Front PageCross as a Symbol of Spiritual Transformation
Submitted by bill on Thu, 06/12/2008 - 08:28. Christianity cross Faith, Meaning & Purpose sacred spirituality
The Cross is a very ancient symbol that represents the spiritual nature of humankind. It is so ancient that it predates written language. This ancient symbol is one of the four earliest and most significant of spiritual symbols, including the Point, the Circle, and Square. To understand Cross, we will first look at the other symbols.
Point represents the center of the world—the Axis Mundi. Whether seen as an axis or a point depends upon your viewing angle. From the end it is a point; from the side it is an axis. It is sacred. Heaven and earth meet at this point. The Big Bang starts at a Point. It is where all things begin. Our ability to hold something sacred is the beginning of civilization. Holding something commonly sacred is the impetus for society. Other social animals and insects have something of this sense but it is much more powerful in humans. Ants, for example, will sacrifice themselves for the colony. But humans have developed a much more sophisticated and potent sense of sacrifice. The Free Dictionary defines Sacrifice as: “Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.” And yes, sacrifice has sacred at its root. Kindness and mercy come from the Sacred and are at the root of what we call Humane.
Creativity derives from Sacred. This is a point that deserves much greater treatment. But let's just say for now, that the creative impulse flows from sacrificing oneself in relationship to an idea, ideal, or Other. It is the main point of the first chapters of the book of Genesis. The point is not that God created heavens and earth, but that God created. Creativity is a sacred attribute.
Circle is the Point expanded. While Point symbolizes perfection, Circle is birthed from it. Circle also means Heavens. Circle is Godhead, while Point is God, or Sacred. Circle encompasses all: it is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. It is the relationship of all to the First Cause. It is related to, but different from Square, which is birthed out of Circle by the Cross. Cross, joining through the sacred Point at the center of Circle, derives Square. Square is symbolic of Earth, foundation, the four elements and, most importantly—new birth, nurture and motherhood. Still, it is made possible by Cross. Cross delineates Circle into Square, connecting Heaven and Earth.1
Of all symbols the cross is the most universal and all-embracing. It symbolizes intervention, mediation, the natural and permanent structure of the universe and communication between Heaven and Earth and Earth and Heaven.2
Cross makes possible the highest aspirations of humankind. Not our wants and desires, but our aspirations. While we live firmly grounded on Terra Firma—the Square, Cross connects us with all, in Circle, and connects at Point, which is the Sacred. Cross not only gives birth to the material, but it reconnects the material with the ephemeral.
The term Cross comes to English from the Latin Crux, which is the ancient Roman torture device. But the Romans didn't invent the idea of sacrifice on a tree, as we shall see. Crux can also mean crossroads: as in “the crux of the matter.” It is the point of decision. But only when decision is forced. Still, decision is what's important.
The cross becomes one of the basic themes of the Old Testament. It is the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9), Wisdom (Proverbs 3:18), the wood of Noah's Ark, the rod with which Moses struck water from the rock, the pole on which the brazen serpent hung or the tree planted beside running water.3
It is our ability to sacrifice needs and wants for a greater Good that makes Cross so important. It is at the crossroads of decision, at the gap between stimulus and response, that we choose Salvation over Destruction. This is paradoxical, and perhaps irrational. But symbol often is. Cross may indeed be the oldest and most universal symbol of paradox. It is the spiritual equivalent of seed.
Although Christianity has developed the richest and most expansive Cross teleology, it did not start the fire—as Billy Joel might say. It is more likely that the Cross developed Christianity. But this change of influential direction doesn't negate nor mitigate Christianity. Instead, it intimates the deep and ancient foundations of what would develop into Christianity in the late Classical period and Middle Ages. At its core, Christianity is about the Cross—but not exactly the one we've been focusing on for too long.
The Medieval and Modern Christian focus on shame, in the story of the execution of Jesus for the sins of the world, has underplayed the original redemptive power of the story. Jesus, as Son of Man, represents each one of us on the Cross of choice, each day facing down our base nature to rise toward a complete (perfect is St Paul's word) Self that is both just and merciful.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)
If this is not a picture of spiritual growth through personal sacrifice on the Cross of renewal, I don't know what is. The community is also typically overlapped with the individual until all the dough is leavened. It is a deep and ancient redemptive metaphor for the spirituality of human and humanity.
Cross is found in most all civilizations, even the most primitive. It has had a universal use and appeal. It lies across the gap between our animal instincts and our spiritual aspirations. It stands at the crossroads of decision. Christianity developed at the crossroads of East and West, as well as at the crossroads of Western civilization. It is fitting that it embraces Cross so completely. Yet Cross did not begin with Christianity. It is buried deep in our psyches.
While Cross is a divider, it is also a joiner. It separates us from our want but points us toward our aspirations. It serves as the axis of balance between justice and mercy, wisdom and knowledge, and connects our animal existence to our spiritual inclination. Cross is much more than a cute emblem to hang around your neck. It symbolizes the noblest of turning points—the choice between self and Self.
