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GLOSSARY (A short explanation of the mystical meanings behind some of the words Hafiz uses in his poetry, essential to understand his work) THE SKY: Sometimes Hafiz describes the sky as an ‘inverted bowl’ and ‘the blue dome.’ The sky symbolises fate: unpredictable, untrustworthy, always changing. THE SUN: The Beloved, God. The bright face of the Beloved. The Power of God’s Light revealing the Truth. THE MOON: The Beauty of the true Beloved also (in context) the false beauty of the Creation, physical beauty. The Moon cannot be seen unless the light of the Sun is upon it (i.e. the Light of God). The sickle shaped Moon represents the bent shape of the poor suffering lover and when waning, old age and death. The half (split) Moon symbolises the opposites existing in the psyche and throughout Creation. The full Moon usually means the Beloved, showing fully the Beauty of God. Sometimes Hafiz uses the Moon as the hand of Fate as in the ghazal on the death of his wife. THE WIND: The bringer of bad news, misfortune. Sometimes it symbolises one who brings news of death. THE BREEZE: The bringer of messages from and to the Beloved. Often the messenger who brings good news. Divine inspiration. THE SEA: The ocean of love to be crossed by the lover. The immensity 0f Divine Love, of which human love is but a mere drop. The turbulent sea represents the difficulties the lover must endure on the voyage to God. THE BOAT: The form, energy and mind of the lover of God of whom the Perfect Master is the Captain. Sometimes the boat represents the Perfect Master who sails us to the Divine Shore. THE PEARL DIVER: The lover of God, the seeker of the Truth. THE PEARL: God, Divine Knowledge, the Truth, the lover’s true Self. THE SHELL: The outer form, physical illusion, the false, the ego. THE DESERT: The long period that the lover of God must pass through when the lover’s thirst for God’s Grace remains unquenched. THE HILLS AND VALLEYS: The ups and downs experienced by the lover on the Path of Love. THE FIELD: The world, whereupon the Game of Love is played. THE GARDEN: The special place in the world (and in the inner realms) where the lovers see, meet and converse with the Beloved. The Presence of the Beloved. THE ROSE: The true Beloved, i.e. God. The Perfect Master whose heart has expanded like the rose. Sometimes the rose signifies a beautiful woman. The rosebud sometimes signifies the lover, whose heart has yet to become expanded by Divine Love, i.e. love that is still young. ROSEWATER: The Grace of God. Divine Mercy. Kindness shown by the Perfect Master. THE CYPRESS: The cypress symbolises the form of the Beloved because of the tall, upright stature of the cypress and because like God Who never changes, the cypress remains green all throughout the year. THE CYPRESS CONE: The lover’s heart. THE NIGHTINGALE: The lover of the Beloved (the rose). It also symbolises the poet who sings of the beauty of the Beloved. THE PARROT: The poet who talks to the Beloved in the hope that the Beloved will reward him with sugar (Love, Grace). THE FALCON: God. The Perfect Master or the Beloved, who preys upon the lover who is a mere fly by comparison. THE MOTH: The lover, who wishes to extinguish himself in the flame (Love) of the candle (God). THE PATH, STREET, HIGHWAY: The Path of the love of God in human form i.e. the Perfect Master. The Spiritual way. The path that leads to the Winehouse, wherein is found the Perfect Master. The journey through the inner realms of consciousness to the true Self (God). THE WINEHOUSE: The place where the lover goes to be with the Beloved, the Perfect Master. The dwelling of the Perfect Master. Sometimes the Winehouse symbolises the inner Self of the lover. THE WINE: Truth, Love, Grace, Knowledge. As ordinary wine changes a person’s personality, so Divine Wine changes the inner consciousness and brings the lover closer to God and intoxicates the lover with God’s Love and Truth. THE CUP: The heart of the lover of God and sometimes the Beloved, from whom flows the wine of Divine Love. THE FLAGON AND WINECASK: The Perfect Master, God. THE WINEBRINGER: The Beloved, the Perfect Master, the Godman, or anyone who brings to the lover (the drunkard) God’s Love, Truth and Beauty. Sometimes Hafiz means Destiny, which brings the cup from which we must drink. THE FRIEND: God, the Perfect Master. THE BELOVED: God, the Perfect Master. God perceived in beautiful human form. THE BELOVED’S HAIR: The attraction of God’s Grace. The Mystery that conceals the Divine Essence. The hair sometimes symbolises the world with its problems (tangles) and mysteries, in which sometimes we get trapped. THE BELOVED’S CURLS: The beauties of God’s Manifestation. The charms of the Beloved. The twists of Fate. THE BELOVED’S EYE: The Power of God. One glance and we can become annihilated in His Love. THE WINEMAKER: God in human form; the Messiah, Rasool, Avatar e.g. Adam, Noah, Zoroaster, Rama, Jesus, Mohammed. THE WINESELLER: Perfect Master. God in human form. THE KING, SOVEREIGN, MONARCH: God in human form, same as above. Hafiz often used these titles when speaking of the Messiah (the first Perfect Master,) and many of the poems in which he used these titles were mistaken by commentators to be about kings who lived when Hafiz lived. By using such symbology Hafiz could openly praise his Master and the king of the time would not be jealous, but pleased, for he would think that they were about him. MONARCH’S CROWN: God’s Glory. THE SLAVE: The lover of God (the King), who is bound by God’s Beauty, which is sometimes represented by the long flowing (chainlike) hair of the Beloved. THE PAINTER, THE ARCHITECT: God the Creator. THE RUIN: This world, wherein one can find the Treasure (the Perfect Master, the Truth). It also symbolises the lover’s body that though ruined through searching and longing for God, still contains the jewel of the Soul. INN, HOTEL: The world, where we must stay awhile before passing on.
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