Symbolism: The Sun and the Essay

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The moon in medieval times was used as a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary -- through whom the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, was born into the world. The Virgin Mary is viewed as spotless, pure, chaste -- characteristics associated with the moon. She is also viewed as a reflection of God. By doing God's will the Virgin Mary is glorified in the Heaven's, always reflecting the light of God. Without the light of God -- represented by the sun, the moon has no power to give light of itself. Therefore, the sun is Grace, and the moon is Mary, through whom Grace flows.

One famous Mexican image is of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who stands upon a crescent moon. The image is supposed to be of miraculous or divine origin, and was used as an impressive tool in the conversion of Central America to the tenets of the Catholic Faith.

The Egyptians viewed the relationship between the sun and the moon as one of death and rebirth. The Celtic people as held a similar view of the sun and moon symbology; however, their view of death and rebirth was more seasonal than daily.

One Chinese myth saw the sun as good -- but it also told the story of how too much of a good thing can be bad. This was the case in the story of Yi, who was a famous archer. During his time, there were ten suns that lived in a tree in the East. Their usual practice was to take turns illuminating the sky, but one day they decided to go up all at once. At first everyone was pleased, but then they realized that the extra heat was killing their crops and drying up their rivers. Yi took out his bow and shot down nine of the suns, leaving just one to do the job.

Similarly, the sun has also been associated with a symbol of mischief or trickery -- the coyote.

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Southwestern Native American tribes saw the sun and the trickster symbol as one in the creation of the world.

In recent popular culture, the sun has appeared as a symbol of divine life -- as the source for all that is good. Terrence Malick, for example, uses the symbol repeatedly throughout his 2011 Cannes Palme d'Or winning film The Tree of Life. The sun is constantly being used as a reminder of conscience, of duty, of justice, of mercy, of peace, of good will, of soul, and of God. Sunflowers are another image used in the film that symbolically show how man's face should always be turned towards Heaven, just as the sunflower is always turned towards the light of the sun.

Malick also makes use of the eclipse, the blocking out of the sun by the moon -- a symbol that has been used throughout history among different cultures as well. The Japanese, for example, use the symbol of the eclipse to tell the story of anger between siblings: the moon became angry with the sun so blocked it out. Malick uses the symbol to show how one must have faith in God even when God seems to have disappeared.

In conclusion, the sun and the moon have been used by all cultures throughout all time as symbolic representations for the way the world works, or for the different things that people believe. The sun and the moon have always held a special significance, and the way they have been interpreted in symbolism tells us much about the different cultures that have used those symbols in a variety of customs and fashions. Whether in Japan or South America, whether in ancient or modern culture, the sun and the moon still have a power to bring to life aspects of civilization that artists wish to highlight. The sun and moon are, after all, powerful symbols......

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