Do Symbols have their own energy and meaning?

[Celtaur]

Do symbols have their own energy and meaning beyond what we apply to them? Are they simply constructs that each individual associates and applies meaning to, and beyond that they are merely geometric shapes?

For instance the Pentagram holds different meanings to different people which is dependent on many factors of knowledge, choices and ideologies. To some is applied a symbol of the Goddess, of Astrological mythology in Venus, or Adam Kadmon, while others view it as a satanic symbol and something to fear, a false idol, others see it as a masonic symbol, or a symbol of sacred geometry. Depending on beliefs one would have a negative perception, something to fear, while to others it has a positive meaning and something to celebrate or revere with positive attributes.

Outside one's perceptions, and applied meaning, terminology, ideologies, does a symbol have it's own meaning, it's own truth, beyond what could be applied to it, or understood by the ideas of mankind? Are symbols merely something we give meaning to according to our own choices? Are they simply neutral in their own aspect of being? Is an idea of a symbol dependent on dogma?

[Echo]

I think all your points are true!

Symbols are initially chosen or constructed to represent or embody a divine or spiritual principle, because that concept is abstract and we mere humans need something concrete to work with. It may be that the concept itself communicates with us to decide the initial symbolism.. certainly there is something that speaks to us at a fundamental level with many symbols and they have a universal resonance.

The more they are used, the more energy accumulates round a symbol, and they, in a sense, become the key of their own unlocking. Meditate on a symbol you have never met, and then look it up.. you may well be surprised at how close you have come to its meaning.

Likewise, the complex symbolism of such as the Tree of Life is best accessed through meditation, as one then has access to all that has gone before with the trailblazers who have built up the thought forms and associations.

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki suggests turning a symbol into a cartoon character and taking it for a walk.. sit under a tree, or on a beach, then ask the symbol to tell you about itself.

Now, that may sound silly.. but try it in meditation. Not only does it work, but it is fun too!

[WillowRainMaker]

Since I was a child I have loved stars. I drew them, had them on clothing ,painted on the walls in my room...
It was many years later that I was introduced to the Pentagram. It was one of those moments in life when for just a split second all the pieces of the puzzel come together.
That being said, I agree with Echo. I think its a little of both. I believe they can have their own energy and also that individuals place their own meanings on them. I view symbols in much the same way as " thought forms". After enough time and energy is put into them they become more than just a symbol and have qualities of thier own.

[lawbrat]

I think it's only natural that symbols would acquire energy of their own over time and association. Not only is symbolism a very powerful tool in human understanding, but I also believe that people vest some of their energy in a symbol or object which they are intimately connected to.

And, with enough time and different uses, I believe that symbols can have widely different associations attached to them. Take the swastika/"broken cross" for instance. It had been a symbol of power and goodness in various cultures for a very long time. Now, post World War II, it is generally recognized by the public as a something very different. That's not to say that it has lost all of it's ancient uses and meaning, of course. It still has had a much longer span of time being associated positively. But, I think that if a very long time proceeds with it having this new connotation, it would be fully possible for the symbol itself to absorb and reflect the energy that it's currently being surrounded by.

If you follow the advice that Echo paraphrased, taking a symbol for a walk, this one would have quite a story indeed.

[Echo]

The Swastika Stone at Rombalds Moor predates the Nazi usage ( by estimates up to 3000 years) and is thought by many to be a symbol of Fire and Light. Note that the central cross, if spun on its axis, leaves the 'trail' that forms the bent arms.. this cross would spin deosil, while the Nazi symbol spins widdershins.

[lawbrat]

The Swastika Stone at Rombalds Moor predates the Nazi usage ( by estimates up to 3000 years) and is thought by many to be a symbol of Fire and Light. Note that the central cross, if spun on its axis, leaves the 'trail' that forms the bent arms.. this cross would spin deosil, while the Nazi symbol spins widdershins.

Interesting. I hadn't noticed before that the Nazi version 'faced' different a direction than the other ones. Now I'm left to wonder if the Indian version that I was recalling from years past when I was typing earlier ran deosil also...

[Echo]

I believe he Hindu symbol turns widdershins, but is also seen as a fire symbol.. Ashwini may be able to give a better interpretation of that symbol that I.

[Haruth]

The Swastika Stone at Rombalds Moor predates the Nazi usage ( by estimates up to 3000 years) and is thought by many to be a symbol of Fire and Light. Note that the central cross, if spun on its axis, leaves the 'trail' that forms the bent arms.. this cross would spin deosil, while the Nazi symbol spins widdershins.

Bleedin' heck...!!!

This just opened up a whole level of understanding of the association of this particular symbol form with the fire element for me. As soon as I saw the image, what came to mind was the variation in rotational period of the different latitudes of the sun. This results in a 'twisting' of the plasmic 'atmosphere', which produces the instabilities that are witnessed as solar flares. (And is that one shooting off now in the top right of the image?...)

