Fundamentals of Symbolism
As understood from a traditional Roman Catholic perspective **
This essay was inspired by, and written in critical
response to, the popular PBS television series, The Transformation of
Myth Through Time by the openly apostate Roman Catholic, Joseph Campbell
“I will espouse you to me
for right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the Lord.” Hosea 2: 21-22
By
Man's interest in symbols, it
would appear, is as old as his existence. Hieroglyphs and the various alphabets
of man, for example, are visual signs or conventional symbols that convey
meaning by evoking words, which in turn evoke objects, events and ideas. Musical
and mathematical notations are symbols that convey specific meaning as well.
There are also conventional symbols, invented by man, such as the dove of
peace, the anchor of hope or the flags of nations that may become universal
through verbal explanation. Again there are secret symbols which men use to
convey allegiance to a certain ideology that they wish to hide from the
profane. It is supposed that the "fish" drawings done by early
Christians in the Catacombs of Rome were such sort of symbol. This essay is not
concerned with any of these. There is, according to psychologists, yet
another set of symbols that deal with man's fundamental view of himself, the
cosmos, and God. 1
These symbols come to the
surface in the varying poetic insights and myths of mankind. Thus even such a
traditional orthodox scholar as Father Martin C. Darcy S.J. in his book, The
Meaning and Matter of History, recognized that poetic insight and myth
ought not to be dismissed. He affirmed that myths were not mere fiction but
more like reality as lived through the imagination. He stated that "... It
(myth) is a manner of describing what lies behind the dry facts as noted by the
perceiving mind, and it is the recurrent way in all civilizations for giving
expression to the innate hopes and desires of man, and his sense of the past.
Poetry and myth, therefore, are enlisted by the philosopher of history to
describe the truth he is seeking. Perhaps even more pertinent to the
philosopher of history is the view now widely held that the human experience
can be presented through types of symbols and images. There is a mysterious
analogy which runs through the varying levels of human experience, of which the
simplest examples are 'left and right', high and low', 'up and down'. Material
symbols serve for spiritual realities, and so the psychologists tell us, there
are fundamental symbols which contain a wealth of meaning, so that when they
appear in religious or poetic form in other civilizations the historian is
initiated into the ideas and in to the ritual of behavior of the people who use
them." 2
These fundamental analogies of "right – left" and "up-down" spoken of by Fr. D’Arcy, may be represented as in the diagram below.
(Space)
Top
– Above - Up
Left -Beginning - ┼Right
– End (Time)
Bottom – Below- Down
It is difficult to say
with certitude how these symbols function, but it would appear that they
operate at an unconscious, or pre-rational level. However they work, such
pioneering authorities, as Edward Sapir, Mircea Eliade, Carl Jung, and Claude
Lévi-Strauss believe that by identifying these visual patterns one may obtain
valuable insights into the lives of both individuals and cultures. While these
authors agree upon the existence of these spatial structures, their conclusions
regarding them are often conflictive and confuse more than clarify their true
meaning. Without delving too deeply into any erroneous conclusions, I should
like to reassemble the known facts into a cohesive overview that will show the
similarities and, most importantly, the differences between the spatial symbols
of Christianity, especially Catholicism, and all other belief systems. Given
the reigning confusion, this appears at first glance to be a daunting task, but
as Claude Lévi-Strauss rightly pointed out, " The symbols of man are
infinite in their complexity, but simple in their rules." 3
It should be stated from the
beginning that these rules, referred to by Lévi-Strauss, govern archetypal
expressions of the "self," its individuation, and reciprocity and are
not to be confused with the symbolic theories of Sigmund Freud which deal with
erotic desire and repression.4
According to J.A.
Laponce of the
Historically, this
configuration, the dot surrounded by one or more circles, would indeed appear
to be the most ancient and perennial of all human symbols. It appears as a
recurring motif in the monuments of all civilizations. The image to the left is
of one of many Neolithic (3000 BC) cult symbols unearthed in
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Australian Aboriginal |
North
America Indian ( |
Indian (Buddhist) |
Indian (Hindu) |
Tibetan (Tantric) |
The phenomenon represented by the Mandala, ie.,
the union of the individual consciousness with the divine reality at the core
of its being, is fundamental to Oriental philosophy, especially the Vedanta
that evolved from the ancient Upanishads. The Vedanta teaches: "1 )
that man's real nature is divine. If, in this universe, there is any underlying
Reality, a Godhead, then the Godhead must be omnipresent, If the Godhead is
omnipresent, it must be within each one of us and within every creature and
object. Therefore man in his true nature is God. 2 ) That it is the aim of
man's life on earth to unfold and manifest his Godhead, which is eternally
existent within him. But hidden." 8
However, just as early man's intuitive awareness of the sacred nature of life and all reality may have led to an identification of his own consciousness with that of some intuited divine source, there has also existed, along with this conceptual unity, a sense of duality. This duality is largely defined in terms of male and female principles and attributes. In the East it comes down to us in written form through the Tao-te Ching (way of nature) of the legendary master Lau-Tzù, and in the West via the Pythagorian Table of Opposites passed down through Aristotle. . See Appendix 1
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Tao-te Ching Yang - ----Yin Male -- --Female Active ----Passive Light ------Dark Creative --Receptive Time------ Space Spirit------ Nature Good ------Evil |
Pythagoras
Table
of opposites Male---------Female Right --------Left Light-------- Dark Limited -----Unlimited Rest-------- Motion Straight---- Curved Good-------- Evil |
The earliest
depictions of this Male -Female polarity , for which we have no written explanation,
seem to have obvious generative and gender connotations The prehistoric
"Crick stones" from Great Britain and the "Grand Alix" from
Guatemala shown below are clearly based on male and female sexual organs, while
the reconstructed view of the Avesbury circle, again in Great Britain and
"Tara" mound in Ireland, present the dual principles more
stylistically (the small circle with the dot or mound being male and the small
circle with an even smaller circle being female). It is, thus a generally held
hypothesis, that the cyclical regeneration of nature influenced primitive man
producing an awe of sexuality, and the birth, growth, death, and rebirth cycle
that he observed around him. Based on such figurines as the "Willendorf
Venus, (to the right) "Marija Gimbutas in her 1974 study The Goddesses
and Gods of Old Europe proposed that, before the first Indo-European
herdsmen arrived with their patriarchal gods, the Neolithic farming peoples of
Europe did indeed base their religion on "Mother Earth" with the
concomitant cyclical and sexual connotations. The emphasis on the enlarged
belly and breasts of this figurine coupled with the lack of a face - imago
dei - or rational guiding principle, would reinforce this hypothesis. The Magna
Mater (Earth Mother) oriented fertility, or "pagan" religion with
its divinization of the “Feminine or earthly principle,” has remained vital as
an underground current in Western culture via the various Dionesiac cults and
mystery religions right up to, via its full resurgence under “Romanticism,”
modern times. 9
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"Crick stones" |
"Grand Alix" |
Avesbury |
" |
The same duality was
apparently expressed in early languages. According to linguistic scholar,
Alexander Humez, virtually all Indo-European languages, in the beginning,
emphasized the "dual," as a distinct from the "singular and the
"plural.’ This duality, it may be presumed, was based on the male and
female attributes of living creatures and projected into the existing cosmos.
