The basic building blocks of symbolism

The Circle is the most common and universal signs, found in all cultures. It is the symbol of the sun in its limitless or boundless aspect. It has no beginning or end, and no divisions, making it the perfect symbol of completeness, eternity, and the soul:

The circle is also the symbol of boundary and enclosure, of completion, and returning cycles. The circle symbolism most familiar to us is that of the wedding ring which encircles the finger associated in ancient times with the heart. The wedding ring symbolizes not just a pledge of eternal love, but the enclosure of the heart- a pledge of fidelity.

The circle reflected represents the dyad, the introduction of duality, and represents creation and manifestation. The symbol of the dyad is known as the ‘vesica pisces,’ or fish bladder, because it appears as a fish. The equal armed solar cross is another universal symbol, which can be found in every culture with a knowledge of the passage of time. It is the first truly theological emblem, marking not only the points of the solar calendar, but the juxtaposition of the realm of the material with the realm of the divine.

The cross is in this case actuality two separate signs-

First, a vertical axis, representing man, the body, and our upright posture, which is unique in the animal kingdom. The vertical line symbolizes the path from earth to heaven and the realm of spirit, symbolizing the dual nature of man, who embodies the spiritual and the temporal. The vertical axis equates directly to the human spine and to the tree of life, as well as to the axis mundi, the great pole around which the constellations of the zodiac revolve. These seemingly disparate ideas share a common idea- they link the earth and heavens. Thus is the concept of the connection between earth and heaven established- and also the divinity of man, who alone is built on this axis.

The horizontal axis, represents the path from birth to death, beginning to end, and linear time. This axis represents life on earth as a binary, linear process- life to death, beginning to end, and the dual nature of human existence evidenced by our symmetrical shapes: left and right, male and female, good and evil. These ancient concepts are embodied even in our language- our good, “righteous” side, and our dark, “sinister” side. (sinister having the original meaning “of the left hand”)

Both axis are also representations of the sexual nature of man, the vertical line representing the solar phallus, and the horizontal, the receptive, female earthly nature. Many early solar temples (such as Stonehenge) are not only solar calendars, but representations of the earth awaiting fertilization from the masculine energies of the sun. (The appearance of the rays of the solstice on these ancient solar altars represents the copulation of the gods) The cross, then, is the symbol of humanity- when the two axis are combined in a cross shape, they represent the cube of space, the four elements, and the binding together in man of matter and spirit. (The old geometrical puzzle of ‘squaring the circle’ is a hidden reference to the continual difficulty of reconciling spiritual and material concerns.)

A cross within a circle forms a solar cross or a horoscope wheel, both symbols of spirit and matter. A horizontal bar within a circle is the alchemical symbol for salt, pure material existence in its most exalted state. The equal-armed cross is often disguised in religious art as a four petaled flower, a cube, or a scepter. Examples of this cross in it’s simplest meaning will be found in primitive swastikas and sunwheels; the more complex spiritual meanings in the symbols of alchemy, the Templars’ equal armed cross, and the symbol of the crucifix. Because of the inherent nature of this symbol as representational of both the sun and the divine in man, the cross is commonly associated with redemptive solar deities. (Read more about the Dying God archetype here)

The Tau cross is a later variation, with a horizontal bar balanced atop a vertical bar, creating a “Tau,” or “T” shape. With its exaggerated vertical axis, the tau cross is associated with sacrifice of the lower, base nature, and emphasizes the earth/heaven connection. Some examples of the Tau cross are the cross ofAttis, the egyptian Ankh (surmounted by a loop or circle), and the NorseIrminsul.

The arc found in more complex symbols, especially planetary symbols, represents ascension or striving. The arch has been a traditional element of architecture and often figures in commemorative monuments of triumph and achievement. The sigils of the planet Saturn and Jupiter, for example, combine identical symbols with very different results, using the arc in conjunction with the cross. In the sigil of Jupiter, the arc of aspiration rises above the struggle of matter and spirit, and symbolizes bounty, triumph, expansion, and success. Saturn’s sigil places the cross above the arc- ascension subverted by the material struggle, and a symbol of Saturn’s power to limit and confine:

The crescent represents the powers of the moon- reflective and receptive. (An example of this symbol taken to its highest symbolic meaning would be the Holy Grail) A reversed crescent often represents emptiness and illusion.

The triangle is one of the most easily recognized religious symbols in the West, most commonly associated with the Christian trinity or Freemasonry. The triangle is the simplest geometric shape, and also the first purely theological symbol. To the ancient Pythagoreans, the triangle was, as the first complete polygon, the womb of number and the essence of stability. Triangles stand in for the Christian trinity of Father, Son, and spirit, as well as the earlier primordial trinity of Isis, Osiris, and Horus.

