The Bull as the Astrological sign of Taurus gets its name from the Tau and Ru. Egypt especially, which was never thoroughly evangelised, appears to have taken the lead in bringing in this Pagan symbol. The "Tau" Cross - A Pagan Symbol? Consisting of four Tau Crosses, this form of cross was assigned to the knights of the Teutonic (Germanic) Order, founded by Emperor Henry VI as a hospital order in 1191, and similar to the Templars and Hospitallers.. By 1198, they became a religious military order of crusaders, first fighting in the Holy Land and later in Prussia and Lithuania. The Tau is also known as St. Anthony’s cross or the Egyptian cross, and is believed to be an early version of what became the Christian cross. The tau cross resembles the Greek capital letter T. On the other hand, the fylfot cross resembles four Greek capital letter G's placed together. Tau Cross. The New Catholic Encyclopedia admits: “The cross is found in both pre-Christian and non-Christian cultures.” Various other authorities have linked the cross with nature worship and pagan sex rites. A swastika type cross used by Jain and Shinto religions, for example. It is assumed the the biblical symbolism of the Tau stems from the ancient cult of Tammuz, a vegetation god whose annual death and resurrection was commemorated by ritual mourners who marked their foreheads with the cross. Let the reader peruse the following statement of Sir G. Wilkinson: It is a symbol for just another counterfeit Masonic “Christ.” William Schnoebelen, Masonry: Beyond the Light (Chino, California: Chick Publications 1991), p 119. Hislop writes: That mystic Tau was marked in baptism on the foreheads of those initiated into the Mysteries. The Tau Cross was first alluded to in the Bible in the Old Testament book of Ezechiel. In pagan beliefs, the Tau symbolized immortality. Let us look at some of crosses of great importance. The common, worldwide meaning of the cross is protection but it has also other different interpretations and variations. Even so, a pagan church by any other name is still a pagan church, and a pagan idol is still a pagan idol even if you call it the cross of Christ! 9.9K likes. The Tau Cross. Sign in to follow this . Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ.” At the beginning of the third century Minucius Felix wrote to the pagans in Octavius and revealed the attitude that early Christians had toward the cross up to that time. The TAU cross was inscribed on the forehead of every person admitted into the Mysteries of Mithras. So, as we can see followers of the mystery religions were very familiar with the best-known Christian symbol, the cross. Not an either/or situation but all five, naturally. 1. Moses used the Tau Cross with the brazen serpent attached, to save the Children of Israel in the wilderness from the attacks of the fiery serpents. An ancient Royal Hence the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the 'cross' of Christ.” The historical record shows that, just as Jesus and the New Testament writers foretold, various heretical ideas and teachers rose up … That is because the Egyptian god Horus was another incarnation of Tammus. The Vestal virgins of Pagan Rome wore it suspended from their necklaces, as the nuns do now. Tau Cross. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system, pagans were received into the churches…and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. As Tau is the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, it symbolizes the revealed Word of God, its completion and perfection. Many religions past and present use some kind of cross in a religious sense. The Tau cross is a T-shaped cross named after the ancient Greek letter T, which is also the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, X. Followers 0. The ancient Egyptians used a cross. Link to post. . Cross in religion come in various forms. ... Light and darkness and the turning of the year are familiar within the canon of Neo-Pagan Wicca, but my hunch is that the true power of the Craft lies in the way in both induces and manages apparent conflict at an interior as well as external level. The Greek Tau is associated with the letter Theta, an emblem of death originally symbolized by a cross in a circle or a skull. This is thee official page of Tau Cross The Tau was therefore the sign dearest to Francis, his seal, the telltale sign of a deep spiritual conviction that the salvation of every man is only in the Cross of Christ. Reflection III. In the Jain religion of India they use a cross. The tau form of the cross had been used as a pagan Egyptian symbol and then adopted by "Christians," called Copts, in Egypt. In Pagan times, a warrior returning honorably from battle could attach a T to his name. Elworthy considered this to originate from Pagan Druids who made Tau crosses of oak trees stripped of their branches, with two large limbs fastened at the top to represent a man's arm; this was Thau, or god. the