What is the symbolism of the Egyptian obelisk?..Sunshine and last minutes ray of light... The obelisk has been called the symbol of Amen-Generator, a ray of light or the finger of the god. Obelisks

The connection from God to man, an imitation of a ray of light from heaven shining down on mankind. The light may be a form of energy or power or beneficence, or it may be knowledge and enlightenment. This invites many diverse religions to perceive the obelisk as symbolically appropriate
This is the one of the pair of obelisks that were erected in front of Luxor Temple, in B.C. 13th Century, and transported to Paris in 19th Century. Another one still remains at the original cite in Luxor. The use of the obelisks is even more of a mystery than their carving and means of erection. He was symbolized by a human form wearing a headdress or by an obelisk (the sun's ray). While the obelisks are usually covered with inscriptions, these offer no clue to the function, but are instead commemorative notations indicating when and by whom the obelisk was carved. It has been suggested that the erection of the obelisk was a gesture symbolizing the 'djed' pillar, the Osirian symbol standing for the backbone of the physical world and the channel through which the divine spirit might rise to rejoin its source. John Anthony West notes that the obelisks were usually erected in pairs, one obelisk being taller than the other, and that the dimensions of the obelisk and the precise angles of its shaft and pyramidion cap (originally plated in electrum, an alloy of silver and gold) were calculated according to geodetic data pertaining to the exact latitude and longitude where the obelisk was set. "The shadows cast by the pair of unequal obelisks would enable the astronomer/priests to obtain precise calendrical and astronomical data relevant to the given site and its relationship to other key sites also furnished with obelisks." Readers interested in the fascinating subject of obelisks should consult The Magic of Obelisks by Peter Tompkins and the Orion Mystery by Bauval and Gilbert.Nothing remains, however, of the houses, markets, palaces and gardens that must have surrounded the temples in ancient times. The principal feature in Egyptian social centers, and usually the only one to have survived, was the temple. Not a place for collective worship but rather a house of the gods, only the temple's priests and the high nobility were allowed to enter the inner sanctums. The temple did however, act as a cohesive focal point for the local community, who participated in the numerous pilgrimage festivals and processions to the temple. Recent excavations have pushed the history of Karnak back to around 3200 BC, when there was a small settlement on the bank of the Nile where Karnak now stands. The great temple complex at Karnak is, however, mostly a Middle Kingdom creation. Archaeological excavation reveals that the complex was in a near constant state of construction and deconstruction, and that almost every king of the Middle Kingdom left some mark of his presence at Karnak.
"The phallic symbolism of ancient Greek religion is most extensive. The representation of Hermes offers a prime example…at Cyllene Hermes was worshipped by the name Phales-- derived from Phallos - and in the image of a phallic stone. More usually, however, his phallic image was a herm. Originally a stone heap--perhaps topped by a large upright stone--serving as a landmark in the countryside without roads, the herm developed into a quadrangular stone pillar topped by the head of Hermes and featuring at its front an erect phallus...." .

"There was a time when Asia, Europe, Africa, and America were covered with the temples sacred to the sun and the dragons. The priests assumed the names of their deities, and thus the tradition of these spread like a network all over the globe… And where is this source? Kircher places the origin of the Ophite and the heliolatrous worship, the shape of conical monuments and the obelisks, with the Egyptian Hermes Trismegistus …'But it is known …that this prince… received… the homages of his subjects under the shape of a serpent

Symbols reveal and conceal. Symbols can reveal a multitude of levels of understanding and at the same time conceal just as much.

The possibility also exists where one assumes something is symbolic when the actual object is the point of focus. Perhaps understanding the object and the context may illuminate deeper meaning.

Ancient monolithic megalithic structures have now been identified to as far back a 15,000 years. Monolithic Menhirs (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menhir) are the great grand father of the obelisk. Thousands of years before the first Egyptian style obelisk, our distant family gathered together and set aside in some cases, 20 years of work of dozens if not hundreds of people to build and raise up a Menhir. We did this on every single continent that has had human development using carved stones up to 250,000 pounds. Thousands of these megalithic structures have been placed all around the world and many still stand.