The upward moving triangle is sometimes called the blade (the chalice and blade figure ceremonially in many ritual magic operations). It is a symbol of aspiration or rising up, male force, and fire. It is purely phallic in origin. The triangle represents aspiration, rising force, and the male principal.

The downward pointing triangle is sometimes referred to as the chalice. It is the symbol of water (as it flows downward), the grace of heaven, and the womb. it is one of the most ancient symbols of female divinity, as a representation of the genitalia of the goddess.

When combined, the triangles of fire and water form a potent symbol of balance and divine union. In western tradition, it is called the Seal of Solomon, and the symbols for air and earth are derived from the reconciliation of water and fire in this symbol. The hexagram has an identical meaning in Hinduism and Buddhism as well, where it also represents the divine union, or perfect balance of male and female energies. Kabbalistically, it is the sign of resurrection and completeness- in Hebrew tradition, it is called perfect. Occasionally, this conjunction forms a diamond or lozenge shape.

12. Proverbs are one example of how culture is conveyed through words. “ A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” “ Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” “ The early bird gets the worm.” What do these proverbs say about American culture?

13. What do these proverbs mean? “ Lower your voice and strengthen your argument” (Lebanese proverb) "When the brothers fight to the death, a stranger inherits their father's estate.“ (African proverb) “ Flies never visit an egg that has no crack.” (Chinese proverb)

14. African Proverb “ Abafugibwa ngabo: atannagikwatamu ye agitenda obwangu.” “ Those who are ruled are like the shield: who never got hold of it, thinks it light. Those who don't rule think ruling is easy.”

15. Maori Proverb “ E moa i tangata ringa raupa.” “ Marry a man with blistered hands.”

16. Mexican Proverb “ Anda tu camino sin ayuda de vecino.” “ Walk your own road without the help of a neighbor.”

17. To Summarize: Language is a set of symbols, which allows people to communicate with each other (both verbal and nonverbal) Language can be a source of discrimination. Language is a common source of confusion, even among members of the same culture. Language is a vital means of transmitting culture.

Symbols: Anything that carries a particular meaning recognized by people who share culture. Whistle,flashing light, thumbs up are all symbols.

Human beings have the capacity to create symbols with different meanings associated with each. Thesesymbols are used as means of communication and thereby become part of our language.Even the buildings, dress, the flag, and a type of color may be taken as symbols indicating some aspect ofhuman behavior as well as society's outlook. Red, green, white, blue, pink, each of the colors stands forsomething in the society. Blue jeans are quite commonly used in Pakistan. Can you find out that these aresymbol of what?Language: System of symbols that allows members of a society to communicate with one another.Symbols may be oral and these could be written words. We have oral cultural traditions. Human beingshave developed different alphabet as part of written language. Language is the major means of culturaltransmission. Is language uniquely human

Symbols often get noticed when they are used out of context. Used unconventionally, symbols convey strong messages. A stop sign on the door of a corporation makes a political statement, as does a camouflage military jacket worn in an antiwar protest. Together, the semaphore signals for “N” and “D” represent nuclear disarmament—and form the well-known peace sign (Westcott 2008). Today, some college students have taken to wearing pajamas and bedroom slippers to class, clothing that was formerly associated only with privacy and bedtime. Though students might deny it, the outfit defies traditional cultural norms and makes a statement.

Even the destruction of symbols is symbolic. Effigies representing public figures are beaten to demonstrate anger at certain leaders. In 1989, crowds tore down the Berlin Wall, a decades-old symbol of the division between East and West Germany, communism, and capitalism.

While different cultures have varying systems of symbols, there is one that is common to all: language. Language is a symbolic system through which people communicate and through which culture is transmitted. Some languages contain a system of symbols used for written communication, while others rely only on spoken communication and nonverbal actions.

Societies often share a single language, and many languages contain the same basic elements. An alphabet is a written system made of symbolic shapes that refer to spoken sound. Taken together, these symbols convey specific meanings. The English alphabet uses a combination of 26 letters to create words; these 26 letters make up over 600,000 recognized English words (OED Online 2011).

Rules for speaking and writing vary even within cultures, most notably by region. Do you refer to a can of carbonated liquid as “soda,” pop,” or “Coke”? Is a household entertainment room a “family room,” “rec room,” or “den”? When leaving a restaurant, do you ask your server for a “check,” the “ticket,” or your “bill”?

