Symbols of Ancient Egypt: ankh, scarab and Lamassu. Egyptian amulets What do Egyptian symbols mean?

One of the key regions, the culture of which left its mark on the entire civilization, is Ancient Egypt. The symbols of this culture are still studied; they play a huge role in understanding this huge civilization. It was located approximately within the borders of the modern state of the same name in northeast Africa.

History of Egyptian symbols

Mythology is the main cultural component for which Ancient Egypt is famous. Symbols of gods, animals and natural phenomena are of particular interest to researchers. At the same time, tracing the very path of creation of mythology is extremely difficult.

Written sources that could be trusted appeared later. What is obvious is the enormous influence of natural forces on the Egyptians. The same is observed in the formation of any ancient state. People who lived before our era tried to explain to themselves why the sun rises every day, the Nile overflows its banks every year, and thunder and lightning rain down on their heads from time to time. As a result, natural phenomena were endowed with a divine principle. This is how symbols of life, culture, and power appeared.

Moreover, people noted that the gods were not always favorable to them. The Nile could flood very low, leading to a lean year and subsequent famine. In this case, the ancient Egyptians believed that they had somehow angered the gods and tried to please them in every possible way so that a similar situation would not happen again next year. All this played a big role for a country like Ancient Egypt. Symbols and signs helped to understand the surrounding reality.

Symbols of power

The rulers of Ancient Egypt called themselves pharaohs. The pharaoh was considered a god-like monarch, he was worshiped during his lifetime, and after death he was buried in huge tombs, many of which have survived to this day.

Symbols of power in Ancient Egypt are a golden tied beard, a staff and a crown. At the time of the birth of the Egyptian state, when the lands of the Upper and Lower Nile were not yet united, the ruler of each of them had his own crown and special signs of power. At the same time, the crown of the supreme ruler of Upper Egypt was white and also had the shape of a pin. In Lower Egypt, the pharaoh wore a red crown, like a cylinder. Pharaoh Men made the Egyptian kingdom unified. After this, the crowns were essentially combined, inserting one into the other, while maintaining their colors.

The double crowns were called pschent - these are symbols of power in Ancient Egypt, which were preserved for many years. At the same time, each crown of the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt had its own name. The white one was called atef, the red one was called hedjet.

At the same time, Egyptian rulers surrounded themselves with unprecedented luxury. After all, they were considered the sons of the supreme sun god Ra. Therefore, the symbols simply amaze the imagination. In addition to those listed, it is also a hoop on which the ureus serpent is depicted. He was famous for the fact that his bite inevitably led to instant death. The image of a snake was located around the head of the pharaoh, the head exactly in the center.

In general, snakes are the most popular symbols of the power of the pharaoh in Ancient Egypt. They were depicted not only on the headband, but also on the crown, military helmet and even the belt. Along the way, they were accompanied by jewelry made of gold, precious stones and colored enamel.

Symbols of the gods

The gods played a key role for such a state as Ancient Egypt. The symbols associated with them were associated with the perception of the future and the surrounding reality. Moreover, the list of divine beings was huge. In addition to gods, it included goddesses, monsters and even deified concepts.

One of the main Egyptian deities is Amun. In the united Egyptian kingdom he was the supreme head of the pantheon. It was believed that all people, other gods and all things were united in it. His symbol was a crown with two high feathers or was depicted with a solar disk, because he was considered the god of the sun and all nature. In ancient Egyptian tombs there are drawings of Amon, in which he appears in the guise of a ram or a man with the head of a ram.

The kingdom of the dead in this mythology was headed by Anubis. He was also considered the guardian of necropolises - underground cemeteries and crypts and the inventor of embalming - a unique method that prevented the rotting of corpses, used in the burial process of all pharaohs.

The symbols of the gods of Ancient Egypt were often quite terrifying. Anubis was traditionally depicted with the head of a dog or jackal with a red collar as a necklace. His constant attributes were the ankh - a cross topped with a ring, symbolizing eternal life, and was - a rod in which the healing powers of the underground demon were stored.

But there were also more pleasant and kind deities. For example, Bast or Bastet. This is the goddess of fun female beauty and love, which was depicted as a cat or lioness in a sitting position. She was also responsible for fertile and fruitful years and could help establish family life. The symbols of the gods of Ancient Egypt associated with Bast are a temple rattle, which was called a sistrum, and an aegis - a magic cape.

Healing symbols

Ancient Egypt paid great attention to the cult of healing. The goddess Isis was responsible for fate and life, and she was also considered the patroness of healers and healers. They brought gifts to her to protect newborns.

The symbol of healing in Ancient Egypt was the cow's horns, which held the disk of the sun. This is how the goddess Isis was most often depicted (sometimes also in the form of a winged woman with a cow’s head).

Also, the sistrum and the ankh cross were considered her constant attributes.

Symbol of life

Ankh or - a symbol of life in Ancient Egypt. It is also called for them this is one of the most significant and key attributes.

It is also called the key of life or the Egyptian cross. The ankh is an attribute of many Egyptian deities, with which they are depicted on the walls of pyramids and papyri. Without fail, he was placed in a tomb with the pharaohs, this meant that the ruler would be able to continue the life of his soul in the afterlife.

Although many researchers associate the symbolism of the ankh with life, there is still no consensus on this issue. Some researchers argue that its leading meanings were immortality or wisdom, and also that it was a kind of protective attribute.

The Ankh enjoyed unprecedented popularity in such a state as Ancient Egypt. Symbols depicting him were applied to the walls of temples, amulets, and all kinds of cultural and everyday objects. Often in drawings it is held in the hands of Egyptian gods.

Nowadays, the ankh is widely used in youth subcultures, in particular among the Goths. And also in all kinds of magical and parascientific cults and even in esoteric literature.

Sun symbol

The symbol of the sun in Ancient Egypt is the lotus. Initially, he was associated with the image of birth and creation, and later became one of the incarnations of the supreme deity of the Egyptian pantheon, Amun-Ra. In addition, the lotus also symbolizes the return of youth and beauty.

It is worth noting that in general the cult of worship of the daylight was one of the most important and significant among the Egyptians. And all the deities connected in one way or another with the sun were revered more than others.

The sun god Ra, according to Egyptian mythology, created all other gods and goddesses. A very widespread myth was about Ra sailing on a boat along a celestial river, simultaneously illuminating the entire earth with the sun's rays. As soon as evening comes, he transfers to another boat and spends the whole night inspecting the possessions in the afterlife.

The next morning he reappears on the horizon and so begins a new day. This is how the ancient Egyptians explained the change of day and night throughout the day; for them, the solar disk was the embodiment of rebirth and continuity of life for everything on earth.

Pharaohs were considered the sons or viceroys of God on earth. Therefore, it never occurred to anyone to challenge their right to rule, this is how everything was arranged in the state of Ancient Egypt. The symbols and signs that accompanied the main god Ra are the solar disk, the scarab beetle or the Phoenix bird, which is reborn from fire. Much attention was also paid to the eyes of the deity. The Egyptians believed that they could cure and protect people from troubles and misfortunes.

The Egyptians also had a special relationship with the center of the Universe - the star Sun. They correctly directly linked its impact on warmth, good harvests, and a prosperous life for all residents of the country.

Another fun fact. The ancient Egyptians called the apricot, familiar to each of us, the star of the sun. Moreover, this fruit did not grow in Egypt itself; the climatic conditions were not suitable. It was brought from Asian countries. At the same time, the Egyptians loved the “overseas guest” so much that they decided to give this fruit a poetic name, correctly noting how its shape and color resemble the sun.

Sacred symbols for the Egyptians

Many scientists still argue about the origins of Ancient Egypt and their significance. This is especially true for sacred symbols.

One of the main ones is naos. This is a special chest made of wood. In it, the priests installed a statue of the deity or a sacred symbol dedicated to him. This was also the name of a sacred place of worship of a specific deity. Most often, naos were placed in the sanctuaries or tombs of the pharaohs.

As a rule, there were several pumps. One wooden one was small in size; it was placed in a larger one, hewn from a single piece of stone. They became most widespread in Ancient Egypt in the late period. At that time they were decorated richly and variedly. Also, the temple itself or the sanctuary of some deity was often called naos.

Also the sacred symbols of Ancient Egypt are sistrums. These are percussion musical instruments that were used by priests during sacraments in honor of the goddess Hathor. For the Egyptians, it was the goddess of love and beauty, who personified femininity, as well as fertility and fun. Modern researchers believe that Venus was its analogue among the Romans, and Aphrodite among the Greeks.

The musical instrument sistrum was encased in a wooden or metal frame. Metal strings and disks were stretched between it. All this made ringing sounds, which, as the priests believed, attracted the gods. Two types of sistrum were used in rituals. One was called iba. It was in the shape of a rudimentary ring with metal cylinders in the center. Using a long handle, it was placed above the head of the goddess Hathor.

A more formal version of the sistrum was called seseshet. It had the shape of a naos and was richly decorated with various rings and ornaments. The rattling pieces of metal that made sounds were located inside a small box. Seseshet was allowed to be worn only by priests and wealthy women from the upper classes.

Symbol of culture

The symbol of the culture of Ancient Egypt is, of course, the pyramid. This is the most famous monument of ancient Egyptian art and architecture that has survived to this day. One of the oldest and most famous is the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser, who ruled 18 centuries BC. It is located in the south of Memphis and is 60 meters high. It was built by slaves from limestone blocks.

The pyramids built in Egypt are the most amazing wonders of the architecture of this ancient people. One of them, the Cheops Pyramid, is rightfully considered one of the seven wonders of the world. And another one - the pyramids of Giza - is one of the candidates to become the so-called “new wonder of the world”.

Externally, these are structures made of stone in which Egyptian rulers - the pharaohs - were buried. WITH Greek the word "pyramid" is translated as polyhedron. Until now, there is no consensus among scientists about why the ancient Egyptians chose this particular form for their tombs. Meanwhile, to date, 118 pyramids have already been discovered in different parts of Egypt.

The largest number of these structures are located in the Giza region, near the capital of this African state - Cairo. They are also called the Great Pyramids.

The predecessors of the pyramids were mastabas. This is what they called “houses after life” in Ancient Egypt, which consisted of a burial room and a special stone structure that was located above the surface of the earth. It was precisely these burial houses that the first Egyptian pharaohs built for themselves. The material used was unfired bricks made from clay mixed with river silt. They were built en masse in Upper Egypt, even before the unification of the state, and in Memphis, which was considered the main necropolis of the country. Above ground in these buildings there were rooms for prayers and rooms in which burial goods were stored. Under the ground is the actual burial place of the pharaoh.

The most famous pyramids

The symbol of Ancient Egypt is the pyramid. The most famous Great Pyramids are located in Giza. These are the tombs of Mikerin and Khafre. These pyramids differ from the very first pyramid of Djoser that has come down to us in that they do not have a stepped, but a strict geometric shape. Their walls rise strictly at angles of 51-53 degrees relative to the horizon. Their faces indicate the cardinal directions. The famous pyramid of Cheops was generally erected on a rock created by nature, and placed exactly in the center of the base of the pyramid.

The Pyramid of Cheops is also famous for being the tallest. Initially, it was more than 146 meters, but now, due to the loss of cladding, it has decreased by almost 8 meters. The length of each side is 230 meters, it was built 26 centuries BC. According to various estimates, it took about 20 years to build.

Its construction took more than two million blocks of stones. At the same time, the ancient Egyptians did not use any binding substances, such as cement. Each block weighed about two and a half thousand kilograms, some reached a weight of 80 thousand kilograms. Ultimately, it is a monolithic structure, separated only by cells and corridors.

Two more famous pyramids - Khafre and Mykerna - were erected by the descendants of Cheops and are smaller in size.

The Pyramid of Khafre is considered the second largest in Egypt. Next to it is a statue of the famous Sphinx. Its height was originally almost 144 meters, and the length of the sides was 215 meters.

The smallest of the great ones is in Giza. Its height is only 66 meters, and the length of the base is slightly more than 100 meters. Initially, its size was too modest, so versions were put forward that it was not intended for the ruler of Ancient Egypt. However, in reality this was never established.

How were the pyramids built?

It is worth noting that there was no single technique. It changed from one building to another. Scientists put forward various hypotheses about how these structures were created, but there is still no consensus.

Researchers have certain data about the quarries from which stones and blocks were taken, about the tools used in processing the stone, as well as about how they were transported to the construction site.

Most Egyptologists believe that the stones were cut in special quarries using copper tools, in particular chisels, chisels and picks.

One of the biggest mysteries is how the Egyptians moved these huge stone blocks at that time. Based on one fresco, scientists have determined that many blocks were simply dragged. Thus, in the famous image, 172 people are pulling a statue of the pharaoh on a sleigh. At the same time, the runners of the sled are constantly watered with water, which acts as a lubricant. According to experts, the weight of such a statue was about 60 thousand kilograms. Thus, a stone block weighing 2 and a half tons could be moved by only 8 workers. Moving goods in this way is generally believed to have been most common in Ancient Egypt.

The method of rolling blocks is also known. A special mechanism for this in the form of a cradle was discovered during excavations of ancient Egyptian sanctuaries. During the experiment, it was found that it took 18 workers to move a stone block of 2.5 tons in this way. Their speed was 18 meters per minute.

Also, some researchers believe that the Egyptians used square wheel technology.

Amenta - this symbol means the Underworld, or the Kingdom of the Dead. Initially, it designated the horizon - the place where the sun set. It subsequently became a symbol of the West Coast of the Nile, where the sun set and where the Egyptians traditionally buried their dead.

Ankh is a cross with a ring-shaped top, a symbol of eternal life. Often the gods are depicted bringing the ankh to someone's lips, thereby offering the person the "Breath of Life". He will need this “Breath” in the afterlife. It is often called the "Egyptian cross" due to the fact that for a long time after the Egyptians adopted Christianity, the image of the ankh often appeared next to the Christian cross.

Ba is something that can be called the soul. Usually depicted as a bird (hawk) with a human head, and sometimes with human hands. After death, Ba leaves the human body. During the day, Ba can benefit living people, but at night it always returns to the tomb of the deceased. Having returned, Ba begins to look for the body of the one who once belonged to him. This, of course, is already a mummy, but, as a rule, the Egyptians also made a statue for Ba, depicting the deceased, in case the mummy was damaged or destroyed.

Shenu (shen) is one of the ornamental curls, or cartouches. It is a rope ring, without beginning or end, inside which a name was written. Served to protect the one who bore this name. This talisman, according to the ancient Egyptians, greatly contributed to the prolongation of life, protecting a person from the misfortunes of the mortal world.

Flail and staff - among the Egyptians, the staff and flail were the main attributes of Osiris as the judge of the dead; a staff with a pen for writing symbolizes the awakening soul. They were also symbols of royalty, majesty and power. The pharaohs of antiquity, just like the monarchs of past centuries, wore a scepter and orb.

Djed - according to legend, the spine of Osiris was installed vertically after his dismemberment. This is the Egyptian symbol of djed. Indeed, there is an opinion that the djed is a stylized image of the human spine. It represents stability and strength. Originally associated with the demiurge god Ptah, who was also called the Great Djed. As the cult of Osiris began to prevail, this symbol came to represent the spine of Osiris. The Column of Djed was often depicted at the bottom of coffins where the spines of the dead lay. This identified the deceased with the god of the underworld Osiris. This symbol also played the role of a talisman in a person’s journey through the afterlife.

Primordial Hill - The Egyptians believed that this hill rose from the sea of ​​chaos and gave birth to dry land. The image of a hill rising from the sea inspired the Egyptians, as a result of which it was used in many buildings, such as temples, and perhaps it was the original hill that served as the prototype for the pyramids.

The feather of Maat represents truth, justice, morality and balance. Keeping the feather of Maat was one of the duties of the pharaoh. When a pharaoh died, Ma'at was lost and the world plunged into chaos until the coronation of a new pharaoh helped regain the pen.

Maat herself was drawn as a straight line and symbolized truth, justice, morality and balance. Often gods and pharaohs were depicted standing on this symbol, which symbolized devotion to Ma'at.

The lower picture depicts the Goddess Hefnut carrying the feather of Maat

Scarab - called a dung beetle because it rolls balls made of dung on the ground. The Egyptians who observed his behavior associated this with the way the ball of the Sun rolls across the sky. They mistook this food source for an egg that the female scarab laid and hid in the sand. When the eggs hatched, the beetles seemed to appear out of nowhere, symbolizing birth from chaos. Thus, the scarab beetle was also associated with sunrise. The scarab-headed god was called Khepri.

Uraeus (cobra) is the emblem of Lower Egypt. She was associated with the ruler and with the kingdom of Lower Egypt itself. The uraeus was also associated with the sun and many gods. Cobra personified the “fiery gaze of Ra,” which was depicted as two uraei located on both sides of the winged solar disk. Beginning during the Middle Kingdom, the uraeus developed into a symbol placed on the crown or headdress of a ruler. It was used as a symbol of protection as the Egyptians believed that the cobra would breathe fire at an approaching enemy.

Udjat is the penetrating eye of the god Horus. Symbolized healing and protection. It is a symbol of the power of the god of light and therefore a popular amulet. There are ujat eyes, which are equipped with arms and hold a bow of life or a staff in the form of papyrus. The Book of the Dead (chapter 42) says: “The Eye of Horus rewards with eternal life; and it protects me even when it is closed.” Therefore, ujats were often painted on tombs.

Uas - this symbol of strength and power consisted of a forked stick at the bottom, which ends at the top with a dog's head. The gods held the scepter in their hands (for example, the god of Memphis Ptah) as a sign of their power. It could also be owned by pharaohs, and later by people of lower rank at funerals.

Nemes is a striped headdress worn by pharaohs.

Deshret - Red Crown. This crown represented Lower Egypt (northern).

Hedget - White Crown. This crown was a symbol of Upper Egypt (southern).

Khepresh is a blue crown that was often worn during battle.

Pschent is a double crown consisting of white and red crowns joined together, symbolizing a united Egypt. Although Egypt was not always a single state, the benefits of reunification were undeniable. Egypt could become stronger, and therefore its unification was desirable. Narmer (Menes), founder of the First Dynasty in 3100 BC. e., was the first ruler to wear such a crown.

Atef - the crown of Atef was worn by the god Osiris. It consisted of the White Crown of Upper Egypt and red feathers symbolizing Busiris, the center of Osiris worship in the Nile Delta.

Yeb - this symbol represents the heart. The Egyptians believed that the heart was the center of all consciousness, the center of life in general. When someone died, it was said that “his heart was gone.” The heart was the only organ that was left in the body during mummification. The Book of the Dead describes the procedure of “weighing the soul,” when the heart of the deceased was placed on one scale and the feather of Maat on the other. This decided whether a person was worthy to join Osiris in the afterlife.

Nebu - this symbol personified gold, which was considered a divine metal and was seen as the flesh of the gods. The shine of its polished surface resembled the light of the sun. Gold was given great importance - it was considered a symbol of immortality. Closer to the era of the New Kingdom, the royal tomb also began to be called the Golden House.

Het - this sign symbolizes a lamp or lamp on a stand. Heth generated a flame, which was originally the embodiment of the sun, whose symbol was the uraeus - a serpent spewing fire. Fire also played a big role in the Underworld. In this, the Egyptians' idea of ​​the World of the Dead is similar to the Christians' idea of ​​hell. Most Egyptians did not want to get into this world of fiery lakes and rivers, inhabited by fiery demons.

Ka -- Ka is often translated as "spiritual twin." This famous hieroglyph clearly depicts two outstretched hands, but its origin is unclear. Ka is born together with a person. According to legend, the ram-headed god, Khnum, sculpts Ka on his potter's wheel at the time of human birth. It was believed that when a person died, he “met his Ka.” But even after the death of his owner, Ka continued to live. In some tombs, houses were built especially for Ka, and in order for him to eat, food and water were placed at the entrance to the tomb.

Menhead - a scribe's tablet with writing utensils. Writing was one of the most important achievements of the ancient Egyptians. Not everyone knew how to write, only the clerks. These people used a tablet for writing, on which there was a small amount of black and red paint, a jug of water and a feather. Being a clerk was considered very prestigious, and therefore even some rulers and nobles were depicted with tablets in their hands.

Pet - this symbol depicts the sky in the form of a concave roof, just as the sky seems to touch the horizon. This sign was often used in architecture - at the top of walls and in doorways. It meant heaven.

