The Oracle
THIS EMBLEM of the Church is an infinite source of
knowledge. Its symbolism contains
spiritual lessons without end. This
treatise presents no more than fundamental instruction.
In truth, this design has a whole book written upon its face, a book of
religious and spiritual inspiration.
MAN HAS ALWAYS used symbols as illustrations descriptive
of his innermost feelings. Symbols
and emblems speak a universal language. The
stars and stripes are a symbol of a great nation; military emblems, lodge
emblems, commercial trademarks-such designs speak a language understood by all.
Just as Jesus spoke symbolically in parables, so graphic
symbols frequently can impart a message more vividly and with greater power than
mere words.
In ages past, the Invisible spoke to man through oracles.
Today the Oracle of the Church speaks to man inaudibly and from the
Divisible, bringing mystic lessons of Immortal Truths.
The emblem of the Spiritualist Episcopal Church is the
Oracle, and consists of a cross standing in a bed of flowers from which grows a
single flowering vine entwined about the upright and crossbar.
A yellow radiant light descends from above and the whole design is
superimposed upon a Gothic background.
The cross is symbolic of Man in his physical and mental
aspects. The upright represents the
physical-standing upon, and having its foundation in the earth.
Upon the upright is the word "Health' representing the condition of
the physical body when in a perfect state of development.
The crossbar is emblematic of the mental aspect of Man, bearing the word "Peace",
meaning that with perfect mental development, there comes complete peace of
mind.
With its roots at the base of the cross, the blossoming
vine ascends, entwined about the cross. Ascending
on the right side it passes over behind the union of the upright and crossbar,
lies upon the top of the left half of the crossbar and curves downward at its
end.
Among all races and religions, the cross has ever been a
symbol fraught with mystic meaning. For
example, among the American Indians, the cross signified the four winds, the
four seasons, the four points of the compass, etc. Much of the symbolic beauty of the cross is lost in
Christianity which endowed it with a
meaning of death and torture because of the crucifixion.
To us the cross symbolizes man.
All three of his aspects, physical, mental, and spiritual are rooted in
the earth.
Physical unfoldment brings health and when we are well,
we are happy, and pain and ache are gone. Health is one word describing
perfection of soul and mind made manifest in the physical body.
The crossbar denotes the mental expression on the
physical plane, and when evolved brings peace, the "peace of God which
surpasseth all understanding." Spiritual knowledge and growth bring joy and
the illumination of the soul.
The vine, rooted in and drawing strength from the earth,
as it winds around the cross, is symbolic of the spirit of man, holding mind and
body together. There are many
things of the spirit hidden from man's understanding, and so part of the vine,
representing these hidden mysteries, passes behind the cross, concealed for a
time. The manner in which spirit
unites body and mind is unseen, unfelt, and wholly invisible to mortal eyes,
just as the vine at this point is invisible.
The vine grows from the earth
which feeds it, and enables it to bring its flowers into bloom.
The spirit, too, emanates from the earth plane, and as it grows upward
and onward it unfolds in the successive planes.
Thus the first flowers on the vine typify the first three planes of
expression beyond the earth plane. The
three vine flowers on the arm of the cross typify the higher celestial spheres.
While the vine is rooted in the earth and draws a certain
portion of its sustenance there from, botanists
agree that the greater part of its life-giving essence is drawn from the
atmosphere. This is typified
spiritually by the rays of Cosmic Consciousness from above which converge upon
the axis of the cross, infusing eternal animation into the being of the spirit.
As the top-most flowers bend over with their faces toward
the earth, directing their fragrance downward, so the celestial planes of
highest spiritual attainment direct their effulgent spiritual radiance toward
the earth and the lower planes. The soul which has bloomed in the higher spheres
turns and spreads his blessings upon the earth.
The green leaves growing about the foot of the cross
allude to the life of earth, and are symbolic of reality and the beauty of the
soul. In plant growth, the leaves
come first as the primary manifestations of life, while the flowers are the
culmination of their development. Without
the leaves, flowers cannot develop, and if the flowerstock be stripped of its
leaves much of the beauty of the flower is lost.
Spiritually the leaves indicate good deeds of daily life, contributing to
and supplementing spiritual attainment as exemplified by the flowers.
This emblem of the Spiritualist Episcopal Church is an
infinite source of knowledge. Its
symbolism contains spiritual lessons without end.
This treatise has presented no more than fundamental instruction.
In truth, this design has a whole book written upon its face-a book, of
religious and spiritual inspiration.
Published by the Library
The Spiritualist Episcopal Church
Eaton Rapids, Michigan