Chapter 12

Symbols

A. Symbols in the Variety of Their Manifestations

A symbol is a specific sign greatly different in its effect upon us from the familiar signs of the semiotic world, though outwardly it looks like all the other signs. A symbol direclly links our active life realized in Do- ing with the semantic world of our unconscious. We might say that a symbol is asynonym for meditation; it opens up theentrance into the un- conscious the way meditation does. Watching how a symbol affects peo- ple, we are enabled to see the manifestations of the unconscious. History carries out its experiments with nations through symbols.

In recent decades symbolism became an object of thorough studies: books and theses have been written about it. Here we indicate just a few of them: Goldsmith (1976). Symbolisme(l971), Bryson et al. (1954), Al- leau (1976), Govinda (1976b), Jung (1953). Jaspers and Bultman (195Q.I Dolgin et al. (1977). Cooper, (1978). Perhaps it would be relevant t o em- phasize the fact that one of the first substantial books on symbolism was by a Russian author, namely, Andrey Belyi (1910). writer and symbolist- poet, though it has almost lost its significance by now. Looking through this seemingly thorough study. one notices with amazement how far peo- ple have gone since then on the road of studying this ancient phenome- non. Naturally, we are not able to review here the entire range of asser- tions on the nature of symbols. We are going to confine ourselves only to certain aspects of this phenomenon.

First of all, we would like to consider the relations between symbols and familiar linguistic forms. Many scholars. including Fromm (1951), whom we profusely quoted above, think it possible t o speak of dreams as

' Thlr book conlains an acuaunc of (he dlrcurrion becuccn Jarpcrr and Bullman on ihr porribilily 0 1 de-mythologizing Chnrlianily. The ilandpoinc al Jspcrr is nalurally crmmclg negative.

157

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a n instance of a symbolic language. Fromm does not find impossible the idea of the existence of a language whose semantic elements are symbols. LaFarge (1954) wrote on this point:

Symbols are a longuoge, the most universal and powerful language known to men. Language itself, after all, is a set of symbols. (p. 121)

However, I d o not agree with the concept of symbols as semantic ele- ments of the language. In my earlier book (Nalimov, 19810) 1 formulated the idea that one of the most important characteristics of language is its hierarchical structure: a phoneme, a morpheme, a word, a phrase, a text. The last can also be structured into chapters, sections, and paragraphs. But the same is not true of symbols. A symbol contains the complete text within itself. A word is underlain by a semantic field revealing itself through other words of the context. A symbol has a unique manifesta- tion. I would like to quote here Toporov (1979).

There also exist symbol texts which it is more rational to refer to as a special class of "supertexts" both due to their exclusive semantic depth and meaningfulness, their ability to function as a symbol of higher sacral values, the specific attitude towards them on the part of those who use them, and due to their peculiar status as a text in a broad taxon space. (p. 116-1 17)

Also of interest are the words of Gallagher (1954):

Symbols are not only necessary in religion, they are often a psy- chologically more effective medium for the communication of ideas and values. When one cannot deal directly with things and actions in themselves. symbols have a greater psychological impact than words. because symbols arc thcrnselves things or actions; and as such arc closer to things than words, serving as reproductions of things or re- enactments of actions. They impress the most vivid sense-the eye- as wcll as the ear, and the other senses. Because of their concreteness they have a greater impact on the imagination, the memory, the fecl- ings. They give an analogical knowledge of inner realities, meanings, values; and if the symbols arc in good taste, they present ideas and ideals not merely as something to be known, but as something to be loved. (p. 117-1 18)

And now 1 quote the words of McKeon (1954):

In its more general use, "symbol" includes any token which serves as proof of identity and any like guarantee in the relations and affairs of man. The particularity and universality of the symbol are insepa- rably conjoined: it is the mark, immediately and unmistakably recog- nizable, of a relation which requires, without question or argument. actions of a particular kind. So far as particularity is concerned, the symbol is more concrete and evocative than myth or argument . . .

Symbols 159

the symbol is richer and more relevant than myth or argument, and although i t is an inexhaustible source of interpretation in narrative and in proof, i t provides a ground of action and cooperation at once more reliable and more direct than the continuities of history or the consequences of demonstration, for it can move men who are ignor- ant of history and insensitive to argument. (p. 21-22)

Symbols cannot be destroyed either by criticism or by inconsistent facts. They can only come to an end in a certain concrete manifestation, and then they go down into the underground o f the collective uncon- scious.

However, a symbol is not easily differentiated from other signs. Out- wardly, one and the same sign may have various facets. For example, the word freedom may a t one time be perceived as a usual and rather neutral word of our language. whereas a t another time it may represent a con- cept: there seems to have existed not a single philosopher who managed to avoid the temptation to interpret this concept. Finally, freedom is a symbol which may directly affect not only an individual but, a t crucial moments, whole nations.

Above I mentioned that symbols are not elements o f the usual logically arranged linguistic contexts. At the same time, they may strengthen and support one another. In this case it is as if they complete one another and create a specific image, a mandala (in Oriental terms) in which parts are endowed with the totality. The Christian Triniv proved to be such a symbol united through its complexity.

Symbols seem to acquire their most vivid manifestation in historical evolution. This assertion can be illustrated by the following examples, considered only briefly and schematically.

The Great French Revolution (1789) represents the social realization of the symbol of Freedom. Another symbol. Equality, emerged side by side with the previous one, and later, perhaps during the revolution of 1848, reflecting the romanticism of the period, the third member of the triad came to the fore: Fralerniry. [This idea is developed by Ligou (1969).1

Thus, there appeared a new, masonic interpretation of the Triniry, one of the major Christian symbols. It became the slogan of Masonry (Nys. 1908). The intensive preparation for a new understanding of the symbol Freedom had begun long before the Great French Revolution broke out. Here i swhat Nys, a Belgian scholar, wrote o n this point:

. . . in 1787 there were 636lodges controlled by the two masonic rul- ers of France: the Great East and the Great French Lodge; they were in general very numcrous. The historian Georg Kloss notes that the masons recruited their members in all the classes of French society; Auguslin Barrnell, the enemy of masonry, says that the suburbs Saint-Antoine and Saint-Marceau were completely "masonized."

