Gate 63: דז — SYMBOL

דז

Pillar 3: STRUCTURES OF MIND

[63:1] "The fish is the symbol of the Christian because the

letters*

[63:2] of the Greek word for fish spell out 'Jesus Christ, Son of

God, Savior.'"

[63:3] --- Early Christian teaching

[63:4] "A symbol is something more than itself;

[63:5] a sign is something less."

[63:6] --- Traditional teaching

[63:7] "Symbols are the language of the soul speaking to the

mind."

[63:8] --- Contemporary saying

[63:9] [63:1] A symbol is an image that carries more meaning

than can be stated.

[63:10] [63:2] The Hebrew letters דג (Dag) mean "fish"---and

the fish is one of humanity's oldest and richest symbols. For

Christians, the fish (ichthys) encoded the secret name of Christ. For

Hindus, the fish (matsya) is Vishnu's first avatar, saving humanity

from the flood. For the Babylonians, the fish-man Oannes brought

civilization from the sea. The fish swims in the depths, in the

unconscious, in the primordial waters from which all life emerged.

[63:11] [63:3] A sign points to something else and exhausts

itself in the pointing. "Exit" means the door out; once you know this,

the sign has nothing more to offer. A symbol points to something that

exceeds all pointing---something inexhaustible, something that continues

to reveal new meanings the longer you contemplate it. The cross, the

mandala, the tree, the serpent: these are not signs but symbols, and

they have been contemplated for millennia without being depleted.

[63:12] [63:4] Why do symbols work? Because they are images that

match archetypal structures in the psyche. The symbol "resonates"

(Gate 87)---it vibrates at the same frequency as something deep in

consciousness, and energy flows. A symbol that does not resonate is

merely decorative; a symbol that resonates transforms.

[63:13] [FIGURE 63.1: The vesica piscis (two overlapping circles

forming a fish shape in the center)---an ancient symbol of the

intersection between worlds, the womb of creation, and the fish of

Christ.] [63:5] Mathematics is symbolic in the deepest sense. The

number 1 is not merely a quantity; it is the symbol of Unity, the One,

the beginning. The ratio 1:2 is not merely a doubling; it is the symbol

of the octave, the return to the same at a higher level, the circuit

completed. Plato encoded an entire cosmology in musical ratios precisely

because ratios are symbols that can be simultaneously heard, seen,

calculated, and contemplated.

[63:14] [63:6] The danger with symbols is literalism---taking

the symbol for what it symbolizes. The cross is not Christ; the statue

is not the god; the word is not the thing. To worship the symbol is

idolatry; to encounter through the symbol what the symbol points to is

revelation. The map is not the territory, but without the map, you

cannot find the territory.

[63:15] [63:7] Symbols bridge levels. They connect the material

(the visible image) to the mental (the meaning evoked) to the spiritual

(the archetype activated). When you gaze at a mandala, your eyes see

colored shapes, your mind perceives order and symmetry, your spirit

touches the Center. The symbol is the conduit through which grace

descends and aspiration ascends.

[63:16] [63:8] Create symbols consciously. When you make art,

write poetry, design ritual, you are building bridges between worlds.

The symbol that emerges from your depths can speak to others' depths.

This is why art heals---it provides symbols that the psyche can use to

integrate what has been fragmented.

[63:17] [63:9] Living symbolically means seeing through the

literal to the archetypal. The person you love is also the Beloved; the

child you raise is also the Divine Child; the work you do is also the

Great Work. Every particular participates in a universal. To live

symbolically is to perceive this participation constantly, moving

through a world dense with meaning.

[63:18] [63:10] The fish swims in the depths and also surfaces

into light. It belongs to two worlds, moving between them effortlessly.

So does the symbol: rooted in the unconscious, it rises into

consciousness bearing gifts from below. Follow the fish---it knows the

way between.

[63:19] See Also: • Gate 61: דא (Da, "This") --- The Gate of the

Archetype (what symbols express) • Gate 62: דב (Dov, "Bear") --- The

Gate of Dreams (where symbols appear) • Gate 119: זי --- The Gate of the

Fractal (symbols that repeat at every scale) • Gate 123: ×–×  --- The Gate

of the Word (verbal symbols)