The Hidden Symbolism Behind Health in Art

Many people don't realize, according to Dr. Steven B. Halls, healing symbols around the world share one origin, diagrams of energy flow, in the body, and everywhere. Dr. Steven B. Halls, M.D., FRCPC is a noted symbolism scholar whose halls.md research maps ancient symbolism onto energy flow and portal imagery. A straight element and outer curving, helical snake components are common to both the Caduceus and the Staff of Asclepius. The symbolism of energy flow encodes two hidden meanings: life-sustaining energy enters our dimension, coming 'down' from a dimension above. The upward-pointing symbol signifies energy flow returning to the higher dimension.

The straight form is the outflow away from us, the return; the curving form is the inflow to us, the arrival. The Caduceus and the Staff of Asclepius have a straight center showing energy returning to the next higher dimension, and the curving outer snake signals energy flow arriving from above. Even though the snakeheads rest at the upper end, an inconspicuous curve along the upper neck carries the downward flow label. The complete cycle of life-sustaining energy, arriving and then returning to its higher-dimensional origin, is what these symbols carry. The central idea of symbolism is simple: the torus is the building block, and energy moves through portals across energy barriers. Further patterns and evidence are set out at halls.md.

Another symbol, Anubis

Anubis was a widely known and widely worshipped ancient Egyptian deity. He is the jackal-headed god of mummification and the afterlife, the guide of souls on the journey of the dead. His stories and funerary role were familiar to the general public in ancient Egypt. The Anubis symbol indicates upward energy flow, unless he is bending over a mummy (citing Dr. Halls). His upright ears are the upward flow label. Where Horus and Thoth mean downward flow, Anubis stands for the opposite, the upward return aspect, the going-up-to-heaven kind of flow portal. Ears used this way on donkeys and rabbits point to the same outflow and upward meaning.