Barrnell estimates the number of French masons during the revolu- tion as 600 thousand. "At least 500 thousand." he writes, "were ready to revolt at first sign." This is an obvious exaggeration; bul history allows us to state the intervention of the lodges and make a conclusion concerning the great number of their members . . . the majority of revolutionaries bclonged to secret masonic societies. (p. 101)

Our task does not include any detailed description of the related facts. O n the role of Masonry in the Great French Revolution, see also Kropot- kin (1909). Alluding t o Nys, Kropotkin wrote:

Nearly all revolutionists of renown were freemasons-Mirabeau. Bailly. Danton. Robespierre, Marat, Condorcel, Brissot, Lalande. and many others were masonic brothers, and the Duke of Orltans (Philippe-Egalite) remained its national Grand Mastcr down to May 13. 1793. On the other side. it is also known that Robespierre. Mira- beau, Lavoisier, and probably many more belonged to the lodges of the Illuminates, founded by Weishaupt. whose aim was "to free the nations from the tyranny of princes and priests, and as a first step, to free the peasants and the working men from serfdom, forced labour and guilds" (p. 540)

The study of the role of Masonry in the Great French Revolution has been continued u p to now [see, for example, Annales (1969) and Palou (1964)], and it is difficult to come here to any clear conclusions since only meager documentation is at our disposal. Besides, the whole thing is veiled by a romantic mystery. This question is important for us only be- cause the entire masonic movement is permeated by Symbols. Internally, this is a teaching expressed through Symbols with complex rites; intellec- tually, this is a ceaseless reinterpretation of ancient Symbols in the im- ages of everyday contemporary life; externally, this is an attempt a t their social realization. Masonic iconography is remarkably rich.' During the three recent centuries Masonry presented itself as an antithesis, opposing in the dynamic interpretation o f ancient symbolism both scientific posi- tivism and the rigid conservatism of the churches. Reinterpretation of the Trinity as Freedom, Equality, and Fraternity was preserved almost t o our time: it sounded as a tocsin in the days of my own youth. It is not for nothing that the great Russian poet Alexander Blok saw Christ through the blizzard of the Russian Revolution. But later, on the roadless roads.

' 11 recmr h e n rclrvam lo compare ic with one of chcBuddhirt remr, namely. the Shingon school. 11 as- rerwd the crolerirm of Buddhism lo be $0 deep ar lo crclude any porribibly o l a written crprcrrion: i l

could only be given as an insigh, through imager. This rchool porrerrcr ihr richcrl and btighterc iconog- raphy among the ml of Buddhist rrclr, though i t buically conminr only cuo imilgcr: Thc Diamond Mandala and ihc Fcmininc Mandala (lor dclalr , rce Rambaeh 1919).

Symbols 161

the third segment of the Trinity was lost by some people and rejected by others.

Perhaps it will not seem too absurd if I say that the formation of the United States was linked to a new interpretation of the symbol of Free- dom. Many founders of the American republic are known to have been Masons: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, George Washington; the last was a grand master of the Pennsylvania lodges. It is only natural to ask whether Franklin deliberately introduced the masonic principles into the law of his country. By the way, note the Trinity in the structure of Power: President. Congress. Supreme Court' (the last, as opposed to the European tradition, enjoys equal rights with the two other members of the Trinity and can interfere with the official life in its most important manifestations). Franklin put o n the banner of the United States five-pointed stars on an azure field, as on the arches of ma- sonic temples.

Now let us make a short excursion into the remote past. The pyramids of Ancient Egypt always amazed Europeans by the measureless labor spent to build them without a visible functional goal. It became clear long ago that the pyramids were not merely pharoah's tombs (Barbarin. 1969; Tompkins. 1971) but the constantly created symbols drawing the whole life in Egypt to themselves. Perhaps these incomprehensible mon- uments conceal the mystery of an amazing length of existence of this an- cient culture which had managed t o avoid degeneration and ecological problems while developing on a negligibly small area. The medieval Gothic temples might also have been such symbols. Both pyramids and Gothic temples were based on sacral geometry through the number ex- pressed in curves, vertical lines. and volumes (Charpentier, 1972). We see here the numeric symbolism elaborated in Ancient Egypt. We heard its echo through Pythagoras. Cabbala, and Alchemy. And since we have raised the subject of numerical symbols, I wish to remind the reader about the tragedy of the Russian church schism.' People had to choose

' Thc desire la rce ,he &deal power as lhrcciold so dccpls ~nherenc i n human conrciourncrr uar more than oncr rcfleacd in philoruphical rprculalionr. In Arirloclr'r lrcalirc on polilicr r c find ihc triple divi- l ion o f ihe rlale aulhorily. I! war rcuned and advocalrd by ihc French philoruphcr hlon~crquicu in his Krcal book L'E~rirprrr dcr Lolr.

' Thc Ruisian church schism is i n i l r r l inn rxlrcmely inwcr l ing phmomcnon. I t r t irrl v a v c cmrrged in the fi i lrcnth and rirlecnlh rcn lur~r i when N i l Sorrky, a Rurrian church and public ligure and ,he well- known head o f ihc non-orquln,ive crmd, who dc~clopcd mystic and arrclic ldrar similar lo Byzanlinc hesycham, rcrirwd anolhcr church figure. Joseph o f Vololrl, the rupponcr o t ihcntuo l trend which nd- wcslcd the mili lam inarcrcr o i ihechurch. A! the Synod in IJW. ~herupporwrr o t Jorcph a c h ~ e d ihc rondcmnaiion o t the non-acquirilirc hcrrry: icr echo svrvivcd mrmrchesrvo, mcncionrd a b o ~ c . Thcrup- porcrn o i Joseph ga\c birth lo ihc c o n c r ~ i !ha! "Morcow is i h r chiid Rome." which plabcd an imp or^ l a m role i n the idcologg or (he Rurrian r m c . Thc rccond r a w . ~ h r rchirn? proper, emcrped i n ihc w e n - wenth cencup, provolcd by ihc rcform a t Church's ritual whore true mcanmg uar crncralizacion or the Church and i h r sucnglhrningot the power or ihc Patriarch. Far some pcriod(thcend orthcrwcncccnth

162 Experiment

one of the two radically different ways of religious life, and this choice was brought down to the opposition of a two-finger cross t o a three-fin- ger cross. People burned themselves for the two-finger cross, but their sacrifice was not accepted.