1 See sites such as Circle and Square. The relationship between geometry, number and philosophy is lost on Moderns. With our electronic calculators and poor knowledge of mathematics, we miss the beauty of pattern and ratio in our world. Reason was historically about finding patterns and relationship—now it's about atomistic reductionism.
2 Cahmpeaux, G. de and Dom Sterckx, S. (O. S. B.) Introduction au monde des symboles, Paris, 1966, as referenced in Chevalier 1996.
3 Chevalier, Jean et.al. A Dictionary of Symbols. Harmondsworth Eng.: Penguin, 1996.
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Cross and the Star of David
Submitted by bill on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 11:13.
Dr. Rao,
Thanks for the additional information.
The symbolism you mentioned is very much related to what I wrote. As you point out, this is very ancient (and universal)—even before the time of King David, yet the interlaced triangles you mentioned now adorn the Israeli flag as the Star of David. Accrediting them to King David (they are said to have adorned his shield when he faced Goliath) does not require that he invented them. Triangles similar to those equilateral triangles grow out of the Cross that bisects the original Circle at its horizontal and vertical axes. The picture that I tried to paint is similar, but differs in that it results in Isosceles triangles instead of equilateral. We can get equilateral triangles by drawing a Rhombus,outside the circle, using the Circle diameter as the measure of the side lengths. Still, the symbols of Circle and Square (with Cross and Triangle contained within) are universal symbols of wholeness and, as you say, eternal life.
Connecting the ends of the vertical and horizontal diameter lines of a Circle with four chords creates a Square within the Circle. The top and bottom halves of the Square, bisected by the horizontal diameter line, become two Triangles—one pointing up, the other pointing down. The Triangles line up along the vertical axis, or tree. Thus, the two Triangles, and the Square, “grow” out of the Cross (which connects the Sacred Point with the circumference of Circle). This is the symbol of Wholeness of Spirit and Body that almost every human society has some variation of.
Thanks for the additional information. My point remains that the symbolism of Christianity developed from the then existing psychological wisdom that had come together at what was at that time the center (Point) of global trade and development. It drew from many past societies, and therefore owes a debt to them. The Cross finds its meaning in the sacrifice of ego on the tree of wholeness between Spirit and Body, Heaven and Earth.
bill
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Ancient Symbols As Descriptive Language
Submitted by reido on Sun, 06/15/2008 - 19:29.
Bill and Rao
I don't know why, but these two posts did not appear until I checked today. Likely, my connection is not good.
Late to respond, but I have had a long interest in ancient symbology as a root of descriptive language. Precision in the modern sense is not what I seek, but connection is. Why is this important to me?
Let's take Genesis for instance -- supposed to be one of the oldest Hebrew texts. I suppose many literalists count it as though it is the actual historical record of the first events of life itself, but it is apparent that it was written aeons later than the actual beginning of life. That leaves a whole lot of room for other descriptions of creation predating the documents. What then would predate written language? The Hebrews were linguistically skilled, but even the most skilled would have to admit that symbols predated written texts.
This does not negate nor confirm the textual account as Bill said, nor does it seek to. What I have found interesting is that the written text contains many ancient symbols. What was the source of these concepts? Literalists might claim that God simply revealed it to men who were totally ignorant of these ideas, however, one can find evidence that the symbols predated.
The Tree of Life was one of the symbols that blew my teleological mind. Central to the beginning of Genesis, and also figuring prominently in the book of Revelation, it was the latter that finally helped me to see that the wording was meant to be figurative and not literal. This held true to the many other scriptural passages of the same. Kabbalah has long held this to be the case. Several Kabbalists relate the symbol of the tree of life directly to the Serpent in the Wilderness, the Design of the Temple, and the Star of David as Bill has pointed out.
What I found in my own journey was that the connections are there and they are quite ancient. That they may not be in our minds identical is, IMO a result of modernity and the scientific approach, having nothing whatever to do with the original intent of the ancients (as do a great many modern religious concepts). The Hebrews were not alone in being familiar with such symbology as one might see in the Great Pyramids of Egypt. Preserving these concepts must have ranked highly in their times of existence.
reido
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What They Symbolize...
Submitted by reido on Mon, 06/16/2008 - 11:13.
More...
Fee and Stuart woke me up when they wrote that a passage of Scripture could not mean something today that it did not mean when it was written (How to Read the Bible For All It's Worth). That carried over to symbols for me, and translated it meant that people over time will substitute the development of a symbol for what it originally symbolized. Over time, things have a way of being obscured in our perception.
With symbols, the simple can be profound. By "simple", I mean undeveloped. Take Bill's comments on the Cross for example...
