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Oil: The best thing you can do for a kid is make he or she feel special. We are all God's kids and if the sun coming up each morning doesn't have an affect on you then Christendom carries over a very old tradition of anointing oil to the body as a means of tapping you on the head and saying you're special. Since people take things for granted and have to create a culture based on levels of distinction, Christendom has levels of anointing and values of oils. Oils run from cleansing oils to food additives to medicines: '...a Samaritan. went up to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine..' (Luke 10:30-37) Christ is the "Anointed One" has is a clearer translation of the Hebrew: Messiah and the Greek: Christos. The higher you go on this ladder culture you take on the job of anointing. If you're really good you can even anoint things. After Jacob's dream (See Ladder and Gen.28:10-17) he takes a stone he was using as a pillow and anointed it with oil and called the surroundings Bethel which means the House of God. |
Olive Tree: The olive tree, specifically an olive branch depicts the covenant God had with Noah (and assumably with all mankind) not to destroy the world. It is a symbol of peace. |
Alpha
and Omega: A
title of Christ, meaning "The First and Last" and "The
Beginning and End" (Rev 1:8, cf. 17; 21:6; 22:13; cf. Isa 41:4;
44:6; 48:12).The Alpha and the Omega are the
first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In Revelations 1:8 (the
traditionally accepted Apocalyptic book of the Bible) God says,
"I am the first and the last. Who is and Who was and Who
is to come." In the same book - states:13 - Jesus says,
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the
beginning and the end." Faith therefore requires it's
followers to believe that God and Jesus are the prime cause, present
motivation and conclusion to all existence and dimensions. Since this
is not evident when portraying the Father or the Son, the A and the
Omega represent that doctrine as well as the union of the Father and Son.
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Oven
/ Furnace: Basically
Catholics, like most Christians, are black or white folks - up or
down, right or left, matters dealing with inner
struggle, inner guidance, soulful peace are all things of magic and
eastern belly button meditation. Inner struggles are to be overcome
through obeying the policies of Mother Church. YOU don't matter -
only your soul matters. Your purpose is to secure your soul within
the Mystical Body of Christ. Having said all this heavy-handed stuff,
the oven or furnace get real tricky when incorporated in your
Christian design work. |
P -----------------------------
Paradise: Tough to depict in art unless it's obvious or titled. And always represented by Eden as an earthly, lush garden. In Christendom Paradise is living in harmony with God and His Creation. One would trust that this is the ultimate goal of every man, woman and child. It's not all as simple as that, however. And even harder to put on screen when you realize that in Christendom this term Paradise is but the entry to what man's true destiny - yet unrealized - shall be. A term I haven't posted here: New Paradise or New Jerusalem because they are not defined symbols, reveals the deeper meaning of that Eden our first parents were tossed out of. According to Revelations, we were meant to eat that apple and to know the "Gods." But learning to obey had to come first. Like a warp in space-time, we took the wrong route. Now we need to 'get back to the Garden' and do it right this time. 'To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of Life, which is in the paradise of God.' (Rev 2:7) See also: Garden. |
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Phoenix: Another
pagan (Egyptian and Greek) legend welcomed into Christendom. If you
have some time, research this legend, it's unique among legends. In
short the phoenix - an out-worldy bird - sensing the appraoch of
death builds its own pyre (funeral fire) which is lit by the rays of
the morning sun (that's decidedly Grecian) and the bird is burnt to
ashes, from which another phoenix arises. Legend does not clarify if
its the exact same bird or not. But that's a wonderfully
incrediable legend all the same (although there's more to it. Look
it up for yourself.) Thus this special bird has been adopted
into Christendom to represent rebirth, the victory over death and, of
course the Resurrection of Christ. Might have been DOA along
with the pagans, but rose from the ashes, didn't it? As an
artists always believe that "legends are truths related to
the best of understanding." (Joe Campbell
1904-1987) Makes you wonder about Unicorns. |
Pilgrimage: Pilgrim's Progress comes to mind. In Cristendom we are all pilgrims struggling through life's labyrinth toward our destiny of spiritual discovery, wonder and salvation. See also: Labyrinth. |
PILLAR |
Pillar: A
generic symbol if ever there was one. In almost all traditions a
pillar symbolizes what the tree had in primative thought - the cosmic
buttresss, the heavenly support, the fortification on all levels. It
is a symbol of strength and guidance. During daylight the Lord
appeared to the wandering Israelites in the desert as a pillar of
cloud to lead them toward the Promised Land. At night a pillar of
fire served them with light.(Ex. 13:21-22) In 1 Kings
7:15-22, Solomon errects two pillars named Jachin and Boaz, at the
entrance to his famed Temple. Two pillars represent the duality
resloved by the pathway between them and leading into a new life. As with most images shown in this library, if you click on them they will bring you to the page where MyDrawingBoard posts the files for you. Members Only!