But let us come closer to our days. On I March 1881, the Russian tsar Alexander 11 was assassinated. The details of the assassination were hor- rible, but nothing followed: no revolt, no plunders, no riot, no earth- quake-nothing. According to memoirs, revolutionaries were shocked by this "nothing." But in fact, it was a significant phenomenon, and its significance consisted exactly in that nothing happened. The Symbol of the Russian Empire, for which and around which the yet unseen luxury of Peterburg had been created, proved empty. Thesymbol was destroyed by a bloody onslaught, but nothing happened. However, it took dozens of years to comprehend it. Meanwhile, a new symbolism started to be created, through readiness to accept death: Sofia Perovskaya met her death calmly and proudly; Vera Figner spent 20 years in solitary confine- ment, and she only had t o repent to be pardoned.

Communism is not merely a concept, but first of all a Symbol. Histori- cally, it can be traced back through the history of Europe up to Christ's Annunciation. Qumran communities.' and T h e r a p e ~ t a e . ~ Marx was a genius to catch the breathing of this Symbol which he expressed in the words: A spectre is haunting Europe, a spectre o f Communism.

The Communist Manifesto beginning with these words proved to be the most powerful statement of Marxism: in Russia alone, before 1917 it was reissued 60 times.

It is of interest t o quote here McKeon (1954):

. . . The failure to consider the symbolic uses to which the writings of Marx have been put has led us into the error of supposing that their effectiveness in the development of communism and in the promo- tion of the ideological conflict can be countered by proving that they expound false history and state unsound philosophy. (p. 29)

The first should be concerned with the operation of Communism itself as symbol, not only in attachingdifferent men-farmcrs, work- ers, artists, scientists-to Communism by different appeals, but also

C C O L Y ~ ) . the imporlam part of the Schism war ihc erporurr and condemnation olihc social vices. The s~hismalics sere rupprcrrcd rauagcly, chough lhcir lcrr lmporcanl follouerr. old-bclicuerr (rcaroucry), rc- maincd until our lime.

TheQumran communilg rccmr lo hawcmrrrd ih? Errrner. ~herocial-religious lrrndin Judca in the second hall of ihc second century B.C. through ihr lirrc century A D . Ccnain lealures or ihc Errcncr r c wmblcd ihc early Christian church. They practiced property sharing and diwibuled money lo each ac-

cordin* lo his nrcd.

simple life and disdain for wealth wcrc among ilr characlcrirticr.

in providing motivation for common action strong enough 10 run counter lo the claims of all other symbols. The second should be con- cerned with the use pf a philosophy or a body of doctrine as a symbol and with its effect on action and on response to facts and arguments. (P. 35)

And for a few words about Nazism. The mad ideas were remarkably supported by the ancient symbols. Meetings and marches acquired the nature o f mysteries. The swastika,' one o f the most ancient symbols o f the collective unconscious, could be seen everywhere: on banners, mil i- tary uniforms, books, etc. This symbol i s found among the archeological remains o f ancient Baltic peoples.

The following quotation i s also relevant here (Boas, 1954):

Symbols are used by human beings, not merely lo communicate ideas and feelings to other people, but also for lyric expression and for the clarification of one's own ideas and feelings to oneself. (p. 215)

I f then a revolutionary group sets up a new economic order with- out providing for the satisfactions which people find in the old sym- bols, it may discover that i t s action has been futile. (p. 226)

These peculiarities o f human behavior, concealed from the external observer, seem to have been known to Nazi leaders. How else can all this be explained?

As far as the role o f Symbols in various aspects o f human activities is concerned, we should primarily mention art. However, this subject i s boundless, and we are going to confine ourselves to a quotation from Gallagher (1954):

To describe all [he types and uses of symbols in the ar ts would be to write a history of human ideas and beliefs; as sooner or later these find symbolic expression in the arts. (p. 209)

I would l ike to emphasize here an idea which seems important to me: everything that has ever existed on Earth i s sooner or later, and perhaps not only once, reflected i n art through Symbols which are the signs that preserve the unbreakable integrity o f time. What has once existed does not go away: i t affects us, lives within us, reminds us o f itself, and deter- mines our behavior.

Matters are much more complicated when we start to analyze the role o f symbols in science. Modern science was historically preceded by al-

' I can w e anmhrr ~llurlralion oran nrbimr) use a i i h c r a m r cymbol: on a bank now o l ihc \ d u e or 250 rubler triucd in 1917 h? ihr Pruvlrionnl Gowrnmcnl o l Kerrnrk?, on? seer in ihc ccnler a double ra-

el?. rhcold~!mboloicheEmpire, but no* crorred bga r u r m l a . What an odd and mcan~ngrul comblna- lion or symbols!

164 Experiment

chemy, which was founded entirely on symbols and remained free from any theoretical elements. It is noteworthy that ancient symbols, as we now distinctly see, possessed creative power.. Everything man had learned in the pre-scientific world-metallurgy, production of glass, con- struction of grandiose building, treatment o f many diseases-had been discovered through the use of Symbol and Myths. Alchemy made many important discoveries, including the invention of gunpowder and some laboratory equipment which is partially used even nowadays; progress, however, was extremely slow. It is to be remembered that even Isaac Newton spent a great deal of his time brooding over problems of al- chemy, astrology, and the proper chronology of the Bible.

