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CONTEXTUALIZING THE CROSS
The Cross is a symbol mostly associated with Christianity, but its use predates Catholicism by millennia and has occurred on several continents in other cultural and spiritual practices. In Europe pre-Christian usages in Pagan rituals are documented through petroglyphs and other representations. The Cross has its four directional geometry which lends itself to many symbolic meanings – cardinal points, seasons, elements, etc.
As Christianity conquered Europe we see the Pagan cross and the Christian one cross-pollinate and merge in interesting ways. An amusing instance of that is the Danish foundational rune stone carving in Jelling, celebrating the establishment of the Danish Royal lineage that has lasted since ca. 960. On that stone is a crucified figure, which Christians would read as Jesus on the Cross of Calvary – but which Pagans would be equally justified in reading as Odin suspending himself on Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to gain insight. Both these images are again twisted, yet reflected in the Tarot card of The Hanged Man.
In our encounter with the Cross, the question is this: what must we give up, not so much in order to gain knowledge – for that we may meet a certain someone at the crossroads and make a pact – but rather in order to strengthen our faith that things actually take the course they take and we have full acceptance of it? This is the Zen path uncrossing our perceptions…
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