What the cross really means?

Google did not gave me the best answers to my questions.

Since I know many of members of ATS are into esoterism, history, philosophy, religion, I know I'll have the answer closer to the truth.

So, tell us, in short sentences, what the cross means... be as objectively as possible.

reply to post by infobrazil

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o.k.


Use the search bar...

What does the cross really mean? Well, to understand it in today's terms, take a look at a picture of the electric chair, all ready to light someone up. In Roman's times, it was the most inglorious form of death you could face. Not sure what you are looking for.

Well, on the surface it means what it's used for, a symbol for Christianity based on the crucifixion story.

However, I have heard a few theories regarding the origin of the cross as a symbol, some plausible, some less so. The one I generally prescribe to, at least for esoteric means, is that an equidistant cross (like + ) represents the Earth and the physical realm as the four sides represent the four alchemical elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

If we take the Christian cross and label the top three arms as Air, Fire and Water, then we see the longest arm, the one pointing down, to be Earth. I take this symbol to represent "The Lord of the Earth" or the "god" of the physical realm. The longest arm is directed downward, towards the Earth and away from heaven, much as a pentagram is inverted to point downward and deny the higher, or "good" forces.

It would take a while for me to explain everything completely and you requested short sentences. To sum it up, the Christian cross represents the four cardinal elements believed, in ancient theory, to make up everything in the material world. The cross has long been used to represent Earth (the planet, not "earth" as in dirt) and the four elements. The Christian cross has the one arm extended downwards, which, as I said before, directs the focus downwards.

Therefore, followers of the cross are, in fact, followers of the Lord of the Earth, a being subservient to the ultimate creative force of the perfect divine "God".

However, I'm sure there will be those who will disagree with me.

Cross is a weapon to hunt Vampires as shown in Hollywood movies.
Nah' serious I think it's just a sign to remember Jesus Christ suffering is one logical answer I could make up on the spot. Don't know beyond that, not intrested in religion etc.

I think it is partly astrological symbolism. The Winter solstice, the Summer solctice and the two equinoxes define the solar year. It travels backwards through the real (sidereal) zodiac, while the zodiac of the Europeans alwas starts Aries from the spring equinox.
You can look at the various saviours of mankind: the cross was associated with Mithra, the bull god up to the end of the Age of Taurus. Then came Moses with his Torah in the Age of the Ram. Jews to this day celebrate with blowing ram's horns - the Shofar. Christianity gained prominence in the Age of Pisces, when the spring equinox shifted to sidereal Pisces around the 3rd century A.D.
Other than that, Swiss psychiatrist C. G. Jung examined the archetypal meaning of the cross in his writings, as a symbol of the Self - most eminently in Coniuctio Oppositorum. He saw it as a symbol for rising above earthly opposites in mystical Unity, although one can argue that the cross was used by not too many religions apart from Mithraism and Christianity. Non-Christian Chinese - the majority - usually look at it as an aggressive symbol that attacks the Earth element. All the same, t could be thought of as a symbol of the four elements (Orientals such as Hindus as well as acupuncture use a fifth one also, akasha or ether, or the metal element, which could be placed at the centre.) So all in all, it is a mystical symbol - an archetype - as well as astrological, not only the instrument of termination used by Romans. In Christianity, there are several types of crosses, the Catholic church uses one that is longer at the bottom - other crosses are mostly equal in length.
Cabbalists and other Western mystics use the cross for protection as do ordinary Christians. Hope this helps.

I consider myself an ordinary Christian, and I don't use the cross for protection. When I see a cross, I remember that Jesus voluntarily took the punishment for my sins there. And the empty cross reminds me that he rose again from the dead.

Which cross are we talking here? The Coptic Christian cross with its flared edges? The "bread-and-butter" European Christian Cross? The Russian Orthodox Cross with its "extra" lines? The medieval Asian Nestorian Lotus-and-Cross ? The Hopi Indian Cross of the divine ordering? The Tibetan Svastika, or its Nazi perversion? The rifle-scope target cross?

The cross is one of the most ancient symbols of man, found scratched on rocks tens of thousands of years old from Kenya to Karachi. Two lines at right angles to each other...what could be simpler? Is it any wonder virtually every culture has discovered it and used it in some way?

Thus..."the cross" means thousands of different things to thousands of different people, and no simple answer is possible.

Two common themes that pop up around the globe:
1) Representing the night sky: the points of the equinox and solstaces, dividing the progression of stars into four seasons.

2) The intersection of the spiritual (vertical: up to heaven, enlightnement, etc...) and the material (the horizontal "flatness" of everyday life).

A cross is just a symbol of two lines crossing.

It can mean whatever you want it to mean.

You can use it to mark multiple choice answers on a form, or sign your name if you are illiterate.

If you are a Christian (like me), it has a very special meaning.
But there are many other uses and meanings.

reply to post by novacs4me

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Nevertheless, most Christians - who look at the cross as a symbol of the highest sacrifice, consistent with the Pisces theme - do use it regularly to send away demons, or to feel cleansed. I respect this very much, and the odd thing is that since it is a universal symbol, it works for non-Christians as well. You are right, the symbol in this sense is the ultimate sacrifice of the ego - as Christ sacrificed himself for mankind.
I am not a Christian, except perhaps in a mystical sense - but I understand this. Hindus also respect the cross and regard Christianity as a valid path to God. It IS the path of sacrifice.

In Vodou, the cross represents the "crossroads" in a way. Vodou is actually very similar to ancient polytheistic religions, like Babylonian, Greek, and Roman. It may be the biggest polytheistic religion, other than Hindu, which has survived.

So yeah, the cross in Haitian Vodou, for example, is Baron Samedi:

graveyards

bisexuals

and other "cross"-type things.

It only has a meaning if you give it a meaning.

But beware which meaning you give something.

In christianity it is a symbol that was invented because wearing it or praying in front of it is a perfet violation of the 1. and 2. commandment so it is ensured a christian has no chance to connect to his creator. It's just one religious tool to make you a slave but a good one.

Be well,

Deckard

reply to post by infobrazil

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the cross, heh, good one, it means what you want it to mean, it's such a generic and ancient symbol that it literally has dozens of meanings, it can be a germanic/viking rune, it can be associated with the ankh, it can be a symbol of death or of life, it can be positive, negative, modernly associated with medicine or christianity.