the sign of signs : the many permutations of the cross

the cross has been described as the sign of signs .............................................................................................................................................................................................

the cross symbol

THE SOLAR CROSS
the circular shape of the sun which emphasises the ever
recurring cyclical nature of the seasons is the origin of the
this neolithic symbol. it combines a cross within a circle
and is the simplest conceivable representation of the union
of opposed polarities. probably the oldest symbol in the
world, it appeared in asian, american, european, and indian art
from the dawn of history.

the same symbol is also called
THE WHEEL CROSS
there are two types of wheel crosses:
the four-armed freestanding cross representing shadows
cast by the rising and setting sun at the two solstices,
and the six-armed cross created by addition of the equinoctial
sunrise and sunset shadows.
the one with four spokes, which wheels in time lost their rim,
became ‘real’ crosses.

THE INDIAN CROSS OR SWASTIKA
the swastika is an ancient symbol that has been used for 4000 years.
artifacts of the the harappan civilization show a pre-veda,
pre-aryan and pre-hindu origin of the swastika.
the word swastika comes from the sanskrit ‘svastika’.
the word can be divided into the components
sva (one's own) and astika (it is).
it is a symbol of auspiciousness: it has been used as a
symbol of the sun, of the four directions (N,E,S, W),
of the world-wheel (the eternally changing world,
round a fixed, unchanging centre or god)...
the image of the swastika was used by many cultures
around the world, including in near and far east ,
north america, africa and europe.
of all the symbols and marks produced by ancient and
modern man the swastika is the most contradictory.
the consequences of the false relationship between
it and its ‘modern corporate identity’, the swastika became
inextricably wed to the hitlerian cult of german nationalism
and racism.

THE TAU CROSS
in ancient egypt the tau was used, along with a type of
hammer-headed cross and the swastika, to mark sacred water
jars and, in a country where the erect phallus was everywhere
in evidence as a religious icon.
the tau may have developed from the widespread and
ancient symbol of the sun god (solar cross / wheel cross)
- which may itself have evolved into a hammer, possibly
connected with the growth in importance of the smith in later
iron age times. the act of hammering white-hot ingots
of metal into functional or sacred artefacts was in itself an
act of creation with a phallic implication.
it is also known to be a symbol of the roman god mithras and
the greek attis (in the shape of the greek letter ‘T’).
the tau was known as the ‘cross’ of the christian old testament,
supposed to be the mark made by faithful israelites to
distinguish them from those of their kinsfolk who had lapsed
into paganism.

THE EGYPTIAN CROSS OR ANKH
the ‘ankh’ is an ancient egyptian hieroglyph representing life
and regeneration. called also ‘crux ansata’ which means
cross with a handle. it was adopted by the gnostics and the
copts as the symbolic representation of both physical and eternal life.
the top loop symbolises the sun on the horizon.
amulets and mirrors were often made in the shape of an ankh.
a modified version of the ankh symbol is used in astrology to
represent the planet venus, in alchemy to represent the
element copper,and in biology to identify the female sex.

THE GREEK CROSS
the cross with 4 arms of equal length was a common sign
in ancient greece, in pre-columbian america, in the near east,
and in the euphrates-tigris region around 1500 B.C.
it is found on assyrian and persian monuments and tablets,
greek coins and statues.
this cross appears in our world in a variety of contexts,
for example the symbol for the red cross is a red greek cross.

THE COPTIC CROSS
the coptic alphabet is variant of the greek alphabet
containing a number of extra letters which come from
the egyptian script. the coptic alphabet came into being
during the 1-3rd century BC after the greek conquest of egypt
and the subsequent spread of the indigenous form of christianity
(coptic orthodox christianity). according to tradition, the apostle
mark established in egypt in the middle of the first century CE
(approximately 60 AD). coptic crosses reflect a number of historic
influences including greek, latin, egyptian, and celtic design
elements.

THE CHI-RHO CROSS
it is composed of the greek letters ‘chi’ (which looks like an
english ‘X’ and sounds like a ‘ch’) and rho (which looks like
an english capital ‘P’ and sounds like an ‘r’).
these two greek letters are the first two letters in the greek word
‘christos’. as a pre-christian symbol, the chi-ro signified good fortune.
it became an important christian symbol when adopted by the
roman emperor constantine, in the fourth century.
this style of cross is nearly identical to the pagan symbol for the
sun and constantine was a sunworshipper before and after he
was converted to christianity. he made the cross the standard of his
armies. when christianity later became the state religion of the
roman empire, the cross became the symbol of the church.