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Rood: An achitectual symbol which declares: 'this place is holy.' See the image at left. Also see veil.
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Sadducees: Here's a symbol you probably have seen a hundred times and didn't know it. Usually garbed in black with funny head dress the Sadducees were one of the two Jewish sects in the Bible which stood opposing the teaching of Jesus... the other being the Pharisees, but in a different light. See Pharisees. The Sadducees followed the written Law to the letter and rejected the resurrection of the soul - largely because they did not recognize a spiritual soul. "You know neither the scriptures nor the power of God," Jesus said to them. (Matt. 22:29) When you employ this symbol you depict an obstacle to the acceptance of Christ. They represent ignorance. |
Seed: The seed in Christian art represents the Kingdom of Heaven in the same disguise that any seed is the promise of achieving adult maturity. Depict a seed as the very manifestation of the Will of God. Do you recall Jesuss' very first parable? It was the Parable of the Sower of seeds... 'As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it.' (Matt. 13:23) If that isn't enough to stress the importance of this promise, Jesuss' second Parable was about a mustard seed! The message is contagious in these parables (and you serve yourself well by checking out 1 Cor. 15:36-44 also.) Jesus states clearly that we are all the embryo of a wondrous kingdom as certain to be realized as for certainly we exist. It will come to pass and bloom as sure as you and I live and breath. And those who are not pulling their just weight will never live inside God's Kingdom. Talk about putting your best foot forward! And having no fear either. I have been reading the Bible now for over 50 years and I am ever astounded by the figure cut by the authors of this man Jesus. And, alternatively, the more I read modern physics and the weirder science evolves, the closer I grow to the truths stated in the Bible. I am sure I am not the only one who would be willing to argue that science has not disproved the Bible but proven it - and in the strangest fashion! However, not in this forum.... I still have more symbols to post and more of your artwork to covert and post. But if you're interested go to Amazon.com and look up these authors: Paul Davies, J.R. Brown, Alstair I.M. Rae, Erwin Schrodiner, B.S. DeWitt |
Stone: See Rock. |
Sun: Ask
yourself this: where does everything come from? For certain
everything within the solar system derives from the star we call the
sun. To date, there is no evidence save for light, radio waves and
maybe the Voyager
spacecraft that anything can enter or leave the system. Makes me
wonder if those ancient sun worshipers knew something we didn't.
Because this last statement is not anything new under the sun, the
Church bends over backwards to hush pagans, alchemists and New Agers
from reminding us about it. The closest the Catholic church will get
to a mention of the sun is : The
Epiphany is a mystery of light, symbolically suggested by the star
that guided the Magi on their journey. The true source of light,
however, the sun that rises from on high, is Christ.
And, mind you, that is no official statement. |
Sword: If protrayed as an instrument of war and aggression it contrasts with the plough. Most of the uses are employed like the daggers in the heart of Mary; a symbol of pain. Essentially, however, it is a symbol of authority, discipline and power. "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Eph. 6:17) See Plough. Moses drew up that silly viking on the left. Yes, we have silly images in the archive too. As with most images shown in this library, if you click on them they will bring you to the page where MyDrawingBoard posts the files for you. Members Only
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