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Spiritual Symbols -
Gods and Goddesses
Many cultures
feature gods and goddesses as important spiritual symbols. The belief
that a single supreme god is the force behind life itself and the
mysteries of the universe and evolution is shared by many different
cultures. These supreme gods are spiritual symbols of the meaning of
life. The following list identifies the supreme god for each individual
culture:
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Celtic - Dagda (All Powerful God)
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Inca - Viracocha (Lord of the World)
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Maori - Papatuanuku (Goddess of Earth and mother of the people)
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Hindu - Vishnu (Supreme God)
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Polynesia - Tangaroa (Supreme God)
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Ancient Egyptians - Isis (Great Goddess)
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India - Shakti (Ultimate Creative Force)
Spiritual Symbols -
Mythical Beasts
Many of the mythical
beasts which appear in the myths and legends of different countries
can be described as spiritual symbols. These include the Unicorn,
Minotaur, Salamander, Centaur, Hydra and Ky-Lin. The unicorn is a
spiritual symbol which is symbolic to followers of the Christian
faith as the creature represents Christ. The Unicorn is also
significant to the Chinese as it represents good will, wisdom and
long life.
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Spiritual Symbols
- Buddhism
Buddhism was
founded over 2.500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama. It is a belief which
is centered around compassion,
non-violence and charity and its ultimate goal is spiritual enlightenment.
Important spiritual symbols in the Buddhist faith include the Wheel of Law,
Prayer Wheel and the 'Sanga' or monastic order.
Buddhism has many spiritual symbols including the wheel of law, the
footprint of Buddha and the prayer wheel. To reach the ultimate state of
Nirvana, followers of Buddhism have many individual spiritual symbols. |
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Spiritual Symbols -
Catholic
Followers of the Catholic Church
believe in God and Jesus Christ. All Catholics share the belief that
Jesus died to save us from sin and his resurrection offers salvation to
all who follow the faith. Significant Catholic spiritual symbols
include the cross, the bible, rosary beads, communion and saints.
The Chi-Rho Christogram is one of the
best known catholic spiritual symbols and an example of the symbol is pictured on
the right. It is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an
abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ. The symbol is formed by
superimposing the first two letters Chi and Rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ"
which translates to Christ.
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Spiritual Symbols -
Hinduism
The term Hinduism
is used when describing followers of the Hindu religion however most
followers refer to themselves as 'sanatana dharma' which means external
law or religion. Brahma (Creator), Shiva
(Destroyer), Vishnu (Preserver) and Ganesha (New Ventures) are all gods
which are important in the Hindu faith. Hinduism has hundreds of other
spiritual symbols and objects of worship.
The cow is extremely sacred
to followers of the Hindu religion and is a spiritual symbol of fertility. Its
slaughter is banned in the Hindu faith and the animal is also an
important food source (milk). Even the legs of the cow are symbolic as
each one represents on of the four castes.
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Spiritual Symbols -
Jewish
The Star of David, Kippah
and Torah are all examples of Jewish spiritual symbols which are
important to followers of Judasim.
The sacred book of Judaism
is called the Torah and comprises four levels of meaning: literal,
allegorical, homiletically and mystical. It is an extremely important
part of the Jewish religion to study the holy scriptures of the Torah.
The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch and is the first five books of
the Hebrew bible. The Torah scriptures are a set of rules or laws which
were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, they helped Moses to lead the Jewish
people from captivity in Egypt to Israel, a journey known as the Exodus |
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Spiritual Symbols
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