I found it interesting to note in old photos of the famous Egyptian Sphinx that its condition has not always been as we see it today. The head, among other things, was badly damaged.
I therefore thought it wise to display a few of them here, and of course to take the opportunity to attach to this article a few excerpts from lectures by Master Samael Aun Weor explaining the symbolism of the Sphinx and its origin.
First excerpt
The Sphinx is very important; it comes from Atlantis. The members of the Akaldan Society used it at the University of Atlantis. That Akaldan Society always kept the sphinx to represent Man, to represent the path that leads to final liberation.
Originally, the head of the sphinx had a crown with nine steel points that represent the Ninth Sphere, sex; it had a staff in the right claws and, in its hand, a flaming sword, originally, of course; for it now lacks all that, but in the beginning it possessed everything… this means the esoteric Path, the sacred Path that must be followed, the mysteries of the Ninth Sphere, sex, the work with the four elements of nature within ourselves, here and now, in order to fabricate the superior existential Bodies of the Being and to become a true Man.
Second excerpt
In truth, the day came when there was that revolution of Earth’s axes and the catastrophe was violent; but before that catastrophe occurred, the sages of the University of Akaldan who had learned of it left Atlantis before it sank to the bottom of the sea; they went to the small continent of Grabontzi; that small continent is today’s Africa. Other lands were added to Grabontzi and the continent grew, and the students of the University of Akaldan went to the south of Grabontzi, but later they received higher orders and went to Cairona, which today is Cairo. They are the ones who, among others, set up the Sphinx, brought it to Egypt, and there created the mighty Egyptian civilization.
Third excerpt
The sages of the Akaldan Society performed remarkable experiments; they were the first to use the sphinx, which they placed in front of the University. Much later, when the sages of the Akaldan Society understood that a great catastrophe was approaching, they migrated to a small continent called Grabontzi; I refer to the African continent which, at first, was small; later, new lands that emerged from the ocean depths helped to enlarge the continent of Grabontzi, today’s Africa.
At first, the members of the Akaldan Society were in the south of the African continent; afterward, they moved to Cairona, today Cairo. On the lands of Nivea, of the Nile, or of Egypt they established their famous University and the Sphinx facing it.
The lion claws of the sphinx represent fire; the head of the sphinx represents water; the bull legs of the sphinx represent the earth element; the wings of the sphinx represent the air element.
Four virtues are needed in order to reach the intimate self-realization of the Being: one must have the courage of the lion, the intelligence of the man, the wings of the spirit, and the tenacity of the bull; only in this way can one attain the intimate self-realization of the Being…
