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SYMBOLISM

A symbol can be defined as something which

1. requires sensory input (visual, auditory etc)
2. which stands for or suggests something else, (usually another symbol or intangible concept) by reason of relationship, association, convention or accidental resemblance, or cultural or personal significance and
3. which excites or objectifies a response.

A symbol differs from a sign in that a symbol expresses the intangible, "the mystery". Frequently there is no obvious or visible relationship between the symbol and what it expresses (e.g. fire and purification). A sign indicates an otherwise known thing, communicates information and is instantly recognisable (e.g. a curved line or a road sign indicating a curve in the road).

Symbols can present as forms of words, or a visual image, or as drama - ritual itself is one giant symbol made up of smaller component symbols.

Myth, ritual and dreams all speak in symbols - they may use words but symbols are their real vocabulary. The symbol is the language of communication between the conscious analytical ego and the primordial unconscious which is more directly in touch with the Cosmos and Divinity. The conscious ego can develop techniques to add this communication - first, awareness of the unconscious message and second, of the interpretation of that language. Part of symbolic interpretation can be learnt by the conscious (e.g. symbols arising from the collective unconscious which are universal in our society, and those personal to ourselves based on our own personal history) and part can be taught to the unconscious by deliberate and repeated use of symbols with consciously assigned values by the conscious (such as the use of a table of correspondences i.e. symbols which convey a set meaning).

Since the subconscious mind works through symbols, it is important to cultivate the ability to interpret these symbols to decipher their meaning. Only the individual can determine what symbols mean what to him or her. They are a very personal matter, dredged up from the subconscious, both personal and archetypal. Another's interpretations can be quite wrong - orange can be nauseating to some and enlivening to others; white can be death to some, purity to others and so on.

However traditional symbolism is still worth a study - it can deepen one's understanding of archetypal imagery and also show how symbolism works. The code is unlocked by using thought and imagination. An excellent exercise is to light a fire and wait until its coals are quenched, ask yourself a question (e.g. why can't you succeed at getting a promotion?), stare at the fire until you see a shape (e.g. a koala), name the shape then write down what comes to mind (e.g. cuteness, cuddliness, sleepiness, grumpiness, urinating on people, slowness, always eating). Look at these qualities that relate to your question and soon you will have an answer. Sleepiness, grumpiness, slowness and urinating on people are certainly not helpful in getting your promotion. You may not be seen as an active or a pleasant person at work and it is therefore no wonder that your promotion is delayed (yes, I find koalas less than cuddly and cute - sorry!).

The most powerful symbols are those which have the strongest personal power - usually based, unfortunately, on traumatic events of our past; and those of the collective unconscious called archetypes by Jung and others. The symbols by which we become aware of the archetypes may be culturally or individually conditioned to a certain extent but the archetypes themselves are not; they "continue eternal and always after the same manner". The archetypes do not "denote an inherited idea, but rather an inherited mode of psychic functioning corresponding to that inborn way, according to which the chick emerges from the egg; the bird builds its nest; a certain kind of wasp stings; the motor ganglion of the caterpillar; and eels find their way to the Bahamas". In other words it is a 'pattern of behaviour'. This aspect of the archetype is a biological one - it is the concern of scientific psychology. But the picture changes at once when looked at from the inside, i.e. from within the realm of the subjective psyche. Here the archetype presents itself as "numinous", i.e. it appears as an "experience" of fundamental importance. Wherever it clothes itself with adequate symbols, which is not always the case, it takes hold of the individual in a startling way creating a condition of 'being deeply moved', the consequences of which may be immeasurable. It is for this reason that the archetype is so important for the psychology of religion. All religions and all metaphysical concepts rest upon archetypal foundations and to the extent that we are able to explore them we succeed in gaining at least a superficial glance behind the scenes of world history and can "lift a little the veil of mystery which hides the meaning of metaphysical ideas" (Jung's introduction to Esther Harding's "Women's Mysteries"). Many archetypes are given labels - Mother, Father, Trickster, Warrior, Orphan, Magician etc. We explore these in a later session but note that the major arcana of the Tarot owe their power and effectiveness to the fact that each of them is an archetypal symbol.

Some symbols such as simple geometrical figures - a circle, cross, square, triangle etc. are used in all cultures but have different meanings and so are not "universal". Others, usually more complex, such as the archetypes, often have different forms but are universal e.g. the Trickster which is seen as a fox in some cultures, a monkey in others, a coyote in still others. Here the form of the symbol is different but the underlying, deeper symbol is archetypal (the Trickster) and the ultimate meaning - that of the Spirit who makes you think, who is unpredictable in his actions or reactions, who gets himself and everyone else in trouble (and so makes people think) - is the common meaning for that archetypal symbol.

Mythology is the guidebook to symbols and their effect on us. Myths serve to create a oneness between ourselves, our society and the universe that has meaning, is believable and allows a framework for moral and spiritual development.

