Related Terms • Dee's Holy Table • Hexagram • Pentagram • Tanit    Related Resources • Necronomicon • Hermetic Tradition • Alchemy • Historical interest • Hellenismos/Greek Revival • New Age Glossaries  • Symbol Glossary • Alternative Religions Glossary • Glossary of Magick and the Occult

The caduceus is the legendary herald's wand of the Greek God Hermes (Roman, Mercury). This symbol, a winged staff entwined by twin serpents, is nearly universal, found in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India, where it is always a symbol of harmony and balance. The symbol may have originally been a symbol of the sovereignity of the Goddess Tanit.

It has been mistakenly utilized as a symbol of the medical industry in the place of the wand of Asclepius (Asculapius).

In the Hermetic Tradition, the cadeceus is a symbol of spiritual awakening, and has been likened to the Kundalini serpents of Hindu mysticism.

Related Resources:

• Hermetic Tradition
  Named after Hermes Trismigestus (Hermes the three times great), the Greek moniker of the Egyptian God Tehuti (Thoth), alleged author of hundreds of mystical tractates, the Hermetic tradition is an eclectic spiritual tradition that encompasses elements from from many religions.
• Hellenismos/Greek Revival
  The Hellenistic revival...modern attempts to reconstruct the rich religious traditions of Ancient Greece.
• Religio Romana
  Religio Romana is the main name under which various Neopagan groups attempt to accurately reconstruct ancient Roman Pagan worship.