The tradition that mankind was anciently hermaphrodite is world-old…
This is a portion of an ongoing series which seeks to chronicle the occult, magickal and mystical alchemy roots of the transgender and postgender movements from secret societies and mystery religion sources. I have chronicled these in the Postgender Androgyny, Hermaphroditism & Beyond section.
Magus Incognito wrote The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians (1918 AD).
The description of Part IV, The Universal Androgyne contains the terms, “The Neuter Becomes Bi-Sexual. The Cosmic Hermaphrodite. The Universal Androgyne. Bi-Sexuality in the Universal Manifestation…Phallicism, the Shadow of the Truth. The Symbol of Universal Bi-Sexuality. The Cross and the Circle. The Phallic Cross. The Swastica.”
Magus Incognito notes:
In the Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians, we find the following Third Aphorism: The Third Aphorism III. The One became Two. The Neuter became Bi-Sexual. Male and Female—the Two in One—evolved from the Neuter. And the work of Generation began.
In this Third Aphorism of Creation the Rosicrucian is directed to apply his attention to the conception of the World Soul—the First Manifestation of the Eternal Parent—as a Bi-sexual Universal Being. This Bi-Sexual. Universal Being, combining within itself the elements and principles of both Masculinity and Femininity, is known in the Rosicrucian Teachings as “The Universal Hermaphrodite,” and “The Universal Androgyne.”
The term “Hermaphrodite ” is defined as: “An individual which has the attributes of both Male and Female.” The term is derived by joining together the two names, viz., Hermes and Aphrodite. The term came into ancient use through the legend of Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who, while bathing, became joined in one body with the nymph Salmacis. The term “Androgyne ” is defined as: “An individual possessing the attributes of both Male and Female; a Hermaphrodite.” The term is derived from the combination of two Greek words, viz., “Andros,” meaning “a man,” and “Gyne,” meaning “a woman”…
In order to understand the symbology of the Universal Androgyne, it is necessary to first become familiar with the two ancient symbols of Sex. In all the ancient philosophies and religions, we find that the “Cross” (+) is the symbol of the Male; and the “Circle” (O) the symbol of the Female
In representing the Bisexual, the Hermaphrodite, the Androgyne, the two symbols, i.e. the Cross and the Circle are combined in one of several ways. The original way was that of placing the Cross within the circumference of the Circle; but later usage preferred the various forms of the so-called “Phallic Cross,” which consists of the Circle, or Oval, sustaining the Cross which depends downward from it. (See illustrations.) Sometimes the Cross is represented as the letter “T”, and the Circle as the letter “O”.
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