symbol
Circle
A closed curve. Calendars, metal, and later diagrams of “wholeness” have used it; the uses are not a single meaning.
Circle is associated with Sun.
Disks and wheels have been used as pictures of the sun’s body. Geometry is not a cult.
associated with · interpretive · culturally specific
Circle is associated with Moon.
The full moon is a circle in the sky. The likeness is optical before it is doctrinal.
associated with · interpretive · culturally specific
Gold is associated with Circle.
Coins and solar disks are round and often yellow. The likeness is cheap; keep it interpretive.
associated with · interpretive · culturally specific
Four is associated with Circle.
Four winds or directions are often drawn as a cross in a circle. The drawing is a map-habit, not a proof of cosmic order.
associated with · interpretive · culturally specific
Alchemy
Circle is associated with Alchemy.
Alchemical diagrams close a work into a circle. The figure is a craft diagram, not a proof of cosmic oneness.
associated with · interpretive · culturally specific
Hellenic religion
Circle is associated with Labyrinth.
Some labyrinth pavements are circular in plan. The path is still a walk, not an abstract “wholeness.”
associated with · interpretive · culturally specific
Daoism
Circle appears in Daoism.
Later diagrams of yin and yang sit in a circle. That diagram is not the Yijing’s hexagrams, and it is not a Greek maze.
appears in · interpretive · modern interpretation
Buddhist traditions
Mandala represents Circle.
A mandala is often a bounded circle or square. The geometry is shared; the rite is not “wholeness” as a New Age caption.
from Burton Watson (translation) · The Lotus Sutra, 1993 (this translation); Sanskrit/Chinese recensions much older
represents · interpretive · documented
Islam · Arabia
Kaaba is associated with Circle.
Ṭawāf circulates the house. A ritual circuit around a cuboid, not a Hermetic circle of art.
from M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (translation) · The Qur’an, 2004 (this translation); Arabic text 7th century CE
associated with · interpretive · culturally specific
sources
- The Lotus Sutra · Burton Watson (translation)
Burton Watson, The Lotus Sutra.
- The Qur’an · M.A.S. Abdel Haleem (translation)
M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur’an (Oxford).