Symbols in Shamanism

I have talked about some of the symbols used in shamanism, symbols that have been present in the human history for almost 40.000 years, with powerful meanings, and today some of them are still used and most people don't even know where those symbols came and what they stand for. Most of the Shamanic symbols have been so deep into the humans' everyday life, that is something "carved" in the DNA of each person, and we born drawing or painting those same symbols, without even knowing them, such as a spiral or circles with dots in the middle, the symbols for the sun and its rays etc. But today i will talk about Rock Art and the symbols that came to help us understanding the world, the first drawings and paintings in caves, their meanings, and how people lived with them.

All over the World, from Europe to Africa, the Americas and Asia, we can find lots of paintings in caves, on cliffs, under overhangs, etchings and boulders, pictures that span a great length of time, so far, the oldest of this painting that was found is dated about 35,000 years old. These symbols have inspired the cultures that they are related to, in a time before writing was developed, important information was passed on orally,  but our ancestors used symbolic representations of the aspects of their lives. By this way, paintings and drawings of hunting scenes, helped out ancestors to visualize these happanings, and to learn how to do it and succeed in the outcome of a hunt. Also these paintings were a record of an event, an important celebration, as well as honouring the animals and their importance. Paintings of crops, were also positive visualizations of good harvest as well as a recognition of the gifts that the Earth can give to us. Certain symbols, such as masks or totems, were boundary markers for a particular group of people or tribe.

Some rock art scenes show human figures with animal characteristics such as antlers and wings, these are representative of shapeshifting in shamanic journeys, where a shaman would adopt another form for learning, healing, or communication with the spirits or gods. As i have said, some cave paintings show the day-to-day activities such as hunting, fishing, working, cooking and praying. These paintings show the antiquity of shamanism. 

People have used symbols for millennia, as charms for luck, protection, health and inspiration. A symbol has its own energetic vibrations nad this is what influences the spirit. In the rock art of the ancestors, there are certain symbols that appear in many ancient places around the world, and from many different periods, indicating their fundamental unniversal importance for the human spirit. Among these powerful signs, are the spiral and the circle in their various forms.

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Swastika - The Shamanic Symbol

Many people have asked me why i use some times the Swastika symbol in my artistic works, so i have decided to explain that in here, at my blog and in fact it is a good subject for the theme of my blog.

Most of people are afraid of this symbol because of its dark background in the history of humankind in the time of Nazism, and yes, it was a terrible time indeed, but this symbol was not created with the purpose of spreading terror, oppression, fascism or racism.

This symbol has in fact, accompanied all kinds of people through the history of humankind, and to be more precise, this symbol has been found in caves since the neolithic period.

Some of you may be familiar with this symbol has a symbol of the induism religion in India, but as i have told back there, this symbol remotes to older times, it was used by the romans and by the greeks and before that, was used by the neolithic people and it differs its meaning from culture to culture. But its main symbolism is the sun and its power.

Long before religions had been created, the Swastika was one of the many Shamanic symbols used by the shamans, a symbol to "describe" the sun and the power it has over the entire natural world. It is also a symbol of the four cardinal points and it is also a symbol for the four forces of nature, the Sun, the Wind, the Water and the Earth.

When we talk about shamans, we often think about the Shamans of Siberia, but this profession, is not only practiced in Siberia, it had been and still is practiced throughout the world. This symbol was used by the Sami people in the North of Europe in Scandinavia, by the Germanic peoples such as the Celts, Swabians, Vikings, Saxons and Anglo-Saxons, also by the mediterranian people all the way from Portugal to Greece, the Lusitanians, the Romans, the Greeks, and all the way to the slavic people in Russia, Poland, Romania, Ukrain etc. to the South and North Americas and to Asia.

This symbol was passed down by all, even from Siberia to the Native people of Alaska and then to the Native Indians of America, the Navajo people etc. etc.

So this symbol has always been important to the human race, for at least 30.000 B.C. , of course the symbol and its meaning is diferent from place to place even to the Sami people, which represents the God of Thunder, Old Thor, this is an exemple, but its main meaning was the Sun and the powers of the Natural World.

 

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