Language is constantly evolving as societies create new ideas. In this age of technology, people have adapted almost instantly to new nouns such as “e-mail” and “Internet,” and verbs such as “downloading,” “texting,” and “blogging.” Twenty years ago, the general public would have considered these nonsense words.

Even while it constantly evolves, language continues to shape our reality. This insight was established in the 1920s by two linguists, Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf. They believed that reality is culturally determined, and that any interpretation of reality is based on a society’s language. To prove this point, the sociologists argued that every language has words or expressions specific to that language. In the United States, for example, the number 13 is associated with bad luck. In Japan, however, the number four is considered unlucky, since it is pronounced similarly to the Japanese word for “death.”

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is based on the idea that people experience their world through their language, and that they therefore understand their world through the culture embedded in their language. The hypothesis, which has also been called linguistic relativity, states that language shapes thought (Swoyer 2003). Studies have shown, for instance, that unless people have access to the word “ambivalent,” they don’t recognize an experience of uncertainty due to conflicting positive and negative feelings about one issue. Essentially, the hypothesis argues, if a person can’t describe the experience, the person is not having the experience.

In addition to using language, people communicate without words. Nonverbal communication is symbolic, and, as in the case of language, much of it is learned through one’s culture. Some gestures are nearly universal: smiles often represent joy and crying often represents sadness. Other nonverbal symbols vary across cultural contexts in their meaning. A thumbs-up, for example, indicates positive reinforcement in the United States, whereas in Russia and Australia, it is an offensive curse (Passero 2002). Other gestures vary in meaning depending on the situation and the person. A wave of the hand can mean many things, depending on how it’s done and for whom. It may mean “hello,” “goodbye,” “no thank you,” or “I’m royalty.” Winks convey a variety of messages, including “We have a secret,” “I’m only kidding,” or “I’m attracted to you.” From a distance, a person can understand the emotional gist of two people in conversation just by watching their body language and facial expressions. Furrowed brows and folded arms indicate a serious topic, possibly an argument. Smiles, with heads lifted and arms open, suggest a lighthearted, friendly chat.

SYMBOLS - TOKENS - SIGNS

The word "symbol" is itself from the Greek "symbolon," meaning "token" or "sign." A symbol is anything that represents something else, such as a material thing, a sound, a word, a phrase, or an abstract thought. A symbol can be a letter or a picture, neither of which may even remotely resemble what they were originally designed to represent. Many symbols are recognized throughout most of the world, such as the heart (love), the cross (Christianity), and the star of David (Judaism). Other symbols are used in certain circles only, such as the arts and sciences, or in the study of such ancient practices as astrology and alchemy.

Symbols can also be composed of lesser symbols that make up the whole, such as the planetary symbols used in astrology which are believed by some astrologers to be composed of circles (the spirit), crescents (the soul), vertical lines (the mind), horizontal lines (the body), and crosses (matter, the combination of body and mind). In this way, each planet's symbol has a meaning that corresponds to what it represents astrologically. However, with astrology, this is not an accurate interpretation of the planetary symbols, because they are actually derived from the constellations. On the other hand, we have musical symbols. These are composed of lesser symbols that convey meaning and instruction as to how music should be played. For example, in modern notation, note signs are made up of the notehead, a stem (or tail), and a flag or hook (for and eighth note or quavers), often incorporating dots, beams, and ties, and all positioned between bars (vertical lines) on a stave (five parallel horizontal lines).

Some symbols may have dubious associations, such as the crescent moon and star that are frequently associated with the Islamic religion. Even though the symbol appears on the flag of several Muslim countries, the Muslims themselves reject it because Islam does not have a religious symbol associated with it. In fact, the crescent moon and star pre-date Islam by thousands of years, dating back to far more ancient religions, later being adopted by the city of Byzantium (Constantinople, Istanbul), and even later by the Ottoman Empire.

IMAGES - ICONS - PICTOGRAPHS - GRAPHICS - GRAFFITI

There are many words used to describe symbols. We use the word "image" to denote any physical likeness to a person or thing, and an image can take any form. The word "image" is from the Latin meaning copy, likeness, or equivalent. Images are therefore symbols that can be written, painted, sculpted, or photographed. Icons are likewise symbols. The word "icon" comes from the Greek meaning likeness or image. It is therefore almost interchangeable with the word "image," and so an icon is a symbol, but one that is normally associated with sacred art and computer desktop pictures. And yet another similar symbol is the pictograph or pictogram. The word "pictograph" is Latin for a painted graphic, a simplified picture that represents a word or idea. And the word "graphic" is from the Greek "graphikos," which by itself means a drawing or painting or a piece of writing. And it is also from the Greek that we get a related word "graffiti," which comes from "graphion," meaning to scratch or etch – or to scribble – with a stylus.

HIEROGLYPHICS - IDEOGRAMS - LOGOGRAMS - INSIGNIAS - EMBLEMS

Examples of pictographs include the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. The word "hieroglyphic" comes from the Greek "hieroglyphikos" meaning "sacred carving." In that ancient writing system, each hieroglyph was a recognizable picture of an everyday object which symbolized, in most cases, both a letter sound as well as a word, thing, or concept. Pictographs are sometimes confused with "ideograms," which are similar but represent only ideas and things and not words or speech sounds. In that way, the Chinese language characters are ideograms. Another word for an ideogram is a "logogram," from which we get the words "logotype" or "logo," as used in describing corporate symbols. Other words for an ideogram include "insignia," a type of logo used most frequently by the military to symbolize rank or a branch of the service; and "emblem," usually found in the form of a badge.

GLYPHS - SIGILS - SIGNS

It is easy to confuse one word for another when their definitions seem so similar and they all denote different kinds of symbols. But sometimes the small distinctions between the words define how a symbol is used and what it means. For example, in astrology, many astrologers use two very different words interchangeably to denote the symbols for the planets and aspects: "glyph" and "sigil."

The word "glyph" comes from the Greek "glyphe" meaning a carving or engraving, and "glyphein" which means to carve or engrave. Simply put, a glyph is a symbol that is carved, engraved, or etched into stone, clay, wood, or metal. Since carving is not our modern means of creating a glyph, we can assume that the use of the word glyph can be attributed to a symbol on paper. In that regard, the word glyph could be used for astrological symbols.

A sigil is also an engraved symbol. The word "sigil" comes from the Latin "sigillum," which means a small "signum" or incised mark. In English, a sigil is defined as a seal, a sign, or a signet. Nowadays, seals and signets are pretty much used only within the realm of governments, specifically in certifying official documents by marking them with an embosser. The word "sign" is in common use, and when something is a sign of something else, it is a symbol, just like a glyph. So in that way, the word sigil could be used interchangeably with the word glyph.

But sigils are not as simple as glyphs. A sigil is composed of other smaller symbols combined into a single more complex symbol, and that is what astrology symbols are. So in that way, a sigil would make a good word for an astrological symbol. Unfortunately, sigils are also associated with occult or magical powers, and are used in the performance of magical rituals, spells, and incantations. In that way, astrologers like me probably wouldn't want the association with the word sigil. Not because we are necessarily opposed to magic, but because astrology is not itself magic, a distinguishing factor that many of us struggle to explain to the world when we are pushed to defend astrology. In the end, neither word is really adequate or accurate, and calling astrology symbols by the word "symbols" alone would be most appropriate. Common usage will ultimately dictate that one or both words will prevail.

ALPHABETS - LETTERS - RUNES

Another type of symbol is the alphabetic letter. Letters are symbols or characters that are used to represent a speech sound such that when combined together the letters form a word. The word "letter" comes from the Latin "littera," meaning "written documents." There are numerous alphabets that are in current use, and many are very ancient. Still others have been lost through time and disuse, and of those that we have samples, some have yet to be deciphered. One two-thousand year-old alphabet that is no longer in use for linguistic purposes but is still used for esoteric practices is the runic alphabet.

Runes are letters found in any of several alphabets that were used up until about the 13th century AD. Believed to be German in origin, runes were also used in Britain, Mongolia, and Scandinavia. The runic alphabet was used for general communications but was also symbolic and used as such in magical writings, spell-casting, and charms. To make a spell work, a specific rune was cast and a prayer (or a curse) was whispered over it. This practice has resulted in our current English verb "to round," which came from an old English word "rounen," meaning "to whisper," which came from the word "rune."

To learn about symbols and symbolism, it is always helpful to know some of the terms that you'll encounter, and to understand how they apply to the use of symbols, past and present.

the invention of the Armenian alphabet consolidated the perception of Armenia as an entity distinct from the surrounding Zoroastrians,

the continued use of the language was considered of critical importance to the maintenance of a unified Armenian sense of history and identity. According to James Russell, the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard, the fifth-century saint Mashtots gave Armenia much more than an efficient system for rendering its language into written form. By means of his invention, Mashtots gave Armenians a cultural and religious identity as well as the means to survive as a people despite the efforts of larger and more powerful neighbors to subsume or destroy them. Having an alphabet allowed Armenians not only to translate the Bible into their own language but works of Christian theology, saints' lives, history, and works of classical literature as well. It also allowed them to develop scholarly institutions and a literature of their own.

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