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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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