Ichthus, Ichthys (Greek) Fish; used in a mystic sense of Jesus Christ, given acrostically by the initial Greek letters of the phrase 'Iesous Christos Thiou Yios Soter (Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter) meaning Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.
"The Gnostics had also a nickname for their
ideal Jesus -- or the man in the
Chrest condition, the Neophyte on trial, and this nickname was
Ichthus, the 'fish.'
"With this fish, with the waters in general, and, for the Christians, with the Jordan waters in particular, the whole program of the ancient Mystery-Initiation is connected. The whole of the
New Testament is an allegorical representation of the Cycle of Initiation,
i.e., the natural birth of man in
sin or flesh, and of his second or spiritual birth as an Initiate followed by his resurrection after three days of trance -- a mode of purification -- during which time his human body or Astral was in Hades or Hell, which is the earth, and his divine Ego in Heaven or the realm of truth" (BCW 11:495).
The word was also applied to Bacchus. It is similar to other figures associated with fish symbols, such as Jonas, Oannes, Dagon, Vishnu, etc.
See also FISH ;Pisces
