Symbology 101: The Cross
Equally stretching, balancing opposites, the cross is a symbol of the body. We all have one so as much as we would like to believe that this existence is all about reaching a lofty spiritual height, it is prudent to remember that none of this would be possible without your body. You would have no emotional life if you had no body to contain it. You would have no intellectual capacity if you had no physical brain to drive it. Your passion would not be able to manifest in the physical realm without the body to create it. So your body is not just about the earth element, it is the platform that allows you to experience all four elements. Hence the equilateral cross.
The High Priestess prominently wears the cross at her heart centre to remind us that enlightenment is not possible without a body. One of the lessons of the High Priestess is that your body is your temple. Like a temple you need to take care of it.
Judgement also prominently displays the cross. The lesson here is that when you hear “The Call” you must be physically able to respond. Your response – ability is in large part dependent upon your physical well being.
Both the Emperor and the Hanged Man create the cross with the position of their legs. The Emperor wears armour telling us of his need to protect the body as it is the driving force of his experience. (fronting the Cube of Space. see Symbology 101: The Square). The Hanged Man is telling us a different story. His legs are clad in red (colour of desire), which he is suspending. In his surrender he is denying his physical desires (the sacrifice) to gain greater wisdom. Essentially, instead of eating the chocolate chip cookies, he is prepared to fast to find clarity.
The Devil also wears the cross but it is small and insignificant beneath the sign of the Taurus. We may assume that the Devil is all about the body but this combined symbol is saying something else. Remember that the Devil is about being bound by an illusion. Here the idea of the manner of the body is more important than the body itself. The driving force behind any effective cult.
Today I contemplate the equilateral cross and the balance it suggests. As much as I need to eat 3 meals a day, I also need to move, experience and create to be in balance.
