. According to its level of transcendental evolution, the spirit of the deceased will wait for the ideal couple, which will permit it to go to the next stage of its mission in its evolution. Through a process of probability, combinations, and mathematical permutations a couple is identified. It is then that the spirit of the deceased awaiting reincarnation, fertilizes the egg of the couple and reintroduces the spirit into the

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The world of symbolsLa ReINCaRNaTIoN oU DJo’ToH

earthly realm.

«In this sense your father is not your father, your mother is not your mother», you simply arrive in the world through them».

In other words, your child may be from several generations before you. In the Tado civilization, when a child is born several rites and rituals are performed. Among them is the rite of «Jo ‘ TOH. The purpose of this ceremony is to identify the great-grandparent or grandparent who returned through this baby. Following the reincarnated ancestor, the community grants the appropriate respect and attention according to his rank and status in the community.

Today, the media tells stories that confirm the concept of reincarnation. For example, a couple picks up their child from a preschool in the village. The child knows the old people in the village and calls them by their first and last name. He even goes so far as describing the type of relationship he had with each of them. Mr X, over 80 years-ago, was his son. Mrs. Y, over 100 years ago, was his mistress. After leaving the school, the child asked his parents to stop for a cup of coffee. They enter the cafe and the child asks the waitress for Madame Z. The waitress calls the owner of the Bar. When the owner heard the accuracy in the child’s description of Madame Z, he goes to retrieve a photo album containing pictures that date back 100 years. As they turn the pages, with confidence the boy identifies the photo of Ms. Z. The owner admits that this is a photo of his grandmother who first opened this CAFE.

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HEGBE-dOTOH

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The world of symbolsHegBe-DoToH

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The world of symbolsHegBe-DoToH

This symbol, signifies the supremacy of God, creator of creatures, creator of this world and the universe, HEGBE = universe or world; DOTOH = creator. This is the supremacy of

God who is above all. The one who has created everything that creates everything. All beings, both visible and invisible, are included as part of this creation. Therefore, in the African conception all systems of life and grace are functions by which we participate in God’s nature. Hence, everything we do maintains a fundamental relationship with God as the source of reality. This is especially true when the Fon people sing the following song:

Ali non-hiségondinDo tominfioAwa GbêminboJaGbênouWaGbe-ôYé non can nu bio et nan gnon !

Translation of the song :

If, before entering into a lost ship, A human could examine his destiny, He would know where to go. He wouldn’t question his destiny.

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The world of symbolsmaWU

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The world of symbolsmaWU

The symbol of God, MAWU, AKLOUNON GBEDOTOH. This symbol depicted as a five-pointed star in a circle representing the microcosm, or the cosmos, with four

cardinal points. It is important in the formation of the symbol of God, AKLUNON MAWU, that it is created in alignment with the Earth’s axis which is located on 0 = 5 vertical. This is important to understand if you want a real symbol that represents the true power of God that has no relationship to the five pointed stars that symbolize the power of man. To make this symbol, the axis of the world 0 = 5, must be 30 ° to the left of the Eastern coordinate. When you have this line, as an initiate you learn how to easily achieve the other points (1, 2, 3, and 4) to give all the energy and power that God gives the beholder of this powerful symbol that the Serer (priest) in Senegal call ROG SEN. ROG = God and SEN = everywhere and nowhere.

MAWU is the Supreme Being, the unknown being, the source and purpose, the Alpha and Omega. Everything that exists relates to him. He is, and symbolizes, the UNIQUENESS present in all manifestations of life; the life in which all life is performed. All beings, visible and invisible, are expressions of MAWU. MAWU’s very nature is demonstrated in all the mysteries of life, natural and supernatural forces. Just as MAWU, AKLOUNON GBEDOTOH symbolizes God, there are deities that symbolize the presence of God on a lower level. In addition to these deities, there also exists the «gods» that symbolize idealized human qualities. Between these two deities are the spirits of our ancestors.

The veneration of the intermediate deities brings about joy; however when they are neglected, one’s negligence will cause anxiety, inhibition, impotence, and torment. Why not spread tolerance, mutual understanding, brotherhood, justice, sharing, forgiveness, love?

We come from MAWU and we return to MAWU.

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The world of symbolsHegBe-ToH oU Homme

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Man is the image of God, HEGBETO.

HEGBE: world, TO is the one responsible for the management of the world; the father of the world.

It is God who created HEGBE; EGBEDOTOH, is the creator of this world. HEGBETO = man or father of creation, is the man who is responsible for the management of this world. This is why man was created in the image of God. This word exists in Fon, Goun, Popo, Mina and Tado civilizations. God is HEGBE = world; DOTOH: creator. By creating man, God gave him the responsibility of managing this world. Thus, man is the father or manager of life in God’s creation.

HEGBE-TOH, or man, is a living social, cosmic, and spiritual organism. He is composed of a composite of perishable and imperishable elements that are integrated at all three levels of his being; social, cosmic, and spiritual. Every life cycle begins with the integration of these three components organized around a principle of personalization. The life cycle ends with the breakup of the human compound, which offers the possibility of a new destiny, or a new reincarnation. All of the elements of the human being, HEGBE-TOH, are assembled before their birth and remain after their death. In fact, God created death before life, such that life benefits from death. .

HEGBE-TOH means in literal translation manager of the world; father of the world HEGBE = universe, world TOH = father, Manager, managing

The essence of HEGBE-TOH is linked to three attributes of transcendence

• Transcendence is both the source of life, and life itself.

• Transcendence is communication: through the mediation of symbols, the transcendent power is brought closer and made more accessible to the individual.

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• Transcendence is participation: it creates a common destiny between all beings of the universe.

Life itself is a dynamic stream of information by the transcendent power, to animate the material and spiritual bodies for the duration of their cycle of divine energy. In order to fully understand the meaning of transcendence one must refer to the definition of the origin, nature, and cycle of life.

• Origin: life comes from the transcendental power, which can be both personal and/or collective, that creates and constantly renews the energy in the cosmos.

• Nature: life is an energy that animates an independent, material or spiritual agency endowed with the qualities of its divine energy.

• Cycle: life has a dynamic and cyclic character, capable of the strengthening or loss of energy.

If God is called HEGBE DOTOH creator of the universe, man is called HEGBE-TOH, manager or father of the universe.

Therefore, it is said that man is created in the image of God. In addition, the symbolic representations of man and God are identical, the star with five (5) branches. HEGBE-TOH, the image of God must be inherently good, helpful and available.

Availability itself cannot be equated with a quest to identify with the other. The other is not necessarily a human! But any other creature that man has the responsibility of ‘fathering’.

Even if God has given to HEGBE-TOH the responsibility to understand the universe and the laws that govern nature and the world, it remains clear that God established a great distance between himself and HEGBE-TOH.

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THE SIGnATURE Of GOd

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The world of symbolsTHe SIgNaTURe oF goD

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Wherever God goes, each initiate of Tado’s deepest and oldest symbolisms knows that the manifestations of God are always expressed by √5. When you see the angles and forms of God’s

creations, it is always based on a function of √5. Even the triangle generated by the stars to 5-pointed star, its base is always base X √5 which gives the adjacent side that links the base to the apex. In plants, flowers, and throughout nature we always find this manifestation of God, √5, as both a divine symbol and a real manifestation in nature.

The interior of an apple cut horizontally; there is the symbol of God 5 branches stars.

In flowers, there is the symbol of God, the five-pointed star.

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Phalanx of fingers of a hand P2=P1 X √5P3=P2 X √5

b= c= a X √5√5=2,2361+0,618=1,6181x1, 618+0,618=√5=2,236

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SEGBO LISSA

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The world of symbolsSegBo LISSa

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The world of symbolsSegBo LISSa

Here we have the symbol of life, SEGBO LISSA. Since this symbol is also found in Egypt, one may ask if the symbol comes from Egypt or does it come from Tado? The fact is that the early Egyptians were

black, and their Egyptian civilization has its origin in earlier civilizations in the African interior, possibly the Tado civilization. SEGBO LISSA, the symbol of life.

The ring of life, unfortunately, is a concept that has become increasingly lost and ignored by conventional science. Indeed, conventional science teaches us that to live, we need to eat; it may be true! But it’s also false! You can live for fifty-two days without eating. They teach that there is a need for water, it’s true! But it’s also false! You can live twelve days without drinking water. Although statistics illustrate globally that people die more from consuming harmful drinks, like contaminated water and alcohol, than not drinking. You need oxygen, it’s true! But it’s also false! You can live 7 minutes without oxygen, even after the third minute the brain may suffer damage, but you can live 7 minutes without oxygen. However, nobody can live the smallest fraction of a second without energy.