Science chose the way of constructing theories. Scientific terms be- came comprehensible. People were enabled to pose questions to nature. Recall that logically each question has two constituents: the question proper and the assertive part that makes the question legitimate. The as- sertive part o f the question is a laconic, very compact formulation of our knowledge about the nature of the phenomenon to which the given ques- tion relates. Compactness of knowledge lies in conceptualization. In these terms, a mathemarical model is a question posed to nature by man (Nalimov, 1981b). By the way, this may explain why the psychology of thinking lacks mathematical models: psychologists cannot ask a mean- ingful question since they cannot formulate their knowledge of the na- ture of human consciousness in a compact form.

However. despite the fact that science is conceptual, symbols have hid- den themselves within it and affect our reasoning. This is primarily true of the manifestations of scientific paradigms.

Such words as Matter, Law, Chance, Evolution, when used paradig- matically, cease being concepts and become symbols. In this case they are not based on any scientific conceptual contents. They are filled with cer- tain integral meaning, this integrity being the result o f the historical evo- lution of science and its struggle to strengthen the scientific vision of the world, provoking emotional explosion, protest. sharp rejection of any- thing new. Symbols seem to be created constantly, but some of them turn out to be ephemeral whereas others have a long life. And they are created in such a purely intellectual sphere as science.

1 could give a more serious example of the turning of a scientific con- cept into a symbol. This transformation is especially distinct in contem- porary physics, where many concepts acquire such a high degree of ab- straction that they can no longer be interpreted in terms of the external world unambiguously and in a form comprehensible for a layman. Mod- ern physics, as well as modern mathematics, being afraid of the vulgar- ization that unavoidably accompanies popularization, started to shrink into its esoteric shell. This has produced a religious attitude toward sci-

Symbols 165

ence. The difficult journey toward obtaining Universal knowledge has begun to recall the preparation for initiation into sacred mysteries. In my earlier book (Nalimov. 19810) 1 quoted a collection of statements made by physicists on the physical meaning of the y function compiled by the American philosopher Abel (1969). These statements are various and mutually inconsistent. Abel asks: Can we say we know something if we cannot express our knowledge in words? The answer seems obvious: We can express our knowledge not only through verbal concepts but also through words which become symbols. The abstract symbols of physics, as well as other scientific symbols, allow a scientist, if he is initiated, to enter the semantic universe through his unconscious and find there the explanation of the phenomena under study. When he wishes to transmit his knowledge, the scientist uses a symbol as a common linguistic sign- this is how t h e y function entered the Schrodinger equation. So, after all, science turned out to be arranged exactly like any other human activities.

As a matter of fact, the legitimacy of symbolism in science was ac- knowledged not long ago. At the beginning of our century, i t was said that matter had disappeared in the abstractions of the new physics. 1 re- member as a youth seeing books, obsolete already by that time, in which Maxwell's equations were interpreted in the mechanistic mode, the only one conceivable for an unsophisticated man: they were illustrated by pic- tures of men rowing boats which crossed waves and other things of the kind.

B. Simple Geometric Symbols

I am going to confine myself to considering only the simplest symbols, i.e.. geometric ones, which we shall encounter in the subsequent experi- mental chapters. A complete description o f religious symbols would take up too much space. A detailed description of symbols can be found in the illustrated encyclopedia compiled by Cooper (1978), which contains al- most 1,500 entries.

As a matter of fact, we can say very little about symbols. One can trace their emergence long ago in the historical past, their broad geographical spreading, thechanges in their form. One can at last describe some of the numerous interpretations ascribed to symbols in various culture. It is true, however, that such interpretations never reveal the whole meaning of a symbol. Any attempt to penetrate into the depth of a symbol can only be based o n meditation.

What I am going to say is largely borrowed from a book by Goldsmith (1976).

Let us begin with the symbol of Trinity.

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The Triangle, the geometrical emblem of three things, one above two, the two lower uniting to produce the higher. or the union of the positive and negative forces to produce the third, is the most complex and mystical, as it is the most uncompromising of all symbols. (p. 144)

From earliest times primitive man appears to have grasped the idea of the three-fold naturc of the universe-the divine, the human, the natural world-and that he himself was the image or mirror of the macrocosm, composed of three things-body, mind, soul or spirit. The idea of "three in one" seems to have been a part of man's con- sciousness as far back as tradition takes us. (p. 144)

Three Pillars typifying Wisdom, Strength. Beauty, or Wisdom, Power, Goodness were used to symbolize their triune gods by the very early Egyptians, Hindus. Druids. Mayas and Incas. (p. 146)

There were innumerable triads in Egypt that personified the chief forces of nature under different groupings. In lime, however, Osiris. lsis and Horus absorbed the functions and attributes of all the other gods and became the mightiest gods of Egypt. (p. 147)

The Triangle is one of the symbols of the Buddhist triad. (p. 152)

A triangle with its apex up is a symbol of fire, an architectural sign of the fire prayer directed to heaven.

If we now turn to the quite recent past, we shall see that the famous Hegelian triad is also an exposition of the same symbol of trinity. Per- haps all this is a reflection of the original trinity of the world: three-di- mensional space, triune time (past-present-future), three dimensional perception of light.' Our thinking is triple: three constituents form a syl- logism. In the works o f Plotinus (1956). a non-Christian philosopher completing the evolution of pre-Christian thought, the supreme Being has three facets. Perhaps, quite unconsciously, all of us prefer the trinity: trilogy, triptych . . .

The subsequent constructive developments o f a triangle are five- pointed and six-pointed stars. This can be easily seen from Figure 12.1. I am going to dwell on these symbols below.

