although years of practice in the art of calligraphy are likely to have preceded the ease with which the symbol can be drawn. The Enso symbolizes eternity, the perfect meditative state, the “no thing,” and enlightenment.
EVANGELISTS’ SYMBOLS
The four evangelists—Disciples of Christ who witnessed and wrote about the events in the life of the Messiah, which comprise the four main books of the New Testament—are often represented not as men but as hybrid creatures. Not only that, but the four men—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are each associated with the four points of the compass, the elements, the winds, and with the four rivers purported to run through Eden. Each evangelist is also ascribed a sign of the Zodiac. Collectively, they symbolize stability and the four pillars of the faith.
The angel is the symbol of Matthew. Mark is the lion, whose symbol in stone proliferates around St. Mark’s Square in Venice. The bull is the symbol of Luke, and the eagle represents John. Wherever they are represented, these creatures have wings, as a sign of their divine nature as messengers from God. These hybrid animals are also called the Tetramorphs.
EVIL EYE
This is a gaze or stare which is believed to cause actual harm. There are numerous talismans, amulets, and charms intended to counteract the affect of such a deadly gaze. See Eye (Part 8).
FALUN GONG SYMBOL
The symbol for the philosophy or spiritual practice of Falun Gong is an amalgam of two ancient Eastern signs. Two concentric circles encompass a central swastika, while four yin-yang signs and four further swastikas are evenly spaced around it.
Falun Gong itself is a relatively new movement—it was founded as recently as 1992 by Li Hongzhi—although its practices are based on the ancient art of Qi Gong. Falun Gong relies on certain physical movements and meditation techniques to promote health, harmony, and the balance of mind, body, and spirit although the Chinese government denounced Falun Gong as a “cult.”
“Falun” means “Wheel of Law/ Dharma” in Chinese Buddhism, and the wheel symbol itself (the “Falon”) replicates the energy wheel that adherents of the practice say is located in the center of the body, akin to a chakra. This wheel, once “installed” or awakened, turns continuously, when clockwise absorbing energy from the cosmos, or when anticlockwise, getting rid of waste matter from the physical body. Adepts say that meditation and repetition of the set exercises of the Falun Gong discipline result in them actually being able to see the Falun. The Falun Gong emblem also acts as a mandala or also as a cosmogram, a miniature schematic of the Universe.
FAROHAR
A version of the winged solar disc, the Farohar is a Zoroastrian symbol whose name means “to choose.” The symbol represents some of the philosophical facets of the religion.
The three layers of feathers on the wings represent the three main tenets of the faith; good thoughts, good words, good deeds. The disc itself symbolizes the Sun, and the notion of eternity. The two banners are a reminder of duality (good and evil, black and white, spirit and matter, male and female) and the need for balance between opposing elements.
The man seeming to sit on the top of the disc represents Zoroaster himself, and serves as a reminder for his followers to live a morally upright life.
FASCES
A symbol of Roman Imperial power, the Fasces was originally an axe or an arrow with a bundle of birch sticks tied around the handle with red cords. The numerous sticks represented unity and strength in numbers, but as a symbol of authority, it also implied punishment for those who failed to adhere to the rules. The birch rod itself is synonymous with the idea of punishment, its wood used for the schoolroom canes that were inflicted on children in less enlightened times.
The symbol of the Fasces carried great resonance for the Italian people and was revived by Mussolini as the emblem of his political party in the 1930s. Hence, the Latin word for “bundle” became the origin of the word “Fascist,” which carries far more sinister connotations than a simple collection of sticks.
FEATHER
The Egyptian Goddess of truth, Ma’at, has the ostrich feather as her attribute. There is a very specific reason for this. Because the ostrich is a flightless bird, the design of its feathers is different to those of other birds where one side is larger than the other. The ostrich feather, however, is perfectly balanced and symmetrical, and so is a fitting emblem of justice.
The symbolism of feathers is closely aligned to that of wings and birds. They stand for ascendance, flight, communication with the spirit realms and the element of air. Shamanistic use of feathers is for all these reasons; the feathers enable the soul to become as light as the feather and transcend the boundaries of gravity, time, and space. Shamans of all nationalities wear feathers as a part of their ritual apparel.
The eagle feather is the most valuable of all feathers. In some parts of the world, this feather, synonymous with all the power of the bird, is considered so sacred that only card-carrying Native American tribal members may own them. Eagle feathers that are found in the wrong hands are the cause of heavy fines.
The swan’s feather appears in the cloaks of druids; because the swan is the bird of poetry, its feathers magically confer these powers on the bard.
Used at the end of the arrow as a “flight,” feathers have a practical as well as symbolic use. Additionally, feathers are a symbol of sacrifice. This is because, when chickens and other birds were ritually slaughtered, all they left behind was a few feathers, fluttering to the ground.
The other major symbolic meaning of the feather associates it with vegetation and with hair, primarily because of a similarity in appearance.
FETISH
Although, latterly, the fetish has erotic connotations, the origins of the word are from the French fétiche and the Portuguese feitiço, meaning charm. In sorcery, a fetish is something that is believed to have a spirit of its own, used for magical purposes. It is likely that the first fetish objects were stones of some kind, not necessarily small ones. The Black Stone at Mecca and the Stone of Destiny are good examples of fetish objects whose power, as such, has accumulated over the centuries that people have revered them. “Lucky” or “unlucky” numbers are fetishes, as are “lucky” or “unlucky” days of the week.
Bodily fluids or parts such as fingernails and teeth are fetish objects, considered to contain the energy of the creature of origin. Smaller fetish objects were carried in pouches or bags, a practice that continues today in many forms. These fetish or medicine bags should never touch the ground. The reason for this is that contact with the Earth is sacrilegious in some way for these empowered objects.
