Definition
A form, image, gesture or narrative that makes a set of meanings present beyond its immediate appearance.
The same symbol may change meanings depending on the time and community. The cross, lotus, circle or snake do not have universal meaning detached from any context.
To be retained
- Identify context
- Listen to the interpreters involved
- Accepting the plurality of meanings
- Avoiding invented universal codes
Origin of the term and context
The Greek symbol used to designate a broken object, two halves of which allowed recognition. The symbol thus combines a visible form and a shared meaning.
Why does it matter?
The study of signs explains their cultural and cognitive uses. Esoteric interpretations can be meaningful for a group without constituting historical or scientific evidence.
- Identify context
- Listen to the interpreters involved
- Accepting the plurality of meanings
- Avoiding invented universal codes
How can it be explored or practised?
- Select a symbol and compare three traditions
- Identify date and area of use
- Ask who is allowed to wear it
- Create a personal symbol without claiming a foreign tradition
Misconceptions and points of caution
- Visual resemblance does not prove a filiation.
- A sacred symbol is not always decorative.
- Not all interpretations are historically equivalent.
Perspectives from different traditions
- Semiotic: relationship between sign, use and interpreter.
- Religions: presence, memory or teaching according to contexts.
- Jung: psychic symbols, influential frame but not proof of a measurable collective unconscious.
To go further
- L-man and his symbols — Carl Gustav Jung, read backwards
- Symbol life — Semiotic studies