Symbolism

[Katss]

I came across something in another forum I browse.. and It compelled me to want to discuss some of this (this could be the wrong forum.. if so point me to a better direction.. and I appologize if this has been discussed before)

Anyway there was a discussion involving an upside down cross.. and his interpretation of it.. how it was St. Peters.. yet present day has associated this with anti-christian.. which led me to think of the swastika.. and how society has completely changed any past meaning it had because of one war.

It intrigues me to think that a symbol can have so much power and mean such different things to different people..

Do you think that a symbol can invoke certain power over people regardless of its true meaning.. or is it more in how we perceive and feel towards a symbol that determines its affect?

[Cindlady2]

A symbol holds the most power for those who understand it. However it can also hold a power of learned reaction. The true power and meaning of the swastika has not changed but because it has been associated with the Nazi Party when people see it, it is the thought of them that instills an emotion.
Therefore those who truly understand the meaning of a symbol will react in one way, where as those who associate it with something else will react to how they feel about that.

It's kind of like the pentacle. To those who understand it understand it's power and meaning. To other's it means witches. To others, it's just a star. And inversed to some it means Satanism. I guess it's all in what we learned, right or wrong.

[Toby Stimpson]

I agree to a large extent with Condlady. You see a symbol is a symbol...it's meaning whether or true or not is imbedded in the minds of the mass herd, right? The idea of the Swastika as being a negetive symbol only comes about with Nazism...however anyone who looks at it's history will know it's not a negetive symbol at all. However, as Cindlady so adequeatly put, it's learned reaction. People learn the reaction that it is a 'bad' symbol becasue of recent history. I think, and this happens with words as well, words as symbols so to speak, that a word can be reclaimed...however its a long process. Personally, with such a symbol as a Swastika, society should really be pressing realistic and historical definitions and helping those who choose to use such symbols in a way that is historically acurate. Hindus and other East Indian religions used the Swastika as a symbol for thousands of years and still do use it. The upside down cross, soemtimes seen as a reactionary devil's cross, has been used to signify the sword of justice. So really, symbolic meanings can change very dramatically, and it's more education I think that will combat negetive definitions sticking.

[RainInanna]

Do you think that a symbol can invoke certain power over people regardless of its true meaning.. or is it more in how we perceive and feel towards a symbol that determines its affect?

I feel it is more how we perceive it. However, suppose someone uses a symbol negatively against you in a spell - let's just use a swastika for an example. In that case what you think of a swastika has nothing to do with what effect their spell will have, IMHO - it will retain their meaning for it because they are using it.

I also feel that you can most easily use a symbol for the meaning it has been given over time. For example, it is powerful to use ancient symbols imbued with years of belief in a specific meaning, even if you hadn't before attributed the meaning to that symbol. Thus why ancient alphabets can be so powerful, as can sigils be. That is why such glyphs can be useful to those who wish to use them, and yet meaningless to those who aren't interested in them. If you don't understand the runes they won't mean anything to you, but if you make the effort to learn their traditional meanings etc. etc. they will become immensely powerful tools.

[Zephyrstorm]

We're taught how to understand symbols.
Even language is nothing more than a series of symbols. The power is in our understanding of how symbols interact with our own understandings and with others.

There's an entire field of art history (and one in English too) based on the exploration of this:
Semiotics for Beginners (http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/S4B/semiotic.html)
Wikipedia says (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics)

[Katss]

I would have to agree with most of you.. the only thing I wonder is that a symbol used.. will affect the person in the way the person believes the symbol to mean.. sortof like Hoodoo.. if you dont believe it.. it cannot hurt you.. so lets say a Swastika is used as a meaning close to Hitlers.. because I believe it is nothing like that.. the power towards me can only be positive.

Although I see the own flaws in my statements.. since this would really devalue alot of spells or actions if it were revolvant around the person receiving it... so I suppose it does go to how the person using it percieves it

Thanks for all the wonderful words of wisdom.. this just really intrigues me.. perhaps why I am reading the DaVinchi Code now ;)