A triangle repeated four times, which ascends to the sky, is a pyramid. The solar (fire) connection between a triangle and a pyramid was noted by the well-known Russian poet Bal'mont (1914):

I would like to remind you of the words I once said speaking of Mexican symbolism: the solar and highly awesome origin of the Pyr- amid seems to be indubitable. When the evening Sun, especially after

' Thir lollovr from rhc empirically discovered law armlor addition: ifany four inmrirccolor rrimuli arc given, it is alrsgr porr!ble lo writes color cquacion between ihc rnulliplcr or lhesr rlimuli:

WH' = rX + .?Y + :z

Symbols 167

FL 12.1. C~nstruction of a pentacle and Solamon'r Seal from an equilateral triangle (from Goldsmith. 1976).

a storm, pierces the mass of clouds with its rays, one can clearly and distinctly see in the sky a design o f a pyramid crowned by the solar disk. The fire and storm pyramid made of rays and clouds takes thoughts from the Earth up to the sky and to what is there the bright- cst and most powerful, to the Sun. That is why in the countries of sun-worshippers, of Mexicans, Egyptians, or Mayas. the pyramid built on the Earth and ascending to the sky in its prayer is an archi- tectural psalm petrified forever in its reverence. (p. 128-129)

A pyramid is a triangle repeated four times which ascends to thc Sky. (p. 127)

Plinius the naturalist connected the etymology of the word "pyramid" with the Greek word pur ("pyr"), which means fire. In esoteric interpre- tations, a triangle is the symbol of fire. S o it may be that Plinius, as well as many other ancient authors, actually was right because the pyramid, being a ritual edifice, served as a place of initiation where the initiated with the fire of his spirit lifted the veil of Isis, which could be lifted by no other means, to see the Rose of Isis.

It becomes obvious that the Trinity, one of the principal Christian symbols, goes back to the beginnings not of one people but of the whole of mankind. The same is true of other simple symbols, e.g., of the Cross. Here is what Goldsmith (1976) writes on this point:

The Cross is round among the most sacred hieroglyphics of Egypt. It appears thus x (still used as a sign of multiplication), and thus + (the plus sign) and again thus T-the Sacred Tou. And constantly re- peated on all the old Egyptian remains, one sees . . . the C n u An- solo, the Egyptian Ankh. the Key of thc Nile, the Key of Life or the Cross of Egypt. Peculiarly identified with Egypt, yct i t is found as a religious emblem among all the other races of antiquity. (p. 39)

The meaning attached to the crux onsoro-also implied by the sim- pler cross-is "Life to Come." (p. 40)

The Tau Cross was considered a divine symbol by the ancicnt Mex-

168 Experiment

icans, who called it the Tree of Life, Tree of our Flesh, Tree of Nutri- ment. (p. 40-41)

The Cross has been associated with the crossed fire slick of the Chinese, it has been likened to a bird with outstretched wings. to two human figures crossed, and to man himself standing with out- stretched arms. Interpreted in the latter sense as symbolizing the di- vine potential Man-we can understand why criminals were nailed to the cross, the symbol which they had profaned; and why a man who cannot write still signs his name with a cross. (p. 41-42)

The Cross with a w h n l in the centre is one of the oldest symbols o f majesty and power in lndia and was given to Vishnu. (p. 42-43)

T h e swastika is a variety o f the cross. Again 1 quote Goldsmith (1976):

The Swasrikrr is a Sanskrit word composed o f m good and asti be- ing, with the suffix ka, and is the equivalent of "It is well," or "So be it."

It was revered in lndia three thousand years before the Christian era, and is stamped on archaic vases and pottery found in India, Per- sia, China, Italy, Greece. Cyprus; on ancient bronze ornaments in England, France. Etruria; on weapons and various ornaments in Germany and Scandinavia; on Celtic crosses in Ireland and Scotland; and in prehistoric burial grounds in Scandinavia, Mexico. Peru, Yu- catan, Paraguay and the United States.

Apparently it was never adopted by the Phoenicians. Babylonians, Assyrians or Egyptians, although it has been found in Egypt, the in- ference being that it was brought there by the Greeks.

It was used before the Aryans commenced their migrations, and has been called the oldest Aryan symbol. (p. 95)

The Swastika was the cross o f the Manicheans and was their sole symbol. During the second and third centuries the swastika was the only form of cross used by the Christians. (p. 97)

I t seems t h a t t h e appearance o f the well-known cross in Christianity

FIG. 12.2. Various forms of the Labarum (from Goldsmith. 1576).

Symbols 169

RG. 12.3. Schemaric rcprescntation of various forms of the Nubian cross (from Dinkler. 19751.

must be referred to the post-Constantinian epoch (Dinkler, 1975). The famous Loborum, the national banner of Imperial Rome (beginning with Constantine I) bears various images of the Cross, which is simultaneous- ly the monogram of Christ. In Figure 12.2 the reader can see the striking variety o f forms of the Labarum. It can be compared with the principal types of Nubian crosses shown in Figure 12.3.

We notice with amazement that crosses become many-pointed, like stars. They may be three., four-, six-, and eight-pointed; they may also be combined with a circle. The only type lacking is a five-pointed cross, but then we never come across four- or seven-pointed stars: they are dif- ficult to construct [five- and six-pointed stars can be elegantly con- structed of triangles (see Fig. 12.1), and an eight-pointed cross-star can be constructed of two rectilinear quadrangles]. We sometimes came across more complicated compositional symbolics: a four-pointed cross within a five-pointed star. Crosses and stars express the numerical sym- bolism that was distinctly formulated as long ago as by Pythagoras and has its roots in Egypt.

Here I am going to say a few words about the numerical symbol eight. The gnostics and Pythagoreans ascribed to this number a deep mystic meaning: it signified the Great O g d ~ a d , ~ the fullness of divine potentiali- ties. In Christian culture this symbol was retained in the architecture of temples (Catholic and Gregorian) in which the rectilinear octahedron is repeated in the base of the temple, in its dome, etc. Besides, the structure itself of the most widely used four-pointed cross may represent the im- age-pattern of figures resembling eights. Vertical and horizontal compo- nents of the cross are represented by twisted lines whose windings form eights. In mathematics the figure eight placed horizontally represents in- finity.

' oedoad is a term derived rrom ihr Greek bydooda<.

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FIG. 12.4. Nubian crosser (I and 2)(from Dinkler. 1975) and Armenian Khachkarr (3 and 4) (from Stepanyan and Chakmakchyan, 1971).

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FIG. 12.5. Schematic representation of the plans of Armenian rernplcr (from Marutyan. 1976).