Sesen is a lotus flower. It is a symbol of the sun, creation and rebirth. The lotuses close their petals and go underwater at night, emerging at dawn and blooming again. There is a belief about a giant lotus, which was the very first to rise from the waters of the ancestral ocean. As soon as its petals opened, the sun emerged from them, which remains in the sky to this day. Sesen is also a symbol of Upper Egypt.

She is a pool of water. The Egyptians depicted water flows using symmetrically arranged vertical wavy lines. If these lines were placed inside a rectangle, then such a symbol meant a pool or lake. The Egyptians believed that the entire world arose from water. In conditions of frequent droughts, water played a primary role for the Egyptians, and having a pool of water was considered a huge luxury. Tombs often depicted the deceased drinking water from a pool in the afterlife.

Ra, the sun, was a fundamental element in the culture and life of Ancient Egypt, and its importance is clearly seen in art and religion. Some of the most revered gods are somehow related to the sun. At first Horus was considered the god of the sun, then Ra, and later Amon-Ra. There are many incarnations of the sun, such as Khepri, a giant scarab, symbol of the morning, or the ram-headed god Khnum, symbol of the evening. During the reign of Akhenaten, Aten was considered the sun god. The sun with its rays emanating from it was depicted as a figure holding an ankh. Another image of the sun is in the form of Horus Behudeti, a winged solar disk entwined with uraea.

Menat - the symbol depicts a massive necklace with a crescent moon in front and a sharp tip at the back. This symbol was associated with the goddess Hathor and her son Ihi. Hathor was also known as the Great Menat. Often Hathor is depicted using Menat as a key with which she uses her power. Her powers were based on joy, life, childbirth, fun and rebirth. During the New Kingdom, the pharaoh was usually depicted delivering Menat into the hands of Hathor. Perhaps in this way parallels were drawn between the ruler and the son of the goddess Ikha. This idea of ​​interaction between the ruler and the gods was traditional, although its most striking expression was the representation of the pharaoh in the form of the falcon god Horus.

Tiet - the exact origin of this symbol is unknown. Many believe that it represents the ankh with its arms down. The meaning of this symbol also resembles the meaning of the ankh - prosperity or life. During the Third Dynasty, the image of the tiet was used together with the ankh and the column of the djed, and later with the scepter of was. Tiet is associated with the goddess Isis, which is why it is often called the “Isis knot” or “the blood of Isis.” It was called the Isis Knot for its resemblance to the knots that fastened the clothes of the gods. Its second name - "blood of Isis" - is based on the fact that the tiet was often used as a funeral amulet and was made of red stone or glass. In the later period, this symbol became associated with the goddesses Nephthys, Hathor and Nut, and not just with Isis. But the meaning of the symbol remained the same - it still personified resurrection and eternal life.

Sekhem is a symbol of power in the form of a manifestation of divine power. This is the staff of the ruler, on the top of which are drawn eyes. This symbol of power is associated with Osiris, but over the years it has become the real emblem of the god of the dead Anubis (along with the dog).

Sa - this symbol means protection. Its origin is unclear, but it is believed to symbolize either a shepherd's shelter or a papyrus device used by ancient Egyptian sailors as a means of survival. Sa has played a major role in jewelry design since ancient times. Typically, this sign is used in conjunction with other symbols, such as the ankh, the scepter of was and the djed. The goddess - the hippopotamus Taurt, the patroness of childbirth - was often depicted leaning on the Sa sign.

Ju (mountain) is a symbol depicting two hills between which the Nile Valley is located. The Egyptians believed that it was the celestial mountain range that supported the sky, preventing it from falling. This mountain range consisted of two mountain peaks - the western one, which was called Manu, and the eastern one, called Bahu. The sky rested on these two peaks. Manu and Bahu were guarded by two lion deities who protected the sun during sunrise and sunset. The mountain was also a symbol of the tomb and the afterlife - this was explained by the fact that in Egypt it was customary to bury the dead on the slopes of the mountains surrounding the Nile Valley. Sometimes in religious texts the god of the underworld, Anubis, was also called “he who is on his mountain.” Hathor, who was called the mistress of the City of the Dead, was also considered the goddess of the underworld. She was depicted as a creature with a cow's head, whose body was located inside a mountain.

Akhet - this symbol depicts the horizon, from behind which the sun appears and disappears. Thus, the horizon was a symbol of both sunrise and sunset. Akhet resembles the peaks of Ju, between which is the solar disk. The patron saint of sunset and sunrise was the dual lion god Aker. During the New Kingdom, Harmakhet (“Horus on the horizon”) began to be considered the god of the rising and setting sun in the form of a lion with the head of a falcon or a sphinx. The Sphinx of Giza is one of the most striking images of Horus on the Horizon.

Nekhbet is a goddess depicted as a vulture. She was considered the protector of Upper Egypt.

Rehit is a symbol depicting a lapwing with a crest on its head. The bird's wings are folded back so that it cannot fly away. This symbol represents a group of people. He was often depicted at the feet of the ruler to emphasize that the people obeyed his will. During the New Kingdom era, the symbol began to be depicted with human hands folded in prayer. In this form, this sign can be interpreted as “a group of people offering prayers.”

A naos is a wooden chest, a type of tabernacle, in which an image of a deity or his sacred symbol was installed; a place of worship where statues of gods were placed. These naos were especially common in sanctuaries. A small wooden naos was usually placed inside a larger naos, hewn from a single piece of stone. Naos were especially common in the late period; they were often richly decorated. Also, the term “naos” was used to designate a temple or sanctuary as a whole.

Winged solar disk - it was believed that this image was taken by the god Horus Behudeti (Horus from Edfu) in battles with Set. God Thoth, with the help of magic, was able to endow Horus with such an ability. In the battle against Set, the goddesses Nekhbet and Uazet joined Horus, turning into urean serpents.

Two uraei entwining the solar disk mean these two goddesses.

Sistrum (sistrum) - this sacred percussion musical instrument used during sacraments dedicated to the goddess Hathor. The sistrum was a wooden or metal frame, inside of which metal threads with disks were stretched. The sistrum made ringing sounds that were designed to attract the attention of the gods. There were two types of sistrum. The iba took the form of a simple ring, like a compressed horse's shoe with metal cylinders inside, and was placed above Hathor's head using a long handle. Another sistrum - seseshet in the shape of a naos above Hathor's head was decorated with ornaments and rings. Inside the pump box were rattling pieces of metal. Typically, such an instrument was carried in the hands of a woman from the upper class in processions.

Fetish - an animal skin hanging from a pole. The fetish was a symbol of Osiris and Anubis.

Palm branch - marking the years of the life and reign of the pharaoh, the Egyptians made notches on the palm branch. This served to measure time.

Ushabti - literally translated - “to answer”. Ushabti are small mummy-like figures that were supposed to work for the deceased in his afterlife. In some tombs built during the New Kingdom, entire groups of ushabti were found, equipped with a variety of tools. It was believed that the deceased should have had 401 ushabtis: one for each of the 365 days and 36 overseers for the rest.

Baboons - in Egypt these animals were held in high esteem. They seemed so smart that they believed they understood human speech and were capable of learning to read. It is possible that they were tamed to do some small housework.

The baboon, along with the ibis, was recognized as a favorite animal and a living personification of the god Thoth.

Canopic jars - during mummification, organs were removed from the body of the deceased and placed in four containers. The lids of these containers often had the shape of a human or animal head. The word "canon" comes from the name of the deity who was worshiped in the city of Canopus, located in the Nile Delta. This deity was depicted as a pot with a human head. Canopic jars were made from alabaster, wood, clay, limestone, and even thick cardboard.

Egyptian canopic jars. The “heads” of the vessels represented the four sons of Horus. From left to right: Imseti with a human head - guardian of the liver; Quebeh-sennuef with a falcon's head is the keeper of the intestines; Hapi with the head of a baboon is the guardian of the lungs; Duamutef with the head of a wild dog or jackal is the guardian of the stomach.

At all times symbols of religions reflected the abstract concept of God, who is something incomprehensible to humans. The main task of numerous symbols of all world religions is the visible image of the Higher Powers with the help of allegory. Symbols of religions They help believers realize and better understand their faith; they connect a meaningful perception of faith with an emotional one. Our whole life is surrounded by many different symbols, but the difference between religious symbols is that they have great power because they express moral values ​​and relationships of a higher order. A believer cannot do without religious symbols.

The phenomenon of paganism is a system of various religious cults based on belief in several gods. For example, before the adoption of Christianity, the Slavs revered Perun - the lord of thunder and lightning, Veles - the other world, Rod - the patron of the hearth. The main symbol of the Slavs was the pagan Kolovrat - an eight-pointed yellow swastika on a red background. Kolovrat is a sign of the sun, symbolizing the victory of the light side over the dark and life over death. Christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians believe in the divine origin of Jesus of Nazareth. The Gospel states that He... God's son, who came to Earth to justify and atone for the sins of all mankind.

In the first stages of its inception, the symbol of Christianity was the ichthus. This is an image of a fish. The symbol was taken from the parable of Jesus Christ about fishing, the meaning of which was that fish are unbelievers, and fishermen are Christians spreading the teachings of Christianity through the preaching of the Gospel.

The well-known Orthodox cross consists of two crossed crossbars. The hands of Jesus Christ were nailed to the horizontal crossbar. Above it is an upper, smaller crossbar, signifying a tablet nailed by order of Pontius Pilate, on which was written “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” The slanting crossbar at the bottom symbolizes the story of two thieves crucified with Christ, where the upward end of the crossbar reminds of the forgiven thief who went to heaven, and the downward end of the other one, who blasphemed God and ended up in hell.

The most common symbol of the religion of Christians in the Western world is the Latin cross, consisting of two crossbars, one of which crosses the other slightly above the middle. The cross symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, hence its other name - the cross of the Crucifixion.

Another world religion, Islam, was founded by the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. The main holy book of Muslims is the Koran. The very concept of “Islam” is translated as “peace and obedience to the Lord.” Muslims worship one God, Allah, and believe that the Koran was given to the Prophet Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel. The symbol of Islam is a crescent moon and a five-pointed star. The five-pointed star represents the five pillars of Islam or the five main prayers, and the crescent moon represents commitment lunar calendar.

One of the oldest world religions is Buddhism, which was founded by the Indian prince Sidhartha Gautama (Shakyamuni). The symbol of the Buddhism religion is the Dharmachakra or “wheel of law.” In the center of the wheel there is a hub, symbolizing the point of consciousness. The eight spokes of the wheel express the eight principles on which the teaching is based.

The symbol, as a principle of generalization, as a content-formalized structure, is necessary in artistic creativity. But its absolutization leads to the fact that artistic thinking approaches a religious worldview, a religious-dogmatic interpretation of the meaning of creativity. This feature of a religious symbol was noticed by the modern English philosopher and esthetician C. Collingwood when he wrote that “religion is always dogmatic... it is unable to go beyond the limits of the symbol, since it always contains elements of idolatry and superstition.” And this inevitably leads to the loss of a historically specific ideal, to pessimism and mystical moods, which give the artistic symbol a religious overtones.

The bulk of Hindu adherents live mainly in India. The sacred books of the teaching are the 4 Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda, which are collections of hymns and magic spells. The religious symbol of Hinduism is the combination of the word “Om” or “Aum” - this is the universal name of the three main gods and a description of their functions: creation, maintenance and destruction. The letters also symbolize three states of consciousness - meditation, sleep and awakening. The second highly revered symbol is the swastika - in Hinduism it personifies harmony, the unity of elements and forces, as well as luck and favorable opportunities.

This possible trend in art is especially clearly revealed in the fate of artistic symbolism, which arose at the beginning of this century. Already in the poetic experiments of the late Baudelaire and Malarme, a tendency towards the deidealization of reality was clearly revealed. This was due not only to their social and ideological position, but was dictated and supported by the artistic principles that were chosen by them and which became close to religious consciousness.

Judaism is the religion of the Jews, which proclaims the idea that God has recognized the Jewish people as the chosen ones. The main meaning of the doctrine is faith in one, omnipotent, immortal God. Man is connected with him through the mind and the immortal soul; communication with God is carried out through prayer. The symbol of Judaism is the six-pointed Star of David. David was God's anointed and the ruler of the Jews. The five ends of the star symbolize human desires, which must submit to the most important sixth end - the desire to submit to God in everything.

The doctrine of Taoism originated in ancient China. The founder of Taoism is considered to be Lao Tzu, who wrote the famous treatise “Tao Te Ching”. In this religion, a person is perceived as an immortal substance, eternal life is achieved by merging with the Tao (the ancestor of all things in the Universe) through religious contemplation, physical and breathing exercises and other methods of self-development. Graphically, the concept of Taoism is expressed by Taiji - the symbol of a single limit. This is a black and white circle called Yin and Yang, where the black side is given to the woman and symbolizes the inner world, and the white side is the external, male side.

Kabbalism is an ancient movement of Judaism, which received its greatest development in the 16th century. It is believed that Kabbalism knows the divine revelation contained in the Torah. Kabbalah tries to comprehend the Creator, his role and purpose, as well as the meaning of human existence.

Many researchers of French symbolism point to this trend. In particular, D. Oblomievsky writes: “Baudelaire’s religious “conversion” was expressed primarily in the fact that man gradually loses in his poetry the features of a rebel, a troublemaker, opposed to God. The poet condemns already in “Retribution of Pride” (1850) the rebellion of man, his fight against God. For him, the poet becomes not an opponent of the deity, as was the case in “The Mutiny,” but a mouthpiece and instrument of God.”

And then D. Oblomievsky makes a very deep remark that the late Charles Baudelaire’s attraction to mysticism and religion inevitably pushes him towards decadence: “Baudelaire’s religious degeneration of his poetry, dating back to 1860--, was a transitional form from pure symbolism to consistent decadence. 1963.” By the way, let us note that this is characteristic not only of the fate of an individual artist, but also of entire movements, which, gravitating towards religious consciousness, inevitably become more and more formalistic, decadent movements. This, as will be shown below, is the fate of contemporary artistic modernism.

The social atmosphere in which European symbolism arose was vividly described by Philippe Jullian in his book “Aesthetes and Magicians,” pointing out that at the end of the 19th century. “The industrial revolution, conformism and the spirit of competition began to put too much pressure on public life.” And then artists tried to revive the images of the mystical Middle Ages, endowing it with all the virtues that they were looking for in a pseudo-virtuous bourgeois society.

Philippe Jullian considers the symbol of the lily to be one of the striking examples of rethinking the Middle Ages in the art of the Symbolists. “The lily, a Christian symbol,” he writes, “was picked up by believers and non-believers at the end of the century... The lily is an image of the soul. The white lily of the Annunciation, the red lily of Florence, the tiger lily... The lily symbolizes newfound innocence, an untouched soul despite the dirt of life.”

A concrete example of an attempt to create his own mythology of new symbols was the literary experiment of Aubrey Beardsley, who wrote the romantic novel “Venus and Tannhäuser”. In it, O. Beardsley tried to combine ancient and medieval mythology in the spirit of rococo and symbolism. Particularly characteristic in this regard is the scene of the ballet performed by the servants of Venus at the altar of Pan, who are, on the one hand, satyrs, ancient shepherds and shepherdesses, on the other, dandies in tailcoats and ladies of the French court. “What a lovely sight! - exclaims O. Beardsley. What a delightful effect was achieved by this combination of silk stockings and hairy legs, expensive embroidered caftans and modest blouses, artful hairstyles and unkempt curls.” However, O. Beardsley's romantic novel convincingly showed the eclecticism and superficiality of this experiment, as well as the attempts of symbolists in general to rethink medieval symbolism.

The symbol of Hinduism is the quintessence of the word “Om” or “Aum” - the universal name of God, the triliteral signs of which personify the three main gods and the sphere of their action - Creation, Maintenance and Destruction, and also identify three states of consciousness - awakening, meditative immersion and deep dream.

The symbol of Islam is a crescent and a five-pointed star. It became a symbol of the Turkish dynasty after the Ottomans captured Constantinople, where it was borrowed. Later it became a symbol of all Muslims. There is a claim that the crescent moon is associated with the hijra of the Messenger of Allah, when he secretly left Mecca and went to Medina. According to them, that night there was supposedly a crescent moon in the sky. According to other versions, the crescent moon symbolizes Muslim adherence to the lunar calendar, and the five-pointed star symbolizes the five pillars of Islam or the five daily prayers. The symbols of the crescent and star were known to mankind several thousand years before the Prophet Muhammad. It is difficult to trace their origin exactly. But most experts agree that these ancient symbols of the heavenly bodies were revered by the ancient peoples of Central Asia and Siberia, who worshiped the sun, moon and sky.

One of the oldest complex mystical symbols is the pentagram - a regular non-convex pentagon, also known as a regular star-shaped pentagon, or a regular pentagonal star. The first mention of the pentagram dates back to Ancient Greece. Translated from Greek, “pentagram” literally means five lines. The pentagram was the hallmark of the Pythagorean school (circa 580-500 BC). They believed that this beautiful polygon had many mystical properties. For example, the number of rays of this star was represented by the Pythagoreans as the number of love: 5 = 2 + 3; 2 is the first female number, 3 is the first male number. That is why the pentagram was a symbol of life and health; it was assigned the ability to protect a person from evil spirits. The pentagram was considered protection against evil and witchcraft. In the Middle Ages, it was painted in front of the entrance to the house and on the doors in order to ward off evil. The Pentagon (pentagon) is an amulet of health, a symbol of eternity and perfection, a magical remedy in conspiracies and some rituals. A regular pentagon in the form of a star served as the emblem of many gods: the Egyptian Thoth, the Aztec Quetzalcoatl, the Roman Mercury, the Celtic Gawain... This sign was the totem of the American Indians. The Greeks used it as a sign of the cross, the Jews - as a sign of prosperity, the legendary key of Solomon. Solomon's army had shields with the image of a yellow six-pointed star. For Christians, it symbolized the five wounds of Jesus, and for the Japanese it served as a sign of high status in society. Apparently, the pentagram originally appeared four thousand years ago in Mesopotamia, probably as an astronomical diagram of the movement of the planet Venus. It became the Sumerian and Egyptian star sign. This figure primarily represents a person: the top point is the head, the other four are the limbs. It is sometimes seen as a depiction of the five senses. Light magicians, in order to act on spirits, used the Pentagram with the head up, and black magicians drew the Pentagram with the head down. Faust drew a pentagram so that Mephistopheles could not cross the threshold of his house. For the Pythagoreans, a pentagram inscribed in a circle meant the silence of the initiate. The five ends of the pentagram symbolized the five years of silence and study that preceded initiation. IN Lately the true role of the pentagram began to be forgotten, although previously it served as a symbol of protection even among Christians. Now it is used by some “forgotten” religions (which are not occult), based on magic and the veneration of nature.

In Russian symbolism, the ideas of the idealless concept were picked up and expressed, perhaps even more strongly and consistently.

I can't stand children's babble

I hate the sound of cars

I want under the shade of pine trees

To be alone, always alone...

One of the darkest Russian symbolist poets, Fyodor Sologub, writes. The theorists of Russian symbolism tried to justify this artistic practice, which absolutizes the symbol as an artistic universal principle, and make it a universal condition for artistic creativity. “The romantic, classical, realistic and strictly symbolic school is only various ways symbolization,” wrote Andrei Bely.

However, the absolutization of the social, epistemological and artistic possibilities of the symbol inevitably leads to the loss of the ideal. This is precisely what brings symbolism in general closer to the religious worldview, for which the ideal, as mentioned above, is something frozen and unchanging.

Andrei Bely showed this very clearly in the idea of ​​a symbol as a Face, which is something transcendental and eternal, bringing different things to the One. “The image of the Symbol in the revealed Face of a certain beginning,” he wrote, “this Face appears in many different ways in religions; The task of the theory of symbolism regarding religions is to bring the central images of religions to a single Face.”

Symbolism, therefore, must lead diversity to the mystical unity of the Face, which is rationally, and even more so visually, irreproducible and indescribable, and therefore the concrete historical, full-blooded ideal is alien to symbolism. In the epistemological aspect, this leads to the fact that a “completely unnecessary element of agnosticism” is introduced into the process of reflection; in the aesthetic aspect, it leads to the fact that the process of artistic creativity is mystified, and the work of art itself largely loses elements of imagery.

