Ancient seals, gems, etc. bearing the symbol of the Fish are well known to most occult students, especially those familiar with the philosophy of the Gnosticsa. Frater Pococke, (Metropolitan) sends us the following clipping from an issue of a New York Paper, bearing an exceptionally good illustration of the “Icthus” or “Fish” symbol of the early “Christians.”
According to the newspaper account, the Greek word for Fish, “Icthus,” is made up of the initial letters of the five Greek words, Iesous CHristos, THeou Uios Soter, meaning Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Savior. This word and the source of its derivation are not entirely unknown to Rosicrucian students, but it is also well to point out that the symbolism of the Fish in connection with Christianity has had many more applications than that of a mere acrostic.
In the life of Jesus, the Christos, the Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes, the choosing of the Fishermen, the authorizing of “Fishers of Men,” the Sign of Pisces (the Fishes) and many other features point to the symbolism of the Fish as containing much more than a superficial meaning. The Fisherman’s Ring of the Roman Pontiff in itself is a persistence of an ancient occult symbology. Needless to say, the subject will prove of interest to all Rosicrucian Initiates.