The Symbolism of the Cross [Paperback]

Rene Guenon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0900588659 | ISBN-13: 978-0900588655 | Edition: Revised

The Symbolism of the Cross is a major doctrinal study of the central symbol of Christianity from the standpoint of the universal metaphysical tradition, the 'perennial philosophy' as it is called in the West. As Guénon points out, the cross is one of the most universal of all symbols and is far from belonging to Christianity alone. Indeed, Christians have sometimes tended to lose sight of its symbolical significance and to regard it as no more than the sign of a historical event. By restoring to the cross its full spiritual value as a symbol, but without in any way detracting from its historical importance for Christianity, Guénon has performed a task of inestimable importance which perhaps only he, with his unrivalled knowledge of the symbolic languages of both East and West, was qualified to perform. Although The Symbolism of the Cross is one of Guénon's core texts on traditional metaphysics, written in precise, nearly 'geometrical' language, vivid symbols are necessarily pressed into service as reference points-how else could the mind ascend the ladder of analogy to pure intellection? Guénon applies these doctrines more concretely elsewhere in critiquing modernity in such works as The Crisis of the Modern World and The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times, and invokes them also to help explain the nature of initiation and of initiatic organizations in such works as Perspectives on Initiation and Initiation and Spiritual Realization.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

From the Inside Flap

"The Collected Works of René Guénon brings together the writings of one of the greatest prophets of our time, whose voice is even more important today than when he was alive." --Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions, etc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Sophia Perennis; Revised edition (August 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0900588659
• ISBN-13: 978-0900588655
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #752,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Metaphysic unveiled, February 6, 2001

By 

Antonio Cioffi (Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symbolism of the Cross (Paperback)

This is the second and the most important of the three "metaphysical", purely doctrinal, books written by the great french author; the other two are "Man and His Becoming" (a description of the Indu Vedanta traditional doctrine) and "The Multiple States of Being", perhaps the most difficult of all. In this book, the explanation of the symbolism of the Cross doesn't have nothing directly to do with the Christian theology, but (remember that R. Guénon was a mathematician) a wise metaphysical description built -in accordance with the traditional doctrine- on the geometric symbolism. It is notable that this book is devoted by the author to his Sufi teacher, and that in the beginning of it he affirms that "if christianism got the sign of the cross, Islam instead has his doctrine". A book that is essential for whoever had read the more simpler (even if radical) books of René Guénon, such as "The Great Triad" or the last he wrote before he died in Egipt, "The Reign of Quantity & the Signs of the Times".

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The deep esoteric meaning of the Cross, April 9, 2003

By 

OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Symbolism of the Cross (Paperback)

To read this book is to never see the Cross in the same way again. This is because it will become immeasurably more to you. Indeed, the metaphysician and mathematician Guenon demonstrates the symbol of the Cross to be the fundamental key, model, and archetypical pattern to all of creation.

Briefly, the upper axis of the cross is shown to be the spiritual axis. This is the divine ray of emanation from the Source, it is the connection to the higher Self, the direction of divine attraction in spiritual evolution, the "will of heaven", and the connection between all possible worlds.

The horizontal axis is shown to be the created world, the plane of earthly life and existance, the stage on which the individual ego operates.

The intersection of the two axes is where "heaven and earth" meet. This is the point of divine influence. This is also the goal of the seeker, for to find this center is to merge your will with the will of heaven and obtain perfect harmony and"effortless action."

Guenon demonstrates in detail the parallels of this model with that of the Cross of Christ, the World Tree, the Sephirotic Tree, the Net of Brahma, the Neoplatonic system of heavenly spheres, the Hermetic macrocosm and microcosm, the Hindu Gunas, the Taoist Yin-Yang, as well as many other cross-cultural relationships.

This study fits perfectly into the rest of the great edifice of Guenon's other work on the perennial wisdom. Numerous footnotes show one where to refer to his other books for further elaboration of various concepts.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeing beyond the symbol, March 22, 2008

By 

Gogol (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Symbolism of the Cross (Paperback)

Guenon is a remarkable man. In this work he encourages the reader to see beyond the cross and see the spiritual meaning and significance behind it. Guenon not only looks at the cross in our own culture but examines the symbol of the cross in world cultures and societies. Guenon explores its meaning to those cultures, the relationship between man and the absolute and also how symbolism can be distorted or lost. Amongst the cultures he looks at are native American Indian, Indian Subcontinent cultures, Eastern European, Greek, Chinese and Middle Eastern.

This book is a real eye opener and one that is both refreshing and remarkable.