Ancient symbols, archetypes, our minds

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I have to learn for tomorrow's exam, but I was browsing one gallery and found an image, a symbol that brought up one of my favourite things about comparative religion - symbols.

The "archetypal" symbols of spiral, circle, pentagram, swastika and others are met throughout the world and time. They appear in cave engravings, cave paintings, medieval churches, Aztec and Buddhist temples, nowaday religions, are drawn from ancient scriptures and by psychiatric patients.

So, the image that triggered my interest today was "indalo" (link).

Indalo is an ancient Andalusian symbol. The original image, dating from Neolithic times, can still be seen in the "Cave of the Signboards" at Almeria, in Southern Spain. He appears as the figure of a man carrying a rainbow between his hands, alongside figures of animals, horned men, and a number of odd symbols.

The name Indalo is derived from the latin phrase "Indal Eccius," or "Messenger of the Gods."

Indalo's original meaning and purpose has been lost, but it most likely represents a Shaman or a God figure.Today, the figure is closely associated with the village of Mojacar, and is used there as a symbol of luck and good fortune, and to ward off evil. Like the Native American Kokopelli, he is often emblazoned on businesses, homes, and souvenirs for tourists.

And this is an image I drew on my bedroom wall some six months ago:

It's not an absolute copy, but the theme is one and can be recognized.
And either way, this is or isn't the case, such symbols seem to be hardwired in our brains.
Popular meanings and specifics, artistic details, etc. may change from culture to culture and from millenia to millenia, but when we see them, we recognize them at once,
and maybe, like possibly in my case, we have drawn them ourselves before seeing them anywhere else.

So it's a fact that they are, but here's the next question I'd like to discuss in this thread: why they are and what importance they may hold in understanding ourselves and the humanity better?

 

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And the funny thing about in the description of Indalo: He appears as the figure of a man carrying a rainbow between his hands, alongside figures of animals, horned men, and a number of odd symbols.

And here're the walls of my room again. Horned men and plant/animals.

The image is too bright from my flash, because the pencil graphite reflects light very well,
I tried to lessen the brightness a bit, but if you can't make it out, those at the bottom are two hands from which some plants grow. At the top is a face formed from eyes, a nose and horn/insect antennae/eyebrow things.

 

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By the way:

He appears as the figure of a man carrying a rainbow between his hands, alongside figures of animals, horned men, and a number of odd symbols.

I didn't draw it as a rainbow, those are rays of light formed by the movement of hands starting from the hands being together at then lowering in an ark like movement.
So maybe modern interpreters are wrong and it's not actually a rainbow in the Andalusian case.

For me it's a symbol/a representation of a feeling of enlightenment/vision and the beauty of the world that is seen as a result of that vision.

So although "Indalo's original meaning and purpose has been lost", I know the meaning and purpose of my indalo, and because it is likely they are one symbol, maybe we can discover the meaning of symbols which "original meaning has been lost" through ourselves - our own brains and minds.

I think that there is no historical origin of symbols, but the only source is the mind, therefore in reality there are no ancient symbols, because they manifest not in particular time and space, but from a particular psyche.

So by exploring our own minds, we may explore the minds of our ancestors, and generations to come.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I have to learn for tomorrow's exam, but I was browsing one gallery and found an image, a symbol that brought up one of my favourite things about comparative religion - symbols.

The "archetypal" symbols of spiral, circle, pentagram, swastika and others are met throughout the world and time. They appear in cave engravings, cave paintings, medieval churches, Aztec and Buddhist temples, nowaday religions, are drawn from ancient scriptures and by psychiatric patients.

So, the image that triggered my interest today was "indalo" (link).

Indalo is an ancient Andalusian symbol. The original image, dating from Neolithic times, can still be seen in the "Cave of the Signboards" at Almeria, in Southern Spain. He appears as the figure of a man carrying a rainbow between his hands, alongside figures of animals, horned men, and a number of odd symbols.

Or, rather, an eye from where the whole universe springs from.....?

 

[TruthSeeker]

Do you see the eye? That also fits perfectly with your interpretation of enlightnment...

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

So it's a fact that they are, but here's the next question I'd like to discuss in this thread: why they are and what importance they may hold in understanding ourselves and the humanity better?

