Boat: The Symbol

So here we come to the next image / symbol – a Boat. Typically a boat is something that floats over water. It is used for transportation and travelling over water. So boats can be used in seas, oceans and even rivers. Usually, a boat will have someone (a person) who rows it across the particular water body. Alternatively, there is a motor and a complicated system that allows the boat to be controlled and directed from somewhere else.



Based on this, we can see that a boat is a vehicle that is used to travel over water. Water represents the unconscious. Water represents the emotional content of our personality. Water also represents the intuitive and creative forces prevalent within our psyches. So when we see something which is not only able to float over this water, but also cross it, we are talking something really huge here!
So a boat is a vehicle in which we can cross over emotions and travel through the confusion of the unconscious forces prevalent within our lives. It gives us the means of ‘staying afloat’ over these feelings and emotions.

A boat also has a great role to play in myth. Noah’s Ark was a boat which saved Noah, his family and a whole lot of animals and birds from the great flood. A similar myth exists in Hindu Mythology as well. Apparently, Manu built a boat on the advice of Matsya (the avatar of Vishnu, in the form of a fish that kept on growing in size) and when the great flood came, Matsya towed the boat onto a mountain top.

In Greek mythology, Charon was a ferryman who took the souls of the dead into the Underworld via a boat, and by crossing the river Acheron (the river of woe). As payment for services rendered he would take a coin from the people. And so, when any dead Greek was burnt, a coin was placed in the mouth of the dead body, so that he could pay the ferryman.

According to Egyptian mythology, the Sun god Ra would travel in a boat during the night time, going from the west to the east. This was because a boat was necessary for him to travel through the waters of the heavens and the underworld. Even during the day, the sun god Ra would travel the skies of the heavens in a boat. This boat was depicted as a huge galley (called ‘Madjet’ which means ‘becoming strong’). The boat used during the night time was a small barge (called ‘Semektet’ which means ‘becoming weak’).

Seeing an image of a boat in a dream thus symbolizes that one is crossing a great patch of emotions or unconscious forces. It is said also, that if the water is calm, then the passage is smooth, and if the water is rough, then the passage is not so smooth.

Even in Tarot, there are cards which show a boat. The Death card has small boat traversing a river, while the Six of Swords card shows a man ferrying a woman and a child in a boat. Both these cards are cards of change or transformation. The Death card talks of the ending of the old which paves the way for the change, the new dawn, or the new beginning. The Six of Swords card is about going from a place which is full of emotional upheaval to a place which is emotionally calm. It even shows the distant shore on the other end. There are other cards as well which show images of boats / ships that float in the water. In these cases, often ships are said to be messages. The reason being that in the olden days, ships were used to carry messages from one place to another, while also having their functions in the travel and trade industries.

Writing about the boat is interesting for me. Remember, in my previous post I had mentioned that I was beginning something new in my business…well, the venture is taking off and moving along quite well. Not without its own ups and downs, this venture is also a good cause for me to cross some emotional barriers about my own self. I am learning new things about myself every single day. And every step along the way is increasing my confidence in myself. And yes, in order to do all this I have had to remain in constant communication with the people I am collaborating with. So yes, e-mail messages are also flying about!

Interesting, wouldn’t you say!

Arch: The Symbol

Hello!
I decided not to wait and to begin! Of course, the next step was deciding how to select the images / symbols. So I decided to go about it alphabetically….and the first thing that came to my mind was the ‘Arch’. Interesting? It is…read on to know why…



This slideshow of images shows arches in different places – either man made or natural occurrences. Of course, it also shows Tarot cards where arches are present!

So what are arches all about?

The Wikipedia page for ‘Arch’ states in its first sentence: An Arch is a structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight (e.g. a doorway in a stone wall). The article also mentions that arches made their appearance as early as in the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamia and Persia. They then appeared in Babylonia by the 6th century BC. The arch then spread to Europe and was adopted by the Greeks and Romans. Arches have even been used by the Harappan, Egyptian and Assyrian civilizations. The arch also became an important motif in medieval European cathedrals and Islamic architecture and was used in various cultures spanning the globe such as the Mesoamericans, Incans and Mayans. Today, the arch is used in structures such as bridges (which is again, quite interesting!).

If you are keen, you can read more about arches and their types etc. etc. on the Wikipedia page.

So, what does an arch stand for in symbolism? Let’s decipher it, shall we… look at the images in the slideshow above – doesn’t the arch remind you of something – like a gate or a doorway? Well, that is exactly what it symbolizes. An arch is a gateway – a door to something beyond it – a passageway to something more to follow….which is why their use in bridges today is interesting! - Because with a bridge you can walk through the door and reach the other side.

