Dictionary of all Scriptures & Myths

SEPARATION OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

A symbol of the origination of Spirit-matter, which succeeds unity cf substance in the unmani-fest Source. The Monad divides and becomes the Duad-Spirit and Matter,-between the polarities of which all manifestation proceeds.

"Heaven and earth were anciently of one form from these, as soon as they were separated from each other, all things were produced and brought to light,-trees, birds and beasts, and the race of mortal men." - EURIPIDES, Menalippe apud Diod. Sic. I. i, e, 7.

"The myth of Dyaus, the sky, and Prithivi, the earth, once joined and now separated, is the basis of a great chapter in Mythology, such as the mutilation of Uranus by Cronus, and other tales of a distinctly savage type." - W. Crooke, Pop. Rel. of N. India, Vol. I. p. 26.

"Dyaus the Heavens, and Prithivi the Earth, were once joined, and subsequently separated from one another." - MUIR, Sanscrit Texts, V. 23.

"The story is told here (in Nanumanga island) also of the union of the heavens and the earth, and of their separation, and the elevation of the former by the sea serpent." - G. TURNER, Samoa, p. 288.

"Rangi and Papa, or Heaven and Earth, were the source from which, in the beginning, all things originated. Darkness then rested upon the heaven and upon the earth, and they still both clave together, for they had not yet been rent apart (New Zealand Myth). - G. GREY, Polynesian Mythology.

"The order of creation, according to Hawaiian folk-lore, was that after heaven and earth had been separated, and the ocean had been stocked with its animals, the stars were created, then the moon, then the sun. In this order the Marquesan legend agrees with the Hawaiian, and both agree exactly with the Babylonian legend of the cuneiform inscriptions." - A. FORNANDER, Polynesian Race, Vol. I. p. 76.

The stocking of the astral plane (sea) with the desires (animals), is followed by the awakening of mind (stars), the personality (moon), and then the incarnate Self (sun). This is the true order of appearance in the growth of the soul regarded from below in the cycle of evolution. In the period of involution there is a reverse order as in Genesis. First the Self or higher Individuality (sun) in germ within the world-soul; then the germ of personality (moon) on the astral plane, and lastly the mental faculties (stars) on the plane of mind.

"Of old, Heaven and Earth were not yet separated, and the In and Yo (Chinese Yin and Yang) not yet divided." - W. G. ASTON, Shinto, p. 84.

"For air and aether are separated from the surrounding mass; and the surrounding mass is infinite in quantity." - Anaxagoras, FAIRBANKS, 2.

For Spirit and Matter are external emanations from the Absolute; duality proceeds from Unity-the Ultimate Reality. "But before these were separated, when all things were together, not even was any colour clear and distinct, for the mixture of all things prevented it." - Ibid., 4.

But ere the forthgoing of the Divine Life took place, when no appearance was made manifest, no sign was shown of māyā: for all as yet was in the Absolute, and relativity was not apparent.

See Also

ABSOLUTE
AIR AND AETHER
COSMOS
CREATION
CRONUS (Saturn)
DARKNESS
HEAVEN AND EARTH
INVOLUTION
KAMA
KHIEN
MAYA (lower)
MIXTURE
MONAD
PILLARS OF SHU
PLANTS
RANGI
RAVENA
RONGO
RU
SALT
SEX
SPIRIT
SUN
SUN (moon)
TANEMAHUTA
URANUS YANG