A striking example of how the absolutization of symbol as a device in art leads to the complete destruction of artistic structure is the work of the Belgian poet and artist of the early 20th century. Jean de Bocher. In his book “In the Kingdom of Dreams and Symbols” he strives to create a picture of nature full of strange symbols: “Where they (birds - E. Ya.) sing, flowers and fruits gently move, like some kind of world of fragile jewels ... But the gloomy wind extinguishes this shiny enamel and the birds stop singing... The fading waves also stop. The horror of silence is felt.”

This picture of the world, created by the imagination of Jean de Bocher, is very close to the philosophical concept of agnosticism, for which the external is something unstable and constantly changing. Theoretically, this artistic practice is justified by modern neo-Kantians. Thus, Ernst Cassirer generally characterizes the world as something symbolic, and considers man not a social being, but a symbolic animal.

Between ups and downs in art there sometimes lies a period of twilight; this is a time when art often gravitates towards symbolic thinking. This “twilight art” arises in the era of declining civilizations, which are still capable of giving something to culture, but can no longer create the conditions for this something to become a step in the development of the artistic culture of mankind. And this something becomes “twilight art,” an art that captures a given state of social life.

However, “twilight art” is not a sign of the culture of only one era - the era of imperialism. Such art, in the broad sense of the word, arises when the stable signs of a historically specific monistic (national, regional or specific type of civilization) culture are destroyed as a result of the gradual or rapid collapse of its social foundations. This is one of the spiritual manifestations of the crisis that arises at that stage of development of society when a transition occurs in the structure of the socio-economic formation from progressive development to regressive development or to the restoration of the old. The loosening of the old structure is inevitably associated with the search for new systems of organization, including the search for a new artistic vision of the world, with attempts to create a new culture. In art there is an attempt to capture and convey this process. But, as a rule, “twilight art” captures only the superficial signs of an emerging new culture, which still exists only as a trend. This is, for example, the nature of the culture and art of Hellenism, the era of decline of ancient Greek civilization.

In the era of Hellenism (IV-I centuries BC), the ideal of a “self-sufficient” creator, not connected with the outside world and independent of it, began to dominate in philosophical and aesthetic thinking and art.

Epicurus' ataraxia (inner independence and peace of mind) and the apathy of the Stoics (freedom from affects) become dominant in the thinking and worldview of Hellenistic society. This general attitude, characteristic of Hellenism, also permeates art, in which interest in social problems is weakened and the problem of the individual is put at the forefront; The spiritual structure of a person devoid of social and political integrity prevails; he is the embodiment of a “citizen of the world.” In this art, epic genres die - tragedy and epic; they are replaced by small forms: epillium (“small epic”), elegy, idyll, which turn to intimate - family and friendly - experiences. The genre of epigram and light erotic anacreontics flourishes magnificently.

In the visual arts, especially in sculpture, the civil issue, epic genres weaken, they are replaced by a pictorial or sculptural portrait and a genre scene. The pursuit of accurate rendering of small details, the variety of images led to an overload of details (the famous group of the Farnese bull), and the desire to capture a separate, fleeting moment led to excessive external pathosity (the image of the dying Alexander) or to absolute relativity, incompleteness of images (the Frieze of Pergamon altar).

Thus, in Hellenistic art, the attraction to new genres that can capture individual characteristics leads to a significant degree to the loss of civic qualities, and the fixation of a passing moment leads to the incompleteness of the work, to the principle that in modern bourgeois aesthetics is designated by the category “non finito” , as discussed above.

Individualism and incompleteness are features that convincingly indicate that Hellenistic art was not able to unite the past and present into a single whole. The connection between times was broken, and even realistically captured details became just “material for an idealistic artistic synthesis.”

Something similar happened in Italy in the 16th century, when the High Renaissance was replaced by mannerism, born of the Counter-Reformation and the formal, cold use of the techniques of the great artists of the Renaissance.

Mannerists strive for deliberate entertainment, virtuosity, external picturesqueness and complex formal solutions, losing the clarity of language, monumentality and deep citizenship inherent in the masters of the High Renaissance. Just as in the Hellenistic era, the art of sophistication, frivolity and perversity flourishes in Mannerism (Giulio Romano, Parmigianino); hedonistic aesthetics and eroticism become its main features. Mannerism is quickly dying, because (like the art of Hellenism) it cannot connect the past with the present, and especially with the future. His searches turned out to be purely external, very superficial, and therefore they did not find a response among the broad masses of the people, they could not grasp the deep processes of the birth of culture and art of modern times. Only the art of critical realism can master these processes.

This is, in principle, the aesthetics and practice of “art for art’s sake” (Europe and Russia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries), which captured the surface of the deep transformations of critical realism. This, in fact, is modernism (or modern modernism), which grew out of the search for new methods of artistic vision.

Strictly speaking, a developed culture is always traditional, since it is materially fixed in certain tools, in the labor system, in the stable level and skills of the producer, in the creations of spiritual and artistic thought, and its task is to reproduce in its entirety the existing system of socio-economic and spiritual relationships.

“Twilight” art is always one-sided, it is only the use of new forms. It refuses tradition and therefore is not able to grasp the essential, cannot connect the past, the deep, with the present, the emerging; it does not fully realize the meaningful task of art. Such art is associated, as mentioned above, with the process of searching for new forms, but ultimately this search absolutizes the form and turns it into a symbol. Such relativity of artistic search, instability, and superficial novelty are most adequate to the spiritual atmosphere of confusion and loss of humanistic guidelines, the atmosphere of a society that has entered a period of collapse.

In its essential features, art is the most mobile element of culture, and yet it is possible as a developed aesthetic phenomenon only if there is an established stable method of artistic exploration of reality (realism, classicism, romanticism, critical realism, socialist realism). The artistic method presupposes, at least, the presence of such essential features (expressed in a specific historical form) as the recognition that art is: 1) a reflection of objective social and natural reality; 2) a system of generalization of this reality (or typification); 3) a structure in which substantive tasks determine the artistic merits of the form; finally, 4) a certain social position, expressed either in spontaneous tendentiousness or in the artist’s clear and open partisanship.

All these functions can only be performed by art that most thoroughly realizes the possibilities of artistic reflection, that is, art that has a holistic and universal method within a given type of creativity.

“Twilight” art does not have stable and universal principles at the level of a universal artistic method; it, as a rule, exists only at the level of a system (formal systematization), combining various techniques into an eclectically unstable manner of creativity. The only thing to which such art can rise are more or less stable stylistic principles, realized in the individual manner of the artist, and a sense of the tragedy and hopelessness of life in a dying society.

“Twilight” art reaches its apogee in modern artistic modernism, when it not only loses progressive social guidelines, but in its artistic tendency goes to self-destruction - to ugliness and pointlessness, abandoning even the symbol. Neither in the Hellenistic era, nor in late imperial Rome, nor during the period of the Counter-Reformation in Europe did art lose its most important artistic quality - imagery. The image in this art was deformed and distorted, but it artistically reflected the sick world in which this art lived.

Petronius points out the grinding and artistic wretchedness of the art of late Rome in his famous “Satyricon”: “Sublime art and... chaste eloquence are beautiful in their original beauty, and not in pretentiousness and pomposity. Only recently did this inflated, empty eloquence creep into Athens from Asia, like a harmful star, sending an infection that took possession of the minds of the youth... And so, when the laws of eloquence were undermined, it froze in stagnation and became numb... Even poetry no longer shines healthy blush: they all seem to have been fed the same food; none will live to see gray hair. Painting is destined to the same fate, after the impudence of the Egyptians made it extremely easy high art". And, speaking about the social reasons that gave rise to such art, Petronius exclaims: “The loud fame of wealth blinded the eyes and souls of these unfortunates.”

Contemporary modernism, in its extreme manifestations, has encroached on the holy of holies of art - the image; he does not need an image, even an extremely generalized and symbolic one, his desire for self-destruction is evidence that the society that gave birth to him is losing its historical perspective, and at the same time all traditional humanistic values.

This process is associated with the general trend of increasing the active role of the individual in the social and spiritual processes of modern life. In art, this is expressed in an exaggerated interest in the emotional states of the artist’s personality. “...The awareness of the exceptional significance of what is experienced and created... is a characteristic feature of modernity,” M. Fabrikant once noted, speaking about the initial stages of modernism.

This is also emphasized by modern researchers of artistic symbols. Thus, Todor Vidanu says that an artistic symbol is characterized by the predominance of subjective reflection over objectivity, although objective content is expressed through this subjectivity. But the subject still dominates here, and this is fraught with artistic subjectivism. Today, in modernism and among its theoretical interpreters, this process acquires the only and absolute meaning. “...Only individuals keep pace with the evolution of art... This means that society follows the spiritual age of the minority who creates art...” writes the above-mentioned Greek esthetician P. Michelis. The words-symbols of one of the typical representatives of modern modernism, Georges Rouault, sound aphoristic and programmatic: “Painting for me is only a means of leaving life. Scream in the night. Suppressed sobbing. Laughter stuck in throat." This desire for spiritual and sometimes physical self-destruction is very characteristic of the worldview of a consistent modernist artist; in this he differs from the wavering artist, the artist in whom nevertheless lives a healthy sense of the necessity and value of life.

“Living in the world is both scary and beautiful,” A. Blok wrote in his diary in 1911, and this feeling of the beauty of life largely determined his future creative path, a departure from the extremes of modernism, from the tendencies of anti-humanism and self-destruction. A. Blok’s words are also symbolically aphoristic, but this is an aphorism that refutes and denies the boundless pessimism of Georges Rouault. The absolutization of the personal world clearly appears at the social and epistemological level, but it is much more difficult to detect it at the aesthetic level, since art always and necessarily captures the individuality of the artist and at the same time it is a holistic phenomenon in its mobility. It is not so easy to separate the wheat from the chaff, the structures based on a stable artistic method, from the structures based on a system organized merely into a quantitative unity. The real life of art is internally contradictory and complex and therefore requires analysis that covers the most important aspects of its existence. Therefore, turning to the analysis of modern searches for artistic symbols, one should first of all establish the content dominant of these searches.

Thus, the formal search for “pop-art” in its absolute form represents a clear modernist destruction of the nature of art, while the use of real life forms in their meaningful aspect from a progressive position contributes to the creation of a modern artistic figurative vision (anti-tank hedgehogs as an artistic symbol of the defense of Moscow ; a tank raised on a pedestal as a symbol of liberation, a fire on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, etc.). The principles of extreme formal symbolism, deformation and metaphor in surrealism lead to the destruction of art, but these same principles, included in the method of a certain monumental painting school (Siqueiros, Orozco, etc.) or modern realistic expressionism (Käthe Kollwitz, Ernst Barlach, Renato Guttuso), become means of progressive, democratic art.

Modern symbolic expressionism, for example, is complex and contradictory, but in its main tendencies it manifests a protest against human suffering; this is the exposure of suffering - for the sake of denying it, for the sake of rejecting this suffering. V. Kataev writes about the monument to O. Zadkine “Destroyed Rotterdam” as an impressive image of humanistic suffering. “Oh, if only someone knew what a torment it is to be an iron man-city with a torn out heart, doomed to eternal immobility and silence on its concrete base...”

Often, works of symbolism are the fruit of a tragic delusion or hopeless protest, in which sometimes there is still a glimmer of hope for salvation. At one time, Andrei Bely wrote:

I'm lying... Falling asleep in oblivion

And melting and gentle snow,

Flying down onto my chest,

To slightly vegetating shoots.

These “slightly vegetating shoots” indicate that the creation of artistic values ​​is still possible. Therefore, they are not without interest for a holistic understanding of the history of the artistic culture of mankind.

Thus, in the process of historical life, there was an ever closer rapprochement between religious symbolism, which was static and dogmatically unchanging, and artistic symbolism, which, developing and transforming, in its extreme manifestations, followed the path of convergence with the extreme tendencies of modern bourgeois modernism.

This was deeply felt by the neo-Thomist J. Maritain, who saw the closeness of the religious symbol to the most “spiritual” movements of modern modernism, although outwardly he in every possible way disavows it, because he understands art as a symbolization of the transcendent. J. Maritain says that art is not only a “world of things,” but, most importantly, a “world of signs,” those signs that are inexpressible either through scientific truths or through ideas. A work of art is a double symbol: firstly, a symbol of human feeling and, secondly, a symbol of superhuman concepts, since the highest meaning of a work of art is “a sign of the feelings of divine existence.”

One of the bourgeois researchers of the philosophy of J. Maritain, V. S. Simonsen, emphasizes precisely this in Maritain’s interpretation of the symbol: “... it is no longer the only, final symbol that dominates... not a symbol accompanied by a clear epithet, but a series changing symbols." Therefore, it becomes clear that J. Maritain’s statement that the formation of his aesthetics took place under the influence of the work of French symbolists such as Rimbaud, Mallarmé, Verlaine.

J. Maritain, supporting symbolism in modern artistic modernism, puts forward the principle of “discovering invisible things through visible things.” That is why he does not accept surrealism, since the latter suffers from a lack of the mysterious, mystical, “spiritual”. But Maritain speaks with delight about the work of Georges Rouault. “A philosopher could study Rouault’s work as a field of pure art with all its duties, secrets and chastity... He captured for us in the real and factual a certain light splashing, which no one has yet discovered. His pathetic art has a deeply religious meaning." J. Maritain speaks with no less enthusiasm about M. Chagall, who, in his opinion, is a true artist. “...The evangelical feeling is unconscious in him and, as it were, bewitched,” writes J. Maritain. “Chagall knows what he’s saying, but he probably doesn’t know everything brought by what he’s talking about.”

Thus, J. Maritain requires a rather unambiguous answer to the question of true “spiritual” values, which are revealed only through a symbol close to the radiant light of the divine.

But, as V. Dneprov correctly notes, “art is more resilient than any other ideology, it resists pressure from the bourgeoisie...”. And not only the bourgeoisie. Precisely because in art the search for something new is always associated with the desire to reflect the entire complexity of the spiritual life of society, the artist seeks new forms, new means of expressing the era. And therefore “the forms themselves are not to blame. Any form may be needed for art and sculpture...” The culprits are those social forces, including religious ones, which require art to be limited and unambiguous (with all its external diversity) necessary to protect their interests. "IN modern conditions, when the general crisis of capitalism has deepened significantly, its irreconcilable contradictions have intensified...”, the inevitability of the union of religion and the extreme movements of modernism becomes especially clear.

Ancient Egypt owes its highly developed culture to the Nile. Due to the cyclical floods in the country, a pronounced belief in the other world was formed, the model for which was the natural cycle of the emergence, disappearance and rebirth of life.
The ancient Egyptians were an extremely life-oriented people who largely tried to repress the idea of ​​age and death. Instead, the idea of ​​life in the other world and rebirth was put in the foreground.

The thinking of the ancient Egyptian people was not rational - logical, but figurative - symbolic. The magical principle operated that all perfect, great things are reflected in something small, outwardly inconspicuous - both above and below, the macrocosm is equal to the microcosm. On this basis, the scarab beetle became a symbol of the rising sun, and the sky could be depicted as a cow. In the same way, it was possible, through symbolic actions and drawings, to influence important processes occurring in the world of the Gods and in the other world. The symbols themselves were attributed an inherent inner power, something like an essence or soul.

The typology of symbolism in ancient Egyptian art is very extensive: it is the symbolism of shape and size, location and material, color and number, hieroglyphic meaning and gesture. Interpreting an often ambivalent symbol, trying to achieve the most accurate result, is a task of paramount importance and colossal complexity. Sometimes the graphic symbol has a living, anthropomorphic form: for example, the ankh, the symbol of life, which has arms, carries the sacred fan behind the king, and the djed pillar, personifying the god Osiris and carrying the meaning of stability and strength, is equipped with eyes and supports the disk of the sun in its palms.

Symbols of life in ancient Egypt

Ankh Since ancient times, it has been a symbol in Egypt of eternal life in this and the other world. It is so rooted in tradition that it was adopted by the Coptic Christians (an ethno-confessional group of Egyptian Arabs professing Christianity, descendants of the pre-Arab population of Egypt) as a cross. In many images, the Gods hold the ankh in their hand or hand it over to people. Here we are talking about the breath of life that has become visible, so to speak, about the divine spark, thanks to which life can arise in general. In addition, the ankh represents the life-giving properties of the elements air and water. The origin of its form has not yet been explained. Perhaps we are talking about a magical knot, where sexual relations probably also play a role. It is possible to interpret the shape of the cross as a combination of the cross of Osiris in the shape of the letter T with the oval of Isis into a key that reveals the secrets of life. The Ankh is one of the most important ancient Egyptian symbols with the meaning of “life” (“immortality”), also known as the “crux ansata”. The sign is very simple, but powerful. It combines two symbols - a cross, as a symbol of life, and a circle, as a symbol of eternity. Their combination means immortality. The Ankh can be interpreted as the rising sun, as the unity of the male and female principles (the oval of Isis and the cross of Osiris), and also as the key to esoteric knowledge and the immortal life of the spirit. IN hieroglyphic writing this sign symbolized "life"; it was also part of the words “welfare” and “happiness”. The Egyptians believed that the image of the ankh prolongs life on earth. They were buried with the same amulet in order to be sure that life in another world awaited the deceased. Exactly this form, according to ideas ancient world, had a key that could open the gates of death. This symbol was also placed on the walls of water canals in the hope that it would protect against floods. Later, the ankh was used by witches in rituals, divination, fortune telling, healing and helping women in labor. During the hippie movement in the late 1960s, the ankh was a popular symbol of peace and truth. It is impossible to list all the meanings of a symbol. A sign of happiness, prosperity, inexhaustible vitality, eternal wisdom. Such a loop of life was often worn by common people as an amulet, in the form of a knot. Like the ankh, it signifies eternity and immortality.

Sign Tet, which was also called the "blood of Isis", was often given to the deceased as an amulet. It looks like an ankh, the handles of which are down. In conjunction with the pillar of Djed on the walls of temples and in sarcophagi, it indicates the unification of opposing forces and at the same time an ever-renewing life force.

Shenu- Shen's ring and at the same time a hieroglyph denoting eternity. He is often depicted in wall paintings with divine animals.
This emblem in the form of an oval with a straight line at the end is often called a cartouche. Inside there is a name written in hieroglyphs (for example, the name of the pharaoh), which the oval symbolically protects.

All Seeing Eye - Wadget. A painted image of an eye with a spiral line under it is, as a rule, the emblem of the falcon-headed sky god Horus, a symbol of the all-seeing eye and the unity of the cosmos, the integrity of the universe. According to ancient Egyptian myth, the lunar eye of Horus was torn out by Set in the battle for supremacy among the gods, but after Horus's victory in this battle it grew again. This myth became the reason for the extreme popularity of the Eye of Horus as an amulet to ward off evil. The Eye was also often depicted or carved on Egyptian tombstones - to help the dead in the afterlife. The spiral under the eye (resembling a galaxy) symbolizes energy and perpetual motion.

Eye of Horus was also associated with healing, as ancient Egyptian physicians often viewed illness as analogous to the battle of Horus and Set. In mathematics, the Eye had a curious function - it was used to represent fractions. According to one version of the myth, Seth cut the torn out eye of Horus into 64 parts, so its incomplete image symbolizes some fractional number: the pupil is 1/4, the eyebrow is 1/8, etc.

Scarab- one of the most popular Egyptian symbols. It is known that dung beetles, which include the scarab, are able to skillfully sculpt balls from dung by rolling them in front of them. This habit, in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, likened the scarab to the sun god Ra (the dung ball in this allegory is an analogue of the solar disk moving across the sky). The scarab was considered a sacred creature in Ancient Egypt; figurines of this beetle, made of stone or glazed clay, served as seals, medals or talismans, signifying immortality. Such amulets were worn not only by the living, but also by the dead. In the latter case, the beetle was placed in a sarcophagus or inside a mummy - in place of the heart, while sacred texts were written on the reverse, smooth side of it (often the thirtieth chapter of the book of the dead, convincing the heart not to testify against the deceased at the afterlife court of Osiris). Scarab figurines often depicted only the upper part of a beetle, without legs, and the smooth oval base of the figurine was used to apply various kinds of inscriptions - from individual names and aphorisms of a moralizing nature to entire stories about outstanding events in the life of the pharaohs (hunting, marriage, etc.)

