| (...Continued
From Sacred Symbols Pt 1)
Sacred Symbols
Animal Symbolism
Many cultures have traditionally
used animals as symbolism. Native people often view animals
as teachers, as each represents a beneficial quality that
can help strengthen and educate a person. Once we understand
each animal’s essence--the specific gifts and strengths
the creature represents--we can then incorporate a particular
animal into a ritual and ask its guidance.
Bear: introspection, incubating
ideas and bring them to fruition, cultivating power and support
Beaver: architecture and building, teaches structure, problem
solving, and the ability to work with others
Butterfly: transformation, moving forward, trusting life to
support you
Cat: independence, playfulness, caution, and gracefulness
Crow: intuition, justice
Deer: gentleness, peace
Dog: loyalty, guardian, and protector
Dolphin: power of play, unconditional love, the ability to
release stored emotions through breath
Dove: peace, calm, and simplicity
Eagle: ability to see above the mundane, clarity, vision,
and connection to the divine
Fox: confidence, cunning, and independence
Frog: connection to water rituals, a cleansing of spirit,
body and mind, easing change
Horse: power, dependability
Hummingbird: joy, celebration life, and the ability to feel
emotionally "lighter"
Lion: leadership, action, assists one in moving through fear
Owl: wisdom, clairvoyance, and clarity of thought
Peacock: wholeness, authority of self, and the expression
of one’s own beauty
Rabbit: creativity helps one face fear
Raccoon: unmasking the truth helps one accept hidden aspects
of the self, the ability to play many roles in life
Snake: sexuality, psychic energy, death and rebirth, immortality
Spider: integration, inner connection, and creativity
Swan: ability to see one’s own beauty and goodness
Tiger: confidence, spontaneity, and strength
Turtle: connection with earth grounding helps one slow down
and focus on the present
Wolf: teaching, the ability to establish healthy boundaries,
encourages friendship and sense of community
Our ancestors express themselves
to us in the sacred symbols of our cultures and religions.
For example, my grandfather, being Cherokee, comes to me when
I light a cigar and call his name. He appears in the clothes
and age when I most needed him in my childhood. I know he
is near me when I smell cigar smoke for no obvious reason.
Coyote: people mistakenly
dismiss coyote as a trickster, but he is much more than a
trickster. Through humor, coyote brings together opposing
cultures worldviews and people who think that they are enemies.
By making them laugh at themselves and each other, they can
see how silly their differences appear to the spirits and
animals. Coyote embodies the fool. --Lewis Mehl Madrona, Coyote
Medicine (Fireside).
(Barbara Biziou and Lewis
Mehl Madrona will be facilitating a weekend retreat in August
on "The Wisdom of the Ancestors.")
Crystals as Sacred Symbols:
A crystal is an earth element--a
mineral or gemstone. Both ancient cultures and modern science
have utilized the mysterious qualities of crystals, which
have the ability to receive and transmit energy.
Amber: balance
Amethyst: spiritual awareness, transmutation, healing
Aquamarine: purification, healing, calming
Bloodstone: courage, physical energy
Calcite: balance, peaceful meditation
Carnelian: sex, self-esteem, creativity
Copper: purification, inspiring love, making peace
Fluorite: healing, releasing unwanted energies
Gold: courage, self-awareness, self-confidence, wealth, and
virtue
Hematite: encouraging willpowr, concentration
Herkimer Diamond: dream recall
Jade: fertility, wisdom, and tranquility
Lapis Lazuli: communication, healing
Malachite: protection, money
Moonstone: love, psychic awareness, feminine principle
Nickel: youth, beauty, growth, and adaptation
Obsidian: inner growth, psychic development
Opal: passion, love, and emotional expression
Pearl: purity, integrity, focus, wisdom
Quartz: change, focus
Red Jasper: compassion
Rhodolite: love
Rose Quartz: love, compassion
Silver: fertility, nourishment, and growth
Tiger’s Eye: empowerment, willpower, courage, and clarity
Tin; flexibility
Topaz: new beginnings
Tourmaline: healing, balance
Turquoise: balance, friendship, positive thinking
Symbolic images can communicate
an essence of their meaning even to people from different
cultures and religious faiths. For example, walking the labyrinth
has become a popular event although few realize that they
are re-enacting a symbolic Christian pilgrimage or the route
that Theseus took to kill the minotaur, half-bull, half-human
beast, that King Minos is supposed to have kept at the heart
of a labyrinth in ancient Crete. One can appreciate the beauty
of the gardens of the Taj Mahal without being of the Islamic
tradition which views these gardens as images of paradise
containing cypress trees, symbolizing death, and fruit trees,
symbolizing life.
In Japanese Zen Buddhism,
gardens are made to symbolize the whole of creation, while
many use this symbolism in rituals to celebrate Mother Earth.
Sacred Symbols - Herbs and
Flowers:
For thousands of year, we
have used flowers and herbs to symbolize the power of earth.
Here are a few:
Basil: clarity, prosperity
Bay Leaf: protection
Bamboo: good fortune
Daffodil: new beginnings
Iris: love
Lotus: rebirth
Parsley: protection
Rose: love
Tobacco: fertility
Sage: purification
Rosemary: loyalty, friendship
Thyme: courage, health
Ylang-Ylang: sexual energy
Sacred Symbols - Food and
Drink
Food, itself, can be used
symbolically. Many cultures offer food on altars, believing
that it will give sustenance to the deities as well as to
their ancestors. Hindus and Buddhists share this belief, and
Hindus often use fruit as an offering. On Rosh Hashanah, the
Jewish New Year, an apple, symbolizing nature, is dipped in
honey to bring sweetness into the coming year. Native Americans
use corn or cornmeal to signify the abundance of a harvest.
And when a family moves into a new home, friends often bring
bread, sugar, and salt, signifying nourishment, sweetness
and purification.
We can use food to represent
where we live, where we came from, and its meaning to our
loved ones and us. In America, everyone expects cake on his
or her birthday, while children associate chocolate bunnies
with Easter, turkey with Thanksgiving, candy canes with Christmas.
Bread: earth, harvest, and
abundance
Cake: celebration, sweetness
Citrus Fruits: joy, vitality
Corn: earth, harvest, and abundance
Grains: earth, harvest, and abundance
Hot spices: sexuality, creativity
Mangoes: sensuality
Pomegranate: rebirth, abundance
Salt: purification
Seeds and sprouts: new potential
Wine: celebration, bounty, creation of new life (red wine:
feminine power-white wine-masculine power)
| Authors Details: Sacred Symbols - Barbara
Biziou, America's foremost ritual expert, teaches us how
to restore ritual to its rightful place as food for the
soul. Web
Site |
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