Flo Grow
Well-Known Member
The Rod of Asclepius vs The Caduceus of Mercury
I would like to take a moment to clear something up, if I may. I have noticed more and more organizations affiliated with the cannabis or medical marijuana industry, taking up the Caduceus of Mercury and crossing it with a marijuana leaf in hopes to portray themselves as credible and trustworthy.
Using Mercurys (or the Greek Hermes) , Roman god of commerce and messenger of the gods with his winged shoes, Caduceus couldnt be more misleading and further from the truth. Mercury was the god of merchants and merchandise. Also the conductor of the dead to the afterlife, and protector of thieves and deceit. The Caduceus is a heralds staff representing Mercury (Hermes) and his undertakings, that was a gift from Apollo. It did not and does not represent medicine. An officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps mistook the Caduceus for the Staff of Asclepius and introduced the new Medical Corps symbol at the beginning of the twentieth century. Not too long after that, everyone was adopting the same mistake. Including the American Medical Association (AMA), the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States.
Asclepius was the son of Apollo, and the god of medicine and healing. Asclepiuss daughter is Hygieia, whose bowl is the well known international symbol of pharmacy and pharmacist. Asclepiuss staff has many interpretations, but basically means, the snake is thought to signify a new beginning from old problems, as in shedding of the skin. The staff or rod, is thought to mean support and structure to help deal with the turmoil of life and death and being associated with them. Asclepius was so good as a healer that he was reputed to be able to bring people back from the dead. For this he angered Hades and Zeus because he raised Hippolytus from the dead and accepted gold for it, and was killed by Zeus with a thunder bolt. Zeus then placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Ophiuchus (The Serpent Holder).
In 2005, the American Medical Association (AMA), due to historic information and overwhelming responses to change, did in fact change its old symbol from Mercurys Caduceus to the rod of Asclepius.
View attachment 1203715 Mercury's Caduceus
The Rod of Asclepius
Marijuana Caduceus
Marijuana Caduceus
I would like to take a moment to clear something up, if I may. I have noticed more and more organizations affiliated with the cannabis or medical marijuana industry, taking up the Caduceus of Mercury and crossing it with a marijuana leaf in hopes to portray themselves as credible and trustworthy.
Using Mercurys (or the Greek Hermes) , Roman god of commerce and messenger of the gods with his winged shoes, Caduceus couldnt be more misleading and further from the truth. Mercury was the god of merchants and merchandise. Also the conductor of the dead to the afterlife, and protector of thieves and deceit. The Caduceus is a heralds staff representing Mercury (Hermes) and his undertakings, that was a gift from Apollo. It did not and does not represent medicine. An officer in the U.S. Army Medical Corps mistook the Caduceus for the Staff of Asclepius and introduced the new Medical Corps symbol at the beginning of the twentieth century. Not too long after that, everyone was adopting the same mistake. Including the American Medical Association (AMA), the largest association of physicians and medical students in the United States.
Asclepius was the son of Apollo, and the god of medicine and healing. Asclepiuss daughter is Hygieia, whose bowl is the well known international symbol of pharmacy and pharmacist. Asclepiuss staff has many interpretations, but basically means, the snake is thought to signify a new beginning from old problems, as in shedding of the skin. The staff or rod, is thought to mean support and structure to help deal with the turmoil of life and death and being associated with them. Asclepius was so good as a healer that he was reputed to be able to bring people back from the dead. For this he angered Hades and Zeus because he raised Hippolytus from the dead and accepted gold for it, and was killed by Zeus with a thunder bolt. Zeus then placed him amongst the stars as the constellation Ophiuchus (The Serpent Holder).
In 2005, the American Medical Association (AMA), due to historic information and overwhelming responses to change, did in fact change its old symbol from Mercurys Caduceus to the rod of Asclepius.
View attachment 1203715 Mercury's Caduceus