Winged solar disk. According to myth, Horus took this form during the battle with the evil god Set. On both sides of the disk there is an image of a snake, signifying the balance of opposing forces. The entire composition symbolizes protection and world balance. This sign was often depicted above the entrance to the tomb of the pharaoh; in this case, the disk in the center symbolized Horus, the wings symbolized Isis protecting him, and the snakes symbolized Lower and Upper Egypt.

Sesen- lotus flower, a sign of the sun, creativity and rebirth. Due to the fact that at night the lotus flower closes and sinks under the water, and in the morning rises again to bloom on the surface, this association arose. One of the cosmogonic myths says that at the beginning of time, a giant lotus rose from the waters of chaos, from which the sun appeared on the first day of the world’s existence. The lotus flower is also considered a symbol of Upper Egypt.

Feather Maat. The emblem symbolizes truth and harmony. Maat is the daughter and eye of Ra, the goddess of justice, truth and world order. Together with her father, she participated in the creation of the world from chaos. Like her Greek counterpart, Themis, Ma'at is depicted blindfolded. The goddess's head is decorated with an ostrich feather, which is her symbol and hieroglyph. According to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, in the afterlife the heart of the deceased was placed on one scale and the figurine of Maat on the other. If both objects were balanced, then this meant that the deceased was worthy of bliss in the reed fields of Iaru (otherwise he would be devoured by a monster with the head of a crocodile and the body of a lion). The figurine of Maat on the chest was an invariable attribute of the judge.

Cat. For the Egyptians, the cat was the earthly embodiment of Bastet - the goddess of solar warmth, joy and fertility, protector of pregnant women and children, guardian of the hearth and harvest. Bastet, personifying such qualities as grace, beauty, dexterity and affection, is considered the Egyptian analogue of Aphrodite and Artemis. Her sculptures and paintings were used to protect the house from evil spirits. Naturally, cats were treated with great respect in Ancient Egypt, and killing them was punishable by death. During life, this animal was an equal member of the family, and after death it was embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus, which was placed in a special necropolis.

Heron. The heron was considered a symbol of resurrection and eternal life (a prototype of the Phoenix bird) and personified Benu, one of the original, uncreated gods like Ra or Atum. According to the myth, at the beginning of creation, Benu appeared by himself on a stone that emerged from the watery chaos. This stone - Benben - was one of the fetishes of God.

Isis. The goddess of fertility, water, wind and family fidelity, Isis, reliever of birth pangs and protector of children, was one of the most important and ancient goddesses of the Egyptian pantheon. Her cult as a mother goddess was also reflected in Christianity. Isis was depicted as a woman (often winged), crowned with the hieroglyph "throne", or a falcon. Sometimes - in the form of a woman with cow horns and a sun disk on her head. Isis was the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. Identified with such Greek goddesses as Demeter, Persephone, Hera.

Ra. An analogue of the Greek Helios, the supreme deity of the ancient Egyptian pantheon, the father of the gods. The title of Son of Ra was also borne by all pharaohs. Ra's sacred animal was the falcon, in the form of which he was often depicted. Another option is a man with the head of a falcon, crowned with a solar disk or double crown.

Ibis. The sacred ibis bird symbolized Thoth, the god of science and magic, inventor of astronomy, medicine and geometry, author of the Book of the Dead. He also served as a celestial chronicler and patron of the Moon (the calendar was compiled on the basis of the lunar phases). Depicted as an ibis or a man with the head of an ibis, crowned with a lunar disk. Roughly equivalent to the Greek Hermes.

Attributes of ancient Egypt

About Egyptian crowns:
- The eagle on the Egyptian crown means that pharaoh, king, god - refers to Upper Egypt.
- The snake on the Egyptian crown means that pharaoh, king, god - refers to Lower Egypt.
- If both a snake and an eagle are depicted on the crown, this means that the pharaoh, king, god - refers to Upper and Lower Egypt (Such a crown appeared when Upper and Lower Egypt merged into one).
- The crown in the shape of a solar disk refers to the gods: Ra, Atum, Amon, Amon-Ra, Aah, Khonsu, Hathor.
- Three crowns of Egypt: 1. White crown of Upper Egypt. 2. Red Crown of Lower Egypt. 3. Pschent, or double crown of the united kingdom.

About Egyptian attributes:
- Heka (Hook): - is a scepter that was worn not only by gods and kings, but also by high officials. The earlier, sometimes human-sized, form of the staff was originally a shepherd's stick and became an attribute of the shepherd god Accepti; from here the well-known form, smaller in size and highly curved, developed. The sign-picture of this scepter served to represent the word “rule.” During the Middle Kingdom, a hook as a sign of Osiris was placed on the friezes of tombs.
- Nehekh (Scourge): The so-called whip (in Egyptian "nehekh") consists of a short handle with two or three hanging strips or strings of pearls. It was interpreted as a shepherd's whip, which became a sign of power through the god Anezti, "Head of the Eastern Nomes." Another original meaning of the whip was a fan from flies. The whip is a constant attribute of the gods Osiris and Min. Already in the ancient kingdom, it was located on the backs of animals consecrated by the gods. The whip, as a symbol of power, also serves kings.
- Uas (Scepter of Uas): Uas was in ancient times. the kind of fetish in which it was implied. contains the healing powers of an underground demon similar to a dog or jackal. Uas consists of a stick forked at the bottom, which ends at the top with the head of an animal (jackal). In the hands of the gods, it becomes a scepter of prosperity and a symbol of health and happiness. Before the Middle Kingdom, the deceased was given a wooden scepter with him to the grave so that he could use it to enjoy divine benefits. Later, friezes on the walls of tombs were decorated with this symbol. A popular motif at all times was the image of two scepters, which bordered the edges of the field of a picture or inscription and supported the ideogram “sky” with their heads. The wass scepter, decorated with the sky and a feather, was the sign of the Theban nome and bore the name wasset.

Ancient Egypt colors:
The Egyptians mainly used: dark green, black, red, light blue, yellow (gold), white. If you think a little about why these colors played a certain role in Ancient Egypt, you can understand that each color means a small piece of nature, and what could be more beautiful than nature...

One of the most important ancient Egyptian symbols with the meaning of “life” (“immortality”), also known as the “crux ansata”. The sign is very simple, but powerful.

It combines two symbols - a cross, as a symbol of life, and a circle, as a symbol of eternity. Their combination means immortality.

The Ankh can be interpreted as the rising sun, as the unity of the male and female principles (the oval of Isis and the cross of Osiris), and also as the key to esoteric knowledge and the immortal life of the spirit.

In hieroglyphic writing, this sign symbolized “life”; it was also part of the words “welfare” and “happiness”. The Egyptians believed that the image of the ankh prolongs life on earth. They were buried with the same amulet in order to be sure that life in another world awaited the deceased. This is the shape, according to the ideas of the ancient world, that the key had, which could open the gates of death.

This symbol was also placed on the walls of water canals in the hope that it would protect against floods. Later, the ankh was used by witches in rituals, divination, fortune telling, healing and helping women in labor. During the hippie movement in the late 1960s, the ankh was a popular symbol of peace and truth.

It is impossible to list all the meanings of a symbol. A sign of happiness, prosperity, inexhaustible vitality, eternal wisdom, etc.

All Seeing Eye - Wadget



A painted image of an eye with a spiral line underneath is, as a rule, the emblem of the falcon-headed sky god Horus, a symbol of the all-seeing eye and the unity of the cosmos, the integrity of the universe. According to ancient Egyptian myth, the lunar eye of Horus was torn out by Set in the battle for supremacy among the gods, but after Horus's victory in this battle it grew again. This myth became the reason for the extreme popularity of the Eye of Horus as an amulet to ward off evil. The Eye was also often depicted or carved on Egyptian tombstones to help the dead in the afterlife. The spiral under the eye (resembling a galaxy) symbolizes energy and perpetual motion.

The Eye of Horus was also associated with healing, as ancient Egyptian physicians often viewed illness as analogous to the battle between Horus and Set.

In mathematics, the Eye had a curious function - it was used to represent fractions. According to one version of the myth, Seth cut the torn out eye of Horus into 64 parts, so its incomplete image symbolizes some fractional number: the pupil is 1/4, the eyebrow is 1/8, etc.

Scarab


The scarab is one of the most popular Egyptian symbols. It is known that dung beetles, which include the scarab, are able to skillfully sculpt balls from dung by rolling them in front of them. This habit, in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, likened the scarab to the sun god Ra (the dung ball in this allegory is an analogue of the solar disk moving across the sky).

The scarab was considered a sacred creature in Ancient Egypt; figurines of this beetle, made of stone or glazed clay, served as seals, medals or talismans, signifying immortality. Such amulets were worn not only by the living, but also by the dead. In the latter case, the beetle was placed in a sarcophagus or inside a mummy - in place of the heart, while sacred texts were written on the reverse, smooth side of it (often the thirtieth chapter of the book of the dead, convincing the heart not to testify against the deceased at the afterlife court of Osiris). Scarab figurines often depicted only the upper part of a beetle, without legs, and the smooth oval base of the figurine was used to apply various kinds of inscriptions - from individual names and aphorisms of a moralizing nature to entire stories about outstanding events in the life of the pharaohs (hunting, marriage, etc.)

Shenu


This emblem in the form of an oval with a straight line at the end is often called a cartouche.

Inside there is a name written in hieroglyphs (for example, the name of the pharaoh), which the oval symbolically protects.

Winged solar disk




According to myth, Horus took this form during the battle with the evil god Set. On both sides of the disk there is an image of a snake, signifying the balance of opposing forces. The entire composition symbolizes protection and world balance.

This sign was often depicted above the entrance to the tomb of the pharaoh; in this case, the disk in the center symbolized Horus, the wings - Isis protecting him, and the snakes - Lower and Upper Egypt.

Sesen


Lotus flower, sign of the sun, creativity and rebirth. Due to the fact that at night the lotus flower closes and sinks under the water, and in the morning rises again to bloom on the surface, this association arose. One of the cosmogonic myths says that at the beginning of time, a giant lotus rose from the waters of chaos, from which the sun appeared on the first day of the world’s existence.

The lotus flower is also considered a symbol of Upper Egypt.

Feather Maat


The emblem symbolizes truth and harmony. Maat is the daughter and eye of Ra, the goddess of justice, truth and world order. Together with her father, she participated in the creation of the world from chaos. Like her Greek counterpart, Themis, Ma'at is depicted blindfolded. The goddess's head is decorated with an ostrich feather, which is her symbol and hieroglyph. According to the ideas of the ancient Egyptians, in the afterlife the heart of the deceased was placed on one scale and the figurine of Maat on the other. If both objects were balanced, then this meant that the deceased was worthy of bliss in the reed fields of Iaru (otherwise he would be devoured by a monster with the head of a crocodile and the body of a lion). The figurine of Maat on the chest was an invariable attribute of the judge.

Cat


For the Egyptians, the cat was the earthly embodiment of Bastet - the goddess of solar warmth, joy and fertility, protector of pregnant women and children, guardian of the hearth and harvest. Bastet, personifying such qualities as grace, beauty, dexterity and affection, is considered the Egyptian analogue of Aphrodite and Artemis. Her sculptures and paintings were used to protect the house from evil spirits.

Naturally, cats were treated with great respect in Ancient Egypt, and killing them was punishable by death. During life, this animal was an equal member of the family, and after death it was embalmed and placed in a sarcophagus, which was placed in a special necropolis.

Heron


The heron was considered a symbol of resurrection and eternal life (a prototype of the Phoenix bird) and personified Benu, one of the original, uncreated gods like Ra or Atum. According to the myth, at the beginning of creation, Benu appeared by himself on a stone that emerged from the watery chaos. This stone - Benben - was one of the fetishes of God.

Isis

Continuation of the first part: Occult and mystical symbols and their meaning. Geometric symbols, Universal symbols-images and symbols-concepts. Emblems of modern religions. Crosses: the most common forms. Images of time. Symbolism of the plant and animal kingdom. Mythical creatures.

Encyclopedia of symbols

Swastika straight (left-handed)

Swastika as a solar symbol

A straight (left-sided) swastika is a cross with the ends curved to the left. Rotation is considered to occur clockwise (opinions sometimes differ in determining the direction of movement).

The straight swastika is a symbol of blessing, good omen, prosperity, good luck and aversion to misfortune, as well as a symbol of fertility, longevity, health and life. It is also a symbol of masculinity, spirituality, inhibiting the flow of lower (physical) forces and allowing the energies of a higher, divine nature to manifest.

Reverse swastika (right-handed)

Swastika on a Nazi war medal

The reverse (right-handed) swastika is a cross with the ends bent to the right. Rotation is considered to occur counterclockwise.

The reverse swastika is usually associated with the feminine principle. Sometimes it is associated with the launch of negative (physical) energies that block the passage to sublime powers of the spirit.

The Sumerian swastika, formed by four women and their hair, symbolizes the female generative force

Pentagram (pentacle): general meaning of the symbol

Pentagram sign

The pentagram, written in one line, is the most ancient of all the symbols that we possess. Had different interpretations in different historical times of mankind. It became the Sumerian and Egyptian star sign.

Later symbolism: five senses; masculine and feminine principles expressed by five points; harmony, health and mystical powers. The pentagram is also a symbol of the victory of the spiritual over the material, a symbol of security, protection, and a safe return home.

Pentagram as a magical symbol

Pentagrams of the White and Black Magicians

The pentacle, with one end up and two down, is a sign of white magic known as the "foot of the druid"; with one end down and two up, it represents the so-called “goat’s hoof” and the horns of the devil - a characteristic change in symbolism from a positive to a negative sign when it is turned over.

The White Magician's Pentagram is a symbol of magical influence and the dominance of disciplined Will over the phenomena of the world. The will of the Black Magician is directed towards destruction, towards refusal to perform a spiritual task, therefore the inverted pentagram is seen as a symbol of evil.

Pentagram as a symbol of a perfect person

Pentagram symbolizing the perfect man

The pentagram, a five-pointed star, is a symbol of a perfect man standing on two legs with his arms spread apart. We can say that man is a living pentagram. This is true both physically and spiritually - man possesses and exhibits five virtues: love, wisdom, truth, justice and kindness.

Truth belongs to the spirit, love to the soul, wisdom to the intellect, kindness to the heart, justice to the will.

Double pentagram

Double Pentagram (Man and the Universe)

There is also a correspondence between the human body and the five elements (earth, water, air, fire and ether): will corresponds to earth, heart to water, intellect to air, soul to fire, spirit to ether. Thus, by his will, intellect, heart, soul, spirit, man is connected with the five elements working in the cosmos, and he can consciously work in harmony with them. This is precisely the meaning of the symbol of the double pentagram, in which the small one is inscribed in the large one: man (microcosm) lives and acts within the Universe (macrocosm).

Hexagram

Hexagram image

A hexagram is a figure composed of two polar triangles, a six-pointed star. It is a complex and seamless symmetrical shape in which six small individual triangles are grouped around a large central hexagon. The result is a star, although the original triangles retain their individuality. Since the upward-facing triangle is a heavenly symbol, and the downward-facing triangle is an earthly symbol, together they are a symbol of a person who unites these two worlds. It is a symbol of a perfect marriage that binds a man and a woman.

Seal of Solomon

Seal of Solomon, or Star of David

This is the famous magical seal of Solomon, or the Star of David. The upper triangle in her image is white, and the lower one is black. It symbolizes, first of all, the absolute law of analogy, expressed by the mystical formula: “What is below is similar to what is above.”

The Seal of Solomon is also a symbol of human evolution: one must learn not only to take, but also to give, absorb and radiate at the same time, radiate for the Earth, perceive from Heaven. We receive and are fulfilled only when we give to others. This is the perfect union of spirit and matter in man - the union of the solar plexus and the brain.

Five pointed star

Five pointed star

Star of Bethlehem

The five-pointed star has been interpreted in different ways, including symbolizing joy and happiness. It is also the emblem of the Semitic goddess Ishtar in her warlike incarnation, and in addition, the Star of Bethlehem. For Freemasons, the five-pointed star symbolizes the mystical center.

The Egyptians attached great importance to five- and six-pointed stars, as is clear from the text preserved on the wall of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

Seven pointed star

Seven-pointed star of magicians

The seven-pointed star repeats the characteristic features of the five-pointed one. The Gnostic star has seven rays.

Seven- and nine-pointed stars, drawn with one line, are mystical stars in astrology and magic.

The Star of Magi can be read in two ways: sequentially along the course of the rays (along the line of the star) and along the circumference. Along the rays are the planets that control the days of the week: Sun - Sunday, Moon - Monday, Mars - Tuesday, Mercury - Wednesday, Jupiter - Thursday, Venus - Friday, Saturn - Saturday.

Nine-pointed star

Nine-pointed star of magicians

Nine-pointed stars, like seven-pointed ones, if they are drawn with one line, are mystical stars in astrology and magic.

The nine-pointed star, made up of three triangles, symbolizes the Holy Spirit.

Monad

Four components of the monad

This is a magical symbol called the monad by John Dee (1527–1608), advisor and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Dee presents the nature of magical symbols in terms of geometry and tests the monad in a number of theorems.

Dee explores the monad at such a deep level that he finds connections between his theory and Pythagorean harmony, biblical knowledge and mathematical proportions.

Spiral

Spiral structure of the Milky Way

Spiral shapes are found very often in nature, from spiral galaxies to whirlpools and tornadoes, from mollusk shells to patterns on human fingers, and even the DNA molecule has the shape of a double helix.

The spiral is a very complex and multi-valued symbol. But first of all, it is a symbol of the great creative (vital) force both at the cosmic level and at the microcosm level. The spiral is a symbol of time, cyclical rhythms, the change of seasons, birth and death, the phases of “aging” and “growth” of the Moon, as well as the Sun itself.

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life in the Human Being

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life does not belong to any culture - not even the Egyptians. It transcends races and religions. This image is an integral part of nature... Man himself is a miniature Tree of Life. He possessed immortality when connected to this tree. The Tree of Life can be thought of as the arteries of a large cosmic body. Through these arteries, as if through channels, flow the life-giving forces of the cosmos, which feed all forms of existence, and the cosmic pulse of life beats in them. The Tree of Life is a separate section, part of the scheme of the universal code of life.

Sphere

Armillary sphere (engraving from the book of Tycho Brahe)

A symbol of fertility (like the circle), as well as integrity. In Ancient Greece, the sign of the sphere was a cross in a circle - an ancient emblem of power. A sphere composed of several metal rings, illustrating the cosmogonic theory of Ptolemy, who believed that the Earth was at the center of the Universe, is an ancient emblem of astronomy.

Platonic solids

Platonic solids inscribed in a sphere

The Platonic solids are five unique shapes. Long before Plato, Pythagoras used them, calling them ideal geometric bodies. Ancient alchemists and such great minds as Pythagoras believed that these bodies were associated with certain elements: cube (A) - earth, tetrahedron (B) - fire, octahedron (C) - air, icosahedron (D) - water, dodecahedron ( E) is ether, and the sphere is emptiness. These six elements are the building blocks of the universe. They create the qualities of the Universe.

Planet symbols

Planet symbols

Planets are represented by a combination of simple geometric symbols. This is a circle, a cross, an arc.

Consider, for example, the symbol of Venus. The circle is located above the cross, which personifies a certain “spiritual attraction” that pulls the cross upward into the elevated areas belonging to the circle. The cross, subject to the laws of generation, decay and death, will find its redemption if it is raised within this great circle of spirituality. The symbol as a whole represents the feminine principle in the world, which is trying to spiritualize and protect the material sphere.

Pyramid

Great Pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Mikerin

The pyramid is a symbol of the hierarchy that exists in the Universe. In any area, the pyramid symbol can help to move from the lower plane of multiplicity and fragmentation to the higher plane of unity.

It is believed that the initiates chose the pyramid shape for their sanctuaries because they wanted the converging lines towards the Sun to teach humanity a lesson in unity.

Star tetrahedron

Star tetrahedron

A star tetrahedron is a figure consisting of two intersecting tetrahedra. This figure can also be perceived as a three-dimensional Star of David.