The concept of reality is an old philosophical question, best summed up by the Taoist Koan: "what is the sound of a tree falling in the forest with no-one to hear?" The fact remains that our perceptions are used to measure meaning and reality. Even measuring instruments are based entirely upon our ideas as what reality is. So the reality of everything is linked to the meaning given to it in our minds - it is whatever we find meaningful, believable experience.

The bulk of information received by the mind is filtered so our conscious perceives only what it "reads" - while we read we are (usually) not aware of the traffic outside - yet our ears still hear the sound (we know this because experiments on the human brain show recall of events and their background that one is consciously unaware of). It is the synthesis of the total information input, both individual and "collective" (inherited?), augmented by associations, feeling and beliefs, and distilled by the unconscious and conscious that the conscious mind perceives as "meaning". Note that this process can build any reality that the mind can comfortably integrate into the sum total of all its previous experiences - so it is no good for me trying to accept that lions are a good symbol for peace and quiet! This also implies that we can effect a change in our reality - the very essence of Magick. Symbolism is the language of the unconscious - and by manipulating the symbolism that is employed by our unconscious mind, we affect reality. Effective, powerful ritual is the methodology, symbols are the building blocks or tools and the mind (both conscious and unconscious working together, hence the need for "heightened awareness" or "altered consciousness") is the effector. The ritual and symbols are not by themselves Magick - it is the way the mind uses them that is.

The use of symbols is not necessarily logical or rational (though they can sometimes be so). Art, dreams and mystical visions are ways to understand how symbols work without resorting to rational explanation. Symbolism is the way we handle information on the most fundamental level - how we make our universe into something cohesive and meaningful. So if we change the symbolic input to our unconscious mind we end up with a change in the meaning of our universe. This is the heart of Magick and key to religious ritual.

The written or spoken word is sequential and its meaning is not revealed until the delivery is complete. The mind can then review the whole and its constituent words for general or specific details for further meaning, thus a primary response is intellectual or analytical. The visual image however is received simultaneously: we see the whole and its constituent parts at the same time, compressing time and space, thus the primary response here is emotional or instinctual.

Visual Symbols invoke only one of our senses - sight. The spoken work and music involve the hearing sense, and music, which is less able to be analytically processed, often has a more emotional and symbolic effect - the difference between right and left brain effect. Incense and essential oils bring about direct effects via the sense of smell and the olfactory nerves direct connections to the higher centres and the reticular activating system - and so evokes bodily reactions that can have symbolic meaning - the earthy smell of Vetiver; the sweet, affectionate smell of Jasmin; the sexual drive of Ylang Ylang; the healing function of Lavender. Dance uses the sense of motion as well as sight; touching and gestures use touch, proprioception, motion as well as sight; various ritual foods and wines evoke reactions via taste as well as via learned symbolic functions. Such responses can be learned (classical music which some find relaxing and others, aware of the ingredients of classical music, find stimulating) or "inherited" e.g. the primal, physical evoking of drums and the ethereal peace induced by harps regardless of whether they are used in modern, classical or primitive music. The smell of fertiliser can please a gardener or farmer or distress those of us who live in sanitised apartments; yet faeces are not a trouble to a child who must learn that faeces are bad and smell disgusting.

So some symbol forms use a multitude of senses in their input and are processed by the unconscious based on instinctual reactions (the collective unconscious) and modified by experience (personal unconscious, the initiatory experience and Magickal training, using a table of correspondences). Note - it is not the smell of incense which is the symbol - it is the meaning behind the smell that makes the incense the symbol.

In a group ritual or group Magick, it is important that a common set of symbols and their Correspondences be used, learned, understood and actually felt. This requires some commitment by members to agree and stick to a set list of Correspondences for various meanings, to be able to evoke similar focussed power.

Tables of correspondences are simply cross-references of a group of symbols to relate one symbol to another e.g. the colour red to the astrological symbol of Aries to the inner meaning of anger for example. The best tables of correspondences are those based on a combination of research of traditional tables, personal experience and incorporation of one's own personal biases; and use of a more or less unified system - the more the merrier does not always lead to the best results. Some use a Quabalistic system; others use a pure elemental system; others a Chakra or Astrological system.

Correspondence tables are used so that one symbol can be used to suggest another. This is important in Magick for the magician may surround him or herself with as many appropriate correspondences as he or she can, to vividly affect the senses thus making Magickal contact with the inner planes more lucid.

We present as an appendix to this essay our own system based on an expanded list of twelve elements related to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, twelve Chakra and energy channels in the body, twelve planetary bodies and twelve qualities. By using this table of correspondences frequently and regularly to the exclusion of others, one can train one's own unconscious to accept the reality of the correspondence between one symbol and the others and so to the inner meaning or intangible quality required for Magick to work. As a second appendix we give the components useful for creating a talisman to protect the home.

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