The Inherent Power of Sumbols

Something that has been flitting around my mind lately…do symbols have power/energy/meaning by themselves, or do they only reflect the meaning given to them by people or events?

Here’s an example:

Now, what’s your first thought of this image? Hate? War? Fascism? Racism? Death?

The swastika has origins in civilizations from 3000 years before the common era. The root word for the image meant “a lucky or auspicious object,” and it was a mark used on objects to denote good luck. It was also used by Native American groups, meaning either “wandering clan” or representing a legendary image used in healing rituals…

The point is, for centuries before the Nazis, the swastika was used to as a symbol of good fortune, and seeing it displayed on a person, clothing, house, or other object promoted positive feelings. Only since the Nazi use of the symbol to promote “good fortune” for their agenda has the design been seen as “evil.”

If I took a pen and paper today, and drew a swastika on it and then hid it in a drawer, would it – by itself – invoke negative energy, or would it bring the good energy or “luck” that was believed for thousands of years? Does the symbol hold its own power, hold no power at all, or simply reflect the energy or beliefs present around that symbol in the current world?

If you believe in a created universe (intelligent design) then inherent power in symbols is not so far-fetched of an idea. The universe reflects its creator.

If you believe in an accidental universe (evolution) then it becomes harder to assign power to a symbol beyond that which is attributed to it by human consciousness…

If, however, you believe some of the newer theories: that everything is energy; that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only changes form; that intelligent, thinking creatures “create” their universe by the power of thought (belief, practice, ritual, etc.), then there is a power in symbols, but it is directly related to what thinking creatures assign to the symbol.  We can change the meaning of any symbol…

Food for thought…here are some other symbols that have a different meaning in their origins that their current use might imply:

There are many others – and as many interpretations of what they mean…have fun researching!