My Symbols:
- The Sunflower
(It’s said that the natives of the Inca Empire worshipped a giant sunflower, and that Incan priestesses wore large sunflower disks made of gold on their garments. Images of sunflowers were found in the temples of the Andes mountains, and Native American Indians placed bowls of sunflower seeds on the graves of their dead. The Impressionist period of art is famous for its fascination with the sunflower, and this striking flower remains today a commonly photographed and painted icon of uncommon beauty.
The 3rd wedding anniversary flower and the state flower of Kansas, sunflowers turn to follow the sun. Their open faces symbolize the sun itself, conveying warmth and happiness, adoration and longevity.)
- Lions
(The Lion is an ancient symbol, one that has been incorporated into the religion and mythology of numerous cultures and civilizations since recorded time around the Middle East, India, throughout Africa and bordering the Mediterranean. Lions once roamed the southern reaches of Europe. The influence of the power of the Lion's symbolism can be seen in it's representation in both Chinese and Japanese art and mythology, both cultures beyond it's range.)
- Toads and Frogs
(Transfer of Consciousness
Like the butterfly, the frog is a symbol of reincarnation. Its form goes through a radical transformation: from frothy spawn containing myriad eggs, to the tadpole breathing by means of gills and sprouting legs, which finally in losing its tail becomes the adult air-breathing hopper.
The Sanskrit word, mandukya means frog. The Hindu scripture, Mandukya Upanishad, says that the three letters that comprise the chief mantra AUM (usually written OM in languages using the Latin alphabet) each signify a state of consciousness: A = waking, U = dreaming, and M = dreamless sleep.
Herbert V. Guenther used the metaphor of the frog in Yuganaddha: The Tantric View of Life, (Varanasi: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series, 1952/1976, pp. 80-81) in explaining his view of the link between a child's imagination and that of an adult:
On the psychic plane, childhood need not necessarily be the immaturity of man, it may be much more the preparatory stage of the adult mind, just as the tadpole is the preparatory stage of the frog rather than an immature frog.)
- Water
(Water unceasingly changes shapes and transforms itself. It is thus a model out of which everything can be born. Water, consequently, becomes a symbol of fertility that can be found in all the myths and all the religions. Beings and things are born of water. Water also possesses medicinal virtues. Some waters are recognized miraculous powers capable of healing the bodies.
It is also a source of purification. Purification for the individual beings but also for the whole of mankind. The Flood is a founding episode in numerous civilisations. Among Australia’s Aborigenes, a giant frog is said to have swallowed the Earth’s water to release it only when the other animals, dying with thirst, made it burst out laughing. The Flood in a re-creation of the world. One emerges from water in order to be reborn.)
My Colors:
- Deep Purple
- Forest Green
- Dark Blue
roud:
