Phoenix Master Abstract for Cross Reference   KEYWORDS: Phoenix legend, mythical bird, Garuda, Vishnu, Feng, Simorgh, Benu, Bennu, Benben, Heron, Ibis, Egypt, Temple of the Sun, Thoth, Hermes, Khepera, Khepri, Pyramidion, Book of the Dead, Book Immortal, Book of Coming Forth By Day, Age of Gold, Age of Silver, Age of Brass, Age of Iron, Hopi Four Worlds, soul, reincarnation, immortality, transcendence, pole shift, axis shift, end times, prophecy, psychic predictions, millennialism, Edgar Cayce, earth changes, Hall Of Records SUMMARY: The legend of the Phoenix is one of the oldest legends on earth. This mystical Egyptian bird, similar to the ibis or heron, was conceived in the egypto-hermetic metaphysical system to have three levels of meaning: 1.  The Phoenix is the self-transcendent aspect of the soul or being of GOD, hence the Phoenix is the Master of Cosmic Cycles. As the master of the Cosmic Cycles, the Phoenix establishes the dimensions of being, defining the limits and the spaces for all specific cycles and things. 2.  The aspect of the individual soul which creates individual (personal) transcendence of finite existence. 3.  The cycle of a planetary event – the concept of an age dying and renewing; hence, when the Phoenix flies, the earth is transformed into a "new heaven and a new earth". The Phoenix plays a central role in the creation myths of the ancient Egyptians and in their beliefs and rituals related to the transmigration of the soul. LEGEND SOURCES: The legend of the Phoenix appears in the European languages throughout the past 2500 years, appearing initially in Greek. Herodotus, in his "Histories" describes a phoenix which Herodotus claimed was described to him by Egyptians. Herodotus' story of the Phoenix has been extensively used in literature and religion as a symbol of immortality or of transformation. Through the ages, occult societies, poets, and writers have added various elements to the myth, often distorting the myth considerably. Unfortunately Herodotus' description was entirely bogus and bears almost no relationship at all to the Phoenix of the Egyptians as portrayed in their papyrus, temple walls, and in their stories of the Book of Immortality (ignorantly named the "Book of the Dead") which many now call the "Book of Coming Forth By Day"). PHOENIX AS AN EGYPTIAN SYMBOL: The Ibis or the Blue Heron; with a long tuft (described as red by many sources but typically painted in black by ancient Egyptian artists) of two plumes descending off the back of its head; also typically shown with a small ruffle of feathers descending from its breast; the paramount anthropomorphized symbol of the Phoenix is Thoth, the Egyptian god with the body of a man and the head of an ibis, typically shown wearing a crown containing at least two feather-like plumes and a feathery breast. Thoth's Prophecy of Egypt, which has survived through the Hermetic literature of the Hellenics, is most likely a prophecy of the return of the Phoenix, i.e., another round of flight, nesting, and rebirth which results in the destruction and renewal of the earth; this prophecy is most likely the original source of a portion of the millennial prophecies of the Hebrews and the Christians. There are many strong parallels especially with the prophecies of Y'shua (Latin: Jesus) of Nazarus, who is said by some to have been initiated into the mysteries in Egypt and India during his so-called "missing years". The age of Thoth's Prophecy is unknown but most likely it was translated from Egyptian stories during the Hellenic period well before the supremacy of Rome was established, possibly within the era of 200-500 B.C. KEY ASPECTS IN EGYPTIAN THOUGHT: Self generated, a priori to the generation of the Enneads; Transformation at the end of a complete (Khepera) cycle; Khepera: the annual cycle or a lifetime cycle of incarnation; Phoenix: transcendence of the cycles of solar time and the lifecycle of incarnation; transcendence of normal (Khepera) cycles into a new being – i.e., a new age or a new being as an immortal; The Phoenix is the soul of Khepera, the soul of Ra (the sun), the soul of all the gods, including Geb, the earth. As soul it possesses the power of self-generated transcendence, the power of GOD (Atum, Amon, or Ra or Re) in creating and recreating the universe; Book of Immortality: It can be argued that much of the funerary practice of the ancient Egyptians, as portrayed in the Book of Immortality, was designed to enable the dead to become AS or LIKE the Phoenix, providing the means for the soul to recreate it's earthly identity as