Can a connection of symbols suggest a commons? That is, meanings that are shared rather than granted only to an exclusive few? And what might those values be? Perhaps more to the point is, are they still valuable meanings today?
Food for thought...so, I'll think a little on this
reido
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Symbolic Symbolism
Submitted by bill on Mon, 06/16/2008 - 20:37.
Reido wrote: Fee and Stuart woke me up when they wrote that a passage of Scripture could not mean something today that it did not mean when it was written (How to Read the Bible For All It's Worth). That carried over to symbols for me, and translated it meant that people over time will substitute the development of a symbol for what it originally symbolized. Over time, things have a way of being obscured in our perception.
Reido,
Is it likely then, that each generation must relearn what the ancients found by following their breadcrumbs, rather than interpreting them?
To some this may sound ridiculous. They see a chair as a chair; a pipe as a pipe. But if we take the meanings into ourselves, we find that sitting and smoking are possibly accomplished in several ways. If the revelation is contained in the symbols, then through the symbols we can retouch that revelation. Unless we get past the symbols, we are destined forever to worship the pointer rather than the pointed-at.
bill
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Embracing the Whole
Submitted by bill on Mon, 06/16/2008 - 18:32.
I found this additional information in another book. It continues the notion of the Cross as mediator and representative of human being standing between material and spirit, temporal and ephemeral.
Embracing the Whole
The cross creates a totality Its intersection of two lines can be seen as the uniting of the male principle (the vertical) with the female (the horizontal). The two axes also stand for the dimensions of time and space, matter and spirit, body and soul, as well as the equinoxes and solstices.
Crossing horizontal and vertical lines are the bases of a “stick person”, one of the most basic representations of the human figure, found in prehistoric rock art, and in children's drawings ever since. When aligned with the four cardinal points, the cross becomes a symbol of orientation to the terrestrial directions of north, south, east and west, which in turn informs the symbolism of the Native American Medicine Wheel. A cross within a circle also mediates between the square and the circle, emphasizing the connection be5tween sky and earth. It has been suggested that the four arms of the cross represent th four phases of the moon, as well as the four seasons. Together with the square, the cross is closely linked to the symbolism of four, a number signifying wholeness and universality, although in China the number of the cross is five, the perfect number of the human being as microcosm. This is because the midpoint (where the two lines intersect) is also counted—emphasizing the centre or source to which everything is connected.1
1 O'connell, Mark and Raje Airey. The Complete Encyclopedia of Signs & Symbols. London: Hermes House, 2006. 108.
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Where Two Collide
Submitted by reido on Tue, 06/17/2008 - 21:03.
Bill
You asked,
"Is it likely then, that each generation must relearn what the ancients found by following their breadcrumbs, rather than interpreting them?"
That may well be the pivotal point at which a person begins to ask himself a question that is a first question. That is, a first question would be one where you don't assume to already know the answer. Thus begins seeking. And we know that one of the marked traits of seeking is that one never really reaches the final answer.
This concept is probably too cryptic right now, and I will need to try a little better to express it.
reido
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Symbols and their significance
DearMr Bill
I came across information that some of the oldest symbols eversince human evolved all over and developed into some sort of civilization however primitive may be are equivalateral triangle, circle and square.
The triangles when used separately gives each triangle a distinct and separate meaning. The one with the point upward, is called the symbol of manifestation on the material plane, and symbolizes mankind focusing their thoughts on God; the triangle with the point downward represents manifestation on the spiritual, or Divine plane, and symbolizes God's consciousness focalized on mankind. In the six-pointed star formed by the interlaced triangles we symbolize the blending, or uniting, of the physical and the spiritual.
The square represents building uprightly on a strong secure foundation. The circle, which is endless, is the universal symbol of eternal life. The square and the interlaced triangles are the only two equiangular and equilateral figures, the sum of whose exterior angles equals 360 degrees, or perfection, as symbolized by the circle. From these symbols, we learn that by building uprightly on a strong secure foundation, we unite the physical and the spiritual, and with them inseparably connected' as symbolized by the interlaced triangles, we have eternal life. You may elaborate in comparison to cross that became a symbol most popular after crucification of Lord Jesus. In fact the wooden posts made into cross as we see today were popular to nail the convicts by the Romans with stretched handsone on each side.. I feel the wooden frame work that wsa developed for the purpose and most sadly the son of god too gave up himself for the man kind on the same frame work to liberate the people on earth. As Christianity spread around Cross became a symbol of crucification of the Lord and came to be identified with Christianity and Lord. Till Jesus was nailed up, the cross mostlt might have remained as a much feared by the convicts. In some places people were hanged to wooden posts which had some Cantilever short bar or there were two vertical bars with a strong cross bar over them . This was the usual scaffold. lthough some pious men might have been hanged in the past none of these became sacred symbols except the cross that became pioussymbol by virtue of nailing up Lord Jesus. Cross is always identified with Lord Jesus.
Dr K Prabhakar Rao