Why is the wand used in the Lycian “symbolic Great Rite” instead of the dagger?
There are two symbolic “Great Rites” in the Lycian Tradition. The first is about “life” in which the opposites of fire and water join, by using the wand and cup to represent these elements, and life is produced in the cup as in a womb. The water in the cup is also essential for life to continue. The second is about death in which the opposites of air and earth join, by using the dagger and platter to represent these elements, and death is produced in the platter as the grain must die to produce bread. The bread on the platter will be reborn as the body of its partaker. Both of these rites are about the revelation that is produced when opposites are brought into harmony. Those revelations are as food and drink, which nourishes us.
