Symbolism of the cross

Isis

Member
Whenever I see a cross, I think of Christianity: a typical result of growing up in a Judeo-Christian culture. I'm curious as to what symbolism a cross has, outside of Christianity.
 

RLynn

Active Member
The four elements (Earth, Air, Fire, Water)
The human body
The planet Earth (equal-armed cross inscribed in a circle)
The gods Mithras, Attis, or Tammuz (Tau cross)
Egyptian hieroglyphic for life (Tau cross surmounted by a loop)
Numerical addition
 

Frumpy

Member
Amazing how one symbols crosses several traditions and religions. It is the same with some of the major teachings of religions like doing unto others as would like done unto us.
 

Isis

Member
Thanks for the information! Numerical addition made me laugh. :)

Yes, it is interesting to see how symbols and myths can be so similar in different cultures.
 

Libros

Member
The classical Christian cross, based on the Roman torture device and known as the Latin cross, has its lower leg longer than the others.

The equal-armed cross is a very basic shape and has been used in human culture for centuries before Christianity. Anything that can be divided into four sections can be represented by a cross, four elements, the four cardinal directions, four seasons. And that's just one association.
 

blarneyrubble

New Member
It's weird how the power of a cross can impinge on anybodys psyche when presented as an answer to a problem. My local soccer team were one of the few in the UK not to win a major trophy until a legend started to circulate that this was down to a gypsys curse from when the ground was being built. A manager came in and erected crucifixes on the the floodlight pylons. The club didn't win anything but the fans (beer drinking heathens to a man/woman) loved it!
 
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