The Power of Symbolism

Let’s talk about the power of symbolism.  Symbols are all around us, and regardless of where we are in the world, most people will recognize certain symbols as having specific meanings.  Symbols are used to convey all types of messages such as stop, go, yes, no, and so on. 

Although we have our written and spoken languages, think about how many languages exist around the world, and the difficulty in trying to communicate with someone that does not speak your language and vice versa.  Even if you each know a few phrases of the others language, allowing you to figure out certain things based on the context, for the most part, it is difficult to ascertain.  But symbols can be powerful and unite many people, even if they do not speak or write the same language.

Symbols are part of our existence and most have obvious meanings.  For example, certain road signs such as stop are recognized around the world even if the word stop is not written on it.  Other universally recognized symbols are the heart, which signifies love, and the handicap symbol when parking to indicate disability.  One of the most popular and influential symbols, arguably of all time, is the cross.  Regardless of where you are in the world, the cross is an archetype found in most cultures that goes beyond the Christian faith. 

Often times, symbols are used to sum up an expression and can be used to replace the written word in some instances.  Let’s look at technology today.  You can almost have an entire text message conversation exchange without typing a word given the number of emojis and gifs that you can use to convey what you are thinking and feeling.  This may help those that find it difficult to write or speak what they are feeling, as they can express their thoughts with a symbol. 

You may have received a text message that made you smile or made you happy and in response, you sent a heart or smiling face emoji symbolizing that you loved the message.  It can also be quite the opposite if you did not like the message and sent back an angry face, sad face, or crying emoji.  While the meaning of many symbols are universally known such as Nike, Apple, McDonald’s, and even some gas stations, there are other symbols that people may not know.

Sometimes, people will see a symbol not knowing the true meaning of the symbol, but associate particular things with said symbol.  Let’s take the pentagram for example.  Some people deem it as evil and representative of the dark side, but a deeper study of the pentagram shows that it represents magical elements of the world combined with a sense of self or spirit and is typically used to ward off or protect against evil. 

Unfortunately, some people love to talk quite adamantly about things they know nothing about, or based on what has been engrained in them.  I was once the same way meaning that I formed my view on various symbols based on what I was taught.  I grew up believing that the cross represented one thing only to learn in my spiritual journey that it may not mean what I believed all that time.  The ankh on the other hand represents what I was taught to believe that the cross did.  Ultimately however, the meaning of symbols will depend on how you have been indoctrinated and what you believe.