Symbolism

[laserhazel]

What is the highest symbol in the Universe, such as the circle, the square, the pentagram, the half-moon, etc. ?

My opinion is the pentagram and the hexagram are in a perpetual struggle for balance. Maybe the highest symbol in the Universe is the heart?

[CzechWoods]

universe is not about hierarchy. searching for the highest is a road that leads only to your own limitations. in this thread of thought - and with all respect for you as a person - it can be a heart a line a point whichever you choose.

[laserhazel]

Tell that to the military!! :)

I see, but maybe there is a sense of order in the Universe somewhere. To every king a crown, doesn't mean the crown means more than the king, but it is an important symbol. A symbol which might or might not mean more than a symbol representing handicapped parking.

[CzechWoods]

Tell that to the military!! :)

I see, but maybe there is a sense of order in the Universe somewhere. To every king a crown, doesn't mean the crown means more than the king, but it is an important symbol. A symbol which might or might not mean more than a symbol representing handicapped parking.

i was thinking of deleting my post, but your reply is even better.

because although what i said holds truth, your post is an interesting topic fordiscussion anyway

the heart, as the symbol of the soul/emotions etc indeed is a very powerful symbol

i find the circle, for eternity as well as the 8 for the cosmic infinity wonderful, powerful signs too

to myself a triancle , triscelion and other trinity symbols hold no much value.

looking fwd to other ppls opinions.

t-morrow when my karma poke power is back, i will poketh you for the excellent topic :cheers:

[Arion]

Symbols can mean different things to different people, I don't think their could be one that is the "highest." JMO.

[Simply Puzzled]

A single point.

This is the only thing that requires nothing else. A line is a point expanded, a plane is a line expanded, a pentagram is a series of lines along a plane. The point is that from which everything starts and everything breaks down to.

[laserhazel]

I have a 666 pixel, a single point. Maybe it's what's in the point that counts. Some say a line, some say a point, I really don't know. I have some cryptic type things going on that seem to mean more than a heart too.

[RavenStars]

An Ouroboros.

Snakes rejuvenate themselves by shedding their skin, and are thought in some cultures to be immortal.

It's like the infinity symbol in some ways.

It has the circle aspect which I happen to like in a purely geometric form---but the Ouroboros has a destruction/creation aspects that set it spinning which I think surpasses the circle.

And on a purely irrational note it reminds me of all that follows the big bang---don't ask me why.

[laserhazel]

Perhaps the perpetual motion was a pattern consistent with the creation of the Universe. The great wheel of life and things like that.

That is a very interesting symbol. If it does represent "all that is", then it would be a very strong a powerful symbol. It seems to be strongly related to the belief that though the Universe is perpetual, that nothing remains consistent.

Ride the snake.

[mtpathy]

What is the highest symbol in the Universe, such as the circle, the square, the pentagram, the half-moon, etc. ?

My opinion is the pentagram and the hexagram are in a perpetual struggle for balance. Maybe the highest symbol in the Universe is the heart?

associating one thing with another, the symbol that we place onto things is in it of itself the highest form of experience.
the fact that one places something in a context and gives it a symbol as to share that experience with another is the greatest of gifts.
the universe holds no context, the water or sky or earth or moon holds no context other then the one we give it, and by this we experience through
the symbol.

[RedRaven]

What is the highest symbol in the Universe, such as the circle, the square, the pentagram, the half-moon, etc. ?

My opinion is the pentagram and the hexagram are in a perpetual struggle for balance. Maybe the highest symbol in the Universe is the heart?

the pentagram is a great symbol, a lot of different meanings can be taken from it and its a lot deeper then most give it credit for. on the other hand, the tree of life is an anamzing symbol as well. everything that has ever been or ever will be can be explained/seen microcosmically and macrocosmically in this symbol

RR

[Xander67]

well I think the most powerful symbol is the single point, according to sacred geometry NOTHING can exist were it not for that... it is the foundation upon which everything else is manifested,

[Xander67]

the pentagram is a great symbol, a lot of different meanings can be taken from it and its a lot deeper then most give it credit for. on the other hand, the tree of life is an anamzing symbol as well. everything that has ever been or ever will be can be explained/seen microcosmically and macrocosmically in this symbol

RR

I will agree that is is a powerful symbol, and many paths draw from it, even christianity which attributes the five points of the star to the five wounds of Christ.

[Rananeida]

I don't use symbols. Things are themselves in my universe, and can't be represented by something else. As a friend always says with a nod towards the kitchen sink when her students start dragging crystals, shells and seaweed into the vé (I'm paraphrasing), "If you need something to symbolise water in your ritual, there's water in the tap."

The ultimate, greatest, highest anything in Scandinavian worldview (among most people, and not only heathens) is "altet", a word there is no equivalent of in English, but which can be translated directly as "the all" or "the everything", neither of which covers the concept. It's a singular noun, definite form, and describes not only the only highest thing there is, but also the only thing there is.