Archetype is a fairly recent concept. This is more my wife's bailiwick but I'm pretty sure that in its current well-developed form, it's Carl Jung's work. I do not believe there is any generic answer to your question. Each archetype--story, visual image or whatever--is subject to its own analysis, which will take you down a unique path for each one.

If you're looking for something at a more abstract level, and me telling you, "Hey, each one is just another kind of instinct," isn't enough, you're going to have to delve into academe. I avoid urging people to read Jung because I'm a bright guy and he's too heavy for me. But perhaps you should read one of his popularizers. Joseph Campbell in particular had a lot to say about archetypes and he is extremely accessible. I've had friends with the most humble educations tell me how much they learned from him. His public television series was excellent and it's easy to get on DVD. My wife recommends it to everybody and she really knows this stuff.

 

[whitewolf]

I knew it was a rainbow coming out of a man's hands before I read the explanation.

Now, to your "why". That's a pretty big question and the answer is not simply somewhere on the table. Some might say that it's because we all come from common ancestors, others might say it's because of gods, others might say it's aliens, others might say it's telepathy, others might say our brains are wired that way. See? I say science is the slowest but most firm path to the answer.

What importance? The archetypes are a big, significant piece in the puzzle. To study them individually, I would suggest digging into cultural anthropology and all mythologies indiscriminately. I suggest this to you because I know you've read a good deal of Joseph Campbell already. Jung is good as well, but he is rather general. It appears to me that Joseph Campbell is better for studying archetypes because Jung comes from a different time. It seems you wish for a more in-depth study; so you should go for it. But remember, it is only another piece in the puzzle, not the answer itself.

I wouldn't separate archetypes from psychiatry though. I would note that, while archetypes are common, they might not be absolutely the same on individual basis. Because everyone's life experience is unique, everyone's perspective differs, even if very slightly. I am sure there is a person out there who would look at that indalo and say the man is throwing cards.

 

[charles brough]

I have to learn for tomorrow's exam, but I was browsing one gallery and found an image, a symbol that brought up one of my favourite things about comparative religion - symbols.

The "archetypal" symbols of spiral, circle, pentagram, swastika and others are met throughout the world and time. They appear in cave engravings, cave paintings, medieval churches, Aztec and Buddhist temples, nowaday religions, are drawn from ancient scriptures and by psychiatric patients.

So, the image that triggered my interest today was "indalo" [/img]

I hope you did not mean to imply that you had a pre-congnition that caused the appearance of the symbol again or previously! Anyway, I might note that there is a voluminous history of secret societies with most of them dealing a lot with symbols. The masons, the Shriners, and all the even older ones as well as the college campus fraternaties and the sports teams all use them. Perhaps you have noticed that more and more highway and street signs use symbols instead of words. No parking, for example, is now a P with a cross across it. Symbols are visual and more easier and quicker to grasp.

charles,

 

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Precognition has nothing to do with the creation of symbols, I don't know why you even mention that.
Based on my experience Indalo seems to be an archetypal symbol.

The masons, the Shriners, and all the even older ones as well as the college campus fraternaties and the sports teams all use them.

Why do you mention some recent American silliness? Secret societies have been the part of humanity since the most ancient times. And yes, they use the symbols, but archetypal symbols are more than a creation for some specific purpose (secret society or otherwise), they're a part of our brains and how we perceive and interpret the world.

 

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Because everyone's life experience is unique, everyone's perspective differs, even if very slightly. I am sure there is a person out there who would look at that indalo and say the man is throwing cards.

Good argument, but I don't agree with the last sentence.
It's not about the person who looks at the symbol, but about the person who draws the symbol.
I don't think anyone would draw that and think of a man throwing cards. But then, it's just me.

 

[whitewolf]

The question that's been puzzling me for a while is not why does the symbol exist, but why is it drawn. Since you are my nearest living example, I'll pose the question to you: Why did you draw those symbols on the walls of your room? It certainly wasn't for history or for communication with others.

 

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It is to do with communication with myself. To pinpoint, to encase the state of my psyche in a materially permanent form, so I can look at it and thus look into my mind, remind myself of my mind.
Those are psychological devices much like Tibetan mandalas and native American sand paintings.

Of course I didn't realize that when I was drawing them, then it was just an impulse I didn't analyze.