It may be added that this division continues in many, if not most Languages
today. "Male" words tend to be aspirate, breathing out, such
as Father ( Pater Latin, Greek, Abba Hebrew) or Spirit ( Spiritus L.atin, Pneuma Greek, Ruah Hebrew)
and "female" words tend toward labial, sounds formed by the
lips, such as Mother, based on the
original Indo-European phoneme "Ma," signifying the "totality of
the feminine or earthly principle" (Mater, materia, matrix Latin) etc.
Yet
another expression of cosmic duality is the general attribution of masculinity
to the sun ( El Sol m.) and
femininity to the moon (la Luna f.) As explained in Appendix #
one, this dyadic presentation of the greater and lesser lights has prevailed
from prehistoric times up to our present day. The figure to the far left from
the Paleolithic (approx.30,000 BC) shows faceless “Woman” holding the crescent
moon presumably symbolic of the force behind the changing tides and her
menstrual cycle. While the ancient Greeks worshipped Apollo as the unique deity representing the sun (m), they divided the identity of the
Moon (f) in to three personifications
tied to the cyclical nature of the luminary. Artemis (Diana), Apollo’s twin sister, (above) whose symbol was the
crescent represented the perpetual virginal state, Selene, the oldest definition among the Greeks, represented the
full moon and maternity, while Hecate, was seen as hag, the waning or dark side
of the moon tied to witchcraft and sorcery. The illustration to the right is
from an Alchemical text of the 17th century depicting the “mystical
marriage of the sun and moon to bring forth the ‘new humanity’”. (Alchemy, with
its concomitant symbolism, will be discussed in Part Two of this essay) The
illustration itself representing the coming together of Sun m. and Moon f. to form a “New Humanity” presumably derives from the millenarian
sense of foreboding attached to solar and lunar eclipses.
While this polarity or division may, indeed, be
based on observed sexual differentiation and fertility as described above,
or, as proposed by Claud Lévi-Strauss, an invented binary framework by which
the individual or group can make choices as to what is desirable or
undesirable, the ubiquitous manifestation of the same symbols and sounds leads
to the premise that they likely have a meaning of universal dimensions. This is
even more apparent when they appear in a sublimated form. For example, when
they are shown as either two antagonistic forces represented as snakes or
dragons placed left and right in eternal battle for dominance, (as seen in the
Native American shield on the right or the Chinese drumhead on the left) or as
the union of these two opposing forces as seen in the awe inspiring solar and
lunar eclipses as mentioned above, or in human artifacts such as the Caduceus. 10
The Caduceus is among
the oldest symbols of man, going back to at least to Sumerian times. The
example at the left is taken from the sacrificial cup of King Gudea of Lagesh
(c.2600 BC). It is also seen at the entrance of ancient Hindu temples and is
the basis of Kundelini, Serpent force Yoga. It is, again, the attribute
of the Greco –Roman god Hermes/Mercury and is, of course used as the symbol of
modern day medical practice. In all of these instances it is a symbol of fusion
of opposites involved in the process of healing and wholeness.
Another example of
unification of opposites is the classic T’ai chi image of equal black
and white yin – yang hemispheres separated by a sine curve within
a circle. Within the black and white hemispheres is a dot of the opposing
color. According to the prevailing wisdom these opposite markings designate the
inclusion of a small part of each of the opposing forces included in its
counterpart. One might well counter that this symbolic statement might refer to
the innate attraction of one for the other. The T’ai-chi image is
ubiquitous throughout the East and has re-emerged in the West as a fundamental
“New Age” symbol. It represents the embodiment of the ancient notion of the Tao
that both the Yin and the Yang are emanations of the undivided
One – to be ultimately bound together in harmony with the leveling of all
distinctions in the end. 11
Yet another
symbolic manifestation of the fusion of opposites is the depiction of two or
more intertwined triangles within the same enclosed circle. This symbol, the
hexagram, known to many as the “Seal of Solomon” or “Magen David” is, once
again, of most ancient origin. The authoritative Jewish Scholar Gersholm
Scholem points out that this symbol was used, “From as early as the bronze age
–possibly as an ornament and possibly as a magic sign – in many civilizations
and in regions as far apart as Mesopotamia and
We have seen thus far that the symbols, - the dot, the circle or circles, the Mandala, the two serpents, the T’ai-chi, and the hexagram, are among the most fundamental graphic images used by man. Are there any overall conclusions to be drawn from them regarding the human condition? First off, the use of the dot and circle as a symbol of identity shows that reflective self-awareness is present in all human beings from early childhood in all cultures and all locations. No other species uses this or, for that matter, any other symbolic statement of identity. Second, The use of the same symbol, the dot and circle to depict a unique divine presence shows the universal belief in such a being or presence. Third, Virtually all cultures view reality in a dyadic fashion based on an overall male-female polarity. Fourth, symbolic representations such as serpents or dragons in opposition demonstrate a universal awareness of antagonistic or complementary elements in the cosmos that in some way are related to a quadratic relationship between male and female (right and left) and the heavens and earth (up and down). Fifth, There appear in all ancient cultures symbolic manifestations of a desire to resolve these opposites and that the Caduceus, the T’ai-chi, and the hexagram are manifestations of this universal desire. As Dostoevsky mused in “The Grand Inquisitor”: “This craving for a community of worship...and for a universal unity ...is the misery of every man individually and of all humanity from the beginning of time.”
