You see religious signs and symbols everywhere, in churches, synagogues and mosques, on television, bumper stickers and websites. You may be familiar with some of these religious signs and symbols, while scratching your head, Eh? . These symbols have meaning in those who use them, but what are those meanings? Why are these symbols so particular?
I am about to take you on a brief tour of the most used religious signs and symbols, and what they mean to those who use them.
The most used religious signs and symbols
- The Christian Cross
The cross is the most common symbol of Christianity. The cross symbolizes Christianity as a religion, as well as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Another form of the cross that you can see is the crucifix, which will include a figure of Jesus, nailed to the cross through both hands and feet, usually with a crown of thorns on the head and a sign with the letters INRI, which is an acronym in Latin means the phrase: "Jesus Nazarene, King of the Jews."
- The Ichthys (Fish)
This is another common symbol of Christianity. Many Christians show this on the rear bumper of their vehicles. The ichthys is actually the ancient Greek word for "fish." The ichthys commonly contain the Greek letters, ΙΧΘΥΣ, which means, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior." Fish is a symbol of Christianity for several reasons. Many of the apostles were fishermen, Jesus performed many miracles that involve fish .
- The Star and Crescent
The Star and crescent is recognized as a symbol of Islamic faith. This symbol, however, is older and was originally used by the people of Central Asia and Siberia as a symbol of their sky gods. The Star and crescent was adopted as a symbol of Islam during the Ottoman Empire, when the Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453. The city of Constantinople had been using this symbol in honor of the goddess Diana. When the Turks took over, they had stolen their flag and symbol, thus, claimed by Islam.
- "Allah" in Arabic
This is quite simple. This is the Arabic word for "Allah, " Allah is the god of Islamic faith.
- The Star of David
The Star of David is a common symbol of the Jewish faith. The two interlocking triangles represent the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. It is believed that this was the symbol of David's line, and the star was represented on David's shield, although this has not been proven.
- The menorah
The Menorah is another common symbol of Judaism. It is a nine-armed candlestick, which is used in the celebration of Hanukkah. The menorah made his first appearance in the book of Exodus, when God revealed his design to Moses. The original menorah was made from a single piece of gold and had only seven branches. It was used as a light for the temple. Menora today has nine branches, commemorating a miraculous event during the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The Jews only had enough oil to illuminate the temple for one day, but somehow, it lasted eight days, enough light to finish their work.
- OM or Aum
The OM or Aum, is a very important symbol of the Hindu religion. It is a mantra, pronounced by many Hindus at the beginning of each day, and commonly written in the head of letters. OM or Aum is composed of three letters in Sanskrit, A, U and m. The syllables come together to make the sound, OM, that is, Brahman, the supreme God of Hinduism.
- The swastika
People often think of the swastika as a symbol of the Nazi regime during World War II, but the swastika is actually a Hindu religious symbol, and for various other purposes, dating back to the Palaeolithic. Swastika is most commonly used to symbolize good luck.
- The Dharma Wheel
The Dharma wheel, also called the Dharmachakra, is a common symbol of Buddhist philosophy. The wheel can have eight, twelve, twenty four or thirty spokes, and a radius. The circle represents the perfection of dharma teachings. The rays represent different doctrines, norms or laws of Buddhism, depending on the number of radios. The center symbolizes the discipline and attention of the tire, or samadhi, that holds everything together.
- Yin and Yang
Yin Yang is a commonly used symbol of Asian philosophy. It symbolizes the perfect harmonic balance. Neither party can exist without the other, as in nature, there would be no light without darkness, good without evil, male without female, etc.
There are many religious signs and symbols that we do not know, here we hope you at least know something of their meaning and can understand them.
