The Three Wise Men or The Three Kings of East.
I Part
The sacred tradition of the three wise men of the East and their rich cultural symbolism.
Greetings and hugs to all those who walk around here a few minutes to read what I write, this post is the first of the two parts in which I will divide this theme about “The Magi from the East”, well known in the Christian tradition, who adopt the term "Magi" a title received by those learned priests from the Old East, these famous Three Wise Men came from the East to pay tribute and deliver gifts of great symbolic wealth: gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn Jesus of Nazareth in a manger
The ritual symbolism of this event has been highly debated from the most diverse points of view, but because none of us (and obviously included me) was present at that event, no matter how clear our opinions may be, these will continue to be simple theories that we carry out from the perspective and academic analysis of each individual.
In the canonical gospels, only the Gospel of Matthew actually mentions such "magicians", without giving precise information about their official names or titles, but it was from the interpretations after the third century AD. C. that these characters went from being wandering magicians to be considered kings, not only because of folklore and the growing oral tradition around their cult but also because of the symbolism linked to their iconography and because of the nice gifts they gave to the “son of the God of the Jewish peoples”.
The Syrian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church claimed that there were twelve, such as the apostles and the twelve tribes of Israel, but finally their number was reduced to only three magicians, a magician to represent the delivery of each of the three gifts that they crossed the desert to be delivered, and also to symbolize the three descendant families of Noah.
It is from the well-known mosaic of San Apollinaire Nuovo (Ravenna) dating from the sixth century AD. C., Where you can read the names that tradition gave to these magicians, being then Melchior, Gaspar and Baltasar, being also represented in a Persian dress and representing different ages, symbolism similar to the lunar goddesses of recent paganism that are represented with three different ages, which can also be associated with the representation of the divine Catholic trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). To also represent the rich cultural diversity of the kings of that time, King Baltasar began to have a black complexion, and in general the three kings, in addition to representing the ages, represent the three races of the Middle Ages.
Melchor represents the Europeans
Gaspar represents Asians
Baltasar represents Africans.
The Magi have their origin in the stories linked to the birth of Jesus "the prophet", these stories from canonical gospels are now part of the New Testament of the Bible. The Gospel of Matthew (the only one that mentions them) tells that these magicians, clearly great connoisseurs of heaven and its stars, observe in these an omen, this omen announces the birth of a prophet of "the coming times", and following these stars they get to Bethlehem, where the "king of the Jews is born", and to pay their respects to him, they bring opulent offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Yes, for many it can be highly contradictory that “some magicians”, as well as any practitioner of the esoteric arts were admitted as worshipers of Jesus, but from here we can understand two entirely different reasons for doing so.
First, the magicians (as priests of the time) recognized the existence of many gods, and it would not be unusual for them to go to honor what it would be from their point of view (and according to the time) to meet the newcomer in peace. born son of the God of the Jews, because by the time, he would be like the prophet who is the son of a local god, in this case, he was the son of the god of a more modern people and little known as the Jews of the epoch. Especially considering that the Babylonian pantheon encompassed the names of more than 2,000 different gods.
The second reason, the oral tradition around the Magi from the East, is much broader than the writings on them in the biblical sense, but in most of their versions (if not all) such characters would be serious magicians and astrologers, one of them (Melchor) is often considered an alchemist, and for them the omen in the stars was as important at that time as a weather forecast in our current times, for them it was vitally necessary to seek compliance with the prophecy and show the world that their omens were correct. Clearly the latter from my perspective as an amateur astrologer.
Although some current interpreters try to give a much more "raw" and less symbolic view of that story, stating that the Greeks used the term "magicians" to also refer to the wise men, doctors, and scientists of the time, this is an argument quite debatable, if not incorrect, because Greek society as the great civilization that was at that time, knew entirely the difference between a Magician and a man of science, since doctors and alchemists of Ancient Greece were not considered magicians, but as men of science, while magicians were ex officio priests, promoters of the worship of the gods and astrologers.
“The kings of Tarsis and the islands will offer presents; the kings of Arabia and Saba will bring their gifts: and all the kings of the earth will worship him ”
Psalm 71, 10.
The author and specialist in the subject Walter Drum, assures based on unbiblical evidence, that being the 'Wizards of the East' we would be talking about members of the sacred caste of the "Medes", who following the strict orders of 'Rab -Mag '(the Chief Magician) came to witness this birth. The ‘Medes’ was once a powerful caste of highly educated magicians and astrologers who were trained to serve kings as diviners and advisers and were sent from their ‘academy’ to various cities in Assyria and Babylon.
In fact, the 'Medes' as counselors were trained in Babylon to know and combat witchcraft, spells and all kinds of poisonings, being their specialty the reading of the stars, the mastery of languages and the interpretation of dreams, serving more like oracles than magicians.
Another option to this is that the magicians would-be followers of Zoroaster and Ahura Mazda (the uncreated creator God), who were then popularly known as the magicians of Persia (now Iran), although their religion forbids sorcery, these were connoisseurs of stellar movements and constellations, the interpretation of dreams and omens.
Matthew does not explain that they are astrologers who knew precisely the movement of a star (2: 7) despite this being a general belief. Although well-intentioned, his visit is a cause of general embarrassment and arouses Herod's distrust (2: 3), as he saw the new Messiah as a rival. Despite being old and having reigned for more than thirty years, Herod begs them to find out the precise site of the birth of the Messiah (2: 8) in order to be able to end their potential competitor. The wise, who do not suspect that, find the Child, worship him and give away gold, frankincense, and myrrh (2:11). An angel prevents wizards from the intentions Herod kept (2:12), so they don't return to him. Wrathful, the king sends to kill all children under two years. By then, Joseph has been warned in dreams (2:13) that he must flee to Egypt with his own.
"Born, then, Jesus in Bethlehem of Judah in the days of King Herod, magicians arrived from the East to Jerusalem saying," Where is the king of the Jews who have just been born? "
Gospel of Matthew (2, 1-2)
Where exactly did the Magi from the East come from?
While all the mentions of these mysterious characters only specify that they came from the East, no author is given the task of specifying from which region it comes exactly.
What we know today for sure is that at the time of the birth of Christ, to the East of Bethlehem (now Palestine), only the priesthood of the magicians was carried out in the ancient Middle, Persia, Assyria, and Babylon. So, if our magicians came from the East and on their way to the "new prophet" they came to visit King 'Herod the Great' in Jerusalem, yes, our Wizards came from somewhere in the 'Birth Empire', if this was correct , they had crossed the desert of Syria (between the Euphrates and Syria), arriving at Haleb (Aleppo) or Tudmor (Palmyra), passing through the deep lands of Damascus and continuing south (Darb Elhaj), traveling that path that is Today known as "the pilgrims' road", they continued along the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan on the west until they crossed the ford near Jericho.
- Now, different authors from different eras place the origin of the wise men in different regions, since it is only clear that they came from the East of Bethlehem.
- According to Saint Maximus and Theodotus of Ancyra, the magicians came from Babylon (Iraq).
- According to Saint Clement of Alexandria and Saint Cyril of Alexandria, the magicians came from Persia (Iran).
- While San Justin and San Epifanio, they affirm that the magicians will come from Arabia.
"And when they entered the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and prostrating themselves, they worshiped him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, incense, and myrrh.
Gospel of Matthew (2, 11).
Second Part Soon...
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