The overall commonality of symbolic structures among all peoples has, indeed, led many writers on the subject of symbolism, e.g., Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Joseph Campbell, among a host of others, to posit the theory that all the religions of man are variations of the same primal aspirations to identity, transcendence and wholeness. While man’s aspirations appear symbolically similar, their resolution is another matter. The Judeo-Christian tradition, for example, uses a parallel symbolic system, raised however, to higher level by the revelation of a God who is wholly other. [Deus] est re et efinitiv mundo distinctus, et super omnia quae praeter ipssum sunt ineffabiliter excelsus – [God] is essentially a reality other than the world and ineffably superior to all that possibly could be.15 This, as we shall see, provides a unique vision of man and his destiny with its own symbolic structures, especially within the artworks of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy,
Before looking at the continuation and change to these basic symbols by revealed religion, there is one more ubiquitous symbol to be discussed, the Labyrinth.
The labyrinth or spiral
maze is as old and ubiquitous as any of the above mentioned symbols. At the
left is a prehistoric British “turf Maze.” At the right, are three intertwining
spirals on the wall of the Neolithic gravesite at New Grange, Ireland.16 There are vestiges of these symbolic
figures found throughout Great Britain and Europe as well as North and South
America. According to Jung, it is a symbol both of the unconscious and the
inward journey, as well as the underworld. As the latter, it is mentioned in
Virgil’s, Aenead as inscribed at the gateway to Hades. The best known
description of a labyrinth or maze, however, with a clear insight into its
meaning, is found in the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. According to
the legend invented by the Attic Greeks, Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos of
The
mytho-poetic or imaginative mind, of these early Greeks with their incipient
awakening of discursive reason, somehow grasped that what lay at the center of
the labyrinth or inward journey was to be feared. They intuitively understood
that the inner drives of sex and violence was the lair of the beast and that
only with intelligence, valor, and pure love could one escape it in tact. Thus
the story of Theseus, the noble Athenian, with the unselfish aid of Ariadne,
King Minos Daughter, overcame the Minotaur and escaped with his life. The
Medieval builders of the Christian Middle Ages understood the symbolism as
well. Circular labyrinths or mazes were traced on the floors of the great
cathedrals. No, the faithful did not walk to the center of these mazes to gain
insights and mystic experiences as some of our modern priests and priestesses
avow. The labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral was placed over the ancient shrine to
the earth goddess Belthane and beneath the West Rose window dedicated to Mary
the Mother of God. The same window that Henry Adams had labeled in his Mount
Saint Michel and Chartres, , “Our Lady’s promise of Salvation.” At the
center of the labyrinth at
The primordial symbol of
revealed religion that can be traced to its origins in the Hebrew Bible is the
twin pillars Jachin and Boaz that stood on the porch of Solomon’s
The dyadic nature of the relationship between the Deity and His creation is actually reflected in the Hebrew letter “he”, ח the symbol for “He Who Is,” in contrast to the monistic mandala⊚ Eastern symbol for the unity of being seen above.
These same free standing pillars were absorbed by
early Christianity and used in the same symbolic context as seen in the picture
at the left of the 3rd Century Catacomb of
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A further example of this Creator – Creation, Male – Female polarity
is show in the icon from
According to the Eastern
tradition, the entire composition is placed in a golden setting signifying that
the picture represents an eternal theme. Here again we see the golden tower
“stage right” representing the Creator and the silver tower “stage left”
representing the creation. If one observes closely, the golden tower “opens” on
to the male, Abraham, while the silver tower is sealed over the woman, the
infertile Sarah, whose head is covered and hand concealed. Trees representing
life grow from their respective heads towards each other: from Sarah a single
trunk, and from Abraham a double trunk to signify the line of Ishmael born of
the slave girl, and the line of Isaac to be born of Sarah. The three seated
“angels” are displayed with their right hands displaying three fingers
identifying them with the Tri-une Deity. They also carry in their left hands,
rods (the male symbol “baton de commandemant”) of equal length representing
their equal authority. The three angelic strangers, according to tradition,
represent a manifestation of the Trinity of God. (possibly, Micha-el = who is
like God, reminiscent of the Father; Gabri-el = messenger of God, reminiscent
of the Word; and Rapha-el = healing of God, reminiscent of the Holy Spirit.).
In continuing symbolism, The angel on the “stage left” creation side has his
feet on a square form below representing the earth as “God’s foot stool.” Both
Abraham and Sarah bring equal offerings (bowls) to the angels seated below at
table as again representing equal dignity. The table is square, a symbol of the
material creation with its four corners, four winds and four elements (Earth,
Air, Fire and Water). The sacred meal which they are seen sharing is,
presumably, representative of both the Jewish Passover and the Christian
Eucharist.
From a Christian
perspective, however, the traditional Ukrainian Catholic icon shown to the left
depicting the Annunciation holds the full meaning of the Creator and
Creation towers or pillars. At the moment of the Annunciation, the golden
tower, stage right, is joined to the silver tower, stage left by a shawl to
symbolize a mystical marriage between God and His chosen people the Jews. Mary,
the Rose of Sion, receives the “Word” and thus reversing Eve’s fall becomes the
mother of the New Creation.- the Church. “No longer shall men call thee
forsaken, or thy land desolate; thou shall be called my beloved and thy land a
home... Gladly as a man takes home the maiden of his choice...Gladly the Lord
shall greet thee as the bridegroom his bride.” (Isaiah 62: 4,5) .20
The
details of this great mystery are visually presented in this icon as well.
