The Symbols of The Eight Stages of Life
Understanding the eight stages of life and evolution can help you make sense of your life. Knowing what to expect as your life develops can help you identify opportunities, avoid pitfalls,and know what to expect ... in life, love and your career. Read more ... Below I give hints about what lies behind the symbols I use and the art I create to explore and rep.re:sent* these important concepts. If you want to learn more, use the links to the right.
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1. Exploring Stage
Symbols of the Exploring stage are all related to Life Path 1: Discoverer, Explorer, Inventor and focus on the emblems, icons and physical items used in the activity of exploring. Since maps are both essential and a by-product (as well as the primary reason for some expeditions), a compass is a common exploring symbol. It evokes not only the idea of a journey and travel, but the idea of a central point with outward destinations to points unknown even though the direction is known. So, at its best, exploring combines the known and unknown -- the expanding of boundaries of what has been experienced and ideas ( or hints) of what may yet lie ahead.
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2. Calling Stage
The calling symbols represent a call to become something very different than you are -- a glimpse into the future that is usually beyond your current imaginings. As such, they represent the idea of a radical change or shift -- and yet a natural outcome of your evolution -- just as a caterpillar may dream of becoming a butterfly or a tadpole know that it is destined {if all goes a courting / a.cord.ing* to Nature's plan} to become a frog. This butterfly captures the beauty and freedom of knowing your life calling, as well as the struggle and fragility of the transformation process.
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3. Focusing Stage
Focusing of the pupil (whether of the student, Iris{e} of the Nile, or eye of Key 15) symbols follow the idea that the mind follows what the eye beholds and delights in. Inner images can focus the imagination and inner mind, just as images of the outer world guide us in our interpretation of the world and our thoughts about everything we sea* (key 12). See quote ... |
4. Working Stage
The tools of work bring up ideas of problem solving, making things and fixing them. Good ideas, when under the influence, become physical products, intangible services rendered at the speed of light and knowledge en.cap.Sue.lated* in time. See quote ...
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5. Excelling Stage
Symbols of excellence are legion across the known world -- medals of honor, laurel wreaths of glory, belts of chivalry, coats of arms, trophy chalices .. you get the idea.
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6. Mastering Stage
The symbolism I use in the Mastering stage relates to the same core activity the Way of Life 10: Mastery is based on -- catching lightening in a bootle* -- the work of Ben {key 19} Franklin -- where ideas are brought into play and used to master the materials, tools, processes, and environment. Within the circle of life, lightening strikes three times, re:mote:lee related to three strikes and UR out in baseball. This one is a stretch (home stretch, That Is, Was ... May the month B).
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7. Transcending Stage
In the transcending phase you focus on harmonizing with the underlying creative process of Nature and working directly with universal principles -- so symbols of tran.sin.dance* are tricky. Here the egg of regenesis is hinted at with the spiral of creation inside, while outside three stars dance and create a boundary bridge in the sky to the number seven.teen* and one -- seven. {3 [D] + 17 + zero [Z.arrow] = seven.tez.ra, row. end}
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8/0. Regenesis Stage
Symbols of rebirth abound in every culture. Here, a phoenix is curled up within the Cosmic Egg in an endless cycle (figure 8, ate, ait) of rebirth, but since this is a re:Gene.sis, the fee.nicks is held and protected in the number of possibility. (C note above) See quotes ...
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