Candlestick

the candlestick is an image for the Church, and, in other of his writings, for Mary. Similarly, the golden candelabrum was interpreted as an allegory of Christ, whereas in the Cabala it signifies the Shekinah or Metatron.

Von Franz documents the overdetermined symbolic field of the candlestick — Church, Mary, Christ, Shekinah/Metatron — situating it as a vessel of sacred, mediating luminosity within multiple theological traditions simultaneously.

von Franz, Marie-Louise, Aurora Consurgens: A Document Attributed to Thomas Aquinas on the Problem of Opposites in Alchemy, 1966thesis

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soul: affectivity of, 175; candlestick figure of, 262f; conglomerate, 329, 402; cosmic, 389; and creativity, 173f; dove as image of, 228; fall of, 263

The index entry explicitly identifies the candlestick as a figure of the soul in the Aurora Consurgens commentary, cross-referencing its treatment with the soul's fall — establishing the symbol's direct psychological valence.

von Franz, Marie-Louise, Aurora Consurgens: A Document Attributed to Thomas Aquinas on the Problem of Opposites in Alchemy, 1966thesis

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Mary, 4, 182, 1967, 213, 250, 2096, 3187, 355, 359, 376, 377; Albertus Magnus and, 156; ash of, 345; dove and, 228, 239; east as symbol of, 206; and Eve, 257; figured by bed, 378; —, by candlestick, 263; —, by cloud, 249

The index confirms that in the Aurora commentary Mary is 'figured by candlestick,' anchoring the symbol within a chain of Marian allegoresis that operates alongside Sophia imagery.

von Franz, Marie-Louise, Aurora Consurgens: A Document Attributed to Thomas Aquinas on the Problem of Opposites in Alchemy, 1966supporting

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Apoc. 2:5: 'Or else I come to thee and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou do penance.'

The citation of Apocalypse 2:5 within the alchemical-theological context of Aurora establishes the threatened removal of the candlestick as a scriptural frame for the soul's potential forfeiture of its guiding light.

von Franz, Marie-Louise, Aurora Consurgens: A Document Attributed to Thomas Aquinas on the Problem of Opposites in Alchemy, 1966supporting

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I think that the olive tree on the left side of the candlestick (cf. Zech. 4:3) signifies the Old Testament, in which the emphasis is mainly on practical philosophy; while that on the right signifies the New Testament, which teaches a new revelation.

Within the Philokalia's hesychast framework, the candlestick of Zechariah's vision becomes an allegory of scriptural duality — the two olive trees representing the practical and contemplative dimensions of the two Testaments.

Palmer, G. E. H. and Sherrard, Philip and Ware, Kallistos (trs.), The Philokalia, Volume 2, 1981supporting

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gold created and scattered like sand in the lower regions of the earth, to be found only with much toil and effort? And how, when found, is it washed in water and committed to the fire, and then put into the hands of craftsmen who fashion it into the candlestick of the tabernacle and the censers

In the Philokalia's angelological meditation, the fashioning of gold into the tabernacle's candlestick is offered as the paradigmatic object of angelic contemplation — the transformation of raw matter into sacred instrument.

Palmer, G. E. H. and Sherrard, Philip and Ware, Kallistos (trs.), The Philokalia, Volume 4, 1995supporting

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