Since the sun rotates counter clockwise when viewed from its north pole, the symbol can be seen as a representation from that viewpoint. The outer cross, pushing the arms into the swastika form, may be considered points on the solar equator, whilst the inner cross may be considered points at mid latitudes 'falling behind' due to the slower rotation speeds at these locations. The central boss, obviously represents the north pole itself.

Now I just need to work out how on earth the sculptor knew that, or whether I'm simply going completely mad....

[Celtaur]

  

Now when I look at this image it looks like there are planets... Amazingly, I have heard the theory that the planets are actually pieces of the sun that had flung off, and as they got far from the sun, they cooled and solidified slowly yet were still in the gravitational field of the sun so therefore still orbit it... (the earth is a hot magma, lava filled ball of energy beneath the crust).

the turning of this image looks like blobs of the orginal piece are lopping off.

[Echo]

The stone overlooks the valley of the River Wharfe, and is identical to some of the 'Camunnian Rose' designs in Val Camonica, Italy - nine cup-marks in a cross shape, surrounded by a curved swastika-shaped groove. The Ilkley carving also has an 'appendage' off the east arm - a cup surrounded by a curved hook-shaped groove. It is unique on the moor (which is covered in hundreds of cup-and-ring type carvings) although there is an unfinished swastika design (more angular, without cups) on the nearby Badger Stone. My prime concern is with interpretation of the design.

One of the lines of cups on the Swastika Stone is less than a degree off magnetic north-south. (1) One naturally looks north from the stone, as it is on a rocky outcrop on the north side of the moor. Was it associated with the Pole Star with which its cups align? Why then does its shape describe a clockwise motion, whereas the stars turn anti-clockwise around the pole?

Perhaps the design relates to the shamanic practice of ascent up the 'Pillar of the World' (to use the Lapp term). Numerous Siberian and northern European peoples documented by Mircea Eliade (2) see the Pole Star as the summit of a pole holding up the sky (seen as a tent). Eliade notes similar beliefs about the Pole Star in Ancient Saxon, Scandinavian and Romanian myths. If, then, one imagines the Swastika design to be the base of a Pillar of the World, the implicit motion of the design makes sense. Something that appears to turn anti-clockwise when looking up from the bottom of a pole will, if it slides down the pole and is viewed from above, appear to turn clockwise.
The Swastika may map the turning sky down onto the ground, forming the bond between 'levels' that is so central to shamanic cosmology.
Also, the 'appendage' cup, in relation to the central cup, would have only been a couple of degrees off the summer solstice sunrise during the period 2000BCE - 100CE (covering most of the likely times at which the glyph was carved. The 'hook' groove, if imagined to turn with the swastika, would 'haul' the cup-sun across the sky. This seems to strengthen the swastika-sky connection.
(I should note that I do not support the idea that cup-and-ring patterns are maps of stellar constellations. Perhaps some involved rudimentary attempts at this, but no one has found accurate correspondences in any existing patterns. They seem to me to be more generally concerned with access points to alternate realities).
With the Pole Star/Pillar of the World ideas in mind, one could see some cup-and-ring markings as being related. The 'tail' grooves could be the Pillar reaching up to the cup-pole, surrounded by rings of revolving stars. Some local cup-and-ring markings, like those on the Panorama Stone, have 'ladders' instead of 'tail' grooves. This image further supports the shamanic interpretation of the petroglyphs, as ladders are among the most frequently occurring representations of shamanic ascent to other worlds. Human figures atop ladders appear in !Kung San rock art related to trance-state ascension.

Cup-and-ring style petroglyphs in the British Isles are usually dated to the Bronze Age (because some are included in, or in the proximity of, Bronze Age burials) or the Neolithic (because of comparable carvings on Irish passage graves from that period - see also Richard Bradley's recent work 'Signing the Land' for arguments dating this style of prehistoric art to the Neolithic). The Swastika Stone is arguably associated with this style of rock art, due to its use of cup-marks, but I have recently come to see it as most likely originating in the Iron Age, or even during Roman occupation. This is because of Verbeia, a Romano-Celtic goddess revered by the Roman troops stationed in Ilkley (then Olicana). Verbeia is often accepted as being a version of the Celtic spring/fire goddess Brigid, who is still associated with swastika-like symbols in Ireland. Also, the Roman cohort which set up her altar were recruited from the Lingones, a Gaulish Celtic tribe. Apparently Romano-Celtic coins have been found in Gaul bearing swastika-like designs. It seems tempting to think that the Lingones cohort carved the Swastika Stone when they were here, but this would surely be unusual. Or perhaps the recruited Celtic/Roman troops were influenced in their choice of 'genuis loci', Verbeia, by the native Celts of West Yorkshire, the Brigantes (whose name derives from the goddess Brigantia, related to Brigid), who may have already carved the stone.

You may find this of interest, gentlemen. There is debate about the stone on everything from its age to its meaning.