Cross is pagan? . (A Copt is a member of the traditional Monophysite Christian Church originating and centering in Egypt. That which is now called the Christian cross was originally no Christian emblem at all, but was the mystic Tau of the Chaldean’s and Egyptians–the true original form of the letter T–the initial of the name of Tammuz–which, in Hebrew, radically the same as ancient Chaldee, was found on coins, was formed as in No. It then continues reverence to the Tau cross of the pagan Egyptians, "In later times the Egyptian Christians (Copts), attracted by its form, and perhaps by its symbolism, adopted it as the emblem of the cross." The Catholic Encyclopedia then continues reverence to the Tau cross of the pagan Egyptians, "In later times the Egyptian Christians (Copts), attracted by its form, and perhaps by its symbolism, adopted it as the emblem of the cross." The tau cross was initially used among the pagans. Hence, the Tau or T, in its most frequent form, with the cross-piece lowered, was adopted to stand for the cross of Christ” (p. 256). Audio download options It is a pillar-like symbol in hieroglyphics representing stability [or power, strength]. The tau is a very ancient symbol representing three major deities: the Sumerian Sun God Tammuz, the Roman God Mithras, and the Greek God Attis. The Cross has always been the symbol of life eternal. The Greek word “stauros” is translated in many bibles as cross. It was later adopted by the Christians in Egypt where its use became common. . Alexander Hislop tells us: "There is yet one more symbol of the Romish worship to be noticed, and that is the sign of the CROSS. What Augustine called “the true religion” – the religion from which all religions (except the religion of the Bible) have descended – is the worship of the sun-god. The Egyptian hieroglyph representing life is called the ankh. As Christianity gained followers, the pagan symbols were converted into Christian ones. Various designs of this cross were employed by nominal Christians living in Egypt. The "Tau" Cross - A Pagan Symbol? “In its long history, the Tau cross was also the symbol of the Roman God Mithras and the Greek God Attis. Stauros denotes an upright stake, or pole. By Zakuska ... whether the pentagram makes me a Mormon, Mason, Magician, Satanist, or Pagan. (A Copt is a member of the traditional Monophysite Christian Church originating and centering in Egypt. There is no evidence that the writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures used it to designate a stake with a crossbeam. The Tau Cross started life in Egypt as a pagan symbol and was later adopted by Christians (Copts). This is quite interesting, as if the hebrew alphabet the word Tau is the Omega in greek and ending in english, this would make the tau "T" cross have always been a Godly symbol and not neccessarily pagan. For a few centuries the emblem of Christ was a headless T-shaped Tau cross rather than a Latin cross. The Phoenicians used the tau cross as a magic symbol. A former Mason mentions that the tau cross “is actually the symbol of the pagan slain and risen god, Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:13-14). The staurogram, also monogrammatic cross or tau-rho, is a ligature composed of a superposition of the letters tau (Τ) and rho (Ρ). Page 1 of 4 - The "Tau" Cross - A Pagan Symbol? READER QUESTION: I just received this email from pawcreek ministries. Early Church Fathers even condemned the use of the cross due to its Pagan origins. The Egyptian cross called an Ankh is a simple T-Cross mounted with an oval called the Ru. The Hebrew form of the word Tau is pronounced tov, which means marking, etching or scrawl. . Share this post. . There are many other examples of the ancients' use of the cross. The "cross" or "Tau" symbol stood for the pagan Messiah Tammuz, who was the illegitimate son of Semiramis, wife of Nimrod. The Tau Cross started life in Egypt as a pagan symbol and was later adopted by Christians (Copts). The Tau is one of the most ancient crosses and the forerunner of the Latin Cross. It then continues and revers to the Tau cross of the pagan Egyptians, "In later times the Egyptian Christians (Copts), attracted by its form, and perhaps by its symbolism, adopted it as the emblem of the cross. The Tau is a very old form of the cross, and is also known as St. Anthony’s Cross, after the saint that was martyred on a cross of that shape. The first form of that which is called the Christian Cross, found on Christian monuments there, is the unequivocal Pagan Tau, or Egyptian "Sign of life." The Tau cross is representative of salvation and of life, due in part to its association with the sparing of believers in the Bible. Maybe Hilsop knows. Psychick Cross, Serpent/Gnostic Tau Cross and the Cross of Lorraine. It is still used in Ireland as a talisman against sickness. There is hardly a Pagan tribe where the cross has not been found. 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