Tetrahedra appear as two opposing laws: the law of spirit (radiation, bestowal, selflessness, selflessness) and the law of matter (pulling in, cooling, freezing, paralysis). Only a person can consciously combine these two laws, since he is the connecting link between the world of spirit and the world of matter.

The star tetrahedron thus represents the two poles of creation in perfect balance.

Universal symbols-images

A thing is just not because God wants it, but God wants it precisely because it is just.

Image symbols are often objects (things) or graphic images that imitate the shape of the creature or object with which they are associated. Their meanings are sometimes unexpected, but more often they are obvious, since they are based on a certain quality that is inherent in these objects or creatures: a lion - courage, a rock - perseverance, etc.

Arch, arc

Sacrifice to an astral deity (from a 13th-century Arabian manuscript)

The arch (arc), first of all, is a symbol of the firmament, the god of Heaven. In initiation rites, passing through the arch signifies a new birth after completely abandoning one's old nature. In ancient Rome, an army passed through a triumphal arch after defeating an enemy.

The arch and bow are common elements in Islamic culture. Often mosques have arched entrances. It is believed that a person entering a mosque through an arched door will be protected by the symbolic powers of the spiritual (higher) sphere.

Ba-gua

Ba-gua and the Great Monad (charm against evil forces, China)

Ba-gua (in some sources pa-kua) are eight trigrams and pairs of opposites, usually arranged in a circle, symbolizing time and space.

Scales

Outweighing scales. The lung gives way. Heavy pulls

Libra symbolizes justice, impartiality, judgment, and assessment of a person’s merits and demerits. A symbol of the balance of all opposites and complementary factors. Attribute of Nemesis - the goddess of fate.

Disk

Solar winged disk (Egypt)

The disk is a multifaceted symbol: a symbol of creation, the center of the Void, the Sun, Heaven, deity, spiritual and heavenly perfection. The disk of the rising Sun is a symbol of renewal of life, life after death, resurrection. The disk of the Sun with the horned Moon or with horns means the union of solar and lunar deities, the unity of two in one.

The winged disk is a solar deity, the fire of Heaven, a combination of the solar disk and the wings of a falcon or eagle, the movement of the celestial sphere around its axis, transformation, immortality, the productive power of nature and its duality (protective and deadly aspects).

Rod, staff, scepter

Hooked staff and flail of Tutankhamun

The rod, staff and scepter are ancient emblems of supernatural power.

The wand is a symbol of transformation, associated with witchcraft and mysterious creatures. The staff is a symbol of male strength and power, often associated with the energy of trees, phallus, snake, hand (pointing finger). This is also an attribute of pilgrims and saints, but it can also mean knowledge, which is the only support of a person. The scepter is more ornate and is associated with higher deities and rulers, with spiritual power and at the same time compassionate wisdom.

Mirror

Fortune telling scene depicted on the back of a bronze mirror (Greece)

Symbolizes truth, self-realization, wisdom, mind, soul, the reflection of the supernatural and divine intelligence reflected in the Sun, Moon and stars, the clearly shining surface of divine truth.

It is believed that the mirror has magical properties and is the entrance to the looking-glass world. If a mirror is hung with its reflective surface facing down in a temple or over a tomb, it opens the way for the ascent of the soul. In magic, mirrors serve to develop the gaze.

Snake Ourobor (Oroboro, Ouroboros)

Snake biting its own tail

A ring-shaped figure depicting a snake biting its own tail is a symbol of eternity, indivisibility, cyclicality of time, alchemy. The symbolism of this figure has been interpreted in many ways, as it combines the creative symbolism of the egg (the space within the figure), the earthly symbolism of the snake, and the heavenly symbolism of the circle. In addition, a snake biting its tail is a symbol of the law of karma, the wheels of samsara are the wheels of Incarnation.

Caduceus

Caduceus

The caduceus (Greek - “staff of the messenger”) is often called the rod of Hermes (Mercury), the ancient god of wisdom. This is a “magic” wand with small wings, which is entwined with two snakes, intertwined so that the bodies of the snakes form two circles around the wand, symbolizing the fusion of two polarities: good - evil, right - left, light - darkness, etc., which corresponds to the nature of the created world.

The caduceus is worn by all messengers as a sign of peace and protection, and it is their main attribute.

Key

Saint Peter with the keys to the gates of heaven (detail of a stone image, Notre Dame, Paris, 12th century)

The key is a very powerful symbol. This is power, the power of choice, inspiration, freedom of action, knowledge, initiation. The crossed gold and silver keys are the emblem of papal power, the symbolic “keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” that Christ handed over to the Apostle Peter. Although keys can either lock or unlock doors, they are almost always symbols of access, liberation and (in rites of passage) initiation, the progression from one stage of life to the next. In Japan, the keys to the rice storage are a symbol of prosperity.

Wheel

Wheel of Law

Wheel of existence (samsara)

The wheel is a symbol of solar energy. The sun is the center, the spokes of the wheel are the rays. The wheel is an attribute of all solar gods and earthly rulers. It also symbolizes the life cycle, rebirth and renewal, nobility, variability and changes in the material world (the circle is the limit of the material world, and the center is the “immovable mover,” the cosmic source of light and power).

The spinning wheel is associated with the cycles of manifestation (birth, death and rebirth) and the destiny of man.

At an ordinary level, the wheel of Lady Luck (wheel of fortune) is a symbol of ups, downs and the unpredictability of fate.

Chariot

Antique hero on a chariot, symbolizing his readiness for battle

A dynamic symbol of the power, might and speed of movement of gods, heroes or allegorical figures. The chariot is also a symbol of human essence: the charioteer (consciousness), using the reins (willpower and mind), controls the horses (vital forces) pulling the cart (body).

The chariot (in Hebrew - Merkabah) is also a symbol of the chain of descent from God through man into the world of phenomena and then the triumphant ascent of the spirit. The word “Merkaba” also means the human light body.

Cauldron, bowl

Ritual cauldron (China, 800 BC)

Carl Jung views the cup as a feminine symbol that receives and gives. On the other hand, the cup can be a symbol of a difficult fate (“bitter cup”). The so-called poisoned chalice promises hope but brings disaster.

The cauldron is a more powerful symbol and is often associated with ritual activities and magic, representing transformative power. The cauldron is also a symbol of abundance, an inexhaustible source of life support, revitalizing forces, the reproductive forces of the earth, the rebirth of warriors for a new battle.

Blood

Detail of the painting “The Sixth Palace of the Underworld” by Fey Pomeranese: the last drops of blood flow out from a glass shaped like an ankh, a symbol of life

Ritual symbol of vitality. In many cultures, blood is believed to contain some of the divine energy or, more generally, the spirit of the individual.

Blood is red solar energy. Represents the principle of life, soul, strength, including rejuvenating. Drinking someone's blood means becoming related, but you can also absorb the power of an enemy and thereby protect him after death. Mixing of blood is a symbol of union in folk customs (for example, brotherhood by blood) or agreement between people, as well as between man and God.

Labyrinth

Plan of a medieval dance-labyrinth on the marble floor of the Cathedral in Chartres (France)

The labyrinth symbolizes the world, the Universe, incomprehensibility, movement, a complex problem, an enchanted place. This is a symbol of mystery, enigma, which has many different interpretations, often contradictory, sometimes frightening.

Images of a labyrinth on houses are considered an amulet for protection against hostile forces and evil spirits.

Burial sites, burial caves and labyrinthine burial mounds protect the dead and prevent them from returning.

Lotus

Vishnu and Lakshmi observing creation: Brahma grows from a lotus flower originating from Vishnu's navel

The amazing veneration of the lotus in various cultures is explained both by the extraordinary beauty of the flower and by the analogy between it and the idealized form of the vulva as the divine source of life. Therefore, the lotus, first of all, is a symbol of fertility, birth and rebirth. The lotus is the source of cosmic life, a symbol of the gods who created the world, as well as the sun gods. The lotus symbolizes the past, present and future, as each plant has buds, flowers and seeds at the same time. This is a symbol of a noble man who grew out of dirt, but is not stained by it.

Moon

Above – the waxing moon and the full moon; below – waning moon and new moon

The Moon is the ruler of the feminine principle. It symbolizes abundance, cyclical renewal, rebirth, immortality, occult power, variability, intuition and emotions. The ancients measured time by the cycles of the moon; determined the timing of the onset of high and low tides; predicted what the future harvest would be like.

Although the moon's symbolism is usually positive, in some cultures it is represented as an evil eye watching over events, associated with death and the ominous darkness of the night.

Magic circle

Doctor Johann Faustus and Mephistopheles (from Christopher Mardlowe's The Tragic History of Doctor Faustus, 1631)

The magic circle is the basis of ceremonial magic. It serves as a symbol of the magician's will and at the same time a protective barrier that protects the magician from the negative influence of the invisible world. In such a circle all magical operations are performed. Different circles are used for different purposes. Drawing a circle is a certain magical ritual that must be performed according to all established rules. In addition, it is believed that drawing magic circles and inscriptions helps to develop self-control and gait.

Mandala

The circle and square of the mandala represent the spherical shape of Heaven and the rectangular shape of the Earth. Together they symbolize the order of things in space and in the human world

It is a geometric composition symbolizing spiritual, cosmic or psychic order. In Sanskrit, mandala means circle. Even when this geometric composition is based on squares or triangles, it still has a concentric structure. General value composition remains unchanged and symbolizes the guiding mind, supernatural structures, and the clarity of enlightenment.

Mandorla, or Vesica Piscis (surrounds the entire body of the persona)

Mandorla, or Vesica Piscis

An image of an almond-shaped halo (radiance) used in medieval Christian art to highlight the figure of Christ ascending into heaven, and sometimes ascending saints.

In mysticism, “almonds” (in Italian - mandorla) are a symbol of purity and chastity. The mandorla, due to its oval shape, was in ancient times a symbol of the vulva. It is also a graphic representation of a flame, a symbol of spirituality. On the other hand, it symbolizes the dualistic unity of Heaven and Earth, depicted as two intersecting arcs.

Halo

Buddha halo

A type of halo: a luminous circle surrounding a person's head. The golden halo symbolizes the holiness of the individual or confirms the fact that the person is communicating directly with a higher plane.

The image of the halo is borrowed from the magical symbolism of the Egyptians, as evidenced by images from the ancient Egyptian “Book of the Dead”.

Nimbus

The halos and halos surrounding the heads of the saints symbolize the Light of God emanating from them

A halo is a type of halo: a luminous ring around the head. It symbolizes spiritual power, as opposed to temporal power represented by the crown. Sometimes the halo is used as an attribute of the Phoenix bird as a symbol of solar power and immortality.

The halo can be blue, yellow or rainbow. In Greek mythology, a blue halo is an attribute of Zeus as the god of Heaven. The Romans had a blue halo - an attribute of Apollo and Jupiter. A triangular or diamond-shaped halo signifies God the Father.

Sword

Inlaid swords found by Schliemann in Mycenae (Athens, National Museum)

The sword is one of the most complex and most common symbols. On the one hand, the sword is a formidable weapon that brings life or death, on the other hand, it is an ancient and powerful force that arose simultaneously with the Cosmic Balance and was its opposite. The sword is also a powerful magical symbol, an emblem of witchcraft. In addition, the sword is a symbol of power, justice, supreme justice, all-pervading intelligence, insight, phallic strength, light. The sword of Damocles is a symbol of fate. A broken sword means defeat.

bird feather

Aztec feather headdress (drawing from the Codex Mendoza)

The bird feather symbolizes truth, lightness, Heaven, height, speed, space, soul, the element of wind and air, opposed to the principle of moisture, dryness, travel beyond the material world. In a broader sense, feathers worn by shamans, priests or rulers symbolized a magical connection with the spirit world or divine power and protection. Wearing feathers or feathered hairstyles means taking on the power of a bird. Two feathers symbolize light and air, two poles, resurrection. The white feather symbolizes clouds, sea foam and cowardice.

Horns

Depiction of a Persian king from the Sasanian period

Horns symbolize supernatural power, deity, soul force, or the life principle arising from the head. Horns are both a solar and lunar symbol. Being sharp and piercing, horns are a phallic and masculine symbol; being hollow, they signify femininity and receptivity. Horned gods symbolize warriors and fertility for both humans and animals. Horns with a long ribbon falling from them signify the god of the storm. In later times, horns became a symbol of shame, contempt, depravity and a deceived husband.

Hand

"Hand of Fatima" (Muslim carved pendant)

Power (worldly and spiritual), action, strength, dominance, protection - these are the main symbolism that reflects the important role of the hand in human life and the belief that it is capable of transmitting spiritual and physical energy.

The hands of kings, religious leaders and miracle workers are believed to have healing powers; hence the laying on of hands in religious blessing, confirmation and ordination. They bless with the right hand, and curse with the left. In Islam, the open palm of Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, symbolizes the five fundamentals: faith, prayer, pilgrimage, fasting, and mercy.

Sun

Variants of the image of the solar disk

The sun is one of the twelve symbols of power, the main symbol of creative energy.

As a source of heat, the Sun represents vitality, passion, courage and eternal youth. As a source of light, it symbolizes knowledge and intelligence. In most traditions, the Sun is a symbol of masculinity. The sun is also life, vitality, the embodied character of the individual, the heart and its aspirations. The Sun and Moon are gold and silver, king and queen, soul and body, etc.

Tetramorphs

Image of Christ with tetramorphs in the corners (from a manuscript of the 12th–13th centuries)

Tetramorphs are considered a synthesis of the forces of the four elements. In some cults, these are four-headed guards of the four cardinal directions. In many traditions, they symbolize the universality of divine protection and protection from the return of primary chaos.

The four biblical tetramorphs have the heads of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. Subsequently, in Christianity, these images began to be identified with the apostles - Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as with the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his resurrection and ascension.

Thyrsus

Thyrsus

Thyrsus is the staff of the Greek god of wine Dionysus (in Roman mythology Bacchus). It is a spear-shaped pole (originally made from a hollow dill stalk), topped pine cone or a bunch of grapes and entwined with vines or ivy. Symbolizes fertilizing, fertile power - both sexual and plant.

The cone is present on the thyrsus, probably because fermented pine resin was mixed with the wine drunk during bacchanalia - it was believed that this enhanced sexual sensations.

Ax (axe)

Great Mother with a double ax in her hands (the ax here is a phallic symbol)

The ax is a symbol of power, thunder, fertility, rain brought by the heavenly gods and stormy winds, correcting mistakes, making sacrifices, support, help. It is also a common symbol of sovereignty associated with the ancient sun gods.

The double ax (double-sided ax) signifies the sacred union of the god of Heaven and the goddess of Earth, thunder and lightning. Sometimes the blades of a double-sided ax, resembling crescents, symbolize the Moon or the unity of opposites. It is also a symbol of supreme power and strength.

Trident

The trident of Vishnu as a symbol of his triune essence: creator, preserver and destroyer (from a painting from Rajasthan, 18th century)

The trident is the most famous symbol of power over the sea and an attribute of the ancient Greek god Poseidon (in Roman mythology - Neptune).

The trident symbolizes thunder and lightning, three flames, triple weapons - the forces of sky, air and water. This is a weapon and attribute of all heavenly, thunder gods and storm goddesses, as well as all water gods, the strength and fertility of waters. Can symbolize the Heavenly Triad, as well as the past, present and future.

Trigrams

Eight trigrams underlying the Book of Changes

Trigrams are a triple combination of continuous (yang) and broken (yin) lines. There are eight of them, and they formed the basis of the great Chinese book of predictions, “The Book of Changes” (“I Ching”). Trigrams symbolize the Taoist doctrine that the cosmos is based on constant flows of complementary forces: male (active, yang) and female (passive, yin).

Trigrams also personify the three essences of a person - his body, soul and spirit; irrational emotions, rational mind and super-rational intelligence.

Triquetra (three-pointed swastika)

Triquetra

The Triquetra largely has the symbolism of the swastika. This is also the movement of the Sun: at sunrise, zenith and sunset. There have been suggestions about the connection of this symbol with the lunar phases and the renewal of life. Like the swastika, it is a symbol that brings good luck. He often appears with solar symbols; it can be seen on ancient coins, on Celtic crosses, where it is believed that this sign symbolizes the triad and is a symbol of the sea god Manannan. It also appears in Teutonic symbolism, where it is associated with Thor.

Triskelion

Triskelion

A symbol of dynamic energy in the form of three legs connected together. It is similar to a swastika, but with three rather than four bent arms, creating a cyclical effect. As a motif in Celtic art and on Greek coins and shields, the triskelion has less to do with the solar and lunar phases (one of the suggested meanings) and more to do with power and physical strength. In addition, the triskelion is a symbol of victory and progress.

Shamrock

Shamrock

Heraldic trefoil

The shamrock-clover symbolizes unification, balance, and also destruction. The oxalis trefoil, which the Arabs call shamrah, symbolizes the Persian triads. The trefoil is generally a symbol of triads, it is a Mystical Tree, a “sun wheel”. In Christianity, it is a symbol of the Trinity, as well as the emblem of St. Patrick and the coat of arms of Ireland.

To always be profitable, carry dried shamrock with you.

Trimurti

Trimurti - Indian Trinity (sketching of a very ancient image on granite, India House Museum)

The Holy Hindu Trinity is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Symbolizes the three cycles of existence: creation, preservation and destruction. Despite its similarities to the Christian Trinity, Trimurti is not a monotheistic concept of a "triune god".

Trimurti is sometimes depicted as a turtle. She also symbolizes the Great Mother - both in her terrible manifestation (with symbols of flame and skulls) and in her beneficial form (like Lotus, Sophia, Tara, like wisdom and compassion).

Trinity

The symbol of the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - as One God

The Trinity differs from the triad in that it is a unity, a union of three in one and one in three. It is a symbol of unity in diversity.

In Christianity it is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit or Mary, Joseph and Jesus. The symbols of the Trinity are the hand (symbol of the Father), the lamb (symbol of the Son) and the dove (symbol of the Holy Spirit).

The Trinity is symbolized by the colors yellow, red and green; three qualities - Love, Faith and Hope.

Human

Symbolic representation of man as the Universe: a square in a circle (China)

The crown of all living things. A symbol of what is capable of improvement. Created in the image and likeness of God, it combines the material and the spiritual, the heavenly and the earthly. This is a microcosm, symbolically containing all the elements of the universe (macrocosm). The human body in the Pythagorean tradition is depicted as a pentagram consisting of arms, legs, and head. In man, three principles are united, which modern scientists call body, life and will. Symbolically, this can be represented by three points (beginnings) enclosed in a circle.

Universal symbols-concepts

The knowledge of ideas reveals in temporary phenomena their timeless eternal meaning.

Andrey Bely

Concept symbols are numbers or geometric figures, reflecting ideas, feelings or abstract qualities of something directly related to the inner world of a person.

Duality of the world

Solomon's Double Triangle Diagram: God of Light and God of Reflection

The duality of the world - the interaction of two polarities behind the created universe (light and darkness, good and evil, etc.) - is reflected in many symbols. The most famous of them is the “yin-yang” symbol. Also interesting are the symbols presented by the famous occultist Eliphas Levi, such as the “Double Triangle of Solomon” diagram.

The main symbol used by people far from the occult to depict duality is the ordinary number two, although, nevertheless, it also has a magical nature.

Yin-yang (principle)

Yin-yang sign

The Chinese call the yin-yang symbol Tai Shi - the circle of existence. The circle is divided into two equal parts of an S-shaped curve: dark, feminine (yin), and light, masculine (yang). The circle seems to rotate, darkness gives way to light, and then light gives way to darkness. The Chinese claim that even in the purest light there is an element of darkness, and vice versa. Therefore, in the center of each part there is a small circle of the opposite color: black on a white background and white on a black background. This image symbolizes the balanced dynamism of opposing forces and principles in the cosmos.

Rays

Sun with zigzag rays (golden Inca mask)

It is a symbol of fertilizing power, holiness, spiritual enlightenment and creative energy, creative power. The rays can represent the hair of the sun god, a manifestation of the divine essence, or the radiance (halo) emanating from saints. In solar symbolism, the seventh ray is the main path to heaven.

Wisdom

Ancient Greek goddess of wisdom Athena (in Roman mythology Minerva) with a coiled snake at her feet

The main symbols of wisdom are the snake (daytime, solar, but flexible male sign in a feminine way) and the owl (nightly, lunar, acting unnoticed, silently, but feminine decisively and quickly in a masculine way). It is the combination in each of them of the most important properties of the masculine and feminine principles that very accurately corresponds to wisdom. Other symbols of wisdom: dragon, griffin, peacock, sphinx, unicorn, bird, bee, rat, lotus, heart, number seven, scepter, scroll, ring, etc.

