SYMBOLOGY

Among the people of the Wicca and the practi[ti]oners of Ceremonial Magic symbolism may be called a common language. By this is meant that certain concrete forms are employed to represent abstract ideas which presented to the view of one versed in the form conveys to the mind of that person a definite idea, just as numbers in arithmetic each embody some idea, but if the number be expressed in spoken words [it] will differ according to the language used. It matters very little in what age [we] live in [sic] or what language we speak, symbols tell the same story. It is the language of the initiates and through such means one initiate speaks to another thought long cycles of Time may separate them. To thoroughly understand the language of the planetary Squares it is necessary to understand the formation of the [S]quare in which the numbers are drawn. This begins with the [C]ircle which gives life to the Square.

1) A CIRCLE

The Circle is one of the oldest symbols in the World and if taken alone signifies the incomprehensible unity that underlies all manifestation. If applied to the whole vast Universe it stands for the absolute God unmanifest, all-inclusive, without beginning or end.

In another sense it represents our Solar Logos or God, and the enclosing Circle shows the extent of his limitations as differentiated from the Cosmos, but he is all-inclusive within that limitation[, h]e himself being without beginning or without end.

When the Circle is used in the [M]agic Circle it signifies the Sun, which is the physical symbol of our Solar Logos or God manifested in our Solar [S]ystem. When it is used for man it symbolises the immortal Spirit who is God[’]s representative on Earth; always it symbolises that which like itself has neither beginning or end. It is the symbol of Life in contradistinction too, for it has no limit on either Space or Time and enters into no relations, yet the circumference suggests limitations, so read this message into it[: o]ne eternal life is manifesting itself in various ways through one limiting avenue of form through the symbol of numbers. This will be nought ( O ). In that of light and colour it will be light and darkness and in that of sound and music it will be silence. The [C]ircle without the dot represents [L]ife or [S]pirit unmanifested.

2) With a dot ( ʘ ) it shows manifestation. All Life begins to manifest from this central point. Whenever we see that point we know that it is a nucleas [sic] of [L]ife which will manifest as soon as it is given suitable conditions, as for instance in the egg and all cellular formations.

3) Let us draw a line through the Circle which gives us two half Circles[.] Examine this symbol and learn the story it holds for you. When used in an abstract sense it signifies that the [G]reat [L]ife is manifesting the two polarities of [S]pirit [and] matter, not separated into extremes of Spirit on one hand and matter on the other, but held together in one. A duality with unity underlying it. That duality is the root of all the duality we meet in life, and we meet it everywhere. There is not a thing without its opposite in all this manifested Universe. When used in terms of consciousness it is the subjective and objective mind or consciousness turned within towards the Spirit and turned outwards towards the World, but when we are using the objective mind we are only using one half of our real consciousness. The rest is subjected [subjective?] or latent for the time being. When used in terms of the [M]agic [C]ircle it is the Moon and represents imperfection because of its limitations. You must remember that the [C]ircle symbolises the whole man. The half [C]ircle [symbolises] only half the real man, and that half [is] the material side of him or that which belongs to form[,] or again tells us that only half of the Spiritual man can express himself through form[,] and the dual nature of man has its roots here in the [M]oon[’]s [f]orces when the conjunction of the Sun and Moon takes place. It symbolise[s] the union of the individual and personal man, the higher and lower self. The opposition of the two limitations symbolised by the [F]ull [M]oon represents the personality by the [S]un or [S]pirit and throwing its bar of light upon the Earth or our physical consciousness.