In ancient China the toad was a trickster and a magician, a master of escapes and spells. But he was also the keeper of powerful secrets. One legend tells a story of a wandering wise old man called Liu Hai and his three-legged toad companion Ch'an Chu. Ch'an Chu knew the secret of eternal life, and due to his masters kindness he revealed the secret to the wise man. In Japan a similar legend involves the Gama-Sennin, also known as Kosensei, a wise old man with a hunched body and a warty face. Kosensei wanders the land with his toad companion, who teaches him the secret powers of herbs, including the secret of immortality.
Frogs and toads go through at least one major transformation during their lives, that from tadpole to adult. Many also shed their skins regularly as they grow, and some even eat their discarded skin. These transformations may explain why many cultures saw frogs and toads as symbolic of re-creation, or as keepers of the secrets of life after death. Members of the Olmec tribes of early Mesoamerica created images of a toad as the ‘God of rebirth’, reborn after consuming itself and thus caught up in the never-ending cycle of life and death.
As much as the frog was seen as a symbol of life and birth, it was also seen as a symbol of death. Some European myths tell that it was bad luck to kill a frog for they housed the souls of dead children. In the ancient Zoroastrian religion of the Middle East the frog was associated with Ahriman (the most evil of all beings). In Europe, it wasn’t until the Middle Ages that the frog was given such an unfavourable reputation, and the frog went from being a sacred symbol of creation to a manifestation of evil. The frog (along with other animals) was quickly associated with Witches, and thought to be their devoted magical animal used to carry out all sorts of diabolical deeds.
11/08/2019 (Fri) 08:55:31
Id: 8c3244
No.76637
del