“Out of many roses comes a drop of oil, out of many torments comes a drop of wisdom” (Persian saying).

axis mundi

Teth of Osiris

In the esoteric tradition, the symbols of the axis of the world, the World Tree, are a spear, a sword, a key and a scepter.

The Egyptians use Tat (or Teth) as a symbol of the world axis and the North Pole - the spine of Osiris, which, in addition, personifies stability, strength, immutability, preservation.

Light

Light coming from Buddha

Light is the first creation. It is associated with the beginning and the end. Light and darkness are two aspects of the Great Mother: life and love, death and burial, creation and destruction.

The light of the Sun represents spiritual knowledge, and the reflected light of the Moon represents rational, analytical knowledge.

Light is usually depicted in the form of straight or wavy rays, the disk of the Sun or a halo. As a rule, a straight line represents light, and a wavy line represents heat. Light and heat symbolically complement each other and are the two poles of the element of Fire.

Death and Rebirth

Death and rebirth of human beings. Detail of symbolism on a gravestone in Dieste (Belgium)

This image in Christianity is expressed by ancient complex symbols. The above composition combines two “circle-cross” pairs, each pair personifying death and rebirth. The lower pair is represented by crossed bones and a rounded skull (symbol of death). From the lower circle (skull) grows a cross similar to the one on which Christ died - the cross of resurrection, rebirth. This entire allegory is inscribed in a larger circle - a sign that the death and rebirth of human beings are within the great spiritual sphere of the cosmos.

Consciousness (three aspects)

Symbols representing the three aspects of consciousness

Usually the three aspects of consciousness are depicted as three animals: one of them lives underground, another on the earth, and the third flies above the earth. An animal living underground represents a microcosm; that which flies in the air is the macrocosm; and the animal that walks on the Earth represents the middle stage between the first two - like us, for example. The most common symbols: in Egypt - cobra, right eye of Horus, hawk; in Peru - rattlesnake, puma and condor; among the American Indians - rattlesnake, mountain lion and eagle; in Tibet - snake, pig and rooster.

Dance

Dervish dance (the grace of God descends to the dancer through the raised hand, penetrates his body and spirit and, leaving him, connects with the earth through the lowered hand)

The main symbolism of the dance: cosmic creative energy, transformation of space into time, the rhythm of the universe, imitation of the divine “game” of creation, maintaining strength, emotions, activity.

Circle dances imitate the movement of the Sun in the sky. Chain dancing is a symbol of the connection between a man and a woman, Heaven and Earth. When a dance is performed around an object, it is thereby closed, enclosing it in a magic circle, protecting and giving strength.

Shadow

Priestly esotericism: the sign of Anathema (from the book Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levi, 1896)

A symbol of the negative principle, as opposed to the positive solar one. Among some primitive tribes, the shadow symbolizes the human soul, the same in witchcraft and conspiracies. Falling into the shadow of another person is a bad omen.

The engraving below shows a human hand performing an act of blessing. A strong ray of light casts a shadow from the blessing hand on the wall, and this shadow is the image of the horned head of the Devil. The main idea of ​​the allegory is this: evil and good are intertwined, and darkness and light confront each other in a kind of moral duel.

Emblems of modern religions

It is difficult to find the Creator and Father of this universe, but even having found Him, it is impossible to express Him in a language understandable to everyone.

Nowadays, there are three world religions on the globe - Christianity, Islam (Muslim) and Buddhism. Each of them is accepted in many countries. They arose a long time ago: Christianity is 2000 years old, Islam is almost 1400 years old, and Buddhism is about 2500 years old.

There are other religions that, although not world ones, have also become widespread.

Christianity

Chalice and cross

One of the symbols of Christ's love is the combination of a cup and a cross. The cup, or goblet, in this case refers to the great suffering that Jesus endured, calling it “the cup.”

The image of the cup refers to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Father! Oh, that You would deign to carry this cup past me! however, not my will, but Yours be done.”

The cross is depicted as pointed. Its sharp ends, like swords of sorrow and pain, pierce the suffering soul.

Islam

Star and crescent of Islam

The main emblem of the youngest world religion, Islam, founded by the prophet of Allah, Muhammad (570–632), is a crescent with a star inside. The emblem denotes divine protection, growth, rebirth and, together with the star, paradise. The star is a traditional symbol of independence and divinity. The crescent moon is one of the true forces capable of resisting evil, a powerful talisman.

The crescent in Islamic countries replaces the cross in Red Cross organizations.

Buddhism

Maitreya

In Buddhism, Maitreya is the name of the Buddha of the coming world order. He is the only Bodhisattva (“whose essence has become mind”) recognized by all major schools of Buddhism. The essence of a Bodhisattva is the act of sacrifice: giving up the bliss of nirvana to help humanity within the limits allowed by karmic limitations.

Maitreya is depicted sitting on the throne in a “European pose” (with his legs down), indicating the haste of his arrival; it is golden in color. Next to Maitreya it is customary to depict a wheel of dharma, a stupa and a vase.

Judaism

Mogendovid, or Shield of David

Judaism is the oldest of the monotheistic world religions (it arose in the 1st millennium BC in Palestine 4000 years ago). The basic principles of Judaism were later incorporated into Christianity and Islam.

The symbol of Judaism is the Mogendovid, or Shield of David. Most often associated with the six-pointed Star of David. A less common name is the Creator's Star; each end of the star symbolizes one of the six days of creation, and the central hexagon symbolizes the Sabbath (holy day of rest).

Zoroastrianism

Ahura-Mazda

Zoroastrianism is an ancient spiritual tradition, founded approximately 2500 years ago by the prophet Zoroaster, and now, unfortunately, consigned to oblivion. The Supreme God is Ahura Mazda. The sacred canon is the Avesta (“law”).

Zoroastrianism is based on the doctrine of the justice of the world order and the triumph of justice in the world struggle between good and evil, in which the free choice of man and his active participation play a decisive role. Zoroastrian morality contains an ethical triad: good thought, good word, good deed.

Hinduism

One of the Trimurti symbols

Hinduism combines elements of different faiths that go back centuries. Sacred books - Vedas (Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda). The three main gods make up the Trimurti (triad): Brahma is the creator of the world, Vishnu is the preserver of the world and Shiva is the destroyer. Their images symbolize the fundamental processes of change in nature (prakriti).

The basis of Hinduism is the doctrine of reincarnation of souls (samsara), which occurs in accordance with the law of retribution (karma) for virtuous or bad behavior.

Confucianism

The symbol of Confucianism is the figure of the “Highest Saint” himself.

Confucianism and Taoism are the most famous of the philosophical movements that existed in China even before its unification (221 BC). Gradually intertwining with the traditions of Buddhists and Taoists, the teachings of Confucius acquired a religious overtones. According to Confucius, one must live in such a way that human behavior reflects the laws of the Universe, which exists according to a certain order. “The master teaches his students four disciplines: culture, behavior, loyalty and faith” (book “Lun Yu”, 7.25).

Taoism

Tai Chi (yin-yang circle)

Taoism is literally the “School of Tao.” (Tao means “way”). It is an integral part of the philosophical and religious triad (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism). The Chinese put all three teachings into practice depending on their life situation. In his personal life, a Chinese professes Taoism, but when it comes to social norms of behavior, he becomes a Confucian, and when faced with troubles and adversities in life, he turns to Mahayana Buddhism.

Graphically, the concept of Taoism is expressed by Tai Chi (in some sources - Tai Shi) - a symbol of a single limit.

Shintoism (Shinto)

Horin-rimbo - wheel of law (Japan)

Shinto is the Japanese national religion, its name comes from the Chinese word “sheng-dao” (“sacred path” or “way of the gods”). Shintoism is based on the cult of nature deities and ancestors. The highest deities are Amaterasu (the Sun Goddess) and her descendant Jimmu. Jimmu is the first emperor of Japan, the mythical ancestor of the Japanese emperors. The day is February 11, when, according to myths, in 660 BC. e. Jimmu ascended the throne, is considered the day the empire was founded and is celebrated as a holiday.

Crosses: the most common forms

The cross is a cosmic symbol that should be studied and treated with the utmost respect.

"The Science of Initiation"

The common symbol of humanity is the cross. It can be found in the most ancient religions, in the most ancient civilizations: in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, etc. Who invented the cross? Nobody - because he exists in nature. This is an ancient universal symbol and, above all, a symbol of the connection between the micro- and macrocosm, spirit and matter in their connection. The cross symbolizes the involvement of the spirit (vertical line) in time (horizontal line).

The shapes of the cross are varied. They differ in the number of crossbars, the number of ends of the cross, and proportions.

Greek cross

Greek cross

The cross has the simplest form: square, with ends of equal length, the horizontal crossbar is located in the middle of the vertical one. Cross of St. George. This sign, also called crux quadrata, has been used since prehistoric times in the most different meanings- as a symbol of the sun god, the rain god, the elements from which the world was created: air, earth, fire and water. In early Christianity, the Greek cross symbolized Christ. It is also a symbol of secular, earthly power, but received from God. Used in medieval heraldry.

Hammer Cross

Hammer Cross

The hammer cross is a type of Greek cross. One of the main heraldic crosses, named so from the French potenee - “support”, since its shape is similar to the supports used in antiquity.

Latin cross

Latin cross

Another name for the Latin cross is the long cross. Its horizontal crossbar is located above the middle of the vertical crossbar. It is the most common Christian symbol in the Western world. It is believed that it was from such a cross that Christ was taken down, hence its other names: the cross of the Crucifixion, the cross of the West, the cross of Life, the cross of Suffering. This form, so similar to a man with outstretched arms, symbolized God in Greece and China long before the advent of Christianity. For the Egyptians, a cross rising from the heart symbolized kindness.

Saint Peter's Cross

Saint Peter's Cross

The cross of St. Peter is an inverted Latin cross. Since the 4th century it has been one of the symbols of St. Peter, who is believed to have been crucified head down on an inverted cross in 65 AD. e. during the reign of Emperor Nero in Rome.

An inverted Latin cross, that is, the cross of St. Peter, with pointed ends, is the emblem of the Templar Order.

St. Andrew's cross (oblique cross)

St. Andrew's cross (oblique cross)

It is also called diagonal or oblique. The Apostle Saint Andrew suffered martyrdom on such a cross. The Romans used this symbol to mark a border beyond which passage was prohibited. The oblique cross also symbolizes perfection, the number 10. In heraldry, this cross is called the saltire.

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Russia, and when Peter the Great created the Russian navy (in the 1690s), he adopted a blue oblique cross on a white background for the navy's flag.

Tau Cross (St. Anthony's Cross)

Tau cross

Saint Anthony's Cross

The Tau Cross is so named because of its resemblance to the Greek letter "T" (tau). It symbolizes life, the key to sovereignty, the phallus. In Ancient Egypt it was a sign of fertility and life. In biblical times, it was a symbol of protection. The Scandinavians have Thor's hammer. In Christian churches - the cross of St. Anthony (founder of Christian monasticism, 4th century). From the beginning of the 13th century - the emblem of Francis of Assisi. In heraldry this is the Almighty Cross. Also known as the "gibbet cross" because of its resemblance to a gallows, as it was made in ancient times.

Ankh (Egyptian cross)

Ankh - the key to the gates of death

The Ankh is the most significant symbol among the ancient Egyptians, also known as the “handled cross.” This cross combines two symbols: a circle (as a symbol of eternity) and a tau cross suspended from it (as a symbol of life); together they mean immortality, eternal life. The Ankh also represents “the life that will come,” “the time that will come,” hidden wisdom, the key to the secrets of life and knowledge, and the key that opens the gates of death. Perhaps it symbolizes the Tree of Life, as well as the sun rising above the horizon.

Maltese cross

Maltese cross

The Maltese cross is also called eight-pointed. It symbolizes the four great gods of Assyria: Ra, Anu, Belus and Hea. Emblem of the Knights of the Order of Malta. The white cross of this form on a black background was from the very beginning the emblem of the military and religious order of the Hospitallers (Johannites), who moved their headquarters to Malta (in 1529) - hence the name.

In philately, the Maltese cross was the first postmark, which was used to cancel postal items from 1840 to 1844.

Patriarchal cross

Patriarchal cross

The Patriarchal Cross is used by archbishops and cardinals. It is also called the Catholic cardinal's cross and the double-bar cross. The top crossbar represents a titulus (a board for writing a name), introduced by order of Pontius Pilate. Called the archbishop's cross, it is often found on the coats of arms of archbishops.

This cross is widespread in Greece and is sometimes called the Angevin or Lorraine cross. It is sometimes mistakenly called the Cross of Lorran.

Papal cross

Papal cross

The papal cross with three horizontal bars is also known as the triple cross. Used in processions in which the pope participates. The three crossed lines symbolize power and the Tree of Life.

Russian cross

Russian cross (cross of St. Lazarus)

This eight-pointed cross is the cross of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is also called the Eastern cross or the cross of St. Lazarus. Symbol of the Orthodox Church in the Eastern Mediterranean, eastern Europe and Russia.

The upper of the three crossbars is the titulus, where the name was written, as in the patriarchal cross, the lower crossbar is beveled.

Cross of Constantine (Chi-Rho sign)

Cross of Constantine

Magic seal with the symbol "Chi-Rho" (Agrippa, 1533)

The Cross of Constantine is a monogram known as “Chi-Rho” (“chi” and “rho” are the first two letters of the name of Christ in Greek). Legend has it that Emperor Constantine saw this cross in the sky on his way to Rome, and along with the cross he saw the inscription “By this victory.” According to another legend, he saw a cross in a dream the night before the battle and heard a voice: “With this sign you will win”). They say that it was this prediction that converted Constantine to Christianity. And the monogram became the first generally accepted symbol of Christianity - as a sign of victory and salvation.

Rosicrucian cross

Cross with rose (Rosicrucian)

Another name is the cross of a rose (five-petalled). Emblem of the Rosicrucian Order. Symbol of harmony, center, heart. The rose and cross also symbolize the Resurrection and Atonement of Christ. This sign is understood as the divine light of the Universe (rose) and the earthly world of suffering (cross), as the feminine and masculine, material and spiritual, spiritual and sensual love. The cross with a rose is a symbol of an initiate who, thanks to work on himself, has managed to develop in himself love, life-giving and transforming matter.

Masonic cross

Masonic cross (cross in a circle)

The Masonic cross is a cross inscribed in a circle. It means a holy place and a cosmic center. The four dimensions of space in the celestial circle symbolize the totality that includes the Great Spirit. This cross represents the Cosmic Tree, spreading horizontally over the Earth and touching Heaven through the vertical central axis. Such a cross was either made in stone or depicted on the walls of Roman Gothic churches, symbolizing their sanctification.

Pacifist cross

Pacifist cross (peace cross)

This symbol was developed by Gerald Holtom in 1958 for the then emerging movement for nuclear disarmament. To develop the symbol, he used the semaphore alphabet: he made a cross from its symbols - for "N" (nuclear, nuclear) and "D" (disarmament, disarmament) - and placed them in a circle, which symbolized a global agreement. This cross soon became one of the most common signs of the 60s of the twentieth century, symbolizing both peace and anarchy.

Images of time

The wise turn years into months, months into weeks, weeks into days.

Everything is perishable in this world.

The image of inexorable time is the road. The symbol of time is sand flowing through your fingers. Attributes of measured time - a clock, a burning candle; it is a symbol of the elusiveness of the present moment.

The pantheon of gods of almost all ancient cultures necessarily includes the God of Time.

Abraxas

Abraxas – symbol of time (Gnostic gem)

Abraxas is the personification of the divine cycles of the solar year. This is the mystical image of the Supreme Being, the highest of the seven. It consists of five emanations (radiations): Nus (Mind), Logos (Word), Phronesis (Mind), Sophia (Wisdom), Dynamis (Strength). The human body in the image represents God. The two snake supports emerging from it are Nous and Logos (intuition and quick understanding). The head of the rooster signifies foresight and vigilance (mind). Two hands hold the symbols of Sophia and Dynamis: the armor of wisdom and the whip of power.

Kalachakra

Namchu-vanden - Kalachakra emblem

Kalachakra literally means “wheel of time,” “passage of time.” The sacred doctrine in Vajrayana Buddhism. An astrological and astronomical system that penetrated into Tibet from India. Kalachakra introduces the idea of ​​cyclical time with periods of 12 and 60 years (Tibetan calendar). According to legend, the Kalachakra teachings were given by Shakyamuni Buddha. According to other sources, this teaching was brought to Tibet by Pitop, or the Great Kalachakrapada, who, miraculously arriving in Shambhala, was initiated there by King Kalki into the Kalachakra teaching.

Kronos

Kronos (Roman Saturn), 15th century

The ancient Greek symbol of time - the Titan Kronos - in the Russian language became the ancestor of many words (the particle “chrono” is part of complex words indicating their relationship to time): chronic, chronology, chronometer, etc.

Kronos (Roman Saturn) - the god of Time, in the image of fading autumn or the departing Sun, sometimes along with his sickle also has a hood, which symbolizes invisibility, death and retreat. Since the hood covers the head, it also signifies thought and spirit.

Ourobor (snake biting its own tail)

Ouroborus as an emblem of death (from George Withere's book "Collection of Emblems, Ancient and Modern", 1635)

The most obvious meaning of the symbol is associated with the concept of time: the passage of time is accompanied by destruction, since the past seems to be irretrievably lost. This is reflected in the fact that the serpent "devours" its own tail, just as time seems to consume itself. We can say that time has a cyclical nature (day follows night, seasons repeat, etc.), and this is expressed in the form of a serpent, in the fact that it is curled into a circle. The symbol of the emblem can be expressed by the phrase: “In my beginning lies my end” or “The end is in the beginning.”

Tempus

Image of Time – Tempus (Rome)

The Romans depicted time in the form of a male winged figure with goat legs, with a scythe in his hands (“the inexorable scythe of time”) - this is Tempus (from the Latin tempus - time).

The figure of Tempus personifies the frailty and transience of all living things, and therefore is associated with the symbol of Death.

"Clock" of our body

“Clock” of our body (numbers in the inner circle - time of day)

The Chinese consider it useful to influence the organs of the body at a strictly defined period of the day (stimulate during activity, and vice versa).

Twelve major organs, according to medical practice, have two hours of activity (see figure). Designations: GB – gallbladder: (from 23 to 1 o'clock); Liv – liver; Lu – lungs; Li – large intestine; St – stomach; Sp – spleen; H – heart; Si – small intestine; UB – bladder; K – kidneys; P – brain; TW – spinal cord.

Symbolism of the plant kingdom

The beauty of plants is the common heritage of the world, that is, it is always macrocosmic and not microcosmic.

The symbol of the plant kingdom is a tree. Its branches, representing diversity, extend from a common trunk, which is a symbol of unity. A green, blooming tree is a symbol of life; dead, withered - a symbol of death. An old, gnarled tree can mean wisdom and strength.

The flower is an emblem of the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth. Flowers represent beauty (especially female beauty), innocence, divine blessing, spring, youth, but also the brevity of existence. Everything in a flower can carry a certain symbolism: its shape, the number of petals, color, and smell...

Vine

Ornament – ​​grapevine motif

Grapes are one of the oldest symbols of fertility, abundance and vitality. The vine is one of the symbols of Christ. The importance of wine in many religious rituals is based on the grape's symbolic connection with Divine blessing. The vine was the first plant Noah planted after the flood.

Grape juice resembles human blood. In some mysteries, grapes are a symbol of lust and debauchery, greed and drunkenness. A bunch of grapes is sometimes represented as a phallic symbol. But grapes are also seen as a symbol of the solar spirit.

Cherry

Sakura (19th century Japanese print, Utagawa Kunisada)

In Christian iconography, a cherry is sometimes depicted instead of an apple as a fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; sometimes Christ is depicted with cherries in his hand. In China, the cherry tree is a symbol of good luck, spring (due to early flowering) and virginity; The vulva is called the “spring cherry.” Cherry blossoms (sakura) are a symbol of Japan; it is cultivated as an ornamental tree; its fruits are inedible. The Japanese identify cherry blossoms with the rising Sun. Cherry, in addition, is the emblem of the samurai.