Beneath the golden tower, the Angel Gabriel, messenger of God, extends his right
hand displaying three fingers while in his left hand he carries a rod, baton
de commandemant, topped with three balls. He thus approaches Mary showing
that he bears a message from the Triune God. Mary holds up her right hand to
inform the angel that she “knows not man” (the stage right “masculine” pillar
within the silver “creation” tower) . The Holy Spirit descends from above to
overshadow her as she receives the Divine Child in her womb. In fulfillment of the Scriptures and the
aspiration of all humanity, the Creator
and creation were definitively joined in a unique manner in the person of Jesus
Christ at this precise moment. In
her left hand Mary holds a spindle of thread, reminiscent of Ariadne, that will
lead souls to salvation. Here, visually depicted is the great mystery pondered
by both the Eastern and Western Fathers, The identity of Mary, as typos, and
the Church. “Mother Earth it was that bore all flesh, and was accursed. But for
the sake of the flesh that is the Church incorruptible, this fleshly earth
blessed from the beginning, for Mary was the Mother Earth that brought the
Church to birth.” St Ephram the Syrian
“: So Mary and the Church are two, yet one single mother, two virgins and yet
one. Each is a mother, each is a virgin. Both bore to God the Father a child
unblemished. The one, without sin, gave birth to Christ’s body, the other
restored his body through the power of remission of sins. Both are Mother of
Christ, but neither can bring Him to birth without the other.” St. Augustin, 21
The divine hierogamos
or nuptial between God and His Creation may be schematically presented as in
either of the following diagrams. To the left is the Byzantine model where the
two towers representing God and His creation are joined by the marriage shawl
to produce the new Adam, Jesus Christ, True God and true man. To the right is
the more familiar Western monogram depicting the two realms of Creator and
creation joined in the cross. This union was prefigured in the first Passover
when the Hebrew people were commanded to smear the two upright posts as well as
the lintel with the blood of the slain “Lamb” to ensure their escape. (Exodus
12:7)
In
Western art many of the symbols of iconography are reduced or omitted for
aesthetic reasons as well as for psychological reasons, as the
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In these three paintings by Fra Amgelico, Felippo Lippi, and Mausolino Da Pancale, respectively, the right – left orientation of the realm of Grace (divine life) and the realm of nature is maintained |
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The male – female analogy continues in the
New Testament. Jesus Christ is the bridegroom (Matt. 9:16, Mark 2:19, John
3:29) and the Church his spotless bride. “Husbands, love your wives, just as
Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for her, that he might
sanctify her, cleansing her in the bath of water by means of the word; ...For
this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and
the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery – I mean in
reference to Christ and the Church.” (Ephesians 2: 25 – 27, 31-32) This
mystery was touched upon by both the Eastern and Western Church Fathers as
well. St Ambrose states clearly that, “The husband is Christ, the wife is the
Church, a bride for her love, a virgin for her unsullied purity.” *** St. Cyprian of
An interesting and recurrent theme in both Eastern and Western symbolic iconography is the Crucifixion with generally anthropomorphic sun and moon symbols placed upper stage right and left.
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Byzantine Crucifix |
Romanesque Crucifix |
The iconography of the Byzantine crucifix is, as
always the more complete. At the top, outside the frame of the cosmos, resides
the Eternal Father who blesses the scene below. Within the cosmic scene at the
top, stage right and stage left respectively, flanking the two grieving angels,
as stated, are the “male” sun and the
“female” moon. This schematic placement follows the pagan or pre-Christian
understanding of the cosmos as we have seen. There is an interesting
innovation, however, in this and virtually all depictions of the Crucifixion
that show the reversal of the natural order within the New Dispensation. Mary
is to Christ’s right and
Another way of
showing this same analogy of the supernatural order superseding the natural and
forming a new creation is seen in many medieval and early Renaissance
triptychs. In this case the cosmic active Male and receptive Female of the created
order are represented on the outer panels by the two rock escarpments behind a
man and a woman respectively, and the Mystery of Salvation, with its reversal,
within the central panel. Such is the case in the Crucifixion scene painted
Perugino now housed in the National Gallery in
The two paintings shown below, the top section of
Jan Van Eyk’s 1432 Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, (left) and Hugo Van der
Goes Portinari Altarpiece, (right) show the same distribution In the
first instance Adam (M) stands stage right and Eve(F) stage left according to
the natural order of creation. In the center panel according to the new
dispensation of grace, the order is reversed with the Blessed Virgin Mary at
the right hand of the Father and
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There are, in fact, myriad visual presentations of the Mystery of Salvation that follow the basic formulas presented above. To emphasize this fact I should like to show three more examples: one taken from the Byzantine or Eastern tradition, and the other two from the Western Catholic tradition.
The first is a fresco
from the Church of the Savior of Chora in
The
second picture is from an illuminated manuscript titled the Très Riche
Hueres of Jean Duc de Berry, painted by the Limbourg brothers between 1413
– 1446. It is obviously a vision of Hell and would appear to be the bottom half
of the Byzantine paining described above. Here the same rock escarpments
converge at the end of time as the souls of the damned fall into the flame
issuing forth from the demon’s mouth.