When traveling in Armenia, one cannot help but be amazed by the abundance of khachkors, eight-pointed crosses decorated with orna- ments. Some of them are shown in Figure 12.4. [See the book by Stepan- yan and Chakmakchyan (1971)], where they are compared with eight- pointed Nubian crosses. The number eight turned out to be the burden of medieval Armenian architecture [see Fig. 12.5, composed on the basis o f the book by Marutyan (1976)l; however. I failed to find in the literature a meaningful explanation of this phenomenon from the general culluro- logical viewpoint. Historically, this may perhaps be explained by the fact that Armenian spiritual culture was frozen at a level when it was still close to the sources of Christianity, or it may reflect the influence of the Order of the Templars who had their residence in Armenia and whose symbol was an eight-pointed cross.

The semantics of the Cross are considered in detail by Toporov (1979). I shall quote here a short fragment which has a direct bearing on our sub- ject:

The presence of thecenter as acrossing to which everything comes defines the role of the centering effect of the Cross. It is exactly this feature which explains the specific urge towards the center of the subject, the tendency to connect with i t the most intensive and per- sonal drives (the feeling of a special awareness of the center and most intimate relation to it). The center becomes a spot which enables the subject to move venically into the depths of mytho-poetic and reli- gious space with mysteries. The center and the Cross as its bearer, as an indication to it, become the starting and finishing points of medi- tation and prayer. the means providing the maximum psychophysio-

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FIG. 12.6. Children's drawings and phosphenes (below) (from Ostcr. 1970)

logical effect on the depth of thc unconscious and turning these pro- cesses of ascension (deepening) and spiritual sublimation into an effi- cient psychotherapeutic procedure (cf. thc use of the Cross in folk and mystic meditation, in various cases of hypnosis. etc.). (p. 118- 119)

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FIG. 12.7. Simple symbol-likc geomerrical forms occurring in narurc (from Thompson. 1943): (1) a gangliosc cell o f a horse: (2) circular shapes of chromosomes formed in spermatogenesis o f a molc cricket; (3) spermocell o f lnachus in the form it raker in a 5% rolurion o f HNO,; (4) spermoccll of Dromia; (5) star- shaped cells in ihc core of Jencur; (6) diatom Aslerolampro marylondicn.

1 would like to emphasize here the following rather obscure phenome- non: simple geometric symbols are so much inherent in our conscious- ness that they immediately appear in our field of vision when our eyes are mechanically affected [this is called a phosphene; see, for example. Os- ter. 19701. Phosphenes can be met in children's drawings and folk orna- mentations. The reader can see this in Figure 12.6, which is compiled on the basis of the above-mentioned paper by Oster.

Note that both phosphenes and many simple geometric symbols repeat the forms constantly occurring in nature. Figures 12.7 and 12.8 show sev- eral such symbol-like geometric forms of animate nature [according to the book by Thompson (1943)l. We see here three-, five-. six-, and eight- pointed stars, a cross, and a cross-like shape that resembles a crucifix; some of these forms are encircled; in one case chromosomes make a fig- ure resembling an eight. Thompson also emphasizes the fact that ancient artisans reproduced the forms occurring in nature. H e illustrates this ob- servation by comparing flask-shaped corrugated shells with Roman ce- ramics (see Figure 12.9.). The essential thing is that the shells have almost microscopic size: to see them, one needs a magnifying glass. Therefore, i t is hardly possible to claim that a direct borrowing had taken place. Per- haps, the Holy Grail, one of the most vivid and romantic symbols of the European Middle Ages, as well as the Bowl of Buddha, the cup of Jami- shi in Islam, and a cup of Heracles may turn out to be the archetypic symbols whose prototypes are forms o f animate nature. I t seems relevant

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FIG. 12.8. Simple symbol-like geometric forms occurring in nature (continuation): (7-8) several versions of the canal system ofthc rncdusoid (Elcutheria); (9) partitions within the coral Heterophylla: (10) skeleton needles of hssaactinide sponger; (11) polyhedrons on a leaf of the weed Gonicdoma of the Peridinium genus; (12) skeleton needles of calcareous sponges.

FIG. 12.9. Various kinds of microscopic shells of the Lagcn genus and Roman ceramic vessel (below) (from Thompson, 1943).

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to remind the reader that certain biologists believe many geometrical forms observed in the animate world to be determined not by the opti- mality o f their functioning but by a certain pattern indifferent toward the process of adaptation. This suggests that the same forms once were read from the semantic universe immediately by Nature, and another time, by the depths o f our unconscious.

Note that tamgas, the property signs used to mark horses, can also be the material for studying the archetypic origin of symbols. The amazing fact is that they are common for peoples of very different regions. These signs perceived now as identifying marks seem to have played a very sig- nificant part in the life of tribal society. Now it is only the variety of their use which hints at this fact. Below we quote Lavrov (1978). who studied Caucasian tamgas.

Such stamps were somctimcs used to mark the cattle, they were also cur on door-posts and door-folds, on the house pillars, on the wooden dishes, on rattles whose sound accompanied dances, were written on the stone tombs, on road posts or walls of buildings, were painted on banners and rocks as weU as placed on documents instead of signatures and stamps. (p. 91)

Hence it becomes quite obvious these symbols are not only property marks but also signs of its magic protection. In Figures 12.10 and 12.1 1, the reader can see several Crimean and Kalmyk tamgas as well as signs from Western Europe. America, and the Canary Islands borrowed from the above-mentioned book by Lavrov. Try to compare them with the Ro- man labarums in Figure 12.1.

And now a few concluding remarks. Sometimes it is said that meaning in its most compact form is manifested through Symbol (see, for exam- ple, Scholem, 1976). However, it is clear that the Symbol is not a com- mon code sign. The semantics underlying it is so vague it cannot be de- coded through our common everyday texts. The only thing we can do is to say something about Symbols that embraces their history. Symbols have a startling property: they can acquire new meanings without losing the old ones, despite their seemingly complete incompatibility.

I already mentioned that the swastika symbol had been attributed a new meaning. The same is true of Solomon's seal. The history of this symbol is illuminated in detail by Scholem (1976). It turns out that it be- came a symbol of Judaism only in the nineteenth century, when the Jews started on the road of national renaissance and consolidation.

