Symbols
Seeds we must sow in our mind
November 13th 2012
A symbol is like a seed planted in the ground. Initiates bury every symbol in their mind, as if it were a seed, and they water it often. Gradually a stem appears, and it grows and becomes stronger until it becomes a huge tree. The initiate is delighted and works in the tree’s shade, gathering its fruit and sowing the seeds again, and everything is repeated.
The world of symbols is a living world. Just as the seed contains a whole tree in potential, so a symbol synthesizes a whole area of knowledge. If you ask me, ‘But what is a symbol for?’ I will ask you, ‘And what is a seed for?’ Working with ten or so symbols, we possess all knowledge. We cannot take a huge library with us wherever we go, but contained within a few symbols we carry all the sacred books of humanity, for all the books can be summed up in a few symbols. But in order to decipher these symbols and allow them to speak to us, we have to bring them alive in us.