Pomegranate

Exploding Garnet

The opening pomegranate (fruit) symbolizes the Easter Resurrection of Christ, giving Christians confidence in forgiveness, faith in the future life and resurrection. Due to the abundance of seeds, pomegranate is a symbol of fertility. It is also an ancient oriental emblem of the sun god and an emblem of life, a divine symbol called the “forbidden secret.”

The remains of the flower (thorn) on the upper part of the fruit serve as an image of the crown in heraldry. The garnet is always depicted as golden. And there are always twelve pomegranate seeds - a number that has symbolized perfection since ancient times.

Oak and acorn

Acorn

Oak is a symbol of power, endurance, longevity and nobility, as well as glory. In Ancient Rome, a wreath of oak leaves was the highest reward for a victorious commander.

As an emblem of valor and courage, oak (oak leaf, oak branch, oak wreath, oak garland) is used in military insignia in many countries.

An oak with acorns is an emblem of maturity, full of strength. An oak without acorns is an emblem of young valor. The acorn is a symbol of fertility, prosperity, spiritual energy growing from the grain of truth.

Kabbalistic Tree

Kabbalistic Tree (drawing from the book of R. Fludd, 1574–1637)

This is an inverted Cosmic Tree. Its crown touches the ground, and its roots are strengthened in the spiritual world and feed on the spiritual energy of the sky, spreading it to the outside world and down. This is a favorite image in Kabbalism and other mystical and magical teachings. It testifies that human life is the descent of the spirit into the body and back. It is also a symbol of philosophical growth, growing inward.

In the Bhagavad Gita, an inverted tree means the origin of everything from a single root; in Islam, it is a symbol of happiness and good luck.

Cypress

Seven cypress trees and twelve branches - the personification of the universe and its eternal truths (Istanbul, Turkey)

In the West, cypress is a mystical symbol of death and mourning, the personification of sadness and grief, as it was used in embalming the body and for making coffins. In Asia it is a symbol of longevity and immortality. The Arabs call the cypress tree the Tree of Life. In Greece, cypress has always had a dual reputation: it was a symbol of the gloomy god of the underworld Hades, but at the same time also of more cheerful gods - Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite and Hermes. Therefore, it became a symbol of rebirth and life after death. In China, the smoke of cypress branches is a symbol of light forces, a talisman against misfortune.

Clover

Four leaf clover

The three-leaf form of clover (trefoil) is a symbol of the Christian Trinity. The rare quatrefoil is a symbol of good luck; There is a belief that Eve took one quatrefoil as a memory of her lost paradise. But a five-leaf clover brings bad luck.

In China, clover is the emblem of spring. The Irish use clover leaves as a national emblem, which probably dates back to the Celts' veneration of the plant for its vigorous growth in the spring.

Roots

Seed and roots

A symbol of connection with the earth, with family.

“A man with roots,” they say about a man who stands firmly on his own two feet.

“Look at the root” - pay attention to the most essential, delve into the essence.

“The root of evil” is the source, the core of evil.

“Uproot” means taking a life, cutting off access to food, radically solving a problem.

Laurel

Laurel wreath

The laurel symbolizes immortality, but also triumph, victory and success. It represents peace, purification, protection, divinity, secret knowledge. According to ancient Greek myth, the god of the Sun, dawn and poetry, Apollo, pursued the nymph Daphne, who, running away from him, turned into a laurel bush (in Greek “laurel” is “daphne”). In the arms of Apollo there was a tree, with the branches of which he decorated his head and lyre. That is why in Ancient Greece musicians, poets, and dancers, whose patron was Apollo, were awarded laurel wreaths. The Romans extended this tradition to military victors.

Lily

Fleur-de-lys, coat of arms of the French kings

One of the most multifaceted and even contradictory symbols. The triple lily is a symbol of the Trinity and three virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity. Lily is an attribute of many saints, including Archangel Gabriel. White lilies can sometimes symbolize death. The lily is also associated with fertility and erotic love due to its pistil, which has an arrow-shaped or spear-shaped (phallus-like) shape, and a specific strong aroma. The lily is a sign of prosperity and royal power in Byzantium, and later the emblem of the French kings.

Palm branch

Palm branch

This is the main symbol of victory and triumph (“palm”).

In Ancient Greece, a palm branch was given along with a wreath to the winner of the Olympic Games as a personal wish for health and longevity. In Ancient Rome they were also awarded to victorious soldiers and gladiators. At the celebration Palm Sunday In Jerusalem, priests distribute blessed palm leaves in the shape of a cross. In Russia, they are replaced by willows. The palm branch is a symbol of longevity and one of the emblems of peace, and unlike the dove, it is a secular emblem.

Rose

Ten petal rose

The rose has polar symbolism: it is heavenly perfection and earthly passion, time and eternity, life and death, fertility and virginity. It is also a symbol of the heart, the center of the universe, the cosmic wheel, divine, romantic and sensual love. The rose is completeness, the mystery of life, its focus, the unknown, beauty, grace, happiness, but also voluptuousness, passion, and in combination with wine - sensuality and seduction. A rosebud is a symbol of virginity; withered rose - transience of life, death, sorrow; its thorns are pain, blood and martyrdom.

Heraldic roses

Heraldic roses: 1 – Lancaster; 2 – York; 3 – Tudor; 4 – England (badge); 5 – German rose Rosenow; 6 – Russian stamp

The heraldic medieval rose has five or ten petals, which connects it with the Pythagorean pentad and decanate. A rose with red petals and white stamens is the emblem of England, the most famous breastplate of English kings. After the "Wars of the Roses", named after the badges of the families fighting for the English crown, the scarlet rose of Lancaster and the white rose of York were combined in the form of the "Tudor Rose". The bright crimson rose is the unofficial emblem of Bulgaria. The famous tea rose is the emblem of Beijing. Nine white roses are in the coat of arms of Finland.

Sprouts

Fern sprouts (four-part diagram)

Sprouts (heart-shaped pattern)

The sprout is a symbol of the awakening of life. The simplest type is a grain “hatching from its shell,” a sprout resembling a curled fern leaf. These images are accompanied by a round or heart-shaped stripe. The heart-shaped pattern (point up) is a stable expression of agricultural ornament. A four-part composition with fern sprouts (a sacred plant among many peoples), the leaves of which are directed in all directions, is widely used.

Pumpkin

Painted gourd, vessel and talisman (China, 19th century)

The gourd pumpkin in Chinese culture is a symbol of health, wisdom and even the entire universe.

In America, pumpkin is the main attribute of the traditional holiday of evil spirits - Halloween. For this holiday, faces are carved on pumpkins, candles are inserted inside the pumpkins, and people go from house to house with these “lamps.”

In degraded symbolism, a pumpkin is a head.

Thistle

Thistle

Emblem of Scotland

Thistle means challenge, asceticism, vindictiveness, misanthropy. Donkey food. It also symbolizes sin, sorrow, the curse of God during expulsion from paradise; According to the Book of Genesis, Adam was punished with thistles. In Christian art, the thistle is an emblem of martyrdom.

But there is another side to the thistle's symbolism. Like some other thorny plants, it is considered a talisman and is endowed with the property of healing wounds. This is a plant with strong magical properties.

Apple tree, apple

The sovereign apple is one of the symbols of monarchical power

The apple tree is a symbol of fertility, one of the symbols of Mother Earth. A blooming apple tree means eternal youth, and in China - peace and beauty. The apple is a symbol of bliss, especially sexual, a symbol of restoration of potential, integrity, health and vitality. The apple represents love, marriage, spring, youth, longevity or immortality; in Christianity it is associated with temptation, the fall of man and his salvation. A bitten apple is a symbol of sin, anarchy, but also knowledge and hope. In art, an apple in the mouth of a monkey or snake is a symbol of original sin.

Symbolism of the animal kingdom

The animal kingdom in its different breeds embodies different impulses of the human psyche.

N. P. Rudnikova

In human consciousness, animals (animals, birds, fish, insects, etc.) act as symbols, on the basis of which figurative pictures of certain aspects of existence are compiled. The symbolism of animals extends to the higher foundations of man himself (thus, ideas about the soul are expressed in the form of a bird).

The ancient Egyptians believed that certain animals could embody cosmic and divine energies. The twelve animals of the zodiac are archetypal symbols and represent a closed cycle of energies.

Stork

“He who has acquired immortality flies on a stork into the sky” (the stork and the crane are symbols of immortality)

The stork symbolizes new life, the arrival of spring, good luck, daughter's or son's affection. In Christianity, the stork represents purity, chastity, piety, and vigilance. In the East, the stork is a symbol of immortality. Among the Slavs, the stork is an ancient totem bird, a symbol of the homeland, family well-being, home comfort, and love for one’s home. The punishment for destroying a nest or killing a stork is a fire that incinerates the killer’s house or himself. There is a belief that a stork brings newborn babies. A stork carrying a baby is a symbol of christening.

Butterfly

Butterfly image

Currently, the symbolism of the butterfly is dominated by the meaning of the anemone, a carefree creature, but also pure joy. In ancient times, it was represented as a symbol of transformation and immortality due to its life cycle: life (bright caterpillar) - death (dark chrysalis) - rebirth (free flight of the soul). The butterfly is a symbol of the soul in many regions of the world. In China, it is a symbol of light entertainment and a sign of lovers. In Japan, the butterfly is a symbol of a fickle and flighty lover, as well as female fussiness and the craft of a geisha; two butterflies - marital happiness.

Ram (Aries)

Ram head

One of the most important symbols and one of the most common emblems in the world (in variants: lamb, golden fleece, ram's head, ram's horns). The ram symbolizes fire, solar energy, ardent passion, courage, impulsiveness, stubbornness. In many cultures since ancient times it has meant male strength and sexual potency. A symbol of the elements - both creative and destructive, requiring sacrifice.

In modern everyday usage, the word “ram” is often synonymous with stupidity or stupid stubbornness.

Bull

Sacred Bull Apis (Egypt)

Symbol of the fertility of the earth. The most common symbol of sexual power, as well as violence and rage. This is the embodiment of power, power, male fertility. A symbol of divinity, royalty, elemental forces of nature, changing meanings in different eras and in different cultures. The bull's horns are a sign of the full moon, its huge body is the support of the world in Islamic and Vedic traditions; its abundant seed is nourished by the Moon in Iranian mythology; its mooing, stamping of hooves and shaking of horns are universally associated with thunder and earthquakes.

Wolf

She-wolf feeding Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome (bronze figure, 6th–5th century BC)

The symbolism of the wolf is dual.

Negative symbolism: ferocity, deceit, greed, cruelty, evil, gluttony and sexuality. Stories of witches turning into wolves and men becoming werewolves represent fears of demonic possession and male violence.

Positive symbolism: courage, victory, caring for the family's food. The wolf is a common symbol of knowledge through experience, the emblem of warriors.

IN heraldry The wolf is a symbol of anger, gluttony, and greed.

Raven, crow

The raven on the shield is a symbol of purification

“Daughters of Jerusalem! I am black, but beautiful" (alchemical symbol)

Raven and crow have similar symbolism. On the one hand, ravens are associated with war, death, desolation, evil and misfortune. Because of their blackness, they are considered symbols of chaos and the darkness that preceded the light of creation. On the other hand, the raven is a symbol of wisdom and justice. The raven has a connection with the world of the dead; he is able to get living and dead water. There is an opinion that the raven is a travel assistant and a fortuneteller. There is a belief that when crows begin to leave their nests, it portends famine or other misfortunes.

Pigeon

Dove as a symbol of peace

Peace, purity, love, serenity, hope. Traditional Christian symbol of the Holy Spirit and baptism. There is a legend that the devil and witches can turn into any creature except a dove and a sheep. Pigeon cooing is associated with both sex and the birth of children. A pair of doves is a symbol of sexual harmony; therefore, the dove became the personification of a tender wife. A dove with a laurel branch is a symbol of peace, a dove with a cornucopia is a happy accident. In the East, the dove is one of many symbols of longevity.

Dolphin

“Boy with a Dolphin” (Andrea del Verrocchio, 1475. Sculpture for a fountain)

The dolphin symbolizes love, the power of the sea, speed, salvation, transformation. This is man's friend in the sea element and its symbol. The dolphin is also a symbol of boundless joy, playfulness, unpredictability and even spiritual enlightenment. In Ancient Greece, the lord of the waters, Poseidon (Roman equivalent - Neptune), was often depicted in a cart pulled by dolphins. As a symbol of Christ's sacrifice, the dolphin is often depicted as pierced by a trident or an anchor (the secret symbol of the cross). Intertwined with the anchor, the dolphin is a symbol of caution, speed limits: “Hurry slowly.”

Toad, frog

Stylized image of a frog

The toad is one of the attributes of witchcraft. According to European superstitions, it is a companion of witches, reminiscent of the death and torment of sinners. At the same time, the toad, which in the Middle Ages personified darkness and evil, greed and lust, is associated with birth and rebirth. A symbol of ugliness, behind which a beautiful soul may be hidden. It also symbolizes longevity and wealth: the toad, like a snake, is believed to carry a gemstone in its forehead that attracts good luck.

The frog is a widespread symbol of fertility, a harbinger of spring rains and the awakening of nature.

Crane

Dancing cranes (bracelet from Kyiv)

In China and Japan, the crane symbolizes vigilance, longevity, wisdom, devotion, and honor. The image of a crane flying towards the Sun is a symbol of social aspirations, its snow-white body is a symbol of purity, its red head is the fire of life. In India and some Celtic regions, the crane is a symbol of betrayal, a harbinger of misfortune. In Rus', cranes, along with storks and nightingales, are considered “birds of God”; their symbolism is associated with the Sun.

Throughout the world, the crane is a symbol of communication with the gods.

Snake: general symbolism

Python (Greece)

The snake is the universal and most complex of all animal symbols, as well as the most widespread and perhaps the most ancient of them. The snake signifies death and destruction, but also life and resurrection. This is both the solar principle and the lunar principle, light and darkness, good and evil, wisdom and blind passion, healing and poison, preserver and destroyer. This duality of symbolism forces us to balance between fear and worship; the snake appears either as a hero or as a monster.

Snake: positive symbolism

"Snake Power"

An example of positive snake symbolism is the concept of kundalini: symbol inner strength, psychic energy, snake-like ball vital energy, dormant at the base of the spine. Kundalini energy is called "snake power". Sometimes she is depicted as a coiled snake with heads at both ends. In India and other regions, snakes are often considered guardians of shrines, water sources and treasures. This tradition is associated with the symbolism of fertility inherent in the snake, and with the belief that precious stones are the congealed saliva of snakes.

Snake: negative symbolism

Illustration for the “Poem of Gilgamesh” (seal of the Sumerian-Akkadian kingdom)

If we consider the frightening part of the symbolism of the snake, then it is a clear prototype of dragons and sea snakes or snake-like hybrids, symbolizing the many dangers that await a person in life. The snake is one of the worst omens, a symbol of darkness, evil, hatred, sin, temptation, deception. The snake is accused of causing people to lose God's gift of eternal life.

Snakes were an indispensable attribute of witches; witches' potions included some parts of snakes.

Snake: cosmogonic symbolism

Snake and egg (image of a snake supporting the world)

The snake is primarily a magical symbol of the forces that gave birth to life. A snake biting its own tail is a symbol not only of eternity, but also of divine self-sufficiency. The image of a snake guarding the eggs it has laid is associated with a huge snake entwining the whole world and supporting it or helping the earth's disk to float in the surrounding Ocean. The snake is in constant contact with the forces of earth, water, darkness and the underworld - lonely, cold-blooded, secretive, capable of rejuvenating by shedding its skin.

Snake as a symbol of wisdom

A snake coiled around a rod

Totemic symbolism, combined with the belief that snakes know the secrets of the earth and are able to see in the dark, endows snakes with wisdom or the gift of divination. “Be wise as serpents and simple as doves,” Christ told his disciples (Gospel of Matthew 10:16). The Greek word for "dragon" (which not only refers to a monster, but also means "snake with a piercing gaze") is etymologically related to vision. In art, the snake is an attribute of the goddess of wisdom Athena (Minerva) and the allegorical figure of Prudence, meaning the gift of foresight.

Snake: Alchemy and Healing

Rod of Mercury (caduceus)

Staff of Asclepius (Aesculapius)

The snake coiled around the rod is the alchemical symbol of Philosophical Mercury in its primary state.

According to mythology, Hermes (Mercury), the messenger of the gods, received a caduceus - a winged staff with the power to reconcile opponents. When he placed it between two fighting snakes, they peacefully wrapped themselves around the staff and calmed down. Snakes entwined around the caduceus symbolize the interaction of opposing forces. The snake coiled around a gnarled staff is the emblem of the Greek god of healing, Asclepius (Aesculapius), who is believed to have even been able to resurrect the dead.

Ibis

Ibis (Egyptian papyrus from the 19th Dynasty, 1295–1186 BC)

The ibis is the sacred bird of the Egyptians. Symbol of wisdom. In Ancient Egypt, the ibis was considered the incarnation of the lunar deity Thoth, the greatest god of Egypt, the patron of occult knowledge, who gave writing to humanity. He is depicted as a man with the head of an Ibis. This bird is also called the harvest keeper. Killing an ibis, even by accident, was considered a terrible crime.

It is believed that the ibis can only live in Egypt and, transported to other countries, dies there of melancholy.

Goat

Goat

The goat is a symbol of potency, vitality, masculinity, but also cunning, lust and stupidity; he personifies the destructive tendencies in a man. In the Western tradition, an old, lustful man is often referred to as a goat. In China and India, the goat is a positive male symbol. In Christianity, a goat is the personification of impurity and base lust.

The goat is often used for sacrifice ("scapegoat"). The goat is closely associated with Dionysus (Bacchus).

Cow

Holy cow

For many peoples, this animal symbolizes fertility, prosperity, as well as patience and passive endurance. The cow is an ancient symbol of mother's milk and (like the bull) the cosmic forces that created the world. In many cults, from Ancient Egypt to China, the cow personifies Mother Earth. She also symbolizes the moon and the sky, as her horns resemble a crescent moon, her milk is associated with Milky Way. The heads of moon goddesses in various cultures are decorated with cow horns. The cow is held in exceptional esteem in India.

a lion

Leo is a symbol of the Sun

The lion, universally called the king of beasts, has been one of the most common symbols of strength and majesty for thousands of years. General symbolism: divine, solar energy (symbol of fire and the Sun), royal power, strength, courage, wisdom, justice, protection, protection, but also cruelty, all-consuming ferocity and death. The lion is the image of all the great and terrifying forces of nature. He is considered both a destroyer and a savior, and is capable of representing both evil and the fight against evil. Leo is one of the forms of the Sphinx.

Heraldic lions

Heraldic lions

In heraldry, it is the most common and favorite image of an animal. Attributes of a heraldic lion: bow and arrows, saber, sword, axe, axe, halberds, etc. The main heraldic form is a lion on its hind legs and in profile. In this case, one eye and one ear are indicated on the head. A bloody tongue sticks out of the mouth. This lion is a symbol of strength, courage, generosity. There are other image options. In state emblems, a crowned lion is an emblem of power over subjects.

Bear

Heraldic bear

The bear is a symbol of good nature and rage, heroic strength and clumsiness, laziness and tender maternal feelings, gluttony and asceticism (albeit involuntary: it sleeps all winter without any food, “sucks its paw”). The bear represents unpredictability, bad temper, evil, rudeness, greed, sinfulness, the devil, as well as brutal primitive force. Badge of warriors in Northern Europe and Asia.

In addition, the bear is a symbol of the Moon and resurrection. K. Jung believes that the bear symbolizes the dark sides of the subconscious.

Mouse, rat

Mouse wedding

In Russia, the mouse is often called the “gray thief.” The mouse is also a symbol of timidity and invisibility. The mouse helps to find the loss in the house: “Mouse, mouse, play and give it back.” The mouse gives growth. In China, the mouse is one of the popular deities of wealth.

General symbolism of the rat: it is destruction, aggressiveness, greed; The rat is associated with disasters (pestilence) and death, but it is also the embodiment of perseverance, dexterity, cunning and fertility, and also has the gift of foresight (the legendary ability to foresee the death of ships).