Heathens have several images and names to describe "altet". The world tree, is one, and the world weave is another. These are not symbols, though, because the tree, the weave and "altet" are one and the same.

So, in answer your question whether the highest symbol in the Universe is the heart, I say the highest symbol in the Universe is the Universe.

Rananeida

[cheddarsox]

I don't use symbols. Things are themselves in my universe, and can't be represented by something else. As a friend always says with a nod towards the kitchen sink when her students start dragging crystals, shells and seaweed into the vé (I'm paraphrasing), "If you need something to symbolise water in your ritual, there's water in the tap."

The ultimate, greatest, highest anything in Scandinavian worldview (among most people, and not only heathens) is "altet", a word there is no equivalent of in English, but which can be translated directly as "the all" or "the everything", neither of which covers the concept. It's a singular noun, definite form, and describes not only the only highest thing there is, but also the only thing there is.

Heathens have several images and names to describe "altet". The world tree, is one, and the world weave is another. These are not symbols, though, because the tree, the weave and "altet" are one and the same.

So, in answer your question whether the highest symbol in the Universe is the heart, I say the highest symbol in the Universe is the Universe.

Rananeida

Thank you for sharing all this. It is much the same way in my path. There is a term for "the all" the "what is", but it is a difficult concept to explain, and there is no way to symbolize it, it is what is. It doesn't need a symbol, we either "get it" or we don't , see it and experience, or not. No way to sum it up or reduce it to an easy soundbite or pill to swallow.

If you "get it" anything can be a symbol, because you see the totality of the whole in everything, if you don't get it...no symbol will capture it for you.

In some sense, I shy away from using symbols in my religion, because I grew up in a very symbol rich faith, and saw how tempting and easy it was to turn the symbol into an idol, and not move on toward what the symbol represented. The symbol became the focus, a distraction, something easier to grasp and hold onto than the truth.

I can see the propensity to do that in myself, so I tend to stay away from symbols and challenge myself to deal with what is, so I don't get hung up along the way. I realize that other don't necessarily have this issue, and can see past the symbols, through the symbols, better than I can.

cheddar

[Sharedaughter]

A single point.

This is the only thing that requires nothing else. A line is a point expanded, a plane is a line expanded, a pentagram is a series of lines along a plane. The point is that from which everything starts and everything breaks down to.

This is a very good "point", (:) ), because no matter what we do, or where we go, what we are interested in, we have to "start" somewhere. That "starting point" might be a single word, a single leaf falling....., etc.

As for the ending----hmmmm, that will take some thinking.


Symbols can mean different things to different people, I don't think their could be one that is the "highest." JMO.


This is an extremely good point (Point!!!-again???:lol:.) Because of life re-evaluations (Oh, yes, they happen at every and any age) I'm in the process of making, I am rejecting some symbols so I can think more clearly about others I am running into. This makes the rejected symbols JUST as important as the newer (to me) ones, because they are a "point" of departure (hey, that is an "end", isn't it?).

So, not only do symbols "mean different things to different people," they mean different things at different times to the same people.

I'm thunk out, and I had no intention of thinking at all today!!:lol:

Glo

[Rananeida]

Thank you for sharing all this. It is much the same way in my path. There is a term for "the all" the "what is", but it is a difficult concept to explain, and there is no way to symbolize it, it is what is. It doesn't need a symbol, we either "get it" or we don't , see it and experience, or not. No way to sum it up or reduce it to an easy soundbite or pill to swallow.

If you "get it" anything can be a symbol, because you see the totality of the whole in everything, if you don't get it...no symbol will capture it for you.

In some sense, I shy away from using symbols in my religion, because I grew up in a very symbol rich faith, and saw how tempting and easy it was to turn the symbol into an idol, and not move on toward what the symbol represented. The symbol became the focus, a distraction, something easier to grasp and hold onto than the truth.

I can see the propensity to do that in myself, so I tend to stay away from symbols and challenge myself to deal with what is, so I don't get hung up along the way. I realize that other don't necessarily have this issue, and can see past the symbols, through the symbols, better than I can.

cheddar

Thank you, yourself - it is rare meeting people who share a similar view outside of my own cultural sphere. :)

Thank you also for saying the "either you get it or you don't get it" thing. I'm surprised the Rabid Dogs of Knowitall haven't come running to tear you apart already as I'm sure they would have were it me who said it! ;)

We do use some symbols within traditional heathenry, we just don't use them as symbols, but as tools like any tools, like a fork or a drill or a sewing machine. The pentagram is a lock, for instance - in fact, a some people call it hekselås, that is, "witch lock". Colours are used as enhancers in magic a bit the same way that salt is used as enhancer in cooking, and directions are good for finding your bearings just like when you're looking for the loo, etcetera, etcetera. These things are not involved to represent something else, and they don't contain anything more but themselves.

Now, I can see why a cross might say more and seem to contain more to a Christian than it does to me, and why a pentagram says more to a Wiccan, but that says more about the Christian and the Wiccan, than about the cross and the pentagram.

Rananeida