Arches appear on Tarot cards as well – and consequently, each of these cards has a significant aspect of transition within their meaning as well.

It is easy to see how, on a deep psychological level, arches can signify a period of transition – a passage from where one moves to another place. Transitions signify change – and the arch represents the passageways or doorways of that process. The process can be inner or outer – that is, something within could be changing (perhaps the personality, the vision, the perspective) or the change could be in the outer world aspect of life (perhaps profession change, appearance change, change in residence). Or, the process can be happening on both levels.

That in itself was interesting when I began thinking about for the first word / image combination for this blog post! Because the first thing I typed out in the Google search box was an ‘a’ (alphabetical) and then I ended up typing the rest of the words making up the word ‘arch’. And that means – a beginning has been made, and this gate will lead me towards another area of interest – something that has always caught my attention, but I never did much with it! Hopefully, the weekly target that I have set for myself will keep me on my toes! A passage to something new indeed – a world of discovery lies ahead of me….

This takes me back to the initial definition of the arch on the Wikipedia page: “a structure capable of spanning a space while supporting significant weight”. The arch is a gateway between two worlds – a door symbolizing a transition – and the structure is capable of handling the weight! Transitions can be quite difficult or can cause much change in one’s life.

On a personal note, my professional life is also going through such a transition – which (co-incidentally) is practically the major part of my life! :-) Now, isn’t it interesting that I chose this word / image combination for the first symbol to study!

Synchronicity, anyone?

Premises: Images, Sounds and Words

Images have always been around us from time immemorial. Primitive man used his talents to draw pictures of his hunt on the walls of the caves. The trend continues through history with paintings and frescoes and murals being depicted on walls of houses and temples across the globe.



Primitive man also used some sounds and later on developed a form of writing to convey his ideas and thoughts.

Today, man has been ‘bombarded’ with myriad images and consequently has probably lost the fascination that these images once provoked. The words we read in books, newspapers, internet etc. also serve to generate a visual imagery – albeit inside the confines of the mind.



Sound is also an indisputable factor in creating images – the effect is far more subtle and more entrancing for human beings. When we listen to certain kinds of music and hear certain lyrics, we are often creating images in our mind – here the effect is dual.

Thus, it is not easy to ignore the effect that images still have on the human mind – whether the effect is subtle or is in your face – the effect remains. The effect created by these images we see, the sounds we hear and the words we read also creates within us a subtle perception shift. We ‘see’ things differently – we identify with certain lyrics, whereas we don’t like the sound of certain kinds of music or some pictures move us from within.



My perception is that the reason behind this like and dislike is the mental imagery created by these words and sounds. Images speak to us as humans on a deep level. The symbolism present within these images may not be too direct, but images convey a lot to us and we, unknowingly, get sucked into their world.

A variety of different media are used to transmit these images / sounds / words to us – television or film, pictures or paintings, illustrations in books, photographs, music (whether it has lyrics or not) – even the internet has become another media where all these seamlessly come together. Each media has its own pros and cons, but we are not going to get into that here.

The fact remains that we are visually ‘bombarded’ with images, sounds and words all the time. And these mental images make a lasting impression, unconsciously or consciously, and affect us or our psyche on a deep, internal level.
So what does this mental image really mean? What does it stand for? What is it trying to subconsciously convey to us?

These and such related ideas are going to be explored by the articles on my blog here. Hopefully, it will enable us to understand ourselves better and to reach within to unlock our own personal mysteries.

Towards that end, we are going to look at each image from various perspectives – such as from the perspectives of mythology, symbolism and of course, logic. All these perspectives should help us evaluate what the image is all about and what happens to us when we see it.

I invite you to join me in this journey of discovery and write to me with your thoughts, ideas and comments.

Hello!

Hello and welcome to my blog!



This blog has been started with the aim of examining the various meanings conveyed in the different images, words and sounds – in short, the various motifs present all around us. One could say that symbolism is a part of this study. I am also a big fan of Carl Jung and his theories.



Therefore, I am going to (at least, that is the plan) examine at least one image / sound / word per week and express my thoughts on the meanings conveyed by them. The idea is to look at these images / sounds / words from two perspectives: a collective or worldwide perspective, and also from a personal perspective.



Hope that you will join me in this quest and help me to unravel my way through the plethora of images that prevail and pervade all around us.



Don’t forget to add your comments and thoughts!

(Be aware though that the comments are moderated to ensure that no machines are writing to me!)