Scorpion by Louise M. Pryke

Author:Louise M. Pryke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Reaktion Books

Scorpion decorating a hoplite shield, from an amphora, c. 530 BCE.

Recognition of the intimidation value of scorpion imagery has continued to the present day – the American professional wrestler Steve Borden, Sr, has used diverse scorpion symbolism to project an imposing image in a career spanning over three decades. Known by the ring name ‘Sting’, Borden was able to defeat fellow wrestler Hulk Hogan in a legendary match-up in 1997. Borden’s success in the match was at least partially credited to the use of one of his signature moves, the Scorpion Deathlock (other signature moves include the Scorpion Death Drop and the Stinger Splash). Like the Spartans 2,000 years earlier, some of Borden’s battle attire is decorated with images of the threatening-looking arthropods.

The scorpion is, in many cultures and stories, associated with magic rituals or witchcraft, which may either be protective or destructive. Images of scorpions have associations with spiritual battles as well as physical ones in Tibetan history. Scorpion imagery is thought to have adorned magical horns used by sorcerers in destructive rituals of black magic and exorcism. In rituals of destructive or protective magic, the depiction of a scorpion was connected to the subjugation of spirits.13 A scorpionhilted sword was wielded by several protective Tibetan deities. Lhamo, a principal deity charged with protecting the Tibetan government and the Dalai Lama, is a wrathful female deity who carries specific weaponry – a skull cup, a lance, a ritual sceptre and the scorpion sword. In Tibetan history, a warrior wielding a scorpion sword had access to special powers, being immune to the venom of the scorpion, and being able to control live scorpions for attacking the enemy.14 The scorpion-hilted sword featured the black body and tail of a scorpion, with its sting forming the pommel (the enlarged top of the handle), the pincers the hilt and the flame-enveloped blade appearing as a long iron tongue from the creature’s mouth.15 It has been suggested that the sword probably had the capacity of stinging any unqualified person who might attempt to wield it. In Tibetan medical and religious traditions, the scorpion is perceived as having curative and coercive powers.16 The guru Padmasambhava (known as the Second Buddha) was said to have received the phurba or ‘ritual dagger’ from a giant scorpion with nine heads and eighteen pincers.17 The enormous scorpion unearthed the phurba from beneath a stone in a cemetery. The scorpion and its treasure led Padmasambhava to receive insights relating to spiritual accomplishment.

In this 18th-century etching by Ferdinand Landerer after M. Schmidt, a witch places a scorpion into a pot to make a potion.

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