Circle
CIRCLE. The circle is used as a polyvalent symbol (commonly representing the cosmos and cosmic movement) as well as a pattern of ritual action (in which macrocosmic realities are transformed into microcosmic space with various meanings). As a symbol and as a ritual pattern, the circle is a cross-cultural form occurring in the round shapes of houses, public buildings, tombs, cult objects (such as altars), and ritual spaces. The circle is used ritually by inscribing circles on the ground, on amulets, or other objects and as a pattern for processions around altars, temples, spaces, and towns for various reasons. Circular shapes are often understood as patterned after the solar and lunar disks, and circular movements are frequently thought to replicate the circular motion of heavenly bodies; both circular shapes and motions are frequently assigned a sacred or religious function. In the past, scholars frequently indulged in the vain pursuit of the origins of the ritual use of circular shapes and motions, falsely assuming that such traditions have a unified origin providing a key to understanding their meaning. However, the meaning of such ritual patterns is probably polyvalent and must be based on contextual analysis, combining the emic explanations found in ancient interpretations and the etic explanations arrived at through cross-cultural comparison by modern theorists.
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