an immortal eligible for living in the Duat, the home of the immortals and gods in the Heavens. PARALLELS: The Egyptians used the Phoenix symbol to convey the idea of a large cycle of time, ages in which the heavens and the earth were different, i.e., the cardinal points of the compass were in a different orientation to the geography of the earth. Each age could be construed as an act of creation by the Phoenix and was taken as such by the ancient Egyptians, who claimed, to many Hellenic scholars, possession and knowledge of historical records which described events as long as 36,000 years ago, including a periodic return or appearance of the Phoenix, each of which was attendant with massive destruction. Unfortunately no original source material of such records is known to have survived.  A few scattered references exist among the classical Hellenic and Latin scholars, and a few badly damaged and incomplete compilations have survived, the most useful and well known of which is Manetho's "King's List". The Egyptian Phoenix has parallels in Mesopotamia, Persia, India, China, and the Sun God traditions of the Mayan, Aztec, and related peoples in Central America. These parallels demonstrate probability of common origin of their respective versions of this pervasive cultural myth. The closest parallels are the Simorgh (Persian) and the Garuda (Hindu). Both are birds and both birds play central roles in the ending/creating of an age or cycle. The Garuda is shown as bird which serves as the conveyance, the power of flight, of Vishnu as he transverses the world on his mission as a world savior to rescue humans from a corrupted age. The Feng, a mythical bird of the Chinese – incomplete (hard to find original translation which describes the myth in detail) The Mayan or Aztec Sun God is probably a degenerated version of the Phoenix concept. The Sun is conceived as a ruler of an age, who will eventually end the world and recreate it. The Mayans, Aztecs, and other peoples conceived the idea of appeasing the Sun God by blood sacrifice, hoping that in feeding him with human sacrifices, the Sun God would hold off his destruction of the world. Parallel to "The Four Worlds": Native American shamans and mystics are now associating their millennial "end time" of the Hopi's "Fourth World" with a return of the "Phoenix". Parallel to "The Four Ages" of the Hellenics and the Hindus: These myth structures both describe an Age of Gold, an Age of Silver, an Age of Brass, and an Age of Iron (the current age); each prior age ends in a transformation of the world. Parallel to Utnapishtim's Flood Story in the ancient Sumerian "Epic of Gilgamish":  this story, which is widely regarded as the source of the Hebrew Story of Noah, almost certainly describes the exact sequence and phenomenon of a major shift in location of the poles (spin axis) of the earth resulting from an avalanche of the crust. Parallel to thousands of flood stories on all continents and among all literate ancient cultures and most ethnic oral traditions of native peoples:  the common elements of the stories include an implied [judgement, anger, conflict, war] of the gods from which the earth was devastated by massive flooding and all ancient peoples survived by [fleeing, hiding, floating, seeking high ground] for several days to several weeks.  Subsequent to the destruction, a new heaven and a new earth appear.  The Chinese tradition is quite explicit about the actual tilting of the orientation of the stars and the solar zone of the ecliptic. Parallel to Cayce: Shifting of the earth's crust, pole shift, "overflow" of the land; many have occurred since the genetic advent of humans; Cayce described 24,000 to 50,000 year spans of time and he psychically forecast the next cycle of pole shifting to begin in 2000/2001. Such a forecast would require scientific observation of at least three such prior events in order to forecast reliably the next such event. Parallel to Geophysical Theories: Charles Hapgood's theory of cataclysmic shifts in the orientation of the earth's axis, explained by the theory of the sudden displacement or movement of the earth's crust over its liquid core, was evolved partly by the influence of Cayce's statements and partly in an effort to resolve the contradictions of "ice age" theories.   SOURCES: See: The Return of the Phoenix The Legend of the Phoenix LINKS : Under process of being assembled - NOTE - If you aware of additional parallels, links, or other multi-cultural aspects of the Phoenix myth which should be cited here, please forward you suggestions to MWM.