The final piece in this section is Fra Angelico’s
fresco of the Last Judgment painted c. 1440 and presently displayed in the
The case of Fra Angelico is somewhat unique. Not only is he universally recognized as a painter of genius, he has also been raised by the Roman Catholic Church to the title of Blessed, one step below canonization as a Saint. Naturally graced with great talent and imbued with a supernatural vision he may well be called the quintessential “Catholic artist.” It is therefore worthy of note that he follows the universal up – down, right – left symbolism in his painting. See Appendix # 1 esp. Myth of Er
In
this painting of the resurrection and judgment on the last day, Christ comes
down from Heaven above riding the clouds surrounded by His angels and already
risen saints. As in the Byzantine Anastasis, He is framed in the
mandorla symbolic of His two natures. Below, the earthly tombs are opened and
the dead rise to judgment, as the angels blow their trumpets. The blessed, from
all ranks and walks of life, stand on the Lord’s right (our left) and are led
upward to the gates of paradise (by angels as St. Dominic and
Thus to recapitulate, we have seen thus far how
the universal symbols of man originate in the innate understanding of his own
identity, his sense of the divine, the division or rupture inherent within the
original creation, and his desire for unity and wholeness. We have further seen
how the achievement of this unity and wholeness is fulfilled in the incarnate
person of Jesus Christ, true God and true man, and the establishment of the
Church as His bride as a new creation. In the birth of this “new creation,”
Shown to the left
of the page is the 14th century Flemish painting from the
Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection in
The final example of this first section is that of “The Woman” of the Apocalypse as depicted in the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe from Mexico, imprinted on the tilma of Blessed Juan Diego in 1531,. “And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” Apoc. 12:1
Traditionally this image has been seen to reflect
first 
for
Christ is “ the sun of justice” (Malachai 4:2 and the “brightness of eternal
light” (Wisdom 7:26)”
St. Methodius, apostle to the Slavs, describes the vision thus: “ Indeed this she, our Mother, the great woman in heaven. This is the heavenly archetype, greater than all her children. This is the Church and all her children, born through baptism in all parts of the world, die on earth but rise again and hasten to join their mother. Mark now her progress majestic, the Lady exalted in wonderful splendor, spotless and, and pure bright as the stars of the sky. For she has been clothed by Him, whose essence is light everlasting.” 23
The visual message of this image is striking in that it contains the universal symbols of fallen humanity raised to a new supernatural meaning. First we have seen how man from earliest times related the feminine crescent moon to the sign of a virgin. In this case it is not part of a cyclical eventuality – virgin, mother, hag – but of a heavenly supernatural reality – the perpetual virginity of both Mary and the Church. The “Woman” – Mary , Church – is encompassed, if not eclipsed, by the sun, the masculine principle of life giving light. In this case, however, it is not the natural light of the visible sun, but the everlasting light of Sanctifying Grace supplied by the tri-une God, Father, Son, & Holy Spirit that both covers and fills the “Chosen Bride,” first Israel then Mary and the Church.
Though not depicted in the miraculous image of Guadalupe, the heavenly vision of
Mary/Church of the Apocalypse wears a crown of twelve stars. Again, fallen man
dimly saw the significance both the stars and numbers. The Babylonians,
counting the twelve months or “moons” of the year divided the starry heavens into
the Sidereal Zodiac of 12 zones. The Children of Israel were divided into 12
tribes. Our Lord chose 12 Apostles and it is precisely these, now “heavenly
inhabitants,” destined to rule over the 12 tribes of
*******
Whereas authors such as Joseph Campbell as well
as some virulent Protestant critics have tried to show that the acknowledged
use of universal symbolism by the Catholic Church shows that it is but one more
of a variety of “pagan” religions, it has been the premise of this study to
show quite the opposite. “Paganism” while having a dim understanding of
“Paradise Lost,” is simply the default
religion of
“Instead they have pointed us to fire, or wind, … To the wheeling stars, or sun and moon and Made gods of them. …
[M]en imparted to stocks and stones the incommunicable name of God.
Nor were they content with these false notions of God’s nature; living in a world besieged by doubt, the misnamed its innumerable disorders a state of peace. Peace amidst their rites of child murder, their dark mysteries, and vigils consecrated to frenzy.” Wisdom 13, 15
Beginning, as shown, with God’s revelation to the Jews, the Almighty Father has broken the chain of cyclical death with its concomitant “Paganism” and instituted a wholly new creation, the Church, espoused to His unique Son, the incarnate Word. This new creation, the Church (as is Mary the archetype and emblem thereof) is mediatrix of all the graces necessary to gain eternal life – the end for which man was originally created.
Symbolically, the wholeness sought by suffering humanity as seen in this introduction to universal symbols is completely fulfilled in the Catholic Church under the See of St. Peter reflected in the Papal seal illustrated above: the two crossed keys of (heavenly) gold, oro m.and (earthly) silver, plata f. under the stewardship of Peter.
ADENDUM
In the light of the “nuptial” image of the Church as bride of Christ, found
in the Old Testament, the Gospels, St. Paul
and the Apocalypse as developed in this essay, I offer the following
personal reflection on this most awesome mystery according to St. Augustine’s threefold model
of “prefiguration,” “configuration,” and
final “fulfillment.”
“Not only does the Old Testament as a whole prefigure the New, but
equally the coming of Christ in the flesh and in the Church prefigures the
Parousia,” 24.
At the Fall, our first parents, and through them all humanity - in quo omnes peccaverunt (Romans 5:12) lost friendship and intimacy with God. Man became a slave to Satan, sin, and death. Salvation from this situation was, however, promised. A covenant was to be established between God and man and there was to be a woman who would provide a son who would smash the Serpent’s head and break Satan’s claim over humanity.
This covenant was first proposed
to Abraham the Chaldean whom God approached
with a “test” to set in motion the reversal of Adam’s sin. “Are you willing to
sacrifice your only son, Isaac, to Me.” Abraham trusted and hoped
against hope, and God accepted Abraham’s faith. The Covenant was established
and God would, in fact, sacrifice his only son to reestablish the bond
between man and God. (Hebrews11:1-23) The
children of Abraham, the Jewish people, became thus, the natural forerunners of
God’s kingdom on earth. This terestial kingdom would eventually extend from the
Wadi of Egypt to the Great Euphrates and have as its capital
The “Old Testament” is filled
with accounts of this prefiguration set in motion by Abraham. At the first
“Passover” a spotless lamb was sacrificially slaughtered and eaten. The people
were to be girded and shod as on pilgrimage, according to God’s command. The
blood of the lamb was smeared on the wood of posts and lintel of the doorways
through which they would set fourth on their journey. This ritual slaying of
the lamb continued right up to the slaying of the true “Lamb of God,” Jesus
Christ, (John.
