Re: OT: Crosses, Mogen David and Third Degree Burns..........

["BP" <podujeva@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

While I'm being vocal ... a few bits on the cross, swastika, Magen
David, and yes, even holy water.

The cross, as a basic design, appears in the pottery, weaving,
carving, and painting of many cultures. It may be simply decorative,
or it may have symbolic meaning. The tau cross, for example, was a
symbol of life to the ancient Egyptians; when combined with the circle
(as in the crux ansata or ankh), it stood for eternity. For most
ancient peoples the Greek cross was a metaphor for the four
indestructible elements of creation (air, earth, fire, and water),
thus symbolizing permanence. The cross was also used in the ancient
world as a symbol of execution by crucifixion. In Roman times only the
lowest class of criminals was crucified. Most of us have at least a
passing familiarity with the modern Christian cross so we just won't
go there. :)

The cross is now as inextricably associated with Christianity as the
swastika is with nazism. As with the cross, the swastika originally
had other associations; with the ends of its cross bars bent to the
right, it was common in both the Old World and the New World. It
originally represented the revolving sun, fire, or life and later, by
extension, good luck. To Buddhists, a swastika represented
resignation; to the Jains, it symbolized their seventh saint. To
Hindus, a swastika with arms bent to the left symbolized night, magic,
and the destructive goddess Kali. Finally, in mid-20th-century
Germany, the right-facing swastika was the Nazi party emblem.

Why is the Magen David not (or at least not shown to be) effective
against vampires? All of this is my own theory, so take it with a
grain of salt. (Love disclaimers!)

The shield (star) of David may be the symbol most commonly associated
with Judaism today, but it's actually a relatively new Jewish symbol.
The way I understand it, it's commonly thought to represent the shape
of King David's shield but there's no support for the theory in
rabbinical literature. The symbol is so rare in early Jewish
literature and artwork that it is an automatic red flag for suspected
forgeries and it wasn't until the 17th century or so that the Magen
David began to be commonly placed on the outside of synagogues.

My theory is that the Magen David is simply too young to carry the
symbolic weight of, say, a cross, and that the more logical Jewish
symbol to use defensively against a vampire would be a menorah, as
that symbol was in use much earlier. As they are exclusively Jewish
symbols today (a six-pointed star symbol is found throughout northern
Africa and the middle east as a good luck symbol, or it was before the
Magen David became so strongly associated with Judaism) and much
younger than the pre-Christian cross, I'm not sure either of them
would be effective. It doesn't have the strong cross-cultural
historical significance of cross-like symbols.

Personal opinion here, but I don't think of the cross as being
effective against vampires because of it now being a Christian symbol.
I think of it as being more the long history (long before
Christianity) and wide-spread cultural significance that give it
power.

Do we have any canonical evidence as to vampiric reactions to
swastikas? I didn't begin to habitually watch Buffy until about the
time Mark Blucas left the show (watched most of the first 2 seasons
but became annoyed with the Angel/Riley angst and watched less
frequently for awhile), so this could easily have been established
onscreen. As a much older symbol, I would expect more of a reaction
(from a vampire) to a swastika than to the Magen David. Then again,
perhaps the swastika's current association with nazi ideals would
negate it as an effective vampire deterrent? (Not that I'd expect any
of the SG to nail a swastika above their windows/doors regardless of
how effective it would be ... the cultural squick is enough to stick
to a cross IMO.)

I don't get the holy water thing at all, just for the record. Ancient
magical ritual to impart anti-vampiric qualities to water? Sure, I buy
that. A specifically Christian (well, more specifically Catholic) and
therefore relatively young blessing ritual? Doesn't seem to jive with
the rest of the Jossian vampire mythology. Also for the record, yes, I
am aware that I'm astonishingly long-winded when I finally get around
to speaking up.

BP, not sure she did anything useful here aside from mentally
reviewing a lesson from a long ago social anthropology class ;-)