The Theosophical Seal - Canadian Theosophical Association

The Theosophical Seal by Arthur M. Coon
THE CROSS
EVERYTHING which we said about the Square could as truly be said about the Cross, although with
certain significant differences. Like the square, the numerical value of the cross is 4. The cross divides
the circle into four equal segments, the day into four parts and the year into four seasons. It marks off
sidereal space into four cardinal points: North, East, South and West. Like the square it is definitely
linked with the physical universe and in that sense with time and space. It also types man as a
personality within a physical body as distinct from soul or spirit. However, the underlying difference in the
philosophy of the Square and the Cross, it seems to me, lies in the distinction between the static and the
dynamic, between finality and infinity.
THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE CROSS
The square types a universe which is evolving towards a state of perfection,a state, however, which is
fixed and final. It represents a creation which is ever in the process of becoming or moving towards a faroff
ideal. Religion envisages a goal towards which each one of us, and humanity as a whole,is travelling.
Its prophets and seers envision a perfect society which will one day appear on earth, and such
expressions as a "new heaven and a new earth", the "New Jerusalem", etc., have caught the imagination
of poet and preacher. This idea of existence is, unless one be an out and out materialist, the rational view
of things. Even the most pessimistic among us must accept evolution as a progressive movement
towards a newer state, although he may deny a goal or a direction. Some perplexing questions puzzle
the open mind: Is this goal the end Is this state of perfection final Does this Utopia, once realised,
remain throughout eternity as a blissful state in which struggle, change, progress is unknown Does
evolution reach a goal, however distant, and then cease forever
We visualise the square as the symbol of an ideal manhood which is the ultimate goal of the human race.
And yet this ideal or prototype, far ahead as it is, contains a sense of finality. Once it is attained, it is
finished, complete. The history of the human race becomes a series of tableaux in life's natural museum,
each tableau a little nearer to the idea of perfection, which in the progression of time will ultimately be
attained. The square, as the symbol of this ideal of perfection, is both its measure and its limitation.
Nothing can be beyond perfection,unless by some metamorphosis the nature of the thing be changed,
and a new idea of perfection be established. The concept of perfection implies an end or completion.
Like the square, the cross is the symbol of the universe; but of a universe in which God is immanent in
every star and every atom. It is the symbol of man, both collectively as humanity and individually as a
personality; yet of man within whose body is buried a fragment of Deity. The cross is particularly the
symbol of the form side of Nature, but it is also the symbol of the life imprisoned within that form. This
distinction can be graphically illustrated by making a simple little drawing. First we draw a square. Now
assuming this square to be a cube, we proceed to open it up as one would a cardboard box. We draw a
square above the first one to represent the top of the box. Then we trace a square on each side of the
original one. These will be the sides opened out. Finally we spread out the front and the bottom by
placing two squares beneath the central one. What we now have is the cube unfolded in the form of a
Latin Cross- symbol of the form unfolded to release the imprisoned life, symbol also of man unfolding his
inherent divine nature.
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