Water as Cleansing
Water as Cleansing
The Christian religion also gives us another perspective, that is, one of water as cleansing. For instance, the rite of baptism symbolizes the washing away of original sin, as seen
here:
Cleansing in the form of actual bathing is shown in many of Cezanne's well known works, including this one:
The Ganges River in India is sacred to the Hindus. Bathing in the Ganges is said to free the bather from sin. The source of the Ganges is in the Himalayas, the mountains of the Gods, and descends to the plains of India as if from Heaven. Here is a picture of a city which lies on the banks of the Ganges:
The main thing that the symbol of cleansing provides for us is a sense that no matter what the odds, the sin, or the cause for despair, eventually, things will be cleansed in order to begin again. As we can see, it is impossible to look at these different symbols of water without seeing overlap, which is also central to the understanding of water as a symbol, or any symbol which shows up consistently throughout history, for that matter.
Water as Renewal and Rebirth
Water as Fertility
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