The energy that gives life is unknown and not understood by conventional science; in fact, it is a missing link in research. However, the knowledge of the Tado civilization and African symbols can help provide solutions to human development by addressing the gaps and failures in the Cartesian system. Even though it may be true that the techniques have made progress. No laboratory in the world can demonstrate the difference between an organ taken from a living being and the same organ taken from a corpse! This is due to the fact that the only difference between the living and the dead is their source of energy, that, unfortunately, western science does not know. Western science knows no energy that can exist without its source: the vibration. The vibration produces energy which gives life. This is a trilogy known to conventional science. So therefore, Africa can help bring real solutions to this worrying gap in our contemporary science.

Life is a cyclic phenomenon, which rotates in a counter-clockwise and helical formation that is present within each species with an inter-penetration between all life, the circle of life, and the life cycle.

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The world of symbols eKPLIN/ oU agoUmaga

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The world of symbolseKPLIN/ oU agoUmaga

This image is the instrument of divination. In Tado, civilization there is a science that dates back several thousand years BC. It continues to be practiced to this day

and is called the FA. Some call it IFE, FA, DAO, etcetera according to the ethnic group. This practice, however it may be called, comes from the Tado civilization. There are two levels of execution of this divinatory science, the great game and the little game. The great game consists of a more sophisticated instrument, while the little game uses the instrument you see in the image that we call EKPLIN or AGOUMAGA.

When you see EKPLIN, it consists of two parts: the left and the right side. Both the left and the right side contain four semi-nuclei. The right side is the symbol of the male, which represents the first and primitive creature, who is completely disorganized. The four semi-nuclei on the right have a link with the primitive spirits who created fire, air, water, and Earth respectively. The left side, in EKPLIN or AGOUMAGA symbolizes the world as it has been created and organized, symbolized as the Moon and Earth. Each of these different semi-nuclei, A, B, C, D, signify a specific and particular symbolic meaning. (A) Symbolizes the created world, which gave birth to the CELESTIAL beings. (B), represents the created world which gave birth to AVIAN life; (C), the created world AQUATIC life and (D) the created world that gave the TERRESTIAL life.

This instrument is what some call a crystal ball, it allows one to clearly discern their past, present, and future without risk of error. To connect with EKPLIN or AGOUMAGA, you can communicate through rhythm, dance, trance, symbol, and/or word with transcendence through 256 spirits. Human nature has three ways to communicate with the transcendent, the first is the word, through the power of the verb; the second is the rhythm, through the power of the movement; and the third is the symbol, through the power of the image. The FA by his instrument provides us with these three avenues.

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The world of symbols eKPLIN/ oU agoUmaga

The right side symbolizes the communion between the non-created and the created as a passageway of communication of one to the other.

The right side is divine. The first human being was a man. Adam being androgynous was then split into two. The man was formed on the right side, and woman on the left side. In the FA, law concerns the events relating to the paternal family. The right side symbolizes strength, precision, and success.

In the concept of the FA and its «Little game» instrument, the left symbolizes the woman, the womb, the mother, and more generally, the maternal side. The left is also nocturnal and represents the starting point of movement. The left is honorable, she represents Mother Earth. All that is left is noble and contains the principle of wisdom. The left is of levo-turn, counter-clockwise, which is the marking of the creator and all movements of our planet.

The left symbolizes sweetness, the quiet and the noble. The holder of the knowledge of the FA is called the BOKONON, and the AKPO is the small bag containing the sacred instrument (AGOUMAGA or EKPLIN). To perform the clairvoyant ritual, the Bokonon positions himself on a small mat with the instrument in his hand.

After performing several invocations and employing the three (3) means of transcendental communication, the Bokonon conducts his divination based on which spirits reveal themselves.

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TABLE Of 16 SpIRITS OR KpOLI

THE fA MAJOR

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The world of symbolsTaBLe oF 16 SPIRITS oR KPoLI THe Fa maJoR

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The world of symbolsTaBLe oF 16 SPIRITS oR KPoLI THe Fa maJoR

FA is a science that is based on the study of 256 spirits. This table shows the symbol of the 16 major spirits. The 240 Minor spirits are combinations of the 16 major spirits. Those who

practice the FA are called a BOKONON. They are directed to the FA to fulfill the will of God, spirits, and the ancestors. A consultation with the FA is performed to council a trusted friend before making an important decision. The FA removes doubt, and replaces it with reassurance and guidance. For this reason it has been used as a tool or form of traditional technology that is involved in all the events of social life.

The 16 major spirits are the most important and decisive in the FA system. The other KPOLI appear as sub-categories made by combinations of two of the major spirits.

These KPOLI are classified, consolidated and prioritized under each of the 16 major spirits. The highest of all is KPOLI-DJOGBE: DJOGBE-M E D J I .

The table reflects the hierarchy and gender of each of the sixteen major spirits.

In this order, the spirits of odd numbers are males and the female are

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The world of symbols TaBLe oF 16 SPIRITS oR KPoLI THe Fa maJoR

even number.

This order of the figures of the major KPOLI 16 possess harmonious mathematical properties that exclude the possibility of chance in the outcome of their revelation The BOKONON can be wrong, but the FA never lies.

All the systems of geomancy known, none can reproduce the atmosphere of the FA. By the extent of its domain, the FA goes beyond the simple code of a revelation, to encompass cosmogony and universal spirituality.

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dAn : GARdIEnAGE

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The world of symbols DaN : THe gUaRDIaN

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The world of symbols DaN : THe gUaRDIaN

Here we have the symbol of DAN, the guardian. In this symbol, you have the eight (8)-pointed star that governs all spheres, the seven (7) worlds plus the one (1) uncreated world. Seven

(7) worlds exist, and the 8th is the non-existent. This means that Voodoo, DAN, has at its disposal all that subtle energy required to ensure its role as the guardian. The number eight (8) is the universal symbol for cosmic balance. This is the number of the cardinal directions, when including the intermediate directions. This is the number of petals of the lotus flower and the number of paths to existence. The heavenly throne is carried by 8 angels. The mosque of Cordoux in the Χ century has eight domes. The eight is not the infinite, undefined and dispersed; it is rather the infinite, ordered and defined in the eight.

The DAN or «snake» in literal translation can manipulate, use and order any creature. The DAN or snake has neither beginning nor end. Its physical name «snake» is an incarnate abstraction that comes alive through its ability to animate and transform to take on any representations. If it is visible, it becomes a representation of the Holy in physical form. In the divine world, it arises as a palpable fantasy, which slips between the fingers of time and infinity. Afterwards, DAN takes refuge in the underworld from which it originates, where it can exist in a space that is timeless, permanent and immobile. In its mission to guard, DAN or the snake becomes as fast as lightning. When it is visible, it emerges out of the shadow of a crack or crevice to spit out terror or death prior to returning to the invisible.

The symbolism of DAN or Guardian inspires fear and respect, as its work continues throughout infinity.

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The world of symbolsCIRCLe meaSURemeNT INSTRUmeNT

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The world of symbolsCIRCLe meaSURemeNT INSTRUmeNT

The circle is the measuring instrument that allows one to not only know the cardinal points, but also be able to detect and be in communion with these directions. Each of these points can bring forth from an

energetic point of view, both positive and negative energy. They also have the ability to give direction on how to constructively bring about harmony between communities to improve their quality life.

The second most fundamental symbol is the circle with the cross and square embedded within it. This symbol is powerful because it contains all three; the circle, cross, and square.

The circle represents perfection, uniformity, the lack of division and distinction ... the circular motion is perfect, immutable, and without beginning or end, or variations. This is precisely what enables it to symbolize time. Time is defined, in this context, as a succession of the discontinuity of relative and specific moments.

The circle also symbolizes the sky, or circular and invariant movement. The circle-square-cross is the perfect instrument for measuring time in any dimension and in all their relativity, through the measurement of the cardinal points. With regard to the measurement of time, the watch is a mechanical device that loses the sense of the relativity of the discontinuity. At the real and symbolic level, when the sun rises it is 0600 hours, or 6 am. When the sunsets, it is 1800 hours, or 6pm, regardless of the geographical situation at ground level. In the North Pole, both the notion of time and telling time by reading a watch loses its meaning.

It is interesting that in the languages of the people of the Tado civilization in Mina, the literal translation of the word “MINUTE” said: «ANABA POPO DEKA means «an eyelid blink.» This conceptually reflects the the relativity of time. At the symbolic level, it is easy to understand than at any time, at any moment in life, or any period of time, there is a point where opposites Cancel to allow the manifestation of eternity. This circle, instrument that has no beginning nor end, can be used as a measuring tool in both the spiritual, invisible and transcendental worlds. It has the ability to measure the activity of the sky, its dynamic insertion in the cosmos, its causality, and its divine and miraculous function.