THE LATIN- OR ROMAN CROSS
the latin cross or ‘crux immissa’ is the most popular form of crosses.
during the first three centuries of christianity, the cross was
rare in christian iconography (although it is found on coins,
medals, and ornaments anteriour to the christian era and
descriptions of it are found in christian writings from the
early 2nd century onwards. the cross first became prominent
in christian imagery during the late 3rd century).
the upper arm of the latin cross and the two side arms are of
equal length while the lower arm is twice as long as any of the
other three. it was on this cross that christ is said to have been
crucified, and thus it became accepted as the christian cross.

THE SAINT ANDREW CROSS
is a decussate cross that takes the form of the roman number 10,
of an 'X' shape or saltire.
according to tradition st. andrew, the brother of st. peter, was crucified on
a cross of this shape. st. andrew did not feel worthy enough to die
on the same typology of cross that christ had died and requested
a cross of different shape. st. andrew's cross came into wide use
during the medieval period and became the national cross of scotland,
since st. andrew was the patron saint of scotland.

THE SAINT PETER CROSS
st. peter was executed on an upside down cross.
it is used also as a symbol of satanism.

THE CELTIC CROSS
in celtic regions of britain, scotland and ireland many free-standing
upright crosses were erected, beginning from the 8th century.
the celtic cross is a cross with a circle overlying the point where
the lines meet. a legend tells how st. patrick created the first
celtic cross by drawing a circle over a latin cross to incorporate
a pagan moon goddess symbol.

THE LORRAIN- OR ORTHODOX CROSS
the cross lorraine, named after the region in france of the
same name; the form of the cross is used primarily in the
russian orthodox church.
the upper bar represents the inscription, abbreviated
INRI, that pilate had placed above jesus' head.
the slanted bar is lost in legend.
maybe the slanted bar forms a st. andrew's cross.
it is a symbol for white lead in alchemical texts.

THE BAPTISMAL CROSS
is a cross with eight arms / a cross, which is superimposed
on a greek ‘chi’, the first letter of the greek word for ‘christ’.
since the number eight is symbolic of rebirth or regeneration,
this cross is often used as a baptismal cross.

THE PAPAL CROSS
this cross is the official emblem of the papal office.
it may be used by none other than the pope himself.
the three bars represent the pope's three realms of authority:
the church, the world and heaven.

THE ANCHOR CROSS
this cross was the emblem of st. clement, bishop of rome,
who according to tradition was tied to an anchor and tossed
into the sea by the emperor trajan.
it has been the anchor cross and the firm faith which keep
ed christians steady in the storms of life.
based on hebrews 6:19 which reads, ‘we have this hope,
a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters
the inner shrine behind the curtain.’

ALCHEMY ELEMENT SYMBOLS
some alchemical elements bear the cross sign.
for example the alchemical symbol for sulfur,
which was a triangle at the top of a cross.
(there is the biblical story of entateuch / genesis
in which hell is thought of to smell of sulfur...)

MATHEMATICAL SIGN
in mathematics a cross is regarded as a
‘plus sign’, which means ‘add this to that’ or
‘more than’ or just ‘and’ or ‘plus’.
it appears for the first time in germany in 1489.

THE ROSICRUCIAN OR ROSE CROSS
the hermetic rose cross is a very old mystical symbol.
the rose symbolized the redemptive power of the blood of christ;
the letters inscribed on the 4 central rays combine into INRI,
which combination represents a latin motto meaning
‘nature is completely renewed by fire’.
the symbol as a whole illustrated the triumph of spirit over matter.
in the center of the rose cross there is another rose cross,
smaller but conceptually identical.
this is the microcosm that mirrors the macrocosm.
surrounding the inner cross are 22 petals containing the
22 letters of the hebrew alphabet, each colored according to
kabbalistic attributions.
the end of each arm is inscribed with symbols of the
three principles of alchemy: mercury, sulfur and salt.
thus each arm can be mapped to important trinities.

THE CROSS IN ASTROLOGY
in astrology, a cross sign is really more of a symbol because
it has many levels of meaning beyond the unambiguous
name which indicates a particular sector of the sky.
after all, astrology is a symbolic language!
since ancient times a cross might mean ‘the cross of matter’,
which is basically what it represents in astrology, where it
appears as ‘the cardinal cross’.
the vertical bar symbolizes spirit which interpenetrates the
horizontal bar representing matter, or the earth plane (horizon line).
the symbol of a cross within a circle is used to represent the
part of fortune in astrology, but it can also represent the earth itself.

THE CROSS FORMEE BRANCHEE
is a greek cross, ancerated with 'v's cut into the ends.
the cross is almost akin to a modern maltese cross.

THE MALTESE CROSS
is a greek cross or irregular dodecahedron cross,
whose points flange out at the end.
the eight outer points of this cross are symbolic of regeneration.
they are sometimes said to represent the eight beatitudes.
it represents the sign of the military order of the knights of malta
and is a symbol of protection and a badge of honor.
in its evolution it is of medieval origin.

---
page 2 of 3
see :

page 1