Monkey

Hanuman, the monkey god playing with the peaches of immortality (from a Chinese dish)

The symbolism of the monkey is controversial. Most often, the monkey personifies sin, in particular physical sin. She is also a symbol of cunning, deceit, desire for luxury, malice, laziness (due to her angular movements), drunkenness, and sometimes a symbol of learning. The monkey (along with the white elephant and cow) is the third sacred animal in India. Even now, insulting a monkey by action causes great resentment among religious people. In Japan, the cry of a monkey is a symbol of deep melancholy. Carvings of three monkeys are considered in the East to be a talisman that protects against slander.

Deer

Stag (breastplate of Richard II, late 14th century)

A universal symbol associated with the East, sunrise, light, purity, renewal, creation and spirituality, but also with loneliness. The characteristic qualities of a deer are swiftness, grace and beauty. Deer are wonderful messengers and guides. They are credited with healing powers, especially the ability to find medicinal herbs. Deer is also a symbol of caution and keen hearing. In China, deer is associated with wealth (abundance) and good luck. Deer is a strong magical protector, one of the patron spirits of the Siberian peoples.

Eagle

The eagle as a symbol of the highest power and solar nature of the lord of the heavens and the head of all gods Zeus (painting on a Greek bowl, 6th century BC)

The eagle is the ruler of the air, the embodiment of power and speed. Solar symbol of the Sun gods, rulers, warriors. Associated with greatness, power, dominance, courage, inspiration. Represents the midday Sun, liberation from bonds, victory, pride, contemplation, royal origin, height. It is believed that the eagle is able to fly to the Sun, which is why it is called the messenger of heaven. Double-headed eagles can mean omniscience and double power. An eagle with a snake in its claws symbolizes the victory of the spirit. In this fight, the eagle is the personification of the force of good, and the snake is the force of evil.

Heraldic eagles

Double-headed eagle (Russian embroidery)

Eagle - emblem of the USA

In heraldry, the eagle is a symbol of power, dominance, generosity and foresight. On coats of arms, the eagle is most often depicted flying with its chest forward, with its wings raised up, or soaring. It can be one- or two-headed. Since the time of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, he has been depicted on standards as the “bird of Jupiter.” After the Christian conquest of Palestine, the double-headed eagle became the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire, and later the Austrian (Austro-Hungarian) and Russian empires. The American bald eagle with outstretched wings has become the emblem of the United States.

Peacock

Peacock (medieval Persian design)

This is radiant glory, immortality, greatness, incorruptibility. The magnificent tail of a peacock is a symbol of the all-seeing Sun and eternal cosmic cycles, as well as the starry vault of heaven and, as a result, unity and interconnectedness. In ancient Rome, the peacock was considered the emblem of the empress and her daughters, while the eagle was the bird of the emperor. In Islamic decorative art, the unity of opposites (the Sun at its zenith next to the full Moon) is depicted in the form of two peacocks under the World Tree. In Christianity, the peacock, on the one hand, is a symbol of eternal life, and on the other, a symbol of pride, luxury and vanity.

Spider

Spider depicted on an American Indian amulet

Feminine. The Great Mother, in her terrible form as the weaver of fate, is sometimes depicted as a spider. All lunar goddesses are spinners and weavers of fate. The web that the spider weaves, weaves from the center in a spiral, is a symbol of the creative forces of the Universe, a symbol of the universe. The spider in the center of the web symbolizes the center of the world; The sun is surrounded by rays; The moon, representing the cycles of life and death, weaving the web of time. The spider is often associated with luck, wealth or rain. Killing a spider is a bad omen.

Pelican

Redstone plate showing a pelican feeding its chicks with its blood (Staffordshire, circa 1660)

The pelican symbolizes self-sacrifice and parental love, as well as mercy. In heraldry, this bird is usually depicted as resembling an eagle or crane, standing in a nest and trying to feed its chicks with its blood. Early Christian writers compared the pelican, feeding its offspring with its flesh, with Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his blood for the salvation of mankind. The pelican is also a symbol of European occultism (primarily alchemists and Rosicrucians), expressing the feat of self-sacrifice and the eternal rebirth of life.

Rooster

Rooster - sun bird (amulet image, China, 20th century)

The Rooster is vigilance, courage, courage, foresight, reliability. Herald of the dawn, symbol of the Sun and spiritual rebirth. These qualities of his prevail over pride, arrogance, and lust, which are also inherent in him. To the Romans it means “the third watch of time”: between midnight and dawn. The Rooster is a protector from all kinds of evil. It is believed that night ghosts and evil spirits disappear with the first cry of the rooster. The red rooster keeps fire away from the house, and the white rooster keeps ghosts away. Before moving into a new house, the Eastern Slavs would fly a rooster there. If he spent the night safely, then he could move in.

Bee

Young woman collecting honey from bees (15th century Herbalist)

The bee represents hard work, diligence, organizational and creative abilities, cleanliness, sociability, modesty, spirituality, courage, wisdom, dedication, eloquence (“honey speeches”). In Greek, Middle Eastern, and Islamic traditions, the bee is an allegory of the soul. The Chinese associate the bee with the fickle nature of “choosy brides.” Among the ancient Slavs, the bee was a symbol of love, as it combined “the sweetness of honey and the bitterness of the sting.” Queen bee, mother goddess, symbol of supreme power, fertility.

Scorpion

Scorpio (Gnostic gem)

Scorpio is a symbol of evil, self-destruction, death, punishment, retribution, vindictiveness, betrayal, but also a deep understanding of the world. Sometimes the scorpion serves as a talisman and amulet - Paracelsus advised people suffering from diseases of the reproductive system to wear it. In Africa, it was believed that the scorpion itself secretes remedies against its poison, so it was a symbol not only of killing, but also of healing. The red star Antares on the “back” of the celestial constellation Scorpio was considered in Europe the worst fire in the sky.

Elephant

White elephant

The huge mass and clumsiness of the elephant have now become metaphorical. However, the elephant, first of all, is a symbol of power: both tender, loving, and furious, destructive. Elephants are considered to be vindictive because they never forget the insults and cruel treatment inflicted on them. The thick skin of an elephant symbolizes spiritual invulnerability. The elephant is also a symbol of power, insight, prosperity, happiness, personifies the element of Earth, memory, wisdom, longevity, fidelity, patience, compassion. The elephant is often depicted on good luck amulets.

Dog

Nether Anubis (dog god)

In some countries, a dog is a sacred animal, in others it is considered an unclean, greedy, even vile creature and personifies evil. According to Islamic beliefs, angels will never visit a house where a dog lives. But more often than not, a dog is a symbol of protection and self-sacrifice. And also hunting (sometimes this symbol has a negative connotation - bullying).

In ancient Egyptian mythology, dogs, as good guides and guardians in the afterlife, were considered the companions of Anubis, depicted with the head of a jackal or dog.

Owl

Wise owl – attribute of Athens (Greece)

The owl is a traditional symbol of wisdom, an allegorical figure of Night and Sleep. In some ancient cultures, especially in China, the owl has ominous symbolism, signifying darkness, personifying the yang principle with a negative, destructive connotation. Due to its silent flight at night, glowing eyes and eerie cries, the owl is associated with death and occult powers. She is also credited with the gift of prophecy. Currently, the owl is mainly a symbol of insight and book erudition. “Scientific owls” are people of mental work.

Falcon

Falcon - the image of the rising sun

The falcon, like the eagle, is a solar symbol of victory. The personification of superiority, strong spirit, light, freedom. In Ancient Egypt, the falcon was a sacred symbol of the Sun; temples were dedicated to it; killing a falcon was considered a grave sin. In Western tradition, the falcon is a symbol of hunting. A falcon with a cap on its head is a symbol of hope for light and freedom. The falcon as a symbol of aggression is rare. Among the Slavs, this bird is a symbol of strength, courage, and a good fellow. The falcon is contrasted with the crow (as the embodiment of evil forces): “Where falcons fly, there the crow is not allowed.”

Ostrich

Australian coat of arms

In Ancient Egypt, an ostrich feather was an attribute of the goddess of truth and justice, Maat. This feather, according to legend, was placed on a scale when weighing the souls of the dead to determine the severity of their sins. Because ostrich feathers are the same length, they were used as a symbol of justice. The belief that an ostrich hides its head in the sand when danger appears (a symbol of avoiding problems) probably stems from the threatening pose of the ostrich when it bends its head towards the ground.

In the Australian coat of arms, the emu is a shield bearer along with the kangaroo.

Tigers

“Tiger Spring contains a tiger. Having mastered the contents of the tiger cave, a perfect man who has subjugated yin and yang.”

The tiger is a symbol of energy, strength, speed and talent. This image is both lunar and solar. He is both creator and destroyer. A tiger fighting a snake is a symbol of solar power. In a battle with a lion or dragon, it becomes a lunar symbol, cruel and ferocious. In Europe, the tiger is a symbol of power and bloodthirstiness. In the Far East it is a symbol of nobility and happiness. In the cultures of Asia and India it can be a symbol of aggression and protection, life and death, evil and good.

Turtle

Turtle entwined with a snake

The turtle symbolizes strength, patience, endurance, constancy, slowness, fertility, longevity, senile strength, and wisdom. In many cultures, the turtle is the oldest symbol of cosmic order, surrounded by special reverence. According to ancient ideas, a turtle entwined with a snake is a symbol of the creation of the world. In India, the symbolism of stability is expressed by the idea that the Earth rests on four elephants, which stand on a huge turtle slowly making its way through chaos. The turtle is also a symbol of protection from fire and water.

Lizard

Gourd pumpkin with a lizard image

This nimble, fast animal is a symbol of agility, elusiveness, and also rebirth (the latter) is associated with the lizard’s ability to leave its tail to those who catch it, which then grows back. Lizards, because they hide in the shade during the heat of the day, are considered the guardians of shadows, as well as the guardians of sleep and dreams. The lizard, in addition, can symbolize the subconscious and the shadows of our inner world.

The lizard was considered a good sign in Egypt and the ancient world, where it was sometimes associated with wisdom. It became an attribute of allegorical images of Logic. Symbol of Mercury, messenger of the gods.

Mythical creatures

Imaginary animals are found throughout the world in myths and folklore... They give us the opportunity to clearly characterize phenomena that would be difficult to define in any other way.

J. Tresidder

Mythical creatures are, as a rule, a combination of several animals, which allows the human imagination to endow them with unusual capabilities, including freedom from the usual principles of our world. Monsters, combining the appearance of several different animals, are a symbol of the original chaos or terrifying forces of nature; they also personify the evil forces in the nature of man himself. Fairy-tale animals are often depicted as guarding treasures or intimate, secret knowledge.

Ba (bird)

Bird of the soul Ba, bending over a mummy before flying to another world (Egypt)

The Ba bird is an Egyptian symbol of the human soul, which flies off to another world after his death. This bird has the body of a falcon (according to some sources, a hawk) and the head of a man.

Basilisk (cockatrice)

Basilisk with the head of a rooster

The basilisk is one of the deadliest creatures of medieval symbolism. According to some sources, the basilisk is similar in appearance to simplicissimus, but with the head and legs of a rooster. In occult and magical symbolism, the basilisk is depicted as a crowned serpent. Since, as is commonly believed, the basilisk destroys everything it looks at with its gaze, it has been adopted as a magical symbol of wisdom, devouring a person with it symbolizes the process of initiation. It is believed that the only way to defeat a basilisk is to place a mirror in front of it.

Harpies

Harpy (XVI century)

These are half-women, half-birds (female head and chest, and vulture claws) of a disgusting appearance. Associated with sudden death, whirlpools and storms. The feminine principle in its destructive aspect.

Garuda

Garuda (coat of arms of Thailand)

Bird of Life, Heaven, Sun, victory. Sometimes identified with the Phoenix. She is also the vehicle of the god Vishnu, the creator and destroyer of everything ("the horse of Vishnu"). She emerges from the egg as an adult and nests in the Tree of Life, which fulfills all wishes. The head, chest (female), torso, legs up to the knees of the garuda are human, the beak, wings, tail, hind legs (below the knees) are eagle.

Garuda is often depicted fighting nagas (snakes), the personification of evil.

Hydra

Hydra (Greece, 16th century)

In Greek mythology, Hydra is a serpent dragon with seven heads. She symbolizes the difficulties in the fight against evil: as soon as one of her heads is cut off, a new one immediately grows. Blind, animal force of life.

Griffin

Griffin protector (XVI century)

A solar hybrid creature combining the head, wings and claws of an eagle with the body of a lion, these animals represent power over the air and earth (the king of birds and the king of beasts), therefore the griffin is a symbol of strength and vigilance. In Greece, the griffin was dedicated to Apollo, whose chariot he drove across the sky; for Athena, he personified wisdom, and for Nemesis, retribution. Legends say that griffins guarded the gold of India and the Scythians. There is also a legend that griffins living in the Far North guard the gold of Zeus, located in the country of the Hyperboreans.

The Dragon

Chinese dragon Chiao, symbol of a happy occasion

The dragon - a “winged serpent”, but only with paws like an eagle - combines snake and bird, spirit and matter. This is one of the universal and most complex symbols. The dragon can be solar and lunar, good and evil. This is the keeper of treasures and secret knowledge. Symbol of longevity. In the East, the dragon, as a rule, is the Heavenly Power that brings good, in the West it is a destructive and evil force. In Russia, the dragon is a sign of Satan, the devil. Victory over the dragon means the victory of light over darkness, over one’s own nature.

Unicorn

Heraldic image of a unicorn

A unicorn is a mystical creature, an animal with the body of a horse or deer, with a long sharp horn. In general, it symbolizes the feminine, lunar principle, purity, purity, chastity. In China it represents abundance and longevity. According to legends, it can only be caught by a chaste maiden sitting alone in the forest: sensing her purity, the unicorn can come up to her, lay his head on her lap and fall asleep. Based on these legends, it became a symbol of purity, in particular female purity.

Centaur

Centaur, hunter of knowledge

According to Greek myths, a centaur is a creature with the body of a horse and the torso of a man. This is a symbol of man’s lower nature (lust, violence, drunkenness), his bestial nature, connected to a higher nature by human virtues and the ability to judge. It is a symbol of the conflict between the fierce and good aspects of human nature.

There is also a version about morally impeccable centaurs (among them Chiron), descended from Kronos. They symbolize the superiority of reason over instinct.

Makara

Makara

In the Western tradition, makara is a fantastic sea monster of enormous size (a fish with the head of a crocodile). A symbol of the power of the seas and oceans, rivers and lakes. In Hinduism, makara has the appearance of a fish with the head and front legs of an antelope. This is one of the creatures on which Vishnu travels. This is a positive symbol associated with the rainbow and rain, with the lotus growing from water, the return of the Sun after the winter solstice. Makara in a number of legends is associated with deities who act as guardians of the world - lokapala (Varuna, Soma, Indra, Kubera...).

Medusa Gorgon

Medusa Gorgon (Greece) – horror

Medusa Gorgon is a female monster with snakes instead of hair, boar teeth, golden wings and bronze legs. This is the most blatant personification of hostile evil, the Great Mother in her terrible destroyer aspect, the embodiment of horror. One look at her turned people to stone, so her image later became a protective amulet. After Perseus cut off the head of the Gorgon Medusa, the giant Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus were born from her blood.

Nagas

Buddha sitting on a coiled naga, symbolizing the knowledge hidden in instinct (statue from the temple of Angkor)

In Hinduism, these are demigods depicted with a snake body and one or more human heads (sometimes they are simply multi-headed snakes). According to legends, they belong to the underworld - patala, where they guard the countless treasures of the earth. According to legend, nagas washed Gautama Buddha at his birth and also protected his remains after death. Nagas are guardians of treasures and esoteric knowledge, serpentine kings and queens, vital forces of water, passionate nature. These are guardians of natural forces that can be controlled.

Pegasus

Pegasus (XVI century)

This is the winged horse of the Muses, which emerged from the neck of Medusa when Perseus cut off her head. Pegasus, on which Bellerophon defeated the Chimera, personifies the combination of lower and higher nature, striving for the highest, and symbolizes the superiority of the spiritual over the material. It is also a symbol of eloquence, poetic inspiration and contemplation. In European heraldry, Pegasus is depicted on the coats of arms of thinkers. Nowadays it is often used as an emblem of air transport.

Mermaid

Mermaid (XV century)

A Pisces woman capable of living in the human world and the supernatural world. Magical symbol of initiation. The mermaid is the sea version of the Centaur. However, it also has more positive symbolism, according to the stories of sailors. In Slavic mythology, mermaids (bathes, waterworts, rags, pitchforks, undines) are harmful creatures, especially dangerous in mermaid week (following Trinity). Mermaids are often confused with such creatures of ancient Greek mythology as Nereids, Naiads, and water nymphs. But these eternally young maidens do not, unlike mermaids, have a fish tail.

Salamander

Salamander on fire

A salamander is a mythical creature in the form of an ordinary animal, but with supernatural powers. The salamander is usually depicted as a small lizard or wingless dragon, sometimes with a human- or canine-like figure among flames. These creatures are considered the most poisonous of creatures, their bite is fatal. The salamander is a fire element and is able to live in fire because it has a very cold body. This is a symbol of the fight against sensual temptations. Since the salamander is considered a sexless creature, it also symbolizes chastity.

Simplicissimus

Harold's emblem

Simplicissimus is a fictional beast similar to a dragon, but with two eagle legs and a pike-shaped tail twisted in a loop. Symbolizes war, envy, stench, disaster, Satan, but also vigilance.

The simplicissimus was the personal emblem of King Harold (on the French carpets from Bayeux, which tell the story of the Battle of Hastings and Harold's death in 1066, the simplicissimus is depicted twice).

Dog Pho

Dog Fo (China)

Translated from Chinese, “Fo” means “great luck.” It is a symbol of valor and energy, a talisman for the home. Pho dogs should be purchased in pairs and placed side by side. If you place them (or hang their images) in front of the front door, they greet everyone who enters and protect each family member from troubles and failures. Placed in the wealth zone (southeast part), Pho dogs contribute to the well-being and prosperity of the home. Located in the central sector, they will quickly bring wealth to the house.

Sphinx

Egyptian coin with the image of the Sphinx

The Sphinx is a creature with the body of a lion and a human head (male or female) or the head of a ram. The oldest and largest is the Great Sphinx of Giza (Egypt). This is an ancient image that personifies mysterious, solar power, a symbol of dignity, royalty, wisdom, power, a symbol of the union of physical power with the highest intellect.

The Egyptian Sphinx has nothing in common with the later Greek legend of the "riddle of the Sphinx", which made it a symbol of mystery, the keeper of ancient wisdom, but Jung considered the sphinx a symbol of female greed, as well as the "Terrible Mother".

Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla (Greece) – danger

In Greek mythology, these are two monsters of the Sicilian Sea, who lived on both sides of a narrow strait and killed sailors passing between them. Ruthless embodiments of the forces of the sea. Once beautiful nymphs, they were turned into monsters with six heads, three rows of teeth in each head, and ugly long necks. These roaring, rumbling monsters swallowed the sea and spat it back (an image of the gaping depths of the sea). To be between Scylla and Charybdis means to be exposed to danger from different sides at the same time.

Triton

Triton (Greece) – wave calmer

Depicted as an old man or a young man with a fish tail instead of legs. In Greek mythology, she is considered a sea deity - the son of Poseidon and the mistress of the seas, Amphitride. Triton blows a horn from a shell and rules the forces of the waters. A marine version of a mermaid, but male.

Phoenix

Phoenix (XVI century)

The Phoenix is ​​the most famous of all symbols of resurrection, the ancient symbol of immortality, the Sun. An animal that has an ordinary appearance, but with supernatural powers. This legendary bird is reborn from the ashes in fire every 500 years. The Phoenix has become an emblem of the rebirth of the human spirit in the eternal struggle with the difficulties of the material world. From Ancient Egypt, this symbol passed completely intact into Slavic mythology (Firebird, Finist-Clear Falcon).

Chimera

Chimera (Vatican)

According to Homer's description, this is a monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a snake. She feeds on fire and was killed by Bellerophon, who ruled the winged pegasus.

In heraldry, the chimera is sometimes depicted with the head and chest of a woman and the tail of a dragon.

The Chimera causes winds and storms on land and sea. Symbolizes danger, as well as delusion (can create illusions). It is also a symbol of non-existence.