1:29) and the sprinkling of his blood on the wood of the cross, doorway
to heaven. Blood and water flowed from
His, the new Adam’s side and the Church, his bride, was born just as Eve had
been brought forth from the side of the old earthly Adam. This bride, the
Church, is a “New Creation” the supernatural configuration of the
Just as God espoused Israel as his Bride as recounted by the Prophets Hosea, 2:19-20 Isaiah, 62:4-5, Ezekiel 16: 8-14, and Jeremiah 3:14 to bring forth the Messiah, the “New Adam,” born of Mary, the spotless virgin, Rose of Zion, so Christ, the Bridegroom will espouse his bride, the Church, a mystical union not to be fully fulfilled until the end of time
At the time of the first Passover, the Children of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, passed miraculously without drowning, via the Red Sea, out of Egypt, the land of sorcery and oppression on their journey to the Promised Land, just as Christians would in the future pass through the waters of Baptism to reach the Heavenly Kingdom, not just as children of Abraham, which through Jesus they are, but as the adopted children of God.
50 days after the Passover,
Moses, from the top of
Midway between Abraham and Jesus,
David, root and prefiguration of the Christ, ruled from
It has been suggested that the prophetic promise of David in the Psalms, “The throne of your fathers your sons will inherit, you will make them princes throughout the lands.” (Psalm 45: 17,18) may be applied to Christendom, as embodied in the spiritual and temporal power (millennium) of the Roman Catholic Church as it flourished in its glory from the imperial crowning of Charlemagne by the Pope in 800 AD to the self crowning of Napoleon, embodying the revolutionary new cult of man, when he seized the imperial crown (a copy of the original) in 1804. Since this time, it certainly appears that the temporal power of the Church (Christendom) has, and will, alas, continue to diminish and ultimately disappear as set forth in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
“The Church will not enter into the glory of the Kingdom except through this latter Easter, in which it will follow the Lord in his death and Resurrection. Hence the Kingdom will not be fulfilled through the historical triumph of the church on an ascending path, but through a victory of God over the last unleashing of evil that will cause the Bride [ the Heavenly Jerusalem] to descend from heaven…after the last cosmic upheaval of this world that passes.” ( CCC 677)
The fulfillment, then, of God’s
kingdom will not come until “heavens and earth have passed away” and the final
judgment of all souls with “the sheep set apart from the goats.” a transformed
new order of creation will be established as the Bridegroom, Christ, as in
Solomon’s Song of Songs, is united
with his bride as the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church Triumphant, safely under
the mantle of Mary, descends. In this heavenly kingdom to come there will be no
longer either pain nor suffering. There will be neither
H. R. A.
The second part of this treatise will
deal with the same symbols and their subtle (and not so subtle) variations from
the Renaissance to the present.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
End Notes
** Within the Roman Catholic tradition, the natural order of reality is studied and understood within its own context. The supernatural order, that is to say, Revelation does not abrogate what is understood of the natural order, but builds on and adds to it. This study will be based on the evidence of symbolic manifestation existing in the natural order and how these symbols are transformed in accordance with revealed truths.
1) See for example: Edward Sapir, Language: An Introduction to the Study Of Speech (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1921); and his "symbolism article in the Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (New York: Macmillan, 1934); Mircea Eliade, Traite d'histoire des religions (Paris, Payot, 1949); Mircea Eliade, Images et symbols, essai sur le symbolism magico religieux (Paris: Gallimard, 1952); Mircea Eliade, Mythes, reves et mystères (Paris: Galliard, 1957); Georges Poullet, Les metmophoses du cercle (Paris: Pion, 1961);Carl Gustav Jung,, Psychology and Religion: West and East (English trans., Princeton University Press: 1958); Psyche and Symbol (New York: Double-Anchor, © Bollingen Foundation Inc.. 1958); Man and His Symbols (London: Aldous Books, 1964); Analytical Psychology (New York, Random House, 1968); Joseph Campbell The Hero With A Thousand Faces (New York: MJF Books, © Bollingen Foundation, 1949); The Mythic Image (Princeton University Press, 1974); Transformations of Myth Through Time (New York: Harper & Row, 1990)
2) Martin C. D'arcy, The Meaning and Matter of History (New York: The Noonday Press, 1967) p.68
3) Claude Levi Strauss, The Raw and the
Cooked, Introduction to a science of Mythology, Volume one. Chicago;
4) While many of the insights of Sigmund Freud regarding the workings of "subconscious" mental processes are valid and of interest, his basic premise regarding the Oedipal origins of neurosis in a repressed racial memory of sexual pleasure/guilt and repression is pure invention. There is simply no anthropological evidence for the primal tribe that killed and devoured the patriarch and incestually possessed the mother. By his own admission he developed this theory because of his perception of " the vain efforts of human beings threatened with disaster and the necessity of resignation" and "ones own impotence before the will of the gods" which he would not accept. Cit. Basic Writings of Sigmund Freud, 1938 Edition, p. 103. Psychologically speaking, a far more intellectually satisfying natural understanding in keeping with Dr. Freud's own position of primal conflict is found in Hesiod,s Theogony vss. 50-80 where Gaia (Mother Earth) induces her children, esp. Kronos (time) to rebel against the Patriarchal Ouranus, (Sky God) who "wickedly" refused to allowed them to see the light.