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The world of symbols SaKPaTa

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The world of symbols SaKPaTa

SAKPATA - ZONWANNON: this is the deity of mother earth. It is the SAKPATA Voodoo that has a direct relationship with the molding of all life. She is also known as the Earth God whose

purpose it is to knead and breathe life into all living creatures. The followers of SAKPATA, the deity of mother earth, has the advantage of being the beloved mother to us all. It is the Voodoo SAKPATA who can protect against some incurable diseases. In fact, history provides evidence of this in its accounts of how the Vodoussi, who lived a millennia before Christ, never had smallpox. Furthermore, the source of the smallpox vaccine comes from the symbol of the deity of mother earth, SAKPATA ZONWANON.

AZON = diseases. WANNON = controller or Manager. AZONWANNON = controller or Manager of disease. SAKPATA = deity of the Earth. The Earth symbolically represents the opposite of the sky, just as the passive is the opposite of the active principle; or as the female is to the male. The Chinese would characterize these opposites as the YIN and YANG. Nature symbolizes the matter, force, and transformation; the passive perfection which supports all life. SAKPATA is female and night; the womb and source of life through which all human beings receive their birth. SAKPATA symbolizes the sweet, the tender, the peaceful, the firm and the humble. It is important to note that both the word humble and human are etymologically related to the Latin word “HUMUS” meaning “ground”, of which it is said that man was molded.

SAKPATA is the universal deity recognized as the «primal matter» that separated the waters. As the nurturing mother, SAKPATA’s nurturing power is tapped through the work of the hoe, spade, and plow in order to allow the fertilizing rain to nourish the seeds of Heaven who maintain the life of her children.

SAKPATA, the deity of the Earth, is also the womb from which precious metals and minerals are produced.

It is for all of the aforementioned reasons that SAKPATA -

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The world of symbolsSaKPaTa

ZONWANNON represents the principle of protection against any force of annihilation. She is the guardian against all kinds of pandemics or serious diseases that involve the survival of her children. The Earth holds all the plants and curative resources necessary to overcome any disease or epidemic of any kind.

SAKPATA – ZONWANNON has already saved the world of smallpox. It will save the world of AIDS, cancer and other so–called incurable diseases of concern today. Unfortunately, man often behaves in an absurd and destructive manner. He vandalizes everything in its path like a bull in a cage of porcelain. He poisons himself by using pesticides, against the wonderful plants that his mother, SAKPATA DON provides to save her children. Many pregnant women eat SAKPATA, the identification symbol of the Earth. The earth gives birth to all beings, nourishes them then again receives them as a fertile seed when the die.

History teaches us that SAKPATA-if, or followers of Voodoo SAKPATA, never had smallpox. Initiation tattoos of their recipient are true vaccines against smallpox. The origin of the peasant who helped the scientist Dr. Edward Jenner discover this «vaccine» still has yet to be revealed!

Recent results from a serious study carried out in Benin by an NGO named, “NGO AHOUEFA” that screened the population for AIDS revealed that no SAKPATA-SI tested positive. Perhaps the symbolism of mother earth may lead researchers to find the solution of AIDS in Voodoo! Soon, Very soon!

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SAn-HO-fA

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The world of symbolsSaN-Ho-Fa

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The world of symbols SaN-Ho-Fa

SAN-HO-FA is an educational symbol of the Tado civilization. SAN-HO-FA = learn from the past. The source of knowledge is never lost. Even though Knowledge itself can be forgotten,

dismissed or even despised, by men or the Cartesian system, Supreme knowledge is never lost. It has its source in morphic resonance: the space in which memory becomes collective. Speaking in modern language, one would say that this knowledge is located on the «server» which is stored in an invisible external memory source. Yet this information can be accessed, downloaded and stored in your internal memory, if you know how to connect to it.

SAN - HO - FA, is a powerful symbol, a symbol that represents the ancient education whose origins are lost in the mists of time. This is also why in many Serer civilizations the prefix to the names of many ancient cities begins with FA, ie. Fatick, Fayile, Fafakho, Fadiouth, etc. The ‘FA’ in this context is a symbol of the distant past, the oldest the source of knowledge. It is also the reference by which to understand the present and the future. This concept is captured in the adage, «today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today”. It is in this quote that one can see that development is not new, but rather an absolute and continuous process that has existed since the time of the most ancient civilizations. SAN - HO - FA, learn from the past, has a similar etiology of the word SAN - HO – HO, of the Pla, Mina, and Popo people, which means since the dawn of time.

FA = wisdom of peace = teaching of evolution = spiritual teaching, communication and communion with the transcendent. SAN - HO - FA = learn from the past.

Traditional africa holds two systems of learning from the past.

In African thought we make a differentiation between knowledge and knowing.

• Knowledge is found in a book, school, or University. It is frozen, inert and lifeless.

• Knowing is Supreme. It cannot be learned in school, it cannot be

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sold, nor can it be bought. It is movement, it is vibration; it is energy, and it is life.

SaN-Ho-Fa, to learn the knowledge of the past

There are various centers of learning that teach this knowledge. These places can sometimes be the home of a great master, a temple, or even a sacred forest that has been formalized into a school of learning.

SaN-Ho-Fa, to learn the knowledge of the past

This training often requires a unique predisposition. This is not to exclude anyone! I would say that innately, some people are able to have more precise premonitory dreams than others!

Such knowledge can be acquired by:

• A series of initiations that last throughout life and are carried out in appropriate locations with the assistance of great masters

• Dreams can be either nocturnal or diurnal. A person who has lived 60 years, has slept for nearly 12 years and spent approximately 5 of those years dreaming. Five years of school without reason, without conscience, what an immense source of knowledge. Reasoning is fallible and full of error; therefore, a school without reason is closer to the truth.

• Initiatory illnesses. The healer before curing a madman was himself mentally ill. It is in his illness that he has acquired the art of healing the madman. Mental illness can be a great school of knowledge.

• Vertical, transcendent, spiritual, connections are also a great means to acquiring or accessing such knowledge.

SAN HO FA, learn from the past to build a future of peace, stability and balance.


TATTOOInG

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The world of symbolsTaTTooINg

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The world of symbolsTaTTooINg

Tattooing is a means of spiritual communion and identification. The symbolism of the tattoo is indicated by the original meaning of the symbol, which in turn indicates the holy

character of the writing. It is a permanent invocation. Tattooing allows one to be identified with specific Celestial powers while simultaneously serving as the fundamental expression in the communication with the Celestial world. The most common symbolism of tattooing is conferred after one undergoes an initiation. It facilitates a communion based on scared principles of a process that has been practiced since the dawn of humanity, well before the Christian era.

The facial tattooing ritual of the PEDA, an ethnic group in Benin, demonstrates the very specific relationship they have with the celestial python that existed before creation. The Python has the same scarification on its face, 2x5. This practice has existed for over 10 million years and it continues to help its followers to communicate with and be protected from some negative aspects of their environment (evil spirits and people with evil intentions).

The tattoo functions as a symbol of identification that is imbued with magical and mystical powers. Identification has always had a double meaning. It tends to confer to a subject the virtues and strengths of the being it embodies, while also immunizing the subject against the evil powers of the latter. That is why tattoos representing dangerous animals such as scorpions, snakes, bulls and the lions are common. Identification also has a sense of consecration that is symbolically represented by the tattoo. Therefore, it is a sign of allegiance. As a sign of social integration, tattooing allows the identification of an individual’s ethnic group. The tattooing of the Holi is different from that of Peda, which is also different from that of Bariba, the Hausa, and the Goun, yet all are ethnic groups of the TADO civilization in Benin. Here, the tattoo becomes a tribal emblem that even varies according to convents within a tribe.

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The world of symbolsLe TaToUage

The follower of the Vodou Sakpata has tattoos different from that of Guinvodoussi whose are also different from that of Tchabassi etc.

The tattoo allows one to not only become identified with an animal, but also allows the acquisition of power.

The Tattoo is like a school in which one learns the symbolism of figures, images, and numbers that can be manipulated in order to commune with the powers they represent.

This young Lady for example has, among others, a tattoo in the shape of a “cross”. The symbolism of the cross has existed in Africa since antiquity. It is the third of four fundamental symbols that is found at the center of the circle and square. The cross participates in the most complex symbolism that gave birth to the richest and the most universal language; the language of symbols. It is the primary symbol that serves as the basis of orientation at the various levels of existence of man. The orientation of the animal is composed of its proprioception, which is facilitated by its own spatial or horizontal orientation; and its temporal perception, that is facilitated by its spiritual or vertical orientation.