Earlier it had not been opposed to other symbols and occurred not only in Judaism but also in Arab and Christian cultures. Sometimes it served as a symbol and sometimes merely as part of an ornamentation. combined with a five-pointed star and a swastika. The six-pointed star can be seen on the title pages of occult and mystic books edited in the

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FIG. 12.1 1. Tamgas from: Wesrern Europe (3); America (4); Canaries (5) (from Lavrov, 1978).

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FIG. 12.12. Frequency of occurrence of words denoting numbers (from unity to twenty) in the Bible. The firmre is comooscd on the basis of "Sym~honv." an index cdi- . . . . tion indicating the places of occurrence for all the words in the Biblc. For each word denoting, a number. all its derivatives were taken; c.n.. the word "three" . unites such words as "third." "thrice." "trinity." etc. The total number of words in the Bible denoting numbers from I to 20 is 1.471.

nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when it already seemed to be asso- ciated with Judaism.

The pentacle has acquired even greater significance: it became the sym- bol of the Masonic Order and of the Soviet Union and its army; it also entered the national banner of the United States. In the remote past, both of these stars had been the magic symbols of power and could act as talismans, though the corresponding numbers had been charged with rather specific notions which, as a curiosity, have been preserved to the present. Here is one of the typical occult descriptions of the number five (Papus, 1910):

But 5, which is the number of the fall, is also rhe number of will, and will is an instrument of restoration.

The initiated know why the replacement of four by five is only temporally pernicious; how man, split in his integrity and lying in the mud after the fall, learns to win a personality. truly free and con- scious. He returns after his fall stronger and greater; thus evil follows the good only temporally. in order to make true what is better.

This number 5 contains deep mysteries; but we have to stop here so as not to start ceaseless digressions. (p. 128)

I should emphasize here that the Symbol plays a specific role: a new conceptualization attributed to it acquires a new status; it enters human consciousness organically and becomes part of it. At some deep levels of consciousness, the new becomes inseparable from the old determined by

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the entire past of the culture. Moreover, the new strengthens the old. Acting in a new way in a new situation, a person preserves integrity in his succession to the old. And hence comes the emotional force of the Symbol.

The Symbol is a key unlocking our consciousness for an extralogical perception of the new. The possession of Symbols is, perhaps, the most remarkable distinction between human consciousness and computer in- telligence. Despite all the differences between human consciousness and computer intelligence, we must acknowledge with amazement that the number itself may act as a symbol, i.e., again as a key unlocking con- sciousness. The role of numerical symbolics can be traced quantitatively by making a frequency analysis o f words denoting numbers in the texts of ancient cultures. As an illustration, Figure 12.12 represents the fre- quency of occurrence of such words in the Bible. Obviously predominant are the numbers three, seven, ten, and twelve. This seems to have n o other explanation than the sacral nature of these numbers. However. the text under study lacks even a mythological explanation of this sacral na- ture. It is likely to go back to some very deep levels of consciousness. It is relevant to ask here: Is it possible that statistical analysis of the frequency of occurrence of words denoting numbers can become an instrument for comparing the unconscious in cultures with different historical pasts? This may lead us to one of the fundamental problems: What is the invari- ant o f the unconscious?

The study of the role of symbols in human history is a study of the un- conscious in an experiment which has been going on for dozens o f cen- turies.

In this chapter 1 must at least briefly touch upon fnondolo, one o f the principal concepts of Eastern spiritual life. In a somewhat schematic manner we might say that mandala is a further development of a simple geometric symbol: its transformation into a complex image, a pattern re- flecting the state of consciousness achieved in the process of meditation.

I quote here the book by Govinda (19760):

"Mandal r i raSanrkri l word. Icr l i lcrd meaning is: round, a(rolar)dirf , acirclc. awhecl, agroup, a c t r c l ~ 01 pcople, quanlily. manifold, a way, an orb% a halo (around the run) , a ball. #he rclinue o f ihr INar, a region, a counlry. ,he name olchaplerr in "Rigvcda." The circlr ir a symbol vidcly used in lhc Earc.and it has numerous incrmreta!ionr.On iheonr hand.!hir ir ihcrymbolof chcvorldcurvacurr-oi space. time, and l i ie in icr cndlerr c y c k rcpc!itionr; ic may bcraid toopporc ihr Wmern linearity o i i h e World pcrceplion giving rise lo ihc naiw idcar o i cvolulion and inuolucmn. On chc olhrr hand, a circle conmining a poinl mridc cncirclcd by conccnlric circlcr ir a projrclion o i ihc cone whore a ~ c x a pcrron rlrirer lo arhicw in medication, parsing through many vorldr.

The mandala is like a map of the inner world. which we want to ex- plore and realize in the great venture of meditation. (p. 60)

At the same time the author of the above-mentioned book emphasizes that "a mandala can have no meaning for people who have no idea of the underlying tradition and symbology" (p. 60).

Mandala may be given by the symbolism of Buddha's postures:

The Buddha-like all Enlightened Ones-is represented as sitting on a lotus throne. The lotus is the prototme of all mandalas, all cen- tralized systems of a spiritual universe of intricate relationships. It is the prototype of all Cakras or psychic centers, in which the chaos of unconscious forces is transformed into a meaningful cosmos, and in which individual existence finds its fulfillment in the final realization of Enlightenment, the state of completeness (the state of being en- tirely "whole," which we call "holy"). (p. 102)

It is also emphasized that the emergence of the mandala in conscious- ness should be preceded by certain preparedness:

The structure of the mandala itself, which precedes the visualiza- tion of the divine figures, must have been thoroughly f i ed in the mind before the actual meditation begins. The mandala is built in the form of a universal temple on top of the sacred mountain, reprcsent- ing the axis of the universe (and corresponding to the spinal column of the meditator). This temple is open to the four directions of space. and in each of the four entrances stands one of the guardians of the threshold. The temple is surrounded by three protective circles: first a circle of lotus petals symbolizing the purity of heart, as basis for the ten transcendental virtues; second, a circle of diamond scepters (vaj- ras), symbolizing the strength and determination of the concentrated mind; and third, a circle of flames, representing the purifying force of higher knowledge, in the fire of which all dross and impurities are burned away, and in which everything that had coagulated is lique- fied and integrated into one great upsurging experience. (p. 95)

The last words of this quotation can be compared with our conception of the continuous nature of the deep layers of our consciousness where discrete (coagulated) notions determined by words, discrete signs of our language, are interpreted (Nalimov, 19810).

