Introduction / Using ARAS: The Symbolism of the Cross

[aras-image:3Ja.080,,9,312,248,Hellenic terra cotta vessel]
  If we turn the cross flat, on a horizontal plane, we discover another set of symbols related to our central theme. We now have a centre extending in the four cardinal directions, a symbol of five, the quinta essentia of alchemy. It also becomes an intersection and the Greeks marked crossroads with the ithyphallic herm because in these places, at these moments, the latent, creative possibilities lie
(3Ja.080,). One needs repeatedly to determine whether the symbol formed represents an intersection between axes or whether it is a central point from which the unmanifested is externalised in the radii extending from it. This problem of determining the visual intent of any image is crucial to understanding its significant application to the configuration of events to which it may relate.

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