5) J.A. Laponce, Spatial Archetypes and Political Perception, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 69, 1975
6) H. L. von Franz, The Process of Individuation; Aniela Jaffe, Symbolism in the Visuaal Arts in Man and His Symbols ed. C.G. Jung (New York: Doubleday, 1964) pp. 160-162, 240-241. The ubiquitous nature of this symbolic configuration used by children as a means of expressing self identity is confirmed by twenty years personal experience teaching elementary school art. It is most often seen as a doodle done while daydreaming and often appears during times of stress for an emotionally immature or self-absorbed child.(I have such images in my own files) One such child who was suffering anxiety over his poor academic performance, home life, and uncertainty over self worth, drew such a figure during class and subsequently tried to destroy the drawing in self-destructive rage by poking holes in it repeatedly with his pencil.
7) See: Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1959) pp. 20 - 36. Also: J.E Cirlot, A Dictionary of Symbols (New York: Philosophical Library, 1983) pp. 199-203
8) Swami Bhasyananda, in Vivekananda (Chenai: [Inidia] Swami Jyotirmayanda, 2000) p.131
This concept of the
essentially divine nature of man entered the Western philosophical tradition
along with its symbolism via such neoplatonists as Plotinus, and Proclus and
from the writings of Hermes-Trismagisus. It was the latter who is credited with
the formula, "Deus est sphaera infinita cuijus centrum est ubique
nusquam circumferentiae"(God is an infinite sphere whose center is
everywhere but whose circumference is nowhere). It is the central doctrine of
the "Gnosticism" that battled against Early Christianity. According
to A.J. Fustigiere, the pessimist Gnostics, e.g. the Manechians, believed that the
world was impregnated with evil and must be avoided through asceticism and
purification, while the optimist Gnostics held that world was filled with
divinity and therefore all was permissible. It flowered in Renaissance circles
around Marcilio Ficino, Pico dela Mirandola , and Giordano Bruno. (To be
discussed in Part II of this treatise) In modern times it was espoused by the
American Transcendalists, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman who came under the
influence of the Vedic master Swami Jogut Sangooly
9) For an authoritative overview of Wiccan Neo-paganism See: Margot Adler, Drawing Down the Moon (Boston: Beacon Press, 1986)
10) The serpent or dragon symbolism is of ancient origin. These figures (d r a k o n t o s , draconis, for either one in Greek and Latin) represent the "life force." According to Cirlot "If all symbols are really functions of things imbued with energy, the serpent or snake is, by analogy, symbolic of energy itself - of force pure and simple." J.E. Cirlot A Dictionary of Symbols (New York: Philosophical Library, 1983) p. 285. It is seen frequently in Mesopotamian, Cretan, and Greek art, usually as paired opposites representing masculine and feminine energies according to the near universal formula expressed in various tables of opposites. See:-appendix-one- (below) As to the Caduceus, see: Cirlot. 35 -37
11) Lao Tzu, The Way of Life Tao te Ching R.B. Blakney, Trans.(New York: New America Library,955) p. 37 This is not to be confused with the 6th century writings of Confucius who also used the word Tao (way) to describe a system that is in many ways similar to the Western concept of Natural Law.
12)Gershom Scholem, Kabbalah (New York: Dorset Press, 1974) pp. 362-68
13) ibid. J.E cirlot, p. 351
14) ibid. Gershom Scholem, p.194
15) Const. Dei Filius,
This does not preclude God's active presence in the created order. While St. Thomas Aquinas states that. "...it is impossible for God to enter into the composition of anything, either as formal or material principle." (ST, 1,3,8), he goes on to say that, "God is in all things, not indeed, as part of their essence, nor as an accident, but as agent is present to that on which it acts immediately, and reach it by its power; hence it is proved in [Aristotle] vii. That the thing moved and mover must exist together."
16) The depiction of the
spiral symbol shown to the left was drawn by an eight-year-old boy in a highly
emotional state after listening to a concert of African drum rhythms (observed
by this author). This would confirm the near universal psychological hypothesis
that this symbol has visceral connotations. The spiral or labyrinth as a symbol
of involution, has been associated with the "feminine" principle from
the Stone age to the present as seen in the schematic "woman" shown
below to the left by Marija Gimbutas "language of the Goddess"
(Harper&Row) and the etching by Pablo Picasso to the right. According to
Clare Tuffy, chief guide of New Grange, at the Winter Solstice, a shaft of
sunlight covers the three spirals representative of the triple Goddess and
fecundates the land for the following year. Historically, at least in the
majority of traditions, (see: appendix # 1 below) the sun and sunlight have
represented the "masculine" principle. Thus the "sun
symbol" generally represents the masculine sky god and the
"spiral" the feminine earth mother. It is the work of religion, [or
in primitive religions, the shaman ] to unite these two opposites.(coincidetia
opsitorum) There is ample evidence from primitive religions of gender
transforming rituals to bring this androgynous union about. See: Elémire Zola, The
Androgyne (New York: Crossroad, 1981) The figure shown directly below
represents an aboriginal shaman holding a shield wherein is depicted
symbolically this fusion of the male and female principles.
|
Stone age schematic, Marija Gimbutas. |
Prehistoric petroglyph, Bryce Canyon, Utah |
Picasso -woman- |
17) For a resume of the original details of the story of Pasiphae, Theseus, and the Minotaur see: Mark Morford & Robert Lenardon, Classical Mythology (New York: Longman, 1977)
18) While Biblical scholar John L. McKenzie, S. J. affirms the basic translation of Jachin and Boaz as variants of "He will establish" and "in strength" respectively, he refrains from further commentary save that "many scholars believe that they must have had some symbolic cosmological significance." John L. McKenzie, S.J. Dictionary of the Bible (Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1965) p. 774
According to Occultist, Thomas Troward, cited in
Eden Gray's A complete Guide to the Tarot (New York: Bantam Books, 11th
printing, 1982). The two pillars (Jachin & Boaz) "contain the key to
the entire Bible and to the whole order of Nature, and as emblems of the two
great principles (male & female) that are the pillars of the universe, they
fitly stood at the threshold of that temple which was designed to symbolize the
mysteries of Being...). Abert Pike in his Morals and Dogma of Free Masonry (
19) In the Traditional Mass, prior to changes made after Vatican II, there were two positions reminiscent of Jachin and Boaz designated for the reading of Scripture, the so called, Gospel side, and Epistle side. The Gospel, the life of Our Lord (m. active) was always read stage right of the central tabernacle, and the Epistles, the life of the Church (f. receptive) from stage left.
