(Image courtesy of Wesley Fryer at Wikicommons)
People write to us all the time with questions about the various energy medicine techniques – from Reiki to tai chi and everything in between – so I decided to write a general overview of energy medicine that can provide additional details for those who wish to learn more.
BP writes: “My cousin has an evil eye in his house. It is occult and can be dangerous, right?”
Anonymous writes: “I heard that wearing a cimaruta symbol wards off evil. Is it okay to wear one? If it wards off evil, isn’t that a good thing?”
Sue writes: “I have been struggling with anxiety disorder for three years after illness and a breakdown. I am getting much better, but have some hard work ahead of me. However, I rightfully lost faith in my last therapist and had to find a new one. Sadly, I do not have access to a Catholic therapist in my area. I had to start seeing a new secular therapist this past month. I have been making good strides, but he likes to use a form of hypnosis in order to open my mind and feed some positive thoughts. I told him I do not feel comfortable with hypnosis due to my faith. He has done some guided hypnosis on me and I feel so clear headed after, but after discovering he has been doing hypnosis, I have become leery of it. I do not want to be misled and have found various opinions on the subject in the Catholic circle. What should I do?”
GG asks: “Is there any truth to the legend of a haunted place in Malvern, Pennsylvania where the bodies of deceased immigrants who died of cholera were buried?”
LV writes: “My friends are showing up with these weird little round patches on their necks or wrists that they claim are delivering non-stop acupuncture to their bodies. They call it the Taopatch. Is this scientifically legit?”
The teen fascination with witchcraft is being sustained by a batch of new releases aimed at making sure this dangerous feeding frenzy continues.
KH writes: “Just wondering what you can tell me about T. Harv Eker, his program Peak Potentials and his book ‘The Secret of the Millionaire Mind. I know he quotes Marianne Williamson in the book which immediately raises questions.”
GS writes: “I have heard that there are secret symbols in oriental area rugs that are associated with non-Christian religions. Is this true, and is it okay to have them in our homes?”
It is true that a variety of symbols with non-Christian religious meaning can be found in oriental area rugs, but these symbols (which are not entirely secret) are used to tell a story more than to persuade purchasers into adopting religious beliefs. This is why it is safe to have these rugs in our home.
Area rugs that are referred to as “oriental” typically come from the Asiatic region such as Central Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, India, and China. These rugs are hand-knotted with some rugs containing more than three million knots depending on the size.
According to this site, rugs that feature floral designs tend to come from areas in Persia and India while Turkish rugs tend toward geometric designs. Chinese rugs favor images of dragons and birds. The choice of design has very much to do with the religious beliefs of the region:
“Most creatures possess symbolic meaning, and in China the dragon represents imperial power and also has strong associations with Confucianism. In Persia, however, the dragon symbolizes evil; in India, death. Scenes of fighting animals on Oriental rugs typically represent the struggle between good and evil,” the site explains.
Symbols such as the cypress tree represent mourning or immortality while the palm or coconut signify blessing. A pony symbolizes wealth and the universal knot represents wisdom and immortality.
“Because the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) spoke against the artistic representation of humans and animals, geometric patterns often dominate the designs of Muslim artists,” the site continues. “Although Persia embraced the Islamic Shiite religion, the area’s rug-makers often continued to decorate their creations with lively animal and human figures in dream-like surroundings. On the other hand, it is quite rare to find any animal or human figures on early Turkish rugs. Turkish prayer rugs are characterized by rich and minutely detailed decoration. Found on all prayer rugs is the arched mehrab, or prayer niche, which is pointed to Mecca when the rugs are used in prayer.”
Although the use of rugs is not nearly as important in the Christian religion, there is evidence of hand-woven textiles featuring Christian themes throughout history.
This site, which evaluates and traces the history of oriental rugs, explains: “In an early Christian sect known as the Coptics, these individuals produced textiles from wool or linen and used them in religious burial ceremonies.”
In the Jewish faith, rugs are used by Orthodox Jews on Yom Kippur to kneel and bow upon.
“While it’s not always shared among every Jewish sect, the practice of using these rugs is part of what’s considered prostration, where individuals put their backsides near the ground and lower themselves for a period of prayer,” the site explains. “In some synagogues, rugs are also used to sit upon instead of chairs or benches such as in the Karaite community.”
In the Buddhist culture, hand-woven rugs were used by prominent religious figures.
“One of the more unique elements of Buddhist rugs is their use of shocking designs, as they sometimes depict what many Westerners would term as shocking in nature, including flayed animal and human skins. The reason behind these designs is the Buddhist’s pursuit of bodily detachment and the search for a higher level of consciousness. Other motifs that can be present on these rugs are Lotus blossoms, indigenous flowers, local wildlife or mandala-like designs.”
In the New Age and the occult, there are some who believe in what Carl Jung taught about symbols – that they are a communication of the unconscious. “A concrete image is a manifestation requiring space in which the spirit clothes itself in the material in order to draw to man. Images and numbers are doors through which the spiritual can reach man (Carl Jung, Conversations with C.G. Jung).”
However, this is far from a mainstream belief and although there is a chance that some of the manufacturers of these rugs might subscribe to these beliefs, it is very unlikely.
Enjoy your oriental rug!
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MKM writes: “I had a discussion with my sister on body tattoos and she said the Church has no official teaching on it even though it says in scripture not to. She claims that the scripture that prohibits tattoos is in the Old Testament and doesn’t apply anymore. Is she right?”
