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oldernotwiser
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1. Pre-Christian Crosses
For nearly two thousand years the cross has not only been the single most important symbol of the Christian religion but it has also been a central symbol in the Western World. This has changed in the past few decades and as a result we have lost much of what was once common knowledge in our culture. In this Post-Christian era the cross has become separated from much of the theological significance that it once had. For most western men and women it is often no more than a design element, or a vaguely significant historic image. This is a loss for both artists and for the society that receives their work. It is difficult to understand who we are without understanding who we were, and for the Western World, the cross has been a defining symbol for much of the past two thousand years.
From the Pre-Historic China to Pre-Columbian America the cross has been a universal symbol and in some form can be found in most cultures. Crosses have been found in European caves, on rocks in the Sahara Desert, and in the temples of Central America. To the pre-Columbian American, the cross with arms of equal length (the Greek Cross in the Christian tradition) was seen as the symbol of Thaloc the god of weather. To the Aztecs, the cross was also the symbol of a greater god, Quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent. Sadly for the Aztecs, this worked to the great advantage of the Spanish Conquistadors when they arrived in the Americas. When the Aztecs saw the crosses worn by the Spaniards they believed that they were seeing the return of Quetzalcoatl. During the time that they hesitated, the Spanish moved. Not only were they wrong about the return of Quetzalcoatl but by the time they discovered their error, it was too late. The Spanish had destroyed the Aztec empire. The legend that supported their belief is described in a picture of Quetzacoatl in the “Lord Of The Vanguard” illustration from the Codex Fej’ev’ary-Mayer. It can be found in Joseph Campbell’s The Mythic Image. It is an illustration of a bearded figure carrying a cross. Explanations for this cultural anachronism are offered by everyone from the Mormons who argue that after his resurrection Christ visited the New World, to the Irish, who will tell us that any serious student of history understands that St. Brendan visited the Americas with thirty monks in the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] century. It is interesting that while the St. Brenden legend may be an echo of much earlier historic voyages, barely remembered, it might have even been true. There is always the possibility that the voyage of St Brenden was one of the last in a long tradition of Trans Atlantic commerce that was possibly dying out even when Brendan and his monks sailed west. There are remains of Celtic settlements in North America that date to at least the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] century BC. Barry Fells describes them in America B.C. He also makes some interesting connections between the Algonquin and Gaelic languages particularly in the area of place names. It certainly raises some questions concerning the pre Columbian connections between the Americas and Europe. The Viking explorations are now well accepted but the Vikings may have been only a part of the pre Columbian connections. Not only does the St Brenden story raise the question of how long it continued, but more importantly, how long the memory of the connection continued in the memory and songs of the people.
While the “Quetzacoatl Central American crosses” are the only New
World forms of cross to be associated with the crucifixion of a human being, the symbol is found worldwide. The Latin Cross, the almost universal symbol adorning Protestant Christian churches, had a pre-Christian form as the staff of Apollo. The symbol that we describe as the “Greek Cross,” with arms of equal length, was even more widespread in the ancient world. If any symbol can be described as universal it is this one. It has been found everywhere from the Orient, where in China the symbol indicates the number ten (shi,) to Central America where the Mayan hieroglyphic symbol the Kan Cross, with arms of equal lengths symbolizes the expensive or valuable. In the Babylonian hierarchy the symbol of the God Anu was the same as the Cross Decussata, St. Andrews Cross.
In Scandinavia Thor was the god of thunder and the hammer in the form of a Tau cross was his symbol. This cross of Thor was still seen as a magical symbol in Iceland at the end of the 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century. Another Scandinavian form is the ring cross. It was also the Chaldean solar symbol. The ring cross is a late Stone Age form, but may have been an influence on the origin of the Celtic Cross of the Christian tradition. It only requires that the arms and upright be extended past the circle and we see a Celtic Cross.
One of the oldest and most widely recognized forms of pre Christian cross is the swastika or Hindu suavastika. Although it’s most recent incarnation was as the symbol of the Nazi party during the Hitler era in Europe it is far older that that. It is common to the Far East, the First Nations of North America, and to Northern Europe. It has been found on walls in India, Hittite monuments, and was even found marked on the belly of a female idol during the excavation of Troy. There are differences in the direction of the crampons, but the symbol is essentially the same in all these cultures. One possible explanation of the symbol is that it signifies the sun, coming from an understanding of the sun as a wheel rolling across the sky. Other suggestions have ranged from possibilities that the twisted or bent arms suggested the movement of the winds from the four corners of the earth to the idea that it may have once represented a device used in the making of fire or even stylized crossed lightning bolts. One common interpretation of the symbol is that it is a stylized human figure running, and it is likely that the symbol carried (at some time or another) all of those meanings and probably many more. Once again we are left with the ancient wisdom of the carnival midway: “You pays your money and you takes your choice.”