If we turn now to Western culture, we may claim Orthodox icons (the true ones, not used for the sake of decoration), as well as Catholic sculp- tures. also to be mandalas. The tradition of Christian monastic medita- tion-prayer included the visualization of Christ's image; this is again a mandala whose emergence was preceded by a specific tuning. Many scholars are prone to believe that the cardinal difference between the Ori- ental religious outlook and the Western one is revealed through the dif- ference between mandalas. I believe, however, that the principal differ-

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ence concerns the traditions determining the prior disposition. O n a very deep level we are dealing with the manifestation of one and the same property inherent in human consciousness and remaining invariant in the entire variety of its manifestation. In contrast t o simple geometric sym- bols, a concrete mandala is not invariant toward several cultures.

Of great interest is the spontaneous appearance of mandalas in the work of the artists not specially prepared for this. The image of Demon by the Russian poet M. Yu. Lermontov (1814-1841) and especially that by the Russian painter M. A. Brubel (1856-1910) are naturally perceived as spontaneous mandalas. The pictures by M. K. h l i o n i s (1875-191 I). a remarkable Lithuanian artist and composer, a re undoubtedly mandalas though they are hardly predetermined by the traditions of Catholicism in which he was brought up. This brings forth the following question: To what degree was Ciurlionis himself prepared to comprehend his own works? Perhaps the cause of his mental disease was his unpreparedness for what descended on him, while his soul was yet unprotected and open?

I have noticed with a certain amazement the mantra-like nature o f the pictures by the contemporary Lithuanian painter Grushas Bronus. His pictures in the technique of glass-plastics are mostly o f the same kind. Roughly speaking, they may be called abstract, though they generally contain an image o f an object, which as a rule can be perceived as the feminine essence becoming a symbol of the universal cosmic essence. T o understand these pictures, one has to resort to the book by Grof (l975), who in his experiments with LSD demonstrated that his experimental rec- ords were full of experiences of the intrauterine life. Such an experience helps the patients to open up a n extremely rich semantic matrix in their consciousness. Perhaps an artist during his creative work also tries to re- experience the intrauterine life so as to enter an altered state of con- sciousness and, probably, push the viewers of his work toward it. Be- sides. one of Bronus's favorite images is a vortex, and this reminds us of the Hindu cosmic concepts in which not only space was curved but time as well, and the universe could be represented as a gigantic mandala com- posed of symbols situated or moving circularly and illustrating the inter- action or overlapping of spiritual and cosmic forces [for details see Gov- inda (1976a), p. 258-2591. A picture by Grushas Bronus is presented in Figure 12.13.

In a broad sense a mandala is a n image that directly affects our uncon- scious, beyond any conceptualization and, moreover. not yielding t o any conceptualization. At the same time it is void of any directly felt emo- tional charge such as that which is usually inherent in landscapes o r other objective paintings. If this is actually so, then such new trends in art as abstract painting represent stubborn attempts t o find new mandalas. And instead of absurdly resisting these trends, our art critics had better

FIG. 12.13 A piclure by Grurhar Branus: Woman wi lh Dove.

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become acquainted with the psychology of the unconscious. As a matter of fact, these trends made use of certain deep states of human conscious- ness. organically inherent in us. Of interest is the rejection of these forms of art by broad circles of intellectuals: I believe this to be a manifestation of the protective agressiveness of modern culture which demands that consciousness be locked in a conceptualized outlook.

From my viewpoint, a still life is also a mandala, since the objectivity of a still life is objectless. What meaning, for example, does an image of a tomato have for a spectator? Why should i t haveany emotional or con- ceptual charge? I remember how at the exhibition of Morandi's still lifes I was struck by the fact the museum was far from crowded: there were only a few people in its halls. Indeed, the paintings seemed to be endless versions of the same clay jars and other vessels. But a person who re- mained in front of one painting for some time started to feel the waves coming from the depth of the painter's consciousness and filling the hall. You could almost hear them.

In the fourth part of this book, we are going to speak of our own ex- perimental results and describe the mandalas obtained by painters while meditating over word semantics.

D. Concluding Remarks

Why do symbols so powerfully affect us? The question does not seem too difficult to answer if we turn again to the probabilistic model of con- sciousness. We have to acknowledge that one of the remarkable peculiar- ities of our consciousness which distinguishes i t from a computer consists in the fact that its unconscious component can be revealed through sym- bols that provoke the spontaneous emergence of new and unexpected preference functions pblp) which generate new value concepts p@Jy) while solving a new problem y. The essential thing is that the symbol which has provoked the reconstruction of value concepts does not relate to the new problem y in a way noticeable for our reflective conscious- ness. The new value orientation opens up a new vision of the situation, gives rise to a new Doing, and makes possible a new conceptualization that justifies Doing on the conscious level. The suddenness of the value re-evaluation is fraught with an emotional shock. The possibility of a new Doing liberates the sleeping potential of a person and sometimes of society.

What is said above is nothing more than an attempt at a phenomeno- logical description of consciousness. Its mechanism. if any, remains hid- den. As follows from the term itself, the unconscious should not have any mechanism. And if this is actually so. consciousness as a whole re- mains spontaneous, i.e., void of mechanism. Perhaps the only thing we

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can do is to give phenomenological descriptions without trying to con- ceptualize.

The reader may be surprised that I have not said a single word about the Freudian interpretation of symbols. The reason is that I believe Freud- ianism to be too deterministic. It absorbed the rigid scientific positivism of the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. It is senseless to criticize Freudianism, which is merely boring in its Pandeterrninism.