20) See also for example: The Song of Solomon, Hosea 2:19-20, Jeremiah
3:14, Ezekiel 16:8-14 etc. For a thorough treatment of this topic, see: La
metfora esponsal en els Profets by Teresa Sola, (I – II) Revista
Catalana de Teologia XXVIII/1-2. (
.21) Both these quotes are taken from, Our Lady and the Church by Fr.
Hugo Rahner, S.J.( Zaccheus,
Continuing below are some more recent commentaries on the subject:
CCC, 511. "The Virgin Mary "cooperated through free faith and
obedience in human salvation" (LG 56). She uttered her yes "in the
name of all human nature" (STh
III,30, 1). By her obedience she became the new Eve, mother of all the
living."
According to Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., " In the act of redemption, this Creator-creation relationship is raised to a new order. That nothingness out of which all creation came is raised to the level of personality in Mary, whose virginity and whose "nothingness" express the perfection of all material creation raised to the personal. God speaks a second word - a word of grace and redemption - not this time into the void of non-being, but into the personal emptiness, the receptivity of the purest virgin. Mary, who is symbol of all creation, becomes at that moment the symbol of the Church as bride of Christ. God becomes man and specifically male, not arbitrarily, but because God so created the real symbolic world of man and woman precisely to provide for Himself a language in which He can speak to us. The male Christ therefore represents and is the presence of God the Father (whose perfect image He is) in the midst of maternal creation and maternal Church, which is Mary." The Mediation of Mary in the Church. Rev. Joseph Fessio, S.J., from his book, The Church and Women (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989,) p. 184. Hans Urs von Balthasar continuing the analogy refers to Mary as "Mater, Materia, Matrix" (Mother, Matter and Pure Womb) from which God can fashion whatever he will." Elucidations, "The Marian Principle"(London: SPCK, 1975) p.68
22) From these and the following quote of Ildephonsus of Toledo) from Fr. Rahner’s book, Our Lady and the Church, ( p. 53) " There is the Virgin Mary, in whose womb is signified as by pledge or earnest the whole Church: and we believe most firmly that thus the Church remains securely and forever united to God," it may be speculatively deduced that the Catholic doctrine of the Assumption of Mary, body and soul, to Heaven, is a pledge and earnest of the spiritual and physical resurrection of the entire Mystical Body-living in Sanctifying Grace-, ie., the Church, at the end of time.)
23) "For some... failing to distinguish as the should the precise and proper meaning of the terms the physical body, the social body, and the mystical Body, arrive at a distorted idea of unity. They make the Divine Redeemer and the members of the Church coalesce in one physical person...But Catholic faith and the writings of the holy Fathers reject such false teaching as impious and sacrilegious; and to the Apostle of the Gentiles it is equally abhorrent, for although he brings Christ and His Mystical Body into a wonderfully intimate union, he nevertheless distinguishes one from the other as Bridegroom from Bride," Pius XII Mystici Corporis, Art. 86. For a clear exposition of the problems which arise from a misinterpretation of this doctrine, see, Father John Hardon, S.J. The Mystical Body of Christ, The Catholic Faith magazine, Inter Mirifica 1997
24) Daniélou, J, From Shadow to
Reality, Studies in the Biblical Typology of the Fathers (
The dyadic nature of imaginative expression
Male/Female - Right/Left - Up/Down
Unlike other Indo-European languages ( Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, Italian, German, Russian etc. ), the English language differentiates masculine and feminine only as regards procreative ability in plants and animals. All inanimate objects are relegated, in English, to the genderless class of neuter. This fact, unfortunately, makes it more difficult for an English speaking audience to grasp the "poetic" or unconscious proclivity of human beings, especially but not exclusively children and primitive peoples, to animate the surrounding world with anthropomorphic male and female projections.
Writing in 1905, Edison Best was one of the first anthropologists to observe critically the universal propensity of primitive man to attribute gender to all beings in the universe including inanimate objects, and the division of all reality into two immense classes which are identifiable as male and female. Discussing the Maori of New Zealand, Best quoted their expressions, tama tane, "male side" to designate virility and creative force, and tama wahine, "female side" to designate corresponding passivity. This cosmic distinction, for the Maori, rests on a primordial religious understanding of good and evil in which maleness and femaleness are the basic constituents. The Maori religion, according to Best, considers the male sacred and the female profane. The woman, for the Maori, is the source from whom all evils (including sorcery) come to man. 1
According to another pioneer in the field, T.O Beidelman, the Kagurus people
of
Beidelman reported also on the Meru tribe of
|
Right North White clan Day Sun Man Superior |
Left South Black clan Night Moon Woman-child Inferior |
A similar dichotomy appears among the Zuni Indians of the American South
West. The Zuni personify the left and right sides of the body as two distinct brother
gods, the former passive and reflective and the latter active and impulsive. As
pacifists, the Zuni extolled the former. 4
One of the largest surviving indigenous societies of the New World, the Mapuche
of
|
Right-------- Man--------- Good-------Life --------- Day --------Shaman -----Afterlife -----(good)spirits- Sun---------White -------Dominant ---Above ------Mapuche---- |
Left --------- Woman-child- Evil-----------Death---------Night--------- Sorcerer -----Underworld --(evil)spirits ---Moon --------Black --------Subordinate--below --------(Other)------- |
The evidence of this intuited dialectical polarity is virtually inexhaustible
from ancient to modern times and extends across the entire globe. Not only do
we find the masculine/feminine duality in North and South America and Africa,
but in