A Student of Symbolism

I am a student of symbolism, not a master. Whilst I cannot teach about symbolism I can give an account of an experience with reading a symbol.

The Library in our city is a useful and valuable place. Our library uses this for it's Logo:

This is immediately recognized as a sun rising out of a horizen; and the horizen is defined by an open book. The image incites me to feel warm and welcome. It reminds me of a beach scene and the beginning of a new day. Without thinking about it, these are my unconscience, instinctual, generalized reactions to this symbol. It is important to note these feelings, I've learned, because symbols will speak to us on a level that is unconscience and through this hidden language we can discover the Universal Truths which a symbol presents.

A Deeper Interpretation

First: The Sun and Light

Light represents Knowledge, Illumination, Enlightenment,Unconvering what is Hidden, and so forth. This makes sense, it's a library.

The Sun is the largest, brightest thing in the sky. It's authority is so complete that we cannot look directly at it without going blind, and the Sun gives life to everything in the world. Therefore, the Sun represents Ultimate Authority and Kingship. The symbol of the Jacksonville library states that it is a place of authority of knowledge. The fact the Sun is coming out of a book tells us where it's authority comes from, and also implies that Books are Authorities on Enlightenment. This is not a bad sales pitch for a library, all based on just the symbol.

An Even Deeper Interpretation:

Symbology is very, very old. when Religion was known as Reality, mankind was given symbols. Through time, Fraternities, Religions, Philosophies and Organizations have taken symbols to themselves for identification and has thus added human experience to the what a symbol speaks. By studying who has used symbols throughout time we can understand more about how certain symbols are used today and understand the hidden structures of our world.

We'll start again with the Rising Sun:

The Rising Sun has symbolized authority, life, and understanding for a long time. It is the center of many religions like the Mayans, The Golden Dawn, the Mason's, the Baha'i, and even the Christian Church.

Is the Jacksonville Library associated with such persons? In order to be able to tell we will have to continue looking deeper into this symbol.

I looked for Numerical References:

I noticed when I first saw this symbol that there were eight rays coming out of the sun. 8 is a number that implies direction, like a compass, and the earth.

(*The number 4 also represents the world, and 8 is 4 and 4 together. So 8 kind of implies one world over lapping another world but is still the same world together. To me it's like the Spiritual World and the Physical World together. This is one reason why 8 implies direction)

When the meaning of the number 8 is applied to what we already have, then the symbol states: "This is a place of Authority for Enlightenment and Knowledge Globally." Expect the Global part to refer to 'about the world, in the world, of the world, world related', etcetera.

Who Dunnit?

All of these meanings are known and taught by the people in our city who constructed the library buildings. They worked together before the libraries were built to make sure that the edifices would keep the integrity to the ideas the symbols represent. This is very common among the Masonic Unions.

*Note: None of this is a crime, the Mason's uphold themselves as master builders, craftsmen, and artists who have the ability to stylize and build lasting structures which uphold universally Good ideals and values. If I were such a devotee to building, I would do the same thing.*

In Jacksonville there are a multitude of open Masonic Temples, including a very large temple of the Scottish Right Downtown. It is not hard to believe that our city government contracted the Mason's to build the libraries of our city. To really get to the heart of our symbol investigation we need only go to the Main Library in Downtown Jacksonville.

Outside the library, on the corner, is a large statue of the Owl of Athena. There's a little plaque on ground level that explains that the owl represents divine Wisdom. The key next to the Owl has an Omega symbol at the top. That symbol, being the last letter of the Greek Alphabet, means an ultimate end and also implies an authority. This is where Christian Symbolism will seperate a little because Christ is the Alpha and Omega and the source of all Truth.

The Owl replaces the Sun Rising, the Key replaces the Light. See how this works?

Inside of the Main Library there are 8 distinct sections seperated into 4 floors. There are internet connected terminals on multiple levels allowing global access, there is an open area outside to experience the sun (*In Ancient Sun temples the top was left open so that the Sun could shine through) and in the northwest corner of the library there is a sun dial with a globe over it in place of the sun.

Notice that by simply reading the symbol on one branch of the library I was able to know to expect a consistent revity of ideas to be echoes throughout all the libraries and typified at the main branch. The symbols were represented well throughout the buildings and we are allowed to let them speak to us and learn the original truths for which they represent.

The crimes of symbolism concerns taking away the meaning of symbols by not allowing us to know that symbols can speak. A symbol can open a person's mind to the entire universe, and when the understanding of how to read symbols is taken away we lose track of the things which are True and Real. In this manner mankind is enslaved.