Illustrations Hammer of Thor, Lord of The Vanguard
For nearly two thousand years the cross has not only been the single most important symbol of the Christian religion but it has also been a central symbol in the Western World. This has changed in the past few decades and as a result we have lost much of what was once common knowledge in our culture. In this Post-Christian era the cross has become separated from much of the theological significance that it once had. For most western men and women it is often no more than a design element, or a vaguely significant historic image. This is a loss for both artists and for the society that receives their work. It is difficult to understand who we are without understanding who we were, and for the Western World, the cross has been a defining symbol for much of the past two thousand years.
From the Pre-Historic China to Pre-Columbian America the cross has been a universal symbol and in some form can be found in most cultures. Crosses have been found in European caves, on rocks in the Sahara Desert, and in the temples of Central America. To the pre-Columbian American, the cross with arms of equal length (the Greek Cross in the Christian tradition) was seen as the symbol of Thaloc the god of weather. To the Aztecs, the cross was also the symbol of a greater god, Quetzalcoatl the feathered serpent. Sadly for the Aztecs, this worked to the great advantage of the Spanish Conquistadors when they arrived in the Americas. When the Aztecs saw the crosses worn by the Spaniards they believed that they were seeing the return of Quetzalcoatl. During the time that they hesitated, the Spanish moved. Not only were they wrong about the return of Quetzalcoatl but by the time they discovered their error, it was too late. The Spanish had destroyed the Aztec empire. The legend that supported their belief is described in a picture of Quetzacoatl in the “Lord Of The Vanguard” illustration from the Codex Fej’ev’ary-Mayer. It can be found in Joseph Campbell’s The Mythic Image. It is an illustration of a bearded figure carrying a cross. Explanations for this cultural anachronism are offered by everyone from the Mormons who argue that after his resurrection Christ visited the New World, to the Irish, who will tell us that any serious student of history understands that St. Brendan visited the Americas with thirty monks in the 9[SUP]th[/SUP] century. It is interesting that while the St. Brenden legend may be an echo of much earlier historic voyages, barely remembered, it might have even been true. There is always the possibility that the voyage of St Brenden was one of the last in a long tradition of Trans Atlantic commerce that was possibly dying out even when Brendan and his monks sailed west. There are remains of Celtic settlements in North America that date to at least the 6[SUP]th[/SUP] century BC. Barry Fells describes them in America B.C. He also makes some interesting connections between the Algonquin and Gaelic languages particularly in the area of place names. It certainly raises some questions concerning the pre Columbian connections between the Americas and Europe. The Viking explorations are now well accepted but the Vikings may have been only a part of the pre Columbian connections. Not only does the St Brenden story raise the question of how long it continued, but more importantly, how long the memory of the connection continued in the memory and songs of the people.
While the “Quetzacoatl Central American crosses” are the only New
World forms of cross to be associated with the crucifixion of a human being, the symbol is found worldwide. The Latin Cross, the almost universal symbol adorning Protestant Christian churches, had a pre-Christian form as the staff of Apollo. The symbol that we describe as the “Greek Cross,” with arms of equal length, was even more widespread in the ancient world. If any symbol can be described as universal it is this one. It has been found everywhere from the Orient, where in China the symbol indicates the number ten (shi,) to Central America where the Mayan hieroglyphic symbol the Kan Cross, with arms of equal lengths symbolizes the expensive or valuable. In the Babylonian hierarchy the symbol of the God Anu was the same as the Cross Decussata, St. Andrews Cross.
In Scandinavia Thor was the god of thunder and the hammer in the form of a Tau cross was his symbol. This cross of Thor was still seen as a magical symbol in Iceland at the end of the 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century. Another Scandinavian form is the ring cross. It was also the Chaldean solar symbol. The ring cross is a late Stone Age form, but may have been an influence on the origin of the Celtic Cross of the Christian tradition. It only requires that the arms and upright be extended past the circle and we see a Celtic Cross.
One of the oldest and most widely recognized forms of pre Christian cross is the swastika or Hindu suavastika. Although it’s most recent incarnation was as the symbol of the Nazi party during the Hitler era in Europe it is far older that that. It is common to the Far East, the First Nations of North America, and to Northern Europe. It has been found on walls in India, Hittite monuments, and was even found marked on the belly of a female idol during the excavation of Troy. There are differences in the direction of the crampons, but the symbol is essentially the same in all these cultures. One possible explanation of the symbol is that it signifies the sun, coming from an understanding of the sun as a wheel rolling across the sky. Other suggestions have ranged from possibilities that the twisted or bent arms suggested the movement of the winds from the four corners of the earth to the idea that it may have once represented a device used in the making of fire or even stylized crossed lightning bolts. One common interpretation of the symbol is that it is a stylized human figure running, and it is likely that the symbol carried (at some time or another) all of those meanings and probably many more. Once again we are left with the ancient wisdom of the carnival midway: “You pays your money and you takes your choice.”
Illustrations Hammer of Thor, Lord of The Vanguard