KSigMason
07-26-2009, 05:10 PM
Death, the Great Equalizer, has been by many names: Anubis, Grim Reaper, Charon, etc. Death's very name can causes chaos among or humble the most arrogant men. In most civilizations and mythologies there lies some kind of physical embodiment of Death.
Who is Death? Should he be feared? Many think that this topic isn't appropriate and in many circles it is taboo. For most he is seen as some kind of grim tyrant that cuts the strings of life and steals them away from their loved ones. In essence he is a guide for the departed's soul to their final destination.
Many ancient cultures did not see him as some evil being. In Greek mythology, life and death dealt with several beings. First you had the Fates: Clotho, who spun the web of life; Lachesis, who measured its length; and Atropos, who cut it. Once someone died their soul was ferried to the Underworld by Charon. Anubis was considered the god of the underworld and judge of those have left the world (embalming methods were attributed to this god). Not even the Viking gods could escape the final cut of the Norns (an equivalent to the Greek fates). The Norse believed that the great Dead Warriors of lore and history were taken by the Valkyries to Valhalla presided over by Odin, who was swelled his ranks with these warriors in preparation to Ragnarok. Grimnir, an alias of Odin, is the root of the word "Grim" in the phrase "Grim Reaper".
The Abrahamic religions each have a view of death and what awaits afterward. Whether it be the Four Horseman or an Angel of Death.
From the 15th century to modern times, Death's physical appearance is a skeleton, sometimes clothed in a black cloak armed with a scythe. The scythe is seen as an implement of death in many cultures. This stems mainly from the Christian Biblical belief of death as a "harvester of souls." You also see a scythe used by Cronus and Kali, the Hindu goddess of Death.
I can't help, but bring in the Freemasons into it. In one of the lectures this is an exert:
...that we may be prepared to meet death, not as a grim tyrant, but as a kind messenger sent to translate us from this imperfect to that all-perfect, glorious, and celestial Lodge above, where the Grand Master of the Universe forever presides.
Time makes fools of us all and Death eventually comes to all. Through this view Death cannot be purely evil.
Here are some quotes I've picked up:
End? This is not the end. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.
- Gandalf, LOTR
After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
- Dumbledore, Harry Potter series
There are more dead people than living. And their numbers are increasing. The living are getting rarer.
- Eugene Ionesco
You only live twice. Once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.
- Ian Fleming
A man begins dying at the moment of his birth. Most people live in denial of Death's patient courtship until, late in life and deep in sickness, they become aware of him sitting bedside.
- Dean Koontz
Death hath not only particular stars in heaven, but malevolent places on earth, which single out our infirmities and strike at our weaker parts.
- Sir Thomas Browne
Death is an angel with two faces; to us he turns a face of terror, blighting all things fair; the other burns with glory of the stars, ad love is there.
- T. C. Williams
Death is but a name, a date, a milestone by the stormy road, where you may lay aside your load and bow your face and rest and wait, defying fear, defying fate.
- Joaquin Miller
As old age approaches, man's strength declines. His sun is setting in the West.
- Masonic Lecture
Interesting note: Anubis was the Lord of the Westerners as it is said the gate to the Underworld lies in the West. The people believed this since the Sun closed the day by setting in the West.
Who is Death? Should he be feared? Many think that this topic isn't appropriate and in many circles it is taboo. For most he is seen as some kind of grim tyrant that cuts the strings of life and steals them away from their loved ones. In essence he is a guide for the departed's soul to their final destination.
Many ancient cultures did not see him as some evil being. In Greek mythology, life and death dealt with several beings. First you had the Fates: Clotho, who spun the web of life; Lachesis, who measured its length; and Atropos, who cut it. Once someone died their soul was ferried to the Underworld by Charon. Anubis was considered the god of the underworld and judge of those have left the world (embalming methods were attributed to this god). Not even the Viking gods could escape the final cut of the Norns (an equivalent to the Greek fates). The Norse believed that the great Dead Warriors of lore and history were taken by the Valkyries to Valhalla presided over by Odin, who was swelled his ranks with these warriors in preparation to Ragnarok. Grimnir, an alias of Odin, is the root of the word "Grim" in the phrase "Grim Reaper".
The Abrahamic religions each have a view of death and what awaits afterward. Whether it be the Four Horseman or an Angel of Death.
From the 15th century to modern times, Death's physical appearance is a skeleton, sometimes clothed in a black cloak armed with a scythe. The scythe is seen as an implement of death in many cultures. This stems mainly from the Christian Biblical belief of death as a "harvester of souls." You also see a scythe used by Cronus and Kali, the Hindu goddess of Death.
I can't help, but bring in the Freemasons into it. In one of the lectures this is an exert:
...that we may be prepared to meet death, not as a grim tyrant, but as a kind messenger sent to translate us from this imperfect to that all-perfect, glorious, and celestial Lodge above, where the Grand Master of the Universe forever presides.
Time makes fools of us all and Death eventually comes to all. Through this view Death cannot be purely evil.
Here are some quotes I've picked up:
End? This is not the end. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.
- Gandalf, LOTR
After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.
- Dumbledore, Harry Potter series
There are more dead people than living. And their numbers are increasing. The living are getting rarer.
- Eugene Ionesco
You only live twice. Once when you are born and once when you look death in the face.
- Ian Fleming
A man begins dying at the moment of his birth. Most people live in denial of Death's patient courtship until, late in life and deep in sickness, they become aware of him sitting bedside.
- Dean Koontz
Death hath not only particular stars in heaven, but malevolent places on earth, which single out our infirmities and strike at our weaker parts.
- Sir Thomas Browne
Death is an angel with two faces; to us he turns a face of terror, blighting all things fair; the other burns with glory of the stars, ad love is there.
- T. C. Williams
Death is but a name, a date, a milestone by the stormy road, where you may lay aside your load and bow your face and rest and wait, defying fear, defying fate.
- Joaquin Miller
As old age approaches, man's strength declines. His sun is setting in the West.
- Masonic Lecture
Interesting note: Anubis was the Lord of the Westerners as it is said the gate to the Underworld lies in the West. The people believed this since the Sun closed the day by setting in the West.