Menhir du Champ-Dolent, Dol-de-Bretagne, France. Over 200,000 pounds it measures nearly 10 meters high above ground and about 5 meters below ground placed on bedrock. Age, neolithic period.

There are more Egyptian obelisks in Italy then in Egypt. The largest standing ancient egyptian obelisk in the world is placed at the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. It has been estimated that the cost to move these Egyptian obelisks to Italy cost over 5 Billion Dollars in today's currency.

The multi-million dollar movement of an Egyptian obelisk being moved by the Roman Catholic Church. Distance, 275 yards.

An Egyptian Obelisk at the Vatican.

In 1586, Domenico Fontana moved an Egyptian obelisk to its present site in front of the Vatican in St. Peter's Square. The obelisk, quarried in Egypt during the 13th century BCE, was brought to Rome in the 1st century. It took Fontana one year to completely move the obelisk 275 yards from its original site to the featured location in front of the Vatican.

An Egyptian Obelisk being placed in London.

Sir William James Erasmus Wilson helped make sure that the 1819 gift to the United Kingdom was moved and placed at an exact location in London along the Thames river. It is estimated that the cost would have been well over $5 Million dollars in today's currency.

An Egyptian Obelisk being delivered to a specially designed harbor birth on a specially designed ship in New York.

Judge Elbert E. Farman vision to place an Egyptian obelisk in New York's Central Park came to reality in February 22, 1881 after a multi-year odyssey that took over 4 years and over $2 Million dollars in todays currency to to complete.

After many years of delays, in 1836 the Washington Monument's architect, Robert Mills completed a design to honor the first presidents of the United States. The original design was far more ornate, however it contained a monolithic obelisk with an estimated $20 million dollar cost in todays currency. There simply was not enough funds available for the design and thus the designed changed measurably. The obelisk was no longer a monolithic structure and therefore not completely an obelisk. It became an obelisk built from block stones.

Original Washington Monument design.

One may at this point detect a theme here: Obelisks are rather important and in some cases money is no object. More over, each captured Egyptian obelisk is placed at an exact location and dedicated at an exact time.

The people placing monolithic stones span back to 15,000 years through to our current era. This also spans the globe and it cuts across all cultures and religions. Some of the most educated and most wealthy people from 15,000 years through to our current era have spent an enormace amount of time and money to be absolutely certain that these monolith structures are place at an exact location at an exact time. These people can't be dismissed as just being superstitious or following some arcane or perhaps occult rituals.

It would be foolish to dismiss all of this time, work and money from people in all walks of life up to the current epoch, Scientists, University Professors, Judges, Lawyers, Architects, Religious leaders and Political leaders as the doings of the dull witted and gullible. Perhaps the concept of technology may mean different things in different epochs.

It would be limited thinking to assume that for over 15,000 years1000s of people all around the world were in some egotistical display of power. It would also be limited thinking to ascribe things that are not fully understood today by ancient people to some religious purpose.

Perhaps on one level of sophistication an obelisk is just a big rock, or a phallic symbol, or the rays of On or lightening rods or any number of revealing or concealing projections. The answer to what these monolithic obelisks mean when they stand before you and what they mean when symbolically presented at the deepest level may be quite different.

I really did not want this posting to come off as being a non answer or some mystical ramblings (ok some of this comes close). But it would take many chapters to address this on a level that would be logical. And there are reasons that would past the modern test of logical. A good place to start would be a study of history and exact time and exactly locations where each current epoch Egyptian obelisk is placed and this will begin to reveal much that may have been concealed.

www.quora.com/What-is-the-symbolism-of-the-Egyptian-obelisk

Taken in: France / Île-de-France / Paris / Quartier des Champs-Élysées (show map)

Taken on: January 14, 2018

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