Star of David
The Star of David, known in Hebrew as the Shield of David (Hebrew מָגֵן דָּוִד) or Magen David (Biblical Hebrew Māḡēn Dāwīḏ) is a symbol whose shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles. The hexagram has been in use as a symbol of Judaism since the 17th century, with precedents in the 14th to 16th centuries in Central Europe, where the Shield of David was partly used in conjunction with the Seal of Solomon (the hexagram) on Jewish flags. Its use probably derives from medieval (11th to 13th century) Jewish protective amulets (segulot).
In Judaism
The Star of David is used as the symbol of Judaism. It is placed upon synagogues, sacred vessels, and the like, and was adopted as a device by the American Jewish Publication Society in 1873. However, as the online Jewish Encyclopedia states:
The Jewish view of God, which permitted no images of Him, was and still is opposed to the acceptance of any symbols, and neither the Bible nor the Talmud recognizes their existence. It is noteworthy, moreover, that the shield of David is not mentioned in rabbinical literature. The "Magen Dawid," therefore, probably did not originate withinRabbinism, the official and dominant Judaism for more than 2,000 years.[1]
In Theosophy
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky says that the six-pointed double triangle symbolizes the macrocosm:
The double triangle representing symbolically the MACROCOSM, or great universe, contains in itself besides the idea of the duality (as shown in the two colours, and two triangles—the universe of SPIRIT and that of MATTER)—those of the Unity, of the Trinity, of the Pythagorean TETRAKTYS — the perfect Square—and up to the Dodecagon and the Dodecahedron.[2]
Stanza V.3 talks about "the six directions of space". One interpretation given by Mme. Blavatsky relates this to the "double triangle":
By the “Six directions of Space” is here meant the “Double Triangle,” the junction and blending together of pure Spirit and Matter, of the Arupa and the Rupa, of which the Triangles are a Symbol. This double Triangle is a sign of Vishnu, as it is Solomon’s seal, and the Sri-Antara of the Brahmins.[3]
Theosophical Seal
The Two Triangles are also present in the Theosophical Seal.
Notes
- ↑ Magen Dawid ("David's shield") at Jewish Encyclopedia
- ↑ Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Collected Writings vol. III (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1995), 313.
- ↑ Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine vol. I, (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1993), 118.
Further reading
- Magen Dawid ("David's shield") at Jewish Encyclopedia
- Seal of Solomon at Jewish Encyclopedia