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Ancient Pagan Symbols
Elisabeth Goldsmith

Texts>Ancient Pagan Symbols

Crowns worn by kings and emperors symbolised the sun's rays.

The Egyptian Cartouche or oval in which the name of a royal person was enclosed, was originally a circle symbolising the course of the sun around the universe. Thus the king's name inside a circle denoted his association with the sun-god, that his power followed the course of the .sun, and that he and those of his name, like the sun, would endure forever.

The Nimbus, Aureole or Glory used in Christian art to distinguish holy personages is derived from the solar disk, which in ancient art was given to royal persons to express their divine origin and their association with the might and power of the Supreme and All Creative Sun.

Amber because of its golden transparency was a symbol of the sun and is, still worn as an amulet against evil and disease.

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