As an initiate, the tattoo of this young lady makes her an itinerant school. In this school, the Cartesianist and other contemporary philosophers have a lot to learn.

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THE EAGLE

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The world of symbols THe eagLe

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The world of symbols THe eagLe

The Eagle is capable of rising above the clouds and fixing the sun. Eagle = King of birds; a celestial and solar symbol. It has a link with angels and higher spiritual realms. In 1996

we conducted an experiment called “COUMBA LAMBA USA «. We brought Ndëpkatts of Senegal to heal the Americans in the USA by using a traditional healing ceremony called Ndëp. This ceremony can be defined as an ethno-psychiatric group treatment. We collaborated with the Native Americans in this healing ritual through using song, rhythm, trance and symbol.

During the ritual of the mysterious circle of Indians, 3 eagles flew at low altitude counter-clockwise during the entire duration of the ceremony. Moreover, it is also necessary to mention that the mysterious circle of the Amerindians is conducted using 100 feathers taken from 100 different eagles.

Some say the White and Black Eagle have as their mission the shedding of light in the universe. A pure and crystal clear light which has the ability to lead people towards a more clement, generous, tolerant and just world, full of love and peace. At the same time, the symbol of the double-headed eagle on a sword represents justice and the management of the universe. It is a very strong symbol of initiation found in systems such as the lodge system; an initiation system that exists outside of the customs of traditional African society and the Tado civilizations..

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The world of symbolsLeS CaURIS

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The world of symbolsLeS CaURIS

Cowries, called OHO-KOUNKOUNDE in the POPO PLA language (Benin), are the symbol of excellence and wealth. This shell served as currency several centuries before Jesus

Christ. Its usage in art today has no limits. We find it in ornaments, necklaces, hairstyles, clothes etc. Cowries are also the symbol of fertility and the source of all secular and profane passions of the uninitiated..

At the initiatory and / or spiritual level, cowries become sacred or contribute to the preparation of the sacred. For example:

• The eyes of the LEGBA are made of big cowries. • The entrance of Gou Vodou is constucted by 8 x 2=16 cowries

arranged so as to symbolize the spirit DJANGLAN.• Certain sacred or powerful objects (initiatory clothes, tails of

spiritual animals, talsmans, heads of animals), have a certain number of cowries of which the design materializes a spirit or expresses a purpose.

Eight arranged cowries with the opened side up, in 2 rows of 4, symbolize the spirit DJOGBE-MEDJI, the spirit in charge of the path or the road.

When 8 cowries are all facing with the closed side up, they evoke the spirit YEKU-MEDJI, which represents the link with the ancestors and communion and communication with the transcendence.

When the 4 top shells are with the open face up and the 4 bottom ones are with the closed face up, the spirit LOSSO MEDJI is called upon. The proverb of this spirit tells us that “the carrier of the shells is a respectable leader. They have objects made of

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The world of symbols LeS CaURIS

cowries: statutes, portraits, carved objects, etc.” (sticks, tails of animals)

DJOGBE-MEDJI glorifies the chief who wears or holds the cowries, which symbolize triumph or glory. It is also the master of the opposite powers and can according to its evolution take on a spiritual meaning.

Because of their aquatic origin, cowries are used in the birthing rites, for rejuvenation and purification.

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pLAnETARy TALISMAn

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The world of symbols PLaNeTaRY TaLISmaN

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The world of symbols PLaNeTaRY TaLISmaN

In African Civilization and in many practices of secret societies, when it comes to planetary talismans or PENTACULAR seals, they may possess several different signs or geometric figures.

However, it is important to know that there is a sacred language that is used to transcribe these names and invocations into an appropriate shape. This figure is usually a circle, a pentagram, a hexagram, and sometimes a square. The geometric shapes symbolize philosophical data.

• The circle is perfection, the radiant sunlight; it is also a natural symbol of protection, closing. The initiated draws one or several circles around him, retreating within them for protection.

• The pentagram can present two forms: Pentagonal (5 angles) or starred (10 angles). The symbolic geomoetry is always based on 5 (five), which expresses the union of the unequal. To that extent, it is a microcosm. The pentagram also signifies marriage, happiness, fulfillment and acquisition of power.

• L’hexagramme est fait de 2 triangles équilatéraux superposés, The hexagram is made of 2 inverted equilateral triangles. One triangle pointing upward, and the other one pointing downward in a way in which the set constitutes a star with 6 branches. It is also recognized as SALOMON’s seal for the Hebrews. We find it in India, under the name of YANTRA: the union of Civa and Shaki. It symbolizes the union of the ego’s, personal and temporal, world with the non-ego’s, timeless and non-personal, world. It is the union of the soul with God.

• The square is an anti-dynamic figure. It symbolizes the finite and motionless.

When it comes to the pentagram or the star with five branches, it represents the man whose arms and legs spread out forming a natural star. It is the number five, the number of the fingers of the hand, and

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The world of symbolsPLaNeTaRY TaLISmaN

the instrument of natural calculation, √5, God’s signature. When it comes to the hexagram, it is constructed by the fusion of two inverted triangles, which symbolizes the interpenetration of what is at the top with what is at the bottom. Another important element is the square, and the global inscribed or engraved seals that contain a secret figure. Besides, pentacles benefiting from a Celestial and Complex impulse, can join the pentagram. The magic square or this common energy square, which we study in the Tado traditions, calls upon God’s secret names. This pentacle or these practices of initiates date back several millennia BC; they play a fundamental role in the certain practices or experiments that are extremely rich in symbols, methods of protection, and communication with the transcendent.

These planetary talismans, whatever their shape (square, and others), reveal the 7 planets that surround their seals. When one wants to talk about these 7 planets, we have first Saturn, which has the magic square with three (3) columns, Jupiter, whose magic square is four (4) columns, Mars’s magic square has five (5) columns, the Sun, the magic square of six (6) columns, with the magic number 111; Venus’s magic square has seven (7) columns and whose basis is 175; Mercury’s square has eight (8) columns. These 8 columns are based on 260, and the Moon’s magic square of nine (9) columns is based on 9369. These squares and figures are extremely rich and have powers that you cannot began to understand unless you are initiated or in the initiatory process. The different symbols provide extremely valuable tools that allow one the ability to direct the world towards a more enlightened humanity. In this Planetary Talisman that is usually worn around the neck, the symbols are extremely rich, and in its middle there is a square with a spiritual seal, which lies both in and out of the triangle.

There is also the planetary Talisman, which is worn as a pendant. We will not dwell on this, because it is the purpose of the initiation to go in to detail about the explanation of each symbol.

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pEnTAcULAR RInGS

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The world of symbolsPeNTaCULaR RINgS

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The world of symbolsPeNTaCULaR RINgS

The PENTACLE used to conjure up Lucifer. ADONAÏ, God’s sacred name, embodies wealth and invocations from spirits and from gods.here are several varieties of PENTACULAR RINGS.

The main objective is to understand the symbol that every pentacular ring contains. One sometimes can see beyond these pentacular rings as just being rings, and are embedded with symbols and are oriented in particular directions. Every invocation and every symbol, is determined by the number of concentric circles within the ring, 3, 5, 7 or 9, which gives it its particular characteristic.

There are also pentacular rings specific to every convent. For example, in the oval shape circle there is a snake biting its tail. In this image, one can see the snake which bites its tail counter-clockwise and another snake in the same symbol which bites its tail clockwise. De-pending on the direction the snake bites its tail will represent different energies, visions, and educational systems. They are contradictory just as North and South. .

Sometimes the manufacturer of the pentacle takes into account the zodiac sign of the beneficiary.

How does one make and use the zodiacal pentacles?

The choice of the metals, the manufacturing of the pentacle, as well as the place on the body where the talisman has to go is inter-connected by the astrological correspondences of the zodiac sign.

There are also talismanic rings, or amulets, that one wears on his/her finger.

When the snake bites its tail in one direction or the other, what creates the difference; is the sign inside that reads IMX-HAA (see the image below), which allows initiates to receive particular.

When the image shows the snake biting its tail, the clock-wise position where the bite is made has a meaning.

The bite can either be made in the clockwise or counter-clockwise position at the 12 o’clock mark, or the 06:30 mark.

Each symbol has its meaning and its educational system. Likewise,

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The world of symbols aNNeaUX PeNTaCULaIReS

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The world of symbolsaNNeaUX PeNTaCULaIReS

each pentacle has its energy, its interdicts, and a specific way it should be worn.

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The world of symbols SYmBoL To eXoRCISe eVIL

SPRITS

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The world of symbols SYmBoL To eXoRCISe eVIL

SPRITS

There is also this kind of symbol where the thumb retains one or two other fingers which allows the exorcism of evil. When you are in a situation and you feel your head vibrating or some

kind of strange negative energy invading you; make that sign and you will feel immediate sensations of well-being and energetic balance.

We live constantly with spirits of several different orders. There are those who have a link with our lineage, our family, or our genealogy, and then those that do not have these type of family ties but who are next to us day and night. They are more present between midnight and 05:00 am.

Whatever the type, there are always the good, the less evil, and the evil spirits whose expression is always in an energetic form. A spirit is a force that produces vibrations which generate energy. The human spirit, or human expression, functions in the same way. Consequently, when two forces are present there is always a result, R! F1-R-F2 According to the force, the result can be positive or negative. The positive result allows for the harmony, welfare and transcendental development of the individual. The negative will result in imbalance, anxiety and regression of the transcendental subject.

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The world of symbols LoBSTeR SYmBoL oF amBIVaLeNCe

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The world of symbols LoBSTeR SYmBoL oF amBIVaLeNCe

The Lobster, is a crustacean that symbolizes ambivalence. Here is a creature which is very fragile, yet has a great deal of symbolic meaning. The Lobster has all of its digestive

tract and primary organs in its head. At the same time, it is an animal that is sought after and eaten by many animals because it is an easy prey. However, the lobster has been able to survive millions of years because it has this ambivalent capability of being an easy prey, but also transforming and protect itself. Therefore, the lobster is truly a school for wise men. When we say, you have your bowels in your head; it is not necessarily an insult, but rather a statement of well-being and a representation of unique control of yourself and others. The Lobster has been beneficial in the manufacturing of useful medicines for memory loss, and improved brain function and intelligence. They are also used to help make talismans that bring good luck.

As a symbol of opposition, conflict, and reflection, the Lobster represents an achieved balance or a latent threat. It is ambivalence and dual personality. The Lobster also symbolizes the dualism on which rests any dialectic, any contradiction, any fight, any movement. It is division and multiplication, but also synthesis. It is also the latent antagonism that becomes obvious.

All the African symbolism rests on a fundamental dualism, considered as the cosmic law for excellence. The Lobster in man can be seen in life and death, the good and evil. Any matter has its positive (diurnal) aspect and its negative (nocturnal) aspect, its left and right, levorotatory and dextrorotatory.

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The world of symbols THe Bee

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The symbolism of the bee is based on its organization, its diligence, its zeal, its knowledge and its mystery. The bee gathers from flowers of different meadows, yet produces

only one type of honey regardless of the variety of flowers it used. The spiritual life of some ethnic groups of the TADO civilization is inspired by the caution of the bee and by its transcendental capacity, which defies the “laws of nature” and Cartesian principles. Its way of being, its methods of communication are spiritual. Just look at the wings of a bees, notice their small size, their delicacy, their fragility. Now look at the body of the bee, its size, its significance, its volume, its weight!

TClearly, by any physical, Cartesian, or mathematical consideration the bee should not be able to fly!

And yet it flies, and flies well.

In the TADO civilization, the bee teaches (wo)man about the forming of social organization.

Certain ethnic groups use it as a TOTEM.

According to history, the totemic bee was revealed to the founding ancestor of this ethnic group by a vision during the observation of a rites of passage. Since then, this insect has established a physical and virtual relationship of «kinship» with the royal leadership, with the duty and obligation to protect and serve the Kingdom. The bee plays many important roles and intervenes in several sectors of society. It protects guides, defends, and helps in the regulation of conflicts and acquisition of power.

As a Totem it can be a caretaker or power holder belonging to an individual. The Totem has no hereditary or genealogical character, and doesn’t represents a particular faith, a morality or a primitive shape of a religion. Its relation with the individual or the social group is based on some interdicts, or taboos.

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The world of symbolsTHe Bee

The Totem can be considered here as a symbol that connects one to a community or an extra-human, transcendental power.

By way of reviewing initiation notes, we can establish one’s identity through the relationship between the initiated and their totem.

The prestigious METO AHOUSSAN, first King of TADO to AGBANNAKIN, had his hive and swarm of bee which he used for the following purposes:

• To make legal decision • To make decisions in times of war.

To serve justice, by adjudicating a thief or a criminal. The priest guard of the cult of the bees tells the bees to destroy the guilty party if repair is not made for the damage that he caused. He will say for example: “If the thief of the ox does not restore the animal to his/her owner in seven days, put - in nude «.

Effectively if the ox is not restored at the end of the deadline, the thief is invaded by a swarm of bees, which imposes deadly stings on the thief.

As for war, history teaches us that the kingdom of AGBANNAKIN (TADO civilization) has never known defeat. The army of the KING consists of, among others, a swarms of bees. These bees, when released reek havoc on the enemy army until capitulation. In more recent history, we know that KING BÉHANZIN, who is of TADO descent, had inflicted a crushing defeat on the French army in the battle of ABEOKOUTA by using bees. Regrettably his young brother, AGOLIAGBO betrayed him by giving the secret to the French. Instead of letting the French army decimate his warriors he surrendered and was deported, the rest of the story goes without saying. Nevertheless, the bees played an impressive and terrifying role in the war.

To return to the symbolism of the bee, it is symbolically represented

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by lightning, its symbolic origin is the sun, and its honey represents divine essence. The symbolism of the bee can be found almost anywhere outside of the TADO civilization. A good example can be found in how Catholics will not sing mass without having the wax candle present. The Hebrew have established a relation between the bee and the verb “to be”. It is the solar symbolism of order and wisdom. The bee is also the symbol of the resurrection. During the 3 months of winter, no one sees the bee. It disappears and does not leave its hive. After the death of Christ, he was out of sight for THREE DAYS with his body in the grave. However, after those three days Christ rose again. There may be a resemblance!

By its honey and its sting, the bee is considered as an emblem of Christ. On one hand, they represent sweetness and mercy; while on the other hand, they represents a justice that purges all sins. The therapeutic virtues of the honey are known. The wise men are inspired by the ritual of the Bee, and use it for their spiritual elevation. Indeed the body of the bee is the symbolic image of the spiritual Man. Its lower body, which contains the sting, is made of flesh. This very fine intermediate which maintains the equilibrium between both of these characteristics, symbolizes the perfect balance between the body and the soul, the physical and the subtle, between the earth and the sky, the visible and the invisible.

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The world of symbols THe CRoCoDILe

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The world of symbols THe CRoCoDILe

In TADO mythology (from the Gulf of Benin) the crocodile is the originator of the drum, the song, and transportation. It plays a role in the rhythm and the harmony of the world.

Naturally the crocodile lives in the water and has a contradictory relationship between water and earth. It reigns over rivers, lakes and ponds, is the cadre of the Princes of AGBANAKIN and the royal fleet of the TADO civilization. During the colonial wars against the French armed forces, the warriors and Prince WLA of the TADO civilization used crocodiles and hippopotamuses in their tactical retreat. In fact, this royal fleet of AGBANAKIN transported them all until GANVIE, where they built a village.

This village was built far from human sight. Even the French invaders with their Binoculars, bought into the illusion and thought that they had defeated the people and were now the masters and owners of the TADO Civilization. This illusion lasted for only a short time, because the u n p r e d i c t a b l e return of the WLA warriors imposed a bloody defeat on the French army close to the end of the XIX th century.

The lakeside village of GANVIE is a known and appreciated and tourist destination. This historical account is still told till this day by tour guides. In 2008, Dr Erick V. In. GBODOSSOU organized a «Return to the sources» conference of traditional leaders in Benin.

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The world of symbolsLe CRoCoDILe

Several Buses and boats were used to help transport hundreds of important officials and spiritual advisors, of cult leaders and princes from GANVIE back to the AGBANAKIN they left a century ago. January 9th, 2008 was the historical day of the encounter between princes of the same blood. The festivities also served as the occasion to invite the descendants of the princes from GLIDJI (Togo) and ABEOKOUTA (Nigeria) that had to move far away for historical reasons

If it is true that these modern means of transportation allowed everyone to converge towards AGBANAKIN, the wise men and dignitaries reassure that the possibilities of using crocodiles and hippopotamuses as transportation are still real, and immortal. King of the earth and the waters, the crocodile continues to be used in funeral rites. It is the symbol of darkness or death, and has an important connection with the kingdom of the dead « Fê-Tomin « that facilitates the sharing, communion and communication with the ancestors. The initiated would say this incantation in order to enter into the intimacy of this communion with the crocodile. «ADJAGBA KOLIKO (ritual name of the crocodile) ABA NTO LE TOHTO HO HO SSAN (the mat is by the river since) … … TOFOUTOU MY TRO-DO …. « (The non transplant water lily). These incantations are used to call the crocodile while sitting on a mat a the side of a river. The divinity, that embodies the crocodile appears like a «big jaguar « which can evoke fear in an enemy and cause theme to retreat. As such, it is often associated with the symbolic values of water lilies. As the water lily, it is the symbol of abundance. The powder of the dried water lily mixed with corn seed, favors good harvest. The root of the water lily intervenes in the treatment of female infertility.

The ritual Baths of protection and purification use among others, the water lilies in waters where there are crocodiles. The crocodile is also a guardian that stays alert and keeps an eye on the borders gates of the kingdom of AGBANAKIN. It also lives in a temple called «TOBOSSI-HOUE» for the protection of the Kingdom of AGBANAKIN. TOBOSSI-

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The world of symbols Le CRoCoDILe

hoe temple of the crocodile is assisted by the «DEN’ SOU-HOE» which is a temple of snakes. If necessary, the crocodile will be assisted by the snake to protect the kingdom and to keep the enemy away. The crocodile can also play the role of a « bodyguard» and to accompany the small boats of the priests and the priestesses GUINVODOU who use the waterway to go to the annual ceremonies of GLIDJI, which are attended by the great masters in the sacred forest to look for the STONE OF THE YEAR.

The color and the shape of this stone help to have exact information on the various aspects of life and prediction for the next 12 months. In the songs of the Guinvodoussi the crocodile is called the «beauty of the waters» and the god of fertility.

The lifestyle of the crocodile confers a symbol of divinity; and a sacred character.

• It has no tongue; as a matter of fact, the divine wisdom does not need a tongue or words to show itself. Does it detain the dry word? The original word?

• It is the only animal living in waters, that has a third transparent eyelid that allows them to see underwater and night vision gives them the ability to see in darkness. While it watched it remains unnoticed, as God sees unnoticed. Without being a God, it has this privilege.

• Crocodiles lay sixty (60) eggs and then wait 60 days for them to hatch. They also live on average 60 years. It is necessary to mention that the number 60 was fundamental to the development of astronomy and was the basis of the calculations of the original astronomers.

• In this song, the crocodile is described as a school of ambivalence.

« ETE WOUE DJO BO LOSSOU-LE MAN NON NOU TO HOMINSI… » Why does the crocodile which lives in the water not drink the water? «Why does the crocodile have a more ancient life than

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The world of symbolsTHe CRoCoDILe

the dragon? Its position as intermediary between earth and water makes the crocodile a symbol of profound contradiction. It stirs in the mud, and then in its place luxuriant vegetation grows. As such, it symbolizes abundance and fertility. It also devours and destroys, and therefore symbolizes wickedness and cruelty. Hence, it is the mystery of life and death; the great initiator symbolic of occult knowledge.

There is also a crocodile of the sea is symbolic of wealth and abundance. Some temples call it “HOUMIN-NOU AYAVEMIN”, “The treasure of the sea spare me of poverty”. Certain initiated people periodically dedicate some appropriate rites and rituals to it. Powerful invocations are sent to:

« AHLO GADA-GUIDI-GADA VLOU-VLOU KAN HOUE KO HASSA HASSA KAN HOUE KO etc.»

to seek its benevolent protection, and its assistance for abundance and ease.

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THE SnAKE

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The world of symbolsTHe SNaKe

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We have spoken about the DAN symbol, the star with eight (8) branches of the Vodoo DAN «SNAKE» spirit. Now we would like to speak about the symbolic meaning of the

snake in the TADO civilization.

The snake distinguishes itself from all the animal species. If the man is the last creature, the snake a cold creature, without legs, without hairs, without feathers, it must be present at the beginning of the process of animal creation. According to the same thought, the man and Snake are opposed, complementary and rivals; however, there is some snake in every man.

The snake is a vertebrate which embodies the dark psyche, that is rare, incomprehensible and a mystery to man. The snake is common and simple, while at the same time it is terrifying and scandalous. In the creation of human life, the snake played an essential role in the libido and the forbidden fruit. The snake is a living abstraction in the flesh, which has neither a beginning nor end. It is believed that it exists in the infinite and material, the present and beyond.

The symbolism of the snake is connected to the idea of life. In Arabic, the snake is « EL-HAYYAH; the life is «EL-HAYAT» and the vivifying « EL-HAY « are the principles of life. Thus, it appears as a brief embodiment of a big invisible master snake representing the principle of vitality. He precedes religion and is the messenger of God.

In traditional beliefs of some ethnic groups, the snake is a messenger of God that punishes certain behaviors, brings a fact, or a mission. The Wolof in Senegal would say to somebody « its JAAN WACC-NA « « Your snake came down» meaning» Your mission is achieved in front of God». The snake encircles and embraces the world. When it bites its tail, the circumference symbolizes the fundamental realities of the cycle of life of divine creatures. It is sexual intercourse with itself, a permanent auto-fertilization, shown in its tail being pushed in its mouth. It is the perpetual transmutation of death in to life. It injects its poison

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The world of symbols THe SNaKe

into its own body to embody a symbolic death from which life emerges. It is the death, which comes out of life and the life, which comes out of death. The snake which bites its tail, is reminiscent of the image of the circle or the egg, in that it embodies the dynamics of infinite life. The circle turns on itself while appearing motionless as the earth rotates on its axis while it appears seemingly motionless. As the universal driving force, it is not only a developer of life, but also creates and maintains life in time and space. Everything comes to it and returns to it.

The snake is also found in the divinities of Fire, Air, Water and Earth and benefits from the ceremonies and specific rituals carried out by various followers or initiated people. Temples are built for it. The Temple of the snake, DAN, is the divinity of the clouds and fertilizing rains.

AHIDO-WEDO or snake RAINBOW is a big divinity of the TADO civilization in the Gulf of Benin, which is also called DAN-BALLAH by the Vodoo Haitian priests, meaning the spirit that presides over the springs and rivers; the force responsible for the movement of the water. The stone of lightning is dedicated to it. It is the huge snake, the rainbow that connects the earth and the sky, the physical appearance in the subtle, the visible with the invisible.

DE-N’SOU - DAN HLOSSOU-KPOH-DAN HOE etc. are some names of temples built for the glorification of the uniqueness of the snake. Two in one, that which is divided into two elements to allow human order in this world of chaos, 4-1, to die in order to be reborn. It becomes the sun, and then dies in the West at 6 pm to be born again in the East at 6 am. Two in one, ambivalent and dialectical, it is the protector of the twins « AZIN OF KA VI VE» «An egg with two children».

At the Yorubas-Gulf of Benin «DAN is OSHUMARE or the Rainbow which connects the top and the bottom of the world and appears only after the rain. It is the big original snake which is the Alpha and the Omega of any appearance. The feces of the snake AYIDO-HOUEDO contains very popular original pearl worn by the high dignitaries of

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Vodoo. Some of these pearls are spat by the snake HOUEDO and can be found in the sea or in the ground. As pearls of the sea, we can quote: Mami-Dabé, PAN’ZI, HOUME-GBO, OMAN-KOUM, BE-HONZO, ACAFOU. These pearls are used and worn by initiated priests of Vodoo who have a link with the sea and the waters. According to the type of pearl worn, we can know the level of initiation of the person wearing it.

We also find pearls in termites’ nests or in holes in the middle of forests. The wearer of these pearls, called BEJE, help to communicate with the spirits of the forest so that they may communicate with AGUE GBETO- GBENON.

• There are sacred pearls such as HOUENION, ABLOH • There are totemic pearls: AGBAMAN which symbolize the

power of the lion and the ingenuity of the bee. • HOUGBO is the pearl of the big introduced hunter. • ADJAN-GBAN, ELO, KAYELO, are pearls that symbolize

the crocodile. There are associated pearls, such as the pearl PEGUE-SOU that is associated with the pearl GLO-BO the bearer of supreme protection. The pearl EJIGNIN-GBAN associated with XEGBO allows for the harnessing of an ancestral power.

• By pearls, we can know the ethnic group of a dignitary, such as the LANKPAN of the GUIN-VODOU for example. The pearls of equity such as the FOULANE and the LOSSO are worn to symbolize the equality between all people.

All these numerous and varied pearls come from vomit or feces of snakes. These pearls worn originally by carriers of power have nothing in common with “fake pearls», which are frequently being sold in jewelry shops. The African does not confuse the artificial image with its original and genuine image.

The original Pearls issued by snakes occurred during rites, rituals, initiations and other activities during the lifetime of an individual. Such as the rites and the rituals of birth, baptism, circumcision, marriage,

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The world of symbols THe SNaKe

puberty, menopause, and funerals. They also play a role in the treatment of infertility, the health of animals, preventive and curative medicine, love, fortune, and sexuality. The search for these sacred pearls is the work of the initiated. The symbolism of the snake in African thought is so rich and ancient, that their sources are lost in the mists of time.

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L’EAU

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The world of symbols WaTeR

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The world of symbols WaTeR

December 22, 1992, The United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution A/RES/47/193 which declared March 22 of every year World Water Day, starting in 1993. To establish and promote a culture of water conservation, the General Secretary of UN proposes to launch a “Blue Revolution”. If the current wasting continues, people will suffer a water shortage by 2020 years. This is why; the international decade of action, 2005/2015, carried the slogan “Water for Life”. This slogan is perceived differently, whether one is in North or in the South.

In the North, when one talks about water one sees activities, games, sports, swimming pools, waterfalls. A child in the North cannot imagine opening a water faucet and the water doesn’t come pouring out. It is as if water is an inexhaustible source, which always must be there to serve man’s needs and leisure activities.

In the South, on the other hand, water is life and everyone prays for a good rainy season. The death rate caused by diarrhea and the lack of safe drinking water remains alarming in our developing countries. Only privileged citizens have safe drinking water in their premises; but even for them, running water is not always guaranteed when they open the faucet. In Africa, according to the many rituals, myths, customs and religions, the significance of water can be reduced to three dominant themes:

• Water is the source of life, • Water is a means of purification, and • Water is the center of regeneration. • These three topics constitute the widest most coherent variety

of creative combinations.

Water’s undifferentiated masses, represent the infiniteness of possibilities. They also represent in a virtual and abstract sense, the semen of seeds. It symbolizes the promise of development, but also the threat of resorption, destruction, or catastrophes. To immerse oneself in water and to come out only dying a symbolic death; it is to

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The world of symbolsL’eaU

turn back to the source to tap into its immense reservoir of potential in order to draw new strength. It is a momentary phase of regression and disintegration in order to condition a progressive phase of rehabilitation and rejuvenation.

In Africa, one can find the symbolism of water in the tests for initiatory rites of passage, such as baptisms and certain bath rituals. It is a symbol that provides strength, fertility, protection and purification in both the spiritual and physical body.

In Benin, the Peda ethnic group defines water as “Materia Prima”. Meaning that water u

is the primal matter from which all life emerged . The original waters did not have banks. The world was born from within the waters. Likewise, God’s breath, God’s spirit, and the genesis of creation, was birthed through water. As for the Aja ethnic group of Benin, water is “Esi”. That means that which is indivisible. Water is classified into two groups, up-stream waters that are characterized by abstract possibilities and down-stream waters that correspond to the formal possibilities. The dualities represented in certain rituals are in the form of a double spiral, just as DNA, the agent of hereditary features, is itself in the form of a spiral. Any life, any movement is of spiral type.

Water, like all the symbols, can be considered to fall under two categories that are rigorously opposite but by no means irreducible. This ambivalence is found at all levels. Water is the source of life and the source of death, the creator and destroyer. This is why, by prayers, one evokes God to bring to his servants, blessed water. In Africa and certainly elsewhere, hospitality requires that fresh water be offered to the visitor. So that his feet may be washed in order to ensure peace for his body. Yahweh himself is compared to a spring rain, and dew of the night, which gives to the flowers, trees, and seeds their growth.

The thirsty Sahel awaits the manifestation of God with its dry earth

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The world of symbols L’eaU

and wishes to be able to be watered by his rains. God gives water to the Earth, but there exists more mysterious water. This one concerns the wisdom which preceded the formation of water. In the heart of the wise, resides the pristine water. It is similar to a well, a source that taps into the power of the waters stream. As for the ordinary Man with no wisdom, his heart is comparable to a broken vase, which lets knowledge escape. For certain beliefs, the waters of wisdom wash the heart. Water, symbolizes blessings, it also becomes the symbol of the spirit and the spiritual life. Jesus said to the women of Samaria: “Whoever will drink water that I shall give him, will quench his/her thirst forever”.

Water that I shall give him will become in him/her, a source of water spouting out eternal life”. With the Father being the source, the son being the river, it is said that we are drinking the Spirit. Water has here, a sense of eternity, whoever drinks from this flowing water, takes part in the Eternal Life. The flowing water is represented in the form of a cosmogonic symbol; it purifies cures and rejuvenates.

The well holds stagnant water, but the man’s water is water in motion; just as the well has depth and the river has mobility. Water appears right from the start, as a perfect, fertile and simple substance, that is completely transparent. It is, in and of itself, a purifying virtue, and therefore is regarded as sacred. This is why it is so commonly used in ritual or religious purification ceremonies. By this virtue, it erases any violation and any stain.

In African traditions, when the layman undergoes his initiation, he is subjected to the test of water. Beyond all the aspects referred to above, this test of water allows the layman, to reach another state of being a Born again Man. This rejection of the Old Man, or rather, this moment of the death of ones history is comparable to a flood.

The flood symbolizes a disappearance or obliteration; one thing vanishes and another emerges. The immersion is regenerating; it operates as rebirth in the sense where it is at the same time, death and

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The world of symbolsL’eaU

life. Water erases history, because, it restores the being in a new state. It is not by coincidence that any place of pilgrimage has its water point, its fountain. In Africa, all the old villages and temples, just as the sacred forests, have a source of holy water. They have a sacred well.

In Senegal, the original founding site of the town of Fatick is related to the mysterious discovery of a well by the animals. There was a shepherd who arrived at a precise place and spotted a bull who always would leave its herd. The bull would leave and move towards the bank of the sea where it would remain for a long time before returning to join it’s herd. The shepherd, intrigued by the behavior of the bull, decided one day to follow it to see why it leave the herd.

When it arrived at the bank of the sea, the shepherd noticed that the animal plunged its head in a hole then, pushed back a stone to cover it before leaving. When the shepherd moved the stone, he discovered very soft and purifying water, a sacred source where a large black snake resided. The first inhabitants settled around this sacred well and began to construct city of Fatick, which is the regional capital of the Sine people.

Another story that supports the existence of sacred wells in the creation of old villages is the story of Niakhar. Not far from the town of Fatick, the town of Niakhar shelters a well that has its counterpart in Baol, an area located in the groundnut basin of Senegal. These two wells, which are separated by several kilometers, are connected by a mysterious flow of water and each housed a black snake. In Niakhar, when the bucket, which is used to pull water, falls into the well, it can be recovered in the well located at Baol.

Conversely, when an inhabitant loses an object in the well of Baol, it can be found in Niakhar. The sacred notion of water is a daily reality in Africa that is acknowledged b the wise during the time of the celebration rituals. Rainwater and seawater symbolize duality, the top and bottom. The first is pure, and the other is salted. That

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The world of symbols L’eaU

which symbolizes pure life is creative and purifying, while that which symbolizes the bitter produces a curse. As for the healing virtues of water, they are well known by all medical disciplines.

For reasons of mere individual or collective interests, following the prevalence of an economy with overflowing profit, water becomes a dump of multiple pollutions: pharmaceutical, nuclear, oil, marine commercial, chemical, etc. Before the destroying man’s instinct, Nature, in its tolerance, sometimes gives some warnings. The floods, the tsunamis and other catastrophes, are early warning indicators that nature gives to Man. An attentive observation helps to note that these warnings save the animals and even the forests.

Unfortunately, up to now, Man remains deaf to these alarms, by his overwhelming obsession with possessions. The rivers can be beneficial currents that give shelter to monsters. Agitated water represents evil and disorder. In 2010, one the third of the land in Benin was flooded by water. The wise and great spiritual Masters secretly met in their sacred forests and their temples, to make prayers and sacrifices. Within 24 hours, the waters returned to its initial site. It is obvious that this phenomenon, which occurred in Benin, goes against any “scientific” logic. Nevertheless, it is appropriate, to seek an answer to this strange question.

In Senegal, if we would have relied on the mayors of the flooded suburbs of Dakar, cities like St Louis, Touba, what could these officials do to remove all of this water? Let us pray for the suburbs, the cities flooded by the rainy season in the Sahel where water is an imperative need. May God the Almighty, give some harmony among the populations that are victims of disaster, because water has entered their souls. Within those who live, lies the source of the water needed to live, die and be born again. Drink the water of the fountain.

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The world of symbols FIRe

The terrestrial Fire called common

fire

The intermediate

Fire symbolized by

lightning

The Celestial Fire represented by the

Sun

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The world of symbolsFIRe

Fire is the first essential element deriving from the essential spirit N°1 of the PRIMAL spirit himself coming from the Divine breath.

The symbolic aspects of fire and its expression concern three dimensions:

• The terrestrial Fire called common fire • The intermediate Fire symbolized by lightning • The Celestial Fire represented by the Sun

Other initiated people speak about the consideration of two other fires:

• The fire of penetration or absorption • The fire of destruction

The Fire has a relationship with the South, the color red and the heart. ‘It, therefore, symbolizes passion (Love or Anger), of either instinctive or=intuitive knowledge, the purifying and generating fire.

The catholic liturgy of the new fire is celebrated on the night of Easter. The legend teaches us that the Christ re-verifies the body, by transforming it as one would reform metal in a fiery hearth.

In the African traditions, therapeutic rites consist of making patients walk in the fire for several meters without burning. During the crossing every patient is engulfed by profound joy and liberation. It is in fact the highlight of the ceremony. After the crossing, the therapist looks at the sole of the foot of each individual. The presence of a blister allows the therapist to diagnose the sick organ and treat it at once; it is the purifying fire, the therapeutic fire that treats the aforementioned organ. Other rites enable one’s internal fire to germinate, concurrently illuminating knowledge and revealing one’s inner resources of supreme knowledge. Sometimes, it is necessary to burn the unrefined exterior with the ritual fire to gain access to one’s internal fire or state of being.

In the initiatory traditions, the vapor, which fire and water produces, is restored as water once cooled. The terrestrial fire is expressed when

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The world of symbols FIRe

rainwater falls. The rain is of celestial origin with terrestrial fate, while the fire is of terrestrial origin with celestial fate.

In several rites, we observe the purifying fire, the fire of communion, communication and prayer. In our villages, the wise men gather the children around the fire at night during a full moon. It is recommended that every child bring a bird and a pocketknife. After stories and folktales were told by the wise elder or the grandfather, the boys are to stand and circle the fire four (4) times in the dextrorotary direction: clockwise. Then the girls are to rise and circle the fire three (3) times in the levorotary direction: that is counter-clockwise. After that, every child will have to open the thorax of the bird, remove the heart still beating and put it in the fire.

Any prayer expressed by the child is transported by the smoke coming from the heart of the young bird towards the transcendence. A get-together around the fire is scheduled for the next new moon to assess and to receive responses to the prayer. Here, the fire also represents the deep force allowing the union of genders moving in opposite directions the sublimation of terrestrial substance (beating heart) to celestial substance (spirit of the bird) and the consequential ascent of the prayer through the release of terrestrial life force energy. So, this symbol takes shape in such cremations.

The fire is also the motivation that leads to periodic regeneration, the revitalization of the body and mind, as muscular strength evolves and the mind becomes attuned to greater wisdom. Here, it is a question of accepting the fire as a messenger, that transmits from the land of the living to a celestial destination. The break of the impure towards the pure, the imperfect towards the perfect, the world of the sinners towards Fê-Tomin: World of the peace (Fê = Peace, Tomin=World). The symbolism of fire marks the most important stage of the intellectualization of the cosmos and transcends man’s animal condition more and more.

The fire represents the alive and moving God, the image of God, represented as least imperfect. It is the original element N°1 deriving

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The world of symbolsFIRe

from the Original Spirit coming from God’s breath.

As the sun, representing celestial fire, by its radiating beams serves to fertilize, purify and illuminate, it presents also the negative aspect. The fire can express ambivalence, in punishment and war; it darkens and suppresses its flame, burning and devouring beneath the surface. .

The flame rising towards the sky represents the ascension towards spirituality. The intellectual under his evolutionary shape is a servant of the spirit. The fire burns and consumes, as a symbol of purification and regeneration. The symbolism of the fire is fertile, ambivalent and is vertically directed, either from earth (terrestrial) heavenward (celestial) or from the heavens down, arriving on earth or in some intermediate space. The fire leads us towards the celestial world and allows each and everyone an opportunity to become a celestial being, evolving and transcending beyond the constraints of time and of space!

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The world of symbols CoNCLUSIoN

From time immemorial, knowledge and teachings has been organized into a hierarchy, and dispensed by leaders having varied missions. There is knowledge that is acquired horizontally, from books, and which is taught to the ordinary people. This antique, elementary knowledge is comparable to what is taught in the 21st century’s universities. There is other knowledge that can be considered intermediate knowledge, which i have taught in the form of a series of initiations, granted the recipient having a particular predisposition. Intermediate knowledge has been imparted in sacred or secret places.

Finally, there is the supreme, vertical, transcendental knowledge, which is detained by the old wise scholars. This supreme knowledge is acquired through a divine, spiritual source, by also known as the school of nature. It is also the object of acquisition in sacred temples where certain followers get together into what are called secret societies. This knowledge is what was responsible for some of the miracles that occurred before the birth of Jesus Christ. They continues to remain a mystery because no one can seem to integrate them into a contemporary logic.

The pyramids of Egypt are striking examples. We can quote from the record of the antique temples, the caves conceived for religious and spiritual practices. History confirms that the temple of King Solomon was conceived, built and laid out according to knowledge and know-how based on symbols, rites, and spiritual practices. This book speaks to the consciousness of the great men in this world, whether they are political, spiritual, religious guides, or have the material power to re-order the priorities of our planet and the life surviving on it.

The author of this work, urges you to give the hope to the future generations, to rethink the educational systems and to revise their contents.

The Cartesian system has really delayed the human development and while it allows for space exploration and deep-sea diving, it cannot and does not resolve the human situation. How is it that a Tsunami took hundreds of human lives, but the animals, which are not connected to the Cartesian system, all managed to escape the disaster. The symbolic knowledge

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The world of symbolsCoNCLUSIoN

includes all forms of supreme knowledge and allows us to not only make scuba diving possible but also to commune and to communicate with the spirits of the sea and to facilitate in depth research in domains which allow initiated people to tell their. The World of Symbols is just a taste of the science of tomorrow, which will help to restore hope in human civilization and help construct a viable and livable world.

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The world of symbols BIBLIogRaPHY

• Chevalier Jean et Alain Gheerbnat, Dictionnaire des symboles, Ed. 28-51, N° 375, St Etienne, France, 1976

• Gbodossou Erick, Le Concept Africain de Dieu à l’Homme, Introduction à la Spiritualité Africaine, Ed. METRAF, 2004

• Gbodossou Erick, Virginia Floyd, Le Symbolisme du Sacrifice dans la Communion et la Communication avec la Transcen-dance, Ed. METRAF, 2004

• Gbodossou Erick, Alphabet de la Médecine Traditionnelle, Tome I et Tome II, Ed. METRAF, Dakar, 1984/1985

• Gbodossou Erick, Une science dans l’Ombre : L’Art de guérir en Afrique, documentaire, Télévision Suisse Romane, 1975

• Gbodossou Erick, Le Cycle de la Vie, Emission, Le Grand

Cercle, 3ATELESUD

Dr Erick V.A. GBODOSSOU, chercheur de renom, est fondateur de l’Organisation - Promotion des Médecines Traditionnelles (PROMETRA International) et du Centre Expérimental des Médecines Traditionnelles (CEMETRA) de Fatick du Sénégal. Il est expert, consultant et personne ressource auprès de plusieurs organisations et institutions Internationales.

Initié Vodu, le Dr Gbodossou travaille depuis plusieurs décennies à réhabiliter le Xoy (séance de voyance publique), le Ndëpp (ethno psychiatrie de groupe) et plusieurs autres sciences méconnues, méprisées qui peuvent contribuer au développement. Dans ce monde en pleine mutation, ce monde à la croisée des chemins, le système cartésien a montré ses limites. Si ce système permet de faire des plongés sous-marines, des voyages dans l’espace, ses bases ne lui permettent pas de prédire une pluie au-delà de 96 heures, ne lui permettent pas de mesurer l’intuition, l’émotion, l’amour… Ce système qui est malheureusement le seul accepté par le conventionnel ne connaît même pas la vie et l’énergie qui est vie.

L’une des préoccupations du Dr Gbodossou est de faire des recherches pointues sur les moyens que nous avons qui permettent de communier et de communiquer avec la transcendance. Ces moyens sont au nombre de trois :

la parole : puissance du verbeLe rythme : la danse, puissance du mouvementLe symbole : puissance de l’image.

Dans le présent ouvrage, l’auteur; Dr Gbodossou lève un coin du voile sur le symbole et le symbolisme qui gère nos vies dans lesquelles nous vivons mais aussi qui vivent en nous.

Puissent ces quelques lignes, permettre au lecteur de rêver le rêve qui le conduirait dans le monde des symboles, et l’aider dans sa quête pour retrouver les raisons de sa vie terrestre et appréhender avec confiance son rôle horizontal qui lui ouvrirait la porte de la verticalité.

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