Daily Meditation: Thursday, January 3, 2013

Gold, incense and myrrh - brought by the three wise men: the symbolism

01/03/2013

St. Matthew’s gospel recounts how wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the East, and have come to pay him homage.’ These wise men, traditionally called Melchior, Balthasar and Gaspar, brought Jesus gold, incense and myrrh. Each of these gifts has a symbolic meaning. Gold signifies that Jesus was king: the colour gold is the colour of wisdom, and its brilliance shines above the head of initiates like a crown of light. Incense signifies that he was a priest: incense represents the realm of religion, which is also that of the heart and love. And myrrh is a symbol of immortality: it was used to embalm bodies to ensure their preservation. So the three wise men brought gifts relating to the three realms of thought, feeling and the physical body. Each of the gifts is also linked to one of the sephiroth on the Tree of Life: myrrh to Binah, eternity; gold